Posts
July 30, 2010 9:13 am
Fellow blogger & crafty-lady extraordinaire Bonnie Forkner has reviewed 27 Things to Know About Yoga on her very fantastic blog, Going Home to Roost. Bonnie & I share a lot of the same interests (crafting, eco-living, gardening … and yoga), but she runs three Etsy shops (Home to Roost; Kitchen Roost; Old Renewed) & is a certified yoga teacher (yup, she rocks).
Bonnie’s review for 27 Things to Know About Yoga was short, sweet, and glowingly positive. Her overall impression is well-expressed entirely in this sentence:
It’s an easy read-in-a-day book that will help deepen your practice, clear up misconceptions and leave you ready for more.
Thank you, Bonnie!
July 29, 2010 11:52 am
Introduced to yoga in 2001, it didn’t take long for me to develop a list of favorite poses. As I traveled through weight fluctuations, depression, & anxiety, these treasured yoga poses took on a whole new meaning.
It’s one of those days. With every click of my computer mouse, tension continues to build up in my body. Telling me to “relax” would be about as effective as telling a lion to brush his teeth – it’s just not that simple!
Instead of letting my frustrations get the best of me, I took a 10-minute break & settled into legs-up-the-wall pose. This has become my go-to choice when I need to let my worries fall away & bring my emotions back down to Earth. Though usually shown with a bolster under the lower back, all you really need to practice legs-up-the-wall is … a wall, naturally (the bolster does add a great extra stretch).
Almost instantaneously, my lower back starts to release & my legs feel as light as spaghetti. Getting into the pose can take some finagling, but once you are there, you’ll see its worth every wiggle and nudge. Even when the world around you isn’t quiet, you can create your own little piece of serenity in legs-up-the-wall pose. If anyone asks what you’re doing, just tell them, “I’m taking a sanity break.”
You Tell Me: Where’s the weirdest place you’ve practiced legs-up-the-wall pose?
(My answer: an art museum!)
[Images courtesy of Gaiam + Yoga Journal Magazine]
July 28, 2010 11:36 am
When I turned 25 last year, I was inspired to create my own “before I die ..” list, or bucket list if you will. Though I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, this list helps me keep track of all those random hopes & dreams that often get lost in day-to-day goings-on.
Today, I get to cross out the first entry in my bucket list: “publish a non-fiction book.” July 28th, 2010 marks the release of my very first book, 27 Things to Know About Yoga (have you ordered your copy yet!?). The great folks at Turner Publishing took a chance on me & together, we’ve created a great book that could help thousands.
At age 26, my dream of becoming a published author has come true. Before the end of the year, I’ll be releasing my 2nd book with Turner, 48 Things to Know About Sustainable Living – a subject very dear to my heart. TWO books in ONE year … I never would have imagined this in my wildest dreams!
So it is with great pleasure that I cross out the first item on my list. 
Here is my updated “before I die … ” list:
- Publish a non-fiction book
- Jog a 5K
- Visit Sweden with my mom
- Visit Italy with Logan (my husband)
- Live in Europe for at least 1 year
- Be debt-free (pay off: credit card, car, & school loans)
- Teach a class
- Write a memoir
- Knit a sweater
- Become a certified yoga teacher OR personal trainer
- Study Ayurveda
- Study Buddhism
- Study massage
- Try Pilates
- Try flower arranging
- Try ceramics
- Try crochet
- Try rock climbing
- Try archery
- Try canoeing
July 27, 2010 10:27 am
To ensure technical accuracy & a personal perspective, I extensively interviewed a selection of yoga teachers for my 1st book, 27 Things to Know About Yoga. Those same yoga teachers are back – this time, talking about their own yoga journey, how yoga has changed them, what they wish folks knew about yoga … and more.
An interfaith minister & certified yoga teacher, Frank Jude Boccio is not only intelligent – he is wise. Chatting with him for just a few minutes makes a person feel truly alive & connected to the world around them. Along with studying Ayurveda & rehabilitation therapy, Frank has trained in numerous yoga styles, including: Anusara, Ashtanga, & Kundalini. Based in Arizona & teaching around the world, Frank has also written a wonderful book titled Mindfulness Yoga – a seamless interweaving of yoga & Buddhist mindfulness meditation.
Victoria Klein: How were you first introduced to yoga?
Frank Jude Boccio: While I was still in High School, curiosity drew me to read a few books on Buddhism and it just seemed to make sense to me. However, I was as yet not motivated to practice. Then, when I was around 20 years old, with a young daughter and a marriage that was already experiencing problems, a friend suggested I try Yoga to ease my stress.
I will NEVER forget my first shavasana [corpse pose]! It was an experience that whet my appetite for more. However, after several months, I began to notice that while practicing yoga, and for some short time after I would feel peaceful and blissful, but outside of yoga class, the rest of my life still felt chaotic and extremely stressful. In fact, the discordance between how I felt while practicing yoga and the rest of my life caused me mental pain!
