Best yoga pants

Alright alright, I know that everyone out there has an article about the best yoga pants. So I’m going to weigh in and also provide a couple of links to some reviews that are out there.

First of all, let me say that I am not a fashion horse. I have been known to practice yoga in jeans and my sweaties and don’t really care what I’m wearing as long as I can move and don’t chafe. That said, not all products are created equal. And when I teach, it’s helpful to look like I didn’t just roll out of bed.

Lululemon is top dog for a very good reason. Great fabrics, good fit, nice detailing, and the clothes endure (in my experience). And I’m the jerk that puts them all in the dryer, too. I know that Lulu gear can get expensive, but I think it’s worth the price tag. Lulu also does pockets really well, which is not to be underestimated. Since I occasionally jog and work out in my yoga pants (in those activities, I am a bit more fussy about fit and fabrics), I really appreciate Lulu’s passion for being user-friendly and functional.

While Lulu is excellent standard wear, they don’t do crazy fun designs. For simple beauty, my favorite pants are made by the folks at Dharma Bums. Their designs are stunning and unique. Despite my personal lack of fashion sense, I get compliments on these pants every time I wear them because they’re so darn cute. But more importantly, Dharma Bums fit really well and the fabric is excellent. It’s soft, light, and durable. Great for practicing yoga and works just fine for a light sweat.

Get a discount! 20% off Dharma Bums. Use the promo code: RACHEL20 at checkout!

So: my two product go to’s? Lululemon and Dharma Bums. Both great for different reasons.

Here’s some more reviews of yoga pants.

Also, a quick caveat. Although I don’t wear shoes when I’m doing yoga, some people actually really like to have something on their feet when they practice, either because their feet get super sweaty or because they’re practicing sans mat. If you’re looking to investigate what you should put on your feet when you practice, check out more on this from the folks at Nicer Shoes. They did a little recon for you!

Yoga tourism and teacher trainings in Bali

The Yoga Barn has a wall that displays posters of its workshops. The teachers are predominantly white.

Travelling to Bali brought up mixed feelings. Happy to be there, certainly, but also confounded by the rampant yoga tourism. Who can blame the people here for giving us what we want? Whether it’s cheap massages (which don’t seem be frequented by the Balinese), asana classes (taught by non-locals) or raw, organic food (the Balinese tend to eat fried rice), I felt like I was sloshing down a tourist water slide. And I also felt like I was in danger of missing the point of travelling to Indonesia.

I didn’t take any yoga classes in Ubud, because I didn’t feel like paying thirteen bucks to go to Geoff’s class in Bali when I can get great yoga at home. I wanted to experience Balinese culture, not western culture set in an Indonesian setting. Maybe everyone else got the memo, but asana is not a Balinese tradition. The Balinese are Hindu, yes, but their daily life revolves around bhakti (devotional) yoga and temple ceremonies. My guide Wayan explained to me that people in Bali seek balance and clarity. Through ceremonies and offerings, they create balance, love, and community. However, there has been a huge uptick in last ten years (especially since Eat, Pray, Love) of yoga-seeking visitors. Bali offers an insane number of yoga retreats and is a hot destination for yoga teacher trainings. I suppose the only reason this bugs me is because Bali has become known as a destination for yoga asana. Which is not Balinese.

Here’s my point. If you’re going to Bali to do yoga or do your teacher training, then know that you are going to a beautiful location to participate in something that is, well, taught by foreigners. It’s like doing your TT in Costa Rica: great setting, great experience, but not indigenous to the local culture. I’m not casting stones: for the first week that I was in Bali, I participated in a yoga retreat where I went to classes taught by a nice gal who had done her teacher training with someone from Colorado. It wasn’t great yoga, but yes, it was a nice vacation.

My advice: if you’re going to make the trek all the way to Bali, don’t settle for just the yoga. Seek out the culture that lies beneath the asana and massage. Go to the temples. Talk to your Balinese drivers. See Balinese dance. Eat Nasi Goreng.

I understand that – unless we decided to make our homes in Bali – we’ll probably never get off the tourist train completely. That’s simply the nature of travel. However, wouldn’t it be more interesting to get on a train that has an Indonesian view?

How to Protect Your Yoga Business with Yoga Teacher Insurance

Hey new yogis, many of you have asked me about insurance and why you need it. Check out this guest article from Canopy. They cover some important points and – for my yogis in the States – I wanted to hook you up with this really great rate!

– Rachel 

Have you ever thought of what would happen if one of your students were to sue you? The average legal cost of a liability claim is $35,000 not including damages if you’re found liable. Insurance Canopy can help you find the yoga teacher insurance that is flexible enough to fit within your budget and still provide you with the protection you need.

What Is Yoga Teacher Insurance?

Yoga teacher insurance covers you in case you are sued for bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury.

You need this coverage for a variety of reasons. Let’s say, for example, you are a yoga teacher who routinely makes house visits. General liability coverage would cover damages to a client’s home if your yoga wheel indented their new hardwood floor.

Or, perhaps you are sued by a student because your instruction gave them an injury, such as a torn ligament or hurt back.

Do I Really Need Yoga Teacher Insurance?

Yes. It’s essential to carry yoga teacher insurance for the following important reasons:

  1. It protects your financial assets and can help you with legal expenses if you get sued, medical expenses if you were found liable for a client’s injury, or the cost to replace something if you damaged someone’s property.
  2. People won’t hire you without it. Many gyms and studios require yoga instructors to carry insurance. Some gyms or studios may require you to add them as an additional insured in order to conduct sessions at their gym.
  3. It keeps your career as a yoga teacher going strong, even if you are sued.

What Should I Look For in a Yoga Teacher Insurance Policy?

In addition to comprehensive coverage and low deductibles, you should look for the following features:

No Membership Required

If you have been shopping for yoga insurance, you know that the annual premium for yoga insurance policies can range from $150 to $350. In many cases, to access lower premium for yoga insurance, you must also purchase a membership in an organization or subscribe to a publication.

Insurance Canopy provides yoga insurance for a low annual premium of $129 with no membership required, making our policy one of the most cost-effective out there.

No Hourly Requirements

Whether you teach full time, part time, or as a hobby, our policy is available to you.

Insurance Canopy offers a single-cost policy that covers both part-time and full-time instructors.

Multiple Services Allowed

If you are a yoga instructor who provides multiple types of yoga instruction, you may have noticed that other insurance agencies require you to purchase a separate policy for each type of yoga that you teach.

With Insurance Canopy, you can provide multiple types of yoga instruction that will be covered under one policy.

Buy Online & Download Documents Immediately

Online access is important for yoga teachers on the go. With Insurance Canopy, you can purchase yoga insurance online within minutes, without needing to wait for a quote. You can also download your insurance documents 24/7.In addition, you can add additional insureds and have your proof of insurance within minutes at anytime during your policy period.

Insurance Canopy offers yoga insurance through a no-hassle, online process that is available at your convenience.

