In my quest for What is Possible? - daily taking yoga classes are part of my regular routine.  In Sivananda style yoga,
6 rounds of Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) are done as a warm up for the 12 basic postures.

This video shows me doing 1 round of Surya Namaskar.  A friend, Sri Devi, who is one of the yoga teachers here is leading me through the poses, as she would in a typical class. 

As you can see, I am still a beginner and cannot reach all of the positions with ease and flow - yet:)  As our daily asana (steady pose) practice is just that - practice - wherever we are each day is the perfect place to be. 

I've noticed many changes in my practice over the past three months, and I've become more at ease.  The combination of daily asana practice, the herbs and supplements I am taking , the nutritious vegetarian diet and the twice daily spiritual chanting and meditation sessions are working together to support an even healthier, happier and more loving me:)

In the coming weeks, I will share more about Sivananda yoga and the sequence of postures that are done each day here.  I've gained strength and continue to improve my alignment - though I have a long way to go.  I'm in no hurry, as I plan to being doing yoga practices the rest of my life.

Sending You Love from the Bahamas,

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It's amusing to me that I can go from "relaxed" to "driven" in the short span of a week. I was so delighted that I was seen to be "relaxed" by a guest at the Ashram last week.  In this case, I am admitting my own "self driven" state. 
I guess it is similar to clouds rolling in and out of the sky.  Luckily, here the beautiful blue sky returns quickly.

A couple of months ago, I read an article about Ayurveda as an antidote to unhealthy habits.  I believed that to be true before reading this article.

What's interesting is that the article focused on how we stand in the way of our own optimal health.  When I read it, I remember thinking that I agreed.  Yet, I felt that I was already actively working on my health, and so the article struck me as pertaining to others more than me.

This week, even being in the midst of a yearlong study of living an Ayurvedic-Yogic lifestyle in the gorgeous Bahamas, I find it to be true for me too.

I’ve mentioned before that I have a Pitta (Fire and Water) dominant constitution, and that I am working in large part on my Vata (Air) imbalances.  Pitta you may recall is the ruler of digestive fire, assimilation of information and also is a driver of action.  

My Vata imbalances relate to the airy and moving nature of Vata - dry skin, sleep issues, regulation of bodily elimination etc. I have Pitta and Kapha imbalances too, but Vata is the main focus for now.

This past week has been an especially busy one, with some major projects underway for the Communications Team, of which I am a part.  The work has been interesting and made the days fly by.  Yet, I found myself drifting back into old habits.

Maybe it is because it has been so many years of my being out of balance, but it surprises even me, that driving myself at a frenetic pace feels so natural and comfortable to me.  

I’m getting up at 5am and not really slowing down, unless I am in yoga class, which I missed twice this week, until 10:30 at night.  It’s true that my schedule at home in prior years was much worse, but I am in Paradise, and I have been learning a great deal about balance.

Implementation of what we learn and know is another matter altogether:)

The past two days, even my meals have been rushed.  My twice daily meditation this week was more filled with thoughts of my current work than experiencing the calmness I seek to feel.

Sure, I have learned to pull my thoughts back to focusing on the breath and my mantra, but I’ve noticed that I get carried away with thoughts of work much more than I remember to come back to my breath.  

Writing this update is being done at the last minute this week.  I find some of these self observations interesting, as I struggled to pull myself away from work long enough to share with all of you what the week has been like.  

If I look at what leads to the obvious Pitta imbalances surfacing quite intensely in me, I realize that I’ve missed yoga twice this week; I’ve not been daily making and drinking my prescriptive teas; I missed taking some of my prescriptive herbs; I've hurriedly eaten my meals, barely tasting the food; and I haven’t even supported my own peace of mind by getting laundry done in a timely fashion, so I can have clean clothes and sheets.  It's no wonder that my imbalances have steadily increased.

None of this was done on purpose by any means. Mostly, it all just crept up on me unknowingly.  

This morning I did not have one clean top to wear that wasn’t long sleeved, and it is 90 degrees here.  Laundry became a must do, instead of a weekly task - going way past a week, as I’ve done, with limited clothing and 90 degree heat, is not a smart move on my part.  It's been a daily stress, as I've known that it had to be done but kept putting it off.

Somehow, the past few days I’ve found that suddenly, it is the end of the day, and I’m completely unaware of how the time could have flown by so quickly.  I sit down and start working and it seems as though minutes, instead of hours have passed.

What I realized just now, while writing this update, is that I’m working on balance in a very unbalanced way this week:)
Amazing how quickly I can move backwards in my progress .  The good news is that I am able to notice it , not beat myself up about it and recalibrate.  

As soon as I have some clean clothes and clean sheets, I will make some changes to get back on a more balanced track.

Good luck with whatever imbalances you are facing.  Every day we have a chance to start anew!

Sending you love from the Bahamas,

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This past week has flown by in the beautifully lush and sunny Bahamas.

It was a rather indirect path to get there, but I am back in the room called ‘Om 8’, where my journey began in January, when I first came to the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat.  

I traveled here for my first-ever yoga retreat and the Ayurveda Conference, yearly held in January.  This year the theme is Living Healthy in the 21st Century!
That trip set in motion the year long study that I am now doing, living an Ayurvedic-Yogic lifestyle with the guidance of herbalist and Ayurveda expert, KP Khalsa and the support of Banyan Botanicals.

