Pride yoga!

So pride Austin is coming up quick! June 5th.

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2wardo8e51a35d6

Me and two lovely yogis will be teaching a refreshing and energizing class in the park with tons of participants hopefully.

I am nervous but I think it will be a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for me and for the yoga community in general.

Deepening my practice this summer by going through the Dharma Yoga teacher training....Yes, another 200 hours will be added to my yoga resume...or whatever you call it. I hope to be a better and better teacher this time next year so that I can build on my personal practice and become the best for my students!

yay yoga. Will write more soon.

Namaste.

Yogic Frustrations

Can a yogi experience frustration? What if that frustration is a direct result of yoga? The holidays, lovely that they are...have been getting in the way of yoga classes in houston...they have been rescheduled/changed/cancelled etc. etc.

Today I took my sister, Melmel to the yoga studio I normally go to for a 6:00 basics class. We drove 20 min. to the studio only to find out that this class had been changed to 6:30, but it would be vinyasa flow instead of basics....so we left. I was going to try and come back to it after dropping melmel off at home but there was too much traffic on the way home, so I just laid around instead.

I am a creature of habit. I love routines and definitely enjoy getting into the groove of things. There are specific yoga classes that I go to austin and I could always rely on them to stay put on the schedule---but the holidays def. threw me for a loop with the yoga situation.

I'm hoping to make it to the 9:15 class in the morning---going back to Austin on Thursday to get reunited with friends and begin my second semester. I can't believe it!!!

MUCH love

Namaste

New Year's Resolutions

I asked a friend from Boston the other night what his new years resolutions were and he said, "i don't make resolutions on one night---I like to perceive myself as someone who resolves on a daily basis..." hmmm...interesting, I think.

Well, while I do agree with my friend, I have chosen three new year's resolutions for myself while maintaining the awareness that a lot can change in one calender year---so, we'll see what happens.

1-Be kind. The one person in my life who I treat disrespectfully is----myself---I would really like to change this throughout this year. I would like to speak kindly to myself and try to stop negative thoughts from clouding my mind---in sanskrit, we talk about Chitta Vrittis or mind chatter----I know I deal with A LOT of this and a great deal is negative...so I would like to become more aware of when this occurs in order to make a change toward SELF LOVE. In the words of every self-aware and intelligent human being I know...one cannot be loved until they love themselves. AMEN.

2-Meditate. At Kripalu Yoga School I made a sort of promise to myself that I would meditate everyday for 20 minutes. This lasted...a day! I want to incorporate some sort of meditation practice into my daily life----this can include, actually mediation (stilling the mind), journaling, or collaging....all things I love to do but don't necessarily make time to. It is more difficult to do these things in Houston with my family bustling about...but I want to make an effort to when I get settled back in Austin for second semester.

3-Relinquish emotional dependency on men---yes, this is a very private thing to post in a public forum...but I, like many women am used to being in a committed and serious relationship with a man...actually, this is the first time in my adult life that I am actually SINGLE---I want to try to hold onto my singlehood or at least my independence in this next year or at least 6 months in order to prove to myself just how strong and powerful I can be on my own!

So, these are my resolutions for the new year...a big change from years in the past where I wanted to eat healthy and lose weight....here's to self-acceptance, embracing inner beauty and strengthening emotional well being!

Tomorrow I'm going to a 9:30 yoga class, which is certainly NEEDED (my yoga schedule has been interrupted by the holidays...so gotta get back on the wagon. I love teaching...and CANNOT WAIT to get back into the swing of things mid-January.

Namaste.

A long awaited post

ATA YOGA NUSHASANAM----and now the inquiry of yoga

Tonight I am teaching at the new studio! I think I will incorporate a lot of twists into my class. should be good to do after thanksgiving.

I feel much more confident teaching when I plan my class out ahead of time...I realized this the other week...when I had what I was going to do on a notecard to look back on.

My students tell me that my classes are difficult. I believe them...but this wasn't my intention...I wonder if they are!?

I love yoga---and I plan to do it a lot more now...I want to do it everyday during my break from school.. I will probably purchase a month pass and stick to it.

It's getting cold out now, which worries me because my mood depends on the weather---which is why I think hot yoga is probably a good idea right about now.

I will report on how my class went later on.

Till then,

NAMASTE

feeling it

Last night in yoga, the intructor had us laying on blocks and now my shoulders and low back are sore, sore!! It's a good feeling though...i love being able to feel the effects of a class afterward. I'm not teaching this week at the studio, which is a nice break for me, though I know I will get extra nervous before my next class because I will be slightly out of practice so to speak. I like the people who come to class. They are becomming more and more familiar to me each time I go (I haven't missed a class in two months). So, it's nice.

Tonight, I'm getting a free massage from one of my students (A great perk!) and I really need it now. Then tomorrow, I'm going to a hot 26 yoga class at Bodhi because the instructor of that class came to mine and I think it will be good rapport building if I go to his class and show that I'm interested in connecting/learning from them.

That's all for right now. I get the morning off on Tuesdays from my internship, which is so so so nice!! I made a big breakfast and was able to sit with housemates in the kitchen for longer than 5 minutes. Feels almost like the weekend.

Namaste.

Destress

I have been experiencing a lot of stress lately do to school...and also due to outside commitments. I love to teach yoga---but driving over to the studio in rush hour traffic after a full day of school is tough...so two nights ago I took a vinyasa class at Bodhi Yoga, which I highly recommend. The teacher told us that we are like an orange...each slice united but contained within its own barrier...I liked this image. I think I'll share it with my class tonight.

I'm teaching nude again today. I wasn't quite sure how I was being received as a teacher, but one of my students kindly wrote on the website that I was a very calming and professional instructor who had human qualities---unlike some of the more robotic yoga teachers that he has had in the past. It made me smile and gave me more confidence to teach. I always feel really great after class.

I'm hoping to do some new stuff with my class tonight...maybe eagle pose? I don't do a lot of balancing poses with them---but maybe I should challenge them?

Will write back to report how class went after!

Namaste...drink hot chocolate!

Class

My first class at the studio made me smile. I enjoy my students and feel even more involved with their community. I got invited by one student to attend a breath workshop in a couple of week, which I am excited about.

Also, I got another teaching job at a by donation studio where I can teach what I want. I will be teaching there on Friday afternoons. Looks like I got my work cut out for me, though teaching truly is my passion and yoga is a huge part of my life---I just can't forget that I'm in school too!

Will post more after tomorrow night's class...looking forward to it!

namaste