tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27157192930474797732023-11-15T23:43:40.999-08:00CreativeSoulYogaChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-82219874655877483822014-04-15T16:13:00.002-07:002014-04-15T16:31:05.171-07:00The meditations of Van Gogh“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”
― Vincent Van Gogh
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In the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text, man is adjured to be like the Lotus - he should work without attachment, dedicating his actions to God, untouched by sin like water on a Lotus leaf and the beautiful flower standing high above the mud and water. In Sanskrit, this flower is called Kamala. In the postures of Hatha Yoga, a major branch of Yoga, the lotus position, padmasana, is adopted by those striving to reach the highest level of consciousness, which itself is found in the thousand-petaled lotus chakra at the top of the head.
Practically speaking, life is made of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen. Its name is protoplasm. And it is not only the structural unit with which all living bodies start in life, this is the formal basis for all like on Earth. Therefore, ones similarities with every living thing are far greater than ones differences. Van Gogh infused his art with a compassionate consideration of these basic similarities; creating a strong spiritual reality in his work and stressing his love of the subject, be it animal, vegetable or mineral. Our journey is towards Yoga Svadhyaya; the Yoga of enlightenment and Self “Yoga is the study of the Self”. This is actually the definition of another of the niyamas, svadhyaya. The word ‘svadhyaya” can be broken up into three smaller words. “Sva” means one’s Self, meaning the soul, the atman, or the Higher Self. “Dhy” is related to the word “dhyana” which means meditation. And “ya” is an activating suffix. Thus svadhyaya means “actively meditating on or studying the nature of the Self”. I like to define svadhyaya as “remembering to be mindful”.
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How to meditate on a flower (or how Van Gogh meditated on his sunflowers) :
One evening I brought a vase of beautiful yellow sunflowers to class. Each flower is an individual; some are in full bloom, whereas other are losing their luster after being cut for a number of hours or days. Some are bright vibrant yellow with tinges of gold and orange, burnt sienna and gold. Some are browning and appear drier and tired. At the beginning of class I have asked my students to notice the vase of flowers and consider them awhile. They should bring their attention and focus to the vase of flowers. They should trace the outer edges of the petals and leaves with their eyes and they should also consider the flowers with their hearts. “What do you think it would be like to be a flower? To be that flower?” I ask them to pick one of the flowers and place it beside their mats. As we begin to move and meditate, I remind the students that if your attention falls from the breath, I would encourage a contemplative return to the question and the consideration of this flower again. This is an act of full mindfulness; focus on the flower or the entire vase of flowers, without judgement or attachment, applying a non-reactive focus to the flower (or the breath). Both you and the flower share the energy of life; prana energy.
As you meditate allow the air to pass through your body in a fluid, gentle, loving and easy manner. Try to maintain your attention on the breath, but do not self-judge if you fall away from this attention. counting in zazen or seated meditation is a basic form of maintaining your attention to the breath. Throughout this class you can return to this counting method to help you stay focused in the breath. Do breath without movement until you are fully engaged with your breath. The mechanics of our minds dictate frequent thought, and basic meditation can be difficult, so, in the beginning we can just be satisfied with creating moments without chatter (monkey brain) in our day dedicated to meditation and build upon it as our mind un-learns it's preexisting thinking patterns and habits. Avoid thinking of your meditation as outcome based. Simply enjoy a few moments of silence, autonomy and solidarity in capital S self now. We are going to the other side of our thinking minds, our monkey minds, dis identifying with our mental soundtracks that tell us we'd be better off doing the dishes, or that our kids needs should take precedence over this meditation, or that we look silly etc etc.
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glossary of terms
*meditation = is non reactivity
*Basic meditation = mindlessness (avoid a focus, avoid thinking) it is a strategy that tricks the mind into a state of non-thinking to allow for restoration. Focuses your attention on one thing.
*Mindfulness meditation = to train the mind to be able to concentrate.
Focuses your attention on specific thoughts and sensations that arise in our field of awareness and concentrate on them without attachment, for longer and longer periods of time. Focusing on the breath can be both basic meditation, and mindful meditation. Intention is key; focusing on the breath to escape the ego and realize your inner divinity = basic meditation (Hindu practice)
*Focusing on the breath in order to harness and train the mind, and view stimuli with non-attachment or a non-judgemental nature = mindfulness meditation (Buddhist tradition)
*Mindfulness = applying the non-reactivity we cultivate through meditation in our daily lives.
*Prana; the essential life force of the universe.Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-25424384144480094602013-11-10T20:44:00.002-08:002013-11-10T20:59:04.049-08:00A Pregnant Yoga<br />
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I am now in the last month of my second pregnancy and thought I would take this opportunity to talk about my experience with practicing Yoga while pregnant. I practiced yoga in my first pregnancy, and in my second pregnancy and in both I gained roughly 60 pounds. By the end of these pregnancies, at times, I felt like foreigner in my own body. The general expectation is that you are not to admit these perceived short-comings of Maternal Goddessness. I am not the perfect Goddess, according the Modern New Age scripture, it seems, as I am fully admitting that I have felt funny, awkward, uncomfortable, frustrated, weird at times when I am pregnant. I also have felt wonderful, awe-struck, dewy-eyed and euphoric. There is an important part about the learning that happens when you practice asana while pregnant. You are forced to acknowledge that we are transformative beings. This opportunity does not come up too much in life. It challenges our over-dependency on the cult of body in the west. For some unknown reason, we are not really aware of our transformative nature in our regular day-to-day lives, despite all arrows pointing towards the target of truth; that nothing is permanent and nothing is fixed. We think we are static and we think we can control our state according to our own self-appointed rules. We act out of will and believe, blindly, that our will is a rule that the Universe acknowledges. It is not. So... when you practice Yoga asana while pregnant it is important to remember the following things;<br />
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You are not your body, and more than ever before, you do not own your body. As Maitriyogi said,<br />
"Oh King, this body, which is like something you have borrowed for a short time and must return"<br />
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Give in to the changes in your body; (don’t or...) Do asana that feels good; slow down, settle down, listen.<br />
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You are different than everyone else around you. Revel in this knowledge. Also, love yourself through your practice; know that you are strong. Let this knowledge seep from your pores as you flow through breath and movement or stillness. </div>
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Even if you are simply lying in the quiet in savasana, enjoy the strength that pregnancy and, ultimately, raising a child delivers; it is not solely a physical tangible strength, much of this comes from a place beyond skin, bone and muscle. <br />
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Know that you will change again, but you won’t change back. Be happy and well with this knowledge.<br />
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Feel great love for yourself and the life inside you. Talk internally to this life force while you flow through breath, movement or stillness. In the end, this is YOUR journey; you and the life force within. Externalizing this journey and relying on others to guide you is something that has placed fear in the hearts of many a strong woman. You have got this.<br />
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Of course, there are other details that bare mentioning; like the do and don’t list of what to stretch and what not to stretch, of what poses are considered safe and which ones are to avoid... but, I believe these factors to be tertiary to the above. More on that here <a href="http://yoga.about.com/od/prenatalyoga/a/thirdtrimester.htm">http://yoga.about.com/od/prenatalyoga/a/thirdtrimester.htm</a><br />
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I am sure I could say more about the experience of practicing while really very pregnant, but, sleep and rest are beckoning ;)<br />
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Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-57857214576879355962013-07-03T13:31:00.003-07:002013-07-03T14:21:57.511-07:00Fast-Food or Self Serve... <br />
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe that Yoga is largely about service. Service to Self, Community and, ultimately, The Universe. Over the past few months I have been actively avoiding the studios in my city. I have not found a studio that I feel and see embodying the qualities that I believe Yoga embodies. I like to practice my asana with people. I thrive off the energy of community. I am a natural collaborator. Unfortunately, as of late, I do not see spaces that are fostering Yoga communities that <b><i>serve</i></b>. The aims of the common Modern Western Yoga Space seem obvious, down-right transparent actually. When it comes to most studios I have encounter in this city (and others for that matter) it is about capital; make money, create a niche, create an image, make money... Each space homogenized enough that one feels, looks and sounds like the next only with a more expensive and trendy lounge area, or more attractive and younger teachers, depending on what their image is. Thankfully, after a six month break from any studio yoga what-so-ever I recently stumbled upon a new space that, in the early days of our relationship seems humbly centered in a practice that serves. I was careful to seek out the most non-pretentious space possible<b> </b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">while I was shopping for my new space. I looked for something humble. No flashing neon signs, or pushy self-promotion for me. I realize that I may be over-looking the difficulties involved in starting up a studio... but, frankly, my dear, I </span></span><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 16px;">don't give a damn! </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 16px;">This blog post is from the perspective of a middle-aged practicioner (</span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">That's me)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 16px;">; not a Yoga teacher or a studio owner. Just a 37 year old woman, who looks and acts much like many other 37 year old women who wants a Yoga space to call her own. I have had enough hard-sells and phony dogma served with my Yoga for this life-time (and the next!) and, call me crazy, but I still believe that somewhere, somehow, there is a space for average people like me. The people who do not wear 140 dollar branded yoga pants because they </span><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 16px;">don't serve. Sure they are a flattering fit, I get that, but they are just not worth it and they are the fuel of an engine of commercialism that I do not prescribe to. Self, Other or Universe. These pants and other adjuncts to the commercial Yoga movement serve The Almighty Corporation and not much else. I am looking for a studio space where people who think that if a Yoga class is practiced at a public park or beach or community-funded conservation area it should be free, or at the very least, a by-donation Karma class with the profits going back to serve the community itself and not cost $20 per person... money that goes to the teacher or studio that uses the public space for a means to a financial end. I want a studio space where people who practice a slower asana, a tempered asana feel welcomed and comfortable, not as though they need to compete with their obviously younger, hotter counter-parts (and teachers). These are just some of the wishes on my personal wish list and this blog post is, clearly, about indulging in the hopes that there are readers out there who get it too. The new studio I have been visiting makes me think there is and here</span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px;">'</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">s why in ten simple steps...