Joy For Life

change is good: joyyoga is now libreliving.com

2011-07-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

I believe in human evolution. I believe in the human capacity to grow, to change to evolve and make a difference in this world--even if it's simply through our revitalized presence.

Over the years I've written this blog, I've done a lot of that myself. And I've been lucky enough to connect with a community of like-minded people who have done a lot of that, too.

Over the past few months--since mid-fall 2010, actually--I've felt a calling in my heart that was telling me there was somewhere else I was supposed to be, something more I was supposed to be doing. I knew it was more face-to-face being of service to people, sharing the liberating lifestyle tools I've learned and gained over the years. It occurred to me it might be starting a retreat company. So I did. (The next one, The Revitalized Woman Weekend, is coming up October 14-16 in beautiful BC.) But the feeling in my heart didn't go away. The message of "There's more" just stayed and stayed.

One evening I finally sat myself down on the floor, took some deep breaths and then hollered out: "Look, I know there's more I'm supposed to be doing! I can feel it! I hear it! But I don't know what it is! I can't figure it out. I've been trying for months. For crying out loud, please, please, give me some signs. I'm open to anything."

The next day, a certain flame-haired, funny and deeply soulful woman who comes to my yoga classes arrived looking a bit flushed. "Lindsey," she said to me, "I've been thinking about you for the last two days. Look, here's the thing. You're writing for Elephant Journal, you're doing retreats, you're teaching yoga, you're teaching women how to de-stress, you're working doing other things, too. You're too all over the map. The thing is, Lindsey, people just want to know how to be you."

Oh....oh. What on earth is there to say when someone says something like that?

Later that day a woman I really admire, a nurse-turned-Life Coach, said to me, "I can really see you coaching. I saw it instantly."

Later that week, Danielle LaPorte--of whitehottruth.com--said to me, "Lindsey, I know you have the kind of brain that thinks you need to be certified to do this kind of thing, but I bet you're doing it already."

Finally, another woman I really admire, a yogi-business woman who I've been so lucky to have been supported by, said to me, "You're already doing it for lots of people."

Message received.

Transmission accepted.

So, as of today, you'll find me over at libreliving.com--doing my best to share what I've learned about living a liberated life. Plus waxing poetic, or not-so-poetic, about lessons I've yet to learn. And yup, because I do have that kind of brain, I'm planning on signing up for life coaching revolutionary Martha Becks' Life Coaching course this fall. I would love to continue to share this path with you.

Please stop by to say 'hi!'.

With love,

Lindsey

so what's it all about if it's not about having it all figured out? ah, I see

2011-07-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Here's the thing.

It's not about having it all figured out.

It's not about perfection.

It's not about getting it right.

It's not about being happy all the time.

It's not about feeling strong all the time.

It's not about smiling, and shining and being joyful all the time.

It's not about good hair, good style, or faultless professionalism.

It's about being.

That's it.

With love,

Lindsey

lonely pain is supposed to be a good thing, I think. 10 things I'm doing with it

2011-06-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

So...I'm human. Things aren't always butterflies and sunshine. Sometimes things feel hard, and painful, and like a cut from a glass that broke as you were taking a long refreshing drink.

In this moment, I know a few things:
1. That, like Elephant Journal ed Waylon Lewis writes "In the Buddhist view the feeling of loneliness is identified as the feeling of Buddha Nature. In other words, loneliness is not a lacking of something, but rather the aching fulfillment of our open, raw, caring nature."
2. I feel like giving the universe the finger.
3. I think in the Buddhist view the feeling of wanting to give the universe the finger is likely also the aching fulfillment of our open, raw, caring nature.
4. I still feel like giving the universe the finger. In fact, I just did.
5. I don't think the universe cares that I just did that. In fact, I know that I'm still loved--big time.
6. I've sat with loneliness and pain and the ache of a hole where someone's love once was. I made myself sit with it, and not try to fill it--not even with chocolate.
7. I came out the other side with a newfound respect for myself, and the guru that is pain. I came out with a stronger understanding of my human nature. Of our human nature.
8. I can do it again.
9. I still feel like giving the universe the finger. And laughing, because, for crying out loud, do I have to make everything into a lesson? A potential for friggin' growth? Can't I ever just be small and miserable and ego-driven? Sometimes, maybe, but mostly I seem to have to just keep on truckin' down this path of evolution. Can't do anything about it once you start.
10. It hurts most when I try to change it. It hurts less when I accept what is.

In her book, Eastern Body, Western Mind, Anodea Judith says this:

"In order to overcome our limitations, we have to first accept them."

I'm writing this for two reasons equally: because writing it out helps me process and heal + because I want to make sure that the other people who feel pain and loneliness know they're not alone.

With love,

Lindsey

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music is love: heatherlyn music ignites, inspires and elevates

2011-06-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Music can be yoga, too. Huh? Yup, in the same way that yoga in its most fundamental, last-of-the-8-limbs understanding can spark our flame, inspire us to greater depths, and lift us up to greater heights, music can do that, too.

Some music does this more than others. Enter Heatherlyn Music. This self- and accurately-described soulful, rooted, rockin', guitar-playing singer-song-artist, poet and storydwelling traveler has a voice and impact about 10 times her small but very strong size. I was lucky enough to get lifted up along with a bunch of others at a recent house concert.

This song above speaks to Heatherlyn's experience--one that resonated with me, too and probably lots of people who hear it--of the world as a sometimes superficial, constraining place to be. But check her out--up there letting her light shine, stepping up into her calling no matter what, singing her heart out. Inspiring, right?

Want more? Heatherlyn's got a new album out. StoryDwelling is due to be officially released September 2011. And I'm lucky enough to have a copy. It'll be getting prime playlist positioning in many upcoming Kundalini yoga classes. You can pre-order your own autographed copy at www.heatherlynmusic.com. In the meantime, stay ignited, inspired and elevated by connecting with Heatherlyn on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

p.s. Here's Heatherlyn waxing poetic on the what's good about nature, moving your bod, and the creative flow. Lucky me gets a cameo.

Namaste,

Lindsey

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what and why do you eat? yoga philosophy's yamas + 5 tips from Melina Meza

2011-06-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

GUEST POST BY MELINA MEZA, BSC NUTRITION, RYT-500

There are numerous opportunities for the Yamas to support your current wellness and nutritional aspirations. The Yamas create a wheel of ethics that includes kindness, honesty, refrain from stealing, moderation, and non-hoarding. Following these five principles will help ensure that your life is filled with healthy relationships, including the one with yourself, others, and the natural world around you.

The Yamas prepare you to see that how you treat the outer world reflects how you treat your inner world. It is through conscious application of the Yamas that you will learn to see that compassion is your birthright, trust begins with yourself, healthy boundaries make healthy relationships, and balance is not as bad as it sounds. They allow you to work with what gifts you have been given rather than what you perceive you are missing.

Although the Yamas are all interrelated and work together, if one stands out more than the others, consider spending some time deepening your relationship with that one principle. Applying the Yamas to your diet, yoga practice, and wellness lifestyle activities can be very rewarding and effective.

· Ahimsa - Non-violence, reducing harm in thoughts, actions, and speech

Application: Enjoying a vegetarian diet; having your food be raised organically and in a cruelty-free manner as well as locally produced; prayer; mindfulness

· Satya - Truth, honesty

Application: Asking the questions like: “Am I hungry or bored” or “Am I eating to distract myself” or “Is this good for me?”

· Asteya - Non-stealing

Application: Not taking the food from another’s plate; eating enough each day to avoid robbing the body of nutrients

· Brahmacharya- Appropriate use of one’s vital energy

Application: Moderation; understanding the impact of eating too much or too little food

· Aparigraha - Non-possessiveness

Application: Learning to say “no” at a buffet line; ceasing eating when you no longer have hunger

compassion, buddhism, yoga + depression. at least 10 insights from Michael Stone

2011-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

GUEST POST BY MICHAEL STONE

Part 2. For Part 1, go here.

Suicide is an attempt to resolve feelings of being overwhelmed by one’s own image of oneself, or part of oneself. Suicide is an attack on one’s own representation of one’s body as an object. It’s as if the death of the body can help one get rid of intolerable mental states and feelings. Suicide is a cry for help. Paying attention to this cry is practicing pain dharma, friendship dharma, and patience dharma. If we value the subjective experience of the person, can we let go of our fixed personal, cultural, and professional ideas about death and listen to the truth of the inner turmoil of that individual? Bearing witness requires that we put aside our fixed views. In this context bearing witness is experiencing the inner life of another, opening to our own feelings about what’s showing up, eventually leading to compassionate action. The action we take, our moment of authenticity, requires courage, and we may have to bear the results of our courage and action. From the Yoga perspective, as soon as we speak of action, we’re talking about ethics, because action always has a consequence both internally and externally. If the primary motivation for taking action is ahiṁsā—not having the intention to cause harm to body, speech, or mind—how is suicide reconciled as an action?

To acknowledge one’s intention is never simple. This is as true for the person feeling pain as it is for the one helping her. It requires willingness to take responsibility and recognize this ambivalence. I feel traditional therapy is misguided on so many fronts, not the least of which is knowing how to work with the mind. A therapist should not simply identify or recognize patterns but move from knowing about something to actually allowing it to simply be. Going back into the past often misses the functioning of the symptom in the present. The past is past. The past can only be experienced now. The past is what the mind is doing in present experience. A patient exploring suicide is exploring his or her pain in the present, and the past is encoded in the present. The hard work of the therapist is just to listen and explore what is present, not what is past. If it’s not present, it’s not here.As a caricature, psychoanalysis ceases to be a study of identity and becomes instead an exploration of traumatic memories—it becomes, absurdly, an exercise in “proving” causal links between particular traumatic experiences and particular symptoms. This, of course, gives rise to the famous problem of the analyst’s “suggesting” particular memories to the client.

Someone entertaining suicide is not only talking about future death. She is talking about present suffering. She is not describing historical trauma but rather current suffering. Suicide is not only a natural psychic reflex for surviving actual helplessness but is also an abstraction. We don’t know what death will be like, only that something must be able to lift us out of this present and persistent pain. We need theories and abstractions about death, partly because the feelings that come up around suicide are so painful. Our theories and abstractions make the pain more bearable to us. The effect of embracing death and feeling what lies below our fantasies of our own termination brings about, at a critical moment, a radical transformation. The experience of looking deeply into death is a requisite for an engaged life. This implies that the crisis of suicide is a necessary phase in the life of any of us. Suicide itself may be too quick a transformation. The job of Yoga technique is to meditate on what is going on in the felt body in order to slow a hasty charge toward death and anchor us back in life.

MICHAEL STONE is a respected Buddhist teacher who draws on his background as a psychotherapist, yoga teacher, author and activist to bring the practice of mindfulness into conversation with contemporary culture. He developed the acclaimed Leading Edge Mindfulness for Clinicians Course in Toronto and has educated over one thousand medical professionals about the intersection of mindfulness and clinical practice. Michael has the distinction of being the youngest Buddhist teacher in Canada and maintains a busy travel schedule, teaching workshops and retreats throughout North America and Europe. He is the founder of Centre of Gravity: a thriving community of yoga and Buddhist practitioners exploring the convergence of traditional contemplative practices and modern urban life. He makes his home in downtown Toronto.

is suicide sinful? what yoga + buddhism have to say. guest post by Buddhist, yogi, + psychotherapist Michael Stone

2011-06-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

GUEST POST BY MICHAEL STONE

Awake in the World from Centre of Gravity on Vimeo.

Yoga and Buddhist Practices work in terms of complementary opposites. If you want to settle your inhalation, for example, you spend time getting your exhalation very smooth; if you want to find extension in the hamstring muscles, you refine the contraction of the front of the thigh; if you want to find happiness, you serve others. Inside a forward bend is the seed of a backbend; in the midst of anxiety, we look for the calmness of the breath—it’s always there.

Likewise, when we pay attention to the movement toward taking one’s life, we also find the desire to live. This desire to live is expressed in the desire to communicate. The trick is dropping our preconceptions sufficiently to recognize this instinct, this movement toward intimacy. Even as the old tree withers and dies, we can find small emblems of growth. Illness, both mental and physical, often separates the afflicted from the world. Yoga reawakens one’s connection with the whole body and mind and in so doing restores pathways of communication at an inner level that then begin to spread out into the interpersonal world as well. When we are safe in our own bodies, we have a ground from which to step out into the world.

Talking is a way of reaching something not clearly seen, verbally navigating through the fog of uncertainty. The problem with our Western perspective on suicide is that it’s hard to listen when our very deliberate focus is on trying to stop someone from taking his own life, stop the urge toward death, protect ourselves from the legal repercussions of not calling the police. Since we all walk this same winding road toward death, someone else’s desire to die brings up our own core ideas about death, dying, and what it means to live life fully. Suicide in the Judeo-Christian perspective is rejected as sinful. In the early teachings of the Buddha, there are many stories of people like Channa, Vakkali, and Godhika, who took their own lives and were not condemned for it. If there is a cultural view that sees life as continuous in one way or another, especially if there is no god that determines whether someone is born again or not, we have permission to reframe our conceptualization of suicide as sinful. Who are we to judge?

Suicide is an internal drama that needs expression for it to be resolved. Suicide and self-harm must be understood as having meaning within interpersonal and intrapsychic relationships that the person is involved in. Wanting to die means something. What wants to die? The problem with the “I”-making mechanism of the mind (ahaṅkāra) is that it creates stories (asmitā) that objectify itself. The “I” maker is constantly representing itself to itself, splitting the personality into a subject and object. This splits the ahaṅkāra into a storyteller that is telling itself a story by representing itself to itself. The core teachings of Yoga revolve around this case of mistaken identity. Any self-image is an objectification of the ahaṅkāra that serves to split the personality. If we understand the ahaṅkāra in this way, we can see that when one tells a story about oneself to oneself, one creates several selves. The ego can objectify itself. The task for the yogi is to pay attention to life in ways that continually undercut our craving to have a fixed point of view. All sorts of things happen in our lives, tragedies and miracles together. We lose what we love and are continually separated from what we want. This is the way life goes. But this careful attention to the way our lives truly happen does not always go along with the therapeutic intention to “help life go on,” “contract for safety,” or “provide ego support.”

A focus on the absurd, the messy, the tragic, and the shameful parts of us is what’s truly needed to open to our lives. With the help of a therapist, we can open to what we feel without fear. The key is being able to open to what we really feel, not just what we are allowed to feel either by our own internal judge or the unexamined assumptions in the medical stance of the clinician. Focusing on the body without searching for a way out can sometimes open up astonishing meaning within very old habits. We may even learn that the voice from the part of us that wants to die is exactly the same as the part of us that wants to come out into the world. The one who wants to die may really want to live after all. The “cry for help” is really a gesture to go through life with deep meaning and resolve. Wanting to die stands neither for life nor for death but for a deep experience of both of these opposites. To live is to allow for fixed views to die. To die is to be generous in our living.

(In Part 2, I will look at practical ways for working with the energies in us and in others that want to die.)

This is an excerpt from “Awake in the World: Teachings from Yoga & Buddhism for Living an Engaged Life” by Michael Stone (Shambhala Publications, June 2011)

MICHAEL STONE is a respected Buddhist teacher who draws on his background as a psychotherapist, yoga teacher, author and activist to bring the practice of mindfulness into conversation with contemporary culture. He developed the acclaimed Leading Edge Mindfulness for Clinicians Course in Toronto and has educated over one thousand medical professionals about the intersection of mindfulness and clinical practice. Michael has the distinction of being the youngest Buddhist teacher in Canada and maintains a busy travel schedule, teaching workshops and retreats throughout North America and Europe. He is the founder of Centre of Gravity: a thriving community of yoga and Buddhist practitioners exploring the convergence of traditional contemplative practices and modern urban life. He makes his home in downtown Toronto.

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yoga works: tips and insight for cancer survivors

2011-06-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

A GUEST POST BY KRISTA PETERSON

The popularity of yoga has grown exponentially as of late primarily due to its drove of mental and physical benefits. Joint, tendon, and ligament lubrication, as well as massage of organs, detoxification, and physical fitness are all positive benefits of yoga. Engaging in these techniques on a daily basis could lead to a drastically better sense of well being of individuals suffering from illness.

Originated in India over 4,000 years ago, yoga is a mind and body inclusive exercise. A derivative of the word “yuj,” meaning union, yoga’s intention is to establish a balance of the connections between the mind, body and spirit. As a base component of aryurvedic medicine, yoga incorporates meditation, relaxation, imagery, controlled breathing, stretching, and physical movement with the goal of gaining physical and mental control over the body.

As of late, studies have shown yoga to be beneficial in treatment of leukemia and cancer, including the rare asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma. Patients suffering from these diseases often suffer from fatigue and sleeplessness due to chemical and radiation therapies, and the methods used in yoga can help patients to sleep. This leads to a decrease in sleep aids and sedative medications. Yoga unfortunately cannot cure cancer, but can be used as a complementary treatment in symptom relief.

In achieving the balance found in yoga, an improved quality of life has been found in many cancer survivors. The techniques used in relaxation can help to unite the body and mind. This helps to give cancer patients a better sense of control by integrating the mind with the body and spirit, providing a strong feeling being in-touch with the self. The alternative treatments can develop these feelings and cause a higher overall sense of wellness and send the patient on the path to recovery. This aids patients in helping them feel more in touch with their emotions, and develops a connection with the ability to release them.

About Krista Peterson
I am a 22 year old student, living in Orlando FL, working on getting my bachelors at the University of Central Florida. I aspire to be a writer and am particularly passionate about the health and wellness of our community. I have had many family members diagnosed with different kinds of cancers and various other issues which encouraged me to be a health and safety advocate. I have been practicing yoga for about 3 years now. Most recently hot vinyasa yoga and I absolutely love it. Krista Peterson can be contacted at: krista.peterson925@gmail.com

bloom: may was abundant, enlightening, and razor-sharp

2011-05-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

TOP POSTS
I Believe in Us: Today I'm Gonna Try and Change the World
"I believe in love.

I believe small acts of kindness make a big difference.

...right now, someone is giving someone else their seat on the bus, and transforming their experience of that moment—or even their whole day.

I believe in the human capacity to grow, to evolve, to create positive change in the world—even if it’s simply through our revitalized presence.

...beaming a smile at someone can help them feel seen, recognized and appreciated."

Yoga is My Prozac: Two Studies on Why a Yoga Practice is Good for Your Health

"It's not a chore. It's love. And science is backing us up."

Sex and Our Souls: Where's the Love?

"I interpret the yogic concept of saucha, or cleanliness, this way: If we want to be able to shine our light we need to keep the channels clear."

UPCOMING EVENTS
Shhh...top secret: there's a woman-only, flow-finding Fall retreat in BC's beautiful interior in the works with a fantabulous woman-centred life coach + one in India in early 2012 with my friend and mentor Swami Maheshananda Saraswati. Details on the way.

Namaste,

Lindsey

5 de-stress yoga tips for moms

2011-05-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Full disclosure: I'm not a mom. So what makes me think I can share tips that help moms de-stress and come back to calm? Because stress is universal and the tips that help it are, too. I've taught stress busters to corporate execs, academics, students and working moms. I've dealt with the Vata dosha--my dominant constitution according to the ancient holisitic Indian medical system--tendency towards anxiety and panic attacks. And maybe I feel a teensy bit experienced, what with spending oodles of time with my one-year-old niece and giving tips to my sister, a working mom, and my own mom--above, who actually is pretty darn chilled out most of the time.

