Offering great classes Wednesday nights at Vitalize Community Studio in Sugar House!

Please come join us Wednesday nights!
Vitalize Studio 2154 S. Highland Drive in Sugarhouse.
FREE CLASS January 12, 2011!
Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga with Melissa

4:00-4:55pm Wednesdays at Vitalize Community Studio

Come move with me! 

Whether you are expecting or have welcomed your beautiful little one into the world, this class is for you.

This prenatal/postnatal yoga class will focus on connecting with your breath, strengthening and toning your pelvic floor, rediscovering your core, increasing overall strength, stamina and flexibility.

Get those feel good endorphins rushing by integrating your breath with your movement. 

Feel the benefits of taking time for yourself. Your family and your body will thank you! 

Pilates Open Level Class with Laura
5:00-5:55pm Wednesdays at Vitalize Community Studio

This open level Pilates class will focus on connection to breath and how this creates a sense of ease and also strength in the body.  Particular attention will be given to alignment, core stability, fluidity and mobility of your unique spine and body.  Participants will explore challenging, invigorating and restorative movement that draws attention to the intricacies of your moving body (your skeletal and muscular systems, in addition to your nervous and organ systems).  Come, explore movement, be challenged and restored as we explore how the pelvic floor supports our deep center, core muscles and organs, while allowing for mobility in the hips and lower back.  Whether you are an athlete, a yogi, Pilates fanatic, dancer, a new or expecting mother, a man or a woman, or simply someone looking for a healing and strengthening practice, this class will give you a strong foundation while also providing challenges and modifications for all ability levels and backgrounds.

Remember-FREE CLASS Wednesday January 12, 2011! 

Come check out the beautiful space at Vitalize Community Studio. 

We are looking forward to seeing you.

Sutra of the Day #37 This Little Light of Mine!

                   #37
Go to a wide open space,
Gaze without looking anywhere.

The mind stops its building of thoughts,
And rests on its own foundation -
Which is that immensity.

The light that you see by
Is the light that comes from inside.


Sanskrit - 
nirviksha giri bhitti adi
deshe drishtim viniksipet
viline manase bhave
vritti kshinah prajayate


Right now this sutra is reminding me of the song I used to sing when I was around five. This Little Light of Mine I'm gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Enjoy!

The Radiance Sutras

               Sutra #63
Dreaming, dreaming, sleeping, awakening
Rhythms of darkness and light.
Day and night, night and day, wondering...
...Who am I Who AM I?
Who is morphing through this Ever-shifting flow?

Beloved, wake up!
Dance in your true body before time,
Shimmering energy without end.


Sanskrit: 
kinchit jnatam dvaita-dayi
bahya alokah tamah punah
vishva adi bhairavam rupam
jnatva anata prakashabhrit 
                                        
I have been playing with these sutras from the Vijnana bhairava Tantra ever since I was introduced to them during my yoga training. I have fallen in love with them and read them and people have told me that they really enjoy the way they make them feel.
These sutras are a conversation a dialogue between two lovers.  It is beautiful and speaks to my heart.
Each sutra resonates with me differently each day. I leaf through the book and find a sutra that meets me where I am at the time.
I find that reading each sutra out loud and hearing the words in my own voice enables me to take in the energy and meaning of each sutra through all of my senses.
It's also been fascinating to read them two times at the beginning of a session and two times toward the end of a session (before or during Savasana).
People have commented that they hear the words more clearly after they have moved their bodies and/or been mindful of their breath in their sessions.
So, I've decided to post a sutra that resonates with me each day. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
If anything, I hope they are a positive part of your day as they have been mine.
Shanti!

Some Ideas about Breath

Breathing in movement can be confusing at times.  There is so much to be said about breath and movement--it really is an endless exploration.  Dance has really been my road into how breath can support movement.  Breath is really a dance between your body moving and your body breathing.  The two work together to offer a deeper, more fun exploration.

While teaching Pilates classes, I get a lot of questions about when to inhale and went to exhale because I will often cue specific breath patterns.  Oftentimes, I tell people that inhalation helps with expansion and extension.  For example, when you wake up in the morning and stretch, reaching your arms over head and lengthening out through the toes.  This is often accompanied by a big inhalation.  When engaging in effort, such as abdominal work or even spinal articulation, I often prescribe an exhalation to go along with this movement.  Imagine lifting a heavy object from the floor--one will often exhale to hep gain more strength.

