Have you ever practised yoga with a mirror in the room? Most hot yoga studios have and use mirrors in the practice room. I've recently begun teaching in a studio with mirrors, and have become aware of how practitioners use or don't use them in their practice. From checking alignment to checking their hair, the mirrors sometimes create a distraction during class. I've been thinking a lot about how we can better utilize this tool, but I've also wondered if the mirrors actually prevent a deeper experience of yoga or not.
I remember the first time I thought about yoga in front of a mirror, I thought, like most people, "cool! I can check out my alignment". Then of course, my teachers set me straight, "a mirror takes you out of the inner practice, and makes your relationship with the postures external". As a result, I've often discouraged eager students from practising regularly in front of a mirror.
A few weeks ago I attended a Bikram yoga class. For those unfamiliar with Bikram, it is a series of 26 postures practised in an extraordinarily hot room... in front of a mirror. I was resistant to the idea of the mirror, it was going to take me out of my practice - how could I create an internal relationship with my body if I was experiencing it through the mirror?
But, isn't that how most of us perceive our body all the time? We are continually fed images of men & women with "perfect" (albeit photo shopped) bodies and there is an unwritten cultural expectation of normal beauty. We use mirrors daily to make sure that our presentation to the world falls within what we perceive as acceptable beauty. And, if we don't feel that we are beautiful enough, we create stories of imperfection, we lose confidence and fight an ongoing battle with self esteem. We might limit food intake, over exercise, or fall into depression in at attempt to create an ideal of beauty in our mirrors. Much like using the mirror to create the perfect posture, we use mirrors every day to create perfect beauty.
So - back to the Bikram class. I decided to approach this yoga practice with the mirror in a different way. Instead of using the mirror to check alignment (unless instructed to do so by the teacher, as there are often cues in the class to use the mirror to check postures), I allowed myself the time in front of the mirror to get real with the stories I'd created in my head about my body. I allowed the thoughts of, "my ankles are small for my body", "my belly is flopping over top of my shorts, and it looks bigger than my boobs right now", "I thought my shoulders were more defined than that" - and also allowed the thoughts of "my thighs look hot right now" and "my hair is looking pretty good all sweaty like this" to run through my brain. I began to realize that the mirror was an unflinching reminder of my stories. Stories of how I feel I do or do not measure up to an arbitrary cultural norm of beauty. The mirror was the figurative... and maybe to some, literal... elephant in the room.
Thing is. When we walk away from the mirror, we do not walk away from the stories. From the external awareness of our physical form. So, even when we practice yoga away from a mirror, we are still working with an external interpretation of our body. When we move our foot in a certain way, or reach up toward the sky in a posture - we align ourselves knowing how we look externally, in the mirror. We think of body parts as we perceive them being part of our body, separate from our mind. It is the separation that we are seeking to dissolve on the mat.
David Deida, who I've mentioned in this blog, offers practices for men and women to feel into their body. He suggest working with the breath, creating a cycle of breath with an inhalation that flows into the belly, down to the pelvis and then exhalation that travels up the spine to the crown of the head. He suggests using this breath through intimacy to allow one to fully experience the internal sensations present in the body.
It is interesting when one starts to seek the experience of sensation using the breath. Taking Deida's practice out of the bedroom and onto the yoga mat can illustrate how we often experience our practice from our external perception of the body. For example, being aware of our hand in space doesn't often come from the sensation experienced in the hand, but rather from our awareness of how the hand is to look at.
Instead of thinking of the hand in a specific alignment, what if we just took our breath and our awareness of sensation alone to the hand. And felt what it felt like to BE in the pose, in space. What would this do to our practice? We can find our safe alignment, and then feel into the pose. Use the breath, and really feel the sensation of the pose, and then feel beyond the body experiencing our practice from a deeper understanding of union. When we recognize that the mind is in the body, and that the breath unifies the external with the internal we can become aware of stillness, yoga.
So, mirrors or not. We come to the mat with deeply engrained stories, patterning of thought that will influence our perception of how our body creates our physical practice. We can continue to experience asana in this way, but if we want to go deeper, and begin to use yoga as our spiritual practice, our time of the mat must also be a practice of letting go of what we think we know about our bodies and ourselves. We must cultivate a deeper awareness through feeling into the experience and as a result, creating an internal experience of yoga.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
What is Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga, and why should you care?
I'm sure many of you have noticed that I'm offering several workshops this summer to teach you about this super cool style of yoga I've been practising lately. Over the winter, I spent several hours in front of my computer screen watching online core strength vinyasa training with Sadie Nardini and Tyler McCoy. I immediately began integrating elements of the style into my teaching, and over the past few months have shifted my teaching to mostly reflect the this style.
Core Strength Vinyasa isn't a system like astanga or Bikram is a system. The cool thing about csv is that it can be used within any existing practice. Core Strength Vinyasa is all about the transitions, the way we get in and out of our postures. Anyone who has practised with me over the past year after writing The Space Between blog post is probably aware of how much I dig transitions. I love the ability to suspend time between our postures as we mindfully move in, around and through them. So it is no wonder I feel deeply drawn to the core strength vinyasa style. .
But, there is more to this style than really cool transitions. Sadie Nardini has created CSV though the use of cutting edge anatomy information. Her teacher, Leslie Kaminoff, author of the book, "Yoga Anatomy" has greatly influenced the way Sadie approaches practice. Along with Kaminoff, Sadie also applies Tom Myer's work from Anatomy Trains. In csv, we work with what is called the "deep core line" or the "deep front line" as per Tom Myers. This is a myofascial train running through the body, it originates at the feet, travels behind the shins, along the inner thigh, over psoas, through the pelvis, up through the organs and through the neck ending in the tongue. You can see Tom Myers dissect the dcl on a human cadaver in this you tube video.
Using the therapeutic modality set out by Kaminoff, and the Anatomy Trains information, Nardini created her system allowing us to best access the dcl which in turn creates greater strength, and stability in our postures. Have you ever been in a pose and feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders or your thighs? When you learn to access the dcl, you will see an amazing transformation in your practice. You will stop holding your poses from the outer body, because you'll be keeping it together at your deepest core. It feels incredible! The outer body relaxes and you will get a true sense of sthira sukham (effort & ease).
