mj yoga

Why Refining your Alignment Matters in Yoga

2011-11-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

I still feel kind of like a newbie in the world of yoga, only 10 years in, but the amount of yoga and my total devotion to this path has allowed me to witness so much in that short time. When I first started I had no clue about alignment at all, in fact my first Yoga Teacher Training had very little in terms of alignment in the postures but blessed me in other ways. Since I was hooked after the very first yoga class I took and I was totally inspired and fired up to go to the next level, and then something interesting happened. YOGI BEWARE! I got hurt, a lot!

I remember this class I had done early into my yoga life at a gym and the sound I heard and the intense pain I felt when my hamstring attachment tore! I could hardly walk out of the class and every time I bent over to put my shoes on I was in agony, for about a year and a half!!! After that first incident several others followed, like a shoulder injury, neck issues (from headstand), wrist strains, tweaking my back so I couldn't walk, and of course a couple more hamstring pulls.

All of these things mostly happened because I was practicing in my bedroom using books as guides or videos without a teacher to guide me or look out for me. In most of these cases it was indeed my own fault for not listening to my body and pushing too far too fast but in some cases it was the instruction or lack of in the books I was using or the teacher!

To me this feels like ages ago now but I am happy to report I have not experienced any major injuries from my yoga practice since I discovered Anusara's brillant Universal Principals of Alignment. The bottom line, ALIGNMENT MATTERS in a yoga asasna practice! To line up takes a lot of work, discipline and consistency. The good news, our bodies, minds and hearts are letting us know how our yoga is going.

If your in pain when you do a backbend every time (like I was) and you believe that you'll eventually get it, I can confidently tell you that it's NOT going to happen. Pain is a sure fire sign that something within the body is in a misalignment and since you have over 200 bones and 600 muscles good, clear technical instructions are necessary to move into life affirming alignment.

Even with the most amazing instructions, coming from the most experienced and skilled teachers sometimes we just aren't getting it! Creatures of habit I suppose. I can't tell you how many times in my teaching journey I have heard a student out right refuse to try doing a pose a different way because "that is what my teacher taught me" or "I've been doing it like this for 30 years", well things have changed from the way yoga was taught 30 years, 500 years or 3,000 years ago. Some of the older ideas have simply been replaced with solid bio mechanical principals.

Here's a good example. In many of my first yoga books I had in 2002 it looked like people had their hands turned in for crow pose. So of course I did it like that too and holy crap did it ever hurt my wrist after about 20 seconds or 5 attempts. In my head I just wasn't strong enough to do these crazy arm balances. About 1 year ago I was at a class in our city with my girlfriend and the woman beside I was clearly showing signs of wrist pain from doing crow. My jaw dropped as I watched the teacher tell her to turn her hands in!!! IN???? REALLY IN???? OUCH!!!! It took everything I had to not say something to help her but it wasn't my place to do that.

There are basics to setting foundations that are so clearly and consistently taught in Anusara that you start to really understand how even the tiniest little refinement in your alignment allows you to go deeper and deeper into your poses and more importantly into your heart so you can work on the old itty-bitty-shitty-committee (thank you Todd Norian) and start to line up in your practice in ways that free you not hurt you!

This is a lifelong practice because the amount of refinement you can do in any yoga pose is infinite. Some of these refinements are injurious and some will take us to places in our body-mind-heart that we had no idea we could tap. So if you are experiences pain in your practice and you LOVE yoga than search out a teacher that knows alignment and more importantly listen to the teacher in your own heart that is always there, guiding you and your body and you'll start to experience ecstasy in your yoga practice, each and every time you step on your mat.

So blessed to be on this journey and huge thanks to my teachers along that way who have taught me how to align my body-mind-heart in such a beautiful and skillful way.

Pranams to John Friend, Todd Norian, Ann Greene, and so many other wonderful yoga teachers

Why you should Never Block anyone on Facebook!

2011-11-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

Energy will always flow, you can't stop it but what you can do is channel it in ways that are life affirming. Facebook is an energy! It's good, it's bad and sometimes it's downright ugly! Some days it makes you feel special, loved, blessed and other days you feel left out, misunderstood, hurt. In fact, if it wasn't for FB, I doubt I would have any communication or access to communication with my ex-bf's or people I went to grade 2 with!

