Om Shanti

Sending the love to my body

Recently,  I have started to feel some pain in my wrist. Probably due to heaving and ho’ing baby items, the baby himself, or all of them together. The pain starts to make itself known to me first in down dog…My first instinct is to ignore it. “Bummer…my wrist is hurting again. I really want to do some arm balances today.” My next feeling is more compassionate towards my body. “Argh..my poor body. I spend so much of my day just doing..possibly causing damage and not knowing until after it’s been done.” And the third feeling is one of acceptance. “Okay..this is my lot..let’s deal with it.” When I start to do the poses that are more kind on the wrists I find that..”hmmmm…those poses feel good to.” The wonderful thing about yoga is that all the poses feel good to some extent.

the inner teacher

Recently…I quit my job to stay home and take care of my son. My husband, Sol, and I have moved back in with family to save some money. It was really hard to step away from a 9-5 job and jump into a world of simply living with a baby. I have these feelings of immense relief that we made the decision for me to stay home with Sol. Playing, eating together, resting, and being outside watching the birds fly is our rhythm. We aren’t rushing…just going with the flow of what the needs are at the moment. The yoga is starting to play itself out in the daily doings.

My inner teacher is guiding me along this journey.

I feel the increasing need to start teaching yoga again. I am waiting for the right studio and class to open up. There have been many ideas and thoughts that I am so anxious to share with a class. Listening. Waiting.

Leaving you with a moment from this week that keeps replaying in my mind….

After running with my loves yesterday morning, I found myself drawn to the playground. I started modifying yoga poses to work with the playground equipment. Hanging from my legs on the monkey bars for an inversion. Deep side twisting using the bars. It felt so great and playful. Dustin and I layed down for Savasana on the ground while Sol slept. And ended with some new breath work that I feel is really powerful. It is a type of charged breathing. It’s great to practice with another person. The blood circulates so well after the sequence. Swirling, humming, clear.  Listening within.

Staying Loose

I recently took a class from Saul David Raye at the Ojai Yoga Crib….it was amazing! He asked us to be and stay Loose. So often throughout the day, I find that tension builds…in my jaw, my neck, my shoulders. When I consciously focus on staying loose and keeping the tension away it is so much more relaxing to BE in my body. I’m noticing that I need to allow myself to breathe fully to live more in my Body rather than my Mind.

I recently learned from my son’s doctor that babies come out of the womb breathing from their belly’s. Somewhere along the line, as we are rushing to grow up, we lose touch with that great belly breathing. Trying to tune back in with my breath, body, and inner child.

Yours forever,

Loosey Goosey

Deep peace in twisting

My vata dosha has been getting the best of me lately. My mind has been wandering…all airy and off the ground. Lots of thoughts have been pulling my focus in many directions.

I have been running recently with Sol and my dog King Louie. I find that running with the baby helps lull him to sleep and it helps set me up for meditation. When we get back home the little one is sleeping away and I am able to do some yoga. I am better able to slip into the trance like state of following my breath after running. It is really hard for me to focus on my inner being now. It’s as if my son and I share a body. I am never able to fully disconnect like I used to. I have taken to accepting his loving energy in my meditation.

While I am practicing I have re-found my love with twisting. The heaviness of one leg over the body. The subtle swirling of energies in the digestive area. The deep stillness in breathing. The heaviness of the body sinking into the ground. This is my pose. So subtle and so intense. A reconnecting with the earth and myself. Breathing in and out.

Finding my body again

Today during my practice I was lying on my back doing eye of the needle pose. My hip started telling me that it was needing lots of attention. It’s like coming home again to these poses that I haven’t been able to do for 9 months. After having Sol, I am finding myself achy and sore in all sorts of spots, my arms are weak, my stomach muscles are stretched out. I started feeling all these emotions this morning along with a sense of frustration and confusion and began to accept them all one by one and then let them go. I am not at the place in my practice that I left off at. I am where I am. That’s okay. My body has been through a lot and I am just starting to feel that acceptance and patience in my practice.

After being pregnant I am re-discovering my body in a whole new sense. I felt connected to my body while I was pregnant in a totally different—almost sacred way. While pregnant, I sent so much energy to the little spirit inside me, practiced on connecting with this creature, and focused on nurturing myself.  Now it’s just me in my body. My hip was nudging me this morning and letting me know that I have work to do and I replied back that I am looking forward to it one vinyasa at a time.