</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">1) The classes are priced according to the market</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Though I personally do not agree that a practice that requires a mat, no shoes and loose baggy comfort clothing should cost an average of $15 per drop-in class, what I do agree with is asking the market rate for your classes when you open a new studio in a community of established studios. This is respectful and also, your students will know that your studio will a) stand the test of time (i.e. not go under in 6-9 months, or in the summer when people choose to move their practice into the sunshine) and b) your students can plan to pay equal amounts over the year and thus, develop a daily, weekly Yoga practice with no financial surprises. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">2) The teachers are consistent and stable, and happy and the owner is present and visible as members of the community</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Turn-over of teachers (or staff) in any employment setting is never a good thing. Be wary of the studio that has rapid turn-over of their teachers or instructors. It is not easy getting teaching gigs in the Yoga business. Teachers do not leave frequently unless they are unhappy, under-paid or inconsistently paid or disrespected. If the studio has a OZ complex; i.e. the owners are never there or pop in from time-to-time to check on things this probably means they are not interested in serving the community, as they are not consistently a part of it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">3) There are Karma classes and the studio gives back to the community</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">The studio is serving the community through active fundraising and offering Karma classes so those who cannot afford classes can still practice, at least once a week. This studio is currently honored through signage on a main street near by, placed there by the recipient of the most recent Karma fundraiser; the SPCA. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">4) Some studios offer the opportunity for people to trade skills</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Some studios will ask for help with cleaning and even desk responsibilities in exchange for free Yoga. I have always respected a studio that allows for this opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">5) They offer a wide array of asana classes for a wide array of people</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I realize this one can be controversial. Everyone these days seems to have a take on how Yoga should be practiced. There are rules. Firstly, I would like to point out that Yoga (traditionally speaking) was never actually meant for studio spaces and group classes. It was a practice and relationship between Self and sometimes teacher and student, guru and disciple. The studio class is an adaption, so why not adapt it so it fits all kinds of personalities, body types, needs, energies. This is possible. I think these days it is called fusion but regardless, a studio that creates a space where diverse teachers can teach to diverse needs aims to reach out to the whole community, not just the niche community of people who appear young, hot and fit. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">6) They offer classes throughout the day at a variety of times</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">This is simple but a necess</span><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">ity. It came as a huge surprise to me (and a huger disappointment) that group fitness was literally almost unavailable to me after having children. Many classes are during peak parenting hours and do not have on-site babysitting or classes that single mothers (or mothers who carry the brunt of parental responsibility) can attend. All studios should have evening classes (*8 p.m.) and morning classes (*6 a.m.) for their community members who do not fit the mold of worker ant 9-5er. If anyone cares suggest a spinning class in Mississauga at 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. I am still searching for one, 3.5 years postpartum!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">7) The students are a visible array of people of all ages, shapes, sizes and experience</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">This is very important. The studio attracts a real community. There are older people, younger people, bigger people, smaller people, mothers and daughters, men and women, pregnant people and teens. It is obvious that all people feel welcome and comfortable in this space. A true must of any studio space I will step into to!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">8) They are not heavily laden with yoga accessories, frills and whistles</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Yes, this space has a few small things it sells at the front desk; some incense, some eye pillows but I do not feel like I just walked into a Lululemon when I walk through the door. I do not feel an urge to spend more money or pressure to buy more stuff. I am not distracted. There is no homogenized zen music, no tea lounge or inspirational diet, yoga, lifestyle book nook. There are just cubbies for your shoes and a small quiet studio for practice. In fact, this studio does not even have a shower, as I was told by the studio owner herself, it is not necessary as you will not sweat enough to require a shower the instant you come out of class. I like this element of this studio, as my personal belief is that yoga empowers through breath not tempo or pace. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; line-height: 16px;">9) There is no acro yoga, glow-in-the-dark yoga or disco yoga</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; line-height: 16px;">I am sorry if I am offending anyone here, because I do know there is a market for such things... but to me, these are distraction from the journey I am on with my Yoga. I do not want to hang from the ceiling, practice in a dark room with strobe lights or to pumping music (in fact, unless the music is extremely subdued, I prefer to practice to the sound of my breath and the breath of the others in the room). I see the purpose of music as guiding for some, but think it must be moderate and measured. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; line-height: 16px;">10) There is no stream of rhetoric or dogma served with the classes</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; line-height: 16px;">The teachers at this studio just teach. I do not have to worry about having someone read me quotes from the latest self-help or inspiration coffee table book and I do not have to consider how I may live a happier or richer life throughout my asana class. I am just guided through the poses, with verbal prompts that are sensitive to those who may need assistance (props etc) and there are moments of silence as well. Long moments, in fact. I personally have come to treasure this quality in the classes at the studio (and as a teacher myself, have learned things from this). A poignant instruction is worth a thousand vapid ones. One of my esteemed past teachers frequently offers this instruction while we practiced asana together, FEEL HAPPY.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; line-height: 16px;">If you are living in the Mississauga area and, like me, this kind of studio practice sounds appealing, please check out YogaCity, they are also on Facebook!</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.yogacity.ca/" style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">http://www.yogacity.ca/</a></div>
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Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-17865817186424390422013-03-29T19:15:00.002-07:002013-03-29T19:15:59.352-07:00Spring Abundance and MindfulnessSpring has arrived! The yellow crocus have fiercely pushed through the trampled under brush and there is a gallery of wonderful wet earth smells everywhere. There are puddles to jump in or over, the sun is getting up with me or before me. I feel alive... It is good.<br />
<br />
My mind perks up in these early days of spring. It's like I've had a whiff of smelling salts every time I step out the door. I've cleaned my shelved soul, opened the windows, thrown out the damaged goods and I am letting the chilled air pour into all the dank corners. I also returned to the studio. Meh.<br />
<br />
Why, oh, why can't I find a decent place to practice yoga within twenty kms of my home? Please help.<br />
<br />
Also, why are there so many 'new' yoga's, that claim the name of a powerful ancient soul practice, that are ALL THE SAME?<br />
<br />
Signed, desperately seeking community, depth and mindfulness xo<br />
<br />
<br />Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-24795317232242399762013-02-09T10:20:00.001-08:002013-02-09T12:02:20.744-08:00A Yoga Teacher's Mid-Life CrisisHello Again!<br />
<br />
It's been a busy beginning to the New Year (incidentally, today is the beginning of the Chinese New Year - Year of the Snake!) and I've taken a little hiatus from blogging over the holiday season. There have been a few developments that lead to this; I find the holiday season stressful, I get S.A.D during the darkest days of the year and need to regenerate energy by self-focus, meditation (this involves a lot of cooking of stews and soups, burning candles, long, hot detox baths, spending any time I have with family and good friends and not blogging ;). Today is a beautiful winter day, we received the gift of at least three feet of soft, white snow over the last 24 hours, and the sun is shining down making everything diamonds. It's breath-taking! I'll be out there soon, skiing by the river, but I'm inspired and wanted to share!<br />
<br />
One of the developments that took me off-line for awhile was that I have stopped teaching yoga. This is not really a big deal, and it's happened before (I stopped teaching when I had my first child, through my pregnancy and until 8 months post-partum) but, for the most part, I've taught yoga in studios across the GTA for the past ten years. The 'crisis' part is that I don't think I'm going back. Ever. <br />
<br />
And here is why...<br />
<br />
I love Yoga. I believe yoga is for everyone; small, big, thick, thin, able of body, working with challenges... Everybody deserves yoga. I also have been confronted (again) with the fact that yoga as a capitalist system does not work. I've always put this behind me, as though it was not my business because, ultimately, it was, well, not my business! My attitude was that I was merely a contract teacher working under the umbrella of a studio. My recent experience challenged this perspective through rather emotional measures, and that is good. I was essentially 'fired' from a yoga studio. The reason I was given was that, "I'd created reactivity and tension" in the studio. Okay, fine.<br />
<br />
The development leading up to receiving the email that told me I was no longer needed to teach my three classes a week, 48 hours before I was expected to teach them, was that I had not received a pay cheque for over two months. I'll preface this by saying that teaching (yoga) is not my main source of income and so I did not starve or miss credit card payments. I should also say, that after several emails expressing my discontent, I was eventually paid in-full for my services. I was made to wait, and to pursue my payments... And I was vocal about how disrespectful I felt this was. Employers have a responsibility to their employees to pay them for their services, timely and based upon contractual terms.<br />
<br />
I was vocal, also, about my commitment to my discipline and training in yoga. I had been asked to not teach my style of yoga by the owners of this studio several months early. I suppose it was not considered 'marketable' (though the classes, at roughly ten dollars per student per class, were always full - an average of 25 people per class, so one would think there was a fair profit/expense margin) and I did try my best to comply to the wishes of the owners, without denying my basis understanding of yoga, as taught in my teachers training course and through my ten year relationship with my discipline. Ultimately, my understanding of yoga was not a good fit for this studio, and I was let go in an email that sited my attitude as the reason for my removal from the studio, stating, "you to have the potential to be an outstanding teacher, but your attitude at the studio and around business decisions" has effectively lead to your termination. I was also encouraged never to return.<br />
