Post-Festivus Restlessness Syndrome

After all the hype it's time to wind back down. We are officially entering the period I'd like to technically refer to as "Post-Festivus Restlessness Syndrome".  We're smack in the middle of that funny week between Christmas and New Years.  That nothing week.  If you're on holiday, perhaps you're doing just that.  Nothing.  It reminds me of that delightful Spanish proverb:  

"Oh how beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards."  

(Admittedly, I had a two hour siesta on Christmas Day and it was a beautiful, beautiful thing.) 

But alas, amidst all this supposed 'nothingness' blossoms something.  The awareness of a deep seated restlessness begins to bubble up - an urging to find something more.  To create more.  To be more.  And with the stars aligning for a New Year, a sense of fresh possibility starts to clear the air of all the old habit patterns clogging up the plumbing of Life.  But what exactly birthed this 'something' from 'nothing'?  Was it was that extra ladle of gravy? Or perhaps the last gingerbread cookie you ate for breakfast? (Or the fact that for 2 weeks straight now you've grown accustomed to supplementing your regular Americano with a healthy dash of Eggnog?)  Alternatively it could be your online credit card statement shouting profanities at you through the monitor or the endless number of holiday social gatherings leaking off the edges of your December calender.

Whatever it is that got you here, the restlessness is born with purpose, and a knowing that a better way is unfolding.   The pendulum has swung far into EXCESS and begins to gather inertia ready to pull itself back towards SIMPLICITY - ultimately finding BALANCE nestled perfectly in between.  

Now is the time to harness our restlessness.  It's time for a resolution revolution!  It's common knowledge that it takes 21days to cultivate a new habit.  Why not lay the foundation of your new habit patterns by connecting with your ultimate self through a little 2012 visualization?  (I can hear the squeals of excitement now!)  

Step by step let's create the lives we LOVE:

1.  Find someplace comfortable and quiet to sit still and undisturbed for 5 minutes.  

2.  Close your eyes and take 10 deep slow breaths - each getting deeper and slower than the previous.

3.  Create a picture in your mind of the habit pattern that you'd like to create (eg - eating clean, meditating daily,  doing more yoga, reading regularily.)

4.  Visualize yourself successfully implementing this new habit.  Watch yourself going through the motions ease-fully and successfully. How does this new habit make you feel?  Really tap into how it makes you feel when you're doing it. Imagine having this feeling now.

5.  Release your visualization out into the universe absolutely knowing that if this new habit serves your highest good, there is no reason for you not to succeed.  

You've heard it before but since you're so energetically ready to start the next chapter, here are some awesome ways to support your new ultimate goddess self (who you were actually already but just maybe temporarily forgot):

Set Goals!  Create a vision board (Using pinterest as a vision board has changed my life!)  Enroll supportive friends who believe in you to keep you accountable to your goals - if they're not supportive, perhaps ask yourself why you're hanging around them anyways?  (Suzanne Conrad rocks my world - if you haven't yet, do yourself a favor and click on the last link.. holy girl crush mama! So inspiring!)

Though anytime is time for a do-over, set your small mind aside, step into the now and get PUMPED for 2012!  Create your life.  Be happy.  Be possibility.  Your world is up to you - everything is possible.

Like this post?  Share your thoughts in the comments below - or better yet share it with a friend!  Stay inspired and in-touch with like-minded folk here.

Getting over ourselves

"Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches had bellies with stars.

The Plain-Belly Sneetches had non upon thars.

Those stars weren't so big.  They were really so small.

You might think such a thing wouldn't matter at all.

"  - Dr. Seuss 

So we had a little festive gathering this weekend at our place.  And, as with every party, when yoga 'geek's are in da house - ultimately a mat gets rolled out and exaggerated feats of strength, arm balances and yoga tricks result on the dance floor. 

Now this party was a combination of friends from all walks of life.  Namely the yoga crowd.  And, the non yoga crowd.  Mingling as One.  (As if we were anything but. Though how quickly we forget it sometimes.)  An interesting and arguably 'passionate' discussion erupted between two friends, each from a different side of the divide, about yoga.

My dear, super-smart friend, who I had always (wrongfully) assumed didn't really 'get' yoga questioned my other, (in my mind) well informed yoga-teacher friend about the culture of yoga.  The culture of it just didn't sit right with her.  In her words, she'd been doing yoga in the park since she was 8 years old.  She didn't understand why there was all this hoopla about how to do it.  Can't anybody just do some stretching to relax?

