Happy Holidays!

I am currently writing to you from my living room, where the Christmas tree is lit all day and night, as long as someone is here to stare at it. Most of me absolutely loves this time of year- the decorations, the parties, the gifts and good will. The other part of me sees how stressful this time of year can be- the decorations, the parties, the gifts... ha! Yoga has definitely helped me develop a positive perspective so that I can enjoy the holidays as much as possible. I've been practicing yoga every day for 60 days- my goal is to practice for 90 days straight, and I imagine by then, I simply won't want to stop. Through this process, I've discovered that we all have the same amount of time in the day- we just choose to spend it different ways. During this busy time of year, many of us feel we must sacrifice our routine and the things that make us happy in order to prepare for the festivities, whether it's buying gifts, entertaining guests, etc. Remember that your holidays will only be more enjoyable if you're doing something for yourself in the midst of everything else.

Yoga & Running

People have often told me, "Running is 90% mental." I was frustrated by that statement because I didn't understand what it meant. I think I now have an inkling of what it could mean.

Throughout my entire life, my mind has dictated what my body can and cannot do. It many ways, it acted as my ego, and my ego was in poor shape. When faced with a physical challenge, my mind immediately let my body know that this was not going to be possible or practical, and I completely trusted that my mind was correct. This lead to a rather sedentary lifestyle, which attributes to my struggles with weight throughout adolescence and well into adulthood. It wasn't until I discovered yoga that my body tricked my mind into thinking, "We can do this!" And thank the Universe it was yoga. Yoga is the very practice that helped me to better understand the intricate relationships of the mind, body and ego, and that my thoughts are not always accurate.

In a pose, we're encouraged to observe and consider how we feel. We're doing this to get in touch with ourselves, get to know ourselves better. It's so easy to become disconnected from our bodies as we move through our daily lives, and yoga helps us come back home. I realized that I CAN be in a challenging pose and NOT die! I DO have the ability to go deeper into a pose and stay just a little longer than my mind allows. My body is perfectly healthy and free of injury. I have so much to be thankful for and I should be honoring my temple with daily movement and exercise- doing things that challenge this incredible specimen on a regular basis, because I can!! And in this sense, yoga is interchangeable with running. If I tell myself I can finish the mile, I can. If I tell myself I can't, I won't. So instead of playing head games, I simply breathe and observe how I feel. Does anything hurt? Can I smooth my breath? These questions allow me to calm down and come back to my "practice." I see running in a whole new light today, and I am so grateful for this profound awakening.

Birthdays

Yesterday, I celebrated my 27th birthday. I did 27 Sun Salutations as a way to express my gratitude for 27 years on this beautiful planet. With each passing year, I become more aware of how quickly life is flying by. Birthdays often call a few things into question- Am I living my best life? Am I accomplishing enough for my age? Am I on track with my goals? Do I have clear goals? Ack! Then, I think back on the past 27 years of my life and am quite pleased with those years. During my Sun Salute practice yesterday, around number 13, I started to think about some great things that happened when I was 13 years old- my Dad quit drinking and I fell in love with my first boyfriend. With each Sun Salute, I thought of something remarkable that happened during each year of my life. Once I hit 22, the year I started practicing yoga, the Sun Salutes slowed down significantly. I started to move with greater care and precision. The past 5 years of my life have been so significantly transformative because of the yoga practice. In the past 3 years alone I've made incredible progress in my physical practice, started a yoga teaching business from scratch that is now close to thriving, raised $20,000 and traveled to Africa, bought a house with my partner of 7 years, trained a wonderful puppy, I lost 20 pounds and really started taking care of myself in a new and compassionate way. Imagine what's possible in the next 3 years, the next 30 years! Sandy, one of my lovely students, said, "Trust me. It only gets better. Enjoy." She's one of the incredible women in my life who has reinforced that philosophy. I really, really appreciate that she said that because I look up to her and trust that she's right. I want to see all of the women in my life age with grace, beauty and confidence. And that's what I want for myself as well. I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for all of the years that I've lived. And I love myself now more than I ever have before. Like I end up saying at the end of every year, 26 was a good year. :)

Sun Salutations to the Rescue!

"Body Prayer"

Seane Corn, one of my teachers and co-founder of "Off the Mat, Into the World," demonstrates the power of asana as an offering:

Stages to Pincha Myrasana

Tackling Tadasana

Before I start posting "how to" video demos, it's important that you know the basics of one of the most important poses in yoga - Tadasana. It means "Mountain Pose," and it is the blue print for all of our standing poses. This means that the alignment principles of Tadasana will show up in nearly every other pose we do.

Tadasana may seem like a boring pose at first, but there's actually a lot going on. You're stacking bone, over bone, over bone and the body is in perfect alignment. And to find that alignment, always start with the foundation (parts of the body connected to the Earth) and work your way up.

Feet- straight and parallel, either hips distance apart or big toes touching. A good way to find straight feet is draw a straight line forward from the center of the ankle to the second toe. Equal weight through all four corners of feet.

Ankles - lift inner and outer ankles evenly

Knee caps and thighs - lifted and engaged

Tailbone - draws in, front hip points lift

All four sides of torso - lengthen up evenly

Shoulders - draw towards each other on the back and relax away from the ears

Arms - lengthening down, extend through fingertips

Draw ears back in line over shoulders, chin parallel to Earth

*Should be stacking ankles, knees, hips and shoulders

Try Tadasana as often as you can throughout the day... in line at the grocery store, in conversation with a friend, cooking, etc. It may feel strange at first, but your body will thank you later. And if you can really commit these alignment points to memory, you'll have a much clearer understanding of the other poses we explore in this blog.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

"The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" is an ancient text comprising 196 short statements about yoga philosophy. There are 4 chapters that highlight concentration, practice, progress and liberation through the eight limbs.

Not much is known about the author, Patanjali, but he is often regarded as "the father of yoga." Yogis are thankful that he took the time to record the sutras to be passed down through the generations. Every yoga system in existence has roots in Patanjali's teachings.

Yoga & Vampires?

For all you "True Blood" fans out there...Check out the lovely Kathryn Budig:

The Eight Limbs of Yoga

One of the most important things to know about yoga is that there are eight limbs or paths of yoga. They serve as a guideline for living a purposeful life. Here's a very brief overview of each one.

1. Yama - Our behavior towards others and the world. Living as an example of kindness, truthfulness, sustainability, and moderation.

2. Niyama - Self-discipline through cleanliness, contentment, daily spiritual practices, self-study and continued connection to our own divinity.

3. Asana- Physical poses. This is what you'll encounter most often in a public yoga class held at a studio or gym. All physical styles of yoga fall under the umbrella of "Hatha Yoga." Examples include Vinyasa Flow, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Anusara, Jivamukti, Restorative, etc.

4. Pranayama - Breathing exercises. Helpful for expanding our breath capacity and maintaining the flow of energy through the body. Some breath practices may be applied to asana practice. "Light on Pranayama" by BKS Iyengar is a great reference!

5. Pratyahara - Control of the senses. This limb begins the work of turning inward. Drawing our awareness away from the external and objectively observing ourselves and our habits.

6. Dharana - Concentration. Each stage prepares us for the next. Now we focus our attention on a single point, slowing down our thinking process in preparation for the next limb, Dhyana.

7. Dhyana - Meditation or Contemplation. An uninterrupted flow of Dharana. There are so many different styles of meditation; each involves aspects of a still, quiet, and focused mind.

8. Samadhi - Enlightenment! Yippee!! Disciplined practice of the previous seven limbs may produce periods of ecstasy. I call them "mini-samadhi moments." A moment where we transcend our physical bodies and live in a state of interconnectedness with all things. Yoga means "union," and we are striving for an authentic sense of oneness. There is no "you and me," only "us." :)

To learn more about the Eight Limbs, check out this article by Mara Carrico, a writer for Yoga Journal.com.

Below you'll find a neat chant that will help you remember the eight limbs!

"How Can I Learn More?"

A lot of my students ask, "How can I learn more about yoga?" They are intrigued by the beginnings of their physical practice and want to go deeper. In the past, my usual response was "Try a yoga training or workshop!" Though, I realize that's not an option for everyone considering time commitments and financial restraints. So where to start as an alternative? Right here. :)

This blog was created with you in mind- the student looking for resources regarding everything yoga. Here, we'll address not only the physical aspects of the practice, but also breathing techniques, meditation, and yogic philosophy as well.

I'm happy to take any questions you have about topics you're most curious about exploring, so please feel free to contact me at meganridge@me.com and I'll do my best to answer your question right here!