Counting Bakasana's

 See this perfectly innocent looking guy? Just chilling, not bothering anyone, maybe waiting patiently on a scarecrow to be distracted so he can swoop in a grab some corn...

 The crow has sight, and patience. They peer far off into the distance and patiently await the perfect time to achieve their goal.

 This pose has always been difficult for me. Not because my arms and body aren't strong enough, but because I was not brave enough. I always thought I would bonk myself on the forehead, or just fall flat on my face. But with my increasing belief in myself and a daily practice I have accomplished The Crow Pose-now, my next hurdle was to be brave enough to teach my yogi's in Ananda class. I finally figured out how to do it.

I tricked them. Not in a poopy way...but I just kept moving through poses and never mentioned where I was going with it and got them into crow. And you know what? Not giving them time to doubt themselves worked! They didn't have time to think negative thoughts about themselves, nor did they have time to fear what might happen. I'm sure if at the beginning of class I had said, 'hey, were gonna do some experienced poses' they would have been nervous and doubting themselves and not enjoying the process. But they didn't have time to let fear creep in and the look of happy accomplishment on their faces was amazing.

 And that's the thing, ya know? That whole negative self talk and fear of the what ifs and what may happens, is the only obstacle holding you back in any endeavor you seek. That lesson opened my eyes- I learned how to sneak a teach, and I learned that...really, fear is nothing more than a false thought. Face that fear- go around it, go forward even if you are still afraid. But the minute you start in on yourself with the negative thoughts and speak, you will fail. That whole "can't never could, so try" statement. Yeah- that's truth.

Sticks and Stones- Giving Yourself Permission

cannot  (ˈkænɒt, kæˈnɒt)
— vb
	an auxiliary verb expressing incapacity, inability, withholding permission, etc; can not The hardest lesson I had to learn was one that was defeating me before I even started. The word CAN'T. As in- "I can't do that pose!" "I can't write" "I can't paint like that" "I can't fix that" I was defeating myself before I even started! And for what?!? Well mainly, fear. Fear of failure is what generally holds me back, but what I didn't understand was that I was failing myself before I even started by making my mind so pessimistic and final. CAN'T.   Part of the definition resounds loudly with me. Permission. And can't is 'withholding permission'. So right there you are telling you conscious and subconscious brain, "you don't have permission to do that, therefore your body and mind will not cooperate and you will not succeed." The end. So I failed, a lot. And then, I quit trying. Sound familiar? And then one day, I was watching a kid do a cartwheel, and walk on his hands- just fooling around, playing outside. And when he came near me I said "wow, you're really strong, how did you learn to do that?" And he replied like this-"I don't know, I've never done it before, but I wanted to see if I could." It was that simple. What?!? I had so many questions, but I'm sure I was already creeping his mom out.  I went home and really started to think about it. I'm a big supporter of mind over matter. But at the time, I really didn't consider the fact that my brain and spirit are ALWAYS listening, hearing and responding to what I say negative or positive, and almost immediately. I just assumed, if I told myself something positive, my energy would know it was for me, and If I made a negative statement-"I feel so fat today; I don't feel so good; I'm tired" my energy would know that I was being whiny and let it pass. But that's not how it works.  When you make a statement, it's out there, resonating and creating waves even if you don't believe so. There's such strength and energy in words- and they manifest when said with conviction, quickly.  So instead of saying "Gee, I don't know, I'm too ___________ to do that, I don't think I can, I can't do that."  Say- "That looks challenging, maybe I can do ________" "I think I can do ____________" The worse thing that could happen? You could accomplish something you've never tried before. You could start a practice of something difficult  and get better over time. You could even impress the hell outta yourself. The easiest way to accomplish anything is to be positive, give yourself permission, try hard, and keep trying, and for goodness sake- quit saying can't.

The Importance of Shavasana

As a yoga teacher I usually don't follow up my practice with Shavasana (Corpse Pose).  I always tell myself things like "I don't have time, I need to go check on..., I don't really need it, I'll chill later, etc" What I've found, however, is that I do need it. And it's kinda like I'm leaving my practice unfinished. For the past week, whenever I practice I've made myself  lie down and experience the asana. And I feel BETTER. Even more relaxed and energized at the same time. I sometimes notice in class when I get to this pose at the end, some folks are uncomfortable. I understand it's unnerving to close your eyes and let your guard down in a room full of strangers. Some people are reluctant to relax completely, afraid they may fall asleep, or snore, or even worse, be totally relaxed and fart. So they defeat the purpose by fidgeting, keeping their eyes wide open, barraging their brain with tasks and lists.

 Some things that I have learned since starting my practice years ago are:
I think you may actually be safest in the confines of a group of yogi's.It's a den of trust.
People are so worried about themselves they don't notice you and your noises.
Everybody snores and farts- EVERYBODY.
You need to take some time for yourself and relax. The reason you're so uptight? You don't relax enough!

Shavasana is helpful to you completely. Mind Body and Spirit. Some of the benefits of Shavasana are:

a decrease in heart rate and the rate of respiration, blood pressure, muscle tension
a reduction in general anxiety,a reduction in the number and frequency of anxiety attacks
an increase in energy levels and in general productivity
an improvement in concentration and in memory
an increase in focus,a decrease in fatigue, coupled with deeper and sounder sleep
and improved self-confidence

Why would you not want to feel better, look better, have more energy, sleep better, and walk around with your self confidence intact?!?

 So I'm challenging all you yogi's who skip Shavasana. Try it for the next 10 practices- at least 7 minutes of corpse pose. And then, see how you feel. It's remarkable!