Terminalcoffee discussion

In relationships, the mind becomes purified by cultivating feelings of friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion for those who are suffering, goodwill towards those who are virtuous, and indifference or neutrality towards those we perceive as wicked or evil.
(maitri karuna mudita upekshanam sukha duhka punya apunya vishayanam bhavanatah chitta prasadanam)


Yoga is changing my life. Physically, I'm in the best shape since high school, probably, but mentally I can feel myself evolving.

Situations recently seem to occur that normally would send me into a tailspin of anger, worry, and fear and instead of reacting, I find myself emotionally protected. I watch, listen, and seem to be able to reason through things more calmly than before.

That's not to say I don't have immediate reactions or thoughts when bad things happen. But I don't find myself harboring ill towards others or having cyclical negative thoughts any more. I can let things go more than ever before. Those of you who were around last year after Leah was born know what I'm talking about.

But friendliness towards those who are happy - seems simple, but jealousy is easy in this situation.
Compassion towards those who are suffering - to be able to cultivate this spirit instead of being detached or indifferent, this is also difficult and takes practice, at least for me.
Goodwill towards those who are virtuous. Oh man.
And finally, indifference or neutrality towards wicked or evil persons. It takes away the power of evilness if my mind doesn't stir up a reaction and instead detaches itself.

Seriously, guys. Yoga = bliss!

Good for you Sally. I have wanted to try Yoga to be able to stay somewhat limber because my back throws fits when I'm not, but have never tried it. It could also help me to stay calmer.

Yeah, the physical aspect is all I intended to get out of it, but I'm finding a new inner peace is a huge benefit of regular practice.

Totally!

I should totally get back into yoga. I agree - it helps inside and out.

My wife is going more often. She says this particular teacher is great...the teacher's style seems to make a huge difference, at least to my wife.

Does this mean Sally won't be writing "Fuckers!" anymore?

If that's true, then yoga sucks.

RandomAnthony wrote: "My wife is going more often. She says this particular teacher is great...the teacher's style seems to make a huge difference, at least to my wife."

It makes a huge difference to me. I've been to a class where the teacher nattered on about her favorite chocolate for twenty minutes while we held a pose, and others led by other forms of sadist. I've also been to classes led by aerobic instructors-turned-yoga instructors who don't get the mental aspect. I'm very careful whose classes I attend.

My friends who do yoga agree that the teacher makes an enormous difference. When they have a sucky teacher they bitch about it for hours.

I can attest to Sally's increasing peace of mind - the other day she said "you are dead to me" rather than actually coming after me with a hatchet.

Sally with inner peace is a wonderful thought.

Lg, you fucker. Shut up.

Sally wrote: "Lg, you fucker. Shut up."

YO, PETRA! Here's the Sally you love!

I do love that Sally! She has spunk!

Great, Sally!

I have a friend who teaches it. At the higher levels you have to study sanskrit and everything. I keep wishing she'd move back here because I doubt we have too many people teaching at that high a level.

I'm a bit rotund to do it on my own, and I can't afford to find a teacher, but I do meditate.

ms.petra wrote: "I do love that Sally! She has spunk!"

But in a much calmer way :)

I got into a yoga/pilates workout routine for about 9 months and then I hurt myself (I slipped on ice on Christmas day-holding a steamy dish of scalloped potatoes)
I am much better now but can't seem to get my lazy ass into it again!
I felt really good during that period in my life-so much more flexible and balanced.

I've now gone seven days in a row. !!!

I'm also getting into Kombucha. Well, my fellow yogis are into it and talk up its health benefits often. I just tried my first one yesterday and I like it. Want more.

7 days in a row?! Holy crap that must be expensive!!!

I'm with you Sally! Yoga is wonderful. My home practice has seriously slipped in the last 6 years since I had kids. I used to have a yoga room in my house. Can you believe that shit? I actually dedicated an entire room to practicing yoga! (Ok, well there were books and storage and stuff in there too but still!) Now I'm just lucky if I make it to class once a week. I rarely practice at home. Still, the difference in my state of mind when I miss my weekly class is HUGE. Everyone should go sign up for a class right now!

