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!

Labor Day Yoga Class in Pittsburgh: September 6, 2010 6pm

When was the last time that you thought of your work as sacred and meaningful?

How do you view work?

For a long time I thought that work was my job. I fell into the very well known habit of griping and complaining about my job pretty often. I began to dread waking up in the morning, knowing that I HAD to go to my job. While I was in my job I longed to be anywhere else but there…

I’m sure you’ve had this feeling at least once.

It wasn’t until I shifted my perspective from job to work that I began to honor what I did every day, all day long, not *just* at my job. I recognized that when I worked, when I engaged fully in my life, with a great sense of connection to not just with myself but to something much greater, an abundant sense of ease ensued.

Work as Service

The strong connection was highlighted when I truly understood Work as Service.

Labor Day was established to honor just that- service.

It began as a way to celebrate, honor and give a voice to the working class. The working class are producers and providers of services. The working class are those that engage in work that demands full engagement of their physical bodies, and a deep immersion into the concrete world around them. They are the embodied foundation of society.

When I view my work as carefully and consciously laying the foundation of my family’s and my life, its accomplishment becomes a sacred endeavor.

Come join me as we celebrate you, the worker, through a fun, inspiring and rejuvenative yoga practice on Labor Day.

Let’s get ready to welcome September and happily begin to transition into Fall 🙂

Observe Your Foundation and Serve Joyfully
A Labor Day Practice

Where: The Yoga Cave- 758 Rebecca Ave, Ground Floor, Pittsburgh, 15221
When: September 6, 2010 6-7:30 pm

$10 on or before 9/6 (online purchase)

or

$15 at the door (cash, check or CC accepted!)

I have very limited mats and props, make sure you come stocked with your own yoga gear 🙂

I look forward to seeing you 🙂

Oh! Please feel free to bring a friend!

Five Essential Beginner Yoga Books For Women To Buy And Start To Their Yoga Education (Video)

Ladies! Build Your Yoga Education At Home 🙂

I know when I first got into yoga the FIRST thing I did was to buy a book. I’m a fiend when it comes to books 🙂

The thing is that there are so many yoga books out there and I had no idea which were the best yoga books to buy, let alone yoga books that were accessible and not too full of yoga jargon with concepts that at that time, I wasn’t ready to digest.

I’ve decided to offer you some of my favorite yoga books for you to buy (or borrow from the Library. I’m a huge Library proponent) in order to enhance your yoga and health know-how! I have to disclose fully that they do have a bit of a female bias, but for my male subscribers, you’ll still find a wealth of information applicable to both men and women.

This whole thing was inspired by the crazy amount of emails that I get asking for advice about this very subject 🙂

Here’s the latest email from one of you lovely folks:

I am a beginner at yoga and just subscribed to your podcasts. I am interested in reading more about yoga and was wondering if there are any books you would recommend?

You can refer to the video above for a more in depth description of why I chose these books, but I’m linking to all the books that I mention below. All links to these books are using my Amazon Affiliate links, which will give me a little bit of cash to buy even more yoga books 😉 Wouldn’t you like to support my yoga reading habits?

The Women’s Book of Yoga and Health by Linda Sparrowe and Patricia Walden

This is one of my all time favorites! I use it for reference all the time. This is a MUST for your yoga library.

Relax and Renew by Judith Lasater

I was able to build a restorative yoga practice at home following some of her sequences. So much great information.

Yoga From The Inside Out: Making Peace With Your Body Through Yoga by Christina Sell

I have more sticky notes in this book than in any other book in my Yoga Library! Sometimes I just open it and use one of Christina’s sentences to inspire an entire class 😀

Ayurveda For Women by Dr. Robert Svoboda

This was the first Ayurveda book that I bought. I now a own a bunch more by Dr. Svoboda and have learned tons about this incredible way of life.

mother and daughter wisdom

Mother-Daughter Wisdom: Creating a Legacy of Physical and Emotional Health by Christiane Northrup

I bought this book when I found out I was pregnant. At first I thought that it was meant to be a book for mother’s of daughters but then I realized that it was a book for daughters. All women are daughters. All women have mothers, living, dead or absent. I guarantee that you will be inspired by what you read in this book and how it can help you be as healthy as you can be.

Do you have any books to add to this list?

Please share them in the comments below! I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s looking to build her yoga library 😉