Happy is the New Rich

I spent last week in Toronto in my hotel room, watching from afar as the stock market and people's emotions went up and down respectively. With all of this financial unrest, lack of stability and security, and questions about our futures and what it means to be "downgraded", I couldn't help but think, what is it that really belongs to us?


For all of the years that we spend pouring our energy into the future that will bring us money, or love, or the perfect body... and living for the satisfaction we will feel once we have these things, I realized that the true commodity is really not the number in the bank account, the number on the scale, or the perfect relationship. It occurs to me that what we may be chasing is not any of these things, but a feeling of contentment and, if I may be so bold: happiness.


There is a word that many yogis and yoginis use: equanimity. How can I find a place of balance in the face of so much change and volatility? Being a natural born downplayer, a cup half empty type of gal from the get go, I actually NEED to counterbalance the negativity with positivity. Not just balance and equanimity, but happiness. The fears I may be facing may be slightly different than yours. Certainly discomfort is unpleasant, yet some of us may face shame or humiliation when we lose what we have worked for. This can happen in my yoga practice as well. Many times, my body has been at the height of heath, and I have pushed myself, only to incur an injury that sets me back for months, setting me up for the challenge of humility and humanity.


There have been several times in my life when I was faced with what I call " a clean sweep" from the Universe. A break-up, my finances plummeting, my body giving out, the loss of a loved one, a move... my life fell down like a line of dominos; it seemed there was no foundation to rely on. Although the natural inclination is to curse ourselves with shame or get mad at God (or anyone in front of us), the true gold is when we are no longer outwardly focused, and find a happiness anyway.


Easier said than done? True. However, I have had it the reverse as well: the guy I liked was into me, i was making tons of money in my chosen career, my body was the way I wanted it to be (too thin...) and I was terrified. Miserable that I may lose what I have. So what is this future we fear? And where does happiness come from? 


What if losing is not the worst thing in the world? Perhaps there will be an outcome beyond what you could imagine. If I were truly happy, would it matter if I were wealthy? If I were wealthy would that make me happy?


By taking a few long deep breaths, and expressing gratitude for your gifts daily, waking up, and acting as if you have all the money, all the love, and the perfect body you may just act your way into that happiness you are seeking. As the saying by Abraham Lincoln goes: "I am as happy as I decide to be". (Incidentally, he struggled with depression).


The beauty of this life is that I am in a body that takes care to maintain. It is free to exercise, to breathe, to practice yoga, to walk on the beach, to smile, to have a conversation, to read uplifting words, to feel love, to weep, to pet an animal, to lend a hand. This life is an absolute beauty. And as someone commented "another day on this beautiful earth". I am beyond grateful to share this beautiful planet in this gift of a body with all of you. Thank you for reading my blog today. And just for today, I am going to act exactly the way I think I would feel if I had it all. And for this day I do have it all.


Salute the sun!


Mandy

Celebrating My Father

My dad.

August 8th is the day that marks my father's passing, seven years ago. He was 60 years old, and he left me with the greatest legacy: teaching yoga. I recall being in my first downward facing dog, following dad’s death. Although I had always resented that my dad pretty much left me on my own, without enough direction, attention or love, it struck me that my father had handed yoga down to me. Not only did that tie me directly to him, but also to a practice that was thousands of years old. He connected me to both the past, and the future. As I teach yoga and fitness, I am a conduit, while honoring my own relationship (often complex!) with my father.

Lloyd Ingber loved his body. A basic day in the life of my dad’s routine when I was a child went something like this:

4:30 a.m. - awaken

4:30-5:30 a.m. - morning meditation 

5:30 a.m. - walk barefooted on dewy grass outside

5:45-7:15 a.m. - yoga practices, pranayama (breathing exercises)

7:15 a.m. - breakfast

8-9:30 a.m. - 25 mile bike ride through the hills and up the California coast

9:30-10:30 a.m. - hit the gym (possible handball game), shower

11:00 a.m. - office (having ridden his bike there), work (yes, an attorney)

6:30 p.m. - bike ride home, swim 50-100 laps, eat an enormous salad, a bag of raisins, pass out in front of the t.v., reading

9:30-10 p.m. - bed…. wake up and start all over again.

Yes, that was my dad.

Such a stud as a Fairfax High student.

