iSit: Days 20 to 30 ... and onward!

With the holidays around the corner, who has large amounts of time to just sit around and do nothing?

With so many things on your to-do list, how can you possibly also carve out time and space for a meaningful meditation practice?

May I suggest, how can you afford not to?

Throughout the last week, I've felt the rising tension and anticipation on the roads, in the malls, at the post office, even in the yoga studio. 

Last Saturday night, I gave myself a flat tire when I ran impatiently into a curb backing up at a gas station. I was running on empty, literally, it was minus 100 degrees Celsius, I was hungry, tired and anxious to get home after being in a workshop all day. The karmic effects of my actions left me without a car, less time, more to do and a $200 bill for a new tire.

If only I could have been less reactive, I thought to myself. Maybe this meditation thing isn't going so well after all.

But here's the thing: Meditating is like turning on a light; the room gets brighter; suddenly you see more clearly and what you notice, now, cannot be unnoticed. This is a good thing. At least you're in reality.

I felt calm, absurdly at peace and unattached to the drama of "my little disaster." After all, I'd caused it. Now, at least, I could choose how to let the consequences effect me or touch others around me. 

Sometimes we catch ourselves in unconscious behaviour. Other times, it may be too late, but a least the fall-out doesn't have to be full of drama, delusion, blame or self-pity, and we can go on living.

The moments spent in intentional stillness and mindful presence directly affect the quality of your future moments. Meditation has a domino affect. Do it often and devotedly. My 30 day challenge is over but my practice has just begun. 

I will end with this quote from The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga by Deepak Chopra, which I highly recommend for anyone wanting to delve into a yoga and meditation practice: 

The Upanishads tell us, 'As great as the infinite space beyond is the space within the lotus of the heart.' From the time of your birth, you have been called to explore the world outside of you. Meditation is the exploration of your inner world. Yoga encourages you to be as familiar with your inner world of thoughts, feelings, memories, desires and imagination as you are with the outer world of time, space and causality. When you can move through both the inner and outer domains of life with freedom and finesse, you fulfill the highest purpose of yoga."

With a deep and full heart, Namaste. ॐ J.

iSit: Day 12 to 19

As I write this, I am eating Domino's Pizza and drinking diet pop. I'm even dipping the crust in Lite Ranch dressing. Ooooooooooh. So Bad. I'm fully aware of what I am doing. And it's delicious ... in a dirty caloric non-vegan tri(again)doshic without-chia-seeds-on-top kinda way.

Meditation won't change you overnight, but a regular practice, I am learning, will not let you get away with much unconsciously. Trust me, aside from the double negatives in that last sentence, this is a good thing.

Big brother is outside. He is a manifestation of ego. But your sacred sentinel. She is inside. Just get still and quiet, turn inward and slip through the manifold veils of thought and mindlessness. She has always been, and will forever be, watching you. Big Brother has nothing on her.

So who am I ... if not my thoughts?

Well, we know that we are what we eat. Ugh. As I wrote that last sentence approximately 50,000 cells in my body died and new ones are now being built and fuelled on cheesy chicken-pinapple-mushroom-bacon 'Za and Aspartame. Well, I guess that means it's a Greens Plus shake for dinner!

For the moment, though, I am eating my pizza slowly, enjoy it thoroughly and feeling hunger wane and fullness replace famine. My gluttonous mind, craving a wolfish winter carb-out slapped four greasy slices on my plate. But there is no way I'll feel well if I devour all of those wedges. Sacred sentinel is sparing me the anguish and heartburn.

You can sit for 49 days under a Bodhi tree or practice in a split second to quiet the mind, calm the body and free your spirit from past conditioning, present suffering and future fantasies and guessing games. Or you can even gaze at a pizza mandala, possibly taste nirvana, and just try not to take a bite!

iSit not to change myself - although transformation is often a side effect of spiritual practices. iSit and devote my self to the consciousness practice of meditation because ...

