The MAT with Nicole Katz

ON THE MAT CHAT: chaturanga starts in plank

next up in the vinyasa series: plank.

because before we talk about lowering into chaturanga, we have to talk about what we are lowering from.

chaturanga dandasana translates to four-limbed staff pose.

and the “staff” part matters.

first, we have to learn how to organize ourselves into one long, strong, supported line.

then, we have to build the shoulder strength to lower that line down.

and that is a lot.

chaturanga is not just a quick bend of the elbows on the way to upward-facing dog.

it is a serious shoulder strength pose.

can you support your spine?

can you use your legs?

can you find your low belly without gripping everything else?

can you organize your shoulders in a way that is actually sustainable for your body?

because your chaturanga will only be as strong, safe, and honest as the plank you begin from.

this reel is the first 90 seconds of a five-minute breakdown, including one of my favorite hacks for learning how to organize the shoulders and find your version of the pose - to understand where you’re really headed before moving on.

my hope is that it helps you find where YOUR pose not somebody else’s idealized version

your strongest, safest, most integrated plank and chaturanga for today

comment PLANK and i’ll send you the full video.

and follow for the rest of the vinyasa series.

today’s tiny joy practice: afternoon iced coffee.

not a fancy recipe.

not a perfect recipe.

honestly, barely a recipe.

more of a “measure with your heart and hope for the best” situation.

but this little nescafé iced coffee moment has become one of my current favorite afternoon joys.

and that is the whole point.

joy practice does not have to be big.

it does not have to be expensive.

it does not have to be impressive.

sometimes it is just taking something you were already going to do and making it a little more fun.

a little more intentional.

a little more delicious.

a little more yours.

because this is how we start to build a life that feels good from the inside.

not by waiting for everything to be perfect.

but by letting ordinary moments become places where joy can live.

today’s invitation:

find one regular everyday thing and make it more fun.

that counts.

that is the practice.

ON THE MAT CHAT: the “last” transition.

i thought this was going to be the last transition in this little series on slowing down.

surprise.

it is not.

because today we are starting to look at vinyasa.

and vinyasa is not one thing.

the word itself means to place or thread together with intention.

but in many modern yoga classes, when people say “take a vinyasa,” what they usually mean is:

plank.
chaturanga.
upward-facing dog.

and this transition deserves way more attention than it usually gets.

because for something that shows up so often in practice, it is also one of the places people rush the most.

and one of the places people get hurt the most.

especially in the shoulders.

we throw ourselves through it.

we collapse.

we muscle through.

we move with momentum instead of awareness.

and then we wonder why the practice starts to hurt.

so this “last transition” is actually going to become a few different conversations.

we’ll look at plank.

we’ll look at plank to chaturanga.

we’ll look at chaturanga to upward-facing dog.

and we’ll look at what i like to see in a body before moving toward a more traditional vinyasa.

not because there is one perfect way.

there never is.

but because there are skills that help make the practice safer, stronger, and more joyful.

today we start with plank.

not as a pose to survive.

as a spinal check-in.

can you find length?

can you move your spine?

can you activate your low belly without gripping your whole body?

can you feel the relationship between spinal movement and deep core support?

because before we lower, before we push, before we flow, we need to know where we are.

that is the practice.

slow down.

check in.

build the skill before you demand the shape.

your body will thank you.

ON THE MAT CHAT: down dog to low lunge.

this is one of the transitions people love to rush.

we throw the foot forward, hope it lands somewhere near the hands, and move on.

but when we slow it down, the transition becomes a strength practice.

how far forward can i place my foot with control?

where do i lose the movement and start using momentum?

what is my actual range today?

and important note: bodies are different.

adipose tissue, breast tissue, proportions, mobility, strength, and current range of motion can all affect whether this transition is available in the “classic” way (please note that classic does NOT mean best- it just means the way we might be used to seeing it- BEST- is determined by your body, on this mat, on this day- and that changes!).

forcing it is not the goal.

working lovingly and honestly with where your body is today is the goal.

try this:

from down dog, step the foot forward as far as you can with control.

pause.

notice.

then help the foot forward the rest of the way.

this is the practice.

being present to where you are right now, and then lovingly guiding yourself where you want to go next.

no shame.

no unconsciousness.

love. joy. fun.

that is yoga.