<br />
I'm not here to air my dirty laundry, but the description above will help with the argument I am developing. It seems obvious to me that a person who is good at their job should not be 'let go' because they do not share the same attitude as their employers. Similarly, a person who is committed to their 'practice', does not need money to have a continued relationship with said practice. I'm in an interesting position at the beginning of the Year of the Snake, where both of my jobs, and (unfortunately) my entire income, are deeply rooted in my passions. Some people are never so lucky! There is not a day that passes where I pine for another life, another moment, other than the one I am in. I don't check my seniority or my retirement date because I am happy; right here, right now... But, when your making money from your passions an interesting thing happens. Your passions are suddenly controlled by your pay check and vice versa... And that IS a tricky business indeed.<br />
<br />
(to be continued)...Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-48166407626849485162012-11-05T20:09:00.003-08:002012-11-05T20:16:25.247-08:00 within you without you<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
'When you've seen beyond yourself,</div>
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Then you may find,</div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
Peace of mind is waiting there,</div>
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In addition, the time will come,</div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
When you see we are all one,</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMMAss3PGBqWKY4iLLfZMgaJLkjeHMoT1JXhKHJEX8-Y09VDKDggEuzy1IX-UR8jaFov6sO-00ZpjEiWMmbYvro1sRC-ljBjPqmIwCxDBQKQZWrdSyBICVdflbPrlbQR6TvL5S0_UPxsL_/s1600/tree+in+aussie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMMAss3PGBqWKY4iLLfZMgaJLkjeHMoT1JXhKHJEX8-Y09VDKDggEuzy1IX-UR8jaFov6sO-00ZpjEiWMmbYvro1sRC-ljBjPqmIwCxDBQKQZWrdSyBICVdflbPrlbQR6TvL5S0_UPxsL_/s1600/tree+in+aussie.jpg" /></a></div>
And life flows on within and without
you' </div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
George Harrison- The Beatles 1967</div>
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As Yoga continues to deeply transform concepts around body,
physicality, exercise and self in the post-modern age, many people try to
answer the question, "what is YOGA?" and struggle to qualify
'purpose' in the practice and articulation of this ancient ritual of self
exploration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For many, yoga remains a spiritual
practice, existing in the spiritual realm of 'the self' with attachments to
religion and dogma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For just as many,
yoga has become a form of exercise with dominant attachments to the body and to
the physical self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where does yoga come
from... <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>within us or without us?<br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%;"><span style="background: yellow;">Hatha</span></span> Yoga, a commonly practiced
yoga in the studios of the west, uses the body as a ‘doorway’; where as <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%;"><span style="background: yellow;">Jnana</span></span>
Yoga (not as commonly practiced) uses the mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The idea with a <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%;"><span style="background: yellow;">Hatha</span></span> practice, is that rather
than 'forcing' yourself into uncomfortable postures that are not attainable (in
this moment), one works to their 'edge' and views the 'message' the body is
sending, without judgment of attachment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The message is to be viewed 'in the moment' as reflective of the
temporal state of the (multiple layers of) self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reflection can speak to the individual’s
mental, emotional, physical states and both the physical and subtle 'self'.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This way we are looking at our limitations to
define our true potential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
duality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The western language (of
understanding) is one that exists and originates from a systemic binary;
quite contrary to the idea that 'limitation' and 'potential' can come from the
same place, or from the same energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just
as many eastern religions tend to find their philosophical root in <span class="tl">multitheism</span><b><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%;"><span style="background: yellow;"></span></span>;</b>
an appreciation of multiple <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%;"><span style="background: yellow;">deities</span></span>
for multiple reasons and the history of western <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%;"><span style="background: yellow;">Christianity</span></span>
is born out of an emergence of monotheism (from paganism), a devotion to one God
only, the polarization of these concepts has effected the differing ways people
'view and perceive' themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
'perception' of self can easily be said to have been isolated by culture and <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%;"><span style="background: yellow;">nurture</span></span>
over time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is more difficult for
people who have been raised on the strict diet of binaries that create strong
'self-schema' (healthy vs. sick, strong vs. weak, fat vs. skinny, etc) to embrace
a flexible fluctuating awareness of 'the self'. <br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%;"><span style="background: yellow;">Jnana</span></span> Yoga uses the mind to
'stretch' self-concept and perception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
challenge here is that, in the post-modern age of 'the self', the role of body
is decidedly physical and dominant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
body image is part of our self-schema.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
body image includes; <br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">The <i>perceptual</i>
experience of the body</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">The <i>conceptual</i>
experience of the body—what we have been told and believe about our body,
including scientific information, hearsay, myth, etc.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;">The <i>emotional attitude</i>
towards the body</li>
</ul>
Our body schemata may transcend the realities of what our bodies actually
are—or in other words, we may have a different mental picture of our bodies
than what they physically are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Concepts
around 'exercising the body' as a 'mostly' (physical) being, defining the
(physical) body as 'an act of volition through space', 'forceful and with
(self-prescribed) direction and pace', a notion that exercising the body is
an act that involves 'movement'... all of these are attachments and schematics
of a western-world perception of the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of these would limit a Yoga practice; therefore, all of these should
begin the process of potential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yoga is
not a series of poses to 'acquire' or accumulate skill in practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You cannot get better, or be better at Yoga.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we practice asana, we may find ourselves
engaging in dialogue ( developed mental habits) where we 'judge' or analyze our
practice, where we anticipate (look forward to the 'next' pose, the 'most
challenging' pose), we are ambitious (look to the gains of the future), are
competitive (wish we were better, stronger, faster... we think the
instructor/the person in front/behind/beside us is 'better, stronger, faster')
- Yoga is the positioning of all of the inquires, doubts and fears in front of
you, so you will really 'look' at them. What you do with them is up to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rumi wrote, "When the mirror of the
heart becomes pure and clear, impressions of the other world will become
manifest. The image and the image-maker will become visible, like the carpet
and the carpet-spreader.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Hatha Yoga
uses the body as the 'doorway' towards enlightenment and Jnana yoga uses the mind...
perhaps the translator is the heart.<br />
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Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-7245682574173160982012-11-01T18:30:00.003-07:002012-11-01T18:30:57.571-07:00The Yin of WinterDo you ever imagine your winter day as follows; you, curled up in front of a roaring fire, sipping on something warm and delicious, with your favorite slippers on and your favorite book, quiet snow falling on the other side of the windowpane, and Thelonious Monk playing on the stereo... You have no place to go, there is no rush, you don't need to get in your car and drive into the tempest. Your soul's purpose is to rest and, despite a fallacy that suggests otherwise, regrowth is happening in the winter, deep beneath the snow and stillness... and deep under the wooly sweaters and socks, skin, bone and beating heart - There is regrowth.<br />
<br />
The season provokes many attachments; to fears of the cold, to fears of dying, departure, solitude. We often find ourselves rushing into the wild winds and sleet to 'produce' the same energy we would on any other day, any other season, in contrast with nature, as usual. Do you, like me, languish in the months of January through March, pining for the spring, thinking of nothing else? Winter gets a bum wrap, and here is why. We do winter all wrong. "Instead of having fun, we often end up feeling ill, anxious, or
depressed. The reason, according to Taoist philosophy and traditional
Chinese medicine, is that the action-packed schedules we keep at this
time of year fall out of sync with the earth's natural cycles." http://www.yogajournal.com/health/101 - We need to replenish in winter; take time to nurture a different part of the self and sustain by eating a different diet and doing different things with our bodies, with time, with space; all elements of a well-rounded yoga practice.<br />
<br />
"Taoist philosophy conceptualizes universal balance in terms of yin and
yang, complementary forces that govern the universe. Yin characteristics
are cool, wet, slow, feminine, and quiet, whereas yang is the opposite:
warm, dry, fast, masculine, extroverted. Winter, the yin season, is a
time for storing and conserving energy in the way a bear retains fat by
hibernating, or a farmer stores food for the cold months ahead." http://www.yogajournal.com/health/101<br />
<br />
Eat warm, slow-cooked, nourishing foods. GET a slow-cooker, use it in the winter. Turn off the t.v. and the computer (well, after you've check this blog, of course!) and read more. Write in a journal. Turn off the lights and light scented candles with rich aromas of cinnamon and vanilla and MEDITATE. Stare at the flame and watch it dance. Let go (or be dragged).<br />
<br />
"The incongruity between winter's restful, introspective, yin nature and
the frenetic way many Americans spend their holidays can contribute to
seasonal affective disorder, depression, exhaustion, and other
manifestations of what is known in TCM as <em>shen</em> (or spiritual) disharmony" http://www.yogajournal.com/health/101<br />
<br />
3 or 4 days before Christmas, when everyone else is frantically racing from mall to mall, invite your friends and family over for a different kind of party. Celebrate the shortest day of the year with crafts, warm food and drink and laughter. For Wiccans, the holiday of Yule (or Yuletide) is about bidding farewell to the old, and celebrating the new things yet to come. As the sun returns to the earth, and days get longer again, life begins once again. Have your own Yule celebration or create a ritual. Abandon the commercialism of this holiday and pay homage to the longest night of the year by nurturing the yin nature of winter and bringing the light; to your home, to your Yoga and to your spirit. <br />
<br />
<span class="descText threeLineAd"></span>Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-84914916806977944692012-10-30T17:02:00.002-07:002012-10-30T17:02:39.943-07:00Hot Yoga and cold toes in the Winter.
