My 12 days of Yoga

It all started on Wednesday, Dec. 7, when I showed up at my favorite yoga class with Richard Olmstead at the Lotus Pond.  Val, the owner told me that my
package was expiring at the end of the month and I still had 14 classes to take
before the end of the year.   When I got home, I realized that I actually only have 12 days because I’m going out of town for the holidays.   Determined to
use my class package before it expired, I sat down and put together my plan of
attack.  

I will need to take one class each day for the next 12 days in order to get my money’s worth.  “I can do this!” I said.  I do yoga everyday anyway.  I do it at home on my own every day; and when I feel like it, I go in to the yoga studio for class and this is the reason why now I am faced with this issue.  Had I
been more consistent and less hooked on facebook, I would have already used
this package. 

Well, reality is, I have 12 days, so my story begins.  I will either be dead by Christmas or in really good shape.   A real Yogi has no expectations, simply flows with the current. 

So I will flow and see how it goes.

Day 1: I went to Richards’ evening class and I was a bit concerned, because I had done his advanced morning class the day before and I usually take it easy the day after.  But I had to step up my practice with this 12 day yoga challenge.   Richard’s Wednesday morning class includes a lot of inversions, arm balances and head stands.  I love the challenge his class presents and I am amazed how quickly the body adjusts to allow for some of these advanced postures.  I would never have tried many of these on my own, but in Richard’s class, I just can’t help but try it, even if I fall over.  When I do, I just laugh and enjoy it.  It feels like I’m a kid again.   That is the beauty of yoga, it is a personal journey and practice, I’m not there to compete with anyone, just simply to challenge my body and have an awesome experience.   Plus the more advanced yogis in the class are
very supportive and very helpful.  Often times we just end up helping each other out.   

Inversions are very beneficial to the body, they balance thyroid function, stimulate the pituitary gland and abdominal organs, and since they reverse circulation, they are good for relieving the discomfort of varicose veins and hemorrhoids. Sorry
to go there, but some people want to know that. 

My favorite benefit is the yoga face lift, 10 minutes a day upside down,
is said to help reverse the signs of aging. I don’t know whether it is true, but I’m willing to try it.  

Inversions should be practiced in a class setting with an experienced instructor.  
If you are new to yoga, inversions are not the first thing you want to
attempt because you can easily hurt yourself. Instead make it a goal to work toward. 
Beginners should focus on developing flexibility, balance, and core
strength before attempting inversions.   Once you get there, it feels awesome.  So get going, you won’t regret it.

Back to my story, normally I take it easy on Thursdays, just
walk and do yoga nidra.   So, I did some yoga nidra in the afternoon to
help my body to be rested for the evening class.  Yoga nidra is a restorative form of yoga.   I won’t get into it here.  Because it is such an amazing practice, I’ll write a blog about it in the future.  To talk about it here would not do it justice.  So, look for that one soon. 

On Thursday evening, traffic was a lot less heavy during rush hour than I expected, so I had about 20 minutes before class.  I went in and was pleasantly surprised to see the same room, I normally see in the mornings, looking beautiful in the evenings.   The fireplace looked cozy and inviting with the wonderful glow of candles.

The Buddha statue in front of it called to me to sit and mediate.  I had time. 
As I sat there in meditation, the other students began to arrive.  I came out of my meditation when Richard
arrived and the class started.  I have
come to expect his classes to be intense, but he tailored the class to the
students, so this was a more intermediate class with less inversions and only
one arm stand.   

This class was based on Anusara yoga principles.  Richard spoke of focal points and bringing attention to the floor of the pelvis, bottom of the heart, or roof of the mouth during the postures.  Directing muscular energy toward these focal points is beneficial in keeping your practice inwardly focused, helps to develop balance, and makes you more aware and in tune with your inner power and core strength.   It reminded me of my own Amrit Yoga practice which incorporates inward focus and meditative awareness.     So far so good, I think I’ll make it thru the
week at least.

Day 2:  I went to Jaclyn Divine’s class at 9 a.m.  She
takes Richard’s class on Wednesday so I had met her and love her bubbly and
inviting personality.  She is a wonderful, beautiful, energetic, lovely being. 
Her class was amazing.  She also does some inversions, but she focuses more on core strength.  She uses repetition and includes many Pilates
movements to really work the core muscles.  I loved that she explains which muscle groups we are using and what the posture does for the body.  I was really impressed that she could talk so fast and in so much detail while maintaining the postures herself.  The class sequence is fluid and veryenergetic.  This woman is a power house of Shakti energy—my kind of girl, I love her. 
 She also teaches a Friday night Yoga Vibes class at the Lotus Room, after experiencing this class, I can’t wait to take that one. 