ON THE MAT CHAT: stop rushing through the hard part.

so often in practice, it’s not the pose that gets us into trouble.

it’s the transition.

the moment we move too quickly.

the moment we fling ourselves from one shape to the next.

the moment we skip the strength-building part because we just want to “get there.”

but the transition is where the work is.

it’s where we build strength.
it’s where we learn control.
it’s where we protect ourselves from injury.
and it’s where we stop stealing the joy of becoming stronger.

on the mat and off the mat, rushing through the in-between keeps us from receiving what the process is trying to teach us.

today’s practice:

slow down in one transition.

feel what is actually happening.

build the strength where you usually bypass it.

find some magical new information about your Self in the process- therein lies the yoga 💖

want more of these on the mat chats? comment MAT and i’ll send you a practice to try.

i am beyond grateful this morning.
drinking in a level of joy that makes my heart sing.

but not every morning feels like this.
some mornings
some whole periods of life
it’s hard to find the gratitude in anything.

and i’ve been thinking about that.

what if faith that things are always working out for us is enough?

what if we didn’t need to know how a thing will work out to practice a belief that it is?

what if the work is simply finding one tiny thing to be grateful for. happy about. interested in.

sparks start fires.

focusing on the lack of a fire doesn’t start one.

finding what you need to light just a spark does.

maybe there’s comfort in that.

what’s your spark this morning?

the other morning, i asked one of my daughters to toss me down a yoga outfit for my practice.

she came downstairs with one

and also IN one of mine.

a few minutes later, my other daughter saw what was happening, ran upstairs, and came back down in another one of my yoga outfits too.

and suddenly there we were. three girls in my yoga clothes.

dancing.
laughing.
completely delighted by something so simple.

it was one of those moments that was nothing and everything at the same time.

a little morning silliness.
a dance party.
a pile of too-big leggings and sports bras.

and also, somehow, a whole teaching. because this is what children do. they try us on. our clothes. our language. our habits. our way of being. and sometimes it is very literal. they put on your yoga clothes. and sometimes it is much deeper than that.

read on in posts for part 2 & 3

today’s yoga practice: doing my eyebrows.
(yup that counts)

not because this little drugstore brow pen is fancy or expensive (though I do love it and it really works- i def recommend)

but because it brings me joy

wandering the makeup aisles of a drugstore still brings me a kind of childlike joy. a reminder of a time gone by when i would sit on the floor in front of my bedroom mirror with make up strewn around me like paints and just explore. make up was just for fun then, for art, for creativity. it wasn’t to change me or fix me or cover up or hide. and i love connecting to that! that is the practice in action.

and that matters.

the practice is not doing the thing someone else has decided is meaningful, healthy, spiritual, or cool.

the practice is paying attention to what brings YOU joy/peace/connection and doing that!

doing what makes you smile.

what feels playful.

what reminds you that you are allowed to enjoy being here.

sometimes that is meditation.

sometimes it is movement.

sometimes it is standing in front of a mirror at the cabin, filling in your eyebrows with a product called fluff & sn**ch by NYX Professional Makeup

having fun is the practice.

my offering to you today: find one tiny childlike thing thing that brings you joy today

and do that.
🫶🏻

More sparks from the spring retreat.

Not as a highlight reel.

As an offering.

One of the practices we worked with was the intentional cultivation of joy.

Because joy is not only something we hope to feel.

Joy is something we practice.

If we want more joy in our lives, we have to become conscious about where joy already lives for us.

Not the big, dramatic, someday version.

The real version.

The tiny, repeatable, accessible things that help the body remember:

I am already that which I seek to become.

I want joy.

And I already have joy.

I en-joy my life right now.

Not when everything is perfect.

Not when I finally get what I want.

Now.

Because we do not attract what we want.

We attract what we are.

If we are constantly living in the absence of joy, waiting for life to change before we let ourselves feel good, we keep reinforcing the absence.

But when we begin to live from the place we are hoping to get to, we become more available to receive more of it.

Hello, law of attraction.

So we took out our journals and made a list:

20 tiny things that make me feel good.

Your first cup of coffee.
The sun on your face.
A walk without your phone.
Putting on lipstick.
Lighting a candle.
Fresh sheets.
Music that makes you move.
A quiet moment before anyone needs you.

Then we looked at the week ahead and placed one tiny joyful thing into each day.

Because if joy matters, we have to stop treating it like an accident.

We have to make space for it.

These photos are of all the small ways we turned ordinary into magic, into joy- and you can do that too- and it doesn’t have to cost money or more mental load

Just take something you are already doing and bring joy to it.

Bring fun to it.

Bring beauty to it.

Bring consciousness to it.

Make it intentional.

Make it yours.

Let it feed you.

That is how we stop waiting for joy and start practicing it.

That is how we become available for more of it.

That is how a life starts to feel different.