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When I teach a yoga class, I often assess the crowd, the energy. I will ask if there are any aches and pains we can address or if anyone wants to work on something specific. Sometimes I prepare for a class by simply reviewing my lesson plans from one of my many folders, or I will see something on line that inspires me or I will go full out and plan out every single pose. On Monday, the consensus seemed to be, “can we just lay in savasana?” Often times that is just what the body needs! We did a brief warm up followed by a few yin poses, getting deep into the connective tissue and the we did several restorative poses, just letting go into the support of a bolster. We had a 15 minute savasana with hands on adjustments for legs, shoulders and head. It was pretty darn relaxing. Thank you all for trusting me.
Love,
Jeannette

There is so much more to yoga than just doing poses and taking deep breaths. I just read a recent study that I have found to be extremely interesting – and I thought I should share what I learned and read with you today.
The poses or asanas are only one part of an eight part yogic path! Our Asana is Part 3 below. These eight limbs are guidelines on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life. Below is a brief description of each of the eight limbs. There is much more that can be studied and discussed with regard to these eight limbs. My purpose here to give you a very brief look at what yoga is beyond our physical practice.

1) The Yamas – very basically are non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, self-control, taking only what we need;

2) The Niyamas are five personal guides to live by:

* Saucha or cleanliness;
* Santosha – being happy with what we have, rather than unhappy with what we don’t have;
* Tapas – making our minds pure and clean;
* Swadhyaya – self-study or self awareness, intentionally finding self-awareness in all our activities, even to the point of accepting or welcoming our limitations;
* Ishwarapranidhana – which is working or offering your service to the original teacher without desire for something in return. This practice asks that we set time aside each day to recognize that there is some omnipresent force larger than ourselves guiding and directing our lives;

3) Asana – literally translates to “our seat.” This limb reattaches us to our body. We know this as the physical practice of yoga poses, controlling our breath and body creating a sort of harmony so that we may evolve spiritually.

4) Pranayama – Prana is our life force or ki energy that each of us have. Pranayama is the practice of measuring, controlling and directing the breath to purify and remove distractions from the mind, making it easier to concentrate and meditate.

5) Pratyahara – translates to withdrawing oneself from that which nourishes the senses. This implies withdrawing our attachment to objects, a restraint, if you will or a letting go.

6) Dharana means immovable concentration of the mind. This would be being able to stay focused in one direction, that being meditation.

7) Dhyana is worship or profound contemplation or meditation. This is concentration to the point of focus with the intention of knowing the truth. It is said that the more one reflects on the divine, the more one knows their own divine true nature.

8) Samadhi – the final step on the eight fold path of yoga is a state where all is brought together as one. The body and senses are at rest while the mind is awake and alert, even beyond consciousness. During Samadhi we realize what it is to be an identity without differences and how a liberated soul can enjoy pure awareness of this pure identity.

Our Western world has in very many ways only latched on to one path – Asana, the physical practice. We all have seen how this one path has been commercialized it into a multi-million dollar business with offerings of numerous different products we can purchase in order to enhance the physical practice. Sure, we all like our yoga outfits and special non-slip mats and more, but really, you already have everything you need to practice: body, mind and spirit.

I know that at LaGrange Yoga our classes are very much based on the physical practice of asana. We work hard to find strength and balance in our poses and we also follow the breath. I urge you to take time to sit and contemplate and seek that body, mind and spirit connection. Educate yourselves further in understanding the roots of our practice, including these eight limbs. Trust me – it will be worth it!

Namaste, Jeannette

Phrases or simple words often make me smile – and they can often be found in the oddest setting or places.

For example, recently I was scrolling through the Internet, and stumbled across … FROGS! But, these cute little guys weren’t REAL frogs – no, they were faux frogs (LOL), but boy, were they saying the CUTEST phrases! And that got me thinking … words can influence us everywhere we find them — in a book, on a billboard, on the television … or yes, even words placed next to cute little frogs. So, the next time you are out and about, take moment to look at the world around you … and maybe you will even spot a phrase to give you peace … or than again, maybe you will just spot a frog!