Sacramento Seva Yoga: Yoga Reclaimed

Photos  by Brynna Bryant of Respiro Photography.

What does 'yoga' mean to you?

In my eight years practicing and two years teaching, I've come to discover yoga is about union. Unifying the body, mind, spirit. Uniting the breath with movement. Showing up together as a collective, empowered community.

Yoga means uniting forces with other like-minded, high-vibration, compassionate humans and spreading love and kindness out into the world. Yoga is about learning to love more, feel more, and experience life more fully.

So with those things in mind, I recently launched a project with Respiro Photography and Sac Sierra Yoga where I'll be blogging about seva, or selfless service, and all the local Sacramento yoga studios where you can take free yoga classes.

I want to get out into new spaces, talk to yogis I've never met, learn from the amazing teachers in my local community, and say thank you.

 

As an added and incredible BONUS, Brynna of Respiro Photography is also giving back to our community by offering one lucky yoga student or teacher a free photo shoot this summer. During our travels around the area and our visits to local classes, we'll be talking to yogis to try and find someone who could benefit from having head shots taken, so if you might be that person, feel free to email me (aliveinthefire at gmail dot com) and I'll send you the application.

Photo  by Brynna Bryant of Respiro Photography.

Sacramento Seva Yoga: Yoga Reclaimed

My second stop on the tour was Yoga Reclaimed in Auburn. Full disclosure: in January, I started teaching the Tuesday and Thursday noon classes at Reclaimed...so you could say my deep love and appreciation of this studio is a somewhat biased perspective on the space :) But let me just say that even though I'm on staff, and therefore not necessarily a 'neutral' point of view, I'd still love to tell you about Reclaimed's free community class and believe it definitely belongs on the Sacramento Seva list.

The Saturday morning community yoga class at Reclaimed is a truly unique and wonderful experience. Studio owner Ryan Bailey teaches an upbeat, inspiring, and challenging 90-minute balance class. To me it feels like a cross between a sacred kirtan gathering and a dance party you'd have with friends-- the music is loud, the energy is intense, and the yogis all around you are working really hard, so you feel motivated and encouraged. 

The space has the energy of transformation. You leave the studio feeling a lot different than when you arrived -- sweatier, more lighthearted, and more connected. 

Vibe of the space: Sacred, grounded, authentic (and during class, fierce)

Favorite moments from class: I loved immediately grounding and joining together as a community with the call-and-response chant to Ganesha. Very powerful mantra, and great drumming :)

I also loved the intensity of the warm up sequence, and all the core work we did to get our bodies ready for twisting and backbending. Ryan teaches the kind of class where you can't run and hide from what's going on -- a lot is being asked of you, physically, and at the same time you have the opportunity to connect inwardly on an emotional and spiritual level. As he described it, it's like being at a buffet... you get to pick and choose what you want to eat, and you don't have to choose everything. And the poses that you do participate in, those are the ones to savor.

My favorite moment was toward the end of class, when Ryan offered a profound reminder to become a witness to our own experiences. Not only on the mat, but also in our lives -- to be willing to step back for a second, see ourselves and our reactions for what they truly are, and to go from there.

Ryan teaches yoga in an incredibly powerful, raw, and authentic way. He meets you right where you are, whether it's your first time rolling out a mat or you've been to his class for years. He acknowledges and sees his students, and he is willing to push you to be the best version of yourself. Thank you, Ryan, for sharing the love and devotion of Bhakti yoga!

Above photo by Adam Perron.

Reasons I can't wait to come back: The community at Reclaimed is vibrant. The yogis here are open-minded and open-hearted, incredibly willing, and committed to their practice. The teachers bring their heart and soul each time they step into the room to teach, and often the classes are blessed by generous, mindful assistants too, meaning that your practice will be enhanced by touch and sometimes even a massage of your temples or feet during shavasana. Most days I leave the studio having hugged someone and/or laughed wholeheartedly, too, and that is a beautiful thing.

