Meditations from the Mat

As i have mentioned before in a previous post, Meditations from the Mat is my daily read book by yoga instructor Rolf Gates. Today is day 73 and the following is today's passage that I thought was very perfectly worded and just right for you all today:

Day 73

Lack of true knowledge is the source of all pains and sorrow. - Yoga Sutras

As we apply the principles of yoga, a profound understanding begins to resonate in our lives. we come to understand that the anxiety we feel, the suffering we experience, comes from not practicing yoga in the true sense of the word. Even the most tentative attempt at living our yoga produces immediate positive results. Bit by bit, we realize that we have been acting on misinformation and that our strategies to end or lessen our suffering have actually intensified the pain.

Who among us has not lied to avoid suffering, only to have the lie increase her suffering tenfold? who among us has eaten a pint of Ben and jerry's in hope of feeling better for a moment, only to spend hours in regret? Who among us has not spent months or years believing that when this or that finally happens, we'll be content, only to find that the contentment we seek is somehow beyond our grasp? There is no end to these predicaments - until we adopt a new plan, a new paradigm, a new way of thinking. Yoga offers us a new plan. In truth, it is a very old plan, and it encompasses the only plan that has ever worked. You don't need to embrace the whole plan to gain from it, nor do you have to believe in every aspect of the plan for it to work. But if lack of true knowledge is the problem, then openness to new information must lead to the solution. All you need is the willingness to make a beginning, to turn yoga from theory into action.

...

Back to my voice:

Just felt like adding a reminder and some thoughts about yoga-

-Doubt your doubts

-Accept where you are today

-Yoga is about self acceptance, not self improvement.

-Remember yoga is a journey, not a destination.

-Often times we NEED yoga the most, when we WANT it the least.

-Let go of competetion and comparison.

-Recognize that less is more.

-Allow resistance to melt away.

-Let go of expectation and limitations.

-Recognize that each day is different.

-Continuous practice, not just for one or two days. We are practicing all the time. (Means always practice love and nonattachment and selflessness. See others in yourself and yourself in others, let go of judgement and complaint and upset... always practice Letting Go!)

Most importantly:

-Be sure to have fun.

-Always be yourself.

New Month

Hi sorry, been a bit of work to get to a computer with internet.
So here we go, a new month, a few days into it already =) , and to recap February we discussed:


Stephanie's Yoga- Just a bit of a hello, introduction to myself and this page and where I was working at the time, and my excitedment about Yoga Rave, which I am still trying to make happen, so again those interested please email me at: stephaniesyoga@yahoo.com or look me up on Facebook: Stephanie's Yoga! *^_^*
Thank You USA Today- Where I posted the article from USA Today, a response article to the yoga scare  created by the NY Times. This post and article went over the real truth behind yoga injuries, who is responsible and how to avoid them to have a happy, healthy practice. =)
The Lotus-Symbol of Strength- This post covered some Buddhist beliefs behind the Lotus, its symbolism and what each colour represents and how it ties into yoga.
Hospice- This post covered some personal insight learned and discovered from a Hospice volunteer and what people most regret in their last days and how we can embrace these things now to try and avoid regret when its our time to go.
Fleur de lis- Again was similar to that of the Lotus post, going over the symbolism behind the Fluer de lis and the Iris flower it was created after adn how it ties into yogic beliefs and philosophy.
Saraphine + Cortana- a post i wrote after being inspired by my pet tarantula and cornsnake, and how an animals mindset and way of life is very similar to what yoga is trying to inspire and teach to get us to a higher plane of consciousness.
Orion Nebula- here i let out a little of my Nerd, and brought to attention how small we are in the universe as a whole and how special and beautiful and rare our exhistance really is and how precious we are and how our lives and everything in them and the fact that we are here and now is truly miraculous!.. So enjoy it! ^_^
'Should'- I reposted an email I sent someone months ago and discussed why I felt it important to share with everyone else, again tying into the nebula post and pointing out that life is short and rare and special and that we ought to make the most of it (again similar theme to "Hospice')
Meet my Highschool freshman Year Science Teacher- i sent a NASA link to the bio of Ms. Metcalf-Lindenberger, or Ms. ML as we here students knewn her.. this I left jsut the link hoping people would read it, this month i will be explanding upon this to explain why I feel she is an important woman to take a look at. =)
MARDI GRAS- I was inviting you all to my class.
Spasibo- The Russian word for 'Thank You', here I was taking a magnifying glass to gratitude and really trying to grasp it and appreciate it.
A Healthier happier You-1- I added a passage from this book and i shall add at least 1 a month, there are 101 thoughts total to stress relief, something I feel everyone could use a little more of =)
FREE YOGA- again I was inviting you to my class.
Toxic-  added some thoughts about my favorite daily read 'Meditations form the Mat' by Rolf Gates, and shared some thoughts about meditations and the challenged offered to you and myself to take a moment to practice.
Farewell-  was a sad one for me to share that my time at Vamonos Studio has come to an end.
Surfs Up- was inpired from the animated film, as well as the remake of Karate Kid, and my thoughts about teachers and students.

