Yoga News at Yogatic.

I’ve been having the flu now for a few days already, and I have noticed how badly I react.  My own advice, given back to me by my husband : ) ,  to “accept it and relax into it” seems impossible! The only thing I seem to feel is a lingering feeling of guilt, this keeps me tense and not wanting to feel anything. The next thing I do is that I distract myself by looking at a tv screen, computer screen or sleep. But just “being with it” , impossible! A few yoga moves so my body doesn’t lock up on me completely is all I can manage a day with regards to awareness….

Why? why is it so difficult for me to “be.. with being sick”  . After talking to a dear friend on the phone today I found a bit of clarity. He told me his story, that after a few years of being anxious and not able to do the things he wanted to, he learned that his “being” was not dependent on his “doing”. That struck a chord in me. I realized that that lingering feeling of guilt is there a lot when I stop “doing” , what I subconsciously  believe I need to be doing,  to be able to allow myself to”be”.

“I AM” …Sick or healthy, doing something or not, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t even change!  I am that what is aware of all that I think I should be doing or not, I am that what I observe, which is being miserable, sick ,tense, guilty. But most of all I just am, because I simply cannot not “be”. So I finally seem to be able to “be” with what “is”, knowing that that also will pass (thankfully

Written by a feverish Esther

We are all familiar with desires, whether they are desires like having another job or being healthier.  Or more yoga related desires like being more flexible or becoming the new blogger for yoga journal

Buddha teaches us that there are only two movements that motivate us.  The movement away from pain and the other movement towards pleasure. Take a look at the reasons why you do certain things.  You will see  you are either running away from something painful, undesirable, or trying to achieve something you want, desirable.

When you look further into it you see how the two movements are connected, how running away from one thing, means moving towards another thing.  When you move towards flexibility, you move away from being stiff.  It is your fears that are motivating your desires.

So trying to achieve  the desire for “fame”  is trying to run from the fear of being unnoticed, “a nobody” .  Fears and desires are two sides of the same coin.

My inquiry into the desire to become the next “yoga journal blogger”  goes like this.

What would being the next YJ blogger give me?

The answer is : “more exposure”

Question: What would more exposure give me?

Answer: “more security in creating a living”.  Basically I would feel safer in my existence.

Next question: What is now?

Answer: “existence”

The main fear behind all desires is the fear for survival.  Subconscious we believe that fulfilling the desire will secure our survival.  Seeing that in this moment our survival needs are taken care of brings freedom.

Question:  Do I need to become the next YJ blogger?

Answer:  No I don’t, But if so, it would be “just for fun”  :)

Esther

Isn’t a disciplined daily yoga practice the thing to try to achieve as a motivated yoga practitioner.  Especially so when discipline doesn’t come natural to you.

Since the day I started to take yoga serious and realized the many spiritual and health benefits I’ve been wanting to practice daily.  Having a daily yoga and meditation practice is the very thing I have been wrestling with ever since,  and it still does not come easy.

I’ve come to realize that trying to fit something new,  like a yoga practice,  into your daily routine for longer than a few weeks,  is very very difficult for most people.  So a few tips can’t hurt!

The excuse “not enough time” I don’t believe anymore,  you can always make time for something your whole being prioritizes.  It helped me to hear Obama say he spends (I think at least an hour) everyday working out!  So come on everybody,  if the president of the United States can find the time, SO CAN YOU!

After many years of trying to be flexible and doing yoga when it suits in the day,  I have learned that that does not work well!  It s too easy to keep putting it off till  ”there is a better time”,  and end up not doing anything at all.  Basically if your whole being, conscious and subconscious mind,  is not 100 percent convinced of practicing yoga daily ,  and you know this is the case if the daily practice “doesn’t just happen ” ,  you’re going to have to be very discipled about it!  Otherwise it is not going to happen at all!

Those moments I can say I practiced daily for a while were always the times where I practiced at the same time everyday!  So let’s be clear about it,

* For you to succeed to practice daily, practice at the same time every day!

So what time is the best time?  For me it is first thing in the morning I am most likely to do it and keep up with it.  I can enjoy the benefits all day.  Everybody is different though,  if it works better for you in the evening,  that’s fine.

Something else I have noticed that works really well for me is adding extra time to my day to practice.  So I don’t have to “fit it in” .  So I am an early riser these days.

I used to practice at 7 am,  but I’ve noticed  at that time life is already happening and taking over around me,   my husband having his breakfast and I notice part of me wanting to have breakfast with him before he takes off to work.  At times we take in foster children for a few days, weeks or months and than that’s my time definitely gone…  That got me to arrive at a point where I want to be up at a time that I know is mine to use for me.  For my growth, for my physical and spiritual health.

So here I am,  getting up at 5 am every morning!  And I love it,  It seems to work for me.  Between 5am and 7am the time is mine to meditate,  to do yoga,  to inquire into my believes,  to set myself up for the day so I can be clear and present to life as it unfolds.

* Also you need a plan.

Even when you have a plan,  once you arrive at the plan,  you can still allow yourself to be surprised by the moment.  It does not mean you are bound to it.

However you do need  a plan.  When you do not have a plan your daily habits take over and again it is going to be very difficult to bring something “new” into your daily routine.  So plan your time,  plan what you are going to do during that time.  When you don’t,  before you know it you’re checking your email at 5am in the morning instead of practicing yoga!