...it's stirring up the dust and sweeping under the rug;

... I feel calmer, clearer, happier, more fully present, but less attached to outcomes and my emotions surrounding them;

... I make kinder, gentler, more life-supporting choices;

... I feel more creative

... I'm more attentive with others and have a split second longer to check my ego before she breaks loose, finds a soapbox and a megaphone;

... I can hear negative thought patterns more loudly, recognize them as "grasping mind," and let them go, then respond instead from a place of compassion and love. Warning: this is harder in winter traffic. Although chances improve greatly, I find, when listening to CBC Radio 2 Tempo's classical music ... and when you ...

never stop practicing. 

ॐ

iSit: Days 7 to 11

Don't just do time. Sitting isn't one of those things that you get good at then stop. The goal is not mastery of the practice so you can be done with it then move on to the next thing. The practice never ends. The Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree until he became enlightened, which took him 49 days and nights straight. Most of us don't have that kind of time - or inclination. Then Siddhartha Gautama Buddha got up, stretched his legs, probably did a few Downward Dogs, and continued his practice going about spreading the dharma of enlightenment to the world - but his every awakened breath and move was now meditation in action.

Boredom, contraction and inertia are part of the practice. It is in my nature to take the bull by the horns when it comes to new things. Growth curves and struggle make me feel so awake and alive! I become a proverbial sea sponge, ride the waves, coast a while, then I hit the sand, dry up, and end up in someone's exotic sea shell collection.  Just notice, without judgment, that you have fallen in a rut and are "doing" time. Be present, for each fluctuation of mind, body and breath, knowing that what ebbs eventually flows. And every once in a while, give yourself a good dunk. A drop or two of sea water is as good as the whole ocean. Smile. Get inspired. Pay attention. Share a positive outlook or kind word - it may be all that's needed to taste the infinite again and turn someone else's tide. Embrace the whole ride.

Experiment. Sit, walk, stare at a candle flame, count your breaths, listen to the sounds of silence, cross your legs, uncross them, meditate on Om, stare at your Third Eye, do mudras, smell your surroundings. There is no right or wrong way to meditate, as long as it is embraced with sincere and sustained focus and attention. The world of meditation is your oyster. Shuck it.

Make meditation a priority. On Day 10, I waited until the 11th hour to do my meditation practice. I'd been avoiding it all day, and when I finally crawled into bed and remembered my 30-day project ... one more thing I had to do ... I pulled the covers up around my face, set my timer, and got still. But I was fighting sleep the whole way. Soon enough my Oms became Zees. But I made it to the harp and got a Gold Star. Give your meditation top priority. It isn't dusting, doing your taxes, changing your oil or one more task on your To Do list. It's your whole To Be list! And better yet, it's checked off; done; finit! Because you, already, are! Meditation isn't a mundane "time out" to forget the outer world, but a sacred pause to remember that inner is outer: is there anything more important than that?!

Meditate out in the world, right where you are. Yesterday, when I was waiting in line at the Registry and then the bank, and then in traffic, I felt my body contract and irritation levels rise as my self-righteous and bitchy ego started running laps on the unconscious treadmills of untrained puppy-dog mind. Yappity-yap yap yap yap ... so I threw her with a bone, distracted her with the still, clear gaze of my unwavering Buddha attention. And she bowed, licked her chops and curled up at my feet. Om. Good dog.

iSit: Days 4, 5 & 6

When you sit, don't expect Nirvana. If you do, you are still bound by expectation and clinging to desire.

Day four, I oscillated between self-congratulations and despair, one minute chasing the tails of enlightenment and the next, dragged down by doubt, self-judgment, worry and darkness.

Meditating will not make you a "better person." Self-improvement has its place, but not on the zafu cushion.

You are already perfect; the body just may not feel that way and the mind may not believe it. I don't think "perfection" means what we, typically, think it means.

