Home of Elsie's Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged Podcast, yoga classes at your own time wherever you go, plus a lot more! Now coming to you from Pittsburgh :)
Now that I live in Pittsburgh I am just beyond amazed at the wealth of yoga opportunities I had while in LA. At any time of the day, any day of the week I could decide to go take a yoga class, and had plenty of choices. There were also an obscene amount of workshops available to take, with world class yoga masters ALL THE TIME! (In fact I just got wind of one of my most favorite people in the world doing a workshop over at Golden Bridge in LA this month and I just about died…I would have LOVED to go…)
I see how lucky I was now. I didn’t quite recognize it when I was in the midst of it, and I can truly say that I took it for granted.
My dear and mighty friend Hillary Rubin alerted me to the fact that this incredible event is going to be taking place THIS MONTH!!!!
It’s a full blown yoga conference but all virtual! Basically what that means is that you have access to a fantastic array of very talented yoga professionals via your computer.
Crazy.
The majority of the events will be more along the lines of health and wellness lectures. It will involve a lot of tools into how to integrate your yoga into your every day life, the lovely merging of mind and body. Each session will have a unique interactive component with the teacher, plus you will have access to interact with each teacher via private forums and while in each session you can ‘raise your hand’ and address any questions that you may have.
If for some reason you do not have the time to sit down for those 3 days in front of your computer..HA! you have access to the recorded material, plus any extra material that each teacher offers.
There will be a handful of teachers that WILL BE TEACHING ASANA CLASSES and those will not only be accessible via audio, but will have a video component to them!
And PLEASE check out Hillary’s session HERE. I am sooooo excited to that she’s doing this! You can learn all about how powerful she is
Oh,
and because she’s my dear friend she has shared with me her fancy pants CODE so y’all can SAVE $100!!!!!! That’s over 50% savings…pretty darn awesome
When you decide to attend the virtual world yoga conference use coupon code HLR219 to get your savings
I’m pretty darn excited about this.
I know that it’s ‘virtual’. I’m fully aware that yoga conferences, or classes or workshops are better ‘in person’. I absolutely understand! I work with energy and know in the deepest part of myself that there’s something about ‘being there’ that you can’t get ‘virtually’, but, when your own desire is there to deepen your own practice, and at the moment the options that you have available to you are limited, this is a great way to step into your yoga.
I have been toying with providing you guys with more video. My dream is to be able to get some good videos without in any way intruding in the yoga class itself. For the moment I’ve found that the least intrusive way to get the video is to video tape my intro, as it’s just me and I don’t have to put anyone else on the spot. I place the camera on the side, that way it also does not call any attention.
This specific video was shot at my public yoga class on Monday nights at 6pm at Yoga Matrika in Point Breeze. The entire class is available via audio here.
Those of you that live in Pittsburgh and especially in Point Breeze, why not come on by? You can even listen to the class to listen to my teaching style so you already know what to expect
There were two main catalysts to the creation of Elsie’s Yoga Kula and Elsie’s Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged Podcast. One was my desire to offer my students greater accessibility to practice yoga asana classes without having to go to a studio, either because they were out of town or unable to afford a class. The other was my own need to express myself and have my own ‘way’ of presenting myself to the world as a yoga teacher.
The greatest reason I teach is because of my students. It’s because of y’all people! You all offer so much back to me, simply by your dedication and your desire to become more of yourselves. There have been countless times that I may not have been inspired to go teach a yoga class, but as soon as I saw one of your faces all fired up and committed to the class, it lit me up There have also been times when I question whether or not I should continue to record my live classes and continue to podcast them, and sure enough, the moment that thought comes into my head, one of you fabulous virtual kula members will write to me and share some powerful way in which the classes have helped you, once again lighting up my heart.
Beginning this yoga site as way to express myself, sprinkled with information and a podcast was absolutely self serving at first, and as I delved into it I realized how much more it had become. I’ve gotten the chance to connect with many of you in such incredible ways. I’ve been able to step into the creation of a new way to take the practice of yoga to folks who may or may not have a class nor a teacher available. It’s also kept me accountable as a yoga teacher. I’ve had to stay mindful and true to myself every step of the way.
During the past three and a half years of Elsie’s Yoga Kula, there have been times when I had the desire to write and post and be connected almost daily and there have been times when I haven’t even been able nor willing to log on to the site. At first I reprimanded myself for not keeping up with some predefined way in which you are supposed to run a podcast/blog, and then I realized that every word that I put up, every time that I choose to post something it comes from a deep truth, which honors all of you and myself.
