Dear everybody!
Lately, I have realised that I miss yoga in my life - I teach every week and started reading a book, but I didn't do much yoga the last coupe of weeks, because I still thought I had to do the Light-on-Yoga-project. The truth is, I really love yoga, when I do it together with other people - in a class! I don't like to do too much yoga alone... So, I didn't - for weeks. And I started missing, doing yoga...
So, here's my decision for this reeeeeeeeeeeeally complicated problem: I will stop the project here and will just enjoy yoga for what it is for me - a group-experience, a field of experiments, something that I have to find out about on my own (without Mr. Iyengar...). Maybe I will go back to the project, but for now, I really need to be free!
I will thus not post about my experiences with the project anymore (the very sad part!). I whish you all the very best in the world, love and lillies and beautiful skies and warm rain and that you find your very own way of being happy!
Much Love!
Ursi
Sonntag, 16. Juni 2013
Montag, 3. Juni 2013
22nd week - change the world...
I've been and still am very moved by the protests going on in Turkey these days. I did my first yoga-teacher-training in Istanbul and know many people in the city, so I get a lot of first hand information from them, which I'm very grateful for. Most of my turkish friends are yogis. Those are the facts you have to have in order to understant my last week(end)...
I've been wondering lately - and especially now with the protests in Turkey - how I as a yoga-teacher can make a difference in the world. How does yoga relate to the world off the mat? Not only are the protesters in Istanbul organising "Yoga in Gezi Park", but I found some really interesting projects like the Township Yogi project (https://www.facebook.com/TownshipYogi) or Off the Mat, Into the World (https://www.facebook.com/offthematintotheworld/info). And then there is of course the necessity to get our own brains working and to think of the things that we want for the planet and the creatures on it.
Of course, every yogi has their own lifestyle, but I feel that we as a community are more open to alternative ways of thinking and living than e.g. the community of boxers (no offence! ;-)...). I just wonder how we bring this openness to use in the world!
What do you do to serve not only your body but also the planet?
Please share! :-)
Mittwoch, 29. Mai 2013
21st week - teacher's manifesto (almost) ;-)...
I really don't like that my last week's post is coming this late - it gives me a little bit of much-needed routine these days to write my blog every sunday usually, so these last few days were obviously a long way from routine...
I took on some new hours as a yoga-teacher - yet another place, yet other people and yet some things to learn! :-)
It's very new to me to be a teacher and now that I do have some experience, I feel that I feel more and more at home in the role of a TEACHER. I'm not just that girl that tells people how to get into those weird poses and how long to hold them, I'm somebody they can relate to, too!
I can tell, when they enter the studio and see me - some of them seem to be proud to know my name, some of them seem to take in the things that I say (for example that girl who buys two big bottles of water after class, because I just had said, they should drink "shit loads of water today"). It's kinda nice, to know this now - and it's also something that we as yoga-teachers (or others who work with teaching) have to deal with...
If we take it personally, we will miss the point! We are not here to be liked or loved even, we are here to acompany people on their ways. We might not even know how we do it, and that's ok, but I strive to not take it personally - neither the praise nor the critique.
I'm my own person with my own path - I will strive to know more and to be rooted deeper in the philosophy and to be even more emphatic, and I want to try "to stand in my own light". I will try to be fully me, not more, not less! And then let go of fear of not being liked...
Light and Love! :-)
PS: pics to follow ;-)
Dienstag, 21. Mai 2013
20th week - the big difference...
"Do something different" - that's what the tantra philosophers say, at least! The yoga-poses have changed in the last two weeks - something different! :-) From standing- I'm now moving into the weird hip-opening poses and deeper into inversions. Yey!! :-) So, from a yoga point of view, I'm getting something new these last few weeks!
In life, something new, that recently happened was a visit from old friends from home - it's nice, to have people around and very refreshing! And in this case it was something new, but also something very familiar - I was enjoying a little vacation from everyday life with people, whom I feel truly at home with! PERFECT!
And it all reminded me of something (and I think, that's what the tantricas say as well): life is not so bad! And if we feel, it is or if we feel, there's something VERY SERIOUS going on that should be resolved, because it's going to end really badly and have very severe consequences, maybe the right thing to do is, to step out of that thinking and do something different! Take a break from all the seriousness in life, to enable us to go back to it - and deal with it in a different way. Or maybe to watch problems solving themselves, while we do nothing.
Maybe, life is too short? Maybe, we don't need to do THAT pose today, if it freaks us out? Maybe, it's the right thing to not work hard or to not suffer for happiness? We don't need to be that catholic, right? ;-) Maybe, it's healthier and happier to just be happy - and if we can't find that, we can always DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! :-)
In life, something new, that recently happened was a visit from old friends from home - it's nice, to have people around and very refreshing! And in this case it was something new, but also something very familiar - I was enjoying a little vacation from everyday life with people, whom I feel truly at home with! PERFECT!
And it all reminded me of something (and I think, that's what the tantricas say as well): life is not so bad! And if we feel, it is or if we feel, there's something VERY SERIOUS going on that should be resolved, because it's going to end really badly and have very severe consequences, maybe the right thing to do is, to step out of that thinking and do something different! Take a break from all the seriousness in life, to enable us to go back to it - and deal with it in a different way. Or maybe to watch problems solving themselves, while we do nothing.
