Straight from the Mat

Jordyn | RYT 200 | Seattle, WA

[yogithoughts]

Slowing Down

It’s been a minute since I carved out time to write about my practice. February was borderline brutal and to be honest, it was hard for me to write about my practice becuase I was feeling so icky outside of my practice.

Lately, I feel as if I’ve been giving giving giving to everyone else and picking up the phone when someone calls, etc. I haven’t given myself what I need to reset and feel recharged to keep giving. 

Tonight’s practice took place in my own studio, literally. I hate those days where I don’t make it to the studio on time to get a good sixty minute heated class in with the guidance of another instructor. I was soooo bummed I went home and took a long shower and started to wind down. I forget that I can take my practice ANYWHERE. This has nothing to do with the fact that I’m technically certified to teach yoga. I have the ability to roll out my mat and just breathe, move, and do what feels natural in my body. Which is ironically what I’m cuing my classes to for this week. 

Slow down. Breathe. How I see it is, your breath communicates what you really need through your body to your mind and you truly aren’t able to notice what your body is asking of you until you slow and breathe. Holding a posture longer becuase it feels good in a certain part of your body or tuning inward to really tap into how you’re feeling. 

Music has the same effect on my as my breath does. When I listen to a song I’m able to understand what I’m feeling on such a deeper level. I H A T E sharing my favorites but - Rhye has always been one of my go-to’s in almost any given situation. I feel so understood when I listen to their music. Every single beat, melody, chorus, lyric has the utmost intention and reason behind it. As a “Type A, Libra” this is soooo pleasing. 

Tonight, I combined the two and that was my simple, at home, itty bitty practice and I was so content with that. 

[yogithoughts]

ME, MYSELF, AND I

First of all, major shout out to friends who run legit blogs. Major hats off to y’all. This stuff is no joke! I love being able to jot down my thoughts on my practice but I wish I had more time/energy. Usually, I’m exhausted from class and come straight home and sleep which is stil good because...#selfcare. 

Typically the begining of the year brings a lot to the surface of one’s mind. Right, right? (Hope that’s going strong for y’all by the way!) My *2017 mid-year post breakup* resolution of putting myself first and doing what makes me happy is still at the forefront. At the end of the day I’m still figuring out who I am and what makes me tick, and as I figure these things out - what also make makes me happy starts to shift around a bit! Not only am I introducing a new resolution for myself this year but I’m keeping this active resolution of self-care.

There are a lot of factors that go into what makes self-care exactly that. Are we doing right? Are we doing it enough? Am I deserving of self-care? So on and so on. Here are my thoughts that led up to the ah-ha moment when I decided I needed to theme my class around self-care.

I took a class last Wednesday that was themed around David Bowie’s birthday - because #seattle is #coollikethat. Paying homage to someone who gave zero fucks about it all! SELF CARE IN IT’S HIGHEST FORM. You should’ve seen the pep in my step after class!! I felt englufed by the idea that we have the power to create any version of ourselves we truly want. I lit up like a damn christmas tree, I was like, “I need to theme around this idea.” I personally feel like I hold back on a lot for a number of reasons - I overthink everything, I’m my own worst critic, I’m a control freak, etc I mean the list literally goes on. Although, when I practice I’m completely stripped of the judgment I place on myself OFF of my mat. It’s something I continue to work on! Maybe it was Under Pressure playing during core but I had goosebumps during class. I forget that I am not tied to the perceptions people have of me!

I’m learning that the more I take care of myself - physically, emotionally, and spiritually...the more I’m able to give back to everyone in return in hopes that I’m inspiring others to do the same. Creating a ripple affect of self mf love!!!!

For me, self-care is calling my sister to vent about a boy who I fell a bit too hard for. It’s creating a new Spotify playlist. Checking up with people who I care deeply about. Drinking a beer!!!! It’s rearanging my apartment. Drinking espresso from home. It’s making pasta and watching Curb Your Enthusiasm on a Friday night. It’s practing, teaching, and attending ten hours of continued education on yoga!

Lots of good vibes last week.

Xoxo,

Jordyn

[yogithoughts]

Sunday, 10:30 AM C1 - Cap Hill

Journal pt.1 of 2 - TEACHING!

