Lovelies,
wishing you a most beautiful holiday – may you be safe, healthy and happy.
Keep on practicing, on the mat and most important these days: off the mat.
I’m deeply grateful for being able to share my thoughts here and for YOU reading them!
Love & light, Kathrin
My new favorite addition to my practice are essential oils. Or is it already an addiction? I’m just in love since I know how to deal with them. I like a good smell, but also clearing and channeling energies. I started with perfumed candles, but even if the quality is high, I find them too strong. I also used incense sticks and even if the intensity is easier to handle, I only use them for a couple of minutes, as the effect on my respiratory system isn’t a good one. When using them before class, I should not forget to turn them out, as I feel it in my throat, I can hardly talk if it’s too much. Not really healthy…
Essential oils are my number one choice! Each of them has a certain impact on our health and emotions and they can be used in different ways, it’s quite interesting to play around. Just be sure to only use good quality! This is how you can use them in your practice:
Start your practice with a couple of long deep belly breaths
Pour a few drops of peppermint oil onto your palms, then cup them over your nose. With your eyes closed, breathe in deeply to help open your nasal passages, allowing you to cultivate healthy breath.
During practice
I like to use a diffusor, but please don’t overdo, keep distance or even better use the interval option if your diffuser has one. Less is more for this one! Use your favorite oil – when I put mine in first time, I recognized it’s not working well, interestingly the smell fits better my skin or the bathroom, but not my practice! My choice now is a mix of Sandalwood and a tiny bit of Jasmine.
Wind down during shavasana
Amplify this peaceful state with Lavender – it helps relaxing… either use it in a diffusor or just put some drops on your wrists and collarbone and let the magic happen!
After practice when your muscles complain
To relieve sore muscles add a few drops of Peppermint essential oil to a carrier oil and massage those areas. Peppermint’s cooling sensation helps alleviate those post-workout aches and pains.
If you don’t want to use the essential oil directly on your skin, just put some drops in a small spray bottle, fill it up with water and go for it. Another option would be to mix some drops with a carrier oil, such as coconut oil and massage your skin. Some essential oils are not meant to be used directly on the skin, so read the instructions and always use a high quality pure product.
Be creative, play around and see how it effects your practice!
I didn’t manage to sleep last night and when the alarm told me to get up this morning, everything in me shouted loud and clear “NO!” Tuesday morning means an extra early start as I teach an early bird class. So no excuses. Luckily, traffic had mercy on me and I arrived early. It was still dark outside, candles were burning next to my mat and I sat in meditation. So grateful for this peaceful time, just to connect with myself, get settled and ready for class. I was waiting for my students, not expecting many to show up, as I had a few cancellations. This time of the year, people tend to be over busy, often driven by a do-more and be-more attitude, easily forgetting to take a moment to stop and breathe or an hour to practice asanas, getting some quiet and quality time next to the daily craziness….. However, I was surprised that finally just one student showed up.
Instead of being disappointed, I decided to embrace the situation and even felt blessed when my student agreed to practice together – what else works better than a nice Ashtanga practice to move in synchronicity! Even if time was limited, I enjoyed our beautiful flow through the vinyasas a lot. I’m so grateful for this unexpected opportunity!
Early morning practice and particularly getting myself upside down into a headstand always brings my world back to peace. What a shift into a most beautiful start into the day! Thanks for your flexibility B., it was a pleasure practicing with you!
Particularly during these days, close to the end of the year, we hear a lot about being grateful. However, gratitude is a great tool of mindfulness-based practices and helps creating a more positive mindset.
Why you should establish a daily practice — let me start with Deepak Chopra and what he said:
“Gratitude is good for you; it creates a biochemical shift in the body. The brain responds to positive input and sends life-enhancing messages to every cell.”
Sounds good? Yeah, and there’s more. When practicing gratitude, you will attract more reasons to be grateful for. This is the law of attraction! Meaning you’re not just grateful for what you already have, but also for what you want to have. Practice gratitude to receive. Woop woop, good trick, isn’t it? And it works! Just imagine, visualize what you wish as if you already received it. This way you’re sending the right energy out and the universe will deliver. Additionally, you are reprogramming yourself — in a state of deep gratitude, you will feel soft, released and happy.
