Dancing Dogs Yoga

Yogis are always seeking equanimity. We find ourselves looking for peace and inner calm that can only found by becoming our true, authentic selves. But how do we find ourselves?

We spend a lot of time and money looking for ourselves, when the truth is we are never really lost. Sometimes we are just looking in the wrong place. We get caught up in the pursuit of success or fortune, or stuck playing a role of care-taker, people-pleaser, victor or victim. We forget that we are, in our own right, strong, powerful and exceptional, and that who we are is so much bigger than what we do.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said, “The magnetic needle always points to the north, and hence it is that the sailing vessel does not lose her direction.”. By finding our true north, we can keep ourselves on course, away from the rocks, and flow with the river of life.

In our asana practice, my teacher Baron Baptiste instructs that we find true north alignment by getting present to our bodies. We firmly set our feet on the earth, grounding ourselves and our practice, and bring the elements of earth, water, fire, air and space to our practice. We find the earth beneath us by pressing our feet (or hands!) into the earth. We add water though the flow, the easy movement of breath and body, or vinyasa, and by softening the joints. We add fire by engaging the core, and hugging in, from skin to muscle to bone, to radiate out. We add heat, both external and the internal furnace of the breath, to purify our practice and cleanse our bodies, stoking the fire. We add space and air by softening, allowing change to happen.

It is perhaps easier to find our true north on the mat than off of it. Distractions in our daily lives pull us off in the wrong direction, so we look for ways outside of our asana practice to bring us back on course. Perhaps the easiest and most sure fire way to equanimity and balance in your life is to add a meditation practice. Taking time for yourself during the day, even if only for five or ten minutes, can leave you feeling renewed and refreshed, and back in the flow.

Set an intention for yourself to take more time for yourself. By giving yourself time and space, you will give yourself a compass to find your true north, and to stay on course in your life and in your relationships.

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In his book 40 Days to Personal Revolution, my teacher Baron Baptiste suggests that to achieve positive change in our lives on the path to happiness, we need to remove the rocks.

We all have walls. We put up these walls and barriers to protect ourselves, but we end up walling ourselves in. We create what we think are safe places, and end up stifling our creativity and growth. We protect ourselves by adding rocks and building the walls higher, and close ourselves off.

Without risk there is no reward. We have to remain open to find love and happiness, even if that means we become more vulnerable to harm. Consider the Zen aphorism: Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

Try to put aside your thoughts and efforts and allow things to just be. Let the universe work on your behalf. Stop being a human doing and be a human being. If you try easy, instead of trying hard, you will be open to receive life’s gifts. If you continue to struggle, to swim against the current, you will not find ease. Go with the flow. Save your strength to swim with the tide, and see where the universe takes you.

Set an intention to remove the rocks. You might start with your yoga practice. Remove any obstacles that keep you from your highest practice.  If you leave your ego in the shoe cubbies, what can you accomplish? If you stop looking outside of your mat, and outside of yourself in your practice, what can you achieve? If you silence the harsh voice of the inner critic, what can you be?

Remove the rocks in your practice, then remove the rocks in your life. What can you let go of in order to break through? In 40 Days, Baron asks, “What thoughts, feelings, worries or past situations am I clinging to that drain me?” Consider this.

Are you in a toxic relationship? A toxic business environment? Are you holding on to anger or something in your past? It is true that our past has helped shape us, but the past does not exist in the present. Let go of past resentments and anger and move into the here and now. “Be now here, or be nowhere,” says Baron, and be here without the heavy baggage of a time that you can not change.

Get out of your own way. Cast aside the barriers that you have created for yourself. You may be able to tear down the walls quickly, and you may need to remove the rocks one by one, but with diligence and determination, you can be the change that you wish to see in the world.

“From birth, we are taught to swim upstream, but in yoga practice the goal is to jump into the river of life.” — Baron Baptiste

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What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

What would you change in your life? Would you try something new? Would you start your own business? A non-profit to serve others? Would you change your career?

Some of my friends get a little annoyed at the yogi in me sometimes, striving to point out the positive, looking for a way to find an upbeat spin on a dreary situation. I am optimistic, about the world and about the future, and I have my yoga practice to thank for that shift in vision. Yoga in general, and Baron Baptiste in particular, have taught me that I am powerful, and that I can make my dreams come true. The practice of yoga has helped me remove the bricks, or obstacles, in my life and reach for the stars. By thinking bigger, my whole world is opening up, and the world is amazing.

