Second class of outdoor restorative yoga at the Sunday Brunch Farmer's Market-Medway park in the Riverland Terrance Neighborhood of James Island. I led almost an entire class in seated postures and thought to recline only after a 2 minute qi gong sun meditation. On days like today, the time passes before I have a chance to exhaust my inspiration. We also started the class with qi gong style hand and foot clearing. It was a good recipe for foundation weekly maintenance of spiritual and energetic health. Before class even began, I was working one-on-one with a student on an inversion clinic. Demonstrating then supporting: supported headstand, handstand, and shoulder stand.
ASANAS: Sun breath, forward fold, neck stretch, dolphin breath, camel, cow-face, twists, and hands-on child's pose adjustments.
0 Comments
The kale we transplanted 3 weeks ago is ready for harvest this week. I'm starting to get the hang of it out here. Bo had some family visiting and helping us on the farm. Some of them asked me questions about how to do our tasks or identifying things, and I was able to provide answers :) I feel confident, like I could do this on my own. Although, I don't want to be solo. Dirtworks is such a great place because you are never alone out there. With five farm plots in one piece of land, you are usually guaranteed to see another face and have a conversation if you need it. I just want it ;) so I make a point to talk with everyone. Pictured here is Sol Haven selling Basil and Zinnias on Saturday afternoon at the Marion Square Farmer's Market. This moment started Friday morning when I arrived at Dirt Works to help harvest. We spent about two hours in the fields snipping long flower and herb stems. Then we brought 6 large buckets back to the packing shed and prepared dozens of bunches to sell for 5 and 10$. In the time spent doing the routine manual labor, I'm learning a lot from Bo about the business side of farming. Like scheduling planting and harvest times to ensure reliable sales to predetermined customers. This was a first year lesson in guaranteeing a return on your investment and maintaining a simple lifestyle of utilities and necessities. My favorite form of service is teaching yoga to an open audience. I'm grateful there is a fabulous internet hub called 'meetup' to bring us together. http://www.meetup.com/Charleston-Free-Outdoor-Yoga/ The group I started is attracting a lot of people who are new to town-just like me. I wonder what other ways we are similar and I don't know about yet? For today's class, I felt the need to share pranayama, yogic breathing. We started with the 3-part falling out breath - I needed it! After some gentle neck stretches, we moved into seated warrior and victorious breath (ooh-jai-eee). I really emphasized linking breath to intention, and breath with expansion. Just now I see a connection that yoga is like an architect; both create space and shape light. The knowledge that came out of me tonight explained that physical healing brings mental healing. Asana highlights include: gate, bow, sun salutation, forwards folds, boat, and supine twists! Rather than a traditional shavasana, I taught 6 human beings to heal themselves with universal energy. Left palm raised (armpit open), right palm over heart. Ask the trees to share with you and offer love in return. Inhale through left palm, exhale through right palm. Feel the energy moving through you. Speak the intentions of your healing. Believe. I am grateful to work at one of the only farms in America to be growing Roselle for Hibiscus Tea. Bo planted this variety of fruit tea as a souvenir from his time in Thailand. Once the flower withers, a large seed pod is formed. The outer petals of the flower, or sepals, turn into the husk for a seek, or calyx. It is succulent and rich in color-quickly staining your skin. Harvest the calyx when it is largest and use in tea fresh or dried. I've been enjoying this tea often since our first harvest this Fall. I feel very vital when I drink it. In addition to the well known Vitamin C potency, Roselle also offers Iron, anti-oxidants, and reduces blood pressure. In Thailand, it's a perennial plant, we're not sure what will happen over Charleston's mild winter. Check out this video of removing the seeds before drying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtMYP2vE6TY Thai people consume a lot of this tea. Harvesting this plant was super fun :) The tall stalks look similar to okra, but grow bushier. It probably thrived better through the hot moist summer than any other crop at Sol Haven. It's taller than me and it blooms from two to five feet off the ground, so I was crouching and stretching and engulfing myself in Roselle! It's no surprise I love this plant so much, we both come from tropical climates! While we spent over an an hour clipping 10 gallons of Roselle, Bo asked me how I imagined the first human thought to make tea out of this plant. The first thought to pop into my mind was, 'The plant told them.' I literally mean that the human intuited a message from the plant through the great cosmic goo that binds us all together. See my video on meditation to see my view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtMYP2vE6TY |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2016
|