At that time, I read how the Buddha had studied with two of the great yogis of his time and found that as long as he was in a deep state of concentrated meditation, he felt blissful, but soon after coming out of meditation, he would again feel stress. That was when he decided to go out on his own and re-discovered the meditative approach that has come to be called ‘mindfulness.’ It was reading about his experience, and recognizing how similar it was to mine, that led me to begin Buddhist meditation, which I now see as simply a form of yoga itself.
What changes have you noticed from practicing yoga (physical, mental, … etc.)?
An interesting question as I just participated in a university study on Mindfulness Practice. The most telling, and transformative change I have experienced over time is that I am not as reactive to external conditions as I once was. I have found a degree of freedom from conditions, so that my happiness and peace are not determined by others and external situations. I experience a lightness of being, so that even difficult situations are accepted more openly and freely, and I do what I can and let go of the rest. I smile more freely at my own foibles, not taking myself so darn seriously. As I tell my students, “Life is too important to take seriously: En-lighten Up!”
The meditation and physical practices (including pranayama and asana) have also helped keep my body and my immune system strong; I rarely get sick. And thankfully, at 54 I am still feeling limber and don’t experience any of the joint or muscular aches that so many folk my age — who do not practice some form of hatha-yoga — seem to experience.
Which yoga pose is your all-time favorite & why?
In some ways, this is a bit of a challenging question. Honestly, taking Patanjali’s aphorism to heart, that asana (posture) should be stable and easeful and done with the relaxing of effort in order to experience coalescence (samapatti) and the over-coming of being ‘plagued’ by the pairs of opposites (Y.S.: II; 46 – 48) I would have to say either a comfortable sitting posture OR shavasana. The reason is that in such postures, as we say in Zen, ‘body and mind are dropped’ and a deep sense of peace and joy arise.
Interestingly, my first yoga teacher would often say (and now I also share with my students) that shavasana is the most challenging posture to ‘master,’ and while many beginners scoff at that and think I’m kidding, it is true in many ways. Shavasana is NOT about ‘nap-time.’ We are asked to literally let go of body and mind and stay alert. That degree of ‘letting go’ is very difficult for us contemporary humans, and often when the body is at ease, we tend to drift off. But the meditative state is one of relaxation AND alertness.
Now, other than these, I think Warrior Two is perhaps my favorite ‘active’ hatha-yoga posture because it feels so strong, grounding and opening all at the same time. Long ‘holds’ in Warrior Two allow me to watch my mind’s reactivity to discomfort, while still maintaining the stability that other more contortionist postures do not allow. Staying in the posture cultivates the heart of the ‘warrior-bodhisattva’ so that I can cultivate a greater capacity to stay present with whatever life throws at me.
Why do you think there are so many misconceptions about yoga?
At least one reason for some of the many misconceptions about yoga relate to confusion as to the various definitions of the word “yoga.” When I teach the History and Philosophy of the Yoga Tradition, I note that the first use of the word “yoga” to describe a mental discipline of ‘yoking the mind and body’ dates to about 1000 BCE. From this time on, Yoga (with a capital Y) connotes any psycho-physical-spiritual discipline with its origins on the sub-continent of what is now called “India.” There are many forms of yoga, and for most of its history, yoga meant meditation (raja-yoga), and later devotion to the Divine (bhakti-yoga), selfless service (karma-yoga), and investigation (jnana-yoga).
Confusion really begins when we speak of yoga as a philosophy or darshana. The school of Classical Yoga, one of the six forms of ‘orthodox’ Indian philosophy rests upon the work of Patanjali in his Yoga-Sutra, which dates from around 200 – 300 CE. This is over a 1,000 years since the word ‘yoga’ was first used to describe spiritual discipline. Several centuries after Patanjali, the Tantra-Yoga movement spread across India, and it was from this movement that Hatha-Yoga (forceful-yoga) arose. But even then, the postures of hatha were primarily sitting postures, as any cursory view of The Hatha-Yoga Pradipika will show you.
Ironically, many of the movements and postures of contemporary Hatha-Yoga are less than 200 years old, and were very much influenced by the British calisthenics movement! Sadly, when Yoga was brought over to America, the physical practice of asana was emphasized till we’ve reached the point where for most Westerners, the great richness of the Yoga Tradition has been reduced to asana practice! Mark Singleton, in his wonderful Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice goes into great detail about this history.
What one thing do you wish everyone knew about yoga?
I wish that everyone would know that yoga is sooooo much more than just the physical practice — as wonderful as that is — so that they could more greatly appreciate just how powerfully transforming it can be. The freedom yoga offers; beyond the flexibility and strength of body to the flexibility and strength of mind it cultivates, is beyond conception. If we have too narrow a view of what yoga is, we end up short-changing ourselves! Yoga… it’s beyond conception!
