Sweat by Elizabeth Kirschner

We all do it while practicing, sometimes copiously.

In the writing life, the work is 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration

and perhaps, this carries over to yoga. Sweat, however,

in yoga is ascribed to the god Agni and represents the inner fire

in our practice, which is achieved through asanas. Our inner heat

is used, through exertion, to burn off toxins and impurities. This

is far from the American parlance where its connotations

relegate sweat to something gross. We prefer the term "perspiration"

as if it were somehow more pleasant than sweat. Go figure.

Sweat is sweat. In ancient tradition sweat is not only creative,

but procreative as well. One drop of sweat from a celestial being

could bring about a new powerful one. Imagine making babies

with the father wiping the sweat off his brow onto the skin of his wife.

Easy, but sex is way more fun. Next time, you want to wipe the sweat off

while practicing, think again. In medieval yoga, rubbing the sweat

back into the skin produced an inner glow. A new beauty practice,

for both men and women? Not exactly as we all know inner glow

cannot (nor should be!) manufactured.

The Beauty of Our Mats by Elizabeth Kirschner

The mat is our only piece of equipment, is highly portable,

does not break down or have a high maintenance cost, yet

it endures all and if it isn't quite a magic carpet, it can be a vehicle

of transport. We practice to not just strengthen our bodies, but also

to quiet the mind. It is that beautiful combination of exertion

and concentration which leads to the mind's stillness. As we deepen

an extend our practice, we may begin to glimpse infinite consciousness,

see the energetic waves and the divine. A grand benefit of yoga

is that quiet mind we achieve in practice becomes grounded

in our everyday nature. No more monkey mind. Amazing!

Some days we may come to practice wanting to tear up our mats

(hard to do!) Other days, we simply want to surrender to it--this

is more easily achieved. We learn to keep our eyes on our mat

and not on the mats of other practitioners in the studio. This, too,

extends into our dailiness. How much better are our relationships

when we keep our focus on our thoughts and actions, not those

of others.

At the Shala, we can laugh and in one instance, some of us

were asked to put our heads down on the mat until we calmed down.

It worked and soon we all were working on our practices. There is so much

power and solace in just listening to the music of our breath. If the four

walls of the studio could and expand and contract with us, they would.

Certainly our spirits do. 

At the beginning of practice or class our mats are rolled out, some

with the snap of a flag. This flag, however, is not patriotic, it is simply

the one that signals surrender. At the end, we roll them back up

as though they were bedrolls, sling them across our backs

like wine sacks, but what we drink is free and liberating,

breath by breath by breath.

Elizabeth Kirschner is a student of Jason's, poet and nonfiction writer

who is forever running into her gardens in Kittery Point, ME

and has two businesses, "Poetry in The Ground" and being

a writing coach and manuscript consultant. Look for her

forthcoming website, writewithkirschner.com

Yogi Realignment by Elizabeth Kirschner

Think about it, when you are on your mat you aren't leaving a carbon footprint.

In fact, you are not leaving a footprint at all and there's a beauty to that. It is a pure way

to love the earth and if you are not certain about that, try a few sun salutations on the beach.

When practicing, we aim for even weight distribution between whatever is in contact with the mat. If in downward dog, we strive for as much weight in the hands as the feet. Easier said

than done! 

So much about Ashtanga Yoga is about reclaiming one's structural integrity,

which involves both the gross body and subtle body. In truth, as we realign

our outer structure, we are also realigning our inner one. As we find balance

in each asana, we are also balancing mind, heart and spirit. Isn't it wonderful

to know, all this is happening while we focus on the breath and the movement?

At the Shala, it is so much deeper than, let's say, having our cars realigned,

the wheels balanced. Having our bodies in peak shape is a mere side benefit

to having our mind, heart and spirit in peak shape, too. If that isn't the essence

of Therapeutic Yoga (highly popular at the Shala) what is?

At the end of practice, we have earned savasana. We rest with our heads

toward the shrine and if we let our dristi go up to our third eye, the mind

rests, too. Imagine, in each of our bodies there is a lotus blossom.

This blossom serves as the foundation for our very own internal shrine.

This is where the divine within resides. When we feel the divine within,

it is only natural to feel the divine everywhere. Each petal is a divine

manifestation, as is the rain even when it pours through our open windows.

Even the earthworm is divine as it labors to purify dirt.

With each breath, we purify ourselves and as we purify, the world does, too.

