Posts In: meditation

by Amy Caldwell

What does mindfulness really mean?

Sylvia Boorstein says one definition she likes is “paying attention and seeing clearly, so we can choose wisely.”

I was fortunate to attend her daily dharma talks recently while teaching at Rancho La Puerta Wellness Resort & Spa in Tecate, Mexico. “Here I am,” was the phrase Sylvia first offered as a helpful moment-to-moment tool. Often, she said, “we live a short distance from our body,” which made the large and rapt audience giggle in agreement. Through mindfulness practices, we can learn to greet this moment, and the next one, fully and sympathetically. Sylvia told many stories infused with humanness, such as how many of us worry when a loved one is late and unreachable. “Look at that,” she said, “My thought machine is doing that worrying thing again.”

“What’s here?” Look for delight

Sylvia’s lessons kept circling back to asking ourselves, “What’s here?” then making deliberate choices. We were inspired to choose where we place our attention – to consciously look for the “ooh and ahh!” moments. She suggested that doing so “keeps us in life.” Our homework over the next 24 hours was to find something in which we found delight then to share with the group next time.

At the Ranch it is quite easy to see beauty: the sun setting over the activity pool while swimming, vines eeking their way around trellises, or a friendly black cat that greets me most mornings. Today an even bigger “aww!” occurred unexpectedly. At 6am I grabbed a flashlight on my way to teach a 6:30am sunrise yoga class. Stepping onto the path, the full moon glowed clear and bright. I had enjoyed it the previous night and still, I felt so amazed to see it there greeting me in the dark of morning. I intend to recommit to the practice of taking in daily small delights and invite you to do the same.

“Here I am.” Pause for five minutes

Our next task was to pause for just five minutes each day at some point. I’m not sure if this counts, because it is part of my “job” teaching at the Ranch, but I facilitated a silent dinner that same evening. It was an intimate journey into mindful eating: vibrant flavors, colors and smells, silverware and chewing noises, along with some long gaps between courses. Sitting with five unknown guests, those pauses sometimes felt awkward and tense (slightly unpleasant) or relaxed and spacious (enjoyable) – much like the pauses in our daily life. How often do we turn away from the present by checking our phones or launching into some other type of doing? What if instead, we said to ourselves, “Here I am.”

Sylvia invited us to notice the many things that come and go. For me, this really turned up the volume: sound, sensation, thought, breath in, paying attention, not paying attention, relaxed, pleasant, breath out, so much change, unpleasant. Wow! Rather than choosing to focus on one thing as we most often do, we focused on the constancy of change, which felt like chaos.

Meet the present moment as a friend

And then, just near the end of this challenging sit, a little voice in my head asked “What is not changing? Can you connect with that?” For me, this experience simulated the over-stimulation that is often present in our daily Western life. Most of us have experienced, and know intuitively, that things keep changing. Sylvia then offered another favorite mantra, “May I meet this moment fully. May I meet it as a friend.” She nudged us to keep training our minds – “It’s your life, don’t miss it!”

On the last day Sylvia re-emphasized the importance of connecting to our core of compassion. “I’m hopeful that humans will remember that it feels better to be kind.” With purposeful practice, we can habituate our hearts to kindness. And this will not only help others and the earth, it will also help ourselves. We will experience more ease in our minds and more comfort in our lives. “We are sharing this world with people who are holding us up.” Let’s each renew our intention to do our part.

For more information, connect with Sylvia on her website

Rancho La Puerta – first time guests who mention Amy Caldwell and the code RLP-PRP at booking will receive 20% off the best available offer on a 3-, 4-, or 7-night stay. Please call Reservations at (800) 443-7565 or email reservations@rancholapuerta.com

by Amy Caldwell

Dear Rancho la Puerta,

What a gift you are! When I opened the door to my room I literally squealed with glee. YAYYYYYY!

Like so many who visit, I truly needed a pause and reset in the dense forest of my life. A chance to re-acquaint with me. Three days in, I am enjoying my own company (:

While the fitness, insight, and learning opportunities are boundless, the leisurely choosing moment to moment has been just what I needed. The first two days I’ve eaten lunch and dinner alone, and ‘hermitted’ in the evenings reading in my room. Then I participated in a silent dinner–which seemed an appropriate segue. Together, but still quiet.

I see the schedule filling with things I want to do, so I affirm a vow to pause then choose. What do I want / need right now? To let go of hurrying. To prioritize caring for, nurturing, and loving myself. 

“We set the pace.
But this press of time —
take it as a little thing
next to what endures.

All this hurrying
soon will be over.
Only when we tarry
do we touch the holy.”

~ Rilke

At the Ranch, it is easier to receive and take in the goodness of small delights: a wandering black cat or small bird saying hello, Alex’s Oak steadfast on the mountaintop, the trees countless shades of green shimmying, a mint chocolate smoothie sample, a knowledgeable instructor, a magical pool (or 3 or 4), a sumptuous lemon posset with mango puree topping, the list goes on and on.

With space and time to really slow down, I experienced a feeling of shedding my skin. A letting go of what is no longer necessary, a letting go of expectation or judgement. A wandering along the many windy paths. A deep tissue massage. A sound bath. A deeper letting go than expected.

Then, yet another new day arrived–a spring in my step, a waking before the alarm, throwing open the curtains to greet the day. Many moments to pause and consider, what do I really enjoy? How shall I honor that in this day? Paired with a happy fatigue following nearly a week of yoga, pilates, circuit training, pickleball, dancing, soulful music performances, and more. 

As I leave the Ranch, I have a deep gratitude for the journey (and all the kind souls who make it possible). Paired with a bittersweet quality that it is over for now. What is one thing we can take with us into our daily life?  A new teaching? A recipe? A friendship? Or a remembrance of what it feels like to be our best selves, independent and together.

by Amy Caldwell

What if we make a conscious choice to consider all that we do as equally sacred? 

Whether we are doing the dishes or meditating, practicing yoga or driving, listening or speaking, working or resting…

Is it possible to live in such a way that all of our doing is an expression of being sacred?

As someone who is at times challenged by the volume and repetition of life’s mundane responsibilities (aka adulting?!), this approach has really been helping me!

A decade or so ago, I learned of positivism, framing our responsibilities as “I get to…” This reframe helped me a little, as did “Ask for help when you need it, give help when you can.”

Eckert Tolle and others have long been advising that now is all we have, and to make this the primary focus of our lives.  

And still, how easy and familiar it is to wish the dishes were already done, the groceries shopped and cooked, and the house clean! How human of us to seek and value the “big” moments we see and post on social media. Michael and I often joke that postcards (remember those?) don’t show the bugs! 

So for me, right now, what seems to be really working is consciously reminding myself that all of life is sacred (within the realm of ethical behavior). I hope the reminder is of value to you too!

a re-blog from Rainbow Yoga who will be hosting a 3-day Kids Yoga Training at Yoga One this September 28th-29th, sign up here!

Yoga and mindfulness are wonderful and well-tested tools to help young people, from toddlers to teens, improve their physical and mental abilities and increase their feeling of well-being. These can assist them in improving performance in all walks of life. 

Incorporating yoga into a child’s life can bring numerous benefits that extend beyond physical health. It can enhance their overall well-being, and performance in various activities, increase their abilities to succeed at school and exams, enhance emotional resilience, and social connections, and contribute to creating a more peaceful and harmonious society.

1. Yoga increases strength, flexibility, balance and coordination ? This will help your child excel in any sports activity they choose to attend.

2. Yoga improves posture and body alignment ? Regular practice of yoga helps children develop good posture and alignment, which can benefit them in various physical activities. Proper alignment reduces strain on the muscles and joints, leading to improved performance and reduced risk of injury.

3. Yoga promotes body awareness ? This will help reduce the risk of injury in any physical activity your child may attend.

4. Yoga strengthens the immune system and promotes well-being ? This will help your child to be sick less often, feel more vitality and be able to face life with more energy.

5. Yoga builds focus and enhances clarity of mind ? This will help your child study better at school and be more successful in their exams.

6. Yoga helps to reduce stress and anxiety ? Stress is proven to inhibit learning so the coping skills yoga offers will help your child in achieving any learning outcome at any topic they choose.

7. Yoga takes care of the child’s emotional well-being ? This allows them to enjoy more their study and their work, their relationship with their friends and family and all of their daily activities. This is called THRIVING as opposed to just surviving; it is the feeling of happiness we all wish for our children.

8. Yoga cultivates discipline and self-control ? Yoga practice requires discipline and self-control, as students are encouraged to stay focused and engaged in their practice. These qualities can carry over into other areas of life, such as sports training, academic pursuits, and personal goals.

9. Yoga fosters self-confidence and self-esteem ? As children practice yoga and witness their progress, they gain a sense of accomplishment and develop self-confidence. This newfound confidence can extend beyond the yoga mat and positively impact their participation in sports and other activities.

10. Yoga supports creativity and self-expression ? Yoga encourages children to explore movement, express themselves, release emotional trauma and tap into their creativity. This can benefit them in sports, arts, and other activities that require imagination and self-expression and help them interact in the world with a less reactive and lighter heart.

11. Yoga teaches positive coping skills ? This is a fast-paced, demanding and competitive world we live in and research shows that young people who don’t learn positive ways to process and deal with the stresses of life end up using unhealthy coping mechanisms such as alcohol and drug addiction, screen or gaming addictions, self-harming and eating disorders. The physical techniques, breathing and mindfulness tools that young people learn in the relaxing atmosphere of a yoga session can be used by them under more stressful conditions to self-regulate.

12. Rainbow Yoga enhances social connections and teaches children and teens social skills ? Therefore it reduces social issues, disrespect, violence and bullying and promotes secure connections with our family, friends, peers and community enhancing the well-being of our whole society. 

13. Yoga teaches values and ethical principles ? The teachings of yoga encompass values such as truthfulness, non-violence, gratitude, and respect for oneself and others. By incorporating these principles into their lives, children develop a strong moral compass and contribute to a more ethical, compassionate, inclusive and supportive community.

14. From inner peace to world peace ? Society is made out of the individuals in it; cultivating peace, kindness and resilience in the younger people will create a brighter future for generations to come.

Want to learn how to share this with your children at home or with your students at school?

Join one of our Rainbow Kids Yoga Teacher Trainings today!

Get to know Bri who teaches a Vinyasa Flow, Level 2 class on Wednesdays at 5:30pm. Bri is a phenomenal teacher and an incredible human being we’re happy to have on our team! 

Visit www.yogaonesandiego.com to register for classes.

Q: How does yoga show up in your life right now?

Yoga shows up in my life right now particularly through the Niyamas (self-observances). If you’re into astrology, you might be familiar with the term ‘Saturn Return.’ I’m about 2/3 through my first one and let me tell you – a LOT of personal change is happening! Remembering the Niyamas keeps me grounded. I love this new sense of awareness, even if the path there is bumpy.

Q: Where are you experiencing growth in your life?

I am growing emotionally and spiritually right now. Over the course of the last year I committed a lot of time to practices (i.e. therapy, meditation) that support my healing. Although no one is ever fully healed, I am so grateful to have cultivated a deeper sense of self-love, admiration, and compassion. I think it also increases my capacity to give as a teacher.

Q: What’s your favorite burrito?

A veggie burrito! Extra beans, two types of salsa, sour cream, and guac please!

This interview originally published on Canvas Rebel

CR: Michael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Michael: Amy and I had just returned to the United States after backpacking abroad for three and half years. She got a job working at a great family-run produce distribution company and I became the account manager for a boutique graphic design studio.

One of the first clients I worked with at the studio was Mitchell Repair Information Company. The company innovated “the automotive industry’s first collision estimating guides to include parts illustrations, prices and part numbers.”

During our staff brainstorming sessions, names were offered and debated. Thinking of premiere cars world-wide, Formula 1 racing seemed to me to be the pinnacle, and so I suggested the name, “Mitchell 1.” It stuck.

Not long after that, Amy was getting ready to open up our yoga studio. Since it worked well for a nationwide company like Mitchell, I suggested “Yoga One.”

Additionally, we had recently gotten married. Instead of wedding rings, we had the “eka” symbol tattooed on our ring fingers, symbolizing “we are one” (see the flower like image growing out of the “Y” in the Yoga One logo). Furthermore, yoga means “to yoke/join” or “union.” One divided by one is one and the practice of yoga helps individuals to become more “one” with themselves and the world.

Plus, we always strive to be the best studio in the world, numero uno, number 1! So the name is also aspirational.

In short, Yoga One came from an automotive manual writing company. (:

CR: Can take a moment to introduce Yoga One to our readers?

Michael: Since 2002, Yoga One has been helping people to live healthier and happier lives. We share the joys and benefits of yoga, but what we really provide is a forum to increase self-awareness, skills for individuals to be their best selves, and a positive, open, non-competitive, welcoming, and supportive community. We foster relationships – the individual with self, and with others. We offer a beautiful space for people to set aside their worries, responsibilities and stress so they can return to the world refreshed, stronger, more flexible and with increased mindfulness.

Yoga One is a woman and black owned family business. We treat our staff and students as family. We are fortunate to have been practicing yoga since 1997.

Our vibrant, airy studio with canyon views in Mission Hills is also a community space for workshops, classes, gatherings, events, exhibits, book clubs, acoustic concerts, learning, growing, sharing, laughing, loving and connecting. We look forward to seeing you there!

CR: How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Michael: It was March, 2019. For the previous 18 years we had shared the joys and benefits of yoga with thousands of San Diego residents and visitors via our award-winning Downtown studio on 7th Avenue. For several years, it had also been a dream of ours to open a studio in our neighborhood of Mission Hills. Our children attended the public schools in the area and we wanted to connect with and give back to our community.

With the help of our friends, Johnny and Renee of Wolf in the Woods wine bar, we found the perfect spot to open our second studio, on the beautiful Fort Stockton Drive. We were planning a grand opening celebration for April 1st, 2019. Then Covid-19 hit and San Diego, like so many places, went into lock down.

Our new studio was put on ice and our Downtown location locked up. Within two days of the stay at home mandate, and thanks largely to our amazing team – Missy and Laura, we brought our entire schedule online via zoom. We were able to quickly shift some of our corporate clients online as well. We will be forever grateful to our generous and wonderful students who maintained their memberships and stuck by us throughout such challenging times. In turn, we were able to keep our full staff and maintain their pre-Covid schedules.

Yoga teaches us to be strong, flexible and present. The circumstances surrounding Covid-19 certainly put our practice to the test. We feel so fortunate to have these tools to take care of ourselves mentally and physically. All of us at Yoga One look forward to continuing to offer and grow our services – enriching the well-being of as many people as possible! We now are offering classes in-studio, in Presidio Park, live online and on-demand, with some of our students and companies across the country.

Read the full article here!

from Yoga One Teacher and Co-Founder Amy Caldwell

I wanted to share a great acronym that we can use in our yoga practice but also anytime in our daily life:

A-G-E 

No matter when you were born, change is constant and we’re all aging. But the letters are really powerful when you use them as a way to center attention and arrive in the present. 

A – Arrive. It could mean a little bit of physical movement, rolling the shoulders, taking a few deep breaths. Maybe closing the eyes and listening to the sounds in your environment. Whatever it is that helps you to arrive right here, right now.

G – Gather. Wherever we are and whatever we’re doing, gather your attention on the breath. If it’s helpful, you can close your eyes. If you’re driving, or whatever it is you’re doing, just keep the eyes softly open. 

E – Engage. Once we’ve arrived more fully and gathered our attention in the present moment on the breath, we can choose to engage more consciously with our lives and the people around us.

I hope that helps in your practice and in your life. Have a great day! 

~ Amy Caldwell

Brittany teaches a Level 2, Flow class on Thursdays at 5:30pm. Join us in person at our Mission Hills studio or online via Zoom. Visit www.yogaonesandiego.com to register or for more information.

1. How does yoga show up in your life right now?  

I find yoga showing up almost everywhere. I channel my yoga practice to keep me balanced in both life and work. Sometimes I’ll enjoy a strong tadasana (mountain pose), while standing in line at the grocery store or even try a fun balancing pose! 

While working through a challenge at work, the practice of intentional, deep breathing allows me to stay present. Yoga also shows up as yoga whenever I teach and/or take an online or in-person class with my favorite peeps at my all-time favorite studio, Yoga One 🙂 

2. Where are you experiencing growth as a yoga teacher and/or practitioner? 

Amy Caldwell once said: the quality of your foundation relies on presence. This really hit home for me. Although I am not focused on this as often as I would like, I find that when I am present, soaking in all that is around me (the good and bad), I can work through challenges with a little more ease or enjoy those heartburst moments with a little more gratitude.  

3. What’s your favorite kind of burrito and why? This is a tough one!  I cannot choose… so instead, here are my go-to’s in San Diego:

Best Cali Burrito and Pollo Asada Quesadilla: La Perla

Best Taquitos: Don Carlos

Best Carnitas Plate and Plain Quesadilla: Los Dos Pedros

And Why??? They all just taste so great, or bring some wonderful memories; which are usually connected to a good surf session and a tasty brew.

Do you remember your first yoga class ever? We’d love to hear about it!

“When I was sixteen, I went to a low-income high school. They offered a weekly Ashtanga yoga class for kids who wanted to stop smoking. The teacher who organized the class loved yoga and wanted everyone to have the chance to practice, whether or not they smoked. At her encouragement, I fibbed on the intake forms and joined the class.

I fell in love with Ashtanga. I learned how to breathe consciously. I felt like there was some power locked within my awkward teenage body that I never knew existed before. Students gathered in the classroom and sometimes spilled out into the hallway. Once the lights were dimmed and practice began, the room was transformed into another space altogether. I am so grateful to that class and my first teacher who made such a deep impact on me.”

– Yoga One Student, Allison Page

Jackie leads a Levels 1 & 2 Sunrise Flow class on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:30am Pacific. Join us in person at our Mission Hills studio or online via Zoom. Visit www.yogaonesandiego.com to register or for more information.

1. How does yoga show up in your life right now?

Yoga provides balance in my life. I live with generalized anxiety disorder, so when it feels impossible to settle my mind and like my chest is going to explode, I’ll do a quick flow of half sun salutations. Even a 5-minute practice helps me regroup, focus on my breath, and connect with the present moment.

In this past year, yoga has given me a sense of community in a time of isolation. With so much violence and hate in our world, yoga continues to teach and to remind me that love, compassion, and empathy still exist. 

2. Where are you experiencing growth as a yoga teacher and/or practitioner?

As a practitioner, I’m learning how to enjoy lying in savasana. Yoga teaches us to connect our internal and external experiences together. Lingering in an external experience (like a physically restful pose) can be challenging for me because of what happens internally – heavy thoughts and feelings often ruminate in my mind and heart. When I’m able to connect to these feelings through an asana practice followed by the stillness of savasana, the flood gates open and I start crying. However, I’m growing and learning to find joy in this experience rather than constantly fighting it out of fear.

3. What’s your favorite kind of burrito and why?

All burritos are my favorite because I love food! I just love eating, especially anything that can be nicely wrapped inside of a giant tortilla. If I’m feeling like a homebody, the one thing that’ll get me to put on my shoes and leave the house is if someone says, “hey, wanna get a burrito?” Doesn’t matter what kind, I’m there. 

Daniela leads a Flow, Level 2 class on Fridays at 9am and she is the lead teacher for Yoga One’s 300 Hour Teacher Training.

1. How does yoga show up in your life right now? 

Yoga shows up in my life as little moments of inner peace. I know my yoga practice is working when even amongst the busiest days or the saddest moments I can take a few breaths and just enjoy being alive– right here, right now.  

2. Where are you experiencing growth as a yoga teacher and/or practitioner?

For me, yoga teaching is a part of my yoga practice and my yoga practice is the fuel and foundation of my yoga teaching. I think the place I am experiencing the most growth is in truly integrating the two – teaching and practicing yoga in a way that equally centers health and well-being on all layers of my being (physical, energetic, mental, emotional, & spiritual). This is something I explore in detail on my podcast Yoga IRL which you can follow on Instagram at @yogairlpodcast, or through my website www.yogairl.org ? 

3. What’s your favorite kind of burrito and why?

My fav burrito is hands down the vegetarian burrito with refried beans from Colima’s in North Park. It’s the real deal— muy delicioso ? 

This article first published on NTCH magazine
Words by Victoria Derr / Photos by Vivian Morellon

Think back to your first yoga class. Was it a crisp studio space? A room with abstract murals on the wall? Was it a relaxing yin yoga class, or a high powered vinyasa class? A YouTube video? An Instagram clip? Or what about a friend encouraging you to do a few cat and cows? 

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• 

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For Yoga One studio owners, Amy and Michael Caldwell, their first yoga class was far from the norm.

It was on a searing hot blacktop, ambianced with Malaysian marching band music, taught by a dude doing headstands from New Zealand. They both laugh at the memory.

Rewind years earlier, before being studio owners and even before their first yoga class, Amy and Michael were both working in the music biz in LA; Amy, working for Budd Carr, seeking music to place in movie soundtracks and Michael, at Broadcast Music Inc., promoting songwriters and composers. They met at a record release party for Stanley Clark, and from there the yin-yang duo was born. Michael was promoting music to people like Amy, who placed music in movies and television. Already, their meeting seemed synchronistic – a balance of give and take.

