Day 13

Here is some inspiration for us this morning:

Back in 1996-97, Sianna Sherman and a group of friends committed to getting together Monday-Friday for one year, at 5 am for 30 minutes of meditation and 2 hours of silent asana practice. She said that the year changed her life, and that the friends that she did this with are still her best friends.

She shared this little gem with us this morning during practice, and I could not help thinking, How Timely! And it was more fuel toward all of my inspiration for practice as a community sanctuary and my eventual desire for us to be able to come together in person and not just through the ether's.

I actually got inspired about a great many things, one of them being the June workshop with Christins Sell that we will be hosting in Viroqua again this summer. So many people that we there this weekend from all over told me they were going to make the trip this summer. It should be a great group, it sure was this weekend.

So, when I get home later today, I am going to add a few tidbits to the sidebar. Helpful and inspiring little morsels for you.

For now. Here are a few poetic, grace infused, delights from this morning.

AMS

plank (eka pada, eka hasta)

Surya Namaskar A 3x

Surya Namaskar B 1x (long Uttkatasana)

Parsvakonasana

Garudasana to Vira 3 to Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana

Parsvottansana with the ball of the foot up to UPEP again

Wild thing

Pigeon to Mermaid

AMS

Uttansana

that should do for today. I will lead most of the sequence that we did this morning with Sianna at next Sunday's practice.

Day 12

Good Morning! I am at some fancy Madison hotel with my kids and fella. Eider is snoozing, Maple and Papa are swimming, and I am checking in here before getting ready to head for a day of yoga with Sianna Sherman. A day of yoga. How nice is that? I have been looking forward to this for awhile, not only because a weekend workshop in Wisconsin is not so frequent of a happening, but this is Sianna's first time teaching in our lovely state and it has been a long time coming! The lovely ladies at Main Street Yoga here in Madison have been making every effort to get her here for over 5 years at this point. Thank you so much Barbara and Iris!

So, if you are not down here already and I am not about to see you in an hour, it is still not too late to hop into your car and head down here for the afternoon session that starts at 3. It will be so great that you will want to stay the night and wake up for her 7 am practice tomorrow (which really should be old hat for those of you who have been doing that with me for the better part of a year). Then you can just check off your practice for today and tomorrow and there you have it, it is a done deal!

But if I have not succeeded in convincing you yet, or you are otherwise unavailable, how about a little something to whet your yoga whistle today? Twists anyone?

AMV (childs)

AMS (down dog)

Uttanasana

Uttkatasana

Parsvakonasana

Trikonasana

Parivritta Trikonasana

Parivritta Parvakonasana

Twisted Uttkatasana

Lunge, with a twist and a thigh stretch

Parivritta Ardha Chandrasana

Janu Sirsasana

Ardha Matseyandrasana

Marichyasana 1 twisting stage

Marichyasana 3

Bharadvajasana 2

Paschimottanasana

Savasana

1 minute each/side

feel free to repeat a pose more than once a side, especially the seated poses.

Doesn't this look like such a blast? Think around 40 minutes.

Day 11

Already?

I have a confession. I have not practiced for a couple of days. I hope that that does not kill anybody's moral. I have been pretty sick and Chris has been away extra this week and well, basically all that I want to do when I have a moment is lie down and close my eyes. If you want to think of it as me doing savasana you are welcome to, even though I most certainly I am not. Desperately praying, maybe. Savasana, not a chance. Also, I am really trying to feel better for this weekend.

Today is Flow Friday. Which I personally love as a concept. Get on your mat and go kind of a thing. Just breathe. Unwind to your breath and your body. Let loose. Love yourself. Celebrate the unique gift of you. (You get the point. I could keep going...)

So, go for it. Try to be on your mat for 20 minutes minimally. And please check in. No loss of morale!

Day 10

Can it be? Day 10 already? 1/4 of the way through the challenge?

So I am late posting this again. We spent the night down at a friends farm and I am sick as a dog and so, well, here I am late putting this up.

