yoga humor, yogini style, yoga personality, yoga tips - Y is for Yogini

{ green-smoothie-anity-ism } i have found a new religion

artwork credit: blog.lib.umn.edu

If REM had discovered what I have, they would never have written that song. I, friends, am reborn. I am so fresh and so clean clean clean. I have found a new religion: Green-Smoothie-anity-ism.

My journey began a little over three weeks ago, when Suburban Yogini came knocking at my door. She had with her a gorgeous smile, skin that was all aglow, and a funny little pamphlet with seemingly-innocuous smoothie recipes.

Normally I hide out like a bandit when there are those kinds of calls made at my house. Don't judge, I learned it early on. :) Childhood remnants and whatnot. But this day, oh yes, this day I answered the calling.

Today I am the liveliest, glowiest, and most energetic of converts. Yes, my skin is still detoxing and yes, it takes extra time out of my day for worship, but it is all worthwhile. And my yoga practice is off the chain; so, so much stronger. Twice a day, I bow down to kale, spinach, the holiest and most nutritious of fruits, my beloved chia seeds, milk, and sweetener. I have my own special green smoothie concoction.

You, too can be saved. All you need is a blender and a little imagination. :)

{ earth day } every day, in every way

i
rest
in the pose of a child
she soaks up our tears
draws away our pain
graceful blooms
in the rich warm earth
when we root down
it is she who gives us strength

i belong to her
am a child
of her
vast gentle cradling womb
loved unconditionally
she blesses me
with breath
i show my gratitude
with tender care
for her
and all her children
.

copyright © 2010 Y is for Yogini

{ yogic lemons } make yourself some damn good lemonade!

artwork credit: Marty Mummert @ allposters.com 

This is something I'm sure all yogis and yoginis have experienced before: the yogic let-down. Picture it, Sicily, 1913. Wait, my alter ego Sophia is fighting for air time. Let's try that again. Picture it, you're so pumped for a yoga class you've heard is the bomb. Not pipe-bomb good, but A-bomb rock-your-world. You show up, spend the hour and a half, and ... disappointment. Lemon in your yogi eye!

Now I know every experience can't be amazing. But some days you just need IT. Need the rush, the push, the dirty, wet, sweaty, gritty-but-pure absorption of it all. You know what I'm talkin' 'bout. The gooooood stuff. And then pleh. No goodies for you.

That was tonight for me. The scene: a 2/3 candlelight flow class. The vibe in the room was weird, the teacher was completely disconnected, and the sequence left me really off-kilter. Sometimes we all have off nights (teachers, students, everyone), but there's a difference between that and just-not-good. You guys know what I mean. You just feel it.

But tomorrow is a new day. And my yoga practice and spirit are buoyant, vast, and fierce.

Disappointment in yoga (and in life) can be a positive lesson if we use those lemons to make lemonade. Every class that I don't particularly enjoy reminds me to take away something useful from each experience. I'll remember these yogic let-down classes and strive to cultivate a rock-your-worldness in my (future, if I decide to teach!) classes. :)

The quote says it all ...

"Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it." - Eliza Tabor

Lemonade is good, but I might just make m*ther f*cking meringue.

{ yoga nidra } yogic sleep ... uh, not exactly

photo credit: ballet.co.uk

I am notorious for my insomnia. My friends get super late/early emails and respond back with, "Really?! 4am?!" But they know it's par for the course. Some of my Tweets are being sent out just as my East Coast yoga pals are waking up to start their day. 

On the first day of TT, we sat in a circle and intro'd ourselves. I made a crack about how I hadn't slept since I was in the womb. Now if people can't remember my name they say, "You're the one with insomnia." Yeah. Could be worse, though. We have a colorful (and mouthy, lol) group. But however true, dishing isn't yogic, so I'm going to halt there and purify my mind with salt collected by virgins. :)

Back to the sleepy biz. A few thoughts on my own personal brand of yoga nidra:

1. When I do sleep, I often wind up in Vrksasana or Virabhadrasana 2. Yup, I'm a bed hog. (BTW, you should check out this funny post by my homegirl Erica, aka Spoiled Yogi for more yoga poses done sub/un/consciously.)
2. At times, I wake up doing some sort of mudra in my boyfriend's ear or armpit. It's good to have a bendy girlfriend, but there are unexpected downsides.
3. When you rarely snooze, you have lots, and I mean lots of time to read. I'm working on Light on Yoga, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, The Heart of Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and a bazillion others.
4. During those few precious hours of sleep, I'm still too busy in my mind to rest. I have wildly vivid dreams which are often quest or adventure-based. Sometimes I dream of yoga sequences and YTT. The other night I was balancing on my head, Iyengar-style.
5. Everyone always asks if increasing my practice also ups the sleep count. Not really, but I will say that YTT does help me nap. Small win!
6. The one time I fell asleep in Viparita Karani (at home) was a joyous event! Then I woke up and thought someone had vice-gripped my head while turning my legs into plywood. Ouch.
7. If you need a sleep doc, I'm an expert in all the things that are supposed to make normal people sleep, but don't work on the weirdos like me. Warm milk. Cool room. Lavender essential oil. A mallet.
8. My #1 fantasy includes the expected: bf, candles, soft nature sounds (waterfall), and my snuggly fluffy cloud-bed. But that's where the normalcy ends. The fantasy also includes the pleasant sounds of snoring (mine) and drooling (also mine, the kind you produce during the deepest, most delicious sleep).

Someday I hope to be able to get enough Z's to fill a country full of Alphabet Soup. Until then, I'll have to daydream and dream about it.

To get yourself schooled on the real Yoga Nidra, check out my yoga sista Abby's awesome post at her blog, Perusals & Peregrinations!

{ dirty harry + yogi harry } go ahead, make my day

artwork credit: belowthecollar.com

It's been a good, yet rough week - rough like Clinty's signature stubble. Five days of "Go ahead, make my day" incidents, both positive and negative. Blow by blow / shot by shot ...

Pleh! The stuff that made me want to Make Someone Else's Day, Dirty Harry-Style (picture my mug, I'm grimacing, grrrrr):

1. For TT homework, I had to observe a 1/2 class this week. The room was overpacked with strangely aggro d-bags. Yeah, I said it. Truth. I was crammed into a little Lo ball in the corner. Didn't matter. One of the aforementioned d's decided to reach above my head in the cubbies, yanked out his yoga strap, and clanked me on my head with the metal part of it. Seriously?! He stammered out a "Uhm, sorry about that." but I really, really wanted to kickbox his face.
2. Same freakin' class, trying to be a good student and observe, some lady comes in ridiculously late, stands right next to me, has eyeballs and can see me, and proceeds to bend over and take off her shoes, etc. with her ass literally two inches from my face. It really wasn't my night. My yogic patience and ahimsa practice were being tested.
3. Someone I love dearly is not being treated well or nicely by his so-called friends. I can handle myself just fine, but mess with my special people and you will be sorry. These are the times I get ninja up in this piece and mf's disappear never to be seen or heard from again. But ahimsa, ahimsa, ahimsa, f*ing people's sh*t up isn't an option. Damn, why can't yogis do a little roughing up now and again?! It's for the greater good! I promise!

Let's move on to the positive, Yogi Harry stuff. The things that really did Make My Day in a yogically awesome way:

1. Kundalini was amazing this week! So uplifting and wonderful and thrilling. We had to shake it and dance around for a while and I actually relaxed a bit and shook my booty. It was more salsa than tribal, but I did it!
2. Took a new-to-me class on Tuesday and the teacher said I had a "beautiful" standing split. Cool!
3. After another class this week, a fellow yogini came up to me and said, "You have a lovely practice. You've been doing this for a long time, haven't you?" We talked for some time and she asked if I was a teacher. Woot! I felt so grateful to receive such wonderful compliments. :)
4. I was asked to demonstrate Salamba Sarvangasana in two different classes. I must be rocking it! All it took was shaking off my ego and adding blankets to my practice. Magic.
5. My homework is going well. I finished my first sequence this week and am so proud. I practiced it a few times and feel confident about the way it flows. It's logical, safe, and fun. (Lawdy, that sounds like a Durex ad.)
6. My birthday is less than two weeks away and the bf is whisking me away to Big Bear that weekend. :)

I'm learning to offer it up. Working hard at non-attachment and saying peace out to the chitta vritti. So go ahead, make my day!