How does a practice like this look like? Well, gratitude comes in many forms and there’s no right and wrong how to do it. Go with what feels good to you, but if you like to have some inspiration, here you go:
I do it every morning, first thing when I wake up. I can recommend particularly this time, as the day is brand new, our brain still in a rest mood. Good to plant a seed. I give my thanks to the universe — couple of things I have and also a couple of things I don’t have so far. A great start into the day!
Gratitude is a practice of creating a state of emotional prosperity — go for it, make it a habit.
„If you practice yoga to get better at practicing asana, you will quit.“
Of course we all want to get better and master certain postures. But Yogis, this happens automatically, you just need to show up, practice and do your best. Yoga is much more – I had a quite good teaching today.
I woke up this morning with a terrible headache. I could hardly get up and as it’s weekend, I allowed myself to stay a bit longer in bed. I had my lemon water, but the stabbing pain was still there. I practiced with the hope it might help. It was tough, not just due to the pain, but my full body was stiff and constantly asking for Shavasana.
All of a sudden I recognized that I mixed up the sequence, wrong order of what I’m used to practice each day. I stopped, that was crazy. And I had to laugh, I was distracted by thoughts and forgot where I was in the sequence. The more I practice mindfulness, the more I recognize what it means NOT to be in the present moment. I clearly wasn’t when I practiced and this affected my flow. Nothing major of course, but it made clear how easily it could lead to injuries when allowing the mind to wander.
I continued my practice with a better focus and my medicine was close – no, not Shavsana, but headstand. My bad headache was much better after turning upside down.
My practice today teached me about the importance of mindfulness. Practicing asanas was nothing but the means to an end. What happened today to me on the mat is happening off the mat exactly the same. Think about it. How often are your thoughts wandering and you’re not paying attention? Particularly when doing things you are used to, things that reached a state of routine or even automatism?
Commit to what you’re doing, fully and mindfully. And take your learnings from the mat off the mat.
There are usually two kinds of yogis: those who love Shavasana and those who skip it if any possible. Yogis, please don’t skip – and I know what I’m talking about, as I rather belong to the second group, particularly when practicing by myself at home.
Let me tell you a bit more about this final posture. Shavasana can be translated as corps pose. It’s said that Shavasana is a process of rebirth! How beautiful is that? Honestly, think about it! You are reborn after each practice…. Just this should already convince you to never skip again. But hey, there’s much more:
In Shavasana we are getting our bodies quite after practice, it’s the time to rest and release, to slip into a blissful neutrality and stillness. It’s also said that we need this time to get the practice and all learnings settled in and assimilate. Shavasana gives the nervous system a chance to integrate all the new neuromuscular information generated in the asana practice and prepares you to deal with daily life once again. So don’t underestimate the effect of this final posture.
While it looks easy, it might not be. It’s not a time to sleep and it takes practice and patience to surrender easily. It can be a challenge for the mind to get out of this “wasting of time” mode. Even if your body weaves easily into a relaxing state, allow your mind to follow. Send your thoughts away, just let them pass by. Stop moving, stop judging. Face the stillness and your own inner fear, which unconsciously rules many of your actions. Immerse into the friendly darkness and just be there, observe.
Yogis, allow Shavasana to do its work – to rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit!
Every time your feet touch the mat is the moment you meet yourself. Your practice is special, it’s not about doing quickly some exercise. It’s your time to go internal, to flow, to move, to be with yourself. Challenge yourself and release, find your individual moment of steadiness and ease in each posture.
Make a decision to be happy, each time you step on your mat. No matter what mood you’re in, no matter the circumstances. Let happiness flow through you, let it fill you. This kind of happiness that arises within, independent of the situation or people. Your practice is the time you spend with yourself. Be gentle, treat yourself good, accept where you are that day and keep your face relaxed. Make your practice a beautiful moving meditation, make it count.
The moment you feel your mat underneath, allow your lips to smile. Take a deep long breath in and slowly let it go. Allow your body to release. Nothing that happened before has any meaning, it’s past. Whatever might happen after your practice has no meaning either, it’s future, not yet there. All you have it just this moment. There’s no time, but this moment.
