The latest from Be Luminous

Just yesterday, walking my dog down the streets of South Lake Union, I got the best mental picture. Two dogs from 20 yards away spotted each other, froze and silently faced off. Without so much as moving a muscle or making the slightest bark, they were talking smack.

Even though my dog, connected to me through the leash, was one of these characters, it gave me pause to laugh. As humans, we are doing this all the time, but we are oblivious to how our animal instincts demonstrate our thinking minds, almost as if emitting pheromones. As I have said often in class, I can be a very head-down hardworking gal, and in that I have often frightened off others. I can be so me-centered that I don’t even realize I am scaring others away. I am putting out messages I am unaware of.

This comes to class with us too. Picture a room full of people in Warrior II. A person stands with limp arms, a bent back leg, unaware of their lack of energy. What they are putting out feels dull and dead, resigned. Picture the person on them next mat – standing tall, strength in the front leg, reaching through fingers tips, with a huge scowl on his or her face. Humm… energy is there, but not in the way I want to live. Then see the next person over. Perhaps this yogi is standing strong, but it looks light. His fingers are long, his back foot is planted and his belly is pulled in. His breath reaches the far corners of his lungs in slow, steady breath. He wears a slight smile. This person knows he strong, but doesn’t need to will that to happen. It is just is.

90 minutes. 53 postures. 11 sequences. 4 weeks. 1 new you. That is a lot of math for a yoga newsletter but I am a big fan of breaking things down. From figuring out what to wear in the morning, to trimming the 15 foot by 30 foot hedge of holly - OUCH - in my front yard, to Utthita Hasta Padangusthasnsa (say it with me: ew-tee-ta-ha-sta-pa-dan-goo-stas-ana; also known as extended hand to foot pose). Breaking whatever "it" is down piece by piece brings accessibility to what can at first sight seem completely insurmountable.

The other day a practitioner at Be Luminous came up to me apologizing for taking child's pose many times throughout the class. He said: "My energy was extremely heavy and my body felt very unstable and I was unable to stay with the practice." I responded by saying that not only did he stay with the practice he offered himself and the group a precious gift by acknowledging and honoring his needs and learning to listen to his inner voice of wisdom. He was surprised when I told him how much gratitude I had felt during the class for his presence, his adaptability and his willingness to stay with the group. By staying on his mat and navigating his own challenges he was cultivating self awareness and awakening to empathy.

There can be an incorrect mystique around the terminology "Power Yoga" that we need to drive, drive, drive with force through the practice, but really we need to listen, listen, listen to the signals our body is sending us. When our body is telling us to back off we need to listen and in this listening we will know ourselves and awaken to empathy. Our practice is an experiential laboratory for shaping self awareness and our understanding of others. Knowing our own capacities allows us to be with others and meet them in their capacity no matter what the situation.

Check out this CNN story about a man who lost 365 lbs through yoga and a proper diet!

This month's teacher corner is about twisting in asana. I will cover the importance of twists, their physical and energetic effects, symbolism of twists, benefits, some tips for going deeper comfortably in twists, and a few caveats.

Twists are a significant part of the practice because the central nervous system is housed in the spine (and brain). So when you want to influence the physical body and the energetic body, you have to manipulate the spine. When you are in an asana, consider what the spine is doing.

Think very simply about these poses: feel the body, what is the body telling you? Is it hot, or is it cold? etc... Based on the heat level in the body, you can feel where things are going on an energetic level, and if the spine is twisting, there is some obvious heat. You may wonder why twisting poses are known as detoxification poses- twisting wrings out the organs, and stimulates the spiraling movement of the energy.

On a physical level, twists stretch the deepest back muscles, especially those closest to the mid-line of the body (the spine). As you are twisting, every organ inside you is being twisted and compressed, and when the twist is released, your system can flush fresh blood through your organs cleansing and stimulating them. Equally important, twists maintain the range of motion of the spine, both on the structural and muscular level.

The Olympic vibe is reverberating across the Whistler valley. Daily we see heartfelt demonstrations of excellence from our Olympic athletes. A melody of world languages resonates throughout the Whistler Village.

What's happening up here in Whistler, you ask? This town is teeming with yoga.

Yoga? Yep, I said it, yoga.

If you are having visions of the streets of Whistler packed with people practicing yoga, that's not exactly what I'm getting at, although I guess its not too far from the truth... Certainly, some Olympic athletes prepare their bodies and minds for competition through yoga, and the Whistler Lululemon store is offering daily free yoga classes throughout the Games, but I'm more talking about the ‘true' meaning of yoga.

I know, curious title.

Let me explain…

Along with 11 other unshrinking souls, I’ve committed to practice 40 days of vinyasa yoga, meditation, and conscious eating.

Today is day 15. And I’m entering new territory.

The steady practice part is not an unknown. I’ve practiced 3 days a week, for years. And I have experience with meditation. And I’m also mindful, most of the time, of what and how I eat.

What’s new then?
It’s this hard-to-explain surrendering to, and accessing of a deeper energy. I mean, way-down-in-the-energy-well-deep.

I have oodles upon oodles of surface energy. Energy, that without some kind of outlet, starts looking (and feeling) high-strung, jumpy, and v-e-r-y restless.

Lack of movement transforms me into a less cute version of Sheriff “Bing-bing-bing!” Richochet rabbit. Bouncing off walls. (But without the redeeming heroics.)

And so, I find ways to move.

Typically, I arrive on my yoga mat brimming with copious, swirly-whirling, spiraling energy. And then, bounded by the borders of my mat, and open to the spaciousness in the studio, I flow, and ground, and surf my physical edge, long enough for the whirls to both dissipate and settle.

…that is until the swhirlies build up again.