breakfast number 1
breakfast number 2 part 1
breakfast number 2 part 2
she's really still in her cute #swapasana pajamas
love the linedrying
Pajama Day in Progress
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Tag Archives: Sacramento
Teacher Appreciation = Yoga Nap + Milk and Cookies!
Dear School Teacher,
I’m going to go out on a limb here.
It’s been a really hard school year.
I know, I’m a public school teacher too.
Are you tired and looking forward to the end of the school year?
Do you work really hard taking care of your students?
Wouldn’t it be nice for someone to take care of you?
Maybe rub your shoulders and temples while you rest in a warm little nest.
And serve you cookies and milk when you finish.
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week and in thanks for all that you do:
A FREE class just for you!
No yoga experience needed.
We (meaning me, Amanda from Urban Almanac and Erin from The Search Begins) will pamper and support you.
You will leave refreshed.
Think Yoga Nap.
With milk and cookies.
(No, really.)
May 1st, 3-4:30 pm.
www.itsallyoga.com to register (under workshops)
Yoga+Music365 (day26) – We Started Nothing by The Ting Tings – Books Edition!
I really do heart books. I make it a point to read for pleasure every day. I also read to my students every day.
So naturally when the idea of a yoga studio book club came along, I jumped on it. It’s All Yoga is starting up the studio book club again and Amanda (mama/yoga teacher extraordinaire) and I are in charge.
The first book is:
The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by the Dalai Lama and Dr. Howard Cutler (10th Anniversary Edition)
We meet the 4th Sunday at 4pm at 21st and X Streets in Sacramento – at the studio. Unless there is another workshop or event going on. Our other location is Temple Fine Coffee at 28th and S Streets. Please join us!
If you can’t join us in person, feel free to leave comments here.
Please let me know if you read the book and what you think.
Also tell me what you like and want to hear more about. I’m always looking for post ideas.
Today’s yoga brought to you by Kim of Yoga for Scoliosis fame at It’s All Yoga in Sacramento. If you are interested in a Yoga for Scoliosis workshop – 2/6&7 at It’s All Yoga.
Today’s music is We Started Nothing by The Ting Tings
Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com.
I’m teaching 3/5/10 – so mark your calendar.
For the month of February, I’m teaching a Level 1/2 on Mondays at 5:45. Come join me.
Yoga+Music365 (day14) – Trouble in Mind by Hayes Carll
Last night I attended the kick off meeting for my half marathon training. There were hundreds of people (or at least it looked that way) wedged into the Fleet Feet on J Street to hear all about our upcoming training.
I signed up for this right after Christmas while my jeans were feeling a little more snug than they should and before I started my Yoga+Music365 challenge. Plus I’m turning 40 the weekend after the race and what a better way to usher in my new decade.
Right?
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
I’ve never done this kind of thing before, I don’t know anyone and they kept talking about “injury-free” training.
Why have I signed up for something with a warning label?
I’ll admit it. My training schedule scared me. In the next 8 weeks I’ll be going from walking one night a week to walking 7, 8, 10, and 12 miles AT A TIME!
There is some good news in all of this.
Instead of striving for a sexier group (read more advanced/competitive/cool), I signed up in the walking group. Believe me, this is a huge step in my yogic path.
Stay tuned for more adventures in training over the next couple of months.
Today’s yoga brought to you by the home practice in Sacramento. Damn dentist appointment.
Today’s music is Trouble in Mind by Hayes Carll.
Each Saturday I’ll share my thoughts on the music of the week in the MUSIC ROUNDUP!
Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com.
Yoga+Music365 (day10) – Noble Beast by Andrew Bird
Dear Downward Facing Dog and your evil twin Reverse Plank,
I hate you.
Love,
Tams
PS – I can’t see why anyone else likes you either. That’s how much I hate you.
Today’s yoga brought to you by Althea at It’s All Yoga, Sacramento. – A rare weekend treat!
Today’s music is Noble Beast by Andrew Bird.
Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com.
My Yoga Manifesto – PART III- All People Can Do Yoga
Manifesto: a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization (or in this case, yoga teacher).
I believe all people can do yoga.
Yes, even you.
Some folks may be put off by yoga because they may think it’s about twisting their bodies into impossible poses usually found in a bag of pretzels.
Some people may be put off yoga because they think they are too ( chubby, old, young, busy, injured, poor, sad, happy, stressed out, tired, cool…)
Other may be put off yoga because they think they aren’t (flexible, strong, rich, fashionable, knowledgable…) enough.
Still others don’t do yoga because they think yoga is too (weird, out there, religious, trendy, bendy, slow, foreign).
I’m positive people that can find 1,001 reasons not to practice yoga.
I’d like to change all that.
You’ve just got to find the right teacher for your kind of yoga. The right teacher for you.