Winter is my favorite time to engage in a hot yoga practice. My experience with teaching yoga is closing in on it's 11th year, yet, I only discovered hot yoga about 4 years ago. To be honest, prior to taking my first class, I thought it to be a bit of a mystery. I was not unlike many students who now approach me asking me questions around the validity of the hot room as a setting that will foster a healthy body and lifestyle. let me first state, I am no doctor. I can only base my answer to this question on research and personal experience (leaning strongly towards the latter as it is the most sincere response!). I did not love hot yoga when I first came to it. I am pink by nature. I do not sweat, though I get uncomfortably hot in the summer at times, and I am anemic, and prone to fainting if my iron is low. My first couple hot classes were beyond uncomfortable, bordering on sheer panic. I left the first one (which was Bikram Yoga - I do not suggest this practice for a first-timer hot Yogi or Yogini; it's 90 mins and it's HOT - most Bikram studio's are sitting at about 40 degrees on a good day!). I did go back, and over the course of a week or two, I adjusted. It doesn't take long to adjust tot he heat, despite the initial over-whelming experience. As for hot yoga's ability to increase over-all health and wellness, I can say that since I started doing hot yoga, I do not get sick as often as I used to. I also used to suffer from regular sinus problems, and have not had even one sinus infection since I began a regular hot yoga practice. I do not practice a rigorous yoga practice in the heat. I participate in gentle, flowing classes only due to my own hyper-mobility. The claims attached to the benefits of hot yoga are; improved flexibility, improved immunity, detoxification, stress reduction. "As a scientist, I wouldn't say there's a huge stock in sweating out
your toxins," says Stephen Cheung, the Canada Research Chair in
Environmental Ergonomics, whose area of expertise is heat stress. The
body only releases them through sweat to a very limited extent, he says. The extreme temperature and humidity in Bikram yoga and its less
regimented spinoff Moksha yoga can be risky for those with heart
conditions, as well as for those with low or high blood pressure in the
normal range, says Nieca Goldberg, medical director of New York
University's Women's Heart Program. (excerpt from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/thinking-of-trying-hot-yoga-read-this-first/article583705/). If a participant is practicing with already established hyper-mobility, there is an incresed risk of tearing muscle and ligament. Individuals should always speak to their doctor prior to beginning any new exercise routines, particularly an extreme practice like hot yoga. That said, I have come to love it and have found it to assist in my over-all sense of well-being! Also, its great for cold toes in the winter ;)Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-61363697867268040242012-10-24T13:54:00.001-07:002012-10-24T14:11:33.496-07:00Pratyahara - Water in stillness. <br />
" We need to spend time outside the realm of volitional or willful activity in a place outside our attempts to consciously control life. " <br />
<br />
Pratyahara is the softening of sensory awareness; the fifth limb of Yoga. Students of Yoga can build a foundation for more physically active practices by working with the subtle body in a yoga practice, and by becoming attune to meditative states of awareness.<br />
<br />
Beginner yoga students benefit from asana (the physical practice of Yoga) that draws attention to the subtle movement inside the body. I like to think of this state as the water on the surface of a lake at dawn on a calm summer day. You can visualize the mist rising from the surface of the lake, which seems frozen in time and space. The sky mirrored backwards on the surface of the water. The contents of this water also visible if you were to gaze into its depth. The sounds are muted and precise, and few and far between.<br />
<br />
Practice a Yoga that allows you to listen and tune in to the subtle body. Tuning in to the sensations of the quiet Self within you is the foundation from which we can make a connection with the subtle body. Yoga asana is mindful work with attention paid to sensation.<br />
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In Pratyahara, one can begin to experience real spaciousness (an element in the practice of Yoga) and stillness; this is like a fourth dimension. Step outside of control in you Yoga practice! Learn to let go of what you have come to know as 'experience'. This too is Yoga.Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-19160712867563918522012-10-20T14:43:00.000-07:002012-10-20T14:43:00.475-07:00GO to soup stock because it tastes good and you do good!Just a short one today in order to promote a creative, fun-loving event tomorrow in Toronto - Soup Stock! Hosted by the David Suzuki Foundation (incidentally, the Foundation also partially responsible for my soon-to-be new solar panels! That's another story though) this event is happening at Ashbridges Bay in the Toronto Beaches. The idea is as follows; You bring yourself and a bowl (ceramic is best!) a spoon and ten bucks; this gets you entry to the event and 4 bowls of warm and delicious soup cooked by some of North America's culinary masters ;) While being at this event is cool because it brings people together, it fosters community, it is about eating well and taking care of yourself... It is also a chance to slip a little dharma into your week. Service is an essential part of living a Yogic lifestyle and this event is a fundraiser for a cause called Stop the Mega Quarry. If you do not know what this means, check this web site. http://www.stopthemegaquarry.ca/<br />
<br />
In a nut shell, The Mega Quarry is a BIG money venture that aims to put a giant pit of rock right smack dab in the middle of some of southern Ontario's prime farm land. This is (of course) another bright idea from the Harper administration. Rug up and warm up at Soup Stock! More information can be found here. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/media/news/2012/07/soupstock-brings-200-chefs-to-toronto-for-culinary-protest/<br />
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Thanks David Suzuki! You are the greatest :)Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-81632164383583019222012-10-17T21:14:00.004-07:002012-10-17T21:22:05.907-07:00<span class="userContent">Yoga is not about culling out spirits or
surrendering one’s individual will power to a teacher who assumes the
role of a yoga-sorcerer. No teacher in the world has a right to demand
authority over others. The goal of yoga is Kaivalya, independency and
not wrong devotion. <br /> - S.Sriram</span><br />
<br />
<span class="userContent">I am a teacher; by trade and by nature. I have worked and continue to work with some of the most vulnerable; children. I teach people about the Visual Arts and I teach people about Yoga. I teach to what I know, and I am sincere in my actions. I work in different settings, along side others who call themselves 'teacher' frequently, in multiple settings. Incidentally, I prefer the word mentor, or ambassador, or guide... Teacher suits me at times and not at others. I shy away from the stigma involved with this word, which is sort of sad, really. In North America, in the public sector (of education), teacher means a lot of things I think it should not. In many ways, I am not comfortable with my status as teacher, even in my day job, employed by the Government to teach youth. For example, I don't know if I think teachers should be conducting structured standardized lessons on character (as they do in some school boards across Canada). I think a good teacher embodies character, and this is enough. Defining character and teaching it to the masses can be difficult, and that is an understatement. My moral compass is defined by my experiences, and I am wise enough to know that my experiences are not those of all of my students. I also think that any good teacher, who's heart is in the right place, aims to empower his/her students and in doing so, offers them autonomy. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="userContent">I recently have heard of a grievance involving one of my original principal influences in the area of Yoga, one of my original teachers, whom I briefly studied with in 2002/03 in my first 200 hour YTT. This grievance involves accusations of sexual harassment and abuse; sexual, emotional and mental. I am saddened by this news. I am angered by this news. I am reserving the right to talk about the larger issue at hand, and not the man immediately involved, as the point I am making belongs to the big picture and not a myopic</span><span class="userContent"> assessment of a particular situation. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="userContent">Under no circumstances, do I feel it is appropriate to assume power over another person. Teaching is not and should never become authoritative. teaching should be a humble offering, sharing. An individual may have pursued a course of study that allows him/her insight into a specific realm of knowledge, and what happens afterwards, would ideally be an artful sharing or dissemination of that knowledge, outside of Ego.</span><br />
<span class="userContent"><br /></span>
<span class="userContent">I am humiliated and disgraced to hear the unraveling of these<i></i> </span><span class="userContent"><span class="st">numerous</span> charges<i> </i>against this man in mention. As more information surfaces, I find myself shifting between feeling angry and insulted towards feeling sad and a little lost. I am defensive on behalf of the women involved in this case and saddened that such violations could happen within my extended sanga (community) and saddened again to think of the damage this has done and continues to do. </span><br />
<span class="userContent"><br /></span>
<span class="userContent">I remind myself of a primary question from </span><span class="userContent">Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, </span>pertaining to suffering and the cause and result of it... 'Where do I fit
in to this? Who, or what, am I?<br />
<span class="userContent"><br /></span>
Lately, in my mid thirties of life I find myself more consistently able to challenge my ability to 'identify with' all
living beings, and ultimately, the Universe (some people call this God) and the formless, the
non-dual view. I've developed meditations and practices to challenge the Ego. To do this, I tend to meditate more. I draw more. When I do, I meditate on my subject. Whether it is a vase of flowers, the flame of the candle in front of me, or a human subject, I draw and meditate with the intention of capturing the essence of the subject, of feeling what the subject feels, of knowing the subjects experiences, of becoming the subject. For a brief moment, we are one. Or perhaps we are always one? As I continue to evolve through this journey called life, I am committed to challenging my mindset to expand my sense of self beyond the 'other'. Through meditation and practice, the 'other' fades into the dewy mist (into the veil) and almost becomes forgotten and from this, compassion is born. Bliss is found. In my continued efforts to practice this sort of non-dual thinking, I am liberated. <br />
<br />
-Awakening, enlightenment, or the end of
suffering, according to the Buddhists, is the belief that nothing but a full realization
that I, the 'self', is a fiction and that I am the non-dual wholeness, the formless, boundless, can lead to the end of suffering.<br />
<br />
In this vein, I am also saddened when I think of the suffering of a teacher, an individual, who has lost his path and direction so much so that he would violate the essential and holistic focus of the practice of Yoga that he/she prescribes to. The same focus that will eventually bring completeness to the individual as the find their connectivity to the divine. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="userContent"><br /></span>
Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-3132528036411831902012-10-15T19:32:00.001-07:002012-10-15T19:32:10.067-07:00Yoga - A Right-Brained Liberal Art!Yoga is a right-brain dominant practice.<br />
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Here is why...<br />
<br />
1) You need to feel it, not think it.<br />
<br />
2) Yoga is creativity in motion. You are telling the tale of your wide life in gestures.<br />
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3) Yoga draws greatly from your spatial intelligence. The right brain is also responsible for your spatial<br />
awareness--for instance, understanding how your body moves through space.<br />
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4) The right brain is interested in language and speech as prosody--that is, the intonation of speech and how the words are expressed. Yoga draws on the ancient art of sounding, chanting in tone, breathing into space, and primordial sound.</div>
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5) The right brain is responsible for emotion. Yoga is emotion and compassion in action.</div>
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6) The right brain searches for meaning. Yoga is meaning, it is feeling in comprehension.</div>
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7) The right brain in not analytical. Yoga poses should not be analyzed in the moment. Feel it, don't think it.</div>
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8) The right brain is concerned with understanding the 'big picture'. Yoga is the Universe. It is the big picture.</div>
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9) The right brain is intuitive. Yoga hones the intuitive self as you work through the art of mindfulness. </div>
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10) The right brain is holistic, and integrative. Yoga draws you towards movement or stillness, guided by the constant presence of the breath. The breath draws body, mind and soul together into one.</div>
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Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-25604014396013706852012-10-14T19:55:00.001-07:002012-10-14T20:01:31.291-07:00What does fitness have to do with Yoga?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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So, I work for a Yoga studio and recently I was asked to change the
format/style of my teaching to better suit the general philosophy of the
studio. After much reflection and discourse, I came to the conclusion that this
was a request I was a) comfortable with for now and also, that some of my
classes were considerably different than most others on the schedule. Until
this request was made of me, I was not fully aware that I was doing something
very different. Some simple qualifiers that could accurately describe the class
style might include; slower, quieter (meditative), grounded (on the mat for
most of the class). I was being encouraged to create more consistency in my
class by following a formula that had the class build to a apex 'build up to a
peak and wind down', thereby increasing the energy, providing an 'experience
that is physical enough to create energy in the body and allow a good sweat'.