13 year old Lloyd.

15 years old. Watch your daughters!

His fitness regime began when he was just a boy, no older than 13, when he began lifting weights and building his body. He was born to orthodox Jewish parents who were rather hard on him, and his claim to fame was being able to beat up his own father at age 14. (My grandfather was 4’9”, incidentally, and a kosher butcher.) It seemed that power was very important to Lloyd Ingber, but moreover mastery of his physical body, which later lead to mastery over his own energetic body, and then over subtle aspects of himself.

An average morning spectacle in the Ingber household.

When I was age 7, he incurred several back injuries, and turned to vegetarianism, yoga and cycling to help him heal. It worked. His immersion in these newfound cures were surely fueled by the rebel in him, to revolt against all of the meat his parents had fed him throughout the years. He introduced us to books like Dr. Henry Bieler’s “Food Is Your Best Medicine”, and the then popular “Sugar Blues”. We were exposed to B.K.S. Iyengar’s “Light On Yoga” and Richard Hittleman’s yoga book and television series.

When I was 9 or 10, we became macrobiotic, and we began to see acupuncturist Master Ni Hua Ching instead of physicians. Our mother would diagnose us, and prepare the food according to the needs of the family. Books like “You Are All Sanpaku” and homemade Amazake in the oven were standard in our Los Angeles home.

As my father continued his search for personal self-mastery, he happened upon the Taoist yogas of Mantak Chia, and remained a practitioner of those teachings throughout his life. The subtler yogas,including 90-minute standing meditations and Chi Gong, replaced competitive sports. He also changed wives several times, but all the while staying connected to his quest for mastery.

Dad and fatherhood: Take 2. Age 54.

In fact, when my father contracted his cancer, Lymphoma, he was the one he who found his own tumor through self massage. He was able to identify and have a relationship to his internal organs, and even used meditation practices aiming to heal the anger and hurt he felt regarding his childhood.

Lloyd Ingber was such a great example. He changed my view of cancer in that he was never a victim. He would  actually say that he was the healthiest he had ever been, except for the cancer. What struck me most was his dedication to care for his body (mind and spirit), even with the limitations of his disease. For as long as he could move, he was constantly in a yoga pose. Mostly supta bada konasana (reclining butterfly), which gave his internal organs more space from the tumors. He could still do the splits in every direction, and never stopped his self-care practices. Even on his last day alive, although in a wheelchair and in and out of consciousness, what struck me was that he requested to be wheeled to the bathroom sink, where I watched him brush his teeth. To the very last day, his commitment to self care was awesome. This conveys to me an honest gratitude for the greatest gift we are given in life - The body!

Lloyd Ingber: Life Force Energy!

His efforts to control his body may have failed, but in the end, it was much more about the quality of the life he did have in the body he inhabited. And his ability to finally release the body...On the day he passed, just before I watched him brush his teeth, he demanded that "the man on his shoulder" be asked to leave. "I can't make him leave, dad." He then said these random words: "Tweet tweet tweet. Free free free."

I cannot express enough my gratitude to this man who was a legend in his own mind, and mine as well. And I celebrate him today by sharing as much of him as I can with you.


Tweet Tweet Tweet...


Free Free Free...

Open Your Heart!

Opening my heart is truly one of my life's goals. I am a big thinker and planner, and I try to do a lot within my own head. The truth is in my heart. When I explore ways of sharing myself, I do not always know what the outcome is. This can be challenging... to trust. I tend to be a perfectionist, and I don't like to look bad, so often times I stay shut off. Safe. Part of why we love actors so much is because they are sharing the intimacy of their hearts. We all have similar feelings, just different triggers. Opening your heart can sometimes be messy, but that is the fun of it.


Yoga presents plenty of opportunity for opening the heart. Literally focusing your mind in the center of your chest activates the heart. In Buddhism they say that the true mind is in the heart center. Try putting your awareness there. You may even try gently placing one hand on your heart and place the other gently on top. Just smile to that place in your chest and notice what or if anything happens.

Here are 3 ways to open your heart:

1. Add cardio into your practice this month, to get the heart rate up. You can get some of my great cardio playlists in my Music Lounge. Cardiovascular work includes spinning, dancing, rollerblading, walking, jogging. This will increase your lung capacity, endurance, and will lift your spirits.