Additional Insureds

You may teach yoga at a single studio or travel to different locations. Gyms, studios, or other venues may require you to add them as an additional insured to protect them from your liability. To add a single additional insured to your policy, the cost is only $15.

With Insurance Canopy, you can also purchase unlimited additional insureds for just $30.

Have More Questions?

We hope this helps you understand what Insurance Canopy’s yoga insurance offers and what insurance coverages your yoga teaching practice may need. If you have additional questions, our representatives are available during business hours. Please contact us at 844-520-6993 or by emailing info@insurancecanopy.com.

A good, portable yoga strap: Zen Yoga Strap

The good folks at Zen Yoga Strap sent me a strap to try out.  At first I was dubious (“It’s just another kind of strap,” I thought. “Why not just buckle up a strap to whatever length you want? Why do you need this thing that looks like three loops sewn together?”)

Well, I’ll tell you why: Zen Strap is awesome.

The wide handles are much easier on my hands than the thinner straps that we usually get at studios. And because the handles for Zen Strap are sewn into a loop, you don’t have to hold the strap tightly to prevent it from slipping. You hold onto the loop, which is much easier because it doesn’t really as much on grip strength. Also, the fabric of the strap is thicker and more sturdy than most in-studio brands. With Zen Strap, it’s easy (well, easier) to hold my leg up in the in Utthita Hasta Padangustasana (Standing Hand to Big Toe) or Natarajasana (Dancer).

You can also use Zen strap around your wrists or your arms to help with shoulder opening and stability. For example, you put a hand in each loop and take your arms above your head, or you put an arm in each loop and do a handstand). Looking at the photos on the website, I was dubious when I saw the yogis using it for handstand, but then I tried it and thought, “Well, that’s pretty darn nice, actually.”

The limitation? Well, you have three loops to choose from in the Zen Strap and it’s not adjustable. So if the length doesn’t work for you, then you could be out of luck. For example, if you have very broad shoulders (or big biceps), then maybe sticking your arms into the loops will be too snug. I’m pretty flexible, so I can get Zen Strap around my feet in Paschimottanasana (seated forward fold), but if you’ve got tight hamstrings, you may need a traditional longer strap to get the support you need and keep your spine long.

The verdict:

I was surprised by how much I liked Zen Strap. If you’re looking for an easy strap-like accessory and want a tidy friend, Zen Strap could be it. It will never replace full length studio straps because it doesn’t have quite the same versatility, but it gets a lot done.  (And bonus, you don’t have to fuss with looping the strap into buckles correctly like you do with traditional straps – YAY!)

And, a promo code for you if you want to try it out. (No kickback for me, fyi.).  Promo code for 15% off: rscott317

What is the best yoga mat?

With so many yoga mats out there, it’s hard to know which one to buy! Here is my personal take on mats, and a link to a more thorough article by the folks at Runner Click and Reviews.Com.

My personal faves

I use the Manduka PRO Yoga. I’ve had it for about a decade and it is indestructible.  However, the Black Mat is huge and heavy. It lives at the studio where I practice and does not leave. In the backseat of my car is “The Mat” from Lululemon, which I carry around for those last minute yoga classes. However, it’s pretty heavy too, and I wouldn’t necessary want to lug it to every studio if I didn’t have a car. When I travel, I use my super light Manduka eKO SuperLite, that folds up into my suitcase.

Runner Click

Runner Click did a review of their take on the best yoga mats. You can read more here. 

Reviews.Com

Reviews.Com did a bunch of yoga mat test drives and compiled the data to help you find the mat that is right for you. I took a look and I think they have some good intel. There were a few surprises in there! If you’re looking to buy a yoga mat anytime soon, here’s a good place to start.

“As an instructor and student who rolls out the mat quite regularly, I know what features I prefer to support my practice. However, considering the many styles of yoga and workout routines that involve mats, I wanted to see what other yoga professionals thought, including those that have been at it practically since the time mats debuted (despite the practice of yoga dating back over 5,000 years, the yoga mat hasn’t been around all that long).

In the end, my top choices were pretty easy to grip. There is no perfect yoga mat, and no single mat fits everyone. If you’re looking for the best yoga mat that will support your asanas and be your new place to call OM for a lifetime, the Manduka PROLite is the way to go. It gets my top pick because its durability and versatility are unmatched. However, if you’re always taking hot yoga classes and you want to stick to your mat with no towel needed, Lululemon The Mat is likely your best option.

With over 50 hours of research on dozens of yoga mats, I focused on the properties and composition of the mat and how this applies to the various styles of yoga. I surveyed the masses, consulted with over 10 yoga professionals with years of experience on mats, and personally put many mats through hours of testing.

The process was sweaty, and reconfirmed that choosing a yoga mat is akin to choosing your wine — some get better with age, and it all comes down to personal taste. To help find the best yoga mat for you, I’ve also recommended top picks for specific formats, some of which include my top choices and others which do not.

The 9 Overall Best Yoga Mats….”

Read More.

The seduction of certainty: what Trump has to do with yoga

“Don’t turn your feet out.”

“Never drink water during practice.”

“Flex your foot to protect your knee.”

“Don’t invert when you’re menstruating.”

I love it when a teacher tells me what to do.  When a teachers sounds confident (or even better – arrogant!), some deep doggy pack instinct in me goes, “Follow this alpha. They will keep you safe! They know the way! Arf, arf!” Their certainty is a lamp in the dark, leading me down the right path.

We like teachers who seem to have found “the way.” We like following someone who seems “right.” We like being certain. Witness Donald Trump’s rise to success; part of his popularity is his stalwart conviction in his own good opinion.

Now, before we start a debate about the merits of Trump (I’ll leave that to other websites), I would like to point out that this addiction to certainty is not only political. I see it in yoga class all the time. Many teachers ride to popularity on the coattails of certainty. Whether or not they are accurate seems besides the point; the strength of their message is in their conviction. Teachers who take a more complex view of yoga alignment, sequencing, or philosophy seem to lack chutzpah. We confuse their nuance for uncertainty.

Does that mean we should toss out yoga rules and have a free for all? No, learning the rules is a great thing. There is a power to following the strictures of a tradition, and we discover our own discipline when we hold ourselves to a standard. Imagine if you will that the yoga tradition is a strange new continent, completely unexplored. When we are travelling into a new land, we need some landmarks to orient ourselves. These are the rules. For example, the YYoga teacher training that I’ve written is filled with rules; these initial markers provide an essential starting place for an exploration of practice. (“Place your feet heel to arch in Warrior II,” for example.) However, these landmarks don’t define the territory; they just give us our bearings. If we become too attached to our landmarks, we will never explore the rest of the country. And then we may start getting all judgy and dismissing anything that alls outside our rules as “wrong.”