Day 3:   This is Richard’s Saturday morning class.  This
one was almost as intense as the advanced Wednesday class.   Considering
that I’ve been doing all these classes in a row, I was impressed that I could
keep up.  As a matter of fact, I feel awesome.  I thought I’d be dragging by
now, but instead, I feel energized and full of life.   I might just get hooked on all this advanced yoga asana practice.   

Day 4:  Sunday morning, I was back for more yoga.  I was
to go boating with my family, but the weather man said it was going to
rain.  So, with that, I was able to go to Shelly’s 10:30 class.   The night before,
we went to my husband’s boss’s holiday party. 
When we got out of the car, there were three people getting out of the
car next to us.  The lady getting out of the driver side was Shelly Yoga.  I
looked at her and recognized here immediately. 
I had taken one of her yoga classes earlier this year and have seen her in
photos on Facebook a number of times.  I hadn’t had a chance to take another one of her classes because of other responsibilities and scheduling, and probably because of my addiction to Facebook, but here I was planning to go to her class in the morning, and there she was getting out of the car and going to the same party. 
To top it all off, she said “Hi Shawn, so
nice to see you”  to my husband.   

What? What is going on?  My husband, the
guy who refuses to take yoga, and tells me he is not going to start eating bean
sprouts like me, knows Shelly Yoga and she knows him?  I’m very confused at this point.   Then it was explained to me that they worked together before she became Shelly Yoga.   OK, worlds colliding all over the place.  This town is way small.  I better behave. 

Shelly was wearing a stunning red dress.  I just had to mention that.  It has nothing to do with anything, but it sure is worth mentioning.  I want a dress
like that.  I did get a bunch of compliments that night.  Two people said
I looked like Angelina Jolie.  I had to laugh at that since I am about half her size and I don’t mean weight wise, but height wise.   Well, it was a nice comparison
anyway, not too shabby, then someone else mentioned my muscular legs.  What, I have muscular legs? This yoga challenge I’m doing is starting to work, I thought. 
Looking like Angie, muscular legs; well then, maybe after I’m done, I’ll pay Brad Pitt a visit.  I’d like to unwrap that present for Christmas.   Ha, ha!

Oh yeah, lost in the fantasy, I almost forgot to mention how
the Sunday class went.  Shelly has her own unique style.  She is very
entertaining.    We did lots of hip opener poses and I realized that my right hamstring is way too tight from an old injury.  I appreciated the time spent
stretching and opening up the body. I do a lot of flow yoga and this was a good change for me. 

During the drive home, I noticed that the weather man was
wrong and it wasn’t going to rain.  So, we took the boat out to the Hillsborough River and went for a late lunch at Rick’s on the River.  I got to do everything I
wanted to after all.  That’s what happens when you flow and don’t try to control.  I
have the feeling that this 12 days of yoga adventure is going to be lots of
fun.   I am no longer afraid of it, I am actually looking forward to each and every day of it.    

I have practiced yoga every single day of this challenge and
I feel great.   This weekend I took a break from my challenge to go to Orlando to an event with my guru Yogi Amrit Desai and with Panache Desai.   It was a very powerful experience that brought together yogis and other individuals to once and for all learn to let go of limiting thoughts and fears that keeps each of us from living our best life.  I will probably write about it in future blogs, I need to let this experience marinade for a while first.  My yoga challenge ends this coming
weekend.  Just in time for Christmas.       

I wish you all a Happy Hanukkah, a Very Merry Christmas and
a Happy New Year and Lots of Love and Peace everyday of your life.    As you prepare to spend time with family and loved ones this holiday season,
remember not just the presents, but to stay Present.  Family has a unique way of pushing buttons.   One of the main reasons  they get on our nerves is because no matter how much we grow up and change, they are stuck in the past and see us as the people we used to be rather than who we are.  So, with that knowledge bring to your holiday gathering a sense of acceptance that they still see you as an
annoying little kid, no matter how old, mature, important, or enlightened you
think you are.    

Yogi Amrit Desai says:  “Don’t get mad at the button pusher, get rid
of the button” and these people, your family, are there to show you where your
buttons are.  Panache Desai mentioned this weekend that your family and anyone who annoys you are simply holding a mirror to you.  So, look in the mirror
and smile. 

We are going skiing over the holidays and while my family is
great at it, I don’t know what I’m doing, so that should be interesting.   I might blog about that also if I don’t freeze to death.  Maybe when I return, we
can challenge each other and work together to undo the holiday damage.   I will be visiting yoga studios in the Lutz, Land O’Lakes area and blogging about those in 2012.   But for now, Enjoy your time with your loved
ones and be Merry!

Ho, Ho, Ho! and Namaste!

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