Quote: Rumi

"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."

-Rumi

Friday, I'm in Love: Big Yogi Birthdays

As you know, Friday is the day of the week on OmGal.com when I share people, places, products, or pieces of yoga-related information that are successfully wooing my soul right now (and you should feel free to do the same in the Comments). Coincidentally, I'm looking forward to two birthdays this weekend-- of a person and a place close to my heart.

First and foremost, my god-son, to whom you might recall I wrote a letter about spirituality not long ago, turns 2 this weekend. So raise a glass of kombucha, and salute this precious yoga baby! (Mom is my BFF from the recent post about Biggest Loser-caliber workouts).




Next, I'll be setting up shop, literally, at lululemon on Sunday morning to teach a FREE yoga class in celebration of the Prudential store's 1st birthday. As a lululemon ambassador, I am blessed to feel quite a bit of love from the yoga-inspired brand. I hope you'll join me and the lovely crew of lulu heads at the Boston store for class this weekend, proving true the old adage that, indeed, the best things in life are free.



With love,

Om Gal

Throwback Thursday: The One Time I Showed the Yankees Any Love

As a Red Sox fan, to the core, my ire for the Yankees is well documented, if not here on OmGal.com, then in countless text messages to NYC Gal, wherein I remind her that my yogic compassion ends right around Yawkey Way. I stop short of booing or chanting that anyone sucks or does steroids, but I taunt the bajeezus out of her and her pinstriped platoon from April through October each year.

Nevertheless, there was a time this spring when I put aside the venom and wished the Yankees well. Just once though. Here it is (shot by Om Bro):

Don't get it twisted though; I'm rooting for the Phillies in the World Series.

Happy Birthday, Lululemon!

One year ago this week, Lululemon delivered a bright, new, bouncing, baby store to the heart of Boston. In celebration of the Prudential store's first birthday, there will be plenty of healthful festivities this weekend, including a free yoga class taught by yours truly on Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. See you there! Bring a friend!

Quote: Care of the Soul

"It takes a broad vision to know that a piece of the sky and a chunk of the earth lie lodged in the heart of every human being, and that if we are going to care for that heart we will have to know the sky and earth as well as human behavior."

-Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul

Reader Query: Recommended Translation of the Yoga Sutras

Hey Rebecca!

So you’re always talking about The Yoga Sutras, and it made me realize that I am long overdue in reading it. I searched “The Yoga Sutras” on Amazon.com, but it pulled up like a million (OK, not really a million) hits. Is there a particular version that you recommend? It seems like some have forewords or commentaries by other yogis... Is one more enlightening than the other? Help. I’m confused.

Thanks!

Jill

Hi Jill,

Indeed, your

confusion is justified! Like many ancient texts, there are several translations of The Yoga Sutras from which to choose. The version that I have and to which I often refer is this one, with a foreword by Sri Swami Satchidananda.

I perused some of the others listed on Amazon and a few more piqued my interest:

• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: The Essential Yoga Texts for Spiritual Enlightenment, by Swami Vivekananda. I don't want to judge the proverbial book by its cover, here, but I couldn't help noticing that this one is beautiful! More importantly, though, is its credible author, Swami Vivekananda, a prominent yogi of the 19th century whose teachings influenced Gandhi and Tagore, among others.

• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Translation with Commentary, from Shambhala Classics. Shambhala consistently publishes some of the best spirituality resources on the market, and I suspect that this work is no different. The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga is among one of the most handy texts in my personal library. (In case, you're looking to fill your Amazon cart with additional goodies).

• Finally, I always consider yoga resources by B.K.S. Iyengar to be trustworthy, thorough, and clear. His version would likely be a sure bet as well.

I hope that helps, Jill. It's not a definitive answer because I don't think you can go wrong with any of the above options. I like my version very much, but perhaps you want to surf the prices and research the yogis who contribute to each respective translation to see if you gravitate toward one in particular.

Happy reading!

Rebecca

Is Yoga Safe For Sore Knees?

In English, they're your knees. In Sanskrit, the word for knee is janu. (Think: janu sirsasana). Regardless of how you refer to them, your knees need to be protected-- in life, sports, and yoga. Most of the time, yoga is good for your knees, even those that are compromised by injury and/or overuse (that's you, runners); however, yoga is not always good for your knees. Like anything else, you can do more harm than good if you aren't mindful.

Here are the essential pitfalls to avoid to safeguard your knees while doing yoga:

1.) Stack your joints. Especially in warrior poses and lunges, make certain that your knee does not go past your toe. In other words, stack your knee joint directly atop your ankle joint.

2.) Flex your feet. In pigeon, double pigeon, frog, and other similar poses, flex your feet. This will help protect your knee from bearing all of the pose's emphasis.

3.) Activate the muscles around your knees. In poses where your legs are straight, including forward bends, triangle, and inversions, remember to lift from your quadriceps, the large muscles above your knees (in your thighs).

4.) Never lock. While some poses encourage straight legs (the above mentioned forward bends, triangle, and inversions among them, along with the pose below), it's important not to lock your knees or hyper-extend them. These actions wear down on the joints.

5.) Skip the Bikram classes. In my personal experience, I have known several yogis- men, in particular- who have tweaked or blown out their knees by doing a Bikram-style yoga practice with knees that were vulnerable to injury. As a general rule, it's important to choose a sensible style of yoga for your body. If you're working with an injury, stick to a gentler practice. For a guide to different styles of yoga, click here.

Quote: Hard Work

"Heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the night."

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Does my latest favorite quote by Longfellow have much to do with Oprah, her headquarters in Chicago, or this ridiculous picture that looks a like I'm leaping into her flower bed? Maybe. Maybe not.

From Australia With Love

Despite the sleep deprivation due to late-night writer's block and occasionally being wracked with guilt when I fall short of posting regularly, blogging is a rewarding endeavor. It's not rewarding in the sense that I've landed a book deal or TV show, but that's not why I started in the first place (though, don't get me wrong, BRAVO; I'm totally game to talk-- call me?). A favorite writer of mine, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once wrote, "The reward of a thing well done is to have done it," and that pretty much captures it for me. I write because it comes naturally, and I write about yoga and wellness because I've been a yogi longer than I've had a driver's license and a teacher for almost a decade, so it's what I know best. If I had to write a blog about hedge funds or horse racing, it would probably suck. In other words, I abide by a simple writers' credo: Write what you know.

What I didn't know was how much I'd receive in return, for my toiling in cyber space. Because of you, dear reader, this blog transformed from a lark to a labor of love.

I simply didn't expect the level of interaction with an audience that a blog affords. Readers send friendly emails to share their yoga experiences and epiphanies, ask insightful questions that inevitably inspire future posts, post astute comments directly to the blog, and further spread the love by linking, following, re-tweeting, and pledging their official approval of OmGal.com by becoming a fan on Facebook. Former yoga students and childhood friends have tracked me down through the blog-- along with one ex-boyfriend, which was slightly less enjoyable (there's a reason we're exes), but I digress . . .

People cozy up in this corner of the blogosphere to read, relax, and as one om gal put it "counterbalance all the polluting of my brain that I do on Perez." Recently, I learned that this occurs even in the far reaches of the globe, as in, Australia. Yup, it's true; Hugh Jackman wrote me an email this week to say that he loooooooves the blog. He reads it every morning, while eating a batch of my pancakes before his workout.

OK, that's a lie. To my knowledge, Wolverine is not a follower of Om Gal. [Sigh].

However, a fabulous yoga apparel designer is, which to a lycra-loving clotheshorse, like me, is a close second. This designer inquired whether I might accept some samples from her line. After taking a quick looksy at the Abi and Joseph website, I agreed to test-drive new duds from Down Under. By the time my air mail package arrived in Boston, I was overjoyed.


And, who could blame me? The proud owner of a luxe, new pair of yoga pants (that come in "LONG!") and two elegant camisoles, I can't decide if I'm more thrilled about the clothes or the discovery that OmGal.com's readership includes Aussies.

Interested in infusing your own wardrobe with some stylish Abi and Joseph gear? Order online and use the code OMGAL to get 10% off. Like I said, blogging is a rewarding endeavor, ideally, for writers and readers alike.

Happy Sunday, Football Fans

Whether you're a fitness buff, weekend warrior, or armchair athlete, Sunday is the perfect day to stretch out-- on a cushy yoga mat or a comfy couch, for example. For those of you who practice yoga to support other athletic pursuits, I'm curious to know what's your sport, and what yoga pose do you do to limber up for it?