Nothing I am not familiar with, as this formula seems to be commonplace in the
studio's have I taught/taken in past, present in three different countries now
(U.S.A. Chicago, Illinois & various cities
in Canada, as well as
various cities in Australia).
<br />
<br />
Recently, (as in over the past 6 years), I have begun a discovery of
some of the 'quieter' Yoga disciplines (namely Restorative and Yin) and, in
studying and practicing these disciplines had a little bit of a revelation...
slowing things down was good for my muscle-bound body (namely upper-body and
shoulders). The soldiers that are (dare I say were?) my shoulders had begun to
release and relax, my heart had begun to pour open (this is a BIG deal!) and my
hips broke like a levy one fine day! I walked through space as though I had a
new pair of moon boots on, a bounce to my step that was never released fully
prior to this, despite years of firey, heat-inducing yoga practices; like
ashtanga and dynamic vinyasa flow. No relentless number of suyra namaskar had
been able to do for my body what some quiet but determined and very very deep
work had done in less time. For the first time ever, I could enter into poses
like headstand and full-wheel without feeling 'clenched' or locked up in
certain muscle groups. These deep, slow, meditative practices had taught me to
let go (or be dragged). They allowed me time to 'look at myself' and figure
some stuff out, and after hating it for awhile, I had really started to dig it.
<br />
<br />
So I taught it, and people liked it, or so I thought as the class in mention
was always full and the faces were regular. I felt good about allowing others the
time to look deeply at themselves, and to look deeply at the asana or gesture
they were in, as it is an expression of the self also. I liked that they seemed
to like it too. Until the bubble popped. I was reminded of what I already knew,
which is that the collective WE in North America
(The West) have this idea of the body that as an object (and object in the West
means consumable - a product) and that energy means movement, at a certain pace
and vigor, through space. There is a destination (the end of the class?) and
while on the journey (on your mat?) there is an apex (the literary
crisis/climax); a mountain to climb, something to obtain. A goal. I guess in
all my blissful surrender to the Yin, I had simply forgotten where I was. That
producing energy means moving quickly, from point a to point b. OUR science
tells us this... An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion
will stay in motion at constant velocity, unless acted upon by an unbalanced
force. <br />
<br />
Should Yoga be a class, and should the journey begin 'as a wave, warming up
to a crest and then winding down' as it was describe to me. Should Yoga exist
outside of the walls of a studio and perhaps, if you are lucky Yoga may enter
into your practice while you breath, in a moment, in a gesture, whether in
movement or not, whether in the studio or driving in your car one sunny
afternoon on your way home from work? If that later is relevant, than I ask
you, what does fitness have to do with Yoga? My unbalanced force was the
reminder that my Yoga is not fitness and that this concept of 'fitness' as
purely physical is yet another way of consuming 'body' as a product or object
to be obtained. <br />
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Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-92192078990297003142011-05-24T17:06:00.000-07:002011-05-24T17:06:34.820-07:00Dorothy Surrenders: Now that’s cooking with cleavage<a href="http://dorothysurrenders.blogspot.com/2007/07/now-thats-cooking-with-cleavage.html?spref=bl">Dorothy Surrenders: Now that’s cooking with cleavage</a>: "The New York Times recently ran a piece called “ Frump-Free Cooking ” about today’s kitchen goddesses and their propensity to display, shal..."Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-27245369320841082672011-01-31T06:56:00.000-08:002011-01-31T06:56:46.791-08:00Food Sharing Gardeners of Peel and West TorontoHey there. I find January rather uninspiring. Not much to blog about today... Though, I wanted to let you know that I looked around for a food sharing org. - Its on Facebook! Its a group! Look it up and post on the wall and I will invite you to join the group.Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-17803470050222988892011-01-24T20:16:00.001-08:002011-01-24T20:16:30.379-08:00Looking for a Food Sharing Group in Peel?Hey There!<br />
<br />
Today I am just putting my feelers out there...<br />
<br />
<br />
Basically, I want to find (or start) a Food Sharing group in Peel. I want to swap/trade fresh produce from my permacultural backyard garden with other gardeners who grow food/ or heritage seeds, in Peel region. I'll travel. Does anyone out there know of anyone who does this or does anyone out there want to start a revolution with me?!!!Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-8570308272333777452011-01-18T12:10:00.000-08:002011-01-18T12:14:20.917-08:00Eating to your Ayurvedic Food Type - An ancient practice that just makes sense!Here is a quiz you can take to find out your Ayurvedic type <a href="http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/2/a/ayurveda.htm"> http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/2/a/ayurveda.htm</a><br />
<br />
The best way to find out A LOT about this diet (do not assume diet means that you will be deprived. You will not) is to actually get to an Ayurvedic healer who can design an individualized diet for the people they see, based on various factors such as age and gender, the doshic tendencies that need to be balanced at a given time, the strength of the body tissues and the digestive fires, and the level of ama (toxins) in the body. The place where a person lives and the season are also factors that affect dietary dos and don'ts. (excerpt from <a href="http://healing.about.com/od/ayurvedic_diet/ss/eatforbalance.htm">http://healing.about.com/od/ayurvedic_diet/ss/eatforbalance.htm</a>). My friend Mariellen of BreathDreamGo http://<a href="http://breathedreamgo.com/">breathedreamgo.com/</a> has been to the <a href="http://www.caish.ca/">http://www.caish.ca/ </a>in West Toronto and reports that it is quite good! I have yet to go for an assessment but am eager to try it out. Will report back at a later date when I get to the centre myself. <br />
<br />
So, for the last two years or so, but definitely the last year I've found that I've been eating to my Ayurvedic type without knowing it ;) That's how easy this is, folks. It's like Yoga, easy and practical :) Though it is an extensive Asana practice and philosophy and dare I say it, science, it is still a pretty straight-forward practice, really. To me, it has always made more sense than some other 'givens' when it comes to how we deal with our health in the (post) modern age. First of all, it is preventative. I prefer preventative medicine myself and feel it is much more effective to see a professional 'guide' (Naturo/homeopath, osteopath, yoga teacher, Ayurvedic physician, Chinese herbalist, acupuncturist, nutritionist) and remain healthy, then seek aid after becoming sick, as if the case with much of Modern Western Medicinal practice today. Yoga, If practiced daily, should result in improvements in your over-all health and your out-look on life. All the poses have simple names; if you are hearing them in Sanskrit and are not familiar with the language they might sound 'exotic' to some people, but the direct translations just tell it how it is, for example, Pavanamuktaasana, the pose, sounds pretty awesome, huh? Well, it translates to "wind-releasing pose"! You can piece together the purpose of such an Asana pose, now can't you? Here it is in a little flash animation. Great practical pose for a great practical purpose! <a href="http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/yogapractice/windrelieving.asp">http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/yogapractice/windrelieving.asp.</a><br />
<br />
Which, brings me to my next point. Digestion. In my humble opinion, it's pretty darn important! I have found that if you are not digesting your food properly (and you'll know it) you are eating something that is inappropriate for 'your type'. It really is not brain science to see why the Ayurvedic diet is good for you. Below is a list of some of the foods for each type. You can see that there are many high fibre foods and also wholesome, nurishing energy foods that offer a lot of 'staying power' for the body, mind, and 'self'. With the exception of frozen foods, which I promote as being helpful during the Canadian winter (freezing fruits or veggies from our harvests in the summer and fall allow for a healthier diet in the Winter) and Ghee, which I do not eat, as I consider it to be a 'bad' fat, the list is pretty 'clean'. I LOVE HERBS & SPICES! I think they are the 'other' food group. You can also grow your own herbs and spices, and dry them for Winter use! <br />
<br />
<b>2.Opt For The Right Kind of Food:</b><br />
In general, the following food items should be included in –<br />
<i>Ayurveda Vata Diet</i> – Grapes, Bananas, Lemons, Strawberries, Onions, Carrots, Cucumber, Potatoes, Rice, Wheat, Almonds, Cashews, Chicken etc.<br />
<i>Ayurveda Pitta Diet</i> – Apples, Mangoes, Watermelons, Brocolli, Mushrooms, Zucchini, Barley, White Rice, Kidney Beans, Freshwater Fish, Cottage Cheese, Cheese etc.<br />
<i>Ayurveda Kapha Diet</i> – Apples, Berries, Cherries, Raisins, Cabbage, Garlic, Egg Plant, Spinach, Potatoes, Red Lentils, Split Beans, Eggs, Ghee, Ginger, Garlic, Fenugreek etc.<br />
Eat natural and whole foods.<br />
Stay away from food items that are frozen or canned.<br />
Avoid such food items that contain preservatives, added colours or flavours.<br />
Make a special effort to eat seasonal food items which are available only during those seasons. These include seasonal fruits and vegetables.<br />
<b>3.Satvic Food is Good For You:</b><br />
These include green leafy vegetables, fresh seasonal fruits, almonds, rice, honey and easy to digest food items.<br />
<b>4.Include 6 Basic Tastes in Each Main Meal:</b><br />
These include sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. It is said that doing so helps to create an optimum balance within the body.<br />
<b>5.Herbs And Spices:</b><br />
Include herbs and spices in your diet as they help in improving digestion, as well as cleansing the body.<br />
Always remember that Stomach is the Shrine of the Divine so treat it with respect and love and it will give back to you in the form of good health. Make the right choice, choose an Ayurveda Diet and move towards a healthy and happy life. And yes, an ayurvedic lifestyle does promote weight control. My weight loss post-partum has been consistent and steady as a result of eating 'right for my Ayurvedic type'. Slow and steady and doable for life, this diet a great way to achieve optimum health, support a Yogic and Green lifestyle, and lose weight gradually. <br />
<br />
(excerpts from <a href="http://ayurvedadiet.com/">http://ayurvedadiet.com/</a>) <br />
<br />
Here are a couple links to more pages that discuss this diet and lifestyle choice! Happy eating ;)<br />
<br />
<h3 class="r"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_380808657">http://altmedicine.about.com/od/ayurvedicdiet</a></span></h3><div style="background-color: blue;"><a href="http://ayurvedadiet.com/">/Ayurvedic_Diet.htm</a></div><br />
cool site for all sorts of awesome recipes <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/">http://www.epicurious.com/</a><br />
