Happy Fall,  I cannot believe it has been all summer and now into November!  I have been busy with my continued rehab and strength building since my leg break this past Spring.  Always an interesting part of the journey when we have a new way of looking at our body and a new way of exercising and being mindful.

Fall brings many things with it, one of them being the need to exercise inside.  Gone are the lazy long days of Summer.  Now I have fall walk with my dog, Vigo, and exercising more inside.  This time of year it is important to pick something that is fun, interesting and not just the same old workout.
We all change through out the year, physically, mentally and emotionally.  It is time to tweak that diet and nutrition, eating more seasonally and also exercise needs to adjust.

Find a class, or something new to try!  Look at my class schedule and join me at class, do training, or take up a new class at one of the clubs I train at,  It is never too late to start something new.

Enjoy the fall, stay fit and active,   Denise

Memorial Day Weekend! What a fabulous time, long weekend, and enjoying family. friends and springtime.

Oh yea, AND Yoga! This weekend, do a yoga practice for you, find a class near you or tune in to your body and just practice what you need.

Most importantly RESTORE yourself.

Legs up the wall Pose
Shavasana: relaxation pose
Reclining Butterfly, all good ones to help you relax and restore.

bring joy to your weekend with all that you do! Peace and Light, Denise

Pilates and Yoga CLASSES!

Hi Everyone, I am so glad to be back at my places of work. Eden Prairie and the Sweatshop!

Classes are going and I hope to see you all there. Summer is the time of year when we do not necessarily want to be inside working out, BUT keep in mind yoga or pilates class is only ONE hour of your time.

Yoga and Pilates is a real testament to the practice and doing it regularly, my recovery has been an amazing up hill gain each day and it is all due to doing yoga and pilates. So keep it in your Summer Schedule! You will be happy that you did.

Namaste Everyone and Hope to see you in classes this week! Denise

Finding our way with Yoga

As some you know I have been recovering from a femur fracture, and I am up and about and back to teaching. My heartfelt appreciation to everyone who subbed and kept in touch with me during the past 2 and half months.

Finding my way mentally and physically has been a path and journey in and of itself, nothing I have felt before. My yoga practice has had to reflect it, I have made it a habit to not set stock on the same yoga practice each day.Instead I would do just what I needed or what I was especially in the mood for which always balanced me emotionally and physically. My practice has been very slow, low key and focused. Rehabbing a injury, specifically the thigh. In the beginning, I did many seated poses, to stretch and keep my soft tissue at ease. With there being no load for six weeks, creativity was at a peak for me. Favorite poses, Staff Pose(Dandasana) and Seated Open Angle(Upavista Konasana) and Navasana(boat). In addition, I did many other things, pilates and meditation. I mixed this practice each day for 6 weeks. Then from there it has changed each day, adding longer holds, standing poses, down dog, and yesterday some flow. All very slow and focused on mind/body how it felt in each moment of my practice.

I many times hear people say they stopped practicing yoga because of an injury or a set back physically, I often feel sad about it. As I know myself and many other teachers in my circle, suggest people come to class and do what they can. It is good to find a qualified teacher who can give you helpful tips for at home, OR find a teacher that will meet one on one, to discuss it with you. Usually one visit to get you started is all that you need. It is amazing, to use the practice to allow your body to be where it is and not where you think it should be. Even without an acute injury, yoga must meet our bodies needs on a daily basis. Through our practice this way, we can honor self, be compassionate to ourselves, and show ourselves love. If we do this our bodies will serve us well.



Happy Yogaing! Namasate' Denise

Appreciation and Karma Yoga

I am usually thinking about these two things as separate, and always in relation to others, not necessarily in relation to myself. Nischela Joy Devi in her Yoga Sutras discusses Karma Yoga as something we do for ourselves and then from that place we are able to serve others. This made me re-examine how I nurture myself and do Karma Yoga. Although I do a daily practice, examining, what I do daily, and if it is really serving my body and mind has been a wonderful exploration. During my rehab, exploring poses as I recuperate and build strength, is almost like doing some poses for the first time. My body reacts differently, postures that I wasn't much interested in doing before are now on my list. One of them being a least favorite pose, Upavista Konasana, it is absolutely a pose that feels amazing right now, and it feels so different from before my injury. I have such a deep appreciate for it and my practice. The other piece of appreciation is just for myself and the things I do in my life. While I have been unable to do things as I normally do, take cooking or laundry, I have not been able to do either, And the care I give both is something I appreciate about myself. I look forward with new appreciation to doing these things very soon! Already I have a list of recipes! So nurturing my yoga practice, and inspiring myself to read more and experience poses in a new way is very fulfilling. Then adding in the appreciation of those things that I do for myself and family are definitely working on Karma Yoga. Having a deep appreciation for yourself is amazing, and fulfilling.

