Ep 84: Are YOU Listening? A 90 min Level 2-3 Yoga Class

Have you ever had someone ask for help and they just won’t listen?

This is what this week’s yoga class is all about.

I have a friend that I love dearly. This friend (let’s call him Pete) is kind hearted, he is giving, he is committed, he is loyal, and he has so much to offer the world. He comes to be for advice recognizing that there are some things within his life that are not working. I offer my advice. He seems to take it all in, quietly listening to me, at times even writing notes 😉 and yet…a couple of weeks later, Pete comes back to me with the same issues.

I was wondering if I was missing something?

Was I not being clear?

Nope, I was plenty clear.

What did I have to do in order for Pete to actually listen to me and accept the advice that I was giving?

This really bothered me, and it almost made me want to stop offering help completely. In fact, I did pull away from being available.

As I sat with this situation I began to see a pattern emerge within me. I became utterly conscious of what it takes for someone to truly listen and to accept and act. I chose to look at the way that I did this in my life.

Boy was I in for a surprise!

Well dear ones, I write to you to tell you that I DO THE SAME THING THAT PETE DOES!

Holy cow.

Now there was a realization.

I’ve been complaining, and mulling over very specific issues in my every day life. I’ve received very actionable and highly auspicious advice from people that I love and respect- OFTEN. I have heard them and chosen not to listen to them.

Why? Here are some reasons that I came up with.

Why do we choose not to listen?

• The answer that I was getting was not the answer that I was looking for.

• I had already decided on the answer, I simply needed confirmation.

• I did not want to work hard nor have to step out of my comfort zone.

• I didn’t want to truly look at myself and take responsibility for my own actions.

hmmmmmm

This situation has helped me recognize that listening is an artform that requires great humility and honesty. At times recognizing and accepting the truth that is revealed to you is a far greater challenge than maintaining the facade. Once you choose to see it, there’s no going back, you must transform.

Transformation requires skilled action, and at least for me this was the hardest part.

I am now listening, with all of myself, and taking the time to digest and discern (another key teaching) while taking appropriate action when necessary. I feel stronger, I feel calmer and most of all I feel a great sense of joy. It has even helped me be better at being a friend as now I get the opportunity to watch Pete discover listening again, at his own time, in his own way.

Do you listen?

I’d love to hear from you! :

• 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:

Elsie’s Yoga Kula Facebook Group!!!

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This week’s online yoga class

I made the peeps at Yoga Matrika work a bit for this one! I did a few demos and lots of handstand work, which I have to say that I did my best to cut out. It doesn’t do well for audio classes 😉 I’ve also posted a little video that gives you a bit more info into getting the culmination pose- Vishvamatrasana! Needless to say, this is a more advanced yoga class.

If you are in Pittsburgh, come on by Yoga Matrika on Monday nights at 6pm for some Anusara Inspired Yoga 🙂

The Yoga Class Sequence

Downward Facing Dog

Twisting Downward Facing Dog

Straight Legged Lunge

Downward Facing Dog

Plank chattarunga x 3

Wide legged uttanasana

Bending one leg then the other in Uttanasana

Wide legged uttanasana

Parsva wide legged uttanasana

Tadasana

Surya namaskar

Silent Surya Namaskar x 3

Handstands

Eka pada handstands (check me out doing this video)

More handstands

Deep lunge

Trikonasana

Salabasana with arms interlaced behind the back

Trikonasana

Vinyasa

Bound twisting uttanasana

Parsvakonasana bound

Pigeon

Vashistasana

Parsvakonasana bound into trikonasana bound

My demo: Corresponding Video

Vishvamatrasana

Teeny Tiny Vishvamatrasana Tutorial from Elsie Escobar on Vimeo.

paschimotanasana

pavrita paschimotanasana

supta tadasana

supta padangustasana sequence

knees to chest

savasana

Looking for a Yoga Class in Pittsburgh on Labor Day?

“Without the opportunity to learn through the hands, the world remains abstract and distant, and the passions for learning will not be engaged.”  – Doug Stowe

In my newsletter I spoke about Labor Day’s beginning as a way to celebrate, honor and give a voice to the working class. I shared my thoughts about the working class being the producers and providers of services. The working class are those whose work demands full engagement of their physical bodies, and a deep immersion into the concrete world around them.