I instantly felt myself getting my back up as I listened with one outstretched ear from across the room.  Didn't she 'get' it?!  We were all on a spiritual quest!  There was so much un-quantifiable about our experiences on the mat - why couldn't she just accept that without requiring her conscious mind to understand the science of it.  Heart over head.  Feel over-think.

But over the course of the next day I continued to ponder her declarations.  Why were there so many rules about yoga?  How we do it.  Where we do it.  What the cool studio to go to is.  Why internally rotating your thighs in supta virasana is better than neutral alignment.  Should you inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth or just do nostril breathing?  Does chanting at the start of class soothe the nervous system for a smoother vinyasa or is it better if you chant at the end?  What if you don't chant at all?  (Oh gawd - heaven forbid!)

We're such a bunch of yoga nerds.  There is so much to obsess about.  It can be exhausting trying to work out the "rights" and "wrongs".  Ultimately the toxicity of judgement permeates even the most (self)righteous of communities. By trying to be inclusive, we can simultaneously exclude.  But ultimately we all have to work out what works for us in the end.  What is the best fit for each of us.  So you love Bikram.  Awesome!  I had my love affair with the dude at one stage too.  So you hate Camel pose?  Damn girl, have I felt where you're coming from.  Sure we can come up with some Freudian analysis about how your heart chakra is probably closed but really people - grow up.  If that's your view, great!  If you believe something else - sweet.  We're all on a zillion different meandering paths heading to the same place.  Side note - it took all my effort to call it 'Camel' over Ustrasana.  The yogeek in me likes teaching sanskrit.  There's something oh-so romantic and mysterious about the vedic language.. but let's be honest.  If I say Ustrasana and only half of you know what talking about - it's like teaching preaching in Japanese when your audience speaks only Swedish.   Isn't the point to share yoga because we get glory from the benefits we see from it in our own lives?  To share and make it accessible to as many people as possible?  Yoga for every body.  Yoga is about chillaxing.  Sure it's got a lot of layers (8 limbs some might argue).  But perhaps for a moment, we can simply take our own advice, chill out, and just peel it back to the 'I do yoga because I do yoga.' 

Non-reactivity is my practice off the mat.  Equinimity is my yoga.   So as it turns out, my non-yogic friend is actually quite yogic after all.  For there is a guru within each of us.  There is a lesson in each experience.  You just have to get past your small self to find it.

"The Sneetches got really quite smart on that day.
The day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches.
And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches.
That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars and whether
They had one, or not, upon thars."  - Dr. Seuss 

Ustrasana / Camel (with an internal spiral rotation of the femur and an anterior pelvic tilt) at sunset.

Procrasti-Nation. That which you resist, Persists.

Lately I've been in a bit of a rut.  Not a life rut, a creative rut.  Life is swell.  In fact, it blows my brain how Mademoiselle Universe continues to out-do herself daily.  Though I have the usual daily struggles with my small mind, the turmoil with that little voice in my head (don't sweat the small stuff) - on the whole it's clear I must be doing something right.  Things are manifesting more frequently and more easily everyday.  The static is slowly subsiding.  I must be honing in on the right frequency.

There is one area of my life though, one slice of the sweet cherry pie that warrants a little gushy smothering of love.  It's the creative pudding.  My blog.  My writing.  My creative soul.  My Voice.

It doesn't seem to make a difference how much I want it to be this big, juicy, empowering, golden daily nugget of sunshine that inspires people around the globe to talk about and open up about over coffee with a friend.  Simply put - wishing and not writing will not make this happen on it's own.  Talk is cheap - especially when it's the words of the small mind creating excuses to keep me from writing. "Your message isn't clear.. you don't know exactly what the point is before you start writing a piece/peace... what are people going think?"  The latter sucks the most wind out of my creative sails.

But - That which we resist, persists.

Pretty sure I remember the line "resistance is futile" from a circa 1995 episode of Star Trek (no shame - I'm cool with it!)  Or, as renowned Canadian author Robin Sharma more recently, eloquently and yogic-ally put it:   

"What you resist will persist; what you befriend, you will transcend."

