Posts tagged yoga
I stress therefore I Yoga
(via: urbanyogagirl)
You can see, over and over, people seeing rises in sex hormones — particularly in testosterone — brain waves getting zipped up in the same way that lovers’ brains look when they’re in deep pleasure. There have been beautiful studies that show even fast breathing can produce strong states of sexual arousal. And just recently, there were studies in India where they looked at married couples who took up yoga and surveyed them before and after. Across the board, it’s improvement in desire, arousal, orgasm, overall satisfaction. Men have better erections. Women feel more emotional closeness with partners. It definitely does lots of good stuff.
A little support, please.
Most of us hit a point in our lives where we want to be fully self-sufficient, to not have to rely on anybody to get by. This is motivated by a well-meaning desire to be independent and responsible. Unfortunately, it’s slightly misguided. The reality is, we all need a little support, someone to lean on during hard times, to give us strength when we feel overwhelmed or exhausted. Even if, technically, we COULD do it alone, it feels so much better to not HAVE to. Of course, reaching out for support is challenging for so many people, especially when we’ve been conditioned to doing everything on our own.
We see this scenario play out in our practices. We struggle to get through a challenging pose because our pride doesn’t want to rely on a block or prop to give us a little support. Unfortunately, we end up sacrificing our comfort and safety. Many of us will feel like we’re achieving by “doing the pose”, but when I look around a class and see misshapen forms and grimaced faces, I see a lost opportunity for relief and greater pleasure.
For various physical reasons, I’ve chosen to add blocks back to my triangle and side angle poses in recent months. My body feels so much better expressing the pose to my fullest potential than it would struggling to have my hand on the floor. I’m happy that my yoga practice has taught me to take a step back and seek help when doing otherwise would create unnecessary pain.
I wonder if yoga has also taught you to be motivated by what you feel rather than what we want others to see? If you haven’t yet, you should try it. It’s quite liberating.
Anti-Aging Secrets From Yoga Superstars
Inspiration for aging with true beauty & grace.
In my translation of Bhagavad Gita, “yoga” is translated as “discipline”, which I’m reminded of as I came across the quote above.
“Practice, practice, practice. That is method.”
Patthabi Jois about Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha
How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body
Good article from the NY Times about the ramifications of yoga when it is practiced with ego and without attention and care to self.
5 Resolutions Worth Making
“1. See the beauty, health, functionality, and grace in my body as it is. So maybe my thighs would be more attractive if I lost a few pounds, but it’s pretty great that they’re healthy, support my weight, allow me to walk, let me feel strong in Mountain Pose, and have that nice muscle tone I’ve built through years of yoga.
2. Appreciate the beauty, kindness, warmth, and good intentions of people around me. People are never going to say exactly the right thing or do exactly what I’d like for them to do in the moment. But that doesn’t mean they’re not amazing people who want the best for me—and that’s pretty amazing no matter how many times they put their feet in their mouths.
3. Reflect on my accomplishments. Am I exactly where I want to be in my life/career/relationships? No way. But look at all the things I have accomplished! And look at the exciting journey I have ahead of me as I work toward the life I want to live and become the person I want to be.
4. Have more fun. Life is too short to spend it doing things you hate and hating the things you do. This year, I want to have more fun at every little task—no matter how menial or mundane.
5. Practice more yoga—especially off the mat. I’m not making any unlikely promises to myself to meditate or practice asana every day this year. I know it will never happen. But I do intend to practice yoga at every given opportunity. That might mean taking more deep, conscious breaths while I stand in line at the grocery store. Or it may mean practicing kindness toward others through my words and actions. I have no idea what lessons my practice will reveal to me this year, but I know I’m going to be open to whatever reveals itself to me along the way.”
Stop being a Zombie; do yoga! Awesome.
(via: fuckyeahyoga)
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