They are the embodied foundation of society.

In the west historically there has been a dissonance between book learning and practical experience. Somehow they’ve been pitted against each other and at times separating society primarily by race and economic status. Some folks scoffed at well learned educated folks, while others looked down on those that worked with their hands. Other times it was the exact opposite, those that chose to go into higher education were not particularly valued in communities with larger population of blue collar workers.

I know what you’re thinking…

How does this apply to yoga?

The applied yogi needs to be BOTH, absolutely visceral and engaged in all things earthy, grounding and primitive, while at the same time having a nimble creative, intelligent and discerning mind.

Come practice and embody these powerful qualities by focusing on your foundation (your worker physical body) and letting that help you serve optimally (your expressive intelligence).

Let yourself re-align and refresh yourself as we began the journey into Fall!

Observe Your Foundation and Serve Joyfully

A Labor Day Yoga Practice

Where: The Yoga Cave

758 Rebecca Ave, Ground Floor, Pittsburgh, 15221

When: September 6, 2010 6-7:30 pm

LOGISTICS:

• You can park on Center or on Rebecca.
• Please bring your own props, but if you do forget your mat I do have 4 available in house, a few yoga straps, and 1 yoga block.
• I am happy to accept cash, checks or even credit cards (cause I’m just fancy like that 😉 )
• Feel free to RSVP in the comments, or email me at eyogaclass (at) gmail (dot) com to reserve your $10 price OR you can simply purchase the class with the link below 🙂 Without RSVP it’s $15 at the door

Looking forward to seeing your lovely faces!

Ep. 82: Stay Open, Learn, Choose the Highest and Share Level 2, 90 Min Yoga Class

An iPhone 4 Yoga Class For Your Enjoyment!

And here I thought that I was going to get some time to be able to publish more episodes to you guys…in JULY.

Not so much, but alas! Here’s a yoga class to start the month off right! This one is close to my heart. It’s focus is all about the way we are swayed and often times misguided by what we see and hear all around us, especially the media. It is a call to take responsibility for our choice making and the way we go about making choices. The inspiration for this class came straight from all the hoopla around the iPhone 4 and its antenna issues.

If you happen to follow me on Twitter or are part of the Facebook Elsie’s Yoga Kula Community, you would know that I have an iPhone 4! Yipeeee! So I speak from my own experience with the device, and I’m totally loving it!

Given that I’m sure you have heard at least something about the whole antenna thing, so I sorta offer my 2 cents about it and wrap it around a yoga class.

What’s interesting about this theme is that it mirrored the hoopla around an article on my beloved teacher John Friend in the NY Times. If you haven’t already, please read the article, John’s response to the article PLUS Elephant Journal’s exclusive interview with John. Interesting how perspectives and opinions shift and change if you simply choose to step deeper into them 🙂 And move from your heart.

This week’s online yoga class

This yoga podcast class is a level 2 class, and if you have a yoga block in the house, please feel free to take it out and play with it during our backbends towards the end of class. I cut a bit of the class in the middle because I did a demo that doesn’t really work if you weren’t there so why put you guys through it 🙂 If you do hear references to it, or to another demo that I had a student do, just dismiss them. Pretend that you went to the bathroom during that part of the class!

The Yoga Class Sequence

REMEMBER THAT IF YOU OWN THE IPHONE APP THE CLASS SEQUENCE COMES WITH THE EPISODE 🙂

Downward Facing Dog

Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana Opening Hip

High lunge onto straight leg on the front leg

Downward Dog

Plank

Bend elbows 3 inches

Crescent pose into Lunge Twist

Uttanasana x ardha uttanasana

Hands on hips shoulders up stand

Arms up interlace hands

Contrast shoulder loop

Big shoulder stretch

Surya namaskar x 2

Wide stance uttanasana with arms interlaced behind the back

Surya namaskar to Downward Facing Dog

Vira 2 into reverse vira

Vinyasa

Trikonasana/ ardha chandrasana/ trikonasana

Down dog

Trikonasana sequence

Vinyasa

Uttanasana/ardha uttanasana

Standing hip stretch

Standing hip stretch into standing baby craddle

LOTS OF TALKING

deep lunge with back leg straight

ardha bhekasana

DD with knees bent for lower back adjustment

Pigeon with Thigh stretch

Downward Facing Dog

Uttanasana

hands of hips shoulders up stand up

BLOCK GATHERING

setubandha with block in between the thighs

(optional into Urdhva Dhanurasana)

setubandha with block in between your shins

(optional into Urdhva Dhanurasana)

