Celebration dinner on Saturday night at Mako Restaurant! So good. Love this restaurant. Good food and great company. It always feels so good when we complete one of these training programs but also a little sad that it is over. Make sure you are breathing into every moment. Soak it up! This is your life. It’s happening right here and right now.
Hanging out in Bali after a photo shoot with some new friends. Yoga allows each of us to experience our true nature. Who are you at the center of your Self?
You are the experience of awareness experiencing itself. You are not the witness, but the experience of witnessing. You are not the lover, but the experience of loving. You are not compassionate, but the experience of compassion. You are not kind, but the experience of kindness.
Expansive. Beyond time and space. You are everywhere and nowhere. You are pure love. Separation exists only in your mind, and because of your ego.
Imagine, for moment, it’s as if there’s no you and no me. Just for a moment, there’s no separation.
We are travelers on a journey —home, to experience who we really are, underneath all the layers of who we thought we were.
One of the things I love about teaching with a translator is how it slows everything down.
Slowly moving with the breath is really where it’s at in a flowing practice. If you can control your breath, you can control your mind.
Let the breath lead the movement and let the breath wrap around the movement. The breath starts and then the movement starts. The movement finishes and then the breath finishes. This way there’s always going to be pauses. There’s always going to be control. Who’s driving your car? You are. Enjoy the dance between the movement and the stillness. Holding these opposites at the same time is the paradox that allows us to have a deeper, transformational experience. Concentrate but also surrender.
Practicing a slow flow that is connected to the breath will help you stay calm and keep you out of the default network of your brain - where it will be hard for you to not react and get caught up in everything that is coming up for you and just trying to process. Think of the four parts of the breath. There’s a little moment of stillness where the inhale meets the exhale, and another little moment of stillness where the exhale meets the inhale.
I love flowing with my students! I always practice a little bit with my students in every class. I find it helps me to connect with the group energy. I also think it reminds the students that I’m just walking the path with them. I’m not on a pedestal. I don’t want to be on a pedestal. We are all just walking home together.
I’ve been practicing Yoga Nidra for over 12 years and teaching it for the past 10 yrs. I’ve been trained in 2 traditions and I found Richard’s knowledge incredible. He helped me connect the dots in a lot of areas and helped me understand what is happening neurologically in different parts of the practice. A few really profound moments where I was able to unlock and make sense of this ancient practice and increase my understanding. When knowledge turns to wisdom! His practice was very powerful as well and it really resonated with me. I’m definitely going to be doing a training with him down the road. Thank you @irestrichardmiller for a really wonderful weekend! Thank you @larrypayneyoga for hosting and all that you do to provide so many opportunities for us to continue to grow and learn. The never ending journey of learning! Feeling very grateful.
Last night my mind was very heavy. I was working on a technical problem with my computer and the cloud and on the phone with a support specialist. It was a long day too. I was getting tired and feeling overwhelmed with the situation. We kept trouble shooting the problem and couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
I could feel myself getting frustrated. I could feel the emotions coming up. I tried not to get attached to them. It was hard. I was agitated.
One of the things that helped me shift my perspective was remembering one day a few years ago, coming up the elevator to the Dharma Yoga Center during one of my trainings with my teacher, Dharma Mittra. I asked Dharma how he was doing and he surprised me when he said that his mind was very heavy that day and very sad. There was a pause and then he shrugged and laughed and said, “but it’s just the mind” and gave me a knowing look, and I understood a little better the concept we talk a lot about in yoga of shifting our perspective.
I always remembered that morning. And it helped a lot last night. I could feel myself getting caught up in my thoughts and the anger and frustration I was feeling. I kept telling myself — it’s just the mind. Let it go. It’s not you. It’s just the mind.
I went to bed and slept well last night and woke up feeling very light and energized. I remember thinking that It was so silly that my mind was so upset and agitated last night. And even sillier that I was getting agitated and upset too.
The mind is always going to be on the roller coaster. But it doesn’t mean that you have to be too. You’re not the thoughts. You’re not the emotions. You are the space between the thoughts. You are the witness of body and mind activities.
