asanas – Swellness Vibes

A Novel for Bodyworkers/Yogis/Magic Lovers

A little bit of self-promotion here.

I wrote a book about a bodyworker. Scenes take place in yoga studios, dojos and meditation rooms. There are crystals, runes, reiki, and elixirs.

While the story itself was therapeutic to write, the fun came in describing the world we holistic health people know and love. I call BS when BS needs to be called, I call confusion when Destiny vs Free Will is on the mind of our characters, and sneak in some recipes at the back of the book.

Form & Flow: Final Thoughts

(Round One)

Before I ramble on about how much I loved this training, I’d like to do some housekeeping as well. Firstly, as I stated on my Instagram account, I’m going to be taking at least a month hiatus from penning on this blog. I need to work on some other writing/editing/designs that I’m doing (and maybe a podcast?!?). No worries, however, as I’ll be scheming about new ideas to share on the blog in the future. And who knows, I may throw in a couple of random posts along the way, or finally convince some others to write their own posts! (Hint, Hint!)

I’m calling this post “round one” for a very specific reason–I definitely plan on taking these classes/instructional sessions again. I may not be able to do most of the harder poses Grant has been working us towards (I am neither flexible nor adventurous), but I’m starting to think that maybe I am actually moving towards being able to do my own version of some of these advanced poses! For the first time, I’m feeling a difference in my body and how it’s holding itself. I can now logically understand why my body has started to open up during each Kula-style class. It’s starting to click, this goal my body is apparently attempting to achieve.

What I’ve achieved is strength, mindset, and a certain knowingness/understanding of the physiological makeup of my body through experience. I can feel things I couldn’t before. A path has been created not only in my brain, but also in my body. I can see where continuous practice of Kula-style classes would forever alter my home yoga practice. All of those photos that people post with their ‘before and after’ of crazy shapes? Your own “perfect” version really does exist somewhere within the confines of your own experience. It may not look like others’ forms, but it will look different than when you first started, so long as you really focus on changing your form through function.

Form follows function; function follows form. That’s Bodywork 101.

How awesome is that? This simple knowing that I can get stronger and more efficient is amazing. This knowing that at some point I’ll just FEEL a previously unachievable milestone without trying to DO it (whatever asana it might be in the moment I’m working on).

What a nice reminder that, at any age, you truly can learn something new.

This training has also offered insight into teaching yoga. While I may never take my personal and professional training to do face-to-face sessions with people, my goal is to produce some videos online for someone to follow. Not because I think I have amazing insight or skillset (I certainly don’t–my body isn’t a pretzel body, never has been), but because if I could just help one person find the courage within themselves to stop for 20 or 30 minutes a day to breathe through movement, then it’s worth it to expose myself online. It’s not about me. It’s about anyone else.

A Spring session is in the works! It will be short, an unfurling of a seed beginning to sprout during this season of waking up. I’ll be sure to share a quick post about the class once I’ve posted it.

If you *ever* have a chance to take a class with Schuyler Grant, you simply must. Either through the Commune website, or in person, you will not be disappointed. Her style, her charm, her aura–it’s all very inviting and encouraging. It was a wonderful 5 weeks that I’m grateful I was able to experience.

Form & Flow: Week 2

I did Wheel! I did Wheel! Okay, I did a forearm wheel, but I don’t think I’ve remotely done any pose like this since I was a child. It wasn’t easy to do, and I wasn’t able to comfortably push myself up to the heavens, but I still was strong enough to even try it. And terribly nervous about coming out of it, of course, but hey, nervous, that’s me.

This week’s training by Communiversity has been fun to feel in my body. I don’t know how else to explain it. We did a ton of stretching and isolating various muscles and bony movement. As a licensed massage therapist, I couldn’t help but relate this physiology to my bodywork practice. Every stretch, every wrapping of a yoga belt, I thought how I needed to share these stretches and methods with my clients.

Simple pec stretch against the wall? Sure.

How about the amazing hip opening class of where I felt so at ease with my opened center, I could literally feel a creative energy flow through me? (Nothing specific, as it were. Just a general feeling of comfort in that area that I’m not used to feeling.)

Or how about the simple suggestion of first moving with the left side of your body when practicing? I think that suggestion is brilliant and I will definitely incorporate it.