So much of stress relief is about becoming aware of and re-programming our auto-response. Preventative action is also key.

So here goes:
1. Developing body awareness. Simple practices like bringing our attention and intention to our breath, or our wiggling toes, our nose or our stretching hands can help us drop away from the worrying thougths and find distance and space between our essential selves and our mind. Okay, I gotta say it: a yoga practice is a huge help here.

2. Developing mind awareness. What was that thought? And the next one? Ever noticed how many we have in one minute? Some yogis say hundreds. We have the power to choose our thoughts--and we do, though most of the time we do it unconcsiously. Who decides that the worrying, planning, and rehashing is more important than being here now, at ease in the present moment? We do. And we can change that. Acknowledging that all thoughts are just thoughts, no matter how important they may seem at the time, is a big first step.

3. Developing breath awareness. Inhale. Exhale. We do this millions of times a day. The incredible thing about our breath is that it can be one of our most powerful stress busting tools and we have it with as all the time. When we inhale and exhale deeply and slowly--say to a count of four on each inhale and exhale with a pause at either end--we activate the calming systems in our nervous system, helping our 'rest and digest' parasympathetic nervous system take over when our 'act and react' sympathetic nervous system is overacting.

4. Developing self acceptance. This is the most powerful take-away I've gotten from reading up on Buddhism--so far. As Pema Chodron says, all the junky, yucky stuff we feel embarassed or ashamed of--like feeling we just need a break from our baby or our kids, or angry at our partner for not intuiting what we need and diving in to help, or short-tempered because we're exhausted--is all fuel for self-acceptance and acceptance of others. And the more the better! Because these thoughts and reactions give us a opportunity to pause and reflect, to sit with the discomfort, to just be with it without labelling it as bad and trying to shove it down or run away from it. We all have this stuff. And it's okay. It means we're human. And practicing just sitting with it, without labelling it, means we'll become more compassionate to ourselves, to others, to our kids, our families, and world.

5. Letting go of stress. The very best thing for stress relief, in my experience and in that of many yoga teachers, naturopaths, M.Ds and more, is exercise. Exercise helps to burn off the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. It helps us to get out of our heads and into our bodies. Dance. Ride a bike. Power walk to work. Do jumping jacks in your living room. Hit the yoga mat. Love it. You deserve it.

Namaste,

Lindsey

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i believe in us. today i'm gonna try and change the world

2011-05-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

I believe in love.

I believe small acts of kindness make a big difference.

...right now, someone is giving someone else their seat on the bus, and transforming their experience of that moment—or even their whole day.

I believe in the human capacity to grow, to evolve, to create positive change in the world—even if it’s simply through our revitalized presence.

...beaming a smile at someone can help them feel seen, recognized and appreciated.

I believe in beauty.

I believe it exists all around us and is growing all the time.

...right now, in this exact moment, somebody is working to make sure that people in Haiti who need houses have them.

I believe in the human capacity to give without bounds, to understand that there is a point in trying and not giving up, and that there is always a way.

...telling someone who is struggling that we think what they’re doing is wonderful could be the one small boost they need to help them continue on.

I believe in truth.

I believe we are coming to understand that holding onto our integrity is more important than holding onto our wallets.

...right now, someone is making the choice to take less pay for a position that enables them to do more good.

I believe in the human ability to listen to the feedback from our bodies, telling us to listen to our hearts and honour our essential selves.

...noticing our physiological reaction to our choices can guide us into making better ones.

I believe in us.

I believe we can all live lives of purpose, honouring who we are and the world around us, without sacrificing our health, happiness or vitality.

...right now, a 25 year old man is leaving his high-stress job that has caused him ulcers to follow his dream to travel and share the world.

I believe in the human ability to triumph over false societal mores that tell us we have to work until we’re sick in order to be successful.

...the strength of one determined human heart is more powerful than the minds of hundreds of doubters.

I believe in you.

laughter, joy, capturing the essence: yoga photography inspiration

2011-05-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

If their effect on those they work with around the globe is anything like what they inspire in people here in Vancouver, yoga photographers and videographers Ian and Josie are truly bringing light to the world.

They've shot Gurmukh, Shiva Rea, Semperviva Yoga, the Envision Festival in Costa Rica, and tons more.

"You just want to be around them," a Semperviva Yoga Studios staff member raved, "They're just such great people." Great people who take great photographs. "It's different for each person," explains Josie, "We just try to capture that person's essence." Each dedicated yogis with their own practices, Ian and Josie get it. They get why yoga is a powerful, practical practice. They get why people fall in love with it. And they get what it begins to set free. This is what their images capture. I could go on, but I'll let them speak for themselves. To see more of their work, visit www.yogaphotography.ca.

Pure Souls Yoga Photography - About Us from Pure Souls on Vimeo.

yoga is my prozac: 2 studies on why a yoga practice is great for your health

2011-05-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

YOGA IS MY DRUG?
"Actually," he replied, "I figured it was Prozac."

Ha! This was the joking response of a guy I do some work with when I asked him, "How do you think I stay pretty much happy almost all the time?"

He was adding up the total hours in a year that he figures I spend on my morning sadhana (spiritual practice/yoga practice). "That's like over 400 hours a year!"

Yup. But it's not a chore. It's love. Sure, there are teachers who've told us we should make it all seriousness and rigor. That we should commit to devoting a certain percentage of our life to spiritual practice.

SUPER SADHANA
Wikipedia--a resource I use only very carefully and with a critical eye--has a fairly good definition of the traditional translation of Sadhana:

The term "sādhanā" means spiritual exertion towards an intended goal. A person undertaking such a practice is known as a sadhu or a sadhaka. The goal of sādhanā is to attain some level of spiritual realization, which can be either enlightenment, pure love of God (prema), liberation (moksha) from the cycle of birth and death (Samsara), or a particular goal such as the blessings of a deity as in the Bhakti traditions.
Sādhanā can involve meditation, chanting of mantra (sometimes with the help of a japa mala), puja to a deity, yajna, and in very rare cases mortification of the flesh or tantric practices such as performing one's particular sādhanā within a cremation ground.
Anthony de Mello, an Indian orphan who became a Jesuit priest and founder of the Sadhana Institute in Pune, India, wrote a book of Christian meditations with the title Sadhana: A way to God.
Traditionally in some Hindu and Buddhist traditions in order to embark on a specific path of sādhanā, firstly a guru may be required to give the necessary instructions. This approach is typified by some Tantric traditions, in which initiation by a guru is sometimes identified as a specific stage of sādhanā.^[5] On the other hand, individual renunciates may develop their own spiritual practice without participating in organized groups.^[6]

IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE
I get all that. I respect all that. But my daily Sadhana is just about love. That's it. It's about me taking some time to love myself so I can continue to try to be of service to the world.

It's not about restriction. It's no about saying 'no'. It's about honoring the deepest part of me that asks to be let free.

It's the best damn way I've found--and I've looked a lot--to help make the world a better place. Because all change starts within.

It makes me happy.

SCIENCE AGREES!
And, lo and behold, those 'prove it through the scientific method or bust' scientists have discovered a regular spiritual practice has a whole lotta benefits!

The latest issue of Chatelaine magazine featured this little ditty:
For centuries, yogis have believed that the route to inner peace begins on the yoga mat--and now science backs them up. Boston University researchers investigated the effects of Iyengar yoga...on the brain and found that three 60-minute classes per week can help treat depression. The study, which used MRI scans, is the first to show that yoga spikes the brain's production of gamma-amino butyric acid, a natural antidepressent linked to better moods and less anxiety.

The April issue of Oprah mag included this:
We know Tai Chi has all sorts of benefits, and here's one more: In research conducted at UCLA, 61 older adults took tai chi classes three times a week, while 61 others attended health education classes. At the end of four months both groups received a dose of the shingles vaccine--and the tai chi group achieved twice the level of immunity. "It's likely the meditation component that is causing the effect," says study author Michael R. Irwin. "Which means it's possible other forms of meditative exercise, like yoga, would lead to a similar boost."

Hurray! They're finally catching up.

Namaste,

Lindsey

april showered us with John Friend insights, yoga tips for truly tapping in--off our mat, and spark yoga retreat in vancouver bc

2011-05-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

John Friend--Elephant Journal
On the siddhis, metaphysical, benefits + more

"The Siddhis are accomplishments and powers that allow us to have greater access to Consciousness and the Delight filled realm of creativity."

John Friend on Kundalini, Tantra and the Divine

Yoga for Everyday People: Yoga Tips + Pema Chodron On Staying Zen Off the Mat for Elephant Journal
There's a story Pema Chodron tells in her book Start Where You Are, about a hermit living in cave for twenty years. It goes something like this:
"An unconventional teacher named Patrul Rinpche showed up at the cage, and the hermit humbly and sweetly welcomed him in. Patrul Rinpoche said, "Tell me, what have you been doing in here?" "I've been practicing the perfection of patience," the hermit answered. Putting his face very close to the hermit's face, Patrul Rinpoche said, "But a pair of old scoundrels like us, we don't care anything about patience really. We only do this to get everyone's admiration, right? We just do this to get people to think we're big shots, don't we?"

Inspiring: Message to humanity? What would you say?
“The world is too dangerous for anything but truth, and too small for anything but love.” 12:53

Swami Approved! 5 Tips for Tapping into Your Yoga Flow When you Can't Make it to Your Mat
Hint: make it with music

UPCOMING RETREATS
Register today! Early bird discount held over.
Spark: Re-Ignite Your Creative Self
Dive into an intensive weekend dedicated to re-igniting your creative self. Escape from self-created limitations. Embrace your essential creativity. Learn new tools. Gain powerful insights. Produce works that are a reflection of your unique creative self.
- 6 workshops including: Artful Expression, Creative Writing, Performance Art
- 6 yoga flow classes
Where: The Granville Island Hotel + Semperviva Yoga on Granville Island in Vancouver, BC
When: the May long weekend, Friday, May 20 - Monday, May 23
Find out more today!

inspiring: do you have a message for humanity? what would you say? [vid]

2011-04-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

Retired lithographer Gordon McCann has made it his mission to give people a voice. He began in Vancouver's infamous Downtown Eastside, with the intention of helping the homeless people there reach out to those who don't hear them.

It went so well he decided to do as many neighbourhoods as he could.

I happened to be on my way to buy a pinwheel for my bike one day in Kitsilano when he asked if I'd like to contribute. Standing there in his knitted blue sweater and patched straw hat, microphone and videocamera in hand he asks, "Do you have a message for humanity?" Too shy, I said "No, thank you though," and went to get my pinwheel. Then I remembered my first word for 2011: 'yes'.

So I came back around, he said, "I knew you would" and there we were.

I forgot about it afterwards, until today, when I was walking home with a new pinwheel for my bike to replace the one I'd bought that day. And there he was, crossing the street before me. "Oh, hello," he said, patting my arm and giving me his grin, "Did you see yourself?"

I'm at 4:11. But it's the other people who I'm thrilled to have been packaged up with who's messages are beautiful.

HERE'S SOME OF THEIR MESSAGES
“If we all focused on acting out of love instead of fear and turning our fear around then maybe the world would be a better place” 1:02

“I’d like to see people get along” 1:32

“Come close to your true self and committed to love” 2:40

“Be nice to your fellow man. Be kind.” 3:16

“A little less TV and a little more outside” 3:22

“Be true to your heart, love is the answer and it’ll heal the world.” 3:30

Me: “In that moment there’s that unity, that shared sameness between each individual” 4:11

“Take that energy and redistribute it, back into your own heart at least instead of consuming.” 11:00

“The world is too dangerous for anything but truth, and too small for anything but love.” 12:53

5 tips for tapping into your yoga flow when you can't get on your mat. hint: make it with music

2011-04-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

1. Breathe. We forget this. Breathing long, deep, yogi breaths can happen anytime, anywhere. Inhaling allll the way up from our belly, into our chest so our ribcage expands, even up to the roof of our mouth. Then our exhale drops down, all the back down to our bellies. This kind of breathing comes naturally to us when we let our nervous system relax fully. And--bonus--when we adopt this kind of breathing we help our nervous system relax.

2. Walk with intention. Anywhere we go, we can make the trek into a walking meditation. Using our senses as we walk is a classic yoga meditation practice. Tune into what you can see, or hear, or smell, or feel, or taste as you walk.

3. Move your body. It doesn't have to be asana. Any kind of mindful body movement will help us by-pass our monkey mind and get outta our head. Even simple hip circles can be enough to help our intention and attention drop away from whatever our mind is caught up in--usually planning, rehashing, or fantasizing.

4. More than mantra. Sanskrit mantras resonate deeply on a physiological level--affecting our metaphysical self. Reciting bija, or seed mantras directly related to the chakras, can be a powerful way to bring a deep sense of balance and radiance from all our energy centers. Here's the list of them, moving from the base of our spine to the space between our eyebrows in the middle of our head:
- Muladhara/Base of spine: Lam
- Svadisthana/Pelvis area: Vam
- Manipura/Navel: Ram
- Anahata/Heart centre: Yum
- Vishuddhi/Throat centre: Hum
- Ajna/Between the middle of the eyebrows: Om

5. Expanding our definition of yoga. Yoga is often mis-defined as the physical postures we practice on our mat. In yogic philosophy powerhouse Patanjali's path of yoga, asana is third in a list of 8 branches that lead to union. The intention of yoga is samadhi, or a union with the whole--the greater, good, and wonder-full. And we practice asana to help us ease into this. Any physical movement that helps you ease into a feeling of unity with yourself, others, the world and the universe will do. Dance. Ride your bike. Martial arts. Tai Chi. Breathe and move mindfully. Let go.

p.s. My friend and mentor Swami Maheshananda Saraswati from the Bihar lineage of yoga in India teaches this, too. During a retreat we were assigned the task of a walking meditation into the town we were staying near. We made it there to find a live concert in the park by Oka--video of their stuff below. The shot of me and my friend Pam dancing with the crowd is from his camera. He loved that we dropped the walking and made it with the music.

Namaste,

Lindsey

5 Qs with Anusara Yoga Founder John Friend: on Kundalini, Tantra, and the Divine

2011-04-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

5 Qs with Anusara Yoga Founder John Friend

1. Anusara, which you founded, is one of the fastest-growing styles of Hatha yoga today. Can you tell Joy for Life readers why?

Anusara yoga is one of the fastest-growing styles because it is an artistic, celebratory, and empowering practice. It is based on a life-affirming vision with an overall positive view of life. In Anusara yoga, we use the Universal Principles of Alignment, which can be applied to both the asana practice and to living one’s daily life off the mat. The Universal Principles allow any level of student to tap into a powerful source of inner and outertransformation. One can gain proficiency in yoga very quickly by applying these principles in the practice. So, students are able to gain a sense of success and progress in the practice while having a lot of fun and learning how to deal with difficulties in their life in a skillful way. Because of these reasons, Anusara yoga has been ever-growing since its inception 13 years ago. We are in over 100 countries world wide with over 600,000 students and 1,300 licensed teachers.

2. You’ve studied yoga with students affiliated with Swami Kriyananda's Ananda Yoga Village and Yogi Bhajan's 3HO, among many other teachers. I teach Kundalini yoga. What drew you to Kundalini yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan?

In my inquiry into Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian philosophies, I studied Sikhism, founded by Guru Knanak. The most important style of yoga that has been influenced by Sikhism is 3HO, or Kundalini, founded by Yogi Bhajan. In the early 80s, I studied Kundalini yoga with some Sikhs at the 3HO center in Houston, Texas.

3. The lengthy Anusara teacher certification process has drawn some criticism. Can you explain the purpose behind the way it’s structured?
Yes, our certification process is widely recognized as one of the most rigorous licensee processes within the yoga world. The criticism is that it takes much longer than the average certification process within the yoga world today. It is more extensive than most, and has a very high standard. Therefore, it is not as easy as most certification programs.

Although it can be a challenging process, our certification represents a very high standard of knowledge and teaching skill within an ever-expanding yoga world today. It is set this way to assure that all students of all levels are given an outstanding and uplifting, expansive experience at every level of being, and so that the vision maintains integrity with expansion.

Understanding that the standard of certification is of the highest rigor in the world, wealso offer another licensing category for those who are in process of certification and are fully dedicated to the practice, the teachings, and the community. The Anusara-Inspired level of licensing is empowering and encouraging as teachers move towards full certification. Thus, the process is supportive and not exclusionary.

4. You’re known for blending Tantric yoga philosophy and universal principles of alignment. How do the more metaphysical aspects of Tantric philosophy (e.g. Kundalini energy and the chakra system) come together with the much more physical principles of alignment?

In Tantric philosophy, we see that the body is the outer form of energetic embodiment. Therefore, the Universal Principles of Alignment are looking at the body from a perspective of Universal Consciousness, as opposed to just the biomechanical principles of the physical body.

5. If you could tell a group of 1000 students just one thing, what would it be?
Life is a blessing. Each person has a unique gift to offer back into this co-creative Dance with the Divine that is life.

RELATED
Jivamukti Yoga's Sharon Gannon on Hip-Hop, New York City Rock Yoga + Her New CD

Kundalini Yoga Queen Gurmukh Kaur Khlasa on Rapid Results, Why the White and Compassion

Semperviva Yoga's Kundalini Mamma Gloria Latham on Yoga for Every Body

SmartFlow Yoga's Annie Carpenter on More than Asana and Acceptance

meditation as resentment management: aka that person who really peeves me is my teacher

2011-04-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

"Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment."

Part of the Buddhist Tonglen meditation teachings is this statement. I'm no expert, I'm new to this Buddhist stuff, but from what I'm learning, it's worth loving.

This statement rose up to meet my irritated mind the other day. I was thinking of someone I know who absolutely drives me nuts. They're a friend of a friend. Anytime I spend time with this person I get annoyed. I have to take deep breaths. I position my body away from them. I try to avoid talking to them. Almost everything they say irritates me.

So, obviously, this person is just really annoying.

Except, they're not. They just trigger me. It's my stuff coming up--but what? And why?

I sat with this for a bit, taking it in, letting myself go a bit deeper with it. I meditated on what was provoking resentment. Here's what I found: The character traits that drive me nuts about this person are ones I have a hard time accepting in myself. The character traits I struggle to surround with loving-kindness in my own self are ones I hone in on in this person. Insecurities, neediness, dependence.

So here's my opportunity: Each time I'm with this person, I can practice a whole lotta loving-kindness. I can take a step back from my auto-response, see it for what it is, and instead of sending irritation and closing down, I can move towards loving-kindness and opening up. This is going to be HARD. I'm gonna be challenged, big-time.

But, as Pema Chodron says in her book Start Where You Are,

"The more you're willing to open your heart, the more challenges come along that make you want to shut it. We can't do this work in a safety zone. You have to go out into the marketplace and live your life like anybody else, but with the added ingredient of not wanting to shut anything out of your heart."

aching for a break? how to take a vaction when you can't take a vacation. hint: zen mind and beginner's mind is big here

2011-04-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

THE TRAVELLING HIGH
Travelling is addicting. I think probably a lot of Joy for Life readers feel this way. I recently read that serotinin—that’s the happy brain chemical—is released when we experience something new. Even receiving new emails is apparently enough to kick it into gear. No wonder we love being on vacation! New-ness around ever corner! Serotonin overload!

