Tis The Season For Resolution Setting

Tis the season for resolution setting.

As we look forward to 2016, many of us are thinking about all the wonderful things we’ll accomplish in the new year that we didn’t get around to in 2015: lose weight, get a new job, exercise more, learn a new skill, get out of debt, etc.

I have to be honest  – I’m not that big on making New Year’s resolutions. Research says that only 8% of people make their resolutions a reality. 

The idea of starting fresh is very appealing. We all seem to think of a new anything as a clean slate – a new day, week, month, or year is a new beginning, in a sense,while it’s great to feel like we can “start over”, this mindset can do more harm than good.We assume that with a clean slate we’ll be primed and ready to accomplish whatever it is we set our minds to. “This year,this day, this month will be different,” we tell ourselves.

But, the truth is, change is hard and unlikely to stick unless we go about it a different way than we have in the past.

Imagine setting out on a trip with no particular destination in mind. How do you pack? What roads do you take? How do you know when you have arrived? Instead, you start by picking a destination. The same is true with the goals in your life. Writing down your goals forces you to select something specific and decide what you want.

Once you write down your goals ,knowing your why behind your goals is important too, so I encourage you to reflect on why  you hope to accomplish these goals ,

If your goal is to practice yoga twice a week. Ask yourself why? What are the benefits of practicing yoga on a regular basis?How will you feel if you practice yoga twice a week? Understanding why helps us see it as a priority and helps us achieve our goal. 

Why do you want to pay off your debt? What would be the benefits of paying off your debt? 

All goals take hard work,sacrifices and total commitment  which means you have to put in the effort to reach your desired goal.

Goals are easier to accomplish when you have a burning desire to see them through, and sometimes passion isn’t enough to carry us. That’s where plans come in!

Once you understand your goals and your why, come up with a strong plan of action and follow through. How are you going to make room in your life for two yoga practices a week?

Knowing what you are trying to do, getting clear on a plan of action  means that you can now ask: “does this activity or decision get me closer to my goal?”

Happy Goal Setting !

Love,

Diane

Life Begins At The End Of Your Comfort Zone

I’ve recently become a very big fan of teaching  75-minute and 90 -minute yoga classes. It’s important to remember that shorter classes don’t necessarily mean short-changing yourself. Whatever the time you’ll enjoy the mental and physical benefits of yoga. However longer classes give yoga teachers such a wonderful opportunity to break down postures, challenge students who have developed a good foundation,explore a wider variety of postures,gain greater confidence through more challenging sequences and set a pace that allows a students to follow their breath .While staying in your comfort zone can result in consistent, steady performance, stepping out of your comfort zone into a new and challenging task can create the conditions for optimal performance. 

Think about it...Did you ever do something you were really proud of when you were in autopilot mode?Stepping out of your comfort zone even once makes it easier and more likely that you'll do it again

Come Join Me!

Tuesday Night 5:30pm 75 Min Hot Power Flow

Saturday Morning 10:00am 75 Min Hot Power Flow

Sunday Afternoon 4:00pm 90 Min Hot Power Flow

Half Pigeon

Half Pigeon Eka Pada Rajakapotasana.

From Downward facing dog bring your left knee towards your left wrist.

Now bring your attention to your back leg: Make sure you are on the top of the knee and thigh, your foot is laying flat and the back leg is in line with its own hip socket .You want to avoid the common pitfall of externally rotating the back leg. Keep the internal rotation.You can also establish this neutral leg by tucking your right toes under and straightening your right leg so that the thigh and knee come off the floor. Lift your right inner thigh up toward the ceiling and move your right frontal hipbone forward so that it is parallel to your left frontal hipbone. You want to have your hipbones square toward the front of the mat. As you roll your right hipbone forward, draw your left outer hip back and in toward the midline of your body. 

When the hipbones are parallel in Pigeon, the sacrum is less likely to be torqued, and you can practice the pose without straining your low back. Maintaining this hip alignment, 

Flex the front foot.Now observe your left outer hip. If, after you square your hips, the area where your thigh and buttock meet doesn’t rest on the floor,  add a block underneath. Do not fall into the left hip, instead prop up the hip with a block  to stay aligned.This is crucial to practicing the pose safely. If the outer hip doesn’t have support, the body will fall to the left, making the hips uneven and distorting the sacrum. Or, if the hips stay square but your left hip is free floating, you’ll put too much weight and pressure on the front knee. Neither scenario is good!

