Let it be imperfect

It's okay to be a work in progress, we are never really still anyways. Let the process take the time it needs. I am constantly trying to push through difficulties I have, wondering why I am not growing faster or reaching that next goal. Which is fine, it's good, struggle, strive, live damn it. But don't expect every progress point to feel good, don't expect to be balanced at all times. Everything exists in flux. Life doesn't always seem balanced because it is constantly rebalancing itself. What goes up, may be coming down for you right now. And vica versa. Roll with it. If you feel like you are crumbling, maybe you're just shedding shit you don't need anymore. And no, there is no rule book. But there are friends and resources and our yoga mat to help us get there. Your daily practices, whether they be Vinyasas or daily walks, are your time to grow unabashedly. Leave some practices that don't demand to be perfected, leave some room to be imperfect. Don't feel like you have to have a goal for all the things, somethings should be allowed to aimlessly wander in your life. Let some of the child in you still exist, let some of the wonder filter in. Do nothing. Let yourself do nothing for entire moments at a time and look, the world does not stop spinning. So maybe we can stop spinning sometimes and step out of the rat race to take a pause-whether a minute or a week- take the time to just be you. Imperfect you, imperfect me, imperfect world. It's okay, let it be a work in progress. 

xo,
Sara & Kyle

PS SEE YOU AT DIRTYBIRD THIS SUNDAY!! 

Just Breathing

Just breathing this week, expanding, inhaling patience and exhaling excess. Just breathing, each round slower and more patient. Make a space for yourself within, in your own self, create what you need on the spot. We can't always roll out our mats and stretch down to our toes but we can always breathe. We can expand accordingly and take up more space, literally, we can breathe ourselves bigger. There's a lot of I can't's when we are really saying I won't, I won't create space for the fear has a grip on my heart and my head. I won't slow down because what happens when I'm not busy, when there isn't a schedule or a purpose. But in just breathing, there is purpose, there is no need for a plan but the next moment. So take a moment to just start breathing, not sips but gulps, drink in the space and then give it away. Share with others that they too can take up space and be heard above the roar, that fear doesn't need to rule all things. That space is available when we ask and allow ourselves to breathe.

PS

We are bringing the ol' Yin & Juice class to Dirty Bird Campout (happy squeals). We will be teaching on Sunday and giving away our usual complimentary ginger/lemon shots post-class. 

PPS

We are down to our last bubble box! We have one more in stock before we begin rolling out our next pattern. And purrhaps we will have alternate light colors coming as well (ooo).

Much love,
Sara & Kyle

Time of Transition

It's the time of tumult between seasons, when summer is dying and the excitement of fall is on its way. There's great possibility to be had as the northern hemisphere begins to die and shed off its outer layer. It's the times of transitions where great possibility really begins to blossom- the in-between times are defined by the meeting of two contrasting elements. Transition has an essence of celebration because of its great possibility- it's a new beginning, a fresh start. And much like when we are going from Warrior 1 to Warrior 2, we should move carefully and with purpose. We should allow ourselves to understand that postures, like seasons, aren't simply end points but pauses. Stillness is an illusion, transition is constant. We simply just notice when the difference between two points is more dramatic. 

So this week allow yourself so time to absorb transition, give yourself extra time to relish in the change- take some of that summer savoring with you. Spend some time planning to balance out the hectic fall schedules. And set intentions for the season to come as to allow ourselves to let summer end and new things to begin. 

And speaking of transitions, we have - officially - OPENED OUR SHOP! We are bringing our light boxes to you, available here.

These boxes have been our pet project this summer and we are really stoked to finally share them with you all. We are deeply inspired by natural patterns and wanted to create small pieces of functional art for your home - and at a reasonable price. As well, all of our print runs will be kept small to ensure maximal individuality. 

We are very excited, this is just the beginning!

Much Love,
Sara & Kyle

Sonder

n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

This week's intention is more of an acknowledgement, a reminder and a realization. We all live in our own little shells, worlds created and enforced by our beliefs and bias. There is this illusion that we live behind a pair of eyes- even this is an illusion. Our eyes receive images upside down that our brain flips for us. We are fickle things, thinking and feeling from our me-centered view. We are like children in that way, never quite breaking away from our fantasy of self. And rather than discarding or having disdain for our condition (which is a permanent, perhaps even human condition), we can celebrate it. We can acknowledge that although we are all one, we are all our own piece, we all have our own experiences. We can listen to people when they talk, really listen, and open our heart to empathy. We can consider that more is happening in people's lives than we can possibly comprehend from a glance. We can see the beautiful majesty of every individual as they are. We can allow each other to have their own experience and not taint it with our own need to categorize or label. 

In summary, know that we are all in this together, driving our own boats and trying to stay afloat. Love first. 

Much love,
Sara & Kyle

THIS GIRL IS ON FIYAHHHH

Let's talk Tapas this week. It can have multiple meanings and can shape not only how we practice but how we view our practice. That being said, for brevity's sake, we can think of Tapas as heat. This heat can be seen literally as the warmth produced by the body during asana or can be seen as the friction of going against the grain- ie, Self-Discipline. 

