Happy New Year!

Happy Full Moon!

Oh, Happy Day!

Instead of writing a long list of goals or resolutions or things to let go this year I have instead decided to focus on one thing: compassion.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary compassion is defined as a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. I want to be compassionate towards myself, others and the world. I am still determining just how to do all of that, as it seems like a big undertaking. I will start simply. Self affirmations and positive self talk. Listening, really listening, to others when they are speaking. Supporting ideas, business and communities that align with my heart. It is a start, but there is so much room to grow!

How do you cultivate compassion in your life?

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

In other news, I have several classes on the schedule for 2018. I am so excited! Check them out here. I am still subbing as much as possible #subbingadventures so keep an eye on my Instagram and Facebook page.

Peace, love and namaste,

Kristin (and Luna)

P.S. I received a beautiful “Practice You” journal by Elena Brower as a gift and cannot wait to dive in… so many yoga class themes and writing prompts waiting to happen!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas. . .Love, joy and peace are being echoed throughout the city in the music, stores and decorations. Meanwhile, full schedules, holiday preparations and changing temperatures are filling the body with stress, fatigue and illness.What is a girl to do?

Yoga.

The answer is always yoga! **Full disclosure, this is sometimes accompanied by wine. Dark chocolate. More sleep. And for some illness, medication.**

Yoga is often seen in the western culture as a work OUT. I have been discovering the powerful aspect of yoga that is rather a work IN. Yoga can be equally challenging and toning as it can be restful and rejuvenating. It can be as much for the body as it can be for mind. I strive to find that balance when I practice and when I teach. During this month I have been starting to focus a bit more on the restorative and meditative side of practice to keep my body and mind in optimal health as we move into the most wonderful time of the year. 

Here are a few suggestions to help keep that balance of yin and yang, stillness and movement, rest and challenge in your yoga practice. These can be done at home, with a loved one, or perhaps in the living room with chestnuts roasting on a open fire… 

Three Yoga Practices for December

1. Surya Namaskar A – Sun Salutation A with gratitude

Repeat 1-12 times, depending on energy and time restraints. Dedicate each round towards something or someone you are grateful for. This is a practice that is nourishing for the body, mind and spirit.

2. Ustrasana – Camel Pose with Lion’s Breath

Kneeling tall with femurs lined up under hips, bring hands to small of back with fingers pointed down. Exhale, engage core, slightly squeeze inner thighs together and start to lift the heart up towards the sky. Inhale, allow the spine to lengthen up and back, bringing the bridge of nose parallel to the ceiling or letting the head drop back opening the throat. Hold pose for 5 breaths. Exhale fully each time and open the mouth perhaps doing a Lion’s breath while fully sticking the tongue out. Imagine negativity in any form–thoughts, illness, stress– leaving the body with the breath from the back of the throat. Sit back on heels after the pose, close eyes and turn attention inward. It is common to feel a little buzzing in the spine or head. Let this feeling subside before opening eyes and moving to the next posture.

3. Supported Supta Baddah Konasana – Supported Reclined Bound Angle Pose with mediation

Hold this pose for 3-10 minutes. Entering the pose, focus on softening the heart center, allowing the breath to move freely and easily and give the body permission to relax. Be sure the blocks are arranged under the head and between the shoulder blades so there is no pinching in the spine. Prop the head up higher than the heart. If the hip joints feel over stretched, prop them up on blocks, blankets or pillows. The pose should feel comfortable. This is a very restorative pose for calming the nervous system. Once the body has arrived in the shape, commit it to stillness for any amount of time desired. Maybe put a favorite relaxing song ( I recommend George Winston’s December album) while holding the pose, repeat a mantra such as “I am Enough” or do a simple mediation in the silence just following the breath in and out.

 

Joy to the World, Peace, Love & Namaste,

Kristin (& Luna)

 

 

Morning Song

by: Sara Teasdale

A diamond of a morning
Waked me an hour too soon;
Dawn had taken in the stars
And left the faint white moon.

