Have you ever wondered what having “too much pitta” means or why you might want to “balance your vata dosha” as part of your practice? We have too, which is why we’re all lucky to have Felicia Tomasko, who serves on the board of directors of the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine and the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, teaching us what’s what and how to weave Ayurvedic principles into our yoga practice.
If you haven’t yet explored the Ayurveda classes on our site, here’s a taste of the foundational classes and lectures we’ve created and some of the yoga classes you’ll love, love, love once you get started:
30 Minute Talk on Calming Vata Dosha through Restorative Practice – The vata dosha is comprised of the energetic qualities of the elements of air and ether, or empty space. It controls the movement in our bodies and the excessive movement we are exposed to on a daily basis increases and can even aggravate this dosha, leaving us more vulnerable to feeling worn-out and depleted.
90 minute Restorative Class to Calm Vata Dosha – Slow, languid, luxurious restorative practices using fluid circular movements, supportive held poses, forward folds and time on the earth help to calm the nervous system, the heart and the mind and help us recover from the ravaging effects of unremitting excessive stress. When our nerves are raw and frayed, a compassionate restorative practice helps us to press the reset button to feel rejuvenated.
30 Minute Talk on Balancing the Pitta Dosha – The primary element of the pitta dosha is fire. It controls all of the forces of transformation in our internal body, Maintaining a healthy relationship with our inner fire is key to promoting our health and well-being. How do we keep the flame of our inner digestive fire burning without it spreading throughout our entire body like a forest fire? This is the subject of our discussion.
90 Minute Class to Juggle the Flames of Pitta Dosha – We begin with cooling pranayama practices to reduce excess heat in the body and then compassionately explore a slow vinyasa practice that aims to create balance in the central core of the body, the seat of pitta with postures in a variety of positions that strengthen and open without overheating. For the fiery pitta who needs challenge, we flow through twisting balancing postures connecting feet to the earth. While this practice may at times be warming, its slow pace and use of cooling breath practices walks the Middle Path.
30 Minute Talk on Cultivating a Healthy Kapha Dosha – The Earth is ultimately the source of all of our nurturing, support and unconditional love and the kapha dosha, the energy of water and earth embodies this fully. In our need to feel grounded and supported, sometimes we look for love in all the wrong places, or other times the weight of the world around us is heavy and stagnant throughout our bodies. How do we create more stimulation and circulation and move energy with compassion and love? That’s the question explored here.
90 Minute Class to Compassionately Balance Kapha Dosha – Heart opening poses, backbends and twits all increase circulation through the upper chest, the seat of the kapha dosha in the body. These types of poses lift our mood, stimulate mind and body and allow our inner luminosity to shine forth, clearing off the dust and debris. While this is a warming practice, it is suitable for all levels, including beginners and the emphasis is on stimulating while maintaining a strong stable connection to the earth and cultivating safety with each expansive pose.
Once you’ve had a chance to familiarize (or re-familiarize!) yourself with the foundational Ayurvedic principles and how they can become part of your regular yoga practice, you can take other Ayurveda classes on our site and be on the lookout for new classes added regularly.
Ah, Lotus Pose. Padmasana. The pose you think of when you think of yoga. The pose that is elusive to many though it looks like it should. just. be. so. easy.
Thanks to Jason Crandell, it eventually will be. His four part tutorial on Lotus will get you ready, help you develop approaches, and ease you step-by-step into the pose. Here are each of the four classes, ready when you are:
Lotus Pose Tutorial: Part One – The first episode of our 4-part practice and tutorial dedicated to developing lotus pose (padmasana). You will emphasize opening your inner-groins and learn how to fold your legs into lotus with greater safety, comfort and skill (read, your knees will probably be much, much happier with this approach). Of course, you will also open your outer-hips and glide through a couple of sun-salutations and relevant standing poses.
Lotus Pose Tutorial: Part Two – The second episode of our 4-part practice and tutorial dedicated to developing lotus pose (padmasana). In this segment you will prepare for lotus by focusing on opening your outer-hips and deep hip-rotators. You will also learn a second way to approach folding your legs into lotus. And, again, you will work on a few relevant standing poses, open your inner-groins, and drop into a few sun salutations (I even sneak a couple of mellow backbends into this one!)
