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Run Forrest Run!

October 3, 2011 in Uncategorized

RUN FORREST RUN! Go Chicagoans GO! (go lower for continuation)

So as most of us know next weekend is the Chicago Marathon and I thought this would be a good opportunity to find the common thread between our practice and this race. Over the years I have had many students who have wanted to check off that bucket list of to do’s with running the ever-challenging marathon. I myself have done it more than once, and loved it! Well love/hate would be more honest. But there is something about setting a goal, a challenging one at that, and then saying I DID IT! Sometimes we wish someone would throw us a parade once we did do it. As if we’d write our names on our yoga tops and someone would come cheer us on in our practice from the corner, (great down dog Hun!) imagine how awesome that would be!? At the very least we’re always hoping the teacher sees us but they don’t always and when we’re extremely challenged how do we keep motivated? In our practice, in the marathon and in the proverbial race of life?

Continued from Newsletter: Well isn’t that what we’re discovering in our practice everyday? How many times have you heard me say “this is the marathon not the sprint” and what I mean by that is that this is the race of a lifetime and not just one quick burst of energy to the finish line, in the words of some cheesy commercial “there is no finish line”. So if there is no finish line like any long distance runner knows it is all about pace. If you start out too fast you end up like the Hare in the infamous tale of the Tortoise and the Hare… We all know who won and if you don’t please see me after class, we need to have a serious chat about your childhood. But if we know that in life, yoga and running it is all about pace what can the most practical application of that be? Well as woo-woo as it sounds (I am a yoga teacher folks) staying in the moment. Because our energy and pace will wax and wane depending on the day, week, year, which stage of life we’re in. In my twenties things felt slow to me because I wanted to go faster looking for my destiny, now in my thirties things seem to fly by in the blink of an eye, I think because I am living my destiny. There are moments in your practice that we forget all the time, (a time when we didn’t know what a chaturanga was), and times that we remember like it was yesterday, (the first time we landed Crow), and these moments are equal in the experience if we’re thinking of the marathon and not the sprint. If we’re only interested in getting to the finsih line the mile stones will be all that we remember but if we can try the best we can to absorb all the moments along the way we’ll realize that without the chaturanga there is no Crow. So pace yourself next weekend if you’re running the Marathon and pace yourself if you’re coming to yoga too, pace yourself in the moments of life that you want to remember. In the words of my favorite, Mr. Mark Nepo: “Hurry forgets and slow remembers” so unless you’re trying to WIN the marathon, slow down to the pace of what is real and enjoy the cheering from the sidelines because you won’t get it in yoga (boo!) and hopefully you’ll have one of the best times of your life , we will be wishing you well from the studio and look forward to seeing you back in the studio ready when to stretch it out!

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So What’s the BIG Deal About Manduka Anyway??

July 19, 2011 in Musings

Some of you may have noticed that Vessel & Kaya are now carrying a smattering of products from this line called “Manduka”, please allow me to explain the love and break down “mat issues” commonly discussed with students.

So, here is the question, “I keep slipping on my mat, what should I do”? If I had a nickle for every time this question was brought to me I may be retired, nah, just kidding I’ll never retire. Anyway there are a few reasons for slipping that I would love to break down and then give suggestions for solutions depending on what your issue is!?

Problem: Sweating hands, some peoples hands just SWEAT! Don’t feel bad, you probably have very soft lovely hands because this is an area of moisture for you, like a babies bottom they are so soft they slip EVERYWHERE!

Your solution: Manduka hand towel, (more like a shammy) You don’t sweat like a beast so you might be able to get away with just the hand towel for the occasional brow wipe and to cut down on the slipping in downward dog. It’s small and very light and could make all the difference in the stability and enjoyment of your practice. Honestly don’t think twice or pass go, just get one. A house hold towel MAY serve the same purpose but the difference just to be clear is texture. A bath hand towel for instance is often washed with fabric softener and is usually in my experience too thick, you need to be able to feel the stability of the mat under you and also the fabric softener makes everything feel more slick. Hence the name “softener”, in general good rule of thumb, don’t wash any of your yoga gear with softener, makes fabrics stinkier in the long run and harder to work your practice in, think foot slipping down pants in virkshasana “tree pose”… Nobody likes that.

Next, Problem: You ARE a sweaty beast and you slip everywhere and even when you roll on your back you make an embarrassing fart noise, it’s awful cause no one knows it was your back not something else and now you have to change studios and everything!! Never fear my friend, you’re not alone!

