Category Archives: Yoga

November 26, 2012 · 9:23 pm

Day 14: The Power of Intention

I’ve finally gotten back to the point where, if I don’t practice for one day, my body (and mind) are begging for a good practice.  I admit that yesterday I didn’t get in a physical practice, as I got stuck in post-holiday traffic driving to Harrisburg and then had my hands full introducing and helping my dog Honey get along with the man-friend’s dog Macky….Honey Bun isn’t so used to other dogs.  It was a little touch-and-go at first, but I think I see a doggy friendship in their future!

Honey (doing her best Dobby impression) and Macky: BFS (Best Friends Someday) :)

Honey (doing her best Dobby impression) and Macky: BFS (Best Friends Someday) 🙂

So today, after a couple long car rides and two dogs keeping me on my toes for the day, I needed to get back on my mat.  I did so at Yoga Agora here in Astoria.  This studio is my backup whenever I can’t make class at The Yoga Room and don’t feel like doing a practice with Yoga Today.  It’s just $5 for a 75-minute class–not too shabby!  I took Anna’s class today, and I think this was my favorite class so far.  In fact, if I had to describe this class in one word, it would be delicious.  It was a nice, slow flow in which we held the poses nice and long (but not too long!) which really allowed me to stretch out my aching body.

As good as the physical practice felt, Anna’s words also provided inspiration.  The first was simply, “Vibration is good.”  This really resonated with me (you see what I did there?) because it made me think of my favorite part of the “om”:  when I say the “m” and I feel the vibration move through the length of my body, which is extremely calming…kind of like a baby riding in a car.  During the practice I really brought my awareness to the vibrations I was feeling through my breath and from the rest of the yogis in the room.  Feeling the positive energy throughout the practice reinforces that what we put out there comes back to you.

Anna ended class with this quote (I’m paraphrasing), “Our job is not to seek love, but to seek the barriers we’ve put up that prevent us from accepting love and let them go.”  This made me smile, because it has essentially been my practice since July; I recognized that I tended to stay away from heart openers and decided that it meant that those were the poses I needed most.  I began every practice with the intention to have an open heart, and it has made all the difference, both on and off the mat.

How have your intentions influenced your practice?

Leave a comment

Filed under Goals, Uncategorized, Yoga

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

November 24, 2012 · 10:26 pm

Day 12: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

When I began this 30-day Challenge, I somehow did not consider that Thanksgiving would fall in the middle of it.  However, the great thing about said challenge is that it has helped me prioritize my practice.  Even during the craziness of Thanksgiving, I was able to find a few minutes to do some sun salutations.  That said, I have to confess that yesterday I did not end up doing a physical practice or a meditation; in the traditional sense, at least.  Instead, I was spending the day with my best friend (aka my Twin) whom I hadn’t seen in over TWO YEARS!  Clearly we had some major catching up to do.

We spent the day visiting some of her favorite places in the city as well as some new ones that she hadn’t yet been to (Eataly anyone?) since she moved from the city to Seattle 3 years ago.  There were Starbucks holiday cups, incredible food, and tons of laughs reminiscing about college and our time as roommates here in NYC.  It was so wonderful to reconnect with a great friend after so much time.  Even though I didn’t do a physical practice, this day definitely left my soul feeling fulfilled.

Twin and I loving our wine and spaghetti squash bruschetta at Eataly!

Twin and I loving our wine and spaghetti squash bruschetta at Eataly!

Today I went to the open-level community class at The Yoga Room in Astoria.  I was pleasantly surprised to notice that my flexibility has increased noticeably in the last few weeks.  It used to be that my heels would kind-of-maybe reach the mat in downward facing dog by the end of my practice, and that was only sometime.  However, today I noticed that my heels were skimming the floor on my very first down dog, and completely touching the ground by the last one!  My forward folds are also deeper, which shows that my hammies are getting flexy…now I just have to keep working on those hips!

Have you noticed any differences in your practice recently?

Leave a comment

Filed under Goals, Yoga

Tagged as , , , , ,

November 15, 2012 · 4:53 pm

Day 4: Primary Series Express

Remember yesterday when I said I was going to get up for my roommate’s 7am vinyasa flow this morning?  Well, that didn’t happen.  I couldn’t quite get my act together so early in the morning, especially since I would have had to leave straight from the studio to go to the hospital where I teach yoga in the Pediatric department to renew my “volunteer” status (I use quotations marks because, as I talked about in this post, I am sponsored by the wonderful Starlight Children’s Foundation).