However, there is no right or wrong way to breath.  The guidelines above can be helpful, but allow yourself to experiment with breath and see what works for you.  Think of your breath and your movement like two dance partners, trying to work together in a symbiotic and free way.  During class, experiment with your rate and pace of breath.  What is a comfortable breathing pattern for you and how does your quality of breath change from the beginning to the end of class?  What helps you feel the most connected and calm inside your body?  Let the breath guide and support your movement, as if it were a call and response.  The breath calls, the body responds.

Recently, I experimented with rotating my spine on an inhalation and this felt amazing (thanks, to the amazing teacher, Kea Kapahua).  I actually felt myself deepen into the rotation in a relaxed and lengthened way.  Give it a try:

• Sit on a chair, or even on the floor, in a comfortable position
• Fold your arms over your chest, relaxing your shoulders
• Breath length into your spine, as if you had little rabbit ears perking up towards the sky
• As you exhale, gently twist your upper spine and ribcage to the left, keeping your pelvis stable
• Take a deep breath in while in this rotation and see if it can gently carry you a little further into the rotation
• Exhale back to center
• Repeat to the other side
• Try doing this 3-5 times on each side

Notice how there is a lull between the inhale and exhale.  Feel your body in constant motion as you transition from neutral to rotation and back to neutral.  The movement, while simple, should flow freely in your body, allowing you to feel vitalized, lengthened and connected.  Be gentle and don't force the rotation--let your body be where it is and allow it to open more into that space.  

I think my right hip is mad at me

Okay, my right hip is getting to be a real pain in the butt.  It has been bothering me for about three years--a lot of tightness in my right iliopsoas in addition to a very tight inner thigh.  I can just feel the muscles and ligaments tugging and almost itching when I move into some stretches after warming up.  Ugggg.  This injury has been an interesting challenge for me to negotiate as a mover, dancer and movement teacher.  I've tried physical therapy and chiropractic work, both of which have helped, but due to relocating recently, I have yet to find one here in Salt Lake.

Anyways, I thought I would use this little injury as a way to maybe learn a few things.  Like, for example, how much tension I hold in my right hip and don't even realize it!!  I'll be driving and all of the sudden, I'll take my foot off the gas pedal and feel my right hip flexor let go.  Why was it even working in the first place!  I'll be sitting down, watching TV or reading a book and I'll notice myself gripping my right hip.  The poor little guy--he needs a break.  Clearly, my muscles must be guarding against an injury, or perhaps I have developed some holding patterns.  I have done a lot of gentle moving and strengthening to bring back life and vitality to my little right hip so I know I am doing what I can to take care of it.  Of course, I could always do more.

Dear Laura,
I'm sorry I am so tight and that I cause you pain, but sheesh do you use me a lot.  I mean, can you give me a break.  Why don't you try choreographing something using your left side first for a change.  Mr. Left Side feels left out anyways (he told me this the other day after rehearsal).  Plus, I really think you need to seriously investigate and invest in finding a chiropractor/massage therapist or PT that can help me out.  I know you think you can do everything, but I'm telling you, you can't.  Give me a break.  Even right now, why are you squishing me into a crossed legged position.  Ahhh, that's better, thanks.  I have another idea, I think the back side of your right leg is a little bit weak--I mean, have you seen that thing try to do a hamstring curl?  No wonder I'm so tired out.  Strengthen the backside of you, girlfriend and release the front--especially me!! I'm dying over here.  Oh, yeah and your low back is a bit tight--it sure likes to work a lot.  Try doing some pelvic clocks everyday for a while and see how that feels.  Yoga has been really helpful--you really need to be more regular with your practice, by the way.  I know you are a busy lady, but it feels so good and it really gives us a chance to get along with each other, reconnect and communicate.  I love it when you are able to let your right femur release into the deep crease of me, the front of your hip.  Boy, does that feel nice.  Gentle twists give me a nice sense of unwinding--like drinking a fine glass of wine.  Speaking of wine, you deserve a glass.  Thanks for listening.  I am already feeling better.
With love, dedication and understanding,
Right Hip
p.s. I'm not mad at you.