Through this style you will begin to discover hidden strength in the body, and before long you will see some major changes both on and off the mat. Posture improves. But, best of all - you will begin to see those pesky yoga injuries diminish. As a long time practitioner of more linear styles of yoga, I was continually facing injury of some kind. Hips, shoulders, wrists, hamstring attachment, and the always pesky SI joint. I've learned that these are not just side effects of practising or teaching yoga, but all of these chronic injuries are totally preventable with the right alignment.
I want to share this information with you and show you how you can transform your practice this summer! The first workshop is this weekend, and there is still lots of space left for you to sign up!
July 19th at Mind's Eye Yoga Center 1:00 - 3:00 ($40) - The Space Between, flow anatomy & foundation - This workshop lays the groundwork for the csv system. I will teach you about the dcl and how to access it using the 7 core cues. We will work though all the transitions and then apply it all to our practice. You don't want to miss this one - see how incredible it can feel to move in a new, more intuitive way as you flow through your yoga practice.
July 26th at Hot Yoga Regina 1:00 - 3:00 ($30) - Rock Your Arm Balances. You will not believe what using the 7 core cues can do to your arm balance & inversion practice. Combining csv alignment with some old fashioned physics, we will begin to do some pretty cool stuff with our bodies. Perfect for that facebook profile pic or to spice up your instragram page! Also, lots of fun.
August 9th at Mind's Eye Yoga Center 1:00 - 3:00 ($40) - Finding Freedom, backbending antomy & foundation. You've never done a backbend until you try using the 7 core cues to enter into one! Discover incredible openness and spaciousness as we hack our way into this incredible heart opening practice.
August 21 at Mind's Eye Yoga Center 7:00 - 9:00 ($40) Twisted, twists foundation & anatomy. Twists are the best, they feel good, they are good for you. This workshop will give you some great twisting knowledge and then we will move through a multi level csv twisting practice exploring all kinds of twists with opportunity to explore binding as well.
August 23 at Hot Yoga Regina 1:00 -4:00 ($45) The Space Between, HOT flow anatomy & foundation - Same as above, except we will turn up the heat for the last hour and experience csv at 37 degrees. Heaven.
August 28 at Mind's Eye Yoga Center 7:00 - 9:00 ($40) Rock Your Arm Balances. Same as above!
Come to one, or all! Try our the arm balances in July at Hot Yoga Regina, then come back in August to Mind's Eye and check in! If you sign up for all four workshops at Mind's Eye, you will get a discount, $140 for all four workshops.
You can click the tab at the top of this page to register online for the Mind's Eye workshops. If you want to register for the Hot Yoga Regina workshops, visit their Mind Body website and click on the classes tab, then choose workshops, and the date you want to attend.
If you have any questions, please contact me via comments or by phone 306-551-3497.
Namaste.
Core Strength Vinyasa isn't a system like astanga or Bikram is a system. The cool thing about csv is that it can be used within any existing practice. Core Strength Vinyasa is all about the transitions, the way we get in and out of our postures. Anyone who has practised with me over the past year after writing The Space Between blog post is probably aware of how much I dig transitions. I love the ability to suspend time between our postures as we mindfully move in, around and through them. So it is no wonder I feel deeply drawn to the core strength vinyasa style. .
But, there is more to this style than really cool transitions. Sadie Nardini has created CSV though the use of cutting edge anatomy information. Her teacher, Leslie Kaminoff, author of the book, "Yoga Anatomy" has greatly influenced the way Sadie approaches practice. Along with Kaminoff, Sadie also applies Tom Myer's work from Anatomy Trains. In csv, we work with what is called the "deep core line" or the "deep front line" as per Tom Myers. This is a myofascial train running through the body, it originates at the feet, travels behind the shins, along the inner thigh, over psoas, through the pelvis, up through the organs and through the neck ending in the tongue. You can see Tom Myers dissect the dcl on a human cadaver in this you tube video.
Using the therapeutic modality set out by Kaminoff, and the Anatomy Trains information, Nardini created her system allowing us to best access the dcl which in turn creates greater strength, and stability in our postures. Have you ever been in a pose and feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders or your thighs? When you learn to access the dcl, you will see an amazing transformation in your practice. You will stop holding your poses from the outer body, because you'll be keeping it together at your deepest core. It feels incredible! The outer body relaxes and you will get a true sense of sthira sukham (effort & ease).
Through this style you will begin to discover hidden strength in the body, and before long you will see some major changes both on and off the mat. Posture improves. But, best of all - you will begin to see those pesky yoga injuries diminish. As a long time practitioner of more linear styles of yoga, I was continually facing injury of some kind. Hips, shoulders, wrists, hamstring attachment, and the always pesky SI joint. I've learned that these are not just side effects of practising or teaching yoga, but all of these chronic injuries are totally preventable with the right alignment.
I want to share this information with you and show you how you can transform your practice this summer! The first workshop is this weekend, and there is still lots of space left for you to sign up!
July 19th at Mind's Eye Yoga Center 1:00 - 3:00 ($40) - The Space Between, flow anatomy & foundation - This workshop lays the groundwork for the csv system. I will teach you about the dcl and how to access it using the 7 core cues. We will work though all the transitions and then apply it all to our practice. You don't want to miss this one - see how incredible it can feel to move in a new, more intuitive way as you flow through your yoga practice.
July 26th at Hot Yoga Regina 1:00 - 3:00 ($30) - Rock Your Arm Balances. You will not believe what using the 7 core cues can do to your arm balance & inversion practice. Combining csv alignment with some old fashioned physics, we will begin to do some pretty cool stuff with our bodies. Perfect for that facebook profile pic or to spice up your instragram page! Also, lots of fun.
August 9th at Mind's Eye Yoga Center 1:00 - 3:00 ($40) - Finding Freedom, backbending antomy & foundation. You've never done a backbend until you try using the 7 core cues to enter into one! Discover incredible openness and spaciousness as we hack our way into this incredible heart opening practice.
August 21 at Mind's Eye Yoga Center 7:00 - 9:00 ($40) Twisted, twists foundation & anatomy. Twists are the best, they feel good, they are good for you. This workshop will give you some great twisting knowledge and then we will move through a multi level csv twisting practice exploring all kinds of twists with opportunity to explore binding as well.
