Is your yoga practice floundering? Has your practice gotten stale? Are you finding that you aren’t getting on your mat as often as you used to or as often as you like? If your yoga practice has taken a an extended vacation, you can get things back on track with a fresh start.

September is National Yoga Month, which means that you get one free week of yoga at a local studio. All you need to do is select a participating studio in your area, print out a Yoga Month Card, and then redeem it (although you must be a first-time student). Click here to learn more about the Yoga Month Card and to get yours.

September promises to be a month-long celebration of yoga with studios from all over the country participating in Yoga Month. Throughout the month, millions will come together to celebrate the mind and body benefits of yoga practice. There’s nothing like a nationwide movement to reinvigorate your yoga practice!

If you’re someone who is encouraged by having a challenge proposed to you, how about this — a global 30 day yoga challenge. When you register, you’ll be supplied with a daily dose of yoga videos, helpful information about yoga, nutrition, and meditation, and a support forum. Click here for more information and to sign up for the free 30 day yoga challenge. If you want to dive deeper into the challenge and rework your diet and your thinking, you have the option to sign up for a paid level of the challenge, which you can learn more about by clicking here. My practice is going strong, but I still signed up. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the start of fall than with a celebration of Yoga Month with a challenge.

If you’d rather get your yoga glow on online, check out the newly-launched Yogaglo — the new online yoga experience in HD. You can subscribe by the month and get access to classes, workshops, lectures, and meditations. Five percent of Yogaglo’s profits are donated to charity, so you can jumpstart you yoga practice while doing good. Because all of the Yogaglo’s classes are recorded live, you get the feel of being in a live yoga class minus the travel and the crowded studio. Click here to learn more about Yogaglo.

If none of the above appeal, you can also try these ideas for getting back to a regular yoga practice:

• Create accountability by enlisting the help of a partner — whether you choose to practice yoga with a friend or simply report on your progress to a friend with daily progress reports via phone or email, let someone call you on your goal of practicing yoga every  day for a month (or however long it takes you to integrate a regular practice back into your life).
• Try a new style of yoga. Sometimes you need to switch up your yoga practice depending on the time of your life, your physical condition, or to satisfy your need for variety. Don’t be afraid to try something new — you just might breathe new life into your yoga practice as a result.
• Try a new teacher and/or yoga studio. Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in a rut when you practice with the same teacher or at the same studio. Try mixing it up by sampling another teacher’s style or the vibe at a different studio. You can always go back if you don’t like it.
• Use an old-fashioned reward system — mark off the days on the calendar you practice yoga. When you hit 30, treat yourself to something wonderful — a massage, a new yoga outfit, a $100 shopping spree at the bookstore, a night out at your favorite restaurant or anything else that you desire.

Put forth the intention to practice yoga regularly and then take the steps necessary to ensure action (could be sleeping in your yoga clothes so you pop out of bed in the morning ready to practice, or creating a space in your home to practice, or purchasing an unlimited yoga pass at your local studio, or buying a library of yoga DVDs or downloads to keep your practice fresh) and you’ll get your yoga practice back on track in no time. September is the perfect time to recommit.

Happy upcoming Yoga Month everyone!

Namaste!

Now if the title of this post doesn’t make your head spin and think “say what?!?!?!” I don’t know what will. I’ve got a lot of things to tie together here, so let me get started. Hang in there — I’d like to think it’ll be worth the wait.

My brother was the Trekkie in the family while I was the Star Wars fan. Yep, I was a total Star Wars geek — I saw the movies, bought the action figures (and quite a few light sabers), even ate the cookies (you die hard fans will remember the cookies that came out around the time of Return of the Jedi). My mom delights in telling the story about how the cashier at Toys R Us, after ringing up quite a few Star Wars toys during the Christmas rush, said “Wow, your little boy is quite lucky.” Being that my mom waited 12 years and two boys to finally be blessed with a girl, she shamefully replied that she was actually buying gifts for her daughter.

But I digress. The reason I had such a love for Star Wars was that the good guys always seemed to prevail and the timeless lessons included in the movies from ancient texts/religions. One of my favorite characters, of course, was Yoda. Yes, he was so ugly, he was cute, but DAMN that little green guy could blow you away with his wise little one-liners. The quote above comes from the scene on Degobah, when Luke is wary about entering an ominous-looking cave. Who knew that Yoda was a smaller, uglier version of a Buddhist teacher?

