Winter is finally over! For many of us, it feels like a reason to celebrate, and
rightfully so; as we emerge from hibernation we are redeemed by the warmth of the
sun, the longer days, and the vibrancy of the plants and animals around us.

Because we are a part of nature, the energies of the transitioning seasons are within
us as well as all around us. Although this is one of the most welcome transitions, it is
good to remember that any transition can be challenging.

As you move into spring you might be feeling a little bit sluggish, stuck, or
depressed. Or maybe you are finding yourself a little bit congested, retaining water,
gaining weight or oversleeping.

Ayurveda, the medicinal aspect of yoga, says that you can blame it all on Kapha.
Kapha is the Ayurvedic term for the energy of this time of year. It is the energy of
water and earth. What do you get when you mix water and earth? You guessed it -
mud. Kapha is a heavy, muddy kind of energy. Hence the heavy, muddy feelings you
might have in your body and/or mind.

In early spring, we are seeped in Kapha. It has been accumulating all through the
winter, and now the warmth of spring comes and challenges the accumulated
Kapha to melt away. As Kapha is “burned off” by the warmer days of spring, you will
experience its heavy, muddy nature, especially if you accumulated too much Kapha
over the winter, as most of us probably did. (It comes from living in an unbalanced
way, out of tune with nature. Don’t blame yourself. It’s hard not to be unbalanced in
the modern world).

You can help shed the excess Kapha using these Ayurvedic techniques:

- Eat lots of leafy greens, and lighter meals in general.

- Try adding ginger to your meals, or drinking ginger tea.

- Give yourself time for a healthy balance of activity and rest.

- Spend time outdoors, connecting to nature.

In your yoga practice;

-Build heat. This doesn’t mean that you have to take up hot yoga or work yourself
to the point of exhaustion (from an Ayurvedic standpoint that would actually be
a really bad idea), but try to do some poses that make you warm and feel a little
challenging.

- Do strong leg work, like lunges and squats. This help to clear the energy channels
in the legs, where Kapha tends to accumulate.

-Try Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations), Virbrdranasana 1 and 2 (Warrior 1 and
2), Bhujangasana (Cobra) and Ustrasana (Camel).

-Try to practice as regularly as possible.

Be patient and persistent with all of your Kapha-reducing endeavors. Kapha can be
like a stick in the mud, and it takes real tapas (a Sanskrit word that means effort or
austerity) to get it moving.

All of your efforts will ultimately increase and free up the flow of prana in your
body, allowing you to feel lighter and more vibrant.

It’s time to spring into spring! Enjoy!

http://sckhsmg2008.blogspot.com/2013/01/adequate-sleeping-hours.html

This week’s blog is by Lila Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist: Darcy Stewart

The Vicious Cycle of Sleeplessness

One of my favorite cartoons shows “Work:” a worried-looking woman sits at her computer while a thought bubble floats above showing her snugly slumbering in her bed at home. In the next frame, “Home:” the same woman lies anxious and awake in her bed with a thought bubble floating above showing her worriedly working at her computer. Sound familiar?

Decades before this type of work/home pattern entered my life, I had my first experience with insomnia and what I call,  “The Vicious Cycle of Sleeplessness” as a young child. When I was about six years old, after a scary television program, my fear-induced stomachache kept me from falling asleep for what seemed like hours (although it could have been much less).  The following evening, as the bedtime routine approached, I found myself getting more and more anxious that I would get a stomachache and struggle getting to sleep again. What do you think happened? Well the anxiety about getting a stomachache, in fact, gave me just that stomachache, and I was again unable to go to sleep peacefully that night. This pattern stayed with me for some time, and is burned in my memory as a very stressful part of my childhood. I don’t know at what point my young brain and body began to better understand this cycle and my role in its creation, but just because I was six doesn’t relegate my experience to the ignorance of children. Like our friend in the cartoon, a lot of adults struggle with sleeplessness in similar ways.

Our physiology and psychology are powerfully interconnected, and although it may feel like we are powerless when that stomachache or those racing thoughts and anxieties begin to surface at night, there is actually a wide range of tools we can employ to help ourselves when rest seems fleeting. How and when we employ our tools makes a difference too. “When should I practice yoga during my day?” and, “What kind of yoga class?” can be just as important as, “Will a bedtime snack help or hurt?” and the ever-seductive, “To nap or not to nap…?” How we answer these questions can have a big impact on how conducive our lifestyle is to supporting our bodies’ natural rhythms for falling and staying asleep.