August 23 at Hot Yoga Regina 1:00 -4:00 ($45) The Space Between, HOT flow anatomy & foundation - Same as above, except we will turn up the heat for the last hour and experience csv at 37 degrees. Heaven.
August 28 at Mind's Eye Yoga Center 7:00 - 9:00 ($40) Rock Your Arm Balances. Same as above!
Come to one, or all! Try our the arm balances in July at Hot Yoga Regina, then come back in August to Mind's Eye and check in! If you sign up for all four workshops at Mind's Eye, you will get a discount, $140 for all four workshops.
You can click the tab at the top of this page to register online for the Mind's Eye workshops. If you want to register for the Hot Yoga Regina workshops, visit their Mind Body website and click on the classes tab, then choose workshops, and the date you want to attend.
If you have any questions, please contact me via comments or by phone 306-551-3497.
Namaste.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Summer Workshop Schedule!
Summer is here.... kind of! Looking forward to some sunny days coming soon. Here is my summer workshop schedule. Spaces are limited in all the workshops, so sign up early! You don't want to miss out!
Core Strength Vinyasa - Summer Workshop Series
$40/workshop or $140 for all 4
July 19th, 1:00 - 3:00pm, The Space Between, Foundations of Core Strength Vinyasa Flow
This workshop will introduce you to the concepts of Core Strength Vinyasa yoga and the real world anatomy designed to turbo boost your practice. Experience transformation as you learn the 7 core cues that will draw you into your deep core line allowing you to build your asana practice from the inside out. No more gripping the outer body to hold your postures superficially, discover a way to practice yoga that draws you to your deepest core. Find limitless space & freedom in your practice as you tap into your true strength. Suitable for EVERY body.
August 9, 1:00 - 3:00pm, Finding Freedom, Backbending Anatomy & Foundation
This workshop will allow you to find new freedom in your backbending practice. Based on the cutting edge anatomy of the Core Strength Vinyasa style, we will explore the foundation of how to build a safe & smart backbending practice utilizing the 7 core cues. Prevent common injury and find a love for this often challenging practice.
August 21, 7:00 - 9:00pm, Twisted, The Anatomy & Foundation of Twists
One of the most beneficial aspects of our practice, twisting done correctly can feel amazing. Learn how to twist safely in this workshop/flow combination class. We will approach twisting using the 7 core cues of the Core Strength Vinyasa method, then we will supercharge them with binds, balances, and deep core strengthening. Detox and refresh with this feel good workshop.
August 28, 7:00 - 9:00, Rock Your Arm Balances! Anatomy & Foundation of Arm Balancing & Inverting
This workshop will guide you through the prep work and key alignment techniques needed to create a safe & successful arm balance practice. Using the 7 core cues of the Core Strength Vinyasa method, you will earn how to utilize your deep core line to build your postures from within. Suitable for all practice levels, the intention of this workshop is to educate, guide and grow you in the direction of finding your own expression of these fun, challenging and exciting postures. Come experience the deep holistic transformation of the Core Strength Vinyasa style and rock out some seriously cool postures in the process.
Core Strength Vinyasa Summer Workshop Series
July 26, 1:00 - 3:00pm Rock Your Arm Balances! $30
August 1:00 - 4:00pm The Space Between, Foundations of HOT Core Strength Vinyasa $45 (please note that the last hour of this workshop will be a hot flow class, please dress lightly and bring water & a towel)
Children's Summer Camps (UNHEATED)
July 14 - 17, 10am - 12pm Kids Yoga Camp, ages 5 - 8 $100
Summer Workshop Schedule
Mind's Eye Yoga Center
Core Strength Vinyasa - Summer Workshop Series
$40/workshop or $140 for all 4
July 19th, 1:00 - 3:00pm, The Space Between, Foundations of Core Strength Vinyasa Flow
This workshop will introduce you to the concepts of Core Strength Vinyasa yoga and the real world anatomy designed to turbo boost your practice. Experience transformation as you learn the 7 core cues that will draw you into your deep core line allowing you to build your asana practice from the inside out. No more gripping the outer body to hold your postures superficially, discover a way to practice yoga that draws you to your deepest core. Find limitless space & freedom in your practice as you tap into your true strength. Suitable for EVERY body.
August 9, 1:00 - 3:00pm, Finding Freedom, Backbending Anatomy & Foundation
This workshop will allow you to find new freedom in your backbending practice. Based on the cutting edge anatomy of the Core Strength Vinyasa style, we will explore the foundation of how to build a safe & smart backbending practice utilizing the 7 core cues. Prevent common injury and find a love for this often challenging practice.
August 21, 7:00 - 9:00pm, Twisted, The Anatomy & Foundation of Twists
One of the most beneficial aspects of our practice, twisting done correctly can feel amazing. Learn how to twist safely in this workshop/flow combination class. We will approach twisting using the 7 core cues of the Core Strength Vinyasa method, then we will supercharge them with binds, balances, and deep core strengthening. Detox and refresh with this feel good workshop.
August 28, 7:00 - 9:00, Rock Your Arm Balances! Anatomy & Foundation of Arm Balancing & Inverting
This workshop will guide you through the prep work and key alignment techniques needed to create a safe & successful arm balance practice. Using the 7 core cues of the Core Strength Vinyasa method, you will earn how to utilize your deep core line to build your postures from within. Suitable for all practice levels, the intention of this workshop is to educate, guide and grow you in the direction of finding your own expression of these fun, challenging and exciting postures. Come experience the deep holistic transformation of the Core Strength Vinyasa style and rock out some seriously cool postures in the process.
Hot Yoga Regina
Core Strength Vinyasa Summer Workshop Series
July 26, 1:00 - 3:00pm Rock Your Arm Balances! $30
August 1:00 - 4:00pm The Space Between, Foundations of HOT Core Strength Vinyasa $45 (please note that the last hour of this workshop will be a hot flow class, please dress lightly and bring water & a towel)
Children's Summer Camps (UNHEATED)
July 14 - 17, 10am - 12pm Kids Yoga Camp, ages 5 - 8 $100
This summer camp will take kids on a fun journey into the practice of yoga. We will approach yoga practice from several different angles, allowing children to find their own path to experiencing yoga. We will include stories, crafts, singing, breathwork, meditation, relaxation, & asana (posture) practice. Children should bring a nutritious snack, a water bottle & comfortable clothing. Bring a yoga mat if you have one.