Their dynamic duo energy only revealed itself more as the interview progressed. Much like the ebb and flow of an inhale and exhale, their journey with yoga had its moments of collaboration combined with solo self study: from discovering yoga in a book together, to living in separate cities as they deepened their practice.

Shortly after meeting, they wrapped up loose ends in LA and spent the next three years traveling. Between apple picking, bartending, and updating the Lonely Planet guides, the two lived a budget friendly, free-spirited life abroad. 

“I mean,” Amy shook her head as she spoke. “This was before the time of smartphones and instant communication, if we wanted to talk to people back home we had to find an internet cafe. Our parents must have thought we were crazy.” 

During the last year of their travels, they discovered yoga. For these two, their first encounter with yoga came from a few poses found in a book, Fit for Life. As they continued their travels, they met other individuals who were practicing yoga who would share different parts of yoga, the philosophies, the pranayama. 

NTCH sat down with the two yogis, who shared stories of going to JTMF with their kids, driving over tumbleweeds, Vipassana meditation, and balancing their everyday life through yoga.

NTCH: So how did you two come to yoga, or how did yoga come to you?

MICHAEL: It really was super organic. There’s the phenomenon that once you become aware of something, you see it everywhere. So as soon as we did the few poses we found in that book, Fit for Life, we were in Malaysia walking in the forest, and we look down into a valley and there was this guy who was doing something down there. We had never seen a video, or been to class, so we asked ourselves, “Is he doing yoga?” That night we saw him at the coffee shop, and went over to him, and he invited us to come join him the next day.

So my first yoga class ever…he takes us to the edge of a Malaysian high school, and we’re on the blacktop, in the summer, and it’s about eighty degrees, and we took off our t-shirts and put them onto the ground as mats. And we practiced on the blacktop. And in the distance, just across the way, was the Malaysian marching band [Michael imitates tuba sounds for emphasis] And that was my first yoga experience.

AMY: As we kept going, we would find books and other people who practiced. Two years later when we got to India, we were very much ready to immerse ourselves in that experience. We studied with a private instructor for six weeks that came to our house every morning for an hour. 

MICHAEL: We were on an exploration. I mean, we both went to college in LA, worked in the music business. How fun, it doesn’t get more fun than some of the experiences we had. But the fact that we were looking for more in terms of personal growth set us up to be open for something like that. Trying to engage with your body for its own purpose rather than as a vehicle to get something done. That was a revelation for us.

Read the full interview with NTCH here.

Part 2 of how Yoga One founders Amy & Michael Caldwell turned their love story into a thriving yoga community! ? Read Part 1 here.

“After living on an uninhabited island in Fiji for four days, we returned to the main island Viti Levu where we met a man whose parents owned an apple orchard in Australia. Months later and wanting to make some extra money to fuel our backpacking adventures, we traveled to Stanthorpe and began a two-month grueling and glorious time as apple pickers. 

At the crack of dawn, we rose like zombies and made our way to the orchard. There we fired up the tractor and rumbled to our assigned paddock. For the rest of the day, we frantically scaled up and down ladders grabbing as many apples as we could and then unloaded them one bag at time into the trailer bins. At night, we returned to our cabin, hastily made sandwiches for the next day, enjoyed a quick dinner and went to sleep.

If there was any spare energy, we would read a section of “Fit for Life” by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. We had become vegetarians a year or so before and were trying out veganism and food combining. The book also suggested we do yoga and there were some super simple stretches included. After picking apples for ten hours a day, ten days in a row without a break, the handful of poses felt tremendous. And that was the genesis of our asana practice. Perhaps in retrospect, we had already begun our yoga practice by becoming conscious of our diet and lifestyle; the poses helped to further expand our awareness. 

Once you turn on to something you often see it all around you. As we traveled from country to country, we found additional inspiration to deepen our practice. By the time we got to India, we knew yoga was something we wanted to embrace more fully, and we began an earnest practice, study, and discipline. During a ten-day Vipassana meditation near Bangalore, we first heard the mantra, “Start again.” – Amy & Michael Caldwell

?Stay tuned for Part 3! ?

by Amy Caldwell

Ask anyone who practices meditation regularly and they’ll tell you: it’s never the same experience when you sit. Sometimes you experience stillness in your body, but not your mind. Sometimes you experience inner stillness, but not in the body. Sometimes it’s both, sometimes it’s neither.

As COVID-19 continues and tensions run high, consider trying this acronym for your meditation practice: ARGH!

A: Allow – give yourself permission to sense, think, feel – and meet yourself with compassion.

R: Relax – use tools such as deep breathing and yoga practices to help you relax.

G: Gather – be kind while gathering your attention on whatever is needed, your breath, your conversation, or the task at hand…

H: Help – help one another. Allow yourself to be helped AND help those in need.

“An emotion like anger (that’s an automatic response) lasts just ninety seconds from the moment it is triggered until it runs its course. When it lasts any longer…it’s because we’ve chosen to rekindle it.” 

– Jill Bolte Taylor, author, In My Stroke of Insight

Remember that your meditation practice is simply practice. Instead of focusing on something you can’t control (the quality of your experience), try to focus on what’s immediately accessible (like noticing the present moment and slowing your breath). When we do this, we can take our practice off of our mats and into our daily lives. <3

1. How does yoga show up in your life right now?

I am currently in what is called “the sandwich generation.” I have elderly in-laws, a mother fighting cancer, and two teenagers who need my love, care, support, and attention, especially in these uncertain times.

Our living room has become the “yoga space.” It’s been so wonderful having my kids and husband join me in my yoga classes and my personal practice. Yoga has been my comfort. Yoga reminds me to breathe, to slow down, and it allows me to return to myself so I can recharge.

2. Where are you experiencing growth as a yoga teacher and/or practitioner?

I’ve certainly grown technologically during this time. Navigating Zoom and Webex has been fun and challenging 🙂  It’s been a big shift for me not being in the same physical space as my students and giving hands-on adjustments. Nonetheless, I feel so grateful to offer classes online, where I still get to guide and connect with my students. 

I’ve also grown personally in my meditation practice in that I’ve finally learned to be consistent. My daughter and I started meditating together and we’ve been keeping each other accountable. I feel much more grounded, connected, and present when I make time to practice meditation on a near-daily basis.  

3. What’s your favorite kind of burrito and why?

My favorite is a burrito bowl (no gluten!) 🙂  I like it with brown rice, black or pinto beans, lots of veggies, lettuce, guacamole, extra cilantro, pico de gallo, and hot salsa. 

by Amy Caldwell

“A piece of old cloth, especially one torn from a larger fabric, used typically for cleaning things.”

Although likening meditation to a rag is not a common metaphor, we are living in uncommon times.

Each one of us is a piece of the whole. And while we aren’t necessarily “old,” we have some amount of human experience under our belts. In our regular daily lives, we can sometimes feel separate or “torn” from the whole.

Right now, we have an opportunity to deeply see and connect to the reality that we are part of a much larger fabric.

Especially under the current circumstances, the importance of cleaning takes on a powerful relevance  – why not use this time to investigate our perceptions, what filters and lenses we employ to see the world? Can we allow ourselves to be more open, curious, and loving?

R.A.G. This simple acronym can serve as a daily meditation in as little as three minutes (one minute each):

R      Relax
A      Awaken
G      Gather

Relax. Enjoy a few deep breaths. Move in any way that helps facilitate relaxation: Exhale with an open mouth, roll the shoulders, tense, and relax the face.

Awaken. Bring awareness to anything in the present moment: sound, smell, thoughts, emotions, body sensations. Meet whatever you find with curiosity and love – as you would a cherished friend.

Gather. Locate an area in your body where you feel the breath: i.e, the torso or nostrils, etc. Choose one location and gather your full attention there. Each time the mind wanders away, return to watching and feeling the breath. Remain here, in the present, and enjoy the experience.

Amy Caldwell
Contributing Writer

Amy (E-RYT 500) has dedicated herself to the practice, study and teaching of yoga since discovering its joys and benefits in 1997 while backpacking throughout Asia, Australia, and parts of Europe. Amy is a Co-Founder of Yoga One and lead teacher for their yoga teacher training program.

guest post by Heather Fenwick

How does your meditation practice look and feel? We’re highlighting stories of meditation in everyday life to help de-mystify this life-changing practice and share simple meditation techniques with those just getting started. Share your experience in the comments or by email, info@yogaonesandiego.com

My meditation practice lately is not as regular as you might think – some days on, some days off. I meditate for up to 20 minutes, or as little as 3 minutes. Even just three minutes, (as Amy Caldwell reminds me, “any amount”) is helpful.

I have a meditation altar, which I love. It’s a place that always invites mindfulness when I see it. Kuan Yin, the goddess of compassion, sits atop the triple India guide book throne. The Dalai Lama, Chinese medicine accoutrements, and Himalayan salt lamps (to neutralize the ions put out by electronics) complete the scene.

Sometimes I just observe the monkey mind in disbelief (when your thoughts are restless and swirling) and I try to cultivate amusement or acceptance, or some combination of both.

Other times, I drop into a breathing practice that I learned from Sarah Clark:

Breathe in and feel the height of the inhale in the upper palate, lifting to the crown.
Exhale, engage a light root lock, feel the seat heavy on the ground.

Breathing is so simple and so profound.
~ Heather

Even just enjoying a conscious  breath can be meditation. Give it a try?

guest post by Irene Jones

How does your meditation practice look and feel? We’re highlighting stories of meditation in everyday life to help de-mystify this life-changing practice and share simple meditation techniques with those just getting started. Share your experience in the comments or by email, info@yogaonesandiego.com

These days, my meditation practice is me waking, taking my time, checking in with my emotions, my physical self, and my breath (when I remember, because there is a tendency for the cogs in my brain to start gaining momentum pretty quickly.) I do a little yoga in bed. Nothing strenuous, a few yummy stretches, cat cows and twists and neck attendance to loosen up any stiffness.

I brush my teeth, drink some water, and soon enough I sit comfortably on a cushion facing my window that opens out towards spaciousness and the natural elements. Just before this, I light some incense. I sit nice and tall, roll my shoulders back and lift my heart, starting with a good posture. Of course, it relaxes as I meditate and from time to time, I gently reset the weight in my sitting bones and lift the crown of my head.

Grounding first, I encourage my lower body to be heavy and my pelvic floor to relax. I check in with the Manomaya Kosha, the mind sheath, or how we process our thoughts and emotions. I rest here for a while scanning my entire body head to toe.

I check in with my breath and follow it with my awareness until I get distracted and then I gently bring my awareness back to my breath again.

Most importantly, for me these days, in my meditation practice is opening to my emotional self, so I feel-in. I ask myself, “How am I feeling?” “How am I?” and I patiently wait and open to my experience as it unfolds. I meet myself with kindness and permission for whatever is there and for whatever wants to come to my attention. I hold the sensations of my inner experience in a very sacred and tender embrace. This is my practice.

I rest here for as long as I like. I can then move on to my mental space, check in, honor my mind and all that it does for me and for all its potential. I ask myself, “What would peace feel like in this moment?” I rest in patience for a sense, if it comes to me; if I can cultivate it this morning, if not, no judgement. I rest in the light of my own awareness. Every day is different. 

I especially love when I can get outside early in the morning, when it’s quiet so I can meditate in nature; I’m not sure if there is anything more lovely. Maybe I’ll do some yoga or qigong too. I am blessed to have gained these skills over the years, practicing on and off, making a gradual home for my expanding awareness and my inner peace.

Meditation in itself is not a difficult thing to do – however, to commit to a daily practice, even if just for a few weeks or months can be challenging. Though the rewards are worth it. Meditation can make a huge difference to how we approach ourselves and others; gifting us with opportunities to experience space and patience and self-acceptance while in relationship, it is a fantastic teacher.

Ultimately, we are listening to our own inner teachings and wisdom. I recently heard, that if we can think of it like brushing our teeth, then it will be an easy habit to begin. Five minutes every day is all you need. For me, it depends on how I feel, 20 minutes, sometimes longer, sometimes less, and sometimes I incorporate meditation into my daily activities themselves. Just being present and mindful in each moment is a practice in itself.

by Laura McCorry

When I think about meditation, I think about sitting down someplace like this: quiet, peaceful, with yellow butterflies (the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) flitting from blossom to blossom.

But being Mama to two little ones, I don’t always get to sit down when I meditate.

Sometimes meditation is simply the awareness of my own breath, breathing in, breathing out. Answering a question about turtles. Bringing my focus to the warmth of the sun on my back. Feeling a small fist close in a vise around my index finger as we walk further along the path. Breath in, breath out.

Even if I had arrived to this spot without the children, who both pull me away and bring me back to the present moment, the world interposes itself.

I can hear the rumble of a backhoe across the street, and the rush of traffic on a major road just on the other side of the park. I stay focused on the butterflies, and the dragonflies, but then come the bees, and the mosquitoes, and the ticks.

It’s hard to welcome it all in, to simply brush away the undesirable (and sometimes it’s scary). But this is the practice – of both meditation and life.

It’s not just quiet and butterflies. Life is also noise and chaos and the wide kaleidoscope of living things all sharing the same living earth and life-giving sun. Breath in, breath out. Can you see that we are all one?

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura(AT)yogaonesandiego(DOT)com

AMNESIA

Once again
I’ve confused rigidity for strength,
domination for embodiment.

I’ve missed opportunities for appreciation
for acceptance
for love.

We know in our minds.
We feel in our hearts.

And yet we forget.
We get lost,
confused.
Amnesia of the spirit.

What if the only purpose of life
is to communicate love?
Through our breath
Through our body
Through our thoughts
Through our words
Through our actions
Through our relationships
Through our life
Through our being

Begin again.
Every day.
Every moment.
Every breath.
A chance to wake up.

*****

BELIEFS

How do they form?
How do they shape and filter
the way we view ourselves,
each other, the world?

We look to some beliefs
to help guide positive thought and action,
such as Ahimsa (non-violence),
or a vision of sameness,
to see ourselves in others,
or to (radically) love ourselves…

But perhaps any belief
comes with a small weight,
what we should be or do.

Maybe the next step
is to let go of the belief.

To realize that we already are the same.
We already are love.
We always have been.
We don’t have to think it,
or believe it,
we can just be it.
We
Are
It.

fiction by Laura McCorry

Carl sat on the crinkly paper of an examining table waiting for his doctor. He kicked his feet and glanced around for a magazine. As a grown man, he felt ridiculous when his feet didn’t touch the floor. Carl was there for his annual check up, something his wife (and his health insurance) insisted on since he turned fifty.

He took a deep breath and let it out, slow and controlled. The practiced measure of that breath and the peace that followed marked a groundswell of change in Carl’s life from the year before.

A year ago, Carl had sat in the exact same spot, not knowing what to expect, feeling irritated that he had to take time out of his busy work day to be there.

A year ago, Carl had expected to hear that everything was fine, that he was a marvel of health despite the fact that he rarely exercised and regularly indulged in rich food and drink.

A year ago, Carl’s doctor told him that unless he made significant changes, he would need to take daily medication and adjust his expectations for his future quality of life.

Looking back, Carl could see the signs. But at the time, it was too easy to justify the way he was feeling. His back hurt because he wasn’t twenty years old anymore. Lots of people complained of indigestion. He carried some weight around his middle, but so did nearly all of his colleagues the same age as him. If it was normal, it couldn’t be that bad, he reasoned.

Despite telling himself it was a normal part of aging, Carl didn’t like the way he looked in the mirror. And every time he lay down at night, the aching muscles in his back would start to relax a bit which ironically made them ache even more. Laying next to his sleeping wife, he knew deep down that there had to be something more he could do.

It was that routine visit to the doctor that opened his eyes.

“What do you do to move your body?” Dr. Beamer asked, looking Carl in the eye over the rim of his glasses.

“I throw a tennis ball for the dog in the backyard,” Carl joked to avoid the question. He moved through his life with a minimum of movement, from his bed to the breakfast table. From his car to his desk. From the dinner table to his recliner. From his recliner to his bed.

“What have you tried before?” the doctor’s gaze hadn’t flinched, bless him.

“I used to play basketball with some buddies,” Carl offered.

Dr. Beamer nodded his head. “I’m not saying don’t try it, but go easy. Basketball at your age, after a long hiatus, can be hard on the knees.”

And then he said the fateful words Carl had never expected to hear:

“Have you ever considered doing yoga?”

No, Carl had never considered yoga. In his mind, yoga was something his wife did. But that evening, when Carl told his wife about the doctor’s suggestion, she didn’t tease him or gloat. Instead, she simply messaged him the online schedule for Yoga One, the studio in Downtown San Diego where she’d been practicing for the past five years.

Carl looked at the schedule and thought about his week. Fridays were pretty easy, he could often take a half day or work from home. He scanned the list of classes and instructors and saw one that popped out at him: Level 1 and 2 Flow with Michael Caldwell.

He borrowed his wife’s yoga mat and changed at work into a t-shirt and a pair of lounge pants. Carl felt nervous. He didn’t want to be noticed as new.

Even though he arrived early, there were still quite a few people already picking out spots in the bright upstairs studio. At the front of the room, a tall man in a t-shirt and comfortable pants talked and laughed with the regulars.

“Hi, I’m Michael,” the man introduced himself. He asked if Carl had any injuries or questions and they chatted briefly about the Padres. Carl didn’t know exactly what he had expected from a yoga teacher, but he felt reassured and intrigued.

The yoga class was harder than Carl had expected. Somewhere along the way, he’d gotten the idea that yoga was mostly sitting on the floor stretching and lying down relaxing. Not in this class! These people were moving and sweating and working hard.

There was a lot that Carl couldn’t do, but instead of discouraging him, he only wanted to try harder. Every time Michael guided the class into a difficult pose, he acknowledged it and encouraged each student to stay and breathe or back off and rest. By the end of the class, Carl was beginning to feel as though the yoga was more about what was going on in his own body instead of what the other bodies in the room were capable of doing.

It only took one class and Carl was hooked. At first he was doing yoga at his wife’s studio for his health. Before long though, Carl knew he was practicing yoga for himself. He loved the way it challenged both his strength and his stillness. It was no longer his wife’s studio, Yoga One had become like a second home, a place where they both found friends and community.

There was a knock on the door and the doctor walked into the examining room.

“Hi there, Carl,” Dr. Beamer looked up from a clipboard and raised his eyebrows as he smiled at Carl. “You’re looking good!”

“I feel good,” Carl replied with a proud smile.

“I bet,” said the doctor. “Your chart says you’ve lost some weight and, this I can’t believe, you’re an inch taller than last year. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”

They discussed how to manage some of the health problems Carl was still experiencing but he was relieved to hear that the focus had shifted from management to prevention. Yoga hadn’t cured everything that was wrong, but it had pushed Carl into a long-lost relationship with his body. Now it didn’t matter so much what he looked like, it mattered how he felt — and Carl felt better than ever.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura(AT)yogaonesandiego(DOT)com

guest post by Wendy Swanson

Yoga, for many of us, can feel particularly intimidating, especially if we follow any “famous” yogi on social media and see lots of pretzel poses done flawlessly, in full makeup and expensive clothing (by the way, this is not really what yoga is all about and most of us do not look like that).

The best tips for beginner yogis

To help ease beginner angst, below are some tips on starting a yoga practice outside of our own homes:

• Bring your humor to the mat and leave your perfectionism and self-critical parts at home. If I’m feeling particularly self-conscious I remind myself that people are usually more concerned with themselves than with me. I’m super important to my Mom but not the stranger on the mat next to me.
• Try at least 5 different classes and 2 or 3 different studios/communities before deciding whether yoga is or is not for you. There are lots of flavors of yoga these days. There is yoga that is slow and meditative and there is yoga that is fast and sweaty and everything in between. Find out what is best for YOU.
• Identify 2 or 3 of your personal goals around yoga and then talk with the teacher or desk staff. They can help steer you in a direction that matches your needs.
• Nitty Gritty Pro-tip: no shoes in the yoga room & wear comfortable clothing that stays put when you bend forward (ie you may not want your shirt coming up over your head)
• Let the teacher know if you are pregnant, have been injured, or have any health issues that they should know about to keep you safe. They are trained to give modifications and will do their utmost to make certain your class is an enjoyable experience.

Overcoming beginner’s resistance

Some other “fun” demons that sometimes rear their ugly head are resistance, doubt and second guessing. Think back to some of the bigger moments and decisions in your life and I bet you will find these guys hanging out. Recently I went on life changing retreat and for weeks leading up to the retreat I thought about backing out. My resistance to change and doing something new showed up in the form of: “I don’t have the money, so I should cancel”; “My family really needs me, so I should stay home”; “My business is super busy right now so this is really not a good time. I should cancel”. There are parts to me and to you that want us to stay small, play it safe and never ever change. These parts stem from aspects that have experienced hurt and pain in our past. They are valid parts of us AND we need to not have them running the show.

Living outside of fear

I find that when I allow these parts to have a voice and at the same time not run the show, I can make decisions from a grounded and centered place. I literally picture myself stepping into my higher/ spiritual self and asking that part, that truly has my best interest in mind, what I need to do. A vibrant, joyous and fulfilling life comes from paying closer attention to our higher self that promotes growth, self-love, connection and abundance. It was a game changer when I realized that my overly practical side was just resistance cleverly disguised. I encourage you to ask yourself “what part of me is talking right now?”

Connect to your higher self

The practices of yoga and meditation can help us know our higher self a bit better. Taking time to retreat can help us profoundly understand ourselves so that we can have the life we dream of. Our dreams can then move from imagination into reality.