This month’s, “Sleep Solutions” workshop on April 21st will help answer these questions and others, as well as provide a slew of simple yet useful tips you can employ at home for better sleep. Simple tips like: “Leave your alarm set, even on weekends,” and, “Nap for 20 minutes but not more,” can have a big impact. Come and find out what science says about how and why we sleep, what happens when sleep isn’t working, and most importantly, what can we do (and how can yoga help!) to put the vicious cycle of sleeplessness…to bed.

Register now for SLEEP SOLUTIONS: YOGA TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP .

Several possible answers came to mind. I thought, “this is what I do,” “this is the business I have,” “yoga is my life,” but what I actually said was, “Because I love it.”

Completely satisfied with my simple response, Andreas said, “Oh,” and went on about his business. My communication was clear and heartfelt and that’s all that was needed.

Isn’t it nice when communication works this way? When we don’t overstate, or over explain, justify or defend, when we just say what’s simple and true and that’s enough?

Yoga helps us do this! We get in touch with what’s in our hearts and then slow our minds and bodies down enough so that when we communicate we can do so intentionally and truthfully.

We have some amazing workshops coming up at Lila Yoga that are all about slowing ourselves down, tuning in to what’s true and the healing that can come when we do.

This weekend’s CHAKRA SERIES #5: CLEAR COMMUNICATION with Natalie Ginapp, will help you access the power that comes when your communications are in alignment with your heart and see how your yoga practice can support you in this.

Then in April you don’t want to miss Darcy Stewart’s SLEEP SOLTUTIONS: YOGA TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP. Life is just better when we get a good night’s sleep! This workshop will give you everything you need to ensure that you start getting the sleep you need.

And finally in May we welcome Rebekkah LaDyne back to Lila Yoga for her THE HEALING POWER OF MINDFULNESS workshop. One more opportunity to slow down, get in touch with your heart and learn how practicing mindfulness can have a healing effect on your life.

Join us for classes and all of these important workshops. We look forward to supporting you on your path.

This conversation has stayed with me, and while thinking about completing 2012 it occurred to me that the way to get something truly “complete,” so that there is no regret, no hidden unfinished business lingering in the heart or mind, the way to true completion is to ask for and offer forgiveness. In forgiveness, whether asking for it or offering it, whether forgiving ourselves or someone else, we surrender our ego, we let go of being right and of expectations, and instead choose peace. Forgiveness frees up our hearts and makes space for something new. Space to create something aligned with our hearts and our truest intentions.

As we celebrate the end of 2012 and ring in the New Year, we will of course have the opportunity to set intentions for 2013. (Your yoga mat is a powerful place to do that!) What if, before setting those intentions we took time to reflect, to ask for and offer forgiveness? (Also greatly facilitated by time on your mat ). What would it be like to begin our new year clear, free and at peace?

This week at Lila Yoga we’re here to help you complete 2012 and create 2013 powerfully and lovingly. On New Year’s Eve join Kelly for a Special Gentle Hatha class at 4:00. Then come back on New Year’s Day for Emily’s 2 hour workshop, Intention from the Heart. Finally celebrate with us all day on Sunday 1/6 with our Full Day 2nd Anniversary Celebration including a magical Live Class with Steve Gold.

These events are filling up – register soon!
Wishing you peace,

Kelly Valenzuela

Lila Yoga Director

Enter – poopy diaper. In the middle of changing my daughter, she smiles, and smiles some more. Big happy smiles with her first “goos and gah’s”of her short life. NOW I am present. Yanked out of my hurried, worried mind and into the moment with her, my beautiful, precious, smiling baby.

Today my newborn baby gave me just what I needed. An invitation to pause. To smile and be present.

Maybe you don’t have a newborn but you do have your yoga practice.  And Yoga invites us the same way a baby can. It invites us again and again to pause, breathe, and smile.

What would your holidays be like if you took moments to pause this month? Even amidst all the busy-ness, could you pause in the middle of a family gathering, in line at the mall, or while preparing a holiday meal? What if you could slow down and allow yourself to be present?