The flywheel ain't gonna start spinning on her own.  But she also doesn't want to stay still.  Restlessness will always prevail thanks to the wisdom of our deeper seeded higher self.  The flywheel is begging for just a little nudge, and then another, and then another to get her going.  

While wishing, hoping and dreaming are all perfect places to start.  Ultimately these sew the seeds of intention.  Intention, with the right conditions sprouts into thoughts.  Thoughts when given just the right about of loving kindness rise up into words.  And words, when in line with our highest purpose grow into deeds which sew the wishes, hopes and dreams that we seek.  

You are what your deep, driving desire is.
As your desire is, so is your will.
As your will is, so is your deed.
As your deed is, so is your destiny 
   -- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.5


So whether it be writing that blog.  Getting up early to meditate.  Or lacing up those sneaks for a jog before sunset.  The persistence of your higher self will ultimately beat the resistance of your small mind.  It's just up to you how long you'd like to keep resisting the flow, instead of surrender to it.  There's no better place.  There's no better time.  Then right now.  








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wishing tree

A dear friend hosted an 11/11/11 party over the weekend to celebrate the interconnectedness and the oneness of our community.  The date lends itself to auspiciousness in numerology, binary, (computer nerds eat your heart out!),  links with the Mayan Calendar, Remembrance Day, Veterans Day and as if that weren't enough it also synched up with the full moon!  If there ever was a powerful time to set forth some fierce intentions into the universe this was it!

The aim of the gathering was to inject some divine and loving energy out into the ether and allow it to multiply and return to us to manifest with loving abundance.  Upon arrival at the par-tay, (after downing the celebratory shooter), guests were instructed to inscribe their wish for the coming year onto a small card and hang it on the tree in the front yard - a Wishing Tree!

Now the shooter and the wish were awesome.  However, what was particularly cool about the whole thing was what was written on those cards and cast out into the crisp autumn night.  Cards were thoughtfully handwritten by each guest as they arrived. And unbeknown to all the guests, a common thread became quickly apparent among the wishes.

They were all the same.

Different words yes.  Some short and concise.  Some with drawings.  Some swirly calligraphied essays requiring multiple cards.  Same wish.

My small mind perked up and asked "But how could all these strong, beautiful, powerful women be wishing for the same thing as little old me?"  The deeper seated wisdom of my big mind replied: "Because you are one and the same."  Whoa?  Is it possible that all these fabulous, successful women who in my eyes 'had it all figured out', were in fact meandering on the same journey from fear and doubt towards all encompassing self love, much as I was?  (Big Mind: "Duh.")

Miraculous things have started to shift in the universe since that auspicious night.  Women stepped into their power.  Others had the courage to change their job.  Some released the pain of losing a loved one.  One special women had a pivotal shift in how she perceived her relationship.  Game changing stuff.

Miracles.

The cool thing is that miracles are available to us all the time.  They're happening all the time.  Simply put - a miracle is a shift in perception.  It's the moment you start choosing to perceive your life with love instead of fear. (Gabrielle Bernstein)

So - what kind of miracles will be called to action today?  Chocolate or vanilla?  You choose.





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revolution (aka miracles) are in the air

Is it just me or is anyone else sensing an imminent and exciting shift bubbling below the surface.  An energetic vibration beginning to buzz on an increasingly perceptible level.  Like we're approaching the edge of a cliff of our own making.

"Come to the edge we said.  And they said no - it's too high.
Come to the edge we said.  And they said no - we're gonna fall.
Come to the edge we said.  And they very reluctantly came.
And we pushed.  And they flew."  (From the film 'One Giant Leap')

Now I'm not talking just a personal breakthrough - not to demean the value of this towards the global good, but I'm talking here about something much, much greater.  Like the accumulation of personal shifts of masses of people all around the world. A global restlessness is brewing and the impending shifts this inspires is fast approaching.

Think about it.  In the past 6 months we've seen:

• 2 major riots in Vancouver and London.  This widespread energetic release of stress or discontent is much like a bird flapping it's wings after a fright to relieve stored stressful energy.  (Oh and just to point out another meaningful coincidence, the Vancouver riot fell on the eve of a full moon!) 
• We've seen Libia AND Syria come out of major civial political unrest and are at the crest of creating a whole new possibility for their people.  
• We've seen the Occupy movement spread not just across America but to build tent cities in major centers around the world with protesters peacefully standing for global transformation.  