The only objective is toward full concentration. With sustained effort, you may shift focus, beyond mind and body, out of doing and into being. Here, there is no commentary (which is a freakin' relief!) just boundless unbound. I am at home, and awake, and at One with Peace, itself, in the whirling dervish of the present moment. Then suddenly Kurt Cobain is serenading me from a bed of 1,000-petalled lotuses and I reach, and Pop! It's gone. Don't expect Nirvana.

Sit in your shit. It's stinky and unflattering and it may change what other people think of you, including yourself. But who knows?! Maybe that's a good thing! Dogs instinctively roll in their own poop to mask their own scent from other predators and prey. But what if sitting in your karmic dung heap ... getting really still and unceremonious and honest with yourself ... could help you sniff out the delusions and lies, drop the disguise ... and recognize that the only predator or prey, is fear, itself? And what if you could hold only that piece of Truth every minute of your day or life? Now that's powerful shit!

You don't need more time, just more attention and focus. Whether you sit for 10 minutes or two hours is irrelevant. It's quality over quantity. Day six I spent several minutes with my inner Drama Queen before losing interest in her seductive rant. Then there was this spinny thing. It's happened before, in my palms and in my chest and in my head. Little revolving energy orbs which dissolve my sense of inside and out. These spiralling reeling sensations are like being inside a dance. I am neither spatial moving body nor the intelligence in the time-bound steps, but flow itself. Could this be Rumi's unseen Friend, come out to play? Here I am!

iSit: Days 1, 2 & 3

iSit is my campaign to embrace the practice of meditation once and for all.

To sit and do nothing is not an act of idleness and passivity. It is an active choice to get quiet, still and present - 'cause that's where all the real stuff is happening anyway.

Here's what I've learned so far:

1. It helps to set an alarm. You might be tempted to peak at the time, but having an automatic time-keeper helps frees you to let go of abstract goals and objectives, and instead focus on your experience. Just make sure the alert isn't loud and annoying: Today I was jarred out of my Zen place with an irritating "boing-boing" noise. Tomorrow it will be a lovely harp.

2. Best to sit upright to meditate. On Day 2, I began with a morning five-minute sit/float in the hot tub. Sitting tall, I watched my breath move in and out of my nostrils and observed the sensations of my body receiving and releasing my breath. I was quickly distracted by the 43-degree Celsius water. This is probably what hot flashes feel like. And the sensations of bubbles and buoyancy. Coolio. I am a meditating goddess. It felt effortless to hold myself upright. Reminder: buy Yoga Swing to explore the effects of anti-gravity. And the effervescence against my skin was more delightful than usual. Amazing, how the intensity of experience gets dialled up when you give 100% of your attention. Makes you wonder what you've been missing. Ommmmmm.

I taught a yoga session Monday night and wasn't feeling so hot beforehand. When I started to feel nauseous during class, I brought the students into a Warrior I-Intense Side Stretch sequence and paused a moment to check in. I allowed myself to experience the dis-ease in my belly without trying to alter my condition, but rather accept and breathe through it. But no sooner had I zoomed in on the unsavoury sensations than my mouth erupted into saline waterworks which signalled that I was going to be sick. I ran for the door, regretfully leaving my students in a deep pretzel bend, and hurled full throttle into the garbage can next to the water cooler. Upchuck-asana. Now that is a first.

Needless to say, my evening meditation was completed in supine position in bed, during which my efforts were usurped by Neo Citron and my cozy fleece blanket. Om to the Zee.

3. It's freakin' hard. Day Three, I thought it would be fun to do a fireside meditation, but the frenetic dance of gas fire flames tripped me out, so I slammed my eyes shut, and kept it simple. One second my mind is empty and spacious, flames forgotten, and I'm listening to my lively heart beat; the next, I'm contemplating the effects of caffeine on my blood pressure, due to the coffee I had while walking through Ikea two hours earlier, wondering what the secret ingredient is in Tim Horton's blend, and fantasizing about the lengths to which they go to keep their narcotic additive under tight wraps. I'm visualizing covert armed factory drop-offs of unmarked shipments. Not even top execs are privy to the nature of the Secret Spice. ... I'm pretty sure this is not meditation anymore. Crap. Back to my breath. Now there's that lovely harp.

iSit: My 30-day Meditation Challenge.