July 21 - 25, 10am - 12pm Kids Yoga Camp 2, ages 9-13 $125
July 21 - 25, 10am - 12pm Kids Yoga Camp 2, ages 9-13 $125
This summer camp will take children on a journey into the practice of yoga. We will approach yoga from several different angles, allowing the children to explore all aspects of a yoga practice. We will use tools such as journalling, art, breathwork, meditation, relaxation, and asana (posture) practice to help children begin to explore their mind, body & spirit. Themes will be derived from yoga texts including The Bhagavad Gita and The Yoga Sutras. Children should bring a nutritious snack, a water bottle, a journal and pen or pencil, & comfortable clothing. Bring a yoga mat if you have one.
Please email me directly: robinjhilton@sasktel.net or contact the studios to book your spot in the workshops. Please note that there are limited spaces available in all of these workshops, and they will fill quickly - sign up quickly to make sure you are there!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
endings, beginnings, and conscious action.
Today has been a whirlwind of emotion. From frustration, to anger, to sadness, to hope. As is my practice, I've been trying to watch the emotions rise and fall and try to understand what aspect of my ego is attaching to how I am feeling in any given moment. I'm embracing, but also practicing svadhyaya (self study) as the emotions move through me.
I've just returned home from the year end liturgy at the school. Our children have been attending St. Timothy school in Regina for the past 5 years. We found this gem of a school in our community after a tumultuous grade 1 experience bussing our eldest to a French immersion school. From the moment we first walked in the school, I knew it was a place where my children would be loved and nurtured.
We are not a Christian family, but we are spiritual and have encouraged our children to explore a sense of connection to something greater than themselves through the practice of Christianity. The school has nurtured and encouraged my children to be compassionate, kind, loving, honest, and faithful and I've enjoyed the community in which they have grown, made friends, and have found mentors in some pretty special adults.
We are leaving the school this year, moving on to a new school. A new adventure. We are excited about the change, but also sad about leaving such a wonderful community. I didn't realize just how sad I was feeling until I spent the last hour trying to fight back tears.
Father J.B. spoke to the children about reflecting the love of Jesus. Conscious action. He was dropping some real truth bombs about acting with love, and moving through the world with kindness. Not expecting anything in return - selfless service. He spoke about the "peace" of the world being fabricated in that it's often thought of as "I will do something for you, and then in return you will do something for me" and he said that is not real peace. Real peace is reflecting love not expecting anything in return.
A good message. I left the house feeling angry this morning. Angry about what I feel is unconscious action. Every day I go to work downtown and there are men asking for money on the street. Sometimes I give money, sometimes I don't. I felt angry after learning that our city is holding a perogy eating contest tonight as part of a celebration of community. I wondered how it must feel to spend your days begging for money, or sleeping in the park and then to walk by an event with local "celebrities" eating as much as they possibly can in as little time as they can. I was angry about this. Angry at the city, angry at the participants, and angry at the whole idea. When I ask myself why I feel so angry about this, my heart tells me that I'm upset about unconscious action. About participation in a culture that devalues the lives of others so that we may be entertained by gluttony and excess.
I am not blameless and this is why I feel mad. I've watched a parks employee kick a homeless man to wake him up so that I could teach a yoga class in the park. My heart felt like that was wrong, but I watched and didn't say anything. I participate in excessive eating, and enjoy the privileges that having money provide me on a regular basis. I act unconsciously too - or I'm too afraid, at times, to act consciously. Or I'd rather reap the benefit of the privileges I enjoy as a middle class Canadian.
The upset about this event continued as I walked to the school this morning, and past a young woman spraying chemicals on a lawn of a community housing project that is home to numerous children. She was protected with clothing to prevent toxic poisoning from what she was spraying. She didn't stop her spray as I walked by, and I felt sad knowing that children would be playing on that grass later in the day. My thought was, "She doesn't realize what she is doing, this is just how things are done". And, it's not going to change. Eating contests will continue on. Homeless kids will still be kicked out of public spaces because they are unsightly and create the wrong perception.
At the school, the kids passed along advice from one grade to the next. The grade 4's passed along a New Testament bible to the grade 3 kids and their advice was to "act consciously". And I smiled and felt hopeful.
We probably can't change the way things work. The problems are endemic and deeply rooted in to our culture of excess. But, the one thing we can do as individuals is reflect love. We can be mindful of our actions and be aware when we act with love, and also be aware when we act in a way that does not reflect love. We can CHOOSE to act differently, or we can participate. We won't always be perfect, but I think even just being mindfully aware of when we are acting in a way that is not a reflection of love has got to be better than unconscious participation. Who is this serving? Who is this hurting? Am I okay with this?
Much love.
I've just returned home from the year end liturgy at the school. Our children have been attending St. Timothy school in Regina for the past 5 years. We found this gem of a school in our community after a tumultuous grade 1 experience bussing our eldest to a French immersion school. From the moment we first walked in the school, I knew it was a place where my children would be loved and nurtured.
We are not a Christian family, but we are spiritual and have encouraged our children to explore a sense of connection to something greater than themselves through the practice of Christianity. The school has nurtured and encouraged my children to be compassionate, kind, loving, honest, and faithful and I've enjoyed the community in which they have grown, made friends, and have found mentors in some pretty special adults.
We are leaving the school this year, moving on to a new school. A new adventure. We are excited about the change, but also sad about leaving such a wonderful community. I didn't realize just how sad I was feeling until I spent the last hour trying to fight back tears.
Father J.B. spoke to the children about reflecting the love of Jesus. Conscious action. He was dropping some real truth bombs about acting with love, and moving through the world with kindness. Not expecting anything in return - selfless service. He spoke about the "peace" of the world being fabricated in that it's often thought of as "I will do something for you, and then in return you will do something for me" and he said that is not real peace. Real peace is reflecting love not expecting anything in return.