Urdhva Dhanurasana or Bridge pose

easy supine twist

Supta Padangustasana variation with bottom leg bent/straightening the bottom leg

Savasana

Ep. 80 Memory As The Precious Gift of Meaning: A 90 min Level 2-3 Yoga Class

Remembering our little gift 🙂

I don’t think that I can truly convey how moved I was when I heard Dr. Dienstag relay his experiences leading a creative writing course for people who had been diagnosed with early stages of Alzheimer’s. What gripped my heart was the importance of the patients physically writing down memories and as they left the class, gifting the physical memories to the teacher, as the majority of those folks would forget those memories the next time that they came to class.

That absolutely hit me.

They entrusted their memories. They gave them away, never to have them back.

Remember and Celebrate

I had never viewed memory as something alive and tangible. In fact, I don’t believe I’ve ever thought about memories as ‘gifts.’ As I thought about this concept I realized that when I remember something from my childhood or come across a scent I hadn’t smelled in a long time, or find an article of clothing I haven’t worn in a long time, it is like receiving a gift. Those memories are gifts I get to open every time I encounter them. They always serve to remind me of what I give value to in my life.

One answer that emerged from the Lifelines group is that we should surround people who are forgetting with acts of remembering. People in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease are in danger of forgetting that they can still remember, as are those of us who work with people with Alzheimer’s. – Dr. Dienstag

Something affected me about this sentence. Yes, it is about folks that have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but did you catch the last little bit of that quote:

as are those of us that work with people with Alzheimer’s.

To me that means everyone.

Then it becomes about something completely different.

How about you? Are you in danger of forgetting that you can still remember? Are you surrounding yourself with acts of remembering?

This episode’s online yoga class is a Level 2-3 class.

The yoga class is a journey of imprinting your mat with those memories. Writing your desires, your deepest wishes, your meaningful longings with your body, NOW. May we acknowledge and gift them NOW, as the blessing of memory is just that, a blessing.

The class itself is more energetically paced than usual. The first half of the class involves lots of standing poses and vinyasas. It is also accompanied by yours truly chatting up a storm (imagine that!) 😉  I was deeply inspired by the subject matter. My energy grounds as the class goes on, as the quiet grows.

Something else to note about the class: I ran out of batteries for my H2 Zoom recorder during savasana, so you will have to bring yourself out of the pose on your own! 😀

Dr. Dienstag’s article is a fantastic read . If you are interested in listening to the entire interview with Dr Dienstag you may check it out here.

This class was recorded at BYS Yoga Studio in Pittsburgh on May 13, 2010

Remember to listen to the podcast to get the 15% off coupon code for Prancing Leopard Organics my magical sponsors 😉 and go shopping!

The Sequence of Yoga Poses for this online yoga class:

Downward Facing Dog/Eka Pada Downward Facing Dog/ Spiderman Lunge

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Uttanasana/Ardha Uttanasana

Surya Namaskar C Variation (without vinyasa)

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Vinyasa

Parsvakonasana/Virabhidrasana II

AMS

Plank

Chattarunga (hold)

Bhujangasana

Side Angle Pose/Warrior II

Vinyasa

Trikonasana/Triangle with side angle arm

Uttanasana

Utkatasana

Uttanasana

Vinyasana

Virabhidrasana I (with arms interlaced behind the head)

AMS

Warrior I (with arms interlaced behind the head)

Vkrsasana

Garundasana

Eagle arms in Tadasana/Uttanasana with Garundasana arms

Baby Dancer

Uttanasana

Pigeon

Ekapadarajakapotasana prep with thigh stretch

Downward Facing Dog on tip toes/Plank on tip toes/Upward Facing Dog/Downward Facing Dog

Uttanasana vinyasa to Tadasana

Urdhva Dhanurasana with or without blocks at the wall x 3

Knees to Chest

Supine Twist

Balasana

Downward Facing Dog

Uttanasana

Tadasana

Savasana