Congratulations to my student, Niya! Niya just completed her post training requirements and is now an official Shiva Yoga teacher and graduate of our 200hr Shiva Yoga Teacher Training program. Niya is the owner of Baja Soul Yoga in Cabo San Lucas. Baja Soul Yoga hosted our program last year. We have another 200hr program coming up at Baja Soul Yoga this summer from July 15- August 16! I’m also excited to be collaborating with Jackie & Jodie Anderson at Kula Yoga in Port Orange, Florida, who will be hosting our Shiva Yoga 300hr Teacher Training program this fall!
A week ago we wrapped up an incredible Shiva Yoga 50hr Intensive at Baja Soul Yoga in Cabo San Lucas! Here’s a few pics from our Backbending Workshop on the last day of the intensive.
It is so important to understand the relationship between the core muscles, and the spinal erectors and the other muscles that take the spine into extension when you are Backbending. One of my teachers used to say that in every backbend there is a little forward fold. When you engage your core while you are Backbending, your backbend actually gets bigger. You create more space. Your spine lengthens. You don’t put so much pressure on your lower back. And you get to stretch your hip flexors. It’s this relationship of opposites and finding the balance between them that can really take us deeper into the practice. Some teachers call these actions and counter actions. I call this the ‘tug of war’ principle. It is the dance that is happening between the agonist and the antagonist muscles all the time. Sometimes there is an equal fight, sometimes one side wins, but the other side doesn’t just drop the rope and give up. The antagonist is still fighting, just like the villain at the end of the movie, who rarely throws in the towel and goes quietly away.
I had a wonderful dinner last night at Gracias Madre. Lots of calls and texts from family and friends. Lots of emails and messages and posts on Facebook. Grateful for all of you who are a part of my life. It’s been a wonderful start to the year. I’m excited for the journey ahead. Lots of love to everyone. Thank you for your love, friendship, and kind words. And thank you for being a part of my life. I feel very blessed. Namaste.
We started the weekend off with a Meditation Workshop on Friday night. It was a really great evening, with some philosophy and Yoga Sutras discussion, and exploring many different ways to meditate. There are a lot of different meditation techniques because there are a lot of different people with different tendencies. You don’t have to master every technique. You want to pick one the works for you and use it to take you where you want to go. Many paths leading to the same destination. Thank you to everyone who came out for the workshop. It was a lot of fun to practice with all of you.
Congratulations to Andrew Oliver — another recent graduate of our Shiva Yoga 200hr Teacher Training Program! Andrew recently completed and handed in all of his post training required assignments. Last year, Andrew completed his 200 contact hours in our training at Baja Soul Yoga in Cabo San Lucas. Andrew is currently teaching at Yoga Remedy’s Essential Wellness in Los Angeles. If you are in the Southbay, Torrance, Harbor City area I would highly recommend his classes. Great job, Andrew! Proud of you! Namaste.
Yoga philosophy teaches us that yoga is the stopping of the movements of the fluctuating mind. When the mind is quiet — in stillness, we experience the true nature of our Self. When the mind is constantly moving and distracting us, we never really get to see who we are because we are caught up in all the movements, and all the distractions. It’s like things are upside down. The senses are leading the mind, and the mind is dragging us along for the ride. Yoga is the practice of taking charge again. You are directing your mind to control your senses, and focus on the things you want to focus on. Every time you concentrate on something and hold your focus — you increase your willpower. Every time your mind wanders off and fidgets, distracting you — the pattern of distraction gets stronger. The greatest battle you will ever fight is the one with your mind. Concentrate! Without concentration there is no yoga
On Saturday we had a big hip opening workshop as part of our Shiva Yoga 50hr Intensive! We focus on the hips a lot in yoga. When we have full range of motion at the hip joint we can do a lot to prevent injuries to the low back and the knees. The hip is a ball and socket joint, which provides a lot of movement. We can move at the hips in all three planes. We can flex and extend the hips in the Sagittal plane. We can abduct and adduct the hips in the Coronal plane. And we can externally rotate and internally rotate the hips in the Transverse plane. If we have limited range of motion in the Saggital plane — then the low back could become compromised. The spine wasn’t meant to flex and extend the way the hips can flex and extend. Transverse plane. If we have limited range of motion in the Transverse plane, especially external rotation, then the knees can become compromised. The knee joint is a simple hinge joint. There a small degree of movement right to left at the knees but, mostly, this joint was meant to flex and extend. If your hips are not able to externally rotate, this can put a lot of pressure on the knees to try to make up for this lack of movement and this can lead to injury. Protect your low back and your knees, release stored tension and find balance, and prepare for seated pranayama and meditation practices. Some of the reasons it’s a good idea to open your hips! Great work on Saturday, everyone!!! Thank you for going into the fire with me.
