AWAKENING SELF NEWSLETTER — April 2005

1) Announcements
2) Yoga of the Seasons: Refresh Your Practice
3) Class, Workshop, and Retreat Schedule
4) This month's article - "Backtrack - Then Move Forward Again " by Connie Habash
5) Spiritual Quotes

1) Announcements

MARK HORNER COMES TO MENLO PARK THIS WEEKEND!
My long-time teacher again comes to the Peninsula to offer a great workshop at Devi Yoga. FIRE IN THE BELLY: CULTIVATING THE POWER OF THE CORE is a two-day workshop that explores building the inner fire, or agni, through various yogic practices that focus around the abdomen. Experienced beginners through advanced students will find this workshop fun, challenging, and inspiring!
DON'T MISS IT!
Yes, there are still a few spaces left!
Saturday, April 9 2-4:30pm and Sunday, April 10 12:30-3pm
at Devi Yoga, Menlo Park $80

SUNDAY CLASSES IN MAY: 5 Sundays in May I am subbing the 10:30am - 12noon class at Devi Yoga in Menlo Park, Level 1-2.
Look forward to an inspiring month-long series on the 5 Koshas, or body-mind "sheaths".

PUBLISHED ARTICLE! Yes, I'm published on SpiritHit.com, offering information on different religious and spiritual themes, concepts, paths and practices to the global internet community.
You can read the article at this link:
What To Do When You Don't Know What to Do , or type into your browser: http://news.spirithit.com/index/articles/more/what_to_do_when_you_dont_know_ what_to_do/

WOMEN'S SPRING RENEWAL RETREAT
This year's theme is EXPLORING YOUR WILD WOMAN! Has your yoga practice or your life become a little too tame? Look for fun and frolic as we celebrate Spring together and get a little wild! Yoga classes by day and drumming, chanting, and playfulness in new evening programs.
This retreat has 2 SPACES LEFT - contact me if you're interested in attending!
APRIL 22-24, 2005 at Mount Madonna Center. More information HERE

YOGA & CHANTING WORKSHOP comes to Devi Yoga in Menlo Park! Explore the use of sacred sound through chanting and singing in your yoga practice. Discover the many meanings of the sound OM, the 12 chants of Surya Namaskar, mantras for healing and prosperity, and more. Even chanting in the poses!
Sunday, JUNE 5TH, 1 - 3:30pm
Devi Yoga, Menlo Park
$35 if registered by 5/29; $40 thereafter

LEVEL 2 CD IS HERE! A Balanced Yoga Practice, Level 2, is available. A step up in intensity from my level one practice, this audio CD is one hour and fifteen minutes and is a "deep, slow flow". Including longer standing pose sequences, backbends, forward bends and inversions, it again has original music by my friend, Brian Hunter. $16 plus $3.50 shipping charges, or pick one up at a class soon. Special: buy both Level 1 and Level 2 (or 2 CDS of either kind) for $30! More information HERE

Possible SANSKRIT intensive in mid/late 2005 or early 2006 Are you interested in studying Sanskrit, or want to review? I am considering offering an 8 week Level 1 course, about 2 hours weekly in the afternoon or early evening at my home in Menlo Park in the Summer or perhaps Fall/Winter. If you are interested, please let me know and preference of times/days.
I will need a minimum of 6 people for this course.

2) Yoga of the Seasons: Refresh Your Practice

     Whether you're a long-time practitioner of yoga or a beginner, or no matter what kind of physical or spiritual pursuit you may do, it takes practice to improve and receive the
benefits. One of the most challenging aspects of yoga is developing and maintaining a home practice. We know it's a lot easier to go to class, but time, money, and location can get in
the way of making a daily trek to your favorite studio.

     It's common, too, to start a practice and then run into stumbling blocks. An illness or injury can throw us off the schedule we've developed, and so can a business trip or visitors from out of town. Not to mention the demands of the changing needs of a baby or child! Many things cause us to stop practicing and we may find an inner resistance to getting back on the mat. Even the recent daylight savings shift in our clocks can frustrate the matter.

     And then, what if you practice regularly, but the postures seem to be getting stale? How do we inject newness, enthusiasm, and energy into the poses, our breath, or our time sitting in meditation?

     Challenges may arise when you're trying to revitalize a regular practice or start a new one, but you can find vitality in your home "studio" again. Here are a few tips that may put the
spring back into your asana!

1) Change your environment. If you're used to practicing with music, try silence, or vice-versa. Or you can pick some music you've not considered before. If incense inspires you, ignite a stick. Light candles, open a window or sliding-glass door, make a little altar in front of you. Wear your favorite color. Practice in the bathroom, on the kitchen floor, or out on your deck (but not in bright sunlight or the heat of the day). Sometimes a change of scenery or your senses will revitalize a stale practice or inspire a new one.

