Celebration as Gratitude Practice

I used to be really cynical and could often be found pontificating about how the Ford Enterprise is to blame for our collective addiction to consumerism and the epidemic of materialism. In truth, I do still sneer when the streets of LA and its storefronts are littered with flower arrangements and coordinating helium balloons every few months.

It was my birthday recently, and for the first time in many years, I wanted to celebrate with a party. In planing and preparing for it, I came to understand something intellectually that I had overlooked in years past:   The party was really a celebration of the community I have built here, the people I have come to love and the  gratitude of having both.

 This party could have happened 3 months from now, 5 days ago or 16 hours from the moment I post this blog. What mattered most was that a group of people (some of whom were strangers to each other) got together to enjoy in good company, good food and a chill time together.

A student of mine said to me yesterday,  "Mother's Day is just another Hallmark ploy." I gave her a familiar smile. Part of me agrees, and yet another part of me is enjoying playing up all of these incidental holidays...teacher appreciation week, nurse appreciate day, father's day, flag day.

As humans, we delight in smothering things with meaning. If the intention is to celebrate an aspect of our culture, the roles of people in our lives, and the symbols we have donned to create sense in an otherwise bewildering world...so what?

While I don't think we need to cut down trees, process them into paper and send a greeting card for every thing worth celebrating...holding a celebration to acknowledge these things in our lives that we adore, that's a worthwhile cause in my book.


Cheers!
niki

It is mid-April, 2013.

Tonight, along with many other moments I've caught in my net of awareness this week, I am compelled to share a bit of the more over-arching ideas presented within them.

((in joy))

Family is created, first with intention, and then with action.

Find the joy, even at the edge of tension.

Teachers come in all forms, in all bodies, in each moment. Unexpected...predicted...in any case, when the message is ready to be heard, it will be offered.

Wisdom is meant to be shared, not coveted.

In moments of gratitude, share with others.

We are all reflections of one another, whether our levels of consciousness allows us to connect the relationships or not, this is the truth of human dynamics.

Those that agitate our sense of peace embody qualities that must be taken softly into hand, explored with the nurturing touch of healing, and seen as agents of Self understanding.

Out is in and in is out.

Sitting quietly invites expansive awareness of that which was once imperceptible. Remove the chatter with practice. Enjoy the practice as the process itself, as the means, and as the end.

The Beginners Guide: Yoga 101

How-to-Yoga: My New Column for Black Dog Yoga

In mid-March, I started a weekly column for the San Fernando Valley's largest yoga studio. Every Tuesday, the Black Dog Yoga Blog will post "Yoga 101: A Beginners Guide to Yoga Practice & Lifestyle" to address the questions you've asked or wondered...from being a yogi, to etiquette, equipment, poses, meditation and explanations on all the words teachers say that you just don't get.  

I will still be adding my thoughts, meditations, poetry and other things to this blog in addition to the short column...check it out and if you've got some Yoga 101 questions, send them to me.

Cheers,

Niki

Spring Clean Detox Routine

It is nearly the end of March and with the longer days, bright sunshine here in Los Angeles and the prospect of a great year ahead, many of us are swimming (or drowning) in ideas of how to keep up with the great habits we've kept and cultivated in this first quarter. 

Here are some of my preferred at-home habits that keep me clear and on point:

1. LEMON WATER: 

Recommended by Ayurvedic doctors, message therapists and healthy people  alike, fresh squeezed lemon in clean, room temperature water is hydrating and helps to flush toxins from the body. 

Lemons have incredible natural healing properties, including being an antiseptic. 

Drink up!

2. EPSOM SALT BATH:

Regular exercise and massage therapy help to waste toxins from soft tissue, like muscle. Taking a warm bath with epsom salts helps to extract these toxins and also feels comforting. I like to pair my baths with some aromatherapy, either a dozen drops of pure essential oil that I have in my cabinet, or something pre-made. Recently, I've been enjoying Dr. Teals Soaking Solution in Chamomile (Target sells it for around $4 a bag). 

3. RELAX YOUR BODY FOR BETTER SLEEP:

Obviously, I'm a fan of a regular yoga practice...but  any kind of healthy, physical movement will help you get better sleep, because the body is meant to be moved and used. Whether you've had the opportunity to exercise or have been stuck at your work desk, this particular yoga pose is restorative to the body and calming for your mind. I do this one on the floor or laying in bed before sleeping. 

Sit yourself sideways to a wall. Then slide your legs up the wall and you lay your back down to the floor. Adjust so you are comfortable and rest here for a few minutes before rolling off to one side and pressing yourself upright, again. 

So there you have it...hydrate, flush, sleep. Super simple steps you can take in the comfort of your own home to continue restoring your natural energy supply. 