Join me in committing to pause this month, even more often than you think you could. Give yourself the gift connecting to what matters most to you. Whether on your mat or in your life, let’s have our holidays be even more joyful and fulfilling because we took time to be present, to breathe and to smile.

To help you bring this commitment into your new year,  join us at Lila for more joyful celebrations.  We kick off 2013 with Emily teaching our New Year’s Practice: Intention from the Heart, and with our 2nd Anniversary Celebration, an all day event that includes a live class with Steve Gold and a wine reception to complete the day!

These events are expected to fill, register soon so your not rushing to do so later

“Holy shit. What a new life!! Did nobody warn me??” A new mother referring to her transition to motherhood.

Sitting at my desk, I rub the right side of my pregnant belly, an automatic response to my baby’s little feet pushing into my abdomen reminding me of her presence. As I circle them gently, letting her know I feel her and inviting her to push with just a little less vigor I am reminded that with each passing hour we are literally that much closer to her birth and a huge transition to a new life.

I’ve had several conversations lately with friends in various states of transition too. Friends moving into new homes, children going back to school or starting school for the irst time, births and deaths, new routines and old comforts changed or gone.

We’ve had lots of transitions around Lila Yoga too. We have four new teachers, (Megan, Jen, Darcy and Rebecca), new classes and some are temporarily off the schedule until Beattie and I return from maternity leave. A huge transition for me personally is having assistance in the office from Natalie our interim office manager and multiple new work study students. Thank you to all of you!

Perhaps you’ve noticed these changes or other transitions in your own life. Perhaps you, like me, have met them at times with excitement and optimism and at others with trepidation or resistance.

For myself, the coming birth of my baby has been met with both. Different than the birth and preparation for my first son which I swear was all enthusiasm and expectation of motherhood bliss, I am well aware of just how challenging parenting is and have a much less romantic notion of the whole thing this time around. After experiencing severe postpartum anxiety with Andreas’ birth that required medical intervention more than once, I approach this birth with fear of a repeat experience. While my husband and I have gone to great lengths to prepare and create support to prevent a recurrence, I’ve noticed too that this fear has often gotten in the way of being present to the precious life growing inside of me and the joy of welcoming a new baby, a little sister for my son, into our family. And while it is completely reasonable to feel both, excitement and worry, yoga offers a way to suffer less and be happy more in the face of whatever might come our way.

From a yogic perspective, which by the way is also never romantic, any suffering we experience (fear, doubt, resistance, discomfort, sadness, anger) is rooted in spiritual ignorance, and more specifically ego, attachment, aversion and or fear – usually a combination of more than one. In the simplest of terms my unease with the coming unknown is rooted in fear primarily with a fair dose of attachment to the way things are now and aversion to the changes that lie ahead. These vrittis, fluctuations of the mind, cause my discomfort and get in the way of my being at ease, being present, and riding the wave of the changes as they come.

Perhaps you can relate? Have you noticed any resistance to transitions in your life? In your yoga practice? In what you’ve grown accustomed to at home, at work, at Lila, with your friends or loved ones?

So what to do about it?

Not surprisingly yoga offers yet another unromantic teaching for managing this resistance. Persistent practice and non-attachment. That’s it. Just those two things, practice, practice, practice and dispassion for worldly desires. So simple but not so easy.

One of my teachers, Baba Hari Das explains it this way. Practice takes effort. It includes, “The development of spiritual knowledge, discriminative wisdom, the means and methods of attaining such knowledge and the practice of meditation…” all of these, “require strong mental, moral and physical discipline.” Non-attachment or dispassion happens as a result of practice, because as our discriminative wisdom develops “the mind’s pull toward the world is naturally weakened.”

For me applying this teaching looks like this. I notice I’m feeling anxious or some level of discomfort. I take a seat. Whether on my mat, in my bed, in a parked car, at my desk. I pause. Because my asana practice is very limited at this point in my pregnancy, I might do some very gentle movement simply to help my body settle. I bring awareness to my breath. When my mind is very anxious I might choose a mantra to repeat internally helping hold my mind a little more steadily than using my breath alone. I sit for as long as I have time, sometimes just 3 minutes, sometimes 20. I do my best to settle into simply being and I when I’m able I can feel the grip of fear or resistance start to release.