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here is a cook book you might want to check out! I have this one and its pretty good!<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Taste-Heal-Ayurvedic-Cookbook-Modern-Living/dp/0976917009">http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Taste-Heal-Ayurvedic-Cookbook-Modern-Living/dp/0976917009</a>Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-39938354814378469862011-01-17T20:17:00.000-08:002011-01-17T20:17:19.653-08:00Death is the ultimate statistic, one out of one of us diesGeorge Bernard Shaw, you make a sound point! So, we all die and it is as certain and inevitability as life itself, yet we reject and deny it? Am I the only one who thinks that the Media is down-right obsessive-compulsive when it comes to death and dying? What feeds this morbid fascination? Most people do not want to talk about death. It's not dinner conversation, if you know what I mean. It's one of those things that just makes everyone uncomfortable. It's the elephant in the corner. Usually, people do not consider death until they have up-close and personal experiences with death (of a friend, a relative, old age). Yet, considering our own death might actually benefit us in living well. Yoga practice is about non-attachment, yet life (and living) is our biggest attachment. How do we become comfortable with this contradiction? There is a belief in Yogic philosophy that one aspect of our being is deathless. Can you imagine which part of you that might be?Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-43912496956388362202011-01-17T10:07:00.000-08:002011-01-17T10:26:36.609-08:00Sleep: the final frontier - (or, alternatively, learning acceptance by sleeping in the play pen)***Disclaimer***************************<br />
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This is, in many ways, a mommy/daddy blog entry... Loosely formed around the topic of sleep training a baby. I may discuss bodily fluids, boobs and other such exciting sub-topics at will, as these and other such things quickly become central in your vernacular the minute you pop a baby into the world! So, if you are not into to it <strong><em>STOP READING NOW</em></strong>. That said, I encourage you to read on. E<em><u>specially</u></em> if you are not a parent but hope someday to be one, and also if you are just a person who has had to meet challenges head-on in life. You know, the kind of challenges you cannot walk away from? This blog entry is, most importantly, about Acceptance, in the purest sense, so, if you are not a mommy (or parent) you can continue reading and still gain from the experience. It also is bound to be a funny one ;) <br />
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My first born is pushing a year. If you are a parent you will relate with my feelings of dread when the much anticipated question arises, <em><strong><u>"so, is he/she sleeping through the night????".</u></strong></em> My face instantly turns a pale shade of grey, my natural sunny smile morphs into a plastered on 'happy face'. With the somewhat 'forced' positivity only a new love-struck parent can muster under the circumstance of approximately 4 hrs of sleep, a night for almost a year (and may I add these are often interrupted sleeps) I respond, "oh no, but we are being flexible with our little one...", or "we are trying new things", or something equally as vague. <br />
Let me now interpret the true meaning of such statements. I am a wimp. I cannot STAND the (incessant) crying. I cannot bear to see my baby 'sad', 'lonely', or 'in need', as this is how crying registers to my semiotic senses. Many a wise parent has told me I am crazy (as if I didn't already know that, people!!??). They've told me that unless I want to be getting up 5-7 times a night until my kid is 7 years of age, I need to take charge (may I remind you here that one of the translations for the word "Yoga"/"Yuj" (in Sanskrit) is "to take charge") and do something about this. They explain that I am training the baby to sleep through the night. That all humans innately wake multiple times a night and all humans had to train to return to sleep eventually and sleep through. I get it... Yet, somehow, without much recognition of my own actions, I have dodged this 'bullet' with the deep dread of a wild Jack Hare pursued by the Hunter. I have elusively avoided sleep (the topic, the action..) much, MUCH, longer than many of my friends in parenting circles I roll with, in hopes that the Universe will intervene and offer me an easy out. It's not happening. I tried convincing my husband that HE had to do the dirty work; that the baby just won't sleep with me because I.AM.FOOD... If you are interested my mama(lian) friends, I will be making t-shirts that read this above truth, each with one giant burger over each breast, for all other unsuspecting new moms who thought breastfeeding would be a loving 'side-thought' in your days as a newbie mom (I recall telling another mom, prior to having my baby that I would just be BFing and giving him bottles and, you know, it would be no 'biggie'...Erin, if you are reading, I am eating my words, no pun intended. LOL). <strong><em><u><span style="color: red;">NEWS FLASH!!!!!</span></u></em></strong> from one breastfeeding mother to the next, for the next 6-12 (to 24 or 36...) months you are the most delectable, morceau on the open market and that is what you ARE. 24/7 'round the clock all-you-can-eat-buffet. Suck it up. Anyhow, I digress. Let me return back to my other favorite (not) topic; Sleep. They are very entwined, these two topics but sleep has been my biggest parenting challenge and so lets focus on this for today. <br />
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I have moved through different stages of acceptance (or lack there of) when it comes to sleep (training) a baby. For the first several months, I did not believe that sleep (training) was needed. I was a 'la-di-da' attachment parent who thought that sleep was 'over-rated'. It is rather enlightening, once you do in fact embark on a journey of parenting a sleepless/sleep-little child, how very little sleep us Mothers can exist and function (albeit sometimes quite sloppily) on. Remarkable creatures we truly are! I say Mothers because, in my experience, they are the ones getting up for the 'post-motem' shifts. Sorry brothers from other mothers, if you are out there, feel free to pipe up in a response below, but thus far, I see the mama's lurching to attention when the desperate cries come through the milky darkness at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 a.m. So, this is exactly what I did for about six straight months. My parents called me "The Rocket-Part Deux" (my older sister was known as the original rocket). I would be up and out of bed to scoop up the little one in seconds flat, multiple times a night, every night. I was there. Easiest way to get a baby back to sleep? Feed, Feed, Feed. So it was all Feed and Sleep and Wake and Feed and Sleep for the first little while. When this pattern was broken up somewhat by the introduction of solid food (which, incidentally, sometimes comes with the promise of more sleep... do not believe the hype!!!???) it was like coming out of a drug-induced coma. I was still here! Wow!<br />
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Things got easier then, but, still, my fired-up little baby was not having it... Didn't you know? Sleep's just NO FUN AT ALL! Why would you want to sleep when you spent 6-8 months lying on your back and now you can go, go go!!!!<br />
Nope. Mama and baby were still sleepless in suburbia. My next stage of acceptance (or lack there of) was that something had to be done. I got stuck here for sometime. Something had to be done... but, what? and how? Have you ever felt that way about a challenge or a problem? I think we all have at different times in our lives, come across a challenge that left us at 'loose ends'. Well, it had been awhile since I had to meet one of these lingering dilemma's head-on but this was one of those said-dreaded moments. I was petrified, literally, by what? A little crying, a tiny baby? Yup. My next stage was guilt. How can I be thinking of letting my baby '(not) go gently into that good night'? and Rage, Rage he does, believe you me! I had read a million and one books on attachment parenting (probably to encourage my fading feelings of solidarity as I grew ever more exhausted) and I was feeling really BADLY about the inclination I had towards 'forcing' sleep on my child. My stages of acceptance were flip-flopping between being committed to a cause (attachment parenting/random family bed sharing) and trying to see the forest for the tree (why, WHY? is it so bad to sleep, or train your kid to sleep? Is it so bad? Maybe no?). <br />
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So, lets cut to the chase... I am still somewhat in the guilt stage but I am also soon-to-be a working mama, with a super demanding day job (some of my 'clients' look for weakness and go for the jugular!) and I cannot, will not endure on the (lack of) sleep I have been able to beg, borrow and steal from the first 9 months of parenting. So, what now? Well, here is where Yoga, my age-old friend who never has failed me, enters stage left. I am my own sleep Doula, as I cannot afford $800 for someone to come to my house and sleep under the crib for 3-5 days to train my kid to sleep. I need to call on my powers of meditation (another mama in my circle suggests ear plugs!) to get through the dreadful night of tremendous screaming and fits. It's hard. Only, people who are not parents would suggest otherwise. I believe Mothers are hard-wired to have a chemical response to this sort of sound from their child. The number of times I have heard from a non-parent type, "can't you just let him cry it out?" makes me chuckle. Mostly, because I remember that not too long ago I was once a non-parent type too, and to answer the collective question, no, you cannot, and even if you did, it wasn't "<em>JUST</em>, letting the baby cry". It was hard. So, when things get hard, I/we must practice Acceptance. For me, to truly understand where a challenge is coming from, and as a experiential being, I must 'live' the problem, feel the feeling through, JUST DO IT. I must get down level to the challenge and check it out from all angles. So, the other day, in a moment of mad invention, I go INTO the pack n' play!!!! Yes, right in there with the baby... Someone write the company, that thing can hold either 10 plump babies or one 160 pound woman! made to last ;) I learned a lot in there... I learned that under the window there is a COLD draft (time to move the pack n' play). I learned that its a little bit alienating to be left in the corner of a room, in a mesh-sided pen, while you can hear everyone else 'having fun' in the other room, (time to readjust schedules so the baby can nap in relative quiet), I was reminded that, when the Universe delivers you a challenge you NEED to get creative, and that challenges don't just 'go away' if we ignore them. They are put here as 'opportunities' for us to learn, change and transform. To quote my Grandfather (R.I.P.) "there is always more than one way to skin a cat". So, much like when I am on my Yoga mat, practicing a difficult arm balance like 'Crow Pose'/Bakasana, especially post-partum as many of my poses have been transformed by pregnancy, I try, try and try again. Different approaches to seeking balance, different approaches to falling out of the pose... different approaches to sleep training my child. Tt's just life, baby, and its you and me together on this ride! If you come to a Yoga class as a beginner, and you are daunted by poses that seem too challenging, too 'hard' to handle, I hope you will think of my real-life tale of parenting as a reflection of what happens on the mat. There is a saying in the yoga community, <strong><em><u><span style="color: #38761d;">"what happens on the mat, does not STAY on the mat".</span></u></em></strong> Life is Yoga: Yoga is Life. Wanna T-Shirt? I'll make you one ;)Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-72542514396073942682011-01-16T08:47:00.000-08:002011-01-16T18:57:34.784-08:00Food for Thought - Eating Well during the Canadian WinterToday I want to talk about food. This should be an easy topic as everyone<u><i><b> needs it</b></i></u> and everyone has<u><b><i> a relationship </i></b></u>with food! As I discussed in a previous blog, Yoga, the word, is derived from the Sanskrit root, 'yuj', which means 'to yoke', 'to control'... 'To unite'. I prefer to understand my Yoga as Relationship. This relationship is on the mat and its off the mat, it fuses with daily life as naturally as taking a breath does, and it begins to take charge ('control') the way you view things, people, practices, and yourself. Many individuals who begin a Yoga practice, on the mat, as mere 'exercise' (the physical practice of Yoga is called Asana), have gradually found life changing (or taking charge). Eventually, Yoga becomes a lifestyle (choice?) or rather, a way of life and it is integrated into all that we do. It's pure magic this way! Often I meet new students on the mat who have come to Yoga to gain in physical terms; flexibility, strength, fitness. I believe these to be very good reasons for beginners to find time and structure for a Yoga practice... the rest will just fall into place, just happen and before you know it, the transformative nature of Yoga will have you quitting that day job that you 'just weren't that into', ditching negative habits, routines and relationships, and forming new more positive practices! Which brings me back to my topic today... FOOD!<br />