All of my posts are unscripted, unplanned, I just sit at the computer and start typing because the library only gives you an hour so when you are logged on you need to type or else you lose your chance, so yes there are some trypos and grammer issues, but mostly i feel its important that I share that these are original thoughts, and jsut my voice (unless of course I am quoting someone else) and I am trying to simply share my relections and meditations and experiences of yoga and hoping that someone feels inpired on any level because of it. And please please please, feel free agiant to Facebook Stephanie's Yoga, or check out the Facebook Group 'Your Yoga' or email me at stephaniesyoga@yahoo.com , I would really love to hear your thoughts and reflections and experiences as well, and would be happy to share adn post any if you would so wish ^_^

Thank you again for the love and support, you all are wonderful, and I look forward to connecting with you all more as these days adn weeks and months progress along! =)

Namaste- You all are beautiful!
Much love, 
Stephanie Christmore! <3

Surf's Up!

Day before yesterday I was watching the film Surf's Up, guess I was feeling like some cartoons verses all the dramas I had been viewing recently. Was visiting my mom and thought I would look through her 'kids' dvd section (since the only 'kids movie' i currently only is just Tangled and Ive viewed it too death!) and I saw this movie sitting on her shelf. It was released in 2007 but i was boycotting it because at that time in my life I did not have an appreciation for animated films. So I was testing it out, and 1. I feel inlove, I MUST! own this movie!. But 2. and why I make this post is there was something very yoga in the film that really inspired me.

The 2 second premiss of the film is this young pengiun from Antartica (sp) 'Cody' fell in love with surfing as a hatchling when 'Big Z' - the world's greatest surfer in the film- came to Antartica and inspired Cody and became his hero. So when Cody was 17 or so he went to this made up penguin island were Big Z hailed from and went to join the surfing compitition. Now as far as the penguins knew at the time Big Z had a surf accident years ago and died, but Cody finds that his hero is actually alive and just in shame and hiding.

So at this point he is excited but then hurt that his hero isnt what he thought, and cody was just obessed with winning this Surf compitition, but wanted to know surfing from Big Z. Big Z starts to teach Cody but he wasnt learning 'cool' 'winning' stuff so got impaticent and careless. big Z in one scene was showing cody how to make a surf board was teaching his that every carving stroke of the board was important, have to have long smooth steady even strokes, going with the grain and focus on not 'making the board' so much as 'finding it' is the half a log. Cody just started hacking away and low and behold the thing broke in the water within 2 seconds.. so later he takes the slow approach and ends up making a winning board.