This week I realized that I was in desparate need of some new territory, a change of scenery, But I’ve got a feeling that there’ll be some other unplanned trips coming up sometime soonish, and since I’m also saving for India (spoiler alert: I’m 99% confirmed co-hosting a retreat in February 2012 with my friend and mentor Swami Maheshananda Saraswati) and Hawaii I’ve simply gotta save my funds. Since I’m damned if I can’t prove that yoga and other ancient spiritual practices can be useful and helpful in nearly any modern-day situation, I challenged myself to find a way to solve this conundrum using my yogi powers.

THE YOGA HIGH
Here’s my solution: mindfulness. Yup, mindfulness. When we travel we’re more mindful. We’re more present. Because when things are new, we don’t skip past them, caught up in the whirl and wind of our monkey mind. Instead, we are fully aware of our surroundings. Which is actually something we teach in mindfulness-based practices: Using our senses is one of the easiest, most effective practices we can adopt to help us drop out of our planning, rehashing, and worrying mind.

So here I am: planted in my regular spot in the café I regularly hang out in that I arrived at the way I always do, strolling down the streets I always walk. BUT, here’s what I did differently. I pretended I was seeing it all for the first time. Okay, I know I sound a bit like a kids’ book writer here (I can't help it, I'm hoping to get some published.) I know this sounds like something you and I have heard before. But it really hit home. All I did was drop out of my head, all I did was drop into a somewhat light version of zen mind, or beginner’s mind. I stopped letting my mind convince me I knew it all, had seen it all. And the florist shop was bursting with blooms I’d never registered. The linen shop had sheets and duvet covers that were shockingly fresh and new. The Greek bakery offered treats labeled with names I’d never heard of. Signs were written in a language I took time to comprehend.

THE BEGINNER'S MIND VACATION
Abracadabra mindfulness shaboom: I am on vacation, baby! Who are all these fascinating people? Check out this group meeting for somebody’s birthday—look at the men’s style: all cardigans and skinny jeans and slouchy toques. And the women! Long-sleeve button-ups with high-waisted pants. They’re kinda preppy in a hipster kind of way in this town. Ooops, I just saw someone I know. How did they get here? Wow, we’re on vacation in the same place at the same time! Okay, that may be taking it a bit far.

The point is it was so simple. And so powerful. Mindfulness is mad! It’s incredible! I’ve just taken a leap of faith out of my mind and into the moment and once again the rewards are endless.

Jai ho!

Namaste,

Lindsey

p.s. SPARK RETREAT: RE-IGNITE YOUR CREATIVE SELF
Escape the daily grind, tap into your essential creative flow, learn tools and tips to help you keep it going, and keep on loving your life when you return.
6 workshops: Performance Art, Creative Writing, Artful Expression
6 yoga classes: Hatha Flow + Kundalini--drop out of self-limiting thoughts and tap into your unlimited creative, essential self
When: May 20-23
Where: Granville Island, Vancouver, BC at Semperviva Yoga and the Granville Island Hotel
Save $200 Early bird discount ends April 15, 2011
Find out more today!

monday gratitude list: raindrops, rubber boots, and daffodils

2011-04-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

It's springtime on the West Coast and the rain is dumping down. Great, fat raindrops that soak you instantly when they plop onto your shoulder. Or tiny, nearly-invisible raindrops that form an all-encompassing damp that chills you deeper with every step.

So today, I'm grateful for umbrellas.
And pockets--for tucking otherwise numb fingers inside.
Daffodils that, despite the return to the cold, are standing strong and spritely shining.
Rubber boots for puddle-jumping.
Hot cocoa scented with cinnamon.
Buds bravely greening on the rhododendrons.
Smiling faces of people happy to be walking places.
A still-warm croissant, crackling and easing when you pull it apart with fingers teasing.
Bike-rides when the sun is shining, gerbera daisies brightly riding
inside your basket.

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain". Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Namaste,

Lindsey

march: stress gratitude, dharma and dreaming, spark: re-ignite your creative self for Joy for Life, Elephant Journal and Libre Retreats

2011-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

TOP ELEPHANT JOURNAL POSTS
Stress, Violent Outbursts, Insecurities: 5 Things I'm Grateful For
It's easy to list a nearly never-ending stream of positive things in my life that I'm grateful for. I believe most people can come up with at least 10. But I've been thinking lately about all the things in my life that have been painful. Things that hurt, have made me feel afraid, have made me sick. And it's been a life-altering experience--learned through yoga and meditation--to begin to see these experiences as bonuses.
Read more here.

Thich Nhat Hanh on Cell Phones + 11 Mindfulness Tips for Meditation and Daily Living
Mindfulness is probably one of the most powerful stress busters out there. It’s also a phenomenal way to become fully engaged with life. Practiced and taught by teachers in traditions ranging from Vedic and Tantric to Buddhist and everything in between, it’s a versatile practice that we often gain access to through meditation, but can easily transfer to everyday living.

Here are a few of the tips I used to share with my Joy for Life corporate stress buster workshop participants—with a bonus one at the bottom recently shared by Yin yoga teacher Bernie Clark, taught by a teacher he’s been working with lately: Thich Nhat Hanh.
Read more here.

TOP JOY FOR LIFE POSTS
8 Ways to Help the Victims of Japan's Tsunami and Earthquake

What the Saint Said, Dharma, and Daring to Dream

TOP LIBRE RETREATS POSTS
5 Creativity Blogs to Spark Your Creativity Mojo

Eat, Pray, Love's Elizabeth Gilbert on Creativity

UPCOMING RETREATS
Register by April 15 to get your early bird discount!
Spark: Re-Ignite Your Creative Self
Dive into an intensive weekend dedicated to re-igniting your creative self. Escape from self-created limitations. Embrace your essential creativity. Learn new tools. Gain powerful insights. Produce works that are a reflection of your unique creative self.
- 6 workshops including: Artful Expression, Creative Writing, Performance Art
- 6 yoga flow classes
Where: The Granville Island Hotel + Semperviva Yoga on Granville Island in Vancouver, BC
When: the May long weekend, Friday, May 20 - Monday, May 23
Find out more today!

easing into it: on letting go, taking the piss, and having a laugh--on and off the yoga mat

2011-03-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

GETTING PISSED OFF
I was in a yoga class with yoga therapist Susan Van Zag the other day. She started our class--a tailored ascent into dancer's pose--with a story, or rather, "a thing" as she smilingly called it.

She talked about how she'd had been upset by something a friend of hers had done, how she'd gotten P.O.'d and worked up, how she'd walked around for a while carrying frustration and a bit of anger. And then she thought, "What if I try to find the ease in this? What if I try to find the humour in this?" So she consciously let go of the angst, she let herself laugh, and when she talked to her friend about "the thing" they laughed together. What's that saying?

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. - Jean Houston

TAKING THE PISS
At the height of their laughter, Susan and her friend found a new depth to their connection--and thanks to this, Susan's students in class that day, including me, found new ways to be on our mat.

Susan translated the lesson this way: What if we take that same possibility, that same opportunity to find humour and ease and to laugh at ourselves, onto our mats and into our yoga practice? At moments of possible tension and frustration, when we were working or bound in a challenging asana, she reminded us again and again to let go. We were reminded, again and again, that we have a choice: Frustration and tension, or ease and flow.

I love this lesson. I love when I get reminded of it. I've been amazed at how practicing mindfully on my mat can translate to living mindfully off my mat. And as Susan's story illuminates, the benefits--to us and the ones we love--are immense.

Namaste,

Lindsey

6 mindfulness tips for meditating--and daily living

2011-03-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

Back when I was doing Joy for Life mindfulness-based corporate stress buster workshops for maxed out 9 to 5ers, I thought I'd come up with something truly unique and revolutionary. It's always nice when the universe conspires to keep your ego in check. Though what I taught was fresh and new for the people who attended, I've learned since then that teachers from a range of modalities--from Tantric and Vedic to Buddhism and a mash-up of everything under the sun--have all taught, and continue to teach, the same tools. We all have our own way of delivering them, but their essence is the same.

For me, this was a maha (major) confirmation of their effectiveness and power.

Here are six mindfulness tips under one vital category that apply on the mat, when your intention is to meditate, and off the mat, when your intention is to live mindfully--in other words, to live the life that's happening right here, right now.

WORKING WITH YOUR MIND AND YOUR THOUGHTS
Before I launch into these, I feel it's important to state my position on the mind. I don't align myself with teachings that present the mind as malicious or wild. I believe the mind is simply trying to do the best job it can. I believe that meeting our mind and our thoughts with loving-kindness and acceptance is far more effective than meeting our mind and thoughts with the suspicion and distrust that can arise when we're taught it's malicious or wild.

1. Planning. Label the planning thoughts--those that take us into the foreseeable future where we live it out as though it's happening right now.
2. Fantasizing. Label the fantasies--the thoughts that take us into an imagined future or re-worked past.
3. Rehashing. Label the rehashing--the thoughts that run through our head over and over again, replaying something that's already happened.
4. Worrying. Label the worrying--the concern about something that happened in the past or that might happen in the future.
5. Notice patterns. Once we begin to label these thoughts, we begin to notice our patterns. This is my favourite revelation. Ah ha! I'm doing a lot of planning today--now I can be more aware of this and find it easier to not get caught up in it.
6. Let them go. This practice isn't about control, it's about letting go. We're not aiming to control our thoughts, we simply want to meet them with loving kindness, label and see them for what they really are, and send them on their way.

Bonus: When we practice mindfulness, and labelling and letting go of our thoughts, we discover the space between our essential, peaceful and powerful selves and the thoughts that ripple across our surface.We begin to become our essential selves, rather than our thoughts.

Namaste,

Lindsey

RELATED
5 Tips on Getting Your Meditation Mojo Flowing

8 Ways to Help the Victims of Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami

2011-03-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

10 Ways to Help Japan, via My Yoga Online
THREE FAVES:

Save the Children is currently organizing efforts. Donations to its Children’s Emergency Fund will support outreach in Japan.

GlobalGiving.org has launched the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Monies gathered via this fund will be given to a host of relief organizations helping victims around the world.

Doctors Without Borders is sending out teams to the Iwate and Miyagi prefectures in Japan. To learn more or make a donation, visit Doctorswithoutborders.org.

Ways to Help Japan, via Huffington Post
THREE FAVES

"For any who have loved ones abroad, Google has stepped up to help. Along with a tsunami alert posted on its front page, Google has launched the Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake to help connect people that may have been displaced due to the disaster. Google has also launched a crisis response page filled with local resources and emergency information.
Judy Chang, head of PayPal's nonprofit group, announced that transactional fees incurred by money transfers to US 501(c)(3) organizations (or charities registered with the Canada Revenue Agency) between March 11 and April 10 will aid relief efforts in Japan.
World Vision has announced global mobilization in response to tsunami warnings."

How you Can Help the Earthquake and Tsunami Victims in Japan, via TIME Newsfeed
TWO FAVES

ShelterBox: The U.K.-based organization, with 18 international affiliates, has launched an online fundraiser for the Japan relief effort. ShelterBox provides assistance to afflicted countries by delivering large utility boxes that contain a shelter and other emergency-relief tools. To give, go to your country's page and click "Donate."
Convoy of Hope: This nonprofit focuses on disaster-relief efforts. Donate online or via phone by texting TSUNAMI to 50555 (you'll be prompted to confirm with a follow-up text of YES).

5 yoga tips for lovers. singletons included, and chocolate-lovers, too. inspiration from David Deida [vid]

2011-03-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

Have you read any of the works by David Deida?

Immersed in the world of Hatha yoga, Tai Chi Chuan and meditation, plus research in medicine and consciousness since he was a teen (yup, he was admitted to the Florida Scholars Program for "gifted and unusual students" at the University of Florida before he'd even graduated high school), Deida is acknowledged as one of the most insightful and provactive spiritual teachers of our time.

That was a looong sentence--but summing up all of Deida isn't easy. And I'm just getting started.

It's funny that, in the midst of a rising personal awareness of the truly sacred nature of sexual energy and Kundalini energy, along came my new registered massage therapist, Dawn Leonard. The teacher arrives when the student is ready, I suppose.

Not just an RMT, Dawn has herself studied multiple disciplines and is passionate about combining scientific fact with metaphysical understanding. She's also passionate about healthy sexuality--especially for women. Enter her mentioning her latest read, "Finding God Through Sex", and exit her lending Lindsey the book "The Way of the Superior Man"--both by Deida.

Why'd I pick a book written for men? It was calling to me. I read it in two days. I couldn't wait to pick it up again. I'm in love with this book. I'm in love with the version of women Deida presents in this book, and the version of men. I'm in love with the fact that it is possible for women to be feminine or masculine and men vice versa--and that it is possible for us to have healthy, conscious, spiritually uplifting relationships that serve our greatest purpose by honouring our essential self.

I've gained so much from this one book. Here are

5 Yoga Tips for Lovers, inspired by David Deida:
("Yoga" here is being used in the most fundamental way, defined as union)

1. We all look for love through union. For most of us, this search is limited to mating, having sex, and finding a life partner.
2. We try to find release from our worries and stresses and escape into the ocean of love through this union, but unless we are practicing conscious relationships with ourselves and others, we always end up disatisfied.
3. There are simple practices that can help us maintain healthy, radiant, supportive relationships with our partners and ourselves. These include honouring parts of ourselves we might have labeled as "too stereotypical", or "inappropriate"--based on our societal judgements. Are there times when we women feel the urge to let our emotions really come into play, to really express them, and loudly--but we resist because we don't want to be seen as "emotional--just like a woman"? Deida has no judgements of the emotional waves feminine women tend to experience more than masculine men. He writes, simply, that this can be a part of feminine women's essential nature. And since there is nothing lesser about being feminine, there's nothing lesser about being emotional.
4. For the men, Deida recommends seeing the challenges presented by attempting to understand and navigate feminine women's fluidity and capacity for changing rapidly as representative of the challenges of the world. It's a man's job, he says, to stand full of love, holding steady and willing to cleave through the surface waves with conscious, light love. No need to understand or try to navigate. Just stand steady, full of penetrating love.
5. And what about the chocolate-lovers? Mostly women, Deida explains it this way. If we're not getting the love we look for from our partners, or within ourselves--where the deepest love is accessed--we'll fill the void with chocolate. Or shopping.

Interesting, hey?

Namaste,

Lindsey

RELATED
one great big tip for self-healing, from the tuned-in RMT magician

i'm loving: sensual reading, ramped-up comfort food, loving the unlikeable, and, well, Oprah actually

2011-03-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few of my favourite things right now--sharing with Joy for Life readers because they might become faves of yours, too, if they're not already.

1. The Gift: Poems by Hafiz
When I read these poems I get flashbacks of devouring them like cake last summer, lying on my back beneath a startling blue sky on a dock over the Pacific ocean.

"You need to become a pen
In the Sun's hand.

We need for the earth to sing
Through our pores and eyes.

The body will again become restless
Until your soul paints all its beauty
Upon the sky."

2. Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chodron

"When we work with pain by leaning into it and with pleasure by giving it away, it doesn't mean that we "grin and bear it." This approach is a lot more playful than that--like dancing with it. We realize that this separateness that we feel is a funny kind of mistake."

3. Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook
From the famed Victoria, BC resto known for veggie-friendly fare, mostly organic and locally-sourced--and the best chocolate cake you'll ever order--comes a cook book you'll never regret. I just made the roasted vegetable struedel, and am in love with the Greek red lentil soup.

4. Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
The cover is boring. The book is anything but. As my beautiful friend Sara Mullin put it, "Tom Robbins is a fantastic story-teller. He writes amazing story lines--and he knows what we know." i.e. He's tuned into the reality that this is not the whole reality.

5. O magazineNot even a guilty pleasure, when I settle in for a good O mag sesh "what I know for sure" is I just feel plain ol' good about myself. What other magazine can boast that? Plus, O Mag has the highest percentage of spiritual content of all mainstream women's lifestyle mags.

what the saint said, dharma, and daring to dream

2011-03-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

WHAT THE SAINT SAID
"Come here," she said, "Sit down." He knelt beside her and she leaned close. "No amount of medicine in the world will cure people's sickness. People are sick because they are not following their dharma. You must help them find their dreams."

She was Ama--the hugging saint, absolutely, completely dedicated and called to serve and be of service in loving kindess to the world. He was Shiva--my friend and Ayur Vedic doctor. He had been to see her to ask her advice. Things weren't happening the way he'd hoped. All he wanted to do was to help the world be truly, ultimately healthy--why were there so many roadblocks right now? He was hoping for encouragement, guidance, inspiration. He got it.

Dharma:
1. Essential quality or character, as of the cosmos or one's own nature.
2. The doctrine or teaching of the Buddha
3. That which upholds or supports. Law or Natural Law

"So Lindsey," he looked at me with his great big grin, "What is your dream?" "I know it," I answered, "And I'm living it more and more every day." The fact that my health, wellness, and happiness continue to grow in leaps and bounds isn't coincidental.

CLICHES AND MATTERS OF THE HEART
Talking about following our hearts can seem cliche. It's used so often in pop psychology, it's almost become trite. We skim over it, dismiss its power. But holisitic health practitioners like Shiva are learning, and sharing, that realizing our essential quality or character--that which upholds and supports us and is as much a part of our natural selves as our breath--is essential to our health and happiness. Living our dharma, our deepest truest dreams for ourselves, isn't self-centred. It's the most useful gift we can give to the world.

Because we are born with these dreams, these passions, these talents or drive to pursue them, for a reason. It might not be the reason we first think of. But if we stick it out, and keep on following our heart, we'll eventually find out why and what we're meant to do. And that calling will be more fulfilling, more radiant, more beneficial for the world, than anything we could have come up with on our own.

So if you went to see Shiva for a first-time appointment to talk about your health, one of the first questions he'd ask you is this:
"What is your dream?"

Namaste,

Lindsey

love your life, and yourself--in one minute and 30 seconds [vid]

2011-03-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

THIS is gorgeous! THIS is beauty. THIS is worth the one minute and 30 seconds, Joy for Life readers.

It's also right in line with what Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron shares.

"What if it just doesn't get any better than this? You might find that inside of the sadness, the grief, the despair, lies something else, too, lies some kind of beauty." Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D

"If you work with your mind, instead of trying to change everything on the outside..." Pema Chodron

RELATED
The Beauty of Falling to Pieces

I am (You are) Pure Joy. [vid] the proof is on the tank top

2011-03-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

Who wouldn't love this tank? Even Hilary Swank's been spotted in it.

Crafted by AZIAM, a LA-based yoga apparel company run by yoga instructor Alanna Zabel, the "I am Pure Joy" Wife Lover is an inspiring take on the so-called Wife Beater and turns the white washed (pun intended) basic on it's head.

Here's the best part: Ten percent of the proceeds are donated directly to the Joyful Heart Foundation, which works to foster a community that turns toward the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse--rather than away from them.

Worth the $40 bucks? Definitely.
Get it at www.AZIAM.com.

it's a calling, and it speaks to you every day, to walk your way

2011-02-25T11:38:00.001-08:00

What’s calling you? What’s missing?

There’s these stereotypes about yoga teachers. We’re flighty, naïve, innocent, good at meditating but bad at balancing our checkbooks, great as floaters, bad as planners. And don’t ask us to meet a deadline—we don’t even know what that is.

But…what if we do? And what if we can? Ask your yoga students to process this—like I have over the past few days—and you’ll get a variety of reactions, mostly confusion and mild distress. We like to put people in manageable boxes. This, not that. That, not this. It makes life easier to handle. It makes being who you are more challenging.

And how about entrepreneurs and business people? They’re A-types, hard-edged, know-it-alls, bad at connecting to their softer, essential self, but great at making a buck. Ask them about deadlines and they’ll tell you they run their lives.

But…what if they don’t? And what if they’re not?

What if we can all be both?

What if our capacity to tune into our softer, essential self, our deep and guiding intuition—not to mention the physical health-inducing benefits of being a meditator and a yoga-lover—actually means we make rockin’ business people? And what if our entrepreneurial leanings mean that we can take our passion for being of service to greater levels out in the world? Not convinced? Just ask tuned-in and turned-on raging successful entrepreneurs Jonathan Fields, Danielle LaPorte—or even hip hop fashion man Russell Simmons .

So as of December 2010, I decided to follow a dream.

Screw the stereotypes. Forget trying to fit myself into a box. I’m a yoga teacher, a spiritual gal to the core, a business woman and an entrepreneur. I’m committed to being of service in this world, to helping make it a healthier, happier place, and I’m gonna do it using every skill I have. If this makes people uncomfortable, I’m sorry. I feel bad, I do. But I feel worse if I limit myself.

So I’m launching Libre Retreats: immersions in creativity, adventure, and mind body soul. Because health and happiness are not by-products of chance. They’re the radiant results of a life well-loved, a life fueled by creativity and adventure that nourishes our body, mind and soul.

The best part is that once we begin to live this life, the life that calls us, we begin to give back. The proof is in the latest research:

“Happy people are more altruistic, more productive, more helpful, more likable, more creative, more resilient, more interested in others, friendlier, and healthier. Happy people make better friends, colleagues, and citizens.”

- Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

So it’s about you. And it’s about the world.

The next Vancouver retreat is May 20-23. Spark: Re-Ignite Your Creative Self , where you’ll dive into a revitalizing, intensive weekend dedicated to re-igniting your creative self. Workshops include: Creative Writing, Performance Art, Artful Expression + 6 Yoga Flow classes at Semperviva Yoga Sea Studio to get you in the groove.

I’d love to share this dream with you. But that’s not the whole point.

The whole point is this:

Love and the living are one

Sit back, relax, you got a job to do

The only who understands it

Is the one who’s living right inside of you

It’s a calling

And it speaks to you every day

To walk your way

- Ma Chant by Wah, on album Love Holding Love

5 Tips on Getting Your Meditation Mojo Flowing

2011-02-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

Ever sit down to meditate and feel like you’ve failed? Me too. Luckily, then I get this nice little voice in my head that comes from a great big source. It says, “There is no try. Only do.” Ha. But in all seriousness, Yoda was onto something. Meditation isn’t about trying. It’s about being. And when we try, we’re not being. We don’t need to beat ourselves up for not getting a good meditation connection happening every time, and every minute that we meditate. That voice sounds a bit like Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron—she says a lot of things along the lines of “Just accept yourself completely.”

So what’s the practical point? Let’s combine these two gurus’ teachings into one: let go of trying to make yourself meditate, and accept your self-perceived limitations.

Here are 5 things I practice while meditating:
1. Use sound. Jivamukti Yoga founders David Life and Sharon Gannon teach that we cannot make ourselves meditate. We can make ourselves concentrate. Dharana, or fixation of attention within the mind, is the sixth limb of yoga outlined by yogic philosophy powerhouse Patanjali. Sound works. When my friend and mentor Swami Maheshananda Saraswati is getting us settled for a deep Prana Vidya practice (working with the flow of Prana/energy within the body) he often starts with having us focus on sound. We let our ears lead us into a sweet state where we are aware of the sounds near us, away from us, in the room, and outside the room—without ever focusing on one sound in particular. It’s a simple but powerful way to help the mind settle.

2. Use sight. Sight works much the same way—but with the added bonus that when we still our gaze we still our mind. Where our gaze goes, our mind goes, too. This is why yogis like to use an image of a diety, or their guru, or a candle flame to help them meditate. The fun part about using an image of a diety or your guru is that by bringing them into your mind, you also bring in their qualities, and meditating on these helps us bring them into ourselves.

3. Use your third eye. This is the sixth chakra in our scientifically-proven-to-exist chakra system within our body. It’s where we tap into our intuition, our deeper knowing, our ability to do and act without needing to know “why, why, why?” It’s right in the middle of your head, between the centre of your eyebrows. You can direct your gaze there, or just bring your attention there. Once you get used to it, tapping into this space is uber bliss-inducing.

4. Make it 5 minutes. Don’t have 30? Make it 5. Don’t beat yourself up for being a busy yogi in this modern era of nusto scheduling. BUT if you’re skipping your meditation to watch TV…

5. Stay warm. Your body’s calming systems, including lots of the ones activated by your parasympathetic nervous system, are decreased when you’re cold. So bundle up to get your bliss on.

Hope these help you as much as they do me!

Namaste,

Lindsey

i've met the person I want to spend my life with. she's not perfect

2011-02-16T20:16:00.000-08:00

I met the person I want to spend my life with.

She's not perfect. She's kind of a pain in the ass sometimes. When she's excited about something she wants it to happen yesterday. And when she's not in the best mood, she can be a bit of a princess. Youngest kids in the family are like that, I hear. People tell her she's beautiful, but most of the time she just feels average. She's okay with that.

The thing is, she's trying. Every day she's working on growing and evolving and becoming a better person. Every day she starts it all off by clearing the slate. The daily morning yoga practice seems like a bit of a chore sometimes, but she's a heckuva lot happier and better to be around because of it.

There's a lot she still hasn't figured out. There's a lot she's still sorting through: insecurities, doubt, how to be in a relationship, how to balance heart and mind in everyday life. How to whistle. There's a lot.

But she seems to be getting there. It seems like, maybe, just maybe, she's realizing that she is the person she always wanted to become.

The most important thing is this: I love her.

Which is a good thing. Because, well, she's me.

valentines (that's you): illuminate your life with The Neon Bonfire [incredible 5-minute vid]

2011-02-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

do you really need love?

2011-02-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

Can love do it all?
Can it lower your blood pressure, reduce depression, and make injuries heal faster?

Recent research by the Washington Post says yes. Apparently, according to the experts consulted (psychology profs, departments of health and human service, social psychologists and the like):
- having someone to support us through stressful times makes the stressful times easier to handle
- happily married people have lower blood pressure than unhappily married ones
- loving spouses encourage good health and wellness choices: flossing, exercising, eating well
- feelings of love trigger the brain's dopamine-reward system, and boost your immune system
- love helps wounds heal faster

So what's my point?
I argue that all of the above--every single one of those benefits--can come from within. Don't get me wrong; I'm still hoping to find the man I'll want to spend my life with. It's just that the emphasis has shifted.

I spent much of last year consciously exploring love. And here's what I discovered: I--let's make that we--feel the most love when we give it.

Love isn't illusive. It's not something we need to search for. It's not out there embodied by someone else, who will bring it fully into our life. Love is rockin' our world from right within our own hearts.

DON'T BUY IT. TRY IT
Don't believe me? Here's an exercise Shiva, my friend and Ayur Vedic doctor, had me do a couple years ago. Bring to mind someone you really care for--your dog, your daughter, your niece or nephew. Start talking to them. Have a full-on imaginary dialogue. During and after, notice how you feel.

When I did this, Shiva put his cell phone in the palm of my hand. He asked me to pretend it was an adorable puppy. I felt silly. I kind of got it. It didn't really sink in. So I decided to practice. The universe helped me along; I started doggy-sitting a puppy once a week. My niece was born. And I learned about love. It sunk in.

I noticed that when I was with them--when I'm with them now--I'm lit right up. I'm literally fueled by and filled with love. There's an emptiness we single people sometimes feel. It was gone.

This has rocketed out into the rest of my life--charging me up in millions of moments. Birds can spark it. Trees can ignite it. Seeing a child, thrilled, on a swing, can send it spiraling. I can feel full up with love and fully supported all on my own.

Let's re-cap.
Love has tons of benefits--scientists have gone out of their way to prove it. (They like hard facts). But we can find the most powerful version of it within our own hearts. That love can:
- help us feel supported through stressful times
- lower our blood pressure
- encourage good health and wellness choices
- trigger dopamine and boost our immune system
- help wounds heal faster

We're not lacking. We have so much to give. Our circle of love includes ourself.

Namaste,

Lindsey

ev-love: 'evolve' spelled backwards

2011-02-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

EV-LOVE

love is giving

love is
evolution, revolution
radical thinking, mindlessness sinking
counter-culture, culture-jamming

pop!

the bubble is not naivity
it is not
believing in, or having faith

the bubble is the chasm
it is every 'ism' that divides us from ourselves

pop!

love is the pin
that shatters the glass

we didn't even realize it had been there
until the breeze blew in

~Lindsey

don't freak out: 6 yoga tips for when life goes nuts

2011-02-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

9 pm. 10 pm. 11 pm.
The hours tick by like minutes. So do the days.

I'm fueled by a dream--my soon-to-be-shared officially incorporated dedication to spreading practical, inspiring tools for a life well-loved. So what does this mean for my daily routine? Gone are the seemless evenings spent writing or painting. Gone are the Friday afternoon mini-hikes at the park on the ocean. And the evening dance classes? Gone too. Enter endless hours logging time with my new best friend--my laptop. I'm okay with it because I know it's temporary. (Of course, being completely in love with what I'm doing helps too.)

STAYING HAPPY AND HEALTHY

I'm staying happy, healthy and almost 100% stress-free because of my morning yoga practice, plus a few other tools I've learned along the way. Here they are, for you to have when your life goes nuts, too.

6 YOGA TIPS FOR WHEN LIFE GOES NUTS

1. 1. Watch the sunrise. The scientific benefits of feeling awe are well-documented. Feel small. Connect to something greater than yourself. Feel a part of a much bigger picture than whatever's worrying you right now.

2. Walking meditation. This doesn't have to happen at a dedicated 'meditation time.' Whenever you're wherever you’re walking to, simply be there completely. Notice the way your feet connect to the earth. Become mindful of every single thing around you: the cracks in the sidewalk, the sound of the traffic, the grass growing in the middle of that bunch of stones. Notice it all.

3. 3. Mindfulness project management. Take the Buddhist/yogic practice of mindfulness into your work. Do one thing at a time. Don't check email every time a new one comes in. Be engaged with whatever it is you're doing. The work can feel as ease-full as a meditation.

4. 4. Deep exhales. Continue to harvest the power of your parasympathetic nervous system--your rest and digest system. The PNS is in charge of all the calming responses in your body. It loves to help you out. Deep exhales help it do its thing.

5.

5. Sleep. Take some transition time before you climb into bed—even if you're getting there later than you'd like. You'll sleep better if you let go of the busyness of the day before you try to sink into slumber.

6. Faith and flow. Unexpected stuff, random delays, and set-backs are gonna happen. I've had a ton. But somehow, things have actually worked out better in the end than they would have if those things hadn't happened. This is a continual reminder to me that the universe likes taking care of us, and that having faith in the flow, and letting go, is all good.

run like hell my dear: hot stuff from Hafiz

2011-01-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

We have not come here to take prisoners,

But to surrender ever more deeply

To freedom and joy.

We have not come into this exquisite world

To hold ourselves hostage from love.

Run my dear,

From anything

That may not strengthen

Your precious budding wings.

Run like hell my dear,

From anyone likely

To put a sharp knife

Into the sacred, tender vision

Of your beautiful heart.

We have a duty to befriend

Those aspects of obedience

That stand outside of our house

And shout to our reason

"O please, O please

Come out and play."

For we have not come here to take prisoners

Or to confine our wonderous spirits,

But to experience ever and every more deeply

Our divine courage, freedom, and

Light!

~Hafiz

go ahead, be hopeful

2011-01-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

"What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places - and there are so many - where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

"And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

Howard Zinn

one great big tip for self-healing: from the tuned-in RMT magician

2011-01-25T16:59:00.000-08:00

Here's the invocation she said to the air: "We ask that the body return to it's natural state of alignment and health."

And what she said to me:

"Just see what you feel here. If you feel that your body wants to move a certain way, go with it. If you don't feel anything, don't worry about it. It's subtle."

Subtle? In 0.2 seconds my body went from stock-still to rocking and circling and flowing and breathing in a completely un-prescribed, completely intuitive mini dance for freedom. Freedom from pain. (Okay, that might be a bit dramatic. It was only my sciatic nerve--but it hurt!)

My mind was saying "Whoa, hold on here, I don't know what's happening. I'm not in control." My deeper self was saying, "Hallelujah sister! Back off mind, and just hang on for the ride."

After about two minutes of what felt like an eternity of flow, Dawn (yes, that's her name, the magician RMT) brought me back to stillness. She checked my sciatic nerve. I checked my sciatic nerve. The pain was gone.

And here is the one great big tip for self-healing I'll always be indebted to Dawn for teaching me:

Trust yourself.

Our bodies are the beautiful, multi-tasking powerhouse vessels for our incredible soul. And they're always--always--leading us towards health and happiness. We just gotta listen.

Start with the invocation. Then let go.

Namaste,

Lindsey

Q + A: yoga tools for when people really get you peeved + a tip from Pema Chodron

2011-01-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Somebody recently asked this question on the My Yoga Online community forum:

How do I deal with the people I can't avoid who negatively affect my mood and energy?

The answer I gave was something I needed a reminder of myself. Funny how that works. Here it is for Joy for Life readers:

"This is a toughie and super common. I can share ways that I deal with that myself. For me it stems from my understanding that my responses can be altered because they often come from my mind and ego—not my deepest, truest self.

One simple, powerful tip I've learned over the years from yoga teachers and my friend Swami Maheshanada Saraswati is the idea of noticing, of bringing awareness to my thoughts, and understanding they are just thoughts, not reality. By doing that I can often find some space between me and my thoughts.

Here's how it might work:
1. Someone I can't avoid who always presses my buttons and affects my mood and energy in what I consider to be a negative way says something that makes me hurt or mad.
2. Instead of getting defensive, I take a pause, take a few deep breaths, and notice my reaction.
3. I exhale out the negativity, which is coming from my reaction, not necessarily their actions.
4. I choose a different response: one stemming from a place of ease and peace.

Do I always manage this? Nope. But that's why they call yoga a practice.

Something Pema Chodron teaches also comes to mind: We are sent the people we need--people who will challenge us deeply in a certain way until we've grown through that challenge.

Good luck and namaste!"

Lindsey

a yang girl gets yin: 5 lessons from Yin yoga master Bernie Clark

2011-01-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

What do you mean faster isn't better?

Greater sensation isn't always ideal? More is more, right?

I've been a yang-based girl for a lot of my life, running and rushing at life and in my yoga practice like there's no tomorrow. Luckily for me, I had a mild quarter-life crisis when I hit 25. I had my dream job, dream guy, and dream city to call home. But my health was shot, my sleep was gone, and, frankly, so was my happiness. I was tense and uptight and, most of all, feeling like though I'd ended up exactly where I'd planned to be, I wasn't actually supposed to be there.

Happy ending: I signed up for teacher training, ended the relationship, moved to a different home, and completely re-vamped my life; the dream job was the first to go.

Since then I've had many amazing people come into my life and share powerful insights to help me tap into that place of deeper, greater ease and peace: the Yinside.

This is a term coined by Yin yoga master Bernie Clark. I'm doing his brilliant Yin yoga teacher training at Semperviva Yoga right now, and loving it like crazy.

Here's 5 reasons why:
1. Bernie's big on self-acceptance. Not in that new-agey, I love you, you love me, kind of way--but in that practical, every body truly is different kind of way. A friend of mine was so transfixed by Bernie's explanation of how and why different bodies can or can't do different yoga poses that she decided to sign up for teacher training that day.

2. The guidelines for practicing and teaching Yin resonate on a deeper level: Find your first edge; get still; hold for time. You don't need to go to your max to get maximum results. In fact, you'll go deeper, further, faster, if you accept your initial so-called 'limitations'.

3. Anatomy can be destiny. Bernie teaches that our physical bone structure may prevent us from embodying a pose in the particular way our teacher would like us to present it. i.e. your bone structure may prevent you from ever lining your triangle pose up between those two imaginary planes of glass.

4. The question is--what do you feel? It's not up to any teacher--other than your own inner guru--to tell you what you are or should be feeling in a pose. It's up to you, and me, to figure that out for ourselves, move deeply into our own experience of the pose, and adjust it accordingly.

5. The trick is to think about compression or tension. If we're feeling tension that's preventing us from moving deeper into a pose, well, as Bernie says, we should "suffer through it". It'll decrease over time. If it's compression, though, we may never work through that, and this is where acceptance of where we're at comes in.

All in all, it's really jiving with what I love about yoga and am learning about Buddhism: self-acceptance.

Namaste, and good luck with your own path towards self-love,

Lindsey

dude, check out my karma [funniest yoga-vid on the web right now]

2011-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

it's winter but the tulips are blooming

2011-01-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

Some amazing, wonderful, beauty-full soul in my neighbourhood has taken pictures of flowers that were blooming in certain spots around the hood this spring, blown them up, and installed them everywhere.

Whoever you are, here's a virtual hug. Thanks for sharing your light.

5 minute Kundalini yoga heart centre boost [free video]

2011-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Just posted on the My Yoga Online YouTube page: A 5-minute excerpt and mini heart centre boost from my Kundalini for Your Heart Centre video. Enjoy!

Go here for the full video.

Namaste,

Lindsey

yogi celeb: michelle williams founds yoga for single moms [vid]

2011-01-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

Love this story.

Just released on MSN.ca.

Shutter Island star Michelle Williams has revealed her reasons for helping to set up a yoga group for single mothers.

The 30-year-old actress told Marie Claire magazine that she used the meditative practice to cope with the 2008 death of former partner Heath Ledger, with whom she had daughter Matilda, five.

She explained: "Yoga gave me relief like nothing else; it made be a better person and a better mother. "I could come back to my daughter anew. And then I started to think about how expensive it is to get a babysitter to take a yoga class, which makes it out of reach for so many women.”

The team at the Yoga for Single Moms project describes it this way:

A team of three good friends gave birth to the Yoga for Single Moms Project after a hectic month of trying to schedule a yoga class to attend together. The logistics became so challenging—between coordinating babysitters, dropping off kids, picking up kids, squeezing in lunch, finding clean yoga clothes, and all of the other timing issues that are inherent in single-mom-hood—that we eventually gave up.

But not for long. Yoga is important to us, so we brainstormed better ways to make it happen. With our extensive yoga connections, we were inspired to partner up with studios across the country to create classes specifically for single moms, along with a directory of resources for moms committed to a yoga practice.

Beautiful.

Namaste,

Lindsey

11 words for 2011: fun-inspiring vid from Box of Crayons

2011-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've picked my words for 2011.

What are yours?

3 words for 2011: yes, shine, acceptance

2011-01-03T17:42:00.000-08:00

WRITING + YOGA = SAME SAME
I'm a word-loving yogi. Writing, and the power of the written word, gets my mojo going almost as much as my yoga practice. I feel the same connection to the flow of the universe when I'm absorbed in getting something down on paper (or on-screen) as I do when I'm flowing on my mat.

WHITE HOT TRUTH
So White Hot Truth maven Danielle LaPorte's practice of selecting three guiding terms for the year resonates deeply with me. I spend much of December mulling them over, trying them on, and tuning into how they feel in my heart.

Last year, my words were:
let ~ truth ~ love

Here's why:
I wanted to let go, let be, not to force things or try to make something happen. I wanted to be authentic and speak my truth, even if I felt afraid of what others might think of that. And I wanted to love, love, love. I could write paragraph after paragraph about how these words powerfully and positively affected my life last year--but I'll just let you read the post on the biggie, if you're interested.

ONE YEAR IN THREE WORDS
This year, my words are:
yes ~ shine ~ acceptance

Here's why:
YES I want to be even more open to the opportunities the universe sends my way. I'm a big planner. I like to map things out, get things done, set intentions and goals and achieve them, step-by-step. But sometimes I can get too caught up in my plan. Sometimes I can be a bit too rigid about following it, even if it means saying 'no' to something I'd love to do, someone I'd love to connect with, or an experience that would rock my world. So, this year, I'm a yes-girl. I've already seen how this is bringing more ease and flow and beauty into my life. As John Lennon said:

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

SHINE I realized I often compartmentalize, or minimize myself around people--showing only the side of myself I think they'll be most comfortable with and least challenged by: yogi, writer, newly-minted painter, entrepreneur, communications pro, old high school friend, sister, daughter, business woman. I'm all of these things, plus more--as a lot of women are--but by choosing to show only one, or maybe two of these roles to the people I care about I'm doing both them and me a disservice. In the words of Marianne Williamson, co-leader of the United States Department of Peace movement:

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve
the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

ACCEPTANCE This one is synonymous in my mind with non-judging, and the Sanskrit term Maitri: unconditional friendship with oneself. I want to be more accepting of other people, and, since I know all change starts within, that means working on becoming ever more accepting of myself. In the words of Pema Chodron:

Namaste,

Lindsey

what I learned in 2010: it's all about love

2010-12-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Most of all, 2010 has been about love.

I'd made a decision to consciously explore love as giving this year. It wasn't that I had never been there, in that loving-giving space. But I hadn't been there consciously.

THE SEARCH FOR LOVE
I believe the search for the deep, encompassing love another person gives to you is bioligical. We are genetically programed to want to find a mate. But beyond biology is a kind of love that can lift us up, carry us through, and hold us steady in the knowledge we are not alone. And we don't receive it. We carry it with us always. We feel it most when we give it.

SMALL MIRACLES
This year, with the birth of my niece, the once-a-week doggy-sitting of a spunky little miniature schnouzer, and a now-ended relationship with an exceptional man, I fully began to live that love. I practiced it mindfully, care-fully, and consciously. I became aware that when I was with any of those three the moments I felt the most love were not when they reached out to me, but when I gave love to them. With all three, there was never any guarantee that what I offered would be returned, or even accepted.

THE REALIZATION
This has been a transformational realization for me. It's helped me become an ever more giving-without-thinking-of-receiving kind of person. It's also leading me down a path towards looking less and less to others for my own happiness. Yes, happiness comes from inside. Yes, searching for happiness is an unhappy activity. (Thanks to yoga master Mark Whitwell for that gem.) And yes, I carry the greatest love within my own heart.

We all do.

I'll be carrying this knowledge with me into 2011, and giving thanks to the greater, good, and wonder-full for the opportunity to grow in this way.

Namaste, and happy New Year!

Lindsey

shiva rea DVD giveaway: get it before it hits stores

2010-12-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

CONTEST FINITO: Jay Suttonbrown, RTY, @awesomeyoga, wins the DVD!

Shiva Rea, she of the uber vinyasa flow style and creator of the renowned Yoga Trance Dance, is releasing a new DVD tomorrow. Power Flow Yoga has, and I quote, "3 hours of energetic vinyasa to mix and match with the Shiva Rea yoga matrix!"

If you want it, it's yours--well, you can be entered to win.

Just share this post with your Twitter friends and invite them to do the same, making sure to include the #yoga hashtag and @lindsey_lewis (so I know you did). Here's what it might look like: I just entered to win Shiva Rea's newest DVD from @lindsey_lewis blog Joy For Life [web address to the blog post here]. You can, too! #yoga

Make sure to add me as a Twitter friend, so I can DM you if you win.

p.s. apologies to my international friends. I can only ship within Canada.

A taste of Shiva

paul mccartney: simply having a wonderful christmas time [vid]

2010-12-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

in praise of awe + 5 ways to get it

2010-12-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

The little tree sparkled. From trunk to tip, tiny specks of light glowed golden bright.

It wasn't man-made. It was the play of street lights on droplets of rain that had gathered on its branches. It stopped us in our tracks. We paused mid-stride and mid-sentence to gaze open-mouthed at its natural beauty. We looked at each other in awe, in delight, in love--not with each other, but with this world.

Awe's a funny thing. If you're the type of person who feels it regularly, you may be used to other people rolling their eyes at you. You might be used to being considered to be, along with regularly awe-struck, a little naive, slightly child-like. You may be used to feeling full-up with joy.

I adore awe. It makes me feel like hugging the world. It makes me want to smile at a stranger, pet a dog, hold the door open, and donate to charity. And apparently, I'm not alone. Science has proven it. Or, more specifically,

Dacher Keltner, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, devotes much of his research to studying awe. In his 2009 book, Born to Be Good, he looks at the emotions beyond the "big six" (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise), believing that more nuanced sensations—compassion, forgiveness, humility, and awe—are what push us beyond self-interest and "wire us for good." Cultivating awe, he says, is part of unlocking the truest sense of life's purpose.

At the Berkeley Social Interaction Laboratory, Keltner and his team are attempting to figure out where awe originates in the brain. Along with neuroscientist Emiliana Simon-Thomas, he's used striking images to elicit awe in subjects whose brains were monitored by an fMRI scanner. Their preliminary findings suggest that while other pleasures—a monetary reward, a slice of cake—engage areas of the brain associated with self-interest, awe lights up the region that becomes active when we are touched, or when a mother sees pictures of her baby. Unlike the "me, me, me" response that most types of pleasure trigger, awe—and its associated increase in oxytocin—makes us feel warm and fuzzy toward others. For the full article, go here.

Here's some of the ways I (un)intentionally cultivate awe. Maybe they'll work for you, too:
1. Morning yoga practice. I simply can't get through even just one single salutation without at least tasting how incredibly awe-some my soul vessel (body) is, the breath moving through my body is, the deepest, greatest place of peace and strength I tap into during my practice is.
2. Nature walk. Trees blow my mind. Have you ever stood beneath a really big one, palm pressed against its trunk, and closed your eyes just to feel it? Aside from my yoga practice and tools, it's one of the quickest ways I know of to get an instant mini bliss-boost.
3. Go big. Standing in front of something much larger than ourselves can also boost our feeling of being, well, small. And feeling small helps us drop out of our ego, which usually wants to feel big, and into that truer place of union with the greater, good, and wonder-full--and every living being.
4. Star stuff. Awe's the reason we love staring at the night sky. A friend of mine had a life-transforming epiphany when he first began to explore the realities of space. The star stuff sparked a realization for him that we're all part of this great big universe, sharing the sky and the earth below. He stopped worrying so much about what other people thought of him, started volunteering, and asked a girl he'd had a crush on out on a date. p.s. He's a pilot.
5. What amazes you? What makes you go "holy cow, that's amazing!"? Whatever it is, its awe-some, too.

Namaste,

Lindsey

what is happiness? french scientist-turned Buddhist monk on TEDtalks [vid]

2010-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

the beauty of falling to pieces + 5 tips for letting your yoga practice help you

2010-12-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

So, what's new?

A friend I haven't seen in a few weeks asked me this over the weekend. Actually, I've started a huge new project--more on that in the new year, it's a secret for now--taken up painting, and been on a couple weekend trips. But the honest, most authentic answer I wanted to share was "nothing."

Because the truth is that, despite all of these fun, nourishing new developments, there's been some fairly major hard and challenging ones, and it's been a pretty rough few weeks. I just didn't have the energy to talk about the exciting stuff. I didn't have it in me to be that smiley, happy, I'm here to lift you up lady I like to be. I love being there for people. I love caring for people. And that's all I used to ask for--to be able to care for them.

But these days I'm learning what Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy so beautifully summed up in her latest e-alert:

It's good to realize that when we work so hard NOT to "fall to pieces," we're missing the opportunities that this kind of surrender brings. When we can occupy or claim our vulnerability, we can ask for and receive new kinds of support and miracles. We can discover that healing happens in spirals and layers, and not in steps like a ladder. We can remember that great things grow in the dark.

So here's what I said: to be honest, I've been really tired lately. I've been doing a lot of sleeping. Things have been hard.

And his simple, honest, caring answer was just what I needed. I've replayed his words in my head a few times since then: "That's okay, sometimes we all need to take time like that. I understand."

I've also needed to alter my morning practice.

5 Ways my Morning Sadhana has Changed
1. Less power, more ease. I'm breathing into spaces and through simple acknowledgement of what's being held there, I'm helping it to release.
2. Less thinking, more listening. I'm meditating for longer periods, simple watching my breath and letting thoughts go, so I can hear the guidance I'm hoping for.
3. Less standing, more inverting. I like to help myself literally see things from a different perspective, by taking more inversions.
4. Less feet, more head. I'm also standing less and inverting more to help connect my crown chakra to the earth--it just feels nice--and create a visual of thoughts that aren't serving me draining away into the earth.
5. Less focusing, more balancing. To help bring awareness to all my chakras, rather than the ones associated with my dominating emotions and fears, I'm doing a meditation my teacher Swami Maheshanada Saraswati teaches. It's simply moving through the chakras, from the root up, by bringing my awareness to each location as I say the seed mantra associated with each one: Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Hum, Om.

Just thought I'd share, in case it might help you, too.

Namaste,

Lindsey

opening and closing, or, experiments with pleasure and pain

2010-12-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

Energy centres. Awareness centres. Heart centre. Mind.

Shutting down. Closing off.

Opening up. Turning on.

THIS IS AN EXPLORATION
The curious fact is that we can't choose one or the other in certain circumstances, and not have that choice emanate out into other areas of our lives. The curious, challenging fact is that if we close down to certain experiences, feelings, and responses, we will most certainly, without a doubt, close down to others we'd like to stay open to.

Much yogic philosophy--and that of other spiritual disciplines--says that most of our turmoil in life comes from seeking pleasure or avoiding pain. The sages tell us that if we can pursue neither, we'll suffer less.

Realistically-speaking, today's yoga seekers are probably not going to devote themselves to a monastic state of living, avoiding shopping, sex, and Ciao Bella coconut sorbet.

ON PLEASURE

"Intimacy and sex is the business of God. The union of opposites is God's power. Sex is great because it's something [spiritual] you can participate in."

Yoga Master Mark Whitwell

ON PAIN

"Pain is part of the human experience."

Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa

ON BEING OPEN
There's something strangely beautiful about pain--the emotional kind. It can serve as as much of a reminder of the poignancy of this fleeting human experience as ecstasy and love. I once moaned about heart-pain on a yogi-friend's shoulder, "Oh, it hurts. I'm dying." "No", she said with a gentle laugh, "You're living."

So is this it, then? If we close down to pain, we close down to the beauty of love. We can't practice avoiding pain without avoiding pleasure.

Yes, I know yogis, seekers, sages, Sufis, monks, and nuns report bliss and ecstasy deeper than any ocean, more all-encompassing than any physiological, emotional experience of love. Yes, I have been risen up and been that drop-in-the-ocean, have been held in the palm of God's hand. And yes, that love is so much bigger than anything on this earth. But...I experienced it on this earth. But...I feel it on this earth in little ways all the time now.

So maybe it comes back to this. The human experience is divine. Pain is part of the deal. Pain is part of the beauty. And if we close down to it, we close down not just to love, but we close down to LOVE.

9 tips for tailoring your practice for winter + ayur veda insight, from Melina Meza

2010-12-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

I heart sharing Melina Meza's posts on Joy for Life. She's truly tuned into how yoga and Ayur Veda can be used to keep our good health mojo flowing. Even my Ayur Vedic doc Shiva would love her recommendations. Here's her latest blog, outlining what to alter about your practice for Winter. I can personally vouch for how all of her suggestions will rock your routine. I do them all, too. Except the sit by a light-box idea; making sure I get outside every day works for me--especially first thing in the morning.

SEASONAL VINYASA: WINTER AND AYURVEDA
by Melina Meza, BS Nutrition, 500-RYT

Winter Elements = Earth + Water
•Earth qualities: stable, rigid, grounding
•Water qualities: fluid, cooling, calming, graceful

Here we are again on the cusp of another winter. Are you ready? I hope so! In this blog and upcoming Seasonal Vinyasa Winter retreats in Mexico or Hawaii, I will be sharing numerous ways to drop deeper into your sadhana (path of practice) and awaken your own potential for self-healing and bliss.

The cold, dark, wet nature of winter makes it the easiest time of year for me to personally drop deeper into my sadhana. My winter practice includes more silence, longer meditations, focused home practice, change in my diet, and boundaries around my social life. If I’m going to bed early and saying “no” to excessive amounts of sugar, caffeine, and alcohol throughout the day, I find it’s easier to sleep and maintain a healthy immune system, avoid seasonal affect disorder and decreases the chances of putting on too much extra winter weight. Keep in mind that the more imbalanced you get at this part of the year, the harder it is to get back on track in the springtime. I highly recommend over the next few months discovering what inspires you to stay healthy this winter and make that part of your daily sadhana.

Since we are part of Nature, you too have the opportunity to be graceful and let the seasons flow without clinging or grasping. It’s natural to have preferences for certain seasons, times of year that resonate with your core elements and make us feel more like ourselves. And yet, developing equanimity and contentment with all seasons—regardless of dosha, or where you live—is essential to well-being. This is where the art of sequencing can be instrumental and serve of great benefit. Here are a few suggestions from my upcoming Art of Sequencing – Volume Two book, to start weaving into your morning winter ritual:

•Wake up at 6:00-7:00am (the yogic version of sleeping in) and greet the day with gratitude for another opportunity to celebrate life.

•Wash your face, brush your teeth, scrape your tongue, do a neti pot, and lubricate your nostrils with oil or ghee.

•Drink hot lemon water with a little sea salt in the morning to stimulate elimination.

•Meditate 5-30 minutes (on snow, candle flame in the cave of the heart, or image of the sun).

•Do your active, warming asanas, Sun Salutations, inversions, and balance poses to promote circulation, or go outside, or to the gym, for a 20 minutes (minimum) cardiovascular workout.

•Sit in front of a light box if you struggle with seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.).

•Exfoliate your skin and improve circulation with a gentle dry brush rub before showering.

•Perform abhyanga, a full-body self-massage, which calms the nervous system and hydrates the skin. In the winter, apply sesame oil (leave the oil on for 10-30 minutes) and then take a hot shower, which will open your pores and allow the oil to be absorbed into your skin.

•Enjoy a warm breakfast in a quiet space.

Stay tuned for more ideas to grow your daily ritual next month.

About Melina
Melina has been exploring the art and science of yoga and nutrition for over 16 years. She combines her knowledge of Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda, whole foods nutrition, and healthy lifestyle promotion into a unique style called Seasonal Vinyasa. Find out more at http://www.melinameza.com/

RELATED10 tips on creating and maintaining your daily practice

5 yoga stress busters

2010-11-30T14:39:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season to be busy. December is jam-packed with office lunches, holiday brunches, and family festivities. And, for some, feeling overwhelmed and stressed. We need take-anywhere Stress Busters to help us prevent and relieve stress. So here you go:

5 TAKE-ANYWHERE YOGA STRESS BUSTERS
1. Breathe. Not chest-breath. Belly-breath. Inhale all the way from your belly to your rib cage to your chest. Exhale from your chest, down through your rib cage and into your belly. Do this all day. Most of us don't, but we can try--especially in moments we're feeling stressed.
2. Be here now. Try not to let your mind take you away into worrying about future busyness, or planning what will happen next week. Just be. here. now. Need practical tools to help you do this? Bring your attention and intention to your breath. And, while your at it, check out numbers 3 and 4...
3. Use sound. Sounds--including traffic, sirens, music from another room, rain, birds, the hum of a fan--can all become tools for relieving stress. Paying mindful attention to a particular sound gives your mind something to concentrate on, other than your worrying, planning, and rehashing. Concentration = meditation = insta-calm.
4. Use sight. This is one of my favourites. Simply by fully noticing our visual surroundings and paying mindful, non-reactive attention to every detail, can also help us get outta our heads and find our zen.
5. Move your bod. Yoga, Pilates, jogging, walking. They all help clear the stess hormones cortisol and adrenaline from our system. Being mindful while we're doing it, and consciously not getting caught up in planning, rehashing, or worrying, gives us a double-bonus bliss-out session.

compassionate interception, and the angry guy who just gave you the finger

2010-11-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

THIS IS A CALLING
To everyone who’s ever met a stranger’s anger with anger, insults with insults. Including me.

That girl on her bike who just gave you the finger? That guy jogging who just got pissed off at you for accidentally cutting him off? The homeless guy on the street who just insulted you? They aren’t mad at you.

Anger stems from hurt.

So that girl on her bike? Maybe she’s heartbroken. And that guy jogging? He might have just lost his job. Or maybe they’ve just had an incredibly challenging day. The homeless guy on the street, well, it’s pretty easy to understand why he’s upset. I once did a writing gig for a not-for-profit homeless shelter, and none of the people I interviewed voluntarily chose hunger pains, garbage for dinner, and fearing for their lives.

ON THE MAT
When I was doing teacher training, Gloria Latham, one of my favourite Kundalini teachers and a great influence on my teaching, told us: “Even though your students might be looking at you like you’ve got two heads, it’s not personal. It’s not about you. It’s their stuff.” And every time I teach, I’m reminded of this. People walk in the door carrying all kinds of frustrations, pain, insecurities, blocks and stress from their day, their week, their life. As that stuff comes up during their practice, it washes across their mind, and often their face. They may be glaring in my direction, but it’s not me they’re seeing. They’re seeing an element of their own self.

OFF THE MAT
So what’s my point? Ego and insecurity cause us to assume it’s about us. But if we can practice stepping outside our own mind and into someone else’s, we’re not only helping them, we’re helping ourselves—by dropping the negative self-talk. Personally, I’d love it if someone I’m short with because I’m feeling stressed offered me a great big hug. Outside the yoga studio, a smile is the most socially accepted form of doing this for someone you don’t know.

Getting back at that random person you feel has hurt you is like starting a game of ping-pong, only the ball is full of pain and you sub out to let someone else get it next. Wasn’t it Gandhi who said

“An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind”

COMPASSION IN ACTION
We have the power to transform the world through compassion. We have the power to start a radiating spiral of giving. We have the power to stop the chain of pain. Let’s opt out of operating from our Ego-driven insecurities. Let’s find that deep sense of relief that comes from truly trying to see other people, without our own junk getting in the way.

Let’s join the loving-kindness revolution. To those who think it’s the way of weakness: It’s time to wake up. Choosing compassion takes more strength than being bound to unconscious reaction.

5 yoga tunes to take home with you

2010-11-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

Some of my new favourite Yogi Bhajan-style Kundalini yogi tunes to help rise up my day. Maybe yours, too.

GURUNAM SINGH: SILENT MOONLIGHT MEDITATION
Get it here.

1. TRACK Naam
Translation: Essence, or identity
In other words: Tapping into your deepest self, brimming with loving-kindness, peace, strength and joy

2. TRACK Aad Guray Nameh
Translation:
Aad Guray Nameh
I bow to the Primal Guru

Jugaad Guray Nameh
I bow to the Guru woven throughout time

Sat Guray Nameh
I bow to the true Guru, the true identity of the self

Siri Guru Dayvay Nameh
I bow to the great Guru whose great glory will always be

In other words: Yay to the greater, good, and wonder-full, inside and out.

