YOGA SAN DIEGO

Blair Rocks

2008-12-31T14:11:00.001-08:00

the end.

Morning Yoga

2008-12-31T07:33:00.000-08:00

With only 15 minutes to set aside for yoga on a given morning what is one to do?
If I had only 15 minutes left in my life I know what I would do: the yoga of meditation.
But that is another story. My 15 minutes would include a few sun salutations, core strength asansas such as boat and bridge, shoulderstand, fish and some seated pranayama.
There you have it: 15 minutes that will help your day flow like the Ganges!

Emersons Thoughts

2008-12-30T09:43:00.000-08:00

I read a beautiful quote the other day by Waldo Ralph Emerson. The essence was that childhood should be a time of curiosity and maturity a time of teaching. In yoga I try to constantly combine the two. Having a sense of newness and curiosity in my daily practice makes each asana a brand new experience. At the same time I revere those who are at least a step ahead of me on the journey of self-discovery and I try to learn from them. True learning takes humility and real teaching is also the process of learning.

Life is learning and teaching all in the same breath. May I have the humility necessary for both.

The Green Goddess' Desire

2007-09-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

Walking in with a sense of purpose and knowing desire sure to be fulfilled the modern day caffeine addict enters the womb of the green goddess. Uttering a medley coded words, he mentally creates the beverage to be manifested by the speedy, well trained barista. The enthusiastic cadence of their voices reveals homo-sapiens assured of fulfilling their bodily longings.

In this stylized, post-modern opium den all are equal. Doctor, lawyer, painter and priest: all stand at the altar of desire-need. Momentarily satisfied in the knowledge that soon the goddess will pour her green-black liquid into their veins and brains.

How does this relate to yoga? Yoga teaches us to observe the movement of our thoughts and desires: both physical and mental. In the ability to observe ourselves we stand a chance to become the observer…to become the self: that element of ourselves which transcends our fleeting longings and desires. Find that in your yoga and you will find the flow of joy which is self-effulgent: a joy which depends on nothing other than its own existence for satisfaction.

Sense of Self

2007-09-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Yoga intensifies your awareness of body, breath and mind. As you move into a deeper awareness of your mind you begin to discover that your senses: sight, sound, taste, touch and smell, feed the mind and create your experience of the world. But those are not the only senses that you possess. There is also your sense of right and wrong: your moral sense; your sense of others: empathy and your sense of self.

Through yoga you calm your external senses. As the external senses become calm your sense of self, your deeper self, and your empathy for others: compassion, becomes stronger. That is a good feeling. Welcome to yoga!

A Haiku

2007-07-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

"When worn out
And seeking an inn:
Wisteria flowers!
--Basho

This haiku aptly illustrates one of the fundamentals of asana practice: rest can be found amidst effort if one know where to look. Often I am struggling with a pose, trying to go a little deeper and further into it, being urged on by what I think I should be achieving; when suddenly I let go, surrender my expectations, and simply sink into my breathing. Once I find that place of stillness of mind inside breath I realize that that has been what I was seeking all along: the calmness and serenity of my own existence.The two most ancient sensations we know are breath and the beating of hearts.
For remember: inside the womb you could hear two hearts beating...maybe that is why we always search for the "other" to fulfill us.

Swimming Yoga

2007-07-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

Where do swimming and yoga come together?...in the breath. One of the greatest challenges in yoga practice is to keep full awareness on breath even amidst the challenge of the asanas. The same principle can be applied to swimming. Which I did yesterday as I swam a half mile off the shore in Pacific Beach. Way out there there is nothing but me, my breathing, my body, the deep ocean of unknown things and my mind and its thoughts...and its from those thoughts that fear arises. Fear of the unknown...or what lurks below. That below can be the Pacific Ocean or my subconscious...either way breath is the great tool for navigation. Give it 5 minutes a day and see what you learn...

Yoga in the Park

2007-06-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well, we just passed the into Summer and what a moment it was. I had two friends once who used to do a 3 day juice fast when the seasons changed. I decided to celebrate the coming of summer with an hour of yoga in my local neighborhood park. Kids played soccer, a guy walked his dog, and I did yoga. There is something harmonizing about doing yoga on the grass. Maybe it is all the green...it enthuses me.
I went through the Astanga seated series with special emphasis on Insect and Turtle poses. Happy Summer

A Good Morning Start

2007-06-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

From a yogic standpoint I think the ideal start to the day is an early morning meditation, a brisk walk, some TANG, (or your favorite sports drink) five or six standing poses, a seated twist, shoulderstand, headstand and then an alert savasana. That is how today started and I felt good the day through. Try it yourself and let me know. The whole thing only takes an hour.

