Slow and juicy - practice and playlist

Often after a long, challenging day (like yesterday!), I like to seriously slow my practice down by listening to some mellow, bluesy music and doing a slightly different style of practice from my norm - a mix of flow and holds. Here’s the practice (more or less), followed by the playlist.

Practice (about 45 minutes):
10 or so minutes of slow flow, focusing on long, fluid, yet rather simple movements connected to the breath.
5-7 minutes or so of hip openers held for a minute or more each.
15 minutes of more complex standing poses, emphasizing lengthy holds and full, deep breathing. Usually includes at least one deep standing twist to wring out the day!
5 or so minutes of full backbends held for 30 seconds to a minute each. I like to do the pose in its basic form and use the longer holds to refine alignment and breathe into tight spots. Sometimes I do a few backbend pushups – if I’m feeling motivated!
A seated twist or two.
Finale sequence (This may be my all-time favorite forward bend/twist mix): pachimottanasana, parivritta pachimottanasana to one side, pachimottanasana, parivritta pachimottanasana to the other side, pachimottanasana one last time (often a long hold of up to 3 minutes).
Legs up the wall for relaxation.

Playlist (45 minutes)
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room - John Mayer
Spoiled - Joss Stone
Searching - Erykah Badu
Since I Fell For You - Nina Simone
To Love You All Over Again - Madeleine Peyroux
Quelqu’un M’a Dit - Carla Bruni
Skin On the Drum - Micheal Franti & Spearhead
All The Way Down - Glen Hansard
Lullaby - Dixie Chicks
Gravity - Sara Bareilles
Hallelujah (Live at Bearsville) - Jeff Buckley

Soup saga

10PM: Got a craving for Mediterranean White Bean Soup. Did not want to stay up for three to four hours to babysit soup. So, threw everything in the slow cooker and went to bed.

2AM: Awoke to the most magnificent smell - fresh sage, thyme, parsley and garlic bubbling away in the cooker. Well, what actually woke me up was the sound of the lid jiggling around from all the activity inside the pot. Got up, gave it a stir, tested it out (it needed more sage and pepper). Turned it to warm; went back to bed.

4:30AM: Woke up to husband saying, “I’ve gotten up with him every morning for a week.” (Well, not entirely true.). Like clockwork, baby boy up for his morning feeding. An hour later, he’s back in bed. I’m wide-awake.

5:30AM: Went outside, breathed in the day, picked more thyme from the garden. Went back inside, ladled up a bowl of soup, added fresh thyme. Ate for breakfast – really good!

7AM: Had a second bowl of soup; reflected on what an odd, but interesting night it had been.

Here’s the recipe (generously adapted from the All New Joy of Cooking, which I happen to think is a god among cookbooks!):

1c. dry white beans
veggie broth and/or water to cover beans 3" in slow cooker (I like to use 1/2 broth, 1/2 water)
8 cloves garlic (run through garlic press)
1/2 c. diced tomatoes with juices (fresh or canned)
1/4 c. fresh parsley
1/8 c. fresh sage
3-4 TB fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Throw it all in the slow cooker. I like to put the cooker on slow setting for about 8-10 hours. Enjoy - great with a salad and crusty bread!

Home yoga practice playlist

I have so many playlists on my iPod that I use for my home yoga practice. So, while I know music is very personal, I thought others might also like some of the music I enjoy during my yoga practice. In the spirit of sharing great music, here's the first of several playlists. This one features three songs by the amazing Trevor Hall, who I've been listening to a lot lately.

All playlists can be found under the category "Yoga and Music."

Happiness - The Fray
Chasing Pavements - Adele
The Lime Tree - Trevor Hall
Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson
I Got Love for You - Michael Franti & Spearhead
Diamonds on the Inside - Ben Harper
Jago Ma - Trevor Hall
Spinning Around Over You - Lenny Kravitz
Unity - Trevor Hall
Krishna Dub - MC Yogi (feat. Sharon Gannon)
Roses & Cigarettes - Ray Lamontagne
Mr. Bojangles - Bob Dylan
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Quincy Coleman
Purnamadah - Shantala

(Duration: 1 Hour)

Bring on the bliss

Before I had my two children, I was an avid, amateur photographer (and had even sold a few images!). I don't know that I was all that good at it, but I really loved taking pictures. After the birth of my children, I still took photos, but not like I used to. While certainly a worthy subject matter, the photos were mostly of the kids. Until I started this blog, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed using my camera as a way to see the world differently, literally through a new lens.

For some years now, I have photographed with a Nikon D70 and Speedlight SB-800. Yet, during the height of my photo-taking days, I loved to shoot with a beautiful, old Mamiya RB67. Pictured here, what a beauty this camera is – totally old school: all metal, heavy as a rock, a real workhorse.

The point here is that picking up a camera again to photograph whatever happens to catch my eye has brought me a lot of joy. And, in many ways, that’s what yoga is all about – finding your bliss.

So, head out today and do something that makes your heart sing. Don’t worry if it’s practical or not – taking pictures of pinecones and banana bread certainly isn’t, but for some reason it makes me happy.

Attitude. Alignment. Action.

The three A's of Anusara Yoga are Attitude, Action and Alignment. My daughter made these "Pinecone Flower People" this weekend. When I saw them, for some reason or other, I instantly thought of the three A's.

Attitude: In Anusara yoga, attitude could be summed up as setting our intention to open to grace. Students new and old to Anusara yoga often ask the question, "What is grace?" Each of us will have a unique and perfect response to this question. And, it's a question worthy of much reflection, I believe. To me the idea of opening to grace correlates beautifully to a Sanskrit word I learned recently - Śāhasa, which means a sudden, unexpected happening ... idea of sudden spontaneous flash of Divine Self. Each of us has experienced such moments. They often occur during the most simple and pure experiences of our lives. Anusara yoga simply asks us to soften and be on the lookout to receive these moments again and again.

Alignment: In Anusara yoga, great focus is placed on good physical alignment of the body. From a practical standpoint, we do this not only to stay safe in our practice, but also to create greater physical health in the body. On a more subtle level, when the physical body is aligned, energy can flow more freely through it. We create the container to hold grace.

Action: Having to do with dedication, Action follows Attitude and Alignment for good reason. Our Attitude and Alignment create the foundation for not just our yoga practice, but also for our lives - strengthening our ability to act with clarity, focus, flow and compassion. Not an easy task, for sure!

Why I love yoga - the short list

1. Moments of authentic bliss, once few and far between, are now more frequent.

2. Yoga reminds me that perceived failure might actually be profound growth.
3. However I feel – happy, sad, angry, joyful, heavy or light – yoga meets me where I am.
4. No need to be perfect – In yoga, I just have to show up and do the work.
5. Yoga has taught me there is no sweeter place than the stillness of my own heart.

Me in the moon and the moon in me

Did you see the moon last night? It was so full and bright! As we often do when the moon is full, my daughter and I spread out a blanket in the backyard, looked at the moon and chatted about the day. Just before we went in she asked me, "Is God in the moon?" "Yes," I said. "Then, the moon is in me," she said. Later that night, I read these words:

As great as the infinite space beyond is the
space within the lotus of the heart, Both
heaven and earth are contained in that inner
space, both fire and air, sun and moon,
lightening and stars. Whether we know it
in this world or know it not, everything is
contained in that inner space.
Chandogya Upanishad