Solution: Get the full size towel, same principles as above apply but you need more coverage and that OK! Maybe your back doesn’t make the fart noise and your not THAT sweaty (no one cares BTW… you’re WAY more aware than anyone else is) BUT either way, do not pass go, just get the full size shammy Manduka, you will have a MUCH more pleasant experience and even if it’s just hands AND feet that sweat you’ll be in better hands so to speak.

Problem: Boney body, every time you have belly down or your back on the mat you come out looking like you took a boxing class instead of a yoga class!

Solution: Sorry but I think you look tough with those bruises and shows your commitment to your practice your “tapas” discipline or fire for your yoga! Anyway if you’re in pain and yoga bruises aren’t your thing, I have been preaching the love of Manduka but it is a VERY solid and slightly hard mat, so I would suggest you try a Jade mat, soft and cushy but very non slip because of it’s material. Also bring an extra towel for when your working through poses like Cresent Moon when your knee hurts and try to keep in mind that one day when the pose opens to you more your body and bones will be in “right” alignment and the boney parts won’t be hitting the hard floor in the wrong way. I know that seems far off sometimes which is why good yoga “gear” is important just like using blocks and straps BUT this is why my head doesn’t hurt when I go upside down on hard floors, because I’m not resting my weight on my head I’m thinking of lifting my feet to the heavens and my head feels light! Like the great Yogis say “it’s all coming”!

Problem: My feet wreck my mat! Start lifting your feet my friends, try not to drag your toes when stepping forward first, second get a pedicure and cut them short! Yogis need to have clean feet, “saucha” is purity and cleanliness in our practice and yucky feet can be a distraction and let’s face it not fun for you OR ME! (but I still love you) Third and maybe finally for now, I think I’m running off a little on this blog, I think it needs a “Part Deux” too, anyway here is my BIG MANDUKA PLUG! Get a Manduka and call it a day! I have had two Mandukas in my 11 years of yoga! And I lost the first one to a Spring cleaning at a studio while I was traveling and away and couldn’t collect it! That is anentirely different blog but that was a very sad day when I saw that someone collected my beloved Manduka that I had carried to India and back and had written their name on my mat because it was being thrown out to Spring Cleaningnd the studio could no longer store it (totally understandable BTW) . That was a SERIOUS lesson in attachment though and letting go, again a future blog! Anyway I digress, the lovely studio bought me a new mat when they saw my distress over losing my Manduka that I had shed blood sweat and tears on and I am still going strong on that mat. I also have a new Lululemon non slip mat that I enjoy very much and was an awesome gift but my Manduka stands the test of time and keeps me strong and steady and is like practicing on your own solid ground where ever you take it. No toes nail scratches, no funny smell, no shedding, only caveat is it’s heavy as hell so when you’re traveling say to INDIA and back, be ready to put some back into it and use your yoga muscles but that’s what we’re here for in a way anyway right? If life is suffering as the Buddist say then dragging your Manduka to and fro your yoga class should be small beans folks! Get it, love it, live it!

Love you for reading and sharing your time,

Namaste Omies!

Margo

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Tree Pose Podcast

May 1, 2011 in Podcasts, Videos

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Where my Omies at? Oprah Part Deux!

March 31, 2011 in Musings, Press

So last week on the “Where My Omies At?” blog we were left with the cliffhanger of my Oprah and Mark Nepo encounter! And just as I suspected while I was making you wait, with baited breath I’m sure … Some of the interview was posted to the Oprah.com website, so first off here is the link to their conversation and then below is my personal experience of it. http://www.oprah.com/oprahradio/The-Book-of-Awakening-Audio