The right kind of teacher for you, right now, in the body you live in.
The right teacher for you will give modifications, work with the body you have, not have expectations of you, not judge you, not push you, not laugh at you. Generally not make you feel bad about yourself.
The right kind of teacher for you will explain what you are doing, help you move in and out of poses safely, show you how to use props to help you go places you can’t go on your own and maybe even make you giggle on occasion.
The right kind of teacher for you will help you see that yoga isn’t about perfecting poses, but about living in the body you have right now.
The right kind of teacher for you will help you find some stillness in the over-scheduled life we all seem to be living these days.
The right kind of teacher for you will help you see the beauty in the world.
The right kind of teacher for you will help you see the beauty in you.
If any of this sounds good to you, come take a class with me. Right now, I’m on the rotating new teacher schedule at It’s All Yoga in Sacramento. We’ve got a free class on Friday afternoons.
FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – sign up online www.itsallyoga.com.
If you are looking for a restorative class in Sacramento, we’ve got one of those too.
+++++
What do you think makes a teacher right for you?
Music Roundup! Week 1
Starting today, each Saturday I’ll share my thoughts on the music of the week. Please keep in mind I am not a music critic, just a girl with a musical obsession that needs to be tempered.
Yoga+Music365 is my effort to expand my musical horizons by listening to a new album every day in 2010.
I’m always looking for new music, so please send me the titles of albums that you absolutely can not live without, albums you wish were on everyone’s iPods and albums you play over and over despite no one else “getting it”.
The albums don’t have to be new releases, just new to me.
NOTE: I’m linking to MySpace when it’s available because of the ease of listening to songs, not because of a love of MySpace.
MUSIC ROUNDUP!
Day One:
Title: 500 Days of Summer Soundtrack
Highlights:
There is a Light that Never Goes Off – The Smiths
Mushaboom – Feist
Us – Regina Spektor (link included video of this and the next song and movie preview – BONUS!)
Vagabond Wolfmother
You Make My Dreams – Hall and Oates – If you haven’t seen this movie, this scene is worth the price of admission. Seriously, watch it NOW!
Will I listen again?
Without a doubt!
Day Two:
Title: Furr by Blitzen Trapper
Highlights:
1. Sleepy Time in the Western World (every album should start so strong)
2. Furr – very Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel-esque. LOVE IT!
3. God+Suicide (the title alone wins)
4. Black River Killer (Why oh why, do I so enjoy the songs about killing people?)
Will I listen again?
Absolutely!
Day Three:
Title: In Our Nature by Jose Gonzalez
Highlights:
1. How Low
Will I listen again?
Jose Gonzalez was recommended to be by a friend because of how much I love Elliot Smith‘s breathy/folky “only meant for lover’s ears” kinds of songs. JG didn’t do much for me. Not to say he isn’t a talented musician because he is, he just isn’t my cup of tea.
Plus he has an 8 (!) minute song on a 33 minute record. I guess he didn’t get my very personal memo about the brilliance of the 3 minute song.
Will I listen again? Maybe. We’ll see what other gems are uncovered this year.
Day Four:
Title: My Maudlin Career by Camera Obscura
Highlights:
1. French Navy (Just trying listening without tapping your foot or shaking your butt.)
2. Away with Murder
3. Forests and Sand
4. Honey in the Sun
Will I listen again?
I already am!
Tracyanne Campbell sounds like an angel, plus it’s catchy & you can dance to it!
Day Five:
Title: Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie (full disclosure: I’ve heard it before, just not in 2010. For some reason I LOVE this band name. Why? I really don’t know).
Highlights:
Radio hits galore!
1. I Will Possess Your Heart
2. Cath…
Will I listen again?
Um, yeah. And so will you if you listen to “alternative” commercial radio. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s nice for good music to come on the radio sometimes.
Day Six:
Title: Flower of Avalon by Tracy Grammer
Highlights:
1. Laughlin Boy
2. Preston Miller
Will I listen again?
She has a beautiful voice – very much like Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies. So I’ll probably stick with Margo and play “Lay It Down” when I want to hear the Cowboy Junkies.
Day Seven:
Title: Here We Come by The Fratellis
Highlights:
1. Shameless (very Big Star. Yes, Big Star that did that 70’s show song)
2. Look Out Sunshine!
3. Babydoll
4. Acid Jazz Singer
Will I listen again?
YES!
Please leave a comment about what you think I should be listening to this year.
Or send me a CD – Yoga+Music365 c/o Tami Hackbarth PO BOX 188616 Sacramento, CA 95818.
Today’s yoga brought to you by: The Kitchen! in Sacramento. All kidding aside, it’s a home practice day.
Today’s music is The Reminder by Feist.
Yoga+Music365 (day7) – Here We Stand by The Fratellis
I love January.
