Life has taken a completely new direction for me with having a baby, and sometimes I feel completely overwhelmed with my new role and responsibilities. Last Sunday evening I made it out to a yoga class, and during practice I was reminded of how the only way to live is one breath at a time. We can’t change the past, and worrying about the future only causes fear. All we can do at this moment is taking another breath, noticing the feeling of each inhale and exhale and the quiet moments in between.

Life becomes a string of breaths, each one in due course. Would you worry about the quality of your breath next Tuesday morning? On this day next month? Next year? Of course not, we can only focus on the current breath. Ask yourself, are you doing okay right now? Then focus on this moment, knowing that this is all there is.

At the end of the class on Sunday I was feeling more grounded and less afraid. Stringing breaths and moments together like waves had calmed my mind, and this week I try to remind myself of this lesson whenever I start worrying.

In Yoga Sutra 1.34 Patanjali says:

[…] calm is retained by the controlled exhalation or retention of the breath.

(From The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda.)

I have slowly started practicing yoga again after having my baby. When looking up the class schedule at my regular studio I discovered that several of my favorite teachers have either moved or taken a break from teaching. Change happens everywhere, I guess

I have started looking at different studios in the city to explore new teachers and classes, but so far I have not had much luck. So many classes seem to be taught be recent teacher training graduates. While these classes are often good, I’m looking for someone with more experience. I’m happy that yoga has become more available and that many have been inspired to become teachers, but have we reached a point where too many people are teaching?

To find a teacher that is right for you, ask yourself a few questions when trying out a new class:

1.  Does the teacher inspire you?
2. Are they interested in yoga philosophy and tradition and use it in their teaching?
3. Do they have a solid knowledge of anatomy, injuries, and modifications?
4. Do they care about the students and tailor the class to the group? For example, teachers who show off advanced poses to a Level 1-2 group, without offering alternatives, might be too caught up in their own ego to see the needs of the students.

For now I haven’t found anyone that has re-inspired my practice, but I’ll keep looking. And I’m excited about the Rod Stryker workshop in November!

At some point in our life most of us will experience a funk or rut, losing interest in our job or hobbies or dealing with some of life’s inevitable challenges. In these situations, how do we turn our life around? Let’s look at life through the lens of the three major aspects of our life: the body, mind, and spirit.

When life is harmonious, these three aspects are in synergy and we feel energetic, joyful, and creative. Life is no longer a struggle. We may still have problems, but we fully accept them. When any one of these three areas is out of sync, we may feel apathy and lack of motivation or start questioning the purpose of existence. Looking at the body, mind, and spirit we can take simple, practical actions to get life back on track.

The Body

Our physical health and biological needs form the foundation of our lives. If you aren’t eating a healthy diet, sleeping well, and exercising regularly, your body simply won’t have the energy to connect with your passions and dreams.

Taking care of the body involves:

• Getting enough physical exercise, covering flexibility, aerobic fitness, and strength.
• Eating a well-balanced diet that includes supplements if needed.
• Following good sleeping habits.
• Having enough money to pay for necessities such as food and shelter.
• Satisfying sexual needs.
• Occasional fasting or detoxing.

If you feel you are doing well physically, you can work to optimize each component. For instance, you may have a lot of physical strength, but can work to increase your flexibility by taking a yoga class once a week. If you’re feeling lethargic when waking up, add some breakfast foods that will help you be more energetic in the morning. There’s always something that could use improvement!

Mind

The mind is the aspect of our life that involves using our creativity, skills, intelligence, and reasoning abilities. This is where we connect with activities that give us passion, challenge us, and stimulate our mental capacities. When this part of our life is going well, we feel fulfilled. We then spend the majority of the day in flow, rather than watching the clock.

