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Urban Flow Yoga: How This Came To Be from Urban Flow Yoga on Vimeo.
“If you really believe in what you’re doing and something may be missing, there is your duty right there, to provide for what may be lacking,” Rusty Wells on how Urban Flow came to be.
It started with the belief that yoga should be accessible to everyone. The essence of yoga, after all, is unifying, not divisive.
This belief led to an idea: to create a donation based studio in the heart of San Francisco where ALL people could come to practice yoga. To provide a place where everyone felt welcome, where no one would be turned away, regardless of any financial constraints.
The vision was simple.
Since opening the doors to Urban Flow, the result has been beyond profound. A community, a family, has grown. And, this family continues to grow as this beautiful ripple of service, of devotion, of connection touches more and more lives.
Urban Flow, also fondly referred to as the “living room”, is a place of refuge, a sanctuary even, where every single person who walks through the door is treated with kindness, dignity, respect and, most of all, love.
The notion of Bhakti Yoga is love for love’s sake. Without greed or ambition. Without selfish motivation. This is the foundation of Urban Flow. To love for love’s sake and to encourage the question, “how can my life be of greater service to others?”
When we allow our lives to become a life of service, then our lives become truly full.
Thank you to all of you who have blessed Urban Flow with your presence.
A very special thank you to Daniel Jarvis for creating such a beautiful video!
Please check out these awesome articles about Urban Flow on 7×7.com by Laura Mason and on Elephant Journal by Joslyn Hamilton.
7×7.com \"Rusty Wells\' Urban Flow and Donation Based Yoga Studios
elephantjournal.com \"Yoga for the Peeps\"
With love,
Jennifer
I often hear teachers say that my front heel should line up with my back heel in Triangle and Revolved Triangle Pose, but this makes me feel like I am on a tightrope. I feel very unbalanced and I find myself putting everything I have into just trying not to fall over. Does my alignment have to be this way to really be in these poses?
Consider this…within every posture there should be the possibility of spaciousness, expansion, stability and evenness.
Chances are, if you are “putting everything you have into just trying not to fall over” you are probably gripping and holding on very tightly, closing off, collapsing to some degree and, most likely, losing the connection to a deep, rhythmic and stable breath.
There should be no constriction, no closing off. For Trikonasna, instead of imagining that you are between two panes of glass, Rusty likes to encourage us to grow and open, to create space and a deeper connection to the breath.
The poses are tools that allow us the opportunity to expand, to open and to feel a sense of spaciousness. If creating this exact alignment of heel to heel is preventing these things from happening, then, yes, definitely, modify.
You can modify by simply widening your stance slightly and bringing your front foot just a few inches closer to the edge of the mat. Feel for what is right for you. This will eliminate that “tightrope” feeling and will, hopefully, allow you to feel more stable, more grounded and more expansive. Notice the difference and continue to modify as you need. It might change over time and perhaps one day you may find it much more accessible to establish that heel to heel alignment. Perhaps not. But, that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you are breathing while maintaining stability, evenness and expansion.
Much Love,
Jennifer
Reverse warrior (standing hero) is one of the most challenging poses for me, yet it seems like such a small movement. I just don’t understand how everything is supposed to be lined up in this pose. Help?
You’re not alone.
It seems that we have a tendency to make things a little more complicated than they need to be in this posture (and maybe in life too, but that’s a whole other conversation). I could definitely be wrong about that, but if we approach the posture with some basic alignment ideas in mind, it might begin to feel more accessible. And, for those that tend to go “ugh” and tense up at the mention of it, perhaps you will begin to experience some moments of deliciousness within your Reverse Standing Hero.
From yoga teacher to yoga teacher, the approach for this posture may differ. The two most likely approaches are from a Virabhadrasana I foundation and a Virabhadrasana II foundation. The alignment of the hips determines whether or not this becomes a back bend or a side-body stretch. You may be guided to move into Reverse Standing Hero from other postures, but the foundation of the pose will either be the same as Vira I or Vira II.
