WoYoPracMo - Practice and all is coming -- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

WoYoPracMo

Practice and all is coming -- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

It's all yoga. Practice. Connect. Inspire.

Videos

A Walking Tour of Love's Troubadours, a novel about a yoga teacher in DC

Added by Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke
Ananda Leeke's Interview w/ WUSA9 News Anchor Andrea Roane

Added by Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke

View All

Members

Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke

Online
Debbie Zarnay

View All

Chat

Loading Chat...

Enable Chat

World Yoga Practice Month

NEWS!!!! NEWS!!!!

October Practice Theme!

Hi!

We've been racking our brains for something a little different for October and one of us wondered about the meditation aspect of yoga. Historically, meditation has been a key aspect of yoga (see 'Dhyāna' article on Wikipedia ). Some traditions would see yoga as being a preparation for the physical demands of meditation. One of my teachers once said that a third of practice should be devoted to savasana. Certainly, any yoga class I've attended usually finishes with a period of stillness and I've often felt that it's at that point that the work done during the class really starts to get internalised.

That's all very well in a class! I don't know about you, but whether in the context of chanting, time spent in savasana at the end of a practice, or simple Zen-style sitting, "stillness"and its benefits tend to get short-changed in my domestic practice; where I'm struggling to squash in twenty minutes here, or a rare luxurious forty minutes there.

So this month, we invite you to explore whether a period of stillness can be firmly established as part of your practice. You may want to treat this as something separate, or just make sure you don't miss out on that all-important period of yogic rest. Either way, let's all try and bring a little Yogic stillness into our lives for a few minutes a day and see what happens.

So, as ever, who's in? Make a post on your WoYo page, add something to the forum discussions, invite new friends -- let's keep the yoga party going!

Cheers

(un)relaxeddad (one of Yogamum's newly minted WoYoHos)

**********

We kicked off World Yoga Practice Month on January 1, 2008 with a challenge: practice yoga every day in January. A bunch of yogis and wanna-be yogis signed up, and something amazing happened: the group became more than just a bunch of people stepping onto their yoga mats every day. It became a supportive, inspirational community of yoga practitioners all over the world. We were having so much fun that we decided we didn’t want to give it up at the end of January. February’s theme was “Deepening YOUR Practice.” March's theme was "Grounding." In April, we came up with specific pose sequences to help work our way into particular poses. May's theme was "Kick it Up a Notch." June snuck up on me, so our theme this month is "Keep On Keepin' On" -- whatever is working for you in your yoga practice, keep doing it! And please share your thoughts and experiences in the discussion forums or on your own WoYo blog page. This site is all about the community and connection between us, so don't hesitate to ask questions, give advice and share ideas!!

If you are not into the whole “goal” thing, that’s cool too. Feel free to hang around and check out the blogs and the forums. From Ashtanga to Iyengar, newbies to longtime practitioners, everyone is welcome to join in the fun.

This isn't about competition or winning a prize: this is about finding what works for you, right now, in your own life. As several people have noted, the practice IS the prize!

Namasté,

Yogamum

Blog Posts

October theme - Day 6

In church yesterday, the meditation seemed to be paying off - I got into a meditative headspace much more easily than I normally do during the service. I said my rosary in the evening as well, but D was back from his weekend away earlier than I expected, so once again I said it in bed rather than at my altar. Okay asana practice this morning. I needed the wall to get into Sirsasana, but managed ten breaths once I was there. Sarvangasana was not so good, though - stiff and painful.

Posted by Liz W on October 6th, 2008 at 12:44am

Listen to Go Green Sangha Radio's September 7th episode - The Marriage of Yoga and Green Living

Continue

Posted by Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke on October 5th, 2008 at 9:15pm

Women's Self-Discovery Novel about DC Yoga Teacher

Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One (www.lovestroubadours.com - iUniverse, Inc. - August 2007) tells the story of Karma Francois, a thirtysomething Oakland-born BoHo B.A.P. (Bohemian Black American Princess) with Louisi… Continue

Posted by Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke on October 5th, 2008 at 9:03pm

Into October

I like the idea of having a theme each month, though meditation is quite a difficult one. I know our practice is really a meditation in motion, especially when your mind gets into it, leaving lifes detritus behind. But sitting and meditating is something else. There's the trying to meditate on the breath version, but the mind and outside world have a habit of putting paid to that, so I for one need to be lead through it, either via CM's podcasts or a tape or cd. But its been a good addition, tho… Continue

Posted by Globie on October 5th, 2008 at 2:05pm

Day 74-Breaking on the hamstrings

Again, no new poses, but for some reason I feel I have stuff to work on, so I'm not feeling frustrated, as I was before. D has been insisting with me--and today, during a general announcement--that we *all* need to straighten our legs to help break into our hamstrings. Phew. That's hard for me. There are a lot of forward bends in which I was keeping a little flex in my knees (though gradually less and less)... he's come up a few times and gently pushed my knee back to lock it into a straight sha… Continue

Posted by Nairam on October 5th, 2008 at 9:08am

October theme - Day 5

Wonders will never cease - I actually managed my rosary meditation before midnight yesterday! D is away, so I was able to do it at my home altar rather than in bed, without worrying about disturbing him. That seemed to go better - I got into the headspace far more quickly. Then of course I stayed up too late reading in bed, so I overslept this morning and had to curtail my morning practice - I stopped after the inversions and their counterstretches, so I probably did about half my usual time. I'… Continue

Posted by Liz W on October 5th, 2008 at 1:50am

Day 73- Just glad to be back

After 2 days of fighting allergies (headache and nausea) finally made it to the shala today. It was just a sweet, tranquil practice. Just did my best in every asana, tried to keep my breath going deeply (not always successfully) and praticed santosha: no more whining about not getting a new pose...

Posted by Nairam on October 4th, 2008 at 2:14pm

Still Going

My second and third days were not quite as successful as the first. I managed to meditate for six minutes just before going to bed. That's not a great time because I am SO sleepy! It's Saturday morning now and I'm going to do my meditation right this minute. The kids and husband are still asleep!

Posted by Yogamum on October 4th, 2008 at 8:25am

Day 2 and 3

Two tricky days! To find space for meditation on Thursday, I actually had to resort to a church! I was going straight on after work to meet friends and wouldn't have got home until way after midnight so I slipped into a C of E church near Covent Garden and sat at the back trying to keep my mind appropriately blank for ten minutes. I'd like to report some sort of insight or awareness of the divine but other than a welcome sense of quietness, nothing happened beyond my regular battle with the ever… Continue

Posted by (un)relaxeddad on October 4th, 2008 at 4:01am — 2 Comments

October theme - Day 4

Good asana practice this morning despite being quite tired - I couldn't get into Sirsasana in the centre of the room, but after going to the wall I managed to hold it for eight breaths, my best so far. My focus was quite good, I think. I remembered my rosary yesterday, too.

Posted by Liz W on October 4th, 2008 at 1:22am