This is the fourth video in a four part Interview I did with the Founder of Anusara Yoga, John Friend. If you’ve missed part one, you can find it by clicking here.

In Part 4, John shares his intention for Anusara in 2010 and beyond. John’s vision for Anusara includes an increase in performance art and digital media, including social media, to spread the word about Anusara across the world quickly, even into China. Notably, as of late, John has collaborated with Be Network, and created a Shiva-Shakti Tantra video. Also, in San Francisco on February 12th was the theatrical Dharma-Experience celebrating Mahashivaratri with hoopers.

I, for one, would love to see more art offerings and digital media with John.  Anusara coverage helps draw us closer as an extended kula, especially for those teachers and students who are the only Anusara enthusiast for miles and miles.  Digital / social media with its lightening fast delivery speed is a mechanism for a radical shift of heightened communication and therefore, accelerated expansion of consciousness. John reminds us, as many environmentalists are telling us, that the world needs our help in the next decade. Whatever we can do to help heal the world and reveal it’s intrinsic goodness is good work.  Digital media and performance art are means of expression, which can be used to uphold the highest and enhance the light.

John encourages us, as Anusara enthusiasts, to be a merry band of bohemian artists. During the Immersion, he said that we all have unique talents. He cannot do what you do. Only you can do what you do. Only you can shine your unique light into the world as a great offering.

If you are interested in spreading your light and giving back your own unique offering to support the vision of Anusara, please contact Katrina Knudsen for Seva opportunities, as noted in the recent Anusara newsletter, which also outlines the vision for 2010 in more detail.

(If you’re reading via email or rss, please click here for the video.)

Transcript Part 4

{Ginger} So, in closing, John, what do you expect for Anusara, what’s your vision, what’s your highest intention in 2010 and beyond?

{John} In this year and in the immediate years to come for the decade, I think one of the key ways that I can serve and Anusara can serve is spreading the message through making it easier for people to connect to and hear about it. I think it’s going to be through the digital media, through the internet, through DVD’s, through television, audio type of things, it’s going to be in different formats as well, it’s not necessarily only asana. It can be in breathing class, you know specific type of more intermediate breathing classes, meditation classes, even things that are connected to Anusara’s main practice of yoga in terms of dance, music, performance art, it’s interwoven into our vision and that is what I’m going to be putting more out in a much broader sense through the digital media, like what we’re doing here and that message spreads, so what you’re doing is very much in line with my vision and that’s just to, put things out that are very positive and that we can have people apply into their lives immediately. So, I feel like that’s going to happen a lot more this year and for all the years to come. We’re going into a lot more countries and a lot of different places were yoga is fairly new and that’s quite exciting. I mean even in China, and China, which has been quite restricted in many ways philosophically, religiously, politically, it’s being the biggest country in the world and arguably soon to be if not the most influential, a very key factor of the whole decade. Instead of moving away from them and not engaging with them because we don’t have the same basic philosophy, I want to use Anusara to penetrate and get more things going in there that we can really serve their culture in ways that also can be very uplifting and connect China to the rest of the world in a deeper fashion and in a positive way, revealing the beauty of China and letting some things dissolve that have been blocking them I feel from really integrating with the rest of the world and then that goes to say with all of us, so here in the United States, around North America and everywhere, definitely this world tour is about getting people to melt their heart, be more compassionate, sensitive to each another and from that, aligning with Grace, which will blow their mind.

{Ginger} Right on! Thank you so much, John.

{John} Thank you. Thank you, Ginger. Thanks so much.

{Ginger} Thank you.

John Friend’s 2010 Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind World Tour

Related posts:

1. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga, Part 2
2. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga, Part 3
3. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga

This is the third video in a four part Interview I did with the Founder of Anusara Yoga, John Friend. If you’ve missed part one, you can find it by clicking here.

In Part 3, I ask John, first, about yoga skeptics and secondly, about new students.  In his answers, John considers different types of people and where yoga can fit into their lives; he also answers what new students can expect in an Anusara class. I asked these questions in light of Part 2’s question about how Anusara Yoga can help make a positive shift in the world. Because this practice has been so transformative for me, I always want to share what I’ve learned with as many people as possible, including skeptics and beginners, and in this way inspire the ripples of Shakti to co-create a more whole and joyous world.

