On inspiration and how it touches you

believe in yourself (Omkarasana)

Inspiration comes in many forms.

We are inspired by nature, by animals, by other people, and the list goes on. Today I am inspired by all 3 including the birds (not just my cats) and by a fellow yogini for inspiring me to attempt a challenging yoga asana.

Just trying is half the battle--within your limits, of course.

feel your passions

It's a beautiful life when you feel passion and inspiration moving through you. Believe in yourself. It touches all you do.

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

Face yourself each day, rain or shine

open your heart (Natarajasana B)

My daily ashtanga yoga practice allows me to feel what it means to face myself each day, rain or shine.

I've always loved backbends. They feel euphoric. I don't hold tension in my lower or mid back.

discover where you hold tension

However, I have recently discovered the reason why some backbends bring up a lot of emotion for me and others not. I hold my tension in my shoulders. Certain weight-bearing positions on my shoulders causes a bit of what I hold to seep out, along with emotions as this occurs (or within the hour).

The shoulders are an extension of the Heart Chakra (Anahata Chakra). But, asanas with a really deep shoulder rotation first, such as this one (Natarajasana B) free that energy completely--or so it seems--because I am not only feeling the euphoria of a backbend but my shoulders are unlocked!

free yourself

Here in this state, I feel serious personal power and like nothing could ever harm me. 

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

The key to making your mind stable

Yoga is not performance. Asanas are known to make your mind very stable, and that’s why I do them, along with the profound after effects and how these effects trickle into life as a whole.

Each person is different (mind, history, physical skeletal structure, lifestyle, heart and soul); I don't believe that there is just one way to do a yoga pose to be "correct". There is more to it.

on the other side of challenge

This pose, Viranchyasana A (the third part of it) in the Ashtanga 3rd series (Advanced A) has a lot more going on than performance in the moment. It's a challenge.

It's not that I enjoy struggle. For me it's what's hidden on the other side of challenge, and how that pursuit translates into life on many levels.

It's taken me over 20 years to have the flexibility and strength and trust to even try this asana, and mostly to get my mind out of the way.

look inside yourself

The benefits are in the nervous system, the somatic subtle body, the ego, emotions, hormones, etc. (I could keep adding to that list all day). I am looking inside my own self here, and it's a very calm and beautiful place.

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

Enter into a devotional relationship with your yoga practice

Chakorasana is an asana in the Ashtanga Third Series (Sthira Bhaga) and also an exit for some of the poses in Third and also Second series.

Some words about Third Series from Kino Macgregor (paraphrased), "It is a devotional practice that burns through some of the deepest blockages that exist in the human mind and body. The true lesson comes when you move through that initial phase into a daily devotional relationship with the practice (i.e., when you feel good, when you feel just ok and also when you feel bad)."

burn out blockages

I do this asana approximately 27 times per week, both sides.

It burns out subtle blockages in the hips, strengthens arms, frees the neck and strengthens the core (bandhas). For me it's also a chance to work on my very tightest body part, my shoulders; it's a reminder to push them back in order to free my neck while keeping the strength to lift--a continual lesson for me in becoming flexible by doing it over and over again for years (and smiling at even the smallest amount of progress in my shoulder flexibility).

Most importantly, when the channels within me are open, my mind and body feel free, resulting in physical health, happiness and mental clarity.

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA