Cozy Yogi Autumn

SUBTLE BODY & DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS: HOW TO PRACTICE FEELING COZY IN YOUR BODY

From knit socks and shawls to rock 'n' rolls, we're celebrating coziness from the inside out at every pace this season. You don't need to be wrapped in a weighted blanket binge watching Gilmore Girls for the [redacted] time to feel cozy. You also don't need a sensory deprivation tank, a social media cleanse, or a spa weekend – though if your body craves it, listen. The good news is: everything you need to feel cozy in your body is already within your body!

This Spooky Season, let's connect with concepts often ghosted in western cultures – the subtle or energetic body and divine consciousness. If we can observe our bodies, and we can observe our minds, then we can't be our bodies or our minds – we're something much greater than thoughts, bones, and goo! If you were purely your mind, your whole being would be blown right now 🤯  – but you're still in one piece!

Different cultures have different names for the energies unseen by the naked eye, yet the basic truths remain the same. You can feel at home in your body when you truly listen to its messages. Take temperature, for instance: when you're too hot, you turn on the air conditioner; too cold, you turn on the heater. The same principle applies to your internal energy. Ever heard the phrase “hot-headed” to describe someone who is quick to anger? That’s because their internal energy is off balance. When you’re irritable, your body might be telling you to cool down. Try a cooling pranayama, join a SLOW FLOW or SOMATIC YOGA class with our featured teachers of the month—Hannah (SLOW) and Sarit (SOMATIC) — or maybe just grab some ice cream! By tuning into your body, you can restore balance and feel cozy, whether you’re running errands or sipping tea and gazing out the window like a scene from a Lo-Fi playlist.

HOW TO PRACTICE FEELING COZY AT ODD:

• Participate in the Practice Feeling Cozy Challenge: track at least 21 classes in 31 days on the challenge board at your home studio and be entered to win a free month of unlimited yoga + fitness classes, an 18 0z. ODD water bottle, and a bag full of cozy swag!
• Cozy up to our updated class schedule: based on your feedback, early risers in East Hollywood now have more options, and students in East Hollywood and Echo Park have new times, teachers, and formats to help expand their practice, not to mention  an all-new class, SLOW FLOW & SOUND with Mikayla Campbell. At all three studios, SWEAT is turning up the heat to 90° because some of y'all like it just as hot as you like it cozy. Check the schedule for the latest:
  • times that suit a variety of busy schedules – and traffic!
  • more of the formats you asked for!
  • formats your body needs when you crave them – from take it slow to powerful FLOW to more balanced double headers!
• Immerse your little ones in the playfully-spooky foundations of yoga in the "Aware Wolf" Kids Yoga Workshop with Lani Engstrom: it's one half class focused on the basics through the use of music, games, visualization, breathing, meditation, and accessible yoga postures and one activity with a Halloween and yoga theme. October 19th | 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM | Eagle Rock
• Attend the free info session about next year's retreat to Tuscany, Italy from the cozy comfort of your own home: join Jessica Rosen and Dylan Wallace on Zoom to ask about the accommodations, itinerary, and the journey through the chakras. October 16th | 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM | Online
• Contemplate mortality in a non-judgmental setting in our popular Death Awareness Workshop with Kim Ritley: this will sell out, so save your spot today! October 27th | 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM | Eagle Rock
• Bathe in the frequencies of life in a monthly Sound Bath: by regularly tuning inward and bathing in the vibrations of the chakras, you'll be guided to an increasingly more effective state of relaxation with each passing month.
  • Sound Bath with Joycie Weatherby: October 13th | 5:30 - 6:45 PM | Eagle Rock
  • Sound Bath with Dylan Wallace: October 20th | 7:30 - 8:45 PM | East Hollywood
• Last, but not least, quench your insatiable thirst for knowledge in one of our continuing education trainings: those who have completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training are eligible to participate in these specialized workshops designed to build confidence with hands-on and prenatal-focused adjustments.
  • Hands-On Adjustments Workshop w/ Steven Arcos: October 27th | 2:00 - 5:00 PM | Echo Park
  • Prenatal Teacher Training w/ Kim Ritley: November 9th - 17th | Times Vary | Echo Park

HOW TO PRACTICE FEELING COZY ON YOUR OWN:

From songs about feeling comfortable and cozy in your skin to tunes that just give off a cozy vibe, listen to this and all our other playlists of the month. We only have a short time before another Spotify Wrapped drops – don't you want it to reflect your eclectic tastes and not just that you had a BRAT Summer?

Click to get cozy in your body-ody-ody.

Corpse Pose, in October, Groundbreaking

Sometimes the most obvious choice is the best choice for your practice. Just as we look to the season for spooky inspiration, so can we look to our inner seasons for asana inspiration. Savasana, or the symbolic death of the practice on the mat, can help:

• Calm the central nervous system, aiding the digestive and immune systems
• Calm the mind and reduce stress
• Reduce headache, fatigue and anxiety
• Lower blood pressure
• Promote spiritual awakening and awareness of higher consciousness

Here's a Quick Guide to Getting into Savasana (it's more than just lying down)

1. Lie down on your back with your legs straight and arms relaxed at your sides.
2. Bring your feet as wide as your mat and let them flop open to a natural position.
3. Relax your arms a few inches away from your body, palms facing the sky.
4. Tuck your chin slightly toward your chest to lengthen the back of your neck.
5. Close your eyes.
6. Make any final adjustments so that you are completely comfortable.
7. Breathe naturally.

Sitali Pranayama: The One With The Curled Tongue

Balance excess heat in the body with this cooling technique:

1. Sit in a comfortable position with the head, neck, and spine stacked.
2. Close your eyes and breathe normally for several minutes, then open the mouth and form the lips into an “O.”
3. Curl the tongue lengthwise and project it just outside the mouth.
4. Inhale deeply across the tongue and into the mouth as if drinking through a straw.
5. Focus your attention on the cooling sensation of the breath as the abdomen and lower ribs expand.
6. Withdraw the tongue and close the mouth, exhaling completely through the nostrils.
7. Can't roll your tongue? With your lips slightly separated and your teeth pressed together, gently hiss through the gaps in the teeth.

The Coziest Practice of All

One of the best tools we have for balancing our emotions and feeling cozy in our bodies is meditation. Think about the last time you were so immersed in an activity that you lost track of time, space, and your to-do list. That's meditation! It's not just sitting in stillness trying to picture a running stream – it's distraction-free concentration on a meditative "object," whatever that may be.

Food for Thought

Recall a moment when you felt like you could crawl out of your skin. What led to that moment, and can you recall any other sensations or unusual behaviors? Think about whether those sensations and behaviors were "hot," "cold," or "neutral" to determine what you could have done to find balance.