skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Marmas. We all have them, but do we know what they are? I had never heard of them before I started the Bodhi Yoga teacher training and we only talked about them for a minute then, but now my eyes have been opened! Most people have heard of acupressure points, so that is a good jumping off point in explaining what they are. In Ayurvedic philosophy, it is said that the marmas are where the spirit and body lace together. Each marma holds the potential for balancing the body and serves as a bridge to the mind and the soul. Marmas are located at places where there are physical intersections -- veins, arteries, tendons, bones, joints, etc. and there are 107 of them in the body!
We have been learning techniques for "activating" the marmas and it is amazing how good it feels to have them pressed and massaged. We had a great time today practicing on each other! And I'm so glad that now I know about my marmas! I am going to use this new knowledge in my yoga classes...
In the Bodhi Yoga training we've been talking about the art of balance -- Prakruti is a state of balance, with Vikruti as its opposite. Each person can find their own space where their balance resides and then develop lifestyle wisdom to make that happen. I love the Ayurvedic philosophy at looking at the whole person and the whole picture -- food, sleep, exercise, seasons, weather, relationships, work -- all of it contributes to whatever may be happening in someone's life. In my experience with doctors here in the U.S., they concentrate on their one specialty and tend to ignore the fact that there could be other factors. And sometimes a new problem could be created by a solution to the first problem. Years ago I was having trouble with my tail bone. I went to a traditional doctor who told me to take tylenol! I couldn't even sit and it was noticeable progressing year by year! So taking pain medication not only wouldn't solve my problem, merely mask it, it also would lead to other issues -- digestive, immunity, etc. I had never been to a chiropractor, but I decided to take a chance and I am so glad that I did! I had to pay out of pocket, but being completely healed and returning to a state of prakruti was so worth it.
We met at Syl's house so that we could walk the labyrinth. Oh, how I love that place! And as I was making my way around, I was visited by a lovely little ladybug sitting atop a cairn. Ladybugs are a symbol of luck and I do indeed feel so lucky to be able to be here and take this time to learn and grow. It also told me to enjoy life and live to my fullest! The best way to do that is find my balance. Feeling good is joyful!
It is the second day of the training at Bodhi Yoga and I am enjoying it so much! We have been spending time talking about the Gunas and the Doshas which is really helpful! I hadn't ever heard of either of those things until I took the first teacher yoga training with Syl last summer. Since then I have spent more time researching them -- mostly so I can understand myself more, but also I can see so much value in being able to identify the best methods for working with different types of people. I have also looked into more Ayurveda lifestyle changes that I can implement in my life -- eating food with more prana, or life force in it, following a schedule that is more in tune with what is happening around me, going to bed closer to the sunset and waking up with the sunrise. It is all about rhythm and tuning in. As we work with the partner aspect of yoga, it is so helpful to look at it in terms of bringing everything into balance -- mind, body, and spirit.
During our lunch break I was able to go sit by myself, in the sun, next to the flowing Provo River, feeling like Siddhartha receiving messages from my Mother, nature, to enjoy, to inhale, these precious days of being able to concentrate fully on this beautiful practice.
I started the training at Bodhi Yoga this morning and I already know it is going to be something special. There are only three of us! So it feels intimate and cozy, which I love. I kind of regret that my teacher training was such a large group -- although that was fun, too, of course! But this makes up for any residual judgement -- a completely different experience!
We talked about the yogic origins of partner yoga and how it differs from more traditional Western massage. The biggest difference being that it is a more energy healing and spiritually based practice, versus solely being about the body. We also talked about the benefits of partner yoga, obviously for the receiver -- such as relaxation, releasing emotional blocks, stimulating circulation, improving digestion, and deepening spiritual insight. But also the giver experiences benefits as well -- a moving meditative state, strengthened yoga practice, and counter pressure, to name a few.
Having never experienced a restorative partner yoga training, I am embarrassed to admit that I was not even fully aware of what it was when I signed up! So today was very eye opening for me.
