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4 Poses That Changed My Life

May 22, 2012

Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand)1. Savasana (Corpse Pose). When I took my first yoga class, I was a college student who had no clue how to just let go and let things unfold without force. That first Savasana left me with completely unexplained tears streaming down my face. I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew it was powerful. It was in that moment that I went from a yoga skeptic to a believer and I have never looked back.

2. Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand). The first time I tried a Handstand in a yoga class setting, I thought it would be a piece of cake. After all, I had flung myself up against a wall tons during my daring childhood days so this should be no problem. Wrong! It turns out that as an adult (even a young adult), Handstand isn’t so easy when you haven’t practiced it in a while. I was mortified when I kicked, and kicked, and kicked without making it into the pose. My teacher was helping others in the room so she just let me fling myself over and over again until, BAM! It wasn’t graceful, but I landed it. This is when I realized I have so much more to learn—and when I really began to approach the practice as a beginner who could absorb the teachings more readily.

3. Tittibhasana (Firefly Pose). Humility is a good thing, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. After Handstand taught me that yoga isn’t as easy as it sometimes looks, I learned about a whole host of poses that looked next to impossible for me, namely any arm balance. After a few months, when my teacher focused on arm balances, I’d just opt out. I knew I couldn’t do them, so why bother trying? Firefly Pose changed all that. This pose that takes less brute arm and core strength and more hip flexibility felt comfortable, even easy from the first time I attempted it—and I was doing an arm balance, too! This experience gave me the confidence to keep trying even the poses that seemed like a distant pipe dream.

4. Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I Pose). On its surface it doesn’t look that challenging—like a basic standing pose. But there are so many nuances to this pose that I feel like I could work on it for 1,000 years, and an experienced teacher could come by and pick apart 100 more things I need to do to make the pose better. As a beginner, and a recovering perfectionist, this was maddening for me. I cringed when a teacher walked by me practicing this pose because I knew I was in for it—square your hips, plant the back foot, relax your shoulders, square your hips again, bend that front knee to 90 degrees (not 60, 90!). It took many frustrating months (OK, years) to understand that the form of the pose doesn’t really matter, but that my mind is present as I practice it. (OK, I admit it! I still hate it that I haven’t mastered the pose, but I know intellectually that it doesn’t matter.)

Of course, the most valuable part of all of this is how these lessons are reinforced over and over again, and then transcend the yoga mat to reveal themselves in my daily life. Which poses were life-changers for you?

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Coupon Clipping and Yoga

May 15, 2012

Clippon a couponPhoto by Shutterstock

I’m always looking for a bargain. So when a coworker invited me to a short lesson about clipping coupons to maximize savings at the grocery store I was thrilled. It’s not hard to master the basics: Use coupons when items go on sale—especially buy one get one free. Then to maximize the savings, apply two coupons to the item you’re paying for. Stock up on the essentials when you see them at their lowest price point and buy enough to sustain you until it’s on sale again.

All of this sounds simple enough. For a while I was pumped. I bought boxes of pasta for 10 cents each, frozen pizzas for $2, and enough toilet paper to last my household for five months (for a bargain, of course!). In one shopping trip, I saved $50 and didn’t have to go back to the store for another month. I was on a shopping induced high. Before long I was spending hours scouring the Web for deals, arguing with the person at the cash register over a coupon that should have doubled, and fussing at my husband for throwing away a perfectly good coupon for a hair cut I didn’t even need. It only took a few trips to the store to turn me into a deal-hunting monster.

Then it dawned on me. Not only was I becoming so obsessed with pinching pennies that I was beginning to be stressed out about the smallest purchase and wasting hours trying to optimize every cent, I also didn’t feel great about the products I was buying and the companies I was supporting. I could save as much money (probably more) by using fewer paper towels as opposed to waiting for a sale, stocking up on Sunday papers, and hoarding enough in my garage for the next year. And it doesn’t save much time to spend hours looking for coupons for convenient frozen pizza—I could just skip the coupons and make a healthier meal from scratch instead.

The epiphany reminded me of a realization I’d had on my yoga mat a long time ago. I might be spending more time, effort, and money on yoga than many people would, but the investment is well worth it because it contributes to my long-term health and well being. There are just some things in life that are worth every ounce of energy (both physically and monetarily) you put into them. Cutting corners (or coupons) just won’t give you the outcome you’re seeking, no matter how hard you try. You choose what’s important to you in life—I’ve decided to choose a lifestyle where healthy choices takes priority over my bank account. (But I’ll still snatch up every Groupon deal I see for discounted yoga classes.)

