The emotions of yoga

One thing that I was extremely surprised about is chanting in yoga class I had never been exposed to chanting in any form.  When I was introduced to chanting I felt joy. I feel joy from inside of my spirit. Chanting helps me resonate to a high frequency or move my energy from inside me to beyond myself like the ripples on a smooth body of water, they just keep moving outward getting larger and larger. It took me some time to learn the chants, but now I can’t stop singing chants. I received a wonderful CD. of Syl Carson chanting and explaining what the meaning of the each chant is. Syl does a wonderful job of singing and bringing the harmony and reverent joy to each of the chants on the CD. she produced. I have used this CD. in my class. the students loved it. I can’t help singing the chants around the house. I had no idea a few months ago that singing chants would become a wonderful addition to my life. Singing chants focuses my mind and I express gratitude through the singing of the chants.

Bodhi Yoga.

Yoga

A day to day life style . How is the yoga class I facilitate? In my opinion is going   great! I had one class member today say( when you first invited me to yoga class I didn’t think I would like it.)of course she really likes doing the bodhi flow and all the poses and pushing the edges of her practice. She says she can feel it in muscles she hasn’t used in a long time and that’s  a good thing.

We were discussing cell memory, how after you warm up you can go farther into the pose, to where you left off last time and build on that. The core class is about five people but now they are inviting friends. I’m excited about that the more the merrier.

 Namsate  Cheri

Bodhi Yoga.

using yaga as a healing modality.

Using yoga as a healing modality.

As a practitioner of Simply Healed formerly (Calyco Healing)I spend a lot of time moving and releasing negative energy.  I do this for myself and others. Clearing my mind and calming my body, and getting in touch with my spirit. Transforming  negative beliefs that hold you back, and deepening connections to my spiritual source. These are some of the benefits of energy healing. I can find the same benefits in yoga if I look for them.

Yoga is also a modality of great healing. One way to heal with yoga is paying attention to the emotions from the beginning of a practice all the way to the end.  At the beginning of a practice I ask myself what is needed that day. Maybe it’s a high energy day and I need a lot of rajasic movement maybe it’s slow stretching and holding the stretch for a long time.

Breathing is a wonderful way to calm the mind and spirit. vinyasa and asana practice are  great ways to transform negative beliefs that hold you back. When you practice a pose and discover that you can! That is breaks the false beliefs we impose on ourselves. Some comments I have heard in class are, I didn’t know  I could do that .I am surprised how good that pose feels. I’m feeling so much better now that I do yoga.

 I find that savasana pose is essential to any yoga practice. When I first started 15 min of savasana seemed like a long time and now it’s not long enough. When I start I scan my body and send healing energy to wherever I am feeling stiff or sore or a little tight. Savasana is a good time to reconnect with my spirit. Some times savasana can be an emotional release. Once for no apparent reason I spent the whole time weeping, my eyes were just crying I’m still not completely sure why. But crying is sometimes the response to an emotional release.

In my opinion, yoga always stirs up some emotion and yoga can open us to release the unwanted emotion or work through it. We can also find reservoirs of positive flowing emotions that feed our body and spirit.

Nasaste Cheri

Bodhi Yoga.

something about hands on adjusting

Something about hands on adjusting. That is the assignment.  I need to post one more blog to finish session three of the bodhi yoga teacher training requirements.

Why is this so hard for me? I think, because I have to come out of my comfort zone and place my views Into a public forum. One good thing is I don’t have many followers on my blog.

 I have use hands on adjustments for about 2 months as part of my yoga classes. I instruct on Tuesday and Friday morning. Everyone says that savasana pose adjustments are great. I can’t get around to everyone every class but I try to do as much as I can. I am glad that my friends are willing to be my ( pigs of guinea). I Have  a 5 year old nephew   who just loves to lie down and I adjust him in savasana pose, he really likes his neck rubbed.

