HOT YOGA MAMA

Hot yoga doesn’t seem to be so popular during the summer months. This is attributed by several things, especially in the economy we’re in right now.

I taught Tuesday and Thursday’s class last week. There were only 8 students in each class. Although I enjoy instructing smaller classes because I can give students more individual attention, I miss having a full class. I know the students like having a full class as well. The more people in class, the hotter it gets, and the better our practice.

I find in this warm summer weather, I would rather practice yoga at home and deepen my practice by concentrating on traditional yoga. I mainly warm up with sun salutations, then my level 2 and 3 poses. Then my floor exercise, an inversion, and savasana.  An hour practice is perfect.

If I didn’t work at a studio, I probably would only practice at home. The gas prices and economy has made everyone rethink their spending habits.

It’s stressful for many families who have more than one child to manage their money during this trying time.

I’m trying to maintain a positive attitude but it’s hard when my husband is clearly blown over by his recent layoff. We have been able to create a budget that affords us to pay for all of our bills but who wants to live paycheck to paycheck?

In light of our stiuation, I find peace and comfort in my practice and meditation.

I can only continue to encourage others to practice as well, as much as you can, daily is always best.

And when summer is over, hopefully our studio will be filled again. Hopefully our spirits will be enlightened and everyone’s situation will be different and better than it is today.

Namaste.

I haven’t posted on a daily basis like I usually do. It’s been a tough couple weeks.  Ian got laid off from his job so we have been planning on how to make living off one income work (for now),

 I am now teaching only 2 times a week at the studio. This is good because I know the kids want to see me more, especially during the summer so they are happy with the new schedule. I want to enjoy my summer too.

But now we have to figure out how to live off of my income.

For those of you who have been following my blog, you know my husband and I both worked full time jobs. He made more than I did, although I would say I make decent money. I was saving my yoga income to push my clothing line. Looks like that’s going to have to wait a bit. We have to do what we have to do and that’s the bottom line.

The low down dirty of it all is that I have to figure out how to account for the following:

• Covering our mortage
• Groceries for 6 people in our family
• Scary gas prices
• House bills
• Summer vacation with the family
• Any miscellaneous expenses that come up

Okay - within just a few days, Ian and I came up with a plan which feels like it’s really going to work:

• No summer camp for the kids, Ian be watching them while I work
• If extra opportunities come up to teach yoga, take it
• Cancel HBO and other movie memberships
• Cancel our expensive FIOS hi speed internet access - down grade to something more affordable
• Cancel other memberships that are luxuries at this point
• Pull Mason (our 3 year old) from pre-school
• Join a carpool at work to cut down on gas costs - Yay, found one!
• Remember that there is always a good side to these things

So - after the shock is gone, and it’s not over yet… I know we’re on a new journey here.

I’ve already been checking out other websites to read up on tips for saving money. Although it sounds simple, it takes time to make adjustments.

Now that Ian is not working, he does not have to drive into work. I just found a carpool so our gas bill has been cut down to less than half from what it was before.

I am looking at ALL the ads and flyers that come in the mail from Safeway, Albertson’s, and QFC (all the grocery stores in our neighborhood). The key is to buy only the things I have on my list that are a true necessity. For this week it’s milk, dry pasta, laundry detergent, some fruit for July 4th barbeque at a friends house, and 7up. I figure if I make my list out first of what I need, then I scan the ads for good deals. I don’t want to buy things just because they’re on sale. I will end up spending too much money.

Food has been our greatest opportunity in saving money. I should have been doing this months ago! It’s amazing how much money we spend on frivolous snacks at work, lunches every day…soda and coffee breaks. I don’t do any of that. Costco is a great deal for my family because there are 6 of us. We plan to go about every 3-4 weeks and buy only what we really need.

My biggest concern is buying clothes and shoes for the children. At 10, 8, 7, and 3 - the kids are growing fast. School will start in a couple months and I will need to buy new clothing. I guess I will have to cross that bridge when it gets here but I am worried about fitting that into my budget.

Any tips you can send me?

I am thankful I am still employed, that I work at the studio and make some extra money. I am grateful for the blessings we do have in our life.

But this is a new experience for us. I will continue to share what my learnings are of living this great new frugal life of mine!

