Here are some photos from the workshop on November 22, 2009.

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Oh the joys of new Motherhood—so much excitement and so much caretaking to do for the new child. And if the new baby is not the first baby in the family, the other little ones still need our complete attention, not to mention the spouse that needs our attention as well. Whether we work either in or out of our homes, juggling it all can be quite a challenge. How are we supposed to fit in all the things we need to do – including our own fitness?

There have been many times that I felt that I was choking on my own schedule (which I make myself!) and did not have even one free moment to myself. My family and clients all seemed to come before me. But when I finally realized that if I did not create some time to do the things in my life that I wanted/needed to do, whose life was I living? And what lessons was I teaching my daughter?

Everyone wants you to feel like a Mom who loves her body. One thing that is essential to keep ourselves feeling good is moving our bodies. One of the best ways to feel better about yourself physically is to move in a way that you did not think you could. The ability to learn naturally is there within you. Don’t let yourself be fooled by your critical, intellectual self that wants you to think otherwise. Step out of your own way so that your natural physicality and ability can shine. Even though it can be rough to get going, once we move, we feel better!

It is so empowering to have someone believe that you can do something, even when you are not sure that you can. Well, I believe that you are capable of fitting in a way to fitness in your busy schedule. Here are some tips to help get you started:

• Any old workout will do. Your workout does not have to be a specific class, exercise, level of intensity or duration – do what motivates you.
• Get some one else involved. Working out with a partner is reinforcing and usually fun. One mom recently told me that she runs in the morning with up to 4 other mothers – a loop in the park at 6:00 AM. Or make a date to go to a class with a friend.
• Use the excellent fitness facilities and yoga studios in the area. Choose somewhere that is nearby your home or office so that you can get there easily. Find a class that is appealing to you that fits into a break in your day.
• Take a private or semi-private session. If it is inconceivable to attend a class – call up and schedule a private session at a time that works for you. It doesn’t have to be weekly, but is might just be the kick start that could help you. Ask the teacher or trainer to lay out a workout that you can do on your own. Then if you enjoyed the work, meet up with them again after a month.
• Start a scheduled home yoga practice or an exercise routine. Many people don’t practice yoga at home because they feel that they don’t get the same intense workout as they would get in a class. A yoga practice doesn’t have to include a certain set number of sun salutes and standing poses. The possible choices of what to do are quite vast. Include some things that feel challenging to you as well as some things that you enjoy.
• Get a DVD or a video. If you are not clear about where to begin, get a DVD and follow along. There are so many different types of workout routines of all varying lengths and disciplines. Do a short segment before you go to work, while your kid naps or between laundry loads and other chores. Learn something new – ballroom dancing, salsa, Pilates, belly dancing, tap, fencing, self defense, yoga, spinning, biking, walking, ballet, boot camp.
• Alternate your workouts with your partner or another parent. I know one couple that trades off running – one runs on Saturday and one on Sunday.
• Attend a class WITH your child. At my studio we offer classes like “Sling Your Baby” and “Toss Your Toddler Dance” because we know that new Moms need a way to fit in fitness with the busy process of parenting. A dance class will develop your strength, balance, flexibility and coordination. Also, many neighborhood studios and gyms offer child care and/or classes that designed for you and your child.
• Enjoy some alone time. Early morning is a perfect time to connect our minds and bodies. It sets the tone for the day. Centering ourselves physically is directly linked to how we respond in situations from the center of our values. If early rising does not come easily to you (though I don’t think it is easy for anyone), make it a point to do it on only one morning a week. Then choose another time after your children are in bed during the week. Finally, pick one more time on the weekend – then, Boom! You’ve done three workouts in one week!
• Just do something. Don’t get stuck in thinking that it has to be the perfect thing.

The joints of the arm – shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers – move upward, one after the other, slowly at first. Later on in class I alternated the right arm wave with the left arm several times – faster and slower, bigger and smaller. Is yoga aerobic? In the case of this class and all that waving, it is.

After doing the warm up once through on each side through #13, try the second variation which adds some core work.

