yoga styles

yoga has become an integral part of my life.  it grounds me, centers me and calms my nerves.  it also strengthens (and lengthens) my muscles and increases my flexibility.  quite simply, it's been good for my mind, body and soul. 

it took me a while to feel this way.  initially i was a bit intimidated by it and felt you could only get a "real" workout doing P90X or tae bo.  that said, yoga has been the absolute best thing i've done for myself and my body, and now i found myself encouraging people to give it a try.  it's not for everyone...nothing is.  but if you're curious, check it out.  you might just fall in love.

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to help you select what class you might be interested in checking out, i've listed some of the most popular styles below.  (my personal favorites are vinyasa, anusara and hot yoga.)

vinyasa yoga - the poses flow from one to the next and are synchronized with the breath.  also called "flow yoga"

hatha yoga - poses are held (i.e. no flow)

anusara yoga - this type of yoga focuses on alignment and also emphasizes a connection with the inner self. 

hot yoga - a.k.a. bikram yoga.  a set of 26 poses done in a hot room (100+ degrees).  the heat allows the muscles to release and sweating releases toxins from the body.

svaroopa - this type of yoga is meant to be solely restorative.  when you practice you use a lot of props - blankets, blocks, etc. - to assist in the release of the spine.  (when you're done, you feel like you've had a massage.)

me in tree pose outside philly art museum

so, mavens, are you inspired to do some yoga?  what's your favorite style?

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wild fires

when craig and i went down to north carolina last week, we flew over wild fires.  at 10:30pm at night, as we were beginning our descent into wilmington, we gazed out the window and were confused by what we saw.  patches of fiery orange amongst the trees.  we speculated about what it might be.  craig suggested wild fires.

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when we landed, we found out that a few hours north, there were indeed wild fires, and the smoke was being blown down the coast to where we were staying on oak island.

while meditating at the end of yoga class today, i remembered the wild fires and a thought struck me.  from that great distance above, they were not threatening or ferocious or hot.  they were mystifying...almost beautiful.

had we been on the ground anywhere near them, it would have been all-consuming.  heat and fear.  terrifying.  yet, from above, they looked rather small, contained & manageable.  not that scary at all.

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it made me consider other "wild fires" in my life.  problems, events or thoughts that appear all-consuming and terrifying, yet, given a new perspective, diminish into a small patch of glowing orange. 

what wild fires can you rise above today?.

la beauté

la beauté est dans la rue.  translation - the beauty is in the street.  my take away - beauty is found in the journey and be open to unexpected moments of grace.

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craig and i often walk with our little dog, olive, on nice evenings.  the other night, we went into doylestown, as we often do, and parked in the residential section of town near the library and local art museum.  as we meandered along, i spotted a lonely book on a bench.  as we approached, we realized it had been left there on purpose.  the book - an old anthology of robert frost poems - was tied with yarn and had a note attached.  "to finder - la beauté est dans la rue." 

i picked up the book and removed the yarn.  upon opening it, we realized that a secret compartment had been created by removing some of the interiors of the pages in the 2nd half of the book.  a note there read "place secrets here." 

i don't know who put it there, but, as the finder, i looked upon this find as a true treasure.  how lovely.  a gift from a stranger.

it's always interesting where we find unexpected moments of beauty & grace.  today, i attended an "upper level" yoga class.  a yoga teacher had recommended trying the class weeks ago, but she said it might be a little advanced for me, so i kept putting it off.  i was afraid of feeling lost and out-of-place.  i was afraid of looking foolish.

today at 9:30am i finally went to the anusara class, and it was fabulous.  i could keep up (enough) to feel at ease but challenged enough to keep me alert and engaged.  and now, i wish i hadn't put it off for so long.  i kept myself from going because of unfounded worry and negative thoughts - and now that all seems so foolish and inconsequential.

i encourage all of you to look for moments of beauty & grace.  rise to the occasion.  embrace the unexpected.  breathe through it.  and let go.  allow la beauté to reveal itself...because it was always there...

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