So FB is good and bad. I have access and made connections with some of those most inspiring people in the world, including some of the most skilled yoga teachers to have walked this earth. I have sent them messages and they have responded to me, that is special, that is a big deal, that's where facebook shines!!!

Of course there is another side to this. I also had some strange dude from BC add me and of course I added him before I really checked him out. His messages were a bit creepy so I thought, I better investigate this dude. Turns out he's a "collector", yep, all women, no male friends. So I took him off, no big deal. Then he tried to add me several times after that, even with different names so I went the next step and I BLOCKED him! Take that wacko stranger!

In addition to crazy dudes I have also blocked a few friends that I no longer wanted to be associated with, but of course it's facebook so if your friends are friends with that friend then there is no escape. Your going to see their shit and they're going to see your shit.

The thing is you can't block energy from flowing, you don't have that kind of power, it's nature but what you can do is be aware of your reactions to FB, to the people on it and remove people off your block list! In fact crazy dude is that last person on that list of mine and as an experiment I am going to take him off and see if I will get any response. If I do, then I will address him and ask him not to try to connect with me anymore.

DONE! So now my job is to channel energy in ways that will enhance my life and make it more beautiful. Don't take this so seriously because if you really have a stalker, (I have, I understand it's scary) your safety is paramount but living in fear isn't very fun and I think they more we try to block or fear life we attract exactly more of that same kind of energy.

On this day, Dia de los Muertos, I thank all those souls and teachers that have come before me and have taught me how to better manage my life, FB, relationships and crazy people.

Blessings to all,
Mindy

Fall in Love with Change

2011-10-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year! Today I turned the heat on in our home on account of the icicles forming from my dripping nose. I'm not a huge fan of the cold but I do love this time of the year. In Canada, the beautiful display of brilliantly coloured fall leaves signifies the end of the summer and a time of change, where the dark begins to overpower the light, the warm weather is replaced by crisp Autumn air. What's going on with Mother Nature is going on inside of me and you!

Fall is a time of change and transitions, this is often a difficult time for many people too. When things change we feel uncomfortable, maybe even scared. As many great thinkers have declared the only thing we can really bank on is that everything will change. It's our attitude toward change that we have some control over.

One of the biggest changes in my life has been in my relationships with people. I have cut ties to old friends, made new friends and I'm constantly working on the most important relationship of all, the one I have with myself!

Being open to the flow of life and change is part of Anusara's first principle, called Open to Grace. Grace is the revelatory power of the universe that shows us our true nature, consciousness and bliss. This can be a challenge for me and many other people. Our ability to be open and remain open when things are hard is not something we're born with, it's something we practice over and over again.

Changes in my life are still happening all the time and accepting that it's part of life and more importantly it will inevitably help me grow and expand is something I've picked up from Anusara Yoga. Just last week I was able to witness and assist the Anusara Immersion in London with Todd Norian and Ann Greene. These 5 days we full of beautiful and precious moments of grace, love, light, and transformation.

I went through the same process in 2007, when I did my immersion with these skillful and loving teachers. I changed as a person and I haven't looked back since. In fact I was so empowered during the immersion I was able to cultivate enough strength to end a long term relationship with someone I was supposed to marry. Phew!

Fall is a perfect time to end or begin something. How can you align yourself with nature today to better allow grace into your life?

Your Heart has the Answer

2011-08-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

Certain decisions are easy to make, like do you want to smoke, get high, jump off a bridge, some are harder, do you want end a relationship with a friend, or partner, quit your job? (maybe that is easy sometimes). Once we make a decision then we have to learn to let go of our attachments and move on. Sometimes the strings to those attachments are attached directly into your heart and so when you cut them there is heartache and discomfort.

So how do we welcome the end of good things or great things?

I'm closing my business down after almost 7 years and it will be hard to let it go since there is a strong attachment to it. In fact ,I teetered in the beginning whether or not I should continue or close. Was it the right time to make that decision, what will happen to my students, so many questions and things to contemplate, so not an easy decision to make.

Then, like a smack in the face, I hear my yoga teacher saying "Open to Grace, soften, feel..." And, instantly the fear dissolves and I receive a clear message that yes indeed this is a good thing. Confirmation from my higher Self. An overwhelming sense of gratitude fills my heart and soul. Wow, I'm so thankful to be awake, so that I don't feel alone and I trust myself. I'm so grateful to have found a yoga practice that has taught and prepared to make good decisions, welcome endings, step into the flow and be embraced by grace.