What things do you splurge on in the name of health and harmony?

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A Lazy Gal’s Guide to Yoga

May 8, 2012

Woman laying on her mat

Sometimes I just feel too lazy to want to practice yoga. Yep, I said it: lazy. I’ve been known to feel lazy if it’s hot outside, cold outside, I ate too much for lunch—you get the picture. If I always skipped my practice because I’m just not in the mood, I’d never make it to my mat, so I have to make it as easy as possible to practice yoga.

In case you ever find yourself in the same situation, here are 10 quick (and practical) tips that have helped me. I’ll keep the tips short because, well, why overwork?

1) Practice the same poses, in the same order, at the same time of day every day. I have five go-to poses. It takes me all of 10 minutes to practice Down Dog, Triangle, Warrior 2, Extended Side Angle, and Wide-Legged Forward Bend for five breaths on each side. Best of all, I never have to think about what I’m going to practice if I don’t feel inspired. I can just do it on auto-pilot. More often than not, the very act of being on my mat inspires me to keep going.

2) Leave your mat and a pile of props in plain view in the room you spend most of your time. Even if you don’t get them out for a long practice session, they’ll serve as a constant reminder that you’re practice is always there for you when you need it.

3) Expand your definition of the word “yoga.” A couple of deep breaths and a shoulder-opening at your desk can totally count as your yoga practice.

4) Make the most of your commute. Listen to kirtan, a dharma talk, or an audio book that’s uplifting and inspiring during your commute.

5) Stop seeking perfection. Be YOUR perfect self instead. That’s what the practice is all about.

6) Don’t beat yourself up for little lapses in yoga practice or meditation–that never helps. Just pick up where you left off and keep going.

7) Celebrate the times when you allow yourself to do less, not more. Sometimes skipping a yoga class to rest on the couch and read a book is exactly what you need, and self-care is the ultimate form of yoga.

8) Surround yourself with like-minded people who are always up for a conversation about healthy habits, yoga philosophy, and/or how to apply it to your daily life.

9) Eat great foods. You have to eat anyway, so fill your plate with fresh foods that make you feel great on the inside and out and eat them mindfully. For me, doing just one good, healthy thing for myself usually results in more because I realize how great I feel afterward.

10) Spend time every day being grateful for what you have instead of focusing on what you want, need, or where you fall short. Life is too short to not enjoy the pleasures it gives us.

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How to be “Yogic” in Awkward Situations

May 1, 2012

Woman in class laughing. I’ve seen it all. From barely there yoga tights, nip slips, and bodily, err, releases. I’ve been kicked in the forehead by the person “jumping back” on the mat in front of me, fallen on as someone flailed their body into a Handstand in the middle of the room they weren’t quite ready for, and even accidentally groped by the wandering hands of an adjustment in a partner pose. Oops.

Yoga classes are full of opportunities for some really awkward moments. You’re in close quarters with people don’t know moving your bodies in ways that you don’t see every day.

It’s also an environment where people tend to be overly polite. After all, we wouldn’t want anyone in our yoga classes to see us as anything less than selfless, blessed out, happy and, well, yogic.

Trust me, there’s nothing yogic about being kicked in the head or accidentally groped. Out in the real world, this kind of behavior would be cause for a brawl, or at least a dirty look. But in a yoga class setting, we just smile and say, “Oh, it’s OK! No worries.” It’s pretty funny if you think about it. Here we are at a yoga class that is supposed to center us and help us reveal truths about ourselves, and yet when awkward situations arise, we kind of slough off how we really feel to be polite.

Yoga isn’t always nice. It’s not always polite. It tells it like it is. If your hamstrings are tight, the poses will tell you. They never beat around the bush. If you’re pushing too hard be prepared for a rude awakening.

I’m not saying that we should ruder to each other in yoga class. (In fact, I’m glad that yoga students pretend not to notice when someone accidentally passes a little gas in their Uttanasana.)  But what I am saying is that I’m incredibly grateful that my time on the yoga mat is as real, authentic, and honest with me—awkward moments and all—because this is the stuff that truly reveals who I am, what I need to work on, and how far I’ve come both on and off the mat. If I have to endure a kick to the head every now and then to get there, sign me up.