Lotus Pose Tutorial: Part Three – The third episode of our 4-part practice and tutorial dedicated to developing lotus pose (padmasana). In this practice you will prepare for lotus with a combination of outer-hip and inner-groin opening. And, here’s how this practice is significantly different from episodes 1 and 2: you will do quite a bit of deep opening while laying on your back. You will develop an even more refined understanding of the neuro-muscular pattern of lotus by working on folding your legs without using your hands. A third method of coming into lotus is presented.
Lotus Post Tutorial: Part Four – The last episode of our 4-part practice and tutorial dedicated to developing lotus pose (padmasana). Now that you’ve developed steadiness and ease in lotus, what’s next (other than sitting quietly, of course)? This sequence is your answer. After practicing several deep hip and groin openers you will transition into a series of half and full-lotus variations, including lotus in handstand.
Posted on February 3rd, 2011Tara Judelle8 comments
Ever wondered which books Tara references in her classes or what she reads? You’re in luck as Tara shares her passion for reading and a few books that she highly recommends:
I buy books like some women buy shoes. The most treacherous place for me to go is the Bodhi Tree Bookstore in LA, and now that I have the Amazon Kindle App on my iPad, it’s all over – even from Bali I can shop for books.
I have a specific passion of late for books that create the bridge between science and/or awakening spirituality. As a seeker there has been a certain desire to find the endgame books- although there is no end game- but after spending years and years trying to grasp Sanskrit sutras, mistaking the “finger pointing at the moon for the moon itself” - it’s kind of awesome when people just lay it out there.
So, these are my top book recommendations from 2010 readings, all are referenced in my YogaGlo classes. Those of you that have asked for my sources, here they are. I’m only too happy to facilitate the conversation!
1/2. Gnarly and often misrepresented, the topic of Enlightenment/ Awakening is a mysterious and often obscured subject. There are two books that describe both the process and the demystification of a lot of myths around it best: Wake Up Nowby Steve Boudian, a Zen Buddhist turned direct path teacher and former editor of The Yoga Journal and The Enlightenment Process by Judith Blackstone, a dancer who broke her spine and through the process of healing “woke up”. Both give kinesthetic descriptions of what it is, and feels like, pitfalls of getting caught “halfway up the mountain” and also have a very clear way of talking about what IT is.
3. Laksmanjoo’s Shiva Sutras is the must have book on Kasmir Shaivism, more dog eared than any book I own (pre Kindle ap) this book essentially addresses all the same things as the previous books but now establishes you within the epicenter of a an ancient but sophisticated system for understanding consciousness. Each sutra is a walking Koan that unpacks itself over days, months, years of contemplation.
4. In crossing the bridge from the “spiritual” to the worldly, Columbia University Press book Strategic Intuition is a great inspiration. It outlines a four step process where “flashes of insight” or coup d’oielle in the minds of people bring two preexisting ideas together in a unique assemblage that moves culture/ consciousness forward. Using varied examples from Buddha, Napolean, Bill Gates, Martin Luther King this book lays bare the process of “downloading” new concepts that shift consciousness forward.
5.How Life Moves by Caryn McHose and Kevin Frank offers a new way of looking a movement that uses the story of biological evolution- from a single cell to a human being- to newly understand the awareness of our body. This way of looking at the body offers new ways looking at the body and the possibility of forging new pathways.
I am always, ALWAYS so grateful and humbled by others book recommendations. My hope is that we use this unprecedented body of wisdom, combined with an unprecedented number of people practicing in their body/minds to expand our collective awareness.
Let’s keep the conversation moving!
Have enough to read yet? Stay tuned as we feature more favorite books of other YogaGlo teachers in the coming weeks and months!
