Join Me On Woyopracmo

For another year, I will be participating in an online community called "WoYoPracMo" (World Yoga Practice Month). We are committing to practicing every day during the month of January and blogging about what we do. Please join us! Friend me. I am "Yoga Laura".



View my page on WoYoPracMo

Quintessential Poses for Our Culture: Pose I

I have a few poses I consider to be the “quintessential” poses for our culture. The ones that counter our tendencies to keep us balanced. I will be sharing each of these poses over the next few posts. I like to include these in most of my practices to help keep me balanced.

The first is so simple! And there is power in simplicity...Shoulder Rolls. Yep, so easy and can be done almost anywhere. Sit tall, creating length in the spine. Then bring your shoulders up under your ears. Circle them back to draw your shoulder blades together. Circle them down and forward, rounding your upper back. Do 4 or 5 in one direction then change direction. Do them slowly and make them really big. Use your whole upper torso.

Shoulder rolls help squeeze out the tension in our upper back and chest, opening the breath and releasing the upper trapezius. They also help counter the forward hunch many of us have.

Blogging from Love

I began blogging because I love yoga and truly want to share that love with anyone who wants to read. Then I began to feel obligated, obligated to write regularly. I easily go from joy and love to obligation and duty. So, I decided to stop until I felt moved to write from my heart again. I am back! And looking to sharing some of the ideas that have come up in the interim. I will only write when I feel inspired to do so and intend to do so in more areas of my life...

Creating an Inspired Home Practice

How would you describe your home practice? (or the home practice you want to have...) Is it fun? Exciting? Something you look forward to doing each day? Or is it something you feel you should do? The first step to creating an inspired practice is to make sure your reasons are coming from within, the deeper within the more inspired your practice will be. Whenever you feel a “should” come on, your motivation is coming from without. (I feel there is a subtle, and powerful, difference between motivation and inspiration. You can read more here.)

Yoga is so much more than simply a physical practice. You can use a yoga practice to develop yourself mentally, emotionally, spiritually, as well as physically. The most important step to take when you are considering beginning a home practice or changing the one you have is deciding why you want to practice. Be honest with yourself. If your reason comes from deep within, you will have an inspired practice, and you will be excited to get to your mat. Be sure it is what you want, not want you feel you should be doing! Your reasons can be anything from strengthening the core to getting off your anti-depressant medicine to relaxing your nervous system, to enlightenment. Whatever your reason, if it is truly yours, you will be much more likely to stick with the practice. Your reasons will keep you coming back to the mat.

Once you know why you want a practice, plan the poses around that intention. If you want to create more calm in your life, restorative, forward folds and longer Savasanas are appropriate. If you want to build stamina and core strength, standing poses and strength building poses are what you need. If you aren’t sure what poses will fit your intentions, email me. I am happy to direct you to the poses you want.

Then, to keep your inspiration, be open to changing the focus of your practice. Most likely, your reason will change periodically which will often change the focus of your practice. Flow with it and be flexible. And enjoy your inspired practice!

Top 50 Eastern Medicine logs

Check out this post on NursingDegree.net on the Top 50 Eastern Medicine Blogs. You'll find a list of blogs for Yoga and meditation, massage, Chinese Medicine, Holistic Health, Herbal Medicine, and Accupuncture. Fabulous!

Spicy Seeds and Nuts

I love this recipe. It is easy, fast, and my whole family likes it (a double bonus!)

• 1 c pecans


• 1/2 c sunflower seeds


• 1/4 c pumpkin seeds


• 1/2 c walnuts


• 1/4 c almonds


• 2 T grapeseed oil


• 1 t chile powder


• 2 T agave nectar


• 1/2 salt

1. Oven: 300 degrees.


2. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.


3. Spread ingredients on a cookie sheet in a single layer


4. Bake until toasted, stirring during the baking process at least once or twice.


5. Bake 20-25 minutes. (I find the pecans burn quickly.)


6. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Spicy Seeds And Nuts @ Group Recipes

Yummy Spelt Bread

I love this bread. Yummy and so easy. The bread is very wheat-like.