Meet yourself in each precious moment on your mat and be happy, aim true, be you.
Do you feel it too? Summer is gone in Europe and my body speaks loud to me, telling me to slow down, be mindful while adjusting to the changes. Well, getting more receptive to what’s going on around might be also a matter of age, what can I say? It’s hard staying young 😉
During this period of time, I feel my joints cracking, as if they ask to be lubrified. My hamstrings behave like the strings of a guitar with too much tension.
So, what to do? Embrace your body and its awesome capabilities! Accept where you are in this moment and adjust your practice. This is what I did this morning:
I turned on music. Yes, I’m practicing Ashtanga, so what! My favorite music made it easier to release and just flow. I have to admit, between Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana and Ardha baddha padmottanasana I lost my focus and started dancing. I had a huge smile on my face, it all felt so right. It was ok. It’s MY practice. And my body found its rhythm, tuned in, opened and turned into its softness. It’s all about steadiness and ease isn’t it? So don’t be so hard on yourself and remember the second part, „ease“. Finding ease in our steadiness is the moment we start doing yoga.
All you need to do is listen to your body. Be aware and only do good to you. Hehe, this doesn’t mean shavasana only, well it might…. It’s your practice! Even being an Ashtangi might mean yin yoga for one day. If it feels right, it is right. Just show up, adjust your practice and get your blood flowing. And please, always keep a good sense of humor!
Honestly a yoga retreat isn’t an insider tip any longer, it’s hip and trendy, not just women, but also men are in on it. Destination yoga. Why’s everyone so crazy about it? And is it interesting for you too?
Well if you like to practice yoga, no matter how often or intense, the answer is quite easy: absolutely yes!
My first retreat was mind blowing, my life changed amazingly. So, let me tell you what I believe are the 10 reasons why you should go:
1. Your yoga practice will get a huge boost. Usually there are 2 classes daily, every day, so your body will be so happy to get the attention it should. Your body will feel like new born after a week!
2. Labels don’t count. Are you rather new to yoga or do you call yourself an advanced practitioner? Don’t worry, a retreat is a place filled with yoga and this is not just happening on the mat. In clear words: nobody cares if you can do fancy postures or not. Nobody is interested in your weight, age or your skin color. But everyone will be interested in meeting YOU.
3. You’ll detox on different levels. Detox? Yes! The intense asana practice will feel like a detox for your body. Usually there are also meditations integrated, as well as pranayama (breathing techniques) and much more that will get your mind back to a clear and joyful state. Plus not to underestimate the digital detox. While you might have wifi everywhere, it gets less important to be online every second.
4. You’ll be served the most amazing and healthy food. One of the best! For sure you’ll get pampered with the most yummie food, mainly vegetarian or vegan – give it a try, I’m sure you’ll eat things you never tried before and they’ll be sooooo good!
5. You’ll make new friends. You’ll meet like-minded people and don’t worry about traveling just by yourself, it’ll be absolutely fine.
6.You’ll see your life from a new (loving) perspective. Maybe you do already, maybe not. Where ever your starting point is, your view on life might get a shift and be filled with much more love. This is the beauty of yoga, it has so much more for you to offer, you just need to be open.
7. The days are structured, not ordained. There will be a fixed schedule, which might look filled, but you will always have a lot of free time. You decide how to spend it – relaxing, maybe at the beach (depending where the retreat is of course) or going on an adventure. No need to organize it yourself, you’ll get the right local connections to get the best guidance available.
8. You’ll feel like a houseguest, instead of a hotel guest. A retreat is like family. You’re in a save group, surrounded by people pampering you and treating you like a friend or family. Something really special!
9. Because you deserve it! Do I need to spend more words here? You’re worth it!
10. You decide if this is a reason: My retreat in Bali is coming up in May! YES! So now the advertising part 🙂 If you would like to join me for an awesome week in beautiful Bali, click here for the details. For sure all previous reasons to go on a retreat will be more than fulfilled!
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!
TUNEin:YOGA 