However, the wonderful thing about yoga is that it not only improves your physical flexibility on the mat, but also helps you to be flexible in your every day life.  The fact that I didn’t make it to the studio was not an invitation to beat myself up over it; after all, my practiced hadn’t been sacrificed, just changed.  Instead, I pressed snooze two extra times (my best friend will tell you that’s quite an improvement from college), got up, grabbed my laptop and rolled out my mat in my living room.  In just a few clicks, I’d found my favorite g0-to quick practice from Yoga Today, which I actually access through YouTube: Adi’s Primary Series Express.  Though I definitely prefer at least a full hour of practice, if not more, this is a really well-rounded class to do when you are pressed for time.

The Primary Series Express is a shortened version of the 90-minute Primary Series of Ashtanga yoga.  Ashtanga is a really powerful style of yoga that incorporates a lot of push ups and lift ups and jump throughs, of which the latter two I am still working on.  In case you aren’t sure what a lift up or a jump through look like, you can see examples here and here.  And no, it is not lost on me how ridiculously easy both of these yogis make it look.

Aside from a mat, yoga blocks are probably the best investment you can make for your practice–they are extremely versatile and can bring your yoga experience to a whole new level!

Oh sure, Michael Taylor, I will just bend my knees a few extra times and take a big deep breath to warm up and then I will lift myself up light as a feather.  No problem.  Except…that advice kind of helped me.  You see, recently when I practiced my jump through (using blocks under my hands of course!) I would end up majorly stubbing a toe or falling over completely.  This was strange only because I used to be able to do it (again, WITH blocks!) without much of a problem.  Something was getting in my head and I wasn’t sure what it was.  So today, after watching (…and scoffing) at these two videos, I gave it another go, taking some deep breaths before and voilà!  My legs were through.  It wasn’t pretty, but I got there, and now I can continue moving forward.  Which just shows how powerful taking a deep breath and focusing on the task at hand can be; it’s something I tell Charles all the time during school, but clearly need to work on myself.

What’s a pose that has been challenging to you?

Leave a comment

Filed under Goals, Uncategorized, Yoga

Tagged as , , , , ,

November 14, 2012 · 11:44 pm

Day 3: Unwind

I wasn’t sure it was going to happen after my 4am wakeup call this morning, but I did, in fact, get my yoga in today.  More specifically, this evening after Little Man went to sleep.  Seeing as I was exhausted and it was 9pm, I didn’t want to choose anything that was going to energize me and make it difficult to fall asleep.  I opted for this class from Neesha on Yoga Today entitled, “Unwind.”  The title says it all, really.

This website is really fantastic when you can't make it to a class--perfect if you're at home or traveling.

This website is really fantastic when you can’t make it to a class–perfect if you’re at home or traveling.

Although Neesha directs this class toward travelers who have recently flown, it turned out to be a really great option, as it was slow-moving but allowed you to go deep into some forward bends and hip openers to release the legs, all while connecting to the breath.  It also includes threading the needle pose, which is one of my absolute favorites to get into the neck and shoulders–bliss!  Part of practicing yoga is turning inward and tuning in to what you need in the moment.  While a big motivation for this challenge is to get my practice back to where it used to be, it is also about taking care of myself.  An hour of arm balances and vigorous flow may have strengthened my muscles, but it was not at all what my mind or body needed tonight.  Instead, I stretched, breathed and relaxed, preparing myself for a good night’s sleep.

And that is what I’m going to do now–I plan to get my flow on tomorrow at 7am with my roommate Kate’s class at The Yoga Room in LIC (don’t you love their new logo?  The lovely Kate designed it!).

Goodnight yogis!

Leave a comment

Filed under Yoga

Tagged as , , ,

February 21, 2012 · 11:21 am

A Good Sign

Many of you know that part of my gig as a yoga teacher is teaching children in the pediatric department at a hospital in Brooklyn.  This is thanks to the generosity of the Starlight Children’s Foundation, where I used to work.   I was (and am) so excited to be back working with Starlight, which does amazing work for seriously ill children and their families–such as providing yoga in the hospitals!

I was fully prepared for the emotions involved with working with sick children; I don’t think you ever get over seeing small children in a hospital bed (or crib for that matter).  However, what I had not been prepared for was the fact that it is virtually impossible to be prepared…at least, not in the way that I was familiar.  No day at the hospital is the same, so every week I am presented with any of the following: group classes, bedside breathing/guided imagery, private sessions with family members, teenagers, toddlers, and everything in between.

