Conscious Kindness

Last night I hosted a gathering a of friends.  We've met periodically over the past two years, but hadn't done so since last May.  I think we all felt that it had been too long.  Everyone was bursting to share, release and bathe in the wonderful collective feminine energy.  One things we talked about in particular was kindness.  We each discussed how we had expressed kindness recently to either ourselves or to others.  When it came my turn to share, I talked about how I had shown kindness toward a group of friends recently, but was deeply troubled by the fact that I hadn't shown myself enough kindness. 

I'm hard on myself and I've been told this most of my life.  Lately, as I've pondered the concept of focusing on kindness, I've noticed that the Collective Conscious seems to default to Fear and Anger rather than Kindness.  Being kind to others seems to require an effort, like swimming upstream, and that's just WRONG.  I've been taking deep breaths since last night and exploring the concept of expressing kindness first toward myself and then sharing with others.  It feels good... better, in fact, than harboring anger or fear. 

This past week I was reminded of a negative presence in my life.  This is a person I work with who has had a very negative and unhealthy impact on me.  I talked about her last night and several friends commented that she may not realize the significantly detrimental and negative impact she's had on me, my energy and my health.  The same could probably be said about each of us.  Every action we take impacts someone in some way and contributes to the Collective Conscious.  Rather than go with my first impulse and create a Voodoo Doll for this person, I need to put things in perspective and focus on Kindness -- towards her, myself and to those whom I encounter.  It's a practice, but I think the world needs a lot more Kindness right now.

Below is a poem given to me by one of my students after class this morning.  It is a precious gift that I will take to heart, savor and share with you...

Kindness

Served

In generous amounts

Ladled first

For yourself

Becomes

A river

Flowing

With generous ripples

Gathering

In a pool

Large enough

For us all

To have

A drink

Satisfying

Thank you, Ed and Namaste y'all!

Coming soon -- 40 Day Yoga Challenge!

Starting April 1st, Yoga Yoga is leading a 40-Day Yoga Challenge. It's a great opportunity to strengthen the body, unburden the mind, and begin a daily commitment to yourself. I need this desperately. For the past several months, I've been extremely busy at work and have let my personal yoga practice slide outside of what I do when teaching a class.

Starting Sunday, March 21, I'm going to make a commitment to daily practice and sharing my journey (victories, breakthroughs and frustration) here with you all. I invite and encourage you all to join me and share your journey. Make comments, join the conversation and ride the wave of collective energy focused on a common goal!

Daily practice doesn't have to mean going to a studio class every day. If you can, GREAT, but set a minimum goal for yourself that's reasonable. I'm considering a minimum daily practice of 5 Sun Salutation, followed by 10 minutes of seated meditation. Your personal goal can be anything you want it to be, but make it reasonable for daily practice.
To make it even more fun, I'm putting up an incentive for those that join me. Everyone who at shares their practice journey daily here for the full 40 days (starting April 1) will qualify for a raffle for one of three 75 minute private lessons given by me.   (If I can figure out how to do it) I'll be posting audio files with Yoga Nidra and spine-opening sequences. 

You can't lose! Nothing but blue skies and upside. :)
Namaste, y'all!
Noelle

Donation Seva Class Friday, March 19th!

Hello everyone!  Just a heads up to let you know that I will be co-leading a Seva yoga class this Friday, March 19th, with Jenny O! Seva means "service" and is a donation-only class benefiting the Capital Area Food bank. It'll be held at Yoga Yoga 360 from 7:30 - 8:45pm and will be beginner-friendly. Come join Jenny and myself for some spine-opening, deeply-relaxing yoga to help you shake off the week, welcome the weekend and support a great cause!

http://www.yogayoga.com/

Teachers are students, too!

I have not been to a yoga class as a student in about two months. Seriously. I wasn't a complete slacker, however, because every year I focus on rowing 200k meters on my rowing machine between Thanksgiving and Christmas -- not on the water, but on my living room. It's the Holiday Challenge with Concept II, but I digress.

Anyway, today I plotted to attend a vinyasa yoga class. Here's the clincher... I went to a class at a studio I've never attended, taught by a teacher I've never met. I’m a creature of habit so an adventure such as this requires extra motivation. I need to branch out a bit into the greater Austin yoga community. As I got ready, I realized I actually felt nervous! My iPhone Scrabble application nearly talked me out of going.

Well, I sucked it up and went to the class. Once there, I plopped myself down near the front and looked around the room. There was one man (kudos to him!) and about 10 other women of varying ages and body types. The teacher glided into the room in a "Glinda-the-Good" kind of way with just as much effervescence. I introduced myself and admitted I was a fellow teacher. I made sure to mention that I hadn’t practiced in a while just to set realistic, fellow-teacher expectations. When I attend a class as a student, I AM a student. I don’t put pressure on myself to be “perfect” because I’m definitely not. Hell, I work full time and I’m not in my 20’s and I suck at balancing… and handstands.

It was a fun class. She started us off with several sun salutations (which felt good), then eased us into standing and balancing poses with vinyasas thrown in for the sake of sweat. I tried to keep my inner ego and judge outside of the room and they managed to stay there. I tried to observe what was going on in my body in each pose and backed off when I needed to (this is what I tell my students… thank god I’m paying attention, too).

I thanked the teach for a great class and we talked about how much fun it was to just be a student. Being a student in someone else’s class is not only great exercise, but it’s wonderful to experience yoga from someone else’s teaching perspective. I’m glad I got over the hump and stepped back onto the mat. Sometimes just showing up is the significant accomplishment.

Namaste, y'all!

Welcome to a new decade and a new start!

Whew!  The first decade of the 21st century is officially behind us.  Thank god.  While the last ten years were good to me for various reasons, it still feels good to have that decade behind me and look forward to a fresh 10 years.  It's defiinitely pyschological, but it feels good to reset.

So what are my plans for 2010?  I'll tell you... I plan to pursue and complete my 500 hour Yoga Alliance certification!  In ten years, I hope to "retire" from my day job in high tech marketing and transition to teaching yoga full time.  This is the next step. 

I also want to take better care of my health by focusing on eating healthier food.  I plan to drink tea rather than coffee and take sweets and meats off my plate completely.  I'll still eat fish and have a glass of wine from time to time, but coffee, meat and sweets are my current downfall and kicking them out of my diet should go a long way toward leading a healthier life.

So here's to a very happy new year to everyone and may you make this year one of optimal health and fitness, with a little adventure thrown in for good measure!

Namaste, y'all!