The great thing about the 30-in-30 goal was the community aspect where sharing our experiences and encouragement make it so much easier to meet the goal. Now that I’m regularly attending yoga classes I see other benefits too, such as the advice of a great teacher who can help you adjust your postures.
Last night while doing some twists my teacher had me make a slight adjustment to make me extend my spine more and when I did that I was able to twist more than I ever had before. That was quite revelation and it made for a much better session. It’s wonderful to keep learning things while getting healthy. 3 years ago

While I’ve been practicing yoga for a few years now, I had never taken a class until about a month ago. I’m not sure if I was self-conscious or worried, but actually dropping in and signing up was something that I hadn’t done. The community here is wonderful and encouraging and it was amazing. But a couple of months ago I went in to a class with a wonderful instructor (Helen Fong) at the Sunrise Yoga studio and it’s something that I wish I had done sooner. With a supportive, talented and patient teacher yoga has become so much more for me. Now I’m going to classes regularly and really loving it. There is nothing better at the end of a long day than practicing yoga with others. Now I need to start doing yoga more on my own at home as well and make it part of my life every day again. 3 years ago

Funny, it seems I always renew my practice this time of year…
I’ve had good night’s sleep, put in a rug and found my mat. So off we go. I wonder if I should invite others to join this team or start a new team… any suggestions from my fellow yogis/yoginis? 3 years ago

It’s time to do some more yoga.
I have a 5 lesson card from a local studio just waiting to be used.
Back when we were active here, I just used tapes. Took a month-long Bikram class last winter; now that it’s cold again might do another.
Need to get mo betta floor covering before practicing at home.
Also, what did i do with my mat? 3 years ago

It was just over a year ago that I started the 30 in 30 goal, and now I’m doing it every day, in some form or other. I love it, it centres me like nothing else and I miss it when I don’t do it.

I’ve been taking advantage of some free time over the holidays to go to a lot of classes, and every teacher tells me something new, like a gift.

I’m continually humbled and overwhelmed by how much of a novice I am, how there is so much potential in yoga that I am just on the surface of. I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning.

Thank you to Elderbear for first inviting me to the 30/30 goal, and also to Aaty and the rest of the team for continual inspiration.

It may sound over the top but this practice has really changed my life in profound ways and I am constantly grateful and overawed that I have discovered this thing.

I hope 2008 is a great year for you all .♥•.¸¸.•♥´¯`•♥.¸¸.○o 5 years ago

I felt energetic and inspired, so I took the Little Black Beast out to the nearby park and did a cycle of the Dance of Life and then a (somewhat mangled) sun salutation. It felt really really good and it stretched out the old back. 5 years ago

This morning I had an “early” appointment to get some stitches removed. There was no point in going back to sleep afterwards, so I spent 20+ minutes doing some low back focused yoga. Lots of time spent in reclining cobbler’s pose and then a few that were more active. I didn’t do the whole session, because I needed to get ready for work.

My back feels a whole lot better now!

I used the Yoga for Stress Relief (With The Dalai Lama) DVD section on:

Lower Back Tension (35 min.)
Reclining cobbler’s pose.
Wave breathing.
Reclining leg stretch.
Lying face down, crocodile & locus.

I didn’t finish the routine with:

Upper back bolster.
Quarter dog pose.
Savasana 5 years ago

yet ever so needed 40 minutes of yoga. i used to think an hour was dreadfully loooong. i literally would sneak a glance or two at my watch to see how far along into the session we were…today was not enough. 5 years ago

The 45 minute tension headache relief routine. Very restful and restorative. I woke up about 4:00 AM with a migraine coming on and took Imitrex. I still had a bit of headache when I woke up later (around 10:00), so I spent 45 minutes in slow stretches with Barbara Benares and then took a brisk walk. It still feels as if the headache is lurking, but in remission for now. 5 years ago

Before I went walking, I did the 20 minute routine for neck and shoulder tension … “Passive.” I enjoy the Yoga for Stress Relief (With The Dalai Lama) because it has several related routines. I’ll probably make the 45 minute routine for tension headaches my “standard.”

It was good to wake up without a headache and to feel my body stretch and relax.

(yesterday I had a lot of neck pain – I did the “active” 30 minute routine for neck/shoulder pain … I like the passive routine better.) 5 years ago

Today I woke up without a headache (for the first time in 14 weeks), but I could feel one coming on. So I took the migraine meds and then turned to yoga. I used a passive 20 minute routine for neck and headache. It felt really good. Then I got a chiropractic adjustment. The headache has been manageable today.

(Backstory) I had been taking a powerful anti-inflammatory for a year to control arthritis pain. Three months ago I found the right medication to actually control the arthritis, not just the joint pain. So, I discontinued that anti-inflammatory (because it was screwing with my stomach). That started headaches 24×7. It turns out I had a “rebound headache,” which can be severe (think migraine) and can only be treated by DISCONTINUING all medications to alleviate pain. Period. Not even aspirin or tylenol! Today I was functional enough to do yoga. 5 years ago

and did an hour of yoga.

feel as tho all is kharmically good in my world. 5 years ago

i have finally been able to get yoga in again. it makes me a better being. i will do my best to keep it up once a week. it should be MUCH more than that. i did not realize how much i had missed it until i was back. 5 years ago

Recently when I’ve been doing down dog I’ve had a kind of lower back pain or discomfort

I rarely suffer from lower back pain at all (touch wood thank you god etc.), my back pain history is upper back, so it’s not the same.

Have you ever had lower back pain in down dog? Any ideas of what I’m doing wrong?

