Three weeks ago I crushed my thumb in a grisly accident that doesn't need repeating. I fractured the bone so I am still in the process of healing.

I am just now letting go of anger and frustration about injuring myself. I was really mad about it because so many simple things were difficult or impossible for me to do, that's all I could focus on. I had no vision for what I could do, and I had a hard time accepting that it would just take time for me to be running full tilt again. I also realized how much I valued my independence and felt really guilty for counting on my husband to do everything for me (although he was happy to do it!). I'll be honest and admit that my slightly improved attitude has as much to do with the physical healing and being able to do more things as it does with any mental shift on my part.

I've taken the opportunity to work on drilling some dance technique more intensely. It was easier to ramp up my dance practice than to frustrate myself with trying to erase any hand pressure from my normal asana practice. Mat time is now reserved for some restoratives and a love affair with Supta Hasta Padangustasana. I've managed to convince myself that my entire body won't atrophy if I lighten my load for a few weeks, although I'm sure my first few Chatturangas are going to be really pathetic.

I've also been listening to Erich's talks and meditating more, because I was supposed to be doing that all along and with the sudden abundance in my schedule, I really have no excuse.

One of the exciting benefits of my teacher training program was getting to know a diverse group of yogis who all had different approaches to their practice. I am alway curious about what excites people about yoga, and how they practice. Do you go to classes? Do you practice at home with DVDs or books or just by your own creativity? Do you have a routine that you stick to or is it freeform?

My practice has definitely ebbed, flowed, shifted, and advanced over time. During my teacher training program, I maintained a morning sun salutations practice. After a while that practice dropped off, and instead I usually did my yoga in the late morning or early afternoon, depending on my schedule and my inclinations. I've been stuck in a rut so I decided to pick it back up again. I forgot how much I loved this practice! I get up, have a big glass of water, set an intention, and then hit the mat for 12 rounds of sun salutations. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes, and I am refreshed and set up with a better attitude for the whole day. It's invigorating but gives me room to continue if I am feeling energized, and I'm more inclined to revisit my asana practice later in the day if I have time because I know how good it feels.

In the end, that's really all I want out of yoga... I want to feel good inside and out. How about you? If you're stuck in a rut or don't know where to start, share your hangups, too!

At the end of this month, I'll be teaching a DIY Yoga workshop all about building a personal yoga practice. I've attached a flyer you can download if you are local! If you are not currently a member of Life Time Fitness, contact me and I can get you a guest pass for the day.

Sometimes I am amazed by how everything in my life is so connected. Unintentionally (or maybe subconsciously?) I've spun a web wherein all my passions are intertwined, and I can float along on all of this creative goodness no matter what I'm doing.

Friday night I went to an AcroYoga workshop. It was seriously the most fun I've had in an asana practice, maybe ever. I could not stop smiling the entire time I was there! So fun!

Acroyoga blends the practice of yoga with acrobatics (obviously) as well as Thai massage. For the workshop, we did a brief warm up both individually and then working with partners, then we jumped right in to working on inversions with a partner. Working with a spotter on my inversions was really helpful to me for identifying some alignment issues I need to work out. After the inversions, we went flying! The basic flying practice consists of a "base" a flyer, and a spotter. The base lays on his/her back with legs and hands up. For the sequence we did, the "flyer" has his/her hips on the base's feet to move through postures. To close the practice, we did some very basic Thai massage on each other. Yummy!

The reason the flying part of Acroyoga "works" is bone-stacking. This is something that works for an individual asana practice, too! When our skeleton is stacked in alignment, the bones are doing the work of supporting our weight, and the muscles are just assisting in stability. With a bone-stacked foundation, I can lift and hold a person bigger than me with virtually no additional effort. It's yoga magic!

The real magic of Acroyoga is not just the yoga stunts, it's the connection with your fellow practitioners. It's fun to smile and share energy with a yoga friend, building trust in addition to the physical and spiritual connection. This is lila in action!

The full practice of acroyoga, includes improvisation with your partner, and in the case of this beautiful video of the founders, partnered, non-verbal improv to live music. Is it any wonder I'm in love?

The weather has been pretty powerful around here! The sudden onset of cold, overcast, rainy weather is telling me that autumn means business! Autumn is a time of transition as the weather cools, leaves turn, and days shorten. It's also the time of year when school starts, and families settle into a new routine after a summer of vacations and outdoor fun. During this time, you might notice personal transitions as well. It's important to stay in touch with how your feeling physically and mentally and to honor that in your practice.