In Hatha Yoga — pranayama is used to balance the nervous system, bring clarity to the mind, and remove the veil of darkness that is covering the inner Light.
In Raja Yoga — pranayama is used to make the mind fit for concentration and is a preparation for meditation.
A very powerful evening working with the breath. Great job, everyone!
Some questions to consider: Why do we have two nostrils? Why would you want to predominantly breathe through the nose vs. the mouth?
This workshop kicked off a big weekend of Shiva Power classes, Shiva Meditation classes, and a Hip Opening and Arm Balancing Workshop! 🙏❤️Thank you to everyone who came to the workshop and thank you to Baja Soul Yoga for hosting. We have Asana Breakdown all week and then another big weekend coming up. Hope you can join us!
How open is your heart? How much love is flowing through you? Yoga philosophy teaches us that when we quiet the movements of the mind, and experience the deepest part of our Self — love, kindness, and compassion will flow through us and into the world. What kind of love is your love? Is it this love, kindness, and compassion, flowing through you to all those around you?
My teacher Dharma would say reverse engineer it. Maybe you’ve never experienced Samadhi, or you haven’t gone deep enough to experience your inner Light yet. Pretend you are already there. Practice being loving, kind, and compassionate. Be of service in the world to those around you. So much love for everyone who has touched my path. Grateful for each of you! Hope you have a wonderful day today and are letting your inner Light shine through and light up those around you. When the Light is flowing through you, you don’t need one special person, everyone is special, and everyone deserving of love. Namaste.
Congratulations to my student, Ashlee! Ashlee completed her 200hr Teacher Training with me, at Baja Soul Yoga, in Cabo San Lucas last year. Ashlee recently completed her post training assignments and has now officially graduated and is eligible to register with Yoga Alliance. Great job, Ashlee! Proud of you. Excited to see you begin your teaching journey. Namaste!
How is your year going? Did you set any intentions this year? Did you make some resolutions? What is shifting for you? What are you working on shifting in your life? Remember, it’s a practice. You can set the intention and head down the path and it’s okay if it doesn’t work out, or if you fall or fail. Just get back up and try again. Our journey is always forward. Sometimes it’s little baby steps. Sometimes it’s two steps forward and one step back to steady ourselves. But it’s always forward.
Congratulations to this wonderful yogi — Kristin Hughes! Who just completed her required post teacher training work and has officially graduated as a Shiva Yoga teacher. You rocked it, Kristin! So proud of you.
Kristin completed training with me at Baja Soul Yoga in Cabo San Lucas last year. We have another 200hr teacher training coming up at Baja Soul Yoga this July 15- August 16. If you want to deepen your yoga practice, become a yoga teacher, or just make some big changes in your life this training could be for you. Check out the Teacher Training page of my website or go directly to bajasoulyoga.com to reserve your space. There is an early registration discount. Act now to save money and get the best price when you sign up.
There’s something in this Dubai water. Feels like I’m just floating and light as a feather! Thanks for the fun play session! Lol.
I posted this picture on social media and some people wondered if it was real. We had so much fun playing and creating this and other pics. The XYoga Dubai Festival had this booth set up with everything rotated 90 degrees, so you could do these really crazy and wild looking asana variations. You were lying down but when you take a picture and rotate the pic 90 degrees it looks like you are defying gravity. Pretty cool!
Either that, or maybe I have more siddhi powers than I often share. Lol.
