Everything Yoga

Get Subtle with Chanting

Just yesterday a student mentioned her love for chanting and how it's changed her life for the better. Along with the excess pounds, this person lost her impatience while driving in her car thanks to chanting. If you ever pull up alongside her at a traffic light, she's sure to have a chanting CD blasting from her car stereo. Who knew, right?

Actually, folks in India knew. And they knew a long time ago. So many yoga afficionados  are so stuck on asana that the other tools of yoga are often forgotten. Chanting is one of tthose tools and a powerful one at that. When we look the Indian Pancamaya model, which moves from gross to subtle, we see that chanting works on the most subtle levels -- vijnanamaya and anandamaya. These mayas relate to personality and emotions -- the most difficult areas in which to make changes. The next time you're wanting to change a habit or pattern, why not try chanting? Outside of pranayama and meditation, chanting is your yogic tool of choice.

Yet why don't more people chant? Kirtan, which is different than chanting, has become quite popular and it's not unusual to find a regular schedule of kirtan events. Try to find a chanting class and it's quite a different story.

I went to my first chanting class with years of kirtan under my belt. I mistakenly thought that kirtan and chanting were the same thing and had quite a surprise when I realized that they weren't. Rather than being musical, chanting isn't done to sing or perform. Chanting is a way of reflecting, or svadhyaya. Through chanting you can get information about yourself that you can use.

Chanting can be either stimulating, calming or balancing depending on how you chant and the chant itself. One of my favorite simple chants is namaha, which is balancing. I include it in my daily yoga practice and I always feel quite balanced when I'm done. When I'm in need of a lift, I turn to Gayatri. And when I need to calm down, it's shanti, shanti, shantih all the way.

The benefits of chanting are numerous. In addition to helping develop patience, focus and attention, chanting improves our memory (it's been proven that those with memory degeneration can halt the memory loss through regular chanting) and helps us to listen. I don't know about you, but my listening skills could use some work, so I appreciate this benefit (come to think of it, my memory could use a little help too!).

If you can't find a chanting teacher in your area, I highly recommend CDs by Sonia Nelson (Sonia will be at the Colorado Yoga Journal Conference in September) I recently bought her Yoga Sutra chanting CDs and I love them. I know that CDs aren't a substitute for having a teacher from which to learn but it can be the next best thing in a pinch. I'm lucky in that I have both -- the real thing (a fabulous teacher) and a collection of excellent CDs.

If your meditation practice is getting stale or pranayama isn't your thing, give chanting a try. You just might find the same surprising benefits that the student I mentioned above did.

Namaste!

Is Your Diet Supporting Your Yoga Practice?

I grew up eating processed foods...a lot of processed foods. Foods I wouldn't even dream of putting in my body now. Why? Because I didn't know any better. And I didn't realize how awful all of those foods made me feel (after all, they tasted so delicious and made me happy while I was eating them). Over the years I gradually changed my eating habits, but it wasn't until I started practicing yoga regularly that I made big changes and made them stick.

A few years prior to my introduction to yoga were particularly bad. I shudder to think of the type of foods I consumed. ICK! If I ate now like I did then, I'd feel awful. Yet back then feeling crappy was normal for me. A few years after practicing yoga, I went to a weekend yoga workshop during which we practiced for a few hours on Friday, much of the day on Saturday and half the day on Sunday. I had never done so much yoga at one time (up until then, I'd been practicing anywhere from 30-90 minutes of yoga per day but never for hours at a time). Interestingly enough, the first thing I did after leaving the workshop on Sunday evening, I went to a Whole Foods for the first (certainly not the last) time.

Ever since then, I've cleaned up my diet quite a bit. Do I still eat foods that aren't nutritionally sound? Absolutely. The difference now is that I try to keep it to a minimum because when I don't, I start to feel bad (low energy, bloated, etc.). Prior to my practicing yoga, I didn't much notice how food affected me. I thought that having a sluggish digestive system was normal and I didn't think anything of the stomach aches, gas, and bloating that followed my junk food feasts.

The big difference between now and then is that before I would clean up my diet because I didn't want to gain weight whereas now I try to keep my diet clean because I feel better when I do. When I don't feel good, it gets in the way of my yoga practice. I suppose this is the definition of yoga -- the linking to something that is positive and unlinking from the thing that causes suffering. I like to feel good and I treasure my yoga practice -- that's enough to keep me from going on a junk food pig out.