A good message. I left the house feeling angry this morning. Angry about what I feel is unconscious action. Every day I go to work downtown and there are men asking for money on the street. Sometimes I give money, sometimes I don't. I felt angry after learning that our city is holding a perogy eating contest tonight as part of a celebration of community. I wondered how it must feel to spend your days begging for money, or sleeping in the park and then to walk by an event with local "celebrities" eating as much as they possibly can in as little time as they can. I was angry about this. Angry at the city, angry at the participants, and angry at the whole idea. When I ask myself why I feel so angry about this, my heart tells me that I'm upset about unconscious action. About participation in a culture that devalues the lives of others so that we may be entertained by gluttony and excess.
I am not blameless and this is why I feel mad. I've watched a parks employee kick a homeless man to wake him up so that I could teach a yoga class in the park. My heart felt like that was wrong, but I watched and didn't say anything. I participate in excessive eating, and enjoy the privileges that having money provide me on a regular basis. I act unconsciously too - or I'm too afraid, at times, to act consciously. Or I'd rather reap the benefit of the privileges I enjoy as a middle class Canadian.
The upset about this event continued as I walked to the school this morning, and past a young woman spraying chemicals on a lawn of a community housing project that is home to numerous children. She was protected with clothing to prevent toxic poisoning from what she was spraying. She didn't stop her spray as I walked by, and I felt sad knowing that children would be playing on that grass later in the day. My thought was, "She doesn't realize what she is doing, this is just how things are done". And, it's not going to change. Eating contests will continue on. Homeless kids will still be kicked out of public spaces because they are unsightly and create the wrong perception.
At the school, the kids passed along advice from one grade to the next. The grade 4's passed along a New Testament bible to the grade 3 kids and their advice was to "act consciously". And I smiled and felt hopeful.
We probably can't change the way things work. The problems are endemic and deeply rooted in to our culture of excess. But, the one thing we can do as individuals is reflect love. We can be mindful of our actions and be aware when we act with love, and also be aware when we act in a way that does not reflect love. We can CHOOSE to act differently, or we can participate. We won't always be perfect, but I think even just being mindfully aware of when we are acting in a way that is not a reflection of love has got to be better than unconscious participation. Who is this serving? Who is this hurting? Am I okay with this?
Much love.
Monday, June 23, 2014
you are already balanced. and why i love mercury retrograde.
I remember the last couple of mercury retrogrades as being horrible times of terrible communication, unease, and chaos. I wasn't looking forward to this current mercury retrograde which brings with it a big family move to a new town. I was bracing for the worst.
Then I read about Mercury retrograde again. How it is a time of old ideas, places, people and experiences coming back, and a time of re-evalutation, and reflection. Communication breakdowns & faulty electronics be damned, I was going to head into this retrograde armed with my intuition spiking chaga tea and a willingness to go with the flow.
My partner Steve and I just returned from a trip to Calgary. It was an amazing time. And a perfect way to celebrate the return of the sun, the big shifts we have coming soon in our lives as we move houses and towns, and to experience Mercury retrograde in all it's finest.
Steve and I met in Calgary. We met in 1993, back in the hey day of amazing British music. Many nights spent clubbing and hanging out with friends. The 90's were pretty fun! Returning to Calgary to watch my favorite band play, at an iconic Calgary venue (Olympic Plaza), meeting up with old friends was really the perfect way to fully meet Mercury retrograde head on.
I've been trying to put together a post for a while now where I address the idea of balance in our lives. As we drove to Calgary we listened to a talk by Robert Lanza about Biocentrism. I don't even know if I could even begin to explain what he is talking about. It's much like yoga philosophy in that I have an intuitive understanding, "I get it" - but I don't get it at all. There is a knowing without being able to intellectualize. My belief is that to understand this stuff, one should probably try not to intellectualize it too much. It can become a bit of a head spinner.
There were a couple of things that Lanza said that really resonated with me. The first is the idea that we are already balanced. Our natural state is balance. We can then choose to move off balance, and "go for the ride" of life. Yes!! Of course.
Think about a simple balance posture in our asana practice. Most of us are very well balanced standing on two feet, but as soon as we take one foot out of the equation - we need to work harder to stay balanced. It might cause a bit of stress or anxiety, but if we remain present and aware we can usually prevent an epic fall or injury.
Present moment awareness, the ability to experience stillness is where we will learn that we are already everything that we need to be. That our circumstances, our thoughts, our emotions are all separate from the experience of Being. Once we know this, we can approach our lives with a different mindset.
When we feel our life is out of balance, that is a good sign that we need to change something. We need to change, or accept the life situations that are causing us to feel that we are no longer balanced. Piling on more work, ignoring work that needs to be done, self criticism, blame are all tools of the mind that distract us from the stillness we are.
Sounds so simple! I'm not sure it is. But, knowing that when things are out of balance, we ultimately have the ability to change or accept it. Just like if we waiver in half moon pose. We can decide to accept the waiver and hope that it doesn't knock us over or we can come out of the pose entirely. We can go for the ride, if we choose. When we can access the core stillness that is within us - we have the ability to separate from the things that create imbalance. Then we can decide what to do.
How do we find the stillness? We all know a consistent meditation practice is the best way to experience stillness. For many, meditation is ideal. I don't sit down and meditate often. I find that a practice of returning to present moment always is my practice in finding stillness. I am mindful of when I am lost in thought, when I am distracted by things (facebook being one of the most common distractions for me), when I am acting unconciously. And I continually return. And it's a practice. A continual one. But, when I notice a tree blowing in the wind or a piece of music or art captivates me - I am still.
We spend so much time seeking something that is already within us. Notice that. Then you pick the ride you call life. Of course, things will happen that will be unchangeable and horrible. And things might be shitty for a long time. But, that does not change your core stillness. And that core stillness, consciousness, is what connects us all.
Which brings me back to Mercury retrograde. A time where we can slow down, look back, reflect and reevaluate. Where old things return.
While in Calgary, Steve and I drove past the house my parents brought me home to as a baby. We ate supper at our favorite fast food place, we stayed in a hotel only a few blocks away from an apartment we lived in together. We visited with old friends, and we got to experience watching a favorite band play. A band I've listened to for over 20 years. Music that has inspired me, and been with me through the ride of life. Some of you may have seen my tattoo - it is the first Spiritualized album cover art.