[Images courtesy of Frank Jude Boccio]
July 26, 2010 9:33 am
Do you ever feel like your mind is playing tricks on you?
You’re not crazy – your instincts are deceiving you (those bastards).
My latest rental from the library, The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, provides a jaw-droppingly fascinating perspective into mental illusions that influence our every word, action, and thought.
Chabris & Simons, both established cognitive psychologists, are best known for their “Gorillas in Our Midst” study (click the link to try it for yourself!). Their gorilla study (and namesake for the book) is used to illustrate the first of 6 everyday illusions: the illusion of attention. In subsequent chapters, the other 5 illusions are explained in detail: memory, confidence, knowledge, cause, & potential.
What we intuitively accept and believe is derived from what we collectively assume and understand, and intuition influences our decisions automatically and without reflection. Intuition tells us that we pay attention to more than we do, that our memories are more detailed and robust than they are, that confident people are competent people, that we know more that we really do, that coincidences and correlations demonstrate causation, and that our brains have vast reserves of power that are easy to unlock. But in all these cases, our intuitions are wrong, and they can cost us our fortunes, our health, and even our lives if we follow them blindly. — Page 231
Admittedly, the book may sound like a bit of a downer, but I found it to be extremely intriguing. Included with the extensive explanation of each illusion, Chabris & Simons provide straightforward info on how to break these illusions for yourself. As you might expect, the key is to stop & think before you speak or act, ensuring you are acting from a perspective from of misconceptions.
When you think about the world with an awareness of everyday illusions, you won’t be as sure of yourself as you used to be, but you will have new insights into how your mind works, and new ways of understanding why people act the way they do. Often, it’s not because of stupidity, arrogance, ignorance, or lack of focus. It’s because of the everyday illusions that affect us all. — Page 242
If you have a curiosity for psychology & the instinctual functions of the human mind, I’m quite sure you will enjoy The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us as much as I did.
July 23, 2010 10:10 am
The reviews just keep rolling in! The 2nd review for 27 Things to Know About Yoga comes from fellow writer Sheri Newton, via both her blog, Sheri’s World, & her gig with Associated Content.
Sheri has already reviewed a number of the books from Turner Publishing‘s Good Things to Know series & I’m delighted she took the time to read & review mine also. Sheri’s review for 27 Things to Know About Yoga is nothing but positive remarks, mostly covering the new things that she learned from the book (yay!).
Overall, I found 27 Things to Know About Yoga by Victoria Klein as a great resource for all of those who want to learn more about yoga – from the beginner to the more advanced yoga practitioner.
Thank you, Sheri!
July 22, 2010 9:57 am
Introduced to yoga in 2001, it didn’t take long for me to develop a list of favorite poses. As I traveled through weight fluctuations, depression, & anxiety, these treasured yoga poses took on a whole new meaning.
When folks think of yoga, tree pose is often the first image to pop into their heads. For me, tree pose is the ultimate in sanity recovery. Cell phone, TV, laptop, e-mails, Twitter, Facebook … our ironically-named “connected lifestyle” has left many of us lonely, exhausted, & scatterbrained. The solution? Pause, breath, and become a tree.
Trees have strong roots but pliable branches. As a vital member of the natural world, trees are home to insects, birds, and some mammals. They provide food for creatures of all kinds & much-needed oxygen. Even if cut down, trees keep on giving through the use of their wood & the nutrients available in its remnants. Trees are the ultimate team players, using just what they need to thrive & sharing their ongoing vibrancy with others. When was the last time you felt that way?
The feeling tree pose creates is the best medicine against multitasking. Whenever I am trying to do too much at once or can’t even focus on a single task, I take a short break & practice tree pose. As an introductory balancing pose, you can’t afford wasting your mental energy on anything but practicing tree pose. After less than 5 minutes, my mind is sharp & my body feels strong.
When battling with depression & anxiety, not much could inspire me to get out of bed – except tree pose. When my body & mind work together in tree pose, my inner confidence get a nice boost. “If I can do tree pose, just think of what else I can do!” Thanks to its encouragement of mental & physical balance, you’ll often find me practicing tree pose … everywhere! Cooking in the kitchen, standing in line, swimming in a pool – tree pose is the quintessential go-anywhere, do-anywhere yoga pose.
You Tell Me: When could you use more mental focus or physical coordination?
(Have you tried practicing tree pose in those moments?)
