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  • Utkatasana: Waiting in the Cha Utkatasana: Waiting in the Chair of Loneliness

    • From: thestudentpose
    • Description:

      Student Salute, January 22:

      Utkatasana || Chair Pose

       

      A pose I've never been too eager to assume, this Chair is a bit less comfortable than most of the chairs I recline in throughout the day (though I'm not really the sit-down type). It's not a hard pose, but it requires steadiness, some central balance, and the ability to tighten everything up a bit to perfect its form. And I'll be very honest with you-- to me, it always looked awkward, like a mime waving his arms from an odd imaginary seat.

      It's Friday night, and everyone's out, except the yogi perched on a futon in the empty common room, writing about dealing with discomfort. The campus is silent. Don't get me wrong--I love to go out clubbing or to see a band play. I used to do it more often. But all (or at least, most) of us have had this kind of Friday night-- broke, burned out on ordering food, alone, and wondering if there's really nothing left to do but.. homework.

      And those nights have become more frequent for me. I'm not a big partier, so I don't mind--I appreciate a quiet night in to get personal things done, crank up the iPod, open the window and get a nighttime breeze. But I know the rest of the weekend will be like tonight, and that's been most weekend nights this month. Admittedly.. I just wish this wasn't the case.

      There's some point where being isolated can be interpreted as "alone" or "lonely." And I think everyone, especially my school-age yogis, understands that it's much easier to feel "lonely" than to smile and be perfectly alright with writing papers on Friday night, eating Ramen in a desk chair. "I'm responsible!" I'd like to think. "I don't need to be out right now, I'm perfectly self-sufficient, and mature enough to enjoy the peace of my dorm on the weekend."

      There are some people who just don't seem to run out of money, friends, and transportation; we all lack in life, but these things aren't deficiencies for those lucky few. I can say that I am not one of them, and I think a lot of people have to spend a lot of their lives grappling with that concept of being okay on your own. Not all the time.. but sometimes. Maybe more than you'd like.

      When we settle into Utkatasana, it can feel awkward; shifting to become our own support system, we feel our legs gawkily gripping the floor underneath our torsos. It looks weird, it's not very comfortable, and it's hard to feel graceful. (Kind of like.. being in the Common Room working on a weeknight?)

      But you can make it strong.

       

      When practicing yoga, you do a few specific things to strengthen and harden yourself; you tighten the abs, you breathe into the pose, you check your alignment, you find a spot to focus on.

      And this is how you can turn "lonely" into "independent," how "isolated" can be softened into "unaccompanied." Re-align your mind; there will be many other free days, other Saturday nights, and the clubs, the theatre, the parties will always be there. There will probably be a weekend with a paycheck attached for a good restaurant or a Blockbuster run with friends. 

      Find a spot to focus on. What kind of busy work can get done in this extra time? After all those harried Mondays when you don't have time for a long hot shower, finishing the wall decorations, or reading a book that's NOT for class-- isn't now the perfect time? Remind yourself that that seeming obligation to always be with friends, to always have an agenda, to Twitter your location from every hot spot in town.. isn't really an obligation. This evening, this morning, this time alone is your oyster; finish something you have to do, but do some of those little things you've wanted to do that don't require noise and crowds. (And you never remember how satisfying neatening up the dorm is until you've just finished doing it again.. right?)

      And tighten that core; have some faith in yourself, and make that statement more than just words. Being an interesting person doesn't mean wandering around from house to bar to coffee shop all night long. You won't even remember all the places you blew your hard-earned cash five years from now. Save that money for a pretty new bamboo mat for practice. And write an essay; finish a drawing. Spend some time in happy meditation, meditation on the gift of spare time, and the work you've done to get yourself there. 

      We often hesitate to stay seated in a Chair where we find ourselves vulnerable and shaky. Learn to adjust in that seat; you grow as you develop the ability to be still and self-reliant, balanced only on your own two steady feet.

       

      *

      I know one thing I've got to do tonight, and that's rehearse my lines for The Vagina Monologues.

      As is considered orthodox, our college's performances of the show will occur during "V-Week," the third week of February (and the week of my birthday!) . As a women's college, Monologues is a pretty big deal, and our audience includes not only students, but alumni, faculty, and many local residents.

      To those who are unfamiliar with the show, I highly recommend finding a performance in your area this coming month; if you can't or want a sneak peak first, look it up on YouTube. Written by Eve Ensler, this show is a fantastic collection of one-woman pieces which epitomizes the female experience in relation to beauty, sexuality, and health. It's also bigger than the show itself; the V-Day Movement runs behind the theatrical performances, having reached all corners of the world with its messages of non-violence towards women and awareness of such issues as rape and female genital mutilation (FGM). It's humorous, it's touching, it's heartbreaking at points-- but it's certainly an experience every woman should have. Knowing that YogaJournal hosts a large base of female practitioners, I felt the urge to plug the show as a huge source of empowerment for all of us.

