Blog

Oh, hi handstand. I like you. A lot.

This is a how-to-posture breakdown. There are tons of postures that you begin with to build up to this point (plank and navasana), but anyone, can practice the alignment set up of this posture and maybe even try a hop or two! If you are practicing against a wall, set yourself up so that you are one thumb and one forearm distance away.

Handstand is just so wonderful. In fact, if I were a yoga posture, I would be a handstand. I will get into the benefits in a bit.

For now, I will break down the posture into 4 parts.

1. Draw Femur up in Down Dog.Yoga Posture How To: Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana)

The posture starts with your set up. A lot happens in step 1.

Come into your downward facing dog (hands shoulder width distance apart, feet hips width distance, index fingers parallel to the side of your mat). Now, draw your shoulder blades down your back, away from your ears. Next, lift one foot an inch off the mat (or higher) without bringing your foot forward or backwards. Hover your foot there for 5 full breaths. Feel your femur bone descend into the hip socket, so there is a sensation of drawing it upwards. As your leg is lifted, hug your inner thighs together (adduction). Squeeze your forearms in towards one another, and hug your ribs together. Keep that squeeze of your inner thighs, and point your pinky toe down towards the earth. You are all set to practice little hops up with your lovely square hips. Your hips will remain square if you keep hugging inward and rotating inner foot arch up and pinky toe down (engage your feet and toes).

2. Hinge Forward, followed by a bent front knee.

Yoga Posture How To: Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana)

Yoga Posture How To: Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana)

One legged downward facing dog with square hips, keep your arms and belly strong, and with hips level. Keep squeezing your inner thighs together to use more mula bandha power. Inhale, hinge forward and tack your shoulders over your wrists!

Next, while in one legged downward facing dog with square hips, keep your arms and belly strong, and with hips level, play around with bending your front knee and hopping off the crowd to your comfort level. Keep squeezing your inner thighs together to garner more mula bandha power. Stack your shoulders over your wrists!

3. Draw bent knew into chest, but keep the lifted leg strong and straight.

Yoga Posture How To: Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana)

With your shoulders stacked over your wrists, hips are identical on both sides, hug the bent knee to your chest, center yourself, breathe, hug thighs in, and once you find the point where you feel strong and balanced extend your other leg up, and reach the balls of your feet high up towards the sky.

4. Handstand Happiness.

Yoga Posture How To: Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana)

Hug legs into your midline before, during kick up, and while in handstand! The balance comes from your center and expands outwards to your arms and toes. The pelvis is really heavy, and kicking up can be scary, I know! But by hopping up with square hips, you are doing yourself a real favor in terms of balancing; you are doing it with a lot more control!

Also, look at how freakish my toes look. I am flexing and pointing (flointing), and by doing so, I am firing up and activating every muscle throughout both legs. Keep your feet engaged!

In sum, handstands, work every muscle in your body. Try to see if you can smile and have fun, laugh at yourself, every time you fall down...and try again!

There are endless handstand benefits, but here is a short list:

-strengthens upper body

-improves balance (duh) but even when you are right side up (was that a duh, not sure)

-mood booster (you will feel like a rockstar)

-CORE (navasana helps)

-improves bone density (body weight baring), circulation (it gets your heart rate up), and breathing (don’t hold your breath while you are up there as many beginners do, keep breathing)

My bottom got all sandy, because this happened....

Yoga Posture How To: Handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana)

Keiki to the rescue! Summer is also an awesome adjustor, add that to her list of being the best kid ever.

Now, go get your handstand on!

With Love,

laura mary

 

 

 

 

Reflection: Wake up and do your Best

Wake up and do your best.

Basically, all you can do every day is wake up and do your very best. In your journey, what matters is what you think, what you say, how you act, and why. Will you be perfect? No. Will you make mistakes? Yes. Don’t let the critics get under your skin; let them go, there will always be critics. The supporters? Keep them close and don’t let them go. You hold the compass and decide not only where you are going, but also how you will get there and who you will take with you.