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Sometimes it just isn't as simple as what you put into your mouth; Food is capital 'E' Emotional, Food is political too... The traditional Yogic menu is vegetarian, in support of living without causing pain or suffering to any other sentient beings (i.e. eating animals would be considered contrary to Ahimsa practices). I would also expect that, a true Yogic menu would also be organically-processed and produced, packaged, and circulated (i.e. one would avoid buying produce that had traveled long distances on transport trucks as this does harm to our earth, ourselves and all sentient beings that inhabit the earth). Is your head spinning yet? Like I said, I consider Yoga to be Relationship... and NO relationship is perfect. You do what you can, when you can, the best you can, to give back to your community, self, and Universe. That's all we can ask of ourselves.<br />
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If you have not guessed it yet, and you are a follower, this blog finds its form in delivering practical, accessible choices and advice that use Yoga as a means to an end of bettering ones self and one's world. On this note, I'd like to share some of my family's techniques when it comes to growing and buying good wholefood organics food that don't put us out of house and home financially. <br />
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<u><b>Grow a backyard/porch/deck veggie garden</b></u><br />
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You may think to yourself, what is a wee little garden going to do for me, really??? How can a couple heads of lettuce and a tomato plant help me keep money in my pocket and food on my table? How can growing plants make me a better person? The act of growing your own food, on a philosophical level, can have a profound effect on how you view food and self. Your relationship with food will forever be changed by growing it yourself. Grow it from seed (I get my organic seeds here <a href="http://www.seeds.ca/ev/events.php">http://www.seeds.ca/ev/events.php</a>) and you will develop a unconditional love affair with your food. Once this happens, eating becomes a meditation. In fact, another practical and easy way to bring meditation into your daily life practice is a food/eating meditation <a href="http://www.metatronics.net/eat/">http://www.metatronics.net/eat/</a><br />
By gardening, you will begin to understand that your ability to nurture (dare I say, love?) and grow food, from the garden straight to your table and body; avoiding the middle man; a transport truck and a genetic engineer! You will foster a deeper relationship with nature. You will fall in love with the seasons and of course, you will revel in the pure bliss of the harvest! I heart my garden! Having even a small garden greatly decreases your carbon footprint, and it is an opportunity for new knowledge! You can share what you learn with others! Ways you can get the most out of your garden are preserving and canning, as well as pickling, saucing, and freezing food for our cold and rather bland (eating wise) Canadian Winter.You will save money! My family saves an average of 60 dollars a week by having a small 12 ft by 12 ft veggie garden! <br />
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<u><b>Have you hugged a Farmer today?</b></u><br />
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When in doubt and when it is at all possible, buy locally grown foods from a Farmer or a Farmer's co-op or market. Below I will list some of my fave co-ops, markets and Farmers to help you :) My all-time favorite co-op is called <a href="http://www.ewenity.com/">http://www.ewenity.com/ </a><br />
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Ewenity is a dairy co-op situated in Fergus, Ontario. It is a co-operative of Ontario farmers who milk their sheep. Milk is then crafted into delicious yogurt, cheeses and ice cream at the Best Baa Dairy <a href="http://www.ewenity.com/contactus.php">http://www.ewenity.com/contactus.php</a> in Fergus, Ontario. Although I do consume cow's milk there is an ever-expanding amount of research that claims that cow's milk has it's own set of problems. If you are someone who is trying to minimize their cow's milk in-take, may I encourage you to use sheep's milk as an alternative. It is <u><i><b>WAY</b></i></u> tastier than Goat's milk and these farmers know where it's at when it comes to cheese, yogurt (my fave is the real maple syrup yogurt that Ewenity makes... if you live in the city, you can find them ever Saturday at the St. Lawrence market in Toronto). I ate it all through my pregnancy as my base for a healthy breakfast! It rocks! Also, I know these farmers (though it's been awhile since I hugged them) and it is always good to know your farmer's perspectives on working with the earth and animals... great people produce great food. period.<br />
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If you are a passionate cow's milk connoisseur than Organic Meadow's <a href="http://www.organicmeadow.com/">http://www.organicmeadow.com</a> comes highly recommended by yours truly. Also out of Guelph, Ontario, you are doing your part in reducing carbon emissions by buying locally (a relatively short transport time from Guelph to your table), and its good sh*t! I LOVE THIS COMPANY'S WEB SITE! Please check it out. It's focus in on keeping the costumer informed and aware of the processes and method's used to produce the food, and it is community oriented. It's a good read, have a look-see! The milk is wholesome and delicious and the yogurt is great too. I also like their cheddar cheese.<br />
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Meat. Though it is not considered part of the Yogic 'menu', it is something that some of us believe is a part of a well-rounded diet. I, myself, was a devoted vegetarian for 14 years and after a long struggle with anemia, having tried b-6, b-12 injections and other supplements, have returned to eating (limited) amounts of meat. I will re-attempt a return to my vegetarian roots in the future, but as a woman who was invested in conceiving a child and one who may go for 'round-two' in the ring of child-bearing (and I use the metaphor of a boxing ring with intention... but that another blog. LOL) I have found that limited amounts of meat have brought me optimum health during my child-bearing years. This is my own personal opinion and I am sure some would disagree. Comment and links on how to find optimum health living with anemia as an exclusive veggie-eater would be well-received!<br />
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<u><b>A little more on meat...</b></u><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">Reduce negative impact on the planet by practicing meatless 'Mondays' (and Weds and Fridays!). Though I am a meat consumer now, I do believe that our society in the West eats FAR too much meat for our own good. Not only does eating meat daily effect your health in a negative manner and reduce your life expectancy, it also contributes to the negative impact that humanity is having on the planet, especially, if you are buying meats produced by big agri-companies and not local farmed meats. My family buys strictly organic meats for a number of reasons... We are passionate about avoiding hormones and anti-bi's in our meats. Mainstream research is now showing that these additives are having real effects on the developing body (in particular, our children). I don't want to turn this blog into a (negative) discussion that instills fear in the hearts of those of you still eating big agri-produced meats, so I will simply encourage you to read up on these studies further, if they interest you. <a href="http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/Factsheet/Diet/fs37.hormones.cfm">http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/Factsheet/Diet/fs37.hormones.cfm</a> and continue by listing some of my fave local meat farms and co-op's.</span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">Beretta Farms and Co-Op. <a href="http://www.berettaorganics.com/">http://www.berettaorganics.com/</a></span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">These guys are my favorite, by far. Again, I love this web site that is informative and honest. I love that these folks address processing and packaging techniques. With the recent focus on BPA in packaging, it gets one thinking about meat that sits in styrofoam trays and wrapped in saran wrap for weeks on end in the grocery stores... These guys </span>are up-front about the way they pack and process the meat, stating, "we do all our own cutting and wrapping, smoking, sausage maki'ng, which allows us to provide a healthy organic product that is custom-processed for each unique customer's needs.". You pay quite a bit more for Beretta if you buy it in the super market, but you can both buy it from the source, the Farm, which is a convenient jaunt north, by car it is only about 20 minutes, located in King City, Ontario, or, and this is the best, you can order ON-LINE from their web site (another reason I love this web site). It's cheaper this way. These guys also do catering, perfect for weddings and such things! If you do want to get it in the store; it is in Longo's for sure. <br />
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I also like Rowe farms <a href="http://www.rowefarms.ca/">http://www.rowefarms.ca/</a> and now you can get their eggs at some of the big super markets, Loblaws, for example. Woot woo! Rowe farms has several stores in the GTA and one in Guelph. <a href="http://www.rowefarms.ca/retailstores.html">http://www.rowefarms.ca/retailstores.html</a><br />
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<u><b><span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">Things I do to save $$$ while feeding my family the best food I can find</span></b></u><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;"> Avoid convenience foods. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convenience_food">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convenience_food</a> What are convenience foods? Well, eating-out would be the ultimate convenience... so, as an alternative to the restaurant experience, (which is notably a nice experience that we have all indulged in, myself included) try cooking with your family at home. Buy some awesome cookbooks and get all-hands on deck! Then set the table with candles and all the frills and serve the food on your nicest plates, use the fine china, pull out all the stops. The art of cooking was featured in the movie "Julie and Julia" directed by Nora Ephron in 2009 <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1566115571">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_%26_Julia</a></span><br />