Your teachers may not tell you, but the yoga practice is filled with ambiguity. How the feet are placed in Warrior I (ripe for discussion), how to effectively engage the core (another topic of hot debate), best sequencing practices (different in every class), or the correct way to really do a backbend (heaven forfend, the controversy!). Fellow yogis – the truth of the matter is that all of these questions have more than one answer. Each tradition has its own map of the territory, and each map may be a little different. No map can capture everything that is there. The answer to the question, “Is this right?” is almost always, “It depends.”

So, my fellow yogis, now is a good to in the world for us to beware of our dogmatism. Beware of the desire for absolutist certainty. Beware of getting it “right.” Route out your cherished absolutisms and subject them to loving scrutiny.

Visit the landmarks, get to know them, and recognize that the map is not the territory. It’s just there to get us started. Then go exploring.

 

 

YogiSocks: Want socks for your yoga practice?

Vadim and David got in touch with me because they’d created a product that they thought may help foot-shy yogis out: YogiSocks.

Now, socks for yoga are not a new idea.  ToeSox are the rather fancy original that go for $16-$18 a pair. For the same price, Vadim and David will send you six pairs in a box. In a nutshell, these are cotton socks with little rub pads on them that prevent slippage.

I had some friends try them out, and one size really does seem to fit all. We cavorted on carpet and on hardwood and found the socks to be comfortable and to hold their grip surprisingly well. The little stickies are in the right place and the socks fit all our different foot sizes easily. The gals also liked the fun colors.

Pro’s:
  • If you have foot fungi (sorry folks, awful truth here) or are shy about showing your feet, then these are an inexpensive alternative to sliding around in your regular cotton socks on potentially slippy yoga floors.
  • Inexpensive.
  • Fun colors.
  • Breathable cotton.
  • Useful if you want the option to practice mat-free.
  • Potentially good for sweaty feet.
  • I could see using these for Pilates or martial arts classes, or for just walking around on your slippy floors at home. Frankly, I could see using these in teacher training, when students are prone to leap up and do poses on hardwood floors and potentially slip. Freaks me out!
Con’s:
  • Fun colors (not everyone likes pink).
  • Most yogis don’t use socks because we like to be barefoot.
  • The stick factor is redundant on most yoga mats, because they are already sticky.
  • Not sure about longevity, especially if you use them because you sweat.

Alignment of values here is uncertain:

  • health-promoting: Yes, if you have foot fungi, these could be a great little helper!
  • celebrates authenticity: If you consider that choosing to wear socks is an assertion of personality.
  • emotionally elevating: Depends how much you love your socks.
  • educational: Nil.
  • high-quality: Unsure.
  • eco-friendly/ globally mindful: Unsure.
  • celebrates community: Unsure.

Details:

  • Amazon link to check them out.
  • Your 15% off promo code: XMXA8Z27

Yoga confessions

I fall over in handstand.

I try, I miss, I get afraid, I fall. I am not one of those effortless inversion mamas, deftly floating from pose to pose. I admire those practitioners, marvel at their grace. I’ve been afraid of handstand since I fell out of it over four years ago.

I have other sins.

I am not consistent in my practice. I do not arrive every day on my mat at 6 AM. I arrive late, get flustered, leave early to get to meeting. My mornings are derailed by the previous evening’s glass of wine, a netflix binge, or the simple deep heart angst of an existential day. I get consumed in work, become anxious, forget to meditate, and catch myself texting when I should be listening.

I beat myself up, wonder what the point is, then am suddenly struck by the beauty of the autumn leaves. And I am reminded for a moment – a glimpse that is breathtakingly beautiful – that I am alive.

I breathe, remember myself, and return to practice.

And fall over in handstand.

But today in practice, I realized that the point isn’t actually to do handstand.

The point is simply to try. To show up.

Regardless of the wine, the netflix binge, the boyfriend fight, or the existential crisis. Show up anyway. Or in fact, because of the wine, the netflix binge, the boyfriend fight….to return. To come back. To breathe. To feel. To try to do handstand, again. To fall. To try. And to return the next day.

The point of our yoga isn’t achievement, but our there-ness. Our showing-up-ness. To remember, just for a moment, that we have a space inside us that is beyond distraction. Beyond success or failure.

A space of goodness that simply is.

And we are enough.

Photo credit.

The invitation

One of the most powerful gifts that yoga provides to us is a safe space to feel richly and authentically.

How many of us get caught in days of politeness, with work or with friends, “Why yes, Amanda, while I agree your projections are viable, I respectfully disagree and hope that we can find a mutually beneficial solution.” We wear masks in order to seem civilized, squelch emotions so we don’t appear irrational, and protect others from our fears, anxieties, or reactions. “No, Brad, that’s fine, I’ll just wait until tomorrow to finish the report.”

All this is part of civilization. Until we’re all able to find joy and happiness in every moment, we generally have a cultural agreement to smooth the roughness or at least not scream in public. Observe a playground full of toddlers: witness the true internal human landscape. Many of us have become so good at hiding our feelings that we can no longer feel them completely – even when we’re alone.

Yoga is a place that can inspire peace, quiet and calm, certainly. But let us make these the results of the practice, rather than a pre-requisite for membership. Too often I feel as if we are shushed the moment we enter the space, strapping on a feigned bodhisattva placidity in order to participate in the group experience.

Lest the door has not been fully opened until now, allow me to usher you into this sanctuary and greet you: your whole self is welcome here. Your tears, your frustrations, your anxiety, your shadow, your pain.  Your joy, your irrationality, your deep feeling, your sensuality, and your vibrant, shimmering soul. Your startling stained glass majesty as well as the burnt edges of your hidden shame.

Your whole self is welcome here.  On your mat. To breathe, to feel, and to be.

To be human.

Bittersweet human. The beauty of our no-win situation.

Two armies are poised for battle. Our hero falls to his knees at the impossibility of the choice: should he uphold his righteous claim to the throne and slay his enemy – who also happen to be his kin? Or shall he be killed and forsake his duty? Frozen by terrible consequences on all sides, he collapses and begs for guidance.

Arjuna’s battle in the Bhagavad Gita is a metaphor for the choices we face everyday. If we choose one path, we lose something. If we choose the other path, we also lose. There is no way to win.

As we get older, the simplicity of our childhood choices falters as we start to realize the world’s true complexity. There is no right way. There is no answer. Whichever way we choose, something gets taken away. Good mother, good career? Adventure, or stability? In each moment, we necessarily must cut ourselves off from a thousand other possibilities. Small choices in the past nudged us in one direction, and ten years later we find that small choice has thrown us onto another continent, another world, another life.

What if I’d bought that apartment? Stayed with that guy? Left that guy? Said fuck it that one time? What if I’d been more responsible and played it safer? What if?

Every path is bittersweet. I feel this truth so strongly right now because my fertile years will soon be exiting stage left. For the first time, time is imposing the brakes of real life consequences. The cumulation of choice is inescapable.

But here’s the thing.

This isn’t a problem.