Act From Your Highest Always
If I were to inspire you to commit to something in 2010 it would be to let go of any predefined expectations or limitations in whatever you choose to endeavor. Who says anyhow? Take action from your highest self, choose to engage from your most authentic place, even if it takes longer than you thought, even if it’s not the way you thought it would be, even if it’s not ‘perfect’. Again, who says anyhow? Do it your way, and do it truthfully. Remember that every action that you take will at once serve to fuel you and those that happen to come in contact with your expression. Everything that you do matters, and it matters greatly, so be your best and be yourself
This whole post came about because of a recent humbling post featuring me in one of my most favorite sites, written by a magical woman that I ‘met’ via social media (twitter/my podcast/facebook). It’s all about resolutions, (what with the new year and all that jazz and well, we do take stock of what we desire, what we want to do and be, become, etc.) and so my podcast was offered as a way to step into your ‘yoga resolutions’. This just made me realize how important it is to adhere to your own authenticity and truth, so that whatever you put out into the world is truly a reflection of the best that you can be at any given moment.
Thank you to all my students for keeping me accountable and always striving to be the best teacher/student/mother/human that I can be! And an extra special thanks to my beloved The Green Ox for nurturing me by FIRE
Happy New Decade! and say hello if you get a chance
What do you think of the EYK logo at the top of the page?
A sweetly vibrant house down the street from my home
Casting Light From the Inside Out
I have to be very honest, winter is very challenging for me. I do my best to see all the goodness, I really do, but when winter begins, man does it kick my spiritual booty!
I don’t often have time to sit and meditate on my themes for my classes. I’m working on being more efficient in my themeing and conveying more of the Anusara Principles of Alignment ™ and Philosophy more clearly, but as I’m sure some of you teachers know this requires work, time and study. The clearer and simpler a teacher’s theme is the more skilled and experienced they are (at least that’s my observation). It’s kinda like watching a great dancer, you only see the beauty of the art, you get pulled into the dance itself, not the specifics of the dance, the steps, how many hours the artist had to rehearse in order to make it seamless…
I’m getting more and more adept at allowing nature to guide me into what I teach. This generally happens during my walk to teach my yoga class. I’ve learned to let go of ‘what I have to do’ and simply allow myself to listen and to drink inspiration freely.
Thank God for Christmas lights!
They were so beautiful! They showed me things I hadn’t seen in a while, streets that I walk often shifted and shone in a different way. I was more intrigued by what was going inside the homes that the outside. I saw beautifully decorated houses whose windows shone so bright. I saw shapes and figures all inviting me to step deeper into the homes, into the warmth of the inner dwelling. I realized that the holiday lights where put there in a very strategic way, they weren’t just randomly placed, they weren’t merely thrown out, but carefully thought out and generally speaking, placed in ways that would enhance each individual dwelling. The specificity of the way the light was cast out was a clear reflection of the owners time, thought and commitment. I saw that in order to place these lights optimally the dweller must first be willing to search the closets, the basements, the attics, to get the boxes out and choose what to cast out. What makes this so glorious is that all this beauty wouldn’t be seen if it wasn’t for the shorter and darker days of winter.
The winter serves to take us deeper into the closet of the self so that we may bring out the decorations of light and enhance the world around us by the way in which we choose to cast our own individual light out into the world.
Vasudeva
vasu = dwelling place deva = the light
The nature of the universe is how you choose to pour the light of consciousness into the dwelling place of the self. As you do this oh how it shines brightly all around, showing off those mighty beautiful lights. How do you choose to create a dwelling place of light?
Yes, peeps, this are the thoughts that jump in my head as I walk
Hope you guys enjoy!
If you would like to support this podcast, how about buying the iPhone App? $3.99, not bad
Also, like I mention in the show, Click here to find out a few other options to support the podcast
Love the Feedback!
email me- eyogaclass (at) gmail (dot) com
leave me a message- 310 651 6238 (I’d love to play you guys on the episodes! Plus you can promote your stuff that way!)
or comment on this blog!
Other ways to connect with me:
This week’s class is a reflection of the theme that I touched on above. It’s a Level 2 Yoga Class and it was recorded on November 30th 2009 at Yoga Matrika
I know I know! It so has been forever. I will now officially stop apologizing. Here’s all I have to say about my lack of posts…Hunter. If you don’t know who that is..that’s my 14 month old daughter.
Anyway,
This week’s episode came about from a lot of your requests for some more meditation/relaxation type stuff. I decided to put this little imagery relaxation to strengthen the immune system as a little treat to get you through the flu season! How about them apples?