Many of you joined us for our recent 30:30 challenge. Still others decided to extend beyond to 60:60 or 90:90. We applaud each and every one of you for setting an intention and making it happen. We know that many will take up a new thirty day challenge at any given moment in time (on the first day of a month, the first hour of a day, the first day of a year!), so we thought we’d create a “one-stop shop” of thirty days of yoga for your 30:30 challenges. All days with a * link to our original blog posts and any teacher insights posted on that day. Those without a * take you directly to the recommended class.
As you begin your 30:30 or 60:60 or 90:90 journey, let us know how you’re doing in the comments. Check-in halfway. Check-in when it’s going well. Check-in when you want to roll up your mat and quit. Share what you’re feeling and learning. We’d love to hear from you and know that other YogaGlo members and 30:30 yogis the world over would love to know how others are getting along with this challenge.
You can DO this!
See you online and on our collective global yoga mats…
It is the FINAL day of our 30:30 challenge if you started with us on October 1st. You did it! You experienced changes in your body, in your mind and in the connection between the two. How do you feel? Let us know.
Whether you are ending today or are somewhere else in the process, Noah Mazé offers us all a unique perspective on what committing to such a 30:30 challenge means and even hints that we might want to take it up…again. Soon:
Lather, Rinse, Repeat…reflections on practice
Dr. Douglas Brooks, Tantric Scholar, quotes the above from the shampoo bottle when he speaks about yogic practice. That we practice (lather), to experience our bodies, minds and hearts more fully, and thus feel better about ourselves and the world. Eventually that wears off in forgetfulness (rinse). Then we get to do it again (repeat)! And again, and again, for 30 days in a row, 30 months in a row, 30 years in a row. A lot of life is doing the same thing over and over agin (lather, rinse, repeat), we eat everyday, we sleep every night.
Practice becomes a recursive process, where we are empowered to choose what kind of practice (vinyasa, backbends, inversions, meditation, restorative etc), how long is long enough (5 minutes, 90 minutes), and what is the length of the cycle (30 days, for example). We can taste our freedom EVERY TIME we practice. We taste the bliss (ananda shakti) EVERY TIME we practice. Some days it is profound, some days it is mundane, some days ecstatic, some days peaceful. But the commitment, and repetition–in other words keeping our promises– (did someone say 30/30?) is where the value lives. Patanjali invokes this concept in the Yogasutra with the term “abhyasa” (1.12), usually translated as practice, but literally means “to go about it.” This reiterated practice, from one’s inner commitment has the power to transform our bodies/minds/hearts. The idea is that you become the company you keep, so keep great company (the company of yoga, uplifting teachings, great beings who inspire commitment), and offer your greatness to others. The contrast to a recursive process, of iterated practice, is a vicious cycle. A vicious cycle is more the notion of being captive–victim even–to the whirlwind of life. The notion of vicious cycle approaches Einstein’s definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again but somehow expecting different results.”
On a personal note, it is the years of recursive practice that has given me a deep well of inner resources to draw on. Those phases of my life that I was able to make the commitment to practice for hours a day, every day, month after month, now pays me in dividends on a given week of busy life, work and family commitments, where I am squeezing practice into the business of my “householder” life. Because I have embraced my practice for so long, practice is there to support me when I need it. If my back is stiff, I know what to do. If my shoulders and neck are tweaked, I know what to do. If my heart and mind are misaligned, I have practices that I can do to create deeper harmony. Meditation is the same way, where the consistency of my practice lets me access the inner depths even if I only have a few minutes to sit quietly in reflection on a given day. I am constantly drawing on the resources I have gained from long hours and a long history of practice, to apply in creative ways to the challenges of marriage, fatherhood, business and other aspects of life–menial and great. Even the simple and profound remembrance of breathing can be the key for me to shift out of a vicious cycle into a recursive process of empowered participation.
In reflecting on the great vow (maha vrata) of your commitment of 30:30:
How was this a recursive process of freedom choosing to practice again and again?
What results have your experienced from doing some of the same things again and again?
What yoga adds to life, is awareness. Awareness comes from our freedom. Freedom manifests as choice. How has your awareness changed?
What have you learned about your body?
What has changed in your body?
What has changed in your mind and heart?