The yoga community is good about bolstering each other, about holding each other up. If you don’t have a yoga community, find a community, a group of people who tell you that you CAN. If you are surrounded by people who tell you that you can’t – find a new group of people who will not hold you back. A rising tide lifts all ships if we do not tether ourselves to the dock. Loosen up, expand your horizons, and go for it.

Make a list of the things you want in life. Forget the mundane things like a new phone or a new car and think big. Ask yourself: “What do I want to manifest in my life?”

Now ask yourself what is stopping you. What are the limiting beliefs that are keeping you from pursuing your dreams? What blocks are in your way? Are you afraid to succeed or afraid to fail? Are you worried that others may resent you if you do succeed? A wise teacher once told me, “What other people think of you is none of your business.” (Thanks, Mark White!) Forget about what other people think and decide what matters to you.

So ask yourself again: “What do I want?” Write it down. Commit your dreams to the reality of black and white. Tell people what you want. Forget what you are supposed to do, and what other people expect you to do, and find something in your life that you want to do. Don’t rush the process. Expect a few scrapes and stumbles. Maybe even a few falls. But don’t quit. Get back up. Pursue your dreams. Shine. Shine like we are all meant to shine.   Not only can you reach the stars, but you can be a star.

“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Address

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I am having a torrid love affair with my yoga practice.

Inhaling, I sweep my arms up overhead, my gaze following my fingertips.  As I bow toward the earth, I notice the first rays of sun peaking over the tops of the trees.  I flow.

On my next pass, arms reaching high, the sun is making himself known, rising from his slumber as I awaken from mine.  Hues of orange, pink and yellow dance outside of my window.  Flow.

I step my right foot between my hands and rise, like the sun, sinking deep into my hips as I reach into a Crescent Lunge.  My eyes are drawn again to the rising sun.

Crawling out of bed in the morning and rolling out my yoga mat is one of the best gifts I have ever given myself.  Moving through the Baptiste Journey Into Power sequence awakens my body and my mind, just as the world awakes around me.  The sheer beauty of the Lowcountry awakens my soul.   I love Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga.

In February of 2011, I went on my own version of a yogic pilgrimage.  I was in search of a teacher, a guide.  I went online and booked teacher trainings and workshops with Baron Baptiste, Seane Corne and Shiva Rea.

My first training was a three-day Foundations in Action in Boston, with Baron Baptiste.  After the first day, I knew I was home.  After the third day, I was signed up for a Level One Training 8 day bootcamp with Baron in New York.  I canceled the trainings with Seane and Shiva and settled into my my new home— the Baptiste Community.

This practice has changed me.  Yoga has been a large part of my life, but Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga has taught me to bring LOVE to the love of my practice. I found my teacher in Baron, but I found so much more.

I found a friend and mentor in Senior Baptiste teacher Mark White of MBody Yoga, who has helped me find my vision for my own community, and is a constant source of encouragement and inspiration for me.  I found inspiration for service in Paige Elenson, founder of Africa Yoga Project.  I found compassion for myself as well as others, and with the help of Bala Vinyasa Yoga’s Kiersten Mooney, I learned that Power Yoga can have a softer side, even for type “A”s like me.

Slower to anger, quicker to lend a hand, I am also more present, more aware.  I take the time to notice the nest of cardinals near my porch, and the baby woodpeckers in the tree in the front yard.  I am experiencing life, and not witnessing it.  So many of us get caught up in the grind.  We have to be there, we have to do this and that.  We forget in the midst of our busyness to take the moment we are living in and feel it.  We are not present.

Yoga helps us reach inside and find the NOW.  We begin to realize that where we need to be is HERE, and that this breath, this moment is the one we need to experience.

I love this practice.  I love the heat.  I love the way it feels in that first forward fold when the sweat drips from the top of my head to my well-worn yogitoes.  I love the way I feel rung out, rinsed and revitalized.  Rinse, lather, repeat.