So where was I last blog… Oh yes “Margo you’re on!” I hear Oprah’s booming voice, and my throat goes dry and I take a big GULP! So from what I remember (I am still waiting to hear the recording) but if my memory serves, I said something like this… ” Hi, thank you for taking my call, this is such a full circle moment for me. I have been reading from the Book of Awakening for over 8 years in my yoga classes. I am a yoga teacher”, at this point Oprah interjects and says “Margo can I interrupt you?” to which I say, “sure”, thinking uh duh, YOU’RE OPRAH!!! She proceeds to say “Margo aren’t you Pier’s yoga teacher? Pier my assistant that gave me the book for my birthday??” To which I replied “yes I am” to which Oprah shouted in the way that only she can, ” so this really is a FULL CIRCLE MOMENT!!!” I continued on, “no you have no idea,” ( which I feel a little silly in hind sight saying that now, telling Oprah she has no idea. LOL.) I went on to explain a few very specific examples of how I KNOW this book has changed peoples lives. Like a student who’s divorce was made simpler by “letting go of the rice” or how I was able to find the strength to leave my yoga community in Portland through the reading the “chick being born”… So as I was kind of on a little on a tangent when Oprah reeled me in and interjected asking if I actually had a question which at that moment I didn’t because while I was listening to Oprah and Mark speak throughout THEIR interview portion I kept getting mad at Oprah because she kept stealing my questions! How dare she!?! I mean I did feel kind of good that the same questions I was thinking of were the same questions Oprah was thinking of. So I told her so saying “well you kind of asked all the questions I was going to ask” to which she responded “well you don’t HAVE to have a question, I think the fact that you brought us all together is worth the call”. Which melted my heart and I have to share that throughout this entire call I’ve been stunned at how validating she has been, and generous in allowing me some part in the connection of getting the book to her, and now in front of possibly millions of people. Very generous and humbling for me. So again I pull back the moment and say to Oprah ”I do actually have one question” and she says “go ahead”, at this point I haven’t even felt like I’ve been speaking to Mark, it more has felt like a connection between Oprah and I, and keep in mind while this blog is long the elapsed time we were actually speaking felt like the blink of an eye!

So out of nowhere this question comes to mind about privacy and being on the spiritual career path, and how much do you share? So I ask him, do you have a boundary, where this is too much or private? ”The book is so intimate do you ever fear sharing too much or do you just give it all away?” I asked… He began by thanking me for my question and quite honestly I can’t remember what else he was saying because I was in shock and awe that I was speaking to this person that has been so influential in my life. I think I got MORE nervous than when I was speaking to Oprah! After a kind but fuzzy intro in my memory, he began to answer my question saying “we have to be pourus, meaning we have to be an inlet as well as an outlet on this path, we are spiritual warriors when on this career path and the spiritual warrior has a broken heart alas must have a broken heart to become an inlet to serve as an outlet”. I was amazed as he began explaining about the spiritual warrior and although no one could hear me anymore I wanted to tell Mark that he had just quoted the reading from the Book of Awakening for February 15th which just happens to be my birthday. So on a whim of asking this question that came out of nowhere for me, he ends up quoting my birthday reading back to meand actually it was 4 days before my actual birthday that this interview took place. It felt like something in the stars aligned in that moment.

This moment for me just became more than just “full circle” it felt cosmic or divine and even a little confusing, like, what is the meaning of this because it keeps resonating with me with such depth and connection, what am I meant to do now, or is this just THE moment of realization to keep moving forward and know I’m where I’m meant to be? I’m still figuring all that out, but I’ll keep you posted if you continue to read the blog.

I will leave you with this final epiphany that this whole experience revealed to me.
When I read my birthday reading the first time years ago it didn’t really resonate with me which I thought was strange, I expected more of it, but didn’t get it. And then a few years later when I was going through a difficult break up I read it again aloud in class and when the line ”all spiritual warriors have a broken heart-alas, must have a broken heart- because it is only through the break that the wonder and the mysteries of life can enter us” these words brought me to tears out loud in class. Which if you’ve ever taken my class is not uncommon, but the power of these words at that time were then made clear to me, as was my path for one more day. The readings and works of Mark Nepo will hit you different ways, at different times in your life. And weather you read it religiously one day and page at a time, or it’s your birthday reading, or the first reading you ever heard aloud in class consciously, or if it is just the page the book fell open to on any given day…. This book, very much like a yoga practice, will grow with you as YOU grow and change in meaning and interpretation as YOU change in meaning and interpretation and that is the practice of being a student of life, and that is how I found this book.

On the day of my birthday I received a signed copy of “The Book of Awakening” from two of my amazing students that wrote to mark and asked if would send a signed copy to me and now in my fresh new copy in the most favorite book of my life, next to February 15th’s reading entitled the “The Spiritual Warrior” it says “For Margo and the spiritual warrior that you are, from Mark.”

Amazing. Thanks for sharing in this moment with me Omies!

Love and namaste, Margo

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Where My Omies At? Oprah Blog!

