Five Points Yoga

Barrett's Blog

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Mothering Magazine Online

Posted February 16th, 2009 | Leave a comment » | Bookmark and Share

 

For all the moms who I’ve worked with over the years, I always recommend Mothering Magazine, and often give out a complimentary copy of the magazine in my prenatal classes (I’ll be giving them out today at Black Lotus – Monday 2/16 President’s Day)  

 

Awhile ago, Mothering started offering their magazine online, which is fantastic!  Here are the benefits of subscribing to the online edition of a magazine:

 

–          Cheaper than getting the print copies

–          Ecofriendly – no paper!   This is also good for folks like me who are trying to be more minimalist (ie have less clutter).

–          Access to previous issues – they have an archives section!

–          Can print what you need, and also email articles to friends

–          Awesome content

 

I also love the Mothering.com discussion boards, and just checking out their website, which features even more content.

 

Check it out, moms and moms-to-be!  Now, if only other magazines would follow suit, I’d have some room in my office…

 

Namaste,

 

Barrett

 

Posted under Postnatal Information, Prenatal Information, Yoga

YOGA JOURNAL ARTICLE

Posted February 11th, 2009 | 3 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

 

Last month, I was featured in this article. A sister yoga teacher and blogger wrote a piece for Yoga Journal online about teaching in a gym versus a yoga studio.  I currently teach in both studios and one gym, and over the last 10 years, I’ve taught in a lot of situations! I’ve gotten to know the pros and cons of working in different environments, and so reflecting on this for an article was interesting and fun for me!

 

First of all, I’ve taught (and practiced) in a lot of crazy places. For example, once I remember I was taking a class at a yoga conference (which is *really* expensive, fyi) and we were in Savasana (see yesterday’s post to understand how important Savasana is!).   Dark room, quiet music, resting after a vigorous practice, and then…. POW!   Bright lights going off repeatedly!   Snaps, clicks, shutters sounding.   Two professional photographers had been let in to photograph us, without us knowing! It was quite disturbing and not at all peaceful, and just kept going and going for more than a minute.  Half of us ended up walking out (my only time ever walking out of a class).   

 

And of course, I’ve taught in some pretty crazy scenarios as well – places that were freezing, places that were dirty or loud, places where there wasn’t enough room for everyone who attended.   I feel….very adaptable 🙂

 

It’s true what the article says – being flexible as a teacher is important – and not just in your hamstrings!   Going with the flow, having a sense of humor, and helping everyone else go with the flow with your cheery attitude, really does help.  I try to remember that most of the students in a yoga class have made some big sacrifices in time, money, and effort to get to class.   I don’t want to let them down, no matter what!   Some of my best class moments have been in less than ideal circumstances, so I know that attitude really counts 🙂

 

All this being said, I’m so grateful that there are beatiful yoga studios to teach and practice in.   It’s really nice to have a dedicated space that was designed for yoga, and is filled with yoga energy everyday.   Of course, the one gym I still work at (Healthworks for Women) is really good about supporting yoga as well, so I’m not complaining.   

 

Enjoy your practice today, wherever it may be!

 

Barrett

Posted under Local Interest, Personal Experiences, Yoga, Yoga Articles

Back to the Blog

Posted February 10th, 2009 | 1 Comment » | Bookmark and Share

 

Triumphant return to blogging!   I’ve actually really missed blogging while I was doing the Odyssey, so I’m psyched to come back.

 

Life has been great here.  The Odyssey went really well, both from a logistic standpoint and personally.   We had almost 100 of us practicing together, and I had some really great practices over the month.  My body feels great – all the little nagging parts (hamstring, shoulder) are feeling a lot better!   And my mind – I’m handling the winter *much* better than usual, especially considering I’m not taking a tropical vacation this winter.  

 

I have so much to write about, but first I’ll just share another tidbit from our Odyssey.  This is one of the daily emails I sent during the Odyssey.

 

THE BEAUTY OF SAVASANA

 

I know it’s hard to pick one most important pose, but if I had to pick, I’d say Savasana (Final Rest Pose).  But the beauty of Savasana is that you really can’t get into it unless you’ve done some of the other asanas.  