During the Immersion in San Francisco, John talked about how in the “wheel of life”, there are many spokes that lead to the “hub”, which is your heart. Each spoke can be thought of as a means to arrive at the heart. He taught that everyone has different spokes, different interests and aptitudes, that lead them to their heart and that yoga is just one possible spoke. John added that he’s never seen yoga not work, that yoga will lead you to your heart, however, it is just one possible way.

This metaphor of a many spokes leading to the heart may bring relief or disappointment for those of us yogis, who are convinced that yoga is the only way to the heart. It may be a relief to know that not everyone needs to find their bliss through yoga.  Conversely, some of you may be able to relate to the feeling that if only you could get your figurative dear old Aunt Bessie who complains of tight shoulders to do shoulder loop and skull loop or if only Uncle Henry with chronic low back problems would stave off having surgery, for more inner spiral or how about your friend who feels blue or could otherwise stand a big Shakti blast. Unfortunately, as much as our hearts may be in the right place, we will not always successfully corral our loved ones to join us for yoga.  I found comfort in John’s words about this type of circumstance. Us, yogis who feel inclined to badger our loved ones to take a yoga class, will also, likely find comfort and insight in John’s words in Part 3 of this interview below. Also, if you are considering taking an Anusara class, or are pretty new, John shares his thoughts about what you can expect.

(If you’re reading via email or rss, please click here for the video.)

Transcript Part 3

{Ginger} So, with respect to the shift, we’ve all known somebody, whether it’s, you know, our daughter or our friend who is resistant to coming to yoga. {John} Yeah {Ginger} What would you say to yoga skeptics who think that it’s easy or it’s airy-fairy or it’s not enough of a workout, you know, the list can go on and on…or that they’re not flexible enough?

{John} Yeah, there’s different aspects to it, because we’re defining it, right there, you’re defining yoga as hatha yoga or the postures and you know, personally, I’m not sure that everybody is necessarily, you know, maybe suited to do hatha yoga. But the yoga philosophy I believe can be ascribed <to> and embraced by anybody. So if I find somebody who is I can see that they’re not naturally going to really get into the hatha yoga practice like I might, then I take the philosophy into what they’re doing. So I really, you know, I look at what they like to do. Whether it’s, you know, if they’re kids, most kids are going to be pretty active doing something, you know, if it’s blading, skateboarding, bicycling, swimming, dancing, gymnastics, I mean it can be whatever they’re doing. It can be just, you know, if they like to go hiking, if it’s in the physical, I can still use the same yogic principles on any of those things. So for me it’s all yoga. If they don’t even want to do much exercise, but they might like to work on their computer and they play with games and stuff, there’s different, there’s same things, I can still connect into them where they can apply these yogic principles to shift their consciousness, so I can really kind of cleverly, you know, infiltrate any kind of group in that way <laughs>, so that they make a positive shift. But a lot of times when someone really wants to maybe do yoga, but they do think I’m too stiff or I’m too old or, you know, I’ve never been that coordinated, there are basic things that I do that will really gain their respect and empower them to show them that they can make remarkable shifts almost immediately despite all those limitations of either age or experience level or competency or any of those things. Those things just, they’re not, they’re dissolving factors. Once you see that you can apply principles into your life and they’re principles of Anusara Yoga, and though they’re yogic principles, they can be applied to almost everything.

{Ginger} What can a new student expect to experience in an Anusara class, in particular?

{John} I think a new student, one of the key things that I like to stress is that a new student is going to, can expect to feel welcomed and to feel embraced and accepted for their own differences, their own limitations, it’s not going to, you know, you say oh, again, I’m too old, I’m out of shape, I don’t know how to do this, but in an Anusara class you should be actually uplifted that wherever you are, you can actually make amazing openings and you can have a shift in one class and the shift will probably be a lot of fun. You’re going to probably leave there feeling better about yourself, you will probably laugh a little bit or at least you will be smiling. There is positive energy and you feel uplifted by it, so it’s not going to be, it might be a little challenging you know, but that’s not going to be the first thing that you’d say.  I think most beginners will say, if I say, how was it, they will say, oh you know, it was fun, I enjoyed it, and I will say, do you feel better about, you know, the things that you were worried about when you came in? Oh yes, I came in kind of contracted and kind of nervous, and I can’t believe it, I just, I was able to do more than I thought. And that’s pretty much what I expect.

John Friend’s 2010 Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind World Tour

Related posts:

1. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga, Part 2
2. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga, Part 4
3. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga

This is the second video in a four part Interview I did with the Founder of Anusara Yoga, John Friend. If you’ve missed part one, you can find it by clicking here.

In Part 2, I ask John what we, as people and yogis alike, need to do to create a positive shift in our planet. On this topic of creating a shift, I am reminded of my notes that I took during the Immersion a few weeks ago in February when this interview took place. During the Immersion in San Francisco, John defined Shiva and Shakti this way, “Shiva is the ability to know that you know. It is consciousness. Do you know you are awake?  Consciousness is to be alive with awareness. Shakti is the power of consciousness.”

Expanding on Shiva and Shakti, John said, “Everything is the embodiment of Shiva-Shakti, everything is consciousness.  The microcosm– our body, emotion, logic, intuitive mind, heart, are a reflection of the One.  Everything is interconnected, a web, if you will, a tapestry on a loom, vibrating in delight.  The highest intention, ever unfolding, is awakening of this essence. It is the experiencing of making art, being uplifting.  The spiritual process/ practice of awakening is a systematic, progressive, sequential refinement of this supreme consciousness in embodiment…<awakening is>an expansion of consciousness.”

When you believe and perceive the world to be interconnected, you want to shift to be in harmony with it, to preserve and protect it. You begin to see the world as being in relation with yourself and as an extension of yourself. In essence, when you see yourself as interconnected with the world, you begin to plug in more to this life. You begin to have more regard for all beings from a heartfelt, genuine place of deep respect and pure love. During your yoga practice, when you make the mental connection that one part of your body influences another part of your body, and this one part of your body can even shift your entire yoga pose, i.e, spreading your little toe to engage your shin muscles, you begin to appreciate how one dynamic affects another, the part affects the whole. In this way, your body becomes a microcosm of the macrocosm. It is from the wellspring of the heart, one part of us, remembering and acknowledging our interconnectedness, that we can shift the course of history and make manifest the world we want to live in for generations to come.

Later during the Immersion, John said, “It’s not just the politicians, it’s up to us.  We’re going to make the change in the next couple of years.”

I couldn’t agree more. Let’s get to it, yogis!

(If you’re reading via email or rss, please click here for the video.)

Transcript Part 2

{Ginger} So you began the immersion speaking about how we’re at a momentous time in history {John} Yes {Ginger} and in this next decade we really need to make a shift. {John} Yes {Ginger} How can Anusara yoga help make this shift?

{John} Well, fundamentally, it’s really in a vision, each of us look at ourselves and the world and each other in a particular way, and that vision defines everything we do. That vision defines all our actions, all our words, all of our endeavors. So those things that are creating continual conflict among groups, countries, you know, we’re… the United States, we’re in two wars right now. We’ve been in war, again,  since pretty much the beginning of the last decade. So for almost ten years we have been involved in a lot of bloodshed and to be able to recognize that this has to shift. When we look at the number of people on the planet, we’re at 6.7 billion people, and it’s growing steadily, even almost exponentially. We’re not going to be able to sustain that kind of growth with the way that we are behaving right now because of the way we use resources and so on, you know, we’re depleting and throwing things out of balance such that we’re really creating harm, not only to the planet, but to ourselves, and it can’t be sustained, so it is a very critical time where if we don’t make a change in this decade, there can be irreversible destruction. And the positive thing is, we have time, we have a shift and Anusara can make the shift by helping people to shape-shift their vision, to see their interconnectedness of themselves with each other, to see the interconnectedness our ourselves with life, with the planet, with everything, to see that supreme consciousness, that energy, that is supremely intelligent, is literally vibrating in everything. It’s just vibrating at different frequencies and different aspects of condensation and revealment. There’s ways of shifting our views and literally not just in an intellectual way, but shifting our views energetically, that we start to just, it becomes more of a even a natural way of perceiving things. This is a deep change that will change culture, it changes society, it changes the planet. All the cultures, every group is, again, based on certain visions and they have aligned visions. You have big religious groups, you know, of the six and a half billion people on the planet, we have the Christians, Muslims. Right there, those two groups make up the majority of the people on the planet. So, the majority, you can ask them, and they have a certain view point about who they think they are and the reason that they are here and what the planet is. If you think of the planet as being something that is just an inferior place that you’re here to visit for a little bit, and it’s here to give you, you know, some sort of more power or even your own upliftment, then you’ll treat it as an inferior thing. You’ll live your life in a way that will define your so-called afterlife and with that type of philosophical view, which is at the basis of all religion…we have to really look at is, is it really serving us? And so, the Anusara vision is one that can get in there and make some hopefully, positive shifts to all culture, all religion, all society.