If you're finding that feeling sluggish, apathetic, unwell, or your suffering from aches and pains, you might want to take a good look at what you're putting in your mouth. Food matters and the better you eat, the better you'll feel -- and perhaps you'll practice more yoga because of it. The thought of a diet overhaul can be quite intimidating so here are some of my favorite books (I've mentioned some of them before but they're worth reintroducing) to get you started:

The China Study
Green for Life
The Self-Healing Cookbook
Food as Medicine

Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future
The Sunfood Diet Success System

All of these books offer excellent advice, recipes, and information about using food to support your in living well (and maintaining your yoga practice).

The last two books are by well known nutrition expert David Wolfe. I heard about David through friends (who ranted and raved about how brilliant he is and how his teachings and products changed their lives for the better) and I'm so glad that I did. His Web site, SunFood, is a wealth of information and the source for everything you need to know and have to get and remain healthy.

Just yesterday David released a groundbreaking program called Longevity Now. The amount of information he's packed into this program -- which includes a 400-page book with an entire immunity protocol, a set of 7 CDs that addresses everything from getting your mind right to detoxifying to pain relief to enhancing your creativity among many other things, 2 DVDs packed with insightful interviews containing information contained nowhere else, and admission to a free 3-day event that you can attend in person or online -- is truly astounding. I've never seen anything like it before.

I must admit that the price tag seemed a bit hefty but my health is priceless to me. It's one of my top priorities and I feel like anything I spend to maintain it is a worthwhile investment. Fortunately, a variety of payment options are available so you can make it affordable. I've already ordered mine and am counting the days until I receive it. If you'd like to learn more about the Longevity Now Program, click here. These days when stress is so much a part of our everyday existence, a program that can help us combat stress using proven techniques is a necessity not a luxury.

In addition to investing in David Wolfe's program, I also recently bought a high performance blender. I chose the Blendtec but I've also heard wonderful things about the Vita-Mix, so I'd say you can't go wrong with either one. Some of the books I mentioned above offer excellent smoothie recipes designed to get the nutrition you need to live at an optimal level of health.

I know that all of these things are expensive (I was just at Whole Foods today, so I know how pricey it is to eat organic), but I speak from personal experience when I urge you to make your health a priority. If I had stuck to my old diet of processed foods, there's no way I'd be getting on mat every day like I now do. I would most likely be heavier, lazier, and unhealthy. Try little changes that fit in with your budget (like reading one of the books I mentioned above). Don't let your diet get in the way of your yoga practice, or more importantly, living a happy, healthy life.

Namaste!

Celebrating Summer Solstice with a Giveaway

The seasons, they are a' changin'. We celebrate Summer Solstice this weekend, which means it's time to celebrate the season of light and bounty (think long days, more time in nature, fresh fruits and vegetables, and warm temperatures). It's ironic that lately I find myself making the sun a part of my practice (that could also be because I miss seeing it due to all of the rainy/cloudy weather we've been experiencing in NY) whether it's sun salutations, or chanting the Gayatri Mantra, or visualizing the sun warming and inhabiting my body, or simply doing some candle gazing (Tratak) before bed. I suppose I've been preparing for the season change.

I'd like to celebrate the Summer Solstice by giving gifts to those who bring much bounty and light into my life -- my blog readers. I have some delightful goodies to give away to a few lucky readers:

#1 Green Beauty Starter Kit from Beautorium Valued at $150
I'm delighted to be partnering with beautorium, the natural & organic beauty emporium. They are generously donating a Green Beauty Starter Kit with over $150 worth of top green beauty booty to this giveaway.

I'm a fan of beautorium and all of the goodies they offer. If you've never shopped beautorium before, you should know that it takes the guesswork out of going green:

• Choose from 20 brands and over 600 products—each hand-picked and carefully screened according to 5 strict criteria to ensure you get the most ethical and effective experience.
• Unique “Good –to-Know” Guide gives you the low-down about each product. Shop by brand, category or beauty issue.
• Free beautorium natural tote bag and samples with every order over $50; Free shipping over $100!
• Satisfaction Guaranteed or your Money Back!

A Beautorium Bonus for Everyone
And because beautorium wanted to make sure all of my readers win, they have given me  a unique coupon code that will get you 15% off your first purchase at beautorium. Simply type the coupon code itsallaboutyoga at the checkout page to receive your discount!

*offer valid against full price stock through the end of May 2010.

