Clairty | Mind + Body + Spirit | Jennifer Cooper

WEEKLY UPDATE: MAY 16, 2013

admin — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:24:39 +0000

This week in class we focused on Yoga Sutra III.18, in which Patanjali explains that through sustained focus and meditation on our patterns, habits, and conditioning, we gain knowledge and understanding of our past and how we can change the patterns that aren’t serving us to live more freely and fully. Self-reflection is the first step in breaking patterns and tendencies that don’t work for us.
In a yoga article Kate Holcombe states that, If you’re like most people, chances are, you’ve had occasion to say to yourself, “Why do I always do that?” Maybe you tend to take on too much, or loose your temper, or start projects but don’t finish them. Maybe in class as much as I tell you to breath and relax in a balance pose, you hold on for Dear life with your body and your breath. At times it can feel like these tendencies are just a part of who you are. But in fact, they aren’t who you are-they’re habits. And though it’s not an easy process, you can change them.
The first step toward changing negative habits is a commitment to examining your patterns and habits through a process of self-reflection. The next step is to set realistic goals and let go of self judgement. Remember that you have the choice and the ability to create positive change in your life. The behavior you wish to change is simply a pattern, and however ingrained it is, it is not who you really are at your core. All these steps are the process of living your yoga, differentiating the self from the other, consciously living in the present moment. This practice gives you the opportunity to more fully realize the person you truly are and want to be in this world.
Namaste~Jennifer

“Awake, my dear./Be kind to your sleeping heart./Take it out into the vast fields of Light/ And let it breath” ~ Hafiz

WEEKLY UPDATE: MAY 5, 2013

admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:58:57 +0000

This week in class we based our intention off a quote from John Welwood, “Becoming human means discovering our fullness and learning to live from it.” We focused on bringing our all to our practice. We sometimes mistakenly use our practice as a means to control our weight, or our appearance, or the effects of aging. But instead we need to make a shift in perspective and use our practice as a means to discover our fullness. It’s an opportunity to be vulnerable, sad, happy, even mad but more importantly to just be present and let it happen. Life is about giving, and through giving we receive everything that that we need. So our practice becomes about giving- the giving of our hearts, the giving of our spirits, the giving of our virtue. As Gandhi said. “Be the change you wish want to see in the world.”
Namaste~ Jennifer

WEEKLY UPDATE: APRIL 25, 2013

admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:40:30 +0000

This week in class we focused on bringing ourselves back into balance. In yoga we catch ourselves striving to find balance between effort and surrender. We know that imbalance causes stress and that stress destroys the human body. Whenever we endure stress, muscles shrink and blood flow is reduced, creating oxygen deprivation and pain. We also know that spending time and energy attending to all the areas and aspects of our lives brings us balance. For example, ask yourself this question. Do you give equal attention to your inner life and your outer life? How do you balance your home life with your work life or social life? Once we feel balanced the work is never over. Whether is it is balance of the mind, the body or emotions, balance cannot be achieved and forgotten. We must continue to work on maintaining it. In class we practiced this concept by becoming aware of the energy we expended. We focused on using just the right amount of energy needed to do the pose or sequence, without overdoing or underdoing. Remembering that when we push too hard we are stealing our energy from ourselves, and we deny ourselves the benefits of our practice when we slack off. In the end it’s moderation in all things.
Namaste~Jennifer

WEEKLY UPDATE: APRIL 12, 2013

admin — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 23:46:24 +0000

This week we did a little spring cleaning by focusing on spinal twists. Twisting poses create flexibility and mobility in the spine like no other poses do. It’s almost as if they give your body an internal massage, like wringing out a wash cloth, you squeeze the toxins out of your organs and allow fresh blood to enter. As the saying goes, “out with the old in with the new”. Not only are twists good for you physically, but the poses encourage you to literally give your perspective a new twist as well. They are just the thing for wringing out tension on a physical, mental, and emotional level. They loosen you up for a fresh outlook. Remembering, that change only happens when we have the expansiveness to allow new things into our lives, so set the intention this spring to observe your own blooming by creating the space needed in your body, mind and spirit to be able to receive the natural process of,” out with the old and in with the new.’
Namaste~Jennifer

WEEKLY UPDATE: APRIL 5, 2013

admin — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:45:40 +0000

This week in class we focused on being a witness to our habits and patterns in our physical body as well as our thought patterns in our minds. We noticed the limited beliefs, the doubts, judgement, as well as the worries that pop up during our practice. We then set the intention to change the conversation with ourselves. When we got caught up on focusing on the part of the pose that was most challenging, we changed our focus to look at our strengths instead. Or we focused on the ebb and flow of our breath which naturally quieted our minds. We monitored ourselves in poses that were more restorative in nature to see if we could truly let go and be present with ourselves in stillness. In the end our ultimate goal and homework was to embrace our imperfection and vulnerabilities on the mat so that we can take that tool out into the world and live a wholehearted life that is filled with rest, play, trust, faith, intuition, authenticity, joy, gratitude and creativity. Which in a sense is really embodying the truth of who we really are, complete and whole, acknowledging within, the power and presence of spirit that resides within each of us.
Namaste~Jennifer

