(Video of my friend, Kate LaCroix, going into the water to swim in the first event of the Longhorn Ironman…she’s the one waving.:) )

Hello again. Things have settled some and I’m finding more time to focus and direct my energy into the positive places where I need to grow. For the past couple of years, I’ve been practicing strengthening in Crow Pose (Bakasana), Eka Pada Bakasana (One-legged Crow Pose) and Crow Pose into Handstand in my Yoga practice. Having healed into healthier places in myself, I’m finding more time/energy to invest myself more deeply in this growth. It’s amazing how when we let go of giving our energy to what is not best for us (certain foods, relationships, habits, etc.) we find we have more Energy/Prana on our side strengthening and supporting us into growing in the way that will align us into that healthier relationship with ourself and everything else.

The other night as I was surfing the web, I decided to check out Youtube to find some Yoga inspiration and guidance in my Yoga practice, specifically with Crow Pose into Handstand. I found this clip of a fellow Yogini practicing this and after a couple of attempts I was able to do it! For two years I have been practicing this and seeking the answers to how to do it, but it’s amazing how the answer doesn’t arrive until we are fully ready to receive it. I had to first grow strong into One-Legged Crow Pose (and fall on my face a few times) before I was ready to practice this. So, I’m feeling very inspired as I realize, yet again, that what I was uncertain and unsure of being possible for myself, is possible with earnest practice and patience. Everytime I grow in my Yoga practice I realize my true potentil is unlimited. I have had many experiences, recently, where I’ve been reminded of this, besides my recent Yoga breakthrough.

About a month ago, I was reading an article in the October 2009 issue of Yoga Journal magazine called The Art of Staying Young. In the article, they interviewed Patricia Walden, who is 62 and has been a student of BKS Iyengar, one of the most beloved Yoga teachers on the planet, for 33 years. I first came to know of Patricia a couple of years ago when she was featured on the cover of Yoga Journal. On the cover, at the age of probably 60, she was doing full Kapotasana. (Pigeon Pose) This is the Yoga pose where you bend your knees and touch your feet to the back of your head in Upward Facing Dog. In that article, they were asking her how she was able to grow into that pose and suggested she must surely have been able to do it all her life. She replied that she had not always been able to do that pose. That, in fact, she had struggled with pain in her lower back, and that she had to go through a lot of discomfort to be able to grow and heal into that pose/place in her Yoga practice. She recited a quote from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali saying it was that guidance that inspired her to continue to practice. In The Yoga Sutras it says, practice with earnestness without interruption over a long period of time. So, she kept practicing and practicing and sure enough, she was able to grow into that pose.

In the most recent article I just read last month she was talking about overcoming the limiting tendencies of the mind. Here is an excerpt from the article:

“Sometimes I’ll wake up stiff and wonder what my body will feel like if i start doing backbends. Then I begin practicing, and I forget that I’m 62. Twenty minutes into my practice, I feel younger. Inevitably, the power of yoga takes over and you feel ageless!

When I was younger, I would think, “When X happens, I’ll be happy.” When, when, when. At a certain stage in practice, you see that you can’t base your life on contingencies. Things change at any moment. Why not be happy now? Yoga has helped me go through really challenging times with grace and ease. You can say, “OK, things are hard right now, but everything changes.” When everything is great and integrated, that will change, too. You savor good times and don’t get as thrown with the changes. You just ride the wave. It’s so much less stressful. -Patricia Walden

OK, well this is the whole article…but, it’s amazing…I had to include all of it.

I also had another experience this past weekend which widened the horizons of my spirit. I went to Austin, Texas to cheer my friend on who participated in a 1/2 Ironman. (Swim 1.2Mi, Bike 56Mi, Run 13.1Mi.) I haven’t ever watched a marathon before or attended any event like this. It was inspiring and amazing. There was a 74 year old man who completed the 1/2 triathlon! I witnessed many other inspiring individuals, including a woman who was significantly overwheight, but completed the entire event. Once again, it reminds us anything we put our mind to is possible. My friend will be competing in the full Ironman in Lake Placid next July and I hope to be there, again, to support her and cheer her on. She is such an inspiration to me, she just continues to raise the bar for herself again, and again, and again. This past weekend was humbling, enlightening and inspiring as I remembered I have everything I need within me to grow into stronger, healthier places in my Yoga practice and in myself.

This is what strengthening the core (3rd chakra) in Yoga is all about…activating our will and determination. Realizing what we can do and dissolving our limiting thoughts about what we think we can’t do. I wrote quite a bit about this in the most recent edition of the True Yoga Newsletter, which I encourage you to sign up for if you do not currently receive it.

I will be back soon. I look forward to sharing with you a wonderful story from a monk, from the Self-Realization Fellowship, about the practice of prayer. In many ways, we could say the same thing about praying as practicing poses. Pray earnestly, over a long period of time, without interruption. So often, we don’t see any immediate results in our prayers, and so we give up. Pray continuously, unceasingly and give thanks in advance.