I love the challenge of the practice, and the triumph I feel when I practice.  I even love the occasional feeling of defeat– I love breaking down so that I can break through.  I love feeling and hearing the breath moving through my body, and I love feeling my heart beating in my toes after igniting my body in a back-bending series. I love the seduction of the mat.

I love LOVING my practice.  No one can take this from me.  It is mine.  The more I share it, the more I get back.  It is one commodity that has no end— it grows exponentially every time I give it away.  Teaching this yoga gives me more that I can explain– it gives me focus and purpose.  It gives me joy.

Allow yoga to enliven your life experiences.  This practice of Baptiste Power Vinyasa is for everyone.  It can be modified for all ages, body types and fitness levels.  Learn to breathe, to experience, and to feel.  The time is now.  Lay your expectations and inhibitions aside and resolve to be a yes.  Welcome adventure, surprise, and yes, even change, because shift happens, whether you swim against the tide or flow gracefully with it.  You can transform yourself and your life on the path to true happiness if you get out of the way.  If not you, then who??  If not now, then when?? The answer to “How?” is “Yes!”  Be a yes.

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If you don’t believe that one person with a vision can change the world, you have not met Paige Elenson.  A senior Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga teacher, Paige is the founder of  Africa Yoga Project.  She embodies the concept of selfless service in action.  Paige is the proof that one young woman with an idea can change the planet.

In 2006, Paige was on safari in Kenya with her family when she saw a group of young Kenyan men doing handstands in the middle of the bush.  Though she had been warned to stay in the vehicle, Paige jumped out and began doing handstands with these young acrobats. Through this new relationship a bold idea was forming.

When Paige returned to New York, the acrobats contacted her and asked her to come back to Kenya to teach them yoga.  What she did not know was that she would be staying in the slums of Nairobi, and what she saw when she arrived set an idea in motion.

The Africa Yoga Project was born.  With the help of Baron Baptiste and the Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga Institute, Paige founded AYP and began not only teaching yoga to young Kenyans, but training them to be teachers.

AYP uses the transformational power of yoga to foster unity, possibility and non-violence, and has reached thousands of young men, women and children in Kenya.  Because I know from personal experience that yoga can change lives, I have been inspired by the amazing work AYP has done.

Today, AYP offers free Baptiste yoga classes to over 4000 students every week, while simultaneously building schools, funding education, health services, and training young Kenyans to teach yoga– thus creating jobs for people with no other outlets for employment.  Now, kids from the slums are being trained as yoga teachers, and find jobs teaching middle and upper-class Kenyans as well as jobs in corporate settings.  Kenyan youth previously without hope have job prospects and a way to feed their families.

I had the pleasure to personally meet Margaret Njeri, a young Kenyan woman who has lived through violence and devastating poverty, but who, through AYP, has a new life.  Margaret  teaches children, Women with HIV and people in prison, and has found a life of purpose, vision and service.  She and Paige give new meaning to selfless service and have inspired me to get involved with AYP on a deeper level.  I plan to travel to Kenya to teach yoga and help this amazing organization continue to empower people and create and lead the change.

If you want to know more about Africa Yoga Project, visit www.afrricayogaproject.org or get involved with an AYP fundraiser at Dancing Dogs Yoga.  Check out the new book, Portraits of Empowerment and Peace, available on the AYP website.

Lead the change.  Start with challenging yourself, and join us for the Yoga Aid Challenge to benefit Africa Yoga Project on Sunday, October 2nd at 10am.  Any donation to Africa Yoga Project gains entry to this worthy event.

“I am because you are.”. African Proverb

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It’s resolution time, that time of year when we set often unattainable goals for ourselves, resulting in frustrating broken resolutions before the warmth of spring.  Most of the time, we don’t whisper these resolutions, but we shout them from the rooftops, creating a cacophony of broken promises to ourselves, and leaving a din of frustrating echoes that haunt us through the year.  This year, throw out the traditional resolutions of fad diets and binge exercise and come at things from a different perspective.  It’s okay to set goals, but also promise a few important things to yourself.  Be reasonable.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, and real change is gradual.  You can, however, make small resolutions with big results.

Resolve to be happy. Take the time to breathe, to relax, and to find something, anything, that truly makes you smile.  Savor those moments and let them carry you through the not-so-happy moments.  Listen to music.  Smell the flowers.  Just breathe.

Resolve to be healthy. Forget fad diets, exercise programs that do not suit your lifestyle, and instead, make an effort to slowly change the way you eat, exercise and live.  If you want to become a vegetarian, don’t do the cold-turkey no-more-meat-for-me thing (no pun intended) but instead, start cutting meat out of one meal a day, then two, and slowly change the way you eat.  Instead of running out and joining the gym, think more about doing one active thing every day, and gradually change the way you move.  Try gentle things first, like walking, or yoga (shameless plug).  Eat well, breathe well, and sleep well.  Take care of yourself.

Resolve to be friendly. Practice random acts of kindness.  If you don’t believe me, just try it.  Do something nice for someone who you don’t even know, just to do it.  Take the grocery cart back for an elderly person at the market, and watch the appreciation you receive.  Smile at total strangers and say hello.  When you are friendly just for the sake of being friendly, it will make you happier.

Resolve to be honest. Truth, or satya, is the most precious gift we can give to ourselves.  When we are true and honest with ourselves, the world becomes clearer and we can live to our highest potential.  Without truth, we will not realize our highest potential.  “To thine own self be true” is still good advice.

Resolve to be forgiving. As important as truth, forgiveness, especially for ourselves, is essential for happiness.  Be good to yourself.  Get a massage.  Go for a walk.  Take time.  Forgive others, but most importantly, forgive yourself.

This year, I have a long list of resolutions myself, mostly revolving around that marathon I’ve signed up to run, but I am coming at it from this yogic perspective.  I will be happy, healthy, friendly, honest and forgiving, to myself and to others, and in doing so, I will be everything that I can be.

Namaste.  Happy New Year!

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As you wrap up the gifts for under the tree, does it ever feel like the holidays come pre-packaged with stress, making you unbalanced and irritable?  Even the excitement and anticipation of the holidays can cause undue stress on the body and mind, and believe it or not, our bodies don’t know the difference between good stress and bad stress.

The holidays often bring extraordinary stress to our lives such as dealing with difficult family members (can you say in-laws?), a higher than usual alcohol or food intake and just the need to get it all done.  How can we approach the holiday season in a yogic way, to make ourselves healthier and happier?

If we cultivate an intention to treat ourselves better, we can produce a more centered and enjoyable holiday for ourselves and our loved ones.  Here are 5 tips for a healthy, happy and yogic holiday season:

1.  Find refuge in yourself. By taking the time to practice yoga, you are not only engaging in a sensible and healthy approach to the holidays and your life in general, but you are quieting the mind.  The 90 minutes spent on your mat can pull you away from the rampant consumerism and excess that has invaded the holiday season.  If you can’t take the time for a class, find ten minutes to just breathe, slowly and deeply, allowing oxygen to replenish the brain, and help you get grounded.  Nurturing ourselves helps us to better nurture our loved ones.

2.  Move your body. Staying active and physical, through yoga or any exercise, can help you stay centered.  Exercise helps increase energy and reduce fatigue, so rolling out the yoga mat even when you feel the most zapped will produce positive results.

3.  Be good to yourself. Take it easy.  Get enough sleep.  Avoid fatigue and don’t overdo it.  You’re not always in a race, so consider some gentle or restorative yoga during the holidays, even if you’re used to being first to finish.  Sometimes slow and easy does win the race.

4.  Be Mindful. Be mindful of what you eat, drink and do during this time of year.  How many excess pounds are put on between Thanksgiving and the New Year?  If you eat well, and exercise, you can splurge on those holiday goodies, but remember all of those extra carbs and sugars will not only pack on the pounds, but make you feel draggy and down.  Watch your alcohol intake and try not to over-indulge.  Tis’ the season to be Merry, but we always pay for excess.

5.  Look Inward. Take the time to connect with yourself, and find what you really want.  We must learn to listen to what is inside, because really, we always have to live with ourselves.  Connect to yourself through nature, through music, through yoga or anything else that speaks to you.  Take a nap, take a walk, meditate, practice yoga– find something that brings you peace and helps you feel centered and grounded.

By listening to our hearts, and taking care of ourselves, we can find inner peace this holiday season.  When we feel grounded and balanced, we can put our best foot forward, taking our yoga off the mat and into the world this holiday season.

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It is difficult to maintain a regular yoga practice, but even more challenging is taking that practice off the mat and into our daily lives.  How do we do it?  How can we live our yoga?

According to Patanjali, a 5th century yogic sage credited with penning the Yoga Sutras, one way we can take our yoga off the mat is through the path to enlightenment.  The word sutra literally means thread, and Patanjali’s guidebook to enlightenment is divided into four portions:  the portion on contemplation, the portion on practice, the portion on accomplishments and the portion on absoluteness.  One of my favorite aphorisms, Sutra 1.33, is known as the Four Locks and Keys. It is translated by Nischala Joy Devi in her book, The Secret Power of Yoga, as:

“To preserve openness of the heart and calmness of the mind, nurture these attitudes:

Kindness to those who are happy;

Compassion for those who are less fortunate;

Honor for those who embody noble qualities;

Equanimity to those whose actions oppose your values.”

This is great and simple advice, but like many things in life is often easier said than done.  Human nature will often turn the kindness to the happy into envy; the compassion for the less fortunate into scorn; the honor for the noble into contempt; the equanimity to the wicked into anger or self-righteousness.  Why is it that what seems so simple in theory can be so hard in reality?

Yoga is defined by Patanjali as the freedom from the distractions of the mind.  This does not mean that we should all walk around with our heads in the clouds, but rather that we should live our lives uninfluenced by outside distractions.  In a world full of smart-phones, Wii and social media, it seems that outside distractions are the norm.

Yoga helps us bring all of those things back into perspective.   By contemplating the human condition, and finding happiness, compassion, honor and equanimity towards those we encounter, we become kinder, gentler and more human.  Through our work on the mat, our practice, we often find clarity into those things which challenge us off the mat.  Through our accomplishments and our growth, our regular yoga practice can help us prioritize our lives, and perhaps find that inner peace that we all strive for.  That is the absoluteness, the samadhi, the enlightenment that humans have sought to ascertain since the dawn of time.

The next time you roll out your yoga mat may not be the moment you find enlightenment, but isn’t it nice to know that you just might be on the right path?

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We all have varying degrees of stress in our lives. Regardless of the cause or type, stress can often be an impediment to our general wellness and success.  It can cause depression, anxiety and other serious health issues. We all want to reduce our stress, and we’ve all heard that yoga can help. But how?

Yoga calms the nervous system, and balances the mind, body and spirit. It affects our fitness, wellness, mental and emotional health, and aids in disease prevention and relief.  A regular yoga practice can reduce stress, tension and anxiety, and improve focus and concentration.  It reduces the “monkey mind,” which disrupts our concentration and well-being.  It teaches the practitioner to put things into perspective by learning how to be “in the moment.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but I am a bona fide Type A control freak.   I plan and organize, and I like to be in control.

But there are so many things in our lives that are beyond our control, and often, stress is one of them.  We’ve all been told to dress for success, but what we really need to do is “De-Stress for Success.”

One of the most important things that yoga has taught me is that while I may not be able to control the stressors in my life, I can manage the stress itself.  Any exercise, when performed regularly, is beneficial in stress management, but yoga has the added benefits of pranayama and meditation.

I used to think of pranayama, or breath work, as controlling my breath… but that was my Type A coming out again.  I’ve learned to think of yoga as managing my breath, and through the management of my breath, I can manage my stress.  Did your mom ever tell you to breathe and count to ten??  She was on to something.

Through conscious, intentional breath, we can manage how stressors affect us.  When we let go and concentrate on the breath, we can manage our senses, our emotions and our stress.

Meditation seems harder.  Many of us in this 24/7 world can’t imagine sitting still in meditation.  Consider, however, that the mere act of going to a yoga class and concentrating on your breath and poses for an hour IS, indeed, a form of moving meditation.  You can meditate.

If you have tried yoga before and it just didn’t click, consider trying it again.  You may not have been ready for it.  If you find yourself wound tight and always on the go… yoga may be a way to release some of that stress and tension, and help you become less stressed, more focused, more productive and more successful.

Originally printed in Lowcountry Weekly’s “Ask The Yogi” by Shelley Lowther

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