Beginner’s Mind

"It isn't about advanced postures...it's about the attention and the intention of the practitioner"

FYI, I'm creating a new Foundational Yoga Program. I would love to know if there's anything you would like me to include. Is there anything you would like to know more about in regards to your yoga practice? Or, are you trying to get back into it, but not sure how and where to start? I would LOVE to help you. See more details at the bottom of this email. Please, as always, feel free to reach out anytime. Simply respond to this email, or contact me at debra.leong@gmail.com.

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So often, we find ourselves wanting to take on a new adventure, a new journey, a new skill. But, we quickly come up against the nemesis….resistance. Resistance tells us, we’re not good enough, we’re not talented enough, we’re not ready. Or, it questions us...who are we to want this?

We’ve all heard it before, yoga is good for us. It can improve our strength, balance and flexibility. It can even improve our state of mind and sense of well-being. In fact, that’s the #1 reason I like to practice. I’ve been practicing of over 25 years, almost daily, and the #1 benefit I see, is that I still feel good in my body. And, it’s helped me to manage some very difficult times emotionally.

What I’ve been fascinated by, especially lately, is how much I’ve been enjoying going back to “basics”. I used to enjoy taking on the challenges of more difficult, more complicated postures. But lately, I’ve noticed how much I get out of even the most simple postures, like Mountain Pose.

When I was a younger practitioner, I often had older, wiser teachers who would tell us how much you could get out of even the simplest of postures. I used to think to myself, ‘no way, I want to do handstand and the ‘more advanced’ stuff. Well, for every truth, there is a season, and you know what….they were right!

I’ve really been exploring the most basic postures with greater awareness and detail. I’ve found I can get sooooo much out of these lovely postures. It isn’t about the postures after all, it’s a bout the attention and the intention of the practitioner. The more attention we give to a subject, in this case a yoga posture, the more we gain a deep respect for, and see the great wisdom of these postures. We see who and how we are in it.

This is why having a beginner’s mindset is so important. We’re always learning, growing and evolving. Regardless of our age, as long as we have breath in this body, we have a life to live.

So, whether you’re brand new to yoga or have been practicing for decades, treat each day, each posture as a new beginning. Meet it for the first time and relish in it’s wonder.

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In the Spirit of Beginner's Mind, I've been creating a Foundational Yoga Program, to help you develope a practice that is both highly effective and sustainable. I would love to know what your thoughts are and what you might like to see in it. I will be providing free resources as I create them. Here's an example of the kind of things that will be included:

• Understanding the 5-Movements of the Spine so we can easily create a warm up to begin a home practice
• Understanding the 3 arches of the feet and how they effect our balance and posture
• Understanding the Core 3-Dimensionally
• 3-Dimensional Breathing and how that affects the way we live and move
• Basic Standing Postures
• Sun Salutions
• Closing Series of Postures
• Beginner's Pranayama (Breathing Exercises)
• Introducation to yogic philosophy and the 8-Limbs of Yoga
• Begnner's Meditation