Rather than thinking of savasana as the end of practice, approach it as the beginning of a process, an “internal asana”.  The process has three steps:

….silence the body, then…
….silence the mind , then…
….observe your inner experience when the body and mind are silent.

What follows are some tips for the very first step.  Give them a try at home – you may find that the other two steps flow naturally afterward.

1. Loosen any tight clothing and remove any constricting accessories like belts. Remove glasses and hearing aids which, by drawing your senses toward the exterior world, tend to prevent your attention from turning inward.

2. Sit on the floor with knees bent, buttocks and feet on the floor.

3. Lie down, keeping your knees bent.

4. Use your hands to smooth the flesh of your buttocks toward your feet, relaxing the muscles of the buttocks and lower back.

5.  One at a time, straighten each leg, place it on the floor, and then relax it.

6. Bring the feet together. Extend through the outer edges of the heels and then let your feet fall outward

7. Extend the chest.  (The process below releases the the chest and expands the ribcage, making the breath even more delicious during savasana.)

….Wrap your arms around your chest.
….Reach your fingers all the way around to your shoulderblades.
….Bring your attention to your upper spine on the floor.
….On either side of the spine, pin the bottom corners of your shoulderblades on the floor
….Release your hands and let your shoulders roll outward and toward the floor.
….Feel your chest expand from the center of your ribs to the outer edges of your shoulders.

8.Place your arms on the floor at a 15 to 20 degree angle from your body, palms facing upward.

….Extend the arms and hands
….Bending the arms at the elbows, bring the hands up to touch the tops of the shoulders.
….Extend the elbows downward toward the feet.
….Keeping the whole upper arm in contact with the floor, lower the forearms and the hands to the floor.
….Observe your hands and fingers, consciously relaxing them.

Let your breath and awareness irrigate every cell in your body, relaxed and spread out like a field in the spring sunlight.  As your mind begins to mirror the stillness in your body, notice whether there are any momentary pauses in the chattering of your thoughts.  If there is, observe what is there when your mind is quiet….

(adapted from Light on Pranayama, by B.K.S. Iyengar)

We have the seed of anger in our consciousness. We have the seed of despair, of fear. But we also have the seed of understanding, wisdom, compassion, and forgiveness. If we know how to water the seed of wisdom and compassion in us, that seed, these seeds will manifest themselves as powerful sorts of energy helping us to perform an act of forgiveness and compassion. It will be able to bring relief right away to our nation, to our world. That is my conviction.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

” …We all live in a constant flow of unbecoming and becoming.  During the course of a 90 minute Yoga class about 27 billion of your cells will perish, and around the same amount will be regenerated…

And what are the raw materials for these new cells? …What you nourish yourself with.”

-  Yoga with John, in Concord, MA

May we all nourish our best seeds well, both on and off the mat….

So, we’re designating May as Weymouth Month at Dancing Crow yoga.

Here’s what that means for you and your friends from Weymouth…

If your friend comes to the studio in May, they get an Introductory 3 pack for only $15 (normally $25).

You get the usual $10 worth of Crow Points, which we award for every referral

And if you refer the most friends from Weymouth, you get a free workshop or a private lesson with Fay.

“Yoga for Scoliosis” with Elise Miller

Fri 6/1 6-9pm, Sat 6/2 1-5pm & Sun 6/3 1-4pm

Elise Miller is a Certified Senior Iyengar Teacher who has been teaching throughout the US and internationally for over 30 years. Elise began her study of Yoga in her twenties, an option she chose over having a rod placed in her spine. At the time, her spinal curve was 41 degrees and she was often in considerable pain. often in considerable pain. Practicing Yoga regularly since that time, she now finds herself pain free. “Yoga has given me a sense of being able to live the life I have always wanted to live” says Elise who now devotes her time to helping others do the same.

