Tag: breath

Mindful Practice

KathrinLeave a comment

“Remember, the main thing that shapes our body is how we feel, so don’t waste your sacred moments in senseless distraction.“ (Samadi, Bali)

When I start a class, I usually ask my students to allow themselves for the next 60/90 minutes to be present, in the room, on their mat, and most important with themselves. I ask them to practice mindful as a commitment to being here and now. I know this isn’t easy, particularly when practicing over lunch, when students arrive stressed and might have challenging stuff to do or lots of appointments in the afternoon. The more important it is to grant our monkey minds a break. The morning is past, nothing to do about it and the afternoon not yet there. Integrating the attention of presence in action, this is what it’s all about. Sounds simple, anyhow, not always easy to realize.

There are a couple of things that might help:

  • Stop comparing yourself to others
  • Direct your energy and your full attention to yourself
  • Keep your focus on your breath (and simply bring it back each time you lost connection!)
  • Be gentle with yourself
  • Feel what you are doing
  • Relax and enjoy the process

Next time when you hit the mat, give yourself permission for the time of your practice to just do that, nothing else, physically AND mentally. Any thoughts that pop up, let them come and let them pass, knowing they will get the required attention after your practice. I promise this will change your practice significantly!

The next level

KathrinLeave a comment

Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong. (Zen Proverb)

When practicing, find something more than just the physical challenge. Use the physical practice for controlling your mind, as the physical body is merely a vehicle. It’s not that important what you practice, but HOW you practice. It’s about deep listening, understanding your body and creating harmony. Notice when you are pushing and stop immediately. Let it go, connect with your breath, feel your body, then start again. 

Getting soft in your practice isn’t a sign of weakness, but strength. 

Yoga means union. Union of purusha (spirit, soul) and prakriti (surrounding, nature around us). Union of atman (true self) and brahman (absolute consciousness). Union of body and mind, the unity between the individual soul and the cosmic soul.

Bring your practice to the next level – get soft.

TUNEin:BALI

KathrinLeave a comment

Done!!! I couldn’t feel more grateful – what a journey, what a week! Very intense, same time easy flowing. Flow is the right term, everything at the right time. No forcing, no judging. We just did it. Calm, peaceful, with a huge portion of passion. Great practice, touching ceremonies, yoga, breathwork, meditation, mindfulness.

But the best part was to share all this with stunning souls. Everyone so different, everyone in the same groove.

Thank you universe for giving me the courage to host my own yoga retreat. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done and I’m pretty sure, I will do it again!

Bali bliss to all you babes out there, keep on rocking, realize your dreams, fuck the doubts ✌️

In love with Marichyasana B!

KathrinLeave a comment

Did you know, it’s named after the sage, Marichi, which means “ray of light” – isn’t it beautiful?

It is said to stimulate and calm the brain, while stretching the spine and shoulders. As one leg is placed in half lotus, it stimulates the colon and massages the abdominal organs, such as the liver and kidneys. Marichyasana B is associated with the manipura chakra and such a great posture for taking the attention and focus inwards.

These are the facts, however, for me it’s a pose to release. There are many different things to feel, a deep stretch here, a bit of pressure there, and I can feel my body slowly accepting and releasing. I’m facing steadiness and ease like in no other posture. Rather easy, but same time complex due to the combination of half lotus and binding.

Honestly, the only asana I breathe extra slow and sometimes I find myself counting and counting…. oh 5, yeah, it was 5 breath…. 🙂

 

Listen

KathrinLeave a comment

„It’s not about forcing or willing your body, it’s actually so much more about listening.“ Kino McGregor

I love this. It’s all about tuning in, listen and allow things to happen. Yoga is a process and to force yourself into a posture will nothing but harm your body. Well honestly, your mind too, as you might get frustrated. Do good for yourself and stop getting attached to the perfect posture.

My students know quite well how much I repeat and remind them to focus on their breath, to follow it trough their bodies and to let the breath work for them. Through your breath you can lengthen, release, you can even go much deeper into a pose. But you must go internal. This might be difficult at the beginning, particularly when in class. Give it a try anyhow.

A good preparation is to meditate. Sit quiet and bring your full attention to your breath, nothing else. Feel your breath, watch it flowing through your body, maybe you can even hear it. Sharpen all your senses focussing on your breath.

In your next class, just do the same. Listen to your teacher, let the voice be your guide through the flow of poses, while you are on your journey inwards, with your breath as your beautiful travel companion.

Be patient and allow your practice step by step to become a moving meditation.

How to quieten your mind

KathrinLeave a comment

You can’t? Welcome to the club! To not be able to quieten ones mind is one of the mysteries we tend to believe.

As long as you’re busy trying to calm your mind by getting rid of all thoughts, sorry to tell you, it’s not gonna happen. Well… let’s be more specific: you can calm your mind, but you won’t be able to stop your thoughts of having a party when they feel like it. Even worse, as soon as you feed them, maybe through following them or telling them to leave, they got you.

Instead, ignore them. Let them pass. Don’t give them any attention, but bring your awareness to your breath. No matter if you’re meditating, practicing asanas or just include a little break into your day, it’s a quite good idea to fully focus on your breath. Feel your breath, listen, follow your breath through your body and concentrate just on this. It helps to be fully aware and keep your focus.

