Pose of the Week ~ Half Moon ~ Ardha Chandrasana

This has been a pose that I want to like, after all the name seems so eloquent to me. Instead this pose has become my nemesis, especially as of late. I can not seem to hold my balance in this pose without toppling over. It is a humbling pose, especially because I remember when I first started practicing yoga I could do this pose free hand...no block needed...and now of course I am humbled, and require a block and a lot of patience. So...I must practice!

Picture source: Yoga-Training-You.com

Some Tips for this pose:

• Use a block under your bottom hand to help stabilize you
• Practice this pose against a wall to build balancing strength
• Keep top hand on hip before raising arm to sky
• Gaze forward
• Remember to flex your extended legs toes and feet towards the side wall (not down toward the floor)

Some ideas to take this pose deeper

• Gaze toward the sky
• Remove block, keeping finger tips on the floor or possibly lifting finger tips off the floor
• Challenge balance by bending extended leg's knee, and reaching around with bottom hand to grab foot - a gentle balancing back bend

Benefits of this pose:

• I was surprised to read this pose aids in digestion
• Improves coordination and balance
• Strengthens abdomen, ankles, thighs, buttocks and spine

Here are some websites with some great tips on how to get into the pose:

http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/784

http://www.fitsugar.com/Strike-Yoga-Pose-Half-Moon-2671101

The Versatile Blogger Award

A yogini friend from the 200 hour yoga teacher training (TT 200) recently awarded me the "Versatile Blogger Award", which I have to admit, I had never heard of until I read her post. That being said, I am extremely honored to have been granted the responsibility to pass this award on to other bloggers. I think it's like playing a game of 'tag'...but in cyberspace. I like it...totally fun.

First, I must thank S Stone, from Ripple of One Stone for passing the Versatile Blogger Award my way. We both completed TT 200 together, and we also started blogging around the same time. It's interesting how during yoga teacher training you meet others who are also seeking and reevaluating life, career choices and also have a passion for yoga and spreading the yoga love. Sara was exactly one of those individuals who I could easily relate to as we had a lot in common, both recently married, from the corporate/professional world by day and yoga lover by evening/weekend. She has embarked on many new paths since teacher training and it's always great to catch up with her on her blog.

Well...for the rules of the award. It seems I am obliged to share 7 things about myself...so here goes:

1. I have been married twice, in one year...to the same man. Yes, this was mostly for logistical purposes, my fiancé at the time was being promoted from the Chicago area to Washington DC. Although we were engaged already and our wedding was planned for September 2010....we married on a very cold day in February 2010 (as my husband would say...it was like filing our taxes early) to enable a smooth move for the BOTH of us to D.C.
2. I lived in Germany for my junior year of high school when I was 17 years old. My mother was born in Germany and I have many relatives that still live there...so being an exchange student to my 'homeland' was an amazing opportunity.
3. I studied in China for 2 months when I was 21...sensing a theme that I love to travel...I love oriental art, Chinese characters...which drove me to take a few courses in mandarin before stepping into a 2 month 'How to do Business in China' program during college. AMAZING!
4. I want to be creative...it doesn’t mean that I am...but I long to find a way to express my creativity, so much so that I took a pottery class a few years back....ok, about 8 years ago...my pieces came out less than beautiful, but I proudly display them in our home.
5. I love country music…the new upbeat ‘poppy’ style
6. I could peanut butter by the spoonfuls…wait...I actually DO do this
7. My absolute favorite breakfast is Greek yogurt with honey and granola. Seriously DELISH!

So...TAG, Your IT ~ the Versatile Blogger award goes to:

• Yoga Lisa DC
• The Inked Fish
• Gleam Photography

* If you’re visiting to collect your award, here’s a recap of what to do now:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award by linking back to them in your post
2. Tell us seven things about yourself
3. Award a few recently discovered bloggers
4. Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news!

Yoga Tidbit ~ What does it mean to shine through your HEART?

Picture source: faithfreed.com

Here is a Yoga Tidbit for today...a short concise piece of yoga related information that I found useful, and likely had an 'ahha' moment about...and am feeling compelled to share. (This is my first posting about a yoga tidbit...so I will be excited to share future posting as they arise) :)

Have you ever heard your yoga teacher refer to a movement of your heart in a yoga pose? I teach yoga and I often find myself saying things like:

• Reach your heart to the sky
• Shine your heart to the sky
• Twist your heart open
• Reach your heart forward

I'm sure the list could go on....and I often wonder what is a better way of saying this action of 'reaching your heart toward the sky', because i think these sayings above can sometimes be confusing and misleading.....well...I'm reading 'Ashtanga Yoga, Practice and Philosphy' and it has a great way of describing the actual physical movement that is occurring that I felt I had to share. Plus, by sharing it and typing it, maybe I'll remember it!! :)

Shining your heart toward the sky = Lifting through the front of your rib cage, the sternum...
...while doing this also allow shoulder blades to flatten onto the back, and the lower ribs in the front of the chest soften back in towards your body.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on other ways of saying 'shine your heart to the sky'...as well as your Yoga Tidbit of the day.

