Inspired By Heat

I have no idea where this heat wave came from. Early Sunday morning I was driving to teach in Huntington Beach, all around I felt warmth on my skin. As I began to guide my students through their practice I started to notice that all of them were dripping with sweat. Yes we were moving our way through Sun Salutations building our Tapas, but I hardly found it sweat-worthy. An hour later as I was driving up to work I noticing that my sunglasses kept slipping down my nose. By the time I made it to my Sunday evening class I noticed that even as the sun was setting I was sweating. Yesterday I resisted the heat, wanting only to cool down and take it slow, but by today I noticed that I began to revel in the heat, working off of it. Building and building Tapas in my personal practice and with clients. I noticed my students getting deeper in their forward folds. I noticed my body opening and responding to the heat, and I watched as my personal client was able to make her way into positions she hadn't been able to do in the past.

It's been quiet a while since I took my last Bikram class, as I've began to teach Hatha more and more I have shifted away from Bikram, as (at the time) I found it difficult to work into my already busy schedule, but today I am reminded of the benefits of heat, and am encouraged to return to my favorite Bikram studio, Bikram Yoga Downtown Fullerton, to deepen my personal practice.

As such here are a few benefits working in a heated room is said to have:

Release toxins
Improve flexibility and range of motion
Increase the chances of weight loss
Develop muscle tone
Build the immune system

Give heat a try and see how it works for you. Let me know. I love your feed back!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEbIIO4KK54 (Here's a little Video link about what Bikram actually is.)

MOVING INTO STILLNESS

Wednesday morning I picked up a copy of Erich Schiffmann’s book “Yoga, The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness.” I barely cracked the cover and was knocked over by the profound wisdom that he shares.

I don’t know if this is a copyright issue, but I am going to pass on an excerpt from his introduction.

He writes:

“The purpose of yoga is to facilitate the profound inner relaxation that accompanies fearlessness. The release from fear is what finally precipitates the full flowering of love. In this state you will love what you see in others, and others will love you for having been seen. This is the softened perception of the world that yoga promotes.”

Wow, to see the world with a softened perception, to release the hardness from our hearts, which is generally the onslaught of fear: this is what our breath-work, what the asanas and what mediation promote. How profound, and gentle is that? I took this thought with me to my practice this week. I opened myself up to release fear; releasing fear is so much more difficult than it sounds. It can be so painful and yet totally cathartic.

Opening yourself up to that is so brave.

I deeply thank Schiffmann for his words, which although only read in a book, felt as deep and honest as they would if they came directly from his lips.

To the release of all that blocks our hearts and minds.

Namaste.

Hurt

Lately I’ve been so overwhelmed with anxiety and hurt that I haven’t been able to operate with a clear mind. Last Friday I decided that enough was enough and prescribed myself to a three-hour yoga session starting with Restorative practice and ending with a Candlelight Flow.

I worked my way into Viparita Karani (Legs up the wall) and began to steady my breathing. I fought to clear my mind, I visualized all the blockage and baggage that was weighing me down and systematically began removing them from my mind. I removed stress and “to-do lists” with each exhale until my mind was almost clear, but then in the quiet tranquility of the studio I found one hurt that just wouldn’t leave. This pain clung to my heart and breath. No matter how deep my breath or how relaxed my body became I just couldn’t remove this hurt. It was as if it were super-glued to my heart.

I found myself being robbed of my restorative. I just couldn’t find the silence that I so desperately hungered after. I moved through each pose, my body opening, but my head becoming more and more frustrated. Everything in me began yelling “Let it go! Rachel let it go!” So much so, that I began to well up with tears. It was at this moment that I realized that the hurt wasn’t holding onto me, but rather I was holding onto it. This realization transformed my mediation. Rather than fixating on the hurt over and over again, I began to allow it to go. Taking deep breaths I slowly began to break apart the hurt. By the time I got to my Flow class my mind felt lighter and just a little bit freer.

Only then was I able to work deeper into my body and my mediation.

Yesterday morning I woke up with that hurt heavy on my chest again. This time, however, I didn’t let it rob me of my day or of my happiness. I saw the hurt for what it was and with a few tears was better equipped to send it on it’s way.

It was such a transformative moment, realizing that sometimes we can do ourselves more damage by holding on to the things and people that have hurt us. Perhaps through letting go of these moments and hurts in our lives we are no longer defined by them. Perhaps if I acknowledge something or someone that has hurt me I can then better let go of it, or sometimes even them. No longer being defined by the pain in our pasts can open up new doors and new freedom, maybe something that we never expected for ourselves, or maybe just a new way to love…

So, I encourage you to acknowledge what hurt there may be, or even what thing in your past may be holding you back from peace, and let it go.

Om Shanti

Namaste