 

Savasana works because we practice our other postures enough to feel a difference physically, mentally, and energetically.  If you were just to lie down without the physical stretch of the previous postures, you might not feel much physically.   You might not have much ability to mentally focus on the sensations in your being.   However, after twisting, bending and extending our bodies in all sorts of postures, in all kinds of sequences, Savasana offers a fascinating landscape to gaze over.  Instead of falling asleep, or tuning out mentally, we can immerse deeply into the sensations of being embodied, of being truly alive.   

 

So, treat yourself to Savasana!   You’ve done all the work of the previous asanas to get to this place where you can tune in.    

 

Enjoy your practice!

 

Barrett

 

 

 

 

 

Posted under Personal Experiences, Yoga, Yoga Articles

Just So Happy!

Posted January 20th, 2009 | 1 Comment » | Bookmark and Share

OMBAMA!

OMBAMA!

I try to veer away from the political – yoga is for everybody.   But today is an amazing day for all of us, and just wanted to post this.  

And Michelle Obama’s mom does yoga 🙂   Yay for yoga in the White House!

Posted under Personal Experiences, Yoga

Get Curious

Posted January 14th, 2009 | 2 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

Finally, the Odyssey has started, and I can breathe a sigh of relief and get back to life!   Of course, I’m sending emails every day and keeping it all going, but that’s easier than all the preparations for it!

I thought I’d share our Day 1 email of the Odyssey, because it’s good for everyone to think about.   It’s about staying interested and curious in your practice.   Enjoy!

—–

To start us off, I want to invite you to get curious about your experience today, and everyday.  Often our tendency is to be judgmental, about our abilities, our commitment level, our space, etc.  Instead, my hope is that each of us can cultivate seeing our practice from a really interested, *curious* place of inquiry.
 
One of my teachers’ favorite things to say in their trainings is, “Isn’t that interesting?”   They say it all the time, with many different inflections.   For example, you might notice your left leg is a lot tighter than your right.   “Isn’t that interesting?”   You might notice that you feel really crabby 3 weeks into the training, when your body is sore and you haven’t seen your friends and family in a long time.   “Isn’t that interesting?”   
 
What they are teaching us is to stay open to receiving information.  When we judge ourselves – “I’m so inflexible”, “That injury will never heal”, “Why am I such a crybaby?” –  we stop the learning and the inquiry.   On the other hand, when we are curious to find out exactly what happens on our mats, a whole new way of learning about ourselves opens up.   We might even learn something about how we act in the world off our mats as well.
 
So, with that in mind, practice today noticing everything and finding it all interesting.  What are your feelings as you approach your practice? What are the actual sensations as you’re in the posture? What is it like to practice with the pictures, or the audio file, or from your own head?   Notice as much as you can, without judgment, and with a genuine curiosity to learn more!
 
Enjoy your practice,

Barrett

Posted under Personal Experiences, Yoga, Yoga Philosophy

Odyssey Featured in the DailyCandy

Posted January 6th, 2009 | Leave a comment » | Bookmark and Share

Marketing and promotion are not things I naturally gravitate towards. BUT, I’ve really loved these home Odyssey practices that I started in 2008 and I wanted to spread the word to everyone, not just to my Boston students.  

So with some encouragement from Gadi and Zeenat (ok, A LOT of encouragement), I started passing the word along to students, other yoga teachers, and to the press.   Today the DailyCandy featured the Odyssey – check it out!   As a result of this and other promotional work, I think we’re going to have at least 30 more participants than we have had in the past!  The more people who participate, the richer the discussion and overall experience for everyone.  So, I’m pretty happy about that! 

These days, every time I practice, I’m thinking about that exciting group energy that is building from the Odyssey. I love that about really good classes, too – the energy of the other yogis stimulates your own practice. It’s interesting that even though yoga is a personal experience, and highly individual, having some kind of sangha (community) is REALLY helpful.   I’m going to think about that a bit more…

Namaste,

Barrett

Posted under Local Interest, Upcoming Events, Yoga Articles

The supervitamin of the year – Vitamin D

Posted December 31st, 2008 | 1 Comment » | Bookmark and Share

Has everyone else noticed how often people are singing the praises of Vitamin D?

 

Just the other day in the NYTimes, it was reported that low levels of Vitamin D are associated with a higher incidence of Cesarean surgery. 

 

In fact, this year, it came out that a lack of Vitamin D may increase your risk of heart disease, autism in children, cancer (colon and breast), and some autoimmune diseases.

 

Doesn’t it seem like every few years, there’s a new wonder vitamin?   And then a few years later, that vitamin, in high doses, seems bad for you.   I did a little research, and surprise!   I found out that just taking higher doses of Vitamin D may not be a great idea.

