Break

I am currently on break from teaching. I will return to Dream Mecca for Wednesday night classes on May 8, 2013. Y'all hit your mats and get your Om on till then!

6 Week Session @ Dream Mecca
3025 6th Avenue South
Begins March 13th 6:00 pm

Join me Wednesday evenings for an hour of hatha yoga. This 6 week session is designed to address the challenges of daily living. Classes will include restorative work, strength and flexibility work and meditation practices.


March 13, 20 & 27
April 3, 10 & 17

Classes will be held in the gallery showroom Wednesday from 5:30 - 6:30 pm. Please come with light, flexible clothing and an empty stomach. Arrive a few minutes early to set up for class.

DROP INS ARE WELCOME!

Course fee: $60
Drop-ins: $15
Props available if needed

For more information
or to reserve your spot,
contact Jean Campbell at jean.m.campbell@gmail.com

Or call Jean Campbell
205.807.0540


3025 6th Avenue South Birmingham, Alabama 35223 205.731.9420

Yoga returns to Dream Mecca!

6 Week Session @ Dream Mecca
3025 6th Avenue South
Begins January 30th 6:00 pm

Join me Wednesday evenings for an hour of hatha yoga. This 6 week session is designed to address the challenges of daily living. Classes will include restorative work, strength and flexibility work and meditation practices.


 January 30
 February 6, 13, 20 and 27 
March 6

Classes will be held in the gallery showroom Wednesday from 5:30 - 6:30 pm. Please come with light, flexible clothing and an empty stomach. Arrive a few minutes early to set up for class. This course has a minimum and maximum number of available slots so please register and pay by January 21st to assure a space for your mat! Registration amounts will be refunded in the event registration does not meet minimum.


Course fee: $60
Drop-ins: $15
Props available if needed

For more information
or to reserve your spot,
contact Jean Campbell at jean.m.campbell@gmail.com

Or call Jean Campbell
205.807.0540


3025 6th Avenue South Birmingham, Alabama 35223 205.731.9420

A needed sabbatical!

I am currently on sabbatical from teaching. I'm studying and immersing myself in my own practice. I can't teach if I've run dry. It wouldn't be good for me or fair to you, but I'll be back.

Check me out in fall. Peace, Love and Namaste.

Jean Marie

Yoga for strength building - tonight @ Dream Mecca Studios at 6pm

Can yoga be used for strength building work?

If you really want to just be a body builder, weight training is a more efficient way to do it, but Yoga tones the entire body. Having one area of the body way over developed while others are not will take the body out of balance and that is the opposite of what yoga is about. Our bodies are healthiest and most efficient when we are fit in a balanced way.

Many yoga poses really do use weights, it's just that our bodies are what provide the weight. If you don't think yoga can give challenge, try standing on your toes and bending your knees with arms in the air for about a minute or two.

However, if you do weight or resistance training, yoga can offer a great counter for that work. Just be sure to do a sequence that is more about restoration than physical challenge.

Yoga for the blues April 4 at Dream Mecca

Class tonight at 6 will focus on keeping our spirits lifted. Yoga has lots of tools for this! Join us for an hour of hatha yoga. Yoga is good stuff!

Yoga classes begin at Dream Mecca on March 28

The course will run 6 weeks and the fee is $60. The focus of this session will be 'Happy Living'. We'll cover sleep issues, comfort in the office, stress and health, among other things. Contact Dream Mecca to register!

www.dreammeccastudios.com

Why have I been re-arranging ...
MY WHOLE LIFE?

This is not a metaphor. I'm addicted to rearranging. I rehang the art. I move the couch to the other side of the room. And I don't just rearrange the furniture, I shake up the whole house. I moved the girl's bedroom to the front. The den will soon be our office and now today, I'm making the back room back into the den, like it was when I got here back 8 years ago.

Hmmmmm.................

Re re re

back back back

Am I stepping forward and back again.

It occurred to me just now that I'm looking for something. And it's in my house. It must be, because that's where I'm looking. I'm trying to find it but I can't for all the stuff that's in the way. And what it is is the walls and the floors and the space between. That's what it is. I need that. And I'm going in after it!

It's not a metaphor, my rearranging.

June 22, 2011
Tonight's Class will focus on Finding Your Edge.

Join us for an hour of yoga. We'll explore the place you need to be in your asana and in life.

Yoga Wednesday Night @ 6pm at Dream Mecca Studio. It's casual and friendly. Come on out and get your OM on!

Class is suitable for all levels.