The music that you hear in the background is by the talented Vic Hennegan off his CD Desert God and the song is called Gaya.The whole thing runs about about 32 minutes all together. Give it a go and let me know your thoughts!
Oh and I’m already editing episode 76! and guess what…a level 2 class yipeee! That should be out before the new year, I promise!
You know Elsie’s yoga class live and unplugged podcast is brought to you by the elsie’s yoga class podcast app. Now why would you want this iPhone app? Number 1 accessibility. In version 1.2.1 these are the nifty things that you can do with the app. You have all the episodes at your fingertips at all times. You can stream the episodes at your choosing whenever you want without taking up any extra memory on your device. One new functionality with the app is that if you happen to shut of the phone, or someone calls you…or your baby calls you…the app remembers where you left off! how cool is that? so you can continue with your practice right where you left off!
This won’t work too well with the relaxation stuff… but I digress.
Another functionality that I found awesome will benefit those of you that happen to own the iPod Touch. So how about when you know you are going to be away from any wifi hotspots or maybe you don’t get service somewhere, such as on an airplane and you want to do one of my meditation episodes? You can now star any episodes that you enjoy the most, so that you can quickly access them AND you can then download the episode that you want quickly so that when you don’t have a connection you can have it with you! I thought that was pretty sweet
Anyway, if you own an iPhone or iPod Touch please consider buying the app! It’s only $3.99 and it would be a GREAT gift for a fellow yogi plus it does support this podcast.
ok,
enough!
thoughts and feedback: eyogaclass(at)gmail.com or call 310 651 6238! hugs and kisses all!
Do you just need time to yourself to relax and remember what truly matters?
Do you long for time to clarify your intentions for the upcoming year?
Do you wish to make the holidays more meaningful…again?
Are you already stressed out by the upcoming holidays?
Then this workshop is for you! You’ll get an opportunity to heat up you body with yoga asana and cool your mind with sweet relaxation and mediation I know that often times I feel like I just need the TIME, well THE TIME IS NOW!
DO IT FOR YOURSELF!
Season of Light, Body of Peace
Make this holiday season count by giving the best of yourself, and be ready to step into the last part of the year with your Heartfull and ready to Light all those around you.
Here’s the info:
Sunday December 6 from 12:30-2:30pm at Yoga Matrika
I really am in the process of creating some extra bonus content for the yoga podcast! Little extra features here and there, maybe for the stuff that may not be too clear via audio.
This was my first attempt at a bit of video. What I did is what I usually do when I record the audio for my yoga classes. I placed the camera and simply proceeded to teach. I don’t want my ‘live’ students to be interrupted in any way by the technology. Since I didn’t have much time to set up you can see that I place the camera a bit ‘off’ So this is a headless pigeon!
I’m sure it will get better.
I would love to know your thoughts! Up for sharing?
I cannot even begin to share with you guys how often I get asked this question. Sometimes I feel a bit weird explaining it’s meaning as there’s so much more to it than just the definition.
Namaste holds a powerful relationship between people. It is a deep grounded in deep respect both in each other’s individuality and EVERYTHING that makes us the same.
One of my Facebook friends shared this video and I instantly fell in love with it.
If I could just have this little video with me all the time and play it whenever anyone asked me: what does Namaste mean? You betcha I’d play this puppy
The voice mail that is played at the beginning of this episode is why I decided to do these episodes that I call Elsie’s Yoga Kula. There is so much power to sharing your journey. This practice of yoga can take you to so many absolutely fabulous places, not only on the mat but off the mat. I know that my yoga practice opened up so much for me, in fact it was the catalyst for gigantic growth in my life, and I’m in no way talking about the poses. They are the icing on the cake They provided me with the first courageous steps towards something more! Thank you sooo much for sharing Jeanne (sp?) ! I am thrilled when I hear stories like yours, those that are all about stepping deeper into your self, to see the vast goodness that dwells within! NICE! Oh, and I would be honored to have you come to my class! Even though I only teach 1 public class a week…but more to come, promise!