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5 Reasons To Be Confident in Yoga

April 24, 2012

Faith Hunter smiling while doing yogaIf you’re like me, you scour the Internet on a daily basis looking for inspiration—”inspiration” being little more than a code word for any article that advises me on how to live my life better. I read articles and watch videos about how to perfect my Pincha Mayurasana, manage my money better, climb the career ladder, chop onions, keep my baseboards clean, sneak more greens into my diet,  and most recently how to wear maternity dresses without looking like I’ve pitched a tent.

It might be inspirational to imagine doing all these things, but it’s also unrealistic. Nobody is good at everything. Maybe constantly searching for ways to be good at everything isn’t a healthy habit. I’ve noticed that it can make me feel inadequate—I mean, what does it say about me that I need to look up a video on YouTube to chop an onion? And I start to question my ability to do things on my own—my own way. And while yoga helps me to trust my own intuition, I’ve also noticed that it gives me one more thing that I feel the need to improve upon in my life.

It’s exhausting. And, for me, it defeats the whole purpose of the practice.

So, today, I want to focus on the things that I—we—all naturally do well—in yoga practice. These are the things that no one does better than us, and where we are the experts every time.

1. Practicing your version of the pose. Yoga should be an individual practice, which is something that’s easy to forget when you’re in a class full of students all following the cues of one teacher. But there’s something pretty transformative when you do a pose the way your intuition tells you to in the moment. No one else’s pose is going to make you feel more happy, thankful, present, and alive than your own.

2. Applying lessons to your own life. Have you ever left a 90-minute yoga class and realized that the only thing you remember was a story the teacher told at the beginning of class or one cue about how to open your heart more fully? We tend to only take in the lessons we need at the moment; often, that’s all we can absorb. But when we hear it, we know that’s what we were meant to hear, and then it’s up to us to apply that lesson to our own lives.

3. Feeling sensation. No one else can feel or describe what’s happening in your body. You are the only expert on that subject. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

4. Exploring the emotions connected to certain body parts, muscle groups, or poses. You’re also the only one who can know the emotions that arise when you move your body in specific ways. It’s a delicious intimacy that you share with yourself. So, what is your body telling you?

5. Taking care of yourself. Maybe we’re not always as good at this one as we could be; sometimes we need a little reminder to be a more gentle and understanding of ourselves. But this is one thing that we can all be great at if we make a comittment to put our health and well-being first. Yoga teaches us how to do this. It’s up to us to heed the advice.

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Stretched for Time

April 16, 2012

Organization and time management has never been my strong suit. For years, I denied it. I’d say things like, “I’m deadline oriented” and “I work well under pressure” to make myself feel better about my natural tendency to take on a million projects, and wait until the last minute when a deadline strikes terror in my heart to actually sit down accomplish the task at hand. This is an incredibly unnecessarily stressful way to live.

It’s like denying that my knees hyperextend just a tad in Triangle Pose—also something I did for years. Wishing it wasn’t so to make myself feel better wasn’t doing anything for me but putting me at risk for a painful injury somewhere down the road.

I’ve come to two important realizations in recent years. First, since I have a tendency to hyperextend my knees in my yoga poses, I’m always going to have work just a little bit harder when I practice those poses to gain the strength I need to keep myself safe and injury-free. Second, because of my tendency toward chaos over organization, I’m always going to have to work a little harder to keep things in my life organized, avoid procrastination, and get sucked into things that waste my time and do not serve me.

This is easier said than done. But it’s more important for me now than ever because of the astonishingly fast rate my life is becoming more complicated. If you’ve been reading my blog you probably already know I have a baby on the way. (It’s a girl, and when we saw her sucking her toe in the ultrasound I couldn’t have been prouder of my little yogi.) I am a new homeowner—which is as overwhelming as it is exciting. I also have a full-time job and an ambitious dream to someday fully support myself through writing and teaching yoga.

I know it’s probably just going to get a lot harder as I go from a pregnant lady to a new mom who will have to learn new coping skills when a crying infant cuts into my Savasana time—but I have to believe that my yoga practice will keep my grounded and help me find new and creative ways to practice, even when exhaustion sets in.

How do you manage to keep up with your practice and stay on top of life at the same time? Please share your pointers!