2) Shift your pace. If you usually jam through vinyasa after vinyasa, mix it up a bit and try some longer holds of poses. Those who tend to stay in poses for long periods can try adding in a flowing Surya Namaskar (sun salutation) sequence of your choice periodically throughout your mat time. Try restoratives if you feel burned out. Or play with moving in and out of a pose several times before you settle down into it. Explore what it's like to move to a different rhythm than you're accustomed to.

3) Change your breath. Focus on either inhalation or exhalation for an entire practice. Work on equal inhalations and exhalations (Sama Vritti Pranayama), or explore an exhalation that is twice as long as the inhalation. How does it affect your experience if you retain the breath for a bit at the top of the inhalation, or bottom of the exhalation? Can you maintain the same pace of breath for your entire practice? You can even spend a few minutes only doing pranayama (breathwork), especially on those exhausting days. Try alternative nostril breath to balance out before the physical poses, or to refresh yourself in the middle of your day.

4) Mix it up. Play with a specific sequence for a while, like the Ashtanga Primary series or the Bikram series. Or, focus on different kinds of poses each day. For example, backbends on Monday, twists on Tuesday, forward bends on Wednesday. You could also do a well-rounded practice with a little of each. Or pull out Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar or another interesting yoga book and try a pose you've never done before.

5) Consider a different focus. Spend an entire practice feeling your toes in every pose, or observing your gluteus muscles. You can pick any part of the body and use it for exploration. It may bring about whole new insights of the poses! Or you can shift your focus to mental or emotional realms - watching what reactions certain poses bring up. If you're feeling resistant, take that energy onto the yoga mat and see what it feels like in the Warrior poses. Take note of what movements, breathing patterns, or postures calm you the most or increase your energy.

6) Modify. If you're recovering from injury, explore backing way off from your old intensity and see if you can find enjoyment in little movements and simple poses. Make use of props, even if before you were able to easily do without. Attempt easier versions of the postures rather than jumping into the most advanced. Simplicity can be profound and a greater challenge for the mind, even if the body doesn't believe so. Get curious about simple, gentle, and subtle movement.

7) Start small. If you have a hard time getting on the mat, just practice for 5 minutes. Set a timer and give yourself fully to that time. Or decide to do 4 sun salutes. You could also pick any three poses and decide to do them. If all else fails, lay in Savasana and notice what that is like. A little bit is better than nothing at all. And you'll often find that once you've started, you'll want to practice a little longer.

     The energy of this time of year can motivate you to start anew in your own exploration of yoga. Utilize this vibrant energy of Springtime to inspire and refresh a home practice.
Time spent practicing on your own will offer you insights you won't experience in the structure of a class.

Copyright © 2005 by Constance L. Habash

RETREATS:

WOMEN'S SPRING RENEWAL RETREAT returns! "Exploring Your Wild Woman"
Mark your calendars for: APRIL 22-24, 2005, Mt. Madonna Center, Watsonville
***only 2 spaces left***
A special time to let loose, play, explore the feminine within, and connect with other women in community.
$285-380 depending on accommodation.
Retreat information and registration form HERE


WORKSHOPS:

FIRE IN THE BELLY: Cultivating the Power of the Core
A Hatha Yoga workshop with Mark Horner
Saturday and Sunday, April 9 & 10 (2-4:30 Sat, 12:30-3 Sun)
Devi Yoga, Menlo Park $80

INTRODUCTION TO SANSKRIT Teacher Training at The Yoga and Movement Center, Walnut Creek
Saturday, May 7th, 12:30-6:30pm
(part of YMC teacher training program)

YOGA & CHANTING! A special workshop exploring the use of sound through chanting in your yoga practice.
Sunday, June 5th, 1-3:30pm at Devi Yoga in Menlo Park
$35 if registered by 5/29; $40 thereafter

MONDAYS
2-3:15PM Baby & Mom (pre-crawlers)
Devi Yoga, Menlo Park

TUESDAYS
9:30-11AM Iyengar & Vinyasa, Beginning
YIY, Mountain View

FRIDAYS
9:30-11AM Iyengar & Vinyasa, All Levels
YIY, Mountain View

4) This month's article: "Backtrack - Then Move Forward Again"
by Connie Habash

This article was orignially written in 2002, but it's as appropriate as ever today, since Mercury went retrograde on March 19th and it goes direct again April 12th. If your seatbelts aren't already buckled, strap in and enjoy the rest of the ride!

     The car stalls. Your brain gets a little fuzzy. Words come out of your mouth like a tape being played backwards. Traffic, accidents, and weird people cutting you off on the road. Communication with you and your partner, your boss, your child, or whomever is just not happening. BART is delayed, cell phones are cutting out, emails are bouncing - what in the world is going on? You're experiencing Mercury retrograde.