2. Sun salutes are not only celebrating the sun, but are very much the cardio aspect to the yoga practice. The breath oxygenates the blood and the heart pumps the blood to all the extremities, giving us that endorphin rush. Watch the video below for my breakdown of the Sun Salute. You can also buy my 3-pack of downloadable mini routines and get a free Sun Salute instructional. 



3. Energize your practice with some stimulating Back Bends. Check the Yoga Poses of the Month and watch the following videos for some great heart-opening poses.


Although opening the heart can feel vulnerable (I often feel a creepy feeling when I do heart opening poses. Almost like a flutter in my chest), the alternative is to be stoic and rigid. Ultimately, the heart openers keep the spine supple and flexible, which the yogis and yoginis say is the key to youth.

Be like an actor this week and open your heart!

RECREATE YOUR BODY (re-creation)

RECREATION = RE-CREATE your body.

This month holds the energy of creativity. Children are masters of creativity and recreation. I remember being a little kid, and that feeling of exhaustion I would have at the end of the day because I had played so hard - it felt so good. Everything from the Kid Olympics that my dad created for us, to reenacting scenes from Young Frankenstein with my mom. The art projects were endless and we would dance for hours at a time, just because.

When I look at this picture of myself, I remember the self confidence of exploration. The sprit of play and joy is a great way to make yoga and cardio fun. When I was a child, I would try things simply for the sake of play. For inspiration, I might think of my favorite child, or I might call into mind that little 3 year old Mandy that hasn't changed one bit since then. That child is completely untouched and ready to play. Thinking we know it all doesn't leave much room for new experiences and discovery, and I want to leave myself open for that.
Exercise is fun. I sometimes say: "If you are a dog, this is your walk". Notice how excited your dog gets to for a walk. That's how excited your body is to move! One of my old teachers works with animals and autistic children, and he says the universal language is PLAY! When we play, we don't have to worry about looking silly... that's the POINT! Trying something like  crow pose or one-arm balance can be daunting when we think that there is a right way to do it, but there is a sense of play in just giving it a shot. So play around this month. If you fall... so what. Tap into that spirit of joy and try not to take yourself so seriously.


In the spirit of that creativity and recreation, I also remind myself that my body is a work in progress. There is no final product. When I was a little girl, I thought that when I grew up I would be a certain weight. Now, after becoming a woman and seeing that my body fluctuates, it reminds me that I am changing all the time. Usually, what I do today has a great effect on what happens tomorrow, so I try to remember that the activities I do today feed the creation of the person I am becoming. Play this month and be creative!

BEING FIT IS A CREATIVE PROCESS: RECREATION= re create your body!
Here are some ways to embody the art of recreation:

PLAY: Instead of making fitness a chore, play a game. Try tennis, a game of Capture the Flag or touch football. Rollerblade or ride your bike.

FLIRT: Creative energy and sexual energy originate from the same place. After all, what is more creative than making a person? Use sexual energy to reshape your body by thinking of someone you have a crush on while your work out. Or make a sexy playlist to practice to.

ACT AS IF: Imagine that you are your favorite athlete, your favorite Charlie's Angel, or any other character that inspires you to kick butt. Notice how motivating that is.

CELEBRATE: Your body is a gift and the way we practice gratitude is by using our gifts. Every day we can move and breathe freely is cause for celebration. Use my Dance Party playlist or make your own. Invite friends over for a dance party and prepare a healthy treat.

Yoga Pose of the Month: SUN SALUTE

SUN SALUTE:

As we wrap up the month of feeling, emotion and nurture, I wanted to leave you with the series of postures that represents flow like no other. The Sun Salute. The Sun Salute reminds us to breathe. Expanding the breath on the inhale and contracting on the exhale.

The Sun Salute asks us to feel our way through. Modifying and adding postures as needed. Going at our unique pace on any given day. I almost always begin my practice with Sun Salutes.

Here is a basic breakdown and a video at the end.

FLOW. In this month, we want to GO WITH THE FLOW. And FEEL OUR WAY THROUGH. The word “vinyasa” is “flow”. So one of the most popular forms of hatha yoga is FLOW yoga. Any pose you do can have a vinyasa or flow between sides. See below for instructions on how to use the vinyasa to string together your poses.