You choose. So choose wisely. Choose inspiration. Choose good people. Choose health. Choose kindness. Choose love. Choose enjoying the process, the highs and the lows. Choose learning and strength through the struggle and challenges, because this is it.

You will be dealt a balance of highs and lows. For some reason, I’ve always thought that when things are ‘right’ they must therefore be ‘easy.’ As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how flawed this thought proved to be. 

For example, yoga, Navasana (Boat Pose), never gets easier; but it’s certainly ‘right’ I feel myself quivering and shaking, and getting stronger with every breath spent holding the posture. Relationships are another great example; one of my very best friends in the whole entire world and I have always bickered like sisters, okay sometimes more than just bickered we could call it full on blow outs. With that said, we’ve always worked through our difficulties, maybe with a whole lot of tears, and emerged stronger. Was it is easy? Hell no. Was it worth it? No doubt.

Sometimes, waking up, and facing the up and down journey through life can be hard. But that’s what makes it so real, so amazing, and so worth it.

What really matters is getting out of bed and doing something. Our time here is fleeting, we never know when it will be over, so why not do your best? Why not connect with everyone that you can, hear all of their stories? Why not, stretch the limits of what you feel you are capable of? Why not feel ridiculously happy, because who really cares if others express jealousy? Why not let go of your own feelings of jealousy, because who is it serving? Why not step up to the plate, swing your little heart out, and maybe strike out? Because getting out of bed and doing your best, is the best thing you can do. If you fall, get back up, and know that in someway there is a lesson there. Maybe it is hidden or maybe it’s glaringly obvious, but it’s there.

Surround yourself with good people that support and love you, the light and the darkness, where you are now and where you are headed. Thank you to awesome teachers, like Marissa Jeanne Sinclair, who inspire and live their yoga. Thank you to all of my incredible supporters, family and friends, for loving and never failing to be there.

"When you get to a place, where you're seeing the positive in others more than the negative, it means you're doing the same for yourself. 

You amazing, wondrous vessel of spontaneity, creativity, beauty and strength. - The Universe"

Set your goals high, think about them, write them down, and then go after them.


With Love,

laura mary

Universe Memos

 

Life Lately:

I’ve never been a “writer,” per se, but now I feel their pain. Writer’s block, is a real phenomenon. Don’t be discouraged, there is a way to combat writer’s block, and that is with the power of intention. There is a huge power in setting intentions and then leaving them be, to develop as they will.

Oh the trials and tribulations of being me…

If you want to write a blog post and you don’t have an idea yet, whatever you do, don’t sit down to write one. Go do something else, like take a shower; really, you can do anything you want, except sit down to write.

While you have the intention of wanting to write, go off and do something else. As soon as you forget about the intention (though it has still been planted), suddenly, BOOM, ideas start flowing at a rapid pace.

Now, you have about 7 theme ideas in your head and you are trying to finish up your shower, whatever you do…don’t get out of the shower and plan on writing, because unless you repeat those 7 theme ideas in your head continuously (and all of the thoughts that stemmed from the original idea), you will only remember the last idea formulated.

Try that experiment, but, if you are not vested in the outcome of the blog post, you may find different results. However, I can conclude that I am clearly vested in the outcome of my blog, as this current post is the only idea that I’ve been left with since my shower ended.

I am going to interpret this as a gigantic memo from the Universe to slow down, let go of my attachment, and go do something that I enjoy. So I will go practice yoga for an hour with a notebook beside my mat…

And hopefully, you will all be hearing from me tonight!

I hope you enjoyed my stream of consciousness, I wrote this at midnight and I’ve been up since 4:30am! OH, life, why are you so awesome at dishing out lessons in the most unusual of manners?

With love,

laura mary

 

Yoga: Life and Feeling Centered

 

Life Lately:

Okay. Well, it’s been a bit since my last post. Life has been pretty wild lately. This blog post will be everything but neat. Here is what’s going on with me these days!