Come join Elise as she presents her internationally acclaimed workshop on working with scoliosis at Down Under. This workshop is designed to present information and experience in the ways Iyengar Yoga can be used to meet the challenges of scoliosis. We will include anatomical backgroundon scoliosis, identify each participant’s scoliosis, and discuss cause and effect as well as psychological consequences of scoliosis. Participants will learn optimal yoga postures for scoliosis as well as how to adapt specific yoga postures to their scoliosis. By combining the yoga postures with breathing awareness, one can develop more structural alignment of the body and become more symmetrical and balanced. Through yoga, one can find the balance point that allows the scoliosis curve to coexist with gravity and activates the body’s natural line. This workshop is appropriate for anyone with scoliosis, teachers and health professionals. Sign up here!

Even (ummm….make that especially) experienced meditators will sympathize with Jack’s experience!

Stacey

To me the Yoga Sutras are the first self help book ever written.  Compared to many others I (attempted to) read, I found Bouanchaud’s interpretation reflective, introspective and easy to interpret.  The Essence of Yoga; Reflections on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali * by Bernard Bouanchaud.

For physiology including yoga, I like Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky.  A must and required read for the therapeutic aspect of supporting clients.  It’s a humorous and simply defined look at what stress does in the body.  I still refer to it, years after I first read it.

Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow is a very original interpretation of what ‘Yoga’ is.  It’s my go-to book; for sequences with adaptations with teaching learning and benefits on all levels.  Also, I truly appreciate its  inclusiveness; it’s about yoga for every person.

Two other remarkable yoga-related books that are favorites of mine are Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill  and Why Meditate.  They’re both by Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk and cellular geneticist.  He’s a philosopher and pioneer in the study of advanced meditators at the Affective Neuroscience Lab.

Kate

There are so many useful books on yoga!

I consistently return to Donna Farhi’s YogaMind, Body and Spirit* for her concise explanation of both the physical actions of postures as well as her detailed presentation of the philosophical tenets of her Living and Moving Principles.

Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers is also invaluable for much the same
reason. She provides wonderful descriptions of poses, including sequences of asanas that can be practiced to stimulate certain meridians in the body for organ health. She is also  educated and practiced in meditation and offers chapters on pranayama.

Both books are very well illustrated and easy to follow, offering lessons for the beginner as well as the seasoned student. My bindings of both of these books are very well worn and the books continue to offer me guidance, information and inspiration.

Pat

For anatomy geekiness- the Ray Long series, starting with Key Muscles in Hatha Yoga.

Desikachar’s Heart of Yoga, especially for his translation of the Sutras.

And Ram Dass’ Paths to God – my first real “yoga spirituality” book, parts of which still really resonate.

Kim

Besides my book Meditations For Moms* :>) I would have to say the Sarah Powers Insight Yoga is absolutely wonderful. My copy is shredded to pieces as I use it so much as a reference. Its not just about Yin Yoga….which is my passion, but about meditation, yoga philosophy and her own wisdom and insight.

Amy

My favorite yoga book hands down is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Most interestingly, this book rarely speaks of the actual practice of yoga asana. Our yoga practice is more centrally focused on controlling the mind. This book reminds me that the true essence of our life comes from within. We are all capable of connecting to that stable calm spirit: just pause and breathe, and see what you come up with.  I use the translation & commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda  ; )

Ann

Bringing Yoga to Life* by Donna Farhi. And Yoga Beyond Fitness: Getting More than Exercise from an Ancient Spiritual Practice by RYT. Thomas Pilarzyk PhD.   These two books address what I think is missing from American yoga practice – they outline the deeper benefits of yoga. Donna Farhi’s book is about taking yoga off the mat, and  Pilarzyk’s really drives that message home, describing  how to allow yoga to permeate every corner of your life.

Laura

One  book I loved is an autobiography by Matthew Sanford called Waking:  A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence.  When he was younger he got into a car accident with his family.  His father and sister died and he became paralyzed from the waist down.  …skipping forward, he is now a yoga teacher. The story is his journey and more.  A couple of others I like are Eric Schiffman,  Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness and Donald Moyer,  Yoga:  Awakening the Inner Body  : )

For a solid asana reference book, I use BKS Iyengar’s Light On Yoga*.  For  philosophical understanding, The Yoga Tradition by Georg Feuerstein.  And anything, absolutely anything, translated by Stephen Mitchell.

