Pets Interrupting

This had me dying! Whenever I practice yoga at my mom's house, Madison always seems to think it's play or cuddle time. Sometimes she takes the hint and gives me my space, sometimes not. And sometimes I can't even get onto my mat.

 

Trees Fall

"It is my deeply-rooted belief that trees do not judge themselves when they fall. No one can convince me otherwise."

 -Lacey, this morning's Yoga Basics instructor

Letting go...

"People think that enlightenment is pure bliss... But really, enlightenment is simply having the wisdom to know what to pick up and what to put down in life." 

"Be willing to let go of the idea that you can't." 

-Jonathan, this evening's Slow Flow Vinyasa instructor

The theme of this evening's practice was "letting go", and while we were cooling down Jonathan played this really soulful and moving song called "Let it Go" by James Bay. (No, it has NOTHING to do with 'Frozen'.) Its lyrics are pure gold. This is for anyone who needs to ease some tension today. Be Happy and God Bless. Enjoy!

The good.

"As soon as I started to look for the good, I found it... When you seek the good in things, it will come." 

-Megan, this evening's Slow Flow instructor

Skin

"Breathe in the words that your skin needs." 

-Bethany,  instructor for this evening's Yin class.

#MayIBeginYoga (...again)

Confession: I haven't practiced yoga for the past three months. When I was going through that really dark time, I gave up on most of the things I cared about because I didn't believe that I deserved them. Yoga was one of those things.

I've been doing dance workout videos and pilates videos just to try something new and get me back in the habit of exercising regularly, but I was intimidated about getting back into yoga. I missed it, but I was ashamed of how much time had passed, and I didn't know how to overcome my pride so that I could start over again. Lo and behold, Instagram came to the rescue! There's a photo challenge going on called #mayibeginyoga, started by a popular yogi known as BeachYogaGirl. I'm not participating in the actual challenge, but with May 1st approaching I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to get back at it.

Hands together. This is as close as I can get them for now. 

 

 

So this evening I returned to Red Lotus and had a wonderful class, taught by an instructor named Kathy. I'd never had a class with her before, but she was really nice and had a number of inspirational things to say (as yoga instructors tend to). My favorites were:

"Yoga builds confidence. Just remember to breathe, move slowly, and smile."

"It's your practice. It's a yoga buffet. Pick and choose."

Thumbs tucked in, protecting the self.

Now I can say that I got over my pride and I'm back! I'm a little rusty but if tonight's class is any indication, it'll come back to me like riding a bicycle. I'm so happy that I'm restarting my yoga practice. I feel like I've gotten a part of myself back.

Yoga Wisdom: Don't Fight Yourself

"You can't compete with the bones you've been given."
-Tara (Just B Yoga)

REO Town Art Attack!

To start off, I apologize for not writing about this event until a week after the fact, but as it happens every year, schoolhasdevouredmylife. Anyway, last Saturday I went to a really cool event in Lansing called REO Town Art Attack! It's a small but lively art festival whose aim is not only to celebrate art, but to bring art and the local community together. Vendors from various local art and wellness-related shops were there, along with artists from all over Michigan. A number of bands and musicians also performed.

My favorite, the TV head

The real spectacle of the festival, however, was the art competition. A group of artists had 9 hours to take items of junk from a wagon and make art out of it. Creating beauty from rubbish was their mission, you could say. But this wasn't you're ordinary timed create-something competition. All the participants were so chill about it. There was no rush. There were no competitive vibes. And coolest of all, these artists weren't off limits. You could stand by and watch, or you could go up and talk to them. Some would even let you help them with their work. The whole thing was fascinating. It was hard to tell who was involved in the competition because there were multiple projects going on alongside each other and artists kept moving around between them. But in all there were three beauty-from-rubbish projects, four graffiti projects, one paint (cityscape) project, and a couple airbrush (portrait) projects.

Just B Yoga also had tent space at Art Attack!. I was the studio's marketing intern for all of a week (don't ask), and my first and last big project was to walk around the festival and take pictures of people doing yoga poses as a prelude to an upcoming yoga-art project. Sounds pretty cool right? It was definitely more fun than I'd expected. B said she needed me to be aggressive and as extroverted as possible, and that's what I was. I usually don't talk to people I don't know, but I went up to complete strangers with no problem. I introduced myself, told them who I was with and what we were doing, and you know what? I actually convinced people to do yoga poses for photos! Some of these people had never done yoga before and I had to show them what to do, but they were still willing to do it! It was awesome. We got a total of 20-30 photos that day. Meanwhile, B and Tara were doing yoga on the sidewalk to attract people. They also caught a couple photos of me.

It's funny, though. As soon as everybody from Just B packed up and left, and my job was over I returned to my regular self. Walking around the festival, minding my own business, trying to stay out of people's way, not trying to talk to too many people. It was like there had been a switch inside of me; I switched on for the task at hand, but once that was over I switched off  and was back to normal. Just like that. Now that I think about it I probably do that to some extent everyday, but it has never been as striking to me as it was on Saturday.

To be honest I hadn't been excited about having to spend 3-4 hours of my Saturday at this festival I'd never heard of before. But I really had a great time at Art Attack!. So many beautiful creations, and beautiful people. A little rain, and much more sunshine. And all the while, a bunch of folks with good attitudes who just wanted to enjoy the day.

Do the Yoga: Red Lotus Yoga

I said a while ago that I'd write about my secondary home studio, and now's the time. Last Saturday was my last day practicing at Red Lotus Yoga before going back to school. I practiced here before and after I went to Japan this summer.

I like this gem a lot, but in a different way than I like my first gem.

Red Lotus Yoga

1900 S. Livernois #A

Rochester Hills, MI

website

facebook

Red Lotus Yoga is a huge studio, or at least the biggest I've ever been in. It's beautifully furnished, impeccably clean, and houses two studio rooms: a smaller Studio A, and a much larger Studio B.

Studio A

As far as pricing goes, you can pay by month or by series of classes. Walk-in prices ranges from $10-$16. (Their website says $16, but lately I've only had to pay $10, so I'm not sure which price is more accurate.)


Studio B

"Where Yoga Comes to Life"
Red Lotus's slogan is "Where Yoga Comes to Life". One of the things I appreciate most about the place is how some of the instructors often include personal facts or stories about themselves that help students to apply the concepts expressed in class to their own lives. Lynne, the Yin Yoga instructor whom I've quoted every now and then, is particularly skilled at this. Nick (Slow Flow, Slow Flow Vinyasa) doesn't say much about himself, but he always plays a couple soothing melodies on his guitar while we lay in corpse pose at the end of his class. Other instructors I've had are Brian (the owner; Slow Flow Vinyasa), Julie (Slow Flow), Megan (Slow Flow), and Fred (Slow Flow).

As you can see, most of the classes at Red Lotus are Slow Flow and Vinyasa. But the studio also offers Basic Yoga, Gentle Yoga, Yin, Rise & Shine, Short Form Ashtanga, Hot Vinyasa, and Loving Kindness Yoga classes. RLY also runs its own yoga school, The Red Lotus School of Yoga, through which people can learn more about yoga and wellness in addition to becoming certified yoga teachers.

Community

If I had to say one negative thing about the place, it would be that I'm a little confused about Red Lotus Yoga's message. It calls itself a community and maintains that yoga is for every body, as many yoga studios do. RLY is certainly a welcoming place, but I wonder to what extent it can actually be considered a community. If you mean "community" in terms of a place where the staff and instructors are nice-enough, fellow students are polite-enough, and teachers are helpful and do their best to attend to students' needs, then RLY is surely that. But if you mean "community" in terms of  a place whose people feel connected to each other, whose membership isn't socioeconomically exclusive, and whose students and staff usually have conversations that go significantly beyond first names, common pleasantries and yoga-related topics, then not so much. I'm learning that professing a "community" while lacking it in practice is a common issue for yoga studios, so I do not mean to single RLY out. It's just that because I'd gotten accustomed to a pretty non-traditional studio, seeing how a larger and more established studio in an affluent area works has come with certain observations and slight disappointments, that's all.

Again, I'm not knocking the place. Red Lotus Yoga is great, and I love going there! Everyone has those days where you want to just do you and not be bothered. So if you want to go to a studio with reasonable prices, check-in, not have to talk to folks too much if you don't want to, do work on your mat, pack up, and leave feeling amazing, then this place is awesome. If you want a studio that feels a little more homey, where it's easier to get to know people, then RLY might not meet that expectation.

Overall, Red Lotus Yoga is a pretty cool place to practice. I don't look anything like the white, middle to upper class majority of people who also practice at Red Lotus Yoga. However, whether teacher or student, I've never received any words, looks, gestures, or vibes from anyone that sent the message,  "You shouldn't be here." And as business-like as it might feel, Red Lotus's people are pleasant and it's hard to beat the quality of physical and life lessons one gains from the studio. You not only move your body, but you feel and learn. If you're ever in the Rochester Hills area, check this place out!