While waiting for the show to start, I took a quick walk to the toilets and while on my way there happened to spot the lead singer of the band outside the gates. I walked over and shook his hand through the fence, showed him my tattoo and had a chat, took photos. The entire experience was surreal to say the least. Very calm. Very present. There was nothing else in that moment but the meeting of two concious minds.
Robert Lanza also spoke about another idea. Events, life moments - a chance meeting like this. How can it be coincidence? Following the linear path of time back to the big bang, all the events occurring after, the meeting of my ancestors and the chain of events that led to that once chance meeting in Calgary at a music festival. In the words of Lanza, to think of a chance meeting like this as coincidence is "just absurd, it's absurd" (insert somewhat maniacal laughing in here).
I prefer to think of this meeting as something that the was created for me by the universe, to be part of my life experience, because ultimately, the universe is balanced. We manifest our lives from the stillness, from our ability to tap into intuition and trust the flow of life that meets us along the way. When we move from center, we can hold true to ourselves but also freely meet the challenges and experiences that make this life we live so phenomenal and awesome. If something isn't working, we can accept it or change it. Those are our only two choices. When we work from our natural place of balance, life becomes an incredible roller coaster. And we just go for the ride.
I've decided that Mercury retrograde is something to be embraced and looked forward to. Something we can allow to move through us. When we approach it this way, instead of fearing all the things that could go wrong - we can embrace all the amazing things that go right and take the time to reflect and grow. A time to embrace our innate balance and look for a bit of clarity on our life path.
p.s. If you are curious about Chaga tea - I can't say enough about how much this tea has enhanced my life. I've been drinking it for about a month. Chaga tea is so healthy for you, highly alkaline, and the top anti oxidant food. It contains the highest amount of melanin in any consumable plant. Melanin is used by the pineal gland to regulate our bio rhythms, our connection to the natural flow of the planet. You may notice a more intuitive sense, less need for stimulants like coffee, and an overall improvement in health. The pineal gland is considered to be the organ associated with the third eye chakra, which makes this tea extra awesome! There is a great company, Vigr, right here in Regina that sells chaga. There is a link to Vigr in the side bar of this blog.
Then I read about Mercury retrograde again. How it is a time of old ideas, places, people and experiences coming back, and a time of re-evalutation, and reflection. Communication breakdowns & faulty electronics be damned, I was going to head into this retrograde armed with my intuition spiking chaga tea and a willingness to go with the flow.
My partner Steve and I just returned from a trip to Calgary. It was an amazing time. And a perfect way to celebrate the return of the sun, the big shifts we have coming soon in our lives as we move houses and towns, and to experience Mercury retrograde in all it's finest.
Steve and I met in Calgary. We met in 1993, back in the hey day of amazing British music. Many nights spent clubbing and hanging out with friends. The 90's were pretty fun! Returning to Calgary to watch my favorite band play, at an iconic Calgary venue (Olympic Plaza), meeting up with old friends was really the perfect way to fully meet Mercury retrograde head on.
I've been trying to put together a post for a while now where I address the idea of balance in our lives. As we drove to Calgary we listened to a talk by Robert Lanza about Biocentrism. I don't even know if I could even begin to explain what he is talking about. It's much like yoga philosophy in that I have an intuitive understanding, "I get it" - but I don't get it at all. There is a knowing without being able to intellectualize. My belief is that to understand this stuff, one should probably try not to intellectualize it too much. It can become a bit of a head spinner.
There were a couple of things that Lanza said that really resonated with me. The first is the idea that we are already balanced. Our natural state is balance. We can then choose to move off balance, and "go for the ride" of life. Yes!! Of course.
Think about a simple balance posture in our asana practice. Most of us are very well balanced standing on two feet, but as soon as we take one foot out of the equation - we need to work harder to stay balanced. It might cause a bit of stress or anxiety, but if we remain present and aware we can usually prevent an epic fall or injury.
Present moment awareness, the ability to experience stillness is where we will learn that we are already everything that we need to be. That our circumstances, our thoughts, our emotions are all separate from the experience of Being. Once we know this, we can approach our lives with a different mindset.
When we feel our life is out of balance, that is a good sign that we need to change something. We need to change, or accept the life situations that are causing us to feel that we are no longer balanced. Piling on more work, ignoring work that needs to be done, self criticism, blame are all tools of the mind that distract us from the stillness we are.
Sounds so simple! I'm not sure it is. But, knowing that when things are out of balance, we ultimately have the ability to change or accept it. Just like if we waiver in half moon pose. We can decide to accept the waiver and hope that it doesn't knock us over or we can come out of the pose entirely. We can go for the ride, if we choose. When we can access the core stillness that is within us - we have the ability to separate from the things that create imbalance. Then we can decide what to do.
How do we find the stillness? We all know a consistent meditation practice is the best way to experience stillness. For many, meditation is ideal. I don't sit down and meditate often. I find that a practice of returning to present moment always is my practice in finding stillness. I am mindful of when I am lost in thought, when I am distracted by things (facebook being one of the most common distractions for me), when I am acting unconciously. And I continually return. And it's a practice. A continual one. But, when I notice a tree blowing in the wind or a piece of music or art captivates me - I am still.
We spend so much time seeking something that is already within us. Notice that. Then you pick the ride you call life. Of course, things will happen that will be unchangeable and horrible. And things might be shitty for a long time. But, that does not change your core stillness. And that core stillness, consciousness, is what connects us all.
Which brings me back to Mercury retrograde. A time where we can slow down, look back, reflect and reevaluate. Where old things return.
While in Calgary, Steve and I drove past the house my parents brought me home to as a baby. We ate supper at our favorite fast food place, we stayed in a hotel only a few blocks away from an apartment we lived in together. We visited with old friends, and we got to experience watching a favorite band play. A band I've listened to for over 20 years. Music that has inspired me, and been with me through the ride of life. Some of you may have seen my tattoo - it is the first Spiritualized album cover art.
While waiting for the show to start, I took a quick walk to the toilets and while on my way there happened to spot the lead singer of the band outside the gates. I walked over and shook his hand through the fence, showed him my tattoo and had a chat, took photos. The entire experience was surreal to say the least. Very calm. Very present. There was nothing else in that moment but the meeting of two concious minds.
