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Poetry on practice

Yoga student Kate Bracken Johnroe of Mount Pleasant, MI shares her poetry with us for class this week. Enjoy the beauty of Practice.

Hiking, Biking, Cross-country Skiing, Oh My!

Getting out and exploring Northern Illinois will deepen your appreciation for the natural history that abounds our rolling prairies and waterways. Here’s a list of my top 10 nature spots and hikes in and around Cook County, Lake County, Dupage County, McHenry and Kane County.

Happy Hips are Strong Hips

Check out my pose study of Vishvamitrasana. Within the work for this advanced pose I uncover all the basics and skills to develop in order to execute with practice.

Lunge Quad Stretch

Progressive stages of a lunge quad stretch.

Zero Waste by Diana Oppenheim

Diana Oppenheim, San Francisco based yoga teacher and environmentalist, spends time volunteering for conservation efforts along the Pacific Ocean. She’s here to share with us some tips on how to shift your lifestyle to be more environmentally conscious. Simple everyday efforts are actions we can take to make an impact on the future of our planet. Check out her insight as to how and why we can be “zero waste” citizens.

Eka Pada Bakasana I Pose Study

This super challenging hand balance has its roots in some very accessible postures. Props also elevate the work from grueling to glorious.

Game-changing Generosity

Considering how to practice yoga out of the studio never got so easy. All the tools you need you already have. No purchase necessary!

Year 2: Teaching in a Small Town

Reflections upon a time well spent teaching weekly classes in Southern Illinois as a new teacher.

Peak Pose Breakdown

A little sequence to break down the apex posture Kasyapasana. It’s handbalance. It’s bound. It’s includes a half lotus. It’s HARD.

When Yoga Intersects Real Life

How a recent hike healed my body and mind.

When Flexibility is a Liability

How Sara got her groove back.

Yama, Niyama and Why Bother?

Explore the basic underpinnings of yoga philosophy and its application to the modern practice of yoga.

Stepping Out Takes You In

The investment in a retreat far exceeds what you could’ve planned for.

Homebody's Home Practice

Sharing part of my story to inspire students to not come to class. Yes, I’m encouraging you to stay home and be alone with yourself.

Everyday Aum-ing

Simple meditation to help you experience more calm and presence.

Practice Makes Progress

Guest blogging over at Table450.com on living a life structured by and deeply immersed in a discipline.

Come Together- A Meditation Sit-In

My impulsive and spontaneous reaction to election week 2016- sit in silence for peace outside in downtown Chicago.

Autumn 2016 Making Contact

Fall has settled in. Each ray of sun that we take in feels like total nourishment. A little going such a long way. We know these moments are no longer in majority. We start to grip tightly to the covers at night.
Here are some thoughts and reflections on practice and study of yoga for autumn.

Am I Even Teaching Yoga Anymore

Matthew Remski is a gem of intellect and inspiration. His writing is so clear and thought provoking no matter the topic. However, this one hits home.

Bring it on Ohm

The Chicago Reader attended my Led Zeppelin tribute class in May. Good times, bad times. It’s an honor even if what actually gets the public’s attention is the times I steer from traditional asana classes.

Peacocks and Peril

This week’s classes are nestled around core, backbends and getting on the other side of your experience.

Illumine interview with Noah Maze

Illumine debuts my writing skills in an interview with Noah Maze, yoga teacher extraordinaire.

Door to Door Organics and $50 giveaway!

Door to Door Organics review and a free food GIVEAWAY!

Home Practice Sequence

Got a wall? I’ve drawn out a balanced sequence that is pretty staight-forward but also has room for upgrades. Props needed: block, strap and wall.

Paripurna Navasana vs. Ardha Navasana

A recent visitation to Paripurna Navasana and Ardha Navasana in class has sparked much interest in what actually separates these two classic forms.

Fancy Footwork

Get on the good foot in your yoga practice. Your feet and your head are more connected than you think.

Noah is spot on

Inversions- Better Not Done Than Done Poorly, a repost of my teacher’s blog because I couldn’t agree more.

B.K.S. Iyengar 1918-2014

An offering of dedication to a pioneer, an inspiration, and a lion, BKS Iyengar.
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
- Sir Isaac Newton

9 questions you always wanted to ask your yoga teacher

SheKnows and I chatted it up over yoga. See what they thought you’d like to ask me…

Astavakra

This weak’s peak is Astavakrasana. This is the lovely Sarah Richelle Starnes in the pose.