Most people think of January as the beginning of the year, the time of year for resolutions and self-improvement. But as a teacher, it is pretty much the midpoint.
I spend the first half of the year filling them up with information, procedures and expectations. Some kids can keep up with the quick pace from the start. Some kids can’t.
But then I send them home for winter break and it finally all sinks in.
My students are finally mine.
Every year in January I’m surprised how much my class comes together. I’m surprised how much we’ve become a real community. We’ve finally learned how to work well together, how to get our work finished and what behavior works and what doesn’t.
By this time of the year, I always feel connected to my students and I am proud of their accomplishments. It’s so nice to see them become more independent learners and to really start to take charge of their learning.
It’s my hope that one day, I will finally remember that my class really becomes mine, in January.
Today’s yoga brought to you by Madeleine at It’s All Yoga, Sacramento. <ROCKS>
Today’s music is Here We Stand by The Fratellis.
Yoga+Music365 (day4) – My Maudlin Career by Camera Obscura
Today I returned to work after more than two weeks off. The real self-care challenge begins now that I’ve been pushed out of the comfy nest of my house back into the real world.
I’m happy to report that the self-care plan continued!
Setting limits on pre-work screen time helped me start the day without being late, nutritious food kept me fueled and recognizing that my students work at a way slower pace the first day from vacation helped me ease back into work more smoothly than in the past.
Today’s music link: Camera Obscura.
Today’s yoga brought to you by It’s All Yoga in Sacramento.
In the coming weeks I’ll be adding some regular posts on yoga and self-care. Topics I’m thinking about are:
- A weekly music round-up
- Yoga props and how I use them
- My favorite yoga and/or poetry books
- Nourishing, yet tasty and easy recipes
- Self-massage tips (keep it clean, people!)
- General self-care ideas
- Anything else you are interested in. Just let me know what you are interested in reading.
One of my supportive commenters, Mamasattva, asked for music links. You ask and you shall receive!
Yoga+Music365 (day2) – Furr by Blitzen Trapper
I feel so very virtuous! I practiced yoga all by myself at home for 45 minutes and it didn’t feel like a chore, weird, lonely or anything else negative. I also didn’t feel awkward or fumble around for what to do next (all of which has happened in the past).
This is a huge deal for me because I’ve been so spoiled by finding such amazing teachers in Sacramento. It’s All Yoga has an embarrassment of riches in this way and by working the front desk, I get all the free yoga I can do.
But let’s be honest, sometimes classes don’t fit into your schedule or you just can’t be bothered to get all the way dressed or your hair just isn’t public ready and so you’ve got to do your own practice at home. Believe me, I know it sounds crazy and like a big hassle. And honestly when others do such a great job teaching why should I do it for myself?
Check out my post on starting a home practice to see my reasoning.
All that being said, not everyone knows where to start a home practice. Since I totally have been resisting doing one even though it was a requirement in my yoga teacher training, I figure I should share what is making it possible for me.
1. I’ve got some sequences written just for me by my yoga study buddy Erin. She rocks and is one of the people teaching free Fridays at 4:30 at It’s All Yoga, so if you are lucky enough to go when she’s teaching, she’ll love you up too. I’ll share her magic sequence from today.
2. I have a yoga mat that is so squishy and sticky and yummy it begs me to use it. Long story short, I’ve been test driving a Jade Harmony Professional mat over the last few months at the studio. The company is on Facebook and Twitter and they like to give stuff away. Jade sent me a teacher demo blemished mat in Sedona Red (and I was supposed to give it to my husband but,) I love its blemish. In fact, I think it’s little hiccup stripe makes it even more beautiful.
PS – I love social media and have won so much stuff on Facebook and Twitter that now I think of it as the magic universe.
Here’s the lovely sequence from Erin. Yes, we were talking menu metaphors when we were writing these =)
Appetizer
Start in CR (constructive rest) with lazy belly breaths, landing, arriving
Knees to chest arms out to a ‘t’ – lower knees to either side and bringing them back in with strong belly exhalation (3-5 times each side)
Back to CR, breathe
Opposite arm/leg extensions using breath (from Mary Paffard Belly Work Article)
*exhale as you extend right leg and left arm out straight, inhale extended, and exhale to bring the limbs back to CR (3-5 for each side)
Salad
Roll spine to come to Uttanasana
reverse swan dive up
exhale hands to heart
full breath cycle @ heart
inhale arms sweep back up, baby backbend
exhale Uttanasana
inhale flat back
exhale Uttanasana
step back into playful, squirmy Adho Mukha Svanasana
Entrée
When you’re ready, right leg lunge
Virabhadrasana I and hold for some breaths (belly belly belly)
Clasp hands or strap behind back (shoulder opener)
Lower torso down to inside of thigh with arms clasped behind pointing toward ceiling
Hold for a couple breath cycles as comfy
Exhale upright, release arms and raise them back to Virabhadrasana I
(heart feel more open than first Virabhadrasana I?)
