Just do it!
Yoga mat bag from manusmade

Grasp bowls from Bryce Wymer via missmoss

Moving Yoga Poster

Ivy Kaminer Moving Yoga Poster #22 by Phillip Askew

Carmen Amaya

GRACE!
The Legendary Carmen Amaya (1913-1963)

Opal mociun necklace via lenacorwin

What i should be doing today...

YES!

just hanging out. no big deal.
from bi2 via rebeccaketchum

Pose of the week

Vrksasana (Tree Pose)
One gift of yoga is learning to be centred. This isn't just an interesting philosophical idea; it's a real mental and physical discipline you practice every time you do a pose. And the best poses to develop that sense of centre, of course, are balancing poses. The moment your mind starts to wander you lose your balance and that is one of the reasons I love them!

While there are a great variety of balancing poses in yoga, it's usual to begin with standing balances. In all balance poses, the part of the body that touches the ground forms the foundation of the pose, and this foundation is vitally important. If the foundation is misaligned it becomes tricky to maintain healthy alignment throughout the body. Vrksasana is a great pose to practice these principles.

Practice: Don't be in a rush to get your lifted foot to your inner thigh. Take things slowly and build the pose from the feet up. This article is a great focus for beginners. 
 
Sequencing: Nice poses to practice before include Baddha Konasana, Trikonasana and Virabhadrasana 2, Vrkasana is also nice placed before a sequence of standing poses.

Benefits: Strengthens thighs, calves, ankles, and spine, Stretches the groins and inner thighs, chest and shoulders, Improves sense of balance, Can help relieve sciatica and reduce flat feet.
 

Cautions: Raising the arms above the head for any length of time may involve risks for persons with high blood pressure. The arms can be held at chest height in anjali mudra for those at risk.


image from designshifts

More chair yoga...i need to do more of this.

I'm completely fascinated by these...special i know...
Gems and Minerals via vintageprintable  and thejealouscurator

Sequence - Yoga for Arthritis

Came across this short chair yoga routine from Laura Staton on my internet travels.

If you try this make sure you don't over stretch the joint/joints affected if there is pain and don't fatigue the joints and muscles during a flare up.

I'd also recommend having a look at this book Yoga For Arthritis The Complete Guide.

Images by Laura Staton

Sunday Tune

Sunday Tune

The photographs of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944)  – the Russian Empire on the eve of World War I and the coming revolution.
images via retronaut

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost …. I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter Two
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter Three
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter Four
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter Five
I walk down another street.


Autobiography in Five Short Chapters, by Portia Nelson

Draplin in the new Smith Journal via old-chum

Absolutely nothing good ever comes from over thinking things.

image source: curiositycaughtthecatstongue 
and wit and delight

from yogatothepeople

Leggings.

I have been asked so here are my recommendations in no particular order...

1. American Apparel Cotton Spandex Jersey Leggings. The darker the colour the better to avoid them being see through and don't go for the high waisted option  because you'll spend all your time pulling them back up...

2. American Apparel Winter Legging. Lovely and thick and don't go baggy at the knees. Bonus!

3.  Sweaty Betty Kriya Yoga Legging. These fit really well and and no hoisting back up necessary.

4. Gina Tricot Long Leggings. Super long, as the name suggests, and cheap...although they have to be shipped from Scandinavia...excuse for a trip?

5.  Victorias Secret Yoga V Front Leggings. My favourite, although they only come in black and if you want the teacher to see your knees properly its not the best colour. Also, you can only get them in the States...or gulp as you pay the shipping cost...trip to New York any one?

ooooo the colour!!  if this door was a dress i would wear it.

only word that should be in you head when you turn yourself upside down!

Pose of the week

Pincha Mayurasana

Like Adho Mukha Vrksasana, this pose involves learning to open your shoulders, and similarly, you use a wall to assist with balance until the pose becomes easy.   Classically this pose is essentially a vertical one.   Although there will be some arch in your back naturally, you aren't specifically trying to achieve any sort of real backbend such as in Vrschikasana.

You may find it helpful to use a belt around tour elbows to keep them from splaying outward and to keep your forearms parallel. Similarly, having your hands on either side of a block placed against the wall will keep your hands from moving inward and provide extra leverage for the pose.

Practice: This is a great sequence if you want to concentrate on working towards Pincha Mayurasana.

Sequencing: I like to come into this before or from headstand and generally inthe middle of a sequence or after a good warm-up. Postures for preparation include; Adho Mukha Vrksasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Gomukhasana, Prasarita Padottanasana (with a block squeezed between the bent elbows), Supta Virasana, Uttanasana. Follow up with;

Benefits: Strengthens the shoulders, arms, and back. Stretches the shoulders and neck, chest, and belly. Improves sense of balance. 

Cautions: Back, shoulder, or neck injury, headache, heart condition, high blood pressure, menstruation.

 This variation made me giggle...

Matthew Craven

All images by Matthew Craven

“…people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget
how you made them feel.”
-Maya Angelou

Aurel Schmidt

Aurel Schmidt.
images from here and here.

Sunday Tune

Sunday Tune