Category: Musings

Find peace within

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There is no bad practice. All practice is perfect. Each asana is perfect.

Do you feel overwhelmed sometimes from all those Facebook and Instagram yoga pics and videos? Honestly, I do sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I love to watch yogis in their beautiful practice, but same time I feel kind of sad. We should avoid thinking that this is how a yoga practice should look like.

What we see is a beautiful performance. Is it yoga, because the it’s made of yoga postures? Can be. Perhaps it’s just a show of flexibility and strength. We can’t see what’s happening inside, but for sure it’s not me. It’s not you. It’s not our truth. So it doesn’t tell us how our practice should look like. Just watch and enjoy. End of story.

On your mat, close your eyes. Withdraw your senses and start your practice. Let your aim be finding yourself, your true self. Not your body, not your thoughts, not your limitations. Through asana practice, through meditation, or best case a combination, a moving meditation. Having said that, it is important to do the postures as correct as we can to avoid injuries and to benefit most. However don’t care much about how your practice looks. It’s your practice, just yours. Your practice is not mine. Mine is not yours. Both are perfect. No judgment, no competition.

Allow your mind practicing yoga, not just your body doing asanas. This is what it’s all about, connecting, stillness, peace. Within.

Om shanti shanti shanti.

Image: a card from the beautiful Moon Deck (www.themoondeck.com)

Power and silence

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We are always busy – ticking the items on our to do list on the go. Running. In a rush. When making some time, we usually continue running; into a fitness club, into a yoga studio. What are we doing there? Running. Whatever you want your body to perform, it seems only if we sweat a lot, it’s worth it.

Is it really about that? Stop running through your life and slow down your speed here and there. Whatever you do, be aware of what you’re doing and also what happens within. Start listening to your body and understand what’s good for you in that moment. On the mat, recognize your limitations that day, that moment. What’s your body asking for? A deep stretch to release your fascia? Some twists to wring your inner organs? Vinyasas to warm up? Planks to strengthen your muscles? Inversions to turn the world upside down? Listen to your body! Create your practice flexible and don’t underestimate the power of releasing, opening and surrendering.

What about silence? There are lots of different kinds. Eliminate any noise, no music while practicing. Just you and your breath. You might want to go for restorative or yin yoga. Slow down. Into yourself. Maybe your practice is for once not about asanas, but meditation. I already wrote about meditation and the difficulties I had to meditate. I found my way and strongly believe with just changing the name, or what a name might implicate, could already open a door. Call it whatever is right for you. Meditation, relaxation, stillness, quiet, silence, connection, just to name a few. It doesn’t matter. Meanwhile I found my way into Japa meditation, which is about reciting a mantra to quieten the mind. I do it with a mala to count, so I repeat my mantra 108 times each round and there’s no need to keep track of the time.

Whatever works for you, just go for it! Give yourself silence to nourish your soul, quieten your mind and get a rest of this busy running through life. It’s a pause, which doesn’t mean nothing happens – there’s still a lot going on, but fully aware and most important: deeply rooted and connected with yourself.

I’m currently producing some guided meditations for you and just published a body relaxation as the first one of this series. Use it for your shavasanna or meditation, I hope you like it and it will support you in your practice – stay tuned!

Recordings for you!

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Yogis! I’m so bloody excited!!!

Got something new for you! I just published a recording of a body relaxation, and some guided meditations to follow soon 🙂

I know, couple of mistakes in – I did it free flow, no script – but I want to get it out to you! So please don’t hold it against me, I’m just a little too excited! Got plenty of room for improvement and if you want to help me, please leave a comment. All those technology stuff is new to me, I hope you can access it, if not, please let me know.

Here you go, enjoy: BODY SCAN

Stay true in your practice

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Step back

From time to time I believe it’s a good approach to step back. Step back in my own practice, as well as in class with my students. Back to basics. All class focusing on correct alignment. Taking time to look at the details. Slow down. Practice to feel the postures. Also experience the difference when the alignment is not fully correct. Sometimes back to modifications and simple, basic postures. It works like readjusting the body and setting new anchors.