Right about now is when the ball drops. The Earth throws her hip too far to the left, and winter's orbit sends me into a contracted state of goosebumps, grumbling and grandstand fantasies of escape.

My bear instincts kick in and I can be found at the fridge. My serotonin plummets. I pop Vitamin D like its Valium and wonder if yoga's a strong enough prescription, and whether I should take two or ten.

These old folds, where once I was stuck, somewhere in between figments of a better place than Here and wondering if My Life was stacking up well enough, taunt seductively, like warm blankets against the cutting cold morning air, and I want to sink in more deeply and go back to sleep.

But here's where I get my Molly-Maid on and iron out all that samsara hala hala. Here's where I fight back - like a Gentle Warrior, of course - with the weapons of Mind, Body and Breath.

Even a snake knows not to crawl back into old skin!

This year I will not hibernate in dark, unconscious caves. I will light a fire, and watch the shadows dance upon their stony walls until the flames have fanned into my heart, and dance becomes destiny.

That is why today I am starting a 30-day meditation challenge. That's right, I will sit in defiance of auto-pilot cycles of suffering. I will sit, even when I don't feel like it; and my boyfriend has even agreed to sit with me. I guess that means this month we have a standing sitting date. I might even, sometimes, sit on the spiky Medi-Mat - a.k.a. torture mat - that I just picked up last week.

Peaceful protest or sadomasochistic love-in, I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe you want to sit too?

This is my rally for reality.

Just Stop!

Sometimes I need to get really still
to discover my longitude and latitude.

Just like a wrist watch with low batteries 
starts to tell the wrong time.

A captain with a faulty compass will drift off course; 
which can make for a hell of a journey. 
Throw in the anchor, ’til she finds her bearings! 
Break out the flotation device. Bob and navel gaze, 
until your spirit refuels and you can tread and pull again.

Getting still, helps me get back on the move. 
I find my center by following the ache within the ache
 within the ache ... back home.

I bear witness to whatever lovely and inglorious
 truths lay exposed in my head and heart. 
And that kindness helps me rediscover my True North
 - Love - and I’m on my way again. 

Then I have stillness in motion. 
Inner quiet amid the day’s noise and necessities. 
This state is neither fixed or final. 
But its effect is clear and immediate. 

We are only human. 
The pause, is just as essential as the inhale and exhale.
 Maybe there’s no sticky mat rolled out, 
and you’re not dressed in your stretchy Lulus, 
but you are in your yoga. It’s all practice. 

Friends, come get filled with solace and space at the Fall Soul Yoga Retreat, Nov 2-4. We have one spot left! Info at www.jenniferparks.ca

Love Jenn


ॐ

Peace and quiet help a lotus to bloom in the muck.
Photo taken at Yasodhara Ashram in B.C. this summer.

My Top 5 New Reasons for Lovin' Yoga

1. You can go almost anywhere in the world and find a yoga studio. Before you've even left home, just give a quick shout-out to your Omies on FB and you'll have a personalized yogi Rolodex of studios and teachers to check out while on your travels. That's how this summer I was blessed to meet and share space with such amazing teachers as: Rockne White at Reflexions Yoga in Penticton; Dana Skoglund of Mission Yoga in Kelowna; Melissa Kavanagh of Shanti Yoga and Elissa Gumushel at The Studio in Nelson, BC. Better than Expedia or Google by quantum leaps.

With Dana Skoglund at a studio in a garage,
Mission Yoga in Kelowna, BC

At The Studio in Nelson, BC with
 Anusara goddess Elissa Gumushel  

2. You can do it anywhere: in your bedroom, on a deck, in a hot spring, at the mall, under a tree, in a vineyard, on a bridge, sidewalk, fire-escape; at work, at an ashram, atop a car, on a country road, inside someone's garage, at school, in a library, park, parasail seat or playa!

