Tiger mom 🐅

Viaghrasana - Tiger Curl Pose

In order of importance:

1. State of mind.

2. Breath.

3. Asana, physical pose.

🐯 

Question: “Mom, what’s the most unhealthy thing for you?”

Response: “Hmmmm … unhealthy thoughts?”

Eras

 

Era of refinement.

Be true to yourself in this present-day era: balance inner knowing with open curiosity. There is always room for improvement. 

Years

 

Uttitha Tadasana - Mountain Pose, with Backbend

Years - decades - of practicing yoga allow for a vast catalogue of poses to call upon and with less ego attached to them; including the acceptance that certain poses may never look a specific way.

Sirsa

 

Pincha Mayurasana - Feathered Peacock - Forearm Stand - from Sirsasana - Headstand

Begin with head - Sirsa - in forearms and then press up.

Mahamayuri mudra: Middle three fingers clasped, pinkies and thumbs straight, to begin. 

Then your palms toward the floor for lift?

Find your own way into poses with personalized little swindles! Tricks! Hoaxes! Hoodwinks! Exploit your physical advantages. The yoga police will come - let them! 😈🎃

Stay and play 🦚

 

Pincha Mayurasana - Feathered Peacock Pose

With or without the wall. 

🦚 Strike while the iron is hot and play all-warmed-up directly after class (if the room is available) or immediately upon returning home. 🪶 

Splendor

Mahayamuri Mudra - for the wise peacock queen.

From hands in prayer at heart center, clasp together the three middle fingers of both hands leaving the thumbs and pinkies extended. 

Mahayamuri mudra - Activate your crown chakra, accelerate towards your destiny. 

Modest days are splendid wise peacock rising days. 

Major

 

Pincha Mayurasana - Forearm Stand funky style

Practice, practice, practice. OR maybe it’s just not that major for you. 

Favorites

 

Ardha Chandrasana - Half Moon Pose

It’s OK to like a pose once in a while 😉 

Date Night 🍾

 

Parsva Bakasana - Side Crow Pose

Tension as an opportunity for connection; turn your least favorite day into one you look forward to.🍾

Privacy

 

Pincha Mayurasana - Forearm Stand with stag legs 

Some poses are better practiced at home. 

The hospitality rubber band has been stretched to its maximum and must now snap back; after a many-weeks-long, very social streak for our household, mom and dad are enforcing nuclear family time, just the six of us (plus the pup). 

Avert burnout 💥

 

Parsva Bakasana - Side Crow Pose

Some days (weeks?) are No Guest Days (no play dates, neighbors, workmen, dinner crashers, carpools…)  Determine the duration and spread the word. 

Proper preparation prevents poor performance

 

Parivrtta Utkatasana - Twisting Chair Pose

Momentous, significant (appointment, meeting, trip, event, party, holiday) day tomorrow? In order to sleep, do so with a notepad and pen on your bedside table. 🗒️💤 

🐭

🍂🧡🎃💛🌻

- 💚BAKE zucchini bread. 

- 💛Light a CANDLE at dinner.

- 🧡Autumnify the NATURE TABLE. 

- ❤️UNEARTH the winter socks. (And pants, and hats, and mittens…)

- 💜CRAFT in the common family area.

Cobwebs in the attic

 

Parsvottanasana - Pyramid Pose 

🕷️ IDENTIFY and sweep aside your COBWEBS. 🕸️ 🧹 

Altitude

Urdhva Mukha Pasasana - Thread the needle pose 🧵 🪡 

 Relax your eyes, relax your jaw, relax your teeth, relax your toes, relax your ATTITUDE. 

Squeak

 

Waterfall Pose, Squat Pose

Afishka yoga mice packed and dressed

Pack, fold, place sweetly out of sight only those clothes you’ll be elated to unbox next summer. The SURPLUS leaves your home ASAP. 🍃 🍂 

OMing ocean

 

OM - Primordial vibration of the universe.

Sonic representation of the divine. 

Why yoga at the studio and not at home? The energy of the group carries you. 

Sprinkle

 

Ashta Chandrasana Backbend - High Lunge Pose Backbend

Reaffirm and reassure through repetition of the time-tested, tried and true. Then garnish with your characteristic flair. 

Yang

 

Viparita Virabhadrasana- Reverse Warrior Pose

Give us your deepest, strongest versions of your poses. No excuses. If not NOW, at Summer’s end, then when?

Yoga nidra

 

Waterfall with bolster

I practice yoga. Just kidding I take naps. 