Thanks to public icons like Oprah and Guru to the Stars Deepak Chopra, pop culture has seen an increasing focus on spirituality.  And I don't mean your old school Ma 'n Pa churchies.  I mean hip, young Spiritual Gangsters.  The current yoga participation rate is increasing by the minute. The number of minutes spent in peaceful meditation is growing daily thanks to groups like the Art of Living and an abundance of online challenges making guided meditations accessible and easy.  With the auspiciousness of 11.11.11 (meaningfully, also another full moon) just around the corner and the unknown projections of the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012 it certainly does feel like we are 'coming to the edge' of a major shift in how the world as we know it works.

So raise your vibration.  Spread your wings.  It's time to fly.

It's time to wake up.



www.vibeyoga.com
www.facebook.com/vibeyoga

Life is Meant to be Joyful

"Life is meant to be joyful."  She spoke these words to both open and close the most epic kundalini yoga class at lululemon athletica last night.  Seriously - we were rocking out to "Party Rock Anthem" like you've never seen.  Yoga traditionalist wouldn't have cringed at our awesome asanas us we seriously got our groove on looking more like a dance hall than a yoga studio.  Smiling.  Sweating.  Freeing energy.  Laughing. Playing.  "Life is meant to be joyful."

Contrast this to the capoeira class that I just returned from this afternoon.  What is it?  Well let's just say Papa Martial Arts met Mama Brazilian Music and.. boom boom POW!  Capoeira was their darling lovechild.  This dynamic artform weaves together music, drumming, acrobats and self defense.  What's not to love right?!

Well in all fairness to Baby Cap, it was only my 3rd class.  I like the idea of Capoeira.  I like the playful acrobatics of one handed cartwheels and walking on my hands.  I like the strength and power of the combative dance-like martial artsiness.  I like the idea of having the core strength (and rockin' bod) of a Capoeira chick. 

So in spite of my efforts to embrace a 'beginner's mind' and enjoy the unknown of my new found activity, I found my mind (and gut) racing back to grade 3 gym class.  Good ol' Canada Fitness Testing and I was the slowest girl around the track for the endurance test.  (OK not dead last but let's just say I got a 'Participation' badge in the event.)  There was nothing joyful about this instructors' barking words.  There was nothing joyful about having to do pushups because someone else in class couldn't name the correct Portuguese word for the drumming beat we were listening to.  There was no smiling or laughing or playing. 

And so I weighed my options.  (1) Stay and sit outside my comfort zone (aka - grow).  Or (2) pursue something more joyful.  With a mounting sense of 'igottagetouttahere' filling up my belly,  and the class paused for a water break, I seized my opportunity, my backpack and kindly thanked the instructor as I opted for option two (or dues as they say in Portuguese). 

I know what you're thinking and part of me is thinking it too.  Growth is achieved outside our comfort zones.  If we don't grow we die.  Think about it.  Nothing in nature is stagnant.  We're either growing, blossoming, shining, expanding or we're receding, retracting sinking, sulking, not to mention boring. Just because something motivates growth doesn't mean it's necessarily joyful.  (I can't say I enjoyed memorizing all 206 bones in the human body but I was damn well chuffed with myself when I ultimately rocked a Masters degree.)  Conversely, joyful activities don't necessarily inspire growth. (I feel joy when Presidents Choice Candy Cane icecream hits my freezer every Christmas but it doesn't often spawn personal growth.. other than that of my waistline.) 

But the two aren't mutually exclusive either.  " 'William Butler Yeats wrote that happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth.  We are happy when we are growing.'  Contemporary researchers make the same argument: that it isn't goal attainment but the process of striving after goals - that is, growth - that brings happiness."  -  Gretchen Rubin in The Happiness Project

The key is finding the optimal combination of joy and growth in an activity that keeps us coming back for more.  A balance that is as unique and personal as each and every one of us.  To complicate it further, because we're so adaptable, we become accustomed to activities, in turn causing them to lose their luster (like the excitement of driving your Toyota Matrix that wears off over time).  And so, we seek out new more exciting ones - in essence to maintain an environment of growth. 

So just trying capoeira was enough to satisfy my need for growth.  (I can now confidently do one handed cartwheels in both directions thank you very much!) But the lack of joy it brought me wasn't the right recipe to keep me coming back for more.  Instead, walking home with the warm sun on my back,  relishing in finding a new recipe, cooking it for dinner and then sitting down to write this blog inspired the optimal happiness : growth ration for this gal. 