• 1 1/4 c water (I never warm the water)


• 1 1/2 t yeast


• 2 T oil


• 2 T honey


• 4 C whole spelt flour


• 1 1/2 t salt

1. Put all ingredients in the bread maker in the order listed. (Yeast goes in the water for spelt bread rather than in the flour like you do for wheat.)


2. Set the bread maker on regular white loaf.


3. Enjoy!

Spelt Bread @ Group Recipes

Snow Day!

Duluth, MN
Originally uploaded by tamantha

We had a traditional snow day yesterday...Lovely. I canceled a class so had a free evening I wasn't planning. Just like the old snow days with school! I played with the kids outside in the dark in the beautiful snow fall, then we had pancakes for dinner and watched home movies. What a fun evening...so carefree. More of my days will be care free now...

Pose of the Month: Prasarita Padottanasana

The pose of the month for muselan is Prasarita Padottanasana. I am looking forward to exploring this one. It is one of my very favorites!

The Month of Giving

We have entered my favorite month of the year. Really. I love this month. I love that we have a holiday that is nondenominational AND all about gratitude. I love that the holidays are around the corner because I still feel the sense of excitement and anticipation of the season. I love that the new year is around the corner. I also love that it is the month to work on my Spiritual Practice in my program called Awaken to Joy. It is just fabulous! All of it.

So, I found a fabulous online community to enjoy my month on. It is called 29-Day Give. They challenge you to track 29-Days of giving. What a fabulous thing to celebrate! Join me. You can find me there -- Yoga Laura. Be sure to make me a friend!


View my page on 29-Day Giving Challenge

Pose of the Month: Parsvottanasana

So muselan is studying Parsvottanasana this month. It is not my favorite pose at all so I am challenging myself to investigate why that is. I have often found that I don't like a pose because it has something to teach me that I am avoiding. I do know that the pose took me right into my hamstring injury I had for years which I recently resolved. Does the pose still remind me of the discomfort? Well, now that I am commited to practicing it frequently this month, we will find out!

Here are some Ideas for Deeper Study. I also taught it in my classes last night (I commited to teaching it in all my classes for the month). This is what we investigated.

What's for Dinner: Pancakes and Waffles

We always have pancakes for dinner on Halloween. Here is a recipe I make for both pancakes and waffles. Enjoy!

• 1 1/2 cups barley flour


• 1 1/2 cups oat flour


• 1 T baking powder


• 1/2 t salt


• 3 T honey


• 3 T safflower oil


• 3 eggs


• 1 1/2 cups rice milk


• 2 t vanilla

1. Mix dry ingredients.


2. Mix wet ingredients.


3. Add wet to dry.


4. Make them on the skillet.


5. Yum!

Wheat-Free PancakesWaffles @ Group Recipes

Spiritual Practice

In Marya and my Awaken to Joy Program, we are exploring our Spiritual Practice for the month of November. How do you define Spiritual Practice? And what do you do for your practice? We would love to hear from you! Here is the blog to go to.

New Pose of the Month

Welcome to November! We are studying a new pose on ...musasana.... This month we are studying Parsvottanasana. Want to join us? Use the month to practice it, think about it, see what it has to teach you this month. There are also ideas on the blog for studying it more deeply if you aren't sure what to do. Then let us know what comes up for you!.

Old Fat Naked Women for Peace

Generally I prefer to stay out of the political arena, but I couldn't resist this one! It is fabulous!

How I Began Yoga

Recently, Karen at Inspirasana asked me why I began yoga, so I thought I would reminisce a bit. Interestingly, yoga found me more than me finding yoga. (Coincidence, right?) I was eighteen years old when I had my first yoga class. I was in college and using it to fulfill my freshman PE requirement, not the most auspicious beginning! ☺ It wasn’t love at first sight. I was involved in western physiology, aerobics and weight-lifting, and yoga was way too slow for me. (Yep, I cringe at those words now!)

