Source: yogilife.tumblr.com via Hannah on Pinterest
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Advanced Practice: Wednesday Inspiration
Here is another picture of people doing yoga in their skivvies, to follow up yesterday's Vintage Version. Doesn't being in a relationship sometimes feel just like this? On so many different levels. :D And isn't yoga just the most darling practice for getting closer in our relationships? Allowing us to get closer with ourselves in order to facilitate that getting close to someone else that we so crave?
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Man Yoga
Rolling waves of thunderous cloud/Tumble seamlessly into the ocean swell/Rushing lights, red and white/Coursing through crowded city arteries/A world in every cell/As above, so below/Within and out/Reflections bouncing back and forth/In endless, playful song/What I feel in me, I see in you/What I know to be true, arrives in a flash/After eons of careful construction/Mountains emerge and rock strata tilt/All waiting for thousands of years/To beckon you into their wisdom/The infinite truth of this moment/Love can not be taken or given, only shared/The perfect reflection of what is already there.
-Emily Simpson
Source: koolyogagirl1.tumblr.com via Hannah on Pinterest
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Full Moon in Scorpio, May 5th, 2012.
Excerpted from Brenda Brush's bimonthly article: "A Full Moon is coming in Scorpio on May 5th, 2012 at 11:35 pm. A Full Moon occurs every 29.6 days and there is usually 12 a year. There is one a year in Scorpio and this is it. The sign Scorpio is where we are intensely in control or we are controlled by that area. This Full Moon gives you the opportunity to get a complete view of how much you are controlled and by what. It will also reveal your issues with commitment and what kind of connections you need to cultivate to bring opportunity. This Full Moon will give you an opportunity to look at the past, present, and future of the associations and commitments you have. This should reveal a lot and be an impetus to let go of what is not working and create the space for new opportunities. Scorpio is an all or nothing sign so you won't be able to sit on the fence. If you do you will be left behind...you will have an opportunity to get a sneak preview of what is expected of you this fall with this Full Moon in Scorpio. What kind of commitments are you making that will bring transformation in your life? Who will you join with to accomplish something major? This will not be a wishy-washy period of time. You are either in or out. If you are in you better be willing to go the distance. It is also a time that who you are associating with is on the same page you are. There is no room for surprises."
For more information on this weekend's full moon, click the following link for an interesting article that a Facebook friend of mine introduced me to this week:
Full Moon in Scorpio.
Otherwise, enjoy the cartoon!
Source: ffffound.com via Michaelle on Pinterest
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Advanced Practice: Wednesday Inspiration
Source: inkandwit.blogspot.com via Hannah on Pinterest
We stampede towards meaning/ Draping weight on simple truths/ And shelter under the delusion/ That a sense of purpose/ Will insure against bad things/ We could let life move through us/ Simply unfold, like the Lily at dawn/ Arching to complete her sacred duty/ To be all that she's able/ And know in every cell/ It's enough/ The true love of your life/ Is its longing for itself/ Every thought, every word/ Every moment we allow/ Is an act of creation no less worthy/ Than the one that birthed it all.Emily Simpson, 2008.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Oh, hey.
Source: michellemyhre.com via Hannah on Pinterest
Thursday, April 19, 2012
man yoga
"The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind."
Rodney Yee
Rodney Yee
Source: 365daysyoga.tumblr.com via Hannah on Pinterest
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Advanced Practice: Wednesday Inspiration
Source: seattleacro.com via Hannah on Pinterest
"Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God. ~Krishnamacharya
Sunday, April 8, 2012
man yoga
You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.
Sharon Gannon
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
2 Resources for Online Yoga
Many students have asked me for recommendations when it comes to free online yoga.
Have you ever tried googling it? So many options come up, it's both wonderful and dismaying. Here are two resources I've become fond of, and why.
Yoga Today
This site has been my go-to for years. Three women out of Jackson Hole, WY: Adi Amar, Neesha Zollinger, and Sarah Kline.
Each with a distinct style and personality, each hosting hour-long yoga classes using local athletes and yogis as their students/models. The instruction is very sound, and often inspired.
The classes are primarily filmed outdoors, against the incredible backdrop of the Tetons, or maybe the red rock desert of Sedona, yet more recently they have begun to film classes indoors as well.