After all, Life is meant to be joyful.


*Check out the Party Rock Anthem video for some crazy yoga-inspired break-dancing at the end.  And a dancing Jesus.  Enough said.

** For a rockin' yoga class to inspire joy and challenge growth visit www.vibeyoga.ca

Paus: Swedish for playing hooky.

Paus (pronounced pows) is the Swedish word for "on a break", "timeout", or quite obviously "pause". (It's just way more fun to say in a Swedish accent though right?)

Today I played hooky.  Yup.  After a season of repeatedly over-booking myself, over-committing my time and stretching my balance to within an inch of it's life I finally decided to press 'paus'.  And while yes, yoga does teach one balance - it is a practice. Imagine that if we could all just do enough vrikshasana (tree pose), our life balance would just sort itself out?!  Balance is a choice and I choose balance.   The balance pendulum continues to swing back and forth back and forth like tree's blowing in the wind. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm in no way out of the ordinary in the hooky department.  As it turns out,  just over half of Canadians (52%) have called in sick to work when in fact they're not actually ill.  Personally I can't believe the stat is so low.  People carry on for most of their lives working 50 out of 52 weeks a year.  Just when two weeks of vacation per year was ever supportive to work/life balance is beyond me. 

With North Americans ringing in with some of the least vacation time and the worst work place productivity globally it's baffling that the Leaders of the Free World haven't clued in to simple work life balance protocol that has been around for centuries.  What ever happened to the simple siesta?  The long lunch?  No wonder more and more peeps are calling in and passing off their groggy morning voices as the flu.

Lucky for moi I work in a forward thinking industry.  Or shall we say backwards thinking?  Yoga philosophy dates back to the vedic ages and the concept of ahimsa so appropriately translates the sanskrit practice of 'non-violence' or 'non-injury'.  This yama (sanskrit word for moral restraint) encompasses the practice of compassion and consideration for all living beings.  Overworking your body both physically or mentally is neglecting to take care and, as such, is a form of misuse. 

Interestingly, my boss renamed our 'sick' days to 'health & wellness' days earlier this year so that they better reflect a supportive and all encompassing personal health approach.  Sometimes we just need to take a day to nurture ourselves and press 'paus'.  In a conventional work environment I would have been in a position to lie about my personal health in order to 'chuck a sicky'.  Instead the space was created for me to be totally honest about feeling that I just needed to take an extra day for my personal well being.  (Which in turn fascilitates my practice of satya, the sanskrit word for truthfulness.) 

Preconditioned feelings of guilt and not-enough-ness bubbled up as I confessed I needed to take the day.  Magically these disappeared almost as quickly as they surfaced when my request was smothered with my boss' blessings.  And so I went about my day.  Meditation.  Skype date with mom and sister.  Retail therapy.  Baking.  Blogging.  Nurturing.  Relaxing.  Not worrying.  Enjoying.  Reconnecting with Balance.  Refilling the tank.  Being Present.




Press 'paus' and visit www.vibeyoga.ca

Fear's annoying little sister...

Doubt and fear.  Fear and doubt.  Oh how these two little doozies just keep rearing their ugly heads at me this week.  Especially big "Dizzy-D".  Doubt.  It seems Big D just keeps bullying her way into all facets of my life.  (Note the lack of personal responsibility here.)  I doubt my ability to teach a good class...  I worry about what my students think...  I doubt that they like me...  I doubt that I'm worthy to teach...  I doubt I'm good enough...  Ahhh - you've heard that one before. Those two, infamous words that so many of us hold so close to our hearts that we might as well just get them tattooed there.  We surrender so much of the Power of Living our Best Lives to the toxicity of Doubt.  Yup - self sabotage at it's finest.  I know I'm not alone in this one - we really are our worst enemies aren't we?

But where does Doubt come from? Why did we invite her in?  She's like your best friends annoying little sister who was 2 years younger than you. Remember her?  Remember how you just didn't want to play with her but your mom told you to 'play nice' so you kept her around but instead (sneakily) changed the rules so that instead of playing with her, you would constantly be running away from her?  Isn't that essentially what we're still doing though - running away from 'her'?  And where is that getting us other then to feed that belt of anxiety we sport like a life preserver around our solar plexus?  Oh sigh - to think that we could be Free.