Studio location: 530 Grass Valley Hwy, Auburn, CA 95603
Phone: (530) 305-9408
Seva (free) community class offerings: Saturdays from 9:30am-11 am

Photos  by Brynna Bryant of Respiro Photography.

At Yoga Reclaimed, all are welcome. Come kick off your shoes, roll out your mat, and dive right in!

Namaste.

Stay tuned for the next update in the Sacramento Seva Yoga series, and as always feel free to reach out to me with feedback or any questions.

Determination

Photos by Brynna Bryant of Respiro Photography.

Keep pursuing what you love relentlessly.

With passion. 

Keep devoting yourself, and trusting.

2 Amazing Books for Self-Care (You Can Be Stress-Free and Pain-Free!)

Taking care of your body is so important. You don't have to be a regular at the yoga studio to know this. Whether we're on or off the mat, we must constantly work to remain in balance, releasing stress so we can think clearly and moving mindfully so that we avoid injury.

Today I want to share two incredible books that help me stay stress-free and pain-free. They're full of incredible information about anatomy and the body, so they're a great resource for me to use as a yoga teacher when I'm planning classes or helping a student who needs a modification. 

But I'd honestly recommend these books to anyone, regardless of your age, activity level, or body type... they contain a wealth of knowledge about releasing stress and muscular tension, and the poses and exercises are shared in a way that's easy to read. 

It doesn't matter if you've done yoga... if your body hurts or you feel stressed, go read these books! :)

The Roll Model by Jill Miller

This book is a guide to using various roller balls and props for releasing muscular tension. I am so grateful for my yoga tune-up therapy balls that came with the book. I use them several times a week, especially if I'm sore after a class. They're compact and easy to carry in a purse or backpack, and you can use them in so many different spots throughout the body!

A while back, I was suffering from intense pain in my low back and glutes, with sensation that felt like sciatica. Often the best relief throughout my day would be from using the therapy balls and the hip exercises from The Roll Model. Combined with exercises such as mula bandha to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles, this book seriously changed my outlook and helped me release so much pain and stress. I highly recommend it as a resource to anyone who is suffering from pain anywhere in the body, and especially to all yoga teachers, coaches, trainers, and massage therapists.

Photos via Yapana Yoga.

Restorative Yoga Therapy: 

The Yapana Way to Self-Care and Well-Being by Leeann Carey

The author of this book, Leann Carey, has designed an incredible system of yoga for unique needs. By using props and careful alignment, she makes any pose accessible to any body. I love the way the book is organized and the comprehensive illustrations with specific sequences. She even has sections for enhancing the immune system, recovery for athletes, and relief from PMS.

In an interview about the book, Leann said that if she could recommend only 3 poses a day to a yoga student, they would be fish pose, legs up the wall pose, and revolved knee squeeze pose (pictured below). These three poses incorporate back bending, supported twisting, and relief to the lower back and feet. Each of them are incredibly powerful postures to incorporate into your daily practice!

Jill and Leeann each have over 20 years of experience studying and teaching yoga, and it's easy to tell when you read their books. I am so grateful to have these amazing titles on my shelf of yoga books, and I can't wait to share copies with my friends and fellow teachers this year at Christmas ;)

Namaste!

Alive in the Fire

What does it mean to be alive in the fire?

I feel alive in the fire when I am willing to sit with what’s difficult – by facing my fears head on, and breathing through the discomfort.

Alive in the fire is being willing to burn off the old habits that no longer serve me.

To change, even when change is hard.

Humble, yet fierce.

Calm, and ready.

Willing.

Alive in the fire.

Leverage Your Life (A Guest Post by Sponsored Yogi Justin)

Photos courtesy of Justin.

Am I living up to my highest potential?

This is a great question for spring time, when the earth itself shows signs of renewal, vital energy, and awakening. 

Every day is a new opportunity to invigorate your life, and notice what opportunities surround you. Today I have an inspiring post from sponsored yogi Justin on ways to fulfill your potential by leveraging the tools you have, including a yoga practice.

Leverage, or the use of something to its maximum advantage, has been coming up in my life recently.  