       

      www.vday.org

       

      ______________

    • Blog post
    • 3 weeks ago
    • Views: 93

  • Staying focused and Learning Staying focused and Learning

    • From: CurlyLocs
    • Description:

      I'm on my second wonderful week of Bikram yoga!!  I look forward to the days and nights that I get to broaden my practice of yoga.  My next goal is to continue on at home the three days that I have off.  It's hard some days with all the activity that goes on in my house but I must make the time to do this.  I don't want it to feel as though it is a duty but better yet a normal extension of my day!!

      Namaste

    • Blog post
    • 4 weeks ago
    • Views: 54
    • Not yet rated

  • What's In/What's Out 2010 What's In/What's Out 2010

  • First of Many First of Many

    • From: CurlyLocs
    • Description:

      Happy New Year everyone,

      I'm very happy to say that I started my first Bikram yoga class lastnight and it was fantastic.  This is not my first time doing yoga, however, this is the first time that I felt so powerful and at peace in the moment and empowered when the class was finished.  I can't wait to see where this journey will take me, and how it will transform me.

      Namaste

    • Blog post
    • 1 month ago
    • Views: 69
    • Not yet rated

  • Ha ha ha - vodka Ha ha ha - vodka

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      Was checking out the Community when I found this ad which I thought was funny in a surreal way.  Yoga Journal pushing hard booze whose web site is namedvodka "Truth in Vodka"....ha ha ha....Wish I had thought of this as one of my satirical yoga pieces.

    • Blog post
    • 2 months ago
    • Views: 194
    • Not yet rated

  • Karmic Klutter Syndrome Karmic Klutter Syndrome

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:


      YogaDawg, the leader in Karma Management techniques is pleased to announce a new program that is helping people live happier lives by managing their Karmic Klutter tm

      Sufferers of KKS report symptoms such as welts, dry heaves, piles, unexplained weeping, sneezing, wheezing , halitosis, lumps, bumps, the frumps, dry humps, dumb looks, dumb luck, plantar warts, the willies, the nillies and the heebie-jeebies.

      This condition is nothing to be ashamed of. Millions of everyday, ordinary people, just like yourself experience KKS. Unfortunately, they let the condition go on and on, sometimes for hundreds of lifetimes. We at theYogaDawg Karmic Klutter Research Center (YKKRC) know that one does not need to suffer this fate.

      Find more help here on Karmic Klutter Syndromemanaging their Karmic Klutter tm

    • Blog post
    • 3 months ago
    • Views: 248

  • A Yoga Video Mashup A Yoga Video Mashup

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      A video mashup with Patricia Walden against Jackson Pollock paintings and our own Bob Weisenberg providing the music.

      JacksonDawg

      Patricia Walden

    • Blog post
    • 4 months ago
    • Views: 281
    • Not yet rated

  • A Post For Paloma A Post For Paloma

  • VOGA - New Yoga Magazine VOGA - New Yoga Magazine

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:
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      News Release:

      Following the incredible success of the men’s yoga magazine, YQ, YogaDawg Productions announces their new sister publication, VOGA. Hailed as a "true women's yoga magazine" by critics, VOGA promises more yoga fashion, more yoga ads and less yoga then Yoga Journal.

      VOGA

      VOGA

    • Blog post
    • 4 months ago
    • Views: 286
    • Not yet rated

  • Questions Questions

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      Is anyone doing hatha yoga to become more spiritual/enlightened?  Does you feel more spiritual doing asanas?  Do you find spirituality in a yoga studio?  Do you think that one day during your practice you are going to become enlightened?  Do you feel that if you achieve perfection in an asana you are somehow more spiritual?  

      I'm working on something that asks these questions.

      Thanks

    • Blog post
    • 5 months ago
    • Views: 288
    • Not yet rated

  • If you can't read this... If you can't read this...

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      If you can't read this...

    • Blog post
    • 5 months ago
    • Views: 242
    • Not yet rated

  • Labor Day Relaxing Labor Day Relaxing

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      Relax in YogaDawg's Garden (you might want to pause the video until the blue bar is loaded about half way.  I think YJ has a slow server)

       

       

    • Blog post
    • 5 months ago
    • Views: 240
    • Not yet rated

  • The Man Who Studied Yoga The Man Who Studied Yoga

  • Honor thy body Honor thy body

    • From: fryan
    • Description:

      "Honor thy body"

      That would be my favorite yogic quote. That is also my greatest excuse when I can't do certain poses.

      Like forward folds.

      I just can't spread my legs 180 degrees and fold my torso forward like a paper. I've been trying to do that for years but, well, little progress...


      Same goes for hip openers like the Swan pose.

      I've been trying hard to perfect the pose ( leg in front bent 90 degrees, foot flexed, buttocks on the floor, back leg straight) but again, tight hips.

      Hips don't lie. :D

      It gets frustrating sometimes.

      So, I have to remind myself that yoga, for me, is not a contest .
      I have to remind myself that I have body limitations.

      And look forward to another yoga night.

    • Blog post
    • 6 months ago
    • Views: 211
    • Not yet rated

  • Mona's Dawg Mona's Dawg

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      Because Suzann mentioned it, I do remember a Mona Dawg from my art history (from YogaDawgs in Art History).