#2 My Other Car is a Yoga Mat License Plate Holder
If you're a yogi and you know it and you're really proud to show it, put this on your car. I did. Yep, that's a picture of my car -- affectionately named Silver Bullet -- and it's backside. Amongst the Life is Good sticker (because hot damn life IS good), my goddess bumper stickers (yep, I like to make my goddessly nature known) and my VT ovalo (I have a soft spot in my heart for Vermont) proudly sits my "My Other Car is a Yoga Mat" license plate frame. For the low price of $10.00 I just couldn't resist. Yet, one lucky reader will get this jazzy license plate holder for FREE.

This awesome license plate holder comes from an even more awesome source -- Beth Lapides. She's a comedian, yogi, artist, creatrix, and lover of life and laughter all rolled into one. You can get to know Beth here.

Even if you don't win, you can get a free ebook filled with funny and inspiring stories from Beth herself. Just click here and enter your email address to receive your free copy.

#3 A Great Summer Read -- The Handbag and Wellies Yoga Club
I loooooved Lucy Edge's first novel, Yoga School Dropout. And it left me hungry for more. Luckily the lovely and talented Lucy obliged by writing a follow-up novel entitled The Handbag and Wellies Yoga Club. This book continues Lucy's adventures but this time, she has relocated herself and her yoga mat to the country. She's ready to start a new phase in life and this book captures every whitty detail. The book hasn't been released yet, but you can get an advance copy through this giveaway.

#4 SIGG Water Bottle
I rarely leave home without it. My SIGG water bottle has become my constant companion. I get to stay hydrated without harming the environment with plastic bottle waste. But does being healthy and environmentally conscious mean that I have to lug around an ugly bottle? Heck no! Check out the awesome designs that Cafe Press is offering: Namaste, Breathe, Live Love Yoga, Yoga, Peace Love Recycle. If none of them suit your style, you can customize your SIGG bottle with your own awesome design. 

If you win, you'll be sent one of the 5 yoga-friendly designs listed above.

How to Win
Here's the deal -- I want to give some lucky readers a few gifts AND I want to get your feedback. Lately I've been struck by the desire to create an online membership site where like-minded folks (those of us who want to live a happy, healthy life) can gather together for support, yoga audios, breathing audios, and all things related to being in the moment, enjoying life, and embracing ourselves and each other for who we are.

I'm thinking about having monthly themes, a very active forum, audio, possibly video, inspirational reading and more all for an affordable monthly charge. Here's what I want to know from you --

• Do you like this idea? Would you join? If no, why not?
• What do you think is a fair price? What are you willing/able to pay each month?
• What do you want to see in this community to make it worth your time and money to participate?

Every giveaway entry MUST have the answers to these questions along with your full name and email address. You can enter to win one of the items mentioned above or all -- it's up to you. Here's what you do:

1. Send an email to uncommonyogi at gmail dot com. Put which giveaway you are entering in the subject line (beautorium, license plate holder, book, water bottle -- specify all four or whichever ones you want). NOTE: By entering the beautorium giveaway, you are providing your name & e-mail address to enter the free draw and you will be subscribed to the beautorium newsletter.
   
2. Include your full name, email address, the answers to the questions above in the body of the email and restate which giveaways you want to participate in.

This giveaway ends on July 7. Winners will be picked sometime later in the week of July 6th and announced shortly thereafter. All you have to do is answer a few questions, specify which giveaways you want to enter yourself into, send an email (uncommonyogi at gmail dot com) and OM -- you're done. Readers/entrants whose emails contain the proper information will be entered in a random drawing to decide the winner of each giveaway.

Fineprint FYI -- the beautorium and Sigg gifts will be coming directly from beautorium and cafe press respectively and the book and license plate holder will be coming directly from moi (yep, I'll take care of the shipping costs).

Woo hoo -- I love giving stuff away. May you enjoy receiving just as much.

In Closing...An Idea for Adding a Little Sun into Your Yoga Practice
One more word about celebrating Summer Solstice -- why not try incorporating this seasonal event in with your yoga practice? The sun is associated with will, vitality, accomplishment, victory and fame. Why not try adding a bhavana (visualization) and intention into your practice by holding visions of these qualities during your practice? Here are some other suggestions:

• Before you begin your practice acknowledge your accomplishments.
• During your practice, hold an intention to be filled with vitality.
• When you're resting in Savasana, visualize the sun coming into your body and filling your body with light and warmth.

If you can, try practicing outside in the sun this weekend. You could even ditch the mat and practice barefoot directly on the ground. Mmmmm...delicious!

Happy Summer Solstice! Best of luck in the Giveaway. May the power of the sun be with you!

Namaste!