The concept first came up when I took a workshop on Thai Massage recently. If you aren't familiar with that form of massage... picture you and your massage therapist getting into all sorts of pretzel like contortions and at the end of the hour you will feel exactly like a Bavarian Pretzel: soft and yummy. 

What I learned in the workshop was that the various stretches are not used to induce a sense of intimate awkwardness, but to always leverage body weight. Body weight, not body strength, is used to massage the muscles to maximum effect with minimal effort. 

After 25 minutes of tossing my partner Molly around and giving her an amazing massage with a group of 50+ people surround us, she asked, "Wow, aren't you tired?" The honest answer was, "No." I wasn't tired because I leveraged my body weight and my muscles didn't have to do much except get a nice stretch. 

This past week I took a five day coaching course so that I could improve my career and my relationships. One of the surprising things I learned was that if I wanted to easily improve in those areas of my life I needed to work on my communication skills. 

Communication skills are leverage for improvement in other areas of my life. If I focus solely on career and relationships it will require a lot of effort. I'm effectively performing a Swedish massage on my life...things will improve, but it will be exhausting. 

What does this have to do with Yoga? Why am I posting this on a yoga blog, other than because I took the Workshop at a yoga studio? 

Well...What is yoga? It's a practice where I have to communicate with myself. 

I need to listen to my body, understand it, and sometimes ask it to do things it doesn't want to do. If I can't do that with myself, how well am I going to do that with a friend, a partner, a sibling, coworker, or boss? Probably not very well. 

If I take a more intensive yoga workshop or do 1 on 1 instruction then I WILL be asked to do something I either don't want to or physically can't perform and I be forced to communicate that to the instructor or I'll be communicating with a doctor or therapist. Either way I'm communicating with other! 

Yoga is not just yoga; yoga is leverage for your life.

This is so true! Thanks, Justin, for your wise words. Hope you yogis are making time to leverage your lives and spend some time on your mats this week! 

Outdoor Adventures and Sports Gear for Yogis, Climbers and Hikers

With spring just around the corner, I'm starting to get excited for some adventures in the mountains. It's been far too long since I went camping, went hiking, or rock climbed outdoors!

I've always wanted to try mountain biking, too. Do you guys like going on outdoor adventures?

I recently discovered this awesome site called The Clymb, where you can find sports gear for a wide variety of activities -- everything from yoga clothes to cycling gear, camping supplies and running shoes. 

If I could pick any outfit for my next yoga in the park session, I'd have to go with this sexy top and sweet pair of leggings:

 

And for hiking and biking:

 

The site carries a lot of high-quality brands like Patagonia, PrAna, Lucy, Columbia and Adidas, but with discounts of up to 70% off retail prices. Very helpful for someone like me who would rather spend a reasonable amount on gear, and have more of my budget for traveling to cool locations to enjoy nature! :)

I'm thinking a trip to Tahoe is in order in the near future... and eventually I'd like to plan to take a few vacation days for a trip down to Yosemite, Death Valley or the coast up near Mendocino. I haven't gone exploring in forever, and it would feel really good to be away from the city and in a place where it's quiet enough to hear the wind through the trees, and dark enough at night to see the stars :)

Since I was a little girl, I've always loved being outdoors and traveling. When I was a kid, my dad would always take my brother, sister and me camping. I loved having no set schedule, and the way we'd let our days be determined by the sunrise and sunset rather than any specific plans. We'd wander on the trails and listen to him tell stories. We'd search for animal tracks and unusual birds. We were always on the look out for bears and poison oak, and we didn't mind when the red dirt got on our shoes.

Nothing quite compares to being away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and free from cars and noise and screen time :)

A few trips that are on my list for sure:

• climb in Moab with my friend who's grown up in Utah
• do a bicycle tour (1-2 weeks cycling and camping)
• hike in Alaska
• see the Grand Canyon
• explore the beaches in Thailand
• climb Half Dome
• teach yoga abroad as a guest teacher (at a studio or retreat center)

What excursions do you want to take this year?

PS What's the coolest place you've practiced yoga outdoors?