I am thinking something brief and something mellow today. For 2 reasons. The first being malaise, the second being that tomorrow is Friday, and Sianna's workshop starts tomorrow in Madison. I have been plugging this shamelessly, but I mean, really. If you are anywhere in Wisconsin, this workshop is well worth the trip and the time and the effort. And if you live in the sticks like me, there is the added bonus of the city weekend. And if you are doing the challenge, here are 3 days of yoga just being handed over to you. And Sianna is really and truly one of the best yoga practitioners teaching today. I could go on and on here, but I should get to today's practice.

Here you go:

Adho Muhka Svanasana

Uttanasana

Supta Padangustasana 1-4

Parsvakonasana

Trikonasana

Ardha Chandrasana

Gardudasana

Virabadrasana 3

Uttanasana

Adho Muhka Virasana

Savasana

1 minute each per usual.

Day 9

It appears that my immune system could handle only so much malaise before I too went down. So, I didn't get this up last night. I apologize to the early risers of the bunch.

At any rate, I am thinking about flowers this morning. Well, really there component parts. Especially seeds. It is the end of February, and one very useful survival tool in Wisconsin this time of year is to start turning Winter's daydream of next season's garden in to a reality. So in February, especially at the end, I think of flowers. And I begin to gather all of the seeds and make a definitive plan for the next few months. I love the energy of this time of year.

But there is another flower that I think about all year long.

The Lotus Flower.

This flower, like many, is a sacred bloom. It is revered as something that grows out of the much to become Splendor itself.

Today, lets get to lotus. This is a great sequence for doing so (and the very same one that we will be doing at my 8:30 class this morning if you want some instruction....)

Adho Muhka Svanasana

Parsvakonasana

Uttanasana

Pigeon prep

Janu Sirsasana

Uppavista Konasana

Parsva Uppavista Konasana

Baby Cradle

Agnistambasana

Bharadvajasana

Padmasana

Viola!

Day 8

Here is a sequence that I do several times a month. I love it. It is about 45 minutes if you do the inversions, 25-30 minutes if you skip them. Let me know how it goes.

AMS

Uttanasana

Sirsasana (and variations, 5-10 minutes)

1 minute each side:

Crescent Pose

Virabadrasana 1

Anjaneyasana

Parsvottanasana

Parivritta Parsvakonasana

Supta Virasana (5 minutes)

Ustrasana

Danurasana

Parsva Danurasana

Urdhva Danurasana

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana

Sarvangasana and variations (5-10 minutes)

Savasana

Backbend Day!

Day 7

I had really wanted to put up video, or at least some photos over the weekend, but sadly I have not had the chance to even make the said video or pictures. As I write this, I have a very croupy baby on my back. So sad. I have been vomited on 2 times in the last 3 days, by both kids. The hidden underbelly of the path of the householder.

So, I do have something great to offer you. Elsie Escobar. Check her out. She puts up a free podcast of her classes. And she has great thumbnail photos (just like the ones that I want to make!) Not to mention the leg warmers. Love the leg warmers.

This is the 7th day of the challenge. The end of one week. Something that is of great benefit to your asana practice, is self-reflection. You can dialogue with friends, you can have some quiet time for contemplation. But what I want to specifically recommend it the power of journalling. There is nothing like taking some time to write down what you are experiencing to help you get more clarity. In doing so, you will become incredibly potent in your ability to articulate what yoga really is for you.

So I would like you to journal for a little bit on each 7th day. On Mondays. You can set your timer for a realistic length of time (at least 10 minutes) and have at it. I would especially love if you could share an excerpt from your process in the comments. Yoga is a conversation that has been going on for 1000's of years and we get to be a part of that conversation. So amazing.

This is what I want to do tomorrow in the way of asana:

Supta Padangustasana 1-4 (1 min each)

Supta Virasana (5 min)

Uttanasana (3 min)

Adho Muhka Svanasana (3 min)

Setubandha with a block support under the sacrum (3 min)

Savasana

short and sweet.

Love it.