Namaste.

I doubt any men (thank goodness) will be reading this post but I had to write because several of my friends asked me if I practice even when I’m on ‘the rag’.

When I first went through my teacher training, I remember my practice was so intense. I practiced for 2 hours every day except for Sundays. Over a period of 5 weeks, everyone got their period. Only a few people chose not to practice on their first day. I was not one of those people.

What I do remember is our instructor telling us not to do inversions (where you go upside down). This may cause blood clots and fainting. I remember doing my inversion for only a few seconds on the first day. After that, I was good as gold.

To be honest with you, I personally feel SO GROSS when I am first on my cycle that I almost always wear all black and long yoga pants. Pathetic, I know but I notice I do that. I also feel imbalanced, like I cannot hold my one legged balancing poses very well.

But what I do notice is that any cramps I have are alleviated during my practice. I feel good about myself and I shake off most of my fatigue.

The first day is always the hardest so I will practice yoga at home (no heat) or do my regular workout during the day (lift weights and cardio for about 40-45 minutes).

Anyone out there? What’s your take on it?

When you don’t feel like doing yoga (even though you know you should or really want to), sometimes you just have to start by sitting down on your mat. If that doesn’t do it for you, lie in child’s pose and start to breathe.

Starting out with meditation is the best way to begin any yoga practice. Just rid your mind of anything that’s bothering you, and breathe. Try to focus on the sound of your breath. Take the time to take long inhales and long exhales. Just fill up your lungs, then empty the belly completely. I would do this for as long as it takes to bring focus to your breath, and being present to nothing else but the sound of your breathing. This may take up to 10 or 15 minutes, but it’s worth it.

Then I would sit in Sukhasana (simple cross legged pose) and just raise my hands over head. From there - I can almost guarantee your practice has already begun.

This happens to me once in a while. I’ll be in whatever funk I am in, or make excuses for being on my period, or being too tired. But if all I have to do is get on my mat, I always end up getting my practice in.

It’s funny how your mat will call you into your practice. And it just becomes part of your commitment to get your practice in, or deepen your practice, or just feel good for the day.

I always end with meditation and breathing as well. Some people get up right away and go on with their day. I like to let my body feel absorb the work I just did. I will lay in savasana for 5 minutes or longer, and practice gratitude for giving my body the gift of yoga.

It may feel like you just can’t do it, but if you can bring yourself onto your mat, you’ll see what unfolds.

Namaste.

I am smitten with my husband.

Sometimes he gets on my nerves, and I am certain the feelings are mutual. But for the most part, I believe I have found love that will last forever.

I say this because I have been in love before, twice.  At the time (each time) I felt in my heart that this love was it. At 18 years old, I was convinced. Then at 30 years old I was convinced.

Love that lasts forever exists if you want it.

1) Heavy/Overweight/Fat -

YES. There are plenty of people who think they won’t be able to handle a hot yoga class because of their weight.

What most people don’t know about hot yoga (or bikram yoga) is that it was designed to be a beginner’s class so that anyone can do it. So just when you think you can’t do hot yoga because you’re carrying 15, 20, 50, or 100 extra pounds - it is a class you CAN adjust to, reach some personal goals, and get really good at.

2) Not Flexible -

YES again. I started doing yoga when I was lifting weights and running about 10-13 miles a week. I had zero flexibility because I was never good about stretching. Yoga has made me very strong, has increased my endurance, and has made me very flexible.

It’s just something you gain over time. You have to practice to get good at it. Bottom line - practice. You’ll notice a huge difference by the third time you’ve done it.

3) Terrible with balance -

Of course. Almost EVERYONE tells me they have no balance. Again, balance is another aspect that comes with practice. Balance is more difficult to attain because it has little to do with strength. It’s mostly in your head. It takes time to develop patience, concentraton and mental fortitude.

When I instruct my students - I try to tell them to get rid of whatever they’re thinking about. I tell them to just focus on something simple, like their fingertips or the space between their brows. I ask them to listen to what I say and follow instruction. If you fall out of your pose, come right back in.

But we easily get in the rut of “I can’t do this” or “I’ll never be able to get this”. Well - if that’s what you’re thinking, that’s where you’ll be, so you have to get out of that mentality.

