Quickstart Meditation Guide: via Jessica Snow Meditation

Having been part of a number of yoga studios before, I can confidently say Namaste Highland Park has the widest diversity of talented, dedicated, wholehearted individuals of any community I've known. It is with continual humility that I hear of your work. From art, music, sculpture, writing, choreography, service and community work to intellectual pursuits and spiritual pursuits, you guys are true Renaissance women and men. 

In gratitude - Bethany

Jessica Snow regularly meets us on the mat for yoga. She also leads meditation groups in the Northeast Los Angeles area, teaching meditation to both beginners and regular meditators alike. Check out this Meditation Quick Start via her website:

JESSICA SNOW MEDITATION QUICK START

1.     Show up with the intent to meditate. Set a timer or pick a piece of music or other audio that is as long you’d like your meditation to be.

2.     Find a nice space to sit or lie down and give your body permission to become still and just be.

3.     Softly let your eyes close.

Head on over to JessicaSnowMeditation.com for a detailed look at the continued steps.

Yogi of the Month: Becca Kinskey

When I opened Becca's email containing her responses, here is what it said: I'm very happy to revise anything that isn't clear or is too fart-related. I knew we'd made an excellent selection. Becca has been making it to her mat with us for years, often with her husband, Justin, by her side, and we admire her dedication to practice.

Read on for more yoga realities, the good and the fart-related:

Namaste Highland Park: When did you first find yoga and what were your intentions or expectations for your first class?
Becca: I first came to yoga after back-to-back endurance events: a 50 mile ultramarathon which I followed up by immediately going to Berlin & walking around for a week. When I got home the soles of my feet were literally too tender to stand on so I decided it was time to find a whole new - hopefully gentler - way to get to know my body. My favorite part of ultrarunning was the meditative time & space it carved out in my life, but I was working too much at the time to keep it up, and that was another hope I had for starting yoga - to find time within the more typical routines and itineraries of my life to be alone amongst others.

I was also hoping yoga could be less goal-oriented than the kind of athletics I normally did, like triathlon or other endurance events. Yoga is full of small goals, and I love it because I get to see at least at little bit of progress every time I practice. But the very fact that we call it a "practice" is what I hoped for and have come to love - it is a thru line, an open-ended, long-term process rather than aimed at a specific date and achievement. In the past I have felt a little manic with my athletics - working so hard towards one horizon, and then feeling aimless and burned out once I got there. With yoga my horizon keeps deepening.

NHP: What is your next goal in your practice?
Becca: On an asana level, I'm working on Becca's 3 Big Blocks: crow, pinchy-raya-flores (pincha mayurasana that I always mispronounce as my good friend & yoga teacher Ani Raya-Flores' name) and hand stand.

I don't know what my deal is with crow - I landed it the first time I tried it and its been 3 years of mystery since then. The other two tie into the central block of my life - I'm pragmatic and careful above all else, and I really don't want to be ass over kettle without a strong foundation. I can headstand till the cows come home but I hate breaking that connection with the ground. So that's the next & larger goal - enjoying and trusting that severing.

I'm also working on developing my home practice. I love going to the studio but also want to expand what I can do on my own, how I can learn to sequence to relate different poses and practices to one another in my own head, as well as to cut out the excuse not to practice if I just can't make it to the studio here or there.

NHP: What just makes you say, "YES!," about a yoga class?
Becca: I grew up as a long distance swimmer which is basically just one big water treadmill. I loved it and still do, but I love yoga for the sheer variety and creativity within a common repertory of movement, and I love a class that asks me to surprise myself a couple times. Swimming masked my prodigious sweatiness better though.

NHP: Are your friends (or family or partner) grateful for your yoga practice? Why?
Becca: Yoga has actually helped my husband become a morning person, which has given us 2 to 3 hours together most mornings that we didn't used to have. I began going to yoga in the mornings (see: growing up as a swimmer/morning person), then he started coming too, and now we get up by 6 most days, even if we don't practice. Having yoga in our lives has given us a shared deliberateness and helped us recognize our desire for quiet time together before the day begins.

NHP: What is something we'd be surprised to know about you?
Becca: I'm not necessarily happy with this, but the first and strongest impulse I have to answer this question is to talk about farting in yoga. Not personally, though I did do it once. But I just really really love when one slips out of someone in class. It's the funniest thing in the world. Just fills me with immediate joy.

Maybe you didn't need a yoga related answer here, in which case... I just learned to snap my fingers. I've been trying for 31 years and I just got it! Maybe things are looking good for crow after all.

NHP: Where can we find you when your not at Namaste?
Becca: Probably working! I'm a TV producer and have recently set up my own company, so that's the full time gig in my brain right now. My husband and I also rescued a dog who has needed a lot of time and care - luckily his medicine makes him VERY flatulent, so you know I've been having a good time.

Student(s) of the Month: Ron and Jolie Matty

We say it a lot, but it is the biggest truth about what we do as a studio: our students are the life of our business, our space and our growth. Two of those students who light up our yoga rooms frequently were kind enough to sit down and tell us about their yoga journey and lives. Ron Matty and Jolie Franciscus Matty can be found practicing mat-to-mat in many of our classes, and we wanted to know a little bit more about their lives off the mat. 