Most people are right-handed, right, and therefore right-sided strong. The right side of the body speaks to masculinity, and as we build up our right sides of our body by over and misuse, the left sides of our bodies tend to go unnoticed. (Especially me–I am so right-side dominant, it’s ridiculous.)

You can do many things to strengthen the divine feminine within yourself, and one of these ways is through focusing on your left-side body. The side your start on in class is typically the side that you spend the most time focusing on as you feel into your body. This is set up so that by the time you get to your second side, you don’t need as much instruction. Ergo, the first side you use gets more love!

What a great trick to honor that part of your body and therefore mind.

I also learned that this is the first course Commune has offered like this, so I think it’s pretty cool that I’ve gotten into this from the ground up! There are many people who have joined the training with me, and the community of where we all interact with one another is also enlightening and supportive.

Week 3 includes pranayama, so I’m excited to see where it breathes some life into me. Heh heh, see what I did there?

Form & Flow

Maybe it’s the endorphins from having an actual decent run; maybe it’s the fact that my husband is thinking my changed breathing while running is a positive thing (and I’m likening it to all of my pranayama practice — maybe I’m less hyperventilate-y now); or maybe I just love Schuyler Grant’s wisdom.

I had planned to create posts about my personal experiences exploring chakras, but because I’ve become immersed in Schuyler Grant’s Form & Flow yoga training, I’m going to be spending time exploring the training instead.

I’ve just completed week one and it was ahhh-mazing. I love her style. With the focusing on alignment, it’s creating strength within–and get this–optimism, for once–in each pose. We did Sun Salutation A & B this week, as well as the Moon Salutation. For good measure, the end of the week ended up breathing to a certain tempo within music as we flowed in asanas…

The training is five weeks long, and the beauty of it is that when it’s over, you still have access to go back and revisit the training, which I have no doubt that I will do.

Color Therapy 101: Violet

We have arrived at our last color for this series, and also the final, main chakra: the crown. It’s also the color my son has designated as my favorite color, which I find extremely interesting. My mainstays as a kid were blues and blacks. (I went through that normal dark, hormonal phase as a kid, right?) But as I got older, I still loved black (absorption of all!) and blue (it matches my eyes, after all). And then as I started to be more comfortable around other colors, I just decided that the whole damn rainbow was my favorite color!

When I was 20 years old, I sojourned to Salem, Massachusetts in October with my mother. It was a fun, festive trip, and I got my aura photographed through kirlian technology. The read-out suggested that the colors surrounding me proved I was a creative hot head; a tightly orange and red circle formed around my head. It also said the creativity color could eventually change to nice, calming green. So when I got my aura photographed about 10 years later, it wasn’t surprising to find out that it was still orange and red. However, my son sees me, at least partially, as violet, so perhaps the calming green is still achievable!

I digress.

Violet is a soothing color. (It’s also the name of the lead character in my upcoming novel, The Light Thrower: When Violet Got Bored! I’m not biased at all.) It has the highest frequency and the lowest wavelength on the visible spectrum. On Kheops International’s chakra handout, it states that if your crown chakra is overactive, you may find that you have a lack of empathy, light sensitivity, rigidity or general distrust of others. If it’s underactive, you may find that you have a lack of purpose, or even coordination problems. When it is balanced, you feel serene and connected to the Universe.

According to Whole Living Wellness Center based out of California, violet light therapy is good for affecting the immune system and therefore comforts those with autoimmune dis-eases. It detoxifies and improves sleep.

Of course you can adorn your body in purple clothes, your house in purple cloth, or surround yourself with the ever-populous amethyst crystal. David Hamilton says that amethyst itself is said to help tap into intuition and authenticity.

My favorite yoga pose to help wake up the crown chakra is rabbit stand. It’s generally safe to do as long as you are careful with your neck, and as it puts pressure on the top of your head, its physical nature directly stimulates the chakra. It’s also a good stretch!

This post ends our color/light therapy series. We’ve spent half a year exploring various chakras and color frequencies. We’ve discussed what aversions to certain colors may mean, and different ways to incorporate each color more into your life. We’ve talked about color therapies available, and what each color may help us attain.

These colors and light therapies are tools to add to your self-healing belt!

Wherever you find yourself today, I hope it’s enriched by one of the many amazing colors on the visible spectrum. I hope they bring you joy, or soothing energy, or maybe even some healing energy to your soul or physical body. Above all, enjoy your journey exploring the richness these hues can offer you. ❤️