Spent banana haiku.

Spent banana brings
monkey glee, if I only
know where ooh ooh be…

Grateful for headache haiku.

Grateful for headache
that reminds me to take care.
Do not ignore this.

Haiku of the Brown Roses.

Flower-like bundles,
seeds revealing a lasting
and lovely promise.

Spiritual path always happy with Anusara?

I have been really interested in all the blogging about the “Anusara Exodus”. I’ve enjoyed my share of Anusara yoga, and will enjoy more, I’m sure… But I’ve always felt a bit isolated from certain aspects of it. Christina Sell pretty much nails it for me when she says (about her teacher outside of Anusara):

...Lee didn't care at all about whether things were essentially good or not. He sided, I think, more with the Buddhists on that. Life, he taught more than once, is essentially nuetral. We are the meaning makers. He was influenced heavily by the Fourth Way work and so as much as he taught us that we were supported in the process of waking up, he had a very healthy respect for what they call the "denying force" and the ways that such a force manifested though the unexamined facets of our psychology and unconscious involvement in the world and would, when given a chance, work to kick us off the path without us even knowing it. The denying force might even dress up as a church or as a cause and steer us off the path with promises of salvation that appeared to be our dream come true. He wasn't a teacher who was concerned much about happiness. Not his own and not ours, when you get right down to it. He taught a lot that the deepest aim of sadhana was to become transparent to the flow of Grace, to be in service to the shakti to such a degree that he described his essential teaching as "Spiritual Slavery." He said that Spiritual Slavery was the deepest freedom a human could experience and there were no guarantees that your psychology would dig it. None at all. He was not casual and he was not in it as a hobby. He was also fiercely loyal, loving, compassionate and I think he may have been the kindest person I have ever known.

I know through my life experience that right aspects of life don't always feel good. I think that "flowing with grace" in Anusara yoga means moving in one's life path connected to one's spirit in a way that feels good. But true spiritual living is in line with what is best for one's self, community, and world and I think that it can require some honest heartache and serious work. I have gotten the sense from people in Anusara yoga that this is supposed to be always ecstatic and outwardly happy. And in my sense of it, the path of truth or spirit is neutral, as in the above excerpt. If I'm not blissed in a particular moment, it doesn't mean I'm wrong. My emotional content is information, neither good or correct depending on happy or sad feelings, just there to experience, acknowledge and decide how I might like to proceed from there.

If I'm not happy in a given moment, it's okay! It's not wrong. I'm not bad if I don't feel good. It just means that something is happening.

Something is happening!

For more coverage, check out the following:

A Letter to the Yoga Community about The “Anusara Situation.” ~ Amy Ippoliti 

Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis: John Friend, founder of Anusara yoga, re: Darren Rhodes, Christina Sell, Elena Brower—& lineage in America.

Root Wisdom Yoga Workshop with Brooks.

Announcing:

Workshop on the topic of Yoga and the Female Pelvic Floor*! Read on...

Root Wisdom Yoga workshop with Brooks Hall.
Saturday, November 19th
1:30 - 3:45 pm
cost: $35
Here is the Yogaview Workshops page where you can sign up (you will want to scroll down to find "Root Wisdom"...).

Yoga includes living excellently in the whole body. In this workshop we will clarify what is happening in the region of the pelvis for women with safe, clear instruction. We will map the actions of the pelvic floor, as well as techniques for relaxation so we might more skillfully use the whole body in yoga.

Root Wisdom Yoga is for women who are curious about how the pelvis might better contribute to their experience of yoga, creativity and life. Brooks has found a more vibrant, powerful, joyful and comforting connection with herself in yoga and elsewhere by including the anatomy “down there” in her practice.

All levels welcome.

Location:
Yogaview
1745 West Division
Chicago, Illinois 60622
773.384.5569

*Brooks is grateful to Leslie Howard for introducing her to this work. Teachers at Yogaview have been essential to her own development as a teacher and she has completed Yogaview’s level 1 and 2 teacher trainings. Gratefulness also goes to Gabriel Halpern and the Yoga Circle for helping her to nurture her teaching skills since 2002. She would also like to thank Woman Within International and her Empowerment Circle for giving her insight into what it means to support women in a healing environment. 

A Gushingly Positive Review of Writing Yoga and a Counterpoint.

It's true.

Once I started reading Bruce Black's Writing Yoga my attention soon turned into a love-fest for a cool book.

Jay Winston's review, while almost more about himself and his issues than the actual book, did raise a point that I agreed with: that the set off sections that were specified as having come from Mr. Black's journal were actually especially polished little teaching points—which annoyed Jay, but I thought they were good. But Jay might be right when he points out that we might be getting more of the real personal scoop from some of the things shared in the main body of the text.

And I think that Writing Yoga is yet another yoga memoir—a very good one—disguised as a how-to-write book. I enjoyed the story! ...a really beautiful book! But I wouldn't have picked it up right away if I hadn't received that review copy... Thank you Rodmell Press!

And while my review might be more about my swoon of a memory of a blip in my past than about the actual book, I hope that it's still a worthwhile read!

The Article at ElephantJournal.com:
On Writing Yoga, Honoring Teachers, and Having Fun on the Path.

Yours truly,
Yogic Muse

Demystifying "down there" with Leslie Howard.

I'm excited about this upcoming workshop to be presented at the Yoga Circle, located in Chicago:

DEMYSTIFYING “DOWN THERE”
Sunday, October 30
The Female Pelvic Floor: A Workshop for Women with Leslie Howard.

From the text on Yoga Circle's website:

Leslie Howard

Proper strengthening and stabilizing of the pelvic floor helps to create the correct foundation of each movement in the body. This is the true meaning of "core work." Whether you experience any of these conditions, or are just plain curious about this region of the body, this workshop is for you:

I fell into the "just plain curious" category the first time I took Leslie's workshop. However I had experienced fear about my pelvic health on and off throughout my adult life. It just seemed kind of scary and mysterious in the area "down there", and I have found that education about what is happening in the pelvic floor can go a long way towards deep healing and peace in a woman's body:


I heartily recommend this workshop for women!

More from Yoga Circle's workshops page about the kind of concerns women might bring to the workshop session for education and clarification, "demystification" indeed:

• pelvic pain 

• leak when laughing or sneezing 

• lower back, hip or groin problems 

• have to go the bathroom too often 

• discomfort during sex or while using tampons 

• prolapsed organs 

• skin irritation

• pregnancy and birth 

In this workshop we will locate, assess, soften, stretch, strengthen and exercise the various muscle groups of the pelvic floor, discuss mula bandha, abdominal health and how to utilize the pelvic floor in asana.

The afternoon will begin with anatomy, lecture and discussion, followed by subtle experiential movements to awaken your understanding of this often ignored area. A series of specific exercises and asanas for the pelvic floor will follow. Time permitting, asana that spotlights the pelvis and hip joints will be practiced. Handouts will be provided. Bring your friends, sisters, mothers and daughters.

Okay, so come to this workshop if you are a woman in the Chicago Area and can make it, and want to take the next step in body awareness. And if you have women friends and family in the Chicago region tell them about this workshop. I can't recommend it highly enough!

Call the Yoga Circle to sign up: (312) 915-0750.