Sri Dharma Mittra's 908 Yoga pose photos

Me

In Honor of Sri Dharma,  I decided to emulate the Black and White on the black background, wearing only a small swimsuit.

In doing this I also realized the dedication and effort he put in on making his well known poster, the 908 Posture Master Chart of the Asanas. He did this in the days when everything took days or weeks to develop and only then did you see if you needed to reshoot. Even seeing my shots immediately I can't come close to the perfection of Dharma's poses. I am sure there are very few who can.

The odd part here is that back in the days when I was at the studio, practitioners at all levels felt comfortable in Dharma's classes. There were strivers and advanced students to be sure. But there were slackers and inflexible folks too, who were just drawn to his message of love and acceptance and encouragement to go deep within.

 Though the postures are the calling card, the teachings are the real deal. Jai Dharma!

I'd love to hear from you.  Please connect with me on the  Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!
   

Pinch Pike (not!)

There are a lot of reasons I love this photograph, but one of them is not that I could accomplish the pose.  I was astonished to see that this was a tough one for our beautiful hosts as well, so at least I was in good company.

I don't understand how it can be so easy to do a pike in headstand and just moving the head a few inches into the air makes it so hard.  But there it is.  Plus after many days of new poses and rushing to do them my back was complaining a bit this AM and I have learned the hard way not to challenge it when it is griping, so I stuck with a plain old vanilla pike.

I really love the light in this room though and I luckily noticed the slant of brightness and shadow against the wall which I was able to try to mimic with the angle of my back.  I like the way it frames and supports picture giving the whole thing a sort of organic "meant to be" feel.

I am also loving seeing the curve of my butt and hint of muscle tone now that I have stopped wearing my boxers under the thermal underwear.  I guess my next step would be to get some tights so I don't have all that bunched up part on my lower legs, but that will be for a future challenge.

Finally, I really appreciate the support I have been getting from this little cybercommunity around my embrace of this process of Insta image creation.  The feedback makes it all worthwhile.

Peace Out Brothers and Sisters,

Ray

This post is part of a series. To learn more about the #FallIntoPincha Instagram challenge, see the first post here: Instagram Yoga Challenge Fall Into Pincha

I'd love to hear from you.  Please connect with me on the  Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!
   

My Growing Comfort in Today's Yoga World

There are two big breakthroughs I have to report today.  The first having to do with working on the poses and the second revolving around my growing comfort being a yoga model.

Each challenge I have done so far has been challenging but this one most of all.  My happiness today at being able to accomplish so much of the listed postures is fed by my anticipation of not being able to do them at all.  At the beginning I seriously feared that I could not do anything like the requested poses, with or without Paul the wall.  I haven't done Scorpion since before many of my colleagues in this challenge were born and frankly I was not sure I could do it again.  Much less all these variations, most of which I had never seen nor tried.  But each day I have been practicing and as they say, "all is coming".  I am amazed at how much better I can do things today, and joyful that I feel so much more competent, than just 5 days ago.  You might not be able to see it but my face is a lot further from the floor today than it had been previously.  I'm getting more height because I am way more balanced and don't fear pressing up as much.  Plus I am finding that now that I have found equilibrium I am not muscling into the pose as much and it is way easier to do.  Wow.  Too bad you can't see my big smile in the picture.

The second piece is highly personal and I feel a little queasy sharing about it here.  I am trying to keep things real and this is up for me though, so here goes.  I am embarrassed by the bulge in my thermal underwear.  I almost reshot the shot.  Almost.  I have seen all manner of flesh out here both male and female, and all kinds of bulges and outlines and even full nudity before it got kicked off,  all from people with far more followers than me.  And I have rarely shown more than one perfect stranger at a time this much of what I've got  and never hundreds of people all at once.  This is why I like the old recommendation to wear loose comfortable clothing and I always  have done so in yoga class.  We yogis all used to dress in ways that were not revealing, but as yoga got more popular that changed.  I am sure I am still going to teach and take classes in clothes that don't reveal my junk.  Out here I will park my modesty in the interest of working at that edge and hoping to reach people who grew up in the yoga butt yoga world.  Hey, I have gotten used to doing scorpion and lot's of subtle and interesting variations in just a few days.  Hopefully, I can get used to this new level of public exposure in time as well.