Derek is in LA for 3 months (all summer). Before he left for home, we spent all of our time together. His family was visiting as well and we kept ourselves quite busy, it felt like we were both on vacation too.

We had a blast to say the least. Now, Derek is gone, I miss him a ton but I am taking this time to really focus on myself. Since he’s been gone, I’ve realized even more so what a rock he is, in supporting me in everything that I do. Not only does he make the bed and coffee every morning (hehe), but he also attends all of my classes, supports my teaching, and my dreams. I have never felt more myself, more beautiful, more challenged, and more loved. As I figure out where I am headed, I am so thankful that I have him as my mirror (even if from a distance) to look at and keep me real, grounded, connected, and practical.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I left my job at the Cancer Center and I am currently teaching yoga full-time and doing wellness visits; I turned 27 (how in the WORLD did that happen?), Derek left for California, and I am faced with many real, hard, and practical life decisions…basically, I have to grow up.

I have to get real about the direction I am heading in life, which is an exciting one, I know that much – but rather than flow through in typical yogi way, I have to plan. I still set goals and write down my dreams, but I need to plan just how I am going to end up to where I want to go. This has resulted in me being even more obsessive with my planner (aka “homework assignment notebook,” as I refer to it). Meanwhile, I’ve been teaching so much yoga (17 classes this week + 1 wellness visit + coaching teacher training). Which is absolutely amazing (I will get there). Hopefully, I will adjust quickly to the life of a full-time yoga instructor.

While, I am trying to fit in as much career planning as I can, I am trying my very best to stay inspired with my yoga practice, teaching, and life. Life inspiration for me, means that in addition to practicing, I must go to the beach, hike, read, and spend time with people I love (but it’s for my job, I promise). But the truth is, I can't fit it all in! It hit me the other morning when I woke up, that my “to-do-list,” was complete with everything I love to do. One of the many joys of life these days is that – I never want to miss a single day of work. I love my job, I love working with and helping people; all of my students inspire me to be the best version of myself. Furthermore, I work with a group of teachers that are absolutely amazing.

And...What's the Problem?

However, with all of these wonderful shifts and changes and the beautiful ebb and flow of life, it has left me feeling a little less than centered. While I was working full-time at the Cancer Center, I made it an absolute priority to practice yoga #everydamnday (yep!); Now, I’ve noticed, my practices are a little bit shorter, I am snacking and grabbing quick bites to eat in between classes, and I have had less time to write. I know I need my rest, green juices, sweat sessions, mediation, time in the mountains and in the ocean to feel really, truly, centered. Derek knows best what I am like when I go a few days without practicing (don’t mess). Suddenly, rather than hold my own space strongly, I see a funny smirk on a person and think, ‘oh gosh- I hope they are okay, was it something I did or said? Okay, I better take this issue on and work it out.’

And I didn’t quite realize that I was doing this, until I came across this beautiful Marianne Williamson quote.

“What's difficult in life is to stay centered when somebody says or does something that tempts us to close our hearts because their heart was closed. That is hard. But that is also how we grow. We go through those circumstances in order to evolve into people who can hold our loving center no matter what the world throws us.”

- Marianne Williamson

I read this quote today and it hit home. It really struck me. While, my energy levels are perhaps depleted, and I am not feeling fully centered, I need to practice staying strong and holding my own space, regardless of what is going on in life.

If someone is having a bad day, and they treat you in a way that leaves you feeling bad…let. it. go. It is not, I repeat, not, your problem to take on. I needed this amazing reminder today. For my 6 am class this morning, I did a lot of core work (always) and heart openers. I shifted my perspective for the entire day, I feel open. I have been practicing moving through today with a loving intention and more compassion. I have been less reactive and definitely more open.

You never know what someone else is going through. Rather than make their story (issue) about you, take a step back, and be a little bit more open and loving; find some compassion knowing that they have something to work through.

Be ready to listen.