I taught my second C1 this morning on the Hill. Lots to journal about. Thirty people total in class. Great vibe! So much good energy from everyone in the room. I had a good mix of beginners and advanced practicioners.

I paid strong attention to the body and teaching to the body. Esepecially since I had about eight students who signed up for the first time today. Generic cues to help with alignment. Mostly with Chaturanga and in Crescent Series. Side note, it’s the coolest thing to see the entire room shift into the adjustment cue that you just gave. 

Sun A/Sun B: I taught to a new playlist*, sort of tricky since I wasn’t used to the timing of the songs just yet. I decided to demo chaturanga* at the beginning of class to take out the interupption of my student’s flow during Sun A to demo. 

*I think I’m going to keep demo-ing at the beginning! I really like continuing the flow of breath to movement. Keeps a good pace throughought the first half of class.

I felt extrememly confident with my cues throughout the entire class. Usually I feel as if I’m thinking about the next cue before it leaves my mouth, lol. Almost every cue sounded fuild while teaching. I think a lot of it had to do with the new playlist, the energy in the room, the lighting of the studio. The fact that I listened to my Coffee and Cigarettes playlist before hand while getting ready.

Intention for class: Let go of Expectation. Where can you let go of expectations in your practice, relationships, with YOURSELF? Use these next sixty minutes to actively practice letting go of expectations. Even if it’s just for these next sixty minutes. In turn, finding peace.

Core: It got super super hot in the room! A lot of this had to with the fact that the prior class was a sculpt class and there’s only a fifteen minute gap period after my class. Also, there were thirty people in the room.....it got to about 88 degrees. I swung the door open a few times to let some cool air in during core. I adjusted the heat by turning on the exhaust. 

ALTHOUGH, I prefer to not be shy during core for a number of reasons. If it were my personal practice I wouldn’t be too upset that it was that hot. I will cue my way through core like a MF just so you get in a few extra rounds of whatever it is we’re doing. The heat should actually warm up your muscles to help you get into postures deeper. I'm so glad I switched my core song to Like a Fool by Crazy P. So easy to count down to.

Crescent Series: This is where I struggle the most in my teaching along with Triangle Series. Mainly because I feel I can’t get ENOUGH cues out becuase the alignment in the postures that are in both series are so imoprtant and everybody’s body is different. I feel as if I’m improving though! I had to physically ground down while teaching to crescent lunge so my brain wasn’t all over the place - super helpful.

Arm Inversion - Crow: I try to make my crow demo a little conversational and less about cuing so that if my students want a little more help, they’re inclined to ask. As opposed to teaching crow like I’m Baron Baptiste, which can feel intimidating as a beginner. 

Balancing Series: I always feel that balancing is easy to teach to. 

Triangle Series: BRAVO JORDYN!!! I didn’t stumble on my cues. Very fluid in teaching to the body. Reminded students that you want to be on railroad tracks rather than a tightrope. Side Note - I taught to a lot of visuals today? I’m not sure where that came from but I like it lol. 

Great turn out! I love when students come and talk to me after class. I had about five or six students ask me if I teach other times at Cap Hill. I got compliments on the tone of my voice and how loud I was during class. EEK. Yay.

Can’t wait for next Sunday!

Xoxo, 

Jordyn

[yogithoughts]

Authenticity.

Tonight’s practice was interesting. It was the first time I walked into the studio and one of MY students recognized me in the locker room. “Hey! Don’t you teach on the hill Sunday mornings?” “Yeah, that’s me! You were in my class. Remind me of your name again?” Anywho, exciting little run in.

I ran in late thanks to Seattle downtown traffic. Thankfully that didn’t affect my practice or breath. I didn’t have an intention set for class prior to getting to the studio, which happens more often than not. I like that I’m able to go with what the instructor wants to theme around though! It creates a sense of adaptation within myself. Tonight, we focused around authenticity. I wasn’t too keane on it becuase I feel that I already have such a strong sense of identity but my mind totally shifted at the very end of class *which I’ll explain in a few.*

We jumped right into Sun A with Mountain Pose into crouch and curl, into a traditional high to low vinyasa flow. Sun B was different - crescent moon into cat lunge transitioning into crescent lunge, twisting to the right with our right arm back and left arm forward; stretching out our side bodies. Chaturanga to Updog, then down, etc etc.

