There is no denying that the Fall season is upon us and the beautiful colors of fall are everywhere! Since I was born in FL and lived there until November of 2010, experiencing the changes in season are especially exciting for me! I stop to take pictures whenever I see a tree displaying fabulous orange, yellow, and red leaves, and I decorated our home in festive fall fashion. The Fall season splashes vibrant colors across our landscape as nature eloquently whispers it's time for change.

The gentle fall breeze inspired me to bring this idea of flowing with the seasons to my students. During fall the seasonal flow causes differences in our personal lives as well. Darkness creeps up on us earlier in the day and cooler weather draws us inside seeking warmth. So how do we allow yoga to guide us through this seasonal transformation? My husband surprised me with a hot air balloon ride for our 6 month wedding anniversary, and through this experience, I gained insight into how yoga would influence the changing of the seasons in my own life.

Our journey began at 7am as the pilot began blowing air into the balloon with a large fan and pulling the trigger on the balloon to release the heat. The air was a crisp 40 something and as we stood shivering, engulfed in our excitement, we did not realize what we would experience on this flight. As the balloon became full of hot air the pilot instructed us to carefully step into the basket. . . As my foot searched for space inside this very tiny basket I acknowledged this would be an intimidating experience. My husband joined me with his own expression of fear and the pilot began pulling the trigger, releasing a heat so strong, it quickly warmed us up and the basket began to lift effortlessly away from the ground.

Once again I faced a reality I did not prepare for in the excitement of this ride. . . We were thousands of feet above land, huddled together in the world's tiniest basket without any attachment to the ground! I could have allowed my fear to take over and ruin this beautiful adventure. However, lucky for me, I have a yoga practice that has taught me to find a sense of being grounded whether I am high above the Earth, or laying on the ground.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself standing firmly in Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III) or balancing effortlessly in Ardha Chandarasana (half moon). Balancing poses such as these, challenge our bodies, but are engaged in a much deeper battle with our minds. We lose focus and fall out of the pose even if our dristi (gaze) or thoughts stray for a single second. If you have never fallen out of a balancing pose, WOW that is impressive, but try closing your eyes in the pose or allowing your thoughts to drift. Our standing leg begins to shake, our eyes dart around looking to find solid ground that our leg has lost, and our mind struggles with why we cannot maintain our pose!

Our mind and bodies do not like to feel shaken, we strive on feeling grounded. When you achieve a moment in a balancing pose where you feel strong and confident, like nothing will cause you to lose balance, you feel a sense of pride. We enjoy being grounded and find ourselves especially excited when we can find ourselves firmly rooted on only one leg! Stop and think how you find that place, where you are balanced and feel grounded at the same time. For me, it's when my mind stops racing and I stop being focused on the outcome----the balance. My balance exists when I let go and trust that my standing leg will be strong when my breathing is strong and fluid. Find the connection between your mind, body, and breath and therein lies your grounded balance!


As our hot air balloon soared through the morning sky, I began focusing on my breath. I worked towards making every inhale as long as every exhale. I brought my thoughts away from the worry and fear, so my mind stopped racing. Suddenly, it no longer mattered how high we were flying, I was amazed by the colors of the trees, the heat of the balloon, and the peace found in this tiny basket. I lost sight of my fears and felt rooted, even though I clearly was not standing firmly on the ground. . . Maybe how firmly planted we feel has nothing to do with where or how we stand, but how we believe we are standing and surrendering to that idea. I am thankful to my yoga practice for giving me this insight and teaching me how Yoga is carried on far beyond our yoga studio and mat.

Namaste!

Welcome 2012

I hope 2012 has been going well for everyone, I have not posted since September 2011, so I am excited to update you and continue working on this blog.  I will be posting an entry I was working on in the fall that I did not get to publish because life started happening very quickly and my writing was on the back burner.  

So where have I been for the last 5 months?  Well, my husband and I were in Australia and when we returned home we found out we were expecting our first baby!  Now, this is

wonderful news , but it was especially wonderful because we had lost two pregnancies in a row, in July and September and we were not expecting this news.  As soon as we allowed ourselves to heal and began moving forward without the focus being on our losses, this miracle happened!  Needless to say this experience began with a lot of nervous energy and day to day wondering if the baby would be okay, if THIS would be our healthy baby.  So fast forward through all of the months of worrying, and here we are on February 29, 2012.  I am 20 weeks and halfway through my pregnancy.  Our Baby BOY  is healthy and growing so much every week, my husband and I have been amazed how much he changes with every ultrasound.  Since my second trimester began I have been able to exercise regularly, and I hope I can share my yoga experiences with you to give you an idea of how beneficial yoga has been for my pregnancy thus far.  If you have never done yoga, pregnancy is a FANTASTIC time to begin!  

Namaste!

Vanishing the Vritti

After a particularly challenging couple of months, I began feeling overwhelmed by negative energy in my life.  Circumstances and people had left me feeling drained and I felt like I was drowning in the negativity.  I spoke to one of my yoga teachers who has been an amazing friend and inspiration in my life.  She kindly reminded me, "each of us has our own  unique process, you must trust that the Universe is supportive and guiding you to exactly what you need."(SSJ)  I thought a lot about what she said and made a decision to let go of the negativity by setting out on a journey to feel more "grounded" and accepting.