With Love,

laura mary

 

Ahimsa: Do No Harm, but Take No Sh*t

101 on the 8-limbed-path:

Patanjali (either one or many people) is the author(s) credited with writing the Yoga Sutras, around 2 centuries after the life of Jesus. The Yoga Sutras outline the 8-limbed-path to living a life of personal fulfillment and one that also benefits society.

The Eight Limbed Yogic Path:

1) Yamas (5 moral restraints)

  • Ahimsa (nonviolence)
  • Satya (truthfulness)
  • Asteya (nonstealing)
  • Brahmacharya (continence)
  • Aparigraha (non-hoarding/noncovetousness)

2) Niyamas (5 observances)

  • Saucha (cleanliness)
  • Santosha (contentment)
  • Tapas (heat, spiritual austerities, discipline)
  • Svadhyaya (self-study)
  • Isvara Pranidhana (surrender to a higher source)

3) Asanas (postures)

4) Pranayama (breath control)

5) Pratyahara (turning inward)

6) Dharana (concentration)

7) Dhyana (meditation)

8) Samadhi (union of self with object of meditation)

Do No Harm, but Take No Sh*t (Ahimsa)

The current post will focus on Ahimsa or non-violence. Ahimsa is the first of the 5 yamas (moral restraints), which serve to guide a ‘yogi code of conduct.’ Ahimsa does not exclusively refer to physical violence, but includes violence of words and thoughts as well. The thoughts we hold about ourselves or others can be as powerful as physical attempt to harm. The practice of ahimsa on our mats means to be kind to ourselves; maybe that means not forcing yourself into a posture once you’ve lost your breath, and rather backing out and staying at the first layer of the posture. To practice ahimsa off of our mats means to be constantly vigilant and to observe ourselves in interaction with the world and take note of our thoughts and intentions.

There is a famous story about ahimsa told in the Vedas (great collection of philosophical teachings from India). A sadhu (wandering monk) traveled annually to several villages to teach and one year he came across a snake, a notorious villain in the community; he was terrorizing the people. The Sadhu shared with the snake his teachings on ahimsa or nonviolence.

When the sadhu returned the following year for his annual teachings, he saw the snake again. The once strong, powerful, magnificent creature had transformed to a skinny, bruised, and cowardly one. The sadhu inquired as to why the snake had appeared sick, damaged, sad, and without confidence. The snake explained that he had taken the teachings of ahimsa to heart and had stopped terrorizing the village. However, as he was no longer terrorizing the people, the children had taken to throwing rocks at him and taunting him, to the point where the poor snake was scared to leave his hiding place to hunt for food and thus had become skinny and bruised.

The Sadhu was very disappointed, he shook his head and said, “I did advise against violence, but I never told you not to hiss.”

The famous story teaches us that protecting yourself and others does not violate the yama of ahimsa. To practice ahimsa means to take responsibility for your own harmful behaviors and to make an attempt to stop potential harm caused by others. Ahimsa does not ask us to be neutral, to play small, to cower away, to hide, to curl up; this is not the point at all. Practicing true ahimsa means to stand even stronger in the face of insult, to roll your shoulders back and puff up our chest when someone tells you they don’t believe it can be done or that you won’t be able to make it happen. The next time someone puts you down, know that your value does not depend on the opinion of anyone else, know that their thoughts, and words, if not delivered with a loving intention become their problem, and NOT yours.

Practicing ahimsa is to act, think, feel, and speak with the clear intention and motivation of love behind each. Go out there and be you, let the words of others bounce right off of you, and practice standing a little bit taller, and continue to act with your best loving intentions.

Namaste,

laura mary

Reflection: Change is the Only Constant

 

Do any of you have a friend that simply rocks at giving advice? I do. Her name is Jackie. We grew up living three houses away from each other. We hung out almost every day, we would meet each other one house over at a house we dubbed the “Scary House,” simply because they never had lights on and it was set back far away from the road.

