COURTNEY ROHAN YOGA

My adopted dogs, Maddie and Archie are really the best adopted dogs I could have asked for. When I see them and their excitement to see me, (probably because I am hands-for-treats) I am instantly reminded that I can relax. I can be myself. They love me without reserve. Everyone needs this experience, a knowing that you matter beyond anything you could do or say, dogs or not. Without my beautiful doggy reminders, I still need to mean something to myself. Though we all would probably agree, we are, as individuals, important on some level. Even if we don’t know it to our cores, most people see that they are relevant, if not in the best of themselves, then in their revenge or victimhood. I would also beg to believe that no matter how deep this understanding goes for us, some of us are looking for validation, for where we are important, still. We want to know that someone sees us, that we are heard. No matter what you mean to others, I can bet at varying intervals, you’ve had to prove wh

At some point we wake up. Well, some will. We wake and realize that how, where, and when we offer what is in our care matters. The Practice Try this: Wake up some minutes earlier tomorrow. Reset your alarm and get up when it goes off. Tonight before you go to bed, think about what you  will do with your minutes. Fill your minutes with one thing that will feel good/prepare you to use your other resources wisely. It is important to have an idea what you will do with this time. It is your resource to use. Here are some ideas: 1.  Sit silently. 2. Drink a full glass of water. 3. Pray. 4. Recite an affirmation or mantra that encourages you. 5. Meditate. 6. Watch the sunrise. 7. Listen to the birds chirp. 8. Take a short walk. 9. Write a list of things you are grateful for.  10. Take some deep grounding breathes, in through your nose and our through your mouth. Yes, throughout the day you will give some of your resources away. That is okay. Bu

You are not the body. You are not the mind. Have you ever caught yourself stuck in the middle of a deep thought? Like a storm that knocks your tree down and takes the roof off, you wonder at a point, how could this have happened? You attempt to change your thought before it gets worse. For a time, you think about something else, until you're back again, thinking the same thought from before, uprooting more of the yard and throwing furniture around. If you said yes to the above questions, I completely understand. Last week, I found myself stuck on the most frustrating of thoughts. A tempest. I tried to write it out. I tried to meditate. As a result, I was no longer frustrated, I was angry, and then enraged. “Why,” you ask? “Those things should have helped you.” Well…. yes, and no. The energy we become stuck in, obsessed on, demands specific tools if we are to address it. I was already too far gone in the storm to write about it. I only wrote myself into more frustration. T

Everyone needs somewhere they can go and feel safe. For me this is my yoga mat. If people attempt to disrupt me while I am practicing, I feel safe to ignore them. If the phone rings or I hear sounds that don’t indicate harm, I let them be. I remind myself often, I am on my mat to focus on myself. I am not here to fix that which is around me. I can do that later. This year I will be teaching high school students yoga as an elective. I am excited to offer this experience. I hope to create a space of safety and ease within the class as well as for students on the mat. My wish is that all people will see their mat as a home for their body to move and rest, for their emotions to flow, and their thoughts and experiences to find homeostasis. You can create this safe haven for yourself on your mat too. Here are some easy ways to begin creating a space of comfort and ease so that your practice will yield these benefits back to you.  1. Choose a mat that makes you feel comfortable. Whet

Recently I have been teaching my students about the space in between. In the middle of your arm: an elbow. In the middle of your leg: a knee. We’ve been focusing on the upper body to divide and conquer this vast idea. To take a look at the space in between, we’ve focused our attention on how we are moved by that which can not be seen. How like marionette dolls, we are the master’s puppet. This is a good thing, to be driven by the One. The best of who we are and have to offer is with That. One way to acknowledge this is by looking at one muscle often overlooked, but that has great effect. Like the serratus anterior muscle, the finger-like muscle that lays atop the ribs, Source helps us lengthen the spine, the breath, and our arms above our head. The serratus anterior originates on the surface of the 1st to the 8th rib and inserts into the medial border of the scapula. If your serratus anterior is weak, an indication of this is when your scapula wing off your back, such as when you l