I invite you to bravely stand up to the parts of you that hold you back and go take that yoga class or go on retreat. Your soul will thank you.

This piece originally published on The Art of Living Retreat Center

Wendy Swanson, L.Ac, E-RYT 200

Wendy is a healer, transformational leader, yoga teacher and licensed acupuncturist. She is the owner of Be Yoga & Wellness in Charlotte, NC; and is currently studying at Kripalu for her 500 hour yoga certification.

by Laura McCorry

Do you ever sit in front of a computer and type? Hold your phone with your ear and shoulder? Wrangle a small, squirming child?

So many daily activities cause tension and tightness in the neck and shoulders. Try this super short sequence to find relief at home and when you can, join us for Restorative Yoga with Missy, Fridays at 4:30pm.

• Gentle Head Rolling. Take a comfortable seat, ensuring your feet are hip distance and parallel, and sit tall, gently drawing the shoulder blades onto your back. Allow your head to bow forward towards your chest. After a few breaths, slowly roll your head towards one shoulder, then again towards the chest. Repeat a few times moving mindfully from side to side.
• Backbend with Cactus Arms. Inhale and extend your arms straight up towards the ceiling with the palms facing one another. (Yelling, “Touch down!” is optional). On your exhale, bend your elbows to ninety degrees (cactus arms). Powerfully lift your chest, allowing your gaze to lift as well but keeping the back of your neck long. Alternate straightening and bending the elbows, moving between these two poses as you breath in and out, or hold each one static for 5-8 breaths.
  
• Cat and Cow Poses. Come to the ground in table top with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Inhale and arch your back, drawing the shoulder blades together, gaze gently up (cow pose). Then exhale and round your back towards the sky, pressing the floor away and looking between your hands (cat pose). Stay connected to your breath while you flow between these two poses.
• Restorative Fish Pose. If you have yoga blocks, place one block horizontal (medium height) just below the shoulder blades on your back and a second block (tall height) underneath your head. Alternatively, you can use a rolled up blanket beneath your shoulder blades and a pillow under your head. Stretch your legs out long or place a rolled blanket underneath your knees to alleviate tightness in your lower back. Stay here and breathe for up to five minutes.

Now take a moment to acknowledge the difference in your body, mind, and spirit. Thank yourself for making this time to offer yourself gratitude and loving-kindness.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura(AT)yogaonesandiego(DOT)com

How do yoga teachers feel about their practice? What inspires them to keep teaching and keep practicing yoga? Get to know your Yoga One teachers outside the studio and off the mat. This month’s interview is with Karen Beers.

1. Why do you practice yoga? 

Yoga helps me reset and reenergize. Each time I step onto the mat, I access an internal sense of self through simple breath focusing techniques. The practice of yoga quiets the chatter of the mind, softens emotions, and encourages present moment awareness. I am able to reconnect with myself, peeling back layers of stress until I feel grounded, refreshed and balanced within.

2. What was the most intimidating aspect of teaching when you first started?

Being an educator, I’m quite comfortable instructing a class. However teaching in a classroom is vastly different from teaching yoga. When I first became a yoga instructor, reaching students of all ability levels was the most intimidating aspect. It takes a lot of preparation to ensure that all students are guided well. By providing options and modification of postures, I ensure that all students can have a rewarding experience.

3. What gives you the most joy as a yoga instructor? 

Providing space for community and connection brings me great joy as a yoga instructor. So much of our days are spent focused on individual tasks, it’s very important that we take time to acknowledge each person with whom we share the yoga experience. This connection with others promotes a more relaxed state of present moment awareness. The end result then can be a collective sense of calm and tranquility that brings a smile to everyone’s faces.

4. If yoga were a food, car, smell, planet, song, artist, flavor, it would be…

“In a Sentimental Mood” by Duke Ellington & John Coltrane: This song is the essence of positive energy. It has a slow, smooth introduction, progressing into a layered melody that transports you on your own personal journey. It’s filled with incredible talent, improvisation, and inspiration.

5. What’s your yoga inspiration?  

Besides yoga philosophy and principles, master yoga instructors are my inspiration. I’m enamored of people who have practiced and devoted themselves to sharing the gifts of yoga, including Tao Porchon-Lynch, Kia Miller, Jason Crandell, and Shiva Rea.  Each of these individuals have their own specialization and depth of understanding that they impart through their teaching. Yoga has so much knowledge to share.

6. What classes do you teach at Yoga One? 

I teach Level 1-2 Flow, Sundays at 10:30am.

You can find our full class schedule here. Om!

by Laura McCorry

by Olivia Hughes

Your 3 Best Super Powers: Meditation, Intuition & Imagination

by Sonia Choquette

Summary: Super powers! They’re not just for super heroes. These abilities exist within each of us, just waiting to be awakened.

Sonia Choquette outlines tools and techniques to develop the super powers of Meditation, Intuition, and Imagination. She believes these three practices, especially when taken together, can have a powerful impact on a person’s life.

Choquette explains that as you spend time developing your “super powers,” you will notice a shift. Where your attention goes, new energy flows. As this alignment deepens, you begin to feel more in tune with yourself, your source of energy, and the world around you.

Why I Love It: This book is so accessible! Sometimes spiritual guidebooks can be challenging to understand or to apply to your everyday life. Your 3 Best Super Powers begins with guided meditations so the reader can dive right into their practice honing these skills. Beginning with meditation and allowing everything to blossom from that fertile soil really resonated with me. Through meditation, both intuition and imagination are strengthened. And the mind is filled with space, calm, and clarity.

By strengthening these practices myself, I was able to stop taking things so personally. I began to see life as happening for me, not to me, which released the victim mentality and allowed me to take my power back! To Choquette’s three super powers, I would add Love and Forgiveness.

Recommended For: Everyone who wants to be their best self! You already have within you everything you need to begin the work of transformation. There is no one-size-fits-all in this world. We are all so unique, special, gifted, and beautiful. The world can easily take us away from this truth. Your 3 Best Superpowers: Meditation, Intuition & Imagination is ideal for anyone who needs to remember that they are unique, and that alone is a super power!!!

Olivia Hughes
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

by Laura McCorry

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura(AT)yogaonesandiego(DOT)com

How do yoga teachers feel about their practice? What inspires them to keep teaching and keep practicing yoga? Get to know your Yoga One teachers outside the studio and off the mat. This month’s interview is with Zoe Freedman.

1. Why do you practice yoga?

I practice for so many reasons! Firstly, because it feels delicious in my body. I love to cultivate more space, shift stagnation, and allow each part of my physical being to stretch and strengthen.

I also love finding a meditative flow with my breath, clearing my mind, and creating mental space for genius ideas to sprout. It’s time away from technology as well, which is an added bonus!

2. What was the most intimidating aspect of our teaching when you first started?

I spent two years convinced I didn’t have anything unique to offer my students, and that took a lot of patience and commitment to break through.

3. What gives you the most joy as a yoga instructor?

First and foremost, connecting with incredible humans. Secondly, assisting my students in feeling more comfortable in their bodies. We only get one… life is too short to stay stiff and uncomfortable!

4. If yoga were a food, car, smell, planet, song, artist, flavor, etc… it would be: Lavender.

5. What’s your yoga inspiration?

My yoga inspiration is anyone who shows up for themselves again and again, no matter what life throws their way. Those who commit to seeking enlightenment and inner peace, through all eight limbs of yoga. There are too many incredible yogis doing this to name! Many of my students are such yogis, who inspire me every day.

6. What classes do you teach at Yoga One?

I teach Vinyasa Flow levels 1 & 2 on Tuesdays at 4:30 pm!

You can find our full class schedule here. Om!

200-Hours of Study, A Three Week Transformation

guest post by Stacey Ebert

A little over three weeks ago, I had no idea what I was getting into. I couldn’t imagine how I would budget my time and had no clue what I’d do in the training I was about to experience.

Now that Yoga One’s 200-hour Teacher Training has come to a close, I’m having yoga withdrawals. I can’t imagine what I’ll do with all this extra time and I am overwhelmed by the emotions stirred up by this magical experience. Since I’ve known them for well over a year now, I’m sure the owners Amy and Michael Caldwell, and OM (Office Manager) Missy DiDonato knew this would be the case – but I didn’t. Needless to say, I’m eternally grateful.

The transformation is palpable. I’ve heard of it happening, but I didn’t know it would happen to me. I jumped in hoping for a deeper understanding of my practice (with only the smidgeon of thought that perhaps, maybe, I might, someday think about teaching). I didn’t expect what would transpire. I entered with eyes wide open; I leave with a soaring spirit, curious mind, open heart (shoulders and hips, too), and a thirst for more.

Together, the 14 of us went through many rounds of practice teaching. We learned to consciously listen, to accept constructive criticism, to provide positive feedback and to give each other useful suggestions along the way. We grew. My wonky scoliosis came in handy for those who needed a visual and ideas for modifications that work for those with an atypical spine. We learned to ask before adjusting, use props to elevate and elongate, check in with prenatal poses, and wind down in the delight of restorative everything.

Together we saw the changes taking place. Greater strength and flexibility occurred, muscles ached and developed, the shy students grew emboldened, those with questions encouraged, and all of us were empowered and enlightened. Whether on a paddleboard, in a pose, or at a potluck – we were united in yoga, inspired by our teacher Amy Caldwell, and determined to learn the paths and postures of this ancient wisdom. 

Through adjustments, asanas, and alignment details, Amy never waned. She was there through it all with patience, suggestions, knowledge, and experience. Her welcoming, trustworthy nature fostered a safe, risk-free environment for all to blossom. Hers is a classroom of open communication, trust, guidance, and facilitation. Buoyed by Amy’s easy-going demeanor, we, her students, thrived. She guided us through the three week course with kindness, patience, profound wisdom, and much pranayama (breathwork).

When I posted on social media that I was taking this class, a former student replied ‘once a teacher, always a teacher’. I’ve been a student of yoga for almost a decade and taught in and out of the classroom for far longer. I’ve practiced yoga on two coasts and in fun spots around the globe. Of course, year one of teaching (or practicing) is different than year 8, year 15 or year 20, but from personal experience (both as a student and teacher), I know what I believe it takes to be a good teacher… and I can say with confidence that Amy has all that and more.

It’s mind-blowing to know that in such a (relatively) short time, Yoga One packed 200 hours of information and engagement into our brains and our bodies. Fourteen strangers stepped onto their mats in a studio new to many of them. Three weeks later, we’ve left as friends who were united in something greater than ourselves and who experienced moments that none of us will soon forget.

Mindfulness flourished in the studio; and although there’s no telling where all this will lead, I know for certain the light cultivated will not be extinguished. I’m proud of all of us and grateful for the practice and the people. I am indebted to Amy, my friend and teacher, and I will never forget this experience that literally cracked my soul wide open. Namaste.

Stacey Ebert
Guest Writer

Stacey Ebert is a freelance writer, educator, event planner, and volunteer coordinator who has traveled to over 50 of the world’s countries. Writing about adventure, journey and perspective changing life shifts, she encourages travelers to take the leap, use the world as their classroom and get outside their comfort zones. She has lived in Long Beach (New York), Melbourne (Australia) and is presently based in San Diego (California). Connect with her on her blog, The Gift of Travel, Facebook, Pinterest, or LinkedIn.

by Laura McCorry

Time has started to unravel a bit for me. As I move further into this pregnancy, I’m falling out of routine, becoming less attached to the segmented hours of the day. This is probably a good thing. I wake when I’m finished sleeping (some days at 8:30, some days at 6am), I eat when I’m hungry (always, always snacks before bed), and I’ve found myself baking banana bread muffins at 10:30 at night.

In Walking on Water, Madeleine L’Engle writes about two different conceptions of time, “Kairos. Real time. God’s time. That time which breaks through chronos with a shock of joy, that time we do not recognize while we are experiencing it, but only afterwards, because kairos has nothing to do with chronological time. In kairos, we are completely unself-conscious and yet paradoxically far more real than we can ever be when we are constantly checking our watches for chronological time.”

The birth of a child is a moment like this, always outside of time. But you are also ushered into kairos at the death of a loved one. (I remember being shocked when I realized that practicing savasana, or final relaxation, in yoga is also a way of practicing death. It’s translation is corpse pose, after all.)

How can you practice both life and death with grace? I think the word that matters most is practice (meditation). Or perhaps grace. For me, moving into kairos is the same as practicing meditation. You allow yourself to move outside time, into space that is neither here nor there, you are not awake or asleep, you simply ARE.

The paradox of life is that we need both kairos and chronos. I need the immediate, tactile chronos, the skin, muscle, and bone of my hands dusted in flour, forming a dough, placing it in the oven, setting a timer (because humans being can move outside time, but yeast, water, and flour cannot if they are to become bread.) And I need those moments of timelessness, of seeing the moment arrive and stepping into it whole-heartedly, whole-bodily: when my toddler bumps her head and needs to be held RIGHT NOW, so I drop everything and cradle her in my arms.

I hope you are gifted the experience of time in all its splendored variation. The moments that are breath-giving and the moments that take your breath away. Moments of kairos when you allow yourself to be fully present; when you take in whatever sensation, thought, or emotion is most present, but practice not letting it define you. And when you need it most, I hope you find those life-affirming moments of chronos, of baking late at night, a solid grounding in time as we most often know it.

We hope to help you find that Kairos time on your mat at Yoga One, click here to view our schedule.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura(AT)yogaonesandiego(DOT)com

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by Olivia Hughes

Crystal Muse: Everyday Rituals to Tune In to the Real You 

by Heather Askinosie and Timmi Jandro

Summary: I believe an ancient, inner wisdom resides within each of us. We feel it, we know it, but how do we stay connected to it in a fast-paced world that is filled with distractions and responsibilities? The answer is different for everyone. I’ve found that crystal rituals, continual practices like yoga, healthy boundaries, and a certain amount of discipline are necessary for me to feel balanced and fulfilled in life.

Crystal Muse is potent with wisdom and filled with practices that were learned, shared, or experienced through over 25 years of research, world travel, and spiritual quests. Heather and Timmi also chronicle their journey to create the website Energy Muse to share this passion, despite how challenging it was to start their business well before crystals became more mainstream. From creating more abundance in your life, to calling on your soulmate, this book will give you step by step tools to use crystals and intention to manifest anything you desire.

Why I Love It: Crystal Muse really is one of my favorite books, I absolutely LOVE it! I have a lot of crystals and have been working with them for years, but I learned so much more from this book. You can feel how the wisdom and rituals from Heather and Timmi are the kind of resource you can’t Google. They impart a knowledge that only comes after years of experience and from diving headfirst into your true calling and passion.

Suggested For: All my crystal-loving, Palo Santo-burning, entrepreneur hippie friends out there – you will love this book!

There’s something of value for both the newbie just getting started working with crystals to the experienced veteran. It’s simultaneously light-hearted but deeply serious, healing yet playful, filled with knowledge but easy to read. Crystal Muse can be read cover to cover or picked up at random to discover a new ritual practice.

There can be a lot of stigma around crystals, the effect of their impact, whether you’re doing it “right” or not. My suggestion is simply to find a crystal you feel drawn towards and hold it in your hand during meditation. Get curious about it then sit there and wait, observe what comes forward and let that be enough. Less is more sometimes. If this resonates, try it, and let me know how it goes! And happy reading!

“Finally! A crystal book that explains how to use your crystals in the now age. With simple, crystallized rituals that can be done in under 11 minutes, Crystal Muse will take you on a journey within to transform your life from the inside out.” – Jason Wachob, founder and CEO of mindbodygreen and author of Wellth

Olivia Hughes
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

by Laura McCorry

Lately I’ve found myself more drawn to silence, more drawn to sitting still and taking in the world as it presents itself. Life asking to be noticed in a small, quiet voice. It hasn’t paraded into my consciousness with fanfare and demanded attention. (There’s enough of that already, and we all know the strategy works, at least immediately.)

As Franz Kafka wrote, “You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

These are some of the moments that stopped me in my tracks, when my only response has been to sit very still observing, listening:

• My daughter already in pajamas stacking blocks as high as she can into a tower just before her bedtime. 
• The sound of my friend’s voice who tells me that in the middle of the night, she will ask her husband who recently died to go comfort their baby. 
• The late afternoon sunlight illuminating a hand-brocaded Indian elephant on a square tapestry, how I see for the first time the sparkling gold threads.
• The stark black and white text from a friend asking for prayers while she sits beside her husband in the ICU. 

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Join Yoga One’s Amy Caldwell for an energizing and meditative 108 Sun Salutations. Celebrate the Winter Solstice and the approach of the New Year by generating a conscious and elevated energy. 

Friday, December 22nd, 6-7:30pm
$18 drop in or use your Yoga One class package/membership.

All students with a regular yoga practice are welcome to attend, register here.

This week, as the earth turns on its axis, we’ll experience the longest night of the year, the winter solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, each day following December 22nd will have a slowly increasing amount of sunshine as we move towards Spring. It’s not surprising that so many traditions and cultures around the world have chosen this time of year to celebrate light and hope.

In both yoga and Hinduism, 108 is a sacred number, representing fullness or completion. We will perform 108 sun salutations to represent and cultivate a feeling of fullness and completion. Sun salutations build heat in the body just like the sun warms the planet and as we progress towards our goal we mirror the sun’s progress towards spring.

If you think that practicing 108 sun salutations sounds like an impossible feat, you’re not alone! It’s something many people feel they can’t do. But don’t be deterred.

The collective energy and shared purpose of the group supports the individual. And you won’t be expected to do all 108. We will modify the types of sun salutations performed and you will be encouraged to rest whenever desired. The 108 sun salutations become intentions personified, a moving meditation that helps each participant refine their awareness.

Join us for this fun and transformative practice!

by Olivia Cecchettini Hughes

The Tao of Wu

by The RZA

Editor’s Note: Congratulations and welcome back to Olivia who took a break from this monthly column to get married!!! We wish you all the best on this new journey in life. ~ Yoga One

Summary: The Tao of Wu is written in a light conversational style that’s easy to read and hard to put down. What keeps this book out of the light reading category however, is the depth of spiritual insight within that stayed with me for days as I processed and digested it. After I finished reading, it kept me buzzing for a few days: a sign of a really good book!

Part spiritual manifesto, part autobiography, The RZA openly shares his wisdom, guiding principles, and experiences as founder of the Wu-Tang Clan and as a fellow human being. The Tao of Wu follows his journey from growing up in a violent neighborhood of New York City to deeply embracing Eastern Philosophy in Shaolin, China.

Why I Love It: I was completely blown away by this inspiring spiritual memoir which was unlike any other I’ve read. Combining street knowledge, pop culture, eastern culture, spirituality, and rawness, this book was one of my favorite reads of 2017. Highly recommend.

I love that The Tao of Wu breaks through and breaks down stereotypes. I think stereotypes, labels, and boxes are human devices to keep the world small and simple. Yoga has always helped me bear witness to my own judgments and allow them to shatter in the light of authenticity. It’s only when we truly SEE and LISTEN to one another that we grasp the beauty, wisdom, and amazing insight diverse people have to offer.

Suggested For: I’ve been recommending this book to everyone! Seriously. For the hip hop lovers, I gained a better appreciation of RZA’s work – specifically the depth of his lyricism. If you ever wondered why The RZA, aside from being the Wu-Tang Clan’s chief producer, is heralded as the group’s leader, The Tao of Wu will make that unmistakably clear.

For the spiritual seekers, this book is a more personal, more philosophical follow-up to The Wu-Tang Manual. The RZA pulls from a deep school of thought that reflects the inner work he has achieved. I found his writing to be forward thinking and courageous in its authenticity.

Even Cornel West gives it a thumbs-up: “RZA is a towering artist and deep thinker who has much to teach us. I salute his courageous vision and compassionate witness – as manifests in this book and in his life.”

Olivia Hughes
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

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guest post by Jennifer Scott

For busy people, stress is a constant force. In its most positive form, stress can motivate us to work harder and achieve great things. But at its worst, too much stress can lead to health problems and bad habits.

After a stressful and tumultuous breakup, I had allowed several bad habits to make their way back into my life. Pair that with a big move across the country, and my stress snowballed out of control. Making the switch to a wellness-focused lifestyle isn’t easy, but I found reducing stress was vital to living a happier and healthier life – even if it’s still busy.

Healthy Habit #1 – Take time to disconnect

One stressor that could be plaguing you is over-connectedness. Sometimes, we all just need to disconnect from technology for a little bit of peace of mind. This is especially true when it comes to work. Healthy habit #1 involves turning off those email notifications after work hours. Like many people, I’m notorious for having my phone glued to my hand, but I made it a goal to turn my phone off by 7:00 p.m. every night. I found that by disconnecting, I was able to relax and wake up rested and ready to tackle the day.

“Researchers .. have found that although we may resist it, we really do need down time after work to mentally recharge for the next day … continuing to communicate with colleagues after hours not only creates stress, but it prevents your brain from relaxing and recouping from a long work day in preparation for the next,” notes Forbes.

This can also be applied to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media. If you have a habit of browsing your feed in bed – stop! Disallowing electronics in your bedroom will teach your brain that the bedroom is a place for sleep and sleep only, and it will lead to more restful, higher-quality sleep.