No, my friends. As much as I may want to rail against and mourn the many paths I have not travelled, this bittersweet ache I feel is part of the tender beauty of being human. In each moment, we stand in the middle of our own compass, choosing our direction. And we do it again in the next moment, and the next. We have no right choice, we only have the artistry of this choice. And the next. A kaleidoscope of decisions that creates the tapestry of our lives. Fucked up, colourful, confused, full of inconsistency.

Making great art is rarely tidy or clean.

Our practice: Love this choice. Love this tapestry. With all your heart. With abandon and courage. Love your one, precious, and most remarkable life.

“I’ll never know, and neither will you, of the life you don’t choose. We’ll only know that whatever that sister life was, it was important and beautiful and not ours. It was the ghost ship that didn’t carry us. There’s nothing to do but salute it from the shore.”

― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

 

Ah, thank you Nico Luce, for reminding me today of the story of the Bhagavad Gita. 

 

How to cue Ardha Chandrasana

“Stack your hips.”

Oh, friends, how many times have I heard this oh-so-convenient (and oh-so-terrible) cue?

The problem with cuing stack your hips in Ardha Chandrasana is that most students can’t actually do it. It’s like asking students to “square the hips” in Virabhadrasana II. You simply can’t square the hips (or stack the hips) in most human bodies unless you torque the standing knee.

Here’s another contender:

“Step into ardha chandrasana.”

Bam. Just step into it. Just like that, people. Imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Just Do It. Noooooowwww!”  No other instruction. It’s too tricky to cue through students through the transition, so we just tell them to step into it.

Another one:

“Engage your legs.”

Yes, good idea, but the real question is how?

Now, don’t despair if you’ve been using these cues. Transitions are challenging to cue, which is why they are so often glossed over. And Ardha Chandrasana is one of the most challenging poses of all! But let’s break it down, and you can give your students some great supporting cues to help them through this trickster of a pose.

What’s supporting me?

Question number 1: what is supporting us in Ardha Chandrasana?

To answer this, first ask: what is at risk during the transition?

In AC, the prime culprit for misalignment is the standing leg knee, right? It drops in both during the transition and during the pose. The culprit? Not enough external rotation at the standing leg hip! Here’s the skinny:

  • the standing leg is externally rotating
  • external rotation keeps the knee tracking over the ankle
  • weak external rotation will cause the knee to drop inwards
  • therefore, strong external rotation will help the knee to track and stabilize the pose!

When we’re teaching AC, it behooves us to set up our students for success by teaching external rotation of the front leg in poses such as Warrior II, Triangle, and Side Angle. Pre-teaching this action will give them the body imprint to carry this stability forward into a more challenging transition like Ardha Chandrasana. And getting these external rotators firing up is so good for our bodies!

Stacking the hips, help!

What makes AC different than Warrior III? Well, once the front hip has it’s stability, then the pelvis opens towards the side of the mat. This action is different than squaring the hips. “Towards” implies “as much as your body allows. Since everyone’s range of motion is different, I like to say something like this,

“Keeping your front knee tracking over your ankle, now open your hips towards the side of your mat as much as you can.”

Putting the stabilizing cue first (“keeping your knee tracking”) means that they are thinking about alignment, and then the sneaky little word “towards” gives them permission to only go as far as their own personal range of motion.

Engage your legs

Good idea! But soooo vague! Can we be more specific?

Do you mean,

  • “pull your outer standing leg hip towards the back of your mat to engage your outer hip”

  • “lift your quads to straighten your legs”

  • “lift your hamstrings and quads evenly to hug the femur to the pelvis…”

When we find ourselves using a blanket cue such as “engage your legs” (or engage your core), it’s a good idea to reflect if we can be more specific. There’s certainly a time and place for general whole body cues, but let’s make sure that’s what we want.

Try it out, let me know how it goes!

Why the world needs big box yoga

Big Box Yoga.

Mainstream yoga.

Franchise yoga.

 

“It’s so…corporate,” the yogi whispers. “Sure, I occasionally go there, but the real yoga is happening at (insert name of small, financially unstable, ma and pop studio name here).”

The multi-location heavyweights – be it YYoga, Yoga Works, Core Power, or Bikram Yoga – are often criticized for wolfing down market share from the “authentic” smaller studios that once held dominion over the yoga lineage. And while some yogis embrace the change (oh, to have showers, lockers, clean mats, tea lounges, and infrared saunas!), others snipe at the offering: “Those big box studios. It’s just not real yoga.”

So what is “real” yoga, anyway?

Despite its recent appointment of a “Minister of Yoga”, not even India can really say. Over the last three thousand years, the term “yoga” has described a dizzying range of practices and conflicting philosophies. And despite this recent, cheeky bid for ownership, yoga hasn’t always been high on India’s list of national treasures. Many of its practices (like tantra) were initially reviled by the Indian mainstream.

So where does that leave us on this side of the pond? Are we just paying for a Lululemon clad workout rather than spending the same money at the gym?

Not exactly. Despite yoga’s complicated past, its practices have one common aim: liberation from suffering. And while North American yogis may show up at class to get longer hamstrings, a happier back, or a tighter ass, invariably they keep coming back for something else: “I feel calmer,” “I’m less bitchy,” “I’m just…happier.” Yoga teachers – Ganesh bless them – are still managing to get the essential message across.

The mission of “big box yoga” is to bring yoga – and its message – to as many people as possible. It’s true, we don’t look like an ashram: we eschew incense because some guests are allergic, we are wary of hands on assists and inversions because of lawsuits, we avoid naming our classes in Sanskrit because it’s alienating to newcomers. And we have an elaborate, corporate structure so that we can continue creating shiny, cleanly appointed, box after box in cities across the country. Because we want the non-yogis to walk in our doors and feel like they’re at home. And we want them to come back.

Yes, there are problems with our cultural version of yoga. North American practitioners are predominantly privileged, white, and materialistic. The yoga industry here is a strange, bastard child of our cultural heritage and yoga’s historical offerings. We don’t practice yoga in caves on tiger skins; we wear Lululemon, practice on $125 mats, drink $8 juices after class, and accessorize with malas without realizing that they’re tools for meditation.

And yet….

Big Box yoga is our next best chance for a North American spiritual evolution.

If hitting up a Vinyasa Flow class in Kitsilano helps us to feel a little less road rage and snap less at our kids, that’s good. If we experience less anxiety and depression (yoga has been proven to reduce both), that’s good. If we have more capacity to respond rather than react when conflict arises, that’s good. If we realize that our essential spiritual identity consists of more than thoughts in our head, that’s good. And while yoga may be an elitist practice now, these big boxes pave the way to making it increasingly accessible to less privileged communities.

And what about those smaller, more traditional studios? Will they be wiped out by the evil corporate empire? Not at all. Rest assured: those ma and pop studios aren’t going anywhere. In fact, big box yoga may ultimately inspire a whole new generation of seekers to investigate these more traditional venues. Once our newbies have gotten a taste for the practice, that is.

 

So, bring on Big Box Yoga.

Bring on the North American spiritual revolution.

One well-lit, over-packed, commercialized class a time.