O white moon, you are lonely,
It is the same with me,
But we have the world to roam over,
Only the lonely are free.

---

I wandered around Düsseldorf this afternoon in the rain, from the Hauptbahnhof(main train station) to Altstadt(old town). I was constantly surrounded by people. People speaking German, French, English and Dutch. People of all different ages, colors, shapes and sizes. I was just another face in the crowd, huddled underneath an umbrella and searching, quite aimlessly, for a warm cafe with wifi to inhabit for the remainder of the day.

As I walked on the cobblestone streets trying to avoid puddles while attempting not to roll my ankle in my boots, I had this sense of loneliness again. I was thinking, oh vey, I am in a foreign country, by myself for the day, in the rain, surrounded by strangers and these streets are definitely not on a Chicago grid system. Simultaneously, I was being reenergized and renewed. What is it about being lost that gives the spirit as sense of rootedness? What is it about being alone that reinforces love and faith? What is it about being lonely that sets one free?

I think about the early mornings when I take the dog out and I see the moon high on the horizon. It always gives me a sense of rootedness, love and loneliness. It isn’t a sad sense of emptiness or loss that often accompanies the feeling of being lonely. Rather, it is filled with a sense of energy, tenderness and wonder. When I look at the moon, I remember that I am something more than myself. Something more than my body, my mind. The moon reminds me that there is a higher vibration. It makes me feel small and immensely full of possibilities at the same time. My heart swells. My spirit soars. With its clear white light, the moon looks like it is part of the landscape of stars in the night sky, but at dawn it is clear that it is in an entirely different part of space. The moon forges its own path on its 28 day orbit around the earth. It is actually nowhere near the stars. It is alone.

I sit in a hipster coffee shop tucked into a tall narrow building on an even narrower brick alley. The baristas spoke broken English, but still managed to help me get on wifi and order a warm kaffe (coffee). Electronic, jazz music plays from the speakers. The decor is reclaimed wood and chic. I am huddled in a corner slowly sipping my frothy beverage. The patrons are all speaking in German and enjoying their midday espresso. In my red pants, pixie hair and thick scarf, I look like I am part of the landscape of young adults, but if anyone tries to speak to me it is clear I am not from here. I am American. Although I try, I do not speak German. I am alone.

But I am free. I am grateful that I have had opportunities like this to explore new places. To try new things. My grateful practice has reinforced the fact that I am so blessed to have been born where I was, who I was and with those around me. I am so lucky that I landed in this body with this mind with this spirit, I could gush about it everyday. Whatever that higher vibration is, I bow to it.

I opened my emails this afternoon and came across this poem by Sara Teasdale in my inbox. I read it once, twice, a dozen times. It gave me chills. It resonated deeply. It made me reflect. It inspired me. It made me ask questions. An answer came in the form of another poem by Mary Oliver:

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

It was one of those moments where I felt like I was meant to read Teasdale’s poem, in exactly this moment and in exactly this place. Sometimes it takes someone else’s words to describe exactly how I feel. Feeling lonely. Feeling loved. Feeling wonder. Feeling free.

Peace, love and Namaste,

Kristin

 

I woke up early this morning and let the dog out.

It was dark.

It was cold.

It was snowing.

Luna was resistant to go out on the frozen ground, as the sudden shift in temperatures was a bit shocking. After coming back inside I put on another sweater, made a warm pot of French press and rolled out my mat. Ahh, late fall. In the words of my favorite Game of Thrones house: Winter is Coming.

As I prepare my body for the longer nights, colder days and oncoming stresses of the holiday season, I have found that changing my routine from the long, active days of summer to a more contemplative, nourishing time around the winter solstice helps me stay healthy. Healthy not only in my body, but also in my mind. “Hygge” is the term that is all the rage these days, but honestly humans and animals who are in tune with the seasons have been doing hygge forever. Think of the bear who goes into hibernation. Think of cozy holiday parties with people you love. Think of your favorite warm winter meal. I have discovered if I continue to GO GO GO as I do during the summer months, I end up coming to an abrupt halt sometime in December–like that time I got a raging case of the flu, H1N1, on Christmas Eve and ended up in the ER.

