Kapotasana

Yoga has been wonderful lately.

Recently, I was introduced to the pose, Kapotasana. I'm in love.

I'm not really a heart opener type of girl, but this pose speaks to me. So far, I haven't tried to come down to my forearms, and I can only hold the pose for a few breaths, but it's something I can't wait to work on.

Speaking of heart openers, I've made a little progress with Wheel.

What I really can't wait for is increased core strength. I can get into a tripod headstand setup, but I'm not quite there with the lift. I've also made some progress here.

I also love that I don't really get sore anymore...

I may end up stopping this blog and focus on a pen and paper yoga journal... I'm not too sure on how exactly I want to do it, but I'm looking into it. It's tough to Google "yoga journal" because of Yoga Journal, but I haven't abandoned it just yet. I will actually Google "keeping a yoga journal" after this. That will probably help.

I tandem, I might also just keep a journal on Pinterest. I don't like putting up Google search images and somehow would feel more justified by pinning it.

Any thoughts on keeping a yoga journal?

Still practicing...

Yoga has been on and off lately. More on than off, but I afford to do more.

I'm about to embark on another 30 in 60 day challenge, and for some reason this doesn't seem like it will be too hard for me this time around. (I think last year it was forty classes.)

I've been able to hold Crow for longer, except I do well when I forget to breathe.

Tripod Headstand will get there one day. What I really need to do is work on my core more. It's difficult to lift up through the core for that, but I can feel that I've got the general idea.

I've been pushing up into a pseudo-Wheel! If I can build more strength in my arms, I may be able to push up fully one day. I think my back will acclimate to the stretch as I work with it. Also, I need to make sure I stretch out my quads a bit more when I do this posture.

One day, I noticed my Standing Splits to be a little better than what it used to be. I have to try to remember to try Monkey God with blocks.

I also want to remember to do Dancer. I think the one day I will reach a full expression could be soon if I remember to work on it. On that note, my King Pigeon needs some home practice love.

Recently, I took a 101 Course just because I thought I needed a refresher on some basics. It was cool to see that I HAVE made progress. When I get into a low lunge, my foot reaches all the way. I've trained myself to gaze forward during Chaturunga. The 101 Course was not what I needed. I needed the Level 1 Class.

I need to update this more often. Writing about my progress makes me excited to do more.

Recent Yoga Pandora Love: Ghost Loft station... next up will probably be Emancipator.

Namaste, beautiful people.

Thich Nhat Hanh Living Mindfully

Be forewarned: this video is two hours long. Worth the whole watch, but let me recap.

My favorite part was the first forty minutes with Oprah interviewing Thich Nhat Hanh. His lack of ego humbles me, and often his speech moves me to tears. A memorable part for me was his description of his practice: to learn to care for your suffering in order to care for the suffering of others.

The Dhamma Brothers segment was interesting for me because if I ever am in a place of knowledge and resources, I would love to bring these types of programs to prisons, rehabilitation and mental health facilities. In all reality, I feel like there's something I could do, but my life is too much of a jumble right now.

I hope to watch at least Thich Nhat Hanh's interview to begin my New Year. I've created a New Year's Inspiration playlist, and I'm hoping it'll get my head in a good place for the rest of the year. Heck, maybe I should watch it every six months.

Anyway, I hope this has moved you as much as it has moved me, and I hope we are all taking our lives in more positive, compassionate, and mindful directions.

Namaste.