“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”

 

Halasana - Plow Pose

“But thy eternal summer shall not fade.” - William Shakespeare 

In the wake

 

Viparita Trikonasana- Reverse Triangle Pose

What comes after the precipice? The Hinge point from expansion to contraction. Anticipation to aftermath. 

Velocity

Dhanurasana - Bow Pose

It is an effortful task to reverse the momentum from intake to outtake when a decision has been made to disencumber yourself (of both your beliefs and your belongings). But once that tide has been turned - you are unstoppable. 🌊 🏹

Math

 

Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana II - One Legged King Pigeon Pose II

In the equation of life, adding is so much more entertaining (and prevailing) than subtracting. But to live free and true we must ask “what more can I DEDUCT? Discount? Live without?”

Mirror rorriM

Bhujangasana - Cobra Pose arms wide 🐍 

When we lessen our own material requirements, (persistently removing those pesky impulses and cravings one-at-a-time,) the incessant worldly demands of our children (and other household members) no longer vex us, as the mirror aspect is removed. 🪞 

XS enough to schlep XXL loads.

Make do 🍋🐑🥥

Weekends are for using it up or chucking it out! Clean out the fridge + actually clean the fridge = resourceful foods for the famille and a fit kitchen for the week ahead. 🛒

Lemon Mousse from lemon curd left-overs and on-hand whipping cream.

Remaining cup of sheep’s yogurt into Brownies 🐑

Coconut milk revives last week’s rice 🙀

💋It’s always the sweets that seem to get photographed. 🤷‍♀️

Dancing Shiva

 

Parivrtta Hasta Padangusthasana - Revolved Hand to Big Toe Pose

Except that I use my whole hand on the outside of my foot to crank at my bent leg 👽

Guru : Gu - darkness, Ru - dispeller 

Not mastering the pose is your spiritual teacher. 

Matriarchy

Parighasana - Gate Pose 

Open all sides.

 Using passion, pleasure and emotion to find our rhapsody. ❤️‍🔥

Stardust

Ustrasana - Camel Pose

Reinvent yourself again and again and again (on the mat and then off)…

 

with Pleasure - avec Plaisir

 Camatkarasana - Wild Thing

What do you DESIRE (to wear, eat, do, see, be) TODAY?

What’s in a nama?

 

Gomukhasana - Cow Face Pose

🐮 

Calm an elephant, prevent a flood

 

Abhaya Mudra 

Fearlessness. Reassurance. 

Tartlette

 

Have yourself a French-inspired little weekend.

Sweatpants

 

Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana - Three Legged Downward Facing Dog Pose 

Move your body. Move your body. Move your body. 

Impeccable

Hanumanasana - Monkey pose, forward bend

Get crystal clear and impeccably detailed on your life’s vision. Now. Today. You can change it later. 🐒
 

Seek

Hanumanasana - Splits Pose

Not knowing what you’re looking for until you find it. 🙈 👀 

Keep It Daily 🌻

 

Ashwa Sanchalanasana - Crescent Low Lunge Pose variation knee on floor

Feeling somewhat desolate or in despair? Broken or tender hearted? Keep it daily, keep it simple, keep it sweet 💔.

Jobs

Ardha Hanumanasana - Half Splits Pose

Landing ‘the job’ is exciting, thrilling and fun. Doing the job on the other hand …. is a job. 

Winky

Merudandasana - Upward Seated Straddle Pose

Long weekend 🌟

 

Wall Upavistha Konasana - Wall Straddle Pose

Chrysalis

Buddha Konasana - Butterfly pose arms under legs; legs up and forward bend.

Please protect your vulnerable lower back.

Patience. Metamorphosis takes TIME. 

Sleek

Part Uttitha Parsvakonasana- Extended Side Angle Pose, Part Skandasana - Side Lunge

Touch the Earth, Cradle your head, Flow freely

How to become aerodynamic (for a SMOOTH efficient life)? Reduce drag and streamline your shape. As in - goodbye more and more things and hello more and more yoga; litheness and health :) 

The weather is quite bleak this week in Colorado, so I’m brainstorming Autumn’s sleek trim-down clean-up schematic. To excavate a layer deeper into the household’s gazillion items, I will ask “would I bring this in a move?” Not moving, but act as if. Aerodynamic. 

Uh oh

Seed Pose

That lay-low because you are about to GROW pose. 

Study in the studio

 

Vikasita Kamalasana - Flowering Lotus Pose 

When your world feels uncertain, when it’s all seemingly so nonsensical —  get thee to a YOGA class.