OH! And yes the teacher makes a big difference. I took a private class for a while where the teacher just bugged the daylights out of me mispronouncing words and making shit up left and right.

I sooo miss yoga. I wanna again. I've shopped around locally for studios/instructors fairly recently. I called to see what I needed to do to get started and then found out that an ex had just picked it up at that time and was irked because I didn't want him to assume I was being a copycat. Now I'm just waiting it out... except there's no signal for when to start again. I'm so irked with myself for not starting BEFORE I talked with him.

Oh, and Sally! I'm super proud of you. :) Keep it up.

smetchie wrote: "OH! And yes the teacher makes a big difference. I took a private class for a while where the teacher just bugged the daylights out of me mispronouncing words and making shit up left and right."

That sounds like me teaching pretty much every day.

RandomAnthony wrote: "smetchie wrote: "OH! And yes the teacher makes a big difference. I took a private class for a while where the teacher just bugged the daylights out of me mispronouncing words and making shit up lef..."

RA! Shame on you, you teacher of teachers.

: /

I've always liked the thought of picking up Yoga. It has always thrilled me how bendy people can be.

I tested my bendiness last night. I'm much bendier than I thought I'd be. :)

:) ~inches away, wondering whether Heidi is talking about what bunny thinks she's talking about, or whether bunny is being a pervert~

Nah... I was just practicing my Sun Salutation and Downward Dog and Triangle Pose and Camel Pose and Shoulder Stand and some other stuff I remembered from yoga class while Robby tried to engage me in a game of fetch (he'd patter forward and drop his toy near my head and scoot away like he just knew I was gonna throw it and then he'd do it again...). It was somewhat distracting, but I was proud of myself for doing as much as I did.

Ohh okay! I wanna do a shoulder stand! Is it the L-shape thingy people make with their bodies? I've always been fascinated by that one. Good on ya, Heidi!

Heidi wrote: "I tested my bendiness last night. I'm much bendier than I thought I'd be. :)"

TWSS!

I need to use that more often...

Today we learned all the sanskrit names for the poses. Well, all the poses in the series we're learning for this class. Cool.

Oh, and I weighed myself today. I still weigh about fifteen more than I did in High School, but I don't think I'll ever be that size again. I mean, I've produced a whole nother person out of my loins. Changes happen.

They are.
I enjoy the twisting prefix the most.

Extended side angle pose.

I just think parivrtta sounds so nice. Like "just take a bit of your spinal column on the top and swirl it around a little"

And did you know that kona is sanskrit for angle?

My vagina doesn't fart as much at yoga. Maybe my pelvic floor is strengthening. But I think it may have more to do with my dismissal of the ring as my b/c method.

#42 - now i know why i have avoided this thread

I'd like to adjust your trikonasa, Kevin. It's all out of whack.

Sally wrote: "I'd like to adjust your trikonasa, Kevin. It's all out of whack."

That sounds ... good.

Be very careful Kevin, I think it's a trick.

the last girl who told me that stole my wallet when i was handcuffed to the headboard

Hey me too, was your girl named Bambi by the way?

Mine was Tiffany.

Something tells me that they might be related. Not all families know how to adjust a trikonasa properly.

Ew! Get this talk off my nice clean yoga thread. Tiffiny etc sounds stripperish, what with the handcuff talk. Sheesh!! I'm very zen, dammnit!

I've never done that one. I like shavasana. I practice it a lot.

Do your sweaty yoga classes end with shavasana like my ashtanga classes do?

They do.

My recent favorite is Bakasana/Crow pose:

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BunWat wrote: "I don't think I've ever been to a yoga class that didn't end in shavasana. At this point if it didn't I'd be weirded out!"

I was just curious since I haven't been to a hot yoga class, but I get the impression it's all about yoga as sweaty exercise. That may be a faulty impression. So I wasn't sure whether they would end with something restful as opposed to, say, a cool down.

#53 & #58 look familiar. that's what lured me to the hotel room in the first place