<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">If you have not seen this wholesome 'comfort food' in film form yet, I encourage you to do so... it really brings to light the love one can foster in their lives through the simple act of cooking and the creative element involved in a lifestyle that involves cooking one's own food! </span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">Another way you can avoid convenience eating and foods is to 'draw a square' around the perimeter of your local grocery store. The big mega-stores are daunting to say the least, so simply avoid the throbbing nexus of the store (the only exception to this rule would be in Loblaws, which now has a fully-stocked organics section in the interior of the store, usually near the pharmacy... hmmmm, intentional placement? You tell me?). </span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">You may notice that I am talking a lot about shopping in the big grocery stores. Like I stated before, this blog is about accessibility and so I want to make sure I am addressing the 'status qou' in my community. Therefore, I've included big box grocery stores in my discussion. I maintain that buying you food from the Farmer, either directly, or from markets is, hands-down, the BEST way to buy your food, but in most people's lives, which are riddled with solving the problem of 'not enough time, too many tasks', well, sometimes running into the closest mega-store for your family's dinner is just easier. Sometimes its the getting home and getting sometime with your loved ones that trumps finding a local Farmers market in the Winter, in Canada. I get it. </span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;"> <u><b>4-season Farmers Markets! GO THERE!</b></u></span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">More on the 4 season Farmer markets though... <u><b>THEY DO EXIST!</b></u> Here are some I frequent and find to have a good selection of wholefoods. The Brickworks in East Toronto <a href="http://ebw.evergreen.ca/whats-on/farmers-market">http://ebw.evergreen.ca/whats-on/farmers-market </a>is battling it out in my mind for the throne as far as my fave year-around markets. It's competitor? Well, the good ol' St Lawrence Market, but of course. <a href="http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/">http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/</a> </span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">What do I like about Brickworks? Well, you can DO YOGA and shop for yummy food at the SAME TIME! Wicked, right? <a href="http://ebw.evergreen.ca/whats-on/yoga-movement-meditation">http://ebw.evergreen.ca/whats-on/yoga-movement-meditation</a> </span><br />
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<u><b><span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">My last few tips are some savvy suggestions on saving while buying organics in the mega-store/grocery stores...</span></b></u><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">Circulate several different stores in your area, close to home. Sometimes you can find better produce at a different store than you usually go to, on any given day/week depending on the stores suppliers. It is worth it to 'switch it up' and get around a bit. Also, different stores will have sales on organics at different times. You can work the room. Otherwise, you may find yourself eating a very limited diet of sweet potatoes, other root veggies, and the occasional organic (frozen) strawberry. P.S: Frozen fruit is alright, actually, often times the frozen fruits have not been irradiated as they are frozen immediately after being picked. More on irradiation here <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irradiation">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irradiation</a></span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">Do not buy bulk. If you can, buy smaller amounts at one time... Why? You can then buy from the %50 off organics, which are genrally just fine, as long as you eat them up in a couple days. We live in a paranoid society where expiry dates are set <b><i><u>wayyyyy</u></i></b> in advance. Want to get great organic food for a reduced price? Wait until the store gets worried about the approaching 'expiry date' and buy, buy, buy!</span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">I really could go on and on about food. If you want to educate yourself further on the politics of food I recommend this excellent read. </span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1566115589"><span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;"><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/End-Food-Industry-Destroying-Supply/dp/1569803021">http://www.amazon.com/End-Food-Industry-Destroying-Supply/dp/1569803021</a></span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">and I also liked</span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1566115591"><span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;"><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Story-Corn-Betty-Fussell/dp/0826335926">http://www.amazon.com/Story-Corn-Betty-Fussell/dp/0826335926</a></span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">I think I have to wrap this one, as I am off to cook lunch ;) but more on great cook books and other resources to come in future blogs. </span><br />
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<span id="topstuff" style="color: black; visibility: visible;">Happy eating ;)</span><br />
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</a>Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-5547538119832999532011-01-15T13:53:00.000-08:002011-01-17T07:43:25.891-08:00Violence begates Violence?Last night some of my friends were out for a birthday celebration at a bar in the city. I was not in attendance, though I wished I'd been there for my friend's birthday there is not much to offer me in bars these days. I guess I am past that stage of life and now the occasional glass of shiraz with dinner suits me just fine ;) This morning I was informed that while my friends left the bar, some other (drunken) party-goers were also leaving and they were 'looking for a fight'. My friends were in the wrong place at the wrong time and a fight ensued. I am sadden to say that one of my friends is now hospitalized with serious injuries (broken jaw, ribs, etc). This happened on brightly-lit street corner in my city of Toronto during a fairly active time in the evening (albeit with bar-goers). I was not there so I cannot comment on the course of these events; who hit whom when, and so on. After hearing of this news, it got me thinking about how much violence has been in the forefront of the media as of late and if this presence and perpetuation of violence in the media reverberates in culture and, thus, instigates further violence? It also made me question why the current state of society is so prone to violence? What is it that we are so angry about? I think it is fair to say that violence surrounds us all, daily. I think it is also fair to say that it is in every country, every city, everywhere on the planet. I am an optimist at my core and I am apt to believe in 'the good public', yet, the events of last night (in my personal life) and the last week (in the greater community- what with the brutal attacks in Arizona, the death of an innocent child and the death of a Toronto police officer) have left me feeling empty inside. Today, I will meditate on a world with less suffering and less pain. Today, I will try to open my heart, despite the defensive feeling that takes over when one hears of loss and pain to a friend. Most of all, I will practice Lotus Mudra for the people who beat my friend, as hard as this can be, in hopes that they may be rid of violence as well. In the yoga community we call this Ahima; a practice of non-violence in the purest sense.<br />
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<a href="http://health.indianetzone.com/yoga/1/lotus_mudra_pushpaputa_mudra.htm">http://health.indianetzone.com/yoga/1/lotus_mudra_pushpaputa_mudra.htm</a>Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-65090867496514838262011-01-14T18:05:00.000-08:002011-01-15T19:18:24.563-08:00walking meditationI walk in nature everyday... If the word yoga means 'to unify', my interpretation of this finds meaning in long meditative walks. I used to do these alone, now, I do this with my first-born who's content dreaming and deep methodical infant breath offers the rhythm, vision and soundtrack for my walks. Can't complain ;)<br />
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I get a lot accomplished on our long walks, and I get nothing accomplished. That is the beauty of it. This is most certainly an active form of meditation - If you do not have a regular meditation practice, I encourage you to walk. Through the seasons, where you live... find some nature and walk. I don't carry a cell phone, there are no interruptions, I am alone with my thoughts, or, if I care not think, I am alone with my nothingness- my blank slate. Everyone knows that this is the place that real creative invention comes from; the blank slate. I always take my camera, just in case... and this helps me to linger, look, breath deeply, and find starting points for new ways of looking at my world. It's nothing special... and it is. Maybe you'll try it and see what I mean ;)<br />
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<a href="http://www.wildmind.org/walking/overview%20">http://www.wildmind.org/walking/overview </a>Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2715719293047479773.post-10849801001423177082011-01-13T06:47:00.000-08:002011-01-17T11:49:31.783-08:00Respond to the call of your creative soul! Yoga, Art, Good Food, Live Creatively!<u><i><b><span id="main" style="visibility: visible;"><span id="search" style="visibility: visible;">-The hero <i>journey</i> is inside of you; tear off the veils and open the mystery of your self. (<i>Joseph Campbell</i>)</span></span></b></i></u><br />
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<span id="main" style="visibility: visible;"><span id="search" style="visibility: visible;"> </span></span>The inspiration for CreativeSoulYoga <a href="http://www.creativesoulyoga.com/">www.creativesoulyoga.com</a> is simple; living right and in harmony with nature and making the effort towards balancing what I view as a developing state of 'confused priorities' in Western Society (perhaps the world?)... an inhospitable state of post modern social decay. That sounds so negative, yet, this is a positive blog about taking back your life! I am putting things into perspective in 2011. Mostly, this urge has been fueled by the birth of my first child; a very grounding event, to be sure! When you bring a life into the world you begin to realize the things that are really important you, at the risk of sounding cliche. I would like to involve you in my journey; as a teacher (Art and Yoga), as an individual on a journey, and as a dreamer who believes we can live harmoniously with each other and nature. Some of my goals this year both personally and professionally are as follows:<br />
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*further my own education and lead conferences on the importance of urban gardens (specifically veggie), the 100 mile diet and reducing your carbon footprint by growing your own food<br />
*introduce my child to our own backyard haven<br />
*conduct two retreats (one to west coast canada- vancouver island in the summer 2011 and one to the muskokas in the fall 2011) that allow others (adults) to engage in the creative arts and yoga in a safe and meaningful environment, close to nature<br />
*take pottery lessons<br />
*continue to commit to my Yoga teaching and personal practice.<br />
*continue to commit and be 'fully aware' in my teaching job as an art teacher in the public sector. <br />
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I am excited about collaborations with people I know (and new friends as well?) who are making 'it' happen in the areas of Yoga, Art, Food (nutrition, organic farmer, food cooperatives, etc), Education/life-long learning and basically just <u><i><b>Living Well!</b></i></u> I am inspired by my friends, both here on homeland soil and abroad who are making conscious decisions to better their lives, and the lives of those around them by being kind and aware human beings. I hope this will inspire others to come home to the capital S 'self' and love themselves, those around them and their planet just a little bit more!<br />
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Thanks so much for visiting the CSY blog. Your support is important to me!Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09020344190312669954noreply@blogger.com0