Naughty ego!

I'm in Missoula this weekend, visiting family, preparing to present at the Women's Small Business Opportunity Workshop on Tuesday (yay!), and enjoying some yoga time. After a leisurely coffee stop, I popped in for a lovely vinyasa flow class. A perfectly fine Saturday so far. Then, as the instructor announced that we would be working towards doing pincha mayurasana, my ego barked so loud that I almost jumped: YEEEESSSSSS, forearm stand, I rock that pose!

I looked around. Luckily, no one else seemed to have heard my naughty ego. Whew. Moving on. But as we flowed through asana after asana, I became more and more annoyed that my first reaction to the forearm stand news was so ego-centric. Like the little kid who always has their hand up first and yells Me me me! I know the answer! Where's my non-attachment? My lack of ego...? Why was I here on the mat today - to fuel my smug and latte-ed up ego? Ugh. Bah. Sooooo non-yogic, I am.

I struggled with this ridiculous internal dialogue for a bit. Then another voice joined in the conversation, a softer, more grounded motherly one: You know what, everyone likes to feel like they are good at something. Everyone likes to be praised. So, when it's time for forearm balance, allow your ego to shine a little. Give it permission. And when it was time, I will admit, I let ego rock pincha. The instructor came over and asked me if I could take it into scorpion pose, and yeah baby, I did. Me! I know the answer!! It was like the teacher had called on me with my hand up.

Me and my ego left class with that warm fuzzy post-yoga glow. I came to the conclusion (in savasana - more naughtiness!) that I have earned pincha mayurasana; I worked hard to be able to do that pose. So, is it wrong to enjoy being able to do it well? I see the way my 6 year old lights up when I tell her she does something well. Our ego, it's like a child. We definitely need to set limits, but also provide positive reinforcement. The recurring theme of finding balance. Another lesson on the mat.

Today I let my inner 1st grader shine. No apologies. But I did have a little talk with ego about using her inside voice, especially in yoga class. Namaste.

In love with Montana

I'm in love with Montana.

For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection.

But with Montana it is love.

And it's difficult to analyze love when you're in it.

John Steinbeck

Happy Valentine's Day 2012. May your day be filled with love and sweet surprises.

Pictured: Heart Spring in Yellowstone National Park, near Old Faithful.

Yogatography

My original concept for Big Sky Yoga Retreats became our tagline: Yoga and Outdoor Fitness in Montana Big Sky Country. However, an exception to this rule is our new Fall 2012 retreat, Yogatography, where we'll blend yoga and - you guessed it - photography. This retreat was born from the outstanding collaboration between myself and the man who always makes me look good, Larry Stanley. Besides being a fantastic photog, Larry has a tremendous gift with people and bringing out their best side. He says: If you are like me, you are never satisfied with your current level of seeing and photographing. We can always learn and in order to grow, we need to pursue creative thought, train our bodies and our minds to stay in shape. The photo side of this retreat will explore and revisit sound basics in camera technique and lighting, as well as teach methods for exercising your creative nature. Join us for a merged exploration of yoga and photography. Yogatography!

I'm excited to extend our offering in a creative direction. Because my motto that yoga helps you do anything better extends beyond the physical. What a treat it will be to explore how our yoga practice enhances our creative vision. One of the exercises on this retreat will be to take photos of each other doing yoga - could there be a better souvenir for a yoga and photography retreat?

Mention you saw it on the CY blog and get 10% off if you reserve by April 15.

Hope you'll join us in October! Namaste.

Pink OM

Why pink OM, you ask? Because it's my birthday, and both pink and OM make me happy. So I ordered a birthday cake with both, much to 6 year old's delight.

I woke up a bit of a cranky, despite the fact that I am one of those people who firmly believes that any birthday is a cause for celebrating self. This morning, birthday #41 was feeling a bit heavy; much heavier than #40. Despite the fact that I feel healthier and happier than ever. Despite the pink OM. Even 6 year old said to me as she got out of the car at school drop off: Mom, please don't have a cranky birthday.

After years of practicing yoga and working on that non-attachment thing, it appears that I am more attached than ever. I want 6 year old to be in first grade forever. I want to be healthy and happy forever. But that's one birthday pressie I won't get, right? Life is like a good vinyasa flow: super smooth in spots, challenging/very challenging in others, always ending in savasana. So we have to honor every damn minute, even the cranky ones. And keep trying to flow through them all with as much grace as we can muster.