As you can hear, this message was actually sent ‘quite’ a while ago. I’m trying to go back and honor you guys that sent me messages long ago And if you haven’t sent a message to share with me and the kula DO SO. I’d love to help all of us stay inspired and feel that we are truly part of a world wide community! So call me to share at 310 651 6238
Hello everybody and welcome to Elsie’s Yoga Kula episode #3! Happy Autumn Oh man is Pittsburgh gorgeous when the leaves start to change! My most favorite changes, that of the ivy, it’s like fire snakes climbing up trees and buildings. So beautiful! So much has happened this year it’s unbelievable. truly. Last year right around this time I became a mother. Yep, my lovely Hunter is 1 year old as of October 2. Happy Happy birthday my baby girl! You have shifted me to become someone I honestly never knew was inside. I’ve gotten…sturdier, that’s for sure I started to finally teach public classes, I was laid off of my job last November, man! and now I’m in the process of developing my own consulting business. As soon as I get all my stuff in gear I’ll let you all know all about it. You can venture to YoGeek.Me, to see a gradual development of posts delving into the world of yoga and technology
It has been an incredible fortifying year, full of everything you can imagine, calm, love, fear, angst, courage, meltdowns, you name it. I have LIVED! You guys have made this year for me a sort of life line. Your emails and messages and support have provided me with hope and strength. If you are listening to the podcast I now read an email from Maria Rose from Vermont and my response to her email!
Listen to the Podcast!
EYK News:
Remember how I mentioned the cool personalized bottle from the company SIGG on EKY Episode 1? Well, I take that back. I used to love those bottles but the practices of their CEO has left me less than pleased. Here’s the quick scoop: SIGG CEO Steve Wasik recently announced that SIGG water bottles did in fact contain the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in its liners until August 2008. That means that any bottle that you purchased before 10/08 contains BPA. They are allowing customers that purchased a bottle prior to this date (you would know by the bronze liner instead of the pale yellow liner that are the new ones) to exchange their bottles.
On behalf of the Environmental Working Group (EWG), I write to ask that you issue an unambiguous apology for misleading consumers and retailers about whether SIGG bottles contain the toxic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA).
I further urge you to modify SIGG Switzerland CEO Steve Wasik’s recent announcement of a SIGG voluntary bottle exchange program. Consumers should be able to take SIGG bottles that contain BPA to an authorized SIGG retailer and receive a refund for the full retail value of the product. The cost of the refund should be covered by SIGG.
The announced exchange policy, which forces customers to accept a replacement SIGG bottle, puts them in the untenable position of having to trust Mr. Wasik and his team about the composition and safety of the replacement product.
It is our view that SIGG’s reputation will be difficult to restore while Mr. Wasik remains at the helm of the company.
Sincerely,
Kenneth A. Cook President Environmental Working Group
In case you want to exchange your product you can go to http://mysigg.com/bulletin/ to read all about it. I’ll post a link in the shownotes.
Just last week I was interviewed by David Spark about my new iPhone App! It was such a cool experience. He’s a really great guy. What was crazy about the whole thing is that I scheduled it specifically so that Hunter was in an optimal mood and she could keep herself occupied. The interview was supposed to take 10 min. Of course none of it went as planned. As we signed on in Skype, my camera decided not to work…ggrrrrrr. I had to trouble shoot for about 10 minutes! I did have an opportunity to see my lovely friend Inge’s face as I had my mini freak out. I asked her to help me but at that time she had no solutions for me. I figured it out FINALLY! then of course, the moment that David started recording the podcast Hunter fell down and conked her head. yep, of course she did. anyway, the whole thing ended up going really well. I’ll put a link in the shownotes for ya’ll.
And speaking of my iPhone/iPod Touch app…Have you gotten a chance to buy it yet? It’s $3.99 and what you get is the ability to stream all of my content, all 70+ classes without downloading anything at all, at the push of a button! Plus, I’ll be adding a PDF of the sequences of my classes a little bit a time, so you can have it with you as you practice! Occasionally I may add little videos here and there and some other bits and pieces of content. Now, I have to clarify that if you happen to have an iPod Touch, the only time that you can stream the content is when you are connected via Wifi. Thank you Lisa for helping me be clear about this Full disclosure, there have been some issues with the 1st version of the app (the classes not streaming and the app itself not opening). The new version HAS been released which fixes the majority of the bugs. If you have downloaded the app and still experience problems, please feel free to contact me via email so we can get the issues resolved!
If you have wanted to support this podcast, this is a wonderful way to do it. I do get a teeny bit of money from the sale of each app. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all of you that have already downloaded the app, from the bottom of my heart, and I’d also like to thank all those of you that have donated to Elsie’s Yoga Kula. I’ll share that last months donations allowed me to make our car payment. It was a blessing. I’ve been doing this podcast for 3 years and I have never put up a donate button, until now. At this moment, I feel that I can and I have had requests from you guys, so it’s helped me make the decision. If you’d like to donate to the podcast please feel free to do so, if you’d like to donate to the podcast in another way other than in a monetary way, I have put up a page telling you of all sorts of ways in which you can ‘donate’ that don’t include money. Check it out. Any little thing totally helps and like the page says, Support the Podcast, support the family!