Bridge session in Nelson, BC.

3. Sharing yoga with a child is better than bribing them to like you with a toy or candy. They will loooove yoga, intuitively feel more connected to you and you keep your karma clear. Plus, you'll hang your ego out to dry as you watch this little person effortlessly twist and bend into shapes you've only seen in your Dharma Mittra Asana book. Check out my friend's daughter, Ava, taking her afternoon nap in Yoganidrasana (Yogic Sleep Pose). My Inner Child didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Little people are amazing!

Yoga play in Fort St. James, BC.

4. As much as I love words, sometimes, often, words simply fail to express satisfactorily the heart's deep joy, an inner peace, a playful spirit, a quiet mind, a raucous, reflective or restless, renegade soul. When at such synaptic crossroads, busting into a spontaneous yoga pose can sum up in an instant - in speechless superlatives - what the mind cannot think, the heart cannot sing and the body cannot dance alone. Yoga is a true conversation with the moment; one I never get tired of having. 

At Mission Hill Vineyards in Kelowna, BC.

5. It's a practice. That's all. Not a religion, dogma, bond, competition, immunity or make-over. Like any practice, it won't really make you perfect but it will make you a prac·ti·tion·er

   [prak-tish-uh-ner].You are already YOU, anyway. But beware! Yoga has been known to have the side effect of making you even more perfectly you. Exercise caution-asana towards anyone who tells you otherwise, and then there's only one thing left to do: practice. Then practice some more. And keep practicing. Period.

Love is a Circle

This summer - from Montreal, Quebec to Nelson, B.C. - an epic journey. 

I am so full ...

... of mountain peaks, totem poles, sunshine, sand, Lakeshore Boulevards and rocky glacier-fed streams ...

Woodbury Resort, B.C.

Reflexions Studio, Penticton, B.C.

  

... campfire cloves and fine wine, Rocket Stove popcorn, tent windstorms, the new scent of polyvinyl air mattresses baking in afternoon heat ...

Camping in Woodbury, B.C. 

... sweet sun-kissed skin, goose-bump rousing watery baptisms in nature's aqueous hot springs, caves, baths, basins and tributaries ...

Soaking at Ainsworth Hot Springs, B.C.

... millions of smooth and mineral-rich rocks to collect, scintillating sparkly fractals of light and loveliness, holy unscheduled time, laughter and silence ...

At the Beach.

Nelson: Spontaneous Fire-Escape Yoga

... Oso Negro fresh-roasted coffee, Vegetarian Hippy Poutine topped with Mushroom Gravy, Nutritional Yeast and Hemp seeds, emergency roadside ice cream pull-overs, Wild Sockeye Salmon and Kombucha kicks into high gear, writing in wired cafes ...

Kaslo, B.C. cafe, riding an elephant chair.

Ice Cream: Anytime, Anywhere.

... slow strolls, simple talk, meaningful connections, old and new friends, bare feet, grit in my hair, make-up breaks, forgetting Self in Spirit, remembering how to tell time again like a kid (a freckle past a hair!) ...

My friend, Neely, and Alison Rubin at
Harmony Yoga in Spokane, Washington.

Playing with my food.

... blessed beauty, growth, experience, with the one I love - Ash - and flowing with Grace, on the mat and off, with the other One I love to infinity - yoga.

After my morning Americano at Fruit of the Moon,
a roadside cafe outside Woodbury Resort, B.C.

... on the beach, in the grass, upon solid rock, cork floor, bridge, fire escape, water, air ...

Shanti Yoga in Nelson, B.C.

Bridge yoga in Nelson.

Ash getting his Zen on.

Dancer: Fire Escape Yoga Sessions.

Bridge on Bridge.