Healthy Habit #2 – Don’t make all your free time family time

You love your family. We all love our families. But every single second of your free time doesn’t have to be family time. In fact, the stress from kids and relationship issues can cause great mental fatigue. Alone time is good time, and you should make time every day to do something with the person you know best – yourself. Even if you can’t necessarily escape, you can create a solitude space in your home using relaxing decor and a comfy chair. Let family members and partners know that this space is for uninterrupted alone time.

In the end, your alone time will likely strengthen your familial relationships too. “By spending time with yourself and gaining a better understanding of who you are and what you desire in life, you’re more likely to make better choices about who you want to be around. You also may come to appreciate your relationships more after you’ve spent some time alone,” says Psychology Today.

Healthy Habit #3 – Choosing healthy coping mechanisms

People under a lot of stress have a tendency to look for whatever they can to help them deal with it. Oftentimes, the first solution we try is to escape and dull our senses. While having a drink now and then to unwind isn’t usually a problem, using drugs or alcohol as a crutch to deal with stress can become a dangerous habit.

There are many healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with stress. You can practice yoga, meditation, and/or focused breathing. Put your energy into a hobby or project. Spend your free time in nature. You might be surprised to learn that the method you choose has benefits beyond stress relief. For example, yoga provides immediate benefits such as improved brain function and flexibility. After a few months, you may notice lower blood pressure, improved sense of balance, relief from chronic pain, and anxiety relief. Years of yoga practice can also lower your risk of heart disease and build stronger bones. When you switch from trying to escape stress to actively reducing it, you reap the benefits in your overall health.

Healthy Habit #4 – Focus on eating right

Stress makes you want to eat unhealthy foods. It’s science. “Stressful events – and they don’t even have to be big, just the daily hassles of life – cause our cortisol levels to rise. Cortisol causes food cravings, and … those cravings tend to be strongest for carbs, especially sweet foods,” says Prevention.com.

You have to be aware of this, and do what you can to fight it. Be prepared. Always have healthy snacks like nuts, fruit, and yogurt handy. Plan your meals and get ahead with your prep and cooking. Always take your lunch to work. Don’t skip breakfast. Eat foods rich in omega 3s like fatty fish, which can help give your brain a boost to help you fight high levels of stress.

Stress isn’t always a bad thing, but too much of it can lead you down a dark path of unhealthy habits. Instead, focus on adopting healthy habits which will help you manage your stress levels on a daily basis.

 

Jennifer Scott

With SpiritFinder, Ms. Scott offers a forum where those living with anxiety and depression can discuss their experiences. 

by Olivia Cecchettini

Decoded

by Shawn Carter (Jay Z)

Summary: Decoded is an unconventional memoir. It’s part autobiography part interpretation of Jay Z’s most famous songs and lyrics broken down by the rapper himself. I couldn’t put this book down. His inspiring journey includes growing up in the Marcy Projects located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City and selling crack to being the first MC inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

When Jay Z first started writing, he wrote for himself, never knowing if anyone else would ever hear his work. Even when he was plagued by doubt, he never stopped writing and he never stopped dreaming. It takes courage to hold a mirror to your life and embark on the journey of self-discovery. Neither is it easy to expose your inner self to the world.

Yoga is another way to hold a mirror to your life, to reveal your personal thoughts, emotions, and actions. I strongly believe that we are all natural-born healers. Jay Z found healing through sacred storytelling. I came to healing first through yoga. It’s not about the method, it’s about the journey and whether you’re willing to take the first step.

Why I Love It: I love this book because it felt so relatable. No, I didn’t grow up in the projects or have the same kind of difficulties in life. (Although yes, I do like to rap old school 90’s hip hop but only for my fiancé.) I grew up in a divorced family, with very young parents. I remember struggling a lot, moving a lot, trying to depend on family and friends for stability. There are happy memories, too. But I was on a quest for independence and I started my own life at 18 in San Diego.

I grew up tremendously fast those first few years on my own. It would be 12 years until I started teaching yoga. Sometimes people think yoga teachers have been practicing since birth, meditate every day, and never get sad – but the truth is that many people, including teachers, come to yoga for healing. In Decoded, Jay Z acknowledges that beneath his doubt was a greater fear of not fulfilling his potential – and this is part of my story as well.

Suggested For: Hip Hop lovers, especially the incredible music that came out of the late 90’s and early 2000’s. They just don’t make music like that anymore! I know that’s what every generation says, but it’s the truth.

Seriously though, this book shows what it means to honor the journey of life. As I edge closer to 40 than I am to 30, I see more clearly how all of life is a practice and a journey. It’s not about where we start out, or whether we end up rich and famous. It’s about the moment to moment living, the practice of self-love and acceptance. May we practice more kindness, practice compassion, listen to our intuition, remember the sacredness of storytelling, and honor those that have come before us.

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

An interview by Yoga One student Stacey Ebert with Yoga One owner and co-founder, Amy Caldwell. 

As a practicing yogi, I’ve seen and felt the benefits of sharper awareness, greater strength and flexibility, better posture, and overall improved health firsthand. The more than 5,000-year old philosophy encourages a practice of health, wellbeing, and attention. No, you don’t have to flexible. No, it’s not super expensive. Yes, you can practice anywhere. Yes, it offers something for everyone. Never once have I regretted a moment spent on my mat.

To see what someone with more detailed knowledge had to say, I chatted with Amy Caldwell, who along with her husband, Michael, owns Yoga One in San Diego, California. In addition to practicing, studying, and teaching yoga for two decades, Amy has collaborated on the best-selling iYoga Premium for iPad and iPhone. She also leads the annual yoga class aboard the historic USS Midway, is the head teacher for the acclaimed Yoga One Teacher Training, and has twice been featured on the cover of Yoga Journal. Here’s what she has to say about yoga and its benefits.

SE: How does the idea of ‘getting out of your own way’ merge with the practice of yoga?

AC: Yoga, an ongoing practice of inner listening, works to find a balance between being grounded and remaining open. These tools help us “get out of our own way” by deeply connecting to our Self (“Self” with a capital S indicates big energy and spirit, a higher self). By the time the student makes it to a yoga class, she has already taken the first pro-active step towards self-care.

SE: How do you encourage students to “take their first steps and then leap?” 

AC: Life happens during our present moments, and the practice of yoga teaches people to consciously participate in those present moments. Students are invited to notice with increasing attention what is happening here and now. The next step is to balance that awareness with relaxing into what is: meeting yourself where you are each and every day, and moving forward from there.

The intentions and tools experienced and developed in a yoga practice carry off the mat into daily life.

SE: What are some beginning, advanced, and intermediate actionable steps women can take to lessen fear and add more joy to their life?

AC: Practice self-care. Take a few minutes every day to simply “be” rather than to “do.” This can be going for a walk, a few yoga poses, five minutes of meditation, or really, doing anything at all with the intention of being fully present.

Schedule something weekly that strengthens the muscles of careful listening and being present. This can be as simple as listening to whomever is speaking to you without interruption and with full attention, a yoga or meditation class, or any art form that encourages mindfulness.

Make time for things that bring you joy (for me it can be spending quality time with my family, being in nature or taking a fun dance class). Pay attention to whatever it is that helps you connect to a deep sense of vibrant aliveness and make time to do it! We can all carve out an hour or two a week for our well-being and healthy enjoyment.

by Amy Caldwell

Life is fragile
enjoy each day
make time to be
grateful
joyful
playful

We know this life is temporary
why not live
like it’s our last day

Be kind
love
see the good
don’t sweat the small stuff
be here now
find a way

All the things we know to be true
but forget because we get busy
and distracted
and afraid
let’s choose to remember
and when we forget,
remember again,
sooner

What would we change if we could
if we can, why not try
if we can’t, how can we find peace
with what is
sometimes terrifying
sometimes heart breaking
one human moment at a time
one moment in time

What is it that helps us remember
our aliveness
our connection to breathing
our power to love completely
just humans being

Life as we know it
could end tomorrow
why not
be
here
now

Head Yoga Teacher and Co-Founder of Yoga One, Amy Caldwell has dedicated herself to the practice, study and teaching of yoga since discovering its joys and benefits in 1997.

by Olivia Cecchettini

Healing 

by David Elliott

“My primary work as a healer is to remind and reconnect people to the power of love.  Self-love is the starting point for anyone seeking healing in their life.” – David Elliott

Summary: Healing provides wonderful inspiration for empathic individuals to embrace and pursue whatever form of healing speaks to them. David Elliott’s matter-of-fact writing makes this book an easy read. Though the work he prescribes – through meditations, worksheets, and journaling – might not be as simple to master. The information Elliott provides about the healing process can help you dive deeper into yourself and better see your patterns and blocks.

This book spoke truth to my soul. When we seek out healing, we must first recognize the pain, addictions, and trauma that require healing. This process might not be for the faint of heart. I believe everything we experience in life can be turned into a tool for growth – but it is hard work to release pain and look for meaning. Elliott’s words felt familiar and safe while I worked my way through his book.

We need healers like Elliott who are ready and willing to ignite the path for others and that’s why I feel his book is so important to share. Healing gives you tools and exercises to dive deep within, to identify old wounds and to care for yourself.

Why I Love It: I believe healing comes in many forms and I’ve witnessed the power of David Elliott’s approach while reading Healing and through the personal testimony of my longtime friend Melodee Solomon. I have always known her as someone with a lot of passion and drive, but I knew there were fears and doubts holding her back from sharing her gifts with the world. As her friend, I knew she was a powerful healer, but she wasn’t yet in touch with this part of herself.

About three years ago, Melodee began taking breath work trainings with David Elliott to expand upon her yoga training. As she went deeper into her studies, I saw a shift occur. She was able to release doubt and see her worth in a way she hadn’t before. Today she offers weekly breath work classes along with monthly workshops all over the United States. I’m not saying one book, one workshop, or even one breath work training will heal you and change your life, but it may start you on the path.

Recommended For: People who wants to experience healing in their life starting right away. We are all born to be healers. Most people barely scratch the surface of their lives, but if you start digging you will uncover so many layers.

As a yoga teacher, one of the most important things I do is hold space for others to awaken in their bodies but also in their minds and spirits. The space where healing occurs can be a supportive group or it can be a book in your hand.

Every teacher needs a teacher; and as I’ve seen in my friend Melodee, David Elliott’s approach creates more leaders and more healers. This is what the world so desperately needs, more people tapping into their purpose and making the entire planet come alive. I invite you to begin today, with love and compassion. Namaste.

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

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by Laura McCorry

When my military husband was deployed, I kept a list on a whiteboard of things I could do to boost my spirits when I was feeling down and lonely. Some were aimed at fostering good mental health, like connecting with other people, while some were simply indulgent treats I was giving myself pre-permission to have and enjoy.

I highly encourage everyone to make your own list and keep it handy! It doesn’t matter if you’re going through the toughest season of your life or if you feel on top of the world –

No matter who you are, no matter what’s going on, you are here and you are deserving of love, especially from yourself!

Here are some suggestions if I had to re-write the list today:

1. Call a friend
2. Buy a treat at a bakery
3. Go for a walk
4. Get a massage
5. Take a yoga class
6. Make a coffee date
7. Make a wine date
8. Write a letter
9. Make a pot of tea
10. Be a tourist in your own town
11. Go outside
12. Visit a state park
13. Video chat with family
14. Make art
15. Read a book
16. Go to a museum
17. Listen to music
18. Meditate
19. Start a gratitude journal

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura(AT)yogaonesandiego(DOT)com

 

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Hannah Faulkner

India is commonly known as the motherland of yoga, but what if I told you that yoga originally began in Egypt and then traveled to India hundreds of years later?

Paintings, engravings, and murals from ancient Egyptian tombs and temples show images of figures in positions that represent some commonly known yoga poses.

According to the book, Egyptian Yoga: Postures of the Gods and Goddesses by Dr. Muata Ashby and Dr. Karen Ashby….

We can find the god Geb (god of the Earth) in plough pose engraved on the ceiling of the Temple of Aset (Isis).

Framing him is the goddess, Nut (goddess of the sky), in a forward fold yoga pose.

Further, we can see Geb in a spinal twist and Ra in the squatting position like Virasana, Hero’s pose.

Dr. Ashby proclaims that yoga was practiced in Egypt earlier than anywhere else in our history, long before the evidence is detected in India (including the Indus Valley Civilization) or any other early civilization (Sumer, Greece, China, etc.). This point of view is supported by illustrative and documented scriptural evidence of physical exercises, meditations, and implementation of wisdom teachings in daily life.

It is commonly believed that the practice of the yoga in India began with the use of the Lotus Pose, which is traced to stone engravings in the Indus Valley culture (1500 BCE). However, the use of the lotus pose here could possibly only symbolize the iconography of meditation. This seated flower position represents a spiritual person who develops detachment and dispassion from the world since it sits in the muddy water but is not touched or affected by the mud. Yoga poses, as we know them in the western world, developed much later in India’s history.

Click here to read more about the fascinating connection between yoga and ancient Egypt on Hannah’s blog, Half Moon Yoga and Art.

The San Diego Museum of Man in accordance with Yoga One San Diego come together twice a month (2nd and 4th Saturdays) at 8:30am-9:30am to hold a special yoga class in the Rotunda.

Hannah Faulkner will be teaching class on February 11th, 2017.

Will you join us for this journey in Ancient Egypt?

Buy Your Ticket Here

and be sure to tell the Museum of Man that Yoga One sent you!

by Olivia Cecchettini

The Teacher Appears: 108 Prompts to Power Your Yoga Practice 

by Brian Leaf

Summary: We choose who to see, what to wear, what to eat, how to exercise… Every moment offers us the opportunity to choose our response, yet often many of us run on auto-pilot as though sleep-walking through the day.

Wake up! Come back to your breath, come back to your conscious self. Recognize that you have the freedom to choose. Exercise that gift.

The Teacher Appears includes inspiration from teachers like Sean Corne, Govindas, and Shiva Rae, but also uniquely challenges the reader with the inclusion of questions. These questions prompt mindful introspection; a simple, yet powerful, tool that contains the beginnings of meditation.

The more tools we have to “stay awake,” the more we can choose to live with intention. Yoga is one of those tools for me and this book provides 108 examples, suggestions, and inspiration to put intention into practice.

Why I Love It: Part journal, part book, The Teacher Appears is the kind of book you don’t read from cover to cover. You can pop it open at any page, even when you don’t have time to read an entire chapter. One small passage could shift my mindset into a more positive place, changing the course of my day.

As a yoga teacher, I loved reading about the experiences of other teachers. To teach yoga often means surrendering your ego, your likes and dislikes, to show up and speak from the heart to whoever is there. It is an act of service. The stories of other teachers on the same path encourage me and re-affirm my commitment to teaching.

Recommended For: Those with the goal of living intentionally. This book could add depth to your life, not just your yoga practice. And you don’t have to be a yogi to enjoy The Teacher Appears because its message is based in self-awareness, which is a skill that benefits all walks of life.

This book encourages readers to take daily activities and make them sacred. You can learn a new way to move in your body. To share your gifts. To feel the fear, but do the thing you want to do anyways. This book may help you tap into the authentic part of yourself and let you know you’re not alone. I hope you enjoy it!

by Laura McCorry

1. Ring a bell. Bells, gongs, and chimes have been used the world over for centuries as a call to attention. They precede religious gatherings, call out the time of day and still sometimes announce the start of school. The tone of a bell reminds you to pay attention, and to set aside this time for something different. Ring your own bell, find the space and quiet you need, then sit down with yourself.
2. Start with yourself. Want to experience more love, peace and health in the new year? Start this moment by modeling those behaviors with yourself. Do one activity today that will enhance your wellbeing. Choose one part of your body that you love and repeat that affirmation aloud in front a mirror. (We’re huge supporters of body positivity – here’s more! How Do You Feel Sexy and Yoga and Body Positivity.)
3. Cultivate Gratitude. Instead of asking for what you need and what you want from this new year, ask yourself what you have and what you can give. This means changing your perspective from one of scarcity to abundance. (Read more about that here.) Acknowledging the gifts and joys we already have creates gratitude and from gratitude flows generosity towards others.
4. Say yes more often. One of the first principles of Anusara Yoga is “open to grace,” it means expanding your awareness and establishing a connection to something bigger than yourself. Choose to participate in your community. Say yes to new experiences. Say yes to new friends. Say yes to new ways to love yourself.
5. Let tomorrow take care of itself. Life-changing habits are notoriously difficult to put into action long-term. Rather than thinking about the future and how many days or months you’d like to do something – start with today. Do one thing that will positively impact your life today. After all, the present moment is the only one we really have.
6. Bonus tip: spend some time engaging with a child – they are masters of the present moment!

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Laura McCorry

guest poem by Tiffany Brown

I realized sometime recently that I had lost this.
This ability to sit. Stand. Be. Still.
I am moving, texting, calling, playing.
Always.
I often put down the tech for the joy of real life activity but never for stillness.
Never to be bored.
Never to be unstimulated.
My free moments have been raided. Captured by the little blue f, the Clash of Clans, the internet.
My children will remember me in their childhood and it will often be the view of the top of my head as I look down at a lit screen.
I do not simply sit in the sun. Or on the porch. Or in the car.
I do not give myself time to ponder. To think.
I wonder now what we are losing when we lose this.
Because I am not alone. I am not unique.
We are all losing the art of stillness.
Of simply being.
And with this loss comes a new sense of stillness.
A new sense of connection.
And it is with our smart phone, our kindle, our tablet.
This is now our alone time.
Connected to millions.
I am not sure yet if it is better, or worse.
But I am very aware of it being different.

by Olivia Cecchettini

The Awakened Family 

by: Shefali Tsabary, Ph.D

Summary: I’ve seen yoga used as a tool for radical self-acceptance, helping people become more aware, present and in tune with their lives. Using many techniques familiar to yoga and meditation practitioners, The Awakened Family encourages readers to shift their perspective on parenting. In this way, everyday situations become opportunities for spiritual awakening.

The Awakened Family is Tsabary’s 2nd New York Times best seller. It invites readers (whether or not they are parents) on a journey of enlightenment. From a young age, our families and society tell us what is expected and what is acceptable. In response, sometimes we hide our true selves when that image doesn’t line up with society’s norm.

Why I Love It: I remembered my own feelings as a child of wanting to please my parents but also wanting to stay true to myself. The line between my own ambitions and dreams was easily blurred by the expectations and suggestions from mentors, family members, and friends. This book acknowledged that sometimes we parent our children the way we wish our parents would have acted in the past, reliving or recreating unfulfilled childhood dreams or needs.

Tsabary encourages the reader to co-create a parenting experience with their children, acknowledging the child as co-teacher with valuable input of their own. This opened my mind to a new way of thinking about parenting, which can lead to a new way of acting. This also reminded me of how similar some of Tsabary’s techniques are to a yoga practice. Yoga opens the body to new ways of feeling and moving, which leads to new ways of being within ourselves.

Recommend For: Individuals wishing to understand and connect more with the children in their lives. The Awakened Family is an excellent read for people trying to understand their family, whether that’s the family of their childhood or the family currently living under their roof.

I believe true life transformation comes through education, empowerment and example. As we transform our old habits of thinking about families, we open ourselves to seeing each individual in our lives for who they are in that moment. Allowing people the freedom to just be themselves in the world, without any expectations, may be the most radical form of love I know. May we experience this love ourselves and may we share it with others.

Ciao,
Olivia

Yogi Reads for Children!

Enjoy sharing these titles with your little ones and please comment below to add to our list!

• I Am Yoga, by Susan Verde and Peter Reynolds. A fun loving, very easy read about the practices of yoga. A perfect book for even the youngest of babies.
• Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles, by Thich Nhat Hanh. This book teaches a playful and fun pebble activity that parents and educators alike can use to introduce children to meditation. Recommended for children ages 1-5.
• The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. A powerful story about creativity and surrender. Great for children ages 1-6.

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

guest post by Hannah Faulkner

this article originally published on Half Moon Yoga and Art Blog

Fangs, scales, or tentacles?

Have you fashioned a monster?

From snake-like, dragon-like, bird-like, or octopus-like, humankind has been creating monsters across cultures and time. Ironically, a fear of certain creatures and the unknown is shared on all continents. On the other hand, one of the important characteristics of historical heroes across cultures is being fearless in the face of big and often lethal enemies. This story and message has been told time after time throughout the human experience.

So, why do we still all use our imaginations to provoke fear?

When we imagine or see strange creatures, we often associate them with something that is large, ugly, and frightening. This triggers an unpleasant emotion, anxiety, caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous and likely to cause pain to ourselves or someone dear to us.

Accelerate breathing rate, sweating, and alertness are physiological changes in the body that show fear is activated. This reaction is an inborn response for coping with danger. This primitive mechanism can help people to survive by either running away or fighting the threat.

In the exhibit, Footsteps Through Time: Four Million Years of Human Evolution, we can identify tools, artifacts, body parts, habitats, ideas, and other touchable replicas of early humans, primates, and futuristic cyborgs (part human, part machine). Stepping through this display, we piece together some of their story. From the tool shed, we see an assortment of tools they used to fight their threats. These battles can result in either dinner, a peaceful night’s sleep, or both. Because early humans that were quick to fear dangerous situations were more likely to survive and reproduce, caution is theorized to be a genetic effect.