Dog
Flow: Plank, Chaturanga Dandasana, Cobra/up dog, Down Dog
Step to Uttanasana
REPEAT SALAD
REPEAT ENTRÉE on Left side
Cheese Plate
Balasana
To Belly with limbs fully extended, raising opposite Arm/Leg with inhales, releasing with exhales (4-5 times each side) *Similar to how we started except on the belly.
Balasana
Come onto back, knees to chest, gentle rolls
Figure 4 stretch w/ right leg on top
Figure 4 with twist (sole of right foot to floor on left side, looking right)
Repeat on Left and anything else you need/feel like doing before Savasana
Dessert
Savasana (10 mins)
Yoga+Music365 (day1) – 500 Days of Summer Soundtrack
Yesterday I made my big proclamation that I would do some yoga and listen to new music every day in 2010. I’m calling it the Yoga+Music365.
Today during class at It’s All Yoga (where else?), Michelle spoke about all things “new year” – resolutions, intentions, to-do’s, shoulds, cultural expectations and this got me thinking about my reasoning for taking on this self-imposed yoga+music challenge.
To be honest, I got caught up in the Best of 2009 Challenge fever of writing about my previously unkept resolutions and decided to try last year’s again. Of course with the added twist of the additional 11 months.
How hard could this be anyway? I made it a whole 19 days last year before I got sick and gave up.
Then it sunk in that I had just announced to the universe that I was going to do something every day for a year.
What if something came up and I couldn’t do one or both?
Did I just commit myself to another thing?
Aren’t I already overcommitted?
What if I don’t feel like it?
What if I failed?
Gulp.
So after class today I talked to Michelle. It became clear to me why I was swimming in fear on day one because on the surface it just doesn’t make sense.
I love yoga. It feels great. I’ve never felt worse after a class or even rolling out on my mat at home. In fact, I can say yoga has never failed to actually make me feel better. So that’s not it.
My little music experiment last year expanded my horizons so much that I’m still listening to some mix CDs friends made me and loving them. If I hadn’t gone on my Old97’s fast last year, I wouldn’t have ever been introduced to Ryan Adams or Andrew Bird or Neko Case, so that’s not it.
In talking to Michelle, I realized that yoga and music are really good self-care for me. When all planets are aligned i.e. — I go to bed early, sleep well, eat healthy food, listen to music, write, read, exercise, do yoga, play with my friends, and laugh — I am a very happy girl.
When I don’t, I’m not.
Ultimately, I think I am taking on this challenge so that I will be reminded to put my self-care as a top priority in my life.
So here is to a year of doing less of what doesn’t serve me and doing more of what does.
YOGA! cluster #best09
For me, 2009 was the year of coming out of the yoga closet. Before this year, I’d been quietly practicing on and off for the last decade or so. In thinking what changed for me, I’d have to say it was my changing relationship with my favorite yoga studio, It’s All Yoga, in Sacramento.
In 2009, I really made IAY my second home. It all started mid 2008 when I began my career as a Desk Diva and that summer the studio relocated 6 blocks from my house. Those two things changed everything!
Suddenly I was able to go to as many classes as I wanted with all the amazing, inspiring and let’s be honest – funny! – teachers and that made me want to share all of the yoga yummy-ness with everyone I know. I couldn’t keep yoga to myself any longer!
Workshops, partner classes, book club, movie night, creek cleanup, birthday parties, fundraisers, teacher training…. I did it all in 2009.
Creek Clean - the kill
The following are a cluster of Best of 2009 Blog Challenge prompts about yoga, yoga, yoga.
December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?
The Serene Heart with Mary Paffard – Working with upekkha, or equanimity, in all aspects of yoga. I wrote about this workshop in my Not Losing Your Marbles During the Holidays post.
The morning of Mary’s workshop I posted my Yoga Manifesto – Part 1 – REST.
Rest
December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?
Short answer. Yoga!
December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?
Yoga school while teaching. See the Saturation Point.
December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?
Here’s a partial sampling of the yoga workshops and special classes I attended this year:
- New Year’s Day with Michelle Marlahan
- Valentine’s Day Partners with Michelle Marlahan
- Earth Day partners with Michelle Marlahan
- Chakras Workshop with Madeleine Lohman
- Tapas with Mary Paffard
- Yoga for Holiday Stress with Madeleine Lohman
- Serene Heart Mary Paffard
- Anatomy Parts I and II with Baxter Bell
Valentine's Day
December 24 Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?
Learning to teach yoga. Really to share what I love with others. That’s what this blog is all about.