New Moon, Half Moon, Shiva's Smile...what does it all mean?!

A peak into this week’s classes during our new moon/waxing moon cycle.

Building Bakasana

How Sara Got Her Groove Back. This is a story of how 12.5 hours of yoga with my teacher Noah Maze in 3 days helped reset my fire for teaching yoga.

Bonus: Bakasana sequence

Vasishtasana - The Pose, The Sage

Ever wonder what your teacher is saying in Sanskrit and how it actually may be relevant to the experience you are having in your pose? This week our class focus highlighted one of yoga’s sages, Vasishta, and the poses named in his honor. Vasishtasana is a hand balancing posture that includes the feet as a foundation. Take a deeper look and the pose holds much more than your hips in the air.

Mantra Yoga + Health spotlight

Rare opportunity to give my 2 cents to women for a magazine that focuses on yoga and health. Mantra is on news stands now!

Desiree Rumbaugh

After many classes with this woman my body has been forever transformed. The secret to that transformation wasn’t easy. Turns out it was the hardest yoga I’ve ever done.

Presents from Presence

Happy Winter Solstice! The sun will stand still this weekend. What will you be doing?

Sequencing Primer

After concluding a 3 week workshop series for teachers some emails have come rolling in with further inquiry on some of our discussions. This week’s musing gives you a peek into how I’ve answered and offers advice to teachers struggling with sequencing.

Starting in the middle

You’ve learned Ganesha is the lord of beginnings. Learn from his mythology to begin exactly where you are. This week in class Ganesha symbolism may help ease the transition of daylight savings and “falling back” in time a truly swell idea.

Prana Pushers Recording by DJ C

Recently DJ C and I hosted Prana Pushers at yogaview. Check out the recording on Mashit!

Discipline...again, the message comes loud and clear.

Most anything I read by Iyengar directs me back to the roots of Classical Yoga. Being a tantrika, this is no mere detour but an opportunity to check in with my ethics, spirituality, and ultimately my chosen path of yoga.

What's your bhav?

The old adage, “consciousness flows where energy goes”, has taken me on a trip lately. This week’s classes are a reflection of a recent home practice revelation and the fumes I’m still riding from the 3 weeks of teaching Contemplate to Elevate. Dig it.

Matsyendra...good thing he was thrown out by his parents?

This week in class we’ll be covering a series of postures aimed at getting us into variations on Matsyendra’s poses. Just who exactly is the Lord of the Fishes and why did his parents throw him in the ocean as an infant?

Class plans, sketchbook...braindump

A snippet of what class planning looks like for me.

Yum Universe is out of this world!

By far I look most forward to the eye popping images, the straight-forward recipes, and all the bright ideas Heather Crosby is cooking up at Yum Universe. This is your one-stop go-to for all things plant-based, gluten free, soy free, and darn right delicious.

Gambling

Take a gamble, roll the dice in life/yoga practice. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose! There are many ways to enter into the symbolism imbedded in Shiva and Parvati’s game of “strip Parcheesi” and interpret it where it meets you.
The Dice Game of Shiva: How Consciousness Creates the Universe is a great companion read to this week’s classes.

Battle of the Yogis: Hot vs. Not

Love to sweat in yoga? Think you are doing your body good? Check out Chicago’s very own Jessica Wilson’s research and weigh in on the matter. Jessica is a medical student, neuroscientist, yoga student and teacher. Her blog post caught on fire over the past week and since then she has written a rebuttal. It would behoove you to read the blog if you are convinced sweating = detox.

Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are

Your yoga practice can be a stepping stone to living large and posturing to shift consciousness. This TEDtalk with Amy Cuddy was the inspiration for the week’s theme and perhaps the news we all wish we had since adolescence. It is worth watching all 21 minutes!

Leslie Kaminoff, you are my hero.

Leslie’s candor is very easy to follow and he excites the student in me that yearns to learn about the body from different perspectives. This video is an example of something that I’m thinking when I’m instructing you but can’t possibly take the time to share in our 90 minute classroom experience. Watch to gain insight not only about the knees specifically but to get a more in-depth explanation about muscle engagement and stabilization.