The Power of Visualization

When it comes to talking about "Visualization" I am not usually a big fan. If you suggest to me that I read "The Secret" I'll probably roll my eyes. I'm all about action - not so much about thinking your way to a better life. So let me tell you that what I'm going to talk about is not quite like that. It's similar, but not quite the same.

When I was in teacher training one of my fellow teacher trainees was sick... and we were going to do 27 sun salutations that night. Our trainer for the night informed him that if he didn't feel up to it or started to feel sick during the sequence - that he could lie in child's pose and simply visualize himself doing the work and it would still have some of the same effect as if he were doing the yoga. I was kinda skeptical, but didn't think too much of it.

Later I read somewhere that some scientific study had found that visualizing yourself doing something like lifting weights or doing yoga would provide you with 30% of the progress that physically doing the work would achieve. I was impressed, but still skeptical. I actually tried it last year when I was just starting to really work on Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana and trying to lose my reliance on the strap to reach my foot. That pose is a ton of work and it's hard on the body to do it all the time. I was already doing it at least once every 2 days and didn't want to overdo it... so I started doing a Pigeon Pose visualization meditation every day.

I would simply sit in meditation like usual and after I had myself centered I would simply visualize every single step of setting up and moving into the full pose effortlessly. I imagined it without the strap and happening with ease grace and beauty. Within a week or two I was strap free and have been ever since. Was it because of the visualization exercise? Or was it simply because I was working my ass off? I don't know... but I wouldn't hesitate to practice some visualization to get me into more difficult poses in the future. You know, just in case.

Your Future Self is Better Than You

People are naturally competitive... even when no one is around we tend to compete with ourselves. Yesterday's quote was all about this. It can be a major motivator, or it can be an anvil holding you down.

Generally yoga is considered non-competitive. Generally. There are asana competitions and there's many peoples tendency to eyeball the best person in yoga class wanting to have the ability to hold a textbook Utkatasana for minutes without a sweat. Humans compete - it's built into our genetics and instincts. If we weren't competitive the human race would've died out instead of the neanderthals. Competition is handy when it decides who lives and who dies. Its even helpful when you're trying to achieve a goal and you need something to help you do better today than 2 months ago. Competition drives progress.

However, sometimes that competitive outlook can weigh you down if you're not on top. If you're doing worse today than yesterday, or six weeks ago, or four years ago - your natural drive to want to be better than you think you were then is going to irritate and discourage you. It happens, but don't let it get you down. Just because you sat in painless meditation for 45 minutes yesterday doesn't mean you have to do it again today. Five minutes is just fine.

Let yourself be where you are today. Sometimes you need to compete with yourself on your ability to accept things as they currently are.

Dream Higher

"Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself." - William Faulkner

Cobra Pose with Desiree Rumbaugh (Video)

Cobra pose is a classic. Most yogis do this pose a lot, but even for the most seasoned practitioner cobra is a lot of work. Some people don't get this simple fact. Either they've never done it... or they've likely done it wrong. I like to do one-on-one work with people on cobra because most people are skipping a few steps and going through all the steps is a whole different experience.

Here's a video from Bay Shakti of a Desiree Rumbaugh workshop cobra demo. Check it out!
You can also visit that link to see more pics and another video of said workshop in Rome.

Readers via Email - Click Here for the video.

Flip Flops Do What?!?

Fun Fact:
The primary reason for yogis to wear flip flops was originally because they stimulate a point in the foot that diminishes the libido.

Something to think about now that it's summer and we're probably all wearing them all the time. I learned this in teacher training years ago. Just thought it was funny.

Small Steps to Big Balance

Do you ever just feel "off"? Or maybe you have some small irritating pain in your wrist, knees, or shoulder? These things are generally created by a lack of balance. I don't mean the kind of balance that lets you stand on the head of a pin with one toe on top of a high rise. I mean the kind of symmetry we all Don't Have in our habits. A real obvious silly one is driver's tan. If you drive in the same places all the time then you'll get a tan (or sunburn) on one arm. Switch it up! Drive at different times, take a different route, be a passenger, or GASP - walk.

Small things can create bigger problems or at least big imbalances in your day to day and your asana practice. Luckily you can find balance in small simple acts.

• Carry your purse/bag on the opposite arm sometimes.
• Carry your child on the other hip
• Hold hands on the other side (with others or in clasped hand stretches)
• Step off the curb with a different foot forward - You probably tend to always use the same one.
• Check how you stand - Is most of my weight on one side? Shift into the middle; weight evenly distributed through all 4 corners of both feet.
• On a subtle level - If you always practice yoga in the same spot or do handstands at the same piece of wall you may end up imbalanced because of small angles of the floor.

Everything you do can have big effects - most of these listed can cause one tight hip flexor or a pinched nerve in one shoulder. Think about your small actions.

♥ Let it Spring From Love ♥

"The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, And let it spring from love. Born out of concern for all beings." - Buddha!

Jai Hanuman! The monkey god that is all about Love.