I want to share a technique that I learned many years ago that has worked for me every time I have to make a decision. I guess you could call think of it as having an important conversation with your higher Self. The first time I used it, it actually scared the crap out of myself because it was so clear and powerful. There was no question in my mind whether or not I was getting the answer to my question. Let me warn you before you attempt this technique you will get the truth, if you like it or not.

The first time I used this technique was because I meet this really great guy and only 2 days after we hit it off something crappy, stupid and self induced happened, he got a DUI charge. As soon as he told me I broke it off right away, I didn't want to go there with him, however, some friends convinced me to give him a chance, that he just made a mistake, so I did. The foreshadowing of what was to follow should be no surprise here.

I gave him another chance and shortly after the chaos began! I just left a 7 year long relationship and now I'm thinking what the hell, how did I get myself involved in all this chaos again. The craziness went on for a few months as I was trying to sort through the love-at-first sight feelings and I was so pissed at the DUI, I wanted to ream this guy out! But still I wasn't willing to welcome the ending so I hung on and duked it out, like a tough girl.

One morning, I slipped into the bathtub, closed my eyes and took some deep breaths. I got very still, quiet and I turned inside. Once I was as relaxed as I could be, I imagined a tiny door on my heart. I visualized myself knocking on this door that looked like the door Snow White knocked on when she meet the 7 dwarfs. When the door opens I was welcomed by this warm, soft pink light into this magical space. I could see a table and two chairs from the top of this tiny little spiral staircase. I made my way down and sat at the table. It felt like I was about to meet someone really important and I was.

There wasn't a figure or person that actually appeared to sit across from me but I knew it was time to present my question to my heart. Get ready, this is deep friends! "Should I stay with this guy?" Then silence, the walls of this space, beating, alive....... still nothing...... then ... a very clear, loud NO, echoed through the cambers of my own heart!!! I nearly fall off the tiny chair, holy crap I thought I wasn't expecting that to happen.

That's it! That was the conversation I had with my higher Self, it was the truth, it was what I needed to do, it was the right thing to do and I knew it all along, I just wanted to make sure.

"Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart."

So that day, I ended that relationship and stuck to my guns about that decision. Matters of the heart are never easy for me but I know that I can tune into my heart for loving, truthful guidance at any time. I have used that same technique so many times and I always know that whatever I am asking I will get a solid, clear answer. Your heart never lies to you, ever! But you need to be willing to go deep inside to get the answer, even if it's going to hurt.

"Only do what your heart tells you to" Princess Diana

Again, I'm so full of gratitude for my yoga teachers, John Friend, Todd and Ann and spiritual guides I get goosebumps and my eyes well up with tears because they have all taught me that I don't need to go outside of myself to get to the truth, that my heart is the center of my being and it's from there that I have the strength to let go and move forward.

"The human heart feels things the eyes can not see, and knows what the mind can't understand" T.E Kalem

I'm used to people thinking my head is screwed on the wrong way :D

2011-05-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

I taught a lovely class today in the park to some young yogis and saw a very familiar facial expression aimed at me while I lead them into some postures. It's not easy to describe this particular look but since I started teaching yoga I have seen it many times. This look is sort of half roll your eyes at me combined with what the hell is this crazy woman talking about. I wouldn't say it's a nice look, in fact it's a bit like you disgust me and your a total weirdo. Not to worry I can take it, I'm used to it and I think it's awesome that I can get people's brains thinking out of the norm.

I taught an advanced class this morning that lead toward eka pada viparita dandasana and there it was again, that look! Love it! Funny thing is that I was used to this look from other people long before I started doing yoga. The same look at 16 years old when I told people I was a vegetarian, or that I spent my free time climbing up the face of cliffs or entering big air competitions on my snowboard. You see in my life adventure and being unique and kinda freaky in a healthy way is the norm.

It is by no mistake that I can comfortably tuck both of my feet behind my head while balancing on my arms, it was through years of dedicated yoga practice that I am at all able to do that. When people show talent make no mistake that they have likely spent hundreds of hours honing their skills and the looks that we shoot them should be more like wow, that's totally amazing, rather than geeze what a total nut case!

Good thing yoga has taught me not to care so much about what other people think of me but instead to live my life fully every day. As my lovely friend Pangea puts it, "fly your freak flag", so I do that and I like it. On the other side of this sometimes when people are showing their talents to the world and it's out of the ordinary I have also seen a different vibe coming from them. This look is more like "What haven't you ever seen someone swallow a flaming sword before while hoola hooping with a fire hoop?"