Maybe, life is too short? Maybe, we don't need to do THAT pose today, if it freaks us out? Maybe, it's the right thing to not work hard or to not suffer for happiness? We don't need to be that catholic, right? ;-) Maybe, it's healthier and happier to just be happy - and if we can't find that, we can always DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! :-)
Montag, 13. Mai 2013
19th week - coming to terms with life...
After my weird fuck-yoga-fuck-life-mood of last week, I was happy to watch myself healing again this week. I found happiness in doing yoga and spending time with my loved ones - and one more time I found that katharsis is sometimes much needed to get perspective...
Not only did I do yoga to be happy again, but I also sat down and - with the most open mind, I had available at that moment - I asked myself: What is it that you REALLY want for yourself in life? I was ready to do ANYTHING - even if it would have meant that the yoga-thing was just a weird phase...
And I found out that yoga, YOGA ! is the one thing I want to be doing in my life - I want to do it, I want to teach it, I want to read about it, I want to travel with it! How wonderful! :-)
Sometimes in life, we come to points, where we need drastic questions to get back on track - almost as if we would grab ourselves by the shoulders and say: "Hey! Look at me! WHAT is it, that you WANT?" It can be scary - we can be put in a position where we need to change things or even hurt people. And yet there's nothing more valuable, than coming to terms with ourselves! How else would we enable ourselves to live from our very own truth?!
In yoga, those moments of "WHAT is it that you want?" come in a different shape: they say "BE WHO YOU ARE! BE HONEST!" Moments where we are asked by our body to accept and come to terms with where we are at right now. No hyperextention to get into a difficult pose, no sluggishness to not have to work so hard - we are where we are. And wherever we are/who ever we are is GOOD!
(And so are all the people around us, but that's another chapter...)
And here are some pictures from the weeks 16 to 18, that I still owe you ;-):
Utkatasana
Ustrasana
Chaturanga Dandasana
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Virasana
Parsvaikapada Sarvangasana
Poorvottanasana
Not only did I do yoga to be happy again, but I also sat down and - with the most open mind, I had available at that moment - I asked myself: What is it that you REALLY want for yourself in life? I was ready to do ANYTHING - even if it would have meant that the yoga-thing was just a weird phase...
And I found out that yoga, YOGA ! is the one thing I want to be doing in my life - I want to do it, I want to teach it, I want to read about it, I want to travel with it! How wonderful! :-)
Sometimes in life, we come to points, where we need drastic questions to get back on track - almost as if we would grab ourselves by the shoulders and say: "Hey! Look at me! WHAT is it, that you WANT?" It can be scary - we can be put in a position where we need to change things or even hurt people. And yet there's nothing more valuable, than coming to terms with ourselves! How else would we enable ourselves to live from our very own truth?!
In yoga, those moments of "WHAT is it that you want?" come in a different shape: they say "BE WHO YOU ARE! BE HONEST!" Moments where we are asked by our body to accept and come to terms with where we are at right now. No hyperextention to get into a difficult pose, no sluggishness to not have to work so hard - we are where we are. And wherever we are/who ever we are is GOOD!
(And so are all the people around us, but that's another chapter...)
And here are some pictures from the weeks 16 to 18, that I still owe you ;-):
Urdhva Prasarita Ekapadasana
Sonntag, 5. Mai 2013
18th week - fuck yoga...
The last week was weird... I had several melt-downs and was tired a lot and I only did yoga once. I felt like hiding from the world and eating and not talking to strangers. Really, really weird!
I know these low feelings from my past and know that the only way to be happy again is to not stress about them. So I don't. And so I did yoga once and I did the things I had to do this week and I kept in mind, that at the end of the day, I would be able to go to bed and recover from whatever has been going on that day.
And I knew that I had to focus on gentle thoughts! Thoughts like "You'll be fine!" or "You can trust the world and life!" - and one that's also been quite important: "Focus on your own path! Other people have their own issues and abilities and you have yours!"
The thing is, whenever I'm feeling low, it's perfectly easy to start seeing all the perfection in other yogis or all the great lifes other people have or all the goodness in others, compared to my - of course - horrible badness!
So, I tried to lean back and feel the feelings in my heart - and there I found feelings of motherly care and love and the ability to carry myself through the hardness. And to open up and let others be there for me! And this is truly the gold that I dug out this week! :-) <3
PS: guess what - the need to hide does not allow for picture-time, so fotos of 16th to 18th week are to follow! :-)
I know these low feelings from my past and know that the only way to be happy again is to not stress about them. So I don't. And so I did yoga once and I did the things I had to do this week and I kept in mind, that at the end of the day, I would be able to go to bed and recover from whatever has been going on that day.
And I knew that I had to focus on gentle thoughts! Thoughts like "You'll be fine!" or "You can trust the world and life!" - and one that's also been quite important: "Focus on your own path! Other people have their own issues and abilities and you have yours!"
The thing is, whenever I'm feeling low, it's perfectly easy to start seeing all the perfection in other yogis or all the great lifes other people have or all the goodness in others, compared to my - of course - horrible badness!
So, I tried to lean back and feel the feelings in my heart - and there I found feelings of motherly care and love and the ability to carry myself through the hardness. And to open up and let others be there for me! And this is truly the gold that I dug out this week! :-) <3
PS: guess what - the need to hide does not allow for picture-time, so fotos of 16th to 18th week are to follow! :-)
Montag, 29. April 2013
17th week - the body, the body...
