Tag: yoga

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?

The heart of yoga

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During your practice focus on your breath. Your breath initiates the movements. There’s nothing but breath. The rhythm of your inhales and exhales. Without the breath there is in fact no yoga. Your steady focus on the breath is what makes your practice deep, intense and finally a moving meditation. Not asanas, but breath is the heart of yoga.

On the mat you let go. Each inhale nourishes you, with every exhale you let go. Stiffness, inflexibility. Limiting beliefs, bad habits, fears. Judgement. Your breath creates the rhythm of your practice. You feel what you are doing without thinking about it. Learning to trust. Yourself.

Your breath is your music. Listen to the sound of the ocean you create. Allow the waves to flow through your body, wash you internally. Making your body smooth and flexibel.

Let the wind of your breath drive your movements – stretch, bend, fold, bind, lift, open. Turn the world upside down. Feel. Free yourself and open your heart.

Allow your breath to lighten you up inside. Start shining.

From this point on yogi – just promise me you’ll keep a steady focus on the breath while practicing! This is yoga.

It’s about people, not poses.

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Some teachers teach poses; some teachers teach people. Some students want to work on their fitness, some students want to improve, grow, work on their body and mind. For some it’s work out, for some it’s magic.

What’s wrong, what’s right? Nothing. Just different approaches. We can practice yoga as a cardio workout. We can practice yoga to increase our flexibility. We can practice yoga as a moving meditation. We can practice yoga as a reflection on our body’s reaction to the work. We can practice yoga as a spiritual experience. And everything in between. There are teachers out there for each approach, nothing wrong, nothing right. No matter what you do, as long as you feel good, you’re doing it all right.

But what does it mean to teach people, rather than poses? Well, we are still talking about asana practice, meaning we go through postures in class. First priority – yes this is about poses and part of the game – is to do them correct or find a suitable modification. Not to master them, but to protect ourselves from injury. Now it’s up to you, leave it here or go to the next level, which means for me, teaching how to connect with ourselves. Go internal to feel what you are doing. Listen to your body. Respect your limitations of the day. Learn to breathe and let the breath initiates the movement to finally fly through the asanas. When holding the postures, find stability as well as ease. Enjoy what you are doing. Learn from what you can and can’t do so far. What is your body telling you? Why is there a stiffness, why does it hurt here, why isn’t there any progress? Is there really no progress? Why in a hurry?

Yoga can be so much more than bending your body into a pretzel or standing on your hands. If you just want this, absolutely fine. Go for it, it’s a great fitness tool. If you are open to receive more, get the journey started and allow yoga to change your life. To change yourself. Learn to differentiate between yourself and your ego.

Beginner or advanced?

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Yogis!

Have you ever asked yourself if you are a beginner or advanced yogi? Or even after some time practicing, do you still name yourself a beginner? Read more about this labels in my new article @ Yoga like a Boss (German)!

…

Was eigentlich definiert einen Anfänger und was einen Fortgeschrittenen? 

… Kommt der Ausdruck Anfänger nicht von anfangen? Bin ich dann ein Anfänger, wenn ich gerade anfange etwas zu tun? Was, wenn ich hyperflexibel bin und ich schon in meiner ersten Yogastunde zur Brezel werde? Und meine Matten-Nachbarin mich beeindruckt fragt, wie lange ich das geübt habe, bin ich dann kein Anfänger mehr?

Umgekehrt, wenn ich nach Jahrelanger Praxis noch immer nicht an meine Zehen komme, bin ich dann noch immer ein Anfänger? Gar ein hoffnungsloser Fall? …

MEHR lessen

Dedicate your practice

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Did you ever dedicate your practice to somebody? I know lots of yogis do so, but honestly, I was never into this, as I never really understood. I mean, what is the relationship, where is the connection between my practice and another person? And what does dedicating mean in this situation?

Yesterday I heard about a friend, that passed away. Even if we only spend some weeks together, I always felt her beautiful soul. I met her again some month ago in India and she was so happy, in love and just shining. Her death touches me deeply, my chest in pain, my eyes filled with tears.

On the mat this morning I felt the urge to dedicate my practice to her. It felt so right. Same time I was keen to learn what exactly this means. My practice itself didn’t change, reflecting where I am today, with all my strength, with all my weakness, with all my limitations. But there was one thing, that was truly different: I was giving. My breath. My love. I opened myself even more and I felt a strong energy within as well as around me.

