Jun 04 2008
Yoga Wednesday
Yoga has become an important part of my life over the last few years. I have studied yoga (off and on) since I was in my
mid-teens. My mother had an older instruction book from the early 70s with photographs of asanas and some text about what the poses did. The yogi who wrote the book (I don’t remember who it was…) also had a lot of information about the yogic tradition and lifestyle. I was a new(er) vegetarian at the time, and I liked seeing a tradition that centered around nonviolence and wellness. I was interested in dance and gymnastics when I was young, and I developed good flexibility, so the poses were not hard for me to practice, but at the time, I did not completely understand what I am doing. I am glad that I got the chance to come and “fill in the blanks” later.
It was not until college that I began to actively study yoga in a classroom session. I began going to a small studio in Baltimore with a friend. The classes were varied, and I learned more about some of the different styles of yoga in that small studio. It was not until a few years ago – 2005 or 2006 – that I devoted myself to a regular practice. I studied with several teachers, sometimes going five times a week. I was in graduate school, and I needed the stress relief! In 2006, yoga was an integral part of my weight loss, paired with regular exercise and some diet modifications. From there, I have continued my yoga practice – both in the classroom and on my own.
Last year, I started the Namaste Knitters group on Ravelry to bring together the love of yoga and the love of knitting. The group has grown into a lovely community that embraces all skill levels and is open to all sorts of questions and styles of practice. For me personally, it has ignited a desire to deepen my own practice, and consider the idea of sharing yoga with others in the form of teacher training. I am researching the possibilities, and I know it is something that I want to do. I am leaning towards a training that starts at the beginning of the calendar year, so I have the time to really explore these feelings and make sure that it is something I truly want to do. It also gives me the chance to read and learn more about the history, philosophy, and mechanics of yoga. Although the phrase has become quite the novelty of late, knitting and yoga do have similar characteristics – at least in my practice. Knitting makes you think about the here and now – each stitch at a time. And what better way to enjoy life than taking it slow and thinking about the present?
As part of my 365 experiment, I started photographing yoga asanas and posting them on Flickr. I am calling it Yoga Wednesdays. The group is new and small, but I feel that there is the potential for great inspiration and learning there. Please feel free to join and post photos of your own.
Yoga has the ability to be done anywhere. And you don’t have to roll out a mat to do it, either. Thinking positive, living in the moment, and simply understanding and being grateful are just as powerful as any downward dog!
- Yoga Journal – complete resource for beginners and experienced yoga practitioners.
- Yoga Today – free sessions that you can download and practice with! (I still can’t believe how amazing this resource is)
- Yoga Anatomy, when a yogi and a medical illustrator get together, amazing things happen! You can see what muscles are engaged (or are supposed to be engaged) during your practice.
I’ve done a few in home yoga videos but that’s about it. I enjoy the stretching and posing of it, though, and I think I’d like to learn more.
I have been “practicing” yoga for about two years now. I put that in quotes because sometimes it seems like I’m practicing practicing! I go for a while and then something comes up and I get out of my routine. I’m actually returning to it today from a two week hiatus (pulled chest muscle). I always knew I’d like it but it has really transformed my life…I feel better physically AND spiritually when I stick with it. Thanks so much for the resources listed here…I’ve added them to my favorites! …and btw…I think you’d make an excellent teacher!
Oooh. Your post is really inspiring me to take up yoga. I’ve been um-ing and aah-ing over it for many many months, but can never seem to get it together. I tell myself I don’t have the time, but that’s….well… not true. I love the Flickr group you’ve created, that’s such a wonderful idea! My inner medical student (who I have suppressed for the summer holidays!) thinks that that the yoga and anatomy book looks very cool and interesting as well; thanks for the link. Thanks for such an interesting, positive and encouraging post
It’s interesting hearing your story about how you’ve got to this point. My story has certain parallels to yours: doing some yoga when younger, losing weight (also in 2006!) with yoga an integral part of that process, and finding it becoming increasingly important in my life. I am also researching training as a teacher where I live in London, and I am hoping to start towards the end of this year.
I look forward to hearing about what sort of training you decide to do.
something I’ve always wanted to try. I love stretching and the relaxing part after a workout, and I think yoga would be a nice change of pace! I’ll have to check out the resources you listed….
Hi Lolly! I’m regular lurker & sometimes commenter, but today I just had to comment. Like you I have practiced Yoga off and on (more seriously over the past 5 or 6 years while losing weight and running) since high school and I have even contemplated becoming a Yoga teacher/instructor too. I typically only used videos, but in the past week (for the first time) I have taken my practice outside after my evening cardo session.
While practicing last night I thought how nice it would be to photograph myself or my view while doing Yoga and post to my blog or Flickr. Thank you so much for creating the wonderful Flickr group! I truly look forward to sharing with you guys and seeing everyone else’s photos.