Here are five ways I change my routine to continue to take care of my body, grow my mind and nourish my soul:

1. Rest and Restore: In my yoga practice and outside practice (running, biking, etc), I slow down. I invite restoration into my life. It is easy to continue to ramp up after a season of invigorating inversions and marathon training. I have to actively stop myself and reset. This doesn’t mean I stop doing sun salutations and running completely. Rather, I add more restorative postures to my yoga practice and more walking to my (and Luna’s) routine. This also includes taking baths. Enjoying a cup of tea or glass of wine on the couch after a long day. I find my body has more energy to keep itself warm and healthy.
2. Eat Warm, Seasonal Food: Roasted butternut squash. Lentil soup. Chai tea lattes. Sweet potato coconut curry. Baked oatmeal. Beets and root vegetables. Need I say more? Food is medicine. Eating with the seasons helps my body adjust to what is going on in the outside world, not mention it is delicious and fun to change my menu every few months.
3. Go Outside: This might seem counter intuitive as it is cold and dark, however I find that if I maintain a practice of going outside daily during the transitional seasons my body adapts better to the changing temperatures. The sun will always help boost my mood and makes the cold more bearable. I also like go for a walk or run on the first snow of the year. Not only is it magical (like it was this morning in Chicago!) but it also helps my body physically and emotionally adjust to the changing season.
4. Stay Warm: When going outside I am sure to wear lots of warm clothes and cover my  neck and head. During the first cold days I try to overdress. I would rather be a little too warm then a little cold. The neck and head are particularly sensitive so I keep them both covered.
5. An Attitude of Gratitude:  To quote the Gratitude Journal my teacher created “Gratitude teaches you to find more positivity then negativity in the world you perceive. Your brain is actually wired to remember one positive memory for every five negative memories. At one point this was necessary for survival…Gratitude is a simple hack to rewire your brain to navigate in the positive direction.” It is easy to feel negative during the dark, cold days of late fall. Gratitude is a great way to create change from the inside. I began dedicating each sun salutation during my daily practice to something or someone I am grateful for. Somedays I journal. Somedays I put a slip of paper in my gratitude jar. It is a seemingly small act but the benefits are great. I started this routine a few weeks ago. It has already helped me feel lighter, brighter and more fully present throughout the day. For me, I hope this will become a permanent routine.

 

Do you change your routine with the changing seasons? How do you adjust?

 

Peace, Love & Namaste,

Kristin (and Luna)

---

I am ROOTED: 

in my practice

in my teaching

in my wisdom

in my authentic self

in listening to my inner voice as a guide 

                                while whispers of my teachers, my experiences, my memories

echo

resonate

inform.

 

I am NOURISHED:

by my conviction

by my love

by my passion

by my wonder, amazement & curiosity

                        of this path

                                                   of this life–  

shaped by the past,

                                      living in the present,

creating the future. 

---

 

I am so grateful, inspired and LIT UP by last week’s opening module of my 300hr yoga teacher training program. I do not even know where to start, so I will leave you with this reflection. It just touches the surface of all the rich conversations, experiences and knowledge regarding the physical body, emotional body and spiritual body I absorbed over the five days.  I am feeling more grounded, integrated and full  as the seasons shift into late fall. As my body processes all the information, I will be starting to slowly incorporate some new ideas into my classes and perhaps an upcoming blog post. Keep an eye on social media or on my classes page  for my subbing schedule!

Peace, love and Namaste,

Kristin

 

*I am beginning an advanced training on Monday, and this was a question for our first “homeowork” assignment. I am so excited to begin this journey and be part of this new sangha! 

What is yoga?

Yoga means to yoke, to join or a union.