March 1, 2011 in Musings

So last Friday I had the most out of body and surreal experience related to my yoga and my teaching I have ever had, I spoke to Oprah Winfrey AND one of my deepest inspirations in my teaching Mark Nepo. Yes I spoke to both of them on the phone last Friday during a session of Oprah’s “Soul Series” sessions on her XM radio show. “How did this happen?” you may be asking… Well please let me share this inspirational and “full circle moment” from the beginning with you and perhaps whatever your dream and motivation, will feel a little closer to you like mine does to me these days.

So last year after a class one of my students Pier Smith came up to me after class and asked “what is that book you always read from, I want to get it for someone as a birthday gift”. I’ve had this question MANY times over the last 8 years of my teaching but never did I think that this particular birthday gift recipient would be Oprah Winfrey. Even if I had known I wouldn’t have thought much of it except that it is so cool. Anyway, sometime this past December I started receiving emails and phone calls from friends and students saying, “did you see that the Book of Awakening was one of Oprah’s favorite things!?!”. I had NOT actually seen that even though I do watch the occasional Oprah show, loving her carefree spirit and yet gritty way of getting people to open up to her, did you see when Ellen was on the show? Or Mark Furman? Fascinating.

Anyway I digress … I have to admit when I first heard that she made the Book of Awakening one of her famous FAVORITE THINGS, I was a little annoyed. I mean seriously how dare I, I know, BUT you know when you love a certain band like “The Dave Mathews Band” in college when nobody else liked them and then EVERYONE falls in love with them and you feel somehow betrayed and confused because while you’re happy for them you secretly somehow want credit for having loved them first!? Well rarely do you get credit or maybe credit is the wrong word but rather “validation” for those things but I can honestly say I am a very blessed and fortunate person because what happens next is as Oprah said to me a true “FUUULLL CIIRRRCLE MOOOMEEENT!!” in her unmistakably Oprah way, I’m happy to do impersonations of this anytime if asked. J

Sometime after the holidays Pier came in to take class, she gets in when she can. J But she in her sweet and humble way made reference to the book and how it was one of Oprah’s Favorite Things and I in MY out going kind of over the top way said “I know! Darn that Oprah that was MY book! LOL.” And said, “I wonder if I had something to do with that!?!” jokingly of course but Pier continued in saying “oh yes you did!” She went on to explain that she is one of Oprah’s assistants and that when she asked about it for a birthday gift last year (which I had forgotten about) that the gift was for Oprah! So I exclaimed “so what you’re saying is I indirectly gave this book to Oprah?” to which she graciously replied, “no, you did directly”. I couldn’t believe my ears. I know to some this may not seem like a very big deal but if you knew how much I love this book and how many people I feel it has helped and truly moved on a deep spiritual level you would know that knowing it was now in Oprah’s hands and will likely make it’s way into the hands of thousands, tens of thousands maybe millions of other hands across the country, in that moment I felt like what I do and my teaching over the past 8 years has made a difference in some way. So at the end of our conversation Pier asked if I would like to call into the XM Soul Series radio show when Mark Nepo would be a guest sometime in February. SO I casually jumped up and down and said “YES”, that this is such a “full circle moment” that I am so excited and touched and that I have the chills up my neck. I simply felt all the amazing things that you feel when life lets you know you’re on you’re right path!

I came home, called my best friend Jeni who is the “ultimate Oprah fan” to share the good, fun news and then honestly tried to contain myself and put it out of my head. There was now something very important that I had to work very hard at containing, the dreaded idea of expectation. I admittedly am a HUGE dreamer. And so a full circle moment like this for me is hard to just take in, be pleased and satisfied with all on it’s own and not start spinning out on ALL the possibilities that could come from this “sign” because to me on my spiritual side this truly does feel like a sign. So I put it out of my head until I knew exactly what was going to happen and if it was going to happen at all. But I knew deep down it was, I knew it in my gut but just didn’t want to blow it out of proportion so I could stay pleased with ANY experience I had with it..

Within a few weeks I got the call from Harpo studios with instructions about calling in and what date the interview would be on and then I knew for sure I would be speaking to Mark Nepo. One of the amazing things about this event is that for the past five years or so I have been meaning to write Mark a letter to thank him for his book and express how much it has meant to me over the years. As I actually got to say on the show, “this was SOOO much better”!! J

So there I was, sitting in my car on Friday February 11^th on the phone, on hold, with Oprah and Mark Nepo. Yes I was sitting in my car in the Vessel Yoga parking lot because it was the only place I could think of that was quiet and private and comfortable! The irony is my parking lot is about 300 feet from where they were actually doing the interview. You never know where your path will lead you!