I looked at my mat rolled up in its' usual corner, and I knew I would need to go beyond my mat to overcome this "black cloud".  As I laid in bed working on a yoga sequence for an upcoming class, I looked outside and saw a beautiful blue sky.  Immediately I put on my bathing suit and headed towards the very inviting sunshine!  Now, I live in the northeast where the pools close after Labor Day and laying on a lawn is not only acceptable but it's "normal", so I set up a large beach blanket and my towel in the grass and hoped for the best.  

Closing my eyes I felt the sun warming my body and restoring the energy I had lost.  My feet were hanging off the blanket and the grass was tickling my toes as the breeze brought cool relief from the strong sunshine. Children were playing in a park nearby, and their laughter brought a smile to my face.  Many people were enjoying this beautiful day by walking and running along the river, and my thoughts began to fade far away from my own problems as I observed my surroundings.  Helicpoters zoomed around the pristine, blue sky, and I looked at the new World Trade Center Tower, wondering if I was seeing so many helicopters because the 10th anniversary of 9/11 is approaching.  Before I knew it I had closed my eyes and drowned out the sights and sounds.

Suddenly my phone began to ring and my husband was asking if I was sleeping on the lawn.  He could see me from our balcony and said I appeared to be asleep.  I said no, I was not sleeping, but I was feeling very peaceful all of a sudden.  A calmness had taken over my entire body and I felt like I was melting into the Earth instead of being an akward object failing to find comfort on the hard surface.  When I hung up the phone I realized that I had been was laying in Savasana (corpse pose) before the phone rang.  I set my phone down and returned to my restorative asana, now absorbing the serenity I was experiencing. 

Once I had been in Savasana for what felt like a good amount of time, I pulled my knees into my chest and landed in a gentle belly twist.  Inhaling and exhaling softly as my knees and shoulders fell towards the ground, detoxifying the negative energy.  I returned to Savasana for several breathes before moving into Setu Bandhasana (bridge pose).  My body moved slowly and easily in poses I may not normally relax into without a lot of effort.  For a brief moment I wondered if the people around me were judging my spur of the moment yoga session on the lawn. However, moving back into a more "yogic" mindset, I realized it did not matter what anyone else thought.  In fact, if other people were being judgemental, it would be an opportunity for me to work on Yoga Sutra 2:33, "When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite (positive) ones should be thought of. This is Pratipaksha Bhavana." {Yoga Sutras of Patanjali}  The interpretation given for this Sutra explains that we can control how we are feeling by altering our negative thoughts to positve ones.  If someone or something makes us feel upset, we can choose to change our environment to one that is positive and leave the negative thoughts behind!  If we consider what the result will be if we stay focused on the negative, we realize we only find outselves deeper beneath the "black cloud".  Replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts and surrounding ourselves with positive people who make us feel loved will ultimately affect our energy.  This concept is very simple, but so easily forgotten when we are caught up in the Vritti (mind stuff).  Gradually, I began to move into one of my favorite asanas, Supta Baddha Konasana (reclining bound angle).  I had successfully restored my body though Asana and my mind through recalling a Sutra that applied to my current state of mind.

I felt more positive, energetic, and light than I had in weeks!  I do not know whether it was the sunshine, the bright green grass, or the perfect blue sky that brought my mind, body, and breath into balance, but it happened effortlessly.  As soon as I allowed myself to forget the Vritti (chatter in my mind), I felt grounded again. There I was without my yoga mat, Lululemon yoga pants, or my bolster and  not only was I practicing Asanas, but I was feeling more "Yogic" than I had weeks!  The moral of my story is that sometimes to find the grounding you need, you need to put your mat away and literally  get on the ground! 

Restoration on Sizzling Summer Days

With much of the US experiencing extremely steamy temps, I started thinking how Yoga rejuvinates my body more than the cool temps of any pool or ocean!  I have absolutely pushed the limits of the most recent heat wave in the Northeast by attending Hot Vinyasa Flow classes, but the most beneficial classes for me personally have been restorative or gentle yoga.  Restorative Yoga may be overlooked by the typical Yogi, as classes for the weak, injured, or downright lazy. I may have been someone who would never have attended a Restorative class because I could not imagine "laying around on props" would be beneficial.

However, I was introduced to Restorative Yoga during my teacher training at YogaWorks in New York City, and after an hour and a half session, I noticed a profound difference in my body.  Being an athletic person, I have used movement or cardio to manage stress and achieve a sense of well-being.  Who knew I could find the same energetic sensation through restorative yoga poses that I would find after a 6 mile run on a hot summer day? 

A Restorative Yoga Session, even if you practice one asana (pose), will allow the body to find energy through relaxation.  So when the weather becomes extreme and the sun is draining your Prana (energy), hit up a yoga class and keep your Prana in check!
My suggestion for those who are not convinced is that you try one pose and hold it for 3-5 minutes.  Afterwards, examine how your body feels in comparison to how it felt before the pose.  Try the pose again when you are ready and maybe hold it for a longer length of time or experiment with a different pose.  Every body is different and poses may be beneficial to some and not to others, but you will never know if Restorative Yoga will feel good to YOUR body, unless you give it a try!  Check the schedules of your local Yoga classes and look for "restorative" or "gentle"  yoga on the schedule!

My belief in the benefits of Restorative yoga has led me to purchase my own props, so I can set up an at-home restorative session as needed.  The props are inexpensive and invaluable because once you are in your first Restorative Supta Baddha Konasana (Goddess Pose), you will not understand how you survived without a bolster, block, or blanket! 


For Suggestions or more information on Restorative Asanas, please email, SchillerYoga@gmail.com.


Namaste!