From an evolutionary perspective, according to Human Brain Evolution and the Neuroevolutionary Time-Depth Principle by Bracha in 2006, different fears may be different adaptations that have been useful in our evolutionary past, developing during different time periods. For example, a fear of heights, may be common to all mammals and developed during the dinosaur or reptile era. Other fears, such as fear of snakes, may be common to all monkeys and apes developed during the mammals and birds era. Additional fears, such as fear of mice and insects, may be unique to humans and developed during the early human paleolithic and neolithic time periods (when mice and insects become important carriers of infectious diseases and harmful for crops and stored foods).

As a result, humankind shares a fear of the unknown. 

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Fear may be politically and culturally manipulated to persuade the citizenry of ideas which would otherwise be widely rejected. For example, sometimes customs and beliefs bring more separation amongst the human race. Only a century ago, “anthropologists at the Museum of Man and the Smithsonian Institution worked together to collect plaster life casts of different racial types. These casts were displayed in San Diego at the 1915 Panama-California Exposition as part of an exhibition about the “progress of man” that presented European Americans as racially superior. (Museum of Man website)”

Previous scholars tried to conclude judgements of species and intelligence levels between people with different colors of skin. However, science has now discovered that over of thousands of years, our DNA has adjusted our skin color to relate to the amount of sun/vitamin D that our bodies should receive at a time. People whose ancestors come from the North need less sun each day, so they could stay warm in shelters, while people from more equatorial regions would stay outside all day and therefore not be oversaturated with vitamin D. The skin pigments adjusted accordingly.

In the exhibit, Race: Are We So Different?, artists like Kate Clark strive to connect the dots between the museum’s archive of face molds to the reality of living and breathing people today. She created a series of face molds from museum visitors to break down the stereotypes from these older social constructs. Today, so many different races have blended and moved around that the results are remarkably more united.

Did you know that we share a connection with all living beings?

According to DNA, we are 50% related to bananas,
98.4 % with chimpanzees, and
99.9% similar to the person next to you
as well as all people in this world now.

It has been theorized that the formation of communities happened because people lived in fear. The result of this fear forced people to unite to fight dangers together rather than fight alone.

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Archaeological discoveries of masks, bowls, and figurines highlight the creativity and beliefs of the ancient Maya. Two plates show figures seated in sukhasana pose. For millennia, people all over the world have been sitting on the ground in cross-legged positions.

Despite its name, sukhasana meaning “easy sitting pose” it doesn’t always feel easy for a lot of people, especially in today’s culture with the convenience of chairs. Using our core strength, we make many small adjustments to distribute our weight evenly over our sitting bones, balance our shoulders directly over our hips, and align our head directly with our spine.

A well-aligned Sukhasana produces the conditions for a relaxed, yet alert, state in both the body and mind. Therefore, sukhasana has the power to draw us deep inside, leading us toward a meditative state and revealing the immense joy present within our hearts.

The word sukha can also mean “happy” or “joyful.”
This name is a reminder of the innate joy that is within all of us.  

Is it surprising then that the opposite of fear is calm, assurance, love, courage, heroism, confidence, faith, happiness, and joy?

We have the power to overcome frightful social constructs through connection with our mind and body, we can breathe through fear! In yoga practice we call these breathing techniques pranayama.

Yogic philosophy is a guide and reference point along the journey made by those who have walked it before us. Thousands of years ago, Patanjali created the 8 Limbed Path as a guide towards true yoga and peace. He suggested the practice of asanas (postures) and pranayama as preparation for Samadhi, the very last limb, which means “to bring together, to merge.” Samadhi refers to union. There is an ending to the separation that is created by the “I” and “mine” of our illusory perceptions of reality. During samadhi, we realize what it is to be an identity without differences, and how a liberated soul can enjoy pure awareness of this pure identity.

In the state of samadhi the body and senses are at rest yet the mind and reason are alert, as if awake. There is only the experience of consciousness and unutterable joy. Samadhi, is the ultimate goal of our spiritual journey on earth. Perhaps enlightenment is not your conscious goal right now, but samadhi is the highest state of consciousness that a human can reach in life.

There is no longer any individuality of our experiences: gender, personal history, family and cultural values, education, etc. In samadhi, that filter is removed to make room for being intensely present without a point of view. In samadhi you perceive all points of view of reality at once, without focusing on any particular one. This concept of samadhi brings with it the possibility of a deep hope about our growth as human beings.

Samadhi can be experienced through our purple Crown Chakra, the energy source, resting on the top of our head. This crown represents the invisible dwelling of God consciousness, our divine nature, this connection to our God Self, from which we came and also are destined to return.

We may have glimpses of this state, but it’s very rare to live entirely in this state. Some people have this experience during prayer or meditation, others during physically bonding, and still others while alone in the woods. Samadhi is awareness of the oneness of the Universe blended with connectedness, forgiveness, joy and love. We need the journey of yoga to help us discover what was present inside us all along.

Be still.
Can you find this connection and oneness within yourself and all living beings?

Join us for Yoga under the Rotunda at the Museum of Man as we explore the story of humanity and reach towards samadhi.

Saturday, November 12th, 8:30-9:30am

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Hannah Faulkner
Guest Writer

Hannah Faulkner draws inspiration from her surroundings and seeks to find relationships between the ordinary and extraordinary daily life through her writing. With 4 years of experience as a flight attendant, and many more travels preceding, Hannah’s curiosity and adventurous spirit have soaked in elements from worldwide cultures while growing in her spirituality. As a yoga and visual arts teacher, she combines her passions to create beauty in a variety of ways through her inspiring stories, bridging connections with deeper yoga philosophy and wellness concepts at HalfMoonYogaandArt.com.

Yoga One is more than just a yoga studio – it’s a family, built from years of dreaming, hard work, and daily presence from co-founders Amy and Michael Caldwell. If you’re looking for a top-notch yoga studio to improve your physical and mental well-being, Yoga One is the place to go. You’ll also find a community of welcoming individuals who are passionate about creating peace within themselves and without.

by Monique Minahan

The birds are chirping even though it’s still dark. This kind of silence – the kind that isn’t devoid of noise but rather full of presence – is the backdrop for my practice today.

Physically located at the level of the throat, vishuddi chakra represents a gateway between body and mind, through which the energy of this chakra can be suppressed or expressed. As an energetic center for communication, creativity, and expression, this chakra is not just about speaking. It’s also about feeling heard.

Instead of beginning with the beeja mantra ham, I explore the concept of toning, where body and breath invite a sound vibration to form, whatever that sound may be. The tones I create symbolize speaking my truth, as opposed to regurgitating truths I’ve been taught by others.

I begin on my exhale breath with a guttural groan. As I refrain from judging or perfecting it, I watch it transition through numerous auditory forms, eventually settling on a cathedral-like ahhhhh.

From the seat of an observer I acknowledge the things I have heard in my lifetime: from my inner dialogue, my conversations with others and what I’ve been taught to be true by people in authority.

And I sense the times I’ve refrained from speaking my truth over the years, whether out of fear of being punished, disapproved of or not understood.

With the intention of freeing my voice both physically and energetically, I begin ujjayi pranayam. I place a finger at the front of my throat, the glottis, and visualize the breath entering there, at the front-body location of vishuddi chakra, known as the chakra kshetram. I place another finger on my cervical spine at the back of my neck, visualizing the breath exiting through the spine, the back-body location of vishuddi chakra. Then I reverse the cycle so it begins at the back of the neck and travels forward. This practice focuses my awareness, breath and entire being on the physical and energetic center of vishuddi.

Vishuddi is often translated as “purification,” but I think of it more as refinement. As a pause between body and mind where I begin to distinguish the chatter of my unconscious mind from a higher level of knowledge. An energetic space where I can observe the way things have been and choose to create a new song for my life.

I sit a little longer listening to the sound of my breath. Before opening my eyes I speak out loud my vision of how my voice contributes to the chorus of life. I hear that truth with my ears and I seal it by bowing my head to my heart.

Part 6 of a 7 part series. You can find part 5 here: Anahata, The Heart.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. Contact: moniqueminahan.com

by Monique Minahan

I place my left hand on my heart and on top of that layer my right.

I don’t move until I feel that familiar thump-thump beating under my hands, as subtle or as strong as it may be. I don’t move until I connect with the aliveness within me.

Anahata, the heart chakra, reminds me of my need for love and my true capacity to love. It asks me to stretch my heart open not just for my friends or family but for every human being on this planet – a major paradigm shift from the more prominent fear-thy-neighbor mentality that threatens to tear our world apart.

This is why I must connect with myself first. I cannot find compassion for anyone else until I find compassion for myself. I cannot welcome another’s pain until I have welcomed my own.

Onto the physical connection of hands to heart, I layer sound. A soft reverberation of anahata’s seed sound yam starts at the middle point of my sternum, this chakra’s kshetram, or front-body location. It travels through my body, piercing the spine, emerging on my back at the actual chakra point, a deep blue flowering like a tattoo over my upper back.

I repeat that cycle until it feels complete, letting the sound shape-shift, becoming a groan or a song or a wail until it naturally tapers into the quietest, softest syllable, matching the beat of my heart.

Alone with my heart I ask her what she has to say. Then I step back to allow her to answer:

Love bigger, she says. You know you can.

She is right but I stay silent. I listen as she questions why I don’t. I give her all my reasons and tell her that the world makes it hard to love sometimes. She reminds me that when I block love from exiting, I also block love from entering. Like breathing out and breathing in.

I begin bhramari pranayama, the humming bee breath. The gentle buzzing sound allows me to listen to my heart without my head thinking of a reply, a response, a defense.

This practice draws me out into the deep waters of vulnerability, the only state of being where I can receive and offer love fully.

As my humming drifts into silence I become aware of akasha, the heart space, and how it shrinks and expands proportionate to my level of fear or love.

I choose love. Not the small love I only offer to those who love me back. The Big Love that does not require reciprocity. The love that is enlarged by our differences instead of threatened by them. The love which the world needs so desperately.

Part 5 of a 7 part series. You can find part 4 here: Manipura, The Navel.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. Contact: moniqueminahan.com

by Olivia Cecchettini

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Translation and Commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda

Summary: Sutra in Sanskrit means “thread.” Each verse of the sutras is a thread in the tapestry of Raja Yoga, a yogic path of meditation and concentration. The Sutras of Pantanjali are at least 1,700 years old and contain ancient wisdom in yoga ethics, meditation, and physical postures. This compilation by Sri Swami Satchidananda not only includes the original Sanskrit alongside the translation, but also personal stories and advice shared from his own spiritual journey.

Why I Love It: Timing is everything. I picked up this book in the past and felt overwhelmed. My intuition knew that it wasn’t the right time yet, so I put it back on the shelf until some months later I began to read it one sutra at a time. I gave each one time to marinate in my thoughts. I really believe the quote, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali uses metaphors and examples that are easy to understand and applicable to a modern lifestyle. I love that the full depth of knowledge contained in each sutra is so accessible because knowledge is power. When we become as curious about our internal landscape as we are about the external world, we are limitless. This book offered me the tools to live a life of introspection, fulfillment, happiness, and peace. It raised and continues to raise my vibration.

Recommended For: Those seeking emotional intelligence, who want to find balance between mind, body and spirit. Understanding The Sutras may come easily, but applying the book’s teaching in your everyday life might be a much harder task. The spiritual methods may be simple, but there could be a lot of work that goes into embodying each step forward.

I’ve found that it’s not by reading that I actually grasp new teachings or new ways of being in the world; it is through experimenting. Practicing, failing, having devotion and patience, and fully participating in my own life is where the learning happens. Being alive and feeling alive can be two very different experiences. My hope is for all to experience the fullness of life.

Ciao,
Olivia

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

by Monique Minahan

I invite my body into some gentle asana next to a dwindling fire. Only after movement do I find the stillness necessary to enter the city of jewels, manipura chakra; mani meaning jewel and pura meaning city. Now focused, I contemplate the literal flames before me then look to my internal place of fire, manipura chakra.

While its frontal location is at the navel, the chakra itself is said to reside at the level of the spine. I guide my attention horizontally there, to the inner wall of the spinal column and whisper the beeja mantra ram until it settles in my bones like the hum of my breath.

I let my inner vision focus around the space of my solar plexus, literally a complex of nerves in the abdomen that delivers the intuitive “gut feeling” or sinking sensation in the pit of our stomach. The fact that there are no bones in front of the solar plexus seems fitting as this chakra embodies willpower and action; an ability to hold one’s self up. It is the center of heat and strength physically and energetically. The Japanese refer to this area of the body as the hara, or “sea of energy.”

Discerning what’s at the heart of this chakra for me requires patience. Below this chakra is the energy that creates me as an individual. Swadhisthana chakra: my ego, self-esteem, my individuality. Above manipura lies anahata chakra, the energy to channel my unique offering to the world. But here is where those two energies meet. Here is where I find empowerment, authenticity and responsibility. Here is where I transition my individuality to universality. Here is where I struggle with holding on and letting go.

I choose the unifying pranayama of breath retention for this chakra; one that balances both prana-vayu (upward and inward energy) and apana-vayu (downward and outward energy).

I visualize the two forces traveling to the navel simultaneously on the inhale. Only when I feel that they have arrived at the same time do I then perform a gentle breath retention before the exhale. I repeat this for a few minutes before letting my breath return to normal.

When I open my eyes, the fire has dwindled to hot embers. I acknowledge the times in my life when I’ve barely had an ember of light to guide me through the darkness. And I acknowledge the times when a full flame has burned through limitations and freed me to be more authentic, empowered and alive.

I bow my head to that.

Part 4 of a 7 part series. You can find part 3 here: Swadhisthana, The Sacrum.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. Contact: moniqueminahan.com

by Olivia Cecchettini

The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul

by: Danielle LaPorte

Summary: Part workbook, part engaging read, The Desire Map may change the way you think and feel about your goals – which in turn will change the way you pursue them. Danielle LaPorte challenges you to look within and to be honest with yourself about your desires. Consciously or unconsciously, many of us hide our true desires by trying to please others or detaching from our own truth. This book will help you identify your core desires and create not just a goal line, but a “soul line” of how you want to feel and be in the world. This is so powerful!

Why I love It: I always wanted the ability to manifest my desires but it never worked for me in the past. The Desire Map helped me identify my Core Desired Feelings (CDF, as LaPorte calls them) and this change in perspective allowed me to see incongruent intentions and actions that were holding me back. When my goals came into alignment with my higher self, I started to see those goals manifest in my life… very cool!

One of the best tools to clarify your intentions and goals is simply to put pen to paper. By writing them out, I began to see which goals and CDFs were the most important to me. Here are a few questions from LaPorte that I thought would be encouraging and fun to share along with my answers:

I crave…. new places, long conversations, sunsets, and sometimes sugar
Other than time or money, what I want more of is… experiences and memories
I need to give myself more permission to be… more reclusive
The colour of joy is… light, darkness, and blue
If I whisper the word bliss… I close my eyes and think of the longest sunset over the ocean
I feel vulnerable when… I share my deepest feelings
In crisis… I breathe, freak out, stay calm, or cry, depends on the day.
When feeling free and strong I tend to… practice a more challenging flow, my personal practice is very gentle at the moment, but every now and then I crave a very strong power class.
If delight were an animal, it would be… the cutest pug ever named Z
I am proud of… completing my Masters in Spiritual Psychology and paying for it as I went along by myself. No debt.

These are just a few of her excellent questions to help you dive deeper in knowing your inner self and your feelings.

Recommended For: Anyone feeling blocked or held back in life, whether it’s mental or physical or emotional. Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world, so all change must start within! This book can help you take an emotional inventory, which will create more awareness of what you can let go and where you can make space for new ways of being and feeling. The Desire Map has been called a dream-fulfilling system that harnesses your soul’s deep desire to feel good – I hope it does just that for you.

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

by Amy Caldwell

This piece originally published on Yoga Digest

Dance

We’ve moved four times in the past year.  I’ve packed and unpacked, made hundreds of lists, sorted and simplified.  At times, amidst the chaos, I’ve wanted to drown myself in a good bottle of red wine (and done so).  Yet I’ve also danced, joyfully and lovingly, with each family member; a slow sweet dance with our eleven year old daughter to Sean Hayes in the kitchen of our tiniest rental, merengue to “Suavemente” with my husband, and our seven year old son learned to waltz near the Christmas tree at our final move, our new (very old) home.

At these times particularly, I remember that which we seek is already at hand. Feeling at “home” wherever we are is our true nature. No matter where we are or what we are doing, that which we seek is already inside each and every one of us…and all around us. However, it seems as humans we often forget this essential truth. That’s where suffering enters. Dancing can help us embrace the present moment.

Find Your Space

Special people, places, situations or activities may help facilitate easier remembrance. Some meditation teachers recommend looking at the sky to reconnect to the big energy. Often being in nature or resting in Savasana (corpse pose a.k.a. final resting posture) after a balanced yoga practice can open the doors of perception to the deep peace of what being “home” feels like.

For me, as strange as it may seem, Coachella music festival is one of those places where deeper connection happens. A sea of diverse peoples, sights, smells, and of course sounds – Coachella can be akin to world traveling. Although it’s not far in terms of actual distance from my San Diego home, it is worlds away from my day-to-day experience (caring for a family and owning / operating a yoga studio).

Get Out of the Rut

While perhaps one might think, “Ah, yoga teacher, her life must be fancy free…” I encounter the same responsibilities as many adults. I pay bills, aim to conscientiously raise my children and maintain a healthy relationship with my husband of 20 years while managing teachers and staff, growing our business and making it a priority to maintain my own yoga practice and self-care.

In our day-to-day lives, there is often a routine, a rhythm that becomes like a groove on a vinyl record (“samskara” or “samsara” aka conditioned existence or stored mental and physical aversions).  When we step out into a new or different situation or environment, there is no blueprint. This phenomenon can provide an opportunity to be connected to our child-like, open presence. So for me, an out of the ordinary experience such as Coachella is like a reset button, reminding me to wake up and truly embrace the moment.

Listen to What Speaks to You

One of my first yoga teachers advised, pay attention to that which speaks to you. I agree it is essential question to ask our selves, “Where do I feel connected to the ‘big energy’? What helps me feel at ‘home’?” Then equally important, is to really listen for your unique personal answer.  Another technique to arrive in the present (where, of course, we already are) is to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and fully pay attention to the complete inhale and complete exhale – why not give it a try and notice how you feel (so simple but effective!).

Yoga practice is a useful tool to help us recognize our connectedness to each other, all living things and ourselves.  It isn’t about changing anything or adding anything. And, we definitely don’t need to constantly try new things to feel enlivened. But we can fully enjoy the many journeys of our life while remembering the comfort of our inner “home”.

So whether at Coachella with your best friends immersed in a sea of 90,000 plus pulsating, dancing, smiling fellow humans, on your yoga mat, or even driving your car, as my favorite teacher Diana Beardsley says, how wonderful “that every moment is an opportunity for ecstatic reunion.”

– Originally published at: http://yogadigest.com/ecstatic-reunion-tips-remembering-connectedness-present-moment/#sthash.oIfcgqjc.dpuf

 

Head Yoga Teacher and Co-Founder of Yoga One, Amy Caldwell has dedicated herself to the practice, study and teaching of yoga since discovering its joys and benefits in 1997.

by Monique Minahan

The womb. Love is made here. Life is made here.

Swadhisthana is the seat of our right to feel and represents the duality (and sometimes dueling nature) of separation versus attachment, two concepts I became intimately familiar with while carrying and birthing my son.

A chakra often characterized for its sexuality, I find its watery dimensions to be layered with both humanity and divinity. Growing up in a society that exploits sex and a religion that denied it, I observed it too often reduced to one or the other. The sexual energy this chakra represents spans desire, sensation, pleasure, need and emotion. Much like water changes form to become ice or snow, this chakra’s energy can shrink or expand commensurate to our awareness of it.

As the life inside me grew from hiranyagarbha, the universal womb where all is in its potential state, into my baby, I began to tune in to this chakra on a physical level like never before. The process of creating and carrying life plunged me down into my fears, opened up new depths of emotion, and baptized me more fully into my humanity. It didn’t wash away the ugly or the shameful or the unacceptable – but they were revealed to me without the lens of judgement. I could feel it all, be it all, allow it all.

The space of the womb expands greatly in weight and size during pregnancy. Once baby is born the energetic space is still expansive, but the weight is gone. For weeks I stacked heavy blankets on top of my pelvis to physically weight down swadisthana chakra. The sudden weightlessness felt ungrounding to me, as if the watery energy was struggling to find its boundaries after the enormous experience of childbirth.

I choose a simple mantra for my practice today, the beeja mantra vam.

Pressing on the chakra’s front-body location with one finger, the pubic symphysis, and with another on its back-body mirror image, at the level of the sacrum, I recall that during labor the downward pressure in this space was enormous, an oceanic surge of power I didn’t know I possessed. I release the memory but keep the feeling of intensity in my body as I repeat the mantra.

I free my hands but not my attention. Emotions, memories and judgments surface and I practice allowing them instead of trying to repress them. Some days my mind is as wild as the ocean and all I can do is cling to the anchor of the breath while it swirls me around and around. Today my thoughts feel peacefully contained, like a river flowing downstream content within its banks.

As I end my meditation I return to hiranyagarbha. Some call it god, others universal consciousness. While I cannot grasp its mystery, I can understand it on a level that does not require words. Just presence.

Part 3 of a 7 part series. You can find part 2 here: Mooladhara, The Root.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. Contact: moniqueminahan.com

by Amy Caldwell

Meditation

What is the point of all this if not to be here now?
How can I remember sooner when lost?
Remember more often?

