Holiday Schedule

12/23:      9 & Noon

12/24:      9 & Noon

12/25:      No Class

12/26:      9, Noon & 4:30

12/27:      6, Noon & 4:30

12/28:       9, Noon & 4:30

12/29:       6, Noon & 4:30

12/30:      9 & Noon 

12/31:       9 & Noon

1/1:            9 & Noon

"Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them." 
~ Bruce Lee

~ William Wordsworth

"The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years." 
~ Deepak Chopra

"A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history." 
~ Mohandas Gandhi

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." 
~ Anatole France 

 

 

 

It's our time to pay it forward.  PBY will be instituting a new program to benefit local companies and organizations.

How it works: Either you can nominate a company or organization or we will choose organizations that benefit our community.  Once a month we will offer a free class at a specified time just for the folks affiliated with that business or  organization.

This is our thank you to people who work so hard to help us and our community.  If you have a group that comes to mind please let us know!

Many Blessings,

Taz 

Greetings! 

 

Feel like you just pulled your nose out of the book that is your life only to realize that another year had quickly gone by?  Us too.  Incredible that it is December already.  Make sure to make time for yourself to enjoy and savor the full richness of life.  If that is a struggle then more time on the mat is what is required to learn to be quiet, go within, connect and rejuvenate your body and spirit.

See you in the hot room!

Clearlake Studio Coming Atcha!

 

Great news - we are growing!  There is a demand for Bikram Yoga out the Clearlake way.  So we are answering the call and looking to open a new studio there.  Stay tuned for more about this exciting news in the months ahead.  Send us all your good energy in order to help us make this happen!

 

Posture of the Month: Camel Pose

 

There a couple of postures in Bikram's 26 that are almost universally noted as being "extra challenging".  Camel is one of them.  It isn't surprising though.  The last time many of us got into a posture even remotely similar to this one we were years away from even hitting puberty.  Our bodies are unaccustomed and sometimes that causes fear.  The best way to overcome the fear is to really understand how to do the posture and why we do it.  Armed with this information you can really benefit from it without the risk of injury.

Begin by breathing and being in control of your emotions and your body.  This is not a flinging exercise.  It is a conscious movement every step of the way.  Up on your knees as far apart as your hips are wide.  Take your time and move with the instructor's words.  Remember to first drop your head back as far as possible first, then fluidly arch your back and visualize your spine actually arching.  It is common for athletes to visualize in order to achieve the goal whether it is a spiral throw, a perfect kick or in this case a slow, fluid descent to allow your hands to meet your feet.  Now sometimes your hand / foot rendezvous will be kind of jarring as you may fall onto your heels.  Over time this process can be finessed as you gain more muscularity, core strength and belief that you are safe and can do this.  

Clench your buttocks so that you can stretch your hip flexors and push your hips past your knees.  Feel as though you were wearing suspenders and someone from above you grabbed them just between your chin and pectorals and raised you up towards the ceiling.  Think of touching your chin to the back wall.  Your thumbs are facing out and all fingers are inside both feet.  Your palms cover your entire heel.

The entire time you must breathe in and out of your nose slowly - controlled.  This is the key to not panicking both in camel and everywhere else.  Make sure you place your hands on your buttocks as you come up because if you are quick to get out of camel you could seriously tweak your back.  It hurts - a lot and sometimes for a long time.  So go slow.  If you can't go that far back, who cares?  Look this yoga is NOT about perfection; it is about intention, discipline, commitment and surrender.  Do those things first and watch your practice and your life blossom.

As you release you are likely dizzy - even long time practitioners get dizzy sometimes.  It just depends on what you have eaten and what you have had to drink, how long and well you have slept, the room temperature and humidity and many other factors.  Some days you won't be dizzy.  As the song says, "Love the one your with".  By that I mean be kind to yourself everyday as you are different everyday and you cannot and should not compare yourself to others or even yourself day to day.

Second set is the same except it is easier because now you are loose and you get to separate your legs further.  Cake walk.  Camel can feel good if you let it.  Enjoy. 

An Excellent Reminder

 

This past week I was flipping through channels on TV.  I stopped to listen to a televised church service.  The pastor's story began...his brother is a doctor in Colorado.  He works no less than 80 hour weeks plus he has 3 children under the age of 6.  So he is slammed.  One day at work he was seeing a long time patient whose husband had recently passed on to more life.  She asked if she could please ask him a question.  He didn't really pay attention and was sure it would be a medical question, but rather it was personal.  She asked if he would sit which surprised him.  She then asked if he was ok.  He was even more surprised and told her that he was tired, harried and late for a surgery.  To be kind he asked her how she was doing since having lost her long time spouse, and if there was anything that he could do for her.  Her answer was what caught him most off guard.  She said, "I would do anything to trade places with you - to be in the prime of life with my loved ones growing all around me.  I would do anything to wipe one more snotty nose and share one more holiday meal together."  I don't really know what the rest of the television sermon said.  I only know that I was so caught off guard by the reality of that statement.  I was brought to tears a bit.  I though of my own snotty noses that needed wiping, stories to tell, one more load of laundry to do and those unwanted pounds that needed to be shed after recently delivering our final child.  I recognized that I was missing the blessing of those daily things that make up my life.  It was a poignant moment.  It brought me really personally close to a spiritual tenet that I believe and sometimes lose touch with.  It is simply, be here now.  The present is all that matters.  That goes for you too.  Now - have a happy and meaningful holiday or any day.