Oh the anxiety!

I spent the first few weeks feeling like a fake.  Thoughts of nervousness and doubt were constantly ambushing my mind.  Sure, I’m a yoga teacher and I get along really well with kids, but does that make me a great children’s yoga teacher at the hospital?  Not necessarily.  But how do I become one?  I just spent 20 minutes doing yoga with a little girl’s Barbies, how is that going to help her?  That group class was chaotic, didn’t flow at all, and the one little boy didn’t try any of the poses or breaths.  Why are you even doing this?

Then one day I was leaving, once again being overly critical of my teaching, when I saw a sign with this quote posted on the wall just outside of Pediatrics:

“It’s not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing.”

~Mother Theresa

And it all clicked.  What I am doing is great, not because my teaching is perfect, but because my intentions are good.  In yoga, we always begin our practice by setting an intention; life off the mat is no different.  The mission of the Starlight Children’s Foundation is to brighten the lives of seriously ill children and their families–which is exactly my intention.  So if playing yoga Barbie brightened that little girl’s day, then that was successful.  Keeping this in mind has given me greater confidence in my abilities as a yoga teacher, which in turn has helped me to relax and just have FUN with it–because at the end of the day, seeing a smile or hearing that what we did felt good to a child is way better than teaching the “perfect class” (what is that, anyway?).

Who knows more about giving love than Mother Teresa?

Last week, I had the opportunity to have  a second session with a little boy who I’d met the week before.  Then, he had limited mobility, so he stayed in bed and we had the most wonderful session of guided imagery; the places he went and the things he saw were truly heart-warming.  This time, I was glad to see that he was up and walking about, with just a slight hunch in his shoulders.  I asked him what he would like to do and he said, “I think I should do some stretching since I can move around more now.”  We ended up squishing ourselves into the only space we could find.  A few months ago, I probably would have been stressed out because the space was not ideal and limited what we could do.  But this time I kept Mother Teresa’s words in mind and, together with his mom, we breathed deeply as we did basic seated stretches, twists, heart openers and some standing balancing poses (his favorite).  We giggled as he renamed Cobbler Pose “peanut butter and jelly” (because your feet touch like a sandwich), and encouraged mom when her hips weren’t as open as his to move into a pose.  When we were finished, he stood up and his mom pointed out how much taller he was standing.  He had a huge grin on his face and told me that he felt more relaxed, which in turn made me feel wonderful.

When you put all the love into the doing, it comes back to you many times over.  All it took was a sign on the wall for me to realize it.  What signs have you been given?

1 Comment

Filed under Dharma, Goals, Non-Judgement, Yoga

Tagged as , , , ,

February 9, 2012 · 12:04 am

Stop, Collaborate, and Listen

This weekend I visited my 94-year-old grandparents (but you didn’t hear their age from me).  They are both amazing–still living in the house my mother grew up in, my grandmother cooks and cleans (lugging a vacuum cleaner up and down the stairs) and my grandfather takes walks and swims after a quadruple bypass 8 years ago.  Both still drive, both have amazing memories of names of people, places and events from over seventy years ago.  And both grew up in a time very different from today–at least in terms of social norms.

Those are some good-looking 94-year-olds.

So, needless to say, I was taken by surprise when during the visit, my grandfather asked me how I felt about gay marriage.  Anyone who’s met Harry knows he’s made some comments that only a 90+ year old could get away with these days, so what was even more surprising about his question was that he was genuinely interested in what I thought.  He wasn’t bringing it up to start an argument, but seemingly to get a new perspective in order to see all sides.

I told him what I thought–that any couple who loves each other and is committed each other should be able to get married, no matter their gender.  When he asked, “But what about the children being raised by gay parents?” I responded that, in my opinion, a home with two loving parents is better than one where the parents are constantly fighting and creating a toxic environment–regardless of gender.  Not to mention the numerous financial and legal benefits that come with marriage that many same-sex couples haven’t had access to.

I heard his side too:  That it was something he was never exposed to (that he was aware of) for most of his life, so it certainly wasn’t part of his social norms.  Furthermore, he worried about the children of homosexual couples and if they would be affected (having had a difficult upbringing himself, he is always worried about children in any situation).  For the most part, he told me with a thoughtful expression that he “just couldn’t wrap his brain around it.”