Portals into knowing slip away
separation, loneliness, depression, anxiety
sometimes accompany the loss

Running doing running doing

I want to remain in being
in peace
in oneness

I want to trust, completely
to learn how to dance gracefully with fear

To love with abandon
this moment
everything
right now
always

 

Head Yoga Teacher and Co-Founder of Yoga One, Amy Caldwell has dedicated herself to the practice, study and teaching of yoga since discovering its joys and benefits in 1997.

by Olivia Cecchettini

“Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life”

by Judith Hanson Lasater

Summary: You don’t have to go to a mountaintop in order to have a spiritual experience. Living Your Yoga makes it clear that spirituality can be encountered anywhere, at any time. I appreciate that this is the biggest lesson Judith Lasater wants to share because it is simple and profound.

Lasater provides examples of everyday situations that become the basis of lessons, learning and growth. Honoring the wisdom of the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, Lasater shares off-the-mat practices to guide you into deeper relationships with yourself, your family, friends, and the world.

Why I Love It: Living Your Yoga is a beautiful reminder to slow down, stay present and practice gratitude. In our fast-paced world, life can so easily feel overwhelming. It is more important than ever to meditate and discover the place of wisdom within. This book reminds the reader that there is nowhere you can physically go to find that place. Instead, you can use the tools of meditation and present-moment awareness to rediscover what is already within you.

Recommended For: This book is a great foundation for individuals starting the yogic path; someone ready to cross the bridge from the mind of yoga into its heart.

Living Your Yoga was given to be by a friend during my first Vinyasa 200 hour teacher training and I absolutely loved it. It opened my eyes to new ways of being compassionate with myself and taught me how to access a place of spirituality more readily in my everyday life.

I hope you enjoy it and I invite you to pass it along when you’ve finished. Just the same way it came into my life, let’s keep the spirit of giving going. Ciao!

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

by Monique Minahan

I sit on the Earth herself and hold a smooth rock in the palm of each hand. I dug them up when we moved into our house and I use them when I need extra grounding, like today.

Mooladhara chakra is rooted in survival and threatened by fear. It’s located at the literal “root” of our bodies; the Sanskrit word moola meaning “root” or “foundation.” Its location differs for men and women. For me, I visualize it deep in the cervix. 

“Lammmmmmm. Lammmmmm.”

I start with the beeja mantra Lam because sound has always calmed and focused me on a deep level very quickly. The mantra lets me start low. From there I travel within. Deeper than I want to go. 

I allow my thoughts to keep running, and for the moment I descend into the breath. It changes from a natural breath to ujjayi pranayam, and I focus on it like my life depends on it. Because in so many ways it does. 

Once I feel grounded here, the rocks heavy in my hands and my breath steady and full, I feel safe to explore. 

Now I can dance with fear. Now I can speak with fear directly. Now I can feel my fear without being swept away. I’ve been running from her ever since she showed her face during a recent illness.

Sitting with my fear is uncomfortable. It is sticky. It is all mud and no lotus. I want to run but I stay put. I stay present. I keep breathing, I keep observing, I keep listening.

Eventually I open my eyes for nasikagra drishti, nose-tip gazing. This is one of the traditional meditations for mooladhara and inviting my attention to hover just above the skin anchors my vision, which helps steady my mind.

Before emerging, I come back into my breath.

I visualize each successive exhale traveling down through the root of my body, into the ground beneath me, winding its way through layers of earth and liquid until it reaches the intensely hot inner core of our planet.

Then I imagine my inhale drawing all that earth energy back up, through layers of earth and liquid, up through the ground beneath me and into my root chakra.

Nothing outside me has changed, but something inside has shifted. Like the rocks I dug from the earth, I sense my fear has been unearthed, acknowledged and respected. In the pause before I move, I savor this moment of feeling both connected and free, grounded and lightened, human and being.

Part 2 of a 7 part series. You can find Part 1 here: Ajna, The Third Eye.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. Contact: moniqueminahan.com

 

by Laura McCorry

Don’t do yoga. Step onto your mat with your bare feet. Breathe. Pick a yoga pose, any pose. But don’t do it; at least not the way in which you’re accustomed. Arrange your arms and legs and body to take up the outer form of the pose, then wait.

Breathe. Feel the yoga pose spread from your center and push out into the edges of your body, refining. Don’t move so much as expand by millimeters wherever it tells you to make space.

Start on the outside. Soften skin, then muscle. Then ligaments and tendons and bones. Let go everywhere except those isolated muscles needed to hold you steady.

Then go inside. Soften your thoughts, your feelings. Can you let go of your fears? Allow a thin mist to drape over your dreams and ambition.

Still don’t practice the yoga pose. Allow the yoga pose to practice you, to work on you and through you.

You’ll know when it’s finished. You’ll feel the weight of your body humming the same low tones as the rooted trees in the forest. You’ll become aware of your own absolute stillness. This is what comes after.

When Yoga becomes subject and you become the object acted upon, what comes after is the real fruit of your practice. After exertion, the deep peace of stillness. After the rough seas of life, the wide, clear expanse of your own soul.

 

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Monique Minahan

I start with ajna, the third eye chakra. It might seem like any chakra practice should proceed from bottom-up, but working with the lower chakras can dig up some dirt… so to speak. Connecting with ajna first helps me step back and observe the meditation process as it unfolds.

“Ommmmm,” I chant it slowly, visualizing the sound vibrating at the center of my eyebrows, waiting until it fades completely to begin the next one.

Each chakra has what’s called a beeja mantra or ‘seed sound.’ Om is the seed sound for ajna chakra.

This practice is settling and slow. Questions about my vision begin to float to the surface. Literally my vision (I started wearing glasses at 7 years old); metaphorically my vision (where do I see myself in five years); and spiritually my vision (who do I think I am and who am I really?)

Instead of reaching for the answers with my mind… I just sit with the questions, letting the om soothe my need to know, my need to define myself.

Each chakra has a color associated with it. Ajna is a two-petalled silver-grey lotus flower. I imagine silver beginning as a small dot of color in my belly and watch as it expands through organs and limbs until my whole body is filled with silver, until I am radiating silver. Until the sound of om and my silver being fill all my senses.

The oms naturally begin to wane. The silver color dims and fades completely.

The silence that follows is so crisp, so clear. As if I can hear the everything in the nothingness.

I blink my eyes open slowly, pausing as I take in my surroundings with my actual eyes, grateful for the ability to see where I’ve been, where I am now, and to discern my next step clearly.

This is the first of a 7-part series on the chakras. Check back soon for the next installment!

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. Contact: moniqueminahan.com

by Olivia Cecchettini

“The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga”

by Bernie Clark

Summary: The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga provides a great in-depth look at the practice and benefits of Yin Yoga. All forms of yoga provide benefits on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels but Yin Yoga is practiced at a reduced pace. Poses are held for up to five minutes at a time, which allows deep access to the body’s connective tissues, ligaments, fascia, joints, bones, energetic channels, meridians, nerves and even the blood system. Now that’s some serious body work!

The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga includes break downs of over 30 yin poses, making this book the perfect tool to help you slow down and bring your home practice to life.

Why I Love It: This book helps me slow down, a lesson that has never been easy. Over the past year and especially in the past six months, my life has become very full as I take on more classes and responsibilities. I couldn’t be more excited about all of this growth, but it can feel overwhelming at times. A Yin Yoga practice helps me stay grounded, balanced and clear. 

Recommended For: Anyone who needs some time for themselves (and isn’t that everyone during the holiday season?)

I remember taking a Yin Yoga class with a friend a few years ago. I thought it was so wonderful to finally slow down and be in my own energy. She, on the other hand, said the hour long class had felt like five hours! She found it so challenging to stay still and focus on her breath.

Whether you can relate to me or my friend, the benefits of Yin Yoga are still the same: improved range of motion, ease from chronic pain and an excellent opening guide to seated meditation. My suggestion is to try different styles of yoga and be open to new experiences. Welcome the ebbs and flows in everything you practice and remember, “life is a journey, not a destination.” Hope you enjoy taking some time to connect with yourself this month!

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

guest post by Missy DiDonato

During this month of November, we’re reminded to give thanks. I count myself lucky that I’m grateful for my family, friends, my body and breath. These things are so important, but also obvious in a way.

I was taught to look for the good in everything. This year, I’m trying to find the positives in the unpleasant and downright annoying experiences of life. Here’s my top three unexpected situations I’m grateful for this season:

TRAFFIC: The sound of the word alone probably sparks an ugly feeling inside you, as it does me. Like many other San Diegans, I drive a lot, so being stuck in traffic happens often. I use traffic and driving in general to practice patience and compassion. I’ve come to the realization that no one wants to be in traffic – we all have destinations and other places we’d rather be. So instead of complaining and yelling (which is my first instinct) I simply put on some mood music and try to enjoy just being. I am grateful for the time to relax and listen to good music.

JERKS ON YELP: We recently got a yelp review that rocked my world! The guy was a pretentious asshole who didn’t have any traction for his opinion of the teacher whose class he almost attended. My first response was to be defensive, angry and sad. After I calmed down, I asked myself why a rude comment on the internet upset me so much. I realized it was because I have created a life filled with people who are supportive and non-judgmental. I am grateful for my family, friends and colleagues who show me their love on a daily basis.

DIVORCE: Now this one is pretty unique to my experience. Divorce may have had a different impact on your life. The divorce in my life happened to both of my parents before I was born. They were both married and divorced before they met each other, so I wouldn’t be here without it! They both had children with their previous partners, which helped create the large family that I have today. I embraced their exes as parents, so I got double the love. My second mom has taken me around the world which has been a huge influence on who I am today. My dad’s ex-wife remarried a man who was also divorced and had two sons whom I now consider my brothers. We are lucky because there is a mutual respect for all the ex and current spouses. As hard as it can be for families to separate and recombine, I am grateful for divorce because it has given me the loving family that I have today.

Missy DiDonato
Guest Writer

Missy began practicing yoga at home when she was fourteen, following along to a DVD in her living room. She has since completed two separate 200 hour Yoga Teacher Trainings with UCSD and Yoga One. Missy loves helping others find their own yogic path and students of all levels appreciate her warm and friendly teaching style.

by Laura McCorry

As a new yoga teacher, I was in love with everything yoga. I wanted to soak it all in and learn as much as I possibly could so that when my training was over, I could go out into the world and help people move and feel better in their bodies.

I diligently memorized all the Sanskrit names and their English translations. I practiced saying both names whenever I taught a class (and I’m a bit embarrassed to think how many Sanskrit names I’ve now forgotten). But there was one pose, one name, for which I always used the Sanskrit: savasana.

After yoga and namaste, it’s probably the most-recognized Sanskrit word, so you can get away with not saying its translation. I’ve used “final relaxation” to explain savasana in many classes. But here are the words I’ve avoided saying for so many years:

Corpse Pose.

I was reminded of the proper translation this week. I had just finished leading a restorative yoga class and everyone in the room was lying down on their mats, not moving. This is the most relaxing part of yoga, the culmination of the previous hour and the time when the body receives the greatest benefit from the practice.

And I remembered that savasana meant corpse pose and I felt a chill go up my spine to see a room full of people, essentially “practicing” death. In that moment, I realized how much easier it was for me to be the teacher, to sit on my mat and stay “awake” so I could guide them out of savasana when the time was right.

My level of comfort with death ranges from “not very” to “nope, this is not even a little bit okay.” And I know I’m not alone. Our culture pushes death outside the realm of public discourse. We cover it up in medical jargon and leave death in the hands of hospice and the funeral home – anything to create some distance between us, the living, and the-thing-we-fear-above-all- fears.

So there’s something profoundly radical about the practice of yoga ending each session with the practice of death.

It flies in the face of popular culture which would rather pay attention to the youngest, newest, brightest thing under the sun. Which helps explain why savasana at some of the trendier, more corporate-feeling yoga studios can be so short – sometimes no more than two minutes.

How long savasana should last is a matter of debate in the yoga world, but the goal is long enough for you (your essence/spirit/soul) to surrender you (the body/mind). To truly practice corpse pose, you must recognize your Self as separate from your body. This acknowledgement can take years to manifest because we are very attached to our bodies in both a literal and psychological sense.

One of yoga’s primary tenets is the yama of non-attachment, aparigraha. It is natural for us to cling to things, to hold on tight to the people we love and the experiences of our body. But yoga teaches that You are not your body. In order to be free, to experience samadhi, or union with the divine, you must let go. Surrender. And yes, even practice death.

I believe that fear and discomfort can only ever hold us back from the fullness of life. We are meant to be alive. We are meant to fully enjoy this beautiful world and to live abundantly. I hope that over time, this practice of yoga continues to mold me, body, mind and spirit until I can one day acknowledge death without fear. Until the practices of living and dying can peacefully coexist that I might move with greater ease through this experience of life. And I wish the same for you.

**This post was partly inspired by Contributing Writer, Monique Minahan’s piece When I’m Gone Please Don’t Have a Funeral on Huffington Post. Thank you Monique for always writing from your heart!

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Laura McCorry

One of my teachers used to begin class with two simple questions: Where are you?

At work, at home, at the grocery store. At yoga, waiting for class to begin. So many thoughts and plans running through my head. My body carried me to class, through the motions of walking, driving, talking, sitting, without any special notice or conscious direction.

Where are you?

His voice was clear and strong. The entire class answers back with one voice:

Here.

Then the next question: What time is it?

Morning, afternoon, after work. I’m in the middle of something, still working it out, making plans. Thinking about someone, wishing, worrying. Early with nothing to do then running late and feeling anxious. The day slips away hour by hour until I rush to make it before they close the door and hastily sit down on my mat.

What time is it?

The room has grown quiet and still. I’m aware of everyone in the room and how our disparate thoughts and experiences have all been submerged into this one experience, together. We answer:

Now.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Laura McCorry

What’s weighing you down? That idea pushed to the back of your mind that hasn’t left. Maybe it’s been days or months. Maybe you’ve been thinking about this thing you’d like to change for years.

Sometimes we let ourselves be defined by conditions and labels that have grown up over the years like weeds. They come from family, co-workers or friends – sometimes they have even been planted by our own hand in the night. The weeds grow up around the bloom of your true self and cut off the light.

You are the gardener of your soul. Approach your inner landscape fearlessly and take stock of everything growing there.

Keep the healthy growth: the relationships still in bloom that bring you joy, those habits and ideas that feed your passions with their abundant produce.

Prune back anything that doesn’t fit your true self, the person you’d like to be. Clear away doubt, anger, resentment and guilt. Let go of old sorrows that have ripened and fallen to the ground. Dig down into the earth of your being and rake away the last remnants of any bad seed.

These things weigh on your heart because they are not rightfully a part of you. A gardener’s work is never done. Each day you must go out and pull up small intrusions. Each day you must show up and begin again.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Monique Minahan

We all wear our stories in some way or another, don’t we? They make us who we are (and sometimes keep us from becoming who we can be if we let them define us too narrowly.)

I started making what I call “Life Malas” because each marker is placed for a life event. I used yellow jade for manipura chakra (solar plexus), green jade for anahata chakra (heart), green ruby zoisite for sahasrara chakra (crown), and a spiral shell I found on the beach because it feels like home.

I made this one for me, so I placed the green jade marker beads at the times when my life and heart were busted open. Marker 1 is at 25, the age I was when Nathan died. Marker 2 is at 37, when my baby was born. Marker 3 is at 98, the age of my great-grandmother, born in 1917, who is breathing her last breaths this year.

Stringing the beads under the darkness of a new moon, it occurred to me that at one of these beads I will pass away myself (and that this life is not a dress rehearsal, so I’ve got to live it right the first time.)

There are 108 beads in a mala, and if I get to see bead 98 like my grandma, I’ll count myself very lucky. I’ll still count myself lucky to see 39 this month.

I made this mala necklace to remind me that both loss and life are part of the same cycle. They coexist beautifully if I let them, and if I practice embracing both rather than inviting one and rejecting the other, I get to experience the full depth of being human instead of just skimming the surface.

My life mala is an outward representation of the integrity, cohesiveness and beauty that emerges when I allow every experience to support the next one. Broken or fragmented as they appear at times, when I view them all together they form this fragile but beautiful thing called life.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. 

Read more from Monique on her blog, mindfulmo.com

 

MC Hammer may have said it best, and perhaps could have been referring to Dina Weldin when he rapped, “too legit to quit.” Dina is legit. She is a warm, caring, positive and authentic individual. She is beautiful inside and out and is far too legit to quit being wonderful. Step onto your mat with Dina Weldin this month on Wednesdays at 7pm for a mixed level Flow class. Check out our full class schedule here.

1. What is your favorite style of yoga?

Right now my favorite style of yoga is Vinyasa. I began with Iyengar and thoroughly appreciate that style but I enjoy the constant flow and movement with my breath during a Vinyasa practice. It is more of a challenge for me to control my breath when in constant movement so I appreciate that aspect of Vinyasa as well.

2. What first attracted you to yoga when you began your practice?

My mom was a yogi for most of my teenage life and I grew up watching her practice and hearing all about how much she enjoyed this thing called “yoga.” My mom convinced me to go to a class with her when I was home on a college break and just like that, I was moved. It wasn’t about the physical aspect for me. I felt the connection of mind, body, and breath in yoga and it was unlike anything I had experienced in any other physical exercise. I also left the class feeling more sore than every before – talk about using muscles you never knew you had!

3. What is your favorite yoga pose right now?

This changes with any given day! I love a good headstand and being upside down on most days. On this very day in my practice, I would say blossoming lotus pose. It is a perfect mix of balance, hip opening, and the beauty a lotus flower represents in general is inspiring to me. Not to mention, every time I teach this pose, I can’t help but smile at all my students that really look like little lotus flowers blooming! It makes me so happy to see.

4. What pose is still the most challenging?

Handstand! It gets me every time! You can find me in a handstand for no longer than 10 seconds before I lose my balance (and that’s on a good day!) Practice, practice, practice. This is what I keep repeating to myself when I try my handstands. It will come when it’s time.

5. If you were an animal, you would be: a DOG! Cliche, I know. But when I look at my dog and she looks back at me, I know she can understand what I’m saying. Dogs are on another level, far wiser than us humans at times I’m sure!

6. Describe what yoga means in your life using just 6 words: Unity with our mind, body, & breath

7. What might your students be surprised to learn about you?

I have been to Egypt every other year since I was born and I can speak Arabic! I have ten piercings (all in my ears!) but I rarely wear earrings in all of them. Oh, and me and forward folds are not friends! We are learning to get along though, slowly but surely.

8. Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for new students?

Practice every moment you can – at home, without a mat, in a park, in a studio, in the airport, wherever – just practice! Without practice it is difficult to achieve that sense of true connection. Never feel the need to push your body any further than it wants to go. Really listen to your body.

Most importantly, take a minute each and every day to listen to yourself breathe. That is the true indicator of what your body is feeling. If your breath is labored, speeding up, or interrupted, take a moment to sit in child’s pose and reconnect. Always remember:

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.” – Thích Nh?t H?nh

by Olivia Cecchettini

“Be Love Now: The Path of the Heart”

by Ram Dass

Summary: Part memoir and part spiritual guide to simple living, Be Love Now offers a fascinating glimpse into Ram Dass’s path following his personal Guru, Marahaji-ji. Guru, in the West, is a word laden with many connotations. In the East, the word still carries an energy of devotion and service. Be Love Now is the third book in a three part series, beginning with Be Here Now (written 30 years before this book) and Still Here, written after Dass suffered a stroke.

Ram Dass’s message remains the same: just BE. Be without judgment, be without attachment, but most of all, just be.

Dass reflects on his journey through India and the deep, profound effects it had on his life. Dass describes the power that can be cultivated from surrendering the ego and following one’s heart. Be Love Now challenges the reader to dig through his or her layers of consciousness and find deeper truth, meaning, and purpose in their life.

Why I love It: I especially enjoyed reading about Ram Dass’s spiritual journey, his words felt more relatable and human than in his previous books. He writes in detail about a six month period when he lived in an ashram and learned to completely surrender to his Guru’s guidance. I found it easy to connect with his true humanness as he shared private opinions and stories about Marahaji-ji and their time together.

Marahaji-ji is a guru in the tradition of Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion and love. I attended the yoga festival Shaktifest in Joshua Tree, California, and though I’d been in years past, I noticed for the first time the images of Marahaji-ji everywhere as a way to stay connected to his energy and message. It was so powerful to make that connection through yoga lineages.

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

When Mantra Mag asked Yoga One studio owners Amy and Michael Caldwell to define love, they didn’t disappoint!

“Love is cheering for and chaperoning a newly hatched sea turtle along its perilous journey to the sea, swatting away the horde of predatory birds while conscious that I am depriving them of breakfast. Love is doing what feels right in the moment with an awareness and appreciation that there are other equally valid, often opposing, viewpoints.” – Michael Caldwell

“A friend said, ‘Love is an action of deeply paying attention to your life.’ For me, conscientious love also means continually opening our hearts when life is easily flowing and amidst challenging circumstances. Love in the context of close personal relationships allows us to practice. Through our experiences of connection, hopefully we remember love is our true nature.” – Amy Caldwell
Thank you Mantra Mag for the feature!

 

by Monique Minahan

I don’t teach you yoga.
You are yoga.

You are that sweet exhale,
that expansive inhale
that pause in between.

You are that unified breath,
that connected mind and body,
the observer and the observed.