We have another voice mail from a listener! So listen up if you wanna hear
Thank you Juli from Atlanta! I know it was a while ago, but she very kindly sent me an email and told me that I had inadvertedly tagged episode 69 with an ‘explicit’ tag, YIKES! Totally did not want to do that. I went in there and fixed it as soon as I could, although I know that a few of you got that episode with an explicit tag, and of course there was nothing explicit about it…
It’s all about listener emails!
Carli from Kansas
My 16 year old son talked me into trying Yoga with him. He plays football and his coach got them started on Yoga. I am a runner and lift weights, I took a yoga class once but it never stuck. So I started looking for yoga podcasts and came across yours. I loved it. It was very hard for me to follow at first because I am not familiar with the poses. So I went online and found your website! I flipped out when I realized I can look at the poses to the episodes online and follow that way. I’m so stuck on yoga now! I love your classes and how you describe things. You Rock!
Thank you so much Carli You know, I totally keep forgetting to tell you guys to come check out this site! The pictures are there, there are a couple of times where there are corresponding videos and extra links at times, especially when I mention an article or something like that in my theme oh, and the EYK episodes will be transcribed as a blog post (hence this post ), so if you wanna read, what I said, then all you have to do is go to the corresponding blog post!
Marie from Ol Miss
Hi Elsie!I hope you are well. I’ve just started listening to your podcasts, and they are so great! I have a random question for you. What kind or brand of mat would you recommend to someone who is just beginning yoga? I have a mat that I have had for a long time, (I’ve started and stopped yoga a few times), but it is starting to kind of thin and I’ve found a few holes. Also, do you have any other advice for a newbie like me? Thank you so much and have a great weekend! Marie
Here’s my answer to Marie
Hello Marie Great questions! Regarding the yoga mat…I’m a very big fan of the Jade Yoga Mats. At times they can bunch up a little bit off the floor, as they are not as ’sticky’ as the yoga mats that you would purchase almost anywhere. My fave from Jade is The Encore because I like my mats to have a bit more substance when I practice. The Encore is the one that I have (at least I have the prototype as they sent it to me before it was released. Also love Beinjoy yoga mats. They are soooooooooooooooooo pretty That gets some bonus points from me. They feel very good. Also I own 2 Manduka ™ mats, the purple PROlite and the Black Mat PRO. They have some eco friendly versions that are also available, which I’ve been meaning to try. My purple mat has lasted me for about 5 yrs! and it looks almost the same as when I bought it. The only thing thats wrong with it now is that my kitties got to it and scratched the tar out of it They also have a mat that supports an organization called ‘off the mat into the world’ which I think is pretty darn fabulous organization. Another company that I love is Prana. They have a FANTASTIC mat that I want to purchase the is wider than most mats out there. When I practice in order to have my shoulders properly aligned I honestly have to widen them so much that my pinky fingers end up being off the mat. I don’t mind, but their new Revolution mat takes care of that! Plus it’s eco friendly A lot of the mats that I have mentioned are pretty pricey, $60+ and UP! It is a lot of $ I know. You can get some mats from Prana, or Jade or even Lululemon that are eco friendly for between $35 and 40. I know that I have not needed another mat after buying my purple mat so long ago. I just like to try out other mats, and share about them Let me know if I can help you with anything else! As a beginner practitioner, I would merely say to take your time, to listen to yourself, and to choose to always be honest and open with yourself every time you get on the mat. Choose to step in deeper and enjoy your own body, with all it’s ‘limitations’. They make you the unique beauty that you are. If you get through a class and you haven’t smiled….I would make that my priority Smiling and laughing truly allows for a deeper moving into your heart to see what really matters!
Marie’s answer:
I ended up getting a Manduka Black Mat Pro and I love it!!! I’ve been practicing for three weeks and it has been really awesome to see how my body is responding. I also wanted to let yo u know that I started a blog about my yoga journey, girlmeetsmat.blogspot.com. I am wide open to any comments or suggestion Thank you so much for everything!!
NICE! I do love the Manduka Black mat. That thing is hardy, the thing for me is that I now tend to leave that one at home as trekking around with that puppy on a bike, or a bus, or any amount of walking that isn’t just a block or so, is soooooooo hard on my back. That mat is HEAVY Just to let you all know, there is a fantastic article by one of my Twitter/Facebook buddies, the mighty Nancy Alder and it’s all about this same exact subject. It really gets in to more detail about the mats and especially pricing and it’s a great read!
Hello! How are you on this beautiful day?! I am a fellow yoga teacher, brand new, and IN LOVE with your site. It is so inspirational and moving and every detail means so much. Thank you for keeping us involved with your journey.