Robert Lanza also spoke about another idea. Events, life moments - a chance meeting like this. How can it be coincidence? Following the linear path of time back to the big bang, all the events occurring after, the meeting of my ancestors and the chain of events that led to that once chance meeting in Calgary at a music festival. In the words of Lanza, to think of a chance meeting like this as coincidence is "just absurd, it's absurd" (insert somewhat maniacal laughing in here).
I prefer to think of this meeting as something that the was created for me by the universe, to be part of my life experience, because ultimately, the universe is balanced. We manifest our lives from the stillness, from our ability to tap into intuition and trust the flow of life that meets us along the way. When we move from center, we can hold true to ourselves but also freely meet the challenges and experiences that make this life we live so phenomenal and awesome. If something isn't working, we can accept it or change it. Those are our only two choices. When we work from our natural place of balance, life becomes an incredible roller coaster. And we just go for the ride.
I've decided that Mercury retrograde is something to be embraced and looked forward to. Something we can allow to move through us. When we approach it this way, instead of fearing all the things that could go wrong - we can embrace all the amazing things that go right and take the time to reflect and grow. A time to embrace our innate balance and look for a bit of clarity on our life path.
p.s. If you are curious about Chaga tea - I can't say enough about how much this tea has enhanced my life. I've been drinking it for about a month. Chaga tea is so healthy for you, highly alkaline, and the top anti oxidant food. It contains the highest amount of melanin in any consumable plant. Melanin is used by the pineal gland to regulate our bio rhythms, our connection to the natural flow of the planet. You may notice a more intuitive sense, less need for stimulants like coffee, and an overall improvement in health. The pineal gland is considered to be the organ associated with the third eye chakra, which makes this tea extra awesome! There is a great company, Vigr, right here in Regina that sells chaga. There is a link to Vigr in the side bar of this blog.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Yoga in your workplace?
Yoga is the perfect oasis in the middle of your day at the office. Surya Yoga offers noon hour classes right in your office space. You provide the people, the space (a conference or multi purpose room is ideal) and I will provide the instruction.
Surya Lunch hour classes are a series of 8 weeks of yoga instruction geared to office workers. We will focus on relaxation, breathwork, posture work, alignment, core strengthening cultivating stillness, strength, mobility and awareness.
Cost: $800/ 8 weeks of 1 hour lunch time sessions* (maximum 15 participants - $5/class per student after 15)
Supplies needed: Yoga mats, floor space, comfortable clothing for practice
I am a fully insured certified (300hr) yoga instructor. I've been teaching yoga full time for three years, in a variety of styles with my primary focus being on aligning the body safely, and working toward postural and general body awareness with the goal of allowing students greater ease of movement and better awareness of their body, breath & mind.
Classes will run between 12-1pm. If you would like to consider booking a class for before or after work, please don't hesitate to ask!
You may contact me directly at 306-551-3497 for more details or to book a session for your office. Sessions fill quickly, reserve your booking today! I currently have openings for September - Wednesday & Friday noon hours.
*plus 5% GST, cash or cheque made payable to Surya Yoga Regina. Credit card payment available upon request via Paypal. Students may split the course fee and pay individually to the instructor upon request. Drop in students are also welcome to attend classes at a rate of $10/class.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Embodying Beginner's Mind and Working Less in Flow.
You arrive at yoga class, set your mat down in your "spot", grab the props you prefer, and then you sit down and wait for class to start. As you practice, you move through the familiarity of the postures with the same alignment, the same work, the same tools, the same breath as the last time you got on the mat, and the time before that and before that, etc. As creatures of habit, we tend to apply this habitual tendency to our yoga practice. We begin to rely on our tools (or habits), our egoic sense of how things "should" be. Yoga Anatomist, Leslie Kaminoff, talks about how we can become attached to the tools of practice, because those tools have previously facilitated a transformation. These are methods we have employed to bring our practice to where it is today - and as a result, we have probably seen transformation in many places such as our physical ability, our mental focus and ability to access the feeling of stillness (yoga), and we've probably even seen changes in our lives off the mat. We are not the same now as we were when we began our practice. Yet, we continue to employ the same tools again and again. We can become stuck in patterning, without recognizing that our practice is a continual exploration, a continual transformation - sometimes requiring new tools, or a new perspective on our familiar tools.
When we practice in this way, we are tapping into the present moment. Tapping into stillness. We are shifting away from the thinking mind, and the underlying narration of our practice dissolves as we begin to embody the movements. Tolle writes about the "inner body" in his book, "The Power of Now" .
Yoga practice gives us a perfect opportunity to feel the inner body. We can practice with attention to the experience of the body, and as a result create an experience of present awareness. When we simply move through the motions without experiencing them with our inner body - the practice is more like going to the gym and exercising.
How do we make the connection to the inner body? Patanjali's Yoga Sutra outlines 8 limbs of yoga - 1. Moral Conduct 2. Observances 3. Posture 4. Control of Breath 5. Withdrawal of senses 6. Fixed concentration 7. Meditation 8. Absolute Absorption (enlightenment). The first 3 limbs describe the external practice of yoga. The fourth limb - Pranayama, or control of breath, is the bridge between the first three limbs and the last 3 limbs. The breath happens externally - but it also happens internally. The breath is our connection to the inner practice of yoga. The breath is always happening now. Awareness of breathing is our tool to turn our practice from mere exercise into an experience of yoga, or stillness.
When we practice with an awareness of the inner body, we can become tuned into our experience. We can bring beginners mind to our practice and feel our experience with that sense of newness. When we bring excess thought, narration and clutter into the mind - we are creating a disconnect with the present moment, and often a sense of discontent with the present moment as well. We are creating extra work for ourselves.
The Taoist philosophy, Wu Wei, is about letting go of excess work in order to allow nature to flow seamlessly. This is such an important tool in our yoga practice. I often see students, and have been such a student myself, so attached to their "tools", they work too hard to do each pose exactly right, just as they have learned to do them. Yet our practice should be opportunity to explore detaching from the tools. Finding a new place to lay your mat, using different props, using props, not using props, exploring different ways of aligning your body, letting go of the inner voice and trusting an intuitive sense of movement, exploring new ways of using the breath. Letting go of too much work and allowing nature to unfold. Letting go of the way the "ego" wants us to practice and truly embodying the experience instead. Flow yoga is one style that allows the practitioner to access an intuitive sense of fluid movement during practice. I also find the yin practice to be another style that fosters a sense of keen interest in, and present moment awareness of, the inner body.