Yoga on the Cheap: Maintaining Your Yoga Practice in Tough Econonmic Times

There's a lot of talk out there about yoga being a practice for the affluent. A month-long unlimited yoga membership to a studio will cost you at least $100. Mats can set you back $100, and yoga pants that make your butt look perky run $85 and up. And don't even think about attending a yoga conference unless you have at least $500 sitting in your rainy day fund.

Of course there are folks who practice yoga wherever they unfurl their $19 yoga mat. They don't have fancy yoga clothes or a studio membership, and yet they have a serious yoga practice that transforms and sustains them. They catch a workshop or class when they can and they read books about India rather than spending the money to travel there.

Which category do you fit into? Many folks are somewhere in between. Regardless of your budget, you can practice yoga. Don't let the media storm about the money spent on yoga scare you. You can practice yoga on any budget. Here are a few pointers:

• No, you don't have to buy the Mercedes Benz of yoga mats to practice yoga. Shop around on the internet for competitive pricing. There are plenty of solid yoga mats under $20. You can find low-priced yoga mats at MatsMatsMats and Yoga Accessories. 
• Build a library of yoga DVDs and save money on a yoga studio membership. You can find my yoga DVD recommendations here. 
• Search for a yoga studio that offers classes on a donation basis. In NY, Yoga to the People offers this option, making yoga affordable to those who are strapped for cash. There are plenty of online resources available for help finding a donation-only class. With a little hunting, you can find an affordable yoga class option. Search for special community classes (which are often free) or low cost classes being taught by teachers in training and/or new yoga teachers.

You can also go online and find some great classes that range from no cost to under $20. Here are some options:

• Yoga Today offers free yoga on a daily basis. The classes range in style from Anusara to Ashtanga to Kripalu and Kundalini and run just about an hour.
• BeYou.tv offers a wide array of yoga videos for download, with many of them costing under $10. If you're a fan of the DVDs produced by Pranamaya like I am, you'll love BeYou.tv, as they offer many of the Pranamaya productions for download.
• iHanuman offers some very cool yoga downloads that can't be found anywhere else, including Erich Shiffmann and Swami Satchidananda.
• You can get a free Kundalini yoga fix over at Kundalini Yoga with Nirvair Singh Khalsa. In addition to a quick Kundalini set, the site offers a variety of powerful meditations.
• Yoga Journal offers a podcast featuring 20-minute yoga practices (roughly) taught by Jason Crandell. Some are audio only while other downloads offer a video accompaniment. 
• Yoga Learning Center offers a variety of yoga practices for under $5.00. 
• Yogi Chocolate offers donation based downloads, so you only pay what you can afford. 
• I offer a gentle practice in the free ebook that is offered as a free gift for joining the Living Yoga community.
• 3 Weeks of Yoga, a multi-media course offered by International YogaYogalayam, is a great primer for anyone who is a yoga beginner or someone who wants to strengthen his/her existing practice. The course is offered on a donation basis, so again, you pay what you can.
• Kripalu offers some wonderful free downloads that are perfect for adding into your daily routine as a short yoga/meditation break. 

Of course there are other resources out there -- these are just a few to restore your faith in the fact that yoga doesn't have to cost a fortune. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to stretch an arm and a leg.

These days I've met quite a few folks who have fallen and hard times and don't want to scarifice their yoga practice during a time when they need it the most (or folks that want to start a yoga practice because of financial stress). I try to work things out with students suffering from financial hardship, so don't forget to ask your teacher for a little help. You just might find that a request gives birth to a community class that you and others who are dealing with tough financial times can benefit from.

Namaste!

The Yoga Student/Teacher Relationship

One of the characteristics of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is saravat, which translates to full of essence. The Sutras are short yet full of meaning, which means that it's necessary to learn from a teacher rather than try to figure them out on your own.

Since I've done both -- read through the Sutras on my own as well as study them with a teacher -- I can say with conviction that it is necessary to learn them from a teacher or with the guidance of a teacher.

Moving onto the first sutra, we see the use of the words atha and anusasanam, which implies experiential teaching with atha representing the student and anusasanam representing the teacher. Rather than a mere intellectual inquiry, yoga requires a teacher and a student and a strong commitment between the two. The idea is that the concepts are so experiential that you won't get it unless you have a teacher.

Teachers are mentioned throughout the sutras as helpers, ones that can help bring you out of suffering. The student/teacher relationship has a long tradition in India, with students often leaving home and traveling to a teacher to study. It's been said in India that taking more than one teacher is like taking more than one wife.

