Up cycling yoga pants

So.... its basically been the long weekend of my dreams.  I've had lots of extra time to sleep, dream, eat, practice yoga, paint, create, research, read, practice yoga, play games with my kids, play ukulele and try something new.  Well.......new to me, anyway.

I've been checking out all kinds of upcycled goods on Etsy and this weekend I decided to jump on the bandwagon and create one of my own.  I stumbled across some wonderful soft jersey knit yoga pants and a bamboo blend yoga shirt packed away from the move 7 months ago and that was just the jump start I needed.

When I discovered them, I realized hadn't worn either in over 2 years.  I think there is some kind of rule on that.  If you haven't worn it in a certain amount of time, get rid of it.  (I probably heard that from Oprah or one of her guests)  But I hated to ditch them.  They were so comfy and lovely, but just not practical for my everyday yoga practicing wear.  (Someone really needs to figure out the whole yoga pants and underwear dealio, you know what I'm saying????)

So, I took a deep breath, inhaled some courage and cut them apart.  Oh, man!  It was way scarier than I thought it would be....I was plagued with doubt....with what ifs....but once I started, I felt empowered.  Through destruction there is creation.  

So, I created one of those knotted, messy, no-sew, infinity, a little bit braided and a little bit spaghetti t-shirt scarves I know you've seen on the internet.   

........Except......... I thought I was awfully clever because I decided to use my yoga foldover waistband with the lovely embroidery to create a nice cowl and I also got out my hot glue gun and embellished it with tiny flowers.  

To be honest, I'm not completely sure this scarf is my style.

(It sure does look cute on my girlie, though, doesn't it?)

But I enjoyed the process and learned a lot.  You might not catching me wearing this one, but I will be busy concocting and hatching plans for my next upcycled yoga pants concoction because its all about the process.  Living and learning and evolving....

Namaste~

Tammie

Simple Tricks to Help Children Who Are Overstimulated

My lovely daughter accosted me today while I was practicing.  She has a fiery personality with boundless energy and a quick mind.  I love her dearly, but sometimes her energy is not easily compatible with mine, especially when I'm attempting to decompress while practicing.  We'd already had one blow out for the day and I could feel her energy was agitated (probably from the virus that was about to overcome her), so i stopped what i was doing and attended to her.

Before:  Being silly in Warrior 3.

"Do something relaxing to me, mama," she said.  

This means she wants me to do some therapeutic yoga techniques (basically I do yoga to her, instead of her doing it herself) which also sometimes includes massage and accu-pressure.  I agreed and began by "grounding" her.  Grounding is an important technique for relaxing children or any person who is overly stimulated and/or not able to process normal sensory input.  Learning to ground myself changed my life and I hope that exposing her to it early will change the quality of her life as well.

Grounding is a really simple idea.  Its about getting into your roots.  Some simple things, like massaging your back body against the floor (visual:  think of dog enjoying rubbing its back on the grass) or putting weight on your front body while you lie back, can be enough to calm the nervous system.  These things take the focus away from your front body and all the sense organs and allow you to sink away from the source of over stimulation.  

Now, those are great techniques, but I like to use my super yogi mom knowledge to take grounding to a whole new level for my baby, so:

1.  I lay her down in a savasana position on her back, smoothing and pulling down her back body and stretching out her limbs.  

2.  I stand on her.  Yes, you heard me right.  (I'm careful.)  

I found out many moons ago in my yoga teacher training that if a person carefully places their heels in the center of the crescent of your groins and then places their palms on your shoulder joints, the weight of their body is evenly distributed right into your joints that most need grounding (the hips and shoulders).  If the person is in savasana properly and the placement of the hands and feet is done properly and slowly, the effects of this procedure are miraculous.  I'm not kidding.  Not even a little bit.

3.  I breathe with her.  This is a valuable tool.  I breathe slowly and diaphramatically with great awareness and through our touch and energy sharing, she begins to follow into the same pattern of breathing with me.  My lovely daughter is usually phenomenal at this, but.....

On this particular day, she was reverse breathing (gasp!)....which was I'm sure adding to or causing the agitation.  Reverse breathing is a breathing pattern where you are breathing the 180 degree opposite of how you were designed to take in oxygen.  (Its a lot like a gasp, actually.  Catch my keen play on words?)