4) Intolerable of the heat -

Doing hot yoga is overwhelming for everyone in their first class. But the heat promotes joint health by getting us nice and warm. The beginning exercises gets the joint fluid (synovial fluid) moving - warming up to get into each of the poses. The heat also prevents ourselves from injury.

After the 2 or 3 classes, you will find the heat addicting. And you will crave to move and exert yourself in a hot room!

One thing to remember about hot yoga - is that as a beginning class, you modify your poses at first - then with the instruction of the teacher - you will be able to move to your maximum pose as you dedicate more time to your practice.

Don’t be afraid to continue your practice at home. Work on the poses you feel you really want to see improvement.

Anyone can do hot yoga - so stop wondering if that’s you and get on a mat!

Namaste.

Power Yoga is another form of hot yoga that students see offered in many hot yoga studios.
Our studio will offer this again once we expand our classes in the mornings. The morning classes will most likely be one hour long. The power yoga class will be 75 minutes.

I just made a commitment to deepening my Power Yoga practice. Since I have been concentrating on my bikram practice, I find my body has been aching for flow - movement - and more ‘oomph’.

To do this I have to carve out the time on my schedule to dedicate 3 hours or more a week to my Ashtanga practice.

If you have never heard of Ashtanga yoga before, visit www.Ashtanga.com .

Read a bit about the history, then check on the gallery. You will be blown away.

Out of all the different yoga practices, it is Ashtanga that pushes me to the edge. It is physically the most demanding in my opinion. It will take my whole life to get to full pose, I wonder if I will ever master the intermediate series, but I will certainly try!

Sitting at a desk all day is killing my back. Literally, it is killing my energy too. My posture is decent, but it’s hard to sit for a few hours at a time.

So as I turned 39 yesterday, I vowed to create a new goal. There is always room to deepen my practice even more. I would like to get another certification under my belt but it costs a lot of money, and if you know any aspiring yoga teachers, we don’t choose yoga for the money. It’s not only expensive to attend workshops and add certifications, but instruction doesn’t pay a ton.

So the next step is deepening the practice such that my body finds a level of strength I never thought even existed. After 3 babies and all my emotional stories, I let go of all the stories and reasons why I am not where I want to be.

It’s very important to create the possibility that our bodies don’t ‘feel’ age. That’s all in our heads. Sometimes we come with other excuses like “My body’s not built that way” or “I’m just not that flexible or strong.”

Our bodies want us to be stronger so we just have to work it.

Seeing my kids grow up and get stronger has made me want to keep up with them. They like knowing I am still faster than them, that I want to run with them and teach them yoga. Imagine what that does for their self esteem - then you can imagine what that does for me in return.

I hope to show some basic pics of Ashtanga yoga within the next couple weeks. You’ll see something new I am working on, then I will journal my progress. If you’re doing something similar, I’d love to hear about it.

Namaste.

Last night I was realized how much I would be missing my mother today.

Today is my 39th birthday. She died when I was 36.

She was always the first one to call me up on my birthday and say “Happy Birthday Joy, am I the first one to call you today?” That meant a lot to her, and I didn’t realize how much it meant to me until I stopped getting those phone calls.

Last night when I came home I called my 10 year old daughter Michal, who is always with her dad on a Monday night. I just knew she’d make me feel better. She’s so good at that. But it was 6:20 and they were eating dinner. She told me she’d call me back.

When she returned my phone call, it was 9:10 at night and I was nearing the end of my hot yoga class. I always teach the 8:15 class on Monday nights. I got her message when I got home. I listened to it at 10:15.

Knowing it was too late to call her back, I cried in the corner of my kitchen, missing my little girl, wanting to hear her little voice say “Hi Mama. How was your yoga class?” For some reason I knew that would make me all better.

I just walked upstairs, took a hot shower and came into bed with Ian already falling asleep in front of the TV. I needed to be held so bad I woke him up and asked him to turn around and hold me. He did without any grunting or whispering something under his breath. I just sighed. And he being the good husband, comforted me in his arms.

