Elsie's Yoga Class

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Tenacious Gratitude

Thoughts?

I can tell you mine.

Tenacious didn’t quite feel “right” with me.

I felt that being tenacious was not something I aspired to be.

It’s too rough.

Too hard.

Too pushy.

Too manly.

I imagined the quintessential football player, the one that just stampedes over the competition regardless of anything else, bulldozing through pain, through obstacles, through physical harm - Raaaaaaaaaaah!!!!

I’m not that.

In fact, it kinda repulsed me.

I didn’t want to be known as tenacious.

And then I was introduced to Adeline Arjad from Chocbite by my awesome-sauce business powerhouse Erika Lyremark. Arlene said:

“Tenaciousness + Gratitude = Success”

And then it made sense.

This larger than life word that I had chosen not to align with at all, became more than my subjective cultural upbringing and life experience.

I let the word be.

Tenacious: not easily stopped or pulled apart. Firm. Strong. Seeking something valued or desired. Continuing for a LONG time.

Synonyms - devoted, faithful, relentless.

I recognized that I pushed away tenaciousness because I was afraid to commit and follow through.

Tenacious requires a deep, unwavering commitment to the things that you value and dream and I wasn’t willing to go that far.

I wanted an out. I wanted excuses. I didn’t want to do the work, not fully.

What if it didn’t work out?

What if what I stood behind or for changed?

What if I had to defend publicly what I stood for?

What if… …..I failed?

I’m ready - NOW - because of the magic of gratitude.

You simply cannot be tenacioustenacioustenacious. It’s unsustainable.

With gratitude thrown in the mix you’ve got a recipe for unwavering magic making.

Gratitude refuels and replenishes.

OMG this was perhaps the biggest lesson that I’ve learned.

Gratitude is like doing a personal and spiritual detox. It’s like drinking and eating your greens. It’s the fastest way to clear out the cruft left by the fire of tenacity.

I’m ready to embody tenacity. I’m ready to fuel it with the nectar of gratitude.

Do you want to join me?

How about practicing along and letting me know how tenacity mixed with gratitude felt in your body? Yeay or nay?

COME BACK FOR THE IMAGES AND POSSIBLE VIDEOS TO HELP YOU WITH THE SEQUENCE!

It’s episode 100 of Elsie’s Yoga Class!

This is not a yoga asana class today, but my goodness what we have is serious yoga study and conversation.

This is super special because it’s the 100th episode and also my 6th year podcasting!!!

In order to celebrate I gathered two of my most influential teachers and we have incredible conversations about yoga and life.

The kinds of things that are shared are the best kind of yoga you can learn and be exposed to. Listening will undoubtedly take your asana practice to an unbelievable level.

I ask my teachers the questions that you guys most often write to me about which are:

In addition to all of that you will hear YOUR voices. I share your voices so you know that you are part of something so much bigger than this yoga podcast, so much more amazing.

Our kula, our tribe our community is in the entire world and across time and space.

You guys belong to a magical space and are in the cutting edge.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I certainly hope you enjoy! It is a super long episode, be warned :) Consider it a yoga workshop Elsie style ;)

Sign up for my newsletter: elsiesyogakula.com/newsletter

I just wrote a post called When The World Doesn’t See You As You See Yourself, which was the basis for this episode.

The execution of embodiment, which to me = action is what I feel in my humble opinion is a giant factor in creating lasting embedded change in our lives and something that most of us lack.

We think a ton and don’t actually do anything.

I know that I stay a lot in my head. I have the knowledge. I know what needs to be done. I am fired up and completely in, and yet for a huge percentage of the times, I stay in my head.

In that last post I spoke of your yoga practice being 1/2 deep focus and 1/2 pure enjoyment. This is a teaching that was so succinctly encapsulated and driven home by Dr. Claudia Welch in one of the amazing calls in Cate Stillman’s and Dr. Welch’s Healthy Hormone’s Course.

(If you guys are interested, I cannot even begin to explain how life changing this course is)

Dr. Welch described this focus and enjoyment concept regarding meditation and as she explained it, I realized that this is applicable to everything, particularly if you are looking to create a specific outcome aka transformation.

I knew I was missing pieces of this puzzle…

So, in an effort to embody, I created a yoga class that began to get those concepts from the brain, into the body.

How do you practice focus and enjoyment in your practice? What does it feel like?