PRABHU NAM KAUR: SEASONS OF THE SOUL
Get it here.

3. TRACK Suniai
Translation: Guru Nanak's meditation on listening, through which the entire universe can be heard singing
In other words: Pause, listen, and hear the vibration of the planet, the universe, the greater, good and wonder-full.

SNATAM KAUR: DIVINE BIRTH
Get it here.

4. TRACK Aadi Shakti
Translation: "Sing it today as a special gesture to the Maha Shakti. Maha means great, and Shakti means the Diving Feminine Power of the Universe. Merge in it. This will care our of you a woman. Woman needs her own Shakti, no anybody else. Today let the past die and let prosperity live. Let your weaknesses die and let your power live. This is Maha Shakti mantra." ~ Yogi Bhajan
In other words: Woman power!

MANTRA GIRL: MANTRA GIRL
Get it here.

5. TRACK Aadi Shakti

10 tips on creating and maintaining your daily practice

2010-11-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

I believe that, sometimes, the way something begins dictates the way it ends. I've noticed this especially about days. How often have you heard someone say, "My day went from bad to worse?"

This is just one of the millions of reasons I start my day with my morning practice (sadhana). Because when I start my day on my mat, consciously healing, connecting, moving, breathing, and evolving, I feel how that radiates into the whole rest of my day.

There are days when I don't manage it. They're rare, because when they happen I feel tighter, colder, more worried, less grounded. And the people I share my day with feel it, too.

10 TIPS ON CREATING AND MAINTAINING YOUR MORNING PRACTICE

1. Do it for the love of it. Don't do it if you feel like someone is making you. Try it for a while, maybe a week or two, and if you haven't fallen in love with it, back away for a while. Try again down the road. I bet once you're ready for it, you'll fall head over heels.

2. Do it for the people you care about. Every person you interact with during your day, but especially the people you care about the most, will benefit from you taking time to clear stresses, worries, anger, and tension from your body-mind, and tapping into the loving-kindness and peace of your spirit.

3. Make it about right now. Don't make your sadhana into a chore, or a lesson. Let your practice evolve to meet your changing needs. If you're feeling tired or sick, your practice becomes the time you gently, mindfully ease your tension, breathe energy into your body, and soften aches and pains. If you're high energy, let your practice be strong and powerful--maybe full of vinyasas and Kundalini squats--and definitely full of gratitude for your radiant inner strength.

4. Don't let anyone else tell you what you should do. Ashtanga devotees might say you need to take Surya Namaskar A (Sun Salutation A). Kundalini devotees might say you need to do a specific kriya (posture set). Bikram fans might say you really need some heat. Buddhists might say you need to sit and meditate. I believe your sadhana is what you need it to be in that moment. I believe it can evolve into a combination of many spiritual practices--and even not-necessarily-spiritual-ones, like journalling. I believe if your intention is to heal and clear and tap into your spirit then what your inner teacher guides you to do is what you need. But don't let me tell you what you should do.

"What is sadhana? It’s a committed prayer. It is something which you want to do, have to do, and which is being done by you. … Sadhana is self-enrichment. It is not something which is done to please somebody or to gain something. Sadhana is a personal process in which you bring out your best." ~ Yogi Bhajan

5. Be practical. If you've only got 10 minutes, you've only got 10 minutes. When yoga master Mark Whitwell is encouraging students to begin a daily practice, he recommends just 7 minutes a day.

"Do your practice actually and practically, but not obsessively." ~ Mark Whitwell

6. Try to do it at the same time every day. If you do something at the same time every day, your body-mind begins to prepare for it before you've even started. This makes it a heckuva lot easier to settle into it. It also means you'll probably start to crave it.

7. Sacred space. Lots of people recommend creating a space for your practice, where you do nothing but. This isn't practical for lots of us. I find that my mat, laid down in the same spot every day, has become a sacred space for me. I begin to feel the benefits of my practice as soon as I sit down on my mat.

8. Music makes sense. Sometimes I can zen into myself no problemo. Other times I need a little help. Playlists are huge for me at these times. They also help me move towards my intention. If I'm building or working with a lot of energy my power yoga flow music gets cranked up. If I'm grounding and calming or healing, my super sweet, soothing tunes help me on my way.

9. Turn off the phones. If you can, turn off your landline and cell phone ringer. It's a good way to help your mind know this time is for your practice, nothing else.

10. Get rid of guilt. Well, first we have to accept that we feel it. Because we're not encouraged to take care of ourselves. We're encouraged to take care of other people. Especially women. This is why everyone from healers and yoga teachers to pop stars and Oprah still repeat the mantra:

You can't take care of others unless you take care of yourself.

But we can't banish guilt. Because what we resist persists. It's there. Let's notice that. Let's accept it. Let's feed it some loving-kindness. And then let's see if the guilt gently fades away.

Good luck!

india arie: it's a beautiful day

2010-11-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

"Early in the morning. It's the dawn of a new day. New hopes, new dreams, new ways. I open up my eyes and I open up my mind and I wonder how life will surprise me today."

taming vata: seasonal vinyasa tips for fall

2010-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is a guest post from Melina Meza, BS Nutrition, Registered Yoga Teacher, 500 hours. Still not impressed? This woman's been exploring the art and science of yoga and nutrition for over 16 years. Plus, she's developed her own style of yoga called Seasonal Vinyasa.

p.s. Not sure what the Ayur Vedic term Vata dosha means? Dosha = principle. Vata = term referring to more airy, light, dry tendencies. Figure out your dosha online, with Deepak Chopra.

TAMING VATA: SEASONAL VINYASA TIPS FOR FALL
In fall, the Vata dosha becomes predominant, potentially taking your physical, mental and/or energetic bodies out of balance. The following tips from my new book, “Art of Sequencing – Volume 2” will help to balance Vata, creating a more stable, grounding presence during the fall.

FALL DAILY RITUAL (Dinacharya)
Ideally, all these practices can be followed, but if the list seems overwhelming, choose a few practices that resonate with you and commit to them for up to three months.

· Try to stick to a daily routine in the fall, scheduling more down time than usual to prevent Vata imbalances.

· Wake up at 5:00-6:00 am (do your best!) and greet the day with gratitude for another opportunity to celebrate life.

· Wash your face, brush your teeth, scrape your tongue, do a neti pot, and lubricate your nostrils with oil or ghee.

· Drink hot lemon water with a little salt in the morning to stimulate elimination.

· Meditate on grounding imagery, like a stone or a mountain.

· Do slow, warming, rhythmic movement or asana practices to set the pace for the day. Moving slowly and consciously in your asana practice will also help to stabilize your mind and make it easier to stay focused throughout the day.

· Perform abhyanga (self massage) with warm sesame oil. Leave the oil on your skin for 10-30 minutes to help nourish and protect your skin from drying out; follow with a warm shower.

· Homemade soups are good dietary mainstays during this season, as they are both hot and liquid, the opposite of Vata, which is cold and dry. In your soups or stews include copious amounts of root vegetables and hearty grains to keep the essence of the earth down in your belly. In general, prepare warm, moist foods for every meal during fall.

· Sit down to eat at regular times throughout the day; the more routine your meal times are, the better. Practicing eating as a meditation, chewing your food until it’s liquid, and putting the utensil down between bites are just a few simple ways to ensure good digestion and strong agni.

· Increase your enjoyment of foods that are sweet (like rice, milk, and dates), sour (like yogurt and fermented foods), and salty (like sea kelp) as they help calm down and nurture Vata.

· Avoid starting too many new projects that pull your energy in multiple directions! Remember fall is a time to wrap up projects and prepare for winter hibernation.

· Aim for bedtime before 10:00 pm and get a full eight hours of sleep each night.

GENERAL ASANA TIPS FOR THE FALL
Incorporate more of the following into your practice:
· A routine where the time of day and length of your practice is consistent. It can be helpful to build your routine by writing down your committed yoga and exercise time slots on a weekly calendar.

· Yoga poses that allow you to incorporate the bandhas to guide prana deep into your body, which then prepares you for: pratyahara (the moment your sense organs no longer seek nourishment from the external environment), dharana (concentration), and dhyana (steady concentration or meditation).

· Steady, slow, mindful Sun Salutations to increase circulation of blood through your muscles and organs as well as standing poses, squats, twists, bridge pose, supported back bends, and inversions to clear the lungs and maintain heat in your core.

· Practice seated poses that allow the breath to move freely into the lower abdomen and pelvic floor, the parts of the body ruled by Vata.

· Take long savasanas to stabilize Vata. Cover yourself with a blanket to stay warm, use an eye pillow to soothe the eyes, and drape a sandbag or two over your thighs or ankles to promote the downward movement of prana deep into the bones of your legs. The extra weight of the sandbags reinforces the idea of staying present and can be useful for anyone at anytime who struggles with staying present in savasana.

guest post: Teach Street yogis on how to fit yoga into your daily life

2010-11-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

This is a guest post written by TeachStreet. TeachStreet is a website dedicated to providing online and local classes as well as yoga classes.

We all know the benefits, both physical and mental, that yoga provides us. Not only that but many find yoga to be a fun and relaxing experience. The problem is, not all of us are able to fit weekly yoga classes into our busy schedules. Furthermore, just one class a week is simply not enough to get the full benefits of practicing yoga.

So how do we fit yoga into our daily lives, especially when we’re so busy? TeachStreet asked this question to the TeachStreet Yogis and Yoginis. Here, some of their top replies.

TeachStreet Yoga Teacher Vidya Nahar Said:

Vidya Nahar

Remain aware of your breath, no matter what you are doing. Let your stomach rise with inhale and fall with exhale (like a balloon becoming bigger with incoming air and becoming smaller with outgoing air). This simple practice will allow you to focus on task at hand (whether you're at job, with your family, eating food, watching T.V. ,etc) vs getting distracted by thoughts.

Literal definition of yoga is union. As long as your mind and body are united through your breath, you're still practicing your yoga. You don't have to be always down on a mat to practice your yoga.

For physical practice of yoga, incorporate it in your daily routine as much as possible, instead of taking time out from your busy schedule to practice yoga. For example, you can easily do some eye, neck, shoulder, arm and leg stretches while you are seated at your desk. Hold chair or tree poses when you're talking on a phone. Do trunk rotations while you're sitting in your chair. Hold your plank position on a chair or by the wall, if you can't get down to the floor.

Yoga Practitioner Rebecca Jackat said:

Yoga doesn't have to be a weekly hour-long class. By developing your own practice you are able to apply what you have learned in classes.

If you have only 20 minutes, do some breath work to get centered and work in warm ups like neck rolls and cat & cow. Sun salutations work every part of the body and provide a wonderful way to get into a seamless flow of postures.

Make sure to do some twists and keep time for meditation. Again, even a few minutes will be beneficial.

Throughout the day, even when it is hectic, do some gentle stretches at your desk and take your eyes off your computer screen (as I type this late at night!).

Every hour take a few deep breathes to reconnect. In the evening do some gentle stretches to help with relaxation and sleep. Child pose, knee down twist and rag doll.

Enjoy yoga when you can, on and off the mat, and bringing into your day in small increments can be beneficial.

Yoga can be done anywhere, at anytime. If you breath mindfully, you are doing yoga. If you stretch your arms and legs while seated at your desk, you are doing yoga. Even if you don’t have yoga blocks or a carry a mat with you wherever you go, you can always find a clean flat space to loosen your body, and improve the quality of you day.

What suggestions do you have for incorporating yoga into your daily routine?

5 yoga-inspired tools to beat insomnia, for Elephant Journal

2010-10-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

Apparently the National Sleep Foundation is onto something. If the number of hits to my last post, Yoga Tools for Sleeping Well, are any indication, their statement that 65% of all Americans have trouble sleeping is bang-on.

So here are some more tools I've used along the way to become a slumbering, dreamy sleeper. I hope they help you, too.

1. Bring the outside in. Getting outside during the day is essential. And not just outside into a concrete jungle, but somewhere with green: lawn, trees, bushes, shrubs. Stand in the space and breathe it in. Study after study--including this one on how nature-viewing commuters feel calmer--has shown that nature soothes us. Plus, getting outside, and noticing the planet, helps to remind us that we're a very small part of this great big Om, helping us to recognize the real size of the stressor: Pretty tiny.

2. Burn the adrenaline and cortisol.There are varying opinions on whether the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol actually remain in our system after we've gotten stressed, or if they're just released every time our minds re-live the stressor. But everyone agrees exercise helps relieve them. Go for a jog, a power-walk, or do a power yoga, Kundalini yoga, a strong Hatha class, or anything else that draws you (Zumba, anyone?). Don't have time to get to the yoga studio? Try one of the videos at http://www.myyogaonline.com/.

3. Notice your mind. Yogic philosophy encourages us to see our mind as a tool, rather than our master--and to view our thoughts, no matter what they are, as just thoughts. Sometimes simply noticing our thoughts and labelling them as just thoughts, no matter how important our active mind wants us to believe they are, can help us find distance between our essential, peace-full, joy-full selves, and our busy mind. It might help to use the mantra "Noticing my thoughts" on the inhale, and "Letting them go" on the exhale.

4. Soothe your own asana. I love taking a 15-minute Viparita Karani in the evening. While in legs-up-the-wall pose, I cover myself with a blanket, put something soft and light over my eyes, and simply let myself be. I don't even deepen my breath, I just get out of the way of it, by simply noticing it. After a little bit, my breathing becomes deeper, longer, calmer.

5. Pranayama pointers. As a couple people pointed out in the last post, kapala bhatiis often used as an energizing breath. I find that people who have serious trouble sleeping love it and find it effective. But there are other pranayams that work well, too. Nadi Shodhana helps to balance our prana, bringing it evenly into both nadis (energy channels) spiraling on either side of our Sushumna channel (spine), and bringing our system into a state of equilibrium. Try it for 10 minutes, seated comfortably.

Happy sleeping, and Namaste

boost: best flash-dance ever

2010-10-18T12:47:00.001-07:00

gratitude for the pains in the arses

2010-10-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

I HEART BEING CHALLENGED
Where do you get stuck? Where are you hookable?

I'm alert to these questions these days. If you've been reading my blog here at Joy for Life, you know I'm diving into the work and teachings of Pema Chodron. I'm not the first and I won't be the last to sing her praises. The woman is da spiritual bomb. She gently, compassionately, and with a sharp sense of humour, explodes pre-conceived notions, habits, and ways of being. I love it. Challenge = growth.

THEN AGAIN, MAYBE NOT
Funny, though, that I only love it when I seek it. Gurmukh is coming for a 5 and a half hour exhaust-your-body blow-your-mind Kundalini workshop? I'm there. An obnoxious, loud, homeless guy on the bus? Let me off at the next stop.

Reading Pema's got me noticing where other people get me going, make me mad, sad, afraid, or just plain exhausted--outside the yoga studio. Family (let me be clear: I have a wonderful, loving, supportive family who I give thanks for every day, but we're normal, and they can really push my buttons), friends, strangers, shop keepers, the guy a the gas station. It can be anyone, anywhere, and, actually, I even meet them at the yoga studio. The floaty, let's just sit and meditate while the bank account dips into the red type really drives me nuts. I should look into that.

I'm looking into everyone and figuring out what it is about them I don't want to handle. Pema recommends thinking of those people, and describing what you don't like about them in one word. That word will name what it is you can't accept about yourself--what you fight inside you, too.

1. Think of the people who make you mad, sad, afraid, exhausted
2. Name what it is about them you don't like--one word
3. Be open to the fact that this quality is probably something you can't accept in yourself
4. Ask yourself why

FULL DISCLOSURE FROM MISS INDEPENDENT
Here's one of the words that kept coming up for me when I thought back on the list of people I feel kinda infuriated by sometimes: Dependent.

I felt a mega, whole-body reaction when I realized this. Isn't it just so ironic that Miss "I can and will take care of myself in every way--and as many other people as I can, too" is so turned off by what I consider to be dependence? It's so easy to see it: I clearly have a hard time accepting the idea that I might need and depend on other people. I can even feel the tightness in my throat as I type that.

It's not something I can work through instantly, not something I will immediately let go of. But just recognizing this is a part of who I am, and is likely holding me back from living my loving-compassionate life, will help me to work through it. First step: Accepting that it's part of who I am, and every time I notice it, surrounding it with loving-kindness.

Here's a quote from Pema's video, below:

"If you really want liberation, you need people around to show you where it is you still have work to do."

So great big thanks to all the infuriating people out there. I owe you gratitude for helping me grow.

5 Q's with Gurmukh: rapid Kundalini yoga, why the white, and on compassion

2010-10-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

She's powerful, she's inspiring, she's potentially life-changing. 5 questions with Kundalini yogini to the stars Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa.

1. What's the magic behind Kundalini yoga? What makes it so effective in terms of personal growth and spiritual evolution?

The magic of Kundalini Yoga is that it works fast. In this world where people are being taxed with so much mentality through the quick pace of living and the technology that is always in front of us, Kundalini Yoga takes you back to your source. It takes you back to that quiet place inside where you get a grip on reality: what's really real and what's really important. It heals quickly. Everything happens exponentially in Kundalini Yoga, for the design is for tomorrow when we don't have so long a span of attention. Kundalini Yoga takes you right into yourself, and gives you a beautiful perspective.

It takes you back to what's really real and what's really important in your life. In one class you wind down to the real you. You wind down to your spiritual self, to your destiny. You understand so much more that's not seen with the eyes or heard with the ears, which can be found at the end and in-between the inhale and the exhale. I could write volumes of stories from these past 40 years of how people's lives have changed for the better: their health, their spiritual life, their prosperity, their creativity, their loving relationships. Your head gets on right.

2. You spent many years studying with Yogi Bhajan. Can you share some of the ways in which he impacted your life?

He didn't just impact my life. He changed my life. As a spiritual teacher for 35 years, he helped me rewrite what could have been possibly a very disastrous fate. He lifted me out of confusion and out of drugs. He lifted me out of depression into an exaltation, a reason to live, and a reason to be, with a mission and intention. Forever I am thankful to him.

3. You encourage yoga students and teachers to visit India. Can you talk about why this is important?

India is the home. Really, to taste good Italian food, go to Italy. To understand the ways of island people or the indigenous ones, go to the islands. Go to the source of that which you're studying and learning. Be with the people, live with the people, eat with the people, breathe with the people, remember God's Name with the people, practice yoga with the people, chant. It's the quickest way to jump in. It's absolutely magic. It's absolutely a delight. It's so much fun!

4. Many people wonder: What's the significance of the white clothing and turban?

The white clothing is for purity. All the colors of the prism together are white. It feels good to wear white. It's the color that elevates me more than any other. I just love to wear white. The only way you can know the truth in that is to experiment with it.

It's scientific. [The turban] puts a pressure on your temples. It sends all the energy up to your sixth and seventh chakras, your crown, and your higher consciousness and intelligence. We do not cut our hair. Like Lord Shiva, we wear our hair on top of our head in a rishi knot for all the energy to come down into our higher centers. One would not know this is the truth unless you experimented yourself and experience how it feels: wearing white; the turban; and not cutting your hair, letting it grow, and wearing it on top of your head. I like it. It makes me feel really, really good.

5. If you could tell a room full of 1000 students just one thing, what would it be?
Know as a human being ("hu-man" means "light of the mind") that the only way to happiness is through compassion and kindness. Thank you.

Find out where Gurmukh will be next!
Check out her studio's site: Golden Bridge Yoga

thanksgiving holiday helpers: 5 yoga tips to keep you calm and strong

2010-10-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving. An enormous dinner with all the trimmings. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream. And family. Lots and lots of family.

Crikey.

If you're like me, family can push buttons you didn't even know you had. Or ones you thought no longer existed. One minute you're basking in the comforting embrace of the ones you've spent most of your life with, the next you're surveying the post-mini-meltdown aftermath, wondering how to get back to centre.

Here are some tools I like to use at times like this.

5 Yoga Tools for the Holidays
1. Meaningful morning. I've found that often, the way things begin is the way they continue, and the way they end. Even just seven minutes on your mat, taking some time to consciously connect to your deepest self, full of truth, love and compassion, can help you bring those intentions into the rest of your day. Just breathe and move, dropping out of your mind and into this moment.

2. Mid-day matters. I can get caught up in feeling like removing myself from where it's all happening is rude and inconsiderate. After all, didn't they drive for miles so we could all be together? Sure, but they didn't drive for miles dreaming of spending precious time with a cranky sibling. I'm learning it's better for everyone if I take some downtime--even just 20 minutes helps--and then dive back in, refreshed, happy, and ready to help in the kitchen.

3. Mindfulness off the mat. Practicing mindfulness off my mat is majorly helpful. Just by simply noticing my rising reaction, I can find distance between myself and my emotions, and often choose a new, less drama-inducing, response.

4. Blow a raspberry. Sometimes we just gotta loosen up a little. That time I spend rejuvenating, away from the crowd? I'm often doing a little lion's breath: inhaling through my nose, exhaling powerfully through my mouth while sticking out my tongue. If there's something specific that's bugging me and I want to clear it, I often mentally visualize it leaving my system as I exhale. Inhale: peace. Exhale: unintentional criticism from mom. It's fun, and funny, to stick out my tongue and blow a raspberry at somebody, too.

5. Perfectly imperfect. And those times that nothing works? When I just can't let it go? Can't get back to compassion and love? I'm working on just accepting that. When I do, suddenly the reaction is easier to handle, and I'm much more likely to let the reaction go. It's amazing how acceptance of where we're at actually helps us get where we want to go--even faster.

compassion in action II: include yourself

2010-10-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

Compassion in action. What does it mean? I'm still considering this.

My good friend and Kundalini yoga teacher Carol, who studied body-work and energy healing for 14 years, says this:
When you take on other people's pain, you take on their energy. Their energy, no matter how wonderful a person they are, doesn't feel wonderful when you're carrying it. It feels wonderful for them to carry.

Seane Corne, who I just did a workshop with, says this:
Every experience is part of our path towards enlightenment. All of the 'trauma'--the tough stuff we go through and our ego loathes, whether it's major--divorce, abuse, physical accidents--or minor--small stresses, heart ache, etc--is recognized by our soul as an opportunity for growth. As an opportunity to deal with the crap that gets in the way of recognizing and living as our true self: authentic, loving.

Pema Chodron, says this:
The crummy stuff, the dark stuff we don't like and don't want to experience, is fuel for our ability to tap into our true nature below all of that: The loving-kind, compassionate, gentle bodhicitta in our heart centre.

Seane also says:
The ego doesn't want it. The soul loves it. We attract experiences and people who will encourage us to process other experiences and beliefs that prevent us from living from and realizing our true nature: Truth and Love. Examples: We're insecure (okay, full disclosure: I am), so we attract someone who brings that out in us so we can deal with it. Or, we haven't found a way to process the fact our dad left our mom, and we blame her for it, so we attract someone who will leave us so we can develop understanding and compassion.

So here's what I'm feeling:
It's not only a disservice to ourselves to take on other's pain, it's actually a disservice to them. Because their pain is their energy, it's their opportunity for growth, it's their path to enlightenment and loving-kindness for themselves and the world.

Phew. As someone who is literally made immobile by my attempts to carry other's pain, this is a huge relief. We can be there, we can love and give and nourish, but we don't need to carry them. We can't, really, anyway.

I think it was Rolf Gates who wrote:

The obstacles in the path are the path.

compassion in action: what does it really come down to?

2010-09-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

(This is an exploration--not a dictation.)

START WHERE YOU ARE
There's a reason Pema Chodron's Guide to Compassionate Living is called Start Where You Are. I'm mid-way through this illuminating insight into certain Buddhist practices and it's already changing my life--from the inside out.

I'm reading it because compassion, sometimes referred to as ahimsa, in yoga-speak, is something I don't want to be afraid of anymore. I don't want to avoid the pain of others because it's too hard for me to handle. I don't want to live in a world where I only expose myself to the light, and avoid the dark. I want to be able to breathe in others' pain, and breathe out healing.

EASY DOES IT
That statement up there? I have the feeling this is going to be a mega challenge for me. I'm the kid (okay, young adult) who cried when the rat was finally caught in the trap. Other people's (animal's, plant's, you name it, I feel it) pain hurts me. And who am I to think I can be some kind of help? Just a yoga teacher who feels called. And even that--what does that mean? An acquaintance of mine recently shared a quote "God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called." I mean, sheesh, Pema talks about how challenging it can be, and she's a devoted, practicing nun. How do the rest of us, householders, as Yogi Bhajan calls us, manage it?

GETTING TO THE JUICY STUFF
Here's what I'm feeling the answer is: By starting where we are. By accepting where we're at. By not running from our own darkness--because that's, as Pema says, "the juicy stuff." Depressed? Angry? Volatile? Anxiety-riddled? Fantastic. You're the perfect candidate for learning to develop your bodhitcitta, or, compassionate heart. If you, me, we, can learn to practice compassion for our dark stuff, we are, essentially, shedding light on it. If we can learn to surround that place with acceptance, with loving-kindness, even though we feel repelled by it, that's when we're tapping into our universality. The stuff that connects us to every other, perfectly imperfect human being. And if we can practice compassion towards ourselves in these times, we can practice it towards others.

I believe we recognize what we recognize in ourself. And I'm finding I can be of the most help to those people I recognize. So the deeper I go to face my dark stuff, the more I can help others face theirs.

Max Strom says this: "Never assume you know a person’s motivation, even those of your adversaries. You may disagree with their methods, but don’t assume that you know their deepest thoughts, because you don’t. Many people have wonderful intentions and are good at heart but make choices based on fear. Have compassion."

RELATED
can you be better all the time? practicing compassion, on and off the mat

5 Qs with Gloria Latham: Kundalini yoga, yoga for every body, intensity [vid]

2010-09-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

Five questions with Gloria Latham, Kundalini yoga supa-stah, and co-founder of Semperviva Yoga.

1. You're known for your real-life approach to yoga, and making yoga accessible. Can you talk about why this is important to you?
The level of stress in our modern day lives is staggering. We often neglect our physical, emotional, and mental health until we get ill or hit the wall.

Those of us who need yoga most are often not those in peak physical shape. We are individuals who have neglected our well being and need to start the journey back to health. Offering classes that require someone to have had years of gymnastics or dance training to even participate in class isn’t of much value to the public at large. It is definitely fun to challenge ourselves physically, and very rewarding to achieve new postures, but this is just the icing on the cake. Just being in a room with a group of like minded individuals, breathing and moving their way to health, is rewarding enough. Do you have any idea how much stress you can unload just through powerful breath techniques and simple movements? It’s mind blowing.

2. How do life outside the yoga studio, and what you do inside the studio, intersect for you?
Yoga teaches you how to stay calm in challenging situations--which is essentially your entire life, day after day. In class, we put ourselves in uncomfortable positions, and teach ourselves through the breath how to stay calm. Then when you are outside the studio and the pressure is on, your body immediately knows what to do. You instantly fall into your yogic breathing practices, and can rationally handle the most demanding situations with a lot less stress.

The mind follows the breath. Calm the breath and you will calm the mind. You master your mind and thus your destiny.

3. Your teaching style of the Kundalini yoga practice is different than what many people are familiar with: Kundalini Yoga as Taught by Yogi Bahjan. What are the differences, and why are they there?
I must start by honouring all that Yogi Bhajan brought to the West. I never started teaching with any intention of modifying what I was taught. It happened organically. Many of the practices I was taught were very sedentary and I found that as someone bound to a laptop for several hours a day, I wanted to move more. I started to modify some of the movements so I could do them standing, instead of seated, and it grew from there.

Time is limited for everyone. What I like to offer is a practice that allows people to dance, laugh, sweat, sing, breathe deeply, and meditate, all in an hour and fifteen minutes. If you can have an intense practice on all levels and head for home, loving life again, then we’ve done a great job together.

4. The motto within Semperviva studios is 'Yoga for Every Body'. Can you expand on this?
People have gotten the impression, through media imagery, that yoga is gymnastics. It’s not! If you can breathe, you can do yoga. Whether you are 5 or 85, there is a practice for you. EVERYONE is welcome to class. There are so many different styles of yoga, and each teacher offers their own unique way of teaching, making yoga accessible to all.

5. If you could tell a room full of 1000 students just one thing, what would it be?
Do yoga every day for the rest of your life!

RELATED
Semperviva Yoga Retreats in Greece
Semperviva Yoga College

leonard cohen: ring the bell that still can ring [vid]

2010-09-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Ring the bell that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
- Leonard Cohen

can you be better all the time? practicing compassion

2010-09-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

It’s not a revolutionary idea to say that there’s a lot of pressure to be better.

ON THE MAT
In a yoga class, the idea that we need to be better can come up anywhere. It happens a lot within asana (physical poses), where we compromise the integrity of the pose—and put our bodies at risk of injury—when we reach and pull and muscle our way through, in the struggle to go further, deeper, faster. What happens most often, when we get in this head space, is injury. Then we’re off the mat for recovery, because we set ourselves back, in the rush to move forward.

Our challenge: To accept where we’re at within our asana practice, no matter what pose it might be, and just breathe into that space. When we can relax enough, lighten up enough, and let go enough to feel the expansiveness within the physical challenge, suddenly we’re further, deeper, faster—without even trying.

OFF THE MAT
In our daily lives, the idea that we need to be better comes up everywhere. It happens within our careers, our family relationships, our friendships, our love lives, and our exercise regimen. We can feel that we need to improve ourselves in everything we do. Often, we push, pull, struggle to get to our idealized state of being within each area, and we crash and burn. The pressure’s simply too much, and our nervous system loses its strength. Then we’re out of commission, for recovery, because we set ourselves back, in the rush to move forward.

Our challenge: To accept where we’re at within each area of our lives. To treat ourselves with compassion, with ahimsa (no-harm), and loving-kindness. To recognize when we begin to struggle, to reach and pull, and lovingly, gently, surround that state with space and ease.

Bonus: When we begin to create space and ease within ourselves, we find space and ease in our life. Suddenly, we’re further, faster—without even trying.

P.S. This challenge is mine, too. Have I aced accepting where I’m at in every area of my life? I’m getting there. That’s why they call it a practice.

Namaste

*This is the full, written-in-the-flow version of the edited article appearing on Betterfly this week.

5 Qs with Annie Carpenter: SmartFlow yoga, more than asana, and acceptance [vid]

2010-09-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

1. You've coined the term SmartFlow yoga. What does it mean to you and why did you come up with it?
Smart refers to 3 things: having an intention that is specific and clear; creating a sequence that can move one towards that intention (and this refers to a sequence of poses inside of a single practice, but also yogic practices chosen over time), and using languaging and timing that place the practitioner in the mindset for dharana (concentration) towards that intention. FLOW is movement, connection and play that are essentials for keeping our practice creative and alive.

2. My mentor and good friend Swami Maheshananda Saraswati's biggest concern about yoga today is the focus on asana. You reference this, too, in your bio. Can you elaborate on that?
Most of us come to yoga via asana —which is a good thing! Happily, most of us do find the other limbs of yoga eventually. Even if what we want is fitness, we get mindfulness, self-awareness and inner peace. So we keep moving in that direction —over time— and embrace lifestyle choices and the meditative practices, too. I am hopeful that yogis are embracing all that yoga can offer.

3. You also mention identifying with Martha Graham's vision of the moving body as an expression of the soul. Can you talk about that a bit more?
In yoga we observe the expression of the “self” so that we can know that we are really an expression of the universal “Self.” We discipline the body and the mind, so that we can liberate the soul. We come to terms with what is ever-changing, so we may know what is eternal. Martha inspired us (her dancers), to seek the universal truth, to be (sometimes brutally!) honest, and to move with the breath. She acknowledged yoga as a great source for her, and if you learn her technique and watch her choreography you will see that.

4. How are dance and yoga related for you?
Tools for awareness.

5. If you could tell a studio full of 1000 students just one thing what would it be?
PRACTICE; and let go of goals. Love and forgive unconditionally. Accept what is.

RELATED

Find out more about Annie, and SmartFlow Yoga.
Annie is represented by YAMA Talent.
Annie will be in Vancouver at YYoga Sep 17-18.

yoga unleashed: reaching out for your help [vids]

2010-09-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely Joy for Lifers.

The above video is my entry for the Yoga Unleashed contest. Ultimately, it's about getting to share what we do with even more people, and being of greater service. Me and my friend, Amrita Yoga's Elle Scott, have both leaped out of our comfort zone, and entered. It would be absolutely amazing if you could take a quick second to check out our videos and vote for us.

If you feel it, please go to this link
http://www.treloarphysio.com/studio/yogacontest/

jewellery by Annie Band: let your heart be open as the sky

2010-09-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

I know I'm not alone when I say I love accessories with meaning. There's a whole giant crew of us out there who love love love when what we're wearing reminds us and inspires us. And while I may not have the moolah to score one of jewellery designer Annie Band's latest gems, I feel she's worth sharing.

The pic above is of my favourite piece, the silver spring-grass bib necklace with white zircon ($328). Here's why I love it. On the back, it says this:

"Let your heart be open as the sky. Then you can care for all things."

Other uplifts--found on the back of her pieces--include "Strength in flexibility", "Om", "Shanti", "Harmony" and "Contentment".

Want to find out more? Check her out at http://www.annieband.com/

what's the point? practicing non-attachment [vid]

2010-09-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

A meandering, exploring kind of blog post. Let's see what comes up.

Non-attachment. Vairagya in Sanskrit. Buddhists seem big on it. My teacher, Swami Maheshananda Saraswati, encourages us to practice it. But what the heck is it, exactly? And how does it relate to our daily modern life?

Friends of mine from Moksana Yoga recently signed up for a three-day intensive on the Bhagavad Gita with Carlos Pomeda. When I ran into them on the lunch break of their last day, they were high on what they'd learned.

So what are you taking away? I wondered. How did he make it relevant to our daily lives?

The answer was long, and full of happy exclamations. They shared this example: There's a link between indifference and inaction. Nobody's suggesting that our practice enable us to remain indifferent, or take no action. What our teachers are suggesting is that we avoid indifference, that we take action, that we fully give our everything, but we let go of the end result.

In other words, we show up, shine brightly, and consider that enough.

We let go of the need to control.

Where? When? In our jobs, when we work our arses off on a project that doesn't see the light of day. With our loved ones, when we love love love them anyways, even though they forgot to call, forgot the weekend plans, forgot forgot forgot. In our cars, when someone tailgates us and then flips the bird as they finally speed by.

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati says:

Yoga says no to detachment. Do not avoid situations in life or even in yourself, but learn to accept the existence of the things that are around you. Once you have accepted them and know their nature, then it is possible to become non-attached.

RELATED

Pema Chodron "Non-attachment" from Omega Institute on Vimeo.

yoga rant: escapist or taking action? you pick. for Elephant Journal

2010-09-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of a rant. But Elephant Journal readers are used to opinionated people.

CHECKED OUT
I’m opposing a popular viewpoint. You’ll have noticed it among a ton of people who practice yoga, I’m sure. Here’s how it usually goes: I’m doing my morning practice/ going to this yoga class/ living at the ashram for a while because I need to get away. Or: he does his morning practice/ goes to yoga class/ is living at the ashram for a while because he can’t handle life. Lots of yoga students, and their criticizers—it doesn’t matter which—share the same misconception.

But here’s the thing: Yoga is not a way to escape. It’s a way to become more fully engaged.

Read the full post here.

happy national yoga month! free classes from My Yoga Online

2010-09-01T04:00:00.001-07:00

September is National Yoga Month. Hurrrraaayyyy! Yay for yoga, yay for peace, yay for bringing it all to the world.

To celebrate, my favourite online yoga resource--okay, full disclosure: I'm in love with them, and I work with them--My Yoga Online is offering a selection of free classes. Free. Yup, free. For anyone. Anywhere in the world. For the whole month of September. How cool is that?

To access the classes, just go to this link right here.

p.s. the pic is of My Yoga Online co-founder Kreg Weiss.

plum pretty sugar: too pretty to skip

2010-08-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Designer Charlotte Mills' line is too pretty to pass up. Her Plum Pretty Sugar robes, tanks, tunic and cami dresses, lounge pants and shorts are a hit with the yoga set, and I had to share them on Joy for Life. Plus Charlotte's nice and sweet and obviously thouroughly heart-invested in what she does.

The piece above is the ankle-length Pink Love Poppy kimono robe ($70) made from cotton voile from India. Says Charlotte: "It's so pretty going into fall, and the ankle length adds that extra bit of warmth and elegance."

Love it? All Joy For Life readers will receive free shipping with their order--on any piece. Just put "Ordering via Joy for Life" in the comments section, and she'll make sure to ship it gratis.

photo credit: Laguna Beach Magazine

what if there is no path?

2010-08-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

"Carlos Castaneda’s teacher Don Juan told him once that there is no path really, only heart. So basically, we can follow any old path we want and it will lead us nowhere. And if you follow a heartless path, that is all it will be. But if we follow the path with heart, then, when the day comes and we realize there is no path, we will have at least followed the heart."
~ Kelly Grey

Yogi Bhajan's 7 steps to happiness

2010-08-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

He's got the reputation of a king-saint in certain Kundalini circles. These seven steps to happiness, as defined by Yogi Bhajan, are definitely worth sharing. I found them on Daily Cup of Yoga and had to share them on Joy For Life.

I love number 7.

1. Commitment
In every life you are meant to commit. That is why the word is commit-meant. Commitment gives you character.

2. Character
Character is when all your characteristics – all facets, flaws and facts – are under your control. Yin and yang meet there, totally balanced. Character gives you dignity.

3. Dignity
People start trusting you, liking you, respecting you. Dignity will give you divinity.

4. Divinity
Divinity is when people have no duality about you. They trust you right away. They have no fear about you. Divinity gives you grace.

5. Grace
Where there is grace, there is no interference, no gap between two people, no hidden agenda. Grace gives you the power to sacrifice.

6. Sacrifice
You can stand in any pain for that person. That sacrifice gives you happiness.

7. Happiness
"You should make yourself so happy, that by looking at you, other people become happy.”
~ Yogi Bhajan

how to be alone, by Tanya Davis [poetry in motion]

2010-08-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

don't freak out! kundalini yoga tips for going with the flow, for ElephantJournal

2010-08-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

“Everything is going to be okay. You don’t need to control everything.”

One of my favourite Kundalini teachers, Gloria Latham, spoke right through our hearts at the end of my last class with her. There we were in child’s pose, completely, blissfully spent after a full-on full-body Kundalini work-out. As we breathed and processed, Gloria’s voice wafted over us.

FEAR AND CONTROL FREAKS
Fear or anxiety and the need to control are like the flip sides of the same character trait. Trust me, I should know. Just when I think I’ve gotten the hang of having faith and letting go, there I go again, diving in and organizing pretty much everything. This is why ‘let’ is one of my words for 2010 (the other two are ‘love’ and ‘truth’).

