Freedom of the Heart

There is a beautiful quote by Rumi that I feel would fit so well with a yoga class dedicated to opening the heart:

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

What a wonderful pearl of wisdom to instill in students while working on beautiful heart opening poses like: Bhujangasana (Cobra), Ustrasana (Camel) and Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel).

We could all use a lift in our hearts and experience freedom from the thoughts and feelings that weigh us down. A simple adjustment you can do right now is to hug your shoulder blades on your back—instantly you shine a little brighter.

Have a wonderful, heart-lifting weekend!

xo J-Bo

Picture: A playful Andee Fraser expresses her own variation of a heart opening pose. Photo by Brent MacKay.

Cat Love

Turco and I have a daily after work ritual. He greets me at the door when I get in from work, tail curled forward in a gesture to say, "Hello friend". I give him a pat on the head and then he ushers me out to the balcony. I grab my old round bristle brush, now meshed with cat fur, and take a seat in one of the fold out chairs. The purring commences as Turco rubs himself against the bristles. He is in cat heaven. 

This ritual gives me a few moments to decompress from my work day and breath some fresh air before I think about what to make for dinner—a kind of sitting meditation, if you will.

Picture: Turco + Brush = Cat Bliss

Theme Weaver

Weaved into Garudasana

My favourite yoga classes are instructed by teachers who skillfully weave a heart-centered theme throughout the class. They drop a pearl of wisdom that can touch your soul and inspire you to give your all in that moment. It is, I feel, what makes a class memorable.

As a new teacher, I find weaving a theme into my class can be tricky. My main priority is to get students into the general form—safely—then add some refinement cues. My theme is usually introduced at the beginning of the class and again as a reminder to students while they lie in Savasana. 

My mentor* recently talked about how to approach theming at one of our meetings. Her advice will transform how you teach: Before class set an intention of how you want your students to feel. Then embody this intention. The heart-centered theme will naturally flow through you, expressed in the tone of your voice and the way you look at and assist your students. 

The results are quite powerful and align so well with the Anusara philosophy of teaching—expressing ourselves from the inside out. To the spark that lies within each of us, Namaste.

*Christine Price Clark, pictured above, is a Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher living in Vancouver. You can find her current class schedule here. 

Patience for the Opening

Baddha Konasana 

When I first started yoga I was easily frustrated when instructed into a bind or a seated forward-fold. My body just did not want to cooperate and I would sit in a 'slight' bend—as far as my hamstrings would allow—and watch as the yogi beside me slowly lowered their forehead towards their mat for an intimate moment. The possibility that I would ever be capable of getting that deep in a pose seemed unachievable. 

My teacher would ease the frustration with reminders to use my breath and breathe into the areas that were tight. The need to go deep in the pose vanished as I focused on my breath and found ease and enjoyment in the process of finding more of an opening in my body. "Be patient for the opening," my teacher would say, "don't force it."

From cane reeds, sugar.

From a worm's cocoon, silk.

Be patient if you can, and from sour

grapes will come something sweet.~Rumi

Whether it's deepening your experience in a pose or inviting good things into your life—by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities. Here's to sweet openings and realizing we are capable of reaching seemingly unachievable goals!