I listened to Oprah and Mark talk for the first hour and felt as though I was sitting around a casual table, like at a dinner party or something and was listening to great minds speak, I so wish I could have been a part of that as they referenced the book and readings that I have known for so many years and also made reference to when friends students and loved ones have been struggling in their lives how I pulled words from Marks mouth to console them and they indeed were soothed. How some of Oprah’s favorite passages were readings I JUST shared in class and saw people moved to tears because of them and how that connection felt so real and tangible while listening to them speak.

And then there it was that booming Oprah voice saying “ Margo, You’re on!” GULP! I was so nervous, throat dry, not expecting to be first person to talk to then…

Not to leave you in a total cliffhanger but TO BE CONTINUED… We are waiting for the actual tape of the show to share with you soon or come in and here what happened from the horses mouth! ME!

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Transitions

December 17, 2010 in Studio News

Sometimes we have to kiss a lot of toads to meet prince charming, or try on a lot of skinny jeans till we find the right pair, “life is like a box of chocolates”, or the best random quote coming to mind I read from the reading for today in this morning’s class is, “when you come to a fork in the road, take it” Yogi Berra as quoted in “The Book Of Awakening”. However you want to say it, slice it, or dice it, life is full of twists and turns and ups and downs and really what we in the yoga business call “transitions” on and off the mat!

Recently as a business, I/We, meaning Vessel Yoga went through a huge transition of moving our location. Wow, it felt as hard as learning how to jump back from Crow Pose to Chaturanga for the first time! Staring down at the floor terrified to fall on my face there I would sit knees on my triceps, hands firmly on the floor and toes reaching for my tush, perched and ready to fly my legs just wouldn’t lift! Like they weighed a thousand pounds and I would be stuck like that forever, until one day I tipped forward just a hint and felt my weight and the momentum shift and BAM! My legs flew back, not gracefully or beautifully, but they did!! And there I was in Chaturanga, to updog to downdog and ready for what’s next!

And so it was with the studio! I felt like I had just gotten comfortable in our old space just like sitting up proud in my Crow and again next thing I knew it was time to add on, move, change, jump, transition and FLOW to the next thing! And there it was already coming down the pipe when I first met Maria, owner and operator of Kaya Day Spa. From the first moment we spoke I think we were both thinking the same thing, how amazing our businesses would be together and how we could make that happen. After many talks and ideas we had a plan and put it into action! Tipping forward and trusting I won’t fall on my face, but not without plenty of fear and hesitation at first but then BAM we were knocking down walls and barriers on our way to a new and beautiful studio inside the spa! And now here we are just 6 months later and we’ve done it, Vessel Yoga is living, breathing and thriving in our new home inside Kaya Day Spa and above Arista foods. Already you can feel the buzz of people around the studio connecting the synergy of a space where before or after your yoga class you can get a massage or manicure (please see menu of amazing spa treatments) on the days of true indulgence. Or on the days when life feels rushed and too hectic we’re here for you too with the Arista Foods downstairs, you can skip the massage but pick up your dinner or lunch to run back to the office! A healthy and faster choice than you’re going to find elsewhere the deli has a full salad bar, sandwich options, and if you’re really wanting to be super conscious Karyn’s raw food options and Soul Food Gourmet for all your Vegan needs! (Or not, there’s BBQ Chicken and Mac&Cheese too)! ☺

So life came to a fork in the road and I took it! I tipped out of my crow’s nest and leapt into Chaturanga to feel my body flow and did the same with my business. In doing so I am onto my next flow and with a new community of friends and family to show for it and ecstatic about what the future holds!

Right now this is what I know for sure, I have love all around me and this holiday is proving to be another start of an amazing adventure like last year with the birth of my son! I also know I am so proud of the new yoga space to share with all my loyal students and the new students to come, Maria and I have created a space to truly make you feel at home and replenish and soothe the soul. And lastly I know for sure that yoga has been the driving force of change, momentum, and motivation in my life both ON and OFF the mat and all my transitions have been made easier because of my practice and the connection it brings to my life.

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