For me that is joining of opposites in the mind, body and spirit.

In the mind: joining together chaos and calm, light and dark.

In the body: joining together breath and movement, strength and flexibility.

In the spirit: joining together joy and sorrow, humanity and divinity.

BKS Iyengar in Light on Yoga describes yoga as a diamond “each facet reflecting a different shade of meaning and revealing different aspects of the entire range of human endeavor to win inner peace and happiness.” Yoga is what the yogi reflects back outward during the journey inward toward peace, happiness and fullness.

What does that journey look like?

It might be asana.

It might be pranayama.

It might be meditation.

It might be self-care.

It might be taking care of loved one or working for a passionate cause.

It is for the practitioner to decide.

Yes, there are some already carefully laid paths that one might choose to follow, but I believe these are more like guidelines. I have not studied some of these ancient texts in depth only excerpts, essays and talks on the texts including the yoga sutras and Bhagavad Gita. I sometimes feel like that makes me lacking as a yogi and even a teacher, which might be why I have the “guidelines” approach.

However, I do roll out my sticky mat every morning.

I do find moments of quiet throughout the day.

I reflect. I read poetry. I write.

I mess up. I make mistakes all the time. But I am aware. I am honest.

I am always asking questions. I am always searching for answers.

Actually, searching for mystery. Searching for the unknown, the unseen, the untold. Trying to be on the cusp of what is about to unfold. It is a particular awareness of mind, body and spirit. It is being present, while simultaneously being influenced by the past and looking ahead to the future. I think it is this that makes me, and makes anyone, a student of yoga.

 

Peace, love and Namaste,

Kristin (& Luna)

 

 

“Patience comes to the bones before it takes root in the heart” ~Mary Oliver

“O Soul, we have positively appear’d–that is enough.” ~ Walt Whitman

---

 

Some days I practice with my bones. Aligning. Arranging.

Some days I practice with my muscles. Stretching. Strengthening.

Some days I practice with my organs. Twisting. Toning.

Some days I practice with my mind. Measuring. Moving.

Some days I practice with my breathe. Calming. Centering.

Some days I practice with my heart. Listening. Loving.

Each time, I arrive.

Sometimes openly. Softly. Curiously.

Other times methodically. Distractedly. Honestly.

Always striving to be purposeful, persistent and patient.

What I feel in my bones, I hope will eventually resonate in my mind. In my heart.

This is why I practice.

To do the what.  To feel how. To arrive at where. To know why.

Quite frankly, I still have no answers. No solutions. No idea. I am still just me.

 

And for now, that is enough.

 

---

Peace, love and Namaste,

Kristin

 

P.S. Practicing patience might just be paying off… I am teaching at a beautiful studio called Mirepoix in Wicker Park this Friday! I am over the moon and it is going to be full! Message me if you would like to come as my guest ❤

 

 

 

 

“The Falling of the Leaves”

by W.B. Yeats

Autumn is over the long leaves that love us,
And over the mice in the barley sheaves;
Yellow the leaves of the rowan above us,
And yellow the wet wild-strawberry leaves.

The hour of the waning of love has beset us,
And weary and worn are our sad souls now;
Let us part, ere the season of passion forget us,
With a kiss and a tear on thy drooping brow.

The offical Autumnal Equinox is tomorrow Friday, September 22 at 3:02pm CST to be precise. This means that we will have nearly equal amounts of night and day. Equinox is latin for “equal night.” The equinox signifies a shift: Yang to yin. Light to dark. Sun to moon. Hot to cold. Outer focus to inner focus. Building up to letting go. It marks the beginning of a new season and perhaps a new outlook.

The autumn season is filled with changes. I can feel it in the cooler temperatures. I can see it the vibrantly changing leaves. I can sense it in the approaching holidays that focus on family, food and faith. Autumn is ripe with a sense of downshifting, completion and letting go.

