Slackline Yoga, Keeping it in Balance

Referred to as “a legend in the small underground of adventure sports,” Jason Magness spends a lot of his time doing yoga on a tight rope. He is the innovator of slackline yoga, a specialized art that involves doing asanas on a one-inch piece of rope. Practitioners of this challenging sport claim that it improves concentration because it keeps the mind from wandering since keeping one’s balance is of utmost importance. Magness says it is great for increasing focus and patience. He offers DVDs, teaches workshops, and appears at yoga conferences to introduce slackline yoga to athletes, yoga students, and anyone who wants to increase his or her powers of balance, focus, and concentration. The Wall Street Journal recently printed an article about him and offered an accompanying video showing him doing slackline yoga. You can see both at www.online.wsj.com.

YogiChocolate, Yoga Workouts for Free

This innovative website is a must for the yogi who needs to practice on his own time and at his own cost. The subhead of YogiChocolate says, “Downloadable yoga classes by donation.” The site offers a wealth of online yoga classes of all different levels by a variety of teachers. You click on a teacher’s name to read his or her biography and to see what classes that instructor offers. When you find a teacher you click with, you order that class. A screen will come up that makes a suggestion of $11.95 per class but you can override that and put in any amount you can afford. The class downloads do not require any special software and this wonderful site makes asanas accessible to all. See it at www.yogichocolate.com.
Photo by Kathryn Budig

Let it Rain, the Healing Power of Water

“April showers bring May flowers” may be one of the oldest clichés but the fact is that water in any form is a powerful tool and literal metaphor for the spiritual being. Water heals. It’s as simple as that. It can wash away painful thoughts in the form of tears; it brings new life to flowers; it washes away dirt in the shower while it soothes the spirit; a tub of warm water clears the mind; and looking at a still body of water such as a lake can lead to a beautiful meditation. Our bodies are made up of two-thirds water so is it any wonder that it feels so natural to us? Whether it’s reminiscent of being in the womb or just the universe’s way of comforting us, water will always be the simplest and purest form of cleansing. Here is one person’s thoughts on the subject in a blog called, Showers of Renewal.