Day 26 - Fire it up!

DAY 26 - June 4, 2011

What happens when you combine crazy core activating poses, super smart and creative sequencing and two of the top badass yoginis around? You get a workshop with Ame Wren and Sadie Nardini and it will rock your world. It did mine. Saturday I took the Hot Core/Cool Sequencing workshop with these two lovely ladies and was in a sweaty heaven filled with twists, deep lunges, arm balances, fists of fire (say what?!), fierce lion (double what?!?!) and the list goes on...

Sadie and Ame tandemly taught a 2-hr vinyasa class (say that 3 times fast) building up to the peak pose, or what Sadie would call the "super adventure pose", dragonfly - see below, as demonstrated by Ann Pizer on about.com.

Even considering getting into a pose like this takes a lot of preparation for the average joe like myself. But by dissecting the peak pose and then working backwards to create a class, Ame and Sadie focused on all the key areas that were needed to open, lengthen, twist, etc., making the peak pose more realistic and achievable (for some - haha). Big up to my girl Kate Heffernan for rocking it out on the mat next to me! As for me, I was close. But as they say, close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. So alas, another pose has been added to the list...

If you have been reading this blog you probably already realize how much I love and adore Ame Wren and her teaching. She has been a HUGE inspiration to my practice and I am honored to be able to call her a mentor and friend. So let me just take a few minutes to explore the awesomeness that is Sadie Nardini. First, she is totally Brooklyn. Being from the Dirty Jerz myself, I like people with a little edge, with a little "fuhgeddaboudit" in them. But don't let the all black outfit fool you, Sadie's presence is sweet and caring and she is genuinely there to make your life better. It is undeniable. Secondly, she has developed a way of teaching the yoga poses, along with creating some of her own, that connect you deeper to your core body and core being. I love this. My flubby abs love this.

To quote her views about the "Core" from her website (http://www.sadienardini.com/core-strength-vinyasa-yoga.html):

In my view, the “Core” is too often seen as only the superficial abdominal muscles. They are important, but there is a whole world of muscles, actions, energy and philosophy contained within the core of the body and spirit complex. I teach it all to you so you can demystify what’s at your core and how you can make it work for you instead of against you both on and off the mat.

Strengthening your mind and body with yoga goes far beyond your experience on the mat and I can relate to Sadie's outlook and approach to finding that balance.

Curious about Sadie's poses like Fists of Fire and Fierce Lion? You can find all the fixings to turn yourself into one kickass yogi, and perhaps maybe even a ninja, here in the Core Strength Vinyasa virtual library of poses:

http://www.sadienardini.com/core-strength-pose-library.html

Rock on.

Day 26 overall: My body was literally buzzing after class from all the energy pulsing through me. Cloud nine. Love love love all around.

Oh! And a side note: Kate Heffernan not only killed it at dragonfly, she taught me how to get into Eka Pada Koundinyasana II AND I held it (all be it, momentarily) on both sides. LOVE HER. Her tip to me was - as a beginner to this pose, avoid getting into it from lizard pose. Your hips, bum, body, everything is too low to the ground to get any lift from there. She suggested I try coming into the pose from down dog. So starting in down dog, come forward toward plank with the right leg (or left, depending on what side you are doing) to the tricep, getting it as high up on the arm as possible. Engage that core! Once the knee is in place, start to extend the leg out. Then find chaturanga arms (think push-up arms), lift the chest/gaze slightly as if in chaturanga, shift the weight forward a bit and then extend and lift up through the back leg. Voila! E.P.K.II. Word.

Mine ain't pretty but it's a start!!

Day 25 - Skip the oxygen bar and go to VDR

DAY 25 - June 3, 2011

If you have been following along, you are probably getting familiar with my regular routine. Friday = VDR. I have to admit that I was a bit star struck when I was setting up for class and I glanced around only to notice Sadie Nardini just a few mats away. If you are not aware of who Sadie is, she is kind of a big deal in the yoga world with her Core Strength Vinyasa classes. She has an extensive online presence ranging from free yoga YouTube clips to incredibly insightful & REAL articles on elephantjournal.com to daily facebook updates with tips and sequences. I have been following her for about a year now, ever since I took her workshop last Yoga Journal Conference in Boston, so I was a tad giddy when I saw her in person. Though I knew she was in town since I signed up for her workshop at Back Bay Yoga the next day (more about that later). But anywho, it was cool to have her in class.