What zombie hands have to do with yoga

I have a bad habit of reading my phone while walking into heavy traffic.

Yesterday, walking to lunch, I had to deliberately return my phone to my bag on three separate occasions after, zombie like, my hand decided to reach in and pull it out.

“No, Rachel, No!” I muttered out loud, as if my hand were a recalcitrant child that could be scolded into behaving, “Jesus.” I nearly walked into a parked Volvo. “Get it together.”

We are growing so connected, so “on” all the time. Information is strapped to our bodies, “Let’s google that,” we say, rather than “I don’t know.” “I’ll text her now,” rather than “I’ll ask her later when I see her.”

When there is that odd moment between the doing – like when walking or waiting in line – I instinctively rush to fill it with this information/ connection glut. It is much more comfortable to reach for my phone than to take a breath. There are so many delightful options at my fingertips that provide an immediate rush of competence and popularity: email, texting, Tinder (ahem), flipping through Facebook…there’s always some hook to catch.

It’s not our fault that we are uptrained to technology. Our culture supports this electric conductivity, encouraging us to be in our virtual minds as much as possible to be popular (you’re not on instagram?), well-informed (you don’t get google scholar alerts? what about the political gabfest podcast?), connected (you’re not on linked in?). Information and connection, at this point, are so prevalent that it is no longer a matter of if we can connect, but how we filter out the noise. For human beings, wired for community, connective technology is sugar for our psyche.

Connecting out is easy, fast, satisfying.
Connecting in is slower, messier, and can be scary.

When the furor dies down and the waters become still, pausing and turning into ourselves can reveal hurts, thoughts, vulnerabilities that are easily  scotched over in the fluster of our lives. At the end of my day at home, I sit and watch my compulsion to do anything (budget, email, eat glutinos, watch House of Cards) rather than breathe into the soft animal of loneliness that sometimes comes to visit. But when I am brave enough to turn in, connect, and invite myself to feel, then through the bittersweet human pangs there arises the deep sense of hereness, of being, of safety in myself.

The space between the doings reveals us again as human beings, breathing in the vast, unfathomable, and heart breaking space of simple aliveness and all our unfinished business. We move (as Jon Kabat Zinn eloquently states) from the digital world to the analog. Time is slower, counted by the footfalls on a forest hike rather than in the impatient milliseconds it takes a page to load. In the being moments, we are perfectly imperfect, practicing just being with ourselves as we are.

Yoga practice offers us a rare and precious space to turn inwards. To feel. To reclaim our deeper, older, and wildish aspects. We connect with that which is beyond words and speaks in the language of sensation. We make space to feel our physical bodies, our animal desires, our emotions, our intuition, our breath.

As we move in, we nourish the deep roots, dig into the dark soil of who we are. This re-integration gives us the solidity and form that we need to be steady amidst the winds. We can remember our purpose, our love, our softness.

Our hand then remembers to leave the phone in the bag. Because the walk is so much sweeter without it.

Feeling the whole elephant

Once upon a time, there lived six blind men in a village. One day the villagers told them, “Hey, there is an elephant in the village today.”

They had no idea what an elephant is. They decided, “Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway.” All of them went where the elephant was. Everyone of them touched the elephant.
“Hey, the elephant is a pillar,” said the first man who touched his leg.
“Oh, no! it is like a rope,” said the second man who touched the tail.
“Oh, no! it is like a thick branch of a tree,” said the third man who touched the trunk of the elephant.
“It is like a big hand fan” said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.
“It is like a huge wall,” said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant.
“It is like a solid pipe,” Said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.
They began to argue about the elephant and everyone of them insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting agitated. A wise man was passing by and he saw this. He stopped and asked them, “What is the matter?” They said, “We cannot agree to what the elephant is like.” Each one of them told what he thought the elephant was like. The wise man calmly explained to them, “All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all those features what you all said.”
“Oh!” everyone said. There was no more fight. They felt happy that they were all right.

Courtesy of Jain World.

I’m a thinker. Almost everything I experience gets processed through a Spock like filter, “And captain, I understand that the alien woman is throwing herself at you, but I fail to understand the cause.” Our history, genetics, and upbringing all serve to shape the manner in which we see the world. Interestingly, we then start to see the world through this veil of expectations, our experience then in turn lets in the information that reinforces what we already believe. Which shapes our perception of the world. Which reinforces this perception. And on it goes.

These filters are essential to our sanity. Our most basic filter is the capacity of our senses themselves: the perceive only the bandwidth of light, sound, smell, taste, and pressure to which they are sensitive. And thank goodness! How distracting would it be to see radiowaves in our daily lives?

We also filter based on our personal experience. If we have a wonderful experience, we will associate that event with pleasure, and seek it out more frequently. But have one bad brussel sprout as a kid, and that veggie is off the table.

As a kid, I was praised for my ability to think my way rationally through a conflict. With such nice reinforcement, I continued to use my logical brain as a mediator for my experiences. The only problem here is that my logic bias began to dull out some of the other information that was coming my way. Just like someone that dislikes brussel sprouts as a kid may never think to try that veggie again. Like that old story about the elephant, we continue to experience only the part of the elephant that is immediately in front of us, and don’t know that we’ve only got the tail.

One of the goals of our yoga practice is to begin to clear away the veil of expectations, so that have the opportunity to experience the world more freshly and in its wholeness. By quieting our mind’s perpetual quest to associate and evaluate, we can move into a space of more possibility. (Maybe I will sample that green thing on the table and experience how it tastes!)

For me, one of the gifts of yoga is its capacity to invite us to arrive fully and unedited into our experience. In our culture, because we are often praised for thinking and analyzing, we frequently leave our emotional and physical bodies behind. In essence, we are the elephant, and we only get to experience our trunk! Our practice gives us a safe and open space to reclaim any neglected missing pieces. We shed the restrictive layers, and take the time to feel how we feel. By giving ourselves the gift of our practice, we expand our capacity to feel the wholeness of our human experience.

In practice:

  • Take time to settle into your skin before you practice. As you let go of the tension, breathe and create room for your emotional experience. What bubbles up? Give yourself permission to feel whatever you feel, trusting that these feelings will move through you, shift, evolve.
  • As you move into your physical practice, let go of alignment and form as “rule” or “obligation.” Instead, use alignment cues as a way to feel deeper into your body and as an invitation to experience your physical body in a different way.

Breathe. Move. Feel. Better.

What Tinder has to do with Gandhi

Tinder.

The new art of dating.

Tinder is a strangely compelling (and slightly disturbing) app that allows you to connect with potential dating (or friends?) in your vicinity.  It’s like Angry Birds meets Plenty of Fish.  How it works: you set some parameters, view the profile pic of potential candidates, then swipe right if you’re interested, swipe left if you’re not.  If you both have swiped right, then – BAM- you’re a match and can IM with each other.  Whoo hooo!