This post is part of a series. To learn more about the #FallIntoPincha Instagram challenge, see the first post here: Instagram Yoga Challenge Fall Into Pincha

I'd love to hear from you.  Please connect with me on the  Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!
   

Pincha Bow and Arrow

Did someone say Brick House.  Ow!  Brick House.  Time to bring the Funk.

Uptown Funk you up.  Uptown Funk you Up.

Ok so you can see where my mind went, when I saw Funky Pincha Bow and Arrow.  I mean really.  When I started out in yoga there was just plain old Scorpion.  You did it with the wall at first and then in the middle of the room.  Sometimes you did variations but you just sort of made them up.  There was only like one book on yoga poses and it was great but not as comprehensive as the internet.

Oh yes, the internet, of course I'll Google it.  Doh.  So there it is.  What the heck?  Why would anyone take the beautiful symmetry and balance of two poses and merge them into an unbalanced train wreck of a posture?  Some things are just meant to be a mystery, I guess.  Regardless, this is my task, which of course I can not do at all the first time I try.  No lift off.  Whoops.  What do I do now?

Rock it.  If I can't accomplish the pose, at least I can look great trying and have some fun.  Luckily an 11 year old friend of mine made me a gift of her glitter top hat when she got tired of it.  She sort of knew I never would ;--)  The rest I just had around.

And each day I've been returning to the pose, working at my edge and falling alot.  And then whoa, lift off.  I've got a ways to go finding comfort here.  I hadn't even attempted a Scorpion in about 15 years before this challenge, so I need some practice but I am having fun.  I hope you are too.

Give it up for me peeps.  This one is for you!

Happy Thanksgiving From FunkyTown!

This post is part of a series. To learn more about the #FallIntoPincha Instagram challenge, see the first post here: Instagram Yoga Challenge Fall Into Pincha

I'd love to hear from you.  Please connect with me on the  Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!
   

My Favorite Planned Selfie (so far)

If is funny that one of my favorite photos of myself on Instagram I made casually in a few minutes and it just came out well composed and lovely and garnered a lot of hearts.

It's this one where I am using a Mysore Yoga Backbender:

A photo posted by Ray- Yoga Gear Shop Owner (@yogalifestyleblog) on Nov 1, 2016 at 5:02pm PDT

I did not plan it but I did enjoy sharing it once I had it. This joy of prideful sharing got me looking around for places in my house that might look especially rich in terms of light and color and lines.

 Another thing that seems important is how balanced I look in the pose. How neat my clothes look and how elegantly I hold the pose. Even if I can't give full expression to it I want to make my version look nice. Well, this is the first picture that I really put some thought into that I just love. I love the curve of the twist of my legs, I love the purple walls and outfit, I love that you can't really see my rumpled boxer shorts under my thermal underwear from this angle, I love the light and the shadows and the wood. One thing I don't love is the uneven growth on my gullet. I need to really shave behind my chin more, but frankly I never see that and no one has ever pointed it out. It is funny that I don't think about myself as a vain person, but that is only because I rarely pay attention to my appearance. Now that I am paying attention to it I find that I can be pretty picky. Pretty soon I might even get some actual yoga clothes. Oh my.

This post is part of a series. To learn more about the #FallIntoPincha Instagram challenge, see the first post here: Instagram Yoga Challenge Fall Into Pincha

I'd love to hear from you.  Please connect with me on the  Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!

