Home | Whitney Tfankedjian

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the practice with whitney

whItnEy tfAnkEdjIAn

spiritual practice + teachings

follOw foR wiSdom, teachinğs, + furtheR connection

life feels like one big adventure of just trying your best

—

and what is trying our best

is it effort
ease
trusting
taking action
accepting
changing

what does it mean to you

to try your very best

+ where needs more
+ where needs less?

cover photo by @hunterbergen

“The day I understood everything, was the day I stopped trying to figure everything out. the day I knew peace was the day I let everything go.”
― C. Joybell C.

Take this with weight - take this with lightness. It’s not all the time I let go. If you’ve attempted any sort of ‘better living’ or practice you’d know that this path is challenging.

This path comes with different obstacles.

Looking at yourself in the mirror, naked, in truth, in the shadow, in the darkness, through it all. Getting so fucking real with yourself + healing. + yet still struggling with it.

I don’t care for teaching from a woo woo bullshit way - I teach the truth + I teach the challenge. I know that life is hard. I know that it’s hard to let go. I haven’t let go of a ton of shit + I would never claim to.

I’m holding on.

I hold on to connections
Ways I want things to be
The ways I want things to go
My expectations
My hopes + dreams
What I want out of life
Old moments
Old memories
Old love

I don’t aparigraha all the time. Do you?

Do you?

video + cover photo by @hunterbergen

THE BODY WANTS TO BE MOVED

That’s all. The body is MEANT to be moved

It’s something like 2,400 Asanas, 8,400,000 if you ask Shiva the body can take + lean into. + that’s just in Yoga. What about the other practices?
Dancing
Tai Chi
Martial arts
Pilates
Jumping
Skating
Skiing
Opening + closing

Often I guide my students so far inward + we move in small ways. I want them + you to be so connected to the body. When we move the shoulder. The rotation of the rotator cuff. We start in tiny circles + then I want them to be so free to observe all of the ways the shoulder can move. All directions of the arm, how far can it go this way, or that way? Notice how far back it all stretches + bends to scratch that spot between your shoulder blades. Look where it has limitations + we turn to others

I mean for me this is the real beauty of the movement practice. Tuning in.

When we think about the poses, + movement through the lens of opportunity + exploration the yoga ‘workout’ becomes so much more. This is a place of play + discovery. This is not the place to achieve a lifted ass + toned core. It really isn’t the place for anything external at all

The poses are here for a few reasons:

One - to find strength, not so we can look good, but to prepare us for the rest of Yoga + the limbs. The strength along the spine + core, allow you to sit for hours in meditation. Shushumna healthy

The strength allows us to find Pranayama practice + have the stamina for all of the restraints of life force energy

They also allow us to be in a state of meditation. Asana means meditative seat. I see so many of us with busy minds, ADHD, who need these shapes to still it all

The 8 limbs of Ashtanga Yoga, in order are:

Yama
Niyama
Asana
Pranayama
Pratyahara
Dharana
Dhyana
Samadhi

You see how Asana is near the beginning + technically only 12.5% of Yoga? You see how the poses prepare us for the rest of the journey? You see how Yoga does not start with fitness or poses. It starts with Yama + Niyama.

Rewriting our versions of ourselves, our rights + wrongs. Getting so fuckin right with yourself before moving on.

‘How you gon win when you ain’t right within?’

📸 @hunterbergen

So here’s the thing

When I knew I wanted to come back to the space - in offering, in practice, + in keeping my promise to being a lifelong student of Yoga + spiritual lineages

I knew I didn’t want to come back with poses. I’m not here to tell you to find the shapes. Some of that will exist. But I want to teach you + remind you of everything outside of that. Let’s get into the deep stuff, the reminders, the nourishing, the practice.

The daily.

The big exhale in the car when you’re pissed off.

Since I gave up coffee I’ve naturally been able to be a lot more calm. I am not flying off the handle in my head anymore. I suggest you consider ditching it too.

I hope this inspires you.

Here are some ways I take care of myself + honour my practice everyday:

I apply a castor oil + jojoba mix to my joints to keep them healthy + moving freely. I learned about applying oil from @grounded_path_yoga_n_wellness and Ayurvedic massage.
I take a ton of big breaths during the day
I remind myself that it’s all how it’s supposed to be
I do not argue with timing anymore. Whenever I get there is when I get there.
I listen to when I don’t want to do something
I honour Satya + I tell the truth, in joy + through difficult conversations. I tell it like it is. I think this is a blessing but it can be tough for people to hear.
I do my best to keep my home clean + I’ve become less cluttered. This is a tough one for me but I’m doin it.

Ram Ram Ram

What is the practice? What is seeking peace? What is seeking Samadhi? Krishna Das tells me
‘Samadhi is when we stop believing everything we think’

I can’t begin to tell you how much I have shifted my thinking about people, life, what I witness. I am proud of you all.

Jai Ma

Happy to be back + ready to teach you again.
Whitney

photos by my right hand girl @hunterbergen
Swipe to see my reaction to her calling me pretty lol

What I’ve been practicing lately:

I’ve been reading eastern body western mind + learning more about the chakras
I’ve been slowing down + trying to allow the mind + body to really speak and release by practicing Yin
I’ve been playing my harmonium + chanting the sacred names
I’m trying to find a trip to go on for the winter where I get to deeply integrate, work, teach Yoga, + take photos of people in practice
I have been breathing in my car two sharp inhales through my nose + big exhale out of the mouth when it all feels like too much
I’ve been pulling cards + making flower altars
I’m letting go of the past! Aparigraha!
I’m connecting with people who inspire me + are living true to themselves
I’m protecting my peace

For me I want to slow down + the practice is the only time I can do that. Blessed am I when you allow me teach all of it!

With love,
Whitney

Blessed am I to know you all

The practice carries me through it all.

I work on becoming deeply immersed in the practice again to share it all with you.

I have 2 by donation/free classes for you coming up + I’d like to share with them with you.

Lately I’ve been talking with my friends about the disconnect I’ve had from the Yoga space. It’s just looked a little different + I haven’t really been in a place to be able to give. But it’s something I’m coming back to as I do coaching session with @carolynannebudgie as I practice, as I sub classes, as I read the ancient teachings again.

What I want to do is be in service of the Yoga - from a good place. From my heart. That’s where I’ve always been + it’s where I am now. Thank you for your love, teachings, + trusting me with your Yoga + healing practices.

Thank you to @hunterbergen for taking the time to capture me in my current essence - allowing me to get re-inspired + rooted back to the Self.

Whitney ✨

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whItnEy tfAnkEdjIAn

spiritual practice + teachings

follOw foR wiSdom, teachinğs, + furtheR connection

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