Day 17 of the 30 Day challenge and I intended on waking up and taking Williams 7:00 am class but on the morning that William teaches it’s my responsibility to get up and take the dogs for a walk and I was moving slow so it didn’t happen. We each went on our merry ways and I had a morning full of meetings so I went into the office early to get a jump on my day. After my morning meetings I went back to my desk and finally sat in front of my computer and that’s when I realized what had happened. Donna Summer had passed away. There are a few people that have played an important role in Williams life and Donna Summer was one of them. I grabbed my keys and went to my car and drove down to the studio to catch him after he finished teaching the 9:15am class. I arrived as it was ending and I was expecting to have to pull him off the floor and carry him to the car and drive him home. Someone had already texted him before his class and he was aware of what was going on. I spent a few minutes with him to talk about Donna Summer and reminisce about when we saw her in concert. He was okay (except for another sad phone call and instructions to pick up beer on the way home as we prepare for our Donna Summer goodbye life celebration tonight). My husbandly duties were fulfilled and I returned to work.
I thought a lot about my Uncle Gary today. He passed away when I was in High School. Growing up my entire family lived on a piece of property that had a main house (my grandparents lived there), a duplex (we lived there and my uncles family in the other one) a one bedroom house (my aunt lived there) and a studio (Uncle Gary lived there ). He was a gay man but as it goes in my family he came out and was sent away from the family and in order to come back to be a part of the family he had to renounce his homosexuality and embrace Jesus as his personal savior. He had a heart condition and was not the healthiest person physically so he was at times dependent on the family a lot. I can remember on the days that my grandparents would leave the house he would crank up the stereo and play Donna Summer records at full volume. The property would be filled with Love to Love you baby and Last Dance and all her hits. He would have been dramatically upset had he lived to hear of the passing of Donna Summer. He would have been around 54-ish if he was alive today. I remember his crazy laugh and his closeted softness with which he carried himself. As Donna Summer passes away another memory I share of him passes with her. Another reminder that life is precious and everyday is a gift.
I take myself to Edna’s 4:15pm class and prepare to spend my time on my mat in preparation for the evening of Disco Music being played in my home and the beers on chill waiting to tip a 40 to Donna. I appreciate every smile in the studio today. The strength in my practice. The rest when I need it. Day 17 yoga…..check!
Congrats to everyone that has completed at least 17 days of Yoga in 17 days (presented in Alphabetical order):
Chin, Nicki
Kalb, Kathleen
Mok, Stan
Moore, Lorraine
Novak, Stan
Petrochenko, Anna
Pimentel, Therese
Rostamian, Eli
Strojny, Katherine
Van Schaack, Leslie
Viskic, Ines

