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

turn your monkey mind upside-down { 8 inversions for mental poo-throwing }

artwork credit: etsy.com

Monkeys look most at peace when they're upside down...or picking things off each other. Let's focus on the former. You might get yourself arrested or throttled if you start thinking it's a good idea to look for fleas on other bodies.

Whether you like it or not, we have much in common with our banana-eating brothers and sisters. A. We think a lot, B. We eat a lot of freaking bananas (see: Cavendish banana extinction), and C. We're all crazy bananas. 

If you aren't in touch with your Monkey Mind, I envy you. I'm turning as green as an unripe banana as we speak. Mine is bonkers. It really is its own entity. It runs away with me, like a bad little monkey. It throws neurological poo at me. It swings me through mental trees and makes me dizzy!

One remedy I have found, thank Iyengar, is INVERSIONS.

8 Inversions for Attention Deficit, the Monkey Mind, and Temporary Insanity:

1. Puppy Dog - Be a dog, not a monkey. This first pose is doggie training and prep for Adho Mukha Svanasana.
2. Down Dog { Adho Mukha Svanasana } - Like a dog on a bone, you will FOCUS.
3. Handstand { Adho Mukha Vrksasana } - The translation is Downward Facing Tree Pose. Is there anything more grounded than a tree? I think not.
4. Feathered Peacock { Pincha Mayurasana } - Tunes you in to your own fierceness, not freneticness.
5. Dolphin - Dolphins are too smart to let their own monkey business run shit.
6. Headstand { Sirsasana } - This is what "they" meant when they said to go stand on your head.
7. Plough { Halasana } - Sow the seeds of mental acuity and ease.
8. Shoulder Stand { Sarvangasana } - The queen of all asanas, she'll leave you cool, calm, and collected.

Sometimes you have to get upside-down to get right-side-up again.

ten tunes for tapas { the 12 days of yoga }

On the 29th day of December, yoga gave to me

ten tunes for tapas...

{ nine merry mantras }

{ eight gifts for giving }

{ seven chakras shocking }

{ six sirsas bobbing }

{ five moody mudras }

{ four heavy breathers }

{ three third eyes }

{ two turtle yogis }

{ and a yogini in the pose tree. }

Mr. Truffle Snowman says it's hot in herre! His asana is on fire. No, not literally, but figuratively. That, and he is a master of building tapas — Sanskrit for heat. Tapas is the third of the five Niyamas { helpful + healing self-attitudes/practices we are encouraged to adopt }. If you're full of chocolate truffles or other delectable holiday goodies, now is the time to get Tapasic:  heat your body in such a way as to cleanse it.

Intelligently sequenced asana combined with breathwork is my go-to for firing it up and Tapas-ing that asana. :P

10 Tunes for Tapas { a hawt playlist to help you stoke the yogic fires }:

1. I'm Hot - { Erick Sermon }
2. Canned Heat - { Jamiroquai }
3. Hot Blooded - { Foreigner }
4. Burning Down the House - { Talking Heads }
5. Light Your Ass On Fire - { Busta Rhymes + Pharrell }
6. Hot Child In the City - { Nick Gilder }
7. Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex - { CSS }
8. Hot Stuff - { Donna Summer }
9. On Fire - { Lloyd Banks }
10. Hot Spot - { Foxy Brown }

"So take it off like you're home alone, ya know, dance in front of the mirror while you're on the phone." - Nelly

{ 2 more days! Mr. Snowman is made of Harry & David Truffles. }

five moody mudras { the 12 days of yoga }

On the 16th day of December, yoga gave to me

five moody mudras...

{ four heavy breathers }

{ three third eyes }

{ two turtle yogis }

{ and a yogini in the pose tree. }

I love mudras. The hands can be so elegant. And expressive. You'll see by the time you get to the 5th hand mudra below. :)

Gyan Mudra: { pictured above. yes, that hand is insured for millions. ah, hand models! }

• the mudra of knowledge
• sharpens memory
• enhances concentration
• to the point: braiiiiiins!