{Ginger} Awesome!

{John} Yeah!

{Ginger} Thank you!

John Friend’s 2010 Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind World Tour

Related posts:

1. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga, Part 4
2. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga, Part 3
3. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga

Only 2 days prior to the launch of his “Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind” World Tour, I asked Katrina Knudsen, a.k.a Maha Communication Relations Representative with the Mostest, if Bay Shakti could schedule a 5 minute interview with John Friend. Not only did she promptly say yes, but she also said I would have 15-30 minutes for the interview. I was impressed with how receptive she and John were to the idea of the interview, and the easefulness, with which this interview came. There was no contract to be signed, no unnecessary bureaucratic procedures, just straight up trust and respect. John Friend strikes me as someone who is so highly attuned to energy, so plugged into his teachings, that he really puts into action, walks the walk, of letting his heart and the revelatory power of Grace lead the way, aligning with the flow of Grace and truly believing that the world is indeed Supremely ordered, as though this interview was meant to be.

(If you’re reading via email or rss, please visit click here for the video.)

I have never spent any intimate time with John. While we officially met when he walked into the room, I had introduced myself to him very briefly in L.A last year and at Wanderlust in July this past year. In fact, when he walked through the Interview room door, within 3 minutes, we were shooting the interview.  John is truly a man with a mission, an urgent message to share with the world, and I did not want to waste a second of his time. That being said, he was respectful and highly present with me. At one point during the interview, to gather my thoughts and reduce the intensity of interviewing the force that is John Friend, I broke eye contact with him, and when I reconnected eye contact, his face registered an expression of being disheartened that I would disengage for even a moment, break the connection for even a moment. What a lesson for me to stay plugged into this life, to be fully committed, present during each possible moment on this earth. Don’t look away! Stay plugged in! Especially when you have precious moments with a living legend. Gah!

One of my biggest take-aways from the week with John was the power of energetics.  There is nothing quite like teaching or partner poses to clue you into exactly, moment to moment, how your students or yoga partner is reacting to your teaching, the exchange of energy being a reflection of yourself and how willing you are to put yourself out there, to commit to life, to live life in the highest vibration, and this interview experience with John was no different. While I am clearly very impressed and inspired by John Friend and Anusara yoga, I realize that John is also a man, a human, and this helped ease my nervousness in both approaching him for the interview and conducting the interview.  I was still nervous, but felt confident and grounded. The interview took place during the lunch break on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 during the Immersion week. Katrina was polite (she is super cute!), but firm that we needed to be ready to roll right on time when John was ready.  I wanted to respect his time.  I left the Immersion room an hour beforehand to prepare the Interview room and center myself. All 4 parts of this interview lasted in total 16 minutes. I was pleased and relieved that I remembered all of my questions for him, never once looking down at my list of questions, dare I disappoint him by looking away!

When the interview was wrapping (I had neared the end of my questions), he seemed surprised that I didn’t want more from him. I didn’t want to be greedy. I figure that enough people are wanting a lot from him all the time. He actually seemed ready to continue on, as though he was just settling into the interview, when before he knew it, time was up. This is kind of an apt metaphor for life! Between the 3 minutes before the interview and the maybe 4 minutes after, he was in and out of the interview room in under 25 minutes.

I wanted to ask questions that were basic, accessible, but nonetheless fascinating, at least to me, and I hope to you, the reader. If I have the opportunity to bring you another interview with John or another teacher, would you like the chance to have me ask your questions on your behalf? If you had 16 minutes with a teacher, what would you ask?

None of the the interview was edited, the entire 16 minutes was broken up into 4 parts to make sure that each post was bite-sized and chewable, not an overwhelming commitment to watch. I hope you enjoy! Stay tuned for Parts 2-4.

I am excited to give back to the community in this way. It is clear to me that John appreciates and is encouraging of grassroots journalism, which is what blogging is. I regard blogging as a way for our community to stay engaged even when we can’t always make it to class. I hope to be able to continue to serve the kula in this way.

So Much Love to all Yogis on the Path!

The Interview Room at the Regency Center in San Francisco

Close Up: The Interview Room at the Regency Center in San Francisco

Ginger and John after the Interview

Transcript Part 1

{Ginger} Hello, my name is Ginger Coy. I’m a Yoga teacher here in San Francisco at Yoga Kula. I’m also the founder of Bay Shakti, a blog dedicated to Anusara Yoga in the Bay Area. I am greatly honored and privileged to bring to you today during the debut of his “Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind” World Tour, one of the most illustrious and esteemed men of our time, the founder of Anusara Yoga, Mr. John Friend.