More Words from the Yin Yoga Teacher

"Be a silent witness to your own thinking."
[You are not your thoughts. Notice them, but don't let them consume you.]

"Discomfort is where the magic happens."
[Don't always try to avoid feeling discomfort.]

"Letting sensation guide you rather than the mind, you will never be injured. You will never be disappointed."
[Your body knows what it needs. Feeling is the gateway to the present.]

Gateway to the Present

Today was my first time back at my local yoga studio, and during Yin class the instructor said something profound as she often does. I don't completely understand it yet but I know that what she said was meant for me, and that I need to share it with you:

"Feeling is the gateway to the present. Thinking is not. You cannot thing your way into the present."

Yoga Inspiration for Non-Skinny People

In my previous post I wanted to find a picture of  a black person/other person of color demonstrating what puppy pose is supposed to look like, but I couldn't find one. You rarely find images of black people doing yoga anywhere, and that includes the internet. However, I did come across this image on a tumblr page called Black Yogis. It reminds me so much of myself. I know I don't look like I can do much, and I am limited by my size and weight. But every time I go to a class, the instructor seems to be surprised by what I can to do; I even surprise myself sometimes. One of things that instructors compliment me on most is my flexibility. Whether that means "Wow, you're really flexible" or "Wow, you're really flexible for a fat girl", doesn't matter to me. It's the truth and it's a well-deserved compliment, so I'll take it. This tumblr post is just affirmation that I shouldn't be fooled by my looks. I can do this; yoga is for me too. 

 "Extended Standing Leg Stretch  
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana

One of the biggest myths about flexibilty I keep hearing is that one has to be skinny to be flexible…well…that’s NOT true."

Madison in Extended Puppy Pose

This is what happens when I massage her dewlap too well. 

Something That's Mine

Here's a clue about the studio...

Today I went to my new home studio for the first time. I'll be practicing here for the next month until I leave for Japan, and I'll write about this place later. Right now I just want to talk about some revelations that came to me today.

A friend of mine whom I've known since kindergarten and is a yoga instructor recommended this place to me. I've gone to her with yoga-related questions before, and I trust her opinion. But going to a new studio can be scary for a newbie like me. I've been going to the same small, intimate, diverse, and accepting studio for the past 4 months, and now I have to recreate that atmosphere back home, where even fewer people resemble me in size and color. I was excited but oh so nervous!

I'm glad to say that as usual, I had nothing to worry about. It was a little overwhelming because the studio is so HUGE and has so many rooms! But the staff is really nice, the other students are pleasant, and my instructor this evening was beyond wonderful.

However, even if that hadn't been the case, I realized that it doesn't matter where you practice or if the people there with you are snooty. As I was sweating and keeping up with the flow and remembering how amazing my body is, I kept hearing in my head Your practice is yours. You carry it with you, inside of you everywhere you go. I'm good at this and I love it; yoga makes me feel like myself. So I have every right to go wherever it is I decide to practice.

Other than biking and swimming, yoga is the only form of exercise that actually makes me feel good about myself afterward. When I was going to a gym I never felt like I was doing enough. Next time I need to push myself harder. Next time I need to sweat more. But during our class, the instructor Meagan kept talking about finding patience, enjoying the in-between moments, and finding joy in the journey. That's so real. So when I walk into a new studio I don't need to be ashamed or feel like I'm trespassing just because my body's a little wider and softer than everyone else's. For the first time in my life, I feel like I've found something that is mine. Wholly and genuinely, deeply and unchangeably mine. My yoga practice belongs to me. God gave it to me.

So I will practice where I please, thank you very much. And I'm glad I chose this place.

Do the Yoga: Just B Yoga

Today I took my last class at Just B Yoga until August. I've been coming here since I took my very first yoga class ever, back on January 11th of this year. In reminiscing on how much this place means to me and what it has done for me this semester, I am reminded of when I first started. People tend to have this conception of yoga as something that only thin white women do. I am a woman of color, and I am definitely not a skinny minnie. So at first I was afraid to try yoga because I assumed it wasn't meant for me. I'm so glad that I faced my fear and came to this place anyway.

