#mortalswelcome

Day 23 of #mortalswelcome is Natarajasana, or dancer pose. Since every basic bumper sticker out there is asking us to dance in the rain like no ones watching like there's no tomorrow, I decided to take the pose onto my rainy balcony. // This posture requires the perfect storm of stability & softness, strength & flexibility. If you prefer one over the other, balance is next to impossible. ⚡️⚡️⚡️ check out @pegmulqueen @jrene01 and @ashtangadispatch for more Natarajasana fun and wisdom that probably didn't come from a bumper sticker.

Day 22 of #mortalswelcome is pranayama... And truthfully for me the most powerful pranayama is singing. It gives me the same feeling of presence and calm as traditional pranayama and the vibration therapy re-calibrates my whole system. // I'm not very good, but after a video of me in a batman bathing suit with a leaf blower tussling my hair in the wind had been posted all over the Internet, there really isn't much I won't post anymore haha. I went with some @taylorswift because I believe posting videos of sing-a-longs to her songs is part of the #ashtangadispatch lineage... 😉 @pegmulqueen 😉 To learn more about pranayama in the yogic tradition check out @jrene01 @pegmulqueen and @ashtangadispatch ⚡️🎼⚡️

Day 20 for #mortalswelcome is Lolasana or pendant pose. Imagining myself as a little charm hanging from a necklace makes this intense posture kind of cute. Practicing this pose often is one of the best things you can do to strengthen your jump back game. ⚡️⚡️Yoga teaches us that everything has a beginning, middle, and end. In jump backs we tend to focus on the beginning since we're already there, and the end since it's the "destination", but ignore the middle part because it's hard and not an obvious goal. My jump backs really started to come together when I became interested in what was happening between being seated and chaturanga, aka lolasana. My high-flying superheros @jenrene01 @pegmulqueen and @ashtangadispatch have some more lolasana fun on their pages! ⚡️👯☀️ Photos below by the official super-hero photographer, and badass practitioner @meghanreuck #ashtangadispatch (at Party Plan-It)

You could watch me do Marichyasana D for day 18 of #mortalswelcome or you could watch the incredibly inspiring Jenny who is 9-months pregnant doing drop-backs like a boss right behind me. How badass is that?!?!? Filmed by my super-hero teacher @jrene01! Check out her page along with @pegmulqueen and @ashtangadispatch's for some more beautiful Mari D shots! #ashtangadispatch #ashtanga #primaryseries #dropbacks #yogaeverydamnday #flowyogacenter #dcyoga (at Flow Yoga Center)

Day 15 of #mortalswelcome is Marychiasana A! I love the special jump-back that comes with this pose (not so much in docs.) It makes my body feel like a human jungle-gym which is suiting since many say Ashtanga was basically a recess game for Indian school boys. 🎮check out @jrene01 @pegmulqueen and @ashtangadispatch for more Marychiasana fun! #ashtangadispatch (at Sunshine Burgers!)

SO happy to be back in the Brookeville sunshine in my backyard with Piper! // Day 8 of ⚡️#mortalswelcome ⚡️ is one of my favorite poses, Krounchasana or heron. Most of the "warm up" in Ashtanga targets the hamstrings, and it amazes me that no matter how warmed up my hammies are, this pose ALWAYS reveals another layer or tension or sensation. (I took this after a ten-hour drive so the feeling in my legs basically had me in tears.) I do this weird overbite thing to try getting my chin to my shin, but I really need to cut that out. // Anyone who watched my snapchat story today, this is for you. 😜🌞 #onmyway #ashtanga #ashtangadispatch #krounchasana #nostretchypants #mustlovedogs #piperisasupermodel #secondseries @jrene01 @pegmulqueen

Day 6 of #mortalswelcome is any pose that challenges you. Pretty much all of second series is an epic battle for me, but Dwi Pada Sirsasana may top the list. The weight of my legs on my back is reminiscent of days I had to lug all my textbooks home from school and makes me want to curl up in defeat. Even though it's challenging, this mini moment of torture is training me to grow tall when I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. #ashtangadispatch #secondseries #dwipadasirsasana #ashtanga @jrene01 @pegmulqueen @ashtangadispatch (at Beach Marker 25)