After the summer season of growth and activity, autumn is a reminder slow down. Summer is a great time to achieve goals, but autumn is a time of gathering. A time to feel completion, success and doneness. Perhaps not all of the goals were met, but instead of focusing on what did not get checked off the list, focus on what did. Just as the trees are letting go of their leaves, I am reminded to let go of what didn’t go as planned and what isn’t quite working. I did not master the wheelie on my bicycle, but I have a few moments of hang time in my handstand!

The autumn is also a time of harvest. The full moon that is closest to the equinox is aptly called the “Harvest Moon.” The change in sunlight alerts the trees to shed their leaves and animal kingdom to prepare for the colder season. The fall flowers are blooming, mums and aster. My dog has started her seasonal shed as she grows her hardier winter coat. The squirrels are starting to look a bit fatter.

In my body and on my mat I sense this shift. The cooler temperatures and shorter days can throw my body into unbalance. Cold and flu season are just around the corner, and the equinox reminds me to find balance.  In yoga sequencing, I start incorporating more heart openers and pranayama to keep my lungs clear. Ustransana (camel) with lion’s breath is one of my favorites during the fall and winter. I practice more standing balance poses to reconnect to the ground and the earth. I incorporate more hip openers and soft yin sequences to bring a sense of nurturing and letting go. Specifically, I practice and teach “yang and yin” yoga sequences to feel the two opposing forces in the body. Half flowing and vinyasa, half restorative and yin. One practice is more energetic and strengthening, while the other is more contemplative and releasing. Try it at home: Set a timer, 10 minutes of sun salutations and balancing followed by 10 minutes of your favorite stretches and savasana. See how you feel. This is a practice that I bring into my home sequence regularly throughout the year, but especially resonates during the equinox season.

In many different cultures and in academia, autumn is actually the beginning of the new year. Back-to-school memories are often filled with falling leaves and long shadows. Rosh Hashana is celebrated in Judaism. Navarati-Diwali is celebrated in Hinduism. The equinox also coincides with the UN International Day of Peace and a new moon this year. Just as I do for the solstices, I will practice 108 Surya Namaskar or Pranams to signify the change in season–see the post on Summer Solstice for more on 108. Although the end of summer is bittersweet, I will focus the idea of peaceful new beginnings this fall.

What have you achieved this year? What is your own personal harvest? As the trees let go of their leaves, what can you let go of?

Peace, Love and Namaste,

Kristin (& Luna)

 

 

Happy (Mindful) Monday!

The past few weeks have been filled with many changes: moving, settling-in, recalibrating to city living, job searching and yoga studio hopping…just to list a few. Needless to say, my writing schedule has been gently thrown off course. New schedules, new routines and new patterns are slowly starting to arise. Autumn is just around the corner, a perfect time to let go of old patterns (more on the Autumn Equinox soon, that deserves its own post). All the changes over the past few weeks have been making me more aware of the concept of transitions. Transitions in life and transitions in yoga.

During a master yoga class this summer, I overheard two colleagues catching up. After going through the typical lists of upcoming changes, one yogi said to the other “Life is really just one big transition.” Yes, I thought, that is really the concept I have been grappling with the past few months. Nothing is static. Nothing is permanent. Life fluctuates from one transition to the next. Sometimes gracefully. Sometimes with a stutter. Sometimes not quite the way that you envisioned but the transition always happens. Change is inevitable. If I stop changing, stop transitioning or stop growing, that is when the real issues arrive. A state of constant stasis is not good. There is no “Achieve A, stop. Achieve B, stop. Achieve C, stop.” Often, that static moment success is what the western world promotes:  a stable job, a house, a good work out routine, etc. then you will be happy, successful, beautiful, etc. Within those concrete confines, there must be fluctuations. The stable job will be a dead-end if there is no movement. The house will fall to disrepair. The body will plateau. There must be fluidity within the seemingly grounded and stable environment. Rather, I find life is more like “Head towards A, but double check in a little bit. Oops, we are past A. Recalibrate and keep going towards C.” Even the calmest of lakes have a slight ripple or else the water will become stagnant and uninhabitable. This year, I am learning to be more like water. Flowing over, under, around and through. Adapting to the space I am in. Being calm, yet not quite completely still.