Adjusting
December 25 Gift. What’s a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?
Short answer: Yoga!
Quaddog!
Tea #best09
December 16 Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What’s yours?
Bliss from Temple Fine Coffee & Tea.
Bliss = peppermint tea, soy milk, coconut milk, and honey. Plus I think they sprinkle it with magic fairy dust just to make sure. It’s tastes like a warm Andes mint. MMmmmmm.
It’s all in the name people.
Social Web Moment #best09
While lurking around many blogs today trying to uncover their mystery, I stumbled up The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. The idea is to write 31 posts using 31 prompts (or as many or as few as you want) as a retrospective of 2009.
I’ll start with today’s prompt and see what unfolds over the next few days…
December 27 Social web moment.
Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?
Blog – I’d say my biggest blog moment in 2009 is that I started one! It wasn’t my idea, but here I am trying to figure out what to write, when to write, how to write etc. I feel like a toddler learning to type or a dog trying to drive the car.
Yes, I can do it, but someone might need to take the wheel every once in a while or everyone might get car sick.
Anyway…Michelle Marlahan, our lovely leader of the It’s All Yoga teacher training, asked us to document our journey of becoming yoga teachers. About half of us signed up and shared our discoveries along the way. See my blogroll for the scoop…
While we have just wrapped up our official training, most of us are still using our blogs to find our new place in the world. I feel like these blogs have let us see what is behind the curtain for the new teachers. It feels like a community.
Havi Brooks of the Fluent Self is a complete genius. She came to Sacramento to talk to me and all the other newbie yoga teachers about business stuff and to do some very cool dancing.
I’m so glad I got to meet her in person. She has so many interesting and thoughtful and wordy things to say in her blog, it was nice to hear them and now I’m so much better at understanding what she’s talking about. I hope I get to meet her again!
I discovered Twitter because my favorite singer, @rhettmiller is on there. Embarrassing semi-stalker confessions, but totally true. He’s the first person on my following list and he was my #97 when he decided to follow me (amazing because his band is called the Old97s).
Getting Rhett Miller to follow me took some lobbying from one of my other Twitter friends @sophieandlili who I did not know before the wonderful world of Twitter.
In addition to keeping apprised of all things Rhett, I’ve connected with a bunch of really interesting, smart women while I was there: @sophieandlili, @beckyandhollee, @ashmont to name just a couple.
I love you.
Yogi to (Half) Marathoner
I signed up for a half marathon training through Fleet Feet in Sacramento. I have been quietly thinking about joining a training group like this for months and without over-thinking (and talking myself out of ) the whole thing, I committed myself to training at least twice a week from January to March.
This is a huge deal for me because I have been only doing yoga as exercise for a couple of years now. And from what you know about my kind of yoga, most of it has involved laying down.
Truth be told, I’m a little nervous. I’ve never been a runner, jogger or even regular walker. I’m not really sure what I’ve gotten myself into. As of right now, I don’t know anyone else doing this training. I’ve never done a big event like this before and I’m pretty sure 13.1 miles is a long way, even if you are just walking!
I signed up for the Tuesday night and Saturday morning workouts. My goal is to learn how to do a run/walk, however right now I’m in the walkers group.
The big event takes place the weekend before my big 4-0. I guess I’ll have a lot to celebrate!
12 Days of Yoga
On the first day of yoga
My true love sent to me
A monthly unlimited pass.
On the second day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.
On the third day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass
On the fourth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass
On the fifth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.
On the sixth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.
On the seventh day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.
On the eighth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.
On the ninth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Nine legs up the walls
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.
On the tenth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Ten Vrksasanas
Nine legs up the walls
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.
On the eleventh day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Eleven reverse warriors
Ten Vrksasanas
Nine legs up the walls
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.
On the twelfth day of yoga
My true love sent to me
Twelve Chaturangas
Eleven reverse warriors
Ten Vrksasanas
Nine legs up the walls
Eight downward facing dogs
Seven upward facing bows
Six Tadasanas
Five SV-AS-A-NAS!
Four triangles
Three handstands
Two warriors
And a monthly unlimited pass.
It’s All Yoga – 21st and X Streets – Sacramento
My Yoga Manifesto – PART II- Kindness
Like most people who come to yoga, I was first drawn to what I needed least from a yoga practice.
- heat
- intensity
- power
- competition
Too much heat and intensity for my already intense personality burnt me out quickly. So I stopped going.
+++++
Manifesto – a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization (or in this case yoga teacher).
II. KINDNESS
Eventually I found what I really need from a yoga practice – kindness.
You may be scratching your head wondering what the hell kindness has to do with stretching and contorting your body into funny shapes.
As it turns out, a lot.
Let me explain.