Wednesday, March 16... We'll be working on living a joyful life through the practice of ahimsa

The practice of ahimsa adds a little to the effort of world peace but that's not the only reason it's a good thing. When we practice ahimsa, we will feel more at peace when we come to the mat.

What is meant by ahimsa? Very simply it means you don’t harm or kill another human. Some feel you shouldn’t harm or kill animals. Some would say that not stopping someone from doing harm to another is also ahimsa, so there is an intelligence to it.

With the practice of ahimsa, being kind to everyone you meet makes you feel better, not just the people you meet and so it is a practice for our own well-being as well as others.

But do we need to worry about this when we come to the mat? It should be kept in mind because we don't want to be violent to our own selves and this is often the hardest lesson of all.

I decided to begin a running program recently. It was very difficult but it was something my husband and I could do together and with our dogs. We started but the weather turned cold and so we waited for the next week.

Next attempt was the day before Richard and I got sick - very sick. Two weeks later we started again and after just 2 short sessions my shins hurt so I couldn’t do my 3rd run of the week. I started again the next week and my shins began to hurt again, plus it felt with every step someone was hitting my knees with a hammer.

Hello... How loud of a message do I need?

I'm back to brisk walking my pups and they are just as happy, and I am happier and yoga is better. Running clearly is not for me. And pushing myself to do things that were hurting my body is a form of violence. And violence of any kind is not what I'm here for.

Peace!

February 9 class cancelled!

Class for tonight, Wednesday, February 9, has been cancelled do the possibility of sleet and snow. Y'all practice at home and I'll see you next week.

Shanti!

On acquiring years

Old is when feeling good isn't something you just wake up having. It's when it is something that takes your pointed effort. And aging gracefully is when that effort is your joy.

First Wednesday

It's the build your own practice class! I'll be bringing handouts and we'll talk about how to plan a class just right for your own yoga needs.

Props are provided but you might want to bring along a pen for note taking. We'll have a full class in addition to the planning session and as always, we'll end with relaxation and breath work in a comfortable sitting posture.

Allow you body to experience relaxation and your mind to take a break. Practice begins at 6 pm this Monday, February 2! Hope to see you there!

Camping entry: Day Two - the inevitable challenge

The blow-up air mattress and new double sleeping bag afforded all the comforts of home while the sounds of frogs and bugs offered a dreamy lullaby. We slept well, until almost 9, and rose gradually.

Although we own a camp coffee pot, this is the one little convenience I didn't want to leave home without, so I unpacked the French press and the ground Star Bucks and brewed my self a savory bit of luxury. Richard had been having issues with his neck and shoulder and so I encouraged him to join me for my morning yoga. Yes, it was going to be the perfect first morning of the perfect camping trip...

And then there was THE challenge. The all too wonderful camp site had one minor flaw for the would be woods yogis.

This.....

I was so relieved to learn there would be little chance of rain while we camped, I never dreamed a load of gravel would be my issue. But there it was. Every square inch of the camp site was covered with these large pieces of gravel.

I know lying on a bed a of nails is purported in some yoga circles to have spiritual benefit but I'm just not into that right now.

So, what now. I would not be deterred!

Fortunately I had packed several large garbage backs as well as two over-sized beach towels. By removing the larger stones and layering first the garbage bag and then the folded towel I was able to fashion a fairly stable and comfortable practice space.

A few uncomfortable rocks, easier to spot by feel than site, were removed and this princess felt not a single pea under her comfy stack, mostly.

I enjoyed a general yoga practice while Richard did some therapeutic poses for his complaining shoulder.

We finished up and then headed for our tubing adventure. Tubing was nothing short of ethereal. Another benefit of being late in the season; but for a few birds and a snake or two, we seemed to have the river to ourselves.

The water was cool and the temperature mild. It was just warm enough to make swimming feel brisk and exhilarating but not so hot that we were ever too warm.

I left the phone and camera behind so sorry there are not pictures because it was just dreamily lovely!

We returned to camp for a pasta dinner with bread and salad. I'd packed for a summer vacation, but the night was turning off chilly so I secured a pair of socks from my suitcase and added them to my ensemble. For some reason, Richard kept snickering and saying something about Jay Randall.

Afterward we again enjoyed a little convenience from home. Yes, I must admit I plugged in the ipod to our jam box and pulled out my guitar and Richard grabbed his new bass.

Richard had recently made a washtub bass which we brought along on the trip. It was to be a grand instrument by night, dish washing tub by day. I don't know how the wash tub felt about this turn of events by I myself enjoy wearing a number of hats, so I felt we did not dishonor the integrity of the instrument.