I woke up this morning feeling better but still sad. I made myself some coffee when Michal called me at 6:10 this morning. She asked me, “Am I the first one to tell you happy birthday?” I told her she was the first one to call and tell me so. And I automatically felt soothed. She told me that she would be the one to replace ‘grandma’s phonecalls’. I had tears of joy in my eyes.

I’ve just been a basket case since yesterday. Thinking about my mother, knowing I am getting older (which doesn’t really bother me really…although there’s something to be said about my last year in my 30’s). The weather has been awful, raining every day and only 50 degrees in mid June. Ugh, no wonder people commit suicide in this city more than others.

I drove into work just being sad about a lot of things and I don’t know why exactly. I don’t want to think it’s because I am getting older but maybe part of me is facing a lot of realities right now. Nothing bad, just things I miss.

I always say that my greatest gifts in life are my children. They love me so much no matter what. They forgive me quickly, always want me to watch them do their next cool thing, laugh with them, or just lay around on the couch with them. It’s all those little moments that make me feel good about being a mom they really enjoy being with.

So my tears today appear to be of sadness and joy. Birthdays do that to some people I guess. 

I look at my reflection and I see Michal which brings a huge smile to my face. I also see my mother and that will always make me sad but I am happy.

Happy on my Birthday I am I am.

I am so happy to report that by the end of next week I will have my logo design finalized.

I was hoping to sketch the logo myself and get ideas from other people but that wasn’t really working. So I did a search online and found www.logodesignguru.com to do the job. I first had a consultation with someone and she helped me decide what package would best work for me.

My patternmaker should have everything set within 2 weeks.

So now it’s time to go shopping for fabric! Once I have that picked out, my samples will be made.

What my students don’t know yet is that I am going to pick out a few of them to test out my shorts, camis, and pants. I will then gather feedback and see how it goes from there.

So who are the lucky three? If you are one of my students at Hot Yoga of Mill Creek, respond to this blog and let me know your size. I’ll make a top or shorts for you.

Tell me what your preference is!

Namaste.

If you have been practicing yoga for a short time or for years - you can relate to the fact that setting goals is something you are constantly doing. Once you meet your goals - you set the bar higher, and so on.

Last night I practiced. Like a good student I focused with my mind - and did my best to hold judgment with my body. My body has made some serious progress over the years - but it has only been in the past year that I have focused more on where my mind is - to get closer to my goals.

There are so many poses I am still working on (the entire level 2 series in traditional yoga!). Most I do exteremely well and I have a few level 3’s that are down perfect but they are never perfect from day to day. Some day they will be - but I know that my practice is a lifelong commitment. I’ll be doing this until my body literally tells me to stop.

So onto discussing the power of the mind…

‘Inner dialogue’. Do you know what I am talking about? It’s that inner voice that tells us we can’t do something or that we’ll never get there. A lot of the time it’s negative. And a lot of the time it’s what stops us from taking any risks or moving forward in life - or our day - in our relationships - in our health goals - anything. It’s terrible.

The key is to getting this inner dialogue to speak positively. It is a daily effort to switch your thinking around. I am only speaking to yoga practice here and it’s a challenge to get on your mat without judging how you look or how long you hold your pose, or if you can achieve alignment.

I suggest listening carefully to instruction. Teachers give a lot of instruction when setting up for a pose. Listen to everything and try your best to get to that space of proper alignment and peace. I know that in bikram yoga there is not a lot of focus on the spritual aspect of practice, but energy is created from our heart and our emotions. If you are present to your spirit, your body will respond and will want to align.  I know it sounds a little ‘woo-woo’ but it’s true.

Another thing to think about is focusing only on your performance. That’s why teachers always say to focus on you in the mirror and not your neighbor. If you’re looking at the space between your brows and listening to the positive inner dialogue, you’ll have a great practice. Part of the discipline is mental focus with the inner self; not getting distracted by anything else.

At the same time - we love to practice with community. Everyone working hard is motivating to the teacher and the students. The dynamics make students put in more effort- so that’s important to note as well.

Last night when I practiced I felt complete. There is still so much progress to be made, but at the same time I remember the days when I would pray for my practice to be over. I have come a long way and I am present in the moment - that my body is strong and wants to grow stronger.

That my mind is powerful and can tell my body to follow suit.

I hope that you can achieve the same.

Namaste.