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5 Ways Gardening is Like Yoga

April 10, 2012

Woman gardening. For the last 10 years, I’ve moved from cramped apartment to apartment. After several failed attempts at “indoor gardening,” I threw in the towel and decided to wait until I had a place of my own—with, dare I say, my own yard to try my hand at it again. One of the first things I did when my husband and I moved into our first home last year, was call up my dad and ask him if I could have some flower bulbs to start my own little garden. I am far from an expert when it comes to gardening. I’ve already had to dig up several plants because I didn’t know how often they needed to be watered or some other mysterious reason I can’t quite put my finger on. But I’ve found that there’s something very therapeutic and wonderful about being outside and playing in the dirt. It’s not unlike the experience I have on my yoga mat.

Here are five similarities I’ve found between gardening and yoga:

1. Practicing mindfulness. It takes a keen awareness to notice the subtle signs of growth (or lack of growth) in plants. Noticing when a plant is too dry or not getting the right amount of sunlight is a challenge I’m still honing. Not to mention the feeling of being in the present moment when you notice the sun on your skin and the earth under your knees. It’s not unlike the awareness you build as you notice subtleties in the poses and in your body’s response to them.

2. Finding connection. For me, it’s incredibly gratifying to watch plants grow and bloom, and knowing I had something to do with helping that to happen makes it even more amazing. In yoga, we’re taught that there is a sacred connection to the universe and all life around us. In nourishing something and helping it to grow, I feel even more connected.

3. Pulling weeds. In order for a plant that you’re trying to nurture to grow, you’ve got to make sure the surrounding area is free of weeds or other plants that might take nutrients from the soil. In order to thrive in my yoga practice, I’ve had to learn to banish distractions and expectations (and sometimes even when I think I’ve pulled them up by their roots they still grow back later).

4. Seeking balance. A beautiful and healthy garden is one with a variety of colors and types of plants. Too much of one thing can not only throw off the aesthetic of the garden, but it can also affect the balance of nutrients in the soil. Yoga is all about balance, too. Too many active poses can be exhausting or cause you to overheat, while too many passive poses can cause sluggishness. It takes a good mixture of both to create the desired result.

5. Dirty work. Yoga doesn’t work unless you’re willing to put in the work. There are times when it’s uncomfortable to hold a pose for as long as your teacher asks you to or when you feel too tired or rushed to do the practice. But if you come back to it again and again, you’ll see that the results far outweigh the occasional discomfort. I’m finding gardening to be the same way: I might not always want to get my hands dirty (and it’s pretty frustrating when I feel like my efforts aren’t paying off) but I know I will be incredibly proud when my plants thrive.

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Lottery Fever

April 3, 2012

LoteryLast week, it seemed like everyone went lottery crazy. There was buzz on every radio station, TV newscast, and social network. Offices everywhere pooled their money to increase their odds at winning. I went to a gas station at 9:30 pm on Friday night and there was a line out the door of people waiting to buy a ticket. One question seemed to be on everyone’s mind: What would you do with $640 million—the biggest jackpot ever?

It was fun to participate in a day of mass daydreaming. You could almost see it on people’s faces as they imagined traveling the world, upgrading to nicer houses and cars, and watching their family members’ faces light up with the realization that all their debts would be wiped away. Not to mention how the lucky person would feel when they’d walk into their boss’s office and tell him where he could put those pointless TPS reports.

It doesn’t sound very “yogic,” but it sure does put a smile on your face to think about having everything you ever wanted in life.

Alas, I did not win MegaMillions. It left me a few dollars poorer, actually, but with the realization that many of the things that I’d wish for I can have today if I choose it.

OK, so maybe I can’t pay off my mortgage, travel to exotic locales to vacation every day of the week, and pay off debts for all the people I love. In reality, though, aren’t those dreams really for less worry, more rest and relaxation, and a desire to help people? If you look at it that way, I can have those things right now if I choose to live more simply, take more time for relaxation, and do more to help the people around me. Even if I can’t cut back on my expenses, I can choose to put less emphasis on worrying that I’ll lose what I have.

More money might make life easier, but there are tons of things we can do for ourselves every day that will improve the quality of life—maybe just as much. And you’ll never have to pay taxes on that.

What would you do if you won the lottery? Would it change the way you live your life?

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Showered with Kindness

March 27, 2012

Pregnant and happy. There are a lot of things I could complain about when it comes to being pregnant—my expanding “waistline,” those hideous maternity clothes, the restrictions on my diet and my yoga practice. But being pregnant comes with some really great perks, too, like how people (even total strangers) are suddenly so concerned with how I’m feeling and how people have to get up to offer you a chair in crowded places.