Phase 2 after the board was made Cody wanted to rush in the water and learn to start surfing, so Big Z kept him on the beach and was teaching him surfing, how to paddle and stroke, etc. Big Z was also teaching him how to hang loose and hang upside down and to have fun, but Cody just got angery that he wasnt in the water and pulled a practical prank on Big Z, trying to be a pill. Cody laughed and Big Z asked is he was havign fun adn Cody being smart alec_E said yes and then Big Z said: 'well then.. YOU PASS!" and they got on their boards and got in the waves.

Side stepping for a minute, I personally never saw the original 'Karate Kid', growing up i only saw 'The Next Karate Kid'.. however a few years ago I did see the Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith version (which that kid is the cutest little boy in the entire world, its a good thing he has amazing parents or else i would make it my goal to try and adapt him because is is sooo adorable!) But anywho.. in this film jackie Chan has Jaden coming over everyday to learn Karate and for days on end all he does all day is take his coat on and off.. and again he got really P.O.ed at Jackie Chan for not teaching him, but then we see jackie have him go through the motions with an invisible jacket and we see that those movents become his karate foundation moves.

Back to the penguins, Cody and Jaden are the same as Big Z and Jackie.. both boys are learning what they want and finding that karate and surfing are not jsut about the physical moves but its about head and mind and spirit, a lot like, you guessed it.. YOGA!

I have a lot of students wanting to learn more or do more, or people often ask me to show them 'cool moves', but Yoga is not about one arm stands to show off to your buddies, the asanas, the physical moves are such a teeny tiny part of yoga. Its all about mind and spirit! About growing beyond our previous environmental 'brainwashed' limitation (i say brainwashed because we all are,whether that is good or bad I am not here to judge, but we are all programmed from birth our speech and sense of taste what music we like, what sports we view, how to sit or slouch, etc...) But to start to be what we want, or just accept where we are, there is no right or wrong. Its not about action but  about your attitude and mindset. Learning to just BE! Either accepting things as t hey are and learning peace and happiness, being content, or changing what we want to and then learning to accept things and learn peace and happiness and being content!

As we move through the physical practice we are really learning to condition our minds, to learn meditation and concentration, and how to be in the moment. The goal in the physical practice is to have the student focus solely on the pose they are in, focusing on each muscle in the pose and focusing on their breath in the pose, and with that quieting all outside thoughts in the mid and being there in that moment!

You see when you let go of the idea of 'winning' is when you will win!

FREE YOGA!!!!!!!!!!!

For those in the Vancouver/Portland area, tomorrow at Vamonos Studio (315 E. Reserve St. Vancouver, WA 98661) at 10.45am the yoga class I am leading is completely free for members and n00bs alike. So please come, bring your friends and family members fora  1 hour yoga session completely paid for on the house! Why you ask, 1. because we love you, and 2. because it is Vamonos Grand opening Party and we are lit up and jazzed and want to celebrate and we really want YOU to come and celebrate with us.
It doesn't matter your age, your weight, gender or fitness level, i promise you can do it!

MARDI GRAS

Help me celebrate YOU! this year by coming to the special Mardi Gras Yoga Party I am leading at Vamonos Studios tomm. night (Feb. 21st, 2012) at 7.10pm. A one hour $6 event designed to make YOU feel special and amazing!

Address is 315 E. Reserve Street Vancouver, WA 98661 

email me at stephaniesyoga@yahoo.com

or follow me on facebook: Stephanie's Yoga if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. =)

Saraphine + Cortana

My Husband has a pet tarantula that he named Cortana after the AI in his favorite game Halo, and this past summer for my birthday he bought me a snamke that I named Saraphine.

For those that are unfamiliar snakes and spiders make rather similiar pets as far as care and up keep. Cortana only needs to be fed about once a month, or longer depending on their own mood, and snakes when grown eat once every two weeks and when they feed they usually only eat one cricket or moth for the spider and one mouse for the snake. They both rarely need water, and they are content in small containers. the type of spider and snake that we own are both also similar to cats and dogs in the fact that they are tame, housebroken, and very loving and affectionate to people.

