Free yoga this month!

Gah! I only wish I'd found out about this sooner.

Lululemon is offering free yoga classes every Saturday this month. At 10am, go to 472 Bergen St in Brooklyn (that's between 5th Ave and Flatbush). Go early becuase it's sure to be crowded.

Take the 2/3 to the Bergen street stop, or pretty much any other line to the Atlantic Terminal.

A yoga... audition?

I've been asked to audition as a model for an instructional yoga video. I haven't had much time or money lately for yoga-ing, so it could be, ah, interesting. In the coming week I'm throwing myself back into yoga 110%

My latest online favorite is Tara Stiles. I have a little bit of a girl crush on her. She posts short and sweet youtube videos. I find them helpful if I have a specific goal in mind-- strength building, deepening my backbends, etc. These videos aren't great as a full, hour-long yoga routine, but they provide nice ideas for home practice.

Yoga in the Office

The office is probably one of the most difficult places to de-stress. I know I've found myself feeling the need for a little yoga in the middle of the work day. These videos offer a number of different asana variations you can do at your desk.

Add a couple minutes of meditation to the beginning of these poses, and I'll bet it could make every work day pleasant.

Breathing Techniques

It's one of the first things we learn in almost any form of excersize, but I still find it helpful to have a teacher talking me through my breathing.

I was originally looking for video yoga routines, but happened upon this video. It's short, but I found it very helpful to get me started before some at-home yoga.

Free Meditation Classes

This one comes from pondbluebird on livejournal.

There are two free meditation talks in Manhattan. Definitely gonna check this out

Meditation and Joyful Life

An Introduction to Buddhist Meditation

2 FREE Talks at 2 Locations
with Kadam Morten

Monday, January 18
7:00 - 9:00 pm (FREE)
At the New York New Church, 114 East 35th Street

Thursday, January 21
7:00 - 9:00 (FREE)
At Chakrasambara Buddhist Center, 322 8th Ave. Suite 502

"Is a joyful life possible? Yes, it is. Through training in the meditation practices taught by Buddha we can develop a peaceful, positive, and joyful mind, a relaxed body, and a flexible, optimistic and compassionate outlook on life. Through learning to meditate correctly we train our mind in letting go of present unhappiness and past hurts and in maintaining a peaceful and happy heart. Gradually we become less judgmental and more empathetic and we come to appreciate the beauty and potential in each moment of our life.

In this talk Kadam Morten will explain the practice of meditation and guide us in simple but profound meditations that we can easily integrate into our daily life. Everyone is welcome."

Free Yoga coupon

My friend at Hipsters and Hassids sent me this.

http://asset0.flavorpill.com/mailer_images/dedicated_flavor/2010_1_7/yogaworks-soho-flavorpill.jpg

(if that link doesn't work, copy and paste it into your URL)

After Yoga to the People

This was by far the most crowded yoga class I've ever been to. I'm still impressed at how many people could fit into that room without kicking each other by accident.

The class was just what I wanted out of a power-Vinyasa class-- sweating and breathing through challenging poses. However, with 50 other people also sweating and breathing and vinyasa-ing, it quickly got stuffy in there. I found the large number of people distracting at times. For the most part, though, the workout was so good, though, that it kept my mind occupied.

At the end, in Savansana, our instructor read to us a little excerpt from Rainer Maria Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet"

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

What a beautiful passage!

I'm still feeling the good effects today. Yoga to the People is a keeper, for sure. I know I'll be there again.

Yoga to the People, 7:30pm

Today I'm leaving work a couple minutes early to check out Yoga to the People on St. Mark's. There are 3 locations in the city and more in California. This particular one offers power vinyasa-flow. Sounds intense. $10 suggested donation; not a bad price.
I'll let y'all know how it goes...

Getting back into it

This holiday season I've been bad-- no yoga for almost a month! I knew I should get back into it. I could feel my chest getting tighter, my upper back rounding more each day. Yesterday I decided, "Ok, I'm just gonna do yoga today, no matter how lazy I feel!" Not feeling quite motivated enough to brave the frigid New York air, I got on to one of my favorite sites-- YogaJournal.com-- and clicked to their featured sequence, Play Leads the Way" by Sianna Sherman.

It was a really nice yoga routine, with lots of backbending to get my shoulders back to where they should be. I was suprised at how shakey and weak I felt. My legs trembled in downward dog, and I had to constantly remind myself to keep breathing (it's only what I deserve for not yoga-ing at all during the holidays). I grabbed the closest book (Henry Miller) to use as a block in the side angle pose, and snatched the blanket off my bed to put under my knees for the pigeon and camel poses.

Afterward I felt great! This routine was exactly what I needed to get my holiday-worn body upright again. I spent the rest of the day feeling beautifully centered. This morning I woke up feeling a little sore, but the good effects of the yoga were still with me. So I did the sequence again, and once again I felt amazing afterward.

YogaJournal.com is a great resource for free yoga. They have quite a few routines, clear pictures, and detailed explinations of poses. I use the site often, especially if I don't feel like going out to a class. It functions great as a suppliment to my home practice. It's perfect for those days when you don't want to go out, but still want a pre-thought out sequence.

While this website can't entirely take the place of proper classes, I still highly recommend it. If there is any yogi out there that doesn't know YogaJournal, it's time you checked it out.

peace, love, and ohm
the Starving Yogini