No rush

Stepping back is quite challenging for our minds. Particularly for those who claim themselves to be ‘advanced’. Let me give you an example of just one pose: after a very stressful day, go into Vrikshasana, tree pose. The graceful, steady stance of a tree. While maintaining your body balance, feel your roots, feel how they reach out through your mat, the floor, into the ground, guided by your breath. This is a huge opportunity to understand what’s going on with you. Are you able to properly connect? How about your balance that day? Are your thoughts wandering?

It might sound boring, but yogis, practice is not about more more more. It’s not about the ability to do the most complex or advanced poses. Practice is about your connection to yourself. It’s about withdrawing your senses, going internal. A meeting with yourself, a meditative state. Bring your attention to whatever pops up in your mind. What are your thoughts telling you? What do you feel?

The Ashtanga approach

Practicing Ashtanga means a commitment to practice 6 days a week, except moon days. A strong commitment. A useful one, no doubt, as it also strengthens our willpower and discipline. But. Yes, there’s a but. Yoga also teaches me to listen to my body. So what if my body says clearly, no? What if my body threaten to injure itself if I keep on pushing? I keep my commitment to practice 6 days a week, but adjusted the content into ‘yoga’. I’m on my mat each day, Ashtanga on the schedule, but if anything shouts out a clear ‘no’ (laziness doesn’t count!), I allow my body to get into the driver seat: a nice yin practice, a music driven flow, just a bunch of sun salutations, maybe a pranayama session or a meditation. Sometimes my body surprises me and I find myself doing the primary series, although my body told me a different story before 🙂 However, on my mat every day, that’s it.

Stop the competition approach. You are on a journey to yourself! Make your practice mindful and take care. Allow any progress to happen naturally, no matter if on a physical or mental level. Step back from time to time, take your time yogi and enjoy the ride!

Happy holidays

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Yogi!

Enjoy a wonderful christmas break, nourish your body with seasonal food and good wine. Don’t care about any rules, enjoy and have fun, your heart filled with gratitude.

While keeping your practice, maybe give yin yoga a try – this calm and deep stretching fits quite well into the season and not just your body will thank you, as it’s a great practice of letting go. Let the year go, with all it’s good stuff, with all the shit. Let it go, it’s past. Empty yourself and get ready for a fresh transition into 2017.

Take care, namasté

 

NEW classes from January – join me! 

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Happy to announce my new classes @ ATHAYOGA! Join my classes and feel welcome in the beautiful studios in Zollikon and Zürich. I love the atmosphere in both studios, very warm, open and inviting. While the studio in Zollikon is large and open with a stunning view onto the lake, the one in Zürichs’ old town is smaller, cozy and feels like practicing in a living room, which leverage beautifully the feeling of being family.

Yogis, join my classes, spread the word, bring friends! We will start with the new year in January 2017, so bring your New Year’s resolution to life!

From January, 10th 2017: 

Tuesday 14-15:30, Ashtanga led class, half Primary (for Ashtanga newbies) @ ATHAYOGA Zollikon

We practice a modified and shortened version of the Ashtanga primary series. This class is accessible for all levels, but we focus on Ashtanga beginners, meaning there will be modifications for the more difficult postures as well as transitions. We look at all details and adjust the speed so it fits everybody. The specific sequences of asanas are linked by vinyasa and your deep and steady Ujjay breath will bring you further into each posture and sustain you to Savasana.

Ashtanga is the Sanskrit term for “eight limbs” and the 3rd limb is the asana practice. The primary series (there are 6 series in total) is called Yoga Chikitsa, or yoga therapy, as it detoxifies and realigns the body.

From January, 18th 2017: 

Wednesday 18-19:30, Vinyasa Flow class @ ATHAYOGA Zürich

In this class we practice different variations of Vinyasa Flow. Vinyasa means coordinating breath with movement to flow from one posture to the next. This style allows some variety, as there’s no predefined sequence. Each class will have a leading subject, focusing on a certain section of the body, a muscle group or following a particular intention, either fast or slow.

