Amma was in town

Writing that title sounds funny for me, because "Amma" is actually the South Indian name for mom/mother, commonly used by people better known as Malayalees or Maloos from Kerala. While I grew up calling my mom, mom or ma, on occasion when I wanted to be whinny/babyish, I would use the Indian term of endearment "Amma" which was always well received. However, for the sake of this post I am referring to the wildly popular Amma, also known as the Hugging Saint. Amma is known to have started and inspired many humanitarian efforts worldwide. The Hip Hop Nation and UN hosted an event for Amma to give her loving hugs, and spread her message of peace and meditation to the yoga community of NYC. Russell Simmons and Doug E. Fresh were there in attendance along with many others. Unfortunately, my schedule didn't allow me to go and meet this fellow South Indian lady. Lines were long, energy was peaceful, and I heard all about it from clients, and Michael (owner of Bamboomoves) who enjoyed the experience. Apparently, Doug E. Fresh busted out in an amazing freestyle for the people who were waiting for their hug. If you missed Amma, she is touring for a while, Boston, DC and possibly other places so check out her site for more information and go get your Hugs.

Compassion - Daya

The Vedic Yama Daya means compassion. For two weeks now I have had the privilage to work with a lovely group of kids teaching them yoga. Two kids who have high energy (one is a lovely girl who I have worked with for over a year & a new boy). Both the parents of the high energy kids say that they would benefit from more focus based activities. The third child in the yoga class is a wonderul girl who has autism. Her parents wanted her to be in a class that was not primarily for autistic children. Immediately, the experience reminded me of when I taught first grade, and had one child with autism in a class of 23 kids. I knew it could work, and would be a wonderful learning experience for all! The high energy kids have A LOT of energy and are extremely chatty, while the little girl who is autistic is mostly non verbal. Last week, I had no idea what to expect and was amazed when I saw an incredible display of compassion. The girl who is usually eager to display her high energy/hyper take on yoga was extremely compassionate to this other young girl. She was encouraging, complimenting, understanding, and nurturing to her quiet classmate. This week, the little boy was the same. To top it all off, the little girl who was described to me as non verbal autistic, was speaking, laughing, and making animal sounds when cued!!! She was also very responsive to the music. It was so lovely to witness compassion in this unique yoga class. Often times, in adult yoga classes we talk about the ego with regard to the importance of being present without the obsession to get in the asana (pose), refraining from judgement. This was such a wonderful display of compassion and ego-less yoga. These are the highlights of teaching yoga.

Bliss at Sankalpah with Isaac

With some recent energy in my life challenging my joy, I knew it was time for me to take the role of student in a yoga class. Years ago, a bellydance instructor of mine (Kelly) told me about a studio named Sankalpah and an instructor named Isaac (who she would only practice yoga with). She raved about the studio. I had it in the back of my mind to go to class. Over time, many people made the same suggestions to me. Finally, I ventured to Sankalpah to practice yoga with Isaac. I was tired going into class. I arrived early and met Isaac's mom who showed me around and made me feel right at home. Venture off to the park to meet a friend and return for class. I walk in to see a familiar friendly trainer I knew from working at Reebok Sports Club, and Isaac's friendly face. Isaac was randomly doing some one arm handstands in the foyer. I changed out of my dress, and lay my mat in the back of the class. Isaac asks the early bird students including myself what we would like to work on, and I respond "anything easy", the girl beside me said "savasana" and Isaac smiled and promised to go "easy on us". Despite the fact that I was there to take class on an unexpected emotionally taxing day, I centered myself with my breath and flowed with Isaac. Isaac guided us through possibly one of the most brilliant yoga classes I have ever participated in. I was drenched! I was in a complete state of bliss! Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a sports bra and the neck of my soaked t-shirt was starting to get bigger and bigger, but even that didn't matter. Towards the end of class, Isaac gave us the option of inversions. He asked me if I do Handstand, and because of my wrist, I told him it is a pose I avoid. While I have done it with one toe on the wall, and The Lord's Prayer echoing in my heart, today I did it with Isaac's help. Isaac held my hands, helped me up, looked me in the eyes, and said "anyone who is a new student in my class, gets to do handstand....Oh Joy. I stood up, listened to his cues, placed my hands on the floor, and floated up, while he kindly held my legs. While upside down, I felt no tension in my wrist, and Isaac told the girl beside me to get into handstand, because only then, can I come out of it. This made me giggle and then pause because while I was still on my hands, she didn't seem to be budging. She was off the hook, and so was I as Isaac asked me to float down. Isaac led us through a marvelous creative class, with nurturing assists and challenging yet purposeful progression. I am looking forward to more classes at Sankalpah. Thank you Isaac for a marvelous healing experience. While I have a lovely picture of Isaac and myself (freshly sweaty) standing in the yoga studio, with the Sutra painted wall behind us, once my card reader works, I will upload it. My new favorite place to take class is with Isaac Penna of Sankalpah. Thank you again Isaac for such a wonderful experience! See you again soon!