That’s it. No miracles, no magic, but there is a shift. I might not be completely relieved of all concern and worry, but I feel a little less caught up in what is on the outside of me and a little more settled into something steady on the inside. I also trust the teaching that persistent practice makes me stronger. It happens over time, but because I’ve been practicing over time I know I really am shored up. I can tap something that doesn’t have to be recreated from the beginning every time I sit. It’s more like a well of knowing that’s there and gets deeper every time I give it attention.

Saying all of this by no means is a testimony to my perfect ability to manage anxiety. I have put in place a variety of support, from naturopathic to western medical, from sleeping arrangements to postpartum doula support. We all need to meet the intensity of the transition we face with the level of support we need to get us through. We don’t have to be heroes. But we could also all bring awareness to our resistance or our discomfort and use our practice as a way to open to what is unfamiliar, to what is new and different and trust it to help carry us through the natural transitions of life we all face.

Wishing you grace and ease in all that life brings you.

Namaste,

Kelly

Hearing Heather’s story reminds me of how my own practice has changed over the years. I can relate to Heather’s experience of knowing her body in a certain way, with certain capabilities and how, for Heather and so many of us, at some point in our life, our body changes, often dramatically. Whether it’s an injury that yoga helps us heal or a permanent change that yoga helps us to accept, our yoga practice can open us to a new way of relating to what we often take for granted.

For a long time I knew my body as capable and pretty darn bendy. It never occurred to me that more flexibility wasn’t necessarily better and when pregnant with my first child, I didn’t change my practice. In fact I went deeper and stronger into poses because I could. The relaxin hormone in my joints which helps prepare the body to give birth, made it possible to go as deep as or deeper in poses than I always had. As a result I had a lot of pain in my SI joints and pelvis throughout my pregnancy. Two and a half years later I was still dealing with pain in my low back and hips and didn’t realize it was because they so severely unstable due to the “over-flexibility” I had developed while pregnant. Finally about a year ago I was re-introduced to a style of yoga called Viniyoga and here is where I began to see my body and my practice much differently.

I began a very toned down, simple practice specifically designed to bring stability to my pelvis. This took patience! And letting go of my attachment to what I had always known and expected from my body. Within weeks I was literally pain free where I hadn’t been in over 3 years.

Even more than learning what I could do to help my body heal, the last year involved a process of acceptance, accepting what is now different about the body I had always known, and listening to what my body was telling me rather than telling it what it should do.

I used to be motivated in my practice by the next most beautiful, exotic and challenging pose. Over the last year (which has included another pregnancy) I have become much more interested in what nourishes my body rather than what pose I can put it into. Building stability, breath-work and gentle stretching are more appropriate for me now than the athletic flow I relied on for so many years. I’m learning to understand and embrace the natural evolution of my physical body and allowing that to inform my practice naturally.

I hear this benefit in Heather’s story as well. Yoga as a pathway both for physical healing as well as a pathway to deeper acceptance of her body exactly as it is. Yoga gives us this opportunity every day, to become acquainted with our bodies, to meet ourselves where we are, right here and now, and trust that to guide us in exactly what will best care for and nourish bodies, hearts and minds.

Share your thoughts or stories of how yoga has helped you in healing and acceptance! Click “Leave a comment” below.

Wishing you ease.

Namaste,

Kelly

Lila Yoga’s 40 Day Challenge begins tomorrow and I personally invite you to join in! I came across this passage from Donna Farhi during a time that I felt busier than ever. The words, “when we have a thousand things to do, we practice anyway…” hit home. I had been feeling the pull of missing my time on my mat but had convinced myself that the world (aka Lila Yoga) would crumble if I didn’t spend every minute available on task completion. In this mindset, of course my practice would be the first thing to go.

Farhi’s words about bringing awareness to “that part of us that is unchanging,” reminded me that the thousands of things to do will always be there, coming and going, vying for my attention probably until I die. My experience on the other hand tells me that when the to do list is in charge, I move further and further from that “steady part” of myself. The further I get the more unsteady and unhappy I feel.

The intention of this 40 Day Challenge is to support you in committing to your practice even when everything else is NOT handled. It is an opportunity to be come intimate with that part of you that is unchanging and steady. The part of you that carries you through “the inevitable highs and lows of your life.”