Let's stand in possibility for a moment.  What if... you heeded your mothers advice (for once.)  What if you made friends with your best friends annoying little sister?  (I know - I can hear the whiny "But Mommmm" hanging in the air now.)  What if instead of running away from Doubt we befriended her?  What if she's just like us?  Full of hopes and fears and annoying little sibblings of her own?  Is it possible that instead of covering Doubt with mantras of:  "I think I can.  I like myself.  I am good enough." we harnessed her power on our side.  As our friend.  So instead of working against us, she worked with us.  As part of us.  Enabling us to be more authentic.  More real.  More ME.  Not to give into her, but to befriend her.

And that's really how you make friends and get people to like us anyways isn't it?  The vulnerability of being authentic.

"The greatest fear in the world is of the opinions of others.  And the moment you are unafraid of the crowd you are no longer a sheep, you become a lion.  A great roar arises in your heart, the roar of freedom"  -Osho 'Courage The Joy of Living Dangerously'

a trying 8 days 8 nights.

"Trying" are the days of the modern family.  Or are they?  My in-laws are on the west coast visiting us this week.  After forking over big bucks on flights to get here, to save on dough, they're shackin' up with us in our teeny 1 bedroom apartment for 8 days and 8 nights.  Before you question my judgement let me preface this with the fact that I get on famously with my in-laws.  They're awesome and I really couldn't manifest in-laws more fun or more loving to click with.  (And I'm fully sick at manifesting bru.) While on the surface, I was totally stoked to show them a great time in our new city, deep down I was secretly dreading the whole thing.  Don't get me wrong,  I'm no sissy-pants and am happy to give up my cushy queen sized for the Canadian Tire Special inflata-bed for 8 precious sleeps.  It's just, you know, the close-quarters.. the living on top of one-another like crabs in a bucket.. the no quiet time.  (Sorry Mr. Chopra, our 21 day meditation challenge just became the sacrificial lamb.)

My last night in my own bed leading up to their visit was spent tossing and turning restlessly resulting in an exhausted meltdown the morning of their arrival.  (Insert the visual of a tantrum tossing 32 year old here.)  I was already feeling so tired when all I really wanted to do was be fully gung-ho, fully engaged and fully switched "on" to show them the best time.. you know - for them.  That dangerous Dame Resentment began to trickle in...

After a long day at the office, (it's a yoga studio and I sit on bolsters and type on a laptop rough - I know.), I dragged my feet home repeating sweet sweet revitalizing mantras in my mind (but really not buying into their hippy voodoo bullshit).  But as I stepped through the doorway the strangest thing happened.  Instead of morphing into a fake enthusiastic hostess (the image of a robotic Stepford Wife springs to mind) I was warmly welcomed with hugs and kisses and such loving energy into my own home by my Sangha (yoga word for community) - my Family.

Their love filled me up.  It energized me.  I was excited even elated to see them.  I was instantly washed clean of all my "trying" to be anything other than myself.  How had I forgotten to just be me?  A forgetfulness of ourselves that seems to permeate all facets of our lives - into all our roles.  When else do we become Stepford Wives (or Stepford hubbies.. sisters or brothers for that matter?)  Where in our lives are we trying to be something else, someone else, to change ourselves to fulfill our preconceived expectations of what other people "expect" of us.  (My yoga "teacher voice" suddenly pops into my head.)

When we are surrounded by sangha, by family, by those we love and who love us - all that trying melts away.  It dissolves into the Universe.  Whats left is us.  Pure you.  Naked of all that effort.  All that trying.  And you're loved just for that.  Just.  You.

Such is the importance of the modern family.  The Sangha.  The community.  The support of those who Love us is paramount to us being our authentic selves.  Connect with yours and quit your trying.

dreamasana...

 manifesting this as my future lululemon athletica ambassador photo - photo courtesy of tiny devotions

to all my teachers...

A shout out to my hommies:  Ekhart, Deepak, Mr. Milman, HH, Guruji and Siddhartha (among others).  Thanks for all those times you spoke up and shared your words of wisdom and kind advice.  I know, I know, I didn't always want to hear it, or make it easy on you, but you held true in your belief in me and never wavered when I faltered.   In doing so you have secured yourselves a cozy little nook deep within me.  You (or I) have carved out a space for you to live - to keep the wisdom of your teachings close to my heart where they are close at hand when I (inevitably) hit a bump in the road.

And to my single ladies: Lizzy G, Gretchen, Marianne, (Tosca you too).  Thank you for making me laugh.  For creating the space for me to be 'enough'.  For inspiring me with your own lives that we are all continuously learning.  For wiping my tears when you've stoked a tear (and a fear) and then following it up with something warm and fuzzy like a big long hug.  You will get to party in the space in my heart with the hommies (see above).  The gang continues to grow as I continue to live and learn and together we will consciously create the life we love.

Eternally grateful to all my teachers.  Inspired to pass on, in my own way, what I've learned to help elevate others and our world.

Yours in health & love.
Namaste.

christi

aha moment

I think it's working.  The yoga that is.  And by yoga, I mean my personal combo of asanas, meditation, pranayama, inspired reading, and mindfulness in everyday living. This is my personal practice.  I'm of the mindset that there is no right or wrong way pursue your yogic path but that different practices will resonate with you and so be it you choose them.  The important thing for a learner like me is to be constantly growing.  So in my reading, my bending, my breathing and my sitting, I learn.  And from this, I take what I want, I leave what I don't want and I create a mosaic of practices that colour my practice.

The more I practice and the more I reflect, the more I find myself taking my yoga off the mat   This manifests in the form of a larger and larger 'space between' action and my reaction.  And as much as I'm recognizing shifts (albeit often teensy weensy ones) in my ability to observe my mind and my emotions, I certainly have yet to 'master' inner equanimity.

Relationships are one of the most interesting (and challenging) things that take our yoga off the mat.  Take my relationship with my fiance for example (because what better example is there than the one that hits closest to home).  I've realized that I am a 'should-er'.  I am great at telling him (or anyone for that matter - sorry mum) what they 'should' do, how they 'should' do it and all the other the 'shoulds' that come along with it.  I know I know I can hear him now, a miniature Eckhart Tolle sitting on my shoulder whispering sweet nothings about my ego in my ear. 

And so yesterday, something quite odd happened.  My spouse didn't do what I wanted him to do.  Odd I know!  He decided he didn't want to come to the yoga book club with me and that he'd rather stay at home and have a cup of coffee instead.  Hmmm.  Space between.  Space between.  Hmmm.  A nice knot of energy twisted itself to my core as I stomped my way down to the studio (after telling him that of course he could do whatever he liked but really thinking to myself 'Doesn't he see?!  This would be sooo good for him!)

As it turns out, the only person the book club was really good for was me (though I didn't quite grasp this yet).  I showed up at book club.  We were from various walks of life with an equally diverse experience with all types of yoga practice. Yup, from novice to pretzel, a group of 13 strangers sat cross-legged in a circle and spent 2 hours chatting about The Inner Tradition of Yoga. We shared our questions, personal challenges and quests to 'live' yoga and wound down the session with a short group meditation.  Following the meditation,  a really nice warm fuzzy sense of interconnectedness and belonging began to well up in me (and conveniently replaced the knot).  As diverse a group as we were with everyone holding a different personal practice, a different set of values and certainly a variety of yoga philosophy, there was a strong commonality among us.

And then it happened on my blissful and mindless walk home.  AHA!  The newbies to yoga could gain as much as the hardcore practitioners from the book club.  They showed up because, whatever their reasons maybe, they were interested in yoga philosophy and community.  Everyone was on a different stage on their path and this was one of the stepping stones for them at this point on their journey.  They were choosing to take what they wanted and leave what they didn't want.  Why was I persecuting my other half for choosing not to attend?  Couldn't I be celebrating where he's at on his path and taking what he wanted?  Instead of constantly pushing the 'shoulds' and wanting him to step outside his comfort zone, couldn't I embrace his personal practice or that he is open to yoga at all for that matter?!

And so in that moment I made a conscious choice to view things differently.  I embraced 'could' and the beautiful space of possibility it opened up compared to the ever-limiting 'should'.   This decision created a simultaneous softening and opening in my core. Clearly my awareness of my all-pervasive 'judgement' blindspots has only scratched the surface (an image of an iceberg above and below water comes to mind.  As does the icky feeling of acknowledging the parts of you we dislike and like to keep hidden).  All part of the journey.  And the sweet cherry on top of today's lesson on the self, was that when I walked in the door at home, my man had his mat rolled out and was practicing yoga in the living room.  Thanks Universe.  I'm listening.
 

a smidgen of inspiration and wisdom...