This week’s class is 37 minutes in length. I consider it to be about a level 1–2 class, and I feel beginners can absolutely give it a go.

This class is perfect for an early morning, mid afternoon, or evening class to get you back in alignment with yourself, particularly if you’re feeling out of sorts or if you are working on getting yourself to deepen the why of your yoga practice.

PS. I’m creating a mentoring yoga-life program, incorporating ayurveda, asana, and simple in-the-world practices to sweetly upgrade your life. Divine Moxie all the way baby! Stay on the list or JOIN MY NEWSLETTER aka The Divine Moxie League!

Oh what a story do I have to tell in this episode! At least you know what’s it’s going to be all about looking at the artwork for this post.

That image was taken very soon after I walked through my door after I got held up. I found both of my girls immersed in watching My Neighbor Totoro one of our family’s favorites. Such dichotomy.

You can of course listen to me tell the story of the whole event in the class. There is a 5 minute intro and then the class begins with me telling the story of how I got held by a young man with a gun a block away from my house.

Crazy!

This is a great class to practice when you are feeling ungrounded, defeated and/or a little scared. It’ll help you get your moxie on and help you reconnect to your strength!

I mention two links in the intro:

Yogidetox My free newsletter which is The Divine Moxie League HQ

Also, do to the tragic events this week in Boston and in Texas I wrote this deeply personal piece that I’d love for you to check out: Surviving Terror- A Personal Story

Let me know what you think! email me at [email protected] or call me at 310 651 6238!

When was the last time you invested in yourself?

I’m not talking about buying something, whether it be a yoga class, a workshop or even a nice new outfit. I’m talking about taking some REAL time to be with yourself, to feel your body, to listen to what’s going on in your heart and in your head.

When was the last time you did this right smack in the midst of holiday season? Particularly when you weren’t feeling your best….?

Then this class is for you!

Practice along and….

So get going and practice yoga at your own time and yet be part of something much greater 

Guess what I did???

This is my first full on video yoga class which includes my signature intro PLUS a cameo appearance of my girls Hunter and Mae!

There is no theme.

It's only 30 minutes.

It's an intermediate level class, because I don't break things down to much and it keeps a pretty steady pace.

I would LOVE your feedback on this format.

I am still going to be publishing audio classes, so don't worry :) I may just sprinkle the video classes here and there...and maybe make these more of a 'premium' offering...not sure.

Give it a go.

Let me know what you think!

How Are You…Really?

How many times has someone asked you “how are you?” and you mindlessly say “I’m fine, thanks.”

When you are not.

When I say, you are not, I don’t mean that you just had someone you love die, or you just lost your home, or your job, or you just found our your beloved was cheating on you…I mean “you are not,” because you don’t actually know anymore.

“I’m fine, thanks” is something we say countless times and most of those times, we don’t even think about it.

Our mouths answer before we even truly think about what we are saying.

It really isn’t that your life sucks.

In fact it’s probably a nice life.

There are ‘things’ that aren’t perhaps what you wish they were…but hey, you have tons of things that other people don’t…a place to live, friends, a decent partner…blah blah blah.

At least that’s what you tell yourself. BUT there is something in your belly, a slight little feeling, that your life isn’t where it’s meant to be.

It’s that feeling that you only feel when everything around you gets quiet.

When the world stops in between each breath.

When you notice the quiet in between each breath.

Which doesn’t happen too often ;)

I bring this up because this yoga class episode was inspired by an amazing project by Adam Baker called “I’m Fine, Thanks.” It’s a VERY important life changing project that all of you should be aware of and consider donating to.

THERE ARE ONLY 9 DAYS LEFT TO DONATE!

For Some Complacency = Death

Really?

Yes.

If I would not have made the choices that I made in the fall of 2007 I would in no way be as alive as I am right now.

I feel it in my bones that my health would have suffered greatly.

I am 100% certain that I would not be a mother.

I didn’t have a horrible life, in fact from the outside it looked just peachy. I looked just peachy. I sounded just peachy.

But in between the breaths, I was not.

The following class is an opportunity to practice stepping deeper into your heart, and ask yourself “how are you?”

And answer yourself truly, in the privacy of your own mat, in your own practice.

The class itself is not particularly challenging in terms of the poses, but it is slow deliberate and I don’t teach from the ground up. You’ll get the most of the yoga class if you already have a practice, simply because you get an opportunity to forget the ‘poses’ and make it more about a moving meditation.

