"Yoga Extras" Resources for the week of: Fri 4/13-T 4/18
I am creating these "Yoga Extras" blog posts for those of you resonating with the public yoga classes & Yoga Teacher Trainings I am leading. Inside of these blog posts you will find extra resources that support our weekly class theme. The weekly classes I guide are themed according to the season & collective energetic "weather"--This is of course influenced by many things; for instance, not only national and global events but how masses of people are feeling about and reacting to those events. It is also influenced by space weather (see spaceweather.com) & the current movement/placement of celestial bodies ie: the sun, moon, planets, nodes, stars, etc. You can find me teaching currently at Black Swan Yoga (North-Anderson) in Austin, TX. I am on the schedule as "Erika K." Mention this webpage for a free class.
The physical focus for class this week: The Back! (Forward bends to lengthen the hamstrings & the low back for spinal comfort/ease).
The philosophical focus/theme for this week: Choosing the new & unusual over the known. (Breaking addictive thinking & habits in order to break the chains that keep us tied to our old, false, predictable selves. Once we break these chains we are that much closer to living according to the Higher/True Self: the healthful one at ease, satisfied with our lives as they are & able to create a desirable future that surprises & delights.
The back body is representative of all that is behind & (more often than many of us would like it to be) in control of our now and our yet-to-be. In order to break the habits of being ourselves (the false self, the ego self, the personality self) we must learn to sit in the firey discomfort of breaking old destructive habits. Ever heard the saying, "If we're not moving forward, we're moving backwards." I can feel this in my own life right now. After mom died I found myself seeking comfort at every turn. And I'm glad I allowed myself that time. But I'm feeling the call to move onward. I'm not finding it terribly easy, but I'm also finding it not as terribly difficult as I feared it would be. I've lived through my own patterns long enough and enough times to know that doing the same thing over and over brings me the same predictable results. & I've finally gotten sick and tired of feeling sick and tired of the same old same old. One of the ways I'm breaking the habits I set up for myself going on two years ago now is by fasting. I've been avoiiiiiiiiding this. I used to do it regularly in my 20's but food has become both a false comfort and numbing agent for boredom & other unwanted feelings. Every time my blood sugar level feels like it drops or I become edgy from wanting to distract from undesirable feelings I remind myself that I've got to feel this fire to ascend myself. To become more of my Self. I'm also aware that there are so many chemicals and additives in the American diet that I may not even be in fact hungry, but rather literally addicted to the chemicals in the food. I've battled many a chemical addiction and have successfully freed myself of many an addictive beast. Yet life asks us to keep going. To keep freeing ourSelves from one false tether and in divine time, the next. This has been a hard, long journey, but also an exciting & satisfying one. I've grown to respect myself more and more the freer i get myself & in the end it is beyond worth the initial efforts. I say all of this not to hear myself yap about myself, but to offer a personal example with the hope that someone resonates. I'll also say this...if anyone is needing supportive resources because you're feeling overwhelmed by addictive behaviors, I am a non-judgemental & confidential source of information for anyone who needs it. If you or someone you knows is in need of help or guidance or an ear, reach out. xo so much love in this transformative time. ek
PS, click on the photo above to listen to a teacher I have respected & learned from for many years. Dr. Joe Dispenza is a internationally known & beloved teacher, doctor, leader etc. who states that "Science is the contemporary language of mysticism." I couldn't agree more. I feel crazy grateful that he is a professor of mine and that I get to learn invaluable and life-altering practices with him. He leads conventions worldwide where people heal from what the rest of the western medical world would deem irreversible, terminal health circumstances/dis-eases. And he has SO many unbelievable beneficial practices available for free online. The above is one example. The only catch, you've gotta make it a habit to do the "work" of breaking yourself out of the old habits. I listen to these guided meditations daily and cannot recommend them highly enough. In fact, I will be leading a 3 hour session in an upcoming 300 hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training module. It runs from Friday April 28th-Sunday the 30th, 9am-5pm. I will be explaining some of Dr. Joe's meditative techniques. We will also experience these techniques together. Now, 3 hours isn't much when it comes to such fascinating and complex material, but I will be offering a more extensive & in-depth experiential workshop through Medicine Bird Quantum Wellness, PLLC in June. If either sound intriguing, reach out and ask. You can contact me via text through my MBQW, PLLC business phone: 561-703-9150. If you're interested in the 3 day, 25 Hr. Module (which can contribute to a 300 hr Advanced Yoga Teacher Certification) see the Meditation & Pranayama 25 hr. module lead by Erica Arce. She is another BSY teacher who will be leading the majority of the module, click: HERE.
AND...
You can find MUSIC FROM CLASS this week HERE! or click the image below:
To access another link of the reading for the week, click HERE! &/or the image below:
Recent graduates from a 200 Hr. YTT taken under the Monkey Tree at Barton Springs, ATX.