{John} Thanks Ginger, that’s very nice.

{Ginger} Thank you very much for being here, and welcome to San Francisco.

{John} Yeah, I love San Francisco. It’s great to be back.

{Ginger} So you’re starting with the Immersion. {John} Right {Ginger} And I understand that you’ve been working with the Anusara Curriculum Committee to refine the Immersion.{John}Yeah, very much. {Ginger}  So just wondering what’s new for 2010?

{John} Well, in the curriculum scope of things, we just spent a year getting more clear about the standardization of the different elements that can define Anusara, and they are and they can include, the philosophy, the principles of our Shiva- Shakti Tantric philosophy, the Universal Principles of Alignment and the different elements that really make up and define our community. So these three big aspects: the philosophy, the Principles of Alignment, and the community are getting even more solidified and more coalesced with all of our new standardized curriculum, especially in the Immersion, so I’m presenting the first part of a 108 hour level one Immersion, and it is a standardized template that is now used all over the world. We’re in 70 different countries now world-wide. And even in all of these countries, even the little tests, if you will, we call them “Empowerment Reviews”,  it’s just to see at the end of an Immersion, how the students have assimilated and absorbed the material, even these documents are in different languages, so it’s a wonderfully standardized system, so that everybody can get into alignment with the same vision of Anusara.

{Ginger} I love the name of the tour, “Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind”.  What do you mean by “Blow Your Mind”?

{John} {laughs} Well, “Blow Your Mind”, … well your know, blow your mind for me is the idea of when something is so astounding, so amazing, that you just…your rational, linear part of the mind just stops. And in that moment, in the positive way it can be like, sometimes smelling a… such a gorgeous flower, it could be taking a bite of chocolate or food or something where you just seem to just… everything just stops. Your mind… you’re not thinking anymore, your just like, time is dissolved, and it can be in a moment of love with somebody and your just sharing a moment with someone that you really care for, and everything just dissolves. Time goes away. Your mind…that rational part of your mind is just blown. You can’t believe that…the time can go so fast. You can’t believe how much fun a moment could be. You can’t believe how much you might be able to shift as a person in such a short amount of time. You know, you think, oh, I can’t do that or I’m not like this or I’m not really that good at that or whatever. These diminishing aspects, the limiting aspects of the mind, they just get blown open many times when we’re in alignment with nature and spirit, such that Grace just pours in and there’s just truly a revelation. There’s just a mind blowing revelation. That’s kind of what I think of is this Mind Blowing Tour.

{Ginger} Right on!

{John} Yeah!

John Friend’s 2010 Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind World Tour

Related posts:

1. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga, Part 2
2. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga, Part 4
3. Interview with John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga, Part 3

John Friend, founder of Anusara yoga, kicked off his World Tour, named “Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind”, the week of February  8th, 2010.  First stop on the tour, San Francisco, to launch the Immersion, Part 1. John debuted his revised curriculum for the Immersion, and I had a blast, a big Shakti Blast.

John Friend Kicks Off his World Tour

It was a slow build for me, starting off the week feeling more resistant/cloaked, bracing myself for 7 days with John, the Immersion Monday-Friday and the Workshop over the weekend, but by Wednesday, I began to feel the cumulative effects of the practice and John’s teaching. By Friday afternoon, I reached a crescendo of brightness and exuberance.  I felt incredibly rooted in my body, feeling a bit fatigued and worked, but not sore, and I felt highly alert and energized, as though my brain was operating on all cylinders. I was feeling much smarter than usual! This must be what Rooting to Rise really feels like! In essence, it felt like I was experiencing an awakening. For the first time in a decade of practice, I could relate more fully to how one could experience a Kundalini awakening, a hit of enlightenment, if you will. Energetically, I could imagine what the Kundalini serpentine coil of energy would feel like if it were to unwind and ascend my spine, the central channel of light, Sushumna Nadi. What I think is so masterful about John’s teaching is that he seems to know just when the cut-off is for how much is enough shakti, enough shri, enough expansion, and what would be dis-harmoniously unstabilizing, too much light, known as a shakti-bomb.  I emerged from the Immersion deeply joyous and extremely bright, and perhaps more importantly, still capable of functioning in the “real” world, though the world did feel techni-color and new.