Something happened this week... After a year of travelling and moving to and getting settled in Copenhagen and meeting new people and basically starting a whole new life abroad AND letting go of so many places, people and things (and again, basically a whole life) in Vienna, I felt the desperate need to be stuck. In ONE place!
This week I LOVED yoga, because it brought me back to that ONE place, that will never ever go away as long as I live - my body! :-)
Oftentimes, we perceive our bodies as problematic - they don't look the way, they should look; they get sick; they get old - and in the end, let's face it, they even die and vanish!
And oh, the joy we would have, if only our bodies would be thinner, fitter, healthier, have better hair, thighs, eyes, whatever... And at some point in the future, when we will be perfectly happy with our bodies, THAT'S going to be the time, when we can be truly happy...
This week, I realised two things:
Firstly, there's ALWAYS going to be something! So, we better learn to love our bodies the way they are! (And studies show, that yoga helps with this ;-)!)
Secondly, the body is our link to the world! No body, no experiences! And when I say no, I mean NONE AT ALL! So, whatever happens, we wouldn't experience it without our body! And that's brilliant!! It means that ALL the things that happen are gifts, that our bodies give us - the happy moments, the sad moments, the joyfull moments, the desparate moments,... everything! Don't you start loving your body on a totally different scale?! :-) ;-)
Picturewise, I'll go for the "begging for pitty"-version of my day of yoga on the beach in Denmark ;-)
Cobra
Downward-facing Dog
Standing Backbend
This week I LOVED yoga, because it brought me back to that ONE place, that will never ever go away as long as I live - my body! :-)
Oftentimes, we perceive our bodies as problematic - they don't look the way, they should look; they get sick; they get old - and in the end, let's face it, they even die and vanish!
And oh, the joy we would have, if only our bodies would be thinner, fitter, healthier, have better hair, thighs, eyes, whatever... And at some point in the future, when we will be perfectly happy with our bodies, THAT'S going to be the time, when we can be truly happy...
This week, I realised two things:
Firstly, there's ALWAYS going to be something! So, we better learn to love our bodies the way they are! (And studies show, that yoga helps with this ;-)!)
Secondly, the body is our link to the world! No body, no experiences! And when I say no, I mean NONE AT ALL! So, whatever happens, we wouldn't experience it without our body! And that's brilliant!! It means that ALL the things that happen are gifts, that our bodies give us - the happy moments, the sad moments, the joyfull moments, the desparate moments,... everything! Don't you start loving your body on a totally different scale?! :-) ;-)
Picturewise, I'll go for the "begging for pitty"-version of my day of yoga on the beach in Denmark ;-)
getting ready
Standing Backbend
Dienstag, 23. April 2013
16th week - pain and freedom...
I remember once, when I walked into a yoga class there was this girl practicing for the European Yoga Asana Championship. She was practicing deep deep backbends - and she was sweating and looked exhausted. At one point her teacher would tell her to get into yet another deep backbend, and she said "I don't want to anymore!"
The teacher then said: "When you don't want to, that's when you really need to do it!" I immediately thought, "What a prick!" (and he was such a tough-love-guy too!...)
Now, I still think, friendliness helps in deep backbends, but that's not my point. My point is, that in life as in yoga there are situations we want to run from, though situations we really really don't want to be in. And maybe the though-love-guy was right in the sense of it's important to STAY in these situations to really make a change.
I have to say, I really really like to run. But you can't run from your own body - and mine is teaching me to keep working on my very tight right hip at the moment and work through the pain. That's what yoga is for - you go through the pain into the freedom. And that's what life is for as well! :-) <3
Sonntag, 14. April 2013
15th week - to eat meat or to not eat meat, that's the question...
There was a time in fall when I did much more yoga than nowadays, hard, sweaty yoga - and I had SO MUCH fun with it! :-D I really really loved to be so strong and healthy - plus I loooooved to see the effects all the yoga had on my body! ;-)
I always wanted to get back to that strength, but somehow, the strength and power were gone missing... And then I got sick a lot too (we're talking about weeks here!...)! And that started to REALLY bother me at some point! I was feeling weak all the time! It was SO annoying! Something had to be done!!!
So, my thoughts took me through all kind of aspects of life - and ended up circling around food. I realised, I didn't take in a lot of proteins, which is why I started to eat meat again. I'm not a full-on vegetarian, I just happen to not eat a lot of meat, because it's a dead body and that just creeps me out at times! And I really do admire vegans for their big contribution to a healthy planet, but I just can't be that consequent with food anymore (I have a lot of intolerances, which keep me kind of busy in that area...).
But... I really like meat and it's nourishing for me right now! And my chinese doctor always tell me to eat beef!
What are your oppinions? Or experiences? I'd really love to read about that! Thank you! <3
And here's this and last weeks new yoga poses:
Salamba Sirsasana
Makarasana
Dhandurasana
Supta Konasana
Parsva Halasana
Mahamudra
Dandasana
Paschimottanasana
I always wanted to get back to that strength, but somehow, the strength and power were gone missing... And then I got sick a lot too (we're talking about weeks here!...)! And that started to REALLY bother me at some point! I was feeling weak all the time! It was SO annoying! Something had to be done!!!
So, my thoughts took me through all kind of aspects of life - and ended up circling around food. I realised, I didn't take in a lot of proteins, which is why I started to eat meat again. I'm not a full-on vegetarian, I just happen to not eat a lot of meat, because it's a dead body and that just creeps me out at times! And I really do admire vegans for their big contribution to a healthy planet, but I just can't be that consequent with food anymore (I have a lot of intolerances, which keep me kind of busy in that area...).