Setting an Intention

Photos via Pinterest.

I am healthy; I am strong.

I vibrate this mantra during my practice today. 

I will feel into my full potential.

At any time I feel weak, unstable or incapable, I will return to the intention: I am healthy; I am strong.

Chaturanga

Photos via Pinterest.

Chaturanga used to be one of my least favorite poses, but I've recently embraced it in class. The "pushup of yoga" is one of those poses that can help you build the strength and courage you need to move toward more advanced postures, like handstand and arm balances.

A few quick tips on proper alignment in chaturanga:

• Generate the pose from strength in the legs. Keep those quads engaged!
• In the pose, elbows are over the wrists. Hands press down, low belly lifts.
• Before you bend, be sure to shift forward. Reach with your heart and your heels.
• Draw your shoulder blades together strongly, picturing your heart opening.
• Gaze slightly forward, not up, in order to avoid tension in the neck. 
• Think about avoiding these common issues: bum is too high (engage the core more firmly) or shoulders are drooping (again, think of your shoulder blades drawing back).

A final note: consider  if you're adding resistance to the pose. If your teacher asks you to take Chaturanga and hold for five breaths, what is your immediate reaction? Is it the thought, Damn, I don't want to do that or, worse yet, I can't do that?

You'd be surprised at what you're capable of if you let yourself trust yourself and be open to what's possible. You may find your arms hold you there, steady, if you can calm your mind first. The body perseveres. 

You are in the moment, not resisting the yoga, encouraged by the warrior yogis around you.

Aerial Yoga

Photos via Pinterest.

I've started taking aerial yoga classes at a local studio, and I'm in love! Using the hammock allows for deeper stretching, an amazing core workout, and the chance to strengthen arm muscles I forgot I have. :)

Plus I love the way I could go deeper with inversions, without the fear of falling. After my first class, I felt an amazing sense of new space in my spine. I felt refreshed and rejuvenated.

I'm looking forward to going back this week, and sharing some photos with you soon! Have you guys ever tried aerial yoga before? What did you think?

How to Do a Headstand (And Learn to Overcome Your Aversion to Inversions)

Headstand is tricky. It's a pose that takes practice and patience. 

Not only are you working on overcoming gravity, but inversions can also bring up fear, a gripping in the mind. I find it helpful to remember that there are many stopping points along the way into headstand where you can pause. Listen to your body. 

Where are you today in the pose?

It doesn't make you any less of a yogi to stay in position 1, your head cradled in your hands. You aren't considered more successful by finding the full expression of the pose.

Remember this sense of patient awareness as you approach headstand.

Start seated on your feet. Cross the arms, pressing your palms into the shoulders. Lean your elbows forward onto the ground, and open the forearms shoulder-width. Cradle the head in your hands, scooting your head forward, your hands like a retaining wall.

Place the crown of your head on the floor (anywhere between the top of your head all the way forward to the hairline). Unshrug the shoulders, pushing them up toward the ceiling. Be sure to keep them away from the ears, strong and engaged throughout the pose.

Next, push your hips into the air, as if you were doing downward facing dog pose. Come onto the tiptoes, walking your feet forward. Continue tiptoeing your feet toward your face until your hips are above your head.

You may need to bend your knees if your hamstrings are tight. Generally the feet end up about 6 inches from your face, closer than what you see in the photo above.

If you're just beginning to work on headstand, feel free to stay here as you build strength in your neck and shoulders.

The next step is to lift the feet off the ground, using core strength to bring them together. Bend the knees and bring them in toward your chest. Tighten the legs, squeezing the knees together.

Again, unshrug the shoulders. As you find stability and balance, begin to bring the knees in line with the hips horizontally, then slowly and carefully bring the knees above the hips.

Keep your gaze focused on one spot as you bring the feet all the way up. Reach the balls of your feet toward the ceiling. One trick you can use for additional stability is to push your chin slightly toward the floor, which straightens the spine a bit.

Again, press down firmly into the shoulders and forearms.

To come out, reverse the steps, moving through each stopping point. After your headstand, be sure to rest on the floor in child's pose.

Enjoy the way the pose empowers you to see the world differently. Enjoy the calm, steady feeling afterward. Namaste!

Peaceful Warriors

Photo by Christy Rau.

 Carry peace in your heart today. Continue your practice.

All is coming.

Photo via Pinterest.

This post is dedicated to all the Dharma yogis and teachers around the world who I so admire. I benefit from the light and love you share. Thank you!

YogaEarth Superfood Solstice Specials

All photos by me.

Summer is a great time of year for eating superfoods, don't you think?

The air is hot, the body wants to feel light, the mind wants to be free.

YogaEarth can help bring you back to the body you love and desire.

You could try a chocolate coconut almond bar, some organic coconut water, or even chocolate-covered goji berries (mmmm, my fave!).

The organic superfoods, bamboo water bottles, and Lunar Wellness kits are also fantastic deals.

Enjoy! Share!

May you be light & filled with love this summer.

Sweaty Betty Yoga Wear

Photos by me.

Sweaty Betty is a women's fitness clothing company based in the UK. They make beautiful women's athletic wear, including clothing for yoga, running, gym workouts, swimming, tennis and even skiing. I recently had the pleasure of testing out their lovely ballerina cami and kriya tights.

 

Both the tank and the leggings fit like a dream. Sweaty Betty's fabrics are high-quality, stretchy, and super soft, which left me feeling cozy and comfortable throughout my workout.  

And get this: the cami has a built-in bra and is made with natural, anti-bacterial bamboo which actually helps prevent odor. Not to mention the back has a criss-cross design with interlaced straps that totally show off my tattoo. It's basically my new favorite yoga top :)

 

Not only did I not have to worry about wearing a sports bra while doing yoga at home, but I also discovered that the ballerina cami doubles as an awesome undershirt for everyday styles, like at the office! 

I am totally wearing this shirt while out and about again soon, and may just have to keep it as my #1 pick for days when I'm going straight to yoga after work.

Overall I am very pleased with both the ballerina cami top and the kriya tights. Wearing them makes me feel energized, empowered, and stylish. I'll admit: now, before I even start my yoga routine, I dance around my living room a bit when I've got them on, reliving my days of doing leaps and turns on my high school dance team :)

I encourage all you beautiful yoginis to check out Sweaty Betty's latest offerings. As you may know, I'm an affiliate with them and hope you'll place orders through Alive in the Fire as a way of supporting the blog. Simply click any of the links in this post, or use the right-side Sweaty Betty banner on the homepage to get to their site. As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Namaste!

Be a Yoga Pro at SweatyBetty.com

Yoga at Home: My Favorite DVDs

Are you new to yoga and unsure where to start in the expansive, wild world of yoga DVDs? 

I'll admit: between Barnes and Noble, Amazon and all of the teacher blogs and websites out there, it's hard to know who's at-home practice routine is worth trying.

This post is for all of you yogis who want to keep your practice going at home, but don't know which DVDs are worthy of your time. This list includes all of the ones I'm a fan of, plus a few I've never tried but which look amazing. Hope it brings you many great hours at home on your mat!

Kundalini Yoga to Detox and Destress with Maya Fiennes

Rodney Yee: Yoga Burn

Seane Corn: Detox Flow Yoga or Vinyasa Flow

Morning Kundalini with Tommy Rosen via Gaiam TV

Fit Body Yoga with Gwen Lawrence via Gaiam TV

AM/PM Yoga for Beginners with Barbara Benagh

Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga Total Body Transformation (which I recently reviewed in detail)

As far as online resources/ subscription services go, I highly recommend GaiamTV.com. I want to try Yogis Anonymous  out sometime soon too. Any of you ever used it?

Here are three other DVDs on my must-try list:

Power Flow Yoga with Shiva Rea

Budokon  with Jason Olive

Yin Yoga  with Paul Grilley

Which yoga DVDs are your favorite? Please share your recommendations in the comments below. Happy living room yoga-ing! :)