Something that’s been irking me lately are students who leave not before savasana, not after it (like they should be doing) but actually DURING it! I feel like it’s one of the cardinal rules in yoga, in order to not only show respect to the other students and to the tradition of yoga, but for the teacher too! You know that part at the end of the class when your teacher says, “Namaste” to you and you say “Namaste” back? Well that’s kind of the whole point! 

If you didn’t already know, Namaste in Sanskrit basically means “I bow to you.” In Sanskrit terms “Nama” means bow, “as” means I, and “te” means you. One of my favorite teachers Aadil Palkhivala says in one of his books that “for a teacher and a student, Namaste allows two individuals to come together energetically to a place of connection and timelessness, free from the bonds of ego-connection. If it is done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered, a deep union of spirits can blossom.” Pretty heavy stuff huh? Nah! It’s just a sign of respect and truly signifies the END of your class!

The students saying Namaste to me after I’ve said it to them first!

When I was a kid, I would notice people in church leaving after communion. My Ma would give them a disapproving shake of the head and it struck me as “unfair” that we couldn’t leave too. But as I got older, I started to get it. The priest gives his blessing at the end of each service, his form of Namaste, and then it’s time to go. But unlike church, right before the ending is the best part! It’s this little gem called Savasana (spelled Shavasana too) where you get to have five minutes in the middle of your day to just relax, let go and act like a corpse, literally. It’s called “Corpse Pose” in Sanskrit if you didn’t already know.

So who would want to leave and skip this?! I have students in my 6:15 a.m. classes that have to get to work and they quietly leave right before Savasana as to not disrupt the other students. Fine. Totally fine. (Even though it’s really only an extra five minutes!!!) They’re not making a huge commotion when the rest of the class is prepared to basically take a cat nap! I don’t see it as much in studios, but at the health clubs it happens all the time! Just because you’re practicing yoga at the “gym” doesn’t mean you can’t get anything spiritual out of it!

The purpose of Savasana? My favorite Yoga Journal contributor Richard Rosen puts it best, “We symbolically ‘die’ to our old ays of thinking and doing. The normally perceived boundaries of body image dissolve and we enter a state of blissful neutrality.” So, the next time you’re thinking about leaving during Savasana, imagine you were all cozy and snuggly in your bed and someone started banging their keys around and dropping cork blocks by your head and then noisily slams the door of your bedroom on their way out. Super serene right? You catch my drift! It’s just plain rude and I have students complain all the time about it so I thought I’d address it here on my platform! Moving on now…!

I finally visited the SLO Library for the first time on Friday and I was so surprised at how HUGE it was! I could’t believe it has not one but two floors! They even carried The New Yorker there and I got to check out some back issues that I’ve been dying to read! I also picked up Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, Michael Cunningham’s The Snow Queen and selected poems by Mary Oliver. They also have a Book Club that meets every month! Check out the selected books!

Speaking of selected books, the members of my Gurrrrls Book Club, that meets the third Saturday of the month and is always looking to add new ladies, have selected our books for the next year or so it seems! Everyone chose a book they have been dying to read, and that they thought would make good “book talk” and now we have a colorful array of books on the list! Check them out!

October: Emma by Jane Austen

November: All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

December: Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan

January: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

February: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

March: What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman

April: War Brides by Helen Bryan

May: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

June: The Roundhouse by Louise Erdich

July: Not That Kind of Girl– Lena Dunham

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Get you Slow Cooker out! I’m leaving you with a pumpkin apple butter recipe that is sure to please. It makes an excellent gift too!

Slow-cooked Pumpkin Apple Butter- makes 4 medium Mason Jars 

Ingredients:

-2 small sugar pumpkins or 2, 13oz. cans of Libby’s pumpkin puree

-4 Granny Smith apples

-1 T each of cinnamon, nutmeg and apple pie spice

Directions:

1. Chop up the apples and add them, as well as the fresh pumpkins or puree, to your slow cooker.

2. Add the spices on top.

3. Cook on low for 4 hours, stirring occasionally (if you are home!)

4. Let the butter cool and then place in your blender to smooth out the mixture.

5. Place in Mason jars without the lids, in your refrig overnight. I didn’t go through the full canning process since I’m planning on eating this stuff fast and giving it to friends too.

6. Tie some cute tulle and a ribbon around the jar and present… or eat!

Cute right?!