What results do you see in your relationships as a result of the recursive process of your practice?
Congratulations on your endeavor of learning, growth and evolution. May it always continue.
May we keep the company that inspires and uplifts us, and offer our greatness to our families and communities, to this world.
I look forward to seeing you on the mat again and again.
We are in the last week of our 30:30 challenge – the toughest part of the challenge for us – so we thought a little inspiration from Tara Judelle was in order. Many of you joined us for 30:30 recently…so her message of rewiring your behavior patterns will hopefully resonate with each of you, whether you’re on Day 25 of the challenge or Day Ten:
“I recently began a love affair with The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, MD. In a nutshell, our brains, and the entire wiring of our neural net (our complex of nerves and chemicals creating our perceiving awareness) is an entirely plastic affair. Neuroplasticity, is the study of how our brain reshapes itself based on WHAT WE PAY ATTENTION TO.
Basically the story is this simple: If you pay focused attention to anything, with repetition, you build new neural pathways to be able to do the chosen thing. People always ask me “how many times should I do yoga a week?” I don’t know, how quickly do you want to set pathways in your body. If I am learning a new language (one of the BEST things you can do for the longevity of your brain, whether a speaking language or a physical vocabulary) I could take a class once a week at the community college, or I could move to the country and dive in. Studies show that the immersive approach has a far better track record of resetting patterns neurologically in you brain.
I recently decided, based on this book (and this is really exposing the inner geek in me) to start writing left handed. I am right handed for the record. While I’m learning Indonesian (I’m not kidding). My writing at first was like a child’s. Course and broad, and I couldn’t even think with my adult mind while trying to write this way. But the more attention I’ve paid to it, the quicker the writing becomes. I’m experimenting to rewire my patterns.
30/30 is the perfect, PERFECT opportunity to set new patterns in your body. Whether you are veteran or beginner, it takes about 21 days to really show rewiring results, the pathways get thicker and juicier the more you reinforce them.”
As so many of us are practicing with each other all over the world in this 30:30 challenge, we can’t think of a better Day 25 class than Tara’s 90 minute class on the aspects of Kula – community of the heart. Thank you for being part of the growing YogaGlo community. We hope you are learning more about yourself with every day of the 30:30 challenge.
It’s Day Four of our intention to practice yoga for thirty consecutive days. To help guide you through this challenge, we’ll be featuring YogaGlo teacher classes and some of their insights with you throughout the month.
First up? The fantastic Marc Holzman, all the way from Paris, shares the concept of Abhyasa and how 30:30 flows perfectly into it:
In the 2008 novel Outliers: The Story of Success author Malcom Gladwell posits that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to really master a subject area or skill. If you are new to yoga and the 30:30 challenge, congratulations! You only have 9,970 hours to go!!
I prefer to turn to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.13 where he introduces the concept of abhyasa: regular practice, over time, with devotion. For the .01% of the population that is fortunate enough to be born fully awake and enlightened and blessed with a cirque-du-soleil asana practice, they may be able to skip this step. For the rest of us, it takes abhyasa. I also turn to my beloved teacher Dr. Paul Muller-Ortega who reminds me every day to meditate. Every day. EVERY day. Sadhana (spiritual practice) takes work. It’s an ordeal. But the fruits are immeasurable and divine.
I recently saw Dr. Ortega. We were learning a sacred, complicated new mantra. His advice to us was that when we learn a new mantra, it is important to recite it several times a day EVERY day for one month. This “activates” the powerful vibration of the mantra and begins to imprint it in our body/mind/heart. After this period of inculcation, the mantra can be placed in our sacred tool belt and used as we see fit. But those first 30 days of activation are crucial. The 30:30 is no different. Asana is really an embodied form of mantra.
I ask you all to take this 30:30 challenge. I have done it before in various forms and it is awesome. Listen, the body is a temple. But the body does need to be sweetly disciplined. Given the choice, it wants to stay in bed an extra two hours.