Let’s begin with Virabhadrasana II, or Standing Hero B, as we like to call it. I find that this approach can be much friendlier to the low back. If you think of this Reverse Standing Hero as a side body stretch, any crunchiness that you might have experienced in the lumbar portion of the spine can be avoided. When moving into Reverse from Virabhadrasana II, the essential action is to lengthen both sides of the body as you slide your back hand down your back leg. You don’t have to go far at all. In fact, the moment you sense that there is a collapse or crunchiness in the low back or the side body, lift up out of it and reclaim the experience of spaciousness throughout the torso. In Virabhadrasana II, the hips are open, with the back foot turned in slightly and the front knee stacked directly over the front ankle. This foundation does not change. To move into Reverse, turn your front palm up towards the sky, slide the back hand down the back leg and reach the front palm up and back, feeling for the stretch along the side of the body, while maintaining the length in the spine. Keep the hips open. Maintain strong legs with the front knee bent at a 90° angle. There is a tendency to straighten the front leg as we reach back, so be sure to keep a solid foundation by committing to a bent front knee and a very straight and very strong back leg.
Moving into the reverse of Virabhadrasana I, or Standing Hero A, is a very different movement. Because this posture is more of a back bend, it is important that you have a strong awareness of the lumbar spine. Consider allowing this to be a heart-opener that occurs more in the upper and middle part of the spine to reduce any unwelcome pressure and crunching in the low spine. In Virabhadrasana A, the hips are more closed as they move towards being square with front of the mat. The front knee is stacked directly over the front ankle with the outer edge of the foot parallel to the outer edge of the mat, the front knee is bending at a 90° angle, and the back foot is turned in at a 45° angle. To reverse from here, keep the foundation exactly as it is, making sure that the core is very engaged while you slide the corresponding hand down the back leg while reaching up and back with the arm that corresponds to the front leg.
I hope this helps and that you can reverse happily from now on!
Why do we practice yoga in a heated room?
Believe it or not, the benefits of practicing yoga in a heated room extend far beyond getting sweaty with a bunch of other half-naked yogis. By practicing yoga in a heated room where the temperature is more reflective of your own body’s temperature, the benefits of the postures and the postures themselves are accessed in a safe and effective manner.
It just makes sense. Consider how your body feels when you are on the colder side of things. Maybe a little tighter? More restricted? More rigid? When I am cold, I tend to clench my fists, bring my arms tight alongside my torso and almost round over, trying to squeeze everything closer together in an attempt to generate heat. This makes my muscles feel very tight and constricted. Now imagine how your body feels when it is warmer. Perhaps a little more supple? More relaxed and spacious? More fluid and open? This heat allows the muscles to release tension and invites us to enter the postures more deeply with greater ease and openness.
With the heat, the muscles and connective tissues become more elastic. This increased elasticity creates greater range of movement and allows your body the opportunity to stretch more easily. Perhaps more important is the fact that this more fluid-like stretch can actually prevent injuries such as pulled muscles.
Another very significant benefit to practicing in a heated room is the release of toxins that occurs through sweating. The generation of heat from within the body promotes detoxification through the skin, which is the body’s largest eliminating organ. This helps to cleanse both the body and the mind.
It is important to prepare yourself, though, before moving through a vigorous and heated vinyasa practice. Be sure to drink plenty of water, both before and after class. Coconut water, which has been named “nature’s Gatorade,” is another really wonderful way to rehydrate and replenish your body’s fluids after sweating. It is so important to stay hydrated. But, try not to eat within two-three hours of practicing. If you do need to nourish yourself, consider a light snack like juice, soymilk or a handful of nuts at least 30 minutes before class. Because the likelihood of sweating is really high, bring a towel to place at the front and back of your mat to help prevent slipping.
Much Love,
Jennifer
The guy next to me smells really really bad. I think it’s his mat or his clothes or maybe his body. I’ve practiced next to him several times and it drives me crazy. I know the teacher is aware of the stench because she never gets near him. What can we do?