When I first started taking classes with Michelle at It’s All Yoga (Sacramento), I was struck by her warmth and friendliness. She’d always greet me with a hug – and by hug I mean a full body embrace (she gives the best hugs)– and welcome me to class like we were long-lost best friends.
Then before we’d begin class, Michelle would remind us to work somewhere between effort and ease. She’d invite us to explore how we felt in our bodies in the different poses and listen to what we needed to feel good in that moment.
Admittedly, at first I thought this was crazy talk.
Why would I come to yoga class and not do my best poses?
Why wouldn’t I push myself harder than I had the day before?
How would I ever get better at yoga?
In these early days with Michelle, she’d walk by my mat and lovingly put her hand on my shoulder and say “For you my friend, 70 percent.”
I tried to do what she said, but it felt so foreign.
Who was this person that didn’t want to see the best that I had to offer?
Didn’t she see that I could do more?
What did she know that I didn’t?
Over time, what I learned from Michelle is that yoga isn’t a performance.
It’s isn’t a competition – even with yourself.
That what you could do yesterday doesn’t really matter. Every time you do a pose it’s different because this moment is different from the last.
The only thing that really matters is the now.
Michelle’s kind reminders of “70 percent” were exactly what I needed to hear. I needed someone to teach me to be kinder to myself.
As it turns out, being kinder to myself is my yoga.
Michelle’s kindness is one of the reasons I’ve decided I want to teach yoga. I hope to touch the hearts of other people the way she has touched mine.
Simple Ways Not to Lose Your Marbles During the Holidays
Today I took a workshop with Mary Paffard of Yoga Mendocino. She is the beloved teacher of many of my It’s All Yoga teachers. Mary comes to Sacramento occasionally to do workshops.
Today’s topic: The Serene Heart.
Here’s some of the highlights:
1. We (Westerners, Americans, you, me) need to rest more. (HA! I knew it!)
2. Starting the day with a little yoga or meditation can set the tone for the remainder of your day.
3. If the beginning of the day doesn’t work, try a little yoga or meditation at the end of the day before you go to bed.
4. By a little yoga, I mean a little. One or two restorative poses. That’s it.
Maybe a little Viparita Karani (Legs-up-the-wall) or Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose). I like to set myself up in both these poses and then cover my eyes with a lavender eye pillow and then cover my body with a blanket.
5. Pause, pause, pause. At the sound of every bell you hear during the day, pause. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
6. Go into nature and observe. We have a lot to learn from the natural world about how we would be better served by slowing down during the cold dark months.
7. You have to give up some thing, to get some thing else. In other words, I have give up some time in order to gain some peace. Seems like a fair trade.
8. When all else fails, take to your bed. Take a day off from the outside world and hang out in bed. Don’t wait until you are sick to do this. Schedule a pajama day and enjoy it.
Image Source: We Heart It
Looking for a few good students.
We are officially in the student teaching part of our yoga teacher training at It’s All Yoga. Now we just need students. If you have been wanting to try yoga, this is your chance. Please join us.
December 18, 4:30-5:30pm ~ Free Class! Join us, the teacher trainees, for a free all-level class.
21st and X Street, Midtown, Sacramento.
www.itsallyoga.com for more information
My Yoga Manifesto – Part I – REST
Manifesto: a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization (or in this case, yoga teacher).
I. REST
I believe in resting a lot in yoga class. Sometimes I lay down flat on my back like a pancake, sometimes in constructive rest, and other times I rest with my forehead on the floor in child’s pose. Sometimes I sit on a block and drink water while looking at the shapes other people make with their bodies. [So beautiful, the human body, all those different shapes and sizes, lines and angles…]
Why do I rest? Partly because I work so hard doing everything else in my life and I’m tired.
I rest partly because I’ve had excellent teachers that remind me to rest when I’m tired or to not push past my edge. [ BIG THANKS to the teachers at It’s All Yoga in Sacramento for teaching me this lesson!]
I rest partly because it feels good once you get past the weird ego thing of ‘I’m in yoga class and I must do everything better than everyone else.‘ Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about.
At this point, I consider my resting in yoga class a public service.
I rest so that all those people that might want to rest can look at me and think “Oh thank god, someone else is resting, I can rest too.”
I know this happens because it used to happen to me. A lot. I’d want to come out of a pose, but I didn’t want everyone to know I needed to rest so I just powered through it.
One day something clicked in my head and I decided it was my mission to make people feel ok about resting. By being the first to rest, I am modeling the behavior I would like to see in others. Now when I see people listening to their inner voices telling them to rest and they actually do, I feel I’ve done my work here.
We keep joking in my teacher training class that I should open a studio someday that only offers 90 minutes classes of Savasana. I know I’d want to come to the class where rest is not only ok, but encouraged, so maybe other people would too.
