Blissful September

Happy September,  from Latin, from septem ‘seven’ (seventh month of the Roman Year).  I find words fascinating; each one with a whole history.  The English language is made up of Germanic, French, Latin, Greek, and even Sanskrit!  
Orange through Old French orenge, Medieval

Latin orenge and Italian arancia from Arabic

نارنج naranj, via Persian نارنگ narang and

Sanskrit नारङ्ग naranga-s meaning "an orange

tree"





​












Think of all the stories that make up our language and how events happening now are giving stories to it for future generations; LOL, OMW, will these acronyms be in common conversation in the future?

I love learning. Yoga is similar to languages; the English language branched off from German, French, and Latin to form its own unique flavor.  Ashtanga is a rigorous practice that is a series of poses that you do ever morning while Iyengar is a very slow and based on alignment.  These two styles came from Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois who both studied under Yoga Master Krischnamaycharya.                               
       
Yin Yoga was brought to the states in the late 70's by Paulie Zink, a martial arts champion and Taoist Yoga teacher and practitioner.  He taught a synthesis of hatha yoga with a range of disciplines from Taoist Yoga as well as postures, movements and insights he had developed from his training.        
                                  
I just did a Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Kari Kwinn thanks to all my birthday donations!   The training was incredible.  What is Yin Yoga you ask?  Yin is where you hold 5-10 poses that deeply stretch the muscles and fascia of the body.  Yin is so relaxing and gently challenging.  By the end of class I feel like I've had an hour massage and my mind has become much slower.
      

What I love about Yin is the teacher will often assist you with sand bags to help you go deeper or gently apply pressure to acupressure points to help you relax and release.

The purpose of yoga asanas, physical yoga poses, is to help still the mind for meditation.  

I did yin yoga for the first time with Lisa Cosmillo at Firefly Yoga in 2015 and I felt so great after.  I was so busy in my life and that time that it felt so great to just relax into a few different poses and enjoy silence with a group of yogis.

When I moved to Colorado I felt so anxious and it was hard to breathe, so I went to yoga at Mountain Moon Yoga and only took yin and restorative classes for the first few weeks.  Margaret's Yin classes were so nourishing and grounding.  Those classes brought me home into my body and helped me adjust to the 9,500 foot gain in altitude.  Margaret offers an incredible Yoga Retreat to Peru every year if you want an amazing adventure and to experience some yin and other types of yoga. 

What I love about Yin is it's simple yet so deep.  I can get into my meditation and my body feels amazing afterwards.

When I moved down to Dillon and started working in Breckenridge I started volunteering at Meta Yoga Studio.  The shift I volunteered for allowed me to join the Yin Yoga class every Sunday.  Kimberly Ghori taught this class and she was the first teacher who used sand bags, offered massage and acupressure and I was sold.  I am always excited for her class.  That extra touch just helps me bliss out. 

Kimberly inspired me to do the Yin Teacher Training with Kari Kwinn who was one of the best teachers I've ever had and I've done six years of college another year of massage school and multiple massage training's.

Have you tried Yin Yoga yet?  What are you waiting for?  Yin Yoga is for everyone, it helps you relax, it relieves pain, it helps release old fascia injuries, it slows your mind down, it's nourishing, it's meditative, it's restful and yet increases your energy.   

If you are a teacher and want to do a Yin Yoga Training I highly encourage you to try Kari Kwinn.  If you want to do a class in Olympia try Firefly Yoga with Lisa Cosmillo.  If you want to do a class in Breckenridge try Kimberly at Meta Yoga Studio.  If you are in Winter Park try Margaret at Mountain Moon Yoga.  I'll be creating a Yin Yoga You Tube video so you can try it at home also!
 
Thanks again for all your love and support!  I hope I'm that for you all too.  Many of you encouraged me and donated so that I could attend the Yin Training and I hope to return some of the gems I learned. 

---