"Yoga Extras" Resources for the week of: Fri 4/7-4/11
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.
This past weekend some kind passerby took the photo you see above. The backdrop is outside of a church in Kerrville, Texas. A couple of my dearest friends live just outside of Kerrville in Mt. Home & Medina. I had anticipated a bit of a sad weekend as I had gone to attend my friend's mom's funeral service. The weekend, however, was surprisingly joyous. Perhaps the proximity of loss made us all appreciate time with one another more so. The pic above is of me and one of my very dearest sister-friends, Kat. Those of you who may have attended Schreiner U may recognize your wild and brilliant English Proff here, Dr. Kathleen Hudson. There is a 35 year age difference between the two of us, but you'd never know it. We've been as close if not closer than blood sisters for over a decade. You of course can't tell from the photo, but Kat is in constant physical pain from injuries sustained many many years ago in a barrel racing accident that left her spine in a super compromised position. Getting out of the car hurts. Teaching hurts. Walking hurts. Just standing hurts. Badly. But you'd never know it because Kathleen travels and LIVES more than any other human I know. She has made it a life long habit to praise anything that appears in front of her, and complain minimally. Even when she got one of the scariest diagnoses someone can receive from their doctor, she praised her way through it and now dances (literally) on the other side of that moment in her life. I've always known/witnessed this from my dear friend, but it REALLY jumped out to me this weekend. This story may not land in your heart as significantly as it does mine--hearing something and living that something are two entirely different experiences. I find it easy to spill these stories out of my mouth here and in a public class, but the act of actually applying such things to my own life is not nearly as easy. I recently found myself in complain mode. I guess I started it and then just mindlessly repeated the cycle. My weekend stopped me. Reversing direction isn't shifting on a dime, but I'm milking the moments of praising what life is presenting when I find myself awake to the opportunity. I know all too well that to what we give our attention (therefore our energy), grows. I'd much rather live a life of praise over complaint. Kat has one of the coolest, happiest lives and she dances daily. I want that for myself and my human family as well. Happy Spring and annual moment of Re-birth/new beginnings, ya'll. Love you. e
The physical focus for class this week: Backbends/Heart-Opening (full-body practice)
The philosophical focus/theme for this week: Opening the Heart/Resisting a Closed Heart: (PRAISE OVER COMPLAINT)
AND...
You can find MUSIC FROM CLASS this week HERE! or click the image below:
To access the FULL reading for the week, click HERE! &/or the image below:
