Enjoying Your Yoga Like a Fine Meal

Practicing yoga is like eating a beautiful meal.

What is the best way to prepare for your yoga practice?
Why do we sit in silence before we begin our practice?
How do we move through our practice in ways that are truly nourishing?

Practicing yoga is like eating a beautiful dinner. Yes, you can throw the food on a plate and eat standing at the counter, but for that meal to feel truly full-filling, it is better to   set your space.  Take out your napkins, choose your place mats, set up the silverware and stemware. Make your table beautiful, maybe even add some flowers for a center piece. And then before you even begin to eat, stop and say a short blessing.  Extending gratitude to those who have harvested and prepared your meal.

When we sit down before our practice in silence, it is like setting the table before your dinner.  You gather your thoughts, and let the busy-ness fade from the brain.  You become aware of your breath and the feelings in your body.  You acknowledge what hurts and what feels good.  You notice those parts of your being that need nourishment. And you set your intention for practice, choosing a focus which will enable you to gain the most from your soon to be consumed yoga meal.

And the practice itself is like the dinner.  Served in many courses; appetizers to warm the body, salad to awaken the body, soup to sip and lubricate the body, and then the main course, the big “meaty” part, into which you will sink your teach, and finally, you finish with dessert, something sweet and soothing, the final touch to finish off the fine meal.

Remember, there are many parts to this meal.  Don’t eat too much to quickly.  Don’t make your bites too big.  Taste everything and feel how it all comes together.  Take nothing for granted. Savor it all, and the yoga will truly nourish you.

When you finish, before you push your chair away from the table, stop for a moment and give thanks.  To the cooks for preparing the meal, to authors of the recipes which inspired the cooks, to the universe for providing the seeds, and to yourself, for staying present throughout, for savoring the meal and receiving its bounty.

Bon Appetit.

Yoga Events around Seattle

Namaste,

Last week was all about backbends. This week we are moving into arm balances.  Last week we lifted and opened our hearts.  This week we are exploring the boundaries of gravity and our relationship to the earth.  That’s right, its getting deep in here and we are having a great time.  And let me just say how much I love and admire my students.  Your strength and heart inspire me.

Come join us at Village Green Yoga, and feel the glow.

Monday and Wednesdays we focus on alignment, and Tuesdays and Thursday we open to the flow.  Hope to see you soon.

Other news and events in the local yoga world:

Steve Gold will be bringing his  beautiful music to Bala Yoga in Kirkland later this month for an evening of Yin Yoga and fine music.  Check it out  here.

Wanderlust:  Good news Wanderlust will also be at Whistler BC this summer.  Click here for more information.  Many wonderful teacher and musicians will be there to make for a fine weekend of play in the sun and fresh mountain air.

Restorative Yoga at Village Green Yoga this Friday evening at 7:00pm.  Wind down and restore yourself with this beautiful and deep practice.

Have a great week.

Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi

Challenging words, an encouragement for change

Read this and re-awaken to the miracle that is your life.

 

Thanks to Andrea Leber

 

Challenging words, an encouragement for change.

March News: Seattle Yoga Events and More

What?  Where did February go?  I know it has fewer days than the rest of the months, but really it did seem to fly by.  I hope you all enjoyed your leap day this year.  It’s fun to shake up your world, add an extra day, or do something wacky and new.  Just ask my students…we did some asanas (poses) you seldom get to explore, regardless of whether your have been practicing for years or months.  I even had to go and look up their Sanskrit names, I hadn’t used them in so long.  

I did take a mini vacation in February.  Kids had a school break so we headed down to Portland for a long weekend.  They have some seriously good food there.  The food carts are everywhere.  I love how they have turned empty lots in to multi-cultural food venues.  And we were wowed by the restaurants we  went to: Zells (best breakfast), Laurelhurst Market (specializing in superior cuts of meat – I had also had some amazing brussel sprouts), Slappy Cakes, where making your own pancakes is half the fun.  There are many cool neighborhoods with interesting stores, and plenty of brewpubs and coffee houses.  Oh, and there were a plethora of yoga studios scattered throughout town.  Good for a weekend get away.

Teaching Schedule
What more changes?  Yes, I am always working to provide as many classes as possible to more fully meet your interests and needs.  So I  have tweaked tweaked the schedule,  streamlining and yet enhancing the range of classes available to you.

Swedish Hospital
Tuesday & Thursday,  Noon – 1:00.
This level I class  focuses on setting your foundation and finding the appropriate alignment for your body in all yoga poses.  There is an additional focus on learning to understand and meet your own physical therapeutic needs through your practice.  Building strength, stamina and both mental and physical vitality are a critical component of this class. Click here for more information or to register for classes.

If you have not yet checked out the new facilities at Swedish Hospital on the Sammamish Plateau, you are missing out.  If you must get sick this is the place to go.  But if you are well, it is also the place to go.  Not only is it gorgeous and inspiring, they have a tremendous gift shop, and a fabulous clothing store featuring Lulu Lemon and Prana and many other great lines (this coming an avowed non-shopper is saying a lot).  They also have free child care.  And to top it off Cafe 1910 in the lobby serves some of the best and most reasonably priced local, organic fair trade meals I have found any where in the Seattle Area.  Oh and the yoga space – well, let me just say it is beautiful, well equipped and has an amazing view.

Village Green Yoga
Sunday – Thursday, 9:30 – 11:00
Thursday Evenings, 5:30 – 7:00
There are many great ways to deepen and expand your practice through my classes at Village Green Yoga.  I am pleased to be able to finally offer a cohesive teaching program that will provide opportunities to explore some of the more spiritual connections in your practice (Sunday Salutations), strengthen your understanding of alignment principles, structural anatomy and therapeutic adjustments (Monday & Wednesday Mornings) and as always, Tuesday and Thursdays are your chance to step into the flow, work up a sweat, rock out to some awesome music and …. breath.

I am really excited by how this is all working out to provide such a integrative and  comprehensive yoga program, and I look forward to dancing with you down this amazing path.

Other News & Events:

Jorge Sevillano at Village Green Yoga
Jorge is wonderful teacher, full of wisdom, experience and a sense of humor.  On March 24 he will be leading a workshop designed to introduce you to the benefits of meditation, chanting, and work with students to deepen their practice.  Click here to register

Great Teachers Coming Our Way
Oh it is good to live in Seattle.  Lots of excellent  teachers love to come to the Pacific Northwest and share their wisdom with us.  Check out just a few of the excellent teachers coming our way.   Some of these folks are experts in asana, others are offering us their meditation expertise, and some are leaders in flow yoga.  Just google their name and your will find out where and exactly when they are teaching.

Max Strom in March
Paul Ortega Muekker in March
Shari Friedrichson in May
Anna Forrest in August
Tias LIttle in September
Ross Rayburn in October
Rod Stryker in December

Wanderlust 2012
For those of you who are looking for a bit of travel, time in the sun and nature, and some awesomely good music and yoga, check out Wanderlust.  It will be happening in three amazing locations this summer: Vermont, Colorado and Tahoe, California.  This truly looks like a rocking good time, giving you the best of scenery, yoga, hiking, camping, climbing, and general outdoor frolicking.

This was a longer than normal update, but, well I missed a month, so there you go.  I’ll try to stick to the shorter and more frequent posts in the future.

Shalom & Namaste
Diana Bonyhadi

Leslie Kaminoff's 2 cents about "How yoga can wreck your body"

Reblogged from andrealeber:

Watch an anatomy expert invalidate the NYT article’s main points in 10 minutes. Enjoy

A very clear invalidation of the NYT article on "How yoga can wreck your body" by anatomy expert Leslie Kaminoff. 10 minute Video

Learning to Bless and Accept Change

“See, this day I set before you blessing and curse; choose blessing that you may live”
Deuteronomy 11:26

Sometimes when we least expect it, the universe throws us a curve ball.  The question is:  how do we relate to and manage change.  Even when situations seem haphazard, chaotic, sad, or frustrating, our work is to stay present to the possibilities for growth in the moment of transition.

For most of Seattle, last week was all about change.  The change that happens when you are stuck in a snowstorm.  Snow and ice were every where, keeping many of us from conducting business “as usual.”  In fact many of us couldn’t even get out of the house to do our “stuff.”  On top of that, many folks lost power and didn’t have access to their computers and other electronic distractions.  For some this was a time of great frustration, but I have also heard wonderful stories of how families and friends came together and supported one another, and had fun playing in the snow.  For those who chose the path of blessing, the snowstorm was beautiful and productive.

Of course, there are all those other big changes that happen: moving, sickness, loss of a loved one, loss of employment, the list goes on.  And while there is no denying that these are difficult and painful moments of transition, we must learn to accept that they can and will happen.  Our work is to choose how we will respond to them.

This past year we had the honor of sharing the last months of life with a very dear friend.  Of course we were devastated when he passed.  But we also were able to be present for that moment of passing and to feel blessed by the time we shared with him.  Our choice was either to sink into the sadness of our loss, or to embrace the goodness of his life.  I still cry, but I also smile when I recall our time spent together. A blessing.

On Monday of this week, another big change came my way.  As many of you now know, I am no longer teaching at Urban Oasis.  I have greatly enjoyed my time there and learned a great deal from my many wonderful students.  The next evolution of my practice will be at Village Green Yoga, where I will expand my current teaching schedule to include the Tuesday and Thursday Vinyasa classes previously available elsewhere.  So the big changes of this week have offered me moments of reflection and the opportunity to expand my outreach and have greater simplicity and continuity in my life. A blessing.

Here’s to embracing change, an everyday practice.  We just never know what is around the corner.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

Changes

As many of you know, I am no longer teaching at Urban Oasis.  I am moving my practice and will be teaching the Vinyasa Flow classes at Village Green Yoga at the same time I used to teach them elsewhere

Village Green Yoga is located on the back side of Gilman Village in Issaquah.  Village Green Yoga is easy to get to, parking is readily accessible, and the community is lovely.  You can sign up online here, or in person at the studio.  If you have never been to Village Green Yoga, please arrive a few minutes early to fill out the forms and get acquainted with the space.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  I look forward to teaching in this new venue.

Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi

Questions of a Snowbound Yogi

Living without power – Yoga lessons for all of us

In case you missed it, Seattle was snowbound for most of last week.  Snow and ice-covered the streets and houses and trees.  Driving was treacherous, and many folks lost power.

Running a business was stressful.  To close or not to close?  That was the question of the day.  And then how do you notify folks that the business was or wasn’t closed, when you don’t even have power or internet access?  How to send the message and who will get it?

Here are some of the questions/issues that many in my community had to deal with.  These are questions which were brought to the fore by the snowstorm, but really, these are  questions that bear investigation regardless of the weather.

• How do we deal with the unexpected?
• Can we live with not knowing?
• Can we live without transportation?
• Can we live without our computers?
• Do we have enough food/candles/water in our homes in case of emergencies?
• What do we do when we don’t have heat or electricity?
• Do we have friends we can go to in times of emergency?
• How comfortable are we with spending 6 days alone with our families?
• How comfortable are we with silence? No ticking clocks, computers, washers, etc.
• What do we do when our to-do list can’t be completed?

For all of us yogis, we had the added challenge of figuring out where our practice really was.

• If you can’t make it to the studio, do you still practice?
• If your house is filled with people, and no heat, do you still practice?

And then… the power comes back on.

• How do we respond?
• How quickly do we rush back to our lists of things to do?
• Are we overwhelmed by trying to all that we didn’t do and all that we still must do?
• Do we wish (surreptitiously) for more snow and less power?
• How do we capture those moments of silence in our daily life?

That seems like more than enough to chew on for one day.  Happy thinking.  I welcome you thoughts and comments.

Shalom & Namaste,
Diana Bonyhadi

Another amazing human body in motion video

Okay,

It’s a snowy day in Seattle, and my classes were canceled today.  So instead of going out and teaching I spent a quiet day at home studying anatomy and watching videos.    This video and the others produced by this group are inspiring.  Enjoy.

Oh, and if you are ever on your way out to the airport, take a bit of extra time and drive on to Burien and check out Elliott Bay Brewing Company.  Their beer is delicious, the food is fresh, local and sustainably sourced and yummy, and they have not just one but two shuffle board tables both in excellent condition.  I stopped by there today and had the burger I had been craving and a fantastic beer and a game of shuffle board with my son.  Elliott Bay sure makes having to say good-bye to good friends a lot easier.

If you live up here in Seattle, enjoy the snow and be safe. Urban Oasis will be closed tomorrow, so those of you who are in my Tuesday morning and afternoon classes there, enjoy your home practice.

 

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

 

Even Yogis Procrastinate

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that living the life of a good little yogi does not prevent me from being a procrastinator.  You might have noticed that I didn’t update this blog for three weeks.  Guess what, that is not the only thing I managed to put off.  The list is embarrassingly long; I found the most amazing ways to avoid doing house-cleaning chores, desk work, paper work, and I even put off making my new years resolutions.  But  now I am playing catch-up and I thought I would share some of my New Years resolutions with you:

Resolutions for a Procrastinating Yogi

• Meditate for 15-45 minutes every morning. (So far so good)
• Cook a new dish every week  – that would be 52 new dishes this year.  Hopefully I will also teach a few of these to my kids.  Here are the cookbooks and websites from which I will draw inspiration:    Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi (http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/blog/category/recipes/), Natural Cooking Everyday, (http://www.101cookbooks.com/) Eat, Taste Heal – An Ayurvedic Guidebook and Cookbook for Modern Living (http://www.eattasteheal.com/ETH_dosha.htm) , and Terrific Pacific Cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=terrific+pacific+cookbook&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=5435336785&ref=pd_sl_39829tmzyo_e).
• Study more anatomy:   Wow, did you know you can watch human dissections online.  Just type in a body part and the word “dissection,” and you will be amazed at what you can watch and learn.  Yea, I am an anatomy geek.
• Study with amazing yogis.  I am already signed up for two intensives – I can’t wait till next weekend when I will be studying the anatomy of the neck and shoulders and learning some more thereapeutic yoga approaches for healing common injuries to this region.  Can anyone say rotator cuff?
• Try out new local activities: We have so much to do here in the Seattle Area, there is no reason I can’t try at least one new adventure per month (hiking, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, museums, wakeboarding, etc).  Really I should make it 2 new activities a month, but if every one is as satisfying as this week’s adventure, I know I will be repeating them.  Friday I went to the Seattle Bouldering Project and did some rockclimbing.  What a blast, and a tremendous work out.
• Visit a National Park:  Last year I went to Yellowstone, where shall I go this year?
• Nag Less, Enjoy More:  It is too easy to see what bugs us first, and then try to find that which deserves celebration.  My goal for this year is to spend more time celebrating and enjoying life; my kids, my husband, my friends and my community and less time focusing on the negative.
• Try not to procrastinate too much…..and then don’t kick myself too hard for being a procrastinator.

Happy New Year,

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi