Artist for the week
30
Jan
2013
30
Jan
2013
Seated Forward Bend Paschimottanasana Paschimottanasa (POSH-ee-moh-tan-AHS-anna) paschimottana = intense stretch of the west (pashima = west uttana = intense stretch) Step by Step Sit on the floor with your buttocks supported on a folded blanket and your legs straight in front of you. Press actively through your heels. Rock slightly onto your left buttock, and pull your right sitting bone away from the heel with your right hand. Repeat on the other side. Turn the top thighs in slightly and press them down into the floor. Press through your palms or finger tips on the floor beside your hips and lift the top of the sternum toward the ceiling as the top thighs descend. Draw the inner groins deep into the pelvis. Inhale, and keeping the front torso long, lean forward from the hip joints, not the waist. Lengthen the tailbone away from the back of your pelvis. If possible take the sides of the feet with your hands, thumbs on the soles, elbows fully extended; if this isn’t possible, loop a strap around the foot soles, and hold the strap firmly. Be sure your elbows are straight, not bent. When you are ready to go further, don’t forcefully pull yourself into the forward bend, whether your hands are on the feet or holding the strap. Always lengthen the front torso into the pose, keeping your head raised. If you are holding the feet, bend the elbows out to the sides and lift them away from the floor; if holding the strap, lighten your grip and walk the hands forward, keeping the arms long. The lower belly should touch the thighs first, then the upper belly, then the ribs, and the head last. With each inhalation, lift and lengthen the front torso just slightly; with each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward bend. In this way the torso oscillates and lengthens almost imperceptibly with the breath. Eventually you may be able to stretch the arms out beyond the feet on the floor. Stay in the pose anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes. To come up, first lift the torso away from the thighs and straighten the elbows again if they are bent. Then inhale and lift the torso up by pulling the tailbone down and into the pelvis.
30
Jan
2013
Rumi- A Dumb Experiment: Break open your personal self to taste the story of the nutmeat soul. These voices come from that rattling against the outer shell. The nut and the oil inside have voices that can only be heard with another kind of listening. If it weren’t for the sweetness of the nut, the inner talking, who would ever shake a walnut? We listen to words so we can silently reach into the other. Let the ear and mouth get quiet, so this taste can come to the lip. Too long we have been saying poetry, talking discourses, explaining the mystery outloud. Let us try a dumb experiment.
30
Jan
2013
Book for the Week
30
Jan
2013
Yoga With Mike
20
Jan
2013
Yoga with Mike
When: Wednesdays starting January 23RD, 2013
Where: St.Ursula Academy 4025 Indian Road in the Dance Studio.
Time: from 5:45pm-7pm.
Bring comfortable clothes.There are facilities to change in.
$12.00 a class
$8.00 a class for all those affiliated with St.Ursula- alumni, students, faculty and administration.
Of course it is always Donation Based. Pay what you can afford.
Looking forward to the possibility of doing yoga with you.
Namaste’
Respectfully,
Mike Zerner
Artist
09
Jan
2013
Books
09
Jan
2013
Yoga Poses
09
Jan
2013
Half Lord of the Fishes Pose
Ardha Matsyendrasana
(ARE-dah MOT-see-en-DRAHS-anna)
ardha = half
Matsyendra = king of the fish (matsya = fish
indra = ruler), a legendary teacher of yoga
Step by Step
Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, buttocks supported on a folded blanket. Bend your knees, put your feet on the floor, then slide your left foot under your right leg to the outside of your right hip. Lay the outside of the left leg on the floor. Step the right foot over the left leg and stand it on the floor outside your left hip. The right knee will point directly up at the ceiling.
Exhale and twist toward the inside of the right thigh. Press the right hand against the floor just behind your right buttock, and set your left upper arm on the outside of your right thigh near the knee. Pull your front torso and inner right thigh snugly together.
Press the inner right foot very actively into the floor, release the right groin, and lengthen the front torso. Lean the upper torso back slightly, against the shoulder blades, and continue to lengthen the tailbone into the floor.
You can turn your head in one of two directions: Continue the twist of the torso by turning it to the right; or counter the twist of the torso by turning it left and looking over the left shoulder at the right foot.
With every inhalation lift a little more through the sternum, pushing the fingers against the floor to help. Twist a little more with every exhalation. Be sure to distribute the twist evenly throughout the entire length of the spine; don’t concentrate it in the lower back. Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then release with an exhalation, return to the starting position, and repeat to the left for the same length of time.
Poem
09
Jan
2013
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
Franz Kafka