Friends, I have been astonished by most of the guys’ profiles that I see. Here’s the breakdown (you can see I’ve given this some – uh, too much? – thought):

  • 35%: pictures with girlfriends or wives that have been sloppily cut out (or even sometimes not),
  • 20%: clearly drunk with the homies (or en route),
  • 20%: with a fish,
  • 10%: it’s a pic of Homer Simpson.  Or a dog with sunglasses on,
  • 10%: jaundiced bathroom selfie, brooding gaze, naked abs optional,
  • 5%: awesome.

Given that a picture and a brief description is all you’ve got to go on, you’d think that the fellas would take a little more care with their selected images.  After all, this is the face they’re putting forth to woo a mate.

Tinder as a spiritual practice

Okay, so before I go too far afield with well-intentioned suggestions for profile improvement, here’s what Tinder has to do with living a spiritual life:

Humans have a rare quality on the planet:  consciousness.

We get to choose, moment by moment, who we want to be.  On Tinder (and most social media), our capacity to consciously choose how we arrive in front of people is obvious.  (If it’s not obvious, you may want to consider how you’re tweeting/fbing/ instagramming yourself.)  But outside of social media, we are arriving in our relationships every day, in every interaction that we have.

How we choose to present ourselves in our relationships – with our family, at our jobs, with strange – is a direct expression of who we are and who we want to be.

On Tinder, we default when we let the app post our Facebook pics with no curatorial input.  In life, we default when we show up mindlessly, unconsciously, and without choice.   When that occurs, we are letting the habit of who we have been dictate who we are becoming.

Rather than defaulting to the easiest path, we can take a little care and make a choice in the moment to be better.  We can step up our game and consciously embody our best vision for ourselves.  And when we make these conscious choices, day after day, who we aspire to be becomes who we actually are.

As Gandhi said: BE the change you want to see in the world.

How do you currently arrive in the world?  How do you want to arrive in the world?

Return, moment by moment, to the extraordinary power of your own ability to choose who you wan to be.  Through his courageous act, others will be inspired.  Change will ripple.  We will all become brighter.

So gentleman, cut the selfies and the drunken pub crawl pics.  Pull out that photo of you in the tux, or with your kids, or on the mountain.

In the process, we’ll raise the bar for everyone by arriving in the world as our best selves.

But most importantly, we’ll remind ourselves of how amazing we really can be.

 

The Bodhisattva’s Smile

When I first starting practicing yoga, I knew that it would change my life.

After my first sweet Savasana, I suddenly realized that if I practiced diligently and consistently, I would become calm, kind to stranger, sweet to horrible children, magnanimous with ex-boyfriends and generous with catty women.  As I looked upon the serene and clear faces of sculptured bodhisattvas, I knew that I, too, would undoubtedly become serene, placid, and imperturbable.

Um.  Well.

That didn’t happen.

The more that I practice yoga, the more I feel.  Ugly, gorgeous, complicated, fleeting, terrifying feelings.  Rather than being sweetly equanimous, I have been riding up and down on a rollercoaster of sadness and joy.  Instead of becoming increasingly serene, my palette of experience is widening rather alarmingly.  Rather than muting to a pale and pleasing lavender, the spectrum of my emotions is becoming garish, rainbow, neon.

As kids, we learn to protect ourselves against the heartache of the world by armoring up.  Feel less, guard more.  We are taught to armour up in order to navigate our world with any dexterity; after all, our culture frowns upon open displays of raw emotion.  However, with each application of protective coating, our originally radiant emotional spectrum becomes grimy, dimmed, contained.

In the yoga practice, we are invited into a safe space in which to participate fully with our own experience.  If we allow it, we can peel back the armour that we have diligently applied like so much nail lacquer.  Through our body, we explore a wide array of sensations (some pleasant, some unpleasant) and are asked to breathe, feel, and discover the underlying grace in our the experience.

In our practice, we can choose how we react to discomfort: do we harden and armour up? Or can we soften and sense?  Can we move past an instinctive recoil against uncertainty and instead explore with tenderness the multitude of sensations and feelings that lies beneath our skin?

Practicing courageous and compassionate feeling in our yoga increases the spectrum of emotion that is available to us in our daily lives.  Father than hardening, we learn to soften and sense the wildish emotions off our lives with groundedness and softness.  As we feel into our bodies more with kindness, we begin to increase our graceful fortitude, that is, our ability to ride the waves of feeling and yet stay non-reactive and connected.

I was mistaken about the bodhisattvas: they do not smile so serenely because they only feel peaceful.  No, their emotional cup is not so shallow.

They smile because they feel everything, and hold the ocean of their deep feelings in the open hands of their grace.

Why I stopped practicing. And why I started again.

The beginnings

When I first started practicing yoga, it was one of the most challenging and rewarding physical disciplines I had experienced.  I got stronger, I felt great, and my practice improved.  I felt like I had come home.

After several years of yoga-euphoria, something changed.

First my practice plateaued.  And then it started to hurt.

Although my  mind and spirit loved yoga, my body began to whisper some objections.  I injured my hamstrings (chronically overstretched), tweaked my knee (too much ego in lotus), consistently dislocated my rib, and lost contact with the whole gluteus family: max, med, and min.   As theses injuries compounded, my balance became worse, my hip started to ache, and my practice declined.  Worst of all, the wear and tear caught up to me in my daily activities.   Loathe to change my practice, I decided to “work through it.”

The moment of truth

It was the touchdown that finally pushed me over the edge.

While playing touch football on the beach with my family over Christmas, I made a mad dash for a touchdown. As I launched into my sprint, my chronically stretched and weakened left hamstring finally gave out.  Although I made the touchdown, I spend the rest of my family vacation icing my leg.  I couldn’t walk without a limp.

I loved my practice.  I just didn’t like listening to it.

After my hamstring injury, I finally had to acknowledge that my physical practice needed to change.  The slow, strong yoga style I’d been doing for years had not prepared my body for dynamic movement.  My poor hammies and neglected glutes couldn’t sustain the rapid, power move of my dash.

Now, there is nothing wrong with yoga.  It’s simply that yoga – like any repetitive physical activity  done over time – will dole out specific stimulation and specific wear and tear if it’s the only exercise that you do.  And the way that I was doing my practice had created some weak links.  If I wanted to really take care of my body, then I needed to make a change.

Hello gymrat

I pulled up my yoga stakes and started going to TRX and the gym.  I got a personal trainer.  I did squats.  My goals were straightforward: get my balance back, find my glutes, make my hamstrings happy, and run 20 minutes.

I wasn’t the only yogi looking around for some extra fitness on the side.  Senior yogis in the community were going to Cross Fit.  Teachers whispered to me in secret that they were going to the gym.  Long-term yogis wanted to rediscover the parts of their body that yoga was leaving behind.