But... I really like meat and it's nourishing for me right now! And my chinese doctor always tell me to eat beef!
What are your oppinions? Or experiences? I'd really love to read about that! Thank you! <3
And here's this and last weeks new yoga poses:
Bhujangasana I
Janu Sirsasana
Sonntag, 7. April 2013
14th week - God and yoga and all that...
My flatmate recently asked me a very stunning question, which she asks herself every evening: When did you feel connected to the divine today? Just that day I had taken on a new job as yoga-teacher and had been really worked up and nervous beforehand.
But the first class went really really well and my favourite moment - which is also the moment when I felt connected to the divine - was when everybody was lying in Savasana. I knew, I had done a good job and I was happy and grateful. Someone once said, God works through you as you - and that's how I felt! It was brilliant!
I also feel this connection to the divine when I do yoga - it is after all a spiritual practice! To me, yoga is a way of praying with my entire being. A way of being involved with myself, others and God.
It seems to be a strange concept for some, to "feel connected with the divine", but what f.ex. about the feeling of gratefulness? Did you have moments in your life, when you wanted to thank somebody, but there was no person to thank? That's when we instinctively feel, that there is something bigger than us.
How do you feel about yoga as being a form of prayer? I'd love to read your experiences! :-)
PS: pics to follow :-)
But the first class went really really well and my favourite moment - which is also the moment when I felt connected to the divine - was when everybody was lying in Savasana. I knew, I had done a good job and I was happy and grateful. Someone once said, God works through you as you - and that's how I felt! It was brilliant!
I also feel this connection to the divine when I do yoga - it is after all a spiritual practice! To me, yoga is a way of praying with my entire being. A way of being involved with myself, others and God.
It seems to be a strange concept for some, to "feel connected with the divine", but what f.ex. about the feeling of gratefulness? Did you have moments in your life, when you wanted to thank somebody, but there was no person to thank? That's when we instinctively feel, that there is something bigger than us.
How do you feel about yoga as being a form of prayer? I'd love to read your experiences! :-)
PS: pics to follow :-)
Sonntag, 31. März 2013
13th week - the gold-digger
After having been sick last week, I got sick again this week (I know, it's getting a little rediculous ;-)...), BUT was well enough at times to do yoga! And, Oh boy!, how wonderful it was!!!
Do you know the feeling, when you do something you love and every action in it feels like eating the best chocolatecake you've ever tasted? That's how my yoga practice felt this week! Just a big fat yummy! I just LOVED to move my body and bend it and strengthen it - and of course, I was thinking about how to recreate this feeling in yoga or any other situation in life. And also, what do I tell people, so they can experience yoga like this?
And here's what I've come up with:
In life or in yoga, when we savour something, our senses are in it. How does it feel, when I touch my hands to the yoga mat? What does this dish smell like? How does it make me feel inside, when I listen to that piece of music?
And I think, we have to be in a safe spot! Nobody can enjoy a great sunset, when feeling insecure or pressurised. Off the mat, my safe spot would be my home - you sure have yours, too! ;-) On the mat it's crucial to have a teacher whom we can trust! And as a yoga teacher, we want to create a safe environment for our students (clear language, everybody does everything at the same time, connect to each student,...) - so they can come to our class and go digging for their own yoga-gold! Or was it chocolate? ;-)
PS: Mr. Iyengar suggested for me to repeat the poses of week 11 - so no new pics! BUT there's going to be a lot of new poses next week - yay! :-)
Do you know the feeling, when you do something you love and every action in it feels like eating the best chocolatecake you've ever tasted? That's how my yoga practice felt this week! Just a big fat yummy! I just LOVED to move my body and bend it and strengthen it - and of course, I was thinking about how to recreate this feeling in yoga or any other situation in life. And also, what do I tell people, so they can experience yoga like this?
And here's what I've come up with:
In life or in yoga, when we savour something, our senses are in it. How does it feel, when I touch my hands to the yoga mat? What does this dish smell like? How does it make me feel inside, when I listen to that piece of music?
And I think, we have to be in a safe spot! Nobody can enjoy a great sunset, when feeling insecure or pressurised. Off the mat, my safe spot would be my home - you sure have yours, too! ;-) On the mat it's crucial to have a teacher whom we can trust! And as a yoga teacher, we want to create a safe environment for our students (clear language, everybody does everything at the same time, connect to each student,...) - so they can come to our class and go digging for their own yoga-gold! Or was it chocolate? ;-)
PS: Mr. Iyengar suggested for me to repeat the poses of week 11 - so no new pics! BUT there's going to be a lot of new poses next week - yay! :-)
Montag, 25. März 2013
12th week - life is what happens to you...
There is this quote by John Lennon "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". Well, this week my plan was to have a daily yoga practice - and the life that happened to me was a flu that kept me in bed for the entire week. I managed to do yoga once before getting sick, but that's it.
So I was left with all those nice pictures of yoga poses in my head - and a body that tought me a serious lesson in patience and the rhythm of life! And I realised that sometimes life isn't spectacular, amazing or exciting - it just is! And that's wonderful too! We can tell, when we look around and see all the spectacular, amazing and exciting things life has created over millions of years!
And through some blessed human beings life brought yoga to us, too! :-)
And so life works within us and around us - as disease, as a flower or as this yoga pose that we couldn't do some years ago and that is now so normal to us. Life has it's own pace - even if we're busy making other plans! How good to know!
