Blog of a Sassy Yogi | Flowing Lotus Yoga

There Is a Difference Between "ooo" and "ouch".

In my classes I tell my students to always go to the point in the postures where they say "ooo". As in "ooo that feels good" or "ooo that is interesting" or "ooo I didn't know I was tight there". "Ooo" is a great place to be and to explore and learn about their bodies and their reactions. I warn them not to let the wonderful "ooo moment" turn into a painful "Ouch!" As in "Ouch! that hurts" or "Ouch! Did I just tear something?" or "Ouch! Yoga is terrible." I say this alot because when I don't or when I use common language about "feeling" or "playing with" their "edge" I usually see students pushing and straining and striving rather than moving with care and intelligence into poses. Maybe it'

On a Mission To Add Quality Not Quantity

A Google search of the term "Online Yoga Class" will return a results list of about 8,220,000 results (probably more by the time you read this post). Of that data set there are about 2,710,000 results for videos. 2,710,000! That is alot of video. Of course the content will vary in quality and value. So lets for the sake of argument (and to save me the time of sorting through over 2 MILLION videos) say that 10% are awesome. For me awesome means, well shot with good lighting and audio, quality instruction that delivers what the title describes (beginner poses for beginners), taught by an experienced teacher, and at a price that is fair. That still leaves us with 271,000 videos. Now, the questi

The Teachings Of Yoga Are Free BUT the Teaching Of It Is NOT

"Yoga is free but electricity is not"-J Brown Yoga (From his August 21st Podcast with Nischala Devi.) The first rule of Yoga is Ahimsa. Yes, there are some rules to this practice and they are basically ethics. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2.35 says: "ahimsa-pratishthayam tat-sannidhau vaira-tyagah" and the translation from my Sankrit teacher Manorama's website is “When the yogi is firmly established in physical, mental, vocal and spiritual non-violence, ahimsa, there is abandonment of enmity by those who are in his or her presence.” (PYS 2.35, transl. by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati)". Ahimsa and it's application in our lives is balanced by all of the other ethics teachings. This balance helps us to

The Power of Grace

Getting Back To The Heart Of Yoga

When "The Rules" Just Don't Fit

There Is a Difference Between "ooo" and "ouch".

On a Mission To Add Quality Not Quantity

The Teachings Of Yoga Are Free BUT the Teaching Of It Is NOT