I think you would be a great instructor! Thanks so much for the great resources too!
I love my yoga..what a fantastic idea for a post! I’ll look forward to each Wed. I joined your Namaste Knitters group some time back, thanks for starting it. I just haven’t been real active in “chatting”.
hhhmmm, does my name give it away? another yoga practicing knitter. i’ve been practicing for fifteen years–hoping to be doing side crow at seventy!! good luck with your plans for training-hope there are lots of good options where you are
I’m going to be asking my physical therapist today whether I have the OK to start trying out a little bit of yoga again. I checked out a book called “Yoga as Medicine” from the library and it seems very good…so good that I wound up ordering a copy for myself to keep, and it’s supposed to arrive today! That Yoga Anatomy book sounds pretty excellent as a reference as well, so perhaps I’ll order a copy of that down the road too.
Thanks for all of the links!
I checked into taking a yoga class about six months ago but found there isn’t one close in my area. Then I looked at getting a video but found there are so many to chose from. Thank you for adding this to your blog I will look again for a video.
I started yoga therapy about six months ago, and it has changed my life. Thank you so much for sharing these resources. My yoga teacher is such an integral part of my development. I think you would be a wonderful teacher. I’m not sure we can have enough teachors and mentors to promote this healthful way of being.
Great idea Lolly.
As an occasional yoga practicer (once a week in class) who is trying to start doing it more often, the pictures in the flickr group are totally inspirational.
Thanks!
Yay for yoga wednesdays!
And very appropriate in my case, since one of my yoga classes is on Wednesdays!
Hey you! I was totally thinking of you and Chris the other night when I was up WAY too late watching your Penguins live to see another day! I’ll totally be thinking of you tonight! Good luck!
I love doing yoga, it makes me feel calm and centered.
Have you tried YogaDownload.com? I love that it’s all audio and that I can take it with me anywhere.
This was a great post, thanks! I love the Yoga Wednesdays photos – hopefully I can contribute sometime.
I’ve been thinking about getting into yoga for quite a while now, but except for one quick giving-it-a-try “lesson”, I have yet to do it. Thanks for sharing these resources, and for sharing your thoughts about yoga – it is inspirational.
Lauren, I think you would be a fantastic teacher. If you are anything in real life like you are in this blog, then your students will be lucky to learn from you
I just came back to Iyengar Yoga after a few years pause, I can’t believe I ever stopped, it’s doing so much for my balance, awareness and well-being. I also just read a very inspiring book by Donna Farhi, “Bringing Yoga to Life”., about how yoga practice relates to everyday life.
I think you’d be a wonderful teacher!
for me I always find it interesting. Yoga in general didn’t fit me. That was until I found Bikram yoga. Intense and all that it may be, but it was the only yoga that gave me that “yoga” feeling. Only while there are many devotees such as myself (just getting back into it now!) there is less out there that deals with Bikram in some ways. But I find as I am including it more and more in my life that I want to learn more and more. All in the hope that one day I will get “there”
And hope that I can extend it outwards in my life.
Thanks for pointing to this anatomy book. I own the book by H. David Coulter, which is very profound. Very recommended, but a lot of reading. I was always wishing for a book with paintings. So far I only saw those with studio machine training – not my taste. And now – voilà.
i’ve started yoga in january after a nearly 30-year break! i love the current studio i go to which is only about 10 minutes from my home and have tried to commit to at least 1 home practice session a day. i would love to take the teacher training that the studio here is offering, but finance and time constraints make it difficult – yet i do try to go to the studio at least once a week…i’ve been contemplating private sessions because of a bum shoulder and i think the individual attention would be helpful in enhancing my home practice.
I NEED to get back into yoga. My body and spirit miss it. Thanks for the great reminder post!
Thank you Lolly for the links. I would love to get into Yoga. I have a couple of home videos but really don’t make/have time to do them but as I get older my body is crying out to be stretched so I really must.
[...] you guys seen Lolly’s post about Yoga Wednesday? I recently read an article about practicing Yoga outside after your cardo workouts, so I gave it a [...]
Awesome. Thanks so much for the Yoga inspiration
Wow, I could have written the same exact first paragraph–Mom’s 70’s yoga book, vegetarian, dance, the whole thing. Crazy, right?
Check out this site:
http://www.yogapoint.com
It’s the place I went in India for my teacher training (which I didn’t go to b/c I wanted to teach, but it’s still a great program just for your practice). Don’t know if you’re into going that far abroad, but the price is great considering it’s room and board for a month as well. And you would really love India, too.
The site is also cool on its own, has lots of recipes and good info on yoga. Good luck!
Thank you so much for this post. I’ve joined your Ravelry group and looked at the links and Yoga Today is such a HUGE find! As someone who’s out of shape and losing some (ok, a lot) of unwanted pounds and thinking a lot of defeating thoughts, like I can’t do this, etc. But there are things I can do on the beginner classes and do it in the comfort of my home. Thank you! Your group seems nice too, hope to be involved there.