And it is Spring time! I have amazing appreciation for it! Looking forward to enjoying the season. Peace and Light

Healing: the process moving forward

Healing is such a broad word and concept. Even when we are healing we can feel the process, but how do we know that we are there? In yoga, each of us practices for many reasons, one of the main reasons is to alleviate suffering in the mind and body. As we practice asana and meditate we are hopefully releasing the scars of events that have occurred and left residual energy in our body. This residual energy can show up several ways, in our actions, in our physical body, and in our thoughts. I am relating to healing as what do I feel at peace with? What events or issues have I had that really do not have a residual element in my body and mind. Then meditating on those things that I am not at peace with, and deciding how to keep the process going in those areas. Yoga clears those areas of residual energy, so a daily practice is of the utmost importance. Today my practice is lot of seated poses, upper body backbends and openers, while I heal my leg and keep load off of it. I am more peaceful, and content during this time to allow my leg to heal fully. Enjoy your practice, if you do not have a daily practice, find a suitable teacher to assist you. If you are getting to class once a week, then do things you remember from class or ask your teacher.

Keep on practicing! Namaste'

Niyamas Tapas: discipline and desire for practice

As I continue with my recovery, and focus more deeply everyday on my practice, a combination of Pilates and Yoga, I find myself enjoying thoroughly the time that I have when doing it. Tapas, was one of the Niyamas that I usually had trouble understanding and getting, but as I do my practice, Tapas, provides me with self discipline even when we are not up for getting on our mat, the desire and fire within to practice, feel better about our selves and the world around us becomes the motivator.

I find I am slow and kind with my practice, right now limited to floor, and seated and supine work, is feeling wonderful, to stretch and feel changes each day in my body. If you haven't made it to your mat today, there is still time! Namaste' Denise

Niyama #2 Santosha(Contentment)

As I recuperate and begin looking at my yoga practice, spending time on yoga philosophy is a wonderful way for me to heal and refocus. After the last two weeks and spending time detaching from so many things, I am left with time on my hands and a great deal of open space in my schedule! Santosha when I was reading today seemed to resonate a great deal with my daily challenge, Contentment. Experiencing Contentment is similar to having a bowl of water, when it is still it is calm, reflective and quiet but if the bowl gets moved or bumped, the water spills out, or is making waves with in it. So not peaceful, or calm.

Finding contentment when most days are like the bowl being bumped is difficult to find equilibrium. Right now as I recuperate, I picture this bowl, an I develop a quiet contented day, learning and practicing something new or just quietly getting things done for myself. It has also opened a door to do things I have put off for along time and to give relationships attention as well. Santosha is defined with being content with your surroundings, where you are in life and with things as they are without desires.

Desires are a tricky business, I desire to be healed and ready to move on, BUT that takes the ebb of time, and patience(peace of mind) to let it happen. So cultivating Santsoha in the current moment, being with the task I am doing, reading a book,
exercising as I am able. Is the best way to notice each moment and come back from the needing to know the future and building expectations.

"All is well in the present moment. Let the present make you smile." Namaste'

Attachment or should I say Detachment?

The Yamas specifically Aparigraha is one of the core focuses through out our yoga journey as yogi's. In everyday life it can not always be noticeable,or easy to spot. I do asana practice everyday and mediation as well each day, and even with this practice it did not prepare me for the unexpected moment. I had a physical mishap which would tear me away from what I love doing each day and the schedule that I love to keep. Amazing the lesson in Aparigraha, possessive attachment- or should we say detachment.
I spent a long week, unraveling a schedule I love, and noticed that I was very attached to it. I now am on a bit lengthy rest period and noticing the amount of detachment that is needed in my daily life as a yogi. Nothing is for certain, and the yamas and niyamas give us the base of yoga philosophy to guide us for these moments. I now am working one day at a time and focusing on each moment even more than I did before. Cultivating a deep sense of awareness of what attachments I have, what I can find energy to detach from and what can assist me in feeling grounded in this moment. Namaste'
for more information, message me or reference a copy of the yoga sutras.

Deciding how to show up each Day

Seeing much to my dismay all the different media posts and anger, frustration and discomfort right now on our chosen media stream made me think of this story, really one of the most memorable experiences I have had in yoga, that taught me so much. My first year, that I attended a
Yoga Journal Conference was amazing, so much fun, so much inspiration and so much practice. It really catapulted me forward into the yoga
philosophy and the base of support that it can offer. I myself am not perfect, as much as I teach and I practice, I still experience frustrations, discomfort, sadness and enlightenment all at the same time! One of the teachers I took a class from was Seane Corne, amazing vinyasa flow when it really was just getting started as a practice. Her opening talk was about deciding what we want to BE on a daily basis.
Her example was if you want Peace then BE Peace, if you want to be Love then BE Love. It was so profound I remember it to this day. Such a simple reminder and so needed! I want more balance in my life, right now, and more calm, so that is what I am trying to BE in my life.

Take this to your practice and your mat, what do you want to BE today, and keep that in your mind, your heart and in your words.

Peace and Light, everyone! Denise