3 Bullet Thursday

February 15, 2018February 15, 2018jeslarussa

Here it is, your Thursday rundown of all things yoga information and inspiration from yours truly at the yoga BLOG, GroundingUP. Namaste!

What I’m Reading

I know that a few weeks ago I suggested you read something other than yoga books to avoid burn out during yoga teacher training. So, having said that, I’m taking my own advice and reading two literary classics this week; Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. If you are looking for a quick easy read, go for Treasure Island; it’s shorter than Wuthering Heights and is a little more straight forward.

Now having said that, I need to confess that I am reading a yoga book as well. It’s called Myths of the Asanas: Stories at the Heart of the Yoga Tradition. The book covers approximately XX asanas and includes a description of the anatomical alignment of the pose, its benefits and attributes, and some interesting and entertaining commentary on the asana’s origins. I recommend this book to anyone interested in yoga history or training to be a yoga teacher.

What I’m listening to

From time to time I listen to the From the Heart Podcast by Rachel Brathen. As a podcast, it is very much hit or miss, but I caught an episode where she interviewed Nahko (and Medicine for the People).

Nahko and his band are very much idealists out to change the world by advocating for a long and evolving list of causes. The music style is mostly singer songwriter with a rock leaning. The lyrics are about mindfulness, seeking the meaning of life, and saving the world with love and kindness and whatnot.

For me personally, I’ll need to be incredibly high and on day 3 of a yoga festival before this music is going to resonate with me, but he’s getting tour dates and selling albums, so this is clearly for someone. If you are local and going to BottleRock Napa Valley, you can catch him there Friday, May 25.

Quote I’m Pondering

Some of my readers may know that I’m learning to love Tim Ferriss. He is kind of an ass but he does have some great insight around time management, life goals and success.

Therefore, I dutifully read his blog, listen to his podcasts, and subscribe to his emails. Anyway, the deep thought for my week is something he said recently which is, “How can I make this a gift?” He asks this question when something unfortunate or infuriating happens to him.

Is your flight delayed indefinitely? Tim Ferris wants to you to find a way to make the situation feel like a gift. Um, okay, did you just get 5 hours at an airport (bar) to call your mom, or respond to an email backlog or draft that strategic plan you haven’t been able to focus on? Looks like you did. You are welcome. And thanks, Tim Ferriss, I hate you a little less today. Oh, and fuck you, American Airlines.

Want More?

This site is full of yoga tips, information and inspiration. Check out the recipes section for vegan and vegetarian recipes to fuel your practice or eat a little cleaner. For some deep thoughts about yoga philosophy go here. And for past 3 Bullet Thursdays and other yoga tips and hacks go here.

This article originally published on www.groundingup.com

Three Bullet Thursday

February 1, 2018jeslarussa

Hi all, this is your Thursday dose of “Three Bullet Thursday”, a quick list of yoga lifestyle information I’m processing.

If you are a yoga teacher, yoga student, vegetarian, philosopher, lover of metaphysics, or just another human out wandering around, this is the list for you.

What I’m Reading–Island by Aldous Huxley

This book was published in 1962, so it isn’t new. However, Island seems to be experiencing a bit of a revival in the literary world; I’m assuming it’s due to the presidential situation in the United States and the overall state of the world.

The book outlines an utopian life on an imaginary island where the inhabitants built a culture based upon eastern philosophies and religions including yoga, buddhism, and meditation.

Meditation as a lifestyle is a prominent theme. As a novice meditator myself, I found those sections particularly interesting and useful.

If you like philosophical discussion or you want to know how to turn your yoga retreat center into its own country, this book is for you.

What I’m Listening To–Johann Johannsson’s Orphee album

Johann Johansson is an Icelandic composer best known for his film scores; think “Arrival” and “The Theory of Everything”. Technically, this 2016 studio album, Orphee, belongs in the electronica genre. I’m loving it because there are no words and beautiful melodies.

Deep Thought I’m Pondering–“Bring with you a heart that watches and receives”

“Bring with you a heart that watches and receives,” is a quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a beloved American poet known for “Paul Revere’s Ride” and the Song of Hiawatha.

The quote struck me while reading Island by Aldous Huxley. Contextually, the author used it to elaborate on the concept of receptivity or open mindedness. The idea being that if a person chooses to project rather than receive there is room for misinterpretation and confusion. However, if one chooses to receive with an open heart and mind, clear communication, insight, and truth will be transmitted.

Want more?

Read the blog for more yoga lifestyle information and inspiration including past 3 Bullet Thursdays, Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes, and Yoga Philosophy.