1. Sukhasana
2. Right Arm Wave: lift right shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers in sequence one after the other.
	3. Side Bend: with right palm facing up.
4. Sit Vertical: right arm up.
	5. Smooth Forehead: place the heel of your right hand at your hair line.
6. No More Wrinkles: slide the right heel of your hand down your forehead to the space between your eyebrows. Relax the expression on your face.
	7. The Thinker: keeping your forehead cupped in the palm of your hand, place your right elbow on your left knee – or as close as you can get to it, for a relaxed and twisted forward bend. Let your shoulders drip away from your head.
8. Twist Left: sit vertically with back of right hand on outer left knee, right hand behind you on the floor.
	9. Bent Knee Boat: both hands behind on the floor with finger tips facing back.
10. Sukhasana: with prayer hands
	11. Sukhasana: interlace fingers
12. Bow Down: place palms down on ground.
	13. Sukhasana: to repeat.
Variation 2: begins after Bent Knee Boat – #9.
10a. Plant Feet: almost as wide as mat, hands in prayer.
	11a. Roll Down: interlace fingers, press palms forward while rolling down, placing one golden vertebra on the ground after the other.
12a. Lie Down: arms overhead.
	13a. Arms Open
14a. Roll To Side: to right.
	15a. Return to Sukhasana: to begin left side.

Thank you to Lululemon for the bright colors.

Have you ever watched a dog get up from a nap and do a beautiful Downward Facing Dog followed by a graceful stretch into Upward Facing Dog? My dog Baxter, who is quite familiar with waking from naps, stretches his legs to the back like a dancer. (And when he gets wet he looks like he is wearing black spandex tights with his skinny legs all sleek and shiny.)

Baxter and I have so much in common. We both have black hair, brown eyes, and slightly small heads on top of bodies that become a tad wider as you go south. Sometimes when I wear black, we look like twins. He’s my boy. Still I am not going to be teaching Baxter yoga, even though I teach yoga to two legged students and wrote a book called Doga: Yoga for Dogs .

Downward Facing Dog and Upward Facing Dog are yoga poses named after dogs because they intrinsically know how to do it. Dogs do not need to learn yoga from the likes of us. If anything, Baxter is the one who teaches me a few things. When practicing yoga in my studio, Baxter rests just outside the room. He will occasionally take a deep-gut, snorty kind of breath which epitomizes relaxation. When I hear that, I remember to relax too.

Baxter also reminds me that simple goes a long way. Caring for him on a daily basis is a deep spiritual practice. Just being with him and stroking his fur is meditative while brushing him not only yields a handsome dog but is also very therapeutic for me. Baxter is spontaneous and has perfected being non-judgmental. He is deeply committed to our family and waits patiently for us no matter what.

Baxter does need his exercise – chasing a ball in the park or playing with other dogs. And I need my yoga. But Baxter doesn’t practice yoga in the studio and you won’t find me running in the park.

	1. Sukhasana
2. Interlace Fingers: press palms forward.
	3. Lift Arms Overhead
4. Arrow: palms toward each other, index finger pointing up.
	5. Side Bend: to right
6. Side Bend Again: place right hand down.
	7. Twist Right: clasp hands at shoulder height.
8. Shoulder Stretch: bend right elbow, pulling left arm across chest.
	9. Still Twisting: bend both elbows, with hands still connected and palms down.
10. Clear A Path: press both palms away from you, clearing the space around you, face forward.
	11. Open Chest: interlace fingers behind back.
12. Fold Forward
13. Sit Upright: to begin again.

As central as the Sun Salute is to so many practices, it seems as if each yoga school, or tradition, teaches its own brand. With so many subtle differences between them you could become a collector… So we did! Some jump, others step. Some include Warrior Poses, others don’t. All of them include a wonderful balance of up and down, in and out, flexion and extension movements to wake up the body, like the sun of a new day.

The series is also a feat of coordination whereby all of the body parts and the breath are meant to begin and end together. It takes a lot of practice and study to make it all happen together.

Although Sun Salutes have so many amazing actions, they still do not cover all the bases; there is no side bending action, and although we extend and flex the hips quite a lot during a Sun Salute, but there is no external rotation at the hip. While we cannot possibly do everything at once, we still want to maximize our time. Underneath this series of movements lays the possibility of creating your own Ultimate Sun Salute.

