Turkey Pose
Then there's the time a lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy replied, "No ma'am, they're dead."
Oh what a fantastic yoga weekend it was! I hope everyone had a chance to rest and enjoy what the season is all about. For me it is family and movement. Black Friday for our household consisted of the girls and I going to Barefoot Yoga and taking a gentle cleansing class with Scott Feinberg. The Barefoot Yoga Studio http://www.thebarefootyogastudio.com/ is just around the corner from our home and is a lovely space with dimmed lighting, a place for your belongings, and a simple environment conducive for serenity. I have taken class with Scott before, and he holds true to his flavor. Scott’s low voice resonated with comfort and acceptance. I had intended on having my daughters hang out and read while class was in session, but he invited them to participate. He encouraged my girls and joked with them sporadically throughout the 90 minutes and they had the benefit of stretching with mom while practicing the art of self acceptance. The next day I went to a seminar held by Bryan Kest. http://www.poweryoga.com/ For the second year now, Bryan came to Tequesta and held a morning seminar. Bryan was invited here by a local yoga instructor and friend, Laura Cole. The first hour was a dialogue from Bryan about his perception of yoga and how his practice has evolved. After that came a complete 90-ish minute practice that was sneaky hard to do considering each move was very basic, i.e. - standing forward bend, half moon, side angel. Any one of these poses start to become challenging once they are held for any length. My muscles started shaking towards the end of class and I felt as though the time flew by. I went to Bryan’s seminar last year, and it seems Bryan continues to mellow and flow. And he also continues to rhyme. His class could be compared to a Haiku placed to music. I enjoyed his sense of devil-may-care and humor however, and will go to his class again next year. Finally yesterday since the weather was rainy and it felt like a home day, the girls helped me make split pea soup while we went through old toys. We ended the afternoon practicing yoga to a Mark Blanchard video, “Power Yoga”. The video is 90 minutes long with the traditional sun salutations, plank positions and twisting sequences. It is very good after hearty meals to massage the internal organs a bit and perform some "house" cleaning. Peppermint tea also felt pretty darn good on the old belly also.
Speaking of twists, let’s talk turkey. Scott led us into a wonderful variation of “thread the needle”. Sitting in an upright position, start by bending one leg and placing it along side your body, like a runner’s stretch. The opposite leg is then bent in and placed in front of the body like you would in pigeon pose. Ideally, both knees are bent in the same direction. One leg is directly in front and the other bent along your side. Once you are ready, reach with the hand on the same side of your bent legs across the front of your body, and around to the back of the room, palm facing up. The opposite arm is bent, the hand is braced firmly on the floor, and eventually the shoulder of the reaching hand/arm should rest on the floor gently as well. It is a very intense pose, a great twist, and if done properly, you should feel a stretch along your side, psoas, and mid to low back. So nice.
The past few days were perfect. I hope the weekend manifested for you gentle reader in line with your intentions and blessed.
Namaste.
Oh what a fantastic yoga weekend it was! I hope everyone had a chance to rest and enjoy what the season is all about. For me it is family and movement. Black Friday for our household consisted of the girls and I going to Barefoot Yoga and taking a gentle cleansing class with Scott Feinberg. The Barefoot Yoga Studio http://www.thebarefootyogastudio.com/ is just around the corner from our home and is a lovely space with dimmed lighting, a place for your belongings, and a simple environment conducive for serenity. I have taken class with Scott before, and he holds true to his flavor. Scott’s low voice resonated with comfort and acceptance. I had intended on having my daughters hang out and read while class was in session, but he invited them to participate. He encouraged my girls and joked with them sporadically throughout the 90 minutes and they had the benefit of stretching with mom while practicing the art of self acceptance. The next day I went to a seminar held by Bryan Kest. http://www.poweryoga.com/ For the second year now, Bryan came to Tequesta and held a morning seminar. Bryan was invited here by a local yoga instructor and friend, Laura Cole. The first hour was a dialogue from Bryan about his perception of yoga and how his practice has evolved. After that came a complete 90-ish minute practice that was sneaky hard to do considering each move was very basic, i.e. - standing forward bend, half moon, side angel. Any one of these poses start to become challenging once they are held for any length. My muscles started shaking towards the end of class and I felt as though the time flew by. I went to Bryan’s seminar last year, and it seems Bryan continues to mellow and flow. And he also continues to rhyme. His class could be compared to a Haiku placed to music. I enjoyed his sense of devil-may-care and humor however, and will go to his class again next year. Finally yesterday since the weather was rainy and it felt like a home day, the girls helped me make split pea soup while we went through old toys. We ended the afternoon practicing yoga to a Mark Blanchard video, “Power Yoga”. The video is 90 minutes long with the traditional sun salutations, plank positions and twisting sequences. It is very good after hearty meals to massage the internal organs a bit and perform some "house" cleaning. Peppermint tea also felt pretty darn good on the old belly also.
Speaking of twists, let’s talk turkey. Scott led us into a wonderful variation of “thread the needle”. Sitting in an upright position, start by bending one leg and placing it along side your body, like a runner’s stretch. The opposite leg is then bent in and placed in front of the body like you would in pigeon pose. Ideally, both knees are bent in the same direction. One leg is directly in front and the other bent along your side. Once you are ready, reach with the hand on the same side of your bent legs across the front of your body, and around to the back of the room, palm facing up. The opposite arm is bent, the hand is braced firmly on the floor, and eventually the shoulder of the reaching hand/arm should rest on the floor gently as well. It is a very intense pose, a great twist, and if done properly, you should feel a stretch along your side, psoas, and mid to low back. So nice.
The past few days were perfect. I hope the weekend manifested for you gentle reader in line with your intentions and blessed.
Namaste.