       MonaDawg

    • Blog post
    • 6 months ago
    • Views: 257
    • Not yet rated

  • I AM I AM

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      If Andy Warhol was a yogi, maybe we would see something like this (see what happens when YogaDawg spends time in MoMA...:)

      I AM

    • Blog post
    • 6 months ago
    • Views: 180
    • Not yet rated

  • Final days Final days

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      To my friends on Yoga Journal

      Don't forget to enter, "Yoga Stars say the dardest things" to win a copy of "Enlightenment for Idiots"  Contest ends Aug 22.  

      http://www.yogadawg.com/contest2.htm 

      [idiots.jpg]

       

       

    • Blog post
    • 6 months ago
    • Views: 264
    • Not yet rated

  • 7 Things You Didn't Know 7 Things You Didn't Know

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      This is in response to a blog meme from a of couple fellow yoga bloggers who mentioned My Itchy Third Eye. I'll list the seven things you didn't know about YogaDawg first and then my list of blog love.

       

      Seven things that you didn't know about YogaDawg

      1. Invented the Internet….and Twitter

       

      2. Born in Kenya...this is my birth certificate

       

      3. Hung out with Buddha and Elvis in a Vegas strip club

       

      4. Bigfoot is my half-brother. He was also born in Kenya

       

      5. Taught T Krishnamacharya Downdawgasana. T figured out Updawgasana on his own. (By the way T Krishnamacharya was also born in Kenya)

       

      6. Gave closing invocation at Woodstock (Yeah, like you drugged out geezers would remember...)

       

      7. I eat meat, wear Lululemons, practice on a $100 yoga mat, love Yoga Journal, have the hots for Sarah Palin, am yuppie yoga scum, do hot naked yoga, am a lush, have dawg breath and am helping Ombama kill your grandmother!

       

      Wait, wait, wait…WTF!! I didn’t write that last one!!! It wasn’t me, I swear. I’ve been hacked. Damn it, really people, don’t believe any of that stuff…oh man, I’m bummed...You know I’m cool, I’m YogaDawg…man oh man…crazy shit…where’s my damn yoga mat..holy f’, I have to lay off the Kombucha…sheeze, wow, into child’s pose dawg, slwwp, snore…

       

      The YogaDawg Yoga Blog Hall of Fame (in no particular order. To have your blog added to this elite list, send a $100 bill wrapped in a Black Manduka and ship to YogaDawg, Mombasa, Kenya )

       

       

      Linda's Yoga Journey

      YogaDork

      Brooks Hall

      It all yoga, Baby

      Yoga for Cynics

      Now this is Yoga

      Accidental Yogist

      Write-On Yoga

      Grounding through the Sit Bones

      Prana Journal

      ElephantBeans

      Nadine Fawell

      My Yoga Book


    • Blog post
    • 6 months ago
    • Views: 382
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  • Yoga Journal 1st Issue Yoga Journal 1st Issue

    • From: yogadawg
    • Description:

      If you were ever curious about the beginning of Yoga Journal, here is the cover from the first issue, May 1975.  The cover model is Jean Girardot who was also an editor along with William Staniger, Judith Lasater and Janis Paulsen. First issue was 12 pages.

      Yoga Journal - 1st Issue

    • Blog post
    • 6 months ago
    • Views: 233
    • Not yet rated

  • Hatred Hatred

    • From: fryan
    • Description:

      After 1 week of zero yoga, I was able to attend last night's Hot Flow. We started at 28 Celcius , fluctuated between 28 to only a high of 29.7, but it really felt so hot. It was so hot that I just had to remove my shirt and do the yoga topless. It was a first for a shy guy like me. :D

      I never sweat like yesterday too. My mat and face towels were all soaked wet. Same with my garments. It was worse than during last Sunday's 10 kilometer race!

      But I love yesterday's poses and transitions. It was smooth, no abrupt changes of poses. I love the modified warrior one ala archer pose, and I love the comic relief that punctuated the class every so often. Here's my fave moment:

      Towards the end, the yogi asked us to lie on our backs, ground our shoulders and slowly lift both legs to shoulder stand. To which, my newbie neighbor exclaimed: "Promise?!??" quite audibly (read: Really? Are you sure?). A lot of us giggled with the comment.

      After the shoulder stand (I was able to do it btw) the yogi asked us to lie down, corpse pose, to cool down. My newbie neighbor was so delighted! :)

      While lying down, the yogi kept on saying inspiring words like focusing on one's breath, focusing on one's self, and on letting go of hatred.

      Letting go of hatred...it hit me like an arrow.

      Also yesterday, early on during the day, I was greeted by a very nasty comment in my blog. It was so nasty I was trembling, very angry and so angry that I blocked the user and deleted the nasty comment.

      The effect went on for the whole day that I almost shouted at the girl who cut in our queue to the bus, and the overly eager commuters at the bus stop who wouldn't let us alight first before boarding the bus.

      Thank God for yoga, and to my yogi, I was able to sleep peacefully last night. Thank God for yoga, I forgot what happened early on during the day. Thank God for yoga, I am more focused, centered and peaceful today. More still, I pray that I be more forgiving, more understanding and more peaceful within.

    • Blog post
    • 7 months ago
    • Views: 221
    • Not yet rated
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