We turned in and chatted about what tomorrow's day would entail. Hiking, waterfalls and swimming were to be the main features and we couldn't wait. It was nice to have had this day to totally lay back and relax on the river and then at camp. And we were going to need it because tomorrow's hike would make up for it!

Have mat, will travel...

Monday morning finally arrived. Our short vacation had been pushed back and pushed back for one conflict after the other. We'd been planning to steal away for a few days in the wilderness since last summer. Being immersed in technology it is a pleasure truly needed and not enjoyed enough by either of us. Busy schedules and budding personal businesses have loomed large in our lives, but we finally put our foots down, made a date and off..... at last.... we went!

We packed the last of our bags and supplies for our 5 day adventure and headed for the mountains of North Carolina well stocked with all the food, clothing, camping needs and yoga gear a couple of nutty, crunchies would ever need on the short trip. Throw in several beers a icing and 2 wine bottles a-chilling and who could ask for more?

I had predetermined this trip was to facilitate a metamorphosis of sorts. I knew I was leaving a hoarder and planned to return a minimalist. I also planned to prove to myself that yoga can happen anywhere, no matter the circumstances. Part of this journey would require my commitment to my practice. You see, last years' camping trip launched full of hope for beautiful, ethereal yoga sessions in the deep woods, with the trees all around me and the sound of the river my score. But my best intentions were foiled by a too wet a campground floor and too small tent, the perfect excuse for forgoing practice for a warm cup of coffee under the canopy. This year my intention was to rally and enjoy my practice, come rain or shine.

Since Monday was spent mostly in the car and our morning was a mad rush to get packed and out the door, I planned to conduct my practice en route. My intention was that the series of short practices would, by the end of the day, total a complete practice for me and stave off that cramped, stiff and achy feeling you get when stuck in a vehicle for most of the day.

Things got off to a great start. Just before we got to Atlanta we stopped at a Pilot station in Temple, Georgia.

Standing in the warm but breezy sunshiney air I started with a standing side bend on either side, a standing twist both ways, a standing back bend and the forward fold, uttanasana. This little work break vinyassa keeps me feeling alive and awake during my work day and is perfect if you need some spinal movement but you've nowhere to lay a mat! I hung in uttanasana for a bit. It was delicious. From there I stepped one foot back into parsvottanasana and did some breathing into the backs of my legs. My hamstrings were quite relieved! I then bent the back knee toward to ground for a spell an anjaneyasana, or low lunge to give a nod to my psoas major and minor. Next the upright adho mukha svanasana I managed standing against the gas station wall was nothing short of liberating after our stressful packing and a couple of cramped hours in the car. I then allowed my pelvis to move toward the wall and enjoyed a bit of a back bend. Ahhhhh. Such relief!

We stopped again about an hour and a half later in Jefferson, Georgia. A little shell station would host my second short session. By now we'd been driving several hours and I was feeling pretty stiff and ready to move. I enjoyed my quick standing warm up vinyasa again and then went through a series of warrior poses. I settled into Warrior II and then folded sideways into trikonasana. I then enjoyed Warrior I and moved into Parsvottanasan. I followed this with prasarita padottanasana, a wide legged forward fold. After enjoying this lovely bit of work I took a quick walk around the gas station.

Sliding back into the passenger seat I realized that I might have preformed the poses a bit cold. This kind of practice definitely requires some careful moving. It was a good lesson to learn. Jumping out of the cramped car into a warrior series with little warm up might not be the best idea. I think my intentness on getting in a good, strong practice before days' end may have come into conflict with my mindful intention. Stiff, cold muscles can be hurt with stretch the body is not ready for. Message delivered. Message received! Thanks universe.

An hour later we stopped again in South Caroline, the state of my sister Martha's birth. Even with the periodic stops and yoga breaks, being in the car for a day begins to wear. It was a very nice little rest station for a bathroom break and stretch of the legs that we desperately needed.

Richard and I found a shady spot to steal some quick asana time. For this stop I did the same vinyasa warm up again. It's a great one for a quick run through of all the spinal movements. Forward folds are always lovely for release and letting the cervical spine move into relaxation, so I stayed with uttanasana for a bit. Next was the upright downward dog against a tree. I followed with a standing back bend with fingers interlaced behind my back and reaching for the floor while my crown floated gently upward. Finally a low lunge seemed to be called for. My psoas need the lengthening and it felt invigorating. This proved to be a much healthier short sequence than the last bit of work. Duly noted!

Finally we crossed the border into North Caroline. The air seemed alive with the promise of cooler weather and deep breaths of clean, fresh air.

