Tag: opening prayer

Yoga saved my life

KathrinLeave a comment

This is a bold statement. I don’t even know if this is right or wrong, but I truly believe it kind of saved me.

What a year! No one could have predicted all the collective obstacles we’re facing, not to mention the individual ones. I see them as life lessons and new opportunities. 

Additionally I found myself this year in a very challenging situation in my job, which grew over months into a massive work overload. The stress factor wasn’t just 14 hours work per day and also the last weekends, but the fact that I had and have full responsibility, not knowing if I can manage it and all the effort and struggle will pay off. Pressure on me!

I faced the peak almost 2 weeks ago, when my body started internally shivering and I just thought, gosh no, I’m 2 steps away from burning out. Breathe. Trust. Relax. One more week to go. I can do this. And I did. 

So what’s this about yoga? In this stressful time, I kept on practicing every day. Almost. It was nearly impossible to get up in the morning, so I rarely managed to do the full practice, but I was on the mat, no matter what. This was the little me time I had before I jumped into the next crazy day. My practice made my day. It gave me focus and strength and yes, helped of course my body to move and deal with the many hours of sitting. 

But it was much more. Breathing, feeling my body, being with me, connected. I always start my practice in childs pose. The knees wide, so I can relax and merge into the posture. This already is the moment of ahhhhhhhhhhh. When lifting one leg up in down dog, I hear the joints cracking, hello, wake up! The opening prayer, the series, no matter how much of it, makes me feel so good…. 

In extreme times we can notice even better what the practice does for us. Physically and mentally. Just keep on going, no matter what.

New year new you!

KathrinLeave a comment

Yogis!

How did you start the new year? I’m quite fed up with the same stories every single year, be it in magazines or online: how to set goals or new years resolutions, tons of stuff how to loose weight and and and. On the other hand, I like this ending of a circle to think about what I want to focus on. Which is usually rather subtle than tangible.

I like to create a mantra, which I recite whenever I can think of it. I use this mantra as long as it’s not fully absorbed and integrated, which isn’t a matter of days or weeks, but months or even all year. Through this mantra, everything changes the moment I repeat it mentally. My feelings, my body, my thoughts, my view of the world.

Before I start practicing and before chanting the opening prayer, I connect with myself and say my mantra, silently. A beautiful moment, a great way to start the practice.

How about you yogi? With or without goals, with or without an intention or mantra, how about getting your practice to the next level? Let’s get in contact and join my classes or workshops!

Oooooooooommm

KathrinLeave a comment

OM is a symbol. OM is a mantra. OM is sound. OM is the initial sound of the universe. It vibrates at the frequency of 432 Hz, the same vibrational frequency found throughout everything in nature. Meaning, by chanting OM, we are physically tuning in to that frequency. The physical effect on the body is a slowing down of the nervous system and calming the mind, which also allows our blood pressure to decrease. Next to that, chanting OM at the beginning and ending of a yoga class, sets the practice into a frame and helps us to kind of login to our practice.

Honestly, when I started practicing yoga, I was particularly looking for a class without chanting, incense sticks, Hindu gods, singing bowls or any other stuff, that I related to this ‘spiritual chichi’. Well, now I know, it was nothing but this childish behavior of ‘when I close my eyes with my hands and can’t see anything, nobody can see me’. Practicing yoga just on a physical level is simply not possible. This doesn’t mean, that all of a sudden every yogi turns into a highly spiritual being 😉 However yoga is working in and on us, on different levels, body and mind. Thank god, I wasn’t aware of it when I started!

The first class I attended with an opening OM scared me a lot. I tried to just ignore it, as I liked the rest of the class. But one day, I just did it. Ups. What an amazing vibration in my body! It felt awesome. Just that. Getting more used to it over time, I learned to love it. Not caring about the sound of my voice, we do it all together and hey, no judgment please! Hearing my own voice is sometimes embarrassing, particularly when teaching Ashtanga and doing the opening prayer as call-and-response…. However, that’s part of the game! And beautifully settling in our cells….

Due to my own experience, I was quite careful with my students, but finally started to finish my classes with an OM. I love this grounding feeling going through my body, that completes a class. As expected, my students were scared. All I could hear was a little humming somewhere in the back. Next time I told them, we will continue doing this and it’s not religious, no spiritual reason, but physical. Be bold and give it a try, the louder the more vibration you’ll feel in your body. I could hear some tender OMs….

Yes yogis, go for it!