We spent many hours of our childhood together, and through tears, laughter, fights, challenges, she was always there. We would connect daily, to either kick the soccer ball, throw the baseball, play flashlight tag, bike ride, and eat handfuls of chocolate chips, and plums, like it was our job. We have been best friends since kindergarten. I am blessed with an amazing group of friends back on the east coast.

Whenever I needed an ear to listen to the dramas of my life, Jackie was my girl. She would patiently listen, and offer her truthful advice once I was ready to hear it. One of the best pieces of advice she ever gave, and still gives, was “change is the only constant.” The only thing you can be 100% sure of is that life is constantly changing; your world on a micro and macro scale is in constant flux.

Accepting Change

This week, I have been reminded of Jackie, as I am practicing both on an off of my mat accepting change. Rather than run the other way in the face of uncertainty, Jackie has instilled in me the beautiful reminder to embrace, and more than that to expect change. Change, for better or worse, is a part of life.

“The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with the qualifications for adaptation, the ability to accept the inevitable and conform to the unavoidable, to continually harmonize with the existing and changing conditions of the universe.”

Yoga offers the opportunity for us all to hone in and practice this skill of adaptation. You never know when you will be faced with change, but by practicing on your mat the acceptance of change, you will prepare yourself for real change off of your mat. For example, if you show up to class and your favorite teacher isn’t there, suit up, let go of the expectation you had, and get ready for a refreshing change and experience in class with someone new.

Practice acceptance on your mat, as some days you will be tighter than others, and some days you will be able to hop through to seated from downdog and other days your will find no space to do so. Change, happens everyday on your mat. Rather than judge yourself for those moments when certain postures just aren’t happening, find acceptance in knowing that this moment is just as important as the one where you make a leap forward in your practice and hold your handstand for 10 more breaths than usual. 

Welcome Change

Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. For without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom, and no one in this world would ever move forward to become the person they’re meant to be. - Anon

Practice non-judgment, you are exactly where you are supposed to be, and in the end, it will all work out. If it hasn’t worked out, it’s not the end.

Namaste,
laura mary

Please, check out my YouTube Channel for yoga inspiration, tips, practice, videos, and lots of love!

Here are a few, enjoy!

Downdog to Handstand to Headstand: Saturday hiking and some celebratory yoga with Derek!

Handstand Supta Claps!

Handstand Dropback & Over

Late Night BackBending

A Full 30-Minute VInyasa Flow

With Love,

laura mary

Intention: I will start today.

Have you ever had the experience where you are doing what you love, feeling peaceful, and happy, and suddenly you are flooded with brilliant ideas and you feel you can solve all of your problems, no scratch that, the world’s problems? I often have this feeling after a great yoga practice, while I am in meditation or savasana. Sometimes it even distracts me and makes me want to come out, so that I can take action, write my thoughts down, and make something happen. When the time to come out of savasana or meditation arrives, suddenly, you just feel peaceful and no longer do you have those brilliant and peaceful plans to disseminate and share.

What is the lesson here?

The lesson is to do what you love, whether it is practicing yoga, running, surfing, rock climbing, painting, cooking, or playing soccer, do it. Whatever it may be for you, the more you do that one thing you truly love, the one thing that floods you with inspiration, calm, focus, energy, and happiness, the more at peace, connected, strong, whole, and vibrant you will feel.

Your problems will suddenly seem manageable; your life will fall into place, in a manner that makes sense. Where you know that you can take the appropriate action steps to get to wherever it is you want to go.

More than that, by doing what you love, those around you will feel inspired by your presence. Subconsciously, they too will do more of what they love and their light will shine brighter in harmony with yours. In essence, by doing what you love, the world will feel the effects and be better off.

Today, go do what you love. Commit to it, with your intention: I will start today.

