>> LLangley Y-O-G-A
>>Y-O-G-A News

LLANGLEY
Youthful
Outlook
Greatful
Attitude ™

LLANGLEY
Youthful
Outlook
Greatful
Attitude ™
Mission
Endevors to:
• To be useful to yoga students
• To reach potential yoga students about the benefits of practicing yoga
• To build community amoung yoga students and friends of yoga

published by Langley Enterprises

Dear Larry,

Now that I sit down to write a few tips, it's difficult to remember them all. When I'm there 'in the moment', every mistake, misstep, errant thought is vivid. I think that I talk of my experiences because I want to save others that wasted time. (Surely others have encountered the same problems.) But I do wonder how far along I'd be now, if I hadn't been hitching up my pants, pulling down my shirt, or shifting my hair, so that I could "be" in the pose. My job is an adrenaline rush, so the focused thought part is always a struggle - very similar to the WWF bouts you see on TV. My mind picking up and slamming negative thoughts/situations/people to the mat, and them getting back up and jumping off the ropes into my consciousness again. So here goes, things that I've learned that I think that every beginning student in yoga should know.

Tips for Beginning Yoga Students

• Do not put lotion on (or have a manicure/pedicure) before practice. Your feet slip and your hands have no grip. You may hurt yourself (unintentional splits) or others (I couldn't keep my hands clasped behind my back and they shot apart, belting the guy next to me.)
• Wear pants that have a drawstring or belt that keep them up, so that when you do tree pose and your foot starts sliding down your leg - your pants don't follow.
• Wear underwear if you don't wear pants that stay put. See #2. If you wear a loose shirt, make sure that you wear a tight one underneath or that the large top is long enough to tuck in. So when you do inverted poses your shirt doesn't come up and expose your top or fall into your face and thoughts of suffocation cross your mind.
• If you have long hair pull it up on top of your head. If you use hair combs/claws do not put it at the back of your head. When you lie on your back onto one of those things, you can't help but think that the pain is excruciating and wonder if you are bleeding. On the plus side, after pain like that, 3-stage leg lift seems easy.
• Do not eat six candy bars in the hour before practice. Not only does your head spin a little bit more than usual, your balance is much more off and your stomach is queasy with a sugar high.
• Leave enough room between you and everyone else so that when you lose your balance - you do not take out those around you. I think that I toppled six others (think lines of dominoes) during my first tree pose.
• Bring a towel during the summer, you'll sweat more than you think and then slip in the wet pool you left behind when you were lying on the floor for cobra pose. Don't look around, look in. There will always be someone more flexible, more beautiful, more color coordinated, more whatever. The best part of yoga is the individuality of your practice, and the unity of mind, body and spirit.

That's it Larry, can't remember anymore. Use this whole letter or edit it for the parts that are the most relevant.

Namaste',
kim