People have even gathered together to give me things they think will make my life easier when the baby comes—gadgets, diapers, baby clothes, gift cards (that’s not even counting all the free advice!). I’ve had two baby showers now. And both times I’ve come home and thought to myself, “What on earth have I done to deserve all of this?” The answer, of course, is nothing.  People I know (and even some people I don’t know) are gathering around me to support me just to be nice.

It’s enough to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and happy with my decision to bring a new life into this world because I’ve seen that people can be good, kind, considerate, and genuinely want to help make the world a better place for those around them. That’s a great feeling!

I think I have my yoga practice to thank for opening my eyes to the good in people. It’s like the happy glow that sometimes spreads over me after a particularly great yoga class.

OK, I also feel a little scared that it will all come crashing down at any minute. We all know it’s not always sunshine and fluffy clouds. I’m sure that when I bring my little bundle home from the hospital, I’ll be faced with a whole new reality of sleepless nights and feelings of inadequacy when I can’t get my baby to sleep. I’ll probably even have moments of frustration at the people around me who, despite their best attempts to help, won’t be able to. But I hope that during those moments of desperation when I think I can’t take any more, I’ll be able to look back and remember how good the people in my life have been to me. Maybe I’ll even remember to ask them for help.

For me, pregnancy has been a beautiful reminder of one of the most important lessons I’ve learned on my yoga mat: We’re all in this together, so we might as well spend our energy lifting each other up and helping out when we can. There aren’t enough pink and blue thank you cards in the world to express my gratitude for that.

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Staying Calm in Stressful Situations

March 20, 2012

Man doing Anjali mudra. Have you ever noticed that people often get stressed out over things that either A) don’t matter or B) they have no control over? As an objective observer, it can be pretty funny to watch as someone taps their foot, looks at their watch for the hundredth time, and starts to fume when the train is late.

I see this unnecessary worry a lot in the workplace, too. Our numbers are low! We’re going to miss our deadline! Someone made a mistake—let’s all panic and look for scapegoats in case someone tries to suggest that I had something to do with this shortcoming! We’re all going to be fired!

It just doesn’t make sense. Getting upset that your ride isn’t here yet doesn’t make it arrive any faster—you’re going to be late even if your face gets all red and your blood pressure rises. And panicking about work stress only makes you less capable of coming up with creative solutions to fix problems. (Though, I admit it’s pretty hard to see it when you’re the one in panic mode!)

I’d like to propose a different way of dealing with unpleasant and stressful situations. Calmness. In yoga class, when you’re in a difficult pose you can choose to focus on how uncomfortable you are during the last five breaths of a hold, or you breathe more deeply and realize that in just a few moments you’ll move on to something else. It’s all going to be OK.

What if you could recognize that the stress reaction in life is a choice (and a bad one at that), and you have the power to make a different choice instead? It’s empowering!

In the work situation, sometimes it only takes one voice of reason to shift the whole group mentality from one of panic into a problem-solving mode. Isn’t this what great leaders do so fabulously? At the worst, let’s say a grumpy co-worker who is particularly high strung poo-poos your ideas and notes the lack of urgency (that’s another word for stress) in your tone. You can’t win them all, but if you take a step back, can you see how silly your colleague looks? Sure, you should treat him with even more kindness and compassion because he’s having a rough day (and we’ve all been there). But maybe it’s just a little bit gratifying to know that the most obnoxious of co-workers might get annoyed by your mellow vibe, but deep down they know you’re right and they wish they knew your secret to staying so calm? This is my goal.

When I notice my stress reaction kicking in unnecessarily I take a deep breath and ask myself a few questions:

Will freaking out help this situation? The answer is almost always no.

What’s the worst possible outcome of this? Unless it threatens someone’s life directly or is a matter of national security it’s probably nothing that you can’t overcome.  (And who wants to have a freaked out doctor or president? Not me!)

Remember the last time you freaked out over a similar situation? Does it seem like a big deal now? There are many times I can’t even remember the last freak out because it was so insignificant.

When all else fails, I try to take myself out of the situation and see the humor in it. Seriously? You’re getting all red-faced and flustered because your doctor is a few minutes late for your appointment?

Are you really so important that the world will stop turning if you are a few minutes late to you next appointment? No. No you are not.

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