The reason why I bring them both up today, is I have been very inspired by them and their way of life for quite some time. In yoga it is said that you are not a human doing nor are you a human acting, but we are humanbeings and that we all need to master the art of just being! Nature I have found has already mastered the art of peace by doing just that. Both Saraphine and Cortana know how to just be! They just sit or lay in their little tanks, not eating or drinking more than they need to survive and are content without having more of anything. They do not need fancy homes or do-dads and trinkets to gaze at or play with, all they need is their bedding and they keep just fine.

Yoga is not just about doing headstands or balacing on one foot, its about a way of life. In yoga their are 8 limbs:
The first limb, yama, deals with one's ethical standards and sense of integrity, focusing on our behavior and how we conduct ourselves in life. Yamas are universal practices that relate best to what we know as the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Niyama, the second limb, has to do with self-discipline and spiritual observances. Nonhoarding, nonstealing, truthfulness, and moderation are all examples of niyamas in practice.

Asanas, the postures practiced in yoga, comprise the third limb.

It is the first two limbs that I want to focus on. It is here that feel that Cortana and Saraphine have captured what it means to be free, by just having these two things as their way of life.

 Now for us we have grown up quite differently, aside from the obvious that we are humans and have a higher range of emotions and intellegence to deal with, but we live in a world of 'me, me, me... mine, mine, mine..more, more, more' coming up with phrases like 'it's a dog eat dog world', always fighting to have. So we have the ablity to Just Be, however for most its something that we have to practice to regulalry achieve.

Now I am not saying that we must all go back to living in trees and wearign burlap sacks eating one squirl a day or something, we can have our cell phones and our cars and ours homes, but in having them and gaining them its important that we not lose sight of who we are and what are morals are. its important to take sometime to just breath and be in the moment. Or if you really like to just move then do so witha  mind that has let go. Practice really enjoying and appreciating what you have and who is around you, and practice being content in your own skin and your own life!

Utter peace and happiness is within you to achieve!

Hospice

As you know from my previous blog I am  Yoga Instructor at Vamonos Studio in Vancouver, Washington, what I did not mention is that I also help Jennifer by working as a secretary at the front desk, because I love her so much, I find her to be a very inspiring woman and I love the idea of supporting her and her new business however I can to be a good friend. This is just some background before getting into my main point about Hospice. 

So while I was working the desk this morning one of Jenn's Zumba students was sharing with me about how she helps volunteer for a Hospice foundation here in Vancouver and how a while ago there was a questionnaire filled out at her center asking people their top regrets as they lie in wait on their death beds. She shared with me the top 5 most common responses and I found it to be so moving and inspirational that I had to come here and share it all today:

5. Not expressing themselves and their emotions enough or not having learned how.

4. Devoting too much time/thought/energy towards their jobs. (Then she further made the joke that its like the age old adage: people on their death beds never complain about not having worked enough.)

3. Losing touch with friends and loved ones over the years.

2. Living for others - living for the pleasure and comfort of others rather than living for themselves and their wishes and pleasures.

The VERY TOP main regret people shared on their death beds is : Not realizing soon enough that happiness is an active choice everyday!

And so I want you all to meditate on that and really let this simple words sink in : Happiness is a choice! and I encourage you all to work on practicing that for yourselves, because life is too short and too precious not to, so make it your own, after all it is your life!

~Namaste Everyone, Enjoy

Stephanie-

The Lotus-symbol of strength

White Lotus- represents the state of spiritual perfection and total mental purity. In association with the white Tara (the Buddhist savior goddess in Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia) and proclaims her perfect nature a quality which is reinforced by the colour of her body.

Pink Lotus- the supreme lotus generally reserved for the highest deity. Thus naturally it is associated with the great Buddha himself.

Red Lotus- signifies the original nature and purity of the heart. it is the lotus of love, passion, kindness, compassion and all the other qualities of the heart.

Blue Lotus- symbol of victory of the spirit over the senses and signifies the wisdom of knowledge.

