In Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Sanasana),  we are firmly grounded and gazing internally. Through the transition into Wild Thing, we capture the change in seasons, by opening brightly and externalizing our strength.

Wild Thing with Alison Aiken
As we make the transition from summer to fall – nights becoming cooler, kids returning to school – our activities and daily patterns start to change.  It can be easy to set our sights on the future rather than the path we take to get there.

This is true in movement as well, and without careful focused intention our end result may not be as strong and effective as it could be.  As you move from one yoga posture to another, begin by drawing in to your center and initiate the movement from there.  By creating stability from within, we have a foundation from which we can move.  Without this, our movements can become loose and poorly directed which can make the end result sloppy and difficult to maintain.

The transition from Downward facing dog to Wild Thing can be intimidating when you focus only on the final posture -  upside down, inside out, and on three limbs?! – and not on the pathway of movement along the way.  Initiating movement from your center will allow you to maintain your balance, evolve from a forward bend to a backward bend, and breathe!  This can be an overwhelming transition, but awareness of each step will help you move into Wild Thing with care, skill, and consideration.

2. What does September mean to you?
Growing up, September was a threshold through which I passed having been touched by a summer of daily swim practice and weekly competition, by carefree days at the pool, and by relationships I developed. September symbolizes new beginnings, a fresh start, possibility, potential.

3. Tell us about your Wednesday ‘Mama Yoga’ class:
This past spring as my daughter Genevieve turned 1 I began to feel the need for more yoga, both as a physical and spiritual practice for myself as well as a professional creative exploration. I did not want to relinquish any more of the precious time I get to spend with Genevieve, so I thought about how I might teach a class with her there along with other moms and their babes. A picture developed in my mind of it being distracted, chaotic, interrupted, not following any particular rules or expectations. Perfect! Just as life is, just as parenting is. Real. No matter that I might need to change a diaper mid sun salutation, or nurse through hip openers, or handle a bout of tears over a desired toy in savasana. It was all yoga. Over the summer I taught this class in Bristol and Vergennes and grew from the community we cultivated. I got back into my body, observed myself parenting in the eyes of other moms, observed other moms parent through sweet moments and difficult ones, and was consistently reminded that parenting – and yoga – is an art, as well as a science. It was beautiful!

4. When/How did you decide to dedicate yourself to yoga personally and professionally?
In September 2000 I traveled to Maui to study Ashtanga Yoga with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois for 3 weeks. Up until that point, I had had a job and taught yoga on the side. I left my job, went to Hawaii, deepened my practice and my dedication to yoga and to myself and returned to Vermont to flip the scales, with the intention of teaching yoga, with a part-time job on the side. I have continued in that manner since then, even dropping the part-time job in 2004 to support myself solely through yoga and bodywork.

5. Please share a defining moment for you in your yoga practice/teaching:
In the spring of 2005 I attended an Anusara Yoga workshop with Todd Norian in Montpelier. I had not taken a workshop in a few years and I was longing for new inspiration. I knew nothing about Anusara nor Todd but I was so hungry for new knowledge and experience that it didn’t matter. The workshop was phenomenal; my body, heart and mind were altered. I can still recall the physical sensations in my body, specifically my hamstrings seeming longer and more supple and my back more flexible and free of tension. I can still recall the feeling of my heart beaming, wide open, freed of a protection that I hadn’t even been aware of until I experienced its absence. I called Todd Monday morning to say “I need more, I can’t go back to what I was doing and I don’t know enough to go forward.” I enrolled in his teacher training which started 3 weeks later and the rest is history in the making.

Carolyn’s Weekly Classes:
Tuesdays: Anusara-Inspired I/II ~ 12 – 1 pm
Wednesdays: Mama Yoga ~ 9:45 – 10:45 am  + Anusara-Inspired I/II ~ 5:45 – 7 pm

Stop by to see his newest gem in person at Evolution next Friday, September 10 starting at 5:30 pm. We will be celebrating Evolution’s 4th Birthday, turning up the lights and the volume with 13 artists, WoodBelly Pizza, henna, birthday cake and much more! Don’t miss this incredible night! ~ Shanti OM~~ Namaste~

http://evolutionvt.com/PT/staff.html

Fall Schedule!

For a printable version, click here.

Stay tuned for more updates and information on new teachers and classes! ~Namaste~

I was reminded recently of the difference between focusing on creating a posture from the outside in rather than focusing on the “actions” that underlie the creation of the posture, and making it come from the inside. One way to think of it is in terms of making a painting. Everyone knows a really great painter will know all about color and what happens when you combine different colors, right. Well, imagine a painter who didn’t know anything about that stuff and they just wanted to draw a mountain because they saw someone else draw a mountain and they wanted to draw one to look just like it. You can imagine that just focusing on drawing a mountain, without learning about color, wouldn’t turn one into an artist – it would most likely make them want to quit because they couldn’t paint.

Now imagine a yogi doing a similar thing (which we’ve all done, I’m sure). We see someone else in a posture and instead of learning about the color of what makes the posture art, we just try to do the posture. After a while this is not just frustrating, but can get you hurt. What is needed is to understand the actions that help create the posture. What’s going on the alignment of the feet? What’s going on the mind? What’s the quality of the heart? Basically, what do you need to do in your mind, body, and spirit to create the art of the posture.

When you learn these underlying principles — or even just start to consider them — the asana starts to move from being created on the outside to rising from the inside.

In this week’s video I touch a bit on this with some hip openers. We focus on the actions of the thighs getting back and the scoping the tailbone in to create deeper and more meaningful postures.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think. John

Young Yogis Fall 2010 Schedule

Spots are filling up! Call the studio at 802.864.9642 to sign up!

Also be sure to check out NEW classes: Mondays KIDS YOGA for Kindergarten-2nd graders and Circus Yoga for ages 6-10 and families!

When we reach out for solace, we invoke the universal plenitude of Saraswati energy. This takes forms as diverse as our favorite food, words of wise counsel or warm compassion, insightful learning, an enlightening meditation or the refreshing beauty of art or nature.

Tired and irritated one day recently, I was late bringing a meal to my elderly, sick mom.  I found myself in a rough bar filled with large men because it was the only place that served mom’s choice of prime rib for lunch. This was the last place I wanted to be.

I was close to tears when one of the waitresses looked at me kindly saying, “You look tired.” I softened, mumbling something about keeping my mom waiting in a nursing home.

One of the construction workers said gently, “Don’t worry, honey. It’ll be alright. She’s just waiting there patiently for you.” The sweet comfort of those words drew tears down my cheeks.

There was no swan or white lotus, but Saraswati was there.

P.S. Many thanks to Margaret Pitkin and Amy Reed for their Heart of the Goddess Workshop which inspired this series.

If you already have a handstand or are just starting to explore the possibilities of this rejuvenating posture, this six-week series will move you forward to a deeper understanding of this wonderful and powerful inversion.

Have fun exploring handstand with other students, and after six weeks you will have more strength and confidence in your handstand and in your whole yoga practice.

The six week series will be held at Evolution Yoga on Thursday nights from 7:30-9pm starting on September 16th.  The cost is $99. Space is limited so to pre-register call Evolution at (802) 864-9402.

If you have any questions you can talk to me at the studio or Friend me on facebook and we can communicate that way.  Hope to see you there.  :-)

John