In our practice, the body doesn’t naturally just slip into proper alignment. We have to put it there with effort and intention. If you are brand new to yoga, the 30:30 is an auspicious starting point. If you are an experienced practitioner, the 30:30 is an excellent way to jump-start and bring new life to a practice that may have become a bit stale.
30 days is not that long. My love and support is with each of you … Abhyasa Baby!!
Class notes: Discipline of Freedom. Discipline derives from Love and Devotion. Strong anusara flow using the discipline of the principals of alignment (especially muscle energy) and good foundation in order to dance with the softer qualities of devotion.
We’ll be taking this class today to practice the concept Marc speaks so beautifully about: abhyasa. Will you be joining us? Check-in and let us know how you’re doing.
Over the last year and a half through the medium of video classes, I have endeavored to share thematically, mentally, physically, experimentally what I’m exploring in my own practice. I wanted to allow space of process to unfold, and for the unfolding to have a laboratory that expands beyond the physical classroom. My hope is that through this medium things can be practiced again and again, and addressed with questions and answers to lead us collectively into greater awareness.
Through this blog, it is now my intention to offer more insight and information. Since a 90 minute, or one hour class can only hold so much information, I would like to begin adding additional information for those of you who are diligently following some of the through lines of the classes.
Heel foot, Ankle foot. Maybe this teaching should have come first. But in the circuitous nature of self discovery it occurs at the time that I learned it. If we understand how the feet function, authentically, the structure as it is designed to be utilized, it not only shifts our understanding of the foundation of movement but also clears most back pains. We, as a human race, created feet that are meant to be all terrain vehicles. They were designed to climb barefoot up mountains and to run across vast planes. And in truth they are a phenomenal invention. They have a stability component and a mobility component. The stability side is called heel foot, and it consists of the calcaneus (heel) and the fourth and fifth metatarsals. The mobility component consists of the talus, which lies on top of the calcaneus and glides towards the third toe, second toe, big toe. When we walk, move, or balance we can utilize the feet by relating them to the pelvis. The stability foot relates to the outer hip, and the mobility component relates to the inner pubis. Because we wear shoes and walk, for the most part on flat pavement, our feet are not now allowed to move in the way that they have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. They, instead have a tendency to take on the shape we’ve asked them to. Some feet look like they are still in high heels, or ballet shoes, or ski boots. The good news is, that the potentiality of our bones, and muscles is never lost. If we reclaim the original pattern/function, the equanimity and healing will be restored. And your body wants that.
I’ve included a small video here about the foot. The words are very technical. I didn’t use the video for the words but for the visual. The way I find my way into experiential anatomy is by seeing the form first, and following the way the form functions in my body. It’s like looking at a map and then discovering the territory. Notice in the video how mobile a foot is, and how an ankle is really just a tibia and a talus working to glide like an elliptical machine. Many of us have jammed our taluses because we over grip with our feet and so the sliding function of the talus does not achieve full movement. I’ve watched this video over 10 times, just tracing the shape of the bones in my mind, grokking in my own way the base floor of the heel and the top shelf glide of the talus. To date I know of runners, soccer pros, dancers and bikers who have reformed their feet based on this basic information. I’ve felt the way that by shifting my feet, I’ve realigned my femur bones in my hip sockets. And I’ve noticed that this learning is an ongoing discovery that continues to unfold.
This insight & additional learning will help deepen your experience of Tara’s Relearn Your Feet class.
As you all know, this online yoga video class medium of ours is unique. It allows you to take classes with teachers that may never travel to your area and allows you to take classes whenever it suits your schedule, wherever you may be in the world.
From time to time, there are additional reference materials, insights and thoughts our YogaGlo teachers have about a specific class. What better way to use this online medium than to share that added information with you here?
Consider it official: our YogaGlo teachers will occasionally post on the blog whenever they have a video clip, a cool chart or additional thoughts that may help to deepen your knowledge and enjoyment of a specific class on our site. We will be filing these posts under the Global Classroom category so you can easily find them in the future.
The first of these posts begins tomorrow, with some foot wisdom from Tara Judelle. Stay tuned!
Stay tuned as we feature more favorite books of other YogaGlo teachers in the coming weeks and months!
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