NHP to Jolie: Who started practicing yoga first, you or Ron? How did you start practicing together?

We actually started practicing at the same time. We were smokers and had recently quit. We attended our first kundalini yoga class in 2008 at the local Y in hopes that it would ease the desire to smoke.

NHP to Ron: Do you remember your first yoga class? Tell us about it.

I had no idea or expectations and I was at a point in my life where I was newly sober and open to trying anything new reaching out for new experiences. We chanted the mantra "ong so hung" and for 10 minutes Joile and I fell into a laughing fit and we tried to stop without much success. The instructor had acknowledged us and said, " It was ok! It happens." I walked away thinking it was oddly interesting. It had me ... the freedom, the weirdness and the chanting. Things I had never done before.

NHP to both: What superpower does yoga give you? Do you agree with each other's answers?

Jolie: "I became Plasticman" (Ron: "Hahaha Jolie thought the question was Superhero!)"

Jolie: If yoga were to give me anything that I would consider a superpower, it would be the confidence in my strength and flexibility, to try new poses that at one time seemed out of reach. It also has given me an internal stillness that can often feel like a superpower, physical and spiritual powers.

Ron: Humility and awareness. This is has been the start of what has been a life changing experience. Humility- I am made vulnerable, yoga keeps me teachable and open to new ways. It has taught me to laugh with myself and challenged me to experience new movements which seemed inconceivable. The awareness of self- how it's not always about pushing limits, but ease sometimes may also be most effective as well. A new perspective on selflessness from the instructors who have shown a dedication to teaching, the honesty and conviction to practice has made me rethink my beliefs about my levels of commitment.

We both agree with each other's answers!

NHP to both: What is your next goal in your practice?

Both: Combine our practices in Acroyoga.

Ron: Eka pada sirsasana. A handstand without kicking up.

Jolie: Just to keep advancing, and really stick a handstand!

NHP to both: Has your relationship changed in any way since yoga came into your life?

In so many ways- an appreciation of grace and respect in the physical aspect, the beauty and strength of movement, the advance and growth has created a new found admiration and respect for each other and how we move and how we move together in life. Spiritually we have deeper connection, on a soul level when we return to savasana we are one, it's the most amazing experience to connect on such a meaningful level. As our practices continue to evolve yoga has allowed to experience each other in new ways on and off the mat. It has encouraged us to deepen our spiritual connection and live with a mindfulness and awareness of one another. This promotes a healthier understanding of each other and more effective communication. Doing yoga together has added harmony, balance and synchronicity to our busy schedules. It is in our practice to combine schedules to make sure we do have quality time together.

NHP to both: Do you have a go-to class?

That is determined by how we feel on any given day we enjoy so many of the instructors each bringing something different to the table. We are confident we will get exactly what we need out any class we take.

NHP to both: Do you have a teacher who you just think gets you?

It has been our experience that all instructors whose classes we regularly attend get us. (NHP loves this answer!)

NHP to both: Where can we find you guys when you’re not at Namaste?

Jolie: I am a hair stylist at Ellouise Salon in Pasadena, and I am active in service work to the recovery community, and an avid ultra runner running trails in the mountains throughout California. I love spending time with our 3 pups and 4 kids.

Ron: I'm a classically trained chef and personal trainer. When I'm not in the gym or kitchen, I love spending time with my wife and family doing anything outdoors. Open water swims, hikes, BBQ's, digital art and movies with Jolie.

Both: We love experiencing new adventures together.

Student Feature: Thelma!

How did your yoga journey start? My journey started with taking just a two week class, not thinking I would really enjoy it, but I was surprised. I am very much into  exercising & yoga became part of my routine. I still have a lot to learn but it is fun learning.

How long have you been practicing at Namaste? I have been practicing for 13 months.

What superpower does yoga give you? The superpowers I get from yoga are  strength and energy.

What is your next goal in your practice? My next goal is to get better with my balance (I really need  it).

What are you grateful for? I am so grateful that Namaste came to Highland Park. I would have never tried yoga (and I mean it, I have always said I wanted to ) if it had not  come to Highland Park.

I enjoy the studio and  all the instructors are great.  Some of my favorite class are Fridays Meditation, and the Yoga Sculpt classes. Don’t get me wrong, they are all great, and I have tried all of them.

What is one way that yoga has changed your life? Yoga has changed my  ways of thinking toward others. I am more calm now and I don’t let just any little thing bother me or get to me. I have learned to tune unwanted noise out  and I find myself more relaxed and  less stressful.

What is your favorite tea served at Namaste? My favorite tea is the EARL GREY!

Member for: 1+ year

Yoga classes attended in the past year: 391

Favorite class: Yoga Sculpt

Favorite teacher: Krysten

I just want to thank Holly & Bethany & Alisa & Matthew, these were the

instructors that I took when I first started practicing yoga in Highland Park.

They had so much patience with me, helping me with my poses and teaching me how to use the blocks & blankets. Thank you all so much, this is what makes my practice very enjoyable!