Normally my teachers tell me I have a good down dog, I’m not trying to straighten my legs at the expense of all else, they’re a little bent, tailbone up and back and high as posible, pushing down through the hands especially thumb and forefinger part of the hand, shoulders rotating around towards the front of chest so shoulder blades are open,

..what I’m trying to say is I usually have an ok down dog posture, and I can’t think of what I’m doing differently all of a sudden

Yeah I know I should ask my teacher, but I’m living out of the country at the moment and haven’t found a teacher yet. 5 years ago

I went to try a new yoga class today.

We had to wear socks, white socks, and do it on a carpeted floor or a soft towel.

Everyone was slipping and sliding all over the place.

The teacher said it was to protect the carpet (the socks), but also that it “trained” you to do the poses correctly, because if your weight was in the right place in e.g. down dog or trikanasana or warrior, you wouldn’t slip.

I didn’t like it at all.

Is this normal or am I just being wierd? 5 years ago

What is Anusara? Is it a flow style?

I generally prefer classes where it’s slow and the teacher walks around and tells you precisely where to pull, where not to pull, the angle of your underarm, knees, rotate the thighs this way or that way, etc.

That’s what I like about classes over a DVD.

But I have found with flow classes I might as well be doing it at home.

I’ve just moved cities and it’s all Vinyasa or Ashtanga or Kundalini. I can’t find any Iyengar, there are some classes I’ve found described as Hatha, some described as Anusara – what is Anusara?

thanks if you know!

ditto Sivananda 5 years ago

...the daily encouragement of the 30 in 30 goal. I love you all. Now I need to find another daily inspiration. 5 years ago

Says she doesn’t like yoga because it’s too slow. She wants something upbeat and active. She has osteoarthritis. Any DVD recommendations? (I’m thinking she’s looking for some yogarobics) 5 years ago

I know the benefits of keeping the routine of a morning and evening yoga routines. Yet I seem to be intent on self-sabotaging. Why? I just don’t know.

I’m pretty good on my morning sun salutations but my evening practice has majorly slipped. I really need to get back to where I was.

I think joining a ‘proper’ class might help! 5 years ago

I’m gonna go do my evening yoga routine right now! No excuses. 5 years ago

My recent practise has been very spotty with many false starts. I would do the routine with my PM Yoga DVD thinking that it would get me started the next day, but it didn’t. Then I tried the AM Yoga DVD, but that didn’t take either. So today with no work or other excuses, I popped in Rodney Yee’s Yoga Burn and struggled through it and I’m glad that I did. I feel a lot better and now I’m going to keep it going and try to do that routine three times a week with some other yoga in the morning. I really have missed it! 5 years ago

To get back to my evening yoga routine. Mornings I am good on – other than very occassionally missing a day. I miss my evening routine badly. As of tomorrow I am going to get started again (I really am to tired tonight – excuses excuses).

Also I really do want to join a proper yoga class. I have wanted to do this for six months – I have the details of classes – I just need to be brave and get going! 5 years ago

Sometimes I get these crazy images in savasana.

Am I the only one?

It often takes the form of animals in my body (I know that sounds wierd)

Today it was these thick bodied snakes, kind of writhing in my upper back, in between the shoulder blades.

The images really take me by suprise, it makes me feel so startled and shocked, like a blast of something. Like when you switch TV channels by mistake and get this scary picture from the police show. Not prepared for it. 6 years ago

yes, friends, an hour, earlier than normal! For about a month now. It lets me do about 35-40 minutes of yoga every morning before breakfast

(the rest of that hour goes into an early-morning time-vortex, don’t ask me why)

and to my surprise, this has been making me feel more awake, less tired, more energetic, more joyful, more grounded, all day

lightfooted, instead of heavy

this suits me much better than evening practice (please remember that Janey)

I’m using Alan Finger’s Conditioning and Stress Release, Beginners, which is just about my level.

Sometimes I feel like I’m literally in love with yoga (have I said that before?!)

I ♥ yoga6 years ago

Just a short routine – dance of life + almost one set of sun salutations when the Cub phoned. I’m back in the groove again. 6 years ago

A month or so to pout in my closet and people think they can just stop posting?!?

Guess I’d better set an example.

Hmmmmmm … that would mean I’d actually have to do yoga …

OK. The Cubette owes me some practice sessions together! Stay tuned. 6 years ago

of course it’s another. I don’t know if anyone remembers the entry where I wrote that listening to Priscilla as she goes through her Yoga Stretches in the morning makes me feel like I could just do whatever she says. Well, the fact is, I can’t. I couldn’t. I hurt my hip, butt, thigh, hamstring, muscles, who knows, but anyway it took me a week and a half for my left side to get right, and I actually practiced again today. And plan to do some more when I get home. Yes indeedy.

Wishing all my teammates the best. Don’t neglect your practice entirely. You know you miss it when you do. :) 6 years ago

Today was the first day of March Break and since I teach and the Community College has our break at the same time as the rest of the school system, I am off as well. That means I have more time, so I have absolutely no excuse for not practicing yoga more. So today I’m very happy and proud to report that I was able to start my morning and evening routine today. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep it up for the whole week and add a few more variations into my routine as well. 6 years ago

As I have mentioned before I am still practicing daily and still tending to stick to the same few morning and evening yoga practices that I alternate. As such I generally have little to report.

Then the last few nights I have noticed a real progression in my sirsasana (headstand). At first I could barely stay up even with hubby holding my legs. Now I can get both legs up straight in a fairly controlled manner (at first I was just kicking into the air and hoping hubby didn’t get a black eye!).

Now my hubby is able to let go of my legs for a few seconds and I can hold myself. It really is only a few seconds at the moment (4 to be precise) but my plan is to keep practicing until eventually I can get into the position and stay there unaided! 6 years ago