Let me know how it goes!

Nothing fancy.

No crazy poses.

In fact, there are very little poses.

This is more of a practice of just doing THIS. One. Thing.

It's more about dharana- one pointed concentration.

It's about stopping doing all things at once (including quickly getting a yoga class in as part of your continued multitasking.) ;)

Let me know what you think! This is a new format as the class was recorded at home, with no students, just you guys and me!

Look below for the yoga class sequence.

The awesomely fantastic tunic colca, which I ADORE.

This is one of my favorite pieces of clothing from [Prancing Leopard[pl], the Tunic Colca. It's sort of like a super sophisticated and styly racerback ribbed tank top.

It's got this KILLER asymmetrical neckline that totally rocks, and it's crazy long. It totally covers by bum. It's so comfy. It looks great, it's awesomely fashionable AND I can very easily breast feed in it.

Seriously, you gotta get it! Remember to use coupon code eyk at checkout to get 15% off. This code is specially for the Elsie's Yoga Kula community!

Anna And Modern Day Slavery

When human trading becomes one of the most profitable 'businesses' in the world...one brave hacker, risking everything,leads a fight to end them...

If you can help support this incredible project, please do so!

You can check out all about this HERE.

Check out all about this piece

FINALLY!!!

The more I live my life, the more I recognize that the most important aspect of the practice of yoga is the breath. Every key insight either about me, a specific pose, the way my body functions or even my relationships has come through a growth in the breath.

I remember two distinct times while practicing backbends that they unfolded themselves to me when I FINALLY breathed optimally while working deeper into the postures.

I also remember my first feeling of wholeness as I let go into savasana for the first time, I believe because I released into my breath for the first time.

The breath has particularly played a ginormous part in staying sane after the birth of Mae and becoming a Mama of two, through three pretty powerful experiences with pain and discomfort (during labor, when my sacrum went out 2 weeks after birth and when my impacted wisdom tooth got infected.)

The breath just came to my aid recently, not regarding to pain this time, but anxiety

You can hear how the breath helped me come back from an almost full blow anxiety attack!

The practice is meant to be the first step you take into the power of your own breath.

The breathing practice focuses primarily on cultivating your own natural breath, by discovering it's movement within your body.

If you are someone that has never done any kind of breath practice or have never paid attention to your breath and how it affects your health, this is the practice for you!

Go ahead, practice! You won't regret it. (THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE THE APP, YOU WILL GET AN MP3 OF ONLY THE 20 MIN CLASS WITHOUT THE INTRODUCTIONS AS WELL!)

I would simply adore to hear how this practice works for you!

Oh,

Wanna know specific reasons of my choice regarding my affiliation with Anusara ™yoga, please feel free to email me and I'll break it down for you in a more private way :)

My body has gone through a pretty massive transformation since giving birth, as it should, since it facilitaded an entire new human being to come out! My goodness does that still keep me in awe. It floors me when I think of what this body is capable of. If something is magical, it's our bodies :)

I'm also keenly aware that as magical and intuitive as it is it MUST be nurtured.

I had my sacrum/si completely go out on me about 4 weeks postpartum. Thank God my parents were here visiting at that time. I could barely get out of bed, let alone pick up my infant daughter! It was rough. No amount of yoga therapy instantanously 'healed' me. In fact, the simple act of sitting and standing was excruciating.

It was then that I learned, um...RE-learned that yoga is not about the poses.

The gifts that yoga has given me have nothing to do with the poses, but with the simple and all powerful discovery of being, breathing and feeling. This discovery comes from the un-abiding choice recognize and honor Home.

Have you heard "Home is where the heart is?"

I think Home is the Heart.

Yoga didn't give me extra super powers. Yoga hasn't made my life any easier. I still have to address important issues, deal with stress, navigate financial woes, and experience physical pain! Ugh. That is sucky :(

But,

the practice of yoga facilitated my recognition of Home aka my Heart, and when that happens living becomes simpler, still challenging, still unpredictable, still difficult, but simple. It seems contradictory huh?

And therein lies the magic ;)

The practice of Home, developing a yoga practice at home, sustaining a yoga practice at home begins in the Heart.

Are you up for that?

Practice along :) or even simply listen along.

Let me know if Home became clearer to you and in what ways? I'd love to hear from you! WANNA GET ALL THE EXTRA TREATS? Sign up for my Newsletter :)