PEACE AND CONTROL FREAKS
This is (one of the many reasons) why I love yoga classes. We get on the mat, we drop out of our head, we follow the directions of this person standing up at the front of the room, flowing from one movement to the next, we let go of control, and we find peace. Peace.

Off-the-mat translation: We drop out of our head, we follow the directions of the greater, good, and wonder-full that we hear within our heart, flowing from one decision to the next, and we find peace. Peace.

Or, as in the case of me leaving the final details of my summer vacation to the last minute: A great deal on a beautiful bed and breakfast by the ocean, and unexpected workshops with my mentor and friend, Swami Maheshananda Saraswati. It might not sound like a big deal right now, but I can guarantee you that what I get out of those days will be MEGA—because every time I open to the flow and dive into the opportunities that come up I come away with powerful, positive, life-changing shifts.

Go here for the full article, and a 10-minute Kundalini Yoga set to help you release fear and go with the flow.

yoga and the roller coaster

2010-08-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a roller-coaster summer. Not just for me. I've talked with tons of super tuned-in, self-aware peeps who've all commented that if next summer is like this one, they're:
a) turning their bedroom into a bunker, for uber cry-sessions
b) setting aside extra moolah for retail therapy
c) booking a vacation--by themselves

Old habits, traits, and ways of being we thought we'd resolved or moved beyond are rearing up again: Mini temper tantrums, mega insecurity, control-freak tendencies, or complete passivity, to name a few. We all credit certain people in our lives for bringing these traits up, and helping us realize we're not quite as damned yogic as we thought we were. Or are we?

Isn't the ability to simply recognize our tendencies a maha achievment--in the most neutral, not positive or negative, Buddhist sense of the word, of course.

How about this gem, from a student in one of my classes recently: "I was so annoyed when that person arrived late, Lindsey. Usually this would nearly ruin the class for me, because I'd be battling this irritation away the whole time. But this time, I didn't fight it. I meditated on it. And it went away in about three breaths."

Bing! Light bulb! We all remember this: What we resist, persists.

Here's what's working for me, and a few hundred other people I know: Jealous? Feel it. Insecure? Admit it. Angry? Voice it. Don't fight it. Don't fear it. Don't be ashamed of it.

Embrace it, and then watch it go.

ask your neighbour for a cup of sugar

2010-08-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

ask your neighbour for a cup of sugar
and while you're standing, waiting
let your eyes stroll around

yesterday: Friday night
there was a loudness to your heartbeat that unnerved you
a rising sense of panic that was frightening
mostly because you knew there was no one around
to distract you from it
and you wanted to dive into your television
to escape it

but, see, as she hands you the sugar
white and gleaming
that look in her eye--of gratitude

ask your neighbour for a cup of sugar
and while you're standing there
let your eyes stroll around

see the orange peel on the counter
last night's take-out containers in the sink
the DVD on her kitchen table

on any kitchen table
in any neighbour's sink
on any Friday night
hearts all over the city
are beating too loudly
and everybody sometimes feels alone

~ LL

when yoga is not enough: 5 resources for you

2010-08-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Everyone who reads my Joy for Life blog knows: Lindsey loves yoga. And I truly believe this practice is life-affirming. Yoga makes everything better.

BUT there are times when we--and I--need more. That's why I also love the following people, and what they have to offer. Thought I'd share them here, with you, so next time you need more, you've got it.

1. Danielle LaPorte, White Hot Truth, @daniellelaporte
Danielle rocks. She's inspiring in so many ways that I'm having trouble writing a mini summation. Here's the thing: If you want your money-making ventures to be infused with soul and your deepest heart, and you want to actually make money doing them, read her. I was lucky enough to get to be part of a focus group led by Danielle, where we pretty much mapped out our dream lives. She's why I'm doing what I'm doing.

2. Jonathan Mead, Illuminated Mind
So he tries to sell a lot of things to us. I still find his insight into life beyond 9 to 5, well, illuminating.

3. Aaron Ross, PebbleStorm
He's new to me, but I developed a platonic career crush on him the first time I watched his video about answering these kinds of questions: do you feel you have more to offer? do you feel you don't have time to pursue your passions?

4. SARK, PlanetSark
I've loved her since I was a teen. Absolutely FULL of insight into how to say YES to your creative self all the time, Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy is a great go-to on days when you think you might just give up on listening to that voice deep beyond your mind.

5. Carrie McCarthy, Style Statement
Much more than a way to edit down your closet, a Style Statement can be a two-word description of your mind-based essential self. Years ago, I did an article on Carrie's service, and her gentle questions brought to light TONS of areas of my life I was avoiding. I thought about the answers, and where I was embodying my Style Statement rang true--and where I wasn't--and, months later, finally had the courage to end an already-ended relationship, sign up for teacher training, and live on my own for the first time.

BLOG SHOUT-OUT
Here are some other bloggers I want to send some "Yay!" to:
reformingu.blogspot.com/
lindsayfields.com/

3 Yoga Practices for Getting What you Want—or Not, for ElephantJournal.com

2010-07-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Love. Passion. Satisfaction.

Happiness. Bliss. Nirvana.

What do you want?

This question, and the one that follows—How do you get what you want?—has been a strong theme in my life, and recently on my blog, over the past few weeks. Conversations with friends have turned around to this subject. It’s popped up in blogs I read, in magazine articles, and themes in books I have on the go. And when this kind of trend happens, I’ve come to accept it’s the universe (remember the Greater, Good and Wonder-full?) trying to get through to me. Over much of the past month, I was trying, and failing spectacularly, to stand back and live my personal life within my yoga- space. That is, I was trying to get out of my head, be in the moment, breathe deep and just let things be. Did I mention I was failing spectacularly?

RUN RUN RUN
Because, like many other people I know, I’ve got this tendency to run-run-run after what I want-want-want. Even though I’ve seen it proven time and time again that when I don’t do this what I really want comes right to me. I still get caught up in planning, in striving, in trying, in analyzing, and in working working working at it. And nothing, or exactly what I don’t want to happen, happens.

Want to know what I’ve learned from all this? Especially over much of the past month?

Read the full post, on ElephantJournal.com

5 Questions, 5 Answers: Jivamukti Yoga's Sharon Gannon on her new CD, NYC rock yoga, and hip hop MC Yogi [vid]

2010-07-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Lucky for us, Jivamukti co-founder, and inspira-woman Sharon Gannon took the time to answer 5 quick questions for Joy for Life.

1. You've always loved music. Why did you decide to do your new CD, Sharanam?
Music is the most direct means to connecting with the spiritual—that which is infinite...Of course most musicians would say, that they make music in order “to inspire,” and yes I would also like to inspire, but I have to ask myself, what does that actually mean? Perhaps the translation of the mantra Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu describes my intention: To contribute in some way to the happiness and freedom of all beings through creating a mood by means of sound, which might invoke a place of expansive awareness within the listener where the possibility of total acceptance, kindness and love arises, and is felt as totally possible...Being in this state would make one irresistible.

To long to become irresistible to God is what interests me. Music can be a means to that. God is music: Nada Brahman. Originally music was a method to communicate to the divine, but as humanity became more disconnected with nature and spirit the art of music became a mundane means to gratify the senses, a commercial venture or at worst a means to enhance the ego. But with the resurgence of “spiritual music” many people are awakening to the sacred power of music as a means to enlightenment.

2. You've collaborated with kirtan hip-hop star M.C. Yogi. What was that like?
Nicholas, aka MC Yogi, is a bright star, a wordsmith, clever, articulate and mercurial--one of the quickest wits I have ever encountered. He gave the genre of yoga music the hip-hop and holy kick it needed. My dear friend DJ Sean Dinsmore suggested to MC that he should invite me to sing on the first album, Elephant Power. I was in SF teaching at a yoga Conference and MC picked me up and as we drove to the studio where he was recording we listened on the CD player in the car some of the unfinished mixes and I was blown away.

We spent about three hours in the studio that day and the result is those two tracks, Krishna Love and Krishna Dub--where I get to sing along with MC and Jai Uttal to the beloved Krishna. He is married to the very talented painter, Amanda and lives with the infamous Moe the dog in the small town of Point Reyes, CA—a real American nuclear family

3. As a performer and yogi, how do these two intersect for you?
Performing and yoga don’t intersect much—but performing and teaching yoga—those two disciplines take pretty much the same set of skills, which have to do with communication. The ability to communicate well depends essentially on having something useful to say to others as opposed to just tooting your own horn. It is not enough to just get up there and express yourself, a good performer, like a good yoga teacher, has to be able to enter into the listener’s heart and speak to them from a place where they can understand a place which is real and meaningful inside of them. To be able to do that the performer or the yoga teacher has to be able to listen themselves to hear the needs of the audience or students.

4. Let's compare the yoga scene in New York when you started teaching to today. How has it changed?
It has gotten bigger, many more people are practicing yoga! When David Life and I started to teach yoga we introduced music into the classroom. Before that yoga classes were taught in silence, we added the component of music. Now it is quite common to find recorded music being played in yoga classes.

5. If you could tell a room full of 1000 yoga students just one thing, what would it be?
Go Vegan. Do yourself a favor, do the earth a favor, do the animals a favor and reduce the amount of violence and suffering in the world. The best way to uplift your own life is to do all you can to uplift the lives of others.

RELATED
MC Yogi: Give Love, iPhones, puppies
Reema Datta: give love, get what you want, ignore your teacher
Sharanam, get it on Amazon or iTunes

where does your yoga happen? what's going on--off the mat?

2010-07-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

"The big difference is this: what we all do—householders, hermits and the unattached—on the black mat is mere scrimmage; the game is what happens everywhere else."
- Kirtan artist, father, husband, and dog owner Scott Robinson, on spiritual practice and family life

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Mandala Band
swings installed in Paris trees! yes!

money, energy, love, and when you really really want something: 5 questions

2010-07-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is an exploration.

CASE STUDY 1: THE RUN-FOR-IT GIRL
I was sending out emails daily letting people know I was available for work--and good at it, too!--applying for every job I could possibly have a chance at getting, and struggling to pay my bills.

A friend of mine, someone I am continually blown away by, said this: Stop running for what you want. Put that energy into doing what feels good in your heart. And what you're reaching for will come.

So I signed up for a novel-writing course in Greece, booked a ticket to Paris, and planned a one-month soul-love session.

And late into the night the day before I was leaving, I was still working on getting projects done for clients who had come to me pretty much as soon as I booked the plane ticket.

CASE STUDY 2: THE GO-GO GIRL
A friend of mine was laid off a few months ago. She was a million miles a minute media maven, setting up media tours, securing story resources, and maintaining tons of spreadsheets jam-packed with vital, ever-changing data.

The lay-off was a rough go. She spent a few days feeling bad about things. Then she jumped off the couch, grabbed her Macbook Pro, and had a friend help her build a website. She put lotsa industry-favoured terms and facts in there, but mostly she put in her heart. Because she was tired of trying to clamber up the corporate ladder, tired of working her arse off for not enough pay, and tired of not doing what she loved. And then she waited.

Today she is--almost--having to refuse work requests. Clients are pouring in the door. She's overwhelmingly happy. p.s. She also just got engaged.

CASE STUDY 3: THE GRACE RECEIVING GIRL
A friend of mine is leaping, striding, swimming towards her heart-chosen healing path. She's quit her job, signed up for workshops and trainings, gone to tons of yoga classes, amped up her reading, written blog posts, and explored endless social media initiatives. Money-wise, she's "going into the red."

Universe-wise, she's "trusting."

And we both have faith. Faith that this self-investment will bring not just emotional-spiritual, but also financial rewards.

ENERGY IN. ENERGY OUT
So here's what I've been feeling is probably true. When we invest energy in ourselves, in our heart-calling, we invite people in. When we reach and struggle to pull them towards us, we repel them away.

But is it easy to do this all the time? To remember this when times--and the bill-paying--get tough? Notsomuch.

5 QUESTIONS
1. What does it take to make that leap of faith?
2. What is the risk of taking it?
3. What's the risk of not?
4. When the heart says one thing, and the mind says another, how do you trust the heart?
5. On that note, what practical, self-trust-building practices are out there?

My swami says, "It's not the answers that are important. Just keep asking the questions."

RELATED
heart of the matter: living below the neck

we will always be aware that we walk in the sky

2010-07-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Love this! Had to post on Joy for Life. Great for feeling-blue days.

Get the full-size poster, for you to print.

Words by BlissChick. Design by DaisyBones

in pursuit of truth: 5 yoga tips for tapping into your heart centre, for ElephantJournal.com

2010-07-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

Is it okay to just be okay? Is it enough to just feel sorta happy? Maybe mostly content?
As readers of my blog know, lately I’ve been considering the concept of Truth—or, Satya, as it’s known in Sanskrit. Truth is one of my words for 2010, along with Let and Love (inspired by White Hot Truth maven Danielle Laporte’s practice of tuning into three guiding terms for the year).

Satya refers to actions or words or intentions that help guide us to the Ultimate Truth—what I call the Greater, Good and Wonder-full. And when we connect to the Greater, Good, and Wonder-full, well…great, good and wonderful things happen.

TRUTH IN ACTION
Here’s why this has become important to me to share: There is too much pressure in our society to squash our truths, to accept not just mediocrity, but blatant negativity. We are continually told that “it’s okay” to spend the most awake hours of our daily lives in a job we don’t like, or even loathe; that it’s okay to be in a relationship that doesn’t nourish us; that it’s okay to spend time on a regular basis with people who take and don’t give; that it’s okay to be stressed because it’s normal. The list goes on.

Read the full post on ElephantJournal.com

light and shadow

2010-07-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

For every shadow cast there will be light.

K's Choice

swings installed in Paris trees! yes!

2010-07-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

Had to share on Joy For Life.

Paris's SwinGs from Jerome G. Demuth on Vimeo.

RELATED
LA with NO cars, NO people!
See more of artist Jerome G. Demuth's work on Flickr.

satya, truth, yoga union: lessons from a baby

2010-07-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Truth.

It's one of my words for 2010--inspired by Danielle LaPorte's practice of coming up with three guiding terms each year. My others are Let, and Love.

It's the Truth one--Satya, in Sanskrit--that I've been mulling over lately. Here's why: I'm a new auntie! Three-month-old Maddy* is the love of my family's life right now. Feeding her a bottle, putting her to sleep, and just breathing beneath her as she sleeps on my chest, has completely cracked my heart open. So she's tapped into my other word, too, Love.

Baby Beyond
But it's watching her cry, just give a great big all-out scream from the bottom of her lungs, and then, in a split second, switch to a smile, or even instantly drop into sleep, that's got me pondering Truth. Because Maddy, and every other baby and young child, doesn't hold back. She's feeling what she's feeling and everybody is knowing about it.

But her outbursts don't tend to last. She can go from raging mad to zen content in about 0.2 seconds. So I'm asking myself: Why can't I do that? Why can't my anger--or fear, or stress, or jealousy, or...--always just pass through me like a wave on the ocean. And here's the answer: It can, if I let it. But if I hold it back, if I stuff it down, if I push it away so someone else isn't hurt, or upset, or just plain confused, it's gonnna hang off me like a dead albatross.

When the Body Says No
And my body has been telling me this for years. In his book, When the Body Says No, Gabor Mate, one of my fave M.D's, presents evidence that suggests repression of emotions--and other important heart-stuff like dreams and passions--is highly correlated with dis-ease. From what I understand, his work is arguing that repression of emotions causes activation of our sympathetic nervous system--usually activated by stressful events. Ongoing SNS activation = decreased immune system, and dis-ease ranging from minor colds and flus to major bodily responses like cancer.

I'd say I'm not at risk of causing that extreme a reaction, but there's definitely a link between anxiety--something I struggle with--and stifling emotions.

Satya
Satya is often used to refer to words and actions that bring us closer to the Ultimate Truth--the greater, good, and wonder-full. Here's one thing I know for sure: When I speak my truth, when I release what I'm feeling and let it be known, I feel free. Free from anxiety, from stress, from monkey mind-mania. Free to go beyond the wave of emotion, and dive deep into my connection to the universe--the Ultimate Truth--the greater, good, and wonder-full.

So I'll be doing more of that.

*the pic above is not of Maddy.

RELATED
heart of the matter: living below the neck

listen to the mustn'ts, child

2010-06-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

Love this little ditty from Shell Silverstein's
Where the Sidewalk Ends

yoga and shopping: BFFs or enemies? for ElephantJournal.com

2010-06-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

Not a word that would normally noodle into our everyday conversation, ‘covetous’ is one of those loaded terms, heavily weighted with religious nutso associations and lifestyle demands that seem to leave little left for living. It shows up in yogic philosophy, too, tagged onto the last of the yamas, or best-life behavioural tips, recorded by yoga philosophy powerhouse Patanjali (more on him below). It’s used in association with Aparigraha.

The yama Aparigraha can be understood as not getting a bunch of stuff just because we want it—i.e. we covet it.

Read the whole post, or share your thoughts, at ElephantJournal.com

Bellyfit: q+a with the creator of this fusion body-soul rockin' practice [video]

2010-06-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

The amazing Alice Bracegirdle, founder and CEO of Bellyfit, shares her passion and joy with Joy Yoga readers.

1. Why Bellyfit?
As with most successful business ventures, Bellyfit® was created out of a personal need that turned out to be the need of many. In early 2003 I found myself at a personal low. After having traveled the world, run several businesses, certified as a Fitness Leader and worked as a professional Belly Dancer, I found myself back in my hometown of Perth, Ontario--a single mother on welfare fleeing from a violent, abusive relationship. Realizing that the health of my two-year-old daughter Shalom and my own health were suffering tremendously due to stress and depression, I knew I had to make a change. I recognized the need for an exercise experience that balanced body, mind, spirit, heart AND empowered me to be a strong, sensual, balanced woman.

Further inspired by my vision of a future in which all girls are educated about healthy body image and women in general are empowered in their natural bodies and in their lives, I conceived of Bellyfit® - a holistic fusion of Belly Dance, African Dance, Bollywood, Fitness, Yoga, Pilates, body/mind/spirit philosophy, and deeply motivational and inspirational music.

I continue to be inspired every day by the now 100+ authorized Bellyfit® Instructors across Canada and the USA that myself and my team have trained. These women are not only empowering themselves physically, emotionally and spiritually with Bellyfit®, they are also empowering themselves financially and making a huge difference in their communities.

Strong women = strong families.
Strong families = strong world.

2. What do women like about it?
Women love that they can get a great workout while feel feminine and powerful at the same time. It is all about a balance between grace and strength, body and spirit, mind and heart. Women come away from the class literally feeling 'high' from the experience. I have had many participants tell me that their Bellyfit® class is the closest they come to having a truly 'spiritual' experience. It also honors the many different shapes and sizes that we as women represent and gives us an opportunity to feel great in our bodies no matter what we look like.

3. What inspires you?
My stunningly beautiful and astounding nine-year-old daughter Shalom. My incredibly sexy, brilliant husband Rowan. My over the top powerful and supportive mother. My eternally wise and devoted father. And every woman in the world who knows how important it is to move and be moved.

4. What must-read book is on your shelf right now?
The Tipping Point. Really great book about how trends take off.

5. If you could tell a class of 100 people just one thing, what would it be?
When women come together great things happen. When women move and breath and cry and laugh together miracles happen.

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hemalayaa: bollywood dance queen's inspiration, love, joy