     HUH, you say? What the heck is Mercury retrograde? I thought this newsletter was about personal growth and enlightenment and all that. What is she talking about? You scratch your head and give the screen a funny scowl.

     Well, if you've experienced any of the above in seemingly greater amounts than usual, listen up, because it's not just you! For the last couple of weeks we've been experiencing Mercury's trip backwards, and the effects, subtle or not, on each of us. Yes, Mercury travels backwards - sort of. From our perspective here on earth, there are usually about 3 times of year when Mercury appears to be traveling backwards, even though it's an illusion based on where we are in relationship to it on our journey around the Sun. And astrologically, this has an effect on what Mercury represents energetically.

     Now, please bear with me. Don't worry, I won't ask you to believe in astrology if it doesn't resonate with you. Nevertheless, what Mercury represents symbolically is relevant to all of us - communication, self-expression, the intellect, and short distance travel. When we experience those times when there are troubles with communication, making ourselves heard, closing a deal, or getting somewhere we want to go, we might benefit from the lessons that ol' Mercury, that Messenger of the Gods in Roman mythology (known as Hermes to the Greeks), can share with us.

     When Mercury is cruising along his normal course in the sky, all these things related to communication and our normal everyday travels go pretty much as expected. We are usually able to get across what we want to say and mental challenges aren't too much of a struggle. When Mercury goes retrograde, it's as if all of those areas are stuck in the mud. Think of being in the surf and wanting to come into shore, but a strong current pulls you back out everytime you try to walk up the last several feet to the beach. It feels like you're making no progress, and sometimes have to dive back into the water lest a wave knocks you over from behind.

     Well, that's kind of like Mercury retrograde. And it's a similar effect anytime that you're feeling words stuck somewhere in your head and no one understands you. You find yourself getting into arguments over stupid things and can't get to what's really on your mind. It might also manifest as a day when you have all kinds of plans and nothing seems to happen. You get lost and can't find the restaurant you're supposed to meet that friend at. The freeway traffic is at a dead stop, so you get off at the next exit and hope you'll find a way around it, only to find yourself even more behind schedule when you finally figure out how to get back to the freeway. Maybe you experience it at a time when there is a goal you're working toward - let's say paying off some bills - and no matter what you do, something comes up that you have to spend that money on. You get the idea.

      How do we deal with these times in our lives? We know that if we keep pushing the river, it just pushes us back. So it's suggested that when Mercury is retrograde, rather than trying to push forward, we backtrack a bit. When you backtrack on a trail, you go back over the territory that has already been covered, usually to find where you started from. It's an excellent time to look back over your life, notice where you've come from, and reassess where you're going.
Take a look at what you really want to say or express. Maybe underneath all the stuff you're fighting about, frustrated about, worried about, you name it - there's something more fundamental that needs or wants to talked about. Mercury retrograde is a time to reflect, analyze, and be within ourselves.

    We can learn from this retrograde energy of Mercury at any time in our lives when we feel stumped with communication, thinking clearly, or attempts to move towards goals that we have. Do those goals need to be reassessed? If you're feeling like you're stuck in the mud and can't make any progress, consider making a change in your approach. Perhaps your heart is telling you something but your head is still stuck on getting a point across - and you can't hear the heart while the mouth is in motion.

     Mercury moving retrograde is a great time for meditation. Let yourself focus inward rather than talk outward. Once you find clarity within, you'll know what needs to be said. When we have clarity, we tend to relax. The mind gets quiet. It doesn't need to justify or convince you or anyone else - it simply is. During Mercury retrograde, it's ideal to do that soul-searching until you find peace of mind.

     Then, when the energies change - whether Mercury goes direct, or it feels like people are listening, your head is clearer, and the traffic starts moving - you'll be able to step forward with a fresh perspective, a keen mind, and flow with the energy rather than fighting it. You'll be able to work out those issues with your sweetie in a much lighter and receptive atmosphere. Taking some time out gives you both space to become clear and more open to each other.

     According to the stars, April 12th is the time to move forward again. But keep in mind the lessons of Mercury retrograde for those times when you feel yourself pushing the river. Backtrack, just like Mercury moves back through the previous astological sign, until you find your trail and can look over where you've come from. Wait until the time is right and then return to the path - perhaps this time on a different one.

5) Spiritual Quotes

"If words come out of the heart, they will enter the heart, but if they come from the tongue they will not pass beyond the ears."
~ Al-Suhrawardi, Essential Sufism

"The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?"
~ Pablo Casals

"The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself."
~ Lao Tzu

Blessings,
Connie

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