I'm never rude back, anyone that is! Ah the journey is so amazing, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Today, I fully identified with this look and now I can see it just like I see someone else smiling at me.

That's not very Yogic of you!

2011-05-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

I cringe whenever I hear this statement being barked at me our others - "That's not very yogic of you now is it!" My initial knee jerk response is quelled by all the work I do on my mat, very yogic of me indeed. Little do these folks know what a huge difference yoga has made in my life and if I was the person I used to be pre-yoga the words my response to statements like this one would be far less kind and often include the F-word!

So what does it mean when someone says, that's not very yogic of you? Does it imply that I must be a perfect person, incapable of making mistakes, cutting someone up, making fun of someone, or using swear words? The yoga in me teaches me to go to the source, my heart to respond. From my heart I can contemplate further, what does this person understand about yoga in the first place. If I think they may believe that all we do is throw on some spandex and stretch then I have to base a response on that.

If they are "yogis" themselves saying this to me it drives me more insane! I believe it's a great opportunity to look closely at your own life/behaviour first before questioning mine. Might I quote Mr. Iyengar from his book Light on Life, "You must purge yourself before finding faults in others." Perhaps your own behaviours, actions or words are not "yogic" and that is the source of this silly statement.

Go back to the source, inspire, elevate the community, all these concepts moving through my mind while I carefully and consciously am choosing my response. If you do yoga you are aware the word itself means to yoke, taken from the root yuj or to unite. It can also refer someone who practices yoga or follows a certain yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment.

My issue when someone says this is more so about people speaking with ignorance. They know you do yoga so that is something you can call them on if there out of alignment in some way. I'm not saying yogis or yoginis should be going around shooting the bird at someone who cuts you off, or getting angry and punching someone out or other various precarious situations, but just because you do yoga, does not mean you're a pushover.

My teachers have taught me to look for the good in all situations, to respond rather than react, to live with high standards and even morals but they have never ever taught me to be a pushover, to let other people treat me poorly while I keep my mouth shut in fear of responding in a non-yogic way.

Consider this before yoga I would have been the one cutting you off in my car! I would have given you the finger just because the wind was blowing west, my reactions where usually selfish and harsh. After all these years of yoga no matter what, I am almost always (well, the fact that I'm a human being means I still make mistakes) responding in a yogic way regardless.

30 Day Vegan/Yoga Challenge

2011-04-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

   This May, The Mindful Body is presenting a challenge to our community to go Vegan and practice yoga 4 times a week for 30 days. Why? Why would this matter? What you do, has a global and local impact on this planet! For some this is a serious challenge for others they are already mostly living this way.

What does it take to make this change for 30 days? DISCIPLINE! Yep, scary word I know but it may be what some of you lack or fear and just what you need to shift the direction of your life and this planet.

   I have been a vegetarian for over half my life, that's 18 years and I don't miss meat at all. In fact as a kid I used to spit it out and cringe when diner was served if there was meat on my plate. Well actually, I hated the veggies too, I was super fussy.

   I made an educated decision to stop eating animals after my boyfriend gave me a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) brochure. I still remember the pictures of downed cows, bunny rabbits with crap being injected into their eye balls, chickens squished together in tiny cages.

   My reasons may have started off for the rights of the animals and of course they still do but living my life in ways that uplift the entire planet happened when I started to do yoga and give a damn about other people and this planet that we share, not just myself. This is just my own view and I would not judge or criticize someone else's view or try to change them.

   Being a vegetarian at 16 made for some interesting Christmas dinner conversations in my Italian family. They made fun of me, challenged me, made me cry on several occasions about the choice I had made about what I would and would not eat and why. But, at the time none of them would so much as look at any information or pictures showing the reality of how meat is raised, treated and killed.

   "Going veg is one of the best decisions you can make for your health and the planet. Period. Your organs, blood, bones, teeth and private parts will thank you!" This is a quote from Kris Carr, who was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer and then from there totally changed her life around. I highly recommend you pick up her book My Crazy Sexy Diet, to use as a source of knowledge and inspiration for the challenge.

   A lot of people have been mislead that veggies don't eat enough protein and that's bull! In fact the USDA recommends, depending on your body weight but