june

fellow yogis and yoginis! 

i have safely arrived, settled in, and started experiments here at the mbl in woods hole. the mbl campus is quaint (my diplomatic description for small) and the people are really nice here. like...REALLY nice. need to get air in the tires of your bike? find out the cafeteria hours? find a shipment? get access to wireless internet? i have yet to encounter a person who rolls their eyes at my questions or requests.

the marine resources down here are awesome and why i'm here. the lab is new, beautiful and clean. the sea urchins are getting royal treatment with fresh real sea water (as opposed to my instant ocean mixtures in boston). and my experiments are already underway (after a bit of troubleshooting of course).

when not in the lab, i will be studying my plethora of yoga resources while on the beach (under an umbrella lathered with spf 45 lotion, of course) and in my dorm room, yes, DORM room. in addition to bike rides, running, reading, and blogging, i will be working on my personal yoga practice, teaching, and taking extra long breaths this month.  like the deep breath i took when i opened up my planner just for fun to see nothing written in for this week (other than the celts game, obviously)

stay connected with me! i'll be posting weekly (at least) which will include asanas, meditative quotes and inspirations, music, and pictures. i would love to hear how you are doing, both on and off the mat. 

jai!

leanjali = Lea + anjali

anjali mudra may sound familiar to you. or Patanjali. or maybe you have no idea what i am talking about...and that's cool too. 

anjali mudra is prayer position with the hands, palms pressed together, at your heart center. We often use this mudra in the middle of class for asanas such as prayer twist and balancing standing split. Or during an exhale to lower the arms from overhead. And at the end of class as a sign  of blessing to one another as we recognize and salute the light or divine in each other. "Anjali" means blessing or prayer in sanskrit and "mudra" refers to a hand position we use in our practice. 

What's Patanjali? or rather, WHO is Patanjali?  Patanjali wrote the yoga sutras, or words or wisdom to live by as a yoga practitioner. There are a 108 sutras: hrih.hypermart.net/patanjali

but what is also interesting is the generation and meaning of his name. pat = fallen and anjali = palms/prayer/blessing. He fell from heaven into the open palms of a woman and is thought of as a fallen blessing to teach yoga to the world. cool, huh?

and so I chose "leanjali" as my yogi nickname.  I bless each and every one of you in your practice on and, as always, off your mat. 

part Texan, and part yogini?

I'm "delightfully complicated" in the words of my good friend Alex.  From listening to Brad Paisley (a country music artist) to cell biology research to waterskiing and fishing to yoga, my interests may be surprisingly diverse. However, I can say that I do have the ability to laugh at myself and I consistently bring bright energy and passion to each thing I do. (and if you know me already, this is quite obvious)

In this past year several shifts that have occurred in my life...and I'm not talking about a change in musical taste or a new car ;)  They're more subtle, and have arisen through my journey with yoga. What I wouldn't give to share this journey with you.  I bring a lighthearted, self-accepting, and open attitude to my classes, and strive to make you laugh at least one time during your practice :) 

the light in me salutes and greets that light within you,

namaste.