They ain't kidding when they say 'a picture is worth a thousand words'.  So instead of describing the inspiration, emotion and wisdom that oozes out of the following images I'll just let you sponge up what they mean for you.  What bubbles up for me, from a yogic perspective is: Living our Dharma (yoga word for life purpose) while embracing detachment enables us float on a cloud of equanimity.  For more inspiring quotes and images, Pinterest is always chockablock full of juicy goodness. 

So simple.  So wise.  Finding contentment in simplicity.

the spiritual side of politics

'Tis election season in Canada once again.  This election appears to be approached with one portion disdain, one slice indifference, one serving of impatience (that it falls right in the middle of hockey playoffs) topped off with a sprinkle of hope. 

An election creates the same vibe we feel at the end of December as we approach the potential of a new year and a 'new' beginning.  There is as much unrest and anxiety in the air as there is excitement and shear possibility.  Hope for something different.  Hope for something better.  It's incredible how much of a spiritual edge there is to something so blatantly political.

The energy being created by young voters and the 'next' generation is being heralded with a mis of tribulation and uneasiness.  It's us they fear could finally rock the boat and create a shift in the old school republican mentality (the Cadillac) that has us wearing the same prom dress as our neighbours to the south more and more often; and instead trade it in for the new-age urban hippy movement (hello Prius).

Having visited Denmark last year, I witnessed the forward-thinking quasi-socialist system that the Scandinavian nations are being praised for in action.  It amazes me to learn that a country so tiny can make leaps like powering their downtown core and other neighbourhoods from the green energy created from the garbage they produce.  Rubbish converted to green fuel - what an entrepreneurial solution!  Perhaps it's thanks to Denmark's small size that it is capable of rolling out such an initiative.  Unlikely in Canada?  One can only hope to see the diversity of the North American population coming to a consensus on initiatives such as this.

Perhaps that's precisely what the 2011 campaign season can provide.  Hope for the future.  An intention to work together for a better Canada.  With election day almost upon us.. let us bathe in possibility.  Soak it up - and manifest change.

on your mark...

The stats:  6 Months, 8 Countries, followed by a 4300km road-trip across 4 Canadian provinces, 3 U.S. states, along the agonizingly straight flat (with an emphasis on the STRAIGHT FLAT) prairie TransCanada Hwy 1 to the magnificence of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.  We have just about arrived.

The move from Australia to Canada proved to be an adventure of epic proportions. It's unpredictable emotional up's and down's: "What do you mean you 'LOST' your fiance in the Frankfurt airport?" and jaw-dropping moments "Please miss, come meditate on the rooftop of the Golden Temple, it is a very very powerful place" to burst at the seams hilarity "imagine swindling your way into a 'ping-pong show' in Bangkok and winding up in a rally with the headline act!" - the journey has undoubtedly strengthened John's and my relationship and we're both keen as mustard to take on the next leg of our journey: Life Three.

It came about one night in Manly, sitting down by the wharf, contemplating the meaning of life (and all feeling a little apprehensive about what was to come and the responsibilities that awaited), that three best friends philosophized as they sipped their brew (always the best nectar for philosophization) and ultimately defined the splendid truth of the Circle of Life.  This simple yet insightful look at life was divided it into 4 stages:

Life One:  Childhood.  Blissful innocence.  You are in wonder of the world around you and are fully dependent on your family for support.

Life Two:  Late teens and early twenties.  The world revolves around YOU.  The world is your oyster.  You are independent and are largely ego-centric and ready to take on the world.  (Party-time)

Life Three:  Career time.  Maybe you get married, maybe you have kids.  The breadth of your responsibilities widens and you now have people dependent on you. (A big role reversal from Life 2 and often accompanied by anxiety and apprehension during the transition period).

Life Four: Your kids leave home.  Perhaps you retire.  Your freedom increases for a period, followed ultimately by increasing dependence once again on family as you continue to age.  The blissful innocence of clarity sets in as we complete the cycle.

Exhilarated and apprehensive of the blank canvas before us, John and I are on the brink of Life 3.  The island awaits...