What I teach you is how to remember
because we forget.

I forget.

So I invite you back to your breath
back to your body
back to you.

You accept my invitation
but it’s not me you are saying yes to.

It’s you.

You say yes to you.

Yes to your inhale,
Yes to your exhale,
Yes to your tight hamstrings,
Yes to your aching heart.

Yes to your wobbles,
Yes to your strength,
Yes to your past,
Yes to your Now.

Yes to your failures,
Yes to your triumphs,
Yes to your hopes,
Yes to your dreams.

Yes to your anger,
Yes to your peace,
Yes to your fear,
Yes to your courage.

Yes to you.

You say yes to you. I see that happen before my eyes and that is why I bow to you.

It is my privilege to witness your return every time

to your mat
to your heart
to you.

Namaste.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. 

Read more from Monique on her blog, mindfulmo.com

by Monique Minahan

Early on in my yoga practice I would often experience an emotional reaction during corpse pose (savasana). Lying still, I would get a lump in my throat and suddenly find tears quietly rolling down my cheeks. I didn’t know it at the time, but my yoga practice was releasing long-held grief from my body.

When grief and recovery from trauma have been processed by the mind, life may begin to seem approachable again and many people feel they can move forward; but the same processes of recovery and healing are essential to the body as well.

Feeling a strong emotional release in a yoga pose or during final relaxation is far from uncommon. One of yoga’s most powerful side effects is its ability to release and heal the BodyMind. Not just the body. Not just the mind. The combined, interconnected, undivided BodyMind.

BodyMind is a term coined by Dr. Candace Pert, a neuropharmacologist who pioneered scientific research into the field of Mind-Body Medicine, advancing our understanding of what are called neuropeptides, or messenger molecules that carry information from the mind to the body and back again through body fluids. These neuropeptides are found throughout our bodies in the heart, sexual organs, and the limbic system, to name a few.

Dr. Pert breaks this concept down with an example of the gut. The entire lining of our intestines is lined with these particular transmitters. She posits, “It seems entirely possible to me that the richness of the receptors may be why a lot of people feel their emotions in their gut – why they have a ‘gut feeling.’”

She further comments: “I think unexpressed emotions are literally lodged in the body. The real true emotions that need to be expressed are in the body, trying to move up and be expressed and thereby integrated, made whole, and healed.”

When we move our bodies through yoga, our BodyMind is allowed expression. It can begin to release emotion and tension that’s been stuck in our bodies for a long period of time, perhaps even years after we think we’ve mentally processed the event.

Exploring these heavy emotions in our yoga practice, whether intentionally or accidentally, might feel intimidating. Resourcing is a technique that helps us stay present during uncomfortable or overwhelming sensations by finding and connecting to a resource, such as the breath or one of the five senses. This connection works like an anchor for a boat and we can begin to observe sensations safely, without fear of getting lost in the sea of our experience.

Join me this Mother’s Day at Yoga One for a special commemorative practice where we will explore three ways to use resourcing with yoga, as well as learn how to identify where emotions reside in our individual bodies. We will focus specifically on how to apply these tools when dealing with loss and grief.

This practice is for anyone interested in learning how to use yoga as a supportive healing modality, but especially for anyone who has lost their mother and would welcome a supportive, safe, non-judgemental environment to honor their mother on Mother’s Day.

Loss is something we will all experience in our lifetime. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when. Our yoga practice will not show us a way out of grief, but it can show us a way through and support us through every stage of healing.

Note: If this is something you’re interested in, but find the cost prohibitive or cannot attend for some other reason, please contact Yoga One to arrange a way for you to receive the information: 619-294-7461 or email info@yogaonesandiego.com

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. 

Read more from Monique on her blog, mindfulmo.com

by Sarah Clark

I’ve come to think of my eight-limbed yoga practice a lot like the image of the bodhisattva Avalokite?vara from the Buddhist tradition. This figure, said to embody compassion, is often depicted with many, sometimes innumerable arms. Each one of these arms and subsequent hands holds a different kind of tool – the tool that will be just right for the task; and that right tool depends on the circumstance.

Like many westerners, I was introduced to yoga through asana, or the practice of yoga postures. Asana is the third limb of yoga in the eight-limbed path. For a long while, my practice was characterized solely by the time I spent on my yoga mat, sweating, moving and breathing (working with the energy of breathing is the fourth limb, by the way: pranayama). It was glorious.

But after awhile, I felt other seeds starting to grow. My posture and breathing practices were effecting other aspects of my life. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I felt as though I was becoming more patient and calm. I could feel these seeds sprouting tendrils that were reaching down into deeper parts of me that earnestly valued compassion, kindness and peace. I was hungry to understand more about what was happening.

I found teachers, or maybe they found me, that were eager to foster my deeper growth. I started learning about the eight-limbed path and I started to ask myself hard questions and take on new practices. I wanted to know: what is this practice for? Why bother? Why, exactly, am I dedicating all this time in my life to practice? Where is it leading? What are my truest, deepest values?

The beauty of the eight-limbed path is that it dealt with the whole of me. The first limb, the yamas, profoundly changed my life. The yamas are comprised of five ethical practices that help us navigate the sticky world of relationships. We activate these yamas in our actions and speech, in how we listen, and how we work with our thoughts. We wrestle with the intention to cause no harm (ahimsa), to be honest (satya), and to let go of our tendencies for greed (aparigraha).

I discovered that the other limbs were equally potent. I learned how to cultivate patience when yoga postures and everyday life was high in intensity (practice of tapas) and how to find contentment in my being regardless of circumstance (santo?a). These are part of the second limb, called the niyamas.

I learned to harness the subtly of my breath, and how to savor its energetic effects with more nuance as I dove deeper into the fourth limb of pranayama.

I learned how to work with my sensory experiences and to let go of them through the fifth limb of pratyahara so that I was able to psychologically settle down. This paved the way to being able to mentally stop running around and running away in my mind: that’s the sixth limb, dharana.

I began a quiet, seated meditation practice, limb number seven, dhyana. I took a deeper look at how I constructed my reality. Now, I sit every day. And samadhi, the eighth limb, opens up in moments. This is the limb of being fully integrated in my life, just how it is. It circles me back around to the first limb again, begging that I use these deeper insights and growing wisdom in the actions I take in my life.

The eight-limbed path has not led me to some constant state of bliss or ended world hunger. But its richness is a scaffolding through which I stay more steadily connected with what is most meaningful in my life. It keeps my eye on the target of living a life of kindness, compassion, steadiness, and love. And it is whole. It addresses my entire, interwoven body-energy-mind-heart.

As a practitioner, and especially as a yoga teacher, I owe it to myself and to the world to take on a more whole practice; it’s critical I encourage my practice to mature. We live in a complex, interconnected world, and so we need a wide range of tools in our tool belt! I hope to see us as a wider yoga community embrace the fullness of yoga through all eight limbs, so that this path can more meaningfully address the real needs of this particular culture at this particular time. The way that actually shows up in our life is entirely dependent on each of our unique circumstances! And, allowing a whole practice to shake up our world honors the precious opportunity that is being alive.

If you want to learn more about the eight limbs of yoga and how they can enhance your life and your practice, join me on Sunday, May 3rd at noon at Yoga One for an in-depth workshop, 8 Limbs for a Whole Being. For more details and to register, go here.

Sarah Clark has been teaching yoga since 2006. She currently offers Teacher Training, workshops, private instruction, and group classes throughout San Diego, CA. Her primary teachers include Michael Stone, Joe Miller, Christie Clark, Judith Lasater & Cyndi Lee. 

by Laura McCorry

What does it mean to practice yoga when your physical practice is greatly diminished or taken away entirely from illness or injury? 

Yoga grew out of a tradition that includes eight limbs (or tenets) for a complete practice. Asana, or the physical postures of yoga, is just one of those eight limbs. The others show up during yoga practice as well and contain the philosophical groundwork of the ancient practice. (You can do your own search to learn more or come to our upcoming 8 Limbs for a Whole Being workshop on May 3rd.)

I’ve experienced long withdrawals from my physical practice due to long-term injury and more recently, a period of several weeks wherein I’ve caught one virus after another. Neither condition is any fun because you’d much rather be well and able to move your body freely.

So what does it mean to be a yogi who cannot practice asana?

I started out feeling very sorry for myself and disconnected from most forms of yoga displayed on the internet. I didn’t want to see photos of handstands on the beach or “inspirational” videos of complicated pose transitions. But this is the showy side of yoga and if you dig deeper, there’s so much more.

Physical limitations give you many opportunities to practice non-attachment, or aparigraha. You must let go of what you used to be able to do. You learn to guard your heart against jealousy when others do what you cannot. There is always a choice in how and whether you respond to any given circumstance. Non-attachment means letting go of feeling bitter and lost and broken.

Yoga becomes a more internal experience. During asana practice, teachers often tell you to listen to your body. Without asana, you must listen to your state of mind. (tweet that) The lessons learned on your mat become even more important when you cannot use the gross tool of your body to process them. The mind is slipperier and harder to control.

I found new ways to measure my yoga practice. I could no longer count the number of sun salutations I did in class, but I could ask myself if I spent some time sitting in silence. Did I make the most loving decisions I could make? How long was I able to forget about myself while being present for another? Sometimes yoga meant doing something just because it brought joy into the world.

If you really practice yoga outside the studio and off your mat, you realize that you always have your breath. I learned to make time just to breathe consciously. This was my practice – to be aware of my breath moving in and out of the body, sustaining my life. To allow myself to be carried away by the sensation of breath until the mind gives up listing its grievances and to-do lists. Then you move beyond the awareness of breathing and for an unknowable space of time, you simply are. This is the good stuff. This is samadhi, or oneness with the universe, that all yoga practice seeks to achieve.

Asana is wonderful. It can help transform both body and mind. But it’s not the only path. If you must take a break from asana, do not mourn it for too long. The real work of becoming who you are meant to be is internal and the other limbs of yoga can reveal the process. Stay connected to yourself and to the experience of each moment. This is how yoga moves with you and carries you through times of adversity.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

guest post by Yoga One student, Jill Zubec

Trying to maintain control in this life is a bit like trying to maintain control on a roller coaster. The ride has its own logic and is going to go its own way, regardless of how tightly you grip the bar. There is a thrill and a power in simply surrendering to the ride and fully feeling the ups and downs of it, letting the curves take you rather than fighting them.

When you fight the ride, resisting what’s happening at every turn, your whole being becomes tense and anxiety is your close companion. When you go with the ride, accepting what you cannot control, freedom and joy will inevitably arise.

As with so many seemingly simple things in life, it is not always easy to let go, even of the things we know we can’t control. Most of us feel a great discomfort with the givens of this life, one of which is the fact that much of the time we have no control over what happens. Sometimes this awareness comes only when we have a stark encounter with this fact, and all our attempts to be in control are revealed to be unnecessary burdens.

We can also cultivate this awareness in ourselves gently, by simply making surrender a daily practice. At the end of our meditation, we might bow, saying, “I surrender to this life.” This simple mantra can be repeated as necessary throughout the day, when we find ourselves metaphorically gripping the safety bar.

We can give in to our fear and anxiety, or we can surrender to this great mystery with courage. When we see people on a roller coaster, we see that there are those with their faces tight with fear and then there are those that smile broadly, with their hands in the air, carried through the ride on a wave of freedom and joy. This powerful image reminds us that often the only control we have is choosing how we are going to respond to the ride.

by Monique Minahan

We are the space that holds the light
   however bright it may be.
We are the space that holds the darkness
   however dark it may get.
We are the space that holds the energy
   however charged and wild.
We are the space that holds the silence
   however long and still.

We are the space that holds the laughter
   giggles, belly laughs and laugh/cry combos.
We are the space that holds the grief
   heartbreaks, heartaches and heart roars.
We are the space that holds the beginning
   the wondering, the exploring, the innocence.
We are the space that holds the ending
   the fragility, the no mores and the emptiness.

We are the space that holds life
   in our bellies, in our hearts and in our eyes.
We are the space that holds death
   of our partners, of our children and of our dreams.
We are the space that holds the question
   who am I?
We are the space that holds the answer
   when it comes, in its own time, when we least expect.

We are the space all our experiences flow through, the space our being rests in, grows in, lives and dies in.

Honor that space. Hold that space. Enter that space daily through your breath or through yoga or through a hug, a cry, a laugh, a word or a pause. Create the doorway into yourself and then walk through it and witness the magnificence that is called being human.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. 

Read more from Monique on her blog, mindfulmo.com

guest post by Missy DiDonato

Remember this beautiful prenatal yoga reflection written by Missy back in June? Well her baby, Olive, is now five months old. Missy shares how her practice has evolved yet again after the birth of her daughter!

by Monique Minahan

At yoga recently the teacher suggested this intention for our practice:

I will not take things personally.

This didn’t really resonate with me, so I chose an intention that rang more true to me:

I will take things personally.

As in, I will get up close and personal with my dreams, my loves, my life and my fears. I will smell their sweat and place their sticky cheek next to mine and breathe in their outbreath. I will inhabit every ounce of this human body as I rest in the hammock of being and awareness that holds it up.

I sometimes get the sense in the yoga world we’re all trying to detach and be perfectly balanced, enlightened beings. I’m all for enlightenment, but in striving for that perfect state we can miss a lot of wonderful imperfection along the way because we consider it “in the way.”

For a long time I approached my practice and my life as if it were in the way of where I was going. I wanted to get “there” because getting there seemed to mean I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. I envisioned a state of being where stress wouldn’t sway me, family wouldn’t bother me, loss wouldn’t shake me, and life wouldn’t hurt me.

What I was doing was detaching from my reality and skipping out on my own life. I was missing the point Peter Rhodes makes when he says:

“We make a mistake when we wait for heaven, wait for enlightenment, wait for change. It is not going to happen in the future. It is happening. It is within our experience. Now is the time.”

Yoga and meditation are tools that help us distinguish the two and bring a quality of awareness to our lives so that we don’t suffer unnecessarily. It is just so easy to use these valuable tools to bypass what’s happening right now, what’s living and thriving in our bones and bodies and lives right now; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Life is not always love and light. Sometimes it’s pain and darkness. They are the two poles of life that together light up our lives as the full experience it is.

It’s easy to fall into a practice of seeking enlightenment on a mountain top while the everyday enlightenment passes us by. Lorin Roche reminds us of this in The Radiance Sutras:

Wherever, whenever you feel carried away,
Rejoicing in every breath,
There, there is your meditation hall.
Cherish those times of absorption—
Rocking the baby in the silence of the night
Pouring water into a crystal glass
Tending the logs in the crackling fire
Sharing a meal with a circle of friends.
Embrace these pleasures and know,
This is my true body.
Nowhere is more holy than this.
Right here is the sacred pilgrimage.

I’m so grateful to that yoga teacher for her offering and for sharing an intention that was relevant in her life. It helped shed light on my own process and revealed to me an intention that has been marinating in me all year.

I will take things personally. I will live life fully. I will love more than ever before.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. 

Read more from Monique on her blog, mindfulmo.com

Yoga One Family Member, Frank Richardson, has been sharing his practice with our community since October of 2011. We love his positive energy, easy smile and kindness. He writes about how his yoga practice has supported him while traveling in Italy.

For me, Yoga is closely linked with meditation. One has more movement than the other, though both come from the physical mechanics underlying the act of breathing.

Being still in meditation causes us to open up from the rhythm and flow of breath, the expansion and contraction of the diaphragm and lungs starting at the root and progressing up through all the chakras, pausing at the crown, then flowing down again.

Focusing on this flow and letting thoughts go without locking on to them allows us to be aware of the continuing presence underlying the static paths of thoughts.

Yoga builds on this breathing practice by extending the movements created by breathing into practiced cycles that bring the flow throughout the body. Yoga brings Prana, or breath, wherever there is constriction or “stuck-ness” or even pain.

Flow, I am coming to realize, is essential to joy. Yoga opens my body and mind to being joyful by connecting to the flow of life that is happening from moment to moment.

The yoga I am doing now while traveling is not formal. There are no classes defining “practice.” I watch my breathing and my quality of alertness or presence.

How I am standing or sitting? Am I leading with my heart? Is my head up or am I looking down? What’s the level of anxiety I am experiencing right now? Can I breathe through it to get to the other side?

I most likely won’t be able to practice either yoga or meditation formally again until I get home; but the moment to moment check-ins keep me in balance and moving with the flow while traveling through this wonderful and sometimes daunting place called Italy.

by Michael Caldwell

If you grew up on the East Coast or in the Midwest, there was one day a year that when it came (if it came) was better than Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, New Year’s, summer vacation and often, even your own birthday. That day was the elusive and magical Snow Day.

Most of the kids I knew dreaded getting up for school every morning five days a week. It was always too early, often dark, sometimes cold, you had to get dressed, you had to eat, wash, brush, dress… ugh! Laborious, uninteresting, mundane, routine, boring, painful!

My mother, so sweet, would have to come into the room and “rise and shine” me. “Good morning, son, rise and shine. It’s a great day, time to get up for school!”

To which I responded by burrowing deep within the sheets and shrouding my head under my pillow. Then there were a few minutes of glorious sleep, only to be reawakened a second time with a less sweet verbal prompt and finally, with all the lights turned on and the covers pulled off – you get the picture.

But the night before a suspected snow day, the speculation would begin via the nightly news. The anchorman would announce, “Areas of (such and such location) are advised that the storm may increase over night bringing high winds and heavy snowfall. The counties of (such and such) are on alert for possible school closings…”

Something jubilant like Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” would sound in my mind. All of the usual nightly stalling and subsequent sneaking out of my room were abandoned. A snow day required focus, rest, intention setting, and full present moment awareness.

In the morning, at least two hours BEFORE my mother’s rise and shine notice, I was Awake. I would be listening to the radio, tingling, vibrating, a transparent eyeball, all senses on high alert, waiting and hoping that our school would be mentioned.

Then the disembodied voice floating out of the box read the list, “such and such schools, closed, such and such schools closed, such and such schools open (oh snap!), such and such schools closed…” What, wait, that one was mine! And I shot off like a rocket to experience glorious adventures, character building activities, life enhancing and affirming interactions, special, rare and wonderful sensations that only a snow day could bring.

This is the joy and immense sense of freedom and possibility that you feel during Yoga One Teacher Training. You are immersed in an open-minded and supportive community, daring to explore your own yoga practice and learning how to effectively share that practice with others.

We hope you will join us for the upcoming course. We trust you will find the experience to be fun, educational, special, informative and life-enhancing.

Save $600 on your investment in yourself when you registered and pay in full by September 30th, 2014. Send us an email at info@yogaonesandiego.com or give us a call, 619-294-7461

Michael Caldwell
Contributing Writer

Yoga teacher and Co-Founder of Yoga One, Michael has been practicing yoga and incorporating its philosophy into his life since 1997. His kind and gentle manner is well suited to leading students of all levels. Michael has published numerous articles on a variety of subjects including yoga, meditation and rock n roll.

Yoga One teacher Jennifer Tipton wrote a beautiful reflection on the life and practice of one of her yoga mentors, B.K.S. Iyengar for YogiTimes. Read the whole article here.

Jennifer teaches Yoga for Backs on Tuesdays at 7:30pm and Rooftop Mixed Level Flow at Hotel Solamar on Sundays at 9am. See our full schedule here.

The Iyengar style of yoga is known for its extensive use of props (blocks, blankets, straps, and more) and a focus on precise physical alignment.

Jennifer writes, “Through the longer holds in our yoga postures we can learn how to experience a calmer mental state and therefore allow energy to effectively channel throughout the entire body. Yoga practice has evolved through the years and as a society we have come to enjoy faster paced and more rigorous styles to match our fast-paced and hectic lives.

“Iyengar yoga teaches us to slow down and live in the present moment. Even if we only incorporate a few poses with longer holds and perhaps the use of props we can go deeper and experience the benefits that are so present in Iyengar’s teachings.

“Every Tuesday night I teach my “Yoga for Backs” class and more often than not I will incorporate a restorative bridge posture into the practice. It really is one of my favorite yoga poses and always has been.”

by Olivia Cecchettini

Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga

by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison

Summary: The 365 meditations in this book integrate the mindfulness that yoga teaches into our everyday lives. Each day the meditation begins with a quote from a wide range of beautiful souls that will touch your heart followed by more wise words from the authors to inspire self inquiry, self love, and service. Read it daily or a few entries at a time, whatever feels right in the moment, but take time to digest and let the words settle in deep.

Why I love it: I love this book for many reasons. First, I love quotes! The meaning of profound words changes daily based on my perspective, how I’m feeling and what I relate to in that moment. I love this because you can re-read the same quote everyday for a week and it will continuously have many layers to uncover and take in. Secondly, having something tangible like a book to connect me to body, mind and soul while I meditate is a powerful tool that keeps me feeling balanced and happy.

Recommended for: Anyone who wants to bring more meditation into their lives. Whether it is two deep breaths with your eyes closed or 20 minutes in a seated position, you have to start where you are without judgment. Meditation is a place to stop, breathe and reconnect inward. As we begin to live our lives from the inside out, we create space for peace and healing to come forward creating more compassion and joy within.

I had this book for three years before I finished reading it all the way through, so take your time! Meditations From the Mat can be a great addition to your everyday ritual but it’s okay if that doesn’t happen. The book will always be waiting for you whenever you’re ready, and so will your cushion. Practice and all is coming. Light and love.