I experienced a very strong and calm practice. Simply beautiful. For you Cathe, in love.

Meditation vs meditation

Kathrin4 Comments

I read a lot about meditation. I took lessons. I did the 30 day challenge with Deepak and Oprah. I tried. Again and again. I failed. Again and again. Struggling with my feet falling asleep, my back complaining. Struggling with the feeling, that I simply can’t do it. Due to all the benefits of meditation, I couldn’t accept to not doing it. It was a catch 22.

My philosophy teacher in India was referring to the rising sun in his meditation lessons. He always said ‚I am the rising sun. I am shiva‘. I had to smile, it was kind of matching the situation, but I didn’t understand.

One day when doing my Ashtanga practice, I managed to focus that much on my breath, that my practice was nothing but intense deep breathing, while my body moved through the asanas. This felt so amazing and my only thought after practice was, THIS is meditation! A moving meditation.

This experience made me look closer to my definition of meditation: sitting in stillness, getting rid of all thoughts, calming down, release, finding peace within.

It was this definition, that was holding me back from meditating. Yoga is union and this is where meditation starts for me. Unite with myself. Going internal, connect with my breath. BE my breath. Feeling my love in my chest. Feeling the sun rising in me. Let it spread, let it shine. Being the rising sun. This deep connection is my meditation. And the journey to it is breath.

It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing. It might happen while practicing, or walking my dog. I might be sitting, lying down, or cooking. It might take a couple of seconds, minutes or hours. It doesn’t matter.

There is no right or wrong. This is how I meditate. Your experience might be totally different. But if you are struggling, maybe this is some inspiration for you.

These are MY moments. My silent moments, my deep connection to myself. My meditation. My moments when I am SHIVA.

Relax babe

Kathrin2 Comments

I bet you know this situation: the teacher shows something, it looks easy. You give it a try — impossible. The teacher breaks it down into single steps, explains the technique and it looks, guess what, super easy. You give it another try — impossible. I mean, this kind of never-in-this-life-possible. Everything in your body is asking ‚are you kidding me?‘ Alright, it’s not your body talking to you, but your ego. Telling you, ‚you’ll never be there’, ‚you’re not good/flexible/strong (choose your word) enough‘!

Your ego is quite intelligent, if this strategy is not working, there’s the opposite: ‚go for it, work hard, push yourself, don’t give up before you can do it‘!

Babe, that’s not better at all. Both is not doing anything good to you. Relax. Make it part of your practice to turn that ego talk off. You will immediately be open to feel, trust and be easy to yourself. It allows your body to try. Allows yourself to laugh when falling, to appreciate your practice as it is. It opens you to be grateful for each baby step.

Let me give you an example: jump throughs. These wonderful transitions between asanas. They look so natural. Have you ever tried to lift your feet in a forward fold, in Uttanasana? See. My ego told me, as long as I can’t do this, I won’t be able to jump through. And even more. My ego told me, I’ll never be a proper Ashtangi without being able to jump through. I didn’t stop working on it, but frankly, without much effort, my aim was rather making the transitions more fluent, than to jump.

One day I managed to send my ego back to sleep before practice. It was like a ‚click’ in my mind, all of a sudden I knew I had to position my hands slightly different and I walked through. Ohhhh! I know, that’s not jumping, but my hands stayed flat at the mat. This was showing my body the way. This was the moment I knew, I can do it. I can jump, no need to float before.

It works. In baby steps. Get your mind on track! Relax. Do your practice and let it happen when it’s time. Allow your ego to have a break. Allow your ego to stop texting all day long. Relax, babe.

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!

Body talk

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This morning, when I tried to get out of my bed, I had an enthusiastic ‚good morning‘ from my gluts, hamstrings, psoas and deltoids. Oh oh…. I had a gentle (true!) come back to my Ashtanga practice yesterday and my body seems not to be over happy about this. Although I didn’t get any complains yesterday, this morning I heard my body loud and clear:

„What the f***? I thought you gave it up? I liked this lazy Yin stuff! Cmon, Ashtanga again, sure? Let’s see what you think of the nice package I’ve prepared for you: overall stiffness, sore muscles, shortened tendons.“

My dear body, please stop being difficult, stop complaining! I promise to be mindful, respecting your mood of the day and accepting any limitations. Let’s have some fun together and rock this life!

On the mat ♥