Enough said, move your ass to class yogis!

Here you go: ATHAYOGA

Photo Credit: Roland Fischer, ATHAYOGA Zürich

Nourish yourself

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Sometimes, it doesn’t need much, a moment for yourself, just some minutes me-time. Calm down, release, recharge and most important: establish a deep connection and feel yourself.

Take a moment, sit down. If possible on the floor, cross legged. Lengthen your spine, close your eyes. Bring your awareness to your breath. Allow your breath to be audible. Listen. Feel. Slow and deep belly breaths. Now make your exhales longer than your inhales.

Continue. While listening to your breath, recognize the messages your body is sending. Start with your brain. Bring your awareness into the center of your brain. And soften. Recognize how same time your face softens. Your forehead, your jaw.

There might be other parts of your body claiming ‚here please‘! Bring your awareness to each section. Maybe your hips, your knees, your feet. Sit still, don’t move, keep your position. Only your awareness wanders. Allow this particular region to release. To soften. Any stiffness or tension will immediately disappear. Your body will thank you.

When you’re ready, close with sitting one more minute in stillness. Take a deep inhale and exhale, before you open your eyes.

Some minutes to get in contact with yourself. Some minutes of self-care. Some  minutes of precious nourishment. Because you deserve it.

Hari Om Tat Sat!

KathrinLeave a comment

I’m a Taurus and they (who the f*** are ‚they‘?) say, I’m resistent to any change. Not true. Not. At. All. I love changes, I love progress, I love growth, physically and mentally. As a Taurus I just need to ensure that I’m properly grounded. What I need is stability. My feet (or hands) touching the earth.

When I started yoga, I was looking for a class without any of this spiritual chichi. It should be fitness, just that. I found that class – at least I thought so. Hahaha, I was so damn wrong! It got me in my first class, this ‚yoga thing‘.

It took me years to admit that there’s more and that it’s not feeling any bad. Gosh, was it a waste of time? All these years? Nope, it was my journey. A slow one, yep. I don’t like slow. Hmmmm, probably that might be the reason why!

However, the past couple of days I recognized some huge changes. Finally I opened myself fully to all this ‚spiritual shit‘. Not on purpose and this is the best of it, I just observed the change. All of a sudden the words of Deepak Chopra reached me. All of a sudden meditation brings me into deeper levels of myself. All of a sudden I kinna inhale the Upanishads. All of a sudden I have a glimpse of the meaning of existence. All of a sudden, I opened myself.

This is what yoga is about. Changes. Finding your true self. Nobody said it’s easy. But so worth it! Go for it yogi. Stay true to yourself, it’s YOUR journey. And remember: ENJOY!

Hari Om Tat Sat!

Yogamusic – yoga and music

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Are you practicing with music? Have you got a yoga playlist?

Well, opinions are divided and I believe, everybody should do whatever feels good. There’s no wrong or right.

I attended a lot of classes with music. This kind of music I call ‚pling plong‘, very slow, gently in the background. I thought it’s just part of this yoga thing. But I couldn’t see any reason, it didn’t do anything with me.

During my home practice, I tried different music styles, and found out, that I prefer it loud, a good beat and swing, matching my mood that moment. So I kind of danced through my practice. This felt much more like a flow! I immersed into the music, which creates the rhythm. No playlist, I chose whatever fits that moment. But sometimes I struggled finding the right fit and it seemed I was more busy with this, or I even tried to adjust my practice to the music, which felt odd.

The music stopped when I started my Ashtanga practice. I found my music internally, my breath. What a difference, very intense! For quite a long time it was just this, my mat, my breath, my body, my soul. ME.

Recently I gave music another try and I have to admit, I love a good beat during my warm up. Yes, my old joints need a proper warm up and I allow myself to focus on my body and just move with the music. I stop the music to chant the opening prayer and switch to my breath music. For me – an excellent combination.

What about you yogis?