In the end, I’m pretty sure I didn’t change my grandfather’s mind on the issue, but that wasn’t my goal, nor was it what I took from our conversation.  Rather, it was really refreshing to have a civil conversation about this controversial issue.  In a time where people post their opinions on issues and current events in social media (such as…what I am doing in this blog…) the art of lively, face to face conversation, the exchange of opinions, and debate has become a rarity.  Instead, it is replaced by “likes,” retweets, and short comments that may or may not support the posted opinion.  In this forum, you don’t really have to listen, tone can be misinterpreted, judgements made, and debates can escalate to arguments or end abruptly in silence.

In yoga, we practice non-judgement: of ourselves, our yoga practice, and others.  Of course, the key word there is practice, and that effort can make a huge difference in our outlook on ourselves, others, and the world as a whole.  When it comes to issues like gay marriage, those who disagree with it can lose sight of the fact that the decisions surrounding it affect real, live people.  If those on the opposing side of an issue really stopped to see the full picture, and even ask questions like my grandfather, they may just find that the people they are judging are not so different from them.  Take Ellen Degeneres, for example.  This week on her show, Ellen responded to critics of her JC Penny partnership (who are against it simply because she is gay) by saying, “I stand for honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated, and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values. That’s what I stand for.”  That sure sounds like someone I would want representing my company, doesn’t it?

This week brought great news to gay marriage supporters in California and Washington, with Prop 8 being ruled unconstitutional and the gay marriage bill being passed, respectively.  As support continues to grow, I hope that more conversations happen, whether face to face or via media, which foster genuine interest  in differing perspectives and debate without judgement.  Total agreement on every issue is not what our country needs; practicing those traditional values that Ellen talked about–equality, kindness and the Golden Rule–is what will truly bring people together.  My relationship with my grandfather is proof of that.

2 Comments

Filed under Dharma, Non-Judgement, Tolerance, Yoga

Tagged as , , , , ,

November 24, 2011 · 2:27 pm

The Wisdom of Coach Taylor

Extremely grateful for this love muffin.

“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” One of the greatest lines from a TV show if you ask me. But when you really think about it, it’s also a great perspective to take in life. In yoga, we dedicate our practice to emptying the mind and filling the heart in order to see more clearly and live more deeply. Coach Taylor would probably scoff, but he is quite the yogi.

I have been feeling this mantra even more deeply in recent months. My heart is so full of gratitude for all of the incredible changes and amazing opportunities that have come my way. But even more importantly, I am so thankful for all of my family and friends, who have been such an amazing support system along the way. Thank you will never be enough to express how I feel about all of you.

While I won’t be with my family today for Thanksgiving, I am fortunate to be able to spend it with my friend Ashleigh at her family’s alpaca farm! Extremely grateful to have such hospitable friends all over the country.

Wherever you are and whomever you are with today, I wish you all a healthy, safe and delicious Thanksgiving….and of course, clear eyes and full hearts.

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Goals, Meditation, Yoga

Tagged as , , ,

October 26, 2011 · 4:45 pm

The Universe is all Green Lights

Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to make some pretty significant changes in my life:  first by becoming a yoga teacher and getting to teach to real, live people (adults and children!) and then getting a new job that not only affords me the time to teach yoga, but is also going to give me incredible travel opportunities and challenge me professionally.  Right about now I would have to say my life is pretty grand.  I keep asking myself, how the heck did this happen?  Am I just a stupidly lucky girl who was in the right place at the right time?  Maybe.  But I believe it’s a little bit more than that.

Less than three months ago, my life was still pretty great.  I was pursuing teaching yoga and had a fantastic job teaching preschool with wonderful teachers and students.  Yoga was really starting to take off and I was getting a lot of opportunities to teach.  One such opportunity was teaching children in a pediatric unit at a hospital in Brooklyn.  Amazing!  But all of this happened while I was on summer vacation.  How could I make this work with 8-hour school days and an hour commute to and from work each day?  I knew that I was going to have to make a change; I began thinking that yoga would have to wait a year, and then I’d figure out another way to do it.  I considered leaving New York when the school year was finished.  I even submitted a resume to a school with a better commute and shorter hours, thinking that would solve everything.  Not only was I thinking these things, but I began voicing my concerns to friends and family.  “How great would it be to be able to teach school while having time during the week to teach yoga?” was something that I often thought to myself and aloud.

Then one morning I was having brunch with several girlfriends after teaching a yoga class, and one of them asked if I’d be interested in a new opportunity as a private teacher traveling with a family.  My initial thought was, sure, that sounds amazing, but I can’t do that, I have a job.  But as the day went on, I continued to think about it until I said to myself, “But really, why not?”  Over the next few weeks, I talked to my friend about the job a great deal more until I finally came to the conclusion that it was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up.