I wanted to take a moment to personally invite you to take a peek at my website. I am training to run a half marathon to raise money for research towards Crohns, a disease incredibly close to my heart, which my boyfriend has struggled with for more than 20 years.
The first ten people to raise 500 dollars in the next week will be matched 500 from a local company! So, if you are thinking you may be able to donate (any amount, big or small) — now would be a perfect time! And, it is tax deductible
.
Lots of love and thanks,
Meaghanxo
I saw the other day mighty Meaghan or Megan ) sorry if I mispronounced your name that you reached your goal! Congratulations, and if any of you would like to donate to the cause follow the link above! and thank you so much for sending this along!
Kate in Italy!
Hi Elsie, I am a Canadian living in Italy and have just started using your podcasts for my daily practice. Thank you! You say the phrase “scissor your legs asymmetrically together” quite a few times and I am very confused what this means…is it possible to get some clue about that? Thank you again for beaming your classes out for the world to access. In Italy classes are in Italian which makes English speaking me a little lost. Your classes are a big help. All the best.
You know what I wanted to do to answer this question? I wanted to ask my students to tell me what that means to them, as often times I (I think all teachers) tend to relly on saying things one way, and you guys may just have ‘better’ ways of explaining this. OK, so here goes a bit of an explanation. Isometric movements according to wikipedia:
Definition
Isometric exercise is a form of exercise involving the static contraction of a muscle without any visible movement in the angle of the joint. This is reflected in the name; the term “isometric” combines the prefix “iso” (same) with “metric” (distance), meaning that in these exercises the length of the muscle does not change[edit]
Isometric resistance
Resistance in isometric exercises typically involve contractions of the muscle using:
▪ the body’s own muscle (e.g., pressing the palms together in front of the body)
▪ structural items (e.g., pushing against a door frame).
▪ free weights, weights machines or elastic equipment (e.g. holding a weight in a fixed position)
▪ pressure plate type equipment that has a digital readout of maximal force.
Depending on the goal of the exercise, the exertion can be maximal, or sub-maximal.
Basically, you are engaging your muscles even though the poses are ’static’. There is an action that is involved always everytime that you are in a pose. In Anusara the principle that best describes isometric movement (or scissoring the legs together) is called Muscular Energy. Here’s the definition according to the Anusara Teacher Training Manual….( you’re just gonna have to listen as I’m NOT typing this whole thing out .
One way that I teach these actions, I learned from one of my teachers Noah Maze, is by getting 2 folded blankets, placing them on a non carpeted floor, placing one foot on one blanket and the other foot on the other blanket. Once you’re all set there, widen your feet apart and do a standing pose, like Warrior 2 for example. If you don’t pull energy to the midline, I guarantee you that you will be doing the splits! It’s a pretty cool exercise that teaches those actions, just for fun!
Well, that was a bit of a long explanation! I hope that makes sense Kate! And reaching out to yoga teachers out there, how about you sending me some ways in which you teach pulling to the midline, or muscular energy? It would be awesome to share you wisdom with the Kula email me or send call me 310 651 6238 (put that number in your cellphone!!!)
Ok, just 3 more things to address, as it looks like we’re running a bit long! Ahhhhhh
.
I got an FB message from Isabella, she just wanted to say thank you to me, but she also mentioned that she was looking for a fan page for me. Well, I do have a Facebook Group! Search for Elsie’s Yoga Kula, I haven’t started a FB fan page….yet….I’m still figuring out what is best for me and for you guys. I know how crowded FB has gotten with soooooo many fan pages and groups and all sorts of other stuff, and I honestly don’t want to add to all that. When I feel that creating a Page will add value, and I can honestly keep it up and have it be a place were you guys and myself can participate more fully I’ll do it. I gotta really see how Fan Pages work. When and if I do that, I’ll send y’all a little not in the FB Group, OR post something on my blog!
This episode’s art work is a class that a long time listener Tracee Sioux hosted at her Bookclub weekend getaway. How cool is that???? LOVED it! It was podcast #10 from El Salvador and it was all about authenticity. She said “We were touched and those of us out of practice or beginning were also a little sore. LOL” Thank you sooooo much Tracee for sharing that picture, and it really warms my heart to know that these classes are being used it such fantastic ways!!!! If you wanna know a bit more about Tracee, check out my blog post on my other blog YoGeek.Me. She’s a pretty phenomenal woman with an incredible Web site calle The Girl Revolution, all about empowering girls, and I’m ALL FOR THAT!!!
