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

yoga how you like! { doowutchyalike }

Ahem years ago { a lady never tells }, I was born unto this rich earth. TODAY IS ME BIRFFDAY! And I plan on rocking my fuchsia bejeweled plastic tiara { yup, i have one — wearing it now as i type }, pulling on my wellies, and doing whatever the fuck I like. { not bleeping that one out y'all...cause it's my BIRTHDAY. i'll do as i please! } Speaking of that...

Your yoga belongs to you and no one else. Know what that means? You have carte blanche. You possess absolute and utter freedom to doowutchyalike. And yoga how you like!

Yogahowyalike:

1. Wear what you feel good in. { We don't give an argyle sock what they think! }
2. Modification is magical. { Not ready for the big kahuna? Take the prep pose. Got the pose mastered? Get a little peacocky with it! I love a little flourish here and there. }
3. Sigh it all out. Use your breath to let go of what you're holding on to. { Sure I poke fun at the Darth Vaders of the yoga world, but if you need a big ass lion rawr or a horsey-lipped exhale, take one! }
4. If your body does something funny, laugh! { But let's not make it a habit...especially you gassy types. }
5. Faceplanting is the sign of a brave and adventurous soul. { Try something new (and quite possibly scary) and stand firm in your pioneering fierceness! }
6. If you can't remember the name for a pose, make one up. { Everyone else will think you know something they don't and it might just catch on. }

Yoga is LIFE. This is yours. As RuPaul says, "You bettah WORK!" Now get your ass out there and live your way. I'll be waiting for you. :D

{ artwork © Y is for Yogini, photo credits (with minor alterations by YIFY): marthastewart.com, projectpetinc.org, and disneymike.com }

eleven sanskrit sayings { the 12 days of yoga }

On the 30th day of December, yoga gave to me

eleven sanskrit sayings...

{ 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. }

Like my fellow yogi and yogini above, I am Sanskrit silly. I lurve Sanskrit and jump at the chance to learn new words. If you hang out here often { and golly, I sure hope you do! }, you've probably noted that I like to blend English with Sanskrit...and sometimes a bit of French or Italian. I'm kooky like that. Well, I think it's normal, but the bf says it's...different. Who cares?! I'm obsessed with words and languages and the beauty of a toothsome verse. :) 

I thought I might share a few of my favorite self-invented turns of phrase/Sanskrit hybrids.

 

11 Sanskrit Sayings:

1. Ain't that the Satya! { satya = truth }

2. As the kaka flies. { kaka = crow } :P an old idiom brought to new life!

3. Hmph! That show-off struts like a kukkuta! { kukkuta = rooster }

4. Now that's a janu-slapper. { janu = knee }

5. Boy you really put your pada in your mukha! { pada = foot, mukha = mouth }

6. Be still my anahata! { anahata = heart }

7. Pascima-Siiiide! { pascima = West } and you know the Westside is the best side. fo shizz.

8. Yow, you're on tejas today! { tejas = fire }

9. I'm going to count to panca and you better answer me.    { panca = five }

10. Sitalio! { sitali = cooling } so, you know, "coolio!" 

11. I feel the bhumi move under my feet. { bhumi = earth }

Fun, no? Try a few of these on for size or make up your own. Sanskrit is a beautiful language and making it yours in this kind of way brings familiarity and helps you learn!

 

Santi out, &*%$#*@! { uhhhmm...santi means peace if that was unclear. :P }

{ Holy December, only 1 day left! Until tomorrow, merry meet. }

mae west, my fave sassy + smart dame { yoginis in spirit }

"A dame that knows the ropes isn't likely to get tied up." - Mae West

If we've been friends long, you know I love Mae West. I come from a long line of spirited, feisty, outspoken women, so my love for Mae is natural. Her double entendres are pure genius. With wit and aplomb, she demonstrated that women can be intelligent AND bombshells at the same time. These are not mutually exclusive.

My wish for you this week, this month, in life, is that you'll carry her with you — that you'll celebrate your sass, your spice, and your sharp wit. Mae wouldn't have it any other way. :)

yoga hips don't lie

photo credit: nike.com

"So be wise and keep on reading the signs of my body." - Shakira

We often ignore what our bodies are trying to tell us. Perhaps it's time for the loo and you hold out a little longer. Maybe you're like me, ignoring your need for sleep over many years' time, developing an inability to rest or recharge. It could be that you need more carbs/vegetables/protein/calcium/whole foods in your life, but you've shut them out. Whatever it is, be honest with yourself. There are things you are ignoring right now that your body wants you to know and address.

We just finished up a weekend of Hip Openers in YTT. Saturday was particularly intense. I'm extremely open in my hips, so I was loving our two-hour sequence, which included Standing Splits, Ardha Galavasana, Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana, Parivrtta Utkatasana, Baddha Konasana, Upavistha Konasana, and Baddha Padmasana (= love). After Sunday's practice — more hip action with the addition of inversions — I went home, fell face first onto my bed, and passed out. Unbeknownst to me (until this morning, that is), those poses found and set loose my bone-deep weariness and fatigue. Today I feel hungover, bowled over, and much like death warmed over.

My hips really don't lie, do they? Now I'm beginning to realize that I have to address what's been unleashed.

Even though I've made it sound wicked, and believe me it is not exactly bliss, I encourage you to get in there. Get inside your hips and excavate. Find a good sequence, a workshop, or simply a class with a focus on hip openers.

Your hips have much to tell you.

(And just in case you wanted to hear the song: Hips Don't Lie, plus the original and MUCH BETTER version: Dance Like This by Claudette Ortiz.)

every breath you take { pranayama }

 photo credit: Susan Clare @ galleryofwestindianart.com 

The beginning of each month always inspires me to embark upon something new. I enjoy 30-day challenges, pushing myself for x more minutes, and knowing that I've taken in 80 ounces of water for the day. I will own up to possibly being certifiable, but I stand firm in my love of all things quantifiable.

This month, Osho and Sting have breathily spoken. I'm taking June to focus on a real, honest-to-goodness pranayama practice.

My first step is something Osho recommends in my very most favorite yoga book, Yoga: The Science of the Soul: 

"When you become angry, what is the rhythm of your breathing—is the exhalation long or the inhalation long or are they the same? Just watch the proportion of inhalation and exhalation. When sometimes sitting silently and looking at the sky in the night, everything is quiet around you, just take note of how your breath is going. When you are feeling filled with compassion, watch, note it down. When you are in a fighting mood, watch, note it down. Just make a chart of your own breathing, and then you will know much."

"Keep a chart for one month of all your moods and states. Then you know which is the rhythm where you feel most restful, relaxed, in a deep let-go; which is the rhythm where you feel quiet, calm, collected, cool; which is the rhythm when suddenly you feel blissful."

Hello breath. It's just you and me...every breath you take, every move you make...I'll be watching you.

How about you? Do you keep track of your breath, its rise and fall, how it changes through your emotions and throughout the day? What have you noticed?