Mid

My number one would have to be the Yoga Sutras, and I love  Bouanchaud’s* interpretation (same as Stacey).  For the Yoga Sutra geek, I’d also recommend The Unadorned Thread of Yoga.  It goes through the sutras one by one, providing a rich literal translation of each word in the verse.  Then, on the page facing the literal translation, it displays the interpretations of a dozen or so different translators. It’s a wonderful tool for trying to figuring out what Patanjali himself had in his mind as he wrote.

My second favorite “yoga” book isn’t  from the Indian tradition, but I think it still counts: Stephen Mitchell’s translation of the Tao Te Ching.  His words capture the essence of my experience of yoga, which is all about cultivating simplicity, flexibility, and receptiveness.

Fay

Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness, by Erich Schiffman  is a yoga classic.  I come back to the simplicity and clarity Erich’s writing about yoga practice again and again.  It sits in my office at the studio and I can pull it down if I’m needing inspiration for my own practice or for teaching.  Not only a wonderful source book for posture practice, it contains illuminating essays on meditation, breath and the path of Self realization.

A Year of Living Your Yoga: Daily Practices to Shape Your Life by Judith Hanson Lasater, is a book of aphorisms for each day of the year along with a suggested practice.  I like to do bibliomancy with this one.  Open to a page at random and   This little book will connect your asana practice to your life off the mat.  Highly recomended! Open to a random page and… see what message it has for me that day.  Like this one… “what am I choosing right now? Does it enrich my life and the life of the world?

* Denotes books available in the retail area at the studio

At various times the measures of success for me have included the big things, like raising my kids, getting promoted, and being happy in my marriage.  But the smaller measures have also been important, like meeting my fitness goals for a week, getting rested on a Sunday, or making it to the dentist on time.

Viewed through the lens of success, dozens of tasks appear before me almost every day. At each one I succeed, fail, or fall somewhere in the middle.  If I summed it all up the successes outweigh the failures.  But is that even a useful equation?

Lately I’ve read two timeless books about success that suggest an answer.

Hannibal and Me takes look at some of the most remarkably successful individuals in history.  It’s a new bestseller by a staff reporter for The Economist, briskly examining the lives of Hannibal, Lance Armstrong, Ernest Shackleton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Paul Cezanne, and many others.  It arrives at a persuasive conclusion. Pick any domain of human endeavor and any individual at the top (or bottom) of his game.  When you look closely you’ll find that their successes are failures in disguise, and their failures mutate into stunning successes.

Over and over again, the author reiterates Rudjard Kipling’s words, with fascinating examples: we should “meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same”.  Only by identifying our deepest goals and then hewing steadfastly to them, despite successes as well as failures,  do we achieve our highest potential.

The Bhagavad Gita, the ancient Sanskrit text containing one of the earliest definitions of yoga, has something different to say.  While Hannibal and Me and most of the people I know define success in terms of achieving goals, this older text measures the quality of our actions.

“A man wins success by doing his duty with reverence… Doing one’s own duty imperfectly is better than doing another’s well.”

It’s a much more demanding definition: it means our work is never done.  Even when our long-term goal is achieved – or even a weigh station on the path, we must continue to attend to the quality of our actions.  But it is also more forgiving, and more tolerant of the pendulum-swings of life.  If we’re doing our true calling it qualifies as success, even if we only achieve mediocre results.

I’m particularly comforted by this definition as success when I roll out my yoga mat.  I’m a creaky-limbed middle-aged guy, and  I may never achieve the fancy poses that come naturally to my younger pals in the room.  But with the quality of my effort as I gently work with my body, I succeed in every breath.

In this way maybe I’m learning a similar lesson from Hannibal and Me, and the Bhagavad Gita.  It’s best to keep my sights fixed on my own North Star.  I’ll encourage my mind and body to be calm, flexible, and receptive, focusing moment by moment on my attitude rather than whether my head touches my toes.   It’s surely the healthiest definition of success for me.

How about you…how do you define success on or off the yoga mat?