And lastly, I’m going to close by letting you know about an Affiliate that I’m working with. I will only work with people and organizations that I whole hearted believe in and whose products I absolutely USE AND LOVE. Floracopeia is one of the most incredible companies that I have had the gift of coming into contact with. I’ll tell you more about the organization in a future episode, but right now I’d like to share with you 2 products that I use almost daily:
Directly from the Floracopeia Website: For women who are interested in optimizing their endocrine health for long lasting vitality and radiance, the Hormonal Blend is a valuable addition to your every day pleasures. Two drops in the palms with a deep inhalation will deliver the healing benefit of this blend directly. In addition, the subtle floral perfume of this blend is a beautiful fragrance for any occasion. Its benefits include relaxant, aphrodisiac, anti-anxiety and mood enhancing effects. BUY THE HORMONAL ESSENTIAL OIL BLEND!
Directly from the Floracopeia Website: Use the Relax Blend in times of stress or potentially stressful situations and environments. It is a lovely diffuser blend when you want to create a relaxing and pleasant environment in your home or elsewhere. It is a wonderful blend to diffuse around children, to apply on the car seat on long rides or the pillow before bedtime. Working people will gain great benefit from the Relax Blend and should consider it for use during the morning commute or before important meetings; there are rarely times when it is not useful. It has beautiful anti-axiety and mood enhancing effects that are subtle and intoxicating.BUY THE RELAX ESSENTIAL OIL BLEND!
Do consider purchasing either or both of these products. They are amazing AND they go to support a MUCH larger vision. MUCH MUCH larger, so the purchase is not only supporting your health, me (a teeny bit) and also the world LITERALLY. I’ll put links in the show notes so you can read a bit more about Floracopeia but do stay listening as I’ll also have a special show sharing more about it myself! If you DO want to buy these products, please use the links provided in this post, as when you purchase via that link, I get a little support for the podcast
Thank you guys for listening. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have such a wonderful community!!!!! Please continue to give me feedback, questions, problems. I still have so many more questions to get to, I should do these more often…! phone number, email, FB (profile and Group) and Elsie’s Yoga Kula!!!! It would be lovely if you’d consider leaving me a review in iTunes, those are deeply appreciated! Meet you on the mat later!
One year ago today, my sweet and magical daughter Hunter Rose came into the world. And yes, my life has changed completely. The lessons of this past year have been so many that I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around them. I do know this: Children are a gift from God. And I don’t only mean your own children, but children in general. They are a conduit to make us grown ups better and better people. I say this as the moments that are clearer in my head when I look back at this year are those that were the most challenging. The ones where what I wanted DIDN’T happen, as HER will overrode my control. The moments where I was on the brink of giving up, as I felt I just didn’t’ know how to do this mothering thing. Every day I’m reminded that “I am enough” and I am not in control. My will power is at its optimal when it is aligned with something Bigger and it ebbs and flows to find it’s optimal expression in our lives. If I cling to an outcome or ‘want’ a specific result, I’m invariably reminded at times sweetly, but often times by loud crying or screeching that I need to let go, soften and allow.
It all began that way. I had all sorts of plans for what I wanted my birthing day to be. What I actually experienced was the exact opposite of what I planned. Hunter was born, in the way that was best for her AND for me. This humble let go is a lesson I learn and relearn at every moment of every day. In this often times uncomfortable challenge I say ‘Thank you my daughter, for you are casting light on our family every day. I am grateful for gifting us the refining process of becoming ever more clear at living ausipicious lives aligning with the Highest Divine Will’.
Here is her birth story, as her Daddy shared it a Year ago.
So here’s the skinny: Hunter Rose Miyan was born at Allegheny General Hospital, in the North Side of Pittsburgh, on Thursday October 2nd, at 2:16pm. She was 5 pounds 15 ounces, and 19 inches long right out of the love oven. She was born via cesarean. Shock and awe! That’s how it went down!
Here’s why: Hunter wasn’t due until October 21st at the earliest. For those of you who know a little bit of pregnancy theory, first babies cook a bit longer. So Hunter wasn’t due until week 39 or 40. However, in the greater scheme of gestation, she was good to come out at week 36, which was the end of Sept. / beginning of Oct. Elsie and I are both organic, green, healthy people. So, we arranged with the mid-wife center of Pittsburgh to do a natural birth at their center. We had birthing classes there, made good friends, connected with really knowledgeable and experienced nurse mid-wives, and learned an incredible amount about the birthing process. We both believe that the experience of naturally birthing a child, if possible, is one of the most, if not the most empowering experience of a woman’s life. We were natural all the way, and because of our health practices, we were awesome candidates for a great natural birthing experience. Everything was going as planned. However, we had one small glitch: the baby was breech.