This can be an incredibly delicate situation and one that we yogin have probably found ourselves in at one time or another and will most likely find ourselves in again. As much as we may endeavor to withdraw our senses and to place our awareness on our breath and our movement throughout the asana practice, a strong smell, whether it’s body odor, cologne, perfume or whatever, can be a pretty powerful interruption to that focus. I know that when I have practiced next to someone that doesn’t smell all that sweet, I tend to get very distracted and find it very challenging to stay connected to my breath, let alone breathe through my nose!
So…what to do???
There seem to be a few ways to graciously and gracefully address this scenario.
First, I suggest that you talk to the teacher and express your concerns about your neighbor’s lack of cleanliness, maybe encouraging him or her to say something to the entire class about the importance of cleanliness of our bodies, our clothes, our mats and our minds. After all, saucha, which translates to purity of the body, mind and spirit, is the first Niyama, or code of individual disciplines, in the Eight Limbs of Yoga. It would be very appropriate for the teacher to speak to this before and even during class, perhaps even advocating for pre-class bathing. However, because many people go to yoga after a long day of work, a shower before class might be an impossibility. Although, there are other options to doing a pre-class cleanse that might help (i.e. a little under-arm wash in sink or using disinfecting wipes). Either way, the teacher could refer to Patanjali and even quote Iyengar from Light on Yoga in saying that “One does not enter a temple with a dirty body or mind. Before entering the temple of his own body, the yogi observes the rules of cleanliness.” It might take a while, but hopefully if this message is repeated with enough consistency, you’re neighbor will eventually receive the message.
If that doesn’t work, you have the option of speaking to the individual directly by simply expressing your concerns in a non-accusatory way. It doesn’t sound like a very fun conversation to have, but if you do so with great respect and consideration for your fellow yogi, it might prove to be effective. Just remember to act and speak with compassion, kindness and sensitivity, and, without a doubt, have this conversation in private and outside of the yoga studio, so as to not further escalate any discomfort or embarrassment.
Another option is to simply enter the studio just before class starts and to find a spot on the other side of the room.
Much Love,
Jennifer
The person next to me breathes really loud and its bothers my practice, how can I tell him to shush up?
Often, when we prepare for our practice, we tend to the details and attempt to compose a perfect scenario for everything we are about to do. We find the perfect spot in the room to lay down our mats, lining up the edges of the mat with the floor-boards, carefully placing our yogi-toes towel down with the orange circle right in the front and center of our mats, and with our water bottle to the side and our wardrobe appropriately fluffed, we are then ready to begin our journey into the world of spontaneous meditation. We step into downward facing dog, maybe pedal our legs a few times, start to connect to our own breath and then just like that we are pulled right out of the moment by the sound of our neighbor’s breath. And in a matter of moments, that breath, the breath of our neighbor, becomes the object of our complete and undivided attention. We disconnect from ourselves and our own practice and allow the sound of another’s breath carry us away into perhaps frustration, irritation and distraction.
Perception is reality. The way we perceive things is the way that they exist for us. So, what if, instead of perceiving this as an annoyance or distraction, you shift your perception of it and identify it as an opportunity to truly focus your awareness and attention inside yourself?
When we empower our senses to control our thoughts and our minds, we often disengage from the present moment. We get carried away and we lose the opportunity to fully embrace the now. Can you begin to draw your senses inward and allow the mind to control the senses instead of enabling the senses to control the mind? By focusing more profoundly on your breath and your own deep inner experience instead of allowing your awareness to be pulled outside of yourself, you can liberate yourself bit by bit from the control of external stimuli.
In this context, the breath reminds me of the conductor in an orchestra. When the attention of the musicians is thoroughly and utterly focused on the conductor, a magical, melodious harmony is created. There is cohesion and peace and unanimous purpose. This is similar to what happens when we practice Pratyahara and enable our minds to control our senses. Now imagine if there were ten different conductors for one orchestra and they each were doing their own thing and conducting according to their own preferences. There would be chaos and discord and cacophony. Attention would be scattered all over the place. This is similar to what can happen when we allow the senses to control the mind. Our thoughts jump all over the place, from one external stimulation to the next, and we miss the opportunity to be fully connected and fully present.