Abhaya Mudra:

• the mudra of fearlessness
• brings courage + strength
• reassurance, calm, protection
• to the point: talk to the hand!

Anjali Mudra:

• the mudra of offering
• opens the heart
• calms the mind
• eases stress
• to the point: namaste!

Dhyana Mudra:

• the mudra of meditation
• enhances concentration
• balance of thought
• tranquility
• to the point: the Buddha's mudra.

Eff Yew Mudra:

• the mudra of expression
• powerful, only to be used in special circumstances
• example: good to use when haters call you "unyogic"
• also: very handy while driving
• to the point: yes, i made this one up. no, i'm not making fun of hand mudras. i felt very passionately that this was an important one to include. i can't leave you in the wilderness of the world to fend for yourself, can i? nope. i got yo back.

You are now equipped with the hand mudras of choice. May the yogic force be with you. Enjoy their beauty and use them wisely.

{ 7 more days of yoga cookieness + kookiness on the way! I think these are my best cookies so far. :) }  

sat kriya, check it and see { halfway through my first 40-day kriya! }

artwork credit: unknown

I know, I know. That was my cheesy Kundalini-inspired spin on Foreigner's Hot Blooded. It kind of works, right? If you have no idea what I'm talking about, brush up on your 70s rock. You'll thank me for it. :)

Today is day 26 of my first 40-day Sat Kriya! Yowwwwwww.

So I have to be honest, for the first 20 days, I wasn't really feeeeeeling anything. Sure, my arms were getting a little tired after 11 minutes, my knees were creaking, and damn if my nose did not really, really want to be itched. But no...MAGIC.

Last week, in typical Type-A frustration, I asked my teacher what I was doing wrong. I was Sat Kriya-ing for 11 minutes every night. And nothing. No major life shifts, no extra twinkle in my eyes, alas, the universe had not yet begun to sling its elusive fruits this way.

I told her I had made a few modifications:

1. Doing it at night, because I'm a night owl and that's the time I have time.
2. Sitting in Sukhasana, because my knees were killing me in Virasana.
3. Saying "Sat Nam" mentally, because I couldn't figure out how to breathe in and say "Nam" at the same time. { Let it be noted here that I CAN walk and chew gum at the same time. Very well, thank you. }

And here's what she said:

1. Do it in the morning.
2. Sit in Virasana and use a really comfy pillow, bolster, or blocks to perch on.
3. Say "Sat Nam" aloud. Just let it flow. Don't think about breathing, don't think about timing. Just do it. { I think it's time Kia was approached by Nike, how about you? }
4. Don't expect anything. Just practice.

I trust her, so I did exactly as she said...ok, except for the morning part. Dramatic Difference.

Virasana creates the perfect alignment in the spine for this particular flow of energy. I'm now using two foam blocks with a folded blanket placed over them. Like buttah. No more hurty knees and I feel like a lightning bolt! And the vibration of "Sat Nam" along my vocal cords and the resonance through my mouth is powerful. It's as if I'm really committing to "I am Truth." And I am. My verbalization creates a bond, a contract.

This. Is. Potent.

I've got a fever of a hundred and three.

If you came along with me for the adventure, what has your experience been so far? If you are just tuning in, please JUMP IN with us! There's no time like the present. Also, you can bet I'll be starting my second 40-day kriya in 15 days. Let's synchronize swatches then.

shoulder girdle mantra { head + shoulders above the rest }

photo credit: red paper clip

Patanjali bless YogaWorks. My YTT curriculum and books are educationally solid. One of YW's little gems is their Shoulder Girdle Mantra:

sternum lifts
widen across the collarbone
shoulder heads back
shoulder blades widen away from each other 
and descend down the back

I find this extremely helpful from both the student and teacher perspective. We carry so much tension + stress in our shoulders. Often, the weight of the world is supported there. With this little mantra, you'll remember to open your heart and let the tension slip + slide right off.