“In this free-spirited journey to the heart of yoga, Rolf guides us, through daily meditations,to finding the appropriate balance between standing firm and surrendering to flow—the key to peace of mind.”

– Beryl Bender Birch

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia is a yoga teacher based out of San Diego. With a love for people, life, spirituality, reading, and, of course, yoga she spends her days connecting with students and nature. Getting outside whenever she can to enjoy all the beauty this life has to offer.

We are one month away from our Yoga One Teacher Training Summer Intensive!! Wohoo!! There are still spots available, call 619-294-7461 to reserve yours today. The course dates are August 13-30, 2014, more information at Yoga One

Our teachers are getting ready to welcome the new class of aspiring yoga teachers and yogis who simply want to deepen their understanding of this amazing practice –

will YOU join them?

That first stretch of the day sitting on the edge of my bed

by Laura McCorry

Did you know there’s more than one way to practice savasana? Often labeled the most difficult pose to master, savasana (or final relaxation), means you have to let go. When it comes to meditation and letting go with your mind, how you position the body can actually have a profound effect.

Try them all out and let us know in the comments which is your favorite!

1. The Cadillac

A favorite of anyone who has ever secretly wanted to use yoga as an excuse to take a nap and pregnant moms-to-be (your head stays above baby’s heart). Ever wanted to feel completely supported, loved and cared for? Welcome home.

2. Rock Me Easy

Similar to The Cadillac but requires less assembly: two blankets, two blocks. Gentle heart-opening and fully supported goodness. Especially calming if you’re tight in the shoulders or upper back.

3. The Minimalist

You love the security of having a blanket (and you’re probably damn good at snuggling) but don’t like to make a big fuss. This is simple and effective, especially for relieving lower back pain.

4. The Recliner

You’re the type of person always asking for the cherry on top. You love savasana, but what about a little cushion for your head? And your legs are restless, so how about some love for the knees? Yeah, that’s better. Mmm.

5. No Frills

Let’s face it, you’re a traditionalist. You don’t like nuts in your chocolate and you don’t want to waste any time getting your savasana bliss on. Props required: none. Mat: optional.

6. The Rebel

Maybe it was the extra shift your manager asked you to take or the email from your boss at 5pm. You’re ready to get off your feet and lying down won’t cut it – raise ’em up! Bonus: legs up the wall is also known as the anti-aging pose.

Special thanks to Missy DiDonato for modeling all of these difficult poses. I know it was a tough job, but someone had to do it.

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Amy Caldwell

Yoga teaches us that it’s not just what you do but how you do it that matters. This process will help you release stress – which is often a result of fretting over anticipated events or those that have already transpired. Here are a few easy ways to obtain present moment awareness and feel better:

1. Sit or stand up straight. Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out slowly through your mouth with a soft ‘ahhhh’ sound. Continue for two more breaths, letting go of thoughts and physical tension. Feel and enjoy your breath.

2. Ask yourself the question, “What problem is there RIGHT NOW?” Frequently there IS NO crisis in the present moment. Shift your mindset from finding problems to accepting the situation or make a conscious choice to respond rather than react.

3. Focus on someone or something you are thankful for. This can be done anywhere, anytime – or regularly upon waking, before meals or before bedtime.

4. If you are feeling completely overwhelmed, take a few deep breaths into your belly, exhaling slowly and completely. If possible, lie on the floor with your lower legs resting on a chair or sofa (make sure your buttocks are resting fully on the floor with a small natural curve under your low back). Close your eyes. When they open, let it be with a new and positive perspective.

Amy Caldwell is the co-founder, co-owner and head instructor of the award-winning interdisciplinary Hatha yoga studio, Yoga One. She also co-teaches the annual Yoga One Teacher Training. Amy collaborated with 3D4Medical to create the top-selling, iYoga Premium app. She has been featured in numerous media outlets including two covers of Yoga Journal, NBC News, Union Tribune and others.

 

by Laura McCorry

When was the last time you consciously breathed? Was it the last time you went to yoga class? Even though pranayama (breath control) is one of the eight limbs of yoga and essential to life, yogis and individuals still need to be reminded to consciously breathe.

Nothing worries me more as a yoga teacher than to have a room full of students in the middle of practice and hearing nothing. One of the most powerful commands I’ve ever heard from a fellow teacher was in the middle of a long hold in Warrior II when she said “Breathe. Smile.” That was it. Those were her alignment cues and the whole room re-animated. People came back into the present moment with heightened awareness and back into the experience of being in their bodies.

Of course respiration will happen naturally whether or not you consciously tell yourself to breathe – which is awesome, right? Phew! Thank goodness we don’t have to add that to our to-do list. (Wake up, breath in, get out of bed, breath out, walk to the bathroom, breath in – how exhausting that would be!)

However, unlike other natural rhythms in the body such as the heartbeat, over which we have limited control, the breath is an amazing tool we can use to maximize well-being. Yogic tradition teaches us that breath control is an essential component for meditation and the first step towards enlightenment. Any time you take a deep breath to stave off reacting negatively to stimuli you know the great power it wields.

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

Breathing consciously has more immediate physical effects too – more oxygen is incorporated into the blood stream which results in better circulation and works to lower stress. You may think you’re going to yoga to sweat and stretch and exercise the body and those are wonderful benefits of the practice – but that euphoric feeling of clear-headed wellbeing at the end of class? The quality and expansiveness of your breath played a major role in getting you there.

Perhaps the biggest benefit yoga has to offer is not muscle strength or flexibility, but simply providing you with an hour or more of directed breathing!

Now take a deep breath and slowly let it go. I bet you feel better already!

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

Interview with Paisley Close On Backbends, Pranayama and Her Upcoming Workshops at Yoga One

by Monique Minahan

I first noticed the transformative quality of yoga while practicing backbends. The steadiness and strength they demand revealed to me both the power and the past housed in my back body. The vulnerability and expansion they require in the front body revealed to me my full capacity for open-heartedness.

The more I practiced this opening process physically, the more I found myself able to open more fully to the people in my life.

While I love backbends now, I didn’t always feel this way. Initially they brought up a lot of fear and disorientation for me. As one of my teachers puts it, “backbends are like strong medicine.”

One of the first teachers to guide me along this road of discovery was Paisley Close. In the years I practiced with Paisley my yoga practice deepened on many levels, both internally and externally, thanks to her expansive knowledge base, precise alignment cues, and unique approach to yoga. Many of the “refinements” she’s offered over the years allowed me to settle deeper into yoga, whether through asana, pranayama, or taking my yoga off the mat.

While Paisley doesn’t teach locally anymore, she offers up inspiration, insight, and all things yoga through her blog and will be paying Yoga One a visit August 18th to teach two workshops: Intermediate Backbends and Seated Poses & Pranayama.

She shares some of her insights with us in the interview below:

*****

Mo: Paisley, how long have you been teaching yoga and what do you love about it the most?

Paisley: I began teaching yoga in 2000. When I teach, I love witnessing the moment a student breaks through and does something he or she didn’t think they could.

Sometimes it’s physical, like recently when two students balanced in headstand for the first time, in the same class. Other times it’s the more emotional moment, when I can see and feel that students are connecting with themselves and finding peace and quiet internally. I also love that teaching creates the opportunity to live my practice.

Mo: Pranayama practices are often overlooked in modern yoga classes. What are some benefits of including pranayama in your personal practice?

The major benefit of including pranayama in your practice is that it calms and clears your mind. When your mind is agitated, your breath is usually short and shallow. When you deepen and elongate your breathing with pranayama, it pacifies your mind, which makes it easier to connect with your inner awareness.

Prana, or life force energy, is latent in your breath. By increasing your breath, you increase your body’s ability to hold prana and, therefore, vitality. The prana is like an electrical current and yoga asana, or poses, clear the blocks for the currents to flow freely. Asana also builds the necessary insulation, just like you’d have on an actual electric current or wire. It keeps you from short-circuiting, so it’s important to have an asana practice before developing a pranayama practice.

Mo: What made you choose these two topics for workshops: backbends and pranayama? Is there a connection between the two?

Paisley: I like teaching what’s not already being offered or elaborating on what is. I see very little emphasis on breathing these days, and so much more push to just flow through yoga classes. So I wanted to teach about this vital limb of the practice and thought they deserved a workshop all their own. Pranayama and meditation are such great ways to slow down and unplug from our busy lives.

As for backbends, I chose intermediate backbends to offer a chance for the more practiced student to try new and challenging poses with guidance and in a fun, community atmosphere.

One key to pain-free backbends is to keep a lot of lift and length in your spine. Pranayama can give you that. Also, the backbends open your chest and lungs and make it easier to take in more breath.

Mo: You’re a climber as well as a yogini. How does climbing in Mother Nature influence your yoga practice and vice versa?

Paisley: Oh my gosh, I don’t even know where to start! Both climbing and yoga push me out of my comfort zone and require me to be present. Climbing has a much bigger fear factor, so the stakes are higher. I need to be more aware of how I’m directing my attention and what I’m thinking. Yoga has given me the tools to do that, but climbing makes me practice harder.

In both cases, when challenge and fear arise, I go back to the breath and use my senses to increase awareness. With climbing, my senses are often on overload: the wind is howling, the sun is blazing, my feet are standing on dime-sized edges, my hands are gripping rough rock and the gear is clinking on my harness. Combine that with the heights and exposure and it’s really easy to revert to old patterns of thinking and operate out of the past; i.e. fear.

When I’m on my mat, I allow those fears to come up completely, and see what they’re really about, because they’re never really about the heights or the falling. I practice breathing deeply and watching how my mental patterns weave through my movements and either distract me or help me be more present. I also use my yoga practice to unravel all the tight muscles I get from hiking on uneven, rolling terrain with a 30-pound pack and using my fingertips to cling to the edge of a cliff.

I find a lot of freedom and inspiration in nature. We go to stunning places to climb and I try to fit a practice in when we’re there. It’s much easier for me to feel connected with the world around me when I’m in the wild.

Happening this weekend and there’s still time to sign up for the early bird pricing! Explore meditation techniques for taming your wild mind and wild heart and experiencing inner peace. Go here to register online.

We’ve learned a lot these last 7 weeks about yoga. We’ve learned about anatomy, philosophy, asana, pranayama, and how to be more mindful yoga practitioners and teachers.

What is also becoming inescapably obvious is that we have learned each other as well, and this has been a subtle but significant aspect to our learning process.

What started out as a group of strangers is now a supportive group of friends. We’ve seen each other’s personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, and have come to admire each other for continuing to show up to our individual and collective practice.

We each bring different histories and struggles to our mats every day. We’ve brought these since Day 1. The only difference is that we now appreciate where we are coming from.

This is the beginning of community and this is the essence of connection.

One of the teacher trainees is a man named Kim. The first week of training I had the opportunity to work with Kim, and I noticed he rocked back and forth on his feet quite a bit while standing. When I asked him if he had difficulty in standing poses, he said yes. When I asked why, he said simply that he had some nerve damage to his feet.

The last few weeks I’ve seen him quietly use multiple props and the wall for support in many poses. He always has an easy smile and while some poses seem challenging to him, he never seems to be over-efforting.

It was only when Kim shared with the class how he had fallen off of a second story building onto a two-by-four and become paralyzed from the waist down that I began to appreciate the true beauty of his yoga practice and the powerful potential of yoga.

Kim taps into his will to survive every day. It allows him to do what many people would call impossible.

It makes me wonder, Are we tapping into our will to survive? Are we even tapping into our will? What are we calling impossible that would become possible if we stopped limiting ourselves?

When we tune into our potential instead of our pain, we find our current limitations are merely a starting point.

This is just one example of how we have learned from each other through this training. We’ve learned to be sensitive to other human beings, whether it be through the words we choose or our physical touch.

As I disembark from this life-changing journey, I feel supported by a community of friends and teachers and well-equipped to follow my own yogic path.

The amount of knowledge and wisdom our teachers have shared with us will be sinking in for months to come. The words of Abraham Lincoln sum up my attitude as I step out of the world of teacher training and into the world of teaching yoga:

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”

 

Read Monique’s full article here.

Since I’m working through the same postures multiple times a day, I get to observe my attitude and attention (or lack thereof) each time. I am seeing my limits reached and then asking myself what I need to do to last a little longer, to dig a little deeper, to honor my present moment more fully.

Surprisingly, there is something new and untapped every time I return to my mat. My legs are tired, but my standing poses have never felt more solid. My body is achy, but every down-dog feels like the first one ever. My mind is so alert from the accelerated learning that stillness has never been more clearly defined, and when there is silence I hear it more loudly than the sounds.

And so it happens that Patience invites me into my own body. Have a seat, she says. Everything you need is here.

The Path

Through this teacher training I’ve come to appreciate on a new level that yoga is not about how it looks on the outside. It’s about what’s happening on the inside.

To this end, one of our teachers pointed out that as teachers we will often need to give different people different instructions to get to the same place.

The path we take to a pose is our own. The so-called end result is more about how we inhabit it than how we form it.

Throughout our lives we will find at times we can access our asana or meditation practice easier than other times. Our bodies and our minds change as our lives change. It will always be slightly different conditions we travel in, and our path will never be the same as someone else’s.

To travel our own path with our eyes and hearts wide open delivers us to our pose or our place of choice fully alive and fully lit up. We will all arrive at the same place through different processes. The place we arrive at is called Here.

Once we get Here, all we have to do is breathe. It doesn’t matter if you got here faster or slower than anyone else or what you look like on the outside. We are all breathing on the inside, and we are all Here.

Welcome. Take your seat. Settle in. Light It Up. This is it.

Read Monique’s full article here. 

from the Caldwell family’s kitchen

Ingredients:

3 heaping servings of Yoga per week, season according to your favorite level and style

1-2 bushels of Outdoor Activity Spice – walking, running, surfing, hiking, swimming, or team sports would all be delicious

1 full day of Rest – check your local studio for restorative yoga, but you can substitute any type of meditation or bubble bath at home

Plenty of whole foods each day, choose seasonal and organic when possible

Liberally sprinkle with unlimited portions of Peace and Quiet Reflection

Directions:

Mix together until easily formed. Add in more Peace if contents become sticky and unwieldy. Share with loved ones and friends. Serve with bountiful amounts of Hugs and Quality Time. Cook up a fresh batch each week.

Enjoy the happiness that comes with a healthy mind and body and be well this holiday season!

Namaste,
Amy and Michael Caldwell

Not so long ago, I was a half marathon runner, big wave surfer and mountain hiker. At my day job, I supervised large, one-of-a-kind home construction projects. My work placed extraordinary physical demands on my body. But everything changed the day I fell off the second story roof of a construction site.

When I hit the ground, my T-10 vertebrae exploded and my spinal cord got pinched. I was paralyzed and told by some doctors that I would never walk again. The body that was capable of walking and standing all day, lifting heavy materials and going on long runs was gone. But then one day I was able to move one of my toes and I started an eight-month physical therapy program. I had to re-learn how to walk. After 15 months of struggle, I was able to walk using a cane.

Eventually, I was able to go back to work as a construction supervisor. Even though all I could do was walk around the job site, I was happy with my progress. After two years, the doctors told me that I had reached a recovery plateau. I felt as though I could keep improving and that feeling led me to yoga. Four years after my injury, I started to take yoga classes. With enthusiasm I tried the Iyengar, Hatha, Ashtanga and Vinyasa styles of yoga at a studio in Bird Rock. When the studio closed, I continued a home practice for three years, certain that yoga was the key to my continued good health.

In 2009, I heard about Yoga One. By then I was a full time student at City College and their location on 7^th Avenue was perfect. I was impressed by Michael and Amy Caldwell’s knowledge of yoga, teaching style and friendliness. For a year, I attended their classes as well as the Saturday morning Hatha class every week. Eventually, I tried other instructors and took on more classes per week.

I still have nerves that haven’t regenerated. In some poses my body can only go so deep; it might improve, it might not. Either way, I have fun and give it my best effort. I’m still in pain (I call it sensation) of one sort or another every day, but I would rather have the sensation of a long challenging yoga session than the sensation I experience after sitting at a desk or lying around all day. Mindfulness meditation has helped me locate where each sensation comes from, with equanimity I accept them and therefore life is a pleasure not a pain. Gratitude, yoga, mantra, meditation – that’s the morning practice I do before anything else. It’s the way I put my Self first and honor the commitment I’ve made to my health and well being.

Hi, there! In honor of Yoga One Blog’s first birthday, we’re checking in with blog writer and yoga teacher, Laura McCorry. Usually behind the scenes writing and organizing blog posts, Laura also leads a Gentle Flow class at Yoga One on Thursday nights at 7:45pm. It’s the latest class on the schedule, but it’s the perfect yoga nightcap – including a forehead massage during savasana. Check out our full schedule here, no reservations required.

1. What is your favorite style of yoga?

My favorite style of yoga varies with the seasons, time of day and my energy level. I love a quiet restorative practice whenever life gets overwhelming and an energetic Vinyasa flow for those days when you just need to move and sweat!

2. What first attracted you to yoga when you began your practice?

I started practicing yoga during a very stressful time in my life when I was anxious during the day and having nightmares every night. I’d tried going to a meditation class but the chaos inside my head only increased. Someone told me that yoga was a moving meditation with the eyes open, so I went to a class at my local gym. Even during that first savasana, I felt glimpses of the peace that comes with practice.

For me, the best part about practicing yoga as a new student was that I needed to pay attention to my breath and the way my body moved. I’d never done that before and it was very challenging! The unique combination of breath and movement turned out to be the key to releasing the frenetic energy of my thoughts.

3. What is your favorite yoga pose right now?

Restorative twist with a bolster or folded blankets. (Shout out: Missy often includes this pose in her 4pm Restorative class on Fridays.) This pose is super relaxing for my body, I have to be careful not to fall asleep! I find that my mind is quietest when my gaze is down or to the side rather than straight up – so for me, this pose is often more peaceful than savasana.

4. What pose is still the most challenging?

I thought about answering with wheel or handstand but seriously, one of the poses that challenges me the most is chair. It’s never easy, never comfortable and always a struggle to remember to breathe. I’m the first person to stand up in tadasana or fold forward when it’s over.

5. If you were an animal, you would be: a cat. I almost always know my own mind and I’ll often ask for advice from others and then do exactly what I’d been planning all along. I think cats are contrary that way. Also, they’re very wise: they know you don’t need to work too hard in life in order to be happy and that’s a philosophy I can get behind.

6. Describe what yoga means in your life using just 6 words: peace, healing, challenge, strength, joy, prayer 

7. What might your students be surprised to learn about you?

I went to university to study French and desperately wanted to be a high school French teacher after graduation but it wasn’t meant to be. Enrolling in a yoga teacher training course and learning to teach yoga (another passion) soothed my soul and gave me a new purpose.

8. Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for new students?

Yoga can be so many things: exercise, stress-relief, spiritual connection – soak up what resonates with you and let the rest go. Do what feels good in your body and don’t be afraid to modify. Never compromise your physical well-being for the sake of keeping up with the class. With that in mind, be sure to challenge yourself: hold a pose longer, take that stretch a little deeper, try out the scary arm balance. The biggest challenge any yoga student faces is simply showing up to class. 🙂

As many of you already know, master teacher Sherri Montgomery has returned to Yoga One with not one, but two fantastic workshops. The first, An Exploration into Asana, was this past Saturday evening but there’s still time to register for this Saturday’s workshop, Devotional Movement from 4-7pm on April 14th. Go here and click on the “workshops” tab to register and pay in advance, note that pre-registration is required for this event.

Coming back to visit San Diego has been a big homecoming for Sherri who started teaching yoga in the 1980’s and taught at Yoga One from 2004 until 2009. With strong roots in the Iyengar style, Sherri credits Michael and Amy Caldwell for helping her find her own teaching style and expression. “I felt like my style really matured,” Sherri said about her time at Yoga One, “I could break out of the rigidity of classical yoga into ‘how does my body want to move?’” Sherri’s teaching style today is definitely about movement!

On Saturday evening, Sherri greeted each of us individually and started out the workshop by instructing the class to lie down in savasana, quieting the body so that we could be wholly present. When we started to move, she guided us through child’s pose, cat and cow, and downward facing dog, breathing within and in between each posture and cycling back to the beginning several times over. It was the first signal that this was different, that Sherri was different. How many instructors return to child’s pose after coming to downward facing dog? Throughout the class she would lead us through a series of poses only to bring us back to the beginning then return, exploring further, trying something new.

She led us through the class as though leading an expedition up the Amazon. When the waters of her playlist grew calm, she led us into gentle, restful postures and when the music became more energetic, we moved with the flow. There was even a spontaneous dance party when Big and Rich’s song “Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy” came on. Sherri started swaying her hips, waving her long, expressive arms overhead, “Can’t you feel the ecstasy rising?” she called out excitedly. From dancing and calisthenics to the peaceful surrender of legs up the wall pose, she was our fearless leader, champion, guide and inspiration.

This Saturday, Sherri will be leading a workshop that’s even more personal and intimate in nature. She’ll be teaching what she calls Devotional Movement, a meditative flow to connect mind, body and spirit. Pre-registration is required because she wants to connect with each participant before the workshop and have them reflect on an area of their life in which they’d like to experience change. The process of her moving meditation will uncover the deep experiences of the heart and allow the participants to move through any limitations they feel are holding them back from expressing true devotion, love, joy and ecstasy. Don’t miss out on this transformative and inspirational journey!