Om Om Om. Nom Nom Nom.

xo


Check out info on my fall retreat here:
http://www.facebook.com/events/267072033410506/

http://www.jenniferparks.ca/Retreats.html

The Greatest Escape

Wherever you go, there you are. 

Sun or stars, shadows or high noon;

The same knowing moon shines on you. 

Whether in Paris or Peru.

You may visit exotic places, meet new faces.

Be a stranger in a strange land, act stranger still;

Chase your passions and dreams,

Run from your heartaches, boredom, troubles, fears, 

But through and through, they know no borders.

Wherever you go, there you are;

Incontrovertibly, you.

Your Grand Getaway, then, my friend,

Is not to Giza, West Ed. Mall or (Insert Desired Destination of the Day, Month, Year). 

Here's a hint: it's much nearer.

It's not a vay-kay, but a stay-kay, 

Global in reach, but locally made and consciously grown.

It ain't to Kansas, in "Seven Sleeps,"

Destination: Retirement-Ville,

or Any Other Perceived or Pined-For Utopia.

Your Holiday Haven, 

Your Greatest Escape ... to unshackled freedom, 

Available en momento ("in this very moment" en Espagnol) ...

Is back to

~ Jenn xo

Livin 'n' Lovin

Re-treat Yourself

I'm lovin' this sunshine, and these long days of low stress, chillaxin', all yogi-like, in my coveted mobile office. Some days it's on a sticky mat wearing Lulus. Other days I set up my proverbial ink well on a patio or beach, in a backyard or cafe ... wherever I can order an Americano, access WiFi, submerge my senses in a little white noise, breathe like a boob-drunk baby and write my little ol' heart out.

That's how I roll: like a Dixie Chick high on Kombucha, battin' average outta Rat-Race hell.

ॐ ॐ ॐ

Summer is a dream, but fall is, and will always be, my favourite season. I love the shift to cool, crunch, and colours; the slow transmutable glow from mellow-yellow to soothing orange to crimson red - like Harvest sunsets that stir the heart into unbridled, exalted prayer for all that Is, May Be and Once Was, upon two times called Forever and Nevermore.

But my favourite thing about fall is retreating!

Yes, folks, mark your calendars for the Fourth Annual Fall Soul Yoga Retreat, Nov 2-4, 2012 at River Lodge in Stony Plain, AB. Join me for a weekend of vinyasa flow and yin-style yoga, organic harvest wine-tasting, nourishing soul food prepared by local Red Seal chef Sally Vaughan-Johnston, in-house spa services and more. 

Treat body and soul, relax and rejuvenate, celebrate Nature's abundance, inner spirit and yoga's clarifying gifts. I can't wait to share this amazing weekend with you! Check out all the deets on my website and the poster below. 

And thank you so much to the following Edmonton and Area studios and shops for their gracious and open-hearted continual support in helping me spread the word about these retreats. Namaste ॐ

Lotus Soul Gym

Lululemon

Salus Centre

Yoga Life

Moksha Edmonton

Divine Oasis

Hot in Leduc

Namaste Salon & Spa

Mint Yoga Clothing

That Yoga Place

Bodhi Fit

True Yoga

Noorish

Soul Fitness

Prana

Water Garden

Roots on Whyte

Five Things I Learned Today

Actually, it was yesterday, but I'm just getting around to posting.

1. Don't shake your bottle of Kombucha tea (pronounced kom-BOO-cha) before you drink it, like you might an O.J. or Gatorade that's sat too long on a corner-store shelf. This tart trendy nouveau-hippie bevvie is loaded with active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols, that froth, grow and explode EVERYWHERE when agitated, like your big-fat-'F' high school science experiment. Not cool. Especially in places where urban tree-hugging hipsters co-nestle and congregate. I did it twice yesterday.