As a matter of theory, the baby was actually “Frank Breech”. That is where the bum is down, the head is up, and the legs are jacked upward so the feet are in front of the face. Frank Breech…I want to steal that name for a Phillip Marlow type detective novel! Anyway, there are a lot of techniques and practices that one can use to try to help and turn the baby head down: chiropractic (Webster technique), Moxabustion at an acupressure point on the pinky toe (don’t laugh, New England Journal of medicine published clinicals that showed serious results), Yoga techniques, and this thing called External Cephalic Version or “Version”. A Version is where an OB tries to manually turn the baby from outside the belly. Pretty good success rate on that one as well. We were doing the Webster thing, doing the yoga thing, considering the moxabustion thing, and decided to go to an OB and try the Version.
When you go for a version, you have to try it around 37 weeks, because there is an incredibly small chance that the baby might have a big time distress, forcing an emergency C-section. So, the baby has to be cooked enough to come out. Well, we scheduled our Version for October 2nd. We went in figuring we would give the baby a nice toss-about, and then head to Whole Foods for a celebration. That didn’t happen. Here’s what happened: Hunter’s bum was way down in Elsie’s pelvis, so Dr. Thomas told us that there wasn’t a large chance that he was going to be able to turn her. In order to get a good turn, the butt has to be out of the mother’s pelvis – there has to be daylight between the bum and the mommy pelvis. So, what Dr. Thomas was going to attempt was to try to lift Hunter’s bum out of Elsie’s pelvis, check under-bum daylight with the ultra sound, and then give a spin. Dr. Thomas was able to get Hunter’s bum out of Elsie’s pelvis, but when he checked daylight with the ultra sound, he saw something else. Dr. Thomas saw something that he had never seen before in all of the decades that he had been practicing. Elsie had 3 accessory lobes to her placenta. That is, she had a big oval of a placenta with three small ovals growing out of the bottom of it. The main placenta, itself, was high in Elsie’s abdomen and in front of the baby. This is a good scenario as far as birthing goes. The placenta proper was out of the way. However, one of those vestigal lobes had managed to tuck itself under the baby, and was blocking Elsie’s cervix – the gateway out.
When the whole placenta covers the cervix that is called placenta previa. Placenta Previa is a very dangerous situation because labor will push the baby into the placenta, which will stuff itself into the cervix and block the way. The placenta then tears, and starts massive bleeding. So, in placenta previa, the mother bleeds massively and the baby is blocked. Over a century ago, if you had a placenta previa case, it often resulted in the death of the baby and the mother. Our previous ultrasounds showed no example of placenta previa, because the placenta proper was up high in the abdomen. In the previous ultrasounds, Hunters bum was blocking the view of the lobe blocking the cervix. So, it wasn’t a pure case of placenta previa. But it definitely was a distant cousin at best. There was still danger that labor could cause the bleeding/block phenomenon, so, once the lobe was verified, Dr. Thomas told us, out of the need for safety, we were having the baby that day, via cesarean.
We were, of course, shocked as hell and totally unprepared. Dr. Thomas scheduled us for 4pm in the afternoon (It was about 1pm when we were told we had to have the baby that day). While we were getting our plan together for dealing with everything, Elsie started bleeding a little bit. It wasn’t a big deal – probably due to Dr Thomas bumping the lobe when he pushed Hunter upward. Dr. Thomas’ take was that small spotting was how, in the old days, doctors could tell it was a placenta previa case. Anyway, once Elsie bled a bit, Dr. Thomas called an audible, moved the schedule around, and told us we were up next in the delivery room. It went from “We have 3 hours” to “We have 20 minutes”. Again, there was no panic, but we had ZERO time to absorb and process. Before I knew it, Elsie was getting taken into the delivery room and I was being handed some undersized scrubs. 20 minutes passed, they brought me into the D-room, I held Elsie’s hand for about 10 minutes, behind a curtain, as they pulled the baby out.
It was that fast.
So, Hunter is here. She is gorgeous like her Momma, and all is well. Oh…the name. Hunter? for a girl? yeah, we know, not really typical. Well, October is immensely powerful for us. We met in October and had incredible powerful experiences together. Especially around the full moon. The baby was also due in October. The moon in October is known as the Hunter’s Moon. That’s where the name originates.
Powerful huh?
I’m still recovering!
Happy Birthday my darling daughter!
Oh, and by the way. I would LOVE for you lovely folk to share wisdom that you have gained as you were gifted with the title of ‘parent’.
you have access to the recorded material, plus any extra material that each teacher offers.
This whole post came about because of a 
Recent Comments