Our 40 Day Challenge does not mean you should practice hard core asana for 40 days straight. It is simply meant to bring a deeper focus to the practice that best serves you. Please remember to mix stronger classes with gentler ones, try practicing at home once a week or at a new time of day and see how that effects how you feel throughout your day and week. Begin or expand your pranayama (breathing practice) or meditation practice.

I’m joining you too and here’s my commitment for the 40 Days:

15 minute Pranayama daily

15 minute Meditation daily

3 Asana practices per week

I’ll be blogging throughout the challenge. Visit me here and share your experiences along the way too!

Here’s some of what’s coming up to make your next 40 Days even more rewarding!

• Join us for our new  Rise and Shine Early Morning Immersion through the month of July, 7/2-7/30.
•  Enjoy yoga and the beautiful Cascades. Join Natalie and friends on a Yoga Hike and Potluck Lunch 7/19.
• Deepen your practice – join Sonia for her Viniyoga Extended Practice on 7/29.

Click hereto see complete details and rewards for Lila Yoga’s 40 Day Challenge.

Looking forward to supporting you,

Kelly Valenzuela and Lila Yoga

Attention is the most concrete expression of love. What we pay attention to thrives. What we do not pay attention to withers and dies.  

What will you pay attention to today?

~Karen Maezen Miller, Hand Wash Cold

If you hang around Lila Yoga much you’re bound to hear one of two things, parents talking about parenting (past or present), and/or gardeners talking about gardening. Not that all Lila students are gardeners or parents, but most of us have something or someone in our lives that we take care of. I love listening to these conversations because in them I hear a commitment to nourishing something, to offer it attention and help it grow well and strong.

In Maezen Miller’s book Hand Wash Cold she talks about gardening, parenting and being in relationships, and offers the metaphor of the sun as inspiration. The sun she says, “endures, it does not demand or impose, it does not withhold or revoke, it simply shows up… the sun attends the earth and everything in it.”

Not a gardener myself, although with aspirations to be someday, I imagine the nature of gardening is similar to the nature of the sun. Growing a beautiful and thriving garden means showing up, being present, and giving attention where it is needed.

For me, the parent I try to be is similar in nature, and boy oh boy are there ample opportunities to challenge me in this commitment. Perhaps you can relate, as a parent or caregiver, partner or friend.

As a mom, moments can arise daily when turning my back seems the easiest response. The impulse to just stop the tantrum, control the situation, and move on can almost overtake me. But in Miller’s offering I hear another invitation. Instead, I could (and try when the self awareness is there) to offer attention to my tantruming toddler rather than turn my back. I try, sometimes with every ounce of self control I can muster to simply “show up” for him rather that try to fix or change or redirect him. And sometimes, not always, but often, this act of offering attention can have almost miraculous results. If he’s escalating into full tantrum and I simply stop everything, kneel down, reach out my arms and offer to hold him, often his fight will melt away and what opens up is a precious moment of ease and peace between us.

These are moments when it is clear to me that “attention is the most concrete expression of love.”  And then the moment’s gone and we’re on the the next thing!

But seriously, what if we could show up for ourselves in the same way? What if we could treat our own inner obstacles, challenges, griefs and fears like we would a child that simply needs attention or a little seedling needing some sunlight and water. What if we could give ourselves this gentle and enduring attention?

Yoga and meditation offer the perfect place to cultivate this practice. On our yoga mat or meditation cushion we can slow down long enough to see and hear what is asking for attention within ourselves. Perhaps it’s an achy shoulder or a feeling of irritation, perhaps it’s fatigue or even excitement! Whatever it is yoga and meditation invite us to meet ourselves with love. And just like the well tended garden blossoming in full color and life, or the tantruming toddler soothed by a loving embrace our inner self can be comforted by simply showing up and offering kind and patient attention.

This month we invite you to give your yoga practice and yourself some kind attention. Knowing that whatever receives attention thrives what would it be like to practice one more time each week? What about two more times a week?

Here are some great opportunities to make that commitment easy and fun! Join us for our new  Rise and Shine Early Morning Immersion through the month of June, 6/4-6/29. Enjoy a little competitive fun – participate in our 40 Day Challenge that starts July 1st! Another great opportunity to deepen your practice – join Sonia for her Viniyoga Extended Practice on 6/24. Finally, we have one more Family Yoga with Nicole for the summer this weekend June 3rd.

What will you pay attention to today?

Blessings,

Kelly Valenzuela and Lila Yoga