 So class usually goes like this, warm up including ujjayi breathing then we practice the bodhi flow a vinasana practice and then asana practice. I usually pick a theme for the day such as abbs.  Standing poses, twists or forward folds.  well you get the idea. During the asana practice I will adjust people’s poses. Everyone likes to have the adjustments sometimes it makes it easier to do the pose. This sometimes creates more length in the pose or a more open pose. All of the students that come to my class I know quite well so doing a  hands on adjustment is very comfortable. Then we finish with twists and savasana. Our om is coming along nicely sometimes it is great and sometimes it is a bit off its a work in progress.  yoga is a work in progress  on a lot of levels. It’s not about the pose as much as is it is about observing how your mind, breathing and energy are affected by the pose . This can give us insights into ourselves. Namaste cheri

Bodhi Yoga.

Om. What is om?

I was recently introduced to chanting as part of a yoga class. Chants are chanted in the original sanskirt language. The first time I heard a chant I was intrigued, as I have become more familiar with chanting I have started using Om to end a yoga practice. At first this was a little awkward but the last time the group all chanted Om together it was a transformation! It was awesome the voices of all the group came together as one. Our voices all together made a wonderful vibration that brought the group together. Each person’s voice could be heard but they were all together as one integrated whole the sound and vibration connected the group, not just or voices but the vibration and emotion. It was really beautiful to be a part of. This simple chant can be powerful.

Namaste Cheri

Bodhi Yoga.

Is Yoga for Everbody?

Is yoga for everybody?

In my opinion the answer is a resounding yes

In my experience yoga can be done by any- body, not just those who are more physically fit or thin or those who are young. I started a class and instructed a group for a chair yoga class and they were all over 60. Just the stretching and light isometric exercise along with the ujjayi breathing is very helpful for all ages.

For myself I have only been practicing yoga for three to four years and I am starting to incorporate  yoga  as a way of life.

Some sports or exercises are so competitive and have only one winner.  With yoga no one has to lose for the other person to win. There is a little competition in a class setting, it’s human nature to compare yourself with others. The great thing about yoga is everyone can explore the edges of their own practice. There is room enough for everyone to win.

What do I mean by that ? and what do I consider to be a (win ) in my practice. I have come to love the chants, something I would not have experienced on my own. Yoga is done in an environment where you can try new things and be comfortable. Maybe It’s a new pose or chanting or om or just showing up for any exercise class. Another benefit is the history and the mystique. The being part of something bigger than yourself and the awareness of the collective. I also notice my stamina is greatly improved. My breath work is paying off I can work harder and longer. There is a satisfaction in doing a difficult pose that I thought initially was out of the realm of possibilities to ever attain. I have heard that yoga slows the aging process and I am all for that. So in my opinion that’s why you should consider incorporating a regular yoga practice.

Bodhi Yoga.

what are you looing for?

Breath within the breath? The pranic energy between the poses?

One of the goals of yoga is to gather and harvest the life energy and create an unobstructed  and

balanced flow of  of pranic energy through the body.

In yoga class I try to encourage the practitioners to experience this flow of energy.

One way to do this is hands on adjustments. A little change of hand position (Hand facing forward) in

Trikonasana   enables the yogi to rotate the shoulder and get more lift in the pose. Is an example of  a

simple but effective way to let the praic energy flow. There are adjustments with most poses, I won’t go through them here.

 The yoga group that meets with me Tuesdays and Friday mornings are especially fond of the

adjustments in savasana pose.

 I receive comments on how good the adjustments feel and the openness after an adjustment. One class

member said “ you have healing hands. That feels so much better.”

I think that trying to find the place where the pose is balanced and you feel the energy throughout your

Body.This feeling  is one of the main reasons why people practice yoga. To find the joy or the (laghima )a

sanskirt word that means to levitate. To do a asana with grace and ease in this instance.

 To Quote Syl Carson “ The space between the pose is as important as the pose itself.”


Bodhi Yoga.