Yoga’s new look

As yogis start cross-training to balance out their bodies, priorities in group classes are starting to shift.  New ideas about the form of yoga are starting to percolate.  Whether it’s Jana Webb’s “Joga” (Yoga for Athletes) or Desi Springer and John Friend’s “The Roots” (a glute lovin’ romp that focuses on empowering the back line of the body), we’re starting to see the pollination of modern athleticism into the yoga studio.  Power and core classes increasingly derive ideas from personal training and other physical methodologies.  Functionality is more important than putting a foot behind your head.

Is this yoga?

Does an evolution in the physical form of yoga detract from “tradition?”

Heck, no.

While the physical yoga practice has really only been around a couple hundred years, the meditative heart of yoga has been around for millennia. Regardless of the shapes of the physical practice, the real yoga continues to happen in our mind.  The shapes are the roadmap, the destination is you.

Why I started practicing again

Yoga is a place to come home to my body, my breath, my emotions.  While I love my TRX and HIIT classes, listening to Katy Perry and running on a treadmill doesn’t give me the same kind of self connection.  I returned to yoga in order to find a quiet place to come home to myself. I returned to yoga to address the crazy voices in my mind.  And I returned to yoga because through the movement of my body, I can experience the mystery of being alive.

I’ve returned to my practice with a great deal of humility.  I use props, bend my knees, and do a lot of standing poses.   The daredevil postures that I used to practice may be somewhere in my future, but I’m not in a rush to get there.

And wouldn’t you know: yoga still has some surprises up its sleeve. Even though I’m returning to essentially same practice I left, my body feels radically different.  Hamstrings are happy, ribs are happy, and I’m unearthing some crazy little imbalances that TRX and the gym had left unaddressed.   Most importantly, I’m willing to listen to my practice now.

Love everything

Moving forward, I’ll try to keep up with some jogging…and I’ll occasionally try to lift heavy things. To keep my body happy, I’ll do my best to balance the slow beauty of yoga with some quick sprints and fast movement.  There’s beauty – and yoga – in jogging, too.  And I’ll continue to do my slow-ass, propped up practice, and let it unfold in its own time.

Yoga’s real secret is that is really doesn’t matter so much what the practice looks like. So choose the style that makes your body smile.  Whether it’s hatha, Iyengar, ashtanga, yin, or hot, when it comes down to it, our yoga practice is a safe place for us to be, feel, and come home.

 

Pregnancy and Practice

prenatal Congratulations! You’ve got a bun in the oven and rapid changes are on the way.  Not only is your body undergoing marvelous and radical transformation, but most likely other areas of your life (career, relationships, home) are shifting to make room for this new being.  Whether you’re a novice or veteran yogi, practicing yoga during your pregnancy is a wonderful way to create some time for self-connection, grounding, and nourishment.

Practicing sensible yoga while you’re pregnant can strengthen your body, relieve stress and anxiety, and help you to focus your mind – all great preparations for labor and motherhood. Understanding the physiological changes of pregnancy will help you to effectively modify your practice to suit your unique needs. Here’s a trimester-by-trimester guide to address some of the larger changes you will experience.  As with any physical activity, practice within the guidelines prescribed by your doctor.

Keep in mind: every pregnancy is unique. Pregnancy is an ideal and magical time to really listen to your body and connect with what feels good to you.  Above all else, let your own body be your guide, and enjoy the journey!

Trimester #1.

Fatigue

Trimester number one is usually characterized by fatigue as you (literally!) grow a new organ – the placenta – to nourish your baby during pregnancy.  Though your little tyke is about as big as an egg, your body is working hard to prepare the way.   Choose a class style that matches your energy.  If you’re just starting yoga, hatha or a designated prenatal class will be great places to begin.  If you’re a normal power and flow practitioners, consider adding hatha to your mix to give yourself some space and time to rest and recuperate.

Relaxin

Starting in the first trimester,  your hormones will be changing.  Often, this new hormone cocktail will generate nausea (morning sickness).   More subtly, other hormones will be at work to help prepare the body for delivery.  Although you may not notice your newfound flexibility until as late as the third trimester, the hormone relaxin could start to work as early as the first trimester.  Relaxin, which  loosens the ligaments in your pelvis in order to help the baby make an exit, affects all the connective tissue in the body democratically.  As a result, mothers may notice they have newfound flexibility through their joints. Though it may be tempting to finally get into the full splits, refrain from zealous over-stretching as we will want those ligaments to return to a stable length to support your joints after the baby is born.

Since relaxin can loosen your joints, recruit your smaller muscles to stabilizers to mindfully stabilize your joints.  Explore engaging your adductors (hugging your legs to the midline) and abductors (pressing your feet apart to engage the outer hip) to steady your pelvis.  Also, keep your feet hip distance apart in standing poses to best support your weight.

Heating and overheating

There’s nothing wrong with a good sweat.  Normal sweating indicates that your systems for self-regulating your temperature are working well.  However, since increasing the core body temperature has been linked to birth defects, it’s important to listen to your body so that you can gauge the difference between a satisfying work out and undue heat stress.  If you love strong power and flow practices, tune in to make sure you’re not pushing to far.

Hot Yoga.  Unless you are a seasoned hot yoga practitioner, refrain from practicing hot during your pregnancy.  During hot yoga, you are practicing in an environment that is akin to a moist sauna and the body’s normal ability to regulate heat can be challenged.  Practicing in a room temperature environment will give your body more ease regulating your temperature.

Your amazing circulatory system

During your pregnancy, you will generate 40% more fluid in your body (one of the reasons that prenatal ladies appear a bit fuller  – it’s not fat, but fluid), which means that your circulatory system is working extra hard to pump it all around.  With your heart on double duty, keep your cardiovascular activity reasonable and stay in tune with what feels good for your body.  For example, give yourself permission to skip some of the sun salutations, breathe at your own rate, and avoid holding your breath in pranayama.

Trimester 2&3

Size matters!

The most obvious change during this time is the growth of your babe.  As your uterus expands, the baby will encroach upon your internal organs – including your lungs. As your breath capacity will naturally be a little compromised, take your time in class and let go of the need to keep pace with the class.  Breathe in the timing that you need and feel free to take more breaths than “dictated” by the vinyasa pattern.

Another good rule of thumb: don’t squish the baby!  Take this credo into your practice and play with modifications such as:

  • Take an open twist (away from your thighs) rather than into your thighs
  • Twist through the upper spine; avoid compressing the lower belly
  • Rather than laying your belly in backbending during sun salutations or when they class is lying prone, stay on your hands and knees and do cat cow. Or you can place a bolster under your hips so your belly has space to hang unencumbered.
  • Keep your legs hip distance apart in forward folds to make room for your belly.
  • To avoid overstretching the belly (and the linea alba), refrain from deep backbending

One more note: there’s a vein called the Vena Cava that runs along the right side of the abdomen behind the internal organs. When lying on your back or your right side, the weight of the baby can compress the vein and lead to a feeling of light-headedness.  Modify supine poses accordingly so that you not lying flat.  In Savasana, it can be lovely to lay on an inclined bolster, or cuddle a bolster laying on your left side.