2. Make time for your friends.  I'm bad for this. I love them to death, but often get too wound up in my work, projects and need for solitary down time. But just a phone call or visit, a laugh, shared story, five minutes of connection in the middle of your hectic afternoon will put a smile on your face, pull the plug on stress and become the day's highlight ... if you let it. We are not our jobs, to-do lists or over-scheduled lives. We are human beings who need time for just being human. (P.S. Thanks for the hugs and stories, Joe!)

3. Give people the chance to do the right thing before busting in like the karma police. During my rental property check-out inspection a few weeks ago, my landlord (a real-estate agent acting as a multiple property manager for his client) tried to bully me into believing I should not be reimbursed my $1550 damage deposit due to what was clearly only minor wear and tear.

After refusing to sign the inspection document, I left the premises, distraught, bewildered and spiritually near-broken by what my gut told me were seriously honed manipulation tactics and systemic abuse.

For 10 days, he ignored my emails and texts and I received no cheque or Statement of Accounts in the mail. So this conflict-phoebic yogi bit the bullet and sent him a note stating "Tomorrow I will take legal action, and if I don't hear from you, my former editors at the newspaper will hear from me." A bit dramatic, I know, but effective, I hoped. I could see the headline now: "Fat-stacks agent swindles frugal yogi-tenant."

I wasn't gonna let him break my spiritual bank or steal my hard-earned paycheque.

The next day, before serving the legal paperwork, I gave him one more chance. This time when I called he answered, sounding tired and slightly more humbled. He said he was settling the account and would send me "something" shortly.

I hope I've helped him do the right thing. But only Karma knows what really went down.

4. Always maintain an interest in your work. Whether you wait on tables, push paper in a corporate office or run your own business, taking pride in what you do and staying clear and passionate about your purpose, is something you will always have when the winds change or times get tough. If you don't like what you do, change your work. Life's too short. "Work is" not drudgery but "love made visible." (Kahlil Gibran)

5. Trust in yoga. If you're a yogi, you get it. If you're not Down, Dog, why not meet me at the crossroads between spirituality, science and serendipity, tomorrow night @ 6 p.m., Lotus Soul Gym on Whyte Ave., and find out why the practice of yoga is so amazing, and will teach you all that you ever need to know about yourself, life and the unseen universe! Seriously intergalactic stuff, yo.

Get Inverted

This week’s playlist is inspired by the theme “Upside-Down!”

It’s summertime - the perfect time to take a holiday and get inverted! We will turn our mats into the grassy fields and backyards of our youth while invoking the spirits of play and curiosity, in a safe and sanely structured class.

Tonight at Yoga Within's Summer Hatha Yoga Series (5:45-7 p.m.) you will be guided through a flow sequence of asanas that root you to the earth and challenge your core so that you may free the body, mind and heart to shift perspective and soar! 

We will commune with the animal kingdom through postures like Bird-Dog, Down Dog, Dolphin, Camel, Cobra, Crow, Rabbit and Locust, working our way into Chair Twist, Triangle, Bridge and/or Full Wheel, variations of Shoulder Stand, Plow, Headstand and/or Handstand.

Learn to listen and trust your self. Break free of fear-based patterns which clamp the spirit and limit expression of your innermost joy and freedom. This class is suitable for beginners and regular practitioners. Modifications will be offered and, as always, I encourage you to show up and challenge yourself with discernment, while observing the body’s response and navigating the voices of Ego and Inner Child, both of which have so much to teach us.

See you in the yoga playground! xo Jenn


Check out my regular and sub schedule this week here.

Power Animals ~ David & Steve Gordon
Hey You ~ Pink Floyd 

I’m Yours ~ Jason Mraz
Cant Keep It In ~ Cat Stevens

The Lime Tree ~ Trevor Hall

Birmingham ~ Amanda Marshall

All Summer Long ~ Kid Rock

Banana Pancakes ~ Jack Johnson

Margaritaville ~ Jimmy Buffett

Hanuman Baba (Dub Farm Re-mix) ~ Krishna Das

Summertime ~ Eva Cassidy