Yoga Community

2007-06-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a challenging quest: how to bring together a number of yoga studios that are in the same area of town and create a yoga community while avoiding the competitive business impulses. The stronger the overall yoga community is the more we all benefit.
Yet we are immersed in a competitive capitalistic system. Any ideas?

Friday

2007-06-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a great book about teaching yoga to children. One of the great points that the author makes is about the benefits of a vigorous breathing exercise called Breath of Fire (she calls it Dragon Breath {a tiltle which I actually prefer}) She points out that: "our intestines absorb nutrients from our food into our bodies. Dragon breath helps us clean the walls of the intestines. It loosens undigested particles that can clog things up, and helps move them out. The intestines are about 20 feet long, but they are coiled up, so they can fit inside our bodies." (Yoga Kids by Marsha Wenig)

If you want to learn dragon breath...come by Pilgrimage of the Heart and I'll teach you at the free tuesday night pranayama and chanting class.

Happy Friday

Subjectivity

2007-05-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the studio and did an hour and a half yoga session interspersed with fixing up little odds and ends in the studio. When I arrived I was tired and feeling bedragled. It was my personal and world view. After my practice I felt strong and energized and that became my world view.
We each wear glasses through which we see ourselves and the world. Yoga is a great way to clean the lenses and let in the light.

Deletions and Yoga

2007-05-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Its important to watch for deletions in our own thinking process, in our self-talk and when we make our wish list to life. Being specific when we talk to the universe is the whole message of the popular: The Secret.

Yoga really offers me whatever I need each day. I was feeling rather run down so I did an hour of gentle yoga and it really zapped my system with just what I needed. maybe yoga is the universe...and if we move into it with awareness it echoes back healing and love.

Socrates asked me

2007-05-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Critical Philosophy...is not the act of being critical or negative as we often think of it but rather being critical, or holding up to the light, fuzzy thinking. For example, I say, "I'd be much happier if I had more money." Socrates would begin with two questions to help me gain clarity: happier than what? how much money?
Try it on yourself...

Speculative Philosophy

2007-05-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Speculative Philosophy is quite different than Critical Philosophy.

I prefer speculative in that there is a sense that if I am honest with myself when looking at my beliefs I can arrive at a process of thinking and feeling that will serve me well in life. Speculative philosophy is speculation into the area of inquiry. Dealing with the concept of heaven, for instance, various philosophies will speculate as to the nature and terms and conditions of heaven. Oftentimes the support structure in speculative philosophy takes on escalating scales of highmindedness and levels of abstraction not accessible to most people.

I'll take an afternoon with Socrates any day...Show me the shortcomings in my thought process and let me take it from there. You learn to walk by falling and stumbling, and eventually...you get to walk by yourself.

Critical Philosophy

2007-05-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

Philosophy is broken down into two types: Critical and Speculative.

Critical philosophy in the type that got Socrates a cup of hemlock. It is the process of helping others to examine their own beliefs in a critical fashion. Critical philosophy exposes prejudice, ungrounded beliefs and fuzzy, illogical thinking.Socrates spent his days in the commons talking to men and women. Challenging them to reflect upon their own thinking process' and ideas. He did not preach at people but rather asked probing questions...questions that delved into the structures of their own belief systems. Hopefully you have a critical philosopher somewhere in your own life...someone who challenges you and the things you hold dear. Challenges not to destroy but rather that you may know the foundations of your own beliefs and ideas.

Happiness

2007-05-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Philosophers have broken down the journey to happiness into three main branches: Hedonism which says that pleasure, whether physical,emotional or intellectual, is happiness; Eudemonism which says that happiness comes from fulfilling one's innate capacites (Aristotle was of this school); and Theological which proffers that happiness stems from embracing higher values such as self-sacrifice and forgiveness.

For me it is not a question of arguing about which path is right or wrong (for all three are valid) but rather determining which path, or paths, you have chosen. It will help you in understanding your own actions and motivations and help you in making important decisions.

Being and Somethingness

2007-05-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 13
Yoga means union...what I often feel is the disconnect between myself and my mind between my dreams and hopes and where my life currently is. In the philosophy of existentialism one of the challenges is to learn to see things as they truly are. This requires sitting and being and not flying off into flights of fancy. Why do we always place happiness is someone else or in some future event or place. Being here and now is not an act of intellectualism, it is an act of courage...

Welcome to Yoga San Diego

2007-03-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

For me yoga has been a vehicle for change and transition in my life. I think the consistency of my practice (every day if only for 15 minutes) has played a big part in that. I vary my practice depending on how I feel that day. My practice gets me in touch with those feelings and helps me to intensify them or transform them depending on my needs. This blog is dedicated to sharing with others the power of yoga and offerring to each other the inspirations for our practise. It is also a good vehicle for feedback about what you like in a yoga class and what you could do without. The feedback loop helps all teachers to meet the needs of students everywhere.
Namaste