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...

sigh i eat pray love you miss gilbert

"People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it."
- Elizabeth Gilbert, eat pray love

define 'cheating'

We always start off with good intentions.  And then this little friend called 'Time' strolls on into the mix and the longer she sticks around to play, the more blurred the line in the sand becomes.  Willpower is such a funny thing, and what's more is the human mind's ability to rationalize, justify and change the rules to accommodate our good intentions.

Detox 1 : Me 1
It could be much worse.  (Though I wonder perhaps if this is just my mind, in an effort to justify my hiccups, creating a comparison).  I have managed to stick to the detox recommendations made by my guru doctor for the past 10 days.  (Good god how will I manage another 20?)  Basically becoming a caeliac and a vegan in the same week is an award worthy feat.  Only twice - TWICE have I molded the rules to suit me.  Okay let's be honest - I totally just cheated.  Once - I ate sour gummy worms at work simply because I felt that I deserved them (and I don't even ever eat these!) and the second time we were at a friends place for dinner and I justified eating beef because I didn't want to make my diet interfere with her cooking plans!  (Totally selfless right?!) Outside of this I have stuck to the no wheat, no corn, no beef, no chicken, no oats, no gluten, no strawberries, no chocolate (I am deserving of sainthood for this) and the list goes on.

What's a girl to do?  What's the point more importantly?  That's right - clear skin and good health.  Except we're not seeing any results in the skin department (worsening in fact).  And I'm certainly not feeling any healthier.  Is this my evil twin convincing me that it's okay to cheat?  Perhaps.  Well - I'm only cheating myself right?  And so the next 2 weeks begin - living life to it's fullest - vegetarian with a side of gluten free.  Mmm mmm good.