For me, this means striking a balance between heat-building sequences to keep me energized and quieting down into some restorative postures to nurture my tired body. Round up some blankets and pillows for a juicy little restorative sequence!

Recharging Autumnal Practice
Start in Tadasana. Take a few breaths and allow your body and mind to open to possibilities. Cultivate an optimistic, accepting attitude in the face of change.
Go through 3 - 6 sun salutations, enough to get your body nice and warm and supple.
Transition from down-dog into Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Pigeon), for the sheer delight of it.
Grab some blankets and set yourself in an easy Supta Virasana (Reclining Hero) for a few minutes.
Move your blanket pile in front of you and take a supported Balasana (Child's Pose) for even longer.
Move the pile behind you again and strap yourself into Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle). Cover up with a blanket.
Stay as long as you like.
Come back up to a seat and sit for a few moments, savoring the feeling of a renewed body and spirit.

The classical version of sun salutations are a gentle way to open up the body and prepare for any asana practice, or any physical activity, really! Traditionally, each position is tied to a specific mantra, chakra, and quality to fully integrate body, spirit and mind. I recommend doing at least three rounds (one round is one set led with the right leg, then one set led with the left leg) before moving on to something else. For a powerful, energizing start to your day, start with a brief sit or a few breaths in tadasana to set an intention for your practice and your day, followed by twelve rounds and a few minutes in savasana.

CLASSICAL SURYA NAMASAKARA (SUN SALUTATIONS)

INHALE standing in TADASANA (Mountain Pose)
EXHALE to soften and release hand along sides
INHALE to URDVA HASTASANA (Upward Hands)
EXHALE to UTTANASANA (Standing forward fold)
INHALE to Low Lunge (back knee on the floor, look up)
EXHALE to ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA (Downward Facing Dog)
INHALE to Plank (High Pushup)
EXHALE to 8-points pose (Chin, Chest, Knees to floor)
INHALE to BHUJANGASANA (Cobra)
EXHALE to ADHO MUKHA SVANASANA (Downward Facing Dog)
INHALE to Low Lunge (back knee on the floor, look up)
EXHALE to UTTANASANA (Standing forward fold)
INHALE to Urdvha Hastasana (Upward Hands)
EXHALE to Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

It's no secret that I don't tolerate the cold well. Even on the hottest days of summer, I'm toting around a cardigan just in case it gets chilly in the evening and to shield myself from overactive air conditioning when I'm inside.

As much as I love the fall, I dread the cold weather! This is the time of year when I'm ready to spend the bulk of my days bundled under blankets and cats, drinking tea until spring comes again. Of course, I have a life to live, so I have to get moving at some point. I have to generate my own heat, and the best way for me to do that is with some sun salutations!

The origins of Surya Namaskara, or Sun Salutations, can be traced back to the Vedas, the oldest texts in the Hindu tradition. While there's no telling exactly how sun salutations were executed in the past, we do know that traditionally they were part of a daily routine that a practitioner would execute to prostrate before God and seek well-being. In short, people would do sun salutations to feel good and start the day off in a positive way! To this day, the physical practice is often accompanied with the recitation of mantras, although the specific mantras and execution may vary from region to region.

In the modern practice of yoga, we'll most often see in yoga classes sun salutations derived from the Ashtanga tradition. I like to mix it up, so I'm going to devote this week to sharing a few different sun salutation practices that will help warm you up and brighten your day! Stay tuned!

I've been working on hanumanasana (The Yoga Splits) recently. Hanuman (aka The Monkey God) was the devoted servant of Rama. When Rama's lady, Sita, was kidnapped, Hanuman leapt from south India across the sea to Sri Lanka to find her. The pose is inspired by this gigantic leap.

Cool story, right? I mean, that alone makes me want to do the splits!

I have had a couple dreams in which I executed hanumanasa to the fullest expression. It happened with such clarity that I actually would go to my studio in the morning and try it out. You know, just in case my hamstrings were divinely inspired to grow overnight. Unfortunately, they're as tight and uncooperative as ever and I have to make modifications and work on the pose like a normal person. At least while I'm warming up my body and easing into the pose I can envision myself as a leaping monkey-goddess, even if my body's not quite on board yet.

Take a listen to MC Yogi's take on this great story! Rock on my monkey friends!

One of my favorite yoga bloggers just posted an excellent perspective on why you might be slipping around on your yoga mat in your practice.