Since I'll be travelling and continuing my practice in other places,  I want to share the gems I find along the way, starting with Just B. If for whatever reason you are apprehensive or afraid of trying yoga, hopefully this will assure you that there are studios out there that will welcome you.




Just B Yoga
106 Island Avenue, Lansing, MI
website
facebook








About Just B
Just B Yoga was founded by Belinda Thurston, who owns, operates, and teaches classes at this studio.  I don't know the exact year that it started. I do know that Belinda originally began teaching classes here and there like at Shabazz Academy, a local public charter school. She got such a positive response and demand that she opened a studio, and Just B Yoga has been in its current location for about 3 or 4 years.  It's small but vibrant, and the atmosphere is very open and laid back. The instructors and students are very kind and tend not to take themselves too seriously. You will especially enjoy this place if you have a good sense of humor and are willing to try something crazy and look crazy while doing it.


From the side



From the front door

Inside the studio



From the back door

 

















 


Just B's slogan: "Community Based, Donation Driven"
"Community Based" means that their mission is to make healing arts (yoga, tai chi, mediation, and massages)  accessible to everyone. They also want to make sure that Just B is not just a yoga studio but a kind of community center for the Lansing area. This isn't just a business, but a place that belongs to everybody. They run a community garden behind the building, and do a lot of series, workshops, events, and partnerships with other experts and organizations to promote healthy living and body image/self-love. Just B also offers some unique and interesting classes for people who are concerned about fitting in or just want to try something different. There's a free Community Yoga class on Wednesday evenings, a 2eXceL class for big and tall people on Thursday nights, a Hip Hop Power Hour on Friday afternoons, and they just started an LGBTQ Yoga Flow class on Saturday afternoons.

"Donation Driven" means that there are no set fees. The suggested donation is $8, but you can pay more or less than that. Or not at all. But I'd say most people who come here benefit so much from it that they're eager to show their appreciation by paying. And Ma wouldn't abide by me taking advantage of someone's services for free anyway, so I pay too.

Me and Tara



I love this place and I'm glad that  I started my yoga practice here. I've been taking their softest classes all semester: Yoga Basics (taught by Belinda on Friday mornings) and  Yin and Ying Yoga  (taught by Tara on Monday evenings). Let me emphasize that "soft" does not always mean "easy". And the Empower Yoga class that I tried today was anything but easy. But I can say that every class I have taken here was rewarding.

Belinda and Me

I'm really sad to be leaving this safe place with kind people, but I will be back in August! In the meantime, I highly recommend that you check this place out!

Mountain Pose: Stop Trying So Hard

"You are as perfect as you will ever be. Right now, in this moment." -Belinda Thurston, Just B Yoga

Shine like a mountain peak

Something I found yesterday at my favorite place, a.k.a. Just B Yoga in Lansing.

About Yoga: I promise you're not being indoctrinated

Yesterday was Wednesday, which is a yoga day for me. At the end of your practice, it's customary for everyone to sit with their legs crossed over each other and put their hands together at their "heart center" (middle of the chest). Then the instructor will say something like, "That which is in me recognizes that which is in you", and lead everyone in bowing and saying the salutation "Namaste" (which is basically what that phrase means). Except the guy next to me yesterday, instead of saying "Namaste", said "Amen". Which had me thinking, Hmm, what's that about?

My new best friend!

I can understand that Christians may be wary of practicing yoga because it originated in the Indian subcontinent and is infused with Hindu and Buddhist thought, language, and tradition. And as anyone familiar with certain American Christians can attest, they can be fiercely defiant against being indoctrinated or having their beliefs challenged. Yes, yoga can be used to practice those "other" faiths. But the way I see it, yoga can be incorporated into the practice of any faith. Why? Because it's about self-love, being aware of your body and your surroundings, not judging yourself, focusing your mind, being calm, finding your depth, and releasing yourself from attachment (especially to outcome and negative thoughts). All of which, more are less, are expressed in the doctrine of many religions, Christianity included.

Personally I see my yoga practice as a way to get closer to God. Never in my life have I appreciated myself and my body more. You learn so much about your body, what it can do, how strong you really are, the power your mind has. And isn't all that what the Lord wants us to understand about ourselves as individuals? Maybe that guy wasn't trying to ward off indoctrination. Maybe, like me, he recognizes that yoga brings him closer to God, and he just just preferred to express that directly by saying "Amen". Either way, I just wanted to make clear that yoga is such a blessing. And God will not judge you if you say "Namaste". He hears, understands, and appreciates Sanskrit words too.