The vibrational sound of each "om" resounds in the heart. What doesn't?

And isn't just delightful to know we have a solar nostril (the right)

and a lunar one (the left)? 

Om and Namaste.

The Yoga Path to Freedom by Elizabeth Kirschner

The beginning of a yoga practice ensues when one understands

that the objects of this world cannot quench the thirst. Freedom

is not achieved by being smart, sexy, or wealthy. It comes from

devotion to the practice. When we tune out the senses and focus

on the breath, movement and concentration, the world with its constraints

falls away until that which is truer and more sustaining comes through

which is compassion and compassionate giving. Yoga addresses 

everyone's needs and at the Shala, those needs are addressed as they

arise in each individual and yoga practice becomes a giant eraser wiping away

the daily obstacles between us and our freedom.

Therapeutic Yoga and the Mysore Room

            Portsmouth Yoga Shala offers a class several times a week called Therapeutic Yoga. Therapeutic Yoga can be explained in three words: breath, movement and consciousness. The class is considered a therapeutic class because Jason, owner of Portsmouth Yoga Shala and teacher of all Therapeutic classes, teaches in a way that is very meticulous about detail regarding structural alignment, engagement of the muscle groups and energetic rotations.

     Therapeutic Yoga is a means to access yoga in a very safe but active way that is appropriate for ALL ages. It is accessible to all levels, and intends to challenge advanced practitioners as well as to inspire and teach beginning students. It is also a great practice for people working through illness or injury because it works on not only the physical body but the mind body and spiritual body as well.

             Any class at the Shala, including the Therapeutic class, can be used to build one’s own individual practice. Mysore classes offered at the Shala are a perfect opportunity to do so. They are like an open studio, where one can arrive whenever is convenient for them and practice at their own pace with adjustments and direction from Jason. One can better refine and define their practice through the detailed instruction in a Therapeutic class, but also hone in on challenging areas and gain individualized instruction in the Mysore room.

Please come over to the Shala and visit us for a class! Also, check out our Summer Specials on the website! See you soon!! 

Balancing Your Practice

Life is serious...things happen that need serious attention and time. Life is also fun, happy, exciting, humorous and (if you're like me) a comic relief for the serious times. Funnily enough, yoga is the same way.

It is easy to think that yoga is a serious time for meditation, reflection and physical energy release. What we seem to forget about yoga is the emotional energy release that is also a HUGE part of the practice. Laughing, crying, giggling uncontrollably, these are all different types of emotional releases that are welcome sounds in the practice room, not interruptions.

Practice is all about balance, whether you're trying to balance your utthita trikonasana (triangle pose), balance your emotional health, or create a balance in your practice between physical and emotional release.

Bottom line... you need to feel free to release anything and everything in your yoga class. If you think that your current practice doesn't allow this, maybe it's time to do yourself a favor and shop around a little bit. Do what you need to do to discover the best version of yourself.

Who ever hear of cupcake flavored yogurt?

There's a new yogurt place in town. It's really cool actually. You can go in there, choose any flavor of soft serve yogurt you can imagine, put on as many toppings as you want, and then go to town. All for $.49 an ounce. That seems like a total STEAL...until you fill the only massive sized cup they offer with yogurt, chocolate chips (which are pretty heavy), peanut butter, strawberries, cookie dough pieces....you name it, it made it on there. Well, $7.00 later I had a good looking frozen yogurt, and I ate the whole thing in a matter of minutes.

Flash forward 20 minutes, WOW, what a sugary, yogurty stomach ache I had. When I was in the store, yogurt seemed like such a good idea. It's amazing how quickly that good idea went wrong.

This yogurt story is actually pretty applicable to life. You walk into the store and everything is all shiny and clean and inviting. You are tempted and tantalized with flavor choices such as white chocolate mousse and cupcake. Really, they should rename the flavors sugar and more sugar. There are times when you don't always end up getting what you think you're paying for, whether it's a financial payment or an physical/emotional one. Sometimes you think you're getting a delicious treat, and you're left with a sugary stomach-mess.

So, what exactly did I do to get rid of my sugar belly? Why, I ate more food of course. In hopes to offset the sugar rush, I drank some (ok, LOTS) of water and ate a hearty dinner. Go figure, nasty stomach GONE! Once again, a metaphor for life. When life throws you a nauseating blow, get back up and try again until you get it right.