During reverse breathing, your belly sucks in and you pushes all of the air into your chest and upper respiratory muscles that aren't designed to engage in that way.  The result is agitation from not breathing into your pelvic floor and abdominal region (your roots -- think grounding!) and tightening of the chest and secondary respiratory muscles that aren't designed to work as primary muscles.

She was giggling and nervous as she struggled to join me in diaphragmatic breathing.  It took much longer than normal, but I stayed there, hands on her, firm and insistent in the energy I was sharing with her and finally, she broke the pattern.  I felt her body immediately release to the ground in a significant way when she was able to break the pattern.  I could see and feel her relief and the relaxation was palpable.  That's when I had two thoughts. 

1. "Whew."  
2.  "Boy, I bet this could help a lot of parents, especially those with kids who might have special sensory needs.  I better blog about this."

Namaste~
Tammie
      

AAAAHHHH....after some grounding.

Muting the Negativity & Teaching Updates

Hello, all.

I hope you are well.  It has been a "noisy" week in my life and I suspect many of you have experienced the same thing with the political season reaching its climax on Election Day.  I am working hard this week to surrender judgement of other people's viewpoints and instead focus on the our mutual desire for an improved society.  There are some people who I've just had to "mute" this week in order to keep myself on the path.  Pressing "mute" and withdrawing from the negative energy surrounding some people is important to your own health, vitality, and frame of mind.  Don't be afraid to tune out the negativity-- it doesn't mean you're not seeing all points of view or that you've lost your empathy or compassion.  It simply means you're not going to accept negative emotional states with your information.  Think about where you get your news from and how often.  Check facts across several sources.  Try reading articles instead of tuning in to television broadcasts.  Read only the things that concern you being a better, more informed citizen.  Don't get caught up in the stream of missing women and murders paraded across the television in a subjective manner designed to frighten and anger.  Yes, we should be outraged sometimes, but not all the time.

That being said, I'm going to embark on a meditative journey today.  I have some extra time as I am home with a sick little boy.  I'll be wishing you peace, love, and contentment as I do.

• CLASS UPDATE:
• My next class will be offered on Saturday mornings in April & May 2013.
• It will be located on the main campus of RVC in the dance studio.
• Watch for the upcoming RVC Spring Catalog for Community & Continuing Education to sign up!!!

As always,

Namaste~

Tammie

Are you off the grid?

Girl, pull your kneecaps up!   

Sometimes you just need a little wake up call during the day...you know,  a little something to wake you out of your walking dead, zombie- like trance.  Instead of grabbing a coffee or coke, I often say to myself, "girl, pull your kneecaps up!" 

Yes, I understand that this may sound a bit silly.  
But, I like to be silly.

This phrase is perfect for me in 2 ways.  First, it makes me giggle.  Secondly, it reminds me to "plug in" to the immense grid of universal energy that is always readily available to me. 

In yoga, we call that universal energy prana.  Other traditions refer to it as chi and ka.  

What do you call that thing that makes life alive?

No matter what you want to call it, its there.  Its constant.  Certain.  Amazingly reliable.  (unlike our aging power grid.)

Sometimes I discover myself walking around letting all my prana leak right out of me.  And one tell-tale sign is flabby kneecaps.   

When I remind myself to seal my feet to the ground with rooting action that begins at the pelvis as I pause and stand for a moment, I receive a "kick back" of prana that is drawn up through my legs like colored water is drawn up through celery in a childhood science experiment.  

My quadriceps engage and pull prana up into my spine.  (This action is detectable physically by the lifting of the knee cap, so even if you aren't yet connecting to the feeling of energy lifting, look for that flabby knee cap to become pert -- and, I mean, really, it feels great to restore perkiness to body parts, doesn't it?)  

From there, I can lift the energy flow even higher with conscious breathing, visualization, and a nice kegel.  Yes, ladies I said kegel -- if you're not sealing the pelvic floor and drawing up; you're leaking more than the occasional urine.   

If I can establish that flow for just a moment or two, the effects of that increased energy flow stay with me for much longer. 

So, I say:  Plug in.  Power up.  

You'll need it this winter.

Don't forget other great ways to protect  and/or increase your prana flow:

your asana practice
living foods (plant-based and as whole as possible; not processed)
diaphragmatic breathing
drink warm or room temperature beverages
wear a scarf, hat, gloves during winter
alternate nostril breathing
lymphatic massage
accupressure points

Namaste~
Tammie