[Images courtesy of My Yoga Online + Yoga Journal Magazine]
July 20, 2010 1:03 pm
Just 8 days until my first book (27 Things to Know About Yoga) is released & it has already been reviewed! Emily Canibano, founder of Naperville, Illinois’ Sky Yoga Studio posted a review for 27 Things to Know About Yoga last week. Overall, Emily liked the book, but she did have two qualms that I’d like to address:
While I did not agree with all of the content; my personal belief after studying many forms of yoga and going through many teacher trainings is that there is definitely a religious component to classical yoga – which is not present in all forms of yoga. I also took issue with the directive that in order to practice yoga you MUST have a yoga mat because it helps you to maintain balance and proper alignment. A yoga mat does neither of these though I agree that you get what you pay for – and I steer clear of PVC and latex mats when I use them – but I have had very successful classes/ practices without a mat. Without a mat you learn to use your hands and feet better. Give it some thought, what did yogis use thousands of years ago before manmade materials? Not a sticky mat.
First, Emily refers to Thing #3 in 27 Things to Know About Yoga, which is titled “Not a Religion.” I agree with her 100% in that the origins of true yoga (which does not resemble the physical practice we know today) are deeply intertwined with religion. I do not dispute that. The point I was making is that yoga itself is not a religion – you can follow any faith (or no faith!) & not feel that you are betraying your beliefs.
Second, Emily refers to Thing #7, titled “Simple Supplies.” I think she has an issue with the very first sentence: “You should never practice yoga without a yoga mat.” Emily is right is saying that, when first developed, practitioners did not use sticky mats – they didn’t exist! Instead, many used wool or cotton rugs or simply the floor or earth below them. This type of yoga practice is great, but I do not believe it is safe for beginners.
A yoga mat (a.k.a. sticky mat) makes it easier for new students to learn the nuances of yoga postures. If you had beginners practice yoga on just a wood floor, many would focus so much on just trying to keep their balance that they couldn’t hone in on the details of the pose, which could also lead to unnecessary frustration & injuries, possibly driving them away from yoga all together. In the end, this was my error. I should have made a stronger emphasis that beginners should always use a yoga mat. For more advanced students, practicing yoga on a rug or bare floor is completely safe.
In the end, Emily had many nice things to say about 27 Things to Know About Yoga – especially in her last sentence of the review: “At $9.99 this book will make a great stocking stuffer, office gift, and should be available at most yoga studios (especially those that offer beginner classes).” Wow! What a compliment! That is exactly the kind of book I was trying to write.
July 13, 2010 11:07 am
Made from Washi (Japanese handmade paper) and magazine pages, Mayuko Fujino‘s works are a visual delight of colors, shapes, and subtle three-dimensional texture.
Unfortunately, I can’t read Japanese, so there is little else I can learn from her website … so I’ll let her artwork do the talking:
What did I tell you? Her works are like paper masterpieces!
Big plus: Mayuko Fujino has an Etsy shop, selling both originals & prints.
[Images courtesy of Mayuko Fujino]
July 8, 2010 11:37 am
Congratulations for the state of Ohio & its governor, Ted Strickland, for embracing change.
Over the next 2 years, Ohio will be building the United States’ first off-shore wind farm in fresh water – more specifically, in Lake Erie. Current plans include 5 wind turbines, which will generate at least 20 megawatts of power by 2012; enough to power 7,000 homes year-around. The turbines will be built 6 miles off the shores of Cleveland, Ohio, north of the Cleveland Browns football stadium.
After reading the news a few days ago, I told my mum about it. We lived together in the Cleveland area for near 4 years & still retain fondness for Ohio. She was elated. We went on to discuss similar off-shore projects that have hit major snags, like the proposed wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts. Common arguments against wind farms: loss of tourism money, noise pollution, & they’re eyesores. I say: bullshit; you’re afraid of change. Mum agrees: “Things have always changed, and they will continue to change. You can’t fear the change; it’s going to happen with or without you.”
With disdain in her voice, my mum continued, “50 years ago, telephone & electricity lines used to be wrapped around poles that ran up & down every street. No one said ‘Oh no, that’s ugly, don’t put those up – I’ll live without a phone or electricity.’ Why are people doing the same with wind turbines?” Amen, woman!
When Europeans arrived to formally settle what is now know as the United States, it looked nothing like it does today. We did that – we created that change. Why should we stop now? The ongoing needs & pollution-heavy realities of our energy system can not be denied any long – hello, Gulf of Mexico oil spill! We’ve used windmills to generate power for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Now, we are giving new life & versatility to an invention nearly forgotten.
Are wind turbines perfect? No – nothing is perfect, but the drawbacks are far less than those of oil, coal, or nuclear power. We are all living in a world of drastic change: socially, financially, and environmentally. Alternative energy IS our future; embrace it or get the f*ck off the planet – I’m sure Mars would be happy to take your in.
Irony worth pondering: have you noticed that middle America has begun embracing alternative energy methods (wind, solar … etc.) with little hesitation, while near-coastal states (with certain exceptions) do nothing but bitch & moan as they continue rack up more power usage than that of central states … why is that?
[Image courtesy of Martin Pettitt]
