Loving my practice!!

I haven't made it to class in a while or taught much. Right now I am enjoying my yoga practice at home. Being a stay at home mom and wife to my hubby, is my yoga practice!! Sometimes I miss teaching, but right not it is not what God is calling me to do. Maybe again someday, but for now I will continue my practice and that is what yoga is all about, really what life is all about!

My daughter and I do yoga together a couple times a week, she seems to really like it! This summer plan to do more yoga with her and maybe have some of her friends come over and teach them all together, have a yoga playdate!

I'm Back!!!!

After moving from Texas to Kentucky and also having my son seven months ago, I am ready to be start teaching again. I have been practicing yoga at home and going to a class here and there, but the opportunity arose for me to teach again and I wasn't even seeking, actually were a couple signs. I love how God talks to me! Next Tuesday I will be teaching my first class in eight months, bit nervous because it is a new place and new students, but I am ready and excited to share yoga!

Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.

B.K.S. Iyengar

Children's Dance or Yoga Classes

http://www.meetme-atmidtown.com/kids-exercise/dance-or-yoga-which-is-better-for-girls/

Very interesting article describing difference between yoga and dance. Right now we enjoy doing yoga at home and dancing to music in our living room.

Last Class

What is the practice of Yoga, what you practice on the mat may be also applied to your life off your mat. Your on your mat doing a pose and notice your body is hurting do you push through no, you find the ease. Same off the mat, if something is causing you stress, you also need to find the ease/the balance. Yoga is not a competition, so don't try to out do someone else. Yoga is practiced at your pace, working with your body, so you may not be able to do the same as your friend, that is OK, we are not the same, we are all individual and unique. Yoga is not a religion, though it may help you connect deeper to your faith when you practice meditation and clearing you mind. Your faith may not be the same as mine, but that is OK. We do not judge in Yoga, so don't judge each other. Wow who ever thought that yoga could be more then exercise. I certainly didn't when I first started doing it, but since I have been practicing Yoga for about 15 years I have seen the many benefits to yoga. With that , I am going to temporary retire from teaching Yoga for a while, unless there is a special need. But right now where my life is, being a mama of two little one's I need to practice Yoga off the mat for a while. Does this mean I am giving up Yoga, NEVER, I will still be practicing at home and try to attend a class here and there. That is the beauty of Yoga, it can be done anywhere!! So I am taking my advice and what I have learned in Yoga, listening to my heart!
Thank you to all of you that have graced me with your presence in Yoga class as a student or a teacher, y'all have taught me so much and I feel blessed to be able to have guided you in a class or have learned from you.
If you like to attend my last class I will be teaching (at least until the kiddos are a bit older), it will be on June 21 at 5:30 at the Yoga Haus.

June Yoga Schedule

I will be teaching two classes this month at the Bellville Yoga Haus on Tuesday June 21 5:30 and Wednesday June 29 5:30. These will be Gentle Yoga classes, great for new to advanced students. Please see the full schedule at the following link: http://yogakarma.weebly.com/yoga-class-schedule.html

May 2011 Yoga Schedule

The May yoga schedule is available. Offering Gentle/Beginner and Intermediate yoga classes from 5:30-6:30pm Monday - Thursday at only $5 per class.
http://yogakarma.weebly.com/

Sharing this great article I read. This is something everyone should live by. However, one thing thought I felt that was left out is prayer. At the end of each class we take the time to relax (savasana) and let our practice sink into our bodies (connect our mind, body and spirit)! We must also remember to pray, be thankful for our blessings, pray for others, pray for self.

5 Things I Learned from Yoga & Use in Difficult Times

By Marina Calado

The Universe has a way of tricking us. We believe we have it figured out, then life sneaks up from behind and teaches us a major earned lesson. In the past two years, it showed me that everything can change in a blink of an eye. My grandfather died, after his leg was amputated, my father was diagnosed with cancer, and as such I followed closely the ups and downs of his disease and his subsequent death.

Yoga has been with me through it all. The good thing about yoga is that it can be with us all the time; it is not limited to a yoga mat. In fact, by learning how to cope with hard poses on the yoga mat, we have the opportunity to carry that same knowledge off the mat. That is no easy task.

Here are five aspects I learned in my mat and how I try to integrate them to help me deal with my life, particularly when things don't go the way I plan.

1. Breathe. When something is difficult, when we are being pushed beyond our limits, we hold a breath or two. I know I do. I never actually came close to suffocating, mind you, but I did skip a few breaths along with my heart beat skipping tendency. In a yoga class, we are always reminded to breathe. Breathe into the pose. I took that lesson a step further and kept reminding myself to check my breathing as a general rule. It took me a while to understand that stopping my breath was only increasing my levels of anxiety. But once I realized that, I started to breathe more mindfully and, particularly, I exhaled and let my breath flow.

2. Release. When there is tension, there is no point in pushing harder. We should always try to find a comfort zone within the hardships. Sometimes that comfort zone comes when we take a step back. If one pose is hurting my knee, how about if I use a block to support my leg? Same thing happens in life. I am not defending the absence of all tension; sometimes tension helps us to move forward. The magic happens when we understand when to stop and when to keep going. I'm still working on this one.

3. Share. Kula, or community. It is the place where we choose to place our hearts. We often help each other in yoga class; we encourage our colleagues, and sometimes we actually help them, by partnering up. There is no need to go through life alone and keep everything to ourselves. We should all learn to accept help, to ease the burden. When I talked to friends about my dad, I sometimes ended up crying. This was good, I was letting go of all that pain and suffering. I even cried once in yoga class. It was one of the best classes of my life.

4. Accept. Some things just happen. Some days it is just harder to reach our toes. Accept that it is what it is and be with it. Learn from it. The only control we have is over our (re)actions. The belief that we control our life is merely an illusion. I don't mean to imply that we should just accept whatever comes and eventually stagnate. I believe one of the best things we need to accept is that we are good enough. We are worthy of whatever it is that we want.

5. Live. Life should always come first. If what I'm doing is not contributing in any way to my life, then why do I keep doing it? Wouldn't I rather be doing activities that actually have meaning for me? The best way to honor those who are gone is by living the most, by living the life that we want for ourselves. I try to enjoy what I do, enjoy my practice, enjoy every pose, for I only do that one pose once in my life. And if I am not present for it, it might just pass me by. I'm still working on this one too. I try to choose life every day.

One thing thought I felt that was left out is prayer. At the end of each class we take the time to relax (savasana) and let our practice sink into our bodies (connect our mind, body and spirit)!