Roots of lotus are in the mud and blossom pristinely above the water sometimes 8 to 12 inches above. The lotus of any colour signifies the growth and progress of the soul from primeval mud and materialism through the waters of experience and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.

Thank you USA Today =)

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/healthyperspective/post/2012-01-17/is-yoga-bad-for-your-health/605743/1

I truly want to thank USA Today for being responsible journalists other than being one sided and going for the shock and scare like the NY Times.

Article below:

"Is yoga bad for your health?

By Holly Corbett Bristol, USA TODAY

1/17/2012 6:00 PM

You've likely heard about the many benefits of yoga, but a recent New York Times story, has stirred up more than a little controversy in the yoga community.
"How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body," by science writer William J. Broad, quotes a long-time yoga teacher who "...has come to believe that 'the vast majority of people' should give up yoga altogether. It's simply too likely to cause harm." He goes on to describe a number of cases where people have been injured doing yoga, including himself.

CAPTION

By Lynne Sladky, AP

The research in the article isn't groundbreaking: doing any form of exercise you could potentially hurt yourself. If you look at the injury rates of other physical activities, the number of injuries sustained from yoga would pale in comparison.Practicing yoga is just like anything in life: You have to push yourself in order to grow. But you also have to know your limits and when you're breaking them. If you stick to your comfort zone, you'll never be able to increase your flexibility. If you push to the point where you're not only uncomfortable, but in real pain, you'll likely injure yourself.
The reasons that yoga makes "serious injury all but inevitable," according to the Times story, range from students' underlying physical weaknesses to inexperienced teachers pushing too hard to the growing number of inflexible "urbanites who sit in chairs all day" straining to twist themselves into difficult postures.
I'd argue that it's those desk-bound urbanites that may need yoga the most. People like me, who spend more than eight hours a day sitting plugged into a computer but disconnected from their bodies, can benefit greatly from spending an hour stretching tight muscles and alleviating stress.
Yoga has taught me to be more mindful of how far I can push myself by tuning into my body and quieting my mind. It took me months before I could touch the floor with my palms in forward bend, and more than a year before I finally mastered a headstand. And that was okay with me because yoga isn't a competition.
As I was in pigeon pose in a recent class, I heard our instructor ask the 60-ish woman next to me if she could help her deepen her pose. Though the woman said yes, she quickly told the teacher when she was pushing her too far.
"That is as deep as my leg will bend — it's not going any farther today!"
The teacher immediately backed off, encouraging her to keep practicing the pose at home to help open her hips. The article's point that yoga teachers push students too far, doesn't address the point that a big benefit of yoga is that it puts you more in touch with your physical limits.
Yoga is called a "practice" for a reason. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to tackle every pose. It doesn't matter if you can touch the floor with your palms during your first forward bend or your thousandth, or if you never get there.
We go to the mat to learn to better listen to what our bodies are telling us, and to better hear that quiet inner voice drowned out by the noise of our busy lives. It's a shame to discourage the majority of people from practicing yoga and missing out on all of the mind-body benefits that going to the mat has to offer."

Stephanie's Yoga

First of all i do have to say that for those in the Portland/Vancouver area I teach for $6 at Vamonos Studio as well as in home for those who can not make the Tuesday 7.10pm class or the Saturday 10.10am class in the studio, however in home prices will vary.

I teach the Hatha Yoga styles of Ashtanga Vinyasa as well as Iyengar also known as Vinyasa Flow or Traditional Yoga as well as leading Meditation.

Currently i am trying to get my boss Jennifer Shaw to allow me to start teaching Yoga Rave so if that sounds appealing to anyone please email her at jennifer@zumbaforu.com. Currently she is hesitant because she fears that it would not generate interest, so please, please please, lets all ban together to get this invigorating dance-style workout started, great for those into tradition yoga as well as hot yoga, community, meditation, or if you just love to dance, or listen to fun music, or just want an aerobic workout. There is something for all walks of life, all styles of living. For fun check out the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg5bZeLUkB4