WEEKLY UPDATE: MARCH 29, 2013

admin — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:38:57 +0000

This week in class we focused on honoring our bodies. How often do we hear that “our body is a temple.” It’s been said that it’s the house in which the soul resides, the vehicle which carries us through our life experience. When we know that to be true we view our bodies as sacred and worthy of the best of our care. In our practice this week we worked on changing the conversation we have with ourselves. When we perceive ourselves on and off the mat as aged, unfit, weak or flawed we tend to focus on what we believe is wrong. We tell ourselves harsh things…such as,” I can’t stand looking at you, you have no balance”. But imagine if someone you loved was struggling, they thought they were flawed or weak, we would typically give them encouragement and support them not express irritation or judgment. So this week when we came across an ache, pain or perceived weakness or flaw we acknowledged those areas and offered them love. In that way we fostered greater self acceptance of the fact that we are radiant spiritual beings, born of and through love. Namaste~Jennifer

WEEKLY UPDATE: MARCH 10, 2013

admin — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 14:12:01 +0000

This week in class we focused on Meditating for Happiness. Studies have shown that regular meditation can reduce negative emotions, and mindfulness linked with meditation has been shown to reduce stress, improve immune responses, and increase our overall well being. The increase in awareness from meditation can make an incredible difference in your life , in terms of your own happiness as well as the happiness of those around you. Meditation teaches you to be mindful and honest, which makes your mind quieter and more open, your heart happier and more peaceful. I challenge you today to purposefully stop all the doing in your life and relax into the present without trying to fill it up with anything.
Namaste~ Jennifer

WEEKLY UPDATE: FEBRUARY 21, 2013

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 20:48:18 +0000

This week in class we focused on deepening our practice by spending time in reflection before, during and after we practiced a pose. As we attentively move our minds into our bodies while practicing our poses we are exercising our “muscles of awareness” When we practice this skill on the mat we are in turn increasing our ability to be aware in all other areas of our lives. We then can use this new found awareness to go within ourselves to find our inner voice, the spirit within, or our conscience. It’s important to remember that yoga is all about connection, all about union. It’s about finding connection where we have been disconnected. Realizing where we have been in conflict and clearing the conflict. Recognizing where we have been imbalanced and creating balance. This way we begin to return to our true essence which is feeling connected to ourselves and everyone and everything around us. Namaste~Jennifer

WEEKLY UPDATE: FEBRUARY 8, 2013

admin — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:33:22 +0000

After a beautiful week on a yoga retreat in Yelapa, Mexico I decided to have the intention this week of “keeping it simple.” I introduced you all to reclined vinyasas, as well as a few new restorative poses. We tend to make poses as well as life a little more difficult then it needs to be. So we began class by quieting ourselves, by being still, by relaxing and breathing and slowly the space we were in began to feel open and receptive. After time passed we realized that we can trust the stillness and that nothing needs to overwhelm us. Slowly…after witnessing this experience we realized that this was a time of receiving, not just of emptying. At the end of the meditation I asked you to name your feeling, maybe to call it tranquility or composure and I suggested that you revisit that feeling once you get going again. A lot of times we make life more complicated by by resisting the natural flow of things. Judith Lasater has a great reading in her book ” A year of living your yoga” She states that our yoga practice is the uncovering of resistance. She suggests that while were on the mat breath into our physically tight spots and into our mental agitation. She then reminds us that our practice allows resistance to to surface so it can fly away. As you move through your week remember to breath, first things first and to keep it simple.
Namaste~Jennifer

WEEKLY UPDATE: JANUARY 19, 2013

admin — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 15:28:57 +0000

This week in class we focused on cultivating “Peace of Mind.” We utilized the many tools we have learned on the mat. During our practice we regularly paused and felt what we were doing, both while we were practicing the pose and after it was over. What takes place when we make a concerted attempt to feel what is going on inside our bodies truly creates a mind-body connection, calming our nervous system and fostering peace. It is said that “Doing” is the state of moving toward something, of looking into the future. In contrast, feeling is the state of being in the moment. and peace only comes from being completely present and feeling what is going in the here and now. Our nervous system is a transmitter as well as a receiver. It transmits impulses that connect and harmonize all aspects of our being. Our nervous system feels joy and sorrow, initiates laughter and tears. However, when agitated, it fumbles through its job, and so do we. In our society, we are always being hurried along, running from one task to another. Our poor nerves rarely get a chance to rest or breathe. The beauty is the antidote……YOGA.
Namaste~ Jennifer