I don't normally read e-books. I like the feeling of curling up in bed with an actual book but this one I love. As the name implies, the Yoga Resource Practice Manual, is a go to reference book for yoga teachers and students alike. It features 360 stunning yoga poses with detailed instructions, alignment, safety and anatomy cues for each pose. It also has a video library as well.
Who is this book good for?
Yoga Teachers
- library of peak pose ides for your classes
-succinct language that can be used for cueing students in and out of poses as well as cues for alignment and anatomy
-Provides a library of pose names in Sanskrit and English
-Safety Instructions
-Preparatory poses for difficult asanas
Yoga Practitioners
-A great reference book to help you get deeper into yoga poses
-Provides tips that may help you get over a plateau in difficult yoga poses
-Gives you some great poses to help jazz up your practice
-You will learn more about the poses you already do
-Keeps you safe
This e-book is available for I-pad and computers and is well worth the $24.99. You can also purchase individual sections for $2.99. To get a taste of the book, download the free chapter on twists. Click on the link below to get started.
Do you remember when you were a child? Every day you woke up without a to do list. You were open to what came. The universe provided for you in the form of your parents or some other caregiver. You spent the whole day running and playing and enjoying whatever came up. If you grew up in a decent home, It was a time full of happiness and light.
Then one day you are given things called responsibilities. At first these are even fun. You make a game out of helping mommy clean. You go to school and learn fascinating things like colors, shapes and numbers. As you get older, you are given more and more of these "responsibilities". People start telling you that you must decide what you are going to do with your life and you must work hard towards it. You must decide who you want to be. You must forge an identity.
They tell you that being productive and finding a purpose is what makes us happy. But how can that be? Happiness and freedom were experienced as a child when we had none of those things. Most adults are not all that happy. There are moments of happiness but most of the day is spent doing and being so immersed in activity that we don't really have to feel. As children, we fully enjoyed every activity now we do stuff to get stuff done and there really is not joy in it. So how is being productive making us happy?
There is this idea that the whole world would fall apart if people just did whatever they wanted. There would be mayhem, crime, the economy would collapse or maybe just extreme boredom. If people are still guided by their egos, false sense of self, their past & negative self talk, then, yes, that is what would happen. However, if we realized that what we are is so much bigger than our thoughts and that consciousness still moves through the body, our world would be okay. In animals, we call it instinct. Somehow they still eat, find shelter, have relationships, take care of their young and move throughout their day.
My old Dog Zoe
The Dog Whisperer, Ceaser Milan, often talks about how dogs that run in packs and do not interact with humans, have no psychological problems. They develop those problems by interacting with humans and picking up on their psychosis. That is how powerful the human mind is.
In asylums, you find people so caught up in their psychosis that they don't even realize that there is a world outside of the one they have created in their minds. The reality is that the majority of humans are insane. We are so caught up in our thoughts, that we don't realize they are not true. What makes it so heinous is that it is an accepted insanity and in many ways encouraged. In the asylum, the psychologist diagnosis the problem and comes up with treatments that could possibly heal the patient. Our world wide egoic insanity is harder to stop because the diagnosis has to come from us. There has to be a moment of realization and a driving force to change. For most of us, that is not going to happen.
If we realize our global insanity, the fabric of society will change because most of our lives are about maintaining an identity and greed. Working for a dollar that is not backed by gold and essentially worthless and trying to maintain an image of who we are and what we represent. Nature, which is really what our bodies are in tune with, does not value any of these. That is why we go through periods where we feel out of sync with life. We search for meaning in religion, spirituality,possessions, identity, jobs, titles and other people because we have lost touch with nature and what we intrinsically are. We are so lost that we destroy our own planet and health through industry in the service of greed. This constant need for more, more, more is there because we are trying to fill the huge void our own minds have built.
Our freedom will never come by doing more, and being more. You cannot be more. You are complete already.
Mooji Quotes
We honor activity as a virtue. You are not the doer though action occurs through the body.
What to do, what to say is mind.
The mind cannot intimidate the pure self, only the idea of who we are.
The absence of ego is freedom & pure joy.
Find that which cannot fall away.
Mind can only bring a doubt when there is a possibility of doubt.
I don't believe in coincidences. I had a conversation with a student yesterday about how Ashtanga asks us to be strong, and when I woke up this morning, this lovely video of Kino MacGregor, talking about the same thing was on my Facebook Page.
Every day I feel so blessed that my first real yoga, outside of a gym, was Ashtanga. I live in a city where Ashtanga is misunderstood by many, respected by some, and practiced by few. This qoute by Richard Freeman pretty much sums up why.
When the real magic of Ashtanga starts to happen, most people head for the hills. For many people, when it comes time for them to be stronger, they don't rise to the challenge. When I first started practicing, I thought all "real" yoga was like Ashtanga. I didn't run from it because I didn't think there was anything to run too. I just assumed I would be confronted with the same challenges anywhere so I might as well stay. By the time I realized that all yogas were not created equal, I was hooked.
I love Ashtanga because It does not allow me to hide from my weaknesses. The pose does not go away. Every time I get on my mat, it stares me in the face daring me to do what it takes to get beyond it. I am currently in second series and my nemesis poses are
Dwi Pada Sirsasana
Karandavasana
Tittibhasana B
Picture From Blog CronYogiTect.com
Mayurasana (Ashtanga Style Hands Arms together not apart)
It would be so easy for me to just drop Ashtanga and just practice Power Vinyasa Yoga
It is not popular.
I don't make any money teaching it.
These poses are not necessary for healthy range of motion.
I can count on two hands how many yogi's in Charlotte actually practice second series so I can teach 99% of my students without knowing how to do these poses.
I don't need them for Power Vinyasa
If I just practice Power Vinyasa, I would never have to worry about these poses again.
Every pose we do in a Power Vinyasa class, I already know how to do. It is kind of funny, but they only time I come across poses I don't know in Vinyasa class, is when an Ashtangi or ex Ashtangi is teaching a power class or workshop!
I totally understand why even people who enjoy Ashtanga drop it. It is so much easier not to do it!
I don't drop it because I am just not done with it yet.
It is the reason I am so strong.
It is the reason why when both me and my husband were out of work for a year, cashed out our savings and 401 K's, and our house was going to be foreclosed on that I didn't lose my mind.
I don't drop it because when I research deeper into things in our society that are popular and easy, some integrity usually gets lost along the way.
I don't drop it because I love the challenge.
I don't drop it because I love the poses.
I don't drop it because I love the idea of conquering it.
I don't drop it because it makes me feel so good.
I don't drop it because some days it makes me feel bad and the lessons I learn from that feeling don't happen in my Power Yoga Practice.
Kino MacGregor presents another reason not to drop it. To paraphrase, when we surpass our limits, we get a glimpse of the immortal part of us that is infinite and has no limitations. Samadhi, which is the ultimate end for a traditional yoga practitioner, is being one with the infinite. For most westerners who only practice physical yoga, absorbing ourselves in the practice to a point where thoughts cease, moving prana through the body and opening up energy pathways, and seeing the glimpse of our limitlessness through surmounting obstacles, is the only way we get in touch with the divine. Without that, the yoga is just a workout and just like Jazzercise and Tae Bo, people eventually loose interest.
Kharma Khare makes , in their words, "the most eco friendly yoga mat on the market". It is made from recycled tires and is supposed to last forever. See video below to learn about the process.
I was excited to try this mat out. My current mat is a Manduka and I lost a little bit of my loyalty to them when they changed their process and started producing mats that had to be broken in.
When I first started practicing yoga, you could take a Manduka out of the packaging, throw it down on the floor and know that your were not going to slip. That is no longer the case. It has a slick coating on it that has to be worn down. I actually talked to Manduka about this and you can read their reply here.
I recieved my Kharma Khare (pronounced karma care) mat a week or so ago and I was waiting for a really sweaty yoga class before I give my final review of it. The best thing about this company is that, if you want another mat, you can send your old one back and get the next one for half price. I bought my Manduka when their was only black, now they come in rainbow colors and I am not about to pay another 100 bucks for another one. I like the idea that, if this company comes out with a different model, I can send this one back and get the next one half price.
Pros
The mat is thick
It seems sturdy but only time will tell
You can send the mat back and get a second one for half price
Like all yoga mats, if you sweat profusely, you will need a mat towel. However, there was no coating to wear off. You can take it out of the packaging and throw it down. If you arn't very sweaty, you will not have any slipping.
Eco Friendly. Most eco friendly mats are flimsy, thin and not durable. If this mat actually does last, it will be the best eco friendly mat on the market.
Cons
The Price. This mat is $145 making it even more expensive then the over priced Manduka. At least with the Manduka, it has proven itself to be a durable mat and has a lifetime guarantee. This company is brand new and unproven, and besides them giving their word, I have no idea how long this mat will last. However, it is eco friendly. If that is important to you and you are looking for a thick high performance mat, the price may be worth it
The Smell. It does smell like tires. However, the smell is very light and it doesn't take away from the usability of the mat