So I was left with all those nice pictures of yoga poses in my head - and a body that tought me a serious lesson in patience and the rhythm of life! And I realised that sometimes life isn't spectacular, amazing or exciting - it just is! And that's wonderful too! We can tell, when we look around and see all the spectacular, amazing and exciting things life has created over millions of years!
And through some blessed human beings life brought yoga to us, too! :-)
And so life works within us and around us - as disease, as a flower or as this yoga pose that we couldn't do some years ago and that is now so normal to us. Life has it's own pace - even if we're busy making other plans! How good to know!
Montag, 18. März 2013
11th week - being in the pose...
A wonderful teacher of mine once said, when we make a pose for the first time, it's oftentimes hard to really BE in the pose. Not because of physical pain, but just because the body doesn't fully understand how the asana works. There are some poses in the last some weeks, that are very new for me - and I can feel my body AND my mind going "uhm, what??!", when I do them. (For deeper understanding please check my facial expression on the Parighasana-pic ;-) ...)
Still, as they say, it gets easier over time, for both mind and body, and I start to feel more and more at home in these poses. So repetition helps ;-) (even though I still catch myself rolling my eyes at Mr. Iyengar's weird ideas sometimes ;-) ...)
In life off the mat the "uhm, what??!"-feeling cought me last week after my final return from Istanbul. I could feel, that I was not BEING in my life for days, feeling foggy in the head and being very unproductive...
We all experience changes in life sometimes, that are so severe that our mind and body need time to settle in to them. Sometimes, we can just do what has to be done and not really be there for a while. What yoga teaches us here is, that with patience and repetition or daily routine we can grow back together with our life and find ourself again.
This week's poses are:
Utthita Trikonasana, Parivrtta Trikonasana, Utthta Parsvakonasana, Parivrtta Parsvakonasana, Virabhadrasana I, II and III, Ardha Chandrasana, Parsvottanasana, Prasarita Padottanasana I and II, Padangusthasana, Padahastasana, Uttanasana, Parighasana, Urdhva Prasarita Padasana, Paripoorna Navasana, Ardha Navasana, Salamba Sarvangasana, Halasana, Karnapidasana, Ekapada Sarvangasana, Jatara Parivartasana, Savasana;
Parivrtta Parsvakonasana
Virabhadrasana III
Ardha Chandrasana
Padahastasana
Ekapada Sarvangasana
Still, as they say, it gets easier over time, for both mind and body, and I start to feel more and more at home in these poses. So repetition helps ;-) (even though I still catch myself rolling my eyes at Mr. Iyengar's weird ideas sometimes ;-) ...)
In life off the mat the "uhm, what??!"-feeling cought me last week after my final return from Istanbul. I could feel, that I was not BEING in my life for days, feeling foggy in the head and being very unproductive...
We all experience changes in life sometimes, that are so severe that our mind and body need time to settle in to them. Sometimes, we can just do what has to be done and not really be there for a while. What yoga teaches us here is, that with patience and repetition or daily routine we can grow back together with our life and find ourself again.
This week's poses are:
Utthita Trikonasana, Parivrtta Trikonasana, Utthta Parsvakonasana, Parivrtta Parsvakonasana, Virabhadrasana I, II and III, Ardha Chandrasana, Parsvottanasana, Prasarita Padottanasana I and II, Padangusthasana, Padahastasana, Uttanasana, Parighasana, Urdhva Prasarita Padasana, Paripoorna Navasana, Ardha Navasana, Salamba Sarvangasana, Halasana, Karnapidasana, Ekapada Sarvangasana, Jatara Parivartasana, Savasana;
Prasarita Padottanasana II
Padangusthasana
Uttanasana
Parighasana
Karnapidasana
Dienstag, 12. März 2013
10th week - special announcement
Last sunday I finished the 200-hours Chris Chavez Path to Teaching Teacher Training in Istanbul. There are so many emotions! I'm happy and sad and grateful and exhausted and excited and in love (with a whole bunch of newborn yoga teachers ;-) ...) and overwhelmed.
I want to use last weeks post (which is a little late due to the training and travelling :-) ) to thank all yogis and yoginis who were part of this! I'm so grateful to have met you all and to have shared this experience and to see the world through your beautiful turkish (and some dutch, swedish, german and russian!) eyes ;-) It was a real treat for me to be part of us! We ROCKED it!!
Thank you also to Chris! I'm truly inspired and have grown so much over the last year due to your caring, dedicated and fierce teachings! Thank you so much! And since we are now colleagues I take the liberty to say: "Crazy monkey right back atcha!" ;-)
Much Love to all of you - and to all the women and men who were or still are bringing yoga into the world!
I want to use last weeks post (which is a little late due to the training and travelling :-) ) to thank all yogis and yoginis who were part of this! I'm so grateful to have met you all and to have shared this experience and to see the world through your beautiful turkish (and some dutch, swedish, german and russian!) eyes ;-) It was a real treat for me to be part of us! We ROCKED it!!
Thank you also to Chris! I'm truly inspired and have grown so much over the last year due to your caring, dedicated and fierce teachings! Thank you so much! And since we are now colleagues I take the liberty to say: "Crazy monkey right back atcha!" ;-)
Much Love to all of you - and to all the women and men who were or still are bringing yoga into the world!
Sonntag, 3. März 2013
9th week - change and consistency...
