Making Sense of Yoga-ese

There are certain phrases that yoga teachers say in class to relax and center their students. “Ground your big toe mounds.” “Open your heart.” “Feel your pelvic floor.” You may know exactly what your teacher intends by these sayings. Or, especially if you are new to yoga, you may not. Perhaps you have hunch or can muster an image that roughly corresponds, but these grasps are vague at best and the last thing you feel comfortable doing is interrupting the class to reveal your confusion (even though reeling in your pride and raising your hand can be part of your yoga practice).

Well wonder no more. Yoga instructor Barbra (“Babs”) Brady, a former Missoulian who now lives and teaches in California’s wine country, has graciously agreed to share her own intentions around these phrases. And while different instructors may mean different things depending upon training, his or her students, and the general energy of the room, the following insights can at least support or redirect your ideas.

YOGA-ESE: “Come into your breath.”.....

Men on the Mat

Before beginning one of many asana classes at a recent yoga workshop, we —the 20 or so women in the room—took a moment to thank the two men for being there. We appreciate your energy, we said, and your willingness to go against the grain.

But what’s up with this “grain?” Why are there six or seven women for every man in most of the classes I attend? Sure, all the cute yoga clothes are heavily (if not exclusively) orientated to women, but I'm pretty sure the answer goes deeper than that. So, in an effort to shed light on this striking trend, I consulted two articles written on the subject by two men: instructor Rodney Yee and writer Andrew Tilin.

Apparently, both agree, it’s time the grain start reorienting itself.

Practicing Without a Mat

In April, an article posted on Ashtanganews.com brought readers’ (which are, logically, mostly ashtangis) attention to the latest fade in Ashtanga Yoga: mat-free practices. Practicing without mats or any of the other props flooding the growing yoga-goody market seems, at least intuitively, more natural. On grass or pebbles or dirt, your feet can, literally, ground into the earth. Your dristi can, literally, be the sky.

Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose—and to Yoga!

As far as I can tell, Eckhart Tolle is a yogi—or at least he’s talking the same talk. And, as illustrated in his two bestselling books The Power of Now and A New Earth, walking the same walk. Clearly, he’s awake. He sees beyond the veil of illusion that keeps most of us believing that we are not all connected; that we are not all, inherently, made of love; that we are not each particular articulations of divine consciousness (of God, Buddha, or whatever it is that you choose to call the spiritual thread that connects and enlivens all beings).

World Rhythm Yoga at the Downtown Dance Collective

Dear Missoulians, I offer, no urge, the following advice: Grab a pen, find next Tuesday in your day planner, and write “World Rhythm Yoga” in the 5:00-6:00 p.m. slot. Taught by seasoned dancer/yogi Gillian Kessler, the class blends movement and music to the effect of pure end-of-the day, blow-off-steam, get-down-and-funky fun. Traditional yoga postures, interspersed with pliés and relevés, will challenge your muscles, refine your balance and build stamina—as well as open your mind to the invigorating possibilities of yoga/dance fusion.

Airport Asana

Yesterday I flew from my home in Missoula to visit family in Connecticut. There are certain guilty pleasures I allow myself while flying: mindless magazines, bubblegum, random conversation with strangers. I also enjoy the instant diversity and the unwritten but well-understood rule that it’s OK to eavesdrop, at least on your in-flight neighbors. And, as of yesterday, the not-so-guilty pleasure of practicing yoga.

And I do mean asana.

Yoga On & Off the Mat

Yoga Online with Yoga Today

Imagine unlimited free yoga from the comfort of your living room. No commute, no schedule wrangling, no punch cards. Too good to possibly be true? Not since June 2006, when Yoga Today went live.

For two years, the Jackson Hole-based Yoga Today has offered a wide variety of yoga classes—with names ranging from “Power of Intention” and “Awakening the Root Chakra” to “Full Body Harmony” and “Blending Breath and Movement”— for free. All you need is an internet connection and 60 minutes. Even those without a highspeed connection can participate by practicing to an audio file.

In a recent interview with Yoga Today’s Executive Producer Kimberly Whitman, we talked intention, audience and YT’s global appeal.

Yoga On & Off the Mat

When Gas Happens in Yoga Class

I’ve certainly done it. You probably have. It is likely that someone, somewhere, is doing it right now…. The “it,” of course, is the inevitable passing of gas in yoga class. There’s just something about those restrictive clothes, those twisting postures and the quietness of it all that seems to entice farts. (As I recall, there is even a posture in Bikram Yoga called “wind-removing pose.)

Yoga On & Off the Mat

Summer Yoga in Western Montana

With summer comes long, warm, sun-worshiping days. We trade our down jackets for tank tops—our yoga classes for trail runs. We are drawn out rather than in. And, in terms of our practice, this is just fine. Yoga is, after all, about being fluid and flexible, not rigid and attached.

Still, it is a special time to practice asana—with heat comes increased physical flexibility and the opportunity to go deep into postures.

So, it is in this spirit of warmth and summer—not to mention those delicious, indulgent childhood associations of leisure and play— that I offer some regional retreats, workshops, and classes worth considering. Please add to the list if you know of any more.