As I have been practicing more regularly and getting more familiar with sequences & poses, I have been able to really focus on my breath work while moving through the flow. Vinyasa is all about linking movement to breath, a moving mediation. However, I know I am guilty of not always doing this. Rather than allowing my breath to lead me into the poses, I end up breathing as an after thought or out of necessity. This usually happens when most of my attention is focused on what the heck we are doing. Of course it is okay to get off track every now and again. The important thing is to reel it back in, slow down, reconnect. VDR has been a great class for me to practice flowing with my breath and last class I felt particularly more connected. The breath led the way and rest followed suit. I completely lost myself in the movement (and even forgot that Miss Nardini was doin' her thang just over yonder).

So forget about taking a trip to an oxygen bar and breath in all that good air that is already floating around you:

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oxygen_Bar_interior,_showing_flavors.jpg)

Day 25 overall: The simplest moving meditations that are connected to the breath can change your mood and overall well-being. Stop holding your breath!

Day 24 - Morning yoga makes my energy levels go "POW"!

DAY 24 - June 2, 2011

Time to make up some of those missed classes. I actually got myself out of bed at 6am for the sunrise yoga class at Be. Monica Delgado Chaffee was standing in for the regular teacher and she was a delight. The sun was indeed shining in through the windows of the studio, making the name of the class quite accurate. In what seems like a past life, I used to row on a crew team. We would have 4am practices and, by some stroke of insanity or lapse in my normally lucid consciousness, these early morning trips on the river quickly became my favorite time of day. There is something great about mindful and deliberate movement in the morning. Yes, your hamstrings are too tight and you may have to stop mid-movement to wipe the remnant of sleep from your eyes, but it is easier to bring your focus back to yourself. The mind isn't racing from a day of emails and to do lists. I love taking advantage of this morning energy that is so peaceful, yet still softly humming, eager to burst into the full blown craziness of the day. And the best part - it wakes you up. I had more energy all day then I knew what to do with!

At night, I took Ame's vinyasa flow class at Back Bay Yoga. I am chronicling my yoga pose wishlist here on this blog and I am adding this to the list. Galavasana, as demonstrated by Luke Jordan:

Come on, that is just cool. Of course, I will have to continue this ongoing, strongly-worded discussion/battle I am having with gravity and my inability to overcome it.

By the end of my second class of the day I was feeling awesome. I know the guy behind me was feeling pretty good too, at least super relaxed. I was barely finished staggering with my neighbors and negotiating ideal hand placement in savasana before the rumblings of the nasal orchestral symphony began behind me. Yep, he was relaxed I'll tell ya. Always a compliment to have people completely conk out at the end of your class. Sheer exhaustion or utter bliss - who cares, he obviously needed a few extra minutes of shut eye.

Day 24 overall: Crazy amount of energy. The arm balance saga continues - I will keep lifting my butt to the ceiling, hoping one day my legs will decide to follow.

Day 18 - VDR obsession

DAY 18 - May 27, 2011

I just cannot pass up Friday night Vinyasa with Deep Relaxation (aka VDR). The blend of vinyasa flow and restorative release is exactly what I need at the end of the week. It's also fun that I have a bunch of friends that come too! Friday night yoga party to kick the weekend off right. Definitely sets a nice tone for the upcoming days off. I can forget about the stress of work and ease into the slower pace of the weekend. It's just perfect.

Day 18 overall: My VDR obsession continues. No revelations - just straight up yoga yumminess.

Day 17 - Summer is in full effect - get your sweat on!

DAY 17 - May 26, 2011

Back in the saddle. After a few days of near full-blown body rebellion, I finally felt good today. I went to Ame's vinyasa class at BBY and, once again, it just flew by! I'm starting to think she has special powers - special time-bending powers. I can't wrap my head around it, nor am I going to try. But it's pretty super. In her classes, I can totally lose myself in the movement. The tempo, her voice, the cues, the adjustments - it all just comes together brilliantly. And I love it. Total addict.

I realize that I talk quite a bit about sweat on this blog, so I will try and stop after this comment (especially since its summer now and its gonna be hot all.the.time.). But class was a lovely sweatfest and I was in my glory. Go get your sweat on today. You will feel like a million bucks. Well, I wouldn't know what a million bucks feels like, so you will feel like a brand new, crisp one dollar bill. Better yet, you will feel like the owner of that crispy, wrinkle-free one dollar bill standing at a vending machine and after you make your purchase on the first try without any dollar regurgitation, you also find the forgotten extra change from the person before you. THAT'S how good you'll feel. So do it.

