My favorite stretch ever

Stand with feet shoulder width apart.
Interlace your fingers behind your back or hold a strap/belt/scarf.
Roll your shoulders back and down.  Squeeze shoulder blades toward each other.

Bend forward, knees slightly bent.  Continue to lift arms away from back and shoulders away from ears.  Breathe deeply and feel the lower back and back of legs lengthen while you open the chest and shoulders.

3 Short Book Reviews

Back to Basics
12 Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong
In this book, Armstrong beckons readers to take responsibility in their own lives for cultivating compassion for themselves, within their family, work place, community and the world.  Her basic premise is that the common thread of all religions is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."   I love that she states the obvious while providing fascinating historical information on the cultural context and manifestation of various world religions.  Armstrong is the creator of The Charter of Compassion, an instrument to impel individuals and religious organizations to recommit themselves to the practice of the Golden Rule- i.e. "Love thy neighbor as thyself."  ( Have you often wondered why this concept has seemed more theory than practice)? 1000's of leaders from religious organizations all over the world have signed this charter.  And we all know, actions speak louder than words!

Feeling Self Righteous?  
In Her Own Words by Mother Teresa
Almost every one of the short excerpts I read in this book I am either moved to tears or feel like getting down on my knees.  I am humbled and inspired by Mother Teresa's pure love and devotion to the care of the poor, sick and dying.  Seeing a glimpse of her work in this world through these pages helps me to let go of my self importance and move me toward a deeper understanding of unconditional love, compassion, and understanding.  A daily dose of humble pie is a perfect antidote to a "what's in it for me" culture.

On a Lighter Note...
Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses... by Claire Dederer
Entertaining and honest memoir by a mother/wife/daughter/friend, commingled with her new found yoga practice.  Dederer writes with humor and insight about her growing relationship to motherhood; her marriage now with children; her relationship to her parents now with children; the parenting culture of Seattle, WA where she has lived all her life; and reflections on her own un-traditional childhood.  Currently my bed time reading book.  I appreciate Dederer baring her real life in a thoughtful, funny memoir and how yoga played a role in her journey.

One Studio Yoga Schedule 1/3-5/13/11

The Drop in Yoga Classes at One Studio Dance and Yoga are:
I-Beginners and up    II-Advanced beginners and up
Mon 8:00am-9:15am I
        Noon-1:00pm I
Tues 5:30pm-6:30pm I
Wed 8:00am-9:00am II
        Noon-1:00pm II
Th    5:30pm-6:30pm II
Fr     Noon-1:00pm I
 
Restorative Yoga & Massage
January 16 10am-Noon
Relax in supported yoga postures while receiving a massage.
What could be better? Pre-register  $35/person.

Why We Love Yoga

We love yoga because it never fails to make us feel better.
Yoga makes space in the body for ease and vitality and space in the mind for clarity and inspiration.  No need to hold on to the inevitable stress of everyday life.
Do Yoga!
Oh yeah, practicing yoga also lowers blood pressure, relieves back pain, neck pain and lots of other kinds of pain.  Yoga improves posture, blood flow, balances hormones, improves thinking and motivates positive choices.  Not to mention, yoga makes us nicer people who get along better with others because we feel better ourselves!
Yoga- maintenance tool for living a happy life.

The Joy of Appreciative Living

The Joy of Appreciative Living, written by Jacqueline Kelm, is an excellent resource and motivator for increasing joy in your life and creating what you want in your life.
The concepts in this book are simple and effective.  Essentially the author recommends focusing on what you appreciate in your life every day and revising and refining your "ideal life."  There is a 28 day plan outlined in the book that takes 5 minutes every day.  I recently finished my 28 days.  Every morning, before I even got out of bed, I thought of 3 things I was grateful for and what one thing I was going to do that day to increase my joy.  Then, when I was drinking my morning cup of coffee I would write down my appreciations and joy activity for the day.  One thing I noticed is that by focusing on what I appreciate as my first thoughts of the day set the tone of my thinking for the rest of the day.  Although appreciation is something my family and I do around the dinner table every night, I feel the Joy of Appreciative Living 28 day plan really strengthened my attention on the positive.  Plus, taking time once a week to write down what I envision for my ideal life was very powerful in clearly connecting with what I want to create in my life.  I have no doubt I will manifest my vision because it is already happening.
At the beginning of my January yoga classes,  I will be inviting everyone to think about 3 things they are grateful for that day and one thing they can do to increase their joy.  I encourage everyone to get a copy of the book Joy of Appreciative Living to get the details and background on the 28 day plan.  This book will help you move in a positive and happy direction!

This short video will inspire you!

Relax your back at work

Sit toward the edge of your chair.  Feet on the floor wide.  Lengthen your spine and fold forward from your hips.  As your torso moves toward the floor, between your legs, keep lengthening your spine out of the hips.  Focus on making a little space between each vertebrae of the lower, middle and upper back.  Only go as far forward as you can without pain.  You may end up with your elbows resting on your legs or maybe hands to the floor.