On my yoga mat, I have discovered that practice is just one constant transition. Yes, there are poses that appear static. Some are even described as balance poses but the breath never stops. The heart never stops. Each time I revisit a certain pose that day, week, month or even year, it feels different. The pose is always changing within itself and into the next posture. The space between the poses are even richer. When I teach or practice vinyasa yoga, I really find this place of focus powerful. How many times have I taken a “vinyasa” with out thought to form, breath or why? Moved from Warrior 2 into Triangle? Attempted, without preparation, arm balances, backbends, and inversions?  If I focus on the “how to” more than the “what shape” my body achieves a deeper sense of balance and sense of groundedness. I move into and out of the pose mindfully, with correct alignment and most importantly with no harm. It is this focus on the how, the space between, and the constant fluctuations within that can bring a certain depth to practice.

Every now and then there is a moment of clarity, peace. A moment where if just feels right. When you actually feel stable in tree pose or headstand. When your body is simeltaneously quiet and alive in savasana. When you feel like your life is falling into place. It is fleeting. It is beautiful. We spend so much time in flux for brief, lovely moments of clarity. Once I realized that yes, life is just one big transition with glimpses of balance, things started to flow with more ease even over the roughest patches.

Growth never ends. Change never ends. Transition never ends. Balance is never far.

What are you transitioning through right now? How can you find a balance of letting go and moving forward?

Peace, Love and Namaste,

Kristin (& Luna)

Side note: In yoga, the Gunas or qualities of nature help describe this concept. There are three Gunas that are said to govern the universe: tamas, rajas and swatta. Tamas is darkness, inertia and stagnancy. Rajas is activity, light and inspiration. Swatta is clear, balanced and ease. Swatta is the goal, but it is a fleeting state. The mind fluctuates between tamas and rajas. Too much tamas is a place of plateau and inactivity, but it is an important aspect to letting go of what is no longer helpful. Too much rajas is a place of excessive movement and turbulence, but a the right amount can lead to great inspiration and growth. It is finding balance of tamas and rajas, yin and yang, ease and effort, stillness and movement that one is trying to achieve. However, this balance (swatta) is always transitional and can only change to stillness (tamas) or movement (rajas).

Drum roll please…

We are officially moving to the Windy City, the City of Big Shoulders, and the Home of Cubs. It is the land of deep dish pizza, high taxes and highway traffic. It is a new kind of adventure containing concrete, public transit and overpriced coffee drinks.

I will continue to host events out in the suburbs and subbing occasionally, but my goal is to immerse myself in the city, the culture and north side neighborhoods. With that being said, I still have space left at Detox Retox this weekend Saturday, August 26th at noon at The Arlington Ale House. Sign up here or shoot me a quick email and bring cash. We will be opening up the event to drop ins, so if you are really feeling non-committal just show up with your cash on Saturday!

I am putting on my big girl yoga pants and will be jumping head first into the vibrant yoga scene. I feel like there is a yoga studio every other block each claiming to be the best at one thing or another. I would like to get my 500hr and prenatal certifications this year, and now that I will be surrounded by experienced teachers and well-established studios I feel that this will be an optimal opportunity. I need to start taking classes to get a feel for each studio, but, oh my, the list is endless! Where to begin?

Calling all Chicago yogis: where do you recommend to practice, train and teach?

Not much else to share on the blog this week as I am getting in the thick of it with moving preparations, job hunting for yoga and outreach dance positions, trying to figure out exactly where to store our 8 bicycles, deciding if the canoe will make the jump to urban living, and discovering where Luna and I will be running and yoga-ing in the very near future. #lunainthebigcity

Peace, love and Namaste,

Kristin (& Luna)