Why think of this now — years later when my light sabers (yes, I do still have a few) are collecting dust in a closet somewhere and I’ve traded in my light saber fighting for practicing yoga? Because the lesson still applies. And now we tie it into vacation…

While on vacation, I was surrounded with a fraction of the static that I am when I’m home. The books, the clothes, the computer time, the to do list — all drastically cut back. And yet, I didn’t miss any of it. I enjoyed my simple existence. Which now takes me to gardening…

Somehow when I was away, the weeds in my yard got together and threw some sort of orgy and multiplied out of control in my absence. Garden gloves on my hand and bucket hat on my head, I’m spending some quality time in my yard tackling the super human chore of eliminating the weeds. I’m ripping out the weeds yesterday when I realize that I need to do some weeding in my life as well. If I didn’t need all of the static on vacation, then why do I need it now?

So, in case you couldn’t follow my circuitous path, here you go — I realized that Yoda was right — I’m taking more than I need with me. Being away put it into perspective for me — I need to simplify. And all of that weed pulling reminded me that I need to start weeding things from my life. As Patanjali says in the Sutras — and I’m paraphrasing here — you have to deal with the weeds (or Kleshas, in yoga-speak) when they’re small.

And as I’m thinking this, I come across an excellent video excerpt of a Paul Grilley workshop in which he talks about how the junk in our minds takes a toll on our yoga practice. He uses the phrase “contra mantras” and his point is well taken. Perhaps before you step onto your mat, you might ponder Yoda’s words about what you’ll find — “only what you take with you.” Lucky for me Paul also offers up an easy solution for anyone suffering from backpain. Being that I’ve been doing all of this yard work, I could use a little lower back care. Click here to view the video of Paul — you’ll get a chuckle and perhaps have an “ah-ha” moment.

Now you may be wondering, how on earth can I possibly add an international yoga luminary into this odd mix? Here goes…

As all of this is running around in my head (which is pretty crowded what with Yoda being in there and all), I find myself weeding out my magazine pile, which has been neglected for a month of so. As I’m reading through the old magazines, I come across an interview with T.K.V. Desikachar in the August issue of Yoga Journal. His wonderful answer to one of the questions reminds me that I can also let go of some of the aspects of my asana practice. I can let go (or weed out, since I’ve got gardening on my mind) of perfection in asana, the amount of asana that I practice, and the feelings I have about missing a practice here and there. While I’m still a Yoda fan, I think that Desikachar’s wisdom blows The Green One out of the water:

“My wish is that more students experience the vastness of yoga, not simply asana. Increased attention to the concept of body consciousness has become very popular. Yoga was primarily evolved for inner limbs such as mind, senses, emotions. Unfortunately, many yoga teachers themselves are not aware of these techniques to be able to guide students in these domains. It is my sincere wish that both teachers and students of yoga move beyond their obsession with the body level, to actually experience these subtle and more powerful dimensions of this ancient wisdom. This requires patience and commitment and a serious search to look at oneself.”

So, to recap, we’ve got vacation realization of simplifying one’s life, which is reflected in the weed-pulling, which reminds me of Yoda’s words to Luke, which ties into my yoga practice and is a sentiment somewhat echoed in the words of Desikachar. Whew — that was one wild ride, eh?

Enough about me and my crazy ramblings (it is entirely possible that all of this yard work means that I’ve been out in the sun way too long and the rays have fried my brain), how about you and your life? Here are some pondering points:

• What are you taking onto your mat? Are you attached to asana and ignoring meditation, pranayama, and other yogic tools? Do you honor your body or do you berate it when it doesn’t fit into the yoga mold that you think it should (do Paul Grilley’s words hit a nerve)?
• What can you weed out in your life? Can you delete more emails (or get away with giving up email altogether)? Can you give away some of your possessions? Can you let go some of your obligations?
• Can you move beyond the body? Can you cut back on your asana in order to incorporate more meditation?
• What are some small things that you can take care of now — before they get too big and overhwelming to tackle later?

Just say “no” to the contra mantra!

Namaste!

The standard yoga class seems to be somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes. The question is — does a yoga class need to be that long?

I say no. I’m a firm believer that you can get just as many benefits from a 30 minute practice as you can from a longer practice. If it’s between a short practice or no practice at all, I encourage a short practice. I also encourage including more than asana in your practice — pranayama and meditation are an essential part of yoga and shouldn’t be ignored in favor of asana.

Fitting Yoga into Your Daily Schedule
When clients come to me for private sessions they often complain that they don’t have much free time and find it difficult to fit a yoga practice into their daily schedule. When I create a practice for them that consists of 15 minutes of asana and 15 minutes of pranayama and meditation, they often remark that they can find the time to practice regularly.

Cutting Back on Asana and Pumping Up the Pranayama
Over the years, I’ve cut back on the amount of asana that I practice. I prefer to beef up my pranayama practice instead. While I’m down in South Carolina, I’ve been starting my days with a quick, 25-minute practice followed by 15 minutes of pranayama. I feel every bit as wonderful as I did back when I practiced asana for 60-90 minutes — and I have more time for hiking.