MOUNTAIN POSE
Mountain Pose is a foundational pose which is essentially “home base” in your yoga practice. You will come back to it again and again. It can be found within all hatha yoga poses and can be used as a guide to asses alignments and lines of energy. 
Feet should be touching, side by side. Lift your kneecaps and engage your thigh muscles. Tuck your tailbone just slightly, and draw your belly in and up, while lifting up out of your waist. Draw your shoulders back and down. Lengthen through the crown of your head.


TOP OF A PUSH UP (PLANK)
Make sure your hands are below your shoulders. Step your feet together. Keep your body in a strong, straight line by engaging your core muscles.

LOWER DOWN (CHATARANGA)
Exhale breathing, slowly lower down, keeping your elbows close to the sides of your body. Stop when your shoulders and your elbows are aligned. We build strong arms, so that we can love and nurture our families.

UPWARD FACING DOG
Turn the tops of your feet on the floor. Inhale, look up and press your palms into the ground to lift your upper body until your arms are straight, allowing your upper thighs and knees to come up as well. Lifting the heart and opening the chest to allow more love out (and in). Lower down to transition into Downward Facing Dog.

DOWN DOG
Turn the balls of your feet under, and on an exhale breath, press into the floor with your hands and feet and lift your hips up. Press firmly into the heels and the palms of your hands. Relax your head and neck and make sure your spine is straight. It is okay to bend your knees if your hamstrings are tight.

BREATH is also a part of flow. When I breathe, I feel my emotions more. The emotions are the bridge from the mind to the body, and the breath is the vehicle. For me, just being aware of the inhale and exhale, particularly the spaces between, help me to become present to what I am feeling. 

My Body is My Home.

Home. The word itself elicits a visceral response. That yearning for a foundation and a nurturing, consistent place that supplies us with the nourishment required to accomplish goals and feel safe out in the world. It seems like it should be a given that we have all had this, yet that is not always true. I myself have always yearned for that place.


My parents split up and we sold our childhood home when I was 17, so there is no family home base to return to. However, my sense of feeling homesick was there even as a child. I would tell my mother I had that "homesick feeling" again. At age 15, I set out to New York, and lived away from home for a period of time. My only photograph was a framed photo of E.T. that I had torn out of a magazine. As a youth, I tended to feel alien in my own skin. Somehow the entrapment of a physical body created a longing within me for something more. I spent many years, denying my body it's very basic needs. Sleep, hunger and thirst often felt like an inconvenience that was limiting me from doing the things that were really important like accomplishing my goals or living my dreams. I would exercise for hours on end to push the limits of my body. Rather than escape, exercise is now a way to breathe and ground into my true home: my body. It's taken me years to realize that my body is the very foundation of all that I long to create, and that when I get more connected to my physical body, I get grounded and have a real place to come from. Ironically, in this month that represents home, I am currently away from home, and in one location for no more than 4 days at a time. 


So how to come to a true understanding of "home"? To feel at home, I try to settle into my own skin and become grounded through the use of my body: my breath, physical activity, and the foods that I eat, as well as general self care. Healthy and regular physical habits are my very foundation and I can return to home no matter where I am. That means on a daily basis: 

• Meditation before I begin my day
• Sweat
• Yoga
• Warm water or tea first thing
• Brushing, flossing, and tongue scraping
• Journaling 

Other ways to connect with home energy:

•  THE EARTH is also our home, and just as we are made up primarily of water, so is our lush earth. It is suggested you drink 1/2 an ounce of water per pound of body weight. Try drinking water to regulate the mind, body and spirit, as water is an energy conductor.
• HONORING THE FAMILY we came from as our roots. It’s always a complex cocktail of exactly what we needed in order to grow into who we are. I honor this month as my mother's month, as she is my original home and a Cancer.
• OUR LIVING SPACE. The place where we live represents ourselves. As I recreate my foundation I call upon  power of Feng Shui for an easy flow of manifestation in my life. Click here for some free tips that can increase the abundance and energy flow of your very foundation.
• ONLINE YOGA ROUTINES. Practice yoga without leaving home, please check out my new downloadable audio and video routines.

Music as a Motivator: America/The Homeland

Happy July 4th! I wanted to give you an Independence Day gift: my yearly "AMERICA" playlist.


