Bryan Kest Visits Salt Lake City

"all yoga poses are stupid; unless you'd like
to do it smart"
-bryan kest

I went to a Bryan Kest workshop and it was great. Bryan Kest, renowned yoga guru, is a breath of fresh air. He visited Salt Lake 2 weeks ago and offered a Power Yoga Workshop. A great thing to have him in Utah. He is scheduled till 2011 giving workshops all over the world. Thanks goes to Centered City Yoga who sponsored the 3 day event. I didn't know much about Bryan Kest {sorry to say I had never done his yoga videos before} so I arrived the first night without any expectations. I was just thrilled to be doing yoga for 2 or 3 hour stretches during his workshops. I wanted to completely immerse myself into this.

First thing I noticed was the gymnasium we were meeting in. I love old buildings- especially old school buildings. The Payne Gymnasium located on the Westminster College campus looked to be about 50 years old. I hadn't stepped into a gym like that since my high school days at dear old Jordan High. Once everyone quieted down it was apparent that most of the windows surrounding the gym were chipped and had holes varying in size. A lazy breeze blew in and the gentle chirping of birds could be heard. Then Bryan started to speak. In short, he believes the western world has brought their obsession with competition, judgment, criticism, distractions, and fear into yoga. When done smartly- letting go of all the aforementioned attachments and only bringing awareness to one's feelings/sensations- yoga is a tool that allows us to practice "living" on the mat. Then we can take good things we discover like attributes such as love, harmony, balance, kindness, truth, moderation, gentleness, stillness, and insight into real living.

At the end of his Long, Slow, and Deep Stretch class there's a part he calls the grand finale. He asked us to hold paschimotanasana for 10 minutes. Yup- 10 minutes! This guy was going too far. But what the hay. I focused on my breathing. When things got really unbearable I was aware of the pain shooting throughout my body. My mind screamed at me- Stop this right now! I said alrighty, and eased up a bit. Accepting the truth that I had to adjust a little bit in order to endure was the hardest part. During my quiet internal struggle Bryan announced that only 45 seconds remained. What? No way! He then said something like this... How often do we approach life's experiences and say to ourselves, "I came here for something and it was over so fast". I breathed a great "Ah, ha!" It's good to have the mindset of "sucking the juice out of every moment of life." I think I got something out of that.



















me, bryan kest, danielle

























about 200 people attended

Yoga + Spring Break = Peaceful Getaway

"man is the master of thought, the molder of character,
and the maker and shaper of condition,
environment, and destiny"
-james allen

I've got several posts in the works and some of them are a little overdue. Sooner or later they'll make their way onto this blog.

Here's a great story- It's spring break for the schools around my neighborhood. I walk into yoga class and notice an entire family of eight- mom, dad, 4 brothers, 1 sister, and 1 cousin. Mom Laura says, "We're going on a road trip and I want it to be peaceful!" Yoga is so cool.

Eco-Friendly Yoga Mats

"when we see land as a community to which we belong,
we may begin to use it with love and respect"
- aldo leopold

I've had my fav yoga mat now for over a year. During Christmastime I had several people ask me what kind of yoga mat they should get for themselves or to give as gifts. Of course I recommended my brand of yoga mat. To everyone I steered wrong- I'm sorry! I've recently discovered that my mat is unhealthy for me and for the environment. It is made of vinyl which is toxic to the environment during production and disposal. Vinyl also contains a plasticizing chemical known as phthalates. Exposure to phthalates can cause reproductive health issues, liver, kidney, and lung problems. So, as I'm focusing on long, deep breaths during my practice I could be poisoning my body instead of healing it. That's what Grist and Pollution in People tell us. Then what kind of mat should we be using? The answer...{ eco-friendly mats}. There are oodles of companies out there offering "green" yoga mats. They are made of natural substances and fibers like rubber, jute, wool, and cotton. Manduka sells a great rubber mat in their eko line. Hugger Mugger has an array of eco-friendly mats to choose from. This awesome everything-yoga-store is located in Salt Lake City and their outlet is at 3937 South 500 West. I love Lotuspad for mats especially made just for kids. Want to peruse the multitude of options online? Enter eco-friendly mats in your search engine and you'll be shopping for days. I don't know if I can part with my mat just yet, though. Do I put it in the landfill and oh well- what's a little more dioxin in the air? I think I'll buy a wool rug I found at World Market in Park City {it's on sale for $12.99} and put a barrier between myself and the phthalates. Maybe this will be good enough for now. But... Mother's Day is just around the corner. Let me know if you'd like me to forward this post to your significant other. This time I won't lead anyone astray.