Homage to my fellow yogis.

Homage to my fellow yogis.
As a recent graduate of a fabulous yoga training with 25 beautiful yogis and my dedicated teachers Jennifer Ellen and Matt I am still reeling in all of the life changes and beauty that was shared in those months together.  We meandered through learning to teach and practice the science of yoga together. Through the twists and turns and the fun and the sad times. I honor each of you. Thank you for letting me be a part of your learning and lives. What an amazingly "austere" group of women and men!
Here's to you!
During the teacher training I can honestly say that I was overwhelmed by material we were to learn in conjunction with the roller coaster of emotions that I personally experienced and witnessed others in the training go through. 
While learning the Sanskrit names for each yoga pose and pronouncing it correctly (which was harder than I thought it would be) and practicing Surya Namaskara A&B over and over and over and over and over...we honed our movement and teaching and skills. 
We were introduced to and read the Bhagvad Gita, Gita Wisdom and The Yoga Sutras and The Radiance Sutras (a favorite that I read from as I teach each day) among others.
Light reading...haha. Each text a map and deeply woven with life long lessons.   
We meditated daily and kept meditation logs.  We met Lorin and Camile and learned that meditation doesn't need to be as austere as most of us thought it had to be.  We learned that each one of us had misconceptions and struggles with meditation and that it isn't about having to clear our minds of any thought. It's a dance and a journey. As Katie so beautifully stated, it's about noticing a thought and gently following it, then lovingly bringing it back.  As Lorin pointed out, even the Buddha's mind wanders. It's how we interpret and treat that wondering that is the meditation. In fact, anything can be a meditation. As Carolyn recently mentioned on FB, daily life with family and friends is a yoga practice. 
Now that's powerful and beautiful! 
We were introduced to Aruveda, the ancient science of self healing and to Arun, an intelligent, intense and dedicated Indian teacher of Aruveda.  A part of this teaching is the practice ofdaily oiling of the body. This part I really liked when I took the time practice.  According to Aruveda and Arun I am a Pitta Vata. My favorite oils to use are coconut and olive and avocado oil. The practice of oiling the body is quite luxurious and can also be messy:-) We were taught how to start massaging our bodies sometimes from the feet up and from one side to the other. (There are many different techniques that one can research about why and how to oil). Whatever your method the idea is to let the oil seep into your skin for about ten minutes and then take a bath or shower. In the shower no soap is needed. Simply let the water run over your skin and when you're done you can step out of the bath or shower and towel off.
This practice leaves your skin feeling wonderfully soft and subtle and allows for the oil to penetrate the seven layers of skin discussed in Aruveda. Netti Potting is another practice that I learned during our training. What a crazy feeling. I enjoy it now but when I first tried it I felt similarly to Nancy. I felt like I was drowning. It took a few tries and I learned how to tilt my head just right in order to let the water move through my sinuses and not feel uncomfortable. 
We reviewed and learned anatomy from intelligent and embodied Jamie every Wednesday night. We played the adjective/letter yoga game...FUN! 
We all rocked! We were all humbled and we all learned.
As I reflect on my yoga training I am thankful to have been a part of such a beautiful group of people. Each person so willing to share and learn in their own way. 
I learned mostly about myself. I learned about patterns in my life and ways that I have tried to hide and protect myself in effort to avoid pain. I learned that true beauty comes when your love yourself. True happiness comes from opening up and letting your love and true self shine through. Moving into that terrifyingly beautiful fear. Introduce yourself to those fears. Go in and shake their hands. They might even become less scary and thankful that you're willing to be so bold to honor who and where they are.
With this healing comes the ability to let go. A practice I'm still very much working on and will continue to throughout my life.
Thank you to my fellow yogis, my family and friends. I am so very grateful. 
Here's to learning and growing each day and to more dance parties! 
Shanti, shanti, shanti

Sir Ken Robinson on the importance of nurturing and cultivating creativity

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Play video http://www.ted.com Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. TEDTalks is a daily video… 00:20:04 Added on 1/07/07 1,765,797 views

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY&feature=youtube_gdata_player