The American culture is a bit different. There seems to be an inherent mistrust of teachers, with students questioning anything and everything being taught. We encourage this questioning -- after all, when we question that means that we have a sharp and intelligent mind, right?

I remember the first time I was taught by an Indian teacher. The class was filled with Americans -- Americans who were questioning this wise man's teachings. He seemed non-plussed by the "sharp, intelligent minds" of his students. It was obvious that he was not used to questioning his own teachers and didn't understand this type of behavior. He deflected the questions by calmly stating that he was teaching us the teachings of his teacher.

At the time, I soaked it up, yet still there lurked a voice in the far reaches of my mind that said, "Are you just going to take this man's teachings for law?" [I remembered those games of operator with great clarity so I knew how a message could get garbled as it moved from person to person] I'd heard contradictory teachings prior to studying with this man, so my brain was working on overtime to bridge the gap between the two. My brain was sabotaging my trust. Yet, there was something about this man that I believed in. Whether it was something as nebulous as his energy or something as concrete as his experience, I can't say. All I know is that I choose to not question his teachings and I took them in the spirit he offered them -- with gratitude.

It took me a long time to find a teacher that I wanted to offer up my trust to. Perhaps it was all of the stories I'd heard about gurus gone wild or perhaps it was my untrusting and ego-centric nature or maybe it was the fact that I had an idea of what a teacher should be -- and let me tell you, my exptectations were high. I'd never found anyone who could live up to them.

I remember being at a yoga conference and taking a day-long intensive with a prominent teacher some years back. This particular teacher had -- and still has, I'm sure -- like many well-known yoga teachers, a large group of fanatic fans. Years prior I had heard about how amazing this teacher was -- her teachings were wise, her strength and flexibility unparalleled, her style of yoga vigorous and the sure path to nirvana. I admit that I was curious. I wanted to see what all of the hoopla was about. The minute she walked into class I found myself as non-plussed as my Indian teacher had been -- THIS was the paragon of yoga that everyone had spoken so highly about?!? No only did she look dour (I highly doubt she smiled once in the 6+ hours I was in her class) but her energy was seriously negative. Her focus seemed to be on the physical aspects of yoga only, with little thought to the other tools. She wasn't exactly what I would expect a yoga teacher to be.

It was  combination of this experience along with many others (that were equally disappointing) that got me more excited about the guru within rather than the guru without. I got a bit too attached to the idea that I was my own best teacher, filled to the brim with wisdom. Yes, I still think that I have a vast amount of wisdom inside of me that I can tap into when I get quiet and listen. Of course, what I learned through a regular yoga practice is that I had quite a few obstacles or antarayas in the way of the quiet. My ego loved to assure me that I was just perfect the way I was and that I had nary an antaraya.

Yeah right! Lucky for me, I found a teacher who enlightened me to the fact that, hell, yes, I have no dearth of antarayas. More importantly, I learned that while yes, we have the widom within us, sometimes we lack the discernment and the discrimination necessary to tap into it and then put it into practice.

That's not to say I don't occasionally push against the idea of bonding with a teacher. The voice in the back of my head still questions. Then I remember a conversation I had with a friend about 3 years back regarding a training that he had considered taking and I was in the middle of. I was headlong into the training and I had a mentor with whom I would speak to on a weekly basis for the entire length of the training. The mentor requirement of this training, while a plus for me, was a drawback to my friend, who ultimately decided to nix the training. He felt that if he didn't have a mentor who was older and more experienced than he -- which would have been tough being that he was quite convinced that he had a vast amount of experience and wisdom -- than he wouldn't be able to respect the mentor and value their relationship. My response was, "Well, even though this person might not be older than you or have some of the experience you do, he/she DOES have more experience in this modality than you do."

Touche.

Yoga teacher Sarah Avant Stover recently wrote an article regarding the student/teacher relationship as she paid tribute to luminary Pattabhi Jois. You can read the article here.  It was reading this article that made me reflect on my initial aversion to and now heightened desire for a teacher.

I'd like to know what y'all think. Do you have a teacher -- and by teacher, I mean not one that you study with every now and again through a workshop but a teacher that you study/work one-on-one with on a regular basis either via phone and email or in-person. What do you think of the yoga student/teacher relationships here in America? Are they going strong, or non-existent? If you study with a teacher, what have you gained vs. working on your own? If you don't have a teacher, do you think that your yoga practice suffers because of it? If you do have a teacher, how do you feel that the relationship has enhanced your practice?

I'd love to hear about your experiences, so please tell me your stories.

Namaste!