Short Practices for Those Short on Time
If time is keeping you from practicing yoga regularly, why not try shorter practices? Here are some free short yoga practices that you can try (experiment with incorporating shorter practices supplemented by longer practices when you have more time):

• Renew Your Rhythms — I’ve been practicing this wonderful Kundalini practice from Yoga Today practically the entire time I’ve been on vacation. This 25-minute practice revitalizes, energizes, and gets my day off to a great start.
• Yoga for Less Stress — This is a quick, 5-minute practice that’s perfect for those of you who want to sprinkle a little yoga throughout their daily schedule. You can spend 15 minutes first thing in the morning practicing some Sun Salutations then add in this yoga for less stress practice 3-4 more times throughout your day for a well-rounded daily practice. 
• Yoga Practices with Jason Crandell — The Jason Crandell Channel on YogaJournal.com offers a wide variety of short practices that suit every need. Choose from energizing practices to hip openers to core strength to an evening, wind-down practice.
• Fists of Fire Detox — Brooklyn Yogini Sadie Nardini teaches this wonderful 2-part detox sequence that will get you sweating and tone your core.
• 15 Minutes of Freedom — This well-rounded practice offers a little bit of everything — back bends, forward bends, twisting postures, and side stretches.

Consistency Rather Than Duration of Practice
I suggest working with what you’ve got — if you have only 10 minutes a day for your yoga, make it count. Just because the standard yoga class is 60-90 minutes, doesn’t mean you have to practice for that length of time. Consistency is what’s important — not duration. It’s better to practice 10 minutes a day every day than 90 minutes once or twice a week.

Namaste!

Imagine this scenario if you will: you practice yoga daily and in your finer moments you fancy yourself the embodiment of equanimity. And then you hit a bump in the road. You’re cut off in traffic. Technology fails you (think hard drive crash or interrupted Internet service). Or my personal favorite — you spend some time in the big blue sky courtesy of the airlines (or should I say you spend more time in the airport than in the sky?). Now what? How does that hard-won equanimity hold up? Does it crack under the pressure, sending you into an emotional nose dive in which you completely forget your yogic lessons?

This is where the eco-friendly rubber yoga mat meets the road, so to speak. Being that I just experienced the joys of air travel, I’m feeling like I’ve recently learned quite a bit about taking my yoga off the mat and out into the world. I’m pleased to say that my yoga practice is working its magic on me because this same incident 10 years ago would have resulted into a drastically different reaction from me.

Although I consider myself a generally happy, glass is half full, posivitist (thank you for that awesome word Life is Good!) kind of gal, I’ve got what I like to call a passionate nature (yep, this is my optimistic, positive spin on a temper). I get angry. I curse (shame on me, I know!). I react. While I’m a yoga teacher, student, and practitioner, I’m still a human being.

Somehow that seems to get forgotten by folks who know about my yoga background and they focus on the former. I get the whole “yogis don’t get upset” speech. On the contrary folks — we do. Just to dispel that nasty little rumor — yogis aren’t robots (insert robotic monotone voice here: “My name is Diane. I love yoga. Nothing phases me. Namaste.”). We have feelings. Our aim is to not let those feelings control us, is all. We practice so that we’re less reactive. Sometimes we’re successful and other times…well, not so much.

A few days ago, I stepped up to the check-in desk at 5:30AM only to find that my flight was delayed for over 3 hours, which meant I would miss my connecting flight and ultimately fail to get to my final destination even close to the time originally planned. After playing a little re-routing roulette on the computer, the airline representative informed me that I would arrive 5 1/2 hours later than orginally planned.

And there it was — my yogi moment. Do I freak out, start cursing, yell at the airline representative, complain about the multitude of inconveniences and complete lack of customer service that comes with airline travel today and the injustice of it all? Yes and no.

I admit that when I first arrived at the terminal and found out that my flight was cancelled, I was not a happy camper. I did some of the above — there was a wealth of complaining and some cursing (my mom is going to read this and then wash my mouth out with soap). I could feel my energy flagging in that moment and I thought the worst thought one could possibly think — “this is going to be a bad day.”

As soon as that thought ran through my head, I knew it was time to do a little of the unclutching that I’ve learned about through the years of my yoga and medtiation study. For if I kept this nasty attitude, my day would surely be awful. So I did what any self-respecting yogi would do — I took a deep breath, let it out, and surrendered to the moment.