If this isn’t enough, you can add a mantra. A short mantra that you recite mentally. This keeps your mind busy and guides your focus. The beauty of a mantra is of course additionally it’s meaning. I like to use Sanskrit mantras, as they require a bit more concentration. Just saying a mantra mentally and repeat, non stop.

I’ve got some suggestions for you, some short mantras I like to use, particularly in meditation:

  • Aham Prema (I am love)
  • Aham Brahmasmi (I am the universe)
  • Sat Shit Ananda (truth, consciousness, bliss)
  • OM Mani Padme Hum (the sound of silence, the jewel in the lotus)
  • OM Ram Ramaya (an invocation to Rama, whose perfection exists in us all, to radiate confidence and strength)

As everything, it’s not just a one shot, but implementing a regular practice!

10 tips to deal with the festive season yogi-style

KathrinLeave a comment

Forget about any end of the year stress and find peace of mind during the holidays with these techniques:

  1. Keep on practicing. No time to take a class? No worries, practice at home. Turn your favorite music on, it might be slow and calming or fancy and rhythmic – whatever your practice asks for is right. Start with some warm up, a couple of sun salutations and just continue flowing, allow your body to guide you. If this doesn’t work for you, youtube has loads of classes!
  2. Don’t care about time. Got 15 min? Practice. Got 60 minutes? Practice. All that counts is to show up and move your ass.
  3. Meditate. Right after waking up, before sleeping or any time in between. Same here, time doesn’t matter that much, even just 5 min a day will have an impact. Too much noise around? Go out, do a walking meditation!
  4. Practice yoga off the mat: stay present. What ever you do, do just that. Be fully there.
  5. Don’t listen just to answer. When you listen, hear and understand what someone wants to share with you, it’s not about you.
  6. Breathe. Lengthen your breath into your belly, extend your exhales. The easiest you can do to nourish yourself, calm down and refocus.
  7. Be grateful for all that is now. Literally everything. All the beauty, everything that is perfect and also the rather difficult and complex things. Everything has a reason, so just embrace it!
  8. Stop judging. Oh yeah, particularly during stressful times we tend to be less tolerant. But finally, this doesn’t help at all. The moment you recognize you’re about to judge, take a deep breathe, let it go, smile.
  9. Enjoy everything you do! Accept an appreciate your decisions. No matter if you’re attending a class, baking cookies or taking a nap, enjoy it.
  10. Repeat and surrender to the magic!

Experience the gap

KathrinLeave a comment

December calls us to connection. To generosity. To lighting lights in the darkness. To moon bathing. Get your crystals out to clean and recharge during Sundays’ full moon!

Let’s take time to slow down, time to connect and breathe. As you gently breathe in and out, notice the space in between. The space between your inhales and exhales, your exhales and inhales. That space between your breath is neither in or out, there’s no activity. It is the present moment, it is your still point. The present moment is this moment, where time doesn’t exist. There’s no past, no future, now is all that is.

Don’t do anything but breathe and observe. Get used to it. Experience the present moment. Being, instead of doing.

This too is yoga.

Unexpected feelings

KathrinLeave a comment

We put so much focus on our physical wellbeing, but what about our emotional and mental? When practicing yoga, we do both, we work on our body and mind. I’m not referring to any yoga practice off the mat, for now it’s still about practicing asanas.

A way to recognize that we are working on other layers too, is when unexpected feelings pop up. Are you sometimes getting emotional during or after practice? No worries, you’re not alone! Sometimes all of a sudden we face certain reactions in class, that might feel strange. We feel tears running down our face, we get upset or sad… without really knowing why. As if a button was pushed and the doors are wide open for any kind of emotions to flow.

What happened? Well, yoga isn’t just a workout for our muscles! When we reach deeper levels, we do exactly this, we open doors. Particularly in yin yoga, when we’re working on the connective tissues and facia, it’s all about opening and release. Yin yoga is the art of letting go. When touching areas where we store our emotions, such as the hips, it can be really liberating, but same time we also face those emotions we’re about to let go.

Yoga works on different levels. And if you feel emotional, no matter what kind of yoga you’re practicing, it shows you, that something happens within and this is just stunning beautiful. Accept it, embrace it! Allow these feelings to be there, go into them, see, look at the details, feel, give room, be a mental observer, without any judgement.

Guide your breathe into this sections, take a deep inhale and exhale everything out that you don’t need anymore. Let it go. Try a little smile, enjoy what you are capable of! You’re pure magic!

Synchronicity

KathrinLeave a comment

We had such a beautiful practice this morning! It was the Primary Series, together with my soul sister and it was literally this: soul related. We chanted the opening prayer together and from there just flowing through the asanas in perfect harmony. Our breath synchronized, like the asanas, even the vinyasas seamed to be twins. In the Ashtanga practice we say each breath initiates a movement. This was exactly the case, but it was doubled. Each of us in her own bubble, while both of us together, we were riding the waves of our breath, translated them into movement, whilst dancing a beautiful synchronicity.

This very peaceful and touching practice did not end with the closing. It was my companion throughout the day and I still feel it.

Give it a try yogis if you not already have, it’s such a stunning and touching energy! A led Ashtanga class is of course supposed to deliver exactly this, as everyone is following the teachers counts and should do exactly the same, same time, including breathing.

However, I never experienced this effect of synchronicity better than practicing with a close friend. Thanks soulsis for making my day!