Hridaya

Hridaya is the Sankrit word for heart. Georg Feuerstein writes in Tantra: the path of ecstasy that the human heart, according to age-old spiritual tradition, is the seat of consciousness. “The heart is the gateway to the Heart,” conveying the truth of who we really are. Yoga at its deepest level is about uncovering our true nature and living more from the heart. By diving into the mystery of our own hearts, we can playfully explore and unfold our unique gifts. When we move from true authenticity, the rest will fall into place.

Taproot

Main Entry: tap·root
Pronunciation: \-,rüt -,rut\

Function: noun
Etymology: tap
Date: 1601
1 : a primary root that grows vertically downward and gives off small lateral roots
2 : the central element or position in a line of growth or development
(Webster.com)

Like that first tentative, yet decisive taproot that reaches into the earth to create a foundation, the taproots of our yoga practice are the support from which everything else unfolds. For most of us, including myself, we come into yoga through the physical practice. We learn to create the foundation of our poses through our feet, hands or pelvis – whatever parts of our bodies connect to the earth in the various poses. We learn to root down through these points, so we can then rise up with strength, clarity and stability; much like a well-rooted tree.

Sometimes in our practice, our taproot gets disturbed and we have to rebuild it. After the birth of both of my children, I had to work hard to find the stability and strength in my practice again. Other times in our practice, the locus of our taproot changes. While my physical yoga practice is still very important, the central element now is more the stillness I find in meditation.

There is no right or wrong place to grow that first taproot. It will be different for each of us. And, it will change over time.

What does the idea of a yogic taproot mean to you?

5 ways to inspire your home practice

I love practicing yoga at home on my own. I equally love going to class in community with others. However, because the majority of my yoga practice occurs at home, due mainly to having two small children, I’ve experimented a lot with ways to keep my home practice fresh and inspired. Here are a few simple ideas. Please share your own ideas for an inspired home practice as well. This way we can all learn from one another.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Pick a pose, any pose. Do a short warm-up. Come into your chosen pose. Do a few sun salutations. Come into the pose again. Take downward-facing dog. Do your pose again; notice what’s shifted and changed. Do a few standing poses. Take the pose again – this time take it to the edge a bit more. Experiment liberally with the pose, no one’s watching! Finish your practice with some twists and forward bends and then rest or meditate a bit.

Have a Default Practice
When I first started teaching, I had one all-purpose class sequence memorized cold for those times when I was feeling uninspired or just plain scared. Similarly, for my home practice, when I’m feeling stuck, I have a short sequence of poses I turn to often to help get me started. Sometimes these old standards serve as my entire practice, when short on time. However, usually after moving through them, inspiration kicks in and a juicier practice unfolds.

Attend the Classes of Really Good Teachers
Take at least one class a week with the best teacher you can find. Try to remember one or two new things you learned that you really liked. Then sprinkle those things into your home practice for the week.

Please, Break the Rules
I had an English teacher that once said after you’ve learned the rules of grammar really well you can respectfully break them. I think the same is true of yoga. And, what better place to experiment with unusual sequencing, a new take on a pose or making up something new all together than in your own body in your own practice. Always be safe, honor what you know and keep a good foundation, but don’t be afraid to try something new.

Bring on the Music
This is a pretty obvious one, but a few great tunes always help inspiration kick in. Let yourself get completely lost in the music, movement and breath. The best part about using music in your home practice is that you can choose anything you like. You don’t have to worry if you are the only one in the world who likes a playlist of jazz, reggae, folk, yoga chants and hip hop all mixed together – it’s your show!

My mala, your mala our mala

A collection of malas, including one of my own, lay on the alter. That night as I did my practice, one bead at a time, I could not distinguish between my mala and the others. Whose mala was whose? How many beads? One-hundred-and-eight? A billion-and-eight? There are knots in between each bead, but beyond that, there is no separation.

Why this blog?

First, let me thank the great yoga master Mr. Iyengar for the title for this blog. The words “pose” and “repose” appear in Iyengar’s book The Tree of Yoga in his discussion on asana (the physical practice of yoga), which he refers to as the branches of a tree. He says, “Pose” is the action and “Repose” the reflection. In my own practice, I interpret his words to involve the process of moving into a yoga pose or practice and then getting still for a moment and feeling what is really happening. Then, from a place of deep intelligence and integrity, we make choices: stay where we are; go deeper; change something; get out; or, just completely let go. Most importantly, we reflect on what the experiences teach us about who we are and how we are changing from deep within.

In my day job as a communications professional working in the public health arena, I write and edit a lot. Yet, my work has never offered me the opportunity to write in a structured way about anything personal. In truth, up until now, I have not wanted to write about my life or deep love of yoga. It has felt too personal to do so. Yet, after much “repose,” I realize that my passion for yoga needs a more public venue – a bit more of a voice, if you will. Yoga has been a part of my life for over a decade. In many ways, I feel like one of the lucky few to have found this practice that has nourished, challenged and changed me. So, I’d like to write a bit about it and offer some thoughts here on this blog.

Equally, I want to hear from others whose lives have been irrevocably shaped and changed by yoga, or touched in any way by the practice. One thing yoga has taught me for sure, is that we are all more alike than different. That there is a thread, or “sutra,” that links us all together in the most ordinary and extraordinary ways.

So, let’s begin! I’ll share a little. You share a little. And, we’ll see what happens. If my experiences with yoga are any indication, something magical might just occur.