And all of this expansion, it seemed, not only from John’s sensible and down to earth teachings, but from highly aligned poses like triangle pose (trikonasana) and extended side angle pose (parsvakonasana) held for long durations so that you really have a chance to feel the pose and work your hardest.  It amazes me how truly difficult a seemingly basic pose like triangle pose can be, the more you know about it, and the more you strive to align with the divine. John is incredibly gifted and skilled at inspiring you to actually 100% really care about the quality of your pose and your alignment, imploring us at one point not to pace ourselves (guilty!), that this life is not a dress rehearsal, we don’t want to have any regret on our death bed, if we only had one go, what would it be? Full Blast! The poses over all were approachable, do-able, but it is so nice to go so much deeper with the so called “basics”. I feel I understand the Anusara action of Rooting to Rise all that much more, as though the Sushumna Nadi, my column of light, was accessed on some level.  I am hoping, much like riding a bike, I never forget how wonderfully delightful and radiant this place of expansion can be and never forget how much the “basic” poses can be a gateway to the heart and a place of deep offering back to the world.

Marni Sclaroff in Urdhva Danurasana

John Friend

John Friend in Handstand

Kenny Graham in Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (King Pigeon) on his way to Valakhilyasana

John Friend in Ardha Chandrasana

Richelle Donigan dances

No related posts.

John Friend’s 2010 Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind world tour

The tour will be the most energetically transformative tour ever with an emphasis of accessing the deepest essence of the Anusara method through its most fundamental principle…Tour begins on a love-filled Valentine’s weekend in San Francisco featuring live music…

One cupcake at a time

Two days before the sale I tweeted John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, which I practice, to ask him to retweet the bake sale details to help spread the word. Having never met him, I had no idea if he’d do it, but within 15 minutes he’d both retweeted my message and committed to matching the donations of people who came to the sale and mentioned his name or Anusara. I was floored…

Grizzly Bear

I don’t have to stay in the room where I teach, coverd in peas from dinner, and many leaves of lettuce that got moved around by the mop, but never picked up- as I enter I know that this is where I’m supposed to be, this is the best place in the world to teach– this is where the yoga magic happens…

Did you find joy? Did you bring joy?

But the truth is, we do not have to wait for a death sentence to experience joy. We can begin – right here – right now. We can begin to experience, embody, and reflect joy in this very moment…

No related posts.

There was an interesting article in the NYTimes a few days ago titled, “When Chocolate and Chakras Collide” that discussed the new trend of merging food and yoga for marketing, demonstrative purposes, and the pure yoga of food. This trend seems to buck the previous tenant about the spiritual, but restrictive diet of yogis. Foodies are now doing yoga, Yogis are becoming foodies. It’s a great combination. Tempting people to a yoga class with wine and chocolate brings in more yoga curious, food centric people. It makes yoga more accessible to those who were afraid that they have to give up tasty treats in order to do Eka Pada Koundiyanasana II.

photo by lululemon athletica

Over the summer I hit a slump in my weekly practice. It became torture instead of delight. My muscles felt like they were cracking not yielding, breaking instead of strengthening. I felt like I was moving and breathing through mud. I got headaches, cramps, dizziness and a bad attitude. I was crippled by sore muscles and fatigue for days after class. I started resenting the class, making up reasons to not go (er, I still make excuses, but that’s for another post). I couldn’t figure out what was happening so I took it personally. It was me – I sucked. Then I remembered something I read about how eating alkaline foods can help relieve physical stress, reduce inflammation and improve recovery. Even though I was obeying the “Don’t eat 3 hours before class” rule, what I was eating was interfering with my practice. Here’s an example: Saturdays I would have drinks with friends, then enjoy brunch late Sunday morning with lots of coffee and maybe get in a light lunch or snack around 2 or 3 and then yoga at 6. To reward myself after class I would eat something heavy and meaty, drink some wine and end it with a gooey chocolate cupcake. Nothing terrible (no fast food), just your average weekend fare.

photo by PinkMoose

Desperate not to be beaten by a bad attitude towards yoga, I tried an experiment. Two hours before my class I had a coconut water, a banana, an orange and an apple. I made sure that I drank lots and lots of water for a few days before the day of class too and I limited acidic foods like meat/dairy/wheat.