Remember to keep the shoulders relaxed and the abdomen engaged.

If your knee is sensation free (hooray!),  extend the arms forward across your left shin for  better length through the spinal muscles. Release your head to the floor or use head support (such as a block) if needed not to strain the neck.

 Your left knee will be to the left of your torso , and your flexed left foot will be just alongside the right side of your rib cage or left heel inline with your belly button. As you fold forward, turn your attention inward. We tend to hold this version of Pigeon longer than more active postures, so see if part of your practice in this pose can be to stay mentally focused once you have settled in.

Pose Benefits:

• Increases external range of motion of femur in hip socket

• Lengthens hip flexors

• Stretch deep glutes

• Stretch groins and psoas (a long muscle on the side of your vertebral column and pelvis)

• Relieve impinged piriformis and alleviate sciatic pain

Pigeon pose elongates the back, opens the hips, groin, hamstrings, and relieves pressure on the lower back and sciatica. Your hips are a keystone to your body and its proper functioning. Open hips improve your posture, alignment and overall flexibility. Open hips also release the negative feelings and energy from your system since stress, tension and anxiety are often stored there.

Love Handstands!

 


            Handstand  Adho Mukha Vrksasana (ah-doh moo-kah vriks-SHAHS-anna)

  From Downward Facing Dog (If using the wall place your fingertips an inch or two away from a wall), hands shoulder-width apart, spread your fingers out wide , press into the 
L- shaped of your hands.If your shoulders are tight, turn your index fingers out slightly; otherwise arrange  them parallel to each other.
Begin to step your feet closer to your hands , shift your weight forward and stack your shoulders over your wrist,draw your shoulder blades against your back  and  rotate your upper arms outward to keep the shoulder blades broad.
Shift your gaze between your hands and lift the lower belly in and up. 
Draw your front ribs together.

Extend one leg up and keep your lifted leg straight ,strong and active by pressing through the heel .Keep the thighs of both legs internally rotated towards each other.
Begin to spring off the opposite  foot while lifting the extended leg up higher.The moment the springing leg is sprung, make it straight and strong and draw it up next to the other leg overhead.
As both legs come off the ground, engage your deep core abdominal muscles to help lift your hips over your shoulders. Hop up and down like this several times, each time pushing off the floor a little higher. 

If using the wall at first your heels may crash into the wall or not using the wall you may tip over with more practice you'll eventually learn how hard you need to kick up to get to the handstand position without going too hard or too soft.

Once the legs are lifted, be sure not to sink into your shoulders .
Keep your shoulder blades lifted and broad , press the tailbone up ,lift the lower belly , draw the front ribs together, roll the thighs inward and squeeze the outer legs together. Press up through your feet. Breath

When releasing take one foot down at a time.

L - Dog :Use the wall. For beginners, face away from a wall, place your hands on the ground and stack your shoulders over your wrist, and slowly walk your feet up the wall where your ankles are inline with your hips . Press your feet into the wall. 
You’ll feel your arms, shoulders, and abs engage in this position .
L-shaped handstand is a great place to start.

Benefits Of Handstand:

• Energizing
• Improves Balance
• Increases Core Strength
• Stimulates Endocrine System
• Helps Reduce Stress
• They are fun

Exploring Wheel Pose

Upward Bow/ Wheel Pose 
Urdhva Dhanurasana (OORD-vah don-your-AHS-anna)

Lie on the floor. Bend your knees and set your feet hips width distance on the floor.

Place your palms on the floor by or inline with your shoulders.Bend your elbows and spread your fingers out , fingers pointing toward your heels.

Press your feet actively into the floor, push your tailbone up toward the sky.Keep your thighs internally rotating down towards the floor and feet at 12oclock. Knees stacked over your ankles. I like to place a block between the thighs this insures the thighs continue to internally rotate and the knees stay stacked over the ankles.

Lift up through your chest and keep your arms as straight as possible.Press evenly through the hands and expand across the upper back and chest.

If the wrist are strained or elbows bent explore placing the hands on blocks set against the wall at a 45 degree angle.

To deepen the pose walk the feet a little closer to the hands,this will increase the depth of the backbend.

Benefits of Wheel Pose

• Wheel pose strengthens and lengthens the vertebrae, which increases elasticity and flexibility of the spine.
• Expands  the chest and lungs.
• Stretches the hip flexors.
• Strengthens the arms , wrist, legs ,abdomen and spine.
• Increases energy and can counteract depression.

Michael Jackson Shake Your Asana

Name                                              Album                                         Artist

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough            The Essential Michael Jackson   

Billie Jean                                          The Essential Michael Jackson   

                                        

Beat It                                                The Essential Michael Jackson  

  Smooth Criminal                                The Essential Michael Jackson   

Bad                                                    Michael Jackson                    

Thriller                                                  The Essential Michael Jackson

Rock With You                                      The Essential Michael Jackson    

Man In The Mirror                                   The Essential Michael Jackson

Will You Be There                                   Free Willy             

Human Nature                                           The Essential Michael Jackson

You Are Not Alone                                     The Essential Michael Jackson

Yoga Teacher Training is the most physically challenging program I’ve put myself into .

Getting a yoga teacher certification is an amazing opportunity  Most programs will teach the history behind yoga, the ancient lineage, the methodology ,alignment of postures, meditation , breathing techniques, self-practice, anatomy, health and wellness.

Most  programs will also provide a strong, supportive community where people listen attentively, offer a shoulder or hand, and become your forever friends and family.

Typical Weekend of Vinyasa Teacher Training at CFYC

10:00am 75 Min Power Vinyasa Practice

Gather with other teacher trainees and CFYC students to practice yoga .

11:30am - 1:00pm Lunch / Shower

1:00pm - 3:30pm

We study Energetics, Breath ,Meditation, and Anatomy. We learn medical terminology for the bones in our body. Cervical, Lumber, Thoracic vertebrae. Personal Alignment.

We chant, we dance, we practice and more.

4:00pm Sometimes we practice again or we practice teach each other

5:30pm - 7:30pm Yoga Philosophy 

It’s a long day. Alot of practice ...Alot of Self Reflection and Inquiry.

"Yoga Teacher Training is the most physically challenging program I’ve put myself into (even more so than training for a half marathon). But it’s so much more than a physical challenge. Honestly? I think the physical challenges were  easy compared to the emotional challenges. As one trainee said being willing to pull the weeds is not easy." CFYC Teacher Training Graduate

"Prepare to be challenged, challenged, challenged until you transform.Yoga teacher training was so much more than I could’ve ever imagined. Yoga isn’t just about getting into a few postures that stretch our hamstrings and tighten your  a*#. Yoga is a way of life. It’s a state of being. It’s a pathway to freedom and liberation. An exploration of wholeness. Yoga is a journey of epic proportions" CFYC Teacher Training Graduate

CFYC 200-Hour program will deepen your physical practice and connect you with your body in a new and more powerful way.You will expand beyond the physical practice.

The Vinyasa style we teach can be easily adapted to different levels with special attention to anatomical sequencing and skillful assists.

Our program develops your ability to effectively communicate to your students in a clear and direct way.The right language connects us to our bodies and to the bodies of our students leading to new levels of engagement and effectiveness in their practice and in your teaching.Without sacrificing consistency we teach our teacher trainees to  respond to what they observe.Being a great teacher is not about saying more but seeing more.

Interested In joining us e mail diane@charlottefamilyyogacenter for more information

Do You Take Things Personally?

Whatever happens around you, don’t take it personally… Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves. All people live in their own dream, in their own mind; they are in a completely different world from the one we live in. When we take something personally, we make the assumption that they know what is in our world, and we try to impose our world on their world.

Even the opinions you have about yourself are not necessarily true; therefore you don’t need to take whatever you hear in your own mind personally…Don’t take anything personally because by taking things personally you set yourself up to suffer for nothing….When we really see other people as they are without taking it personally, we can never be hurt by what they say or do. 

There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally. 

As you make a habit of not taking anything personally, you won’t need to place your trust in what others do or say. You will only need to trust yourself to make responsible choices. You are never responsible for the actions of others; you are only responsible for you. When you truly understand this, and refuse to take things personally, you can hardly be hurt by the careless comments or actions of others. ~Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz

As Don Miguel Ruiz says, “who knows what is happening in the mind of the person giving the feedback when it’s given.” I try to remember this any time I get feedback that upsets me. 
I try to stop, take a deep breath and think about the other person. Where might this be coming from? Does their tone or body language have to do with me or with them? Oftentimes, if I can stop even for a second or two, I can come back into my body and consider one of my greater qualities the ability I have to let things go, not take things personally, forgive, have compassion for where someone is on their path and move on.

The only way not to take things so personally is to know yourself.

Rock Your ASANA

Name                                              Album                                         Artist

Eye Of The Tiger                            Eye Of The Tiger                      Survivor 

Working for the Weekend                Loverboy :Super Hits               Loverboy                                             

Peace Of Mind                                 Boston                                   Boston

Call Me                                            Call Me                                  Blondie

Jessies Girl                                      What I Call 80's                      Rick Springfield

Go On Your Own Way                   Fleetwood Mac: Greatest Hits     Fleetwood Mac  

Don't Stop Believin '                     Journey: Greatest Hits                   Journey

Sweet Home Alabama                   The Best Of Lynyrd Skynryd       Lynyrd Skynrd

Right Now                                     The Best Of Both Worlds            Van Halen    

Keep On Loving You                       What I Call 80's                            REO Speedwagon

Have You Ever seen The Rain?   Complete Collection        Creedence Clearwater Revival

Shooting Star                             10 from 6                                       Bad Company

Every Rose Has Its Thorn            80's super hits                               Poison

Dream On                                   We are one                                 Kelly Sweet

Shake Your Asana Mix Guaranteed To Make You Sing!

Name                                              Album                                         Artist

I love Rock ' N Roll                     Joan Jett                                  Joan Jett

Dynamite                                      Rokstarr                                   Taio Cruz                                              

Jessie's Girl                                Now That's  What I call 80s   Rick Springfield

Take A Chance On Me             Greatest Hits                              Abba

Livin' on a Prayer                     Slippery When Wet                    Bon Jovi

Sweet Home Alabama             The Best Of Lynyrd Skynyrd    Lynyrd Skynyrd              

Summer Nights                          Grease                              John Travolta/Olivia Newton John

Sweet Caroline                           Sweet Caroline                           Neil Diamond

Don't Stop Believin"                  Journey: Greatest Hits             Journey                      

Brown Eyed Girl                        The Sound of the 60s                  Van Morrison

What's up?                                 Bigger, Better, Faster, More!      4 non blondes

Bennie And The Jets              Greatest Hits                                   Elton John

Hey Jude                                    The Beatles                                   The Beatles

Shake Your Asana 80's Style

 Name                                             Album                                         Artist

Karma Chameleon                    80's Super Hits                        Culture Club

Summer of '69                            The Best Of Me                        Bryan Adams

We Got The Beat                       Beauty And The Beat             The Go-Go's

Your Love                                   Play Deep                                  The Outfield

Take On Me                                Hunting High And Low           A-Ha

Don't You(forget about me)   80's Super Hits                        Simple Minds

La Isla Bonita                             True Blue                                   Madonna

Hazy shade of winter               The Bangles: Greatest Hits   The Bangles

Go Own Your Way                    Fleetwood Mac: Greatest Hits  Fleetwood Mac

Every Breath You Take           50 first dates                               Wayne Wonder

All night Long                           The Definitive Collection          Lionel Richie

Keep On Loving You               80's super hits                           REO Speedwagon

Total Eclipse of the heart        Totally 80's                                Bonnie Tyler

In Your Eyes                               So                                               Peter Gabriel

Love You Mamaw: Lessons From My Hero

The last few months have been tough as I have watched my  greatest hero slowly decline in health.

She touched so many people’s lives, including mine..I am who I am in large part because of my Grandmother Eloise Taylor

So now I’d like to share with you some of the lessons that have stuck with me from the most amazing women.

1. This too shall pass

 It’s a reminder that when times are tough that they are just temporary.

2. Kindness and strength can go hand in hand.

My grandmother acted with tenderness and good will towards all . With a an open heart  for forgiveness, patience, and compassion she taught me so much about forgiving , patience and compassion for   ourselves and others . 

3. Love is a verb.

Kind, compassionate, generous, and understanding, My grandmother always took care of the people around her

4. Happiness is appreciating what you have.

My grandmother didn’t require lots of money, a big fancy house, or the nicest clothes. If the people she cared about surrounded her, she felt rich and blessed.

She knew happiness isn’t about wanting more. It’s about truly enjoying what you have.

So today I’d like to leave you with the greatest lesson my Grandmother  taught me:

Look around and see what’s precious. Clear your head of all the little things that won’t matter down the line. Enjoy every moment, keep it simple,give to others,  act with tenderness and good will towards all and always keep a sense of humor.

Love You Mamaw..