There are many ways to improve this aspect of our lives. Here are some of them:

• Learn a new skill. This could be learning a new sport, a new foreign language, a technical skill such as HTML, or a craft like knitting.
• Read a new book on a subject you’ve always been interested in.
• Read a new book on a subject you already have expertise in.
• Use your creativity. Play games, write, paint, or play a musical instrument.
• Have coffee and a stimulating chat with a friend.
• Teach others what you know.
• Experiment with new hobbies and sports to see which ones give you that feeling of “flow.”

Spirit

The spirit aspect covers your inner peace, sense of purpose, life path, and self worth. How good do you feel about what you are doing on this earth? Are you helping others? Are you at peace with the universe?

Many people have their body and mind needs fulfilled, but not their spirit needs. They are in high-paying, fulfilling corporate jobs but they still feel a void in their life. On the other hand, many people in lower paying jobs feel great about themselves if they’re genuinely contributing some good to the world.

Here are some of the ways to enhance the spirit aspect:

• Contribute something meaningful to society through your job, volunteering, or donating to charity.
• Meditation or prayer.
• Journaling or introspection.
• Spending more time with family and friends.
• Mentoring or coaching.
• Raising children.
• Getting involved in community projects and activities.

I try to come up with a schedule that addresses all three areas, adding one thing to do daily and one thing to do weekly for each area of my life. For instance, practicing yoga improves my body and energy, stimulate my mind, and help me get in touch with my spiritual side.

What areas do you need to work on?

August 1st, 2009 baby Misha came into the world, with a presence touching everyone around her. While I’m enjoying these special first weeks with the family I won’t be blogging much, but as I return to my yoga practice next month I will share and write more.

For now I want to leave you with one of my favorite poems by Kahlil Gibran:

On Children
by Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Lucy’s new book is a true story, written as a novel, about her search for an authentic life and the transformative powers of yoga, love, and friendship. She leaves London and her prestigious marketing job for a quieter life in a country farmhouse with her boyfriend. At 43 she has finally found love and wants kids, but now struggles with infertility.

The book is an entertaining read, but I was also struck by the depth of Lucy’s insights and personal experiences. This book must have been difficult to write, sharing very intimate feelings and letting the reader see Lucy at her most vulnerable.

This is not so much a book about yoga as it is a book about being a woman and making active choices about love, children, work, and how you want to live your life. Highly recommended!

The book is set to publish in the UK in August 2009, and can be pre-ordered through Amazon UK.

Book Giveaway!

The publisher of The Handbag and Wellies Yoga Club, Ebury Press, sent me an extra copy of the book to give away to Chai & Yoga readers. If you’d like to enter the drawing send me an email (heidi at chaiandyoga dot com) with your name and shipping address by Monday July 20 11:59 pm. I’ll randomly draw a winner who will get the book in the mail! (Since I’ll cover the shipping cost entry is limited to US residents.)

When the weather heats up my regular morning chai suddenly doesn’t seem so appealing anymore. Heating spices and hot milk seem too heavy for a light sunny day. So I decided to experiment with an iced summer version that could be had both with and without milk.

I wanted to keep the ginger in my chai both for the flavor kick and it’s belly-soothing properties, but also add a few cooling herbs and spices. The Ayurvedic Cookbook listed a range of options, and I decided on fresh mint and fennel seeds.

I loved how the iced chai turned out, next time I’ll have to make a double batch!

Iced Summer Chai

5 cups filtered water
1 inch fresh ginger root, crushed
1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds
2 sprigs fresh mint leaves, chopped
2-3 tea bags or 2-3 tsp loose leaf black tea
2-3 tbsp agave syrup or honey (optional)
Ice cubes
Milk or non-dairy milk (optional)

1. Combine water, ginger and fennel in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then turn off the heat. Add the fresh mint leaves, and let steep for 5 minutes.  Add the teabags or leaves, and steep for a few minutes depending on how strong you want it. Add sweetener to taste.
2. Strain into a pitcher, and place in the fridge for a few hours to cool.* The iced chai tastes great over ice as is, or try adding a bit of milk. Mine was really good with about 2/3 tea to 1/3 nonfat milk.