I went outside during a break and noticed a snail winding a glistening trail around my feet.
I decided its message was telling me to slow down. When I got home I looked up the symbolism and this is what I found:
The snail symbolism is letting you know that you have to use your time wisely. However, you also have to realize that you do have time for everything. Thus, you should divide your priorities and set up a block of time each day so that there is steady progress in all of your projects. The whole process is a simple exercise in time management. In other words, snail symbolism reminds you to stay in the present so that everything gets done.
Oh! Perfect! I will take this into my training -- to use my time wisely, to know that there is plenty of time, and to make steady progress in the present moment!
I am headed out to Utah again to start another 200 hour yoga training! It will be at Bodhi Yoga in Provo again, and I'm so excited! It is called Restorative Partner Yoga -- henceforth to be referred to as RPY and is in depth hands on adjusting, 52 partner yoga poses, and learning about Ayurvedic Marma point and 10 sens energy line alignment. It is only available to students who have already completed her 200 hour yoga teacher certification, so obviously very exclusive 😁
I made Syl this Chakra mandala -- based on a pattern from Attic 24
Not the best picture, haha! But hopefully she'll like it!
I have several hours to spend in the Chicago airport -- which I don't mind. I always enjoy people watching! I love how this woman takes off her shoes to put her feet up on the chair -- treating everything with respect, but also not able to shake her upbringing even when she's in a probably not very clean place. I mean, really, how many people have sat in that chair??? It boggles the mind.
Ta-da!!!! The first blanket that I made for myself (and Matthew) is finally finished! It took over a year, but I did make about six other blankets in that same time 
😁 I should've waited for better light to take pics, but I was too excited. 378 flowers -- each of them unique, done pretty randomly, and I just happened to have the exact right amount as I was finishing my last row -- so serendipitous! Can't wait to cozy up in it, haha! Perhaps in the fall?
I first saw this blanket on pinterest linking to a blog in the Netherlands -- I'll include it here: (african flower blanket) and I was distressed to find no information on a pattern or colors -- not that I usually include those sorts of details in my posts either, haha! But I'll turn over a new flower petal and include some of those specifics. I found a pattern and tutorial at Heidi Bears and just did the first four rounds. I decided to used Lucy's hexagon join as you go method so I saved the gray section for the joining stage. All of the yarn is Stylecraft from Wool Warehouse and I used these colors:
✽ sherbet ✽ turquoise ✽ empire ✽ grass green ✽ petrol ✽ violet ✽ spring green ✽ duck egg ✽ lobelia ✽ cloud blue ✽ aster ✽ bluebell ✽ aspen ✽ lemon ✽ teal ✽ white ✽ silver ✽
I did it all very haphazardly -- more organized people would probably cringe at my method, or lack thereof. For a while I would do a pile of centers of one color, and then change the next rounds and then I did piles of using only two alternating colors instead of three... pretty random. And then with joining I never even figured out ahead of time how many I would need in each row! I just had all of the flowers in a bag, pulling one out at a time and only putting it back if the colors were too similar to what was directly around it, hoping I wouldn't get to the end and have only bright green left! I joined them by doing a sort of herringbone pattern back and forth while the rows got longer in each direction. I thought I might have to go back and do a few more, but as a mentioned above, I miraculously ended up with the exact right amount! How freaky is that? I love magical things. I first thought I would have a curvy edge, but then decided I liked the look of straight edges better so I did have to hurry and do some half hexagons in the silver before I could start the border. I used the border from a blog called dover and madden. I did the first five rows wrong at first! It was so frustrating! At first I couldn't figure out why it didn't look right, but by the time I did realize I was very far along -- this blanket is humongous! But I knew that I would be happier if I started over and did it correctly and it is true! I always have to tell myself that it is not about finishing a project -- it is about the PROCESS! So, it is fine if I have to spend a little more time. It's not like I had a deadline hanging over my head. I think it is one of my favorite borders ever. There you have it! If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them!