If you are one of those people that doesn’t think they need to rest (I know about your kind….) I think you should rest too.
You’ll thank me later.
Worry list
I thought I would share a current list of things that are weighing on my brain. Maybe getting them out of my head will help sort them out and give me some perspective.
1. Our adoption. I’m worried it’s not actually going to happen. In the words of Tom Petty, “The waiting is the hardest part.” Indeed.
2. Next school year…. Will I be teaching? Where will I be teaching? What grade will I be teaching?
Seems some changes may be happening and if I’m going to be teaching I’d like to know now who, what and where. Not so much on the last minute changes by other people. Just sayin.
3. If our adoption does go through in the next few months, how will I survive the travel?
Jet lag + humidity + extreme heat + anxiety = bad news for Tami.
4. How will I handle the transition to parenthood? Will we really be able to live on one income?
5. Will I teach yoga? Where will that take me?
6. Ok, the thinking about the extreme Thailand heat got me thinking about the summer weather here. Will I ever get used to the heat in Sacramento? I really hate it. Seriously. Once it starts, sometimes I feel like it’s never going to stop and that freaks me out.
Will yoga help with…?
The short answer I’ve got for the question “Will yoga help with my….?” is YES!!!
Here’s what yoga has helped me with so far.
This is by no means a complete list.
1. Touching my toes.
2. Getting the knot the size of Idaho out from under of my shoulder-blade which had been implanted there at birth.
3. Quieting the symphony of critics, judges, voices, whatever you want to call them – you know that thing that keeps you feeling bad about yourself.
4. Breathing more deeply.
5. Letting shit go.
6. Feeling better in my body.
7. Not thinking I’m fat anymore despite being heavier than I’ve ever been.
8. Lightening the hell up.
9. Judging less.
10. Laughing more.
11. Singing more.
12. Trying more.
13. Quitting less.
14. Taking more healthy risks. Hello, inversions!
15. Taking less unhealthy risks. Bourbon? Not never, but not so much.
16. Smiling more.
17. Interacting with strangers more.
18. Liking strangers more.
19. Liking people in general more.
20. Slowing down.
21. Beating myself up less.
22. Sleeping better.
23. Less PMS.
24. More hugs.
25. Letting go of the past.
26. Embracing the now.
27. Not agonizing about the future.
28. Finding, recognizing, and admiring kindness in myself and others.
29. Cracking open my heart.
30. Crying more.
31. Props are there to support you.
32. Support feels good.
33. I live for corpse pose!
34. Feeling like I’ve had a massage.
If you’d like to feel one of the above things, please try some yoga. I’d really recommend coming to It’s All Yoga in Sacramento because it’s through the loving kindness that I’ve received from my teachers I’ve learned all these lessons and have been inspired to teach them to others.
If you don’t live in Sacramento, then search for a place that feels like home. Don’t settle for yoga-cize or the competitive “no pain, no gain” classes at the gym or high fashion studio. It’s worth it to find your yoga home.
I have found mine.
Letting go a little improves life. Letting go a lot brings happiness and joy. — Jim McGregor
Letting go for me is a relatively recent phenomenon. Up until about a year ago, I was your go-to gal for righting the wrongs in life – big and small. You could hardly find a fight where I didn’t have a dog in the ready or a sword to fall on. However, I realized I was exhausted from carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. As a result, I’ve been practicing letting things go.
In the beginning it was really hard to let things go. I definitely had to practice. In fact, it was a serious fake it, til you make it kind of a deal. Someone would do or say something stupid and I’d have to make a choice on how to react. Most times I’d mutter to myself through clenched teeth, “Whatevs” or “Look at me, letting it go…”
You know what I learned from letting things go? The world kept revolving, the sun came up, the seasons changed and life just kept on going. I also learned I felt better about the world. I slept better. My face started to clear up and my back muscles were more relaxed. I laughed more and I had more fun.
I thought I had this beast tamed until I started this program. The anxiety around teaching and the pressure to get all the work done — and failing miserably despite my efforts not to — was really wearing me down. It was coming out in how I was treating myself and dredging up all those yucky feelings of not being good enough. Not fun.
I talked to my teacher about my feelings and she gave me some really good perspective. She reminded me that we aren’t working in the emergency room, so no one’s life is at stake. I was glad for the reminder that we’re not saving babies here. She offered loving words of encouragement, told me that I didn’t sound nearly as maniacal as I felt and that over time I’d feel more comfortable teaching.
So rather than grip to those anxious feelings and let them keep me from teaching, I decided to jump back in. Yesterday I opened a small class with some other TTs. I spent my 15 minutes guiding my students through some gentle movements and offering a reading as a theme for our practice. While I was in the front of the group I decided to just do what felt good and to breathe. A lot. Admittedly, there may have been too many audible sighs, but I suppose that’s better than not enough.