I absolutely HAVE to try yoga now! I’ve been wanting to for several years now, I just haven’t known quite how to go about it. You are so inspiring! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the references…I saved them to my favorites
How fitting that I am just home from my own yoga thursday!:) I agree knitting and yoga have a common thread for me too – mindfulness and relaxation (usually)…
Interesting. I’ve been thinking of trying yoga, but I just haven’t made time in my schedule. I’ll check out the links you posted and see where that leads.
Heh, I am older than you but I will join you on the mom-studied-yoga-in-the-70’s bench! I took some classes myself in the 80’s, and also t’ai chi. But I have been out of it for so long I would have to start at the beginning again, I’m sure.
Sorry about the Pens, too.
I have the yoga anatomy book, picked up at the Bodyworlds Exhibit, it made a big difference in the practise.
How exciting! I can’t wait to see where this dream takes you!
Thanks for the links, too!
Thanks for the Yoga resources! I especially love the Yoga Today link. I’ve been practicing yoga on and off for the last 8 years and recently returned to the mat myself. I am currently training for a half marathon in October and decided that I need yoga to help keep me flexible and stretched afterwards, as well as manage my stress. I’ve always found yoga a safe and wonderful zone to be in when times have gotten tough. Thanks for sharing your story about yoga and how it has contributed in your life. I plan to practice at a studio at least three times a week, and also on my own…since I can’t always afford all those classes but the Yoga Today site will definitely be super useful. Thanks again!
We had a yoga instructor come to work for 6 – 8 weeks over a year ago. Then her schedule changed and she could no longer come. Before that, a co-worker and I took a yoga class through the local adult ed. It was great for stress relief.
I have a few videos (one given to me by the same co-worker) and have really not gotten into it at home.
I belong to the Namaste group on Ravelry and really need to find a local class suited to my beginner needs. My parents have a cottage at a lake and last summer a women down the street had a small informal group on her lawn at her lakefront cottage. I didn’t go but if she does it this year, I really am going to think about it. It sounded like it was just a gentle relaxation type of class.
I enjoyed reading your story about yoga. I like to read Yoga Journal and buy it when I see it but I had never heard of Yoga Today so I will be checking out the links further this weekend.
I have been doing and pilates for about four years. I first started just after undergrad and right before grad school. It was a time in my life when I felt like I was in limbo and needed something to help balance my mind and body. I took classes in Boulder at the university but now that we moved to Florida I am at a loss for local classes. If anyone knows of any great classes in Kissimmee or Celebration let me know!
Thanks and Lolly I look forward to joining both your yoga groups.
Amanda
I am a great lover of yoga. Unfortunately it tends to be one of the first things that disappears from my life when I get busy. Now that I am slowing back down I am looking for a spot in my home to create a sacred area for the study of both meditation and asanas. I have taken classes from Shiva Rea and really enjoy the shakti energy she and her followers create:)
hi lolly! this post could not have come at a better time for me. i did a bit of yoga years ago and then fell out of it, and kept thinking this year that it would be something that would be so so good for me (stress relief, fitness, just general peace of mind!) classes in nyc are crazy expensive so i was thinking about getting a basic book, but there is something special about going with a teacher who can correct your form. thank you for these resources… i will definitely check them out and maybe indulge in a once a week class? xo
Hi! My first visit here to your wonderful blog…I found it via a link I got from a friend about your Specturm Project. Great reading about your yoga experience. I very lately wrote a post about the importance of yoga in my life. I have chronic fatigue and yoga helps me to find sources of energy within the body and mind, as living with fatigue can be such a downer. In many ways yoga has saved my life. My mediation practice has been off & on over the year…working on getting it back on again! Love your Yoga Wednesdays. Namaste
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Back in 2001, I faithfully practiced yoga, just about every day. It really started as a means of muscle stretching, that slowly led me to be more mindful about my breathing and positioning of my body. I continued to work and practice my form over the next few years, and continued my yoga practice throughout my first pregnancy, and for about the 1st year after my son was born. In fact, the yoga classes I took while pregnant, ended with 5 minute sessions of deep breathing and chanting, and I would frequently fall asleep during this part. Once my second son was born in 2005, there just wasn’t time. He’s a very busy little boy.
It’s interesting, your comparison of knitting to yoga, and how it sort of forces you to be in the moment, “one stitch at a time”. I have recently fallen in love with lace knitting, and really couldn’t figure out why, as it seems it could be quite stressful. Yet, I find it the most relaxing knitting I’ve ever done. Because, I am forced to clear my mind, and as you say, focus on one stitch at a time. I have found, as of late, that I really do miss doing yoga. The summer is proving to be quite busy, but I have set a goal for myself, that come September, I will resume my yogic practices. Thanks for your inspiration Lolly!