Wow! It was an immediate improvement. The extra electrolytes from the coconut water refreshed my body; the sugar from the fruits gave me a light kick; and the minerals from the banana all gave me what my body needed to get through one of Ginger’s challenging classes. I used to feel so heavy in class and now I was feeling lighter. I then skipped the “reward” after class and opted for vegetarian soup or salad instead. I didn’t feel so crappy the day after. So for me what I was eating was/is an important part of my practice. My practice tells the truth of my eating habits as well as where I am emotionally, mentally and physically. The mat doesn’t lie.

So savor your food. Get religious with it. Get political with it. But also be aware of how it makes your body feel. Get connected to it the way yoga connects us to our mind, body & breath.

How does your diet play with your practice? Does it enhance it? Or sabotage it?

No related posts.

This is the forth video in a four part series I did with Anusara Yoga teacher, Sianna Sherman.  If you’ve missed part one, you can find it by clicking here.

In this video, Sianna speaks about priestessing and teaching yoga.  She also shares with us what’s next on the horizon for her teaching this year. As an added bonus, there is a second video at the bottom of the post, a excerpt from the Immersion, where Sianna talks about the Bhakti (Love) wave that Yoga is riding today.

(If you are reading this via email or rss, please visit the blog for the video)

Transcript of the Interview, Part 4:

Q: Do you do any of that priestess work still?  I saw on your bio some…

Sianna Sherman

A.Well that’s actually one way that the priestessing comes through, in a certain way, like this time, you know, it was so magical, because I was going to medical school, and then I pulled out, and then I went to naturopathic medical school, and then I left that, you know, deferred for a little while, went to India, came back from India, knew that Yoga was a huge part, a whole series of events happened. I had met Gurumayi and enormous alchemy and transformation happened in my whole being, and then I landed back in Seattle and in one day my life changed, and I ended up putting everything in storage in a friend’s basement, and I got in my car and went to Oregon. And I had heard about this women’s herbal festival, and I went to this festival, and I met my teacher who was this woman from Ireland, and she was this Celtic priestess, and so as soon as I met her she said, you know, would you like to be my apprentice? And I said yes, of course, so I lived on her land in a tent, and I learned ceremonies, and I learned about the plants, and I learned how to make medicines, and we used to take, you know, we had wedding ceremonies, we helped people make that traverse from life to death, we tended to sick people who were feeling really challenged in their health, and we helped to make medicines for them. We took young girls, who were coming of age, and we had coming of age ceremonies for them. So all of this, so now, I think it definitely slips in even to my Yoga teaching, like right now we are in the middle of a training called an Immersion, and it’s the last of three, and what we’re going to do is, everyone’s been creating these blessings for each other for the last six months, and today, they don’t know it yet, it’s going to happen in about five minutes, they’re going to write these blessings out in beautiful colors, we brought all of these crayons, markers, and big sheets of paper, and they’re are going to write their blessings out, and then we are going to put the blessing all around the four corners, all around the perimeter of the room, and then we are going to light all of the candles, and it’s a blessing temple. And so then we are going to do our practices inside of the blessing temple so that everyone has been generating these blessings for each other, and then we receive them and we will go around and read them and do the rest of our…we’ll have our grand finale practice tomorrow inside this blessing temple. So for me, that’s sort of like my worlds are bridging. In this particular training, also, has been marked by some of the very special Pagan holidays, so to speak, or Celtic holidays. So we started with Summer Solstice, and we’re concluding with the Winter Solstice, and that was on purpose. You know, so that we would go through that cycle, and it’s called Wheels of Life.

Q: So what’s next for you? What’s on the horizon? Is there going to be another big phase… or is this it? {Sianna} another name? {Ginger} or, another name!?

A.I don’t know {laughs}, I’m really enjoying what I have right now.

{Ginger} We are too, Sianna, stick with us!

I have a great schedule for next year, it’s called The Harmony Tour. I’m super excited about it. And what’s so special about next year for me is that, and you’ll see when Jeremy’s orchestrated something beautiful, but I have about 30 friends that I am co-creating and collaborating with next year, everything from music and storytellers and philosophers and hula-hoopers and the AcroYogis. So I have arranged these events throughout the year where there’s more collaboration in bringing all of these arts together, so to speak, so it’s called The Harmony Tour, and it’s about the bigger collective creative force of coming together and celebrating life in these ways. So, next year is all about community, harmony, and collaboration, and super high vibration creative ways and there’s more festivals, the Wanderlust Festival, and Kenny and I have some really beautiful festivals that we are teaching at also.

{Ginger} Cant’ wait!

