After a few weeks of following her videos, I bothered to look at her information on YouTube and realized that she owned a Yoga studio less than a mile from where I worked in Manhattan (the now defunct Fierce Club, which I miss terribly, but still I know I'm blessed that I had the opportunity to be a student there, to be in the right place at the right time.) The next day I went to her class and couldn't believe that she was just as kind and nurturing (yet hilarious and entertaining) as she appeared to be in her videos.
What attracted me to Sadie's classes, and ultimately inspired me to want to teach yoga, was her ability to explain the poses and philosophy so succinctly that my practice immediately changed and I felt stronger (physically and emotionally) within the first few days of practicing CSV. Sadie has this amazing knack for drawing parallels between the challenges of the physical Yoga practice, and the challenges of every day life, so that you can take that "warm-fuzzy-Namasté-feeling" off the matt with you into the world. Not to mention, she doesn't take herself too seriously, I don't think there was ever a class that went by without the students giggling in unison multiple times. The practice can be mindful while still being joyful, and that's how I like to roll in my own practice.
I've found a way to articulate these parallels for myself, maybe they can be of assistance to you in your practice and your life. So, shall I break it down? Too bad, I'm going to anyway!
In Core-Strength Vinyasa, there are three main aspects to every pose:
1. Foundation: First find your foundation, find your breath. For example, if you wanted to lift into Half-Moon Pose from a Twisted Chair pose (hey, coincidentally, I found a picture of Sadie looking for an image of that pose!), you would inhale, ground down into the standing foot which would organically start to lift the other foot…
2. Core:…you would then engage Mula Bandha, this is done by "hugging-in" the pelvic floor muscles in and up (The superficial way to explain it is engaging the muscles like you have to go to the bathroom but you're holding it in; but the muscles you're trying to access are deeper than that. Sadie has her own way of explaining it with her "Golden Egg" method, which really made the concept "click" for me), and on the exhale, use your core to lift the other leg up and out and to open your heart and hips to the side…
3. Expression: ...once you feel grounded, inhale and feel your ribs expanding in all directions, then reach the arms in opposite directions between the ground and sky, and fully straighten the lifted leg (and keep the toes of that leg pointed, like a Barbie’s foot, to keep that leg strong in it’s position) while also reaching the head in the opposite direction that the lifted leg is reaching, to elongate the spine. That would be the pose in full expression.
Getting to the full Expression of the pose isn't going to happen unless your Foundation and your Core are strong first.
My way of translating this concept to every day life is: Truth>Reflection>Action.
An example of when this thought process can be helpful: You’re on the train with a migraine and someone is talking loudly on their cell phone. This person is totally oblivious to everyone angrily staring at them as though their eyes have laser beams that if they concentrate hard enough the lasers will deploy and burn a hole in this person's cell phone.
In this situation, instead of immediately screaming at them to shut the hell up (and possibly starting a physical tussle, which I have seen happen on the train over cell phone disputes!), or just sitting in your seat stewing and building up negative energy, wishing they would shut up already, you can stop for a second, and go back to your truth and realize you can change how you’re feeling, and figure out how you can get what you need, right now.
In this situation, instead of immediately screaming at them to shut the hell up (and possibly starting a physical tussle, which I have seen happen on the train over cell phone disputes!), or just sitting in your seat stewing and building up negative energy, wishing they would shut up already, you can stop for a second, and go back to your truth and realize you can change how you’re feeling, and figure out how you can get what you need, right now.
1. Truth: The Truth is your core-belief system or the Foundation for your actions/thought process. One way to figure out what your Truth is, is to consider what you might say if you had a billboard the whole world could read. When all of your actions are based in this Truth, you reduce emotional suffering because thought and action are aligned seamlessly.
So, at least at this point in my life, my truth is: "Radiate love and compassion to all humanity". Okay, if that's my Truth, and I'm stuck on this train with this rude person, then I need to think about what I'm going to do next, which brings me to...
2. Reflection: Here is where you consider your Core Truths, and figure out what step to take next. We do this by taking a breath, "hugging-in" our reactionary emotions for a minute, and reminding ourselves what we're really about.
So, if I'm on the train and this person on their cell phone is grating my nerves like a fine cheese, I have to stop and breathe for a second. I remind myself to have humanity (as that's my Truth) and consider that this person is just another person, living their life, probably oblivious to how their actions are affecting everyone around them and surely their behavior isn't malicious. So, considering all this, what am I going to do now?
3. Action: This is where you take your thoughts and put them into action (or inaction, depending on what's necessary in the moment). Whatever your Expression, it will not have integrity if you don't act according to your Truth and "hug-in" for a moment before you allow yourself to react.
Getting back to the cell phone monster on the train: If my Truth is to have humanity, screaming at this person to shut the hell up is not maintaining my integrity. I need to think of ways I can make this situation better for me with minimal to no harm to myself or the people around me. In this situation, I could ask the Conductor to please have the woman quiet down, or, the even easier route, would be to go into another train car and avoid confrontation altogether. Either way, I won't be sitting there and stewing anymore, and I'll have maintained integrity and will have avoided showering negativity on top of already existing negativity.
It's not possible to be 100% positive and aligned 100% of the time every single day, (and that's fine, we're humans! Life is crazy and we're emotional beings, hardwired by evolution to have a reaction to negative stimuli for survival.) but it is possible to strive for that kind of mindfulness in our every day lives (and anyone that knows me personally knows I'm working on this). The way I do this is by remembering Truth>Reflection>Action as much as possible when faced with adversity, epic or trifling as it may be. If you practice this in mundane situations (like when you're stuck in traffic, or at work and frustrated, etc) it prepares you for dealing with the real scary stuff that can happen in life (a loved one passes away, you lose your job or your home, you find out you have a terminal illness, the list goes on) so you can react gracefully and as your best self possible.
Namasté!
So, at least at this point in my life, my truth is: "Radiate love and compassion to all humanity". Okay, if that's my Truth, and I'm stuck on this train with this rude person, then I need to think about what I'm going to do next, which brings me to...
2. Reflection: Here is where you consider your Core Truths, and figure out what step to take next. We do this by taking a breath, "hugging-in" our reactionary emotions for a minute, and reminding ourselves what we're really about.
So, if I'm on the train and this person on their cell phone is grating my nerves like a fine cheese, I have to stop and breathe for a second. I remind myself to have humanity (as that's my Truth) and consider that this person is just another person, living their life, probably oblivious to how their actions are affecting everyone around them and surely their behavior isn't malicious. So, considering all this, what am I going to do now?
3. Action: This is where you take your thoughts and put them into action (or inaction, depending on what's necessary in the moment). Whatever your Expression, it will not have integrity if you don't act according to your Truth and "hug-in" for a moment before you allow yourself to react.
Getting back to the cell phone monster on the train: If my Truth is to have humanity, screaming at this person to shut the hell up is not maintaining my integrity. I need to think of ways I can make this situation better for me with minimal to no harm to myself or the people around me. In this situation, I could ask the Conductor to please have the woman quiet down, or, the even easier route, would be to go into another train car and avoid confrontation altogether. Either way, I won't be sitting there and stewing anymore, and I'll have maintained integrity and will have avoided showering negativity on top of already existing negativity.
It's not possible to be 100% positive and aligned 100% of the time every single day, (and that's fine, we're humans! Life is crazy and we're emotional beings, hardwired by evolution to have a reaction to negative stimuli for survival.) but it is possible to strive for that kind of mindfulness in our every day lives (and anyone that knows me personally knows I'm working on this). The way I do this is by remembering Truth>Reflection>Action as much as possible when faced with adversity, epic or trifling as it may be. If you practice this in mundane situations (like when you're stuck in traffic, or at work and frustrated, etc) it prepares you for dealing with the real scary stuff that can happen in life (a loved one passes away, you lose your job or your home, you find out you have a terminal illness, the list goes on) so you can react gracefully and as your best self possible.
Namasté!
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