 

Here’s an article about Vitamin D supplementation from Science Daily.  In it, the study suggests that “ingested vitamin D is immunosuppressive and that low blood levels of vitamin D may be actually a result of the disease process. Supplementation may make the disease worse.”

 

This means that in some cases, taking a Vitamin D supplement may make the situation worse.   I thought it was important to note that it says “ingested” Vitamin D.   Most of us know that the “sunshine” vitamin is produced in our bodies from exposure to sunlight.  

 

Even in the wintertime, taking a walk outside can expose you to some Vitamin D.   Go out in the unseasonably warm winter days and expose your skin to the air and the sunlight!   Try to get away this winter to a warm, sunny place.   I think all these years, when I’ve been saying that I was “soaking” in the sun while on vacation in the winter, what I was partially doing was storing up Vitamin D!

 

Yay for a healthy wintertime in 2009!

Posted under Health and Wellness, Prenatal Information

Back to Practice, Back to Blogging, Back to Life

Posted December 30th, 2008 | 1 Comment » | Bookmark and Share

 

Though the holidays can be fun, I love love love being back to my life!   We just got back from visiting our families in Buffalo, and I practiced about 30 minutes total of yoga in the past week.   Coupled with about 20 hours of driving, and OUCH!  I was out of sorts.

 

I pulled up last night, and went directly to teaching two classes back to back.  Then up again early this morning to teach two more.   So when I arrived home this afternoon, I immediately rolled out my yoga mat and had a luscious practice for about an hour.   It set me right, physically and mentally!   I also made a massage appointment for next week, when I know I will really need it (right before the start of the Odyssey).  

 

I’m loving taking care of myself, and I’m so excited for myself personally to undergo a month of consistent practice, bolstered by the Odyssey.  In my practice, I took it slow, as I’ve promised myself I would.   It’s kind of my resolution during the Odyssey – I think I’ve been trying to cram in a lot of postures into limited time, and it really doesn’t work!   You’d think I’d know this after 10 years of teaching, but sometimes you need to learn the lessons very experientially.   I’ve learned it!   I’m slowing down, even it means I only do half as many postures as I want to.  

 

Happy New Year everyone!  We’re having a party at our house tomorrow night.   Maybe I’ll be able to convince some attendees to do a group yoga pose, champagne in hand….

 

Namaste,

 

Barrett

Posted under Health and Wellness, Personal Experiences, Upcoming Events, Yoga

In Praise of Child’s Pose

Posted December 19th, 2008 | 5 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

 

This is what I’m doing a lot of in my practice these days 🙂  

 

I notice that if I’m short on time, I try to cram in a lot of postures – I’ve been talking about this a lot but it’s taking me awhile to really change this habit.   When I’m full of energy (ie kind of manic) I need to move to start with, but then my whole being drops into yoga and eventually I get reallllllly slow and sigh a lot.   In the end, I end up hugging my bolster like a yogi’s teddy bear, and drape myself over it in child’s pose.  It feels so good! 

 

If you don’t have a yoga bolster, you can definitely experiment with couch cushions and sleeping pillows.  

But you might also splurge and get a bolster! 

 

They’re available at: www.huggermugger.com – I like round bolsters best, like the one I’m on, but they also have rectangular, which are a bit more firm.

 

The art of restorative yoga sometimes takes awhile to figure out, even if you’ve been practicing for 14 years, evidently!  In busy times, like the holiday season, I find that’s when I need to relax the most.  Let me know if you end up splurging on a bolster!

 

Enjoy your practice!

 

Posted under Personal Experiences, Yoga

Last Day for Odyssey Discount!

Posted December 15th, 2008 | 1 Comment » | Bookmark and Share

Hi All,

 

Today is the last day to sign up for the Odyssey at a discount!    See this posting all about it and go here to register.

 

I just want to explain the below post.  I’ve wanted to have some other yogis write on this blog about life as it relates to their yoga practice.   Over the next few months, you’ll hear a couple different voices from yogis I know, talking about their practice on and off the mat.  I’m really excited about this!

 

Catherine is our first guest blogger.  She’s a new mom.   Stay tuned for another guest blogger later this week!

 

Namaste,

 

Barrett

Posted under Guest Poster, Local Interest, Personal Experiences, Yoga

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