Anahata Chakra Round-Up

The beautiful rendition of Anahata Chakra is from here.

This week's theme was Anahata Chakra. The wikipedia definition is here.

Below is the round-up of all of the things I did related to energizing the Anahata Chakra.

My Anahata Chakra recipes:

Baking

Easy Inspired Brownie Cookie Surprise

Cooking

Easy Spinach and Baby Mushroom Risotto

Basil and Balsamic Marinated Chicken Breast Steaks

My Look At An Anahata Chakra Yoga Pose: Adho Mukha Svanasana

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Adho Mukha Svanasana

My Anahata Chakra recipe for my dog:

Quick and Easy Spinach Dog Treats

As for the crochet project for this week, I decided to not create another mini animal. I’m back to the drawing board with the pattern. I’m going to try to find another way to express the different chakras via crochet. (I have a few ideas up my sleeve, hee hee hee.)

The Yoga Of Teaching My Dog To Sit

Soy Sauce has been in my life for about two months. Soy Sauce is a Retired Racing Greyhound. She has never lived in a home, and she has never had to deal with owners who are not that familiar with greyhounds. For more musings about Soy Sauce, click here.

My husband and I have been trying to teach her to sit. We consider it a basic command, and our dog behaviorist said that it wouldn’t be that hard. We were all somewhat mistaken.

Her muscular back legs make it difficult for her to sit down. Her hamstrings basically get in the way. As a result, it has been a challenge to teach her to sit. Most of the conventional tips for teaching a dog to sit do not work for her.

So we’ve been trying a custom approach. She is learning how to lie down and she has been doing relatively well. For whatever reason, there is a particular dental chew stick (Insert shameless plug for Pedigree Dentastix here.) that she absolutely loves. The stick even beats raw meat, cooked meat, or any other type of meat. When she sees it, she does try to lie down, but she ends up in a sit instead. My husband posits that she is so excited she can’t lie down even if she wanted to.

What I’ve found through this experience is that teaching her to sit is a yoga practice in itself.

Her training consists of repeating the same commands and the same movements over and over again. Some days, she will follow the command on the first try. On others, it will take several tries. But as with each lesson or practice, we always spend a few moments with her at the beginning to help her focus.

Ironically, we have been trying to find a way for her to practice her maha asana which is sit. She struggles to find a comfortable sitting position and consequently she also struggles to sit in a steady position.

Additionally, since we have been unable to use conventional methods for teaching her to sit, we’ve had to focus more on what she can do to help modify her training so she can learn to sit.

Watching and experiencing her toils and successes reminds me of teaching yoga. I'm just lucky that I get to go along the journey with her.

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Adho Mukha Svanasana

Basic Instruction:
From kneeling on all fours with the knees and palms on the ground, tuck the feet and lift the hips towards the sky.

Tips:
- Pull in the navel towards the spine to help support the lower back.
- Keep the palms shoulder width apart.
- Keep the feet hip distance apart.
- Slide the shoulder blades down the back and away from the ears.
- If maintaining the posture is too strenuous, place a block underneath the forehead to rest.

Questions To Notice In This Pose:
- Is my face and neck straining to keep my upper body off the ground? Can I relax the muscles in my face and neck?
- Is my belly loose causing my lower back to be pinched? Can I support my lower back?
- Is there pressure more on one hand than the other? Can I practice balancing my weight between my hands?
- Is there more pressure in my feet than in my hands? Can I practice balancing my weight between my hands and feet?
- Are my shoulders creeping up towards my ears? Can I pull them back down?

This Pose In My Practice:
I remember a yoga teacher telling me once that I would use this pose one day as a resting pose. As a beginner yoga student, I was too distracted by the discomfort in my shoulders and wrists to pay much attention to her words.

At that point in my life, I was looking for something. Something that would somehow make my life better and complete. What I didn't realize at the time was that change is ironically constant. Once I found whatever it was that made me complete, I would inevitably become incomplete and continue looking. But that's ok.

If anything, yoga has taught me that it is alright that things change.

But back to the pose....
What I understood as discomfort in my shoulders and chest was really my body learning to open my heart. The pose was meant to allow me to find more space in my heart and more breath in my lungs.

As time passed, and I practiced more, the pose became more comfortable. I wouldn't say easy because depending on the day I can feel like I'm starting all over again. Some days the pose is relaxing and I can rest. Some days the pose conjures a lot of the thoughts I had when I first started.

But this is the practice, and things change day-by-day. So I keep coming back to my mat to see what unfolds.

Loving Thoughts. Loving Words. Loving Heart.

Manipura Chakra Round-Up

The beautiful rendition of Manipura Chakra is from here.

This week's theme was Manipura Chakra. The wikipedia definition is here.

Below is the round-up of all of the things I did related to energizing the Manipura Chakra.

My Manipura Chakra recipes:
Baking

Easy Cream Cheese Cookie

Cooking

Easy Sweet Corn and Sunflower Seed Risotto

Tumeric and Vinegar Marinated Pork

My Look At A Manipura Chakra Yoga Pose: Navasana

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Navasana

My Manipura Chakra recipe for my dog:

Quick and Easy Milk Dog Treats

My Manipura Chakra Crochet Project:

Super Easy Cute and Tiny Amigurumi Bear

The Yoga of Dog Food

Our newest family member is learning to wait while I make her breakfast and put it in her food stand. The ideal is that she would wait on her bed patiently until I put her food bowl down and then come for her food when I call for her.

