The Prodigal Yogini and the Yoga Podcasts

Last night, I practiced yoga for the first time in probably a month.  Getting to a studio is just not working for me lately (and by lately, I mean since the birth of AwesomestKidEver, which means almost a year).  I don't want to go on weekdays because 1) I want to spent time with my baby; and 2) BestHusbandEver does not get home from his work in time for me to make it to a class without having to hire a babysitter (which is a lot harder to do than most people would have you think.  It is hard to find people interested in watching a baby, no matter how many offers they made when you were pregnant). Last night I finally admitted to myself that I'm just going to have to commit to a (eek!) home practice.  The only time I can find to practice is late at night, so that is when I will practice. 

Sometimes I really enjoy creating my own sequences, but right now I need guides, since I'm out of practice.  For the past year or so I've been trying out various yogi podcasts, trying to use them as a supplement to studio classes.  I've tried out a whole bunch, but most I've discarded because they sucked were intended for newbies or because they were hard to understand.  I have found two that I'm planning to use a bunch as part of my official home practice that I am officially reestablishing as of last night.    

First up - Faith Hunter's All the Way LIVE.  Faith's style is really similar to that of the studio I used to practice at before Baby came along and changed up my schedule.  A lot of yoga podcasts and DVDs are so BASIC, and the ones that are actually challenging tend to be overly focused on the physical aspects of yoga, rather than the integration of mind, body, and spirit that I prefer in my yoga practice.  Faith is really easy to understand if you know yoga, so you can follow along even though most of her casts are not video.  Also, she's got a ton of episodes on her feed, mostly 90 minute classes, but a few that are like an hour.  That's nice for me, because I practice after AwesomestKidEver goes to sleep, and 90 minutes isn't always practical at 9 o'clock at night.  

The second super skilled teacher I've found on iTunes is Dave Farmar.  His classes are pretty challenging, and his energy is great.  He records his classes in all kinds of different locations, and I really enjoy his descriptions of the local colors of wherever he is.  He also has a number of hour-ish casts in addition to many 90 minute ones.  

So, that is the plan.  Faith and Dave will guide me through the amazing power of the internet, I will regain my yogini centered zen-like state, and all will be well with the world.  Eventually, I should be able to return to creating my own sequences, and I might even get my Scorpion pose back on one of these days.  

 

Namaste, y'all.