3 Bullet Thursday–Yoga Tips

January 18, 2018January 18, 2018jeslarussa

When I first conceptualized the yoga tips blog post called 3 Bullet Thursday, I thought I would post it twice a month because I really didn’t think I consumed enough yoga content to warrant a weekly yoga tips rundown. As it turns out, I’m a much bigger yoga nerd than I thought I was and my running list of bullets for 3 Bullet Thursday is getting out of hand. Anyway, I did my best to pare down the yoga books, yoga music, and yoga inspiration I’m currently churning through for my fellow yoga nerds.

What I’m Reading–Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Full disclosure; you should know that when I say I’m reading something, that really just means I’m listening to the audio version of the book on audible.com. I commute about 11 hours a week and spend at least that much time in airports, airplanes and taxi cabs (okay, Ubers). To make that time feel well spent, I binge on audiobooks.

So about Siddhartha; it’s on many yoga teacher training reading lists because it chronicles the spiritual journey of self discovery of a man named Siddhartha. Spoiler alert, the sanskrit translation of Siddhartha is literally “he who has found the meaning of existence,” or “he who has attained his goals.”

It’s a quick and easy read (3 hours on Audible) so even though the title gives away the ending, I suggest you have a listen–even if you aren’t a yoga teacher or practitioner. It’s a classic and it won’t kill you to learn something.

What I’m Listening To–BuddahBar

Yes, I am referring to the compilation albums of lounge, chill, and world music. They are produced and distributed by the Buddha Bar bar, restaurant, and hotel franchise. It’s the company’s ambiance music and is the perfect background music for my life right now whether I’m at work or at home. No words (I get plenty of those coming my way) just chill sounds. iTunes seems to have the whole collection but I also have all the CDs (yes, actual CDs) so if you are local–that’s you Three Dog Yoga friends–and you want to borrow one, let me know.

Deep Thought I’m Pondering–“I wish I did not wish”

“I wish I did not wish” is a koan, which is a question or statement meant to test a student’s progress in zen practice. More or less it is meant to break your head.

I came across this koan on a Tim Ferris podcast where he was interviewing Gretchen Rubin about her many happiness related writing projects. That podcast is great, but too long, so I’m not going to recommend it here. I do, however, fully endorse koans.

This article originally published on www.groundingup.com.

Go to Yoga Tips & Hacks for more of this from GroundingUp

3 Bullet Thursday–Yoga Tip Resource

January 4, 2018January 3, 2018jeslarussa

Welcome to the inaugural “3 Bullet Thursday” your yoga tip, information, and inspiration resource.

What I’m watching

Does anyone even have cable anymore? Why would you when there is endless content to stream? Anyway, I’m currently working my way through a 13 episode Gaia mini-series on the origins of yoga called YogicPaths. For new yoga nerds, it’s a great primer on where yoga comes from. For advanced yoga nerds, it might be fun to compare and contrast with what you know about the practice. It is interesting and visually beautiful. So check it out.

YogicPaths — Yogic Paths, a Gaia mini-series

When I’m not watching something yoga related, my husband and I are deep into the Longmire series on Netflix. Based on the Walt Longmire mystery novels a dedicated sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyo. Longmire patrols the county, which seems to have a shockingly high murder rate as far as fake rural counties go. Each episode pretty much begins with the line, “Sheriff, we’ve got a body.”

What I’m listening to

I would imagine a lot of you have made resolutions to start or expand a meditation practice in 2018. Mindfulness and meditation are both hot buzz words right now. The Breathing Club podcast is great for beginner meditators or those looking to explore other forms of meditation and expand their knowledge of the practice.

Breathing Club Podcast with Patrick Beach and Carling Harps

Hosted by renowned yoga teachers and wellness consultants, Patrick Beach and Carling Harps, the podcast covers meditation (obviously), related books and content, and provides regular guided meditations in a variety of styles.

Quote I’m pondering

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards”– Soren Kierkegaard.

This article originally published on www.groundingup.com

Show those padded bra cups who’s boss.

June 22, 2016December 29, 2016jeslarussa

Currently, my two favorite yoga tops are the Lululemon Power Y Tank and the PrAna Quinn Top. However, they both have the same problem; they feature removable bra cup inserts that don’t stay in place.

So when faced with this situation, I have a few options:

Wear that tank top once and then never again because I can’t deal with sorting out the bra inserts.
Remove the bra inserts forever and think about how cute that tank top looked that one time I wore it with the inserts because I really did like that additional coverage and support.
Spend 10 minutes sorting out the bra inserts each time I put the tank top on and swear off anything with a bra insert in the future.
Sew those things in place and move on. This is a tank top we are talking about here and no one should spend this much time thinking about a tank top. And we certainly don’t need one more thing standing between us and yoga or whatever fitness-related thing it is that we are trying to do.