After 3 days at home I hit the road again! Right now I'm in Istanbul on yoga teacher training with Chris Chavez (BIG recommendation! :-) ! ). It feels a little crazy for me to be away from home all the time - specially, because my home is also very new! Jep, new city, new country, new language and everything! :-D So, there's a LOT of change going on in my life...
Inspired by Chris I started wondering what was constant in my life. What is the grounding element, that I can take with me wherever I go whatever I do?
For me, it comes down to a strong connection with myself - in times of craziness I get silent and just FEEL... What am I really feeling right now? What are the emotions that are there? Usually, the real emotions have much less drama in them then the anticipated ones. :-) Oftentimes, I find love - for myself and others.
In yoga - as I told you guys last week - my drama builds up when there's a balancing pose to do. And I realised that I do the exact same thing automatically in order not to fall: get still, feel what's really there (not the 'I can't do this'-drama-version' of it ;-)...) and just be with myself!
Stillness works ;-)
I'll post all the missing pics after my return home! I promise! :-)
Inspired by Chris I started wondering what was constant in my life. What is the grounding element, that I can take with me wherever I go whatever I do?
For me, it comes down to a strong connection with myself - in times of craziness I get silent and just FEEL... What am I really feeling right now? What are the emotions that are there? Usually, the real emotions have much less drama in them then the anticipated ones. :-) Oftentimes, I find love - for myself and others.
In yoga - as I told you guys last week - my drama builds up when there's a balancing pose to do. And I realised that I do the exact same thing automatically in order not to fall: get still, feel what's really there (not the 'I can't do this'-drama-version' of it ;-)...) and just be with myself!
Stillness works ;-)
I'll post all the missing pics after my return home! I promise! :-)
Sonntag, 24. Februar 2013
8th week - the warrior and the bitch...
I've been in Austria for 10 days now to visit my family and friends - and it has been perfect! My days were tightly packed with fun and happy reunions and no time could've been wasted. And then there was this one incident when a dear friend of mine didn't show up...
I was upset and angry and very emotional - so I sat down to meditate and find out what it was that was REALLY going on.
And I realised, I was tired and ready to go to sleep and could have been happy about not having to meet anybody for that evening. But there was this other part of me, that just LOVED to be angry and feel rejected and have somebody to blame. (This is what Eckhart Tolle calls the "Emotional Pain Body" btw.) So I tried to let go of that lust for pain - and it was really really hard!
In Yoga, this week I had to add Warrior III pose to my practice - I'd known this pose before as a very hard and for me challenging balancing pose. And this is what I told myself: Oh my god, Warrior III! I hate balancing poses and I'm so terrible at balancing and ALWAYS fall out of every balancing pose. I will definetly fall out of Warrior III all the time! I'm just never going to get it right. Am I crap at yoga? ...
I lamented on and on and on - my dear Emotional Pain Body was happily active and couldn't get enough.
Again I tried to calm down and just do yoga - and I did it! I stayed in Warrior III and I fell out of Warrior III - and I realised, it doesn't really matter!
In yoga - as in life - the only thing that matters is the now. No preparation for dreadful things or blowing things out of proportion needed! With this in mind, happiness comes natural! And so does Warrior III over time :-D
Much Love!
PS: I will post the pictures of the new poses soon - let me get back home first! ;-) <3
I was upset and angry and very emotional - so I sat down to meditate and find out what it was that was REALLY going on.
And I realised, I was tired and ready to go to sleep and could have been happy about not having to meet anybody for that evening. But there was this other part of me, that just LOVED to be angry and feel rejected and have somebody to blame. (This is what Eckhart Tolle calls the "Emotional Pain Body" btw.) So I tried to let go of that lust for pain - and it was really really hard!
In Yoga, this week I had to add Warrior III pose to my practice - I'd known this pose before as a very hard and for me challenging balancing pose. And this is what I told myself: Oh my god, Warrior III! I hate balancing poses and I'm so terrible at balancing and ALWAYS fall out of every balancing pose. I will definetly fall out of Warrior III all the time! I'm just never going to get it right. Am I crap at yoga? ...
I lamented on and on and on - my dear Emotional Pain Body was happily active and couldn't get enough.
Again I tried to calm down and just do yoga - and I did it! I stayed in Warrior III and I fell out of Warrior III - and I realised, it doesn't really matter!
In yoga - as in life - the only thing that matters is the now. No preparation for dreadful things or blowing things out of proportion needed! With this in mind, happiness comes natural! And so does Warrior III over time :-D
Much Love!
PS: I will post the pictures of the new poses soon - let me get back home first! ;-) <3
Sonntag, 17. Februar 2013
7th week - head in the clouds
Mr. Iyengar suggests to repeat every pose of the weeks 5 and 6 and hold them a little longer in week 7. My blog is about everything Mr. Iyengar says concerning the 300-week-program (and I'm only in week 7, so this should NOT happen already :-/). But the thing is, I didn't do yoga once in this last week...
Sometimes life kicks in hard - and this week, I couldn't help it. I let life grab me and pull my head up into the clouds where nothing is important and nothing is really real. I know, yoga would help me to get more real right now, but sometimes it's just not the time for reality. I'll get there again, eventually - but for now, the only thing I really can do, is to "go with the flow".
Sometimes we have to leave the clear path (or the program) and get lost. And when it has come to this, the only thing there is to do, is feel, feel and feel - Is the thing, I'm experiencing good for me? Am I making others happy right now? Is there fear or anger? And if yes, are they necessary or can I give them up and be open?