Perhaps it is all luck.  I just happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right friend who had this opportunity for me.  There is definitely some truth to that.  But there is another factor, or rather, factors.  The first being: me.  My willingness to bring change into my life.  And with that, an open mind.  Just putting something out into the universe isn’t going to give us exactly what we want (because if that’s the case, money would be raining down from the sky all over the country).  No, once you put something out there, it’s important to be open to the fact that sometimes what we want comes to us in a completely different package than we were expecting–like this job, which I wasn’t looking for but turned out to be exactly what I needed.  And other times, we don’t get something we thought we wanted because something even better, that we really need, is right around the corner (For example, that other school I applied to?  I never even got an interview.  At first I was disappointed…but now?  Really grateful.).

Recently, a friend shared with me this saying: “The universe is all green lights.”  Meaning, whatever we put out in the universe is what we will get.   If you are a person that says, “I always lose my keys,” then…you will always lose your keys.  But if you say, “I am learning to remember where I put my keys,” then maybe, just maybe, you will start remembering (my friend says this has really worked for her!).

It’s not about being unrealistic.  It’s about being willing to make changes and having the ability to recognize the open doors, even if they’re where you never expected to find them.  I am extremely grateful I saw the green light and walked through my door.  Have you found yours?

1 Comment

Filed under Dharma, Goals, Yoga

Tagged as , ,

September 1, 2011 · 7:35 pm

Happy Yoga Month!

 Hello Yogis!  September is National Yoga Month, which was started as a way to bring awareness to the practice of  yoga and healthy living.  In honor of this occasion, I am offering a free private or semi-private session to anyone  interested, whether you are brand new to yoga, are interesting in deepening your practice, or just want some quality Colleen time.  It’s never too late (or early!) to start, and what a better way to do it than a free private session?

If you’re interested, you can visit my contact page to email me.  Please include your contact info and whether or not you’ve ever practiced yoga, and what you’re looking for in a private session.

Feel free to spread the word!  I look forward to hearing from you.

Shanti!

Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal. –Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois

Leave a comment

Filed under Meditation, Yoga

Tagged as , ,

July 27, 2011 · 1:55 am

Beauty Is All Around Us

Rain Mats

 

Double Rainbow!

While I was completing my yoga training, I was lucky enough to gain support from friends who were willing to let me use them as guinea pigs to practice teaching. Summer quickly moved in and we moved our classes to the Socrates Sculpture Park just down the street from my apartment in Astoria, which, if you haven’t been there, is a must-see (my class is a perfect excuse to visit!). Not only have we been lucky enough to find a beautiful grassy spot to practice every week, but we’ve had some memorable moments that have made me feel especially grateful for my friends, my yoga practice, and this gorgeous city we live in.

Two such experiences happened within the last month. One day, the skies opened up as soon as we arrived; my resourceful friends quickly turned their mats into full-body rain shields. We couldn’t decide whether to wait or run for cover, so instead we just laughed–for me, big, glorious belly laughs–with mats on our heads, withstanding the whipping wind and rain. In the end, we were rewarded with a full double rainbow, and once we finished properly freaking out over it, we were able to practice.

Then tonight, the Metropolitan Opera happened to be performing at the same time as our scheduled class. I’m not one to create playlists for my classes (or perhaps I should say, “Until today, I haven’t created playlists, but maybe in the future..”:)), but I would also never turn one down that was already created–especially by the Met! It was another incredible moment of presence and awareness for me, and hopefully that came through in my teaching. We were able to rest in Savasana with the sounds of “Old Man River” in the background, and just managed to avoid another downpour (though I was waiting for dementors to begin descending from the sky as we walked home, it was so dark).

Yoga teaches us mindfulness, of our bodies, our minds and our environments. This kind of awareness helps us find joy in every moment, no matter how big or small. While we’ve had some incredibly and overtly beautiful experiences during our classes at the Sculpture Park, and I continue to experience appreciation and joy for the subtle as well: the orangey glow of the sun falling behind the clouds, a child walking by with a mound of soft-serve on a cone (with the sounds of Mr. Softee in the background–sounds of the city being our other built-in class soundtrack), and the stillness that comes over our patch of grass during Savasana are just a few. I am incredibly grateful for this space and my amazing yogi friends. I’d love for you to join us sometime.

Blissful Savasana

Leave a comment

Filed under Meditation, Yoga