{Interview Concludes}

As a special bonus, here is some footage from the end of the Immersion where a student, Abel Gomez, describes how Anusara yoga has affected his life and what Anusara means to him.  In response, Sianna describes the Bhakti (Love) wave that Yoga is riding today.

To see Sianna Sherman’s 2010 Harmony Tour schedule, check out OpentoGrace.com

Related posts:

1. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman
2. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman, Part 3
3. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman, Part 2

This is the third video in a four part series I did with Anusara Yoga teacher, Sianna Sherman.  If you’ve missed part one, you can find it by clicking here.

Sianna walks us through a day in the life, and I got a glimpse into her daily routines, the business side of yoga, and she shares with us her surprising history.  Her ability to tell a story is unmatched, and I was captivated!

(If you are reading this via email or rss, please visit the blog for the video)

Transcript of the Interview, Part 3:

Related posts:

1. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman
2. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman, Part 4
3. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman, Part 2

This is the second video in a four part series I did with Anusara Yoga teacher, Sianna Sherman. If you’ve missed part one, you can find it by clicking here.

In this video, Sianna speaks about the relationship of Grace to yoga poses, plus she gives me tips on handstand in the middle of the room.  Sianna’s practice is Grace infused, and is a big source of inspiration, a living, breathing testimonial for just how profound it can be if you practice with an soft and expansive heart.

(If you are reading this via email or rss, please visit the blog for the video)

Sianna in Handstand Lotus from her website www.opentograce.com

Transcript of the Interview, Part 2:

Q. So how does Grace manifest in poses and why do you think it’s so helpful in illuminating a pose?

A.  Grace is sort of everything that leads the way in the pose. From the beginning, through the middle, to the end and all the transitions in between. And there’s lots of ways you can talk about this, but it’s… for me,  it’s a feeling that the pose is ultimately a way to express our hearts from the inside out and that when there’s a remembrance of Grace as this elegant, brilliant radiance of spirit that is the luminous quality from inside the self and that’s what’s allowed to be the emanating force of the pose, then everything about the pose, even if it’s a really tough pose for you or one that’s very easy for you, everything about the pose actually shifts. And so I think that it’s not even that it’s grace first and then something else, it’s just Grace.. and you’re in the pose.. and a little bio-mechanics that help the pose, and more Grace, and you go deeper in the pose… then more Grace. It’s exponential unending, you know, infinite amounts of Grace that keeps opening up the pose. Even as your coming out, Grace is still expanding. So, does that help?

{Ginger} Absolutely. Although I’m still working on handstand in the middle of the room.

{Sianna} Oh, are we back to the handstand?

Q. So, you know again, it’s an ebb and flow with Grace and as you said, the bio-mechanics.  Would you say that there are any kind of secrets or techniques that you can help those of us who are struggling with different poses, especially handstands in the middle of the room?

A. Hahahahah. You really like this. Okay… alright. Well, every single day you are going to have your sweetheart, Brad, help you in this handstand. {Ginger-He’s our cameraman today.} Yes, that’s right. And just say, I’m going to try handstand… this is actually how I learned it. Because I really wanted to be able to do handstand too. So I had a couple of little tricks. One, is that I used to drive… not that you need to do this next thing, but, I use to drive across the country a lot back and forth because… well that’s another whole long story. But, to keep myself healthy, I would stop every two hours at a rest area and I would practice handstand. And I would go in the grass and out by the trees. Like I love nature so I went to nature and practiced with the tree as my support, because trees give me huge amounts of support. SO I’m just thinking that a huge support for you in your life is your sweetheart, so, that maybe everyday, {Ginger-he gets me through it!} Yes, he’s your big tree, that maybe everyday, just three times a day, you are going to work with handstands with someone you love. So just right away it just opens up the field of play inside at first and I think that that is really the essence of it. Like that it’s play, you know, it’s sacred play and it’s with someone you love and so right away, the heart is happy to try and totally be present. Then, for you, you are going to learn how to make your hands really strong, and this is why the grass is good, because you can grab the tufts of grass, right? Then you’re just going to squeeze like mad banshee right into the midline with all the love you’ve got and you are going to root into the earth, grow your roots, and lift as high as you can through the feet. And it’s going to happen three times a day, with your loved one, total play, connected.

To find out more about Sianna Sherman and where she is teaching, check out OpentoGrace.com

Related posts:

1. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman
2. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman, Part 4
3. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman, Part 3