With Love,

laura mary

North Shore Sunset

Everyone has someone in their life that has transformed them and changed their life forever. I was touched to hear that my favorite Skidmore College professor is retiring. Hearing this news, has re-inspired me to reach my highest potential and beyond. Mary Ann had (and continues to) inspire me. Who can you reflect on today? Who in your life has left an imprint on your heart? Reach out to them today and express your gratitude.

A tribute to Mary Ann,

In all my time as a student, I have never come across such an influential teacher.

I feel so fortunate to have met Mary Ann during my junior year at Skidmore. I needed her signature as the chair of the psychology department, because I was applying for the American Psychological Association (APA) Summer Science Fellowship in Washington DC. During the following semester, I was placed on the waiting list for her Cognitive Psychology course, it was reserved for seniors. I was quite eager to take a class with Mary Ann, I saw her in the hallway before the first day of class and thankfully, she let me in!

Class after class, I listened to her in awe; she was (is) so brilliant. She would break down and describe scientific studies with such ease and made complex studies comprehensible to students. It was crystal clear to me that Mary Ann was passionate about her research and her teaching.

Out of all of my professors at Skidmore, I felt the strongest connection and bond to Mary Ann. I knew that she really wanted me to learn and succeed. With the help of a strong letter of recommendation from Mary Ann, I was awarded the very competitive APA Summer Science Fellowship.

I was completely honored that Mary Ann wanted to work with me on a senior honors thesis project. Mary Ann believed in me and that, more than everything I learned in college, was the most valuable lesson. By believing in me, she instilled within me a sense of confidence, that same confidence that she held while lecturing in class. She believed that I was smart and could conduct high quality research. I thank Mary Ann from the bottom of my heart.

My favorite academic memory from Skidmore was the completion of my senior honors thesis. It was hard work, but I completed it with the help of a strong, compassionate, and brilliant mentor, Mary Ann. Skidmore will be losing one of their greatest professors.

I am very excited to see what is next for Mary Ann, but more than anything, I would like to see her take time off to enjoy life in all its glory. I know that her next steps will be nothing short of brilliant, I have faith that she will continue to affect and shape the lives of everyone that comes across her path, just as she did to me.

Mary Ann and I have kept in touch since my graduation in 2009, even though I now live in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mary Ann’s interactions and emails with me were always so pleasant, she was extremely positive, and taught me that I have within me all the tools I need to succeed.

I was (continue to be) completely inspired by the fact that Mary Ann had found a life’s work that she was passionate about, and as a young graduate, I was eager to find my passion in life as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mary Ann!

More than anything, I would like to tell Mary Ann, I believe in you.

With Love,

laura mary

We Have Come to be Danced

 

Go Out There and Live

Happy Monday everyone! I hope this poems stirs you the same way it does me. It gets me going, I read it all the time. But seriously, go out there and live and be real and be you.  Be as true to yourself as you can be, through the good, the bad, and the ugly - go out there and live. <3

 

We Have Come to be Danced

We have come to be danced

Not the pretty dance

Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance

But the claw our way back into the belly

Of the sacred, sensual animal dance

The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance

The holding the precious moment in the palms

Of our hands and feet dance.

We have come to be danced

Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance

But the wring the sadness from our skin dance

The blow the chip off our shoulder dance.

The slap the apology from our posture dance.

We have come to be danced

Not the monkey see, monkey do dance

One two dance like you

One two three, dance like me dance

but the grave robber, tomb stalker

Tearing scabs and scars open dance

The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.

We have come to be danced

Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle

But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama

Shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance

The strip us from our casings, return our wings

Sharpen our claws and tongues dance

The shed dead cells and slip into

The luminous skin of love dance.

We have come to be danced

Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance

But the meeting of the trinity, the body breath and beat dance

The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance

The mother may I?

Yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance

The olly olly oxen free free free dance

The everyone can come to our heaven dance.

We have come to be danced

Where the kingdom’s collide

In the cathedral of flesh

To burn back into the light

To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray

To root in skin sanctuary

We have come to be danced

We have come.

Jewel Mathieson

With Love,

laura mary