*If, like me, you can’t wait for the tea to cool down, add tea, milk and ice cubes to a drink shaker and it cools down quickly and gets nice and frothy.

Through the movie Enlighten Up! I recently discovered the Indian artist Falu. She was born and raised in Mumbai, but is now based in New York. Her music is a mix of Indian and Western, and she sometimes sings in English and sometimes in Hindi. Her self-titled album is great for yoga, which doesn’t come as a surprise since Falu does yoga herself. Her press contact writes:

“Falu grew up with yoga as part of her daily life in India. As a child, the school days began with yoga, and now as an adult, every day starts with a head stand. Falu often speaks about the spiritual nature of both music and yoga and their abilities to connect herself with the Higher Being.”

You can listen to samples from the album on her website, and the full version of some of her songs on her MySpace page. I really like the first track on the album, Without You. Try it if you are looking for songs for a vinyasa playlist!

These two books are of course very different, but Ramana talks a lot about yoga philosophy and I find it very interesting to relate these topics to the Jivamukti book. The Jivamukti style encourages including spiritual reading, music, pranayama and meditation in your practice. So if you usually stick to a mostly physical yoga practice, consider exploring a few philosophy books to see if they resonate with you.

One of my favorite quotes from Talks with Ramana:

“People think that freedom (moksha) is somewhere yonder and should be sought out. They are wrong. Freedom (moksha) is only knowing the Self within yourself. Concentrate and you will get it. Your mind is the cycle of births and deaths.”

I’m in the process of creating a Chai & Yoga reading list, so let me know if there are books that have touched you deeply or had a big impact on your yoga practice!

I wrote down the sequence I did, which was mostly pretty mellow. I move through the poses slowly, taking my time in the poses and being very deliberate in transitions. I still have occasional lower back pain from a nerve getting pinched, so for now I refrain from most forward bends (Prasarita Padottanasana being the exception - for some reason the wide stance makes it okay on my back).

If you’re pregnant and want to practice at home, always check with your yoga teacher, health care provider, and/or chiropractor before you practice new poses. In my experience it’s usually okay to continue a practice you’ve been doing regularly since before getting pregnant, but now is not the time to attempt anything new and challenging.

Prenatal Sequence at 7 Months

Vajrasana
Cat-cow
Tabletop -  extend alternate arm and leg, elbow to knee x 3
Adho Mukha Svanasana (AMS)
Balasana w/knees wide
AMS -> Plank x 3
Three-legged dog, external rotation in lifted leg, knee bent
Virasana on block w/neck stretch, shoulder roll
Tadasana
Virabhadrasana II -> Utthita Trikonasana -> Utthita Parsvakonasana
Prasarita Paddottanasana C
Malasana
Ustrasana (at wall) x 3
Balasana w/knees wide
Box on the wall (see picture below)
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana x 3, hold the last one
Relclined pigeon
Side twist
Savasana

The movie Enlighten Up! is finally making an appearance in Seattle, and will run at Varsity Theatre May 15-28. I’m really excited that a small yoga movie is making it into movie theaters all over the country, and I can’t wait to see it!

So what is the movie about? Here is a quick synopsis from the Enlighten Up! website:

Filmmaker Kate Churchill is determined to prove that yoga can transform anyone. Nick Rosen is skeptical but agrees to be her guinea pig. Kate immerses Nick in yoga, and follows him around the world as he examines the good, the bad and the ugly of yoga. The two encounter celebrity yogis, true believers, kooks and world-renowned gurus. Tensions run high as Nick’s transformational progress lags and Kate’s plan crumbles. What unfolds and what they discover is not what they expected.

Sounds like an interesting look at the Western yoga culture vs. it’s roots in India, with a good dose of humor…

Nick Rosen in his first week of yoga classes in New York City (official photo by Jonathon Hexner).

Pattabhi Jois and students at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India (official photo by Jonathon Hexner).