The website www.yogatoday.com streams one free class a week (plus mini-sessions on their blog) or they have memberships: something like $10/month or $90/year for unlimited access to their hundreds of classes. If you really love a particular class, you can download it to own for a few dollars. A wonderful way to have access to great yoga classes whenever you would like, for a very affordable rate. They offer a free two-week trial to the unlimited access option, which you can access with an ambassador ID: hannahcosetteyoga.
Have you ever tried googling it? So many options come up, it's both wonderful and dismaying. Here are two resources I've become fond of, and why.
Yoga Today
This site has been my go-to for years. Three women out of Jackson Hole, WY: Adi Amar, Neesha Zollinger, and Sarah Kline.
The classes are primarily filmed outdoors, against the incredible backdrop of the Tetons, or maybe the red rock desert of Sedona, yet more recently they have begun to film classes indoors as well.
The website www.yogatoday.com streams one free class a week (plus mini-sessions on their blog) or they have memberships: something like $10/month or $90/year for unlimited access to their hundreds of classes. If you really love a particular class, you can download it to own for a few dollars. A wonderful way to have access to great yoga classes whenever you would like, for a very affordable rate. They offer a free two-week trial to the unlimited access option, which you can access with an ambassador ID: hannahcosetteyoga.
Yoga Glo
A more recent experience for me, this site also offers a free two week trial access (as far as I know they do not have an ambassador program, instead you sign up with your credit/debit card, and if you don't cancel after the 15 days are up, they will start billing you).
Their membership is a little more expensive, at $18/month. Still, for that price, you have access to more teachers, both male and female, including many whose names frequently appear in Yoga Journal. You can also track your practice, and you can sort for classes by teacher, by style (Ashtanga, Basics, Vinyasa Flow, Yin, etc.), by level of difficulty, by duration (anywhere from 5 to 120 min), and specific purpose (travel yoga, stress reduction, partner yoga, immune system, backbends, energize, insomnia, etc.). I really love the option to track practice, I think you can even enter the non-Yoga Glo classes you take. And being able to access such a diversity of teachers and classes is very appealing as well.
You may be wondering why a teacher would undercut herself by revealing where her students can access cheaper, still-quality yoga. For the price of a drop-in class, access a whole MONTH of yoga? Why would any thinking student go to actual, in-person classes anymore?
1. Because there is nothing, NOTHING, like sharing a room with real-time, warrm, breathing, souls in the practice of yoga.
2. Because the on-line teachers, as good as they are, cannot see you, and therefore are limited on how well they can actually teach to you. They can offer verbal adjustment for common issues with certain poses, but they will not be able to know what you specifically may need.
3. See #1
4. Because coming to yoga class, for me as well as you, fosters community, and that is what human beings are craving at this point in time. Look at how the internet is organized, with Linked In, Facebook, even Twitter. With infinite ways to participate in gatherings of the mind, the internet can do little for our bodies, the vehicles of our experience in this lifetime, except allow us to share with each other information, such as video, about our physical experience. We are each seeking out the tribes that we belong to. When we come to share space with others, even if we simply show up, participate, and leave quietly at the end, we share energy, meditative/experiential focus, and soul-time.
So GO, be free! Explore the world of internet yoga, it has much to offer to deepen your practice.
I know that I will see you in class.
Because like a gourmet choosing only the finest produce for their meal, the deepest satisfaction and beauty comes from the exquisiteness of responding exactly to this moment, to the day, the seasons and all the phases of the moon and our sun/star, from skillfully surfing the vagaries of life.
To prove my point, the puppy just pulled her collar off the coffee table, toppling a stack of books on to the floor. She is saying, get off that computer and let's go out in the rain! It's lush and green out there, things are blossoming and there must be all kinds of new smells since last night!
A more recent experience for me, this site also offers a free two week trial access (as far as I know they do not have an ambassador program, instead you sign up with your credit/debit card, and if you don't cancel after the 15 days are up, they will start billing you).
You may be wondering why a teacher would undercut herself by revealing where her students can access cheaper, still-quality yoga. For the price of a drop-in class, access a whole MONTH of yoga? Why would any thinking student go to actual, in-person classes anymore?
1. Because there is nothing, NOTHING, like sharing a room with real-time, warrm, breathing, souls in the practice of yoga.
2. Because the on-line teachers, as good as they are, cannot see you, and therefore are limited on how well they can actually teach to you. They can offer verbal adjustment for common issues with certain poses, but they will not be able to know what you specifically may need.
3. See #1
4. Because coming to yoga class, for me as well as you, fosters community, and that is what human beings are craving at this point in time. Look at how the internet is organized, with Linked In, Facebook, even Twitter. With infinite ways to participate in gatherings of the mind, the internet can do little for our bodies, the vehicles of our experience in this lifetime, except allow us to share with each other information, such as video, about our physical experience. We are each seeking out the tribes that we belong to. When we come to share space with others, even if we simply show up, participate, and leave quietly at the end, we share energy, meditative/experiential focus, and soul-time.
So GO, be free! Explore the world of internet yoga, it has much to offer to deepen your practice.
I know that I will see you in class.
Because like a gourmet choosing only the finest produce for their meal, the deepest satisfaction and beauty comes from the exquisiteness of responding exactly to this moment, to the day, the seasons and all the phases of the moon and our sun/star, from skillfully surfing the vagaries of life.
To prove my point, the puppy just pulled her collar off the coffee table, toppling a stack of books on to the floor. She is saying, get off that computer and let's go out in the rain! It's lush and green out there, things are blossoming and there must be all kinds of new smells since last night!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Advanced Practice: Wednesday Inspiration
Source: Uploaded by user via Hannah on Pinterest
'Be yourself.
Let who you are,
what you believe, and
what you are
shine through.'
(a little something Amy shared at the end of her class last week).
Friday, March 23, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
I'm in love.....with my new teacher.
She's beautiful....lean, with shiny black hair...and such a sweet manner. She loves the outdoors just as much as I do, has fantastic energy and enthusiasm, and is super nice to everyone. She does have kind of big feet, but I'm okay with that...
She has been dispensing lessons on such topics as the importance of clear communication, patience, positive reinforcement.....and the singular beauty of regular middle-of-the-night excursions to the yard.
Wait....what was that last part?
Yes, my new teacher is a puppy.
She has been dispensing lessons on such topics as the importance of clear communication, patience, positive reinforcement.....and the singular beauty of regular middle-of-the-night excursions to the yard.
Wait....what was that last part?
Gotcha. ;)
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The Life You Have Planned
"You have to be willing to let go of the life you've planned, in order to have the one that is waiting for you." -Joseph Campbell
I referenced the above quote this morning in a conversation with a friend. It is such an interesting concept. One I have been working with and reminding myself of for several years now. A concept for those muddy endings and beginnings in our lives, when our efforts to tidy our world melt....and all of a sudden I am talking about Wisconsin in the spring time (we cut firewood for the woodshop stove today. The horse pasture is tinted green with the courageous first blush of grass, and the sun is lying lovingly, warmly on the bare land, in just that way it does in early spring). Oh, this in-between-the-seasons time when the snow is too patchy for skiing and sledding yet the ground is too soft for biking and camping. When the activities normally planned are not an option, and we find that there is one waiting for us...such as cutting firewood and throwing it in the back of the truck.
But that is a tame example. How about when a relationship falls apart...or you have to give up a job...a home....
I referenced the above quote this morning in a conversation with a friend. It is such an interesting concept. One I have been working with and reminding myself of for several years now. A concept for those muddy endings and beginnings in our lives, when our efforts to tidy our world melt....and all of a sudden I am talking about Wisconsin in the spring time (we cut firewood for the woodshop stove today. The horse pasture is tinted green with the courageous first blush of grass, and the sun is lying lovingly, warmly on the bare land, in just that way it does in early spring). Oh, this in-between-the-seasons time when the snow is too patchy for skiing and sledding yet the ground is too soft for biking and camping. When the activities normally planned are not an option, and we find that there is one waiting for us...such as cutting firewood and throwing it in the back of the truck.
But that is a tame example. How about when a relationship falls apart...or you have to give up a job...a home....
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Three yoga tips for sleep
Please, if you have any eye problems do not attempt any inversions. If you have significant back or neck issues, consult with a yoga teacher or better yet a doctor whose opinion you trust before attempting pose number one. The same goes for any discomfort that is not easily resolved with a slight shift of position.
1) Legs-up-the-wall pose, also known as Viparita Karani or the Great Rejuvenator, is my favorite way to wind down at the end of the day. It's also very good for anyone who has been on their feet a lot, as it helps reduce edema in the lower extremities and facilitates circulation back to the heart.