My Unsexy Yoga Butt is Really Cute.... Really

Well I never thought I would be writing about yoga and my sex appeal but here I am. I don't like the way my boxer shorts bunch up like a diaper under my thermal underwear in this photo. I am now wondering why I care so much about looking like a baby? The old yogis were constantly photographed in things that looked like infant underwear. I should be proud to be in the lineage of these great men in cotton swaddling clothes, but instead I'm worried people will think I am a nerdy jerk because my undies are rumpled and you can't see the genuine curve of my cute butt. Instead it looks like a sack of misshapen potatoes. Let me just make this completely clear. I HAVE A CUTE BUTT. If I am going to show myself off like this, I want people to know that even if I'm not the greatest photographer, nor the most bendy yogi, I do have a shapely rear! I haven't a clue why this particular thing is so important to me, but there it is.

 Wading into the flow of modern life through Instagram has been a revelation. I had no idea how much yoga was all about yoga butt until I saw so many great looking ones in so many different settings every day. I admit, I never tire of looking at the beautiful shape of a comely female form. And, though I know I will never be able to offer the male equivalent of this, since I don't have 6 pack abs or a chiseled body, I am concerned that I don't show yoga off to its best advantage if I look too sloppy or unattractive. I am afraid to make myself and my business into a joke. So I am now striving to upgrade my look a bit. Soon I will ditch the boxers. Who knows, one day I might even get a haircut. Nah. That would be too vain ;--)

This post is part of a series. To learn more about the #FallIntoPincha Instagram challenge, see the first post here: Instagram Yoga Challenge Fall Into Pincha

I'd love to hear from you.  Please connect with me on the  Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!
   

My body is my vehicle for expressing my greatness

A photo posted by Ray- Yoga Gear Shop Owner (@yogalifestyleblog) on Sep 6, 2016 at 3:32pm PDT

Day 6 of #LiberateThyself is about choosing to use your body to create some epic! Intention: My body is my vehicle for expressing my greatness. I am a vehicle for expressing my greatness. The pose is #ParsvaBhujaDandasana or#flyingpigeon. Here is what I know about greatness and I think Skelly agrees. I may be great at something, say math or yoga poses or vegan cooking but if it is not connected to my heart it is just exercising a skill. Using my body to express my greatness is just an ego trip unless it feeds something deeper inside me. When I am using my skills to advance my hearts true longing then it is assured that something beautiful is being made. To ensure greatness, I need to find my passion and follow my heart. I have found a deep satisfaction in getting in touch with my feelings and being able to share about them and to be in touch with others who are striving to do the same. I enjoy coming into community with this attitude. And I love seeing it expressed by others. I am learning to lean into the discomfort of being exposed because of the enjoyment I take from being seen. Skelly for her part expresses her greatness with her grace, flexibility and nakedness. She loves to be bendy and her joy in uninhibited posturing is infectious. She loves making people smile and encouraging them on the path. She has been a great inspiration to me, helping me to find my voice.

This post is part of a series! To learn more about this Yoga challenge and win great prizes, get the rules here: Instagram Yoga Challenge

I'd love to hear from you. Please connect with me on the Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!

I treat my body like a temple

A photo posted by Ray- Yoga Gear Shop Owner (@yogalifestyleblog) on Sep 5, 2016 at 4:27pm PDT

I'm glad I am doing this Challenge with my friend Purple Skelly. Doing enough yoga to warm up to complete the day's pose each day is strenuous. I am trying to do my best (as #DonMiguelRuiz suggests) and as a result I have been sore in one place or another all week. I actually feel strong and capable but I"m not sure I wouldn't skip a day or two unless I had a partner to coax me along and of course the challenge rules to guide me.

Day 5 of #LiberateThyself is about making a declaration. The intention is: I treat my body like a temple. The pose is #Marichyasana

This one is tough for me. Self care is not high on my list of priorities. I try to eat well and maintain my weight (which had gotten away from me for a few years) but beyond that I ignore my physical needs more than is optimal. I can be sporadic on the exercise piece and I am awful about regular checkups with the dentist and doctor. Purple Yoga Bendy Skelly for her part is very low maintenance being all bones and well, dead already, and she always looks great without any adornment since purple goes with everything. For my part I will declare here to exercise regularly 3 or more days per week over and above any gentle yoga sessions I may do. A rigorous session will count toward the 3 days. I will also go to the dentist and the doctor before the end of the year for check ups. There are other things I should probably look at in terms of wardrobe and hair and stuff, but I'm thinking I shouldn't commit to too much now, so I will just hit the high spots. One way to get myself to do this is to think if I had a child who needed what I need would I give it to them. If the answer is yes, I proceed. Here I go. Wish me luck.

