BarefootAndUpsideDown

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | August 30, 2008

SUTRA II.48 tatah dvandva-anabhighatah Tatah: then, at this point dvandva: opposing pair or couple, duality, dualism Anabhighatah: invulnerability, undisturbed As a result, one is invulnerable to dualism. (Bouanchaud) Then one is no longer assailed by pairs of opposites (D.Brooks) When these principles are correctly followed, asana practice will help a person endure and even minimize [...]

Category: Sutra | No Comments »
Tags: B.K.S. Iyengar, Bouanchaud, Douglas Brooks, Faith, Georg Feuerstein, Nondualism, T.V.K. Desikachar, Yoga Sutra

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | August 27, 2008

Yoga is about transformation. If you don’t wanna change, don’t do it! If you are a scaredy cat, grab a hold of your fear, breathe it in, be present to it in all of it’s self-deprecating and destructive glory AND THEN BREATHE OUT THE OPPOSITE–whatever that is for you: courage, confidence, happiness, or anything else [...]

Category: Life, Meditation, yoga | No Comments »
Tags: Aung San Suu Kyi, body image, change, cravings, Dalai Lama, fear, Feng Shui, gandhi, inner light meditation, Lunga, mother teresa, Our Lady of Weight Loss, SELF, swami rhadananda, weight loss

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | August 23, 2008

Since I am on a roll, thinking about my teachers, and because some of you have asked me about teacher training, I thought it would helpful to post a poem I wrote for Francois at the completion of the Essential Teacher Training of Open Sky Yoga in Rochester NY. A link to his monthly newsletter [...]

Category: Poetry, Relaxation, Workshops & Training, yoga | No Comments »
Tags: Open Sky, poem, Rochester, teacher training, yoga

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | August 19, 2008

It is generally recommended that a practitioner, whether yogi, meditator, or both, work with a teacher. After my first teacher, who was a another student at the Catholic high school I attended, I practiced for many years on my own, using what I learned from books. This worked–to a point. My asana practice was sloppy [...]

Category: Life | No Comments »
Tags: Meditation, student, teacher, yoga

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | August 13, 2008

What happens when you first open your eyes in the morning? What are your first thoughts, and feelings? How do you transition from sleep and dreaming to “reality” ? There are a couple of different patterns of waking I have noticed: Acting as if on autopilot, I head to the bathroom Opening my eyes to [...]

Category: Life, breathwork | No Comments »
Tags: awakening, awareness, breath awareness, breathing, half-smile, morning, nostril dominance, smile

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | August 11, 2008

Today, may I present a gorgeous video of a song that’s sure to lift your spirits: Joni Mitchell’s Chelsea Morning as interpreted by Howie and artists.

Category: happiness | 2 Comments »
Tags: Chelsea Morning, Howie, Joni Mitchell, You Tube video

carolyn aka LaughingYogini | August 4, 2008

In a sense, there are two types of yoga classes. Yes, there are other ways of distinguishing yoga, but I’ll try to clear away what I have found to be common mis-perceptions regarding students’ reasons and expectations for coming to a yoga class. One is what I call the practice class. Generally, students come to [...]

Category: Life | 2 Comments »
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carolyn aka LaughingYogini | August 2, 2008

I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of contentment. It’s an old topic, one the ancient Indian sage Patanjali included in his Yoga Sutras. YOGA SUTRA STUDY (trans. Bouanchaud) II.42 samtosad anuttamah sukha-labhah Samtosat: through or by contentment Anuttamah: the strongest Sukha: of happiness Labhah: obtaining, gain Contentment brings supreme happiness. (B.Bouanchaud) From contentment [...]

Category: Life, yoga | 1 Comment »
Tags: contentment, happiness, Patanjali