At about 6pm, just before arriving we made our last stop. We were so close, but when you gotta go you gotta go, so Richard dashed off to the can while I enjoyed a very quick set of Trikonasana and a standing back bend to open my chest at this final pit stop.... and then it was off to camp.

Home at last! And it was all that we hoped for. Being late in the season, we seemed to have the entire camp to ourselves. The river was our background music and we had just enough light left to help with setting up our tent and campsite.

Nothing is better than a camp site dinner. We cooked tilapia over an open fire with salad and a yummy loaf of whole grain bread which we enjoyed after the hard work of setting up our little home away from home.

After being well fed we cleaned and readied ourselves for sleep. Just before turning in we cozied up on a couple of chaise lounges and I was able to get in the final, most important piece in my all day yoga series, a meditation of sorts on the amazing canopy of twinkling stars over head.

Everything was going to be just perfect for my mindful, yoga vacation!

Honoring your own needs

I've had to let go of some things to make my life more manageable. It's kind of ironic. I began my transition from yoga practitioner to yoga instructor with the intention of moving toward a more quiet, serene lifestyle. Working every night of the week and most of the weekend along with a full time job is no way to be a good facilitator of living the mindful life I am seeking and attempting to illustrate.

Yoga is all about finding balance, and not just on one foot in tree pose. We need balance in everything. In our diet, in our waking to sleeping hours and in our working to nurturing hours. Life should be filled with good work, learning and most importantly, joy. When any of these things over shadow the others our physical and mental health will suffer. I am learning this is something that we, as mere humans, must revisit from time to time. Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made.

Regretfully Wednesday night class at One Domain will have to go and Thursday night's music practice will move to alternate Tuesdays, sharing this night of the week with teaching at SoHo-PiYo. That gives me two nights to reserve for what I'll call 'family time'. It's important.

I'll miss those fun ladies at Domain One. We enjoyed a couple of months of Wednesday nights practicing yoga together and I hope that at least one or two have been inspired to find their way toward a more balanced, healthy, joyful lifestyle. Maybe our paths will cross in another space. Maybe this was all I needed to offer for these lovely women. All I know is I would not want to saddle any one with the downfall of anothers health, and continuing was going to do this to me.

When I want to be helpful and it feels like it is breaking me, I like to bring to mind the safety talks you hear before every flight. The stewardess stands at the front of the plane describe escape routes, flotation devices and emergency oxygen masks. At each talk it is always made very clear that a parent should take care of their own oxygen needs first and then take care of the child. And it's a no-brainer. If the parent passes out, how will they be able to care for their child.

If we over work ourselves how will we be a good employee, a good spouse or partner, a good friend of parent, a good steward of the earth. We won't.

Balance. It's where it's at!

Aversion and attachment

There is a yogic philosophy stating that suffering comes from our attachments and aversions. Our attachments cause us to suffer because we know that in the end, we can't really keep anything. If we can accept that everything will pass eventually we can have more control over the feeling of the pain of loss.

To help with aversion we must remember that all things are transitory so we know that whatever suffering we are now experiencing will pass.

In other words, we are safe within. There is a divinity/intelligence/ultimate self deep inside that cannot be touched by anything. Holding on to that and letting the events wash past, making our best decisions at each moment but knowing that Self, (self with a capital S) will not be affected by our struggles or our joys helps with a feeling of safety.

The key is in all interactions act firmly but gently and be undaunted by the response whether negative or positive. Being self-assured in the face of storms becomes easier with each experience handled using these tools.

Ahimsa

The main goal of yoga, believe it or not, isn't to obtain a great six pack or a bulging set of biceps. The aim of yoga is to facilitate moving inward where we can get to know our true inner nature. This is accomplished through meditation which requires that the body be comfortable and the mind be still. Quieting the mind and becoming still are much harder than one might think.

In progressing toward a more deepened meditational experience, the fluctuations of the mind must become stilled. This requires practice and concentration. Thoughts of regret or violence render this endeavor impossible, so yogic philosophy makes lifestyle suggestions so that as little as possible is able to remove your attention from the focus of moving inward.

Ahimsa is a step taken toward this lifestyle. It means non-violence, and by violence this can be toward the self or others. It might refer to a physically violent act but violence can take many forms. Saying hurtful things to another, taking advantage of someone or even abusing your own body are also forms of violence. Even mean thoughts can haunt you as your subconscious knows no difference between thoughts and real actions.

This all may all sound rather stiff and rigid but it really isn't. Being non-violent also means not beating yourself up if you didn't act as you wish you had. Take note; know that you did your best at that moment and then move on to the next having gained experience and knowledge that will allow a more skillful behavior to emerge when next the 'situation' arises.

Namaste