Pelvic Floor and Optimal Fetal Position

Contrary to popular belief, sometimes our pelvic floor can be too tight!  We want strong and supple pelvic floors that know how to contract as well as release and expand.  (Letting go will be important during labor, after all!)  Use this time to get to know your pelvic floor.  Get a perineal massage, send your breath into your pelvic basin, and find opportunities in class to soften the adductors and widen and relax the pelvic floor during your practice.  We often shy away from really  experiencing our pelvis, and pregnancy is a wonderful opportunity to get in touch with this marvelous trampoline.

During pregnancy, the lower back will naturally become more lordodic.  This is a natural adjustment to the weight of the baby.  Poses that take weight off your spine and let your pelvis move into an anterior tilt (cow pose, baddha konasana with forward fold, etc) will feel great.  Avoid slouching on the couch or other poses where the pelvis tucks under. And ladies – you are off the hook from tucking your tailbones. Enjoy your natural lumbar curve in all your poses.  As your pregnancy progresses, this anterior positioning will help the baby to find his or her optimal fetal position by laying the spine along your belly with his or her head down.

A note on inversions

Some schools of thought counsel avoiding inversions in the first trimester.  The first trimester is the most delicate time of a pregnancy, and it’s important to check in with your doctor to see if there’s any reason you should avoid being upside down.  Bluntly, it’s not likely that anything that you would reasonably do in a yoga class would impair a normal pregnancy.  If a pregnancy is risky, then caution will need to be taken for all your physical activities.  While pregnancy isn’t the best time to start a new inversions practice, you are free to continue your current inversions practice if that still feels good.  Exercise reasonable caution as your pregnancy progresses and your weight, center of gravity, and joint stability shifts.  However, abstain from inversions once baby has found his or her optimal fetal positioning in the third trimester.

In a nutshell…

Top suggestions for practicing when pregnant:

  • Don’t squish the baby
  • Avoid squishing your vena cava (squishing occurs through lying flat or on right side)
  • Breathe at your own rate
  • Take your time
  • Get in touch with your pelvic floor
  • Every pregnancy is different; trust your feelings and your body!

Congratulations, and enjoy!

What yoga has to do with time management (answer: everything)

time managementWe’ve all said it, “There are not enough hours in the day.”

I berate myself: why can’t I fit in a yoga practice, a jog, personal study, long walks with my boyfriend, getting a pedicure, making a home cooked meal, and blog writing all into one day? Oh, oh, wait, while working my full-time job?  Surely if I got up earlier, slept less, and were more efficient, I could get it all done.  Right?

Wrong.

We can’t possibly do it all, so let’s free ourselves from that impossible standard right now.   However, it may be possible to do it all over time.  Or to get the essential tasks done, but with more ease and grace…and still leave time for that pedicure.

Here’s how.

Meditation, or, “Do one thing at a time”

As a reminder, I have a post-it note with “do one thing at a time” on my laptop.

Our brains are like little monkeys, bouncing from one point of stimulation to the next.  Multi-tasking is a myth left over from the frantic 80’s and 90’s, where effective workers were seen to be octopi with 8 arms doing everything at once.  When we multi-task, we feel as if we’re quite busy, because our mind is doing the monkey dance.  (And in our brains, “busy” somehow feels like we’re getting a lot done.  It’s the “frantic” = “efficient” myth.)  However, it actually takes our brain longer to multi-task because it has to switch back and forth between activities.  So while we feel really effective checking our email while we work on a project, we’re actually losing valuable time.

In meditation, we task the mind to return to doing one thing.  Despite the natural monkey mind distractions, we return again and again to the task at hand.  In meditation, we usually return to the breath or to a mantra; in work, we can return to our single activity. One-pointed focus stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which creates an environment for calm and healing in the body.   Similarly, working on one activity at a time in our work will help us become calm and more settled.  Don’t be seduced by the outdated multi-tasking myth; equipoise is our most productive mind state. 

Turn off your email

A huge part of “doing one thing at a time” is to address our addiction to instantly answering email.

Email is the “shiny thing” of the 21st century.   Nothing makes our monkey mind happier than the hearing the captivating ping and vibrations that occur when a new email drops into our inbox.  A new email means that we are important.  Monkey mind says, “We must check it now!”

Um, actually monkey mind?   Simmer down now.

Most emails aren’t urgent, and yet we still feel compelled to answer them immediately.  Instead, set aside specific times of day (perhaps one or two) to answer your email – then stick to them.  When you’re not in email answer mode, then turn it off.  If it’s an emergency, they will call.

Same theory goes to our phone.  Turn off your text notifications so that you can stay focused on your task without interruption.

Chunking

A rather inelegant word, “chunking” also goes hand in hand with “no-multi-tasking.”  It involves putting similar tasks together.  In other words, set aside a block of time to do just your email. Then set aside time to do just your phone calls.  Then just your writing.  Etc.  Chunking – like doing one thing at a time – lets your mind settle into a rhythm and become more focused.  Optimal performance happens in 90-minute cycles, so make sure to give yourself the time you need to dig into each of your projects.

Refuel…and Breathe

Productive work is a marathon, not a sprint.  Take some time during your day to walk outside, take a stretch, breathe deeply.  Do a little yoga.  Savour your lunch – and for goodness sake, don’t eat at your desk.  Instead, give your senses the nourishment they deserve.  Taste your food.  Feel your body.  Take a mini-vacation from your left-brain through visualization, imagination, and sensations.

Even a five-minute break will rejuvenate you and allow you to return your left-brain tasks with more focus and energy.

Contentment

When we are planning large projects, we can easily become overwhelmed by the amount we need to accomplish, which may drive us to dive in and frantically try to make headway.  Instead, pause and make a long-term plan that allows you to take small and incremental steps every day to realize your vision.  Practicing pacing and patience will give you the stamina and support necessary to make your vision a reality.

Effective planning will also give you the perspective to know when it’s time to stop working and let a project rest.  Practicing contentment (santosha) with your daily efforts lets you take meaningful steps forward while maintaining a balanced life.

Finally, don’t sweat the small stuff

Great time management means knowing when to not do something.

When you are planning out your day, ask yourself: which tasks are the most important in terms of moving your priorities forward?

Don’t be afraid to let go of tasks that don’t serve your priorities.  Simplify. The Sanskrit word for discernment is “buddhi;” it is the part of our mind that speaks beyond our habitual, ego-driven reactions.  The voice of buddhi is the one that invites us to take a step back, breathe, and make a more conscious choice in the moment about what is important. 

Time Management: your yoga at work

Time Management is more than about completing a task list; true time management is an invitation to assess our priorities, choose with discernment, and practice mindfulness.  Not only will we become more effective at completing our projects, we will accomplish more with ease and a sense of calm.

So remember:

  • Do one thing at a time
  • Refuel
  • Practice contentment
  • Don’t sweat the small stuff

Not only will conscious time management enable us to become more productive and effective, its greater gift is that it offers us another avenue to practice yoga and mindfulness in our everyday lives.