Until then, check out Youtube for some Yoga inspiration. If there is a certain pose you are practicing and would like some guidance on, there is a good chance you can find the guidance you need, when you really look for it within yourself.

This article was posted by blogger Nancy A. Ruhling on The Huffington Post. I posted the whole touching article for your convenience, but you can read the original article by clicking here. It’s a nice little snapshot of what being in a Dahn Yoga Center is like.Astoria Characters: The Yoga GuruDressed in her loose-fitting uniform, Hee Jung Jang goes to the head of the class and bows deeply.The dozen yoga students return her greeting then gather in a circle as Hee Jung leads them in warm-ups. Knees bent, they tap their abdomens 1,000 times to get the blood flowing then pace themselves for the intestinal exercises. At her direction, they move their abdomens in and out. It sounds easy, but it’s tough. Try it 1,000 times. You won’t like it. Neither do they.They grunt and groan, but they know the pain will bring gain. This exercise may help them lose weight and ease constipation.”Do you feel the warmth in your abdomens yet?” an exuberant Hee Jung excitedly asks.”YES!” the sweaty students shout in union and in the hopes that she will proceed to the less strenuous stretches.”CONGRATULATIONS!” she shouts back, beaming.They smile. “Smile with teeth,” she tells them. “Smiling will change your energy, and it will feel easier.”

Photo by Nancy A. RuhlingHee Jung Jang strikes a happy pose at the yoga center.Hee Jung works for Astoria’s Dahn Yoga center, which has nothing to do with ladies in leotards performing pretzel poses. Founded in South Korea by Ilchi Lee some three decades ago, it is a spiritual practice dedicated to the betterment of brain and body; its format is monkey posture meets meditation.Whoever chose the location must have been a practical joker, because it’s between a honky-tonk and a recently deceased funeral home. It certainly wasn’t Hee Jung, because the center just turned 4 and she’s only been here 1½ years, but it suits her sense of humor.Hee Jung, who is a little shy and sly about her age and will only say that she is thirtysomething, has been practicing Dahn Yoga for a dozen years and has been an instructor for a decade. She’s tall and keeps her long black hair rolled in bun topped by a perky bow. The distinctive hair ornament bobs up and down like a downward-facing dog’s wagging tail when she goes through her routine.She didn’t plan this life or this location. The universe took her on this journey to bring her joy.Growing up on a farm in South Korea’s Kyung Sang State, she was an unhappy, unhealthy child. “When I was born, I was sick with a heart problem,” she says. ” And when I was six, I had a stroke that left my face twisted. The doctors gave me medicine and wrote notes to my school saying I couldn’t exercise. And every day I thought I was going to die.”Because she couldn’t help herself, she decided to dedicate her life to others. After earning a degree in social work, she worked with disabled children and then the elderly.”There was only one other person working in the nursing home who was my age,” she says. “The place was at the top of a mountain, and even though it was near a city, there was nothing to do. We decided to do yoga and chose the Dahn center because the person who answered the phone had such a nice voice.”After a month, the yoga made her feel better and within six months, she decided to make it her life’s calling. “It was a turning point in my life,” she says. “It helped me find hope in my heart, and if this didn’t happen, I would have continued to be sad. Suddenly, I wanted to live, and to do that I knew I had to be stronger physically and mentally.”Becoming a Dahn Yoga instructor requires commitment to a disciplined lifestyle. Hee Jung trains for one to two hours a day. In between group classes, she holds private sessions, which means that some of her workdays can start as early as 7 a.m. and others can end as late as 10 p.m.”Because I am focused on my on work right now, I don’t have time for a husband or children,” she says. “Marriage is a very big part of Korean culture. All my brothers and sisters are married, but my parents understand my commitment, and they know that someday I will meet the right person.”Before coming to Astoria, Hee Jung worked at centers in South Korea, Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles. “I have been living away from Korea for 10 years,” she says. “I miss my country and my family sometimes, but we talk on the phone and we are very close and when possible they visit. We connect more than we ever did when I lived there. I also feel that the students and the other instructors are my family.”The transition to American life wasn’t easy. She didn’t speak English and had to learn it on the yoga mat. “I was so scared that instead of speaking I cried,” she says.She’s still concerned about her English. She may not know every word, but her witty jokes prove that she aces the test of the tongue.Hee Jung doesn’t know how long she will be working at the Astoria center, but she’s excited to follow her future. “I want to keep doing this,” she says. “In fact, I see myself teaching Dahn yoga in a city in Europe someday. This is not just a job. I’m connected to it with my heart.”The class over, she hugs each student. Alone, she watches at the front window as everyone else walks off into the night. And she smiles – with teeth.Nancy A. Ruhling may be reached at Nruhling@gmail.com.Follow Nancy Ruhling on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NancyRuhling