Re-Connecting With The Unlimited Possibilities Within Yoga

Over the past couple weeks I had been having trouble with my right hip and low back.  Despite a chiropractic adjustment, an acupuncture session, posture modification, and regular stretching, I was still being bothered by pain and discomfort.  Feeling frustrated, I took the problem to my inner guidance during Corpse Pose.  I relaxed my body and mind, threw the question out to the universe, and literally laid back waiting for the answer.

And the answer I received was “go back to the Asthanga standing pose series”.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Asthanga yoga tradition, the standing series is comprised of 18 poses with sun salutations done in between each of the poses.  It is a very strengthening and aerobic series but also increases flexibility and opens up much of the legs, hips and back. 

For the past six months, I have been doing more quieting yoga poses and longer meditation – which apparently haven’t been enough to support the time I’m spending at the computer and my other daily activities which tighten me up.  So I decided to go back to my roots, as I started my yoga practice with the Ashtanga tradition, and re-ground myself with this fabulous series.

And after just two days, my hip pain was gone!  However, I also noticed in doing the series just how tight I was in some areas and how weak my balance seemed to be.  Yikes!  It was a wake-up call that I need to pay this old yoga friend a more regular visit just to make sure I keep things open and flowing, strong and balanced.  That said, I’ve decided to do the series once a week and blend it in with my other days of gentle stretching and longer meditation and some days of specific Kundalini yoga sets.

And this is what I LOVE about yoga – there are so many ways to support myself on all levels of body, mind and spirit.  It’s simply knowing and remembering what tools to pull out of my tool kit at the different times.  And it was a great reminder that there is no right or wrong, no better or worse when it comes to the different yoga styles and traditions.  Rather each style has its own unique gifts which serve us at different times.

So thank you hip pain for re-connecting me with all that yoga is and thank you to all the teachers who have shared with me the possibilities so that I can support myself at any time.

Welcome to 2010!

Happy New Year and thanks for tuning in!

Each day you are given opportunities to let go of the past, live fully in the present, and welcome the abundance of possibilities for the future.  This is especially true at the start of a new year in a new decade.   What a wonderful time to reflect and rejoice and celebrate and set intentions.

In reflecting on all that 2009 brought me, I want to pause and tell you how grateful I am for you!  Because it is for you that all of my offerings on my blog, Facebook, in the monthly Ezine and my services exist – you are the heart and soul of why I do what I do.   Bringing you tips on how to live in health and harmony, asking questions to help you reflect and grow, and offering products and services to support your journey is so exciting and fulfilling for me.  I love hearing from you and encourage you to share your thoughts, inspirations, and challenges with me by posting comments on the blogsite or becoming a BodyMind Coaching for Healing and Harmony Facebook fan.

In 2010 I will continue to provide you with articles to expand your thoughts and your patterns, tools and techniques to support your journey to abundant health, and tips to bring harmony to all levels of your body, mind and spirit.  It isn’t in my nature to be still, so be prepared to see and experience the ever-unfolding new goodies to come out to keep things fresh and help you move forward!

Here are three that are already in process for 2010:

• Revised Audio Yoga Classeswill now include illustrations, special sections to explain new breath patterns or tricky postures in greater detail, songs by professional Kundalini musicians to help you dive deeper into Deep Relaxation or keep up during certain poses, and a track format to allow to skip right to the yoga set once you’ve learned the basics. These classes have been taking a little while to make their new debut because I am working with lovely Siri Neel Kaur Khalsa at the Kundalini Research Institute to have each of the classes earn the KRI Seal of Approval in order to make sure all the incredible teachings of Yogi Bhajan are accurately honored and that I bring you the best product available. I hope to have the majority of the classes up and available by the end of this month so stay tuned!
• New Video Offerings to include some of my most popular classes such as Meditation for Total Health, Uncovering the Hidden Messages in your Symptoms, Self Help Techniques to Deal with Stress, Making Changes Without Sinking Into Overwhelm, and more. Many of you do not live in my local area or the days and times of the classes don’t fit your schedule. Thanks to technology, there are now great ways to share these classes with you even when you can’t be present in person.
• Information from Ayurveda, Science of Life,to help you learn even more about just which foods and lifestyle components will meet your truly individual needs. Some of you may know that I have been training the past year as an Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor and will be finishing up my program at the end of February. Ayurveda is a sister science to Yoga and the healing arm of the Vedic sciences. It is a unique, holistic science that is able to not only identify your core nature as a unique individual but also provide guidelines for what foods, exercises and activities serve you best and how to make changes according to seasonal and life shifts. You can see why I would be so excited to add this powerful wisdom to help you live in health and harmony even better! I have already been weaving some of this information into blog posts and Ezine articles and will be bringing even more tips and tools forward in the future.

Many blessings on your journey in 2010. See you there!
Jamie Durner, BodyMind Coach