This post is part of a series! To learn more about this Yoga challenge and win great prizes, get the rules here: Instagram Yoga Challenge

I'd love to hear from you.  Please connect with me on the  Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!
   

I am not a body. I am free.

A photo posted by Ray- Yoga Gear Shop Owner (@yogalifestyleblog) on Sep 4, 2016 at 7:37am PDT

I think a Yoga Challenge is only working right if it is truly a challenge. For Ray a lot of these poses are just outside or even a lot outside his comfort zone, where they should be. For me except for the ones that need flexible wrists and ankles the poses are pretty easy. But Ray knows that I am shy when it comes to talking to strangers from my heart. So today, I am going to work at my edge, sharing my feelings with the world. It is Purple Skelly Challenge Day.

Day 4 Of #LiberateThyself is about taking the step to see who we really are. The Intention is: I am not a body. I am free. Today's pose is #DwiPadViparitaDandasanaor #upwardfacingtwofootstaffpose
Luckily Today's Mantra is easy for me to riff on. I really am not my body. I mean look at me. Not an ounce of flesh on me and yet my consciousness continues. Due to my super bendy spine this pose came naturally me to me too. Ray, not so much. That pesky body of his craves food and air and water and lots of other stuff the mind gets up to. Yes, he is trying to develop the witness within but at the end of the day even the witness has to say, hey dude it is time for supper. The human dilemma. Thankfully me and the witness share something in common. We love to watch the beauty of humans striving to be their best while challenged by so much yearning. Even if their backs aren't very flexible. Thanks for the magnificent show you put on. It is truly lovely.

This post is part of a series! To learn more about this Yoga challenge and win great prizes, get the rules here: Instagram Yoga Challenge

I'd love to hear from you.  Please connect with me on the  Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!
   

I Love My Body

A photo posted by Ray- Yoga Gear Shop Owner (@yogalifestyleblog) on Sep 2, 2016 at 2:43pm PDT

#LiberateThyself "I Love My Body" Is the Mantra for the challenge that has me and Skelly doing#Purvottanasana or #upwardplank.

Well Ok. I do love my body and Skelly loves hers too. What's left of it anyway. It has been suggested by our kind hosts that not only do we focus on our special fondness for our bodies, but we tell you 3 things in particular that we are crazy about. Here goes. I love the way my body surprises me with pulses. I feel them in my head, my stomach, my hands, my legs, gosh, just about anywhere. Sometimes I have to be quiet and still to sense them and sometimes they intrude. Sometimes they feel familiar and sometimes they feel new. Regardless, I like the way the syncopate and inform my life. I also adore the way I can feel a stretch throughout my body, more intensely in some places and less in others and how I can shift the intensity of this sensation with movement. I love exploring that! On a more mundane level I love that much of the hair that I have left is still red. I like being a red head and hope that holds up awhile. Skelly for her part loves being purple which is good since she is very purple. She loves how flexible she is without all that pesky flesh to hold her back. And she also loves the body that has fallen away. She knows her sinews and guts are going back to their prior molecular states and returning thus transformed to support us all in new ways and that thought makes her happy.

This post is part of a series! To learn more about this Yoga challenge and win great prizes, get the rules here: Instagram Yoga Challenge

I'd love to hear from you.  Please connect with me on the  Facebook Page and Instagram feed to get more Yoga wisdom, science, style, and fun everyday! And make sure to Subscribe to Everyday Yoga for more great posts like this one delivered to your inbox!