My breath felt extremely fluid tonight. Each inhale matched the length of each posture and every exhale was the same. I love when my breath and my body synch up so I’m able to really get into the depths of each posture. 

Let’s talk about core. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE an intense core sequence. I credit this love affair to my CPY Dallas family. Don’t mess with Texas, seriously. Unless you want to whip yourself into shape, then by all means.. head on over to Henderson! If I’m in core and I’m not thinking of every single curse word in the English dictionary - somethings wrong. I felt the core could’ve been taken up a notch ONLY because of our peak posture, firefly pose. I wish I had more strength built up PRIOR to getting into firefly so I felt strong enough to hold this posture longer! I wanted a little more time to play around with firefly pose. 

Slowing it down, supine twist felt so good tonight for some reason. Plow pose is always a good counter stretch to almost everything we do in class. Compression is my new best friend. I got an assist in supine felt myself completely surrender to gravity. I’m guessing this is where I started to feel the authenticity in my practice roll in. When class ended that’s when I realized that showing up to my mat is my authenticity. I’ve been practicing for about three years now. Forgeting that yoga is such a huge part of who I am. It’s less of a hobby and more of a dependency in my life now. 

Here’s what I got out of class tonight: when I show up to my mat, I’m able to truly be myself OFF of the mat. Taking myself out of the equation - when anyone is their true self...we inspire others to be THEIR true selves. I had a prime example of that today. I sent a friend a song and he immediately added it to a playlist of his. I do the exact same when I get a good song from him! We’re all an inspiration to each other. That’s the fun part.

Xoxo,

Jordyn

[yogithoughts]

Let go of Expectation. Find Peace.

To start, my practice tonight was the strongest it’s been since Teacher Training. I have not felt as connected to my pactice both phsyically and mentally since then. Tonight was so good.

My New Year’s Resolution/Intention for 2018 is to let go of expectation. I came to a realization that I expect a lot out of situations. I freak out when situations start to head in the opposite direction. That’s when the anxiety kicks in for me and lose patience.

We started class with a very bright studio and lots of conversation on how you get from the idea of a goal or intention, to the achievement or fulfillment. Immediately after we went into child’s pose - lengthening out our arms to the right and then the left. Stretching out our side bodies. Heading straight into Sun A and Sun B. Great playlist! Old rock songs with a modern twist. 

This particular instructor always has a killer core sequence *no pun intended* from a teacher’s stand point - she counts down PERFECTLY to the music. I love core.

Peak Posture for the evening: hurdler’s pose! I absolutely love this posture. I always feel so strong and 100% badass. Despite that I’ve been able to hold this posture for longer than 30 seconds, I am always taken back by my strength and ability to hold myself up off of the ground.

I totally cried in Savasana this evening. I haven’t felt englufed by peace in my life in a very long time. Tonight was the first time that I was content with my body, my thoughts, my life outside out my practice. In NO way does that mean that my life is perfect. 

I cried because for sixty entire minutes I didn’t judge myself in the middle of my practice for not being as thin as I used to be. I cried because I am content with who I am. I cried because the universe aligned and the energy was STRONG in a room filled with thirty other yogis who were setting their intentions for the year. I cried because I am making choices for myself that are entirely based off of putting myself first. I circled back to my intention and it immediately came to me, this peace that I was feeling....was all becuase I released the ability to hold expectations. Expectations for myself, expectations for the people in my life, expecations in my practice, my body, everything! 

Sixty minutes of pure bliss to close out my Wednesday.

Xoxo,

Jordyn

[yogithoughts]

The 411:

Hi friends!

Quick little run down on why I decided to create this “journal.” My practice runs smoothly when I document what felt good in my body. Which poses didn’t feel good in my body. Which cues helped me go deeper into a posutre. The playlist a teacher will sequence their class to. 

This isn’t a weekly blog that I will dedicate my practice to. I’m not a writer. I don’t have high expectations of this blog getting back to Yoga Journal. It’s strictly a come and go, write down what absolutely stood out in my practice type of thing!

My goal for this documented vulnerability. I want people to recognize that yoga isn’t all about the “Namaste” aspect and feeling “Zen.” If you know me, you know I should’ve had my mouth rinsed out with soap..... like yesterday.

For me, yoga is a balance of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Everything in between! Facing your strengths and weaknesses head on - and being okay with that.

xoxo,

Jordyn