Peace doesn’t mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, hard work or distraction. It means to be in the midst of all of those, to dwell in the middle of confusion and imperfection, and still be calm in your heart, gentle in your mind and connected to your breath.
Much Love,
Jennifer
My husband says it hurts his penis to do some of the poses…Could this be true or is he a baby?
I had to consult one of the “experts” for this question and he assured me that this indeed can be very true, especially in postures which ask you to lie on your belly. It seems that the positioning of the male anatomy directly correlates to the level of discomfort. In poses such as Salabasana and Dhanurasana, a simple “readjustment” can help to alleviate pain. Remember, no pain. Of course, if this pain continues, increases in frequencey, or worsens, we recommend that he consult his health care provider.
Much Love,
Jennifer
What is the best pose for increasing energy?
Backbends and back-strengthening postures- without a doubt- backbends and back-strengthening postures. Poses like Salabasana, Dhanurasana, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, Ustrasana and Urdhva Dhanurasana are such powerful poses and leave me feeling equally powerful, open, exhilarated and rejuvenated. Many of us spend the majority of our days sitting at a desk, hunching over a computer, rounding our spines, closing off our chests and hearts and focusing our energy in a downward direction. The movement of creating a smooth and even arc in the spine is an incredibly therapeutic solution to this energy-depleting lifestyle of sitting that real life can often require of us. By awakening the spine, opening the chest and heart, stretching and strengthening the quadriceps, and, most importantly, connecting powerfully to the breath, backbends will likely leave you feeling an awakened sense of exhilaration.
It is super easy to allow yourself to be allured by the beauty and benefits of deeper backbends, but is important to remember that they are physically and emotionally complex postures. Because of the opening that occurs across the chest, backbends awaken and draw awareness to the heart center (anahata chakra), which can have varying effects on different people. We all come into these postures with our own unique set of life experiences that directly contribute to what actually happens for us and to us within a posture, on both the physical and emotional level. Because many of us can tend to store a lot of emotion, hurt, and maybe even regret in our heart centers, it is not uncommon to experience a release of emotion after accessing this space through backbending. But, don’t let that scare you away. Instead, maybe allow it to draw you deeper into the moment, knowing that whatever comes up is only temporary. Just watch it rise and then watch it fall. Chances are, letting go and getting rid of whatever comes up might serve to liberate and even enliven you from one degree to another.
Now don’t just step away from the computer and attempt to launch yourself into a full expression of Urdhva Dhanurasana! It is important to appropriately prepare your body before moving into these backbends. Here is a short sequence that you can do at home to get yourself good and ready for those energy increasing backbends.
5 Surya Namaskara A (Depending on your strength and flexibility and how you are feeling when you practice, you can choose to move through Chaturanga Dandasana to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana to Adho Mukha Svanasana or take a modified variation and lower all the way down from plank to Bhujangasana, through Child’s pose to Adho Mukha Svanasana.)
3 Surya Namaskara B
Core Strengthening for 3-5 minutes
Salabasana
Dhanurasana
Child’s pose
Virasana (Hero’s Pose)
Setu Bhandasana
Urdhva Dhanurasana
Supta Bada Konasana
Paschimottanasana
Savasana
Much Love,
Jennifer
Dear Rusty,
You once told me that you practiced yoga and that you were a teacher. Now I have a question that I think you can help me with. I’m going through some big turning points in my life and because of this, I’m looking for something that gives me a different focus. I’m trying to learn Buddhism, which is something I know you are familar with.
I’ve read a book about Buddhism, while I think I understand what I read, I know that I really don’t understand it on a deep level level that will lead to lasting changes. So I need your help.
Are there any guidelines you cold give me about where to start?
Michael
Dear Michael,
Thank you very much for writing and for sharing a little bit about what is happening in your dear world.