To make a long story short — I had a great day. Were my layovers long — yes. Was I tired because I had woken at 4:00AM — yes. Did I arrive at my final destination 5 1/2 hours later than expected — no, actually I landed 7 hours later than expected. Yet I let go of my attachment to wanting things to go a certain way and opened myself up to what was happening in the moment. I ate some yummy meals, I met some cool people, I caught up on some reading, I listened to some wonderful music, I logged quite a few steps doing laps around the terminal to keep my body moving and feeling good, and I found myself feeling more gratitude than usual when I arrived at my final destination and found that my luggage had made the trip with me and wasn’t lost in some alternate luggage universe.

And as with every other situation I’ve encountered in life, yoga got me through. Here are some of my tactics for staying yogi cool during air travel:

• Breathe (breathe deep and breathe often) – I can’t stress enough how breathing helps in any and every situation. This time around I focused on Sitali (inhaling through curled tongue or pursed lips and exhaling through the mouth). I also recommend 4-part breathing (inhale for 4 counts, hold inhale for 4 counts, exhale for 4 counts, hold the exhale for 4 counts), and extending the exhale (use a 1:2 ratio — inhale for 5 and exhale for 10). These cooling breaths will relax you and help you stay cool under pressure (the sort of pressure that comes along with airline delays, being crammed into small spaces, and crowding in airport terminals).
• Movement — It’s tough to sit in terminals for an extended period of time only to sit in the plane as it sits on the tarmac waiting for takeoff clearance and then for the entire flight time. I suggest walking the terminal. It keeps the blood flowing and your energy up.
• Hydration — Drink water, water, and more water.
• Release the negativity — Grab a pen and some paper and get out your annoyances, grievances, frustrations on paper. Do a written dump so you can diffuse the emotional charge and move on. Rather than dwell on the negativity, get it out. I spent about 10 minutes doing a written emotional purge right after I found out about the delays. I whined, I complained, I raged, and yes, I cursed — on paper. That meant that I got it out and no poor soul had to be on the receiving end of my initial anger.
• Take care of yourself — Do whatever you have to do to make your time pleasurable. Bring your favorite snacks and music. Wear comfy clothes. Indulge in aromatherapy. Do some quick yoga moves/stretches when you can. Get to know a fellow traveler. Do whatever brings you pleasure (that might even mean indulging in an airport splurge like a shoe shine or a pedicure or paying a fee to get into an airline lounge). If you’re going to be stuck in a situation that you aren’t all that thrilled with, you might as well make the best of it.
• Get a reality check — When something frustrating happens I always remind myself that it could always be worse. Delayed travel is about invonenience, not life or death. Keep it in perspective and be grateful that things aren’t worse.

And for specific yoga routines for travelers, I recommend:

• Yoga for the Weary Traveler — a free 18-minute online class from the folks over at Yoga Today. This is a wonderful practice for when you finaly get to your destination.
• Yoga for Travelers — try this routine from the folks over at iYogaLife to work out the kinks acquired by squeezing your body into too tight places for too long a period of time.
• 6 Movements of the Spine — You can do this while seated in the terminal (or on the plane for that matter). Start with spinal twists (put your hand on the opposite knee and gently twist to the side). Sit up straight in your seat (you can come to sit on the edge of the seat) with your palms resting on your thighs and arch and round your spine. Interlace your hands and place them at the base of your skull. Inhale and then exhale over to the side (elbow drops towards the ground). Finish this off by pulling alternate knees to the chest for 5 breaths.

My ego longs to fancy myself the embodiment of equanimity after this travel experience. I know better though. What I truly embody is the realization that yoga helps. When I keep my yogic head about me, I come back to feeling without reacting. That and some deep breaths is all I really need to help me conquer everything from airline travel to major life shake-ups. I’m grateful that I surrendered to my yoga training rather than the alternative. I’m grateful that I (and my luggage) arrived safely at my destination. I’m grateful that I’m on vacation.

Now I just have to remember all of this on the flight home.

Namaste!

By the time you read this, I’ll be in South Carolina visiting with friends and family. I decided to write one last blog post for y’all (what can I say — I’m preparing for my trip) before I head down south. I’ll try to write some while I’m away, but I can’t make any promises. I’m desiring lots of time with my loved ones and not so much time in front of the computer.

Here are a few things to keep you entertained while I’m gone:

• Free Shakti Activation Conference Calls — If you’re interested in tuning your frequency into the Aquarian Age, check out this Shakti Activation Yahoo Group that offers free weekly telecasts. 
• The Essence of Buddhism — if you had to sum up the essence of Buddhism, what would you say? Click here for Sogyal Rinpoche’s thoughts.
• Committing To Yoga — I don’t know about you but hearing people’s experience with their yoga practice never fails to inspire me. If you’re looking to reinvigorate your practice, why not remind yourself of the benefits by reading someone else’s story? Check out this fantastic story about one woman’s journey with/through yoga.

Now I’m off to finish packing.

Namaste!