I teach my flow classes with an awareness of moving into the inner body, how to work from a deep sense of self in order to make the practice feel less like hard work. Yes, you will sweat and you will get stronger when you come to a flow class. But, you should also leave a flow class (and this is true of all yoga practices) feeling nourished, present, still, and relaxed. When we work too hard, we stress our nervous system. Some stress is good - and we need to learn how to effectively manage good stress so that we can trigger our body to remain relaxed amidst the stress. Obviously, the ability to do this extends its usefulness to life off the mat.
When we practice, we should do only the work necessary to feel the effect of the posture, no more. We engage deeply within - we feel our centre with our mind, actively with our breath and sometimes with the use of our deepest core muscles or an awareness of the bandhas. We give from and pull into that sense of centre, and then everything else relaxes. Particularly those places we tend to grip needlessly like the face, shoulders, gluteals, low back, breath, and mind. If we feel relaxed, we can more easily allow ourselves to embody our flow. We can let go of habitual patterning and come to the practice again and again with the mind of a beginner. Through this path we can continue to always experience the transformative quality of yoga.
Namaste.
Join me for flow yoga at Yoga Mala.
Mondays 9:30am
Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 6:00pm
Saturdays 11am.
Ekhart Tolle, non dualist philosopher and author of the books "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth" speaks about how we tend to move through life on autopilot, stuck in habit, stuck in thought and as a result miss out on an experience of seeing things with a sense of newness or wonder. He speaks about this in relation to nature specifically. We often overlook nature, we recognize its beauty but rarely do we allow ourselves time to experience nature. To fully experience the essence of a single flower, for example. Our yoga practice can take on this same mundane quality. We essentially move through the motions of our postures, without truly embodying them. The simple vinyasa - plank, chaturanga, updog, downdog becomes robotic and uninspired as we are already thinking about upward dog while we are lowering into chaturanga rather than experiencing chaturanga as it is on that given day. Often we do the postures the exact same way, every. single. time. And we have the same "story" about the pose every single time as well.
What if we began to embody our postures with a sense of beginner's mind? Ekhart Tolle suggests looking at a flower without labelling it. He isn't suggesting we forget all we know about that flower, but rather to look at it with a sense of newness. When we close our yoga practice we end with corpse pose, death. That particular practice is over. We shouldn't bring the karmic imprint of that practice into our next experience on the mat. Rather, we take with us an intellectual understanding of the mechanics of our practice and leave behind what we think we "know" about yoga, and how yoga unfolds in our body. When we return to the mat, it is like a rebirth. Like a baby, we can experience our practice with a sense of newness.
The body that you can see and touch cannot take you into Being. But that visible and tangible body is only an outer shell, or rather a limited and distorted perception of a deeper reality. In your natural state of connectedness with Being, this deeper reality can be felt every moment as the invisible inner body, the animating presence within you. So to "inhabit the body" is to feel the body from within, to feel the life inside the body and thereby come to know that you are beyond the outer form.
Yoga practice gives us a perfect opportunity to feel the inner body. We can practice with attention to the experience of the body, and as a result create an experience of present awareness. When we simply move through the motions without experiencing them with our inner body - the practice is more like going to the gym and exercising.
How do we make the connection to the inner body? Patanjali's Yoga Sutra outlines 8 limbs of yoga - 1. Moral Conduct 2. Observances 3. Posture 4. Control of Breath 5. Withdrawal of senses 6. Fixed concentration 7. Meditation 8. Absolute Absorption (enlightenment). The first 3 limbs describe the external practice of yoga. The fourth limb - Pranayama, or control of breath, is the bridge between the first three limbs and the last 3 limbs. The breath happens externally - but it also happens internally. The breath is our connection to the inner practice of yoga. The breath is always happening now. Awareness of breathing is our tool to turn our practice from mere exercise into an experience of yoga, or stillness.
When we practice with an awareness of the inner body, we can become tuned into our experience. We can bring beginners mind to our practice and feel our experience with that sense of newness. When we bring excess thought, narration and clutter into the mind - we are creating a disconnect with the present moment, and often a sense of discontent with the present moment as well. We are creating extra work for ourselves.
The Taoist philosophy, Wu Wei, is about letting go of excess work in order to allow nature to flow seamlessly. This is such an important tool in our yoga practice. I often see students, and have been such a student myself, so attached to their "tools", they work too hard to do each pose exactly right, just as they have learned to do them. Yet our practice should be opportunity to explore detaching from the tools. Finding a new place to lay your mat, using different props, using props, not using props, exploring different ways of aligning your body, letting go of the inner voice and trusting an intuitive sense of movement, exploring new ways of using the breath. Letting go of too much work and allowing nature to unfold. Letting go of the way the "ego" wants us to practice and truly embodying the experience instead. Flow yoga is one style that allows the practitioner to access an intuitive sense of fluid movement during practice. I also find the yin practice to be another style that fosters a sense of keen interest in, and present moment awareness of, the inner body.
I teach my flow classes with an awareness of moving into the inner body, how to work from a deep sense of self in order to make the practice feel less like hard work. Yes, you will sweat and you will get stronger when you come to a flow class. But, you should also leave a flow class (and this is true of all yoga practices) feeling nourished, present, still, and relaxed. When we work too hard, we stress our nervous system. Some stress is good - and we need to learn how to effectively manage good stress so that we can trigger our body to remain relaxed amidst the stress. Obviously, the ability to do this extends its usefulness to life off the mat.
When we practice, we should do only the work necessary to feel the effect of the posture, no more. We engage deeply within - we feel our centre with our mind, actively with our breath and sometimes with the use of our deepest core muscles or an awareness of the bandhas. We give from and pull into that sense of centre, and then everything else relaxes. Particularly those places we tend to grip needlessly like the face, shoulders, gluteals, low back, breath, and mind. If we feel relaxed, we can more easily allow ourselves to embody our flow. We can let go of habitual patterning and come to the practice again and again with the mind of a beginner. Through this path we can continue to always experience the transformative quality of yoga.
Namaste.
Join me for flow yoga at Yoga Mala.
Mondays 9:30am
Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays 6:00pm
Saturdays 11am.
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