Love and gratitude to all of you for sharing my journey. Yeehaw, Namaste, and Pink OMs.

Mulling over lulu

Happy Friday! We got a fresh coat of white yesterday so all is the right in the world. (For now. 10 day forecast calling for sunny and 40s, non-stop. This. is. not. winter.) I am trying to stop obsessing about the weather...bear with me.

Earlier this week, our LUXE Cowgirl Yoga retreat was mentioned in a Lululemon blog post called rad retreats around the world. To celebrate, I did a bit of shopping on the lulu website. I've been torn about lulu for the last couple of years for multiple reasons, and expressed that here in 2009. I found last year's murder at the lulu store in the Washington DC area (my previous home) extremely disturbing. I know it's not necessarily lulu's fault, that someone killed someone else over yoga pants, but still. It's that thorny balance between being yogic and running a business that has tormented me since I went into the yoga business in 2002. So is it wrong that I wanted some of those pants? Or the fabulous "vinyasa scarf" that one of our Winter Wonderland retreaters was sporting last weekend...? I'm mulling that over (although the order has already been placed).

And I don't want to seem ungrateful for the shout out either, which opened with a line I wish I had come up with: If downward dogs followed by horse canters is your idea of a good time, look no further. When I was in college, I had to take a class in Business Ethics. I'm wondering about the need for a Yoga Business Ethics class in teacher trainings...? And one of the topics for discussion could be, Is it wrong to desire/buy lulu pants? And assigned reading could include Yoga Dork's ongoing commentary on all things lulu, addressing its business ethics, (at times bizarre) marketing, popularity, and addictive butt-enhancing pants with sharp wit.

Thoughts?

Yoga & Bull Riding...?

I wasn't expecting January to be this busy. Luckily, I am buffering all the business with some good juicy yoga. Had our first Winter Wonderland and Wellness retreat this past weekend - and we definitely had a wonderland of wellness, even though it wasn't very wintery. (Don't get me started on the topic of non-winter weather in Montana right now...I will sum it up with this: it just ain't right. Praying to the snow gods daily.) I'll report back on WWW highlights, but first a bit of catching up: last week I was quoted in Yoga Buzz, the Yoga Journal blog, in their post Yoga Keeps Bull Rider Steady. I've said it before and I'll say it again...yoga helps you do anything better. Regardless of what the NYT says (do check out Yoga Dork's Complete and Exhaustive Guide: Yoga Community Responds to NYT 'How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body', and one of my favorite responses by previous interviewee/Rocket Girl Peg, Caution: This Yoga Might be Hot). I'm thinking if anything's gonna wreck your body, it's likely to be the bull riding. Yeehaw & Namaste.

My January love list

My love list right now:

Winter. As in the season, which has returned to Montana recently (although we could certainly use more), and as in the book Winter: Five Windows on the Season that I just started reading and am loving by Adam Gopnik.

1st grade. I wish it would last forever. My daughter makes my heart ache with her love and life truths. Last night, she asked me where my heart was, and then identified where hers was. She then proceeded to hug me so that our hearts touched. Big. Lump. In. Throat.

Stargazing. On clear winter nights, we have a stellar (haha) view of Jupiter and the constellation Orion. It's become habit to look for them when I wake up during the night.

Big Sky Skiing. This goes hand in hand with the winter thing...I forgot how much fun it is to play in the snow after missing last year's ski season while we were in London.

Chair lift chatting. I also forgot how much fun it is to meet people on the chair lift, and when they ask what I do, tell them about Cowgirl Yoga and see their fascinated reaction.

Snowshoeing. Who knew it could be 1. so much fun 2. such a great workout? We recently snowshoed Beehive Basin, one of the hikes on our fall Eat Pray Love Yoga retreats. That's the basin pictured above.

Eagles. We've seen countless bald eagles this winter, up to 8 in a single day. I take it to be a good omen.

Eagle, the yoga kind. I was recently craving eagle pose, and ended up in a Bikram class (which is a rare occurrence for me). Confession: it felt so good that I bought a pass, and am planning to go once a week this winter.

Athleta's Chaturanga Tight. I'm really not a tights kind of girl, but I've fallen for these. They are soft, supple, and amazingly enough for a tight, don't feel too revealing. I am wearing them to the gym, to practice yoga, with my winter boots. I wish I could wear them everyday.

Cowgirl Cab. The latest addition to our retreat wine menu. Which we are going to sip during our cooking lesson on this weekend's Winter Wonderland & Wellness retreat.

What's on your love list so far for 2012?