There are many more tips but these are the ones that seem to have made a difference in what appears to be my life.  I would like to invite you to share your tips with me and everybody reading this blog,  leave them in the comment box!

Hope this helps!

With love,

Esther

Today someone asked me a question about how to approach teaching in a gym? She felt that most people coming to her class in the gym approached yoga differently. That they come to sweat it out!  Not interested in the “yoga philosophy”.

These days there is a lot of discussion about how the “spiritual side” of yoga seems to disappear in the west, and how it becomes too physically orientated.

And yes, I can see how it can get physically orientated, and with less emphasize on the spiritual teachings. But personally I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. You can incorporate simple truths in your down to earth teaching, if that is what people are looking for.

You can remind them to be aware, present to the sensations. You can call them back to their breath, how being present grounds you in the moment, and how being aware of the reality of this moment relaxes the body and mind more than going off in thoughts. Allow people to experience that. And that very experience will open doors inside them to want to know more about their true nature.

So teaching people in the gym is a grateful job, they may still have a lot to discover about themselves!  Be creative in your ways to bring some of the truth’s in an approachable way into your teaching. Be grateful for the act of teaching in itself, no matter who is in front of you

Namaste,

Esther

Today during my practice I held the poses a lot longer than I usually do.  My mind was all over the place and I noticed how hard it was to remain aware, holding the poses for that amount of time.  Also I  realized how good it was for me to stay with it and observe “restlessness”.  It wasn’t fun though.  I observed myself struggling and wanting to stop and run away from it.  I wanted to move quick through the poses like my mind was moving quick from one thing to another.

Being able to say no to giving in to restlessness, agitation, calmed me down.  So even though the practice itself wasn’t that pleasant,  I felt more grounded afterwards, especially after the deep relaxation.

It taught me again to not always practice to “feel good”.  But also to challenge myself in my practice, to practice a bit differently sometimes and than stick with that. Whether that “feels” good or not.

Doing yoga in a class situation can help you do that,  because the teacher will not always teach the class that suits you at that time.  So I would like to invite you to, instead of giving in being unhappy about a certain class and ending up not really being present.  To take that moment of resistance as an opportunity to go deeper.  To challenge the mind and be fully present to what it brings up for you.

I would love to hear your ideas about this!

Namaste,
Esther

I am (late night again..) preparing to teach my class tomorrow morning. For me there is always the question, how much to prepare…

Sometimes not having prepared a class at all and just being in the moment let’s me teach the most wonderful flowing class. At the end of it students comment that it was exactly what they needed. Than again, sometimes I want to work on a particular theme a few classes long, or prepare my students for poses that I’d like to do later on and than It feels good to have a theme worked out and a sequence prepared.

What I do think is very important and every teacher should always try and do is to sense the energy in the room at the beginning of the class. Than to be flexible enough to let go of everything prepared and give what is needed instead.

Basically teaching itself and preparing for it, or not, or a little is a process that changes with experience. It has a lot to do with being relaxed enough to be in the moment as well, knowing and trusting that you have the knowledge and experience to create something beautiful right there and then!

Try out different ways of teaching, leave your comfort zone sometimes to discover hidden talents, to be able to teach from a source you didn’t know you had contact with … That is how you grow, progress and keep your teaching fresh..

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject!

Esther

Sometimes it’s late at night you find the peace and quiet to tap into your creativity, to connect some dots  To have a moment to rethink life. To think about what is important right now. To me what is important is, and hopefully always will be, is a connection with existence, the truth, reality, .. How to access that truth, is the question. Even when I know truth is right here. Even when I know that there is nothing to look for and  that all I have to do is relax and open up to the beauty and simplicity of this moment, every moment again and again.

Yoga for me is a way to remind myself of that, to keep my body open and relaxed enough to experience reality /  truth. My yoga practice influences my emotions, my body chemistry so that I’m able to access that truth which is so simple, and at the same time so difficult to open up to through all the stories we believe in. The truth of this moment is what is here right now, not what we think is important in our thoughts, but here, Now..  typing, the background sound of the computer, a cat purring, breathing, the couch, that is truth, that is real, that is peace…

With regards to yoga..  an arm moving with the breath, a stretch, a sensation, observe, witness, allow, open, be… Just be

Seasons Greetings from all of us at Yogatic!

Our new Yoga DVD will be on general release early in 2010!

Esther

Yoga DVD

Hi everyone,

Great news! My first batch of yoga dvd’s arrived!!!

Checking them now.. and selling the to my students here in the Boab centre. Will hopefully sell online soon to all of you as well, keep looking out for the announcement, won’t be long anymore now…

Esther

Happy Christmas to everyone!

I taught my last classes in this year, last night, so will have a little free time till january 4th.

Looking forward to spending more time at my own practice. Going home to spent christmas with my sisters and father in the Netherlands, to connect with some good friends over there and am really looking forward to that!

I want to ask everybody to be aware that christmas van be a very difficult time for those who aren’t so happy with their lives at the moment. Be mindful about it and maybe do something nice for those who you deep down know need it, offer your company, or some friendly words…

Stay connected to your breath as much as possible through the holidays and remember who you really are!

Esther