Day 16 of the 30 Day challenge and I know I said no more drama but this is too good to not share. I got an e-mail around 3:00pm and they needed a check in person for Barbara’s 4:15pm class and so I said I would do it. Melinda also responded around the same time as me so I wasn’t in a rush to finish up what I was working on at work. I began to chat with my cousin and during the course of the conversation she mentioned to be how a family member of mine was telling her that women’s sports had made another one of my family members a lesbian. I immediately flew off the handle and started to tell her what a “jerk” (I’ll clean it up for you all since you don’t need to hear what a potty mouth I have when I am angry) he is. My family doesn’t speak about anything other than God’s love and ignores the things that they do not approve of. I am welcome to participate in the family as long as they are not confronted with my lifestyle choices and there is certainly no place in their lives for William and our relationship of over 10 years. I have witnessed the affect that this has had on other members of my family both gay and straight and have chosen to make their beliefs public in order to secure the fact that this religious bigotry is not perpetuated in another generation of my family. Although my cousins support me and continue to share in my life, I stand alone in my protest and boycott of the family until William is given his equal rights and share in the place that he deserves. I have not asked anyone to share in my burden. It is beyond anything I have ever experienced facing the rejection of my parents, grandparents and certain family members and I would not expect anyone else to make that choice with me. I want to show kindness to my family in a way that they have not shown me. Acceptance when they are ready. I am secure in the knowledge that this may never be. I however will not, cannot and will never allow ignorance to be thrown around in my direction without sharing my truth. My days of silence are over. I just wish that I would remember that as I knee jerk react to said ignorance. In this day and age to be directly confronted with prejudice is just shocking. I immediately left and went to the yoga studio and set my mat down. I tried to have a normal conversation with Kyle and Brendan but could only talk about myself (which as I was talking I was trying to get myself to say, hi how are you….how have you two been…but continued to tell them what a “jerk” I was related to). I got on my mat and practiced angry yoga for a solid 45 minutes before I realized…Hey…you’re not thinking about your practice and you’re doing better than you regularly do. I was in a hip opener on the outside edge of my front foot with my torso in a twist with my back knee up off the mat and it dawned on me….Your stronger than you think you are. I smiled and my mind settled and I began to release my anger and embrace my practice. I thought of Jimmy and said to myself, Happy Yoga Aaron. I left my mat less defeated by my anger and with a better understanding of who I am and where I am at in life. A few years ago, I would have been defeated in my sorrows. But today, I was pissed for an hour and a half and now I am moving on. That’s progress for me. Every day I move a little closer to where I have set my eyes on the horizon. I push myself to be the person that I want to be. Even if I fight myself and my nature dragging, kicking and screaming to get there. Day 16 yoga…..check!
Congrats to everyone that has completed at least 16 days of Yoga in 16 days (presented in Alphabetical order):
Chin, Nicki
Kalb, Kathleen
Mok, Stan
Moore, Lorraine
Novak, Stan
Petrochenko, Anna
Pimentel, Therese
Rostamian, Eli
Strojny, Katherine
Van Schaack, Leslie
Viskic, Ines

Day 15 of the 30 Day challenge and we are halfway finished! Woohoo! Inhale your right hand into the air, bend at the elbow and place the flat of the hand in between your shoulder blades and tap three times. You deserve it…. 15 Days of yoga is quite a feat in my world. I’ve decide to take a note from my soul sister and guru Mary J for today’s blog: No more drama. I realize that I have been introspective the past few days and thinking my internal thoughts aloud. I walked into the studio today and I was listening to Jimmy tell Anne his drama and I said something even more dramatic to put some perspective on what Jimmy was saying and then I told Jimmy….Happy Yoga Jimmy. Happy Yoga. Its time I take my own sarcastic advice.
If you haven’t met or practiced with Jimmy his yoga is on point. He’s just this mellow guy with a phenomenal yoga practice. He is not a moody man, he’s just chill. He has this feeling of an old soul trapped in the body of someone with an 8 pack. I’ve been working to get Jimmy to start contributing to the blog since he is a private chef by day and yoga teacher by night. I’ve tasted his cooking and it is this off the hook unique spin on healthy living. I’m dying to get him sharing recipes for you folks. (Side note: See…. I am constantly thinking of ways to hook my YB Family up) Your going to see more about Jimmy in the coming weeks from us. He has a lot to give both on the mat and the way that he carries himself. I’ve been meaning to get into his class so that I can share with you all my thoughts on Jimmy but it hasn’t happened yet. Today was finally the day. I was going to go to his class tonight (he’s subbing Jeff’s YB class tonight) but an opening in my workday opened up and so I thought I would go sample some of Jimmy’s Hour of Power.
I like my Hour of Power to deliver a right cross right off the bat and work the body up until right before the end, slow it down quickly and throw me into a Shivasan. I want a lot of bang for my buck. We only have an hour, let’s do this. I have to say, it was pretty impressive. It started off slow but quickly started to move through a rigorous pace. I practiced next to my friend Bryan and we caught eyes a few times as we struggled together to get into this and that. It sure is nice to have a friend that is working beside you for a common goal. Makes the journey more bearable. I always try to practice next to a friend or if I don’t know the people around me I try to make conversation with them. Before I sweat on them or fling my block in their direction as I struggle to get myself into a supported pose, it’s nice to greet people with a smile. Sometimes you just have to turn to the person next to you and say….shit, this is hard. Then it’s like an elementary school yard giggle and it somehow lifts some of the burden during the practice. Happy yoga. We are definitely serving Happy Yoga here at the Belly.
I’m extremely proud of everyone that is participating in the challenge (including me). I see the numbers and the visit habits of everyone involved in the challenge and even though you can’t see them…there is a truck load of people that are just outside the postings that I do, of the people that have taken at least the number of classes as the day of the challenge. I chose to do it this way because I have no desire to get people to push themselves beyond their bodies limits in order to “win” yet I want to celebrate each others hard work.
This is my first time participating in a 30 day challenge and I must say. I have learned a lot about me, my practice and the habits with which I conduct myself. It’s definitely interesting to not only practice every day a rigorous practice but to write about your experience on and off the mat. I’ve learned through this experience that part of the experience of yoga is the journey to your mat. How you got yourself there. Just showing up has got to be in the top 5 most important things about having a daily yoga practice. I would encourage anyone and everyone to keep a journal about their experience in their practice. It’s pretty incredible and an insightful look at how you operate….Okay…I’m going to sign off before I get all Oprah on it.
Day 15…the halfway point…Yoga is done….check!

Day 14 of the Challenge and another day, another challenge to face (no pun intended). A lady named Diane that I know through some close friends that I haven’t seen in a while passed away over the weekend. I had the pleasure of knowing her through a girl named Veronica who Diane was close with through-out the years. Veronica is very sad and I reached out to her to express my sympathies for her loss and to tell her I love her. I went to my mat today with a lot on my mind and I wouldn’t describe my practice to be focused or mind-blowing. I went there to set my intention to send my energy and good will to my friend in need. I dedicated my practice to Veronica. My friend for the past 15 years and the sweetest woman with the thickest accent that somehow has remained despite living in California for as long as I have known her. Veronica is kind and faithful, hard-working and the kind of friend that will be there for you when you need her to be there for you.
When my sister passed away a few years ago I learned that not everyone is going to make it to the end of the story. We all have our time here on earth to touch lives and make a difference in the world. Some peoples time are shorter than others. Making a difference in the world doesn’t start by going to 3rd world countries and starting a school for the underprivileged (unless your Oprah). Making a difference in the world is the world in which you live. The friends you make. The kindness you show to strangers. The time you take to show others you love them. Dedicating your practice for me is not only about sending your energy to the object of your dedication but about coming to a conclusion about how you will choose to react to life when it throws you a curveball. Thank you William for a wonderful class today where I can harness the groups energy to regroup and realize what is important in my life. See that my world is surrounded with people that share a common goal. I am not alone. I have my health and my sound mind and people that love and support me. As I put my troubles aside and try to lift my legs into the air in a chin stand. Even though Leslie is next to me doing it in a much more graceful way. I lay in Shivasan and my mind comes back to my dedication and I focus my mind’s eye to Veronica as she deals with things that I can only imagine must be extremely hard to deal with. Much love to Veronica and Diane’s family and friends in their moment of need.
Congratulations to everyone that has completed at least 14 classes in 14 days (Presented Alphabetically)
Chin, Nicki
Duong, Ton
Kalb, Kathleen
Manalo, Mae
Moore, Lorraine
Novak, Stan
Petrochenko, Anna
Pimentel, Therese
Rostamian, Eli
Strojny, Katherine
Sun, Jessica
Van Schaack, Leslie
Viskic, Ines

Day 13 of the Challenge and its Mother’s day. I didn’t get to post on Day 12 since we had so much going on at the studio. We had a donation class to benefit Oakland Children’s Hospital led by Kevin Collins that was amazing / hard / beautiful. Whenever I have the honor of practicing with Kevin I am reminded that:
1. There is more to yoga than just the Yoga Asana practice.
2. Yoga doesn’t have to be complex in order to be powerful.
3. Yoga is for everyone, not just the skinny little yogi’s with 4% body fat.
His practice speaks to me on many levels, plus I have the honor of calling him a friend now. Will and I started off at YogaSource, Palo Alto checking in his Sunday night class so we have known each other for many years. His yoga studio Groove Yoga in Berkeley started a couple of months after Yoga Belly so we had a chance to get to know him and his wife Jen even better comparing notes and bonding over the life choice of starting a yoga studio.
After the workshop we had a Silent Auction for Livestrong put on by Team Spike. They showed up like an army to transform the studio and working to raise money for such a great charity. I’ve known the founder of Team Spike since 1998 so to be able to share the YB space to (hopefully) make the Auction / fundraiser even better was a delight.
Such a busy Saturday kept me busy and not thinking about the fact that mother’s day was on Sunday. I don’t have much of a relationship with my immediate family anymore since I came out to them a few years ago. My family has chosen to reject my lifestyle and not make a place for it in their lives. Holidays have been hard for the last few years and I have learned to create new traditions in place of the old traditions that I was raised in. I find my thoughts wander to my family everyday at some point and I have come to terms with the fact that sometimes love is not enough to make things work. Sometimes part of loving someone is letting them go and letting them live the life that they think will bring them the greatest joy and happiness. I love my mother more than I could express but she rejects my Yoga practice and lifestyle as demonic and so I must walk my own path in order to maintain healthy boundaries. These are lessons I do not speak of lightly but in the spirit of putting down the things that bind us and picking up the things that make a difference in our day to day walk. I mention them so that sharing with others will help to make my burden lighter on a day that feels a little heavy.
Ive learned that there is a place where I can go to take my troubles and it helps to make things better. Ive learned that I can go somewhere and forget about my worries and work through my issues. Its on my mat. I hope that if you get anything from Yoga Belly it is a place of refuge from lifes troubles. I hope that you know that you can go somewhere and you will be greeted with a smile and see friendly faces and you will leave feeling better than when you got there.
I’m sorry I was late in posting, there was a lot on my mind yesterday. Congratulations to everyone that has completed at least 13 classes in 13 days (Presented Alphabetically)
Chin, Nicki
Duong, Ton
Kalb, Kathleen
Moore, Lorraine
Novak, Stan
Petrochenko, Anna
Pimentel, Therese
Rostamian, Eli
Strojny, Katherine
Sun, Jessica
Van Schaack, Leslie
Viskic, Ines

Its Day 11 of the Yoga Belly 30 Day challenge and I am back on the blogging bandwagon. I took Edna’s 4:15 class last night and let’s just say if 100% is maximum effort I probably gave Edna about 65%. I was distracted during her class and it took my about 3/4 of class to get out of my head and really onto my mat. I had dinner plans and a blog to write and people to check to see who came on Day 10. Fast forward to 2 Margaritas later I was turning down cocktails telling people. … “I have to do yoga tomorrow….no mas.” Like the faithful man that I am I woke up this morning and hauled my big butt over to the studio to take Thoa’s 7:15am class. Of course Stan and Anna are there and the first thing she says to me is, “ Where is the blog? I went to look for it last night and it wasn’t there.” Darn Tequila….a thorn in my side for many a year now. I practice next to Stan and Anna and at Day 11 they do EVERYTHING that Thoa tells them while I am dialing it down to my mighty 70%. The old Aaron would have pushed them over…the new Aaron stays on his mat and holds the course. I see Kathleen over in the corner coming up in Bird of Paradise on both sides…..Amazing. You all amaze me with the dedication that you have to your practice and the improvements that are coming in leaps and bounds. Truth be told….My intention for this 30 Day challenge is not to spend 30 days trying to power my way into arm balances. My intention is come out the other side more flexible and more dedicated to my personal practice. Its not about going balls to the wall in every class. For me it’s about spending time opening the body, being aware of how I am feeling in my skin and making the decision to go every day. Power yoga was not intended to be done every day. I was talking to Jeff last night about that very same topic and he was telling me in order to maintain a daily yoga practice you have to be aware of what your body needs, know when to back off and practice self massage. I feel like I am really dialing in to the first two. I’m going to try to figure out what he means and how I can apply the self massage to my daily practice. See if it makes a difference. Its Day 11 and yoga is done….check. Take care my friends and keep on keeping on. You’re almost at the halfway point.

Much Love,

Aaron

Its day 9 of the 30 day challenge and I feel like I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Its been one of those days that I am all over the map. I leave work at 4 (Ive been working since 7 in the morning) and head over to the studio to grab a yoga class before heading home to finish working. There are many work items left to do and Yoga Belly things that I need to work on (this blog included). I roll in right on time and there is a decent amount of people there for the 4:15 class (Yay!) and grab my spot and change my clothes. Its Barbara West’s turn to do her thing and take me on my yoga journey for the day. Barbara’s Yoga Belly class is much different than Jeff’s from the day before. Barbara has very much the look and feel of Williams’s class. She spent a lot of time working with William to perfect her Yoga belly class so its only fitting that her style resembles his. Her play list is on point, I find myself bobbing my head and notthinking about what a tough days it been. I find myself working my way up from the floor and moving through her flow sequence. The body is still performing above par (for me) considering its 9 days into the challenge. I’ve come to the conclusion that bringing awareness to your practice and showing up everyday makes a significant improvement in your practice. Its one thing to preach it, its another to experience it in your own practice. I’m beginning to really believe that 30 days of this is going to make a big impact not only on my practice but what I am going to look like with my shirt off this summer. It’s exciting. I practice next to a guy who I can tell is a newbie because he is breathing so hard out of his mouth I can feel his breathe on the back of my neck while we are in side plank. He’s watching me while I go through the balance sequence use my towel to get a better grip. I make it a point to go talk to him afterwards and get to know his name and encourage him. He’s complimenting me on my practice which makes me smile inside. I am no master, but after 7 years I bring a certain season to my yoga practice. I tell him…ya gotta start somewhere. We both laugh. I tell him about the trick your mind plays on you about being sore or tired. Theres a big difference between the good kind of sore and injured. You have to learn the difference and know when to rest and when to back off in your practice. I tell him…..You know you don’t have to do everything. You just have to go as many days in a row as you can and take a day off. Then you get back in the studio and do as many days in a row as you can again and again. Before you know it, your practice is in another place. Your doing things that you didn’t know you could do. You’re challenging yourself in ways that you didn’t know were possible. That is the wonder of yoga. I am tired, but I feel good headed back to work. Day 9…..check.

Its day 8 of the 30 day challenge and today I set my sights on Jeff’s Yoga Belly class. I’ve already stated my feelings about Jeff’s yoga practice. He continually surprises me no matter if its Tuesday night Yoga Belly or Thursday night Power or his Sunday morning Tune-up class, its labeled power but really he’s doing breaking out the lacrosse balls and getting playful. I never know what to expect. Yoga Belly is designed to start you on your back and slowly work your way into a standing series but leave it to Jeff to push me to my edge in the “beginner friendly” class. I chat with Courtney before class about the studio and she wants to know how long we have been in business and who are the amazing teachers that she needs to try since she is new to the studio. After I rattle off my list of favorite things about each of the teachers (cause I’m bias and we have handpicked each of the amazing teachers that help make Yoga Belly the amazing studio that it is) Jeff is ready to get started and 75 minutes later I am up from Shivasan and in that “yoga glow” in a puddle of my own sweat and feeling like I am ready to float away to heaven. I talk with Stan and Ton for minute. Float my way out to the lobby and see Therese….I have to tease her a little. She’s all about the win in the 30 day challenge and is not shy about commenting on the blog (which makes me smile). I tell her teasingly that she could be a bit more supportive to everyone else to which she informs me, “No, its about winning.” I smile in my heart to hear people taking their practice seriously and wanting “the win.” I know what its about (and so does Therese) but there is that thing inside of me that wants to be #1 (or #3 if your Lorraine, she informed me the other day she wants the 3rd place prize). It’s hard to break from our nature at times. I find myself falling into routines and habits, especially as I get older, and have to continually push myself to remain challenged in all aspects of my life. I want to grow, grow in my practice, grow as a person. Be the best me that I can be. For my family and for myself. Day 8….check, and it wasn’t that hard to get myself there surprisingly. The more I push myself to perform. The more I step up to the challenge. Hang in there folks….22 more days of transformation to go.

P.S. I had a flat tire after I left class and changed the tire in under 20 minutes. Whos serving Yoga macho realness? Thats right baby…me!

Kevin Collins from Groove Yoga, Berkeley, will be joining forces with Yoga Belly this Saturday for another donation-based workshop benefiting Yoga Reaches Out with all proceeds going specifically to Children’s Hospital in Oakland. Children’s Hospital is the largest children’s hospital not funded by a university and one who takes in any child in need of medical care.

We recently got Kevin to answer a few questions for us and to give our Yoga Belly peeps a chance to know a bit  about him before meeting him in person this Saturday:

1. If I had never taken your yoga class before, what can I expect from your class?

It’s hard to say what you should expect from it. My class is pretty much intuitive, reacting to whats going on in the room and drawn from my 15 years of teaching, so I never know where it’s going to go until we get in there and get going. I guess in general it will be physically intense but emotionally supportive. My philosophy is really about using yoga to take care of yourself along every important dimension, so while we lean against all the tight spots in your body, the physical practice is just the starting point.

2. Any personal heroes?

My heroes are the people who do it without the press or the recognition. The cast is always changing as I meet and get to know new people, but the profile is consistent. They’re the people who get up every day, even when it’s rainy and cold and they don’t feel like it, and go out to let it shine. I know a bunch of them, and you do too I’d bet.

3. What’s your favorite comfort food?

Oh, man. I think it’s grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. My mom used to press them down with the iron, which wasn’t great for my shirts but which made my sandwiches nice and thin and dunkable.

4. What inspired you to want to teach yoga?

I came to yoga from an interest in Eastern philosophy, but I started teaching for a very different reason. I knew a lot of people who were intimidated by yoga practice, who didn’t want to go into a room full of skinny, flexy people and struggle with these poses. I knew a lot of teachers who couldn’t understand that, since the practice was so easy for them. I found that my own struggles with the physical practice have helped me to open up the door for a lot of people to the richness of the full yoga practice. By not being intimidating, I’m sometimes able to get through and help people use yoga as a full, multi-dimensional practice.

5. What are you currently working on in your own personal practice?

One-armed handstands, because I just know that if I can do that, all the problems in my life will instantly fade away. But seriously, what I’m really working on is pranayama (breath) practice. All of us who teach yoga talk about it, but this is such a rich and robust avenue of practice that most of us are barely scratching the surface. Breath not only reflects your mind state, but it simultaneously influences it. I am finding so much benefit as I dig in there.

6. If you’re not doing yoga, what is your go to physical activity?

Well, I ran the Avenue of the Giants half marathon last weekend, but honestly, I’m no runner. I can barely walk as I type this. I love swimming, and taking my big Bernese mountain dog Matti for hikes in the hills.

7. Any thoughts on yoga being dangerous or bad for your body?

Well my opinion on this is very similar to what many of us in the yoga community have said: doing things unconsciously can always be dangerous. Yoga particularly because it challenges you to explore the edges of your range of motion. But this is no reason to shy away from it. This actually reinforces the core message of yoga. Do nothing unconsciously. Do not practice yoga to achieve a pose, or to feed your competitiveness. Wh would we use this practice to reinforce he very things that make us unhappy and vulnerable to overwork. Yoga, done right, teaches your body to work in ways that are safer and healthier than anything else you can do. Yoga done wrong will lead to injury as sure as any activity done without respect for your body.

8. 3 words that describe you.

“Last to panic”

9. If you can have dinner with any 3 people alive or dead, who would they be?

Hmmmm. Richard Feynman, Jimmy Buffett and Maya Angelou. Feynman for his perspective on the nature of the universe, Buffett for how to carefully construct a life without being a slave to the structure and Angelou for a view on the human condition that I can’t really inhabit.

10. You stub your toe on the coffee table…. You scream out: _?!@#!!___

“Aw, man…that didn’t feel good”, or “that was not necessary!”. My sister always accuses me of being overly descriptive in these situations. “why can’t you just curse like everybody else”, she says.

Join us this Satuday the 12th for a powerful yoga workshop led by Kevin at 2pm.