This morning I stood by her bed with her food bowl in hand. Once she calmed herself and laid down on her bed, the sequence started. I would call out the command to wait as I walked towards her food bowl stand. If she waited, I would go until I put the bowl down. If not, I would come back to her bed to wait again.

I treated her bed as a place for her to reset and calm down. If she was too excited about the food to listen to me, then she would need to calm down and lay on her bed. If she was too confused by the command, then could go to her bed to help her release some anxiety. For her, her bed became her yoga mat.

There were three times where I put the food bowl down and almost called out to her to come and get her food when she excitedly ran to her food too early. At each almost successful sequence, I was disappointed that she was unable to wait for just a few moments longer. But with each almost successful sequence, I would start over again and wait for her to calm down and lay down on her bed.

Oddly enough, she knew that with each unsuccessful attempt, she should come back to her bed.

The entire lesson took 45 minutes, and I was unable to go to the gym in this morning. There were several moments where I wanted to quit, but my husband kept asking me to try one more time to get the command to work.

She eventually waited long enough and she was given her breakfast.

Both she and I learned our lessons this morning. For her, she was learning to wait. For me, I was learning to come back to the mat.

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Navasana

Basic Instruction:
From lying on the back, roll the body weight onto the front part of the hips bones pointing the tail bone into the ground. Lift both legs and upper body off the ground and balance the weight of the body on the sit bones. Lift arms straight forward parallel to the ground.

Tips:
- Pull in the navel towards the spine to help support the lower back.
- Lift the chest up to broaden the shoulders.
- If applying weight on the sit bones is too painful, place a blanket or two underneath the sit bones.
- If straightening the legs is too strenuous on the lower back, bend the knees so that the shins are parallel to the floor.

Questions To Notice In This Pose:
- Is my face and neck straining to keep my upper body off the ground? Can I relax the muscles in my face and neck?
- Is my belly shaking as I hold the pose? Is it possible to notice the shaking and let it go?
- Is there sensation in my sit bones as I try to balance the weight while keeping my upper body and legs off the ground?
- Are the front sides of my hips gripping as I try to maintain the pose? Can I relax my hip flexors?
- Are my shoulders slumping forward? Is it possible to release them and allow my chest and heart to be broad?

This Pose In My Practice:
This pose is my arch nemesis. In my yoga school application, there was a question about which pose was the most difficult, and I mentioned Navasana.

This pose brings a lot of thoughts and emotions to the surface when I practice it.

Some thoughts:
- I hate this pose.
- This pose is painful.
- I’m not good at this pose.
- Everyone is better at this pose than me.

Some emotions:
- Frustration
- Jealously

While it would be easy to just say that this pose causes too much negativity, and I should stop doing it, it is for the above thought and emotions the reason why this pose is important for me to keep practicing.

The conflict I experience in this pose provides me an excellent opportunity to notice the struggle and learn to let it go. Some days I experience more struggle, and some days I experience less struggle. Either way it reinforces the lessons of patience, persistence, and practice which are all good things in the end.

But this is the practice, and things change day-by-day. So I keep coming back to my mat to see what unfolds.

Loving Thoughts. Loving Words. Loving Heart.

Svadhisthana Chakra Round-Up

The beautiful rendition of Svadhisthana Chakra is from here.

This week's theme was Svadhisthana Chakra. The wikipedia definition is here.

Below is the round-up of all of the things I did related to energizing the Svadhisthana Chakra.

My Svadhisthana Chakra recipes:
Baking

Easy Vegan Almond Cookies With Cinnamon

Cooking

Easy Cashew, Kale, and Mushroom Risotto

Peanut Butter Chili Tofu

My Look At A Svadhisthana Chakra Yoga Pose: Namaskarasana

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Namaskarasana

My Svadhisthana Chakra recipe for my dog:

Quick And Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Dog Treats

My Svadhisthana Chakra Crochet Project:

Super Easy Cute and Tiny Amigurumi Badger

The Yoga of TPS Reports

Roughly twice a year at work there is a flood of new hires, all young people fresh out of college and excited to have a “real” job. Their goals are always the same: change the world.

Always within the first couple of weeks, one of them will say, “I don’t understand why we have to do this paperwork this way. Wouldn't it be better if we…” And later on, a similar comment would be made about something else, “Why do we have to do it this way? Wouldn’t it be more efficient if…” The response is always the same, “For now, we need to do it like this. But if you can find a better way, then we can change it.”

Inevitably, the new hire will realize how much effort is needed to make a small change for very little return. After this realization, their comments change from tenacious optimism to relentless complaining. “Well, this is boring. Why can’t I do more of the interesting stuff?” “I don’t need my degree to be doing this.”

In some respects, that is true. Usually entry level work is tedious and monotonous. But what makes the difference between the new hire that will make it to the next level, and the new hire that will eventually decide to leave? Presence.