This week I also moved into a very pleasant, peaceful and air conditioned office space.  My comfort level has risen dramatically, even though we are daily in the 90’s and it is quite humid.
With respite from heat at night and while I work, the bright, sunny skies and magnificence of nature that surrounds me are what I focus on when I am outdoors.

I made it into the ocean twice this week.  The water here is the most beautiful I’ve ever experienced - warm, yet refreshing and the colors are breathtaking.  I would never tire of the sound of the waves coming in.  The shades of blues and greens seem unreal, they are so vibrant and the water is so clear.  There are also rejuvenating properties from the water, and we are encouraged to get in ‘ocean time’ as often as possible.

So, it has been a good week.

Yesterday, after my morning yoga class, one of the guests here chatted with me about our morning satsang.  It was the first time I ever led a chant, and I’m not a great singer - though I do love to sing:)  Anyway, her exact words to me were,  ‘you are so relaxed’.

In my lifetime, many words have been used to describe me, but “relaxed” has not ever been one of them.  Energetic, enthusiastic, motivated, passionate, professional, creative, determined and talkative are some of the nicer descriptions.  Then, on the negative list are demanding, judgmental, opinionated, perfectionist, driven, fidgety, workaholic and bossy.

From an Ayurveda perspective, my attributes would be classified as a very strong Pitta personality, with some Vata qualities sprinkled in.

I was completely taken by surprise that anyone would see me as ‘relaxed’.  

I feel much more comfortable than when I arrived, but I was also quite comfortable and enjoyed my city lifestyle back in Chicago.  Comfortable is different than relaxed. While in the city, I was not known to be a relaxed person.

For me to actually be sending out relaxed energy for others to feel - that was a nice and big change.  

I’ve never been relaxed, so it is a newer state for me.  It’s definitely a slower pace, but not slow by any means.  I’m very busy here, every day from dawn to bedtime.  But the typical negative tensions of life and relationships are far fewer here and are always subdued by the satsangs that bookend each day.  Prayers and chants immediately soften even our roughest edges.  

I am less reactive, but by no means, emotionless.  In fact I feel emotions quite deeply, in a good way.  I’m enjoying the ease of feeling loving in this environment, not in a romantic love way, but more in a gratitude and acceptance way.  

It’s also quite fun to openly sing about and express, through chants and prayers, love for God’s presence in each of us and everything.  For me, it is joyful and uplifting.

I found out some really great news this week.  There will be a Yoga Teacher Training Course (TTC) in November this year for the first time.  It is my birthday month, and I plan to register for the TTC and become a certified yoga teacher before the end of the year.

What are you doing between now and the end of the year?  

Anyone want to join me in November?  Check out the one month TTC immersion courses here at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat.

Sending you love from the Bahamas,

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As I note the changes occurring in me, I realize how important commitment and disciplined actions are to realizing significant change.
Below are some of the notable physical and mental changes, from the first two months of the study:
Change #1:
I’ve noticed that my fingernails are more pink in the nail bed.  They were more whitish and a bit yellowed before.  All of the white spots are gone, and the vertical ridges are gradually becoming fewer in number.

Change #2:
I’ve held the headstand for 5 minutes one time this week in class. My typical daily headstand is to hold for 3 minutes. Headstands are great natural facelifts :)

Change #3:
I can touch my forehead to my knees when I sit with feet on the floor, bending forward and knees hugged to my chest.  I could never get my forehead to my knees before:)  One day, the forehead just touched.  I did nothing different, but the daily yoga practice is changing my strength and flexibility, little by little.

Change #4:
Asking for comfort and being grateful for receiving it are ok.  There is no harm in admitting discomfort and asking for relief.
I moved into an air conditioned room at the end of this week, and it has already immensely helped my recent lack of sleep.  I have other long term sleep issues that are improving with the prescriptives I am taking (see below).  The heat posed new problems that are now not an issue.

Once the weather cools in mid Fall, we will return to the tent huts. 
With cooler temps, I will not mind going back to the tent hut at all.  I liked my tent hut accommodations once I got used to it. I had a great space and especially enjoyed the writing area in my tent.

Change #5:
After a delay in the original plans, my karma yoga supervisor left this week for the remainder of the summer.  While I will miss seeing her daily, I am less anxious about it than I was a month ago.  We will communicate via Skype, and I now know more staff and can better navigate the routines here.  When I bid her good-by, I mostly wished for her joy and relaxation.

As I promised, the list of prescriptives from KP Khalsa that I am now taking daily, follows:
(No quantities are provided, as prescriptives are customized to the issues and climates of each individual.)

Nutritional Supplement and how often                              Reason
Trikatu powder - at each meal                                      Increase digestive fire
Triphala powder - once a day                                        Bowel regulation, anti-aging
Castor oil - once a day                                                    Bowel regulation
Vitamin D3 - once a day                                                 Deficiency
Chyavanprash - once a day                                           Rejuvenation
Ashwaganda powder - once a day                               Rejuvenation
Shatavari root powder - once a day                            Rejuvenation
Kapi Kacchu powder - once a day                                Rejuvenation
Poppy Seed ground - at night before bed                  Deep Sleep

Also prescribed: Magnesium (glycinate) and Tryptophan (for Deep Sleep)
I have not been able to access/purchase either of these two in the Bahamas so far. 

I am very grateful to the support of Banyan Botanicals, who provided most of my supplements listed above.  The high quality of their products is contributing to the changes that have begun to be visible in my body, mind and spirit.

Sending you love from the beautiful Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas!

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