The 12 Days of Practice

Here’s a little take off on the 12 Days of Christmas song. I wrote this back in 1998 for my yoga classes to enjoy. Feel free to share it with your friends, family, and yoga classes. I highly recommend encouraging everyone to sing it while in a yoga posture! Have fun.

1. On the first day of practice my teacher gave to me: a deep breath in and out.

2. On the second day of practice my teacher gave to me: 2 sun salutes and a deep breath in and out.

3. On the third day of practice my teacher gave to me: 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes and a deep breath in and out.

4. On the fourth day of practice my teacher gave to me: 4 inversions, 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes, and a deep breath in and out.

5. On the fifth day of practice my teacher gave to me: 5 minutes in savasana, 4 inversions, 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes, and a deep breath in and out.

6. On the sixth day of practice my teacher gave to me: 6 pranayamas, 5 minutes in savasana, 4 inversions, 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes, and a deep breath in and out.

7. On the seventh day of practice my teacher gave to me: 7 yogis chanting, 6 pranayamas. 5 minutes in savasana, 4 inversions, 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes, and a deep breath in and out.

8. On the eighth day of practice my teacher gave to me: 8 limbs of yoga, 7 yogis chanting, 6 pranayamas, 5 minutes in savasana, 4 inversions, 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes, and a deep breath in and out.

9. On the ninth day of practice my teacher gave to me: 9 downward dogs, 8 limbs of yoga, 7 yogis chanting, 6 pranayamas, 5 minutes in savasana, 4 inversions, 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes, and a deep breath in and out.

10. On the tenth day of practice my teacher gave to me: 10 chaturangas, 9 downward dogs, 8 limbs of yoga, 7 yogis chanting, 6 pranayamas, 5 minutes in savasana, 4 inversions, 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes, and a deep breath in and out.

11.  On the eleventh day of practice my teacher gave to me: 11 left hand side planks, 10 chaturangas, 9 downward dogs, 8 limbs of yoga, 7 yogis chanting, 6 pranayamas, 5 minutes in savasana, 4 inversions, 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes, and a deep breath in and out.

12. On the twelfth day of practice my teacher gave to me: 12 peaceful actions, 11 left hand side planks, 10 chaturangas, 9 downward dogs, 8 limbs of yoga, 7 yogis chanting, 6 pranayamas, 5 minutes in savasana, 4 inversions, 3 bandhas, 2 sun salutes, and a deep breath in and out.

16 Years of Marriage

This coming Saturday marks our 16th wedding anniversary. Our wedding and marriage have been a celebration of and experiment in connecting and integrating. We met and fell in love long before either of us had formally practiced yoga. Perhaps, when we found yoga later on it resonated so strongly with us because of its core principle of unification and integration.

This week’s musical selections honor our marriage and our commitment to the continued practice of integration. Here are the tracks from Monday’s classes:

I Was Brought To My Senses Sting Mercury Falling
I Choose India.Arie Testimony: Vol.1, Life & Relationship
Soul Singing The Black Crowes Lions
Musicology Prince Musicology
I Love Every Little Thing About You Stevie Wonder Music Of My Mind
Seasons Of Love Original Broadway Cast Rent [Disc 2]
Power Of Two Indigo Girls Swamp Ophelia
Choppin Brocolli Dana Carvey Live
Lean On Me Bill Withers Live At Carnegie Hall
She’s Got A Way [live] Billy Joel Greatest Hits
Something In The Way She Moves James Taylor One Man Band
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters [Live] Elton John The Concert For New York [Disc 2]
Angel [Live] / Better Together [Live] Jack Johnson En Concert [Live]
The Promise Tracy Chapman New Beginning
Believe It Or Not James Taylor Dad Loves His Work
Blackbird The Beatles The Beatles (White Album) [Disc 1]
Beautiful Me’Shell Ndegeocello Bitter
More to come. Enjoy!

A New Forum in the Blogosphere

Welcome to this new forum for information and discussion on Yoga, yoga practices, and yoga related issues. My intention is to provide a platform for sharing  information that supports a vibrant, consistent, and regular yoga practice. I also intend to create an environment for continued conversation about topics that arise in yoga classes.

I see this manifesting in many ways, including but not limited to:

• taking the in-class themes, discussing them more thoughroughly, supplementing them with additional thoughts, and making recommendations on further reading;
• posting playlists and providing insight into how the in-class music mixes are made;
• taking “you had to be there” moments from classes and making them accessible to everyone;
• discussing the challenges of practicing yoga regularly, while providing encouragement and recommendations on wellness services and products that serve to supplement a healthy yoga practice;
• and much more!

Many of you will note this forum’s departure from the NOURISH blog. I still encourage you to read the NOURISH blog for more information about yoga, nutrition, massage, and other NOURISH related topics. However, in order not to dominate that space and give others more room to spread out their messages, I have taken my blog here.

The first step in the creation of anything new is the process of naming. The names, the words we use to describe human experience are an integral part of the practice of yoga. We often spend time in class discussing the Sanskrit root words and their meanings. These roots provide insight and a deeper connection to what it is that we are doing. Of course, words are not the experience. They are merely sign posts, maps, and guides that either move us in the right direction or lead us astray. Hopefully the words shared here will be beacons of light that help to show the way toward a stronger practice of yoga.

To that end, I offer this explination for the name of this endeavor. I’ve never like the word “blog”. Not only does it sound awful, but it’s a strange contraction of “web” and “log”. While a web is a beautiful representation of connection, why take just the “b” at the end of the word when really it’s the “we” at the beginning that gives the web its connection to us? Additionally, this and most blogs, are not really simply “logs.” We’re not just cataloguing experience, we’re creating it. So, when it comes to giving this forum a name I am interested in using words that give it meaning and clear description. I intend for this to be a forum for learning, insight, and discussion. I am the host. The central theme of our conversations is yoga.

Welcome to The Yoga Forum with Victor Dubin! I’m glad you’ve joined me. You are invited to share your own insights and commentary in the comments section of each post. I look forward to the conversation. Of course, you’re also welcome to simply observe.
Namaste,
Victor