Shaggy Dog And Other Fun Yoga: Teaching A Private: Wailea, HI: January 24, 2021

Is it just me, or is almost everybody having a lot more fun these days?

To answer my own question, it's not just me whose having a lot more fun these days. Granted, we still are in a pandemic so I'm not out and about too much, however a collective relief sure seems to be everywhere I look and in almost every conversation I have.

The yoga practice makes us more sensitive to the world. We can’t see in others what we can’t see in ourselves, we start where we are in our own self study. I’ve been amazed to see spontaneous outbursts of joy this week. I’m not even afraid to turn on the TV anymore.

While I’m serious about my yoga practice, I don’t take myself too seriously when it comes to sharing yoga. It can look a little unorthodox, and I certainly don't crank people into shapes. It doesn’t feel good to do that to myself, so why would I jam somebody into a twist, ever. To that end, I am a fan of props, but during a pandemic this can be tricky.

Today's practice involved using a yoga strap. I haven't been able to find one so we used dog leashes. This alone added some comic relief to the yoga.

Yet on a more earnest note, I'm reminded not to worry about the yoga. It's my own mindset limitations, not the practice, that stops me from offering really great stretches using a strap. At least until today. I haven't been able to find any straps on the island but since The Sunday yogi is a 'dog person' , a leash isn’t too far out of the realm of odd. They work just fine. I’ve never owned a proper yoga strap and have been using dog leashes since tour days, which, by the way, feels like a lifetime ago.

Working with yoga poses is infinitely creative. I consider what we're endeavoring for on Sundays, it seems in addition to accessing more flexibility and strength in our bodies, it's also about cultivating joy and awakening presence. Here's our sequence today, aided by dog leashes, palm trees, and a quintessentially beautiful Sunday morning in Maui, Hawaii.

Windshield wipers
Supine cactus arms double hip circles
Shaggydog
Supine pada gustasna with twist using strap

Staff pose  with neck rolls
Seated “haiku” wave with twist

Tadasana
Easy Burpee

Uttithatadasana shoulder openers with strap
Uttanasana with strap
Gomukasana arms with strap

Warrior ii with cow arms
Warrior II dance

Standing pada gustasana with balance play using palm trees

Mango throwing
Rolling pin
Sharing love meditation

Namaste

Health, Love, and Rock and Roll