I teach hot yoga classes and this is an issue that comes up a lot! Sometimes it is the mat that's slippery, but sometimes it's actually you that's slippery one! If you've got a quality mat and you're still lacking stability in your postures, Mr. Om Shanti addresses how to check the execution of your asana to help correct your slipperiness.

To his list I'll add Vrksasana (Tree Pose). Some people will try to hike up their pants leg to solve slippery pants syndrome. Of course, if you're sweating a lot your bare leg might also exhibit slippery leg syndrome. Here's how to correct this problem without fretting about your outfit!

First, take a nice solid Tadasana. Take a few breaths and connect to your inner stability. Grow roots through your standing foot and allow your other foot to become light. Trace your leg with your hand from your thigh towards your shin and place the sole of the foot on the inner thigh (or shin). Now, focus on strongly squeezing your inner thighs together. This action will result in your lifted foot pressing into the thigh as the thigh presses back into the foot with equal strength. Your foot should stay in place! Now that you don't have to worry about that wandering foot, tuck the tailbone towards the ground, lift the heart towards the sky and spread your arms wide and high, celebrating your newfound stability in vrksasana!

I have noticed in my own practice, and even more as I am now a teacher, there are certain poses that the ego likes to claim as mile markers, that we often find ourselves using to compare to other yogis or even just to judge ourselves. First, it really does no good to compare your self to anyone else. Your practice is just that. It's YOURS. Your body is differently shaped. You have unique talents as well as unique challenges. In addition, self-doubt and fear inhibits our practice even before we attempt that challenging pose or dare to go deeper into a familiar one.

My recent work on pincha mayurasna has prompted me to write a bit more deeply about inversions, because it can be so easy to get hung up on this class of poses and frustrate yourself when results don't happen immediately.

My very first time attempting headstand was terrifying. I had just started a session of yoga classes with a new teacher, and he talked us through it. I couldn't do it, and came up to the instructor after class, pretty much freaking out and scared I wasn't "good enough" to keep up with the class. He was confident that I was at the right level and encouraged me to stick with it.... and I did! I took a very long time for me to be able to get there, but I did eventually get the point where I could get up into headstand and hold it (and on a good day, I'm even graceful about it!)

Inversions can be very intimidating and really, more often it's the mental rather than the physical that is the challenge. So I present to you...

Inversion Mantras

• I am strong. If you're not sure about this, see your instructor. Most likely the answer will be yes, you are strong enough to hold your own weight in some way. We often doubt our own strength and it's a wonderful thing to realized your own power!
• I am light. This one is trickier. A fun thing to practice is to hang out in downward dog and kick your legs up, one at a time or together. Imagine your hips filling with helium and floating up rather than kicking with your feet. When your upside down, imagine a string pulling your tailbone towards the sky.
• It's OK to fall down. I have been known to do the following things when I wipe out: say "OOPS!", scream, crack up laughing. If I'm at home, I also occasionally build a fort of pillows and blankets to make me feel better about falling over because I'll at least have something soft to land on.

As for me, pincha mayurasana is coming along and I can kick up pretty consistently. I'm still working to find my balance in the pose, and I'm having a blast playing with this one!

I just got back from yet another excellent dance workshop with tribal dance duo, Kassar, and my sweet yoga friend, Ali, of n.o.madic tribal. It was such an inspiring weekend that challenged my brain, spirit, and body. Doing these dance workshops, along with the ATS General Skills training reminds me that I am a lot stronger and more capable than I realize in my day-to-day practice. A teacher of mine once said that we do things for our teachers that we do not do for ourselves. It's so easy to fall into a rut, sometimes without even noticing, when you are just practicing on your own. This is why it's so wonderful to attend classes, to challenge yourself, play your edge, and see where you can go in your practice.

Inspiration in your practice can come from many places. Recently a friend of mine joined a new yoga class and is excited by the challenge. I'm joining her in a sort of informal asana-off working towards pincha mayurasana. It's a pose that, honestly, I've never really attempted, but will be really fun to work on!

Here's what my pincha mayurasana prep sequence looks like:
Sun salutations
Standing pose flow
Navasana/Boat
Dolphin with pushups OR chaturanga prep (plank on forearms)
Seated shoulder openers
Supta Virasana/Reclining Hero
Sirsasana/Headstand OR Adho Mukha Vrksasana/Handstand
Ardha Pincha Mayurasana (Eventually full Pincha Mayurasana will go here!)
Janu SIrsasana/Head of Knee Pose
Reclining Twist
Savasana