Day 17 overall: Feeling good again. Why can't I breathe when I try to backbend? Need to explore this further...

Day 11 - Surrender

DAY 11 - May 20, 2011

Friday night Vinyasa with Deep Relaxation (VDR) is my happy hour. Led by Ame Wren at BBY, this class mixes vinyasa, yin and restorative yoga to create an hour and a half of pure bliss. Just to give you a visual of the complete surrender you will experience in this class, this is how we started out:

http://www.laughinglotus.com/blog/randi%20childs%20pose.jpg

You can forget the chaturangas and start building your own mini Stonehenge replica out of bolsters and blocks to prop your legs up on for savasana (aka corpse pose - yep, lie there like a dead man. no joke.). You know it's going to be a good class when the instructor tells you to grab two blocks, a bolster, a blanket AND a strap. Do not fear the props, they are your friends! Especially in restorative yoga, it is crucial to use the props to support you fully in the poses. Give your muscles, and your ego, a break.

Day 11 overall: I looooooooooooooooove restorative yoga. End of story.

Day 10 - Personal Space

DAY 10 - May 19, 2011

Personal space. A concept ruled by culture, preference and situation. I like my space, but living in a city where I need to throw 'bows just to get on the train to get to yoga class, I regularly battle to maintain a piece of my own personal real estate. So when I finally get to class and I am mat-to-mat with my fellow Bostonites (as lovely as they all are), it takes some restraint not to get a little irked by this. Don't get me wrong - it is freakin' outstanding that so many people are flocking to get their sweat/enlightenment on, but sometimes I just want to sidebend without getting groped by the dude with uber long arms next to me. But it's all good. Patiently dealing with these situations, taking them in stride and not getting my panties in a bunch is what its all about. I'll just remember to breeeeeeaaaath when I go to jump back to chaturanga only to find that my neighbor behind me has folded my mat over, since her mat space clearly wasn't enough room for her to practice her handstands on. Ok, I'll stop now. Om mani padme hum...

But anywho, Thursday night class with Ame kicked ass as usual. Time flew by in what felt like a blink of an eye. I am 1/3 of the way through the 30-day yoga challenge and feelin' good. Taking this time to rededicate myself to my practice has been a blessing. I encourage you to find time to engage deeply in something you love.

Day 10 overall: Last time I checked I wasn't invisible, but it sure felt like it today. Patience tested, outcome surprisingly okay. Feeling optimistic.

Day 3 - Doubleheader!

I'm back after some Blogger technical difficulties (i.e. my blog was erased!). Time to play catch up on the last few days...

DAY 3: May 12, 2011

Aaah, Thursday. I am so happy when Thursday rolls around. Not only because the next day is Friday and the end of the work week is in sight, but because Thursday night means vinyasa flow with Miss Ame Wren. If you have not taken a class with her, stop what you are doing and GO. Like right now, stop reading, walk away from the computer and find her class. You are welcome. Ame can command a room of 90 yogis with ease and grace. Her clever sequences, precise anatomical cuing and juicy adjustments make her classes some of my all time faves. Kate Heffernan (another local yoga teacher) aides Ame in distributing these blissful adjustments, just adding to the overall experience. The two of them work the room like a choreographed dance, spreading the love through the power of touch.

After the vinyasa flow class, I thought it was a good idea to try my luck at Ame's advanced class. I have been avoiding this class like the plague, convinced that my seven years of practice was just not nearly enough to hang with the big dogs. But after some light persuasion by Ame and with Kate Heffernan agreeing to be my yoga partner in crime, I stayed. A less structured and much smaller class (only about 10 people that night), you get the chance to explore the free flow of your practice; starting the Sun A's and B's as a group, but then having time to play and move how you want. The sequencing definitely dives into more advanced poses, incorporating more inversions and arm balances. Ame creates an environment where there is some structure mixed with the openness to test the limits of your practice. She encourages you and with her "you got it, girl" attitude, the next thing you know you are doing pincha mayurasana (forearm balance) in the middle of the room (though I squealed like a pig in that moment filled with sheer excitement and "oh my god!"). While playing at the wall towards the end of class, I also found that I was able to go from a handstand to urdhva dhanurasna (full wheel) by walking my feet up and down the wall. Killer.

Day 3 overall: Great night of exploration and testing the limits. Exhausted by the end of the night - wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it home. Would have curled up in a ball on the T if it wasn't a social faux pas. Note to self: eat more than a larabar and banana for lunch before doing back-to-backs!