I have always been moved by music. Throughout my life, I have connected music to what was going on for me at the time. Music has often been a driving force in my exercise. It always motivates me because it gives expression to my emotions, and connects me with the collective. 


Music is the universal language of emotion. When I look around and see an entire class filled with people who are literally moved by a song, I realize we are drawn together by common emotions and rhythms. When I returned from New York, post witnessing 9-11, all I could play was U2 and Peter Gabriel. When I was grieving my father’s death, the song “Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own” by Bono helped me to understand that I wasn’t the only one reckoning with the loss of a complicated paternal relationship. I remember the first time I made out with somebody, Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain” was playing in the background. 

This America playlist gets me really inspired, because it allows me to comment and inject my opinions about our homeland, plus it connects me with the energy that is sitting within my DNA. Literally living in my bones, is the tenacity, bravery and struggle that it took my relatives to get to America.

America - by Neil Diamond
American Woman - by Lenny Kravitz
American Baby - by Dave Matthews Band
American Girl - by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Young Americans - by David Bowie
White America - by Eminem
America - by Simon & Garfunkel
America, Fuck Yeah - by Team America
American Pie - by Don McLean
American Idiot - by Green Day
America, Fuck Yeah (reprise)


This playlist is one I have used for a 45-minute high-intensity spin, but can be used for any workout. I usually hit my breaking point at song number 7, the amazingly emotional and subtle "America", by Simon and Garfunkle. It is at this moment, when I find myself in a difficult posture, or at the end of a 3-song climb, and am feeling so weak, or in a moment that feels like I may not be able to breakthrough during a high-intensity workout, that I try to remember my grandfather and his America story. His very blood is running through my veins, and I think about what it took for him to get me here. 


Sasha Lipszyc grew up in Poland. At age 17 he escaped death during World War II where his mother , four brothers and sister were killed. The story is that after standing in a line he dove into a potato field and crawled to a narrow escape. He and his half-brother went on the run to Russia, where he worked on a rescue team in the mines, and there he met my grandmother (who was also working in the mines. She claims that he literally rode up on a white horse. A blonde, blue eyed Jew on a white horse....). My uncle was born in a cabin in Siberia that my grandfather built himself, and after World War II, they landed in a displaced person's camp in Germany, where my mother was born. Our relatives in America called for my grandparents, uncle, mother and great grandmother, who ended up in Los Angeles via Chicago where my mother taught her own parents to speak english. As my grandfather made a life for his family by building parts for airplanes and rocket ships, he opened up opportunities for his children who respectively ended up at Harvard and UCLA. All of this so that I could have problems like gaining five pounds, or not being invited to a party...


Each of us has a history and a way that we landed in America. The effort it took to get to exactly where I am today, so that I could flourish and have opportunities like I do is amazing. That effort, energy and drive is 100% in my DNA. And in yours too. It is in your bones, and when you feel like you cannot go on, all you have to do is tap into that resource which is your birthright. The body is an archive, not only of every experience that you have ever had, but it also carries patterning from generations past, and the blood of the ancients. You have much more energy available to you than just yours. You can truly draw unlimited energy from the Universe. And it begins with this remembering.


When I was a little girl, my grandfather and I would take walks around the neighborhood. He would point out the birds on the telephone wire, and the magic of a maple tree. His favorite thing to do would be to go to Venice beach, Muscle beach, as he would call it. We would pack up our bathing suits, beach towels and little else, traveling West to visit the ocean and hit the bodybuilding gym. My grandfather was always a big fan of exercise, and he, along with my dad were major influences in my desire to work out! Exercise has a built-in obstacle. All athletes have that moment, a turning point when you make that choice to breakthrough or breakdown. Sometimes, all you need to do is get inspired by what is already built in. The desire to push through.


Music is this universal binder, and a language that can jog our memories and tap into our bloodline, returning us to our very source, deep within. These stories that live in us need not hold us prisoner but, when channeled, are here to source and use to our benefit.


Moving through obstacles and difficulties is the single most powerful way to gain strength and self-confidence, but we need help remembering our special power! I would love to hear your inspiring America stories. How did you get here? What was the journey that your ancestors took?

Please enjoy some of my motivational playlists that I have created, which have bonded my students to one another. Think about songs that you associate with certain emotions and share your story with us on here.


Happy Interdependence Day.