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

To The Duke*:

I have come to realize that in spite of your advertised weight being a mere seven pounds, you seem to make my yoga bag about fifty pounds heavier. Therefore, your permanent home will be in my studio, where I'm sure you will get to be good friends with your partners, the Zafu and Zabuton,** who also live there. You will serve me much better there by giving stability to the plush carpet for those tricky balancing poses. When I come back from doing yoga away from home, I will appreciate that extra inch of room you give me for my hands in down-dog even more. So don't be jealous when you see me leaving with that ratty old mat that the cats have clawed to pieces. It's just that she weighs next to nothing.

You're the best. Thanks for understanding.

With love,
The Om Chantress

*The Duke is my giant yoga mat, a Manduka.
**These are meditation cushions.

My husband gave me a new yoga mat for Christmas. For the record, it is The Black Mat by Manduka. Can I officially join the cool yogi club now?

Anyway, I'll stop boasting about THE DUKE and share with you what this new mat did for me. It's newness really invited a sense of play into my practice. I came onto my new mat with so many questions that started silly but eventually took me deeper into my practice. Is it stretchy? What does it feel like under my hands? What does it do if I hop on it? What's it like to balance on? What happens if I do this? How many poses can I get to from Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog)? How can I take this curiosity with me off the mat?

You don't have to run out and get a Manduka to invite play into your practice. (Although, I must admit, THE DUKE is pretty sweet!) Get on your mat and play! What happens if you move your mat into a different room? What's it like practicing at a different time? What if you close your eyes?

Do something you've never done before! Even if you can't think of anything new, every time you step on your mat you will do something new. In every practice, you've never done that pose in that way before and you'll never do it exactly that way again. Be present and see what happens, and then challenge yourself to have fun exploring every moment!