2) Side-lying Savasana.
Note the placement of the pillows. The one between the knees effectively brings the knees out to hip-width, relieving pull across the lower back and back of the hips, and I sometimes add a pillow lower, so that I support not only the knees at this width, but also cushion and support the ankles. The pillow between the arms is very comforting and soothing, so it is also important, and of course the pillow under the head helps keep the head and cervical vertebrae aligned with the rest of the spine.
1) Legs-up-the-wall pose, also known as Viparita Karani or the Great Rejuvenator, is my favorite way to wind down at the end of the day. It's also very good for anyone who has been on their feet a lot, as it helps reduce edema in the lower extremities and facilitates circulation back to the heart.
2) Side-lying Savasana.
Note the placement of the pillows. The one between the knees effectively brings the knees out to hip-width, relieving pull across the lower back and back of the hips, and I sometimes add a pillow lower, so that I support not only the knees at this width, but also cushion and support the ankles. The pillow between the arms is very comforting and soothing, so it is also important, and of course the pillow under the head helps keep the head and cervical vertebrae aligned with the rest of the spine.
3) Shakti mudra.
Can be combined with the last pose to good effect: Simply place the corner of the pillowcase between the ring and little fingers. According to Gertrud Hirschi, author of Mudra: Yoga In Your Hands, Shakti mudra "intensifies the respiratory impulse in the lower chest area". This helps us transition from a shallower breathing style to a deeper one, which encourages the release/relax phenomenon that is necessary for us to fall asleep.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wisconsin
Long time, no write-y.
A quick catch-you-up: Last summer, as many of my readers are aware, I left the Mendocino Coast of Northern California, where I had been living and teaching for several years, for the Bay Area. Shortly after I made that move, my father passed away, and I spent the rest of the summer in Wisconsin, with my family. I returned to California to finish one last semester of school, chilled for a month, and am now back in Wisconsin, where I will stay for the next 5-6 months or so. Ah, winter in the midwest. If anyone has ever doubted whether I have a streak of crazy in me...;)
Actually, that's not fair. There is a great deal of "doing the right thing" involved with the timing of my move back to the Midwest, and that I am moving in flow with the universe has been shown to me in all the wonderful things that have happened since I left California and arrived in:
the only-Frank-Lloyd-Wright-inspired-airport-that-I-am-aware-of (it was a dark and snowless Wisconsin night...).
Anyway, I have begun teaching again; picking up a couple of classes at a lovely local studio, here in my hometown. The name of the studio is Second Star, and this sweet space saved me many times last summer, when I was feeling like so much flotsam in the wake of my father's death, being roughed up by unseen currents.
My weekly classes:
Thursday nights, Mixed Level, 7-8 pm.
Sunday nights, Candlelight Yoga, 5-6 pm.
And a special workshop on Saturday, February 25th: Yoga Mudra, 9:30-11 am.
Isn't it a beautiful space?
A quick catch-you-up: Last summer, as many of my readers are aware, I left the Mendocino Coast of Northern California, where I had been living and teaching for several years, for the Bay Area. Shortly after I made that move, my father passed away, and I spent the rest of the summer in Wisconsin, with my family. I returned to California to finish one last semester of school, chilled for a month, and am now back in Wisconsin, where I will stay for the next 5-6 months or so. Ah, winter in the midwest. If anyone has ever doubted whether I have a streak of crazy in me...;)
Actually, that's not fair. There is a great deal of "doing the right thing" involved with the timing of my move back to the Midwest, and that I am moving in flow with the universe has been shown to me in all the wonderful things that have happened since I left California and arrived in:
Anyway, I have begun teaching again; picking up a couple of classes at a lovely local studio, here in my hometown. The name of the studio is Second Star, and this sweet space saved me many times last summer, when I was feeling like so much flotsam in the wake of my father's death, being roughed up by unseen currents.
Thursday nights, Mixed Level, 7-8 pm.
Sunday nights, Candlelight Yoga, 5-6 pm.
And a special workshop on Saturday, February 25th: Yoga Mudra, 9:30-11 am.
Isn't it a beautiful space?
I love that the studio also hosts an art gallery, which space you can begin to see to the left of the paper cranes in the picture above.
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