The summer after I graduated from college, I was working in an athletic club. There was a teacher there who taught a “stretch” class. (It was yoga, but back then you couldn’t call it that because people thought it was a cult or a religion. No, I was not in a small town. I was in DC! Which means, yep, I have been doing yoga that long!) She was going on vacation and needed a sub while she was gone. I realized yoga was something I didn’t teach yet and thought it might be something that would grow (prophetic, eh?) so being a yoga teacher might make me more marketable (I had no idea!). I agreed to apprentice with her. Truly, at this point, I could say the rest is history. She was my first teacher and I studied with her for many years. I ended up running her yoga studio and helping her design her first teacher training. Over the years of studying with her, I slowly moved away from my western style of exercise (yoga and weight training) to more and more yoga.

I know do yoga because it feeds me in more ways than I can count, truly. It inspires me and through it, I inspire others. I often tell my students that people begin yoga for one or two reasons and continue for a thousand. Why did you start yoga? Why do you continue yoga?

Related Posts:
What Brought You to Yoga?

Help for Your Psoas

The Psoas is a fascinating muscle. (You may have heard it called “illiopsoas” which is what it is called when it is combined with another muscles the “iliacus”.) It is the only muscle that runs from the torso to the legs (all others go from torso to pelvis and pelvis to legs) so it is essential to the connection between the torso and the legs both physically and energetically. It runs from the front of the spine in the lower back, through the pelvis, to attach to the upper inner thigh bone (femur). Its make up is also a bit different than other muscles so you need to treat it differently. It needs to be relaxed, lengthened and strengthened. Here are some podcasts for you to enjoy to help you with yours! You can also link here to a Squidoo lense with all sorts of information!

Release and Lengthen the Psoas
Strengthen the Psoas
Stretch the Psoas

Top 100 Yoga and Meditation Sites

Thank you X-Ray Technician Schools! They compiled the 100 best yoga and meditation sites for us. They have a brief description of each so you can find what fits you. Enjoy!

Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica

Want to join me in Costa Rica for a fabulous yoga retreat? I will be at Samasati Yoga and Nature Retreat Center January 24-31st. You will enjoy 3 daily yoga sessions with me (a early morning wake up, a before dinner stretch, and an evening relaxation.) You will also be able to enjoy eco-tours such as a waterfall trek:
A zipline ride through the canopy of the jungle:
Or spend an afternoon strolling on black or white sand beaches:
Or reading in the hammock on your veranda:
Or sitting in the hot tub overlooking the Caribbean sea:
You will also enjoy 3 gourmet, vegetarian meals daily in their open air restaurant and regular visits from toucans and monkeys!

Clutter: Part II

Laura
Originally uploaded by muselan

In my last post I wrote about how old beliefs create clutter in our hearts and we want to keep flowing and growing with life, discarding beliefs whenever it is time to let them go. Yoga can also help! Yoga keeps our bodies moving and more fluid. When our bodies are more fluid there is less chance for stagnation. There is a caveat: you must make sure that beliefs haven’t begun to stagnate your practice. Beliefs can come up anytime anywhere and in any situation, even your mat.

Here are some of the most common beliefs I hear from students:

I will never be able to do that pose...(whichever pose it is)
I will never be flexible
I will never be strong enough
I don’t have time for a home practice
I can do a practice, but I don’t have time for Savasana
That is my bad shoulder/knee/back...
I don’t know what to do for a home practice so I always to the same 10 poses.
I can’t do restorative poses, they are too boring/time-consuming
I can’t do power yoga, it is too strenuous/sweaty/boring

Any sound familiar to you? Challenge your beliefs. I am constantly challenging my students’ beliefs (sometimes to their annoyance!), inviting them to see more perspectives, more possibilities. Maybe restorative yoga isn’t right for you right now, that doesn’t mean it won’t be right for you tomorrow. If you keep telling yourself it isn’t right, however, you will miss the opportunity to practice it when it is right.