Taking Shelter: Teaching Gentle Yoga at the Wailea Yoga Shala, Wailea, Hi: January 14, 2018

I wasn't aware this was a false alarm for 38 minutes. One way to know if your practice is working is to see how you hold up when you think a nuclear bomb is going to drop on you at any moment.

Thinking your about to get nuked by a missile is a great way to see if your yoga practice is working. I have a new found appreciation for yoga as a practice to self soothe. You never know when these practices will come in extra handy. Our practice today was even more gentle than usual, with lots of breathing room and some restorative poses too, for good measure. Our main alignment was the suggestion of Patajjali's Yoga Sutra 1.34, which in Downdog for Roaddog says, "darling please just take a big deep breath".

Taking shelter in the practices, or as the Buddhist tradition says, taking refuge in the Buddha, isn't about turning away from the world. Its the opposite. Its about showing up fully in life and being a positive influence for yourself and others. Its about being authentic and letting your heart shine bright. Its a practice of moving from fear, to moving with courage. Its a practice of Love.

Inclined Heart Opener with sutra 1.34 breathing

Sukasana side bending

Sit

Cat and Cow

Plank

Downdog

Uttanasana

Tadasana

Shoulder rolls with swamp monster

Uttanasana

Easy Lunge Salutes

Lunge
Twisted Lunge
Trikonasana

Downdog

Balasana

Windshield wipers

Eye of the Needle

Savasana

Sit
Namaste