Summer Deplete

With the newest heat wave here in NY, it is important to make sure not to become electrolyte-deficient. The combination of heat and humidity throughout the day, and our regular yoga, pilates, spin, or fitness routines that bring on the sweat can lead to depletion. While it is important to stay hydrated with water, be mindful of the electrolyte deficient symptoms. If you are experiencing cramping, spasms, fatigue, nausea, confusion, or muscle fatigue, you may be in need of electrolyte replacement. Beneficial electrolytes like magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium are the ones we want to look out for. If you are not keeping foods rich in electrolytes in your regular diet, sometimes you can get packs/powders that you can add to your water bottles, or drink coconut water. Be good to you!

Yoga Farts

Today, there was a discussion about Yoga farts. While taking about farting may be offensive to some, flatulence, is a natural reality of our existence. On the other hand, the mention of the word can make some bust out into laughing. Unfortunately, some folks avoid going to yoga class for fear of farting. When we do some detoxifying poses, it is true that it can stir up our guts and help release the gas but in reality if you have those toxins in your guts, your body will release it at some point. Sometimes it brings a chuckle to participants and leaves the person who farts embarrassed. Let's relax, It is natural, on average our body produces about a half a litre of this type of gas daily. It is actually your body releasing the toxic chemicals that are lingering in your intestines. The thing you may want to avoid before yoga class is foods rich in sulfur (eggs, cauliflower, and meats) these things are known to produce that stink, the "silent violent ones".

Yoga-laties @ Bamboomoves

While the morning Saturday Bamboomoves Level 2 yoga class was a nice challenge, as as the Level 1, it was a treat to see the owner of the studio, Michael, participate in the highly talked about Yoga-laties. In typical fashion we did our Hindi Push ups, we did our plank poses, power yoga flow, and core yoga. The playlist was another nice up beat fusion of great music. We usually have Shakira on our play list, and the song was "La Tortura", which ironically means torture. One of the participants quickly pointed this out and said that she thinks of me, every times she hears this song. What a delight! When we got to our round of leg lifts, I could see an expression on Michael's face like "more????" and I think many of the female participants got a kick out of seeing him moan throughout the class. While in the middle of our never ending leg lifts, I took the opportunity to announce that after this class Michael will be giving me a raise, which made everyone bust out in laughter. While the timing of this statement was funny, you never know, anything is possible. All in all, every participant gave their one hundred percent which is the most important thing, being mindful to nurture themselves and take breaks when needed. We all were sweating, some were dripping!

Laughing Lotus Joy

Last Friday I ventured out to be a student at Laughing Lotus. I have heard a lot about Laughing Lotus, and recently because I came into contact with the lovely Alison Cramer, I decided to take a class. On the second floor of a downtown building, I enter into the studio to be greeted by the charming front desk staff. The lobby has yoga clothes, books, and various other items for sale. There are two gorgeous rooms, in vibrant colors and I laid out my mat in the Light Room to do some meditation before class. Students started to pile in, making 5 rows for this pre Fourth of July weekend class. Alison led us through a vinyasa yoga class beginning with beautiful chanting, a reading from a inspirational book, series of Warriors, a lot of Chutturunga's, and much more. The energy of the class was high. It was great to see a sea of Warriors flowing down to Side Plank and meeting in Down Dog. After class, I had the chance to speak with Alison about a job that I had been offered recently to teach Yoga abroad. We talked about taking class together when our schedules allow. Alison gives a wonderful class, and I would love to come back to Laughing Lotus for class. After class, one of the participants found me down the street, we introduced ourselves, talked about Yoga, and he mentioned how he loves the "laid back vibe" of Laughing Lotus. I am guessing the downtown location makes it great for a lot of people who work downtown Manhattan to take a Yoga class as a break from there day. Thank you Laughing Lotus & Alison for a wonderful yoga class.