And we can ask all those questions on the mat as well!
And I REALLY recommend for us to do yoga, when we are healthy and able to focus - maybe not, when our heads are in the clouds... ;-)
have fun and be happy, everybody! <3
Sometimes life kicks in hard - and this week, I couldn't help it. I let life grab me and pull my head up into the clouds where nothing is important and nothing is really real. I know, yoga would help me to get more real right now, but sometimes it's just not the time for reality. I'll get there again, eventually - but for now, the only thing I really can do, is to "go with the flow".
Sometimes we have to leave the clear path (or the program) and get lost. And when it has come to this, the only thing there is to do, is feel, feel and feel - Is the thing, I'm experiencing good for me? Am I making others happy right now? Is there fear or anger? And if yes, are they necessary or can I give them up and be open?
And we can ask all those questions on the mat as well!
And I REALLY recommend for us to do yoga, when we are healthy and able to focus - maybe not, when our heads are in the clouds... ;-)
have fun and be happy, everybody! <3
Sonntag, 10. Februar 2013
6th week - finally home...
This week I went to my favourite yoga studio - my yogi-homebase so to say - for the first time this year! It was exactly how I had fantasised it: crazy, fun, hard work, good laughs and happy yoga-time. And for the first time in weeks I felt grounded again.
I used to think, I didn't need grounding so much and that the things that were routine in my life would hold me back from the oh-so-wonderfull life I could have. But the thing is... being free might be oh-so-wonderful at times, but worth nothing without the foundation a homebase can provide.
I think, it's often a matter of angle. Are there things in our lives holding us back? Or are they the homebase from where we can grow? If the first, do what you have to do! If the second, maybe life is just not so bad after all ;-)
In yoga, my homebase has been downward-facing dog for these few weeks - a place from where I can grow into all different kinds of poses and also a place where I can go back to and look inwards, literally...
What's your homebase in life? In yoga? Thank you for sharing! :-)
Have a good week!
PS: pose-wise I did the same thing as last week. So, no new pictures! ;-)
I used to think, I didn't need grounding so much and that the things that were routine in my life would hold me back from the oh-so-wonderfull life I could have. But the thing is... being free might be oh-so-wonderful at times, but worth nothing without the foundation a homebase can provide.
I think, it's often a matter of angle. Are there things in our lives holding us back? Or are they the homebase from where we can grow? If the first, do what you have to do! If the second, maybe life is just not so bad after all ;-)
In yoga, my homebase has been downward-facing dog for these few weeks - a place from where I can grow into all different kinds of poses and also a place where I can go back to and look inwards, literally...
What's your homebase in life? In yoga? Thank you for sharing! :-)
Have a good week!
PS: pose-wise I did the same thing as last week. So, no new pictures! ;-)
Sonntag, 3. Februar 2013
5th week - 'cause this is who I fucking am!
Dear People!
This week I could feel something happening with my being as a yoga-teacher, that has happend many many times before in my life: the quiet drift. The quiet drift happens after a few months whenever I start something new - I took acting classes, I drifted away from that quietly; I took spiritual healing classes, and drifted away from being a spiritual healer quietly. I could go on and on! And now with being a yoga-teacher?!
So, when I watched the beginning of yet another quiet drift my warning bells started ringing BIG TIME and I asked myself: Why, oh why, do I do this? Why do I drift away from things that were supposed to change my life? Things that I love? Things that were important to me?
And the answer? Self-love! :-)
Whenever I start something unusual I want people to approve of it - not just some people, ALL people! As in all 7 Billion of you guys should be able to find whatever I do cool, wonderful, great! And we all know: Not gonna happen!
And who's on the forefront of the ones that don't approve? Jep, that would be ME! I just can't be cool, wonderful, great enough for myself... until now I couldn't! ;-)
Now, I know: If I love myself, it's OK, if some people think, I'm just not cool enough! None of my business! I do the things I do - 'cause that's just who I fucking AM! :-)
Here are this week's pictures:
Utthita Parsvakonasana
Utthita Trikonasana
Virabhadrasana I
Virabhadrasana II
Parivrtta Trikonasana
Parsvottanasana
Prasarita Padottanasana I
Urdhva Prasarita Padasana
Paripoorna Navasana
Ardha Navasana
Salamba Sarvangasana
Halasana
This week I could feel something happening with my being as a yoga-teacher, that has happend many many times before in my life: the quiet drift. The quiet drift happens after a few months whenever I start something new - I took acting classes, I drifted away from that quietly; I took spiritual healing classes, and drifted away from being a spiritual healer quietly. I could go on and on! And now with being a yoga-teacher?!
So, when I watched the beginning of yet another quiet drift my warning bells started ringing BIG TIME and I asked myself: Why, oh why, do I do this? Why do I drift away from things that were supposed to change my life? Things that I love? Things that were important to me?
And the answer? Self-love! :-)
Whenever I start something unusual I want people to approve of it - not just some people, ALL people! As in all 7 Billion of you guys should be able to find whatever I do cool, wonderful, great! And we all know: Not gonna happen!
And who's on the forefront of the ones that don't approve? Jep, that would be ME! I just can't be cool, wonderful, great enough for myself... until now I couldn't! ;-)
Now, I know: If I love myself, it's OK, if some people think, I'm just not cool enough! None of my business! I do the things I do - 'cause that's just who I fucking AM! :-)
Here are this week's pictures:
Montag, 28. Januar 2013
4th week - whatever works...