The point being, I taught yoga without freaking out!
Lighten up, Francis. –words to live by.
Don’t worry about things you cannot alter. – Catherine the Great
Oh Catherine, how right you are.
The last couple weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster for me at work: I’ve been irritable, short-tempered, exasperated, shocked by the bad attitudes of my students. I have been at my wit’s end trying to figure out why my class had become so ill-behaved. Nothing seemed to motivate them and they didn’t seem to care they were losing out of activities. Kids have been losing recess left and right for not following directions, not being ready to work, being sassy with the teacher. I’ve been making way too many “your kid was naughty at school” contacts with parents.
Apparently, I keep forgetting that I work with eight year olds. If you’ve never worked with kids, you’ve never experienced the joy of seeing the worst parts of yourself reflected back twenty (or thirty!) fold. I guess this is what parents feel every day of their lives.
If I’m short-tempered, critical and judgmental, guess what I get back. If I am kind, confident and respectful – you get the picture. Recently, I’ve seem an increase in sassy, sarcastic responses – shocking, I know and really, really unattractive in a third grader. So I decided to alter the only thing I can – my attitude and my classroom management system.
Just to test my boomerang theory of behavior, I reinstated team points in my class. This has worked wonders in years past as well as with this very class until a month ago when I decided they were so great that they didn’t need it anymore. (Remind me of this, should I ever need to take mood altering drugs…. “I feel great! I don’t need to take those pills anymore!”)
I explained to my students that every time their team was ready to work before the one minute timer went off, they would earn a team point. Since their off task behavior during transitions was DRIVING ME INSANE, I thought I would just focus on this one part for now.
I made a chart paper point sheet, hung it on the easel in the front of the room, gave them their task and set the timer for one minute. POOF! Like magic, every single one of my students had all their materials out and were ready to work – BEFORE THE TIMER WENT OFF!
Thinking this may have been a fluke, I tried it again with the next transition. I gave them their task, set the timer and off they went to gather their materials. Another successful transition!
And another.
What was the big change you ask? Me. I was looking for what they were doing right, rather than what they were doing wrong. This shift in focus helped alleviate the negativity in the room. One other component I added to our “new” system was the “nag wall” – every time I nagged someone about something they weren’t doing right, I had to give myself a negative point.
Before recess we met as a class to debrief the new system. I asked them to think about what went well, what didn’t go well and if they felt better than the day before. Many students explained that we got a lot more work finished than usual because no one was getting in trouble, that they worked together to be ready, they helped each other and the teacher wasn’t mad anymore. I asked my most previously non-compliant kid why he was suddenly able to be ready and work and he said, “Teacher, I didn’t want you to have to give yourself a negative point because of me!”
I’ve got issues.
The actual teaching part of the teacher training is kicking my butt. When it’s my turn to teach a pose or two for my fellow tts or during this weekend, our new mamas-to-be, I feel light-headed and I have a hard time hearing anything besides my heart pounding in my ears and my inner critics. Plural. There is so much internal chatter going on that I can’t even really hear exactly what is being said, however I know none of it is complimentary.
Time slows down and I’m no longer able to judge how long we’ve held each pose or if I’m talking too much or too little. Do I sound like I know what I’m talking about? Does my imagery make sense? Is my nervous energy oozing out of every pore or does it just feel like it? Are they having fun? Why aren’t I? I have fun when I take class. I love yoga so much when other people teach it, why do I struggle so much to enjoy teaching it?
Even when I’m watching the teachers before and after my poses, I have a hard time being in the moment. I’m too focused on what I feel like I’ve done well and beating myself up for anything I feel I didn’t.
To say I experience great anxiety, self-doubt and anxiety would be putting it lightly. I experience something close to dread when it’s time to teach yoga. It’s “funny” given that I teach as my chosen profession and that I truly love the teaching part of my job.
I’m watching my fellow It’s All Yoga Teacher Trainees find their teaching footing and I’m in awe. So many of them are developing their voice and confidence, taking all opportunities to teach with grace and confidence. It’s like watching a bunch of flowers sprout from bulbs in the spring.
I’m feeling the opposite about myself. The crazy thing is that the further into the teacher training, the more my anxiety grows. I feel less ready to take the reins than I did the first day when I felt my teaching experience really benefitted me. Now I feel that experience is so different that it isnt’ as applicable as I first thought it would be. In theory they are very alike, but in practice, I’m finding much less so.
I am having a hard time figuring out exactly where this all comes from. A list of possibilities include: general perfectionist tendencies, feeling like I don’t have the expertise of my teachers (or fellow tts) so why am I in the front of the room? – hello, self-doubt!, not enough time to prepare, etc.
Teacher Goes Back to School 