Happy Memorial Day weekend! What a great opportunity to reflect on our country, troops and people that volunteer with passion and conviction for our freedoms!

Downward facing dog pose is a unique pose and one that is the cornerstone of asanas. It is a fabulous pose because it engages your hamstrings, develops strength in your back and opens your shoulders. Yoga gurus patterned this pose from our animal friends!

Chris Crews demonstrates the basics of Downward Facing Dog pose for you here! Enjoy..sending you many blessings this holiday weekend!

Chris’ Downward Facing Dog Pose Video

Chris and Stacey

In the past 10 years I have become familiar with the yamas and niyamas. I would pick one out of a book, read it in my yoga classes and try to teach myself and others in the class about what they are. (For those that aren’t aware, the yamas and niyamas are rules or ways to live as yogis.) I have to admit, some seemed to just sink in…like the niyama – saucha. This has always been a favorite of mine.
Saucha is the first of the five niyamas. It means purity or cleanliness. As a system in whole, yoga is a practice that unifies body, mind and spirit. Therefore saucha can be explored from a physical, mental, or emotional standpoint. The easiest way to understand saucha from a physical standpoint is to cleanse or detox your body. I don’t always eat right. I have to admit it. And there are a lot of times that I feel weighted down, bloated and just out of sorts from overeating or eating too many of the wrong things. Everybody is different when it comes to food. I very often don’t get the fruits and vegetables I need. I know that when I pay more attention and eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains that my body feels better overall. This is saucha… to take away the junk, to cleanse the body. Spring is a great time to detox the body. But the niyama saucha means we should strive to live this way also. So consider a detox or cleanse as the weather starts to change and we move into Spring. Then after the detox or cleanse, notice how you feel. I think you’ll notice a nice change for your body, mind and spirit.

“Yoga teaches you that everything that happens to you in this life happens perfectly and synergistically in order for the soul to transform and understand this level of God-love. Everyone has karma to burn, lessons to learn, and each one of you will walk some challenging and funky paths at times, but these moments will also be the divine catalysts providing great insight, healing and wisdom.” Seane Corn

Seane poses the question, “What does yoga mean to you?” It has taken many years to answer this question for me, and I am sure for Chris, too. Believe it or not, it is not one static answer but rather an evolving answer the more I learn about myself, my spirituality, and this world.

Seane Corn’s What Yoga Means to Me

I would love to hear your comments on what yoga means to YOU! Please comment.

I have been working on updating my website, maintaining a business, supporting a household, family and husband. Where is there room to breathe? People say that I am so “busy”. Life is busy!

How do we find the time to enjoy life during all this busy-ness? Well, I always come back to gratitude. I start my mornings with quiet time to reflect, read, and plan. I also reflect on the joys and blessings I have in my own life. I feel so lucky!

I teach yoga 6-8 times per week and planning those classes can be time consuming because I like to offer the class new vinyasa flow postures so they can have their own yoga practice each time. I am maintaining a health & wellness business talking to people, planning and preparing each week, yet I feel so lucky that this business has brought so many incredible people into my life. I am raising funds for the families in Uganda which does feel like a full time job. I know deep in my heart that they will feel the ripple effects from around the world for our efforts here in hopes to meet some of them face to face in February. I feel so lucky to be a part of an incredible team of people here cheering me on, offering me support and guidance to get this job done. Finally, I feel the hustle and bustle of everyday living, hauling two boys around to their soccer practices/games, planning our meals weekly, homework, social calendar, and attempting to stay in touch with my husband. Yet, I do feel a greater sense of gratituderecognizing I have so many of blessings. One day, I will miss this “busy-ness”.

Family….we just had my husband’s girls over last night with their spouses and our newest grandchild. She is gorgeous! It was a gentle reminder that things can go by unattended in our lives. If we take the time to notice the beautiful blessings, like a small child, the gratitude for each toe and finger, for her tiny eyelashes and sweet smile when she looks at you is definitely present. Now this joy is what I am talking about!

My intention is to respect the life we have today, yet take the time to thank God for our many blessings we have. The tiny things in each of our lives that go unnoticed at times. Even though we may not pay attention to the small things, they are still there offering us the opportunity for joy at any moment.
This sounds cliche, “take time to smell the roses” in your own life. Like the water that runs over the rocks in New Harmony, Indiana (as shown), beauty is still there even though the constant movement of water can create chaos.