Both definitions hold merit in our practice but they meet in the middle at our "why". We don't have to sweat buckets or do hours of yoga daily in order to be disciplined in our practice. In fact, discipline should be self-serving, it's a personal practice that is there to aid our growth. More asana is just more asana. The same can be said in the opposite direction, many of us move our bodies too little and not very often. Some of us may need to discipline to get up and get on our mat, to push our boundaries. 

The discipline of the practice lies in the consistency and sacrifice to keep us on our right path. We aren't these impure beings that pour our sweat out like Sabbath, we don't need to rid ourselves of anything. We are already divine, we just need to stick to the belief of this divinity. 

And that's the rub, it's easy to beat ourselves up (both physically and emotionally) and play the compare/contrast game with those around us. It's easy to give up. But no one is dictating that we must sweat and bleed our way through our practice (not saying that doesn't occasionally happen) but all of our paths are our own. 

My personal practice, for example, involves having the discipline to quiet my ego and not force myself to do every single posture offered and to make time for slow practices and recovery. I get so caught up in gains and progress that I can forget how destructive yoga can become if over-done. 

Tapas is constantly showing up, to yoga when we don't wanna yoga, to rest when we feel restless. It's the fire of finding balance in a constantly shifting world. 

Things I've Learned From Teaching

I debated about sharing this one, what did I really have to say about teaching? I never really intended to become one, these things sort of just happened along the way. 
It's been 2 years and 4 months since I started teaching and 6 years since I found myself on a mat. I would have never thought I would be a teacher, not for a lack of talking -HA- but because I always wondered who would put themselves through such brutal efforts on the daily. It's a constant balance between a performance and a workshop mixed with some minor therapy and being a human encyclopedia. 

Things that teaching constantly reminds me: 

- to strive for better, not perfect
- learning is a two way street
- to be concise 
- leave your house earlier than you think
- repetition and simplicity are the keys to proper flow
- People come for the yoga, stay for the vibe. So keep true to who you are, not what media shoves down your throat through those "10 Things a Yoga Teacher Should Remember" articles. 
- Teaching with a purpose. I'm working on this, finding the purposeful intent I want to set in motion before class. Being real with people, sharing life not just theory- how else do we best relate to each other? I constantly ask myself why and then how, why do I teach- to foster connection. How? Through sharing, through creating bonds with complete strangers, to finding the human thread that connects us all. Maybe the how shifts day to day, but it all comes back down to the same realizations. And perhaps that too will change with time and experience, for isn't teaching just growing together? And damn it, we have this hour together and we may as well go into it with all we got. 

It's really just the beginning. Thank you for letting us share our love with you all. 

xo, 
Sara & Kyle

PS - we are working on those light boxes!!!

PATIENCE (Again, It's Important Okay)

Or taking back your time FROM yourself FOR yourself. That's right, stealing back the time that you spend re-checking your email 100 times a day and letting it be. It's doing the things on the to do list instead remaking the to do list until it's perfect. I have to admit how terribly skewed I can be in my view of actually how patient I am. It's an uneven scale, I'm willing to wait in line at most places without a care, I can chill if traffic is bad but damn do I get riled up if I can't eat dinner right when I want to or if the internet is down. Nobody is perfect, we all show our minor impatiences and pet peeves from time to time. Some people are downright terrifying to drive with due to massive impatience, some of us push ourselves so hard in yoga that we get injury after injury, some of us give up on healthy eating after the first week when we don't see results. We constantly self-sabotage our peace of mind due to the itch of impatience that strives to be scratched. And this "itch" is the Raja focused energy of our society, the burning need to see the fruits of our labor. The biggest obstacle for me (and possibly for most of us) is that I often base my worth off of how much I am able to produce and how good of a reaction I get out of it. I strive to perpetually be better, so much better, painfully better that it drives me up the wall and out the window and into the the sky where I fly up and implode from all the excess energy. I lean towards extremes (power yoga, hot sauce all the things). So I'm working on Slowing Down and not being obsessed with the next thing. Two big things I'm finding helping me at this moment:

- A Bullet Journal, a SIMPLE journal where I dump my calendar, to-do list, goals, general insanity out all in one place. It keeps me from making silly long to-do lists. 

- White Space, time to do nothing in my day but chill.

- Taking evening walks, Kyle and I started these in Georgia and have continued them here. It's a good way to get a re-cap of each's other's day, make game plans, and maybe walk to Berkeley Bowl to get more snacks. 

- Hobbies without expectations, I've taken up Ukulele playing in the morning (sorry roomies), which helps me start the day with something completely relaxing and without a purpose other than just enjoying it. 

So here's to being patient darlings. Keep doing your good things without expectations and your life shall blossom on its own. 

xo,
Sara & Kyle

As Above, So Below

Late night musing pre-new moon feelings. We are waning right now, post festival quietude at the end of summer. The end of the roller coaster feeling that August brings with it. We are all on school schedule even when we are far passed school age and as July ends, we all sigh a bit softer from summer and not quite ready to part. August sizzles so hot and yet, sometimes feels so cold. It's the waning of summer and we all sigh a bit longer. But what are we craving, an endless summer? A perpetual half sunbaked and sleepy but overfilled and loving it kind of sensation. I'm all summer blood born full Cancer at the peak of summer and bleed nostalgia. I'm the soft setting into the arms of the moon and am learning to love the death of seasons. So, as above, so below- we need the death of seasons to burn another anew.