Yogademia Essentials: Conscious Choices and Podcasts

Yogademia was born out of a need for resources on how to apply yoga specifically to an academic lifestyle. In other words, "a hip girl's guide to a fulfilling and mindful life in academia." I feel very strongly that there aren't enough resources for how to navigate the quirks and peculiarities of the academic life while staying balanced, present, and positive. Today is the start of a new feature here on the blog, called Yogademia Essentials. These are essential thoughts, practices, and all manner of things tangible and ethereal which fit within the Yogademia vision.

As a graduate student, your budget is such that you have to prioritize your material needs into three groups: what you must have and are willing to sacrifice other things for; what you can creatively concoct or jury-rig into the perfect solution; and what you are willing to give up or realize that you don't really need. With the money issue that has been dogging my heels lately still not completely resolved, I had to make the choice last month over whether to join a yoga studio or get acupuncture treatments for a chronic physical disorder. Both of these are luxuries, obviously, but I believe them to be necessary therapeutic luxuries. Because my schedule is extremely unpredictable, as well as the fact that I can't do my own needle treatments, I chose to develop my home yoga practice for free and pay for acupuncture.

The amazing technology of podcasts which brings all sorts of terrific content to you for free is one of my regular blogging topics. Today I'd like to sing the praises of the yoga podcasts by California-based Anusara teachers Hillary Rubin and Elsie Escobar. They each have their own practice podcasts, Hillary's Yoga Practice and Elsie's Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged, as well as a joint podcast with musings on teaching yoga and taking practice off the mat called Mudra Moments. Each woman has her own distinct and unique style, but it is easy to see why they are friends because their personalities and teaching styles are perfectly complementary. Elsie's style is groovy, expressive and informal, while Hillary's style is unpretentious, candid and ruminative. I don't mean to generalize, but these characterizations - all completely positive - have grown out of a few months of practicing with each of them separately and then listening to their joint podcast.

The practice podcasts cover all levels, with a tendency toward intermediate and even the occasional advanced class - a refreshing change from all the beginner material out there. The classes are creatively themed, energetically taught, well-sequenced and just plain fun to practice to. It's always a very deep, physical practice without sacrificing internal focus or self-reflection. There is a range of practice lengths, from 30 to 90 minutes and plenty of choices in between. The audio quality is nice and clear, and the instructions are well-articulated, both of which are necessary for the imaginative sequencing and pose variations.

These podcasts are exactly what I've been looking for as an alternative to studio practice without compromising the practice itself. I've been waiting since July to post on them to make sure they were as consistently good as they seemed, and they have absolutely exceeded my expectations. These podcasts mark the first entry on what will grow to be a full list of Yogademia Essentials.