Your own Ultimate Sun Salute can incorporate new actions that may not be traditional but still connect you to your inner intention. Whether you invent your own Ultimate Sun Salute or practice a more familiar version of this noble movement, remember that in the buzz of our busy lives, we stand on Mother Earth and for a few moments connect to the great gift of life. Through this ancient practice we are connecting with a long line of yogis who have been doing Sun Salutations for generations. — JB

IYENGAR VARIATION
Inhale: Urdhva Hastasana
Exhale: Uttanasana [Separate and lift the sit bones to get more stretch. Unless you’re already stretchy, in which case a stronger action is to draw the sit bones together and down.]
In: Raise Head, Uttanasana with long spine
Ex: Jump to Down Dog
In: Jump lightly onto the tops of feet into Up Dog
Ex: Flick toes under, Chaturanga
In: Up Dog [shoulders above your wrists to keep from sinking your weight into the lower back]
Ex: Down Dog
In: Jump forward, Uttanasana head up
Ex: Uttanasana
In: Urdhva Hastasana
Ex: Tadasana

SUN SALUTE WITH STEP BACK
Tadasana
Inhale: Arms up
Exhale: Swan Dive, Uttanasana
In: Right leg lunge back
Ex: Down Dog
In: Plank
Ex: Knees, Chest, Chin
In: Baby cobra
Ex: Down Dog
In: Down Dog
Ex: Right leg lunges
In: Lengthen and expand lunge
Ex: Uttanasana
In: Reverse swan dive
Ex: Tadasana

SURYA NAMASKAR (A) à la OM YOGA
Tadasana
Inhale: Urdhva Hastasana
Exhale: Swan dive to Uttanasana
In: Uttanasana 2 – Forward bend with long spine
Ex: Jump to Chaturanga
In: Up Dog
Ex: Down Dog
In: Down Dog
Ex: Jump to front of mat
In: Uttanasana 2 — long spine
Ex: Uttanasana
In: Urdhva Hastasana
Ex: Tadasana

SURYA NAMASKAR (B) à la OM YOGA
Tadasana
Inhale: Utkatasana
Exhale: Swan dive to Uttanasana
In: Uttanasana 2 [forward bend with long spine]
Ex: Jump to Chaturanga [use your legs a lot]
In: Up Dog
Ex: Down Dog, place left foot on floor at back of mat, step right foot forward
In: Open arms to side and up for Warrior 1
Ex: Warrior 2
In: Cartwheel hands to floor on either side of front foot
Ex: Chaturanga
In: Up Dog
Ex: Down Dog, place right foot on floor at back of mat, step left foot forward
In: Open arms to side and up for Warrior 1
Ex: Warrior 2
In: Cartwheel hands to floor on either side of front foot
Ex: Chaturanga
In: Up Dog
Ex: Down Dog
In: Down Dog
Ex: Jump to front of mat
In: Uttanasana with long spin
Ex: Uttanasana
In: Utkatasana
Ex: Tadasana

JENNIFER BRILLIANT’S SUN SALUTE
February 2, 2009

• Circle your shoulders 2x
• Lift your forearms together at shoulder height
• Open elbows and place fingertips behind head. Feel a stretch across your chest.
• Melt your arms down sequentially – shoulders, elbows, wrists, knuckles, fingertips. Bend knees and continue to feel a stretch across your chest. Peel the banana.
• Uttanasana
• Right leg lunges
• Down Dog
• Plank
• Up Dog
• Vashistasana standing on right foot
• Lunge left foot forward
• Uttanasana
• Utkatasana
• Tadasana

JENNIFER BRILLIANT’S SUN SALUTE
February 23, 2009

• Urdhva Hastasana
• Fold forward, prayer hands down through center to Uttanasana
• Right leg lunge
• Down Dog
• Plank
• Chaturanga [keep your chest open and your shoulders level with your elbows]
• Baby cobra
• Extend right arm forward, palm flat on floor, lift legs
• Keeping right palm grounded, roll onto right side, legs slightly up, head up, arms overhead.
• Ardha navasana
• Roll onto your right side again, with legs, head and arms up.
• Shalabhasana
• Baby cobra
• Down Dog
• Right leg lunge, lower back knee to floor
• Straighten back leg, step forward to Uttanasana
• Urdva hastasana
• Tadasana

Getting Creative

Add some elements: a side bend, or Uttanasana with a walk to the side for your hands, Child’s pose just because it can be relaxing.

Take out some elements… like, Chaturanga!

Face the sun… a window or the east.