Are you ready for a truly different Yoga mat? I thought I was, and here's my experience. I need to say: I wanted to LOVE this mat (Yogasana Rugs). And I still love parts of it, but in the end it wasn't the mat for me. What did I love? I love the idea of a cotton rug instead of a sticky plastic mat. It is just so much more natural and feels right under my feet. And this is the queen of cotton rugs. Hand-loomed in India - heck yeah! The craftsmanship is spectacular and comes with a 15 year warranty. This is a quality Yoga rug and beautiful to boot, coming in great element colors of Fire, Water and Earth. And machine washable - give me another heck yeah!There are some things that might take a little time to get used to. Despite it's thickness, the rug is not cushy. When I first started Yoga on it, my hands and back took a little time to get used to the nubby, firm texture. It also took me some time to get used to the weight of this mat over my sticky mat. Not a big deal when I'm carrying one mat, but when I add it to all the ones I carry when I teach, it was a little daunting.What don't I love? As any cotton mat will be, the Yogasana Rug is very slippery on hard floors. I can put a sticky mat under it to prevent sliding, but for me that defeats many of the reasons I wanted to use the cotton rug. For me this was the breaking point; every time I moved, so did the mat. I also found my feet slipping on the mat which is one of the reasons I generally avoid mats during standing poses.I really wanted this to be my mat! But alas, that's not how I feel and I still find I prefer to go matless (and use the sticky mat during floor poses). But the Yogasana Rug is a beautiful mat and I look forward to trying it outside in the summer, where slipping won't be an issue.
Since it's Thanksgiving in the US, I figured it was time for a gratitude check in. Today I am grateful:- for a cozy warm bed this morning
- that I still had work I could do today even though the email system crashed
- that our home internet came back up
- to my mom for lending me her truck
- that my cat is cute, cuddly and sort of a brat
- that the clothes I like are on sale right now
- for music I enjoy
- for friends near and far
- for finding a winter coat in my closet so I didn't have to go get a new one
- for such friendly staff at the City of Nanaimo
- for great blogs to read
- for so many blessings in my life
What a treat! I've seen Nirinjan Kaur perform live and I have another CD (Aquarian) of hers. So my expectations were high when I was sent Adhara for review by Spirit Voyage ($17.99 US). And I wasn't disappointed.This is a CD full of beautiful music. It is a great listening CD to have on in the background, or just to enjoy a lazy afternoon with the stereo on. Both the music and the vocals are so smooth and easy to listen to.My favorite tracks were "Aap Sahaaee Hoaa" and "Har Singh Nar Singh." They are mantra recitations, but they are so musical and so catchy. And, in addition to being great to listen to, they are beautiful mantras so I can use the CD when I do mantra recitation. Typically I enjoy Sanskrit songs much more than English ones, and for most of the CD this remained true. And then I listened to "Heal Me". When it started I sort of shrugged, thought it was okay. But after several repetitions of the first verse, I felt so much better about myself. It was an instant spirit lifter.The only song slow enough that I would use it in my classes is "Jai Tegang", but to me this isn't a CD to do Yoga to, but a CD to listen to and to use in your mantra practice.If you like Nirinjan Kaur's music, you will definitely enjoy this CD. And if you haven't heard her music yet, what are you waiting for? Visit Spirit Voyage and check out Adhara.
Thank you to Nursingschools.net for sharing this article on 12 Worst Yoga Trends That Distort The Tradition. More Yoga in our world? Great! Mass-commercialization of Yoga, maybe not so great. I love Yoga and I want to share it with anyone who's interested. And I kind of feel like that's how the commercialization of Yoga happened. I think in our western, very commerce driven society, the easy way to share Yoga with others was to turn it into a product. But have we forgotten that Yoga isn't a product? Yoga isn't about the physical poses (Asanas). Yoga is the union of body, mind and spirit and the Asanas are just one step in that direction. And Yoga really isn't clothing, yogurt or any of the other things that have co-opted a Yoga culture. Don't get me wrong, I have "yoga pants" and love them. But they are just pants, and have nothing to do with my practice. What makes me a Yogini is the dedication to following my Yogic path in life.
I've been thinking a lot about disturbances lately. I admit it, my day job has had me feeling disturbed. I've felt grumpy, tired and frustrated. And then I thought: why? Sure my job is stressful and demanding. Sure, I'd rather be teaching Yoga. But, for the most part I actually enjoy the tasks I do. And I know that there may be stress but the work I do isn't "life or death". The worst thing that happens is the company loses money or I lose my job; both of these things I could deal with.So why the grumpy, tired and frustrated? My work isn't creating the disturbance, I am! I am choosing to be grumpy, tired and frustrated. And after that reflection, I found today a little easier. Same job, slightly different attitude.
Are you ready for a truly different Yoga mat? I thought I was, and here's my experience. I need to say: I wanted to LOVE this mat (Yogasana Rugs). And I still love parts of it, but in the end it wasn't the mat for me. 