The successful new hires are able to take a mundane task and execute it well. Are they changing the course of business with these tasks? No. Are they really making a huge difference or keeping the company afloat? Probably not. But are they contributing to a greater whole, albeit only in a very small way? Yes. These people do their work knowing that their contribution is small and that is ok.

I have been working for a while and I have recently been struggling with grandiose ideas of how things should and could be. Instead of just being with what is and knowing at the end of the day what is important to me (the people I care about and my health), I have been fighting with everyone and myself.

I am a trained yoga teacher but I am also a cog in the big wheel of business. Off my mat and in the office, it can be easy sometimes to forget that I am here, now. In the office it can be easy to think about the next title up or the office in the corner (ok, even having a door that is mine that I could close would be nice at this point).

Instead, I could take a lesson from my younger office mates who are clearly going to make it to the next level. I have forgotten that I should take every day a moment at a time and every task with a clear vision of what it is and what it is not. Once in a while everyone needs to take a step back and smell the TPS reports.

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Namaskarasana

Basic Instruction:
From standing with feet hip distance apart with toes pointing slightly outwards, begin to lower seat such that the seat is barely hovering over the ground. Place palms together in front of heart, and use elbows to help push knees apart.

Tips:
- The knees are to be in line with the second toe.
- If squatting so low is too uncomfortable, place a block (or several) underneath the seat to assist in the posture.
- Forearms form a parallel line to the floor.
- Chest is lifted so that the heart is reaching towards the clasped palms.
- Shoulders are pulled away and down from the ears.

Questions To Notice In This Pose:
- If my eyes are open, am I finding myself distracted by what I see around me? Is it possible to try to close my eyes and try to listen to myself?
- If my eyes are closed, am I finding myself being distracted by holding onto my thoughts? Is it possible to try to notice my thoughts and let them pass by?
- Is my jaw tight? Or my eyebrows furrowed? Is it possible to relax them?
- Are my ankles straining or my hips straining to maintain the posture? Can I find a way to release some of the strain with the assistance of blocks?
- Am I feeling strain as my hips open? Or am I feeling sensation as my hips open?
- Are my shoulders slumping forward? Is it possible to release them and allow my chest and heart to be broad?

This Pose In My Practice:
I love this pose. Squatting has never been a problem for me (knock on wood), so I don’t mind having my knees bend that deep.

What I enjoy most about the pose is the openness I feel in my hips as my elbows push my thighs apart. I also enjoy the feeling of my spine lengthening when I focus on lifting my chest in the pose.

Even though most of time the pose is relatively easy for me, there are times when the pose can also be difficult. I find that when I sit for long periods of time my inner thighs tighten and I feel resistance to the pose. It is in those moments I am reminded that humility is important. What I perceive as easy one day can easily be not so easy the next.

But this is the practice, and things change day-by-day. So I keep coming back to my mat to see what unfolds.

Loving Thoughts. Loving Words. Loving Heart.

Muladhara Chakra Round-Up

The beautiful rendition of Muladhara Chakra is from here.

So the last few days I've been focusing on Muladhara Chakra. A Wikipedia definition is here.

Since I like baking, cooking, and basically nourishing my mind, body, and spirit so much, I thought to combine all the things I enjoy doing together.

My Muladhara Chakra recipes:
Baking

Easy Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookie

Cooking

Easy Beet Risotto

Horseradish Tempeh and Horseradish Green Beans

My Look At A Muladhara Chakra Yoga Pose: Sukhasana

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Sukhasana

My Muladhara Chakra recipe for my dog:

Quick And Easy Vegan Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Dog Treats

My Muladhara Chakra Crochet Project:

Super Easy Cute and Tiny Mole Amigurumi

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Sukhasana

Basic Instruction:
Take a comfortable cross-legged seat either on the floor or on a cushion. The hands are placed on the knees palms up. The spine lengthens up away from the base of the seat.

Tips:
- The knees are to be in line or below the front hip bones. If not, placing a cushion under the seat can elevate the hips into proper alignment.
- The knees and hips are even so that the weight of the body is centered over the seat.

Questions To Notice In This Pose:
- If my eyes are open, am I finding myself distracted by what I see around me? Is it possible to try to close my eyes and try to listen to myself?
- If my eyes are closed, am I finding myself being distracted by holding onto my thoughts? Is it possible to try to notice my thoughts and let them pass by?
- Is my jaw tight? Or my eyebrows furrowed? Is it possible to relax them?
- Are my shoulders slumping forward? Is it possible to release them and allow my chest and heart to be broad?
- Am I comfortable with listening to my thoughts? Am I comfortable with the silence?

This Pose In My Practice:
For me, this pose is easy to get into, but hard to maintain.

Some days, I am comfortable with my own thoughts and finding a comfortable seat isn’t so difficult. Some days, (and honestly most days lately), I find that my thoughts are filled with worries about things I can and cannot control. By holding onto these thoughts, I find myself resistant to change, and ultimately uncomfortable with myself.

But this is the practice, and things change day-by-day. So I keep coming back to my mat to see what unfolds.

Loving Thoughts. Loving Words. Loving Heart.