Pranava Yoga Center Featured Teacher!

Our featured teacher this month is Doug J. You can check out Doug's Vinyasa 1-2 class on Tuesdays at 7:30pm and his Vinyasa 1-3 class onWednesdays at 5:30pm. Also, Doug will be presenting a Yoga for Cyclists Workshop inMay (see below). Check out more about Doug below... PYC: We know that you are a cycling coach, professional mountain biker and avid cyclist. What was your first experience on the bike and did you know then that cycling would be something that would be such a major part of your life? DJ: I grew up in a small farming community in Illinois. My first memory is of being thrown off a horse, true story. From there I must have intuitively turned to two wheeled transportation, haha! I spent most of my days riding and racing motorcycles and BMX bikes. I was also quite the basketball player and still love to play to this day. One year my knees were messed up because I was growing too fast and the doctor said I couldn't play basketball but riding a bike was "ok". I don't think he realized to what extent we were riding bikes! That was the beginning of cycling and more or less the end of basketball. I would meet up with my friends every day to go riding or we would go over to the BMX track for practice. We would all go riding trying to find some sweet jumps and ride our BMX bikes on the fishing trails that circled the lake, this was before we knew mountain bikes existed. Soon we were riding our BMX bikes 10-20 miles over to the next town to go jump our bikes into a lake or something. A couple of us rode motorcycles too and a lot of the time we were just imitating what we did on our motorcycles. I think I gravitated towards bicycles because I liked how liberating it was to not be dependent on my parents for gas or getting me to the motocross track. Those days set the tone for just riding with my friends all day and exploring the world via bicycle. When I finally discovered mountain biking it was like the best of both worlds. I think I've always been drawn to the therapeutic benefits of riding long distances but back then we were just riding because it felt good. PYC: What is one of your favorite non-yoga books and why? DJ: " Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall It's the story of a bunch of oddball ultra-endurance runners who love to spend their time running through the woods for hours on end. Christopher McDougall tells the story of a tribe of Mexican runners who come to Colorado to race the Leadville 100. The book comes full circle as the best ultra-runners in the world travel down to Mexico to a hidden canyon to race the same runners years later, all the while discovering the secrets about why they all love to run. Like all great books it's about more than running. PYC: How does yoga affect other aspects of your life? DJ: Yoga has taught me to "let go" in so many ways. Sometimes I find I'm lying in bed holding on to something I don't need, either my jaw is clenched or I'm flexing a muscle like I'm bracing for impact. Then I realize, relax the jaw, let go of the day! Yoga has taught me to let go of success or failure and simply enjoy the moment and enjoy all the transitions between each so called moment. When I started my physical practice I was very tight from cycling 4, 5 or even 10 hours in a day, so I had to let go of the fact that my raja kapotasana wasn't going to look like the one I had pinned to my fridge. Like so many things in life after you stop worrying about the end result they come curl up in your lap like a skittish cat. I think everyone is intuitively drawn to yoga whether they practice at a studio working towards advanced asana variations or whether they sit at home reflecting on the day for a couple quiet moments. Let go of what you think yoga is and you'll find it's been their waiting for you the whole time.

Urban Peak Bike Program

From Daniel Byrd over at Urban Peak.

We have been creating lots of great momentum as we continue to develop the Bike Program for homeless youth at Urban Peak Colorado Springs!

As many of you know we have been off to a great start of the weekly Bike Program nights at Urban Peak every Monday night- starting around 7:30 and going till roughly 9:00. We have been teaching the youth bike repair basics, talking about health and safety, and overall connecting with the youth and engaging them over a bicycle with flat tires.

Many youth continue to engage in the program and are volunteering to earn a bike of their own. One of the great upcoming opportunities we have in the upcoming months is building bikes for another local non-profit organization, Kids on Bikes, that will give these bikes to kids who have earned a brand new bike for completing education and other development-type goals at their school. We are going to be having our first build for Kids on Bikes on February 20th with more bike building nights coming up in April.

Feel free to stop by on any given Monday evening and particularly on the 20th if you wish to see a great community bike collaboration take place.

Finally-Please pass along this email and information to anyone you think might be interested in volunteering and/or donating a bike and let me know if you have any questions as well.

Hope to see you soon.

Contact Urban Peak or just show up on Monday night if you are interested.

Yoga for Cyclists Workshop!

Contact Pranava Yoga Center to register. Space is limited. You can also view info about this workshop and many more on the Pranava Workshop Page.

Back to the now

I keep meaning to take a few photos from one of my classes, but I keep forgetting. I was subbing for Mike and his people are use to all kinds of tomfoolery, thus....

I needed a few shots for the "Yoga for Cyclists - Connecting with the process" workshop that I will be guiding on May 13th, mark your calendar and bring your Mother! Details will be up on the Pranava website sometime this week.

There is a Jay-Z song where he is rambling on about things he can't change and the next line is "let me get back to the page". Back to the now... Jay-Z also has a line in the song Haters, "you know I got a down... dog"

You now have 2 chances each week (sometimes 3 or 4) to catch me at Pranava. You should come check out the rest of the wonderful instructors at Pranava, if I'm not your cup of tea. Pranava has a wide variety of classes I'm sure there is something you will like. Check the schedule

Enjoy the Process!

Big old group ride on Sunday. The whole world showed up to ride. The trails are fairly clear for this time of year, we need the snow, let it snow... Our usual little group was joined by another 40 or so riders, most of which fell off the pace or turned off on the way thru their own process. Kip Biese and Jonathan Davis kept us "regulars" company at the front. I was so happy to be out for a long ride, I was a little tired from working, riding, teaching yoga and attending an 8hr yoga workshop on Saturday, but I woke up on Sunday morning motivated to ride. I could have just as easily gone out for a 4 or 5 hour ride by myself, but it was fun to have some friends to share the process with!!! The process today is what it's all about.

Schwalbe Tires!

Stephanie and Lambie know that Schwalbe Tires are the best. Look at the love. I love 'em too! I've been using these tires for years. I can only recall 1 flat, that was at the Growler and was mostly rider error. I burped the tire and thought I could finish the race without stopping to put more air in. I finally rolled the tire off the rim a couple miles before the finish. I love the Racing Ralphs but the Hans Dampfs or Fat Alberts hook-up like bananas just about anywhere. If you have trouble mounting the tubeless version be patient use the easy glide stuff they sell, and don't plan on mounting any fresh tires right before a ride. Let the tires sit unfolded over night and if you really have trouble seating them put tubes in for a night, then take them out in the morning. The tires will hold their shape and it will be easier to get them to seal.

Yo Yo Yoga

7:30 too late for yoga? I will now be guiding the yoke on Tuesday at 7:30pm and Wedensday at 5:30 pm. This week I'll be subbing for Mike on Saturday and Monday. Check Pranava Yoga Center

Also save the date May 13th 2012 I'm teaching a 3hr Yoga for Cyclists Workshop! Should be exciting! The details will be relieved soon.