MY TOP PICKS FOR A "GREEN" YOGA MAT:

1. Tapas Terra by Hugger Mugger $32.95












2. eKO Lite™ Mat by Manduka $39.99


















3. lotuspad eco yoga mat $20.00

Born to Yoga

"train up a child in the way he should... up dog asana...
and when he is old, he will not depart from it "
-anonymous

The cutest guy I've seen on a yoga mat!

Click on the photo to see what Black Eiffel thinks of "born yogis".
Thanks Heather for these great finds!


No-sew yoga mats.

I know a few born yogis that would love this...


Sleepy Sami.


Peace fingers Linc.

I think everyone should try doing yoga with a small child or baby- at least once. What better way to apply what we practice on the mat- patience, tolerance, balance, awareness, love. As one practitioner commented, "I just take time to breath, and somehow we get through it together". Of course, in moderation, right? Maybe, if circumstances allow, mom and dad could take turns watching the littlins' or find a dependable sitter while everyone who can say "chaturanga dandasana" head for yoga class. Don't forget those newly homemade no-sew yoga mats!

Hopeful Home Orphanage Kathamandu, Nepal

"to keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it"
- mother teresa

My friend and fellow yogi, Val, is trekking across the globe to Kathmandu, Nepal. She will be enjoying the thin air at a base camp for Mt. Everest hikers, as well as visiting nearby hospitals and the Hopeful Home Orphanage. In hopes of receiving many needed items for these institutions, she has several luggage to fill. A list follows of the items needed for the orphanage. If you would like to donate any of these items-no gift is too small- please bring them to class (hunter's valley or mapleton rec) or to my home. All donations will need to be in by Saturday, April 26th.

Hopeful Home Orphanage
Items Needed:

1. crayons
2. paper
3. pencils
   
4. coloring books
5. stickers
6. band-aids
7. neosporin
8. dvd's & cd's for children
9. games(need to be smaller for limited room)
10. clothes for 7-14 years of age

I wish I was going too... maybe next year? Have a safe and successful journey, Val! I can't wait to hear all about your adventures. Bring back lots of photos!

Welcome

"flowers and even fruit are only the beginning.
in the seed lies the life and the future."
- marion zimmer bradley

Hello... anybody there? Thanks Heather for getting the ball rolling on this my new Yoga Blog! I'm very excited to share with everyone some of the great things I experience because of the incredible yoga community that I am a part of.

First of all, I'd like to introduce a class that I've been teaching for a little over a year now. We hold classes at our local church building and kids are invited. One of the first classes we had is memorable to me personally, because my then 2 year old son rode his big wheel around the carpeted gymnasium during our practice. Sitting in dandasana my little guy kept on riding his big wheel across my legs, then wove his way through the other bodies until he got back out to clearer roads. We all chuckled a little then continued listening to our ujjayi breath {if you watch this entertaining demo know that we practice our ujjayi breathing a bit differently} reeling our focus back to the practice. A wonderful kind of energy is present because of our little ones "practicing" with us.

Practitioners come and go as life continues to move along. Hopefully, (...you still there?) through this blog, we can continue to stay connected as well as broaden our yoga community- our sangha. I look forward to sharing our journey down this yogic path.