Stained Glass Project

YEAH!!! I finally made the time to finish a project I've had on hold for about 2 years. So, this requires a brief background, because I am definitely not the type of person to NOT finish a project, so I feel I must explain:

About 7 years ago, my mom and I took lessons on how to make stained glass art pieces. (It was her Christmas gift from me...a way for us to bond and make something pretty together)....Amazingly, I founds something I was relatively good at!! (I had been longing to find some way to express my creativity...I had dabbled with painting, pottery classes (which was a disaster)...so when I learned stained glass...and they pieces actually came out looking nice (nice enough where I received compliments, and even sold some of the pieces)....I found a passion to express my creativity this way for several years. I even met my husband in the stained glass store where I was taking the lessons (so, stained glass holds a special place in both of our hearts).

Fast forward a few years...and my husband proposes and we learn we will be moving to DC. So for the past 2 years it was wedding planning and festivities, moving to DC...oh and let's not forget yoga teacher training.....somehow my passion fell by the wayside...and so did this project I had started 2 years ago.

BUT....I finished it today! :) SOOOO HAPPY!

Here are a few pictures of the process of making stained glass...and the final product. (I get to cross this off of one of my to-do's on my life list page! Yeah! Now that I've got the creative process flowing again...I'd love to make time to make some more pieces...but knowing Advanced Teacher Training starts next week (Yes...I am planning to take the 500 hour teacher training over the next year)...I'm not sure I want to commit myself to another project....but maybe something small. Keep an eye out in future posts.

1st step: Have an idea of what you want to make and draw it out as a template (see left of picture)
2nd step: Pick out the glass you'd like to use, the colors
3rd step: Cut the glass to fit the template drawing (see right of picture)
4th step: Grind the glasses edges so they are nice and smooth

5th step: Foiled the glass - you can see how each piece has a gold foil wrapped around it...this is actually what the solder sticks to connect the two pieces of glass together
6th step: As shown above, place all the pieces next to each other exactly as you'd like them to be

7th step: not shown, begin soldering the pieces together. This is what the piece will look like when all of the pieces are soldered together

After soldering...I like to hold up to the light to make sure it looks ok...sometimes I catch issues by taking a closer look at it in the light. (but...mostly, I just like to admire it once I get to this point..because it's the first time its all together and almost done)

These were the 3 pieces I finished in the last week...the 3 pieces that took me to 2 years to finish!!
BEAUTIFUL!

Final Product - The pieces are going into a Picture Room Divider....I decided to rescue this room divider from my mom's 2nd hand store a few years ago knowing I could do something with it. I decided to place pictures from some of our trips in black and white...and then add a dash of color with stained glass pieces.

Proudly displayed by our living room window...FINALLY~!

Travelling Tradition

On a recent trip to Louisville to visit family, I bought these beautiful handmade earrings from vintage pieces....I just love them. One of my favorite traditions when I travel is to buy one item from the place I am traveling to to keep as a keepsake so that I can remember the trip and the moments with family and friends by looking at or wearing something I purchased on that trip.

I tend not to buy edible things...because I want the memory to last a lifetime (and although I love chocolate and sweets....the memory will only last as long as it takes me to unwrap the chocolate and consume it). So, typically it's jewelry of some sort, or maybe a piece of art. &, I try to be economical and not spend too much money! So, I think I got these for $16 at a cute art store in Louisville.

Yes...I made them look like a heart! :)

I'd love to hear what some of your favorite travelling traditions are.....share them in the comment area if you are so inclined.

Yoga Pose(s) of the Week - Shoulder Stretches

After a long day at work hunched over a computer or walking to and from work as bag lady or even that spin class I took on Tuesday has put some strain on my shoulders, tightening them up. I'm sure many of us feel this day in and day out...so I like to sprinkle some shoulder stretches throughout my day. They are actually pretty easy to do at the desk or standing in line...some of them may require a dedicated time and space. So, instead of it being just one pose this week, I wanted to post about a few different shoulder openers to sprinkle throughout the day.

Also....remember in some cases using a strap or even the wall can really help to intensify the stretch and may also be more effective.  Here is a collage of some of my favorite shoulder, upper back and arm stretches....they always feel so YUMMY!!

A special thanks to the following websites where these pictures are sourced from: Bicyclekingdom, Cityroom, Dailystroke, elephantjournal, fitness-training-at-home, kelly-chiropractic, movingstillness, my physical therapy coach, physioquestions, scooterm, sensational-yoga-poses, shine.yagoo, spineuniverse, sportsinjuryclinic, thepochtimes, topic 365, yogachicago, yogaashram, yogiclarebear.

Here is a great post about shoulder stretches with how to get into them pictures. I figured I would not recreate the wheel...but point you in the right direction:
http://www.sensational-yoga-poses.com/shoulder-stretches.html
Here is a video of some great yoga shoulder stretches in action: http://www.ehow.com/video_2357531_yoga-strap-shoulder-stretches.html