After my post-Istanbul-break-down (candidate for "word of the week"! ;-) ...), I found myself very willing to do yoga on Monday, but still not good enough to take on the long bike-ride to my very favourite yoga studio in town. So, I decided to be pragmatic...
I booked 10 days at the yoga-studio next door - which is literally only 3 minutes walk from my apartment. It's PERFECT! I put on my yoga-clothes (no, we yoga-teachers don't wear them all day long ;-) ...), grab my mat and enjoy the yoga next door!
I find, that very often in yoga, we come to a point where we have to or want to let go of our ideas about how we do things. Did I think, I'd go to my favourite studio and meet friends and catch up? Of course! It just didn't work - so, I just did, what I could!
In yoga, we do, what we can. We start from where we are, not from where we should be. "Should" is the place that gets you in trouble (or even injured!), "Are" is the place that brings peace and quiet.
Where are you today?
The poses for this week are exactly the poses of last week - so, no new pics. ;-)
I booked 10 days at the yoga-studio next door - which is literally only 3 minutes walk from my apartment. It's PERFECT! I put on my yoga-clothes (no, we yoga-teachers don't wear them all day long ;-) ...), grab my mat and enjoy the yoga next door!
I find, that very often in yoga, we come to a point where we have to or want to let go of our ideas about how we do things. Did I think, I'd go to my favourite studio and meet friends and catch up? Of course! It just didn't work - so, I just did, what I could!
In yoga, we do, what we can. We start from where we are, not from where we should be. "Should" is the place that gets you in trouble (or even injured!), "Are" is the place that brings peace and quiet.
Where are you today?
The poses for this week are exactly the poses of last week - so, no new pics. ;-)
Sonntag, 20. Januar 2013
3rd week - to yoga or not to yoga...
Dear People!
I got home from my yoga teacher training in Istanbul on Monday and was so exhausted and headached, that I stayed in bed for three days. Having my "light on yoga"-project in mind, I was soon starting to feel guilty about this, thinking I should do yoga. But obviously, my body REALLY wanted to remain where it was - in the cozy comfort-zone of my bed.
One of my yoga teachers once said, "Playing the edge is an art form!" And this little sentence appears, when I look at this last week. I did yoga once only with the result of even stronger headaches - and of course I startet blaming myself for not being kind towards me. But then on the other hand, I know sometimes doing yoga can get me healthy in an instant. So, there's no "right or wrong", just a "try, fail, try, succeed".
So, maybe the word of the week (not that there's one every week ;-)! ) should be PLAYING! We don't need to beat ourselves up, when we go too far! We just need to go back and make it right the next time! And have fun with it!
Here come the new poses for this week (on which I don't look at you *gg*). All the poses from last week are in this week's program as well. The new ones are Prasarita Padottanasana I and Parivrtta Trikonasana :
I got home from my yoga teacher training in Istanbul on Monday and was so exhausted and headached, that I stayed in bed for three days. Having my "light on yoga"-project in mind, I was soon starting to feel guilty about this, thinking I should do yoga. But obviously, my body REALLY wanted to remain where it was - in the cozy comfort-zone of my bed.
One of my yoga teachers once said, "Playing the edge is an art form!" And this little sentence appears, when I look at this last week. I did yoga once only with the result of even stronger headaches - and of course I startet blaming myself for not being kind towards me. But then on the other hand, I know sometimes doing yoga can get me healthy in an instant. So, there's no "right or wrong", just a "try, fail, try, succeed".
So, maybe the word of the week (not that there's one every week ;-)! ) should be PLAYING! We don't need to beat ourselves up, when we go too far! We just need to go back and make it right the next time! And have fun with it!
Here come the new poses for this week (on which I don't look at you *gg*). All the poses from last week are in this week's program as well. The new ones are Prasarita Padottanasana I and Parivrtta Trikonasana :
Mittwoch, 16. Januar 2013
The Beginning
Dear Readers,
There is a book by B.K.S. Iyengar called "Light on Yoga" in which the author shows us over 300 yoga poses. In the back of the book Iyengar suggests a 300-week program to learn all the poses shown in the book.
Well, I'll be a yoga teacher soon and want to expand my physical, mental and spiritual knowledge about yoga - which I why I began the program on 1st January 2013.
This is a blog in which I will share my experiences in the coming almost six years. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy learning all the new yoga poses ahead of me!
Here are the pictures of the poses for the first and second week (Vrksasana, Tadasana, Utthita Trikonasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana, Virabhadrasana I and II, Parsvottanasana, Salamba Sarvangasana I and Halasana - I left out Savasana in the pictures)!
Namaste,
Ursi
There is a book by B.K.S. Iyengar called "Light on Yoga" in which the author shows us over 300 yoga poses. In the back of the book Iyengar suggests a 300-week program to learn all the poses shown in the book.
Well, I'll be a yoga teacher soon and want to expand my physical, mental and spiritual knowledge about yoga - which I why I began the program on 1st January 2013.
This is a blog in which I will share my experiences in the coming almost six years. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy learning all the new yoga poses ahead of me!
Here are the pictures of the poses for the first and second week (Vrksasana, Tadasana, Utthita Trikonasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana, Virabhadrasana I and II, Parsvottanasana, Salamba Sarvangasana I and Halasana - I left out Savasana in the pictures)!
Namaste,
Ursi
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