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 :)
I had an opportunity to record some videos this weekend. While I was doing that I decided ‘why not film me recording the audio intro for Episode 82 of my podcast?’
So, here it is!
This was the first time that I used my iPhone 4’s memo feature. The audio sounds pretty good huh? I stripped the original audio for the video with the audio from the iPhone 4, to make it sound as clear as possible.
I gotta say, that I was literally eaten alive by all those bugs flying around there! I’m still suffering a crazy amount of mosquito bites. I may consider doing stuff like this more.
What do you think?
Of course if you want to listen and practice along to the full class, here it is!
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.
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.
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
The them for this class was inspired by this episode of Merlin Mann’s talk at Rutger’s University. Check out the talk. Not about yoga, but very yogic. I think he’s awesome.
Let it Go From Your Head and Drop In Your Heart
I know that if I asked you who or what you hold valuable and dear you could tell me without much thought. I’m sure that you’ve thought about how much your family, your homes, your friends, your culture, etc. means to you. I’m sure that now that I’ve brought your attention to this, you have a clear idea in your head and feel pretty strong about where you place your value.
The thing is, that we think about this too much. I mean that we keep that which we value in our thinking mind. We intellectualize much more than we internalize it, within our hearts. There is a level of detachment that comes with it. Yes, we love our family. Yes, we love our friends. Yes, we value our home. Here’s the question: Do your actions, from day to day, from moment to moment honor and abide by that higher intention? If we could graph our daily activity, and our daily thoughts, what truly takes up the majority of our days? What would it show?
I know that for me, my graph would show huge interaction with my cellphone and my ipod. It would also show me constantly checking my email, FB, Twitter, and stats. (Note the word checking, there is no actual engagement involved.) And these are my physical behaviours behaviors I am also guilty of being with my daughter and having my mind full of everything BUT my daughter. I think more about podcasts, blog posts and creating content on a daily basis than I think about my breath, my body and growing my relationship with those that I have said I hold valuable. There are countless opportunities to deepen relationships. There is enough time. I know that I tend to leak my energy in places, thoughts and actions that in no way deserve it. Unconsciously, through my thoughts and actions I am serving and cultivating less than optimal relationships.
The level of commitment and discipline required to sustain an optimal level of engagement and relationship in our lives is great. It requires that we choose, and choose again, always refining and clarifying moment to moment. We must sustain the focus throughout our days, slowly building a strong internal practice, that lets us be at once soft and steady.
As I became aware of this for myself, I had to share this. I know that I am not alone. My desire is to place what I value in my heart, not in my head. My desire is to engage and hold the sacred where it’s meant to be.
How about you? Do you observe your behaviors and thoughts serving and cultivating less than optimal relationships? In what ways to do abide by the Highest?
FYI! There’s a video towards the end of the post to supplement this episode 🙂
And speaking of the video…Thank you my dear and lovely sponsors Prancing Leopard Organics! The clothes that I’m wearing in the video are from them and I ADORE them 😀 Listen to the intro to this episode to get your coupon code for 15% off your purchase!
This episode’s online yoga class podcast is a Level 2 class.
This class was recorded at BYS Yoga Studio in Pittsburgh on April 29, 2010
The Sequence of Yoga Poses for this online yoga class:
Downward Facing Dog Hold
Uttanasana Hold
Downward Facing Dog/Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana/Straight Legged Lunge
Uttanasana
Hands on Hips Shoulders up and Stand up
WIDE STANCE TO THE SIDE
Warrior II
Prasarita Padottanasana
Parsvakonasana
Prasarita Padottanasana with arms interlaced behind the back
Trikonasana/Ardha Chandrasana
Prasarita Padottanasana with option to hold the big toes
Upon learning about and delving into the earthquake in Haiti, and specifically the lack of infrastructure within the area where the earthquake hit, and the lack of foundation to receive help, it forced me to look at what was going on in my ‘home’, my heart, my surroundings so that I could help create clarity HERE and NOW.
Why HERE and NOW?
I donated money. In fact, how could you not? It was made so easy to give, so very easy to give. You saw how fast the human heart can open up and offer. You all experienced a sense of unity did you not? It’s amazing how open our hearts are. I have so much faith in the human race and our ability to open our hearts. I have no doubt.
Now, our ability to keep the hearts open and sensitive, to work daily to make choices that will optimize our well being and that of those around us is a different story. I can speak from personal experience as I say that I’m lazy when it comes to that stuff. I often times choose to ‘fix’ what’s broken in the house later. It’s too much of a pain now. I’ll eat healthier later. This pound of ice-cream isn’t gonna hurt me now. I’ll discipline and engage with my daughter later, she’s only 16 months old, there’s plenty of time….and on and on and on. That later, turns into years (or at minimum months). Those every day things are the infrastructure:
If we don’t tend to that, regardless of how open our hearts are, how willing we are to give, how much we want to work, the delivery of that love, support, resources will not get there easily. At least that’s how I see it. The foundation will not be set when push comes to shove. Infrastructure is not exotic, it’s not exciting, it’s very grounded, methodical, and I guess you could say boring? Our job as yogis is to make these every day choices, these mundane often boring and at times, may I say annoying tasks sacred, valuable and full of meaning. It is in those every day ways that we build our foundation, our underlying system within our household, within our relationships, within our BODIES that we create the optimal way for us to share that wealth of heart and spirit with which we are all blessed.
Build the infrastructure and Clear the path to Love
The more that we cultivate our infrastructure, the more that we will be able to share and love each other, support each other in a myriad of ways. We will be ever more effective and clear and raise ourselves and each other to a higher level of consciousness.
So, scroll below to do the yoga class (and check out the corresponding sequence) with this theme, so that you can infuse and strengthen your infrastructure in order to serve more fully!
This week’s class is a variation of the theme that I touched on above. It’s a Level 2 Yoga Class and it was recorded on January 18th 2010 at Yoga Matrika 🙂
The Yoga Asana Sequence
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana
SpiderMan Deep Lunge
Plank
Chattarunga
Salabasana with arms interlaced behind the back/Cobra
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Elsie's Yoga Kula: Free Online Yoga Podcast Classes 