From my own experience, moments like this are pivotal, profound, introspective, and duly important.
When we begin to look inwardly — and even as we ‘look out’ witnessing our place in this great tapestry of life — we have so many options about how to move forward and settle into this very moment.
When I’m going through big changes, I find it helpful to imagine myself in the future, as an old man. (Still gorgeous, fun, cool, stretchy, and strong, I hope!) As I think from this elderly man’s point of view, I imagine what I would think about the younger “me” and his actions, and choices.
Would I be proud of his actions, strengths, acceptances, kindnesses, and healthy relationships? Or would I regret his actions and associations, and feel that he wasted his energy and precious time?
This perspective helps me remember what much of my yoga practice is about: Making choices that aren’t always easy and doing my very best to pay attention to as many moments — and breaths — as possible.
Tantra and hatha yoga both explain that we are each offered only a certain number of breaths in this life. In other words, it’s not by days, years, or even events that define the length of our life, but how wisely we use our breaths we have been gifted. This certainly affects both our health and how we speak, sing, and communicate as we share and listen to the truth of others.
The Dalai Lama and tantric Buddhist Lama Yeshe both say that if you want to be happy and successful (whatever that version of success might be), then hang out with happy and successful people.
Oftentimes, that requires great courage: First, to seek out those who inspire you and whose qualities you wish to emulate. And secondly, to pull away from people who exhibit qualities that do not enhance your own personal well being, growth, and true joyfulness.
This doesn’t mean you should be unkind, dismissive, or abrupt with people in your life who don’t offer the inspiration you truly need to honor your own inner compass or passion, what is often referred to as dharma. In certain situations, in fact, our duty might require us to take care of others, especially our loved ones, even though they may be ornery and unkind.
But there are certain patterns in our relationships that get stuck since childhood. If we maintain the same behaviors, we are only doing a dis-service to what we contribute to our own life, and to the stagnant energy of others who don’t evolve because of this mutually unhealthy pattern. If you hang out with people who are always bitching, complaining, and gossiping, you are either doing the same or enabling this go-nowhere attitude in life. And if that’s the situation, most likely you’ll end up rather bitter, lonely, isolated — and not very gorgeous at all!
So the choices we make now matter quite a lot.
One extra cool thing about tantra is that it holds the possibility that any change is possible in an instant. Many other schools of thought rely on many stages when it comes to achieving enlightenment, connectedness, true joy, and real Love. But tantra allows the very distinct possibility that these things can occur through these processes but can also happen at any given moment, within any breath, and within any decision. All that remains is a precious moment to acknowledge the Wonder of this incredibly kind yet incredibly short life we have been offered.
I grew up ingrained in Christian orthodoxy. I no longer ascribe to any particular religion or to any ‘isms’ like Buddhism, Hinduism, or Catholicism. I have found great wisdom in the seeds of each their truths, but often times feel that organized systems like these have too much man-made dogma and are often too politically motivated for me to feel the liberation of personal evolution and self-inquiry.
And though I do not have a religion in my life, I do honor the needs of others and respect and admire their connections to what holds truth, comfort, and value in their lives.
I am a student and teacher of Bhakti Yoga, which to me means a constant and unequivocal prayer of gratitude and love to the God of my own unique and ever-expanding understanding.
I don’t ever want to try and tell anyone what God looks like, but I do like what the Bhagavad-Gita says: “See me in all and see all in me so that no matter where you may live, in truth you live in me ”
It goes on to say that God lives equally in all beings. And I think that is so very cool. That means the people we like, don’t like, or don’t even know (including all of the animals!) have the same amount of that precious divine presence. Isn’t that lovely?
So, dear Michael. I have rambled on quite a bit and yet I haven’t a clue if this offers you any support whatsoever. But maybe it sheds a little light onto what I hold valuable. Please write back with any thoughts you may have. I am quite happy to be in this conversation.
With love and light,
Rusty
Welcome to Urban Flow Yoga’s Blog…coming soon
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