Enjoy,

Niki

Student Q&A: How-To-Breathe

Lately, I've had several beginner-level students ask me after class about breathing, and how to "do it right." 

This is a really common concern and one that deserves a proper response.

First, there is no "wrong way," to breathe. Of all the many behaviors we complete, this is one that will happen whether we are thinking about it or not. That said, there are ways to breathe that are more efficient for certain activities. Unlike most activities, yoga asks that we pay close and conscious attention to how we are breathing. This can pose a challenge in-and-of itself, as having to notice something that you have never had to notice before will bring about new insights and ideas. 

I like to explain it like this: our breathe is like fuel for our bodies. When we are doing something like yoga, we need fuel to move us along in a way that is supportive and efficient. The breath delivers energy to our physical body as we are challenging it with the effort of strengthening, stabilizing and lengthening it's various layers. By bringing a greater amount of oxygen into the blood supply, we are able to "fuel" our muscle body while also releasing waste material that can get in the way of clarity (in the physical and mental layer). 

Whether you are inhaling when the instructor says to exhale or vice versa, as long as you are breathing, you are on a path toward more efficient energy use. Typically, there are movement patterns that make more sense to do with a particular part of the breath. For example, cat pose is generally instructed with an exhalation as the physical structures in the body draw toward the mid line and contract, much like the anatomy of an exhale causes the respiratory muscles to (essentially) draw together. However, there is an argument for switching the breathing pattern, as in performing the shape of cat pose while inhaling. 

Secondly, simply noticing that you, "don't know how to breathe," or "don't get the breathing exercise," offered in class that day is a remarkable insight! 

As one of my teachers says, "Confusion is a form of clarity."

Part of the process of yoga is realizing when something is confusing, over-your-head, strikingly clear and even unremarkable. We all have moments of grasping for perfection, beginner or master. The important thing to know is that with practice, it all becomes clearer and easier. So...show up to class, pay attention to how you are breathing, and find the flow of your own breath as it fuels you to move and synchronize with that space within that is already complete. 

Enjoy this compilation [YouTube video below] while continuing to surf the interwebs! 

Be well,

Niki

How Do You Stand in Your Life?

In 5 days I will be leading a workshop with my friend and colleague Jennifer Netherby at a local studio in North Hollywood. We have been doing a series of workshops we call, "Nail It," to dancers and yogis with special interest in learning more about how to move safely in their bodies.

This weekend, we will be focusing on the feet and how we find balance in challenging experiences.

Leslie Kaminoff, my anatomy teacher, says it like this:
"Our feet are the only structures in our body that were designed to have a relationship with the Earth."

I find this completely fascinating and beautiful. Often in my classes I will instruct my students to feel their feet and begin to have a conversation with the mat through them. The way we hold our weight against the Earth has significant affects on our experience of wellness, balance and power.

Naked, our feet are incredibly designed and fashioned for the unexpected. In healthy feet, our arches support every step we take by absorbing the shock we emit at almost 3x our own body weight. Each set of 28 bones helps to organize the dozens of muscles which can articulate with as much accuracy as our hands. Sadly, most people will loose their innate foot power by wearing "cute," but  non-supportive footwear and walking for a lifetime on manicured, landscaped and homogeneous surfaces.

Hatha Yoga, by its very nature, will strengthen your feet, encourage articulation of the toes and increase the supportive arch in the muscle tissue. Without the ability to stand with an even effort of grounding and rebounding, we stand to risk injury (bunions), disease (plantar fascitis) and loss of well-being (joint pain in the knees or hips, poor circulation, lack of mobility in the toes).

For years I never thought about my feet. I didn't like how they looked, I cared more about what my shoes looked like, and had no idea that they were responsible for so much potential energy. Having broken my big and middle toe during the fall of last year, I know that my regular yoga practice and awareness of my feet helped to alleviate a lot of the associated pain, headache and balance issues that come with a major bone break.

This blog post isn't doing much justice for the prowess of our kickers. If you're local to Los Angeles, come over to Aeriform Arts this Sunday to learn the details of how to cultivate strong feet and an even stance. I'll write again soon about some of the cool mechanics of how we actually move about the Earth.


Cheers,
Niki

The Poetry of Prana

I am a poet. I love poetry...and I have a real soft spot for spoken word. For me, it is the love-child born from the esoteric allure of oral tradition and the intellectually adept prowess of literature.

Among some of my favorite story-tellers are Saul Williams, William S. Burroughs, and Buddy Wakefield. Lucky for me, I found Mr. Wakefield on my other favorite thing, TED Talks.

I've included a link below to his brilliant idea - noteworthy and acute. He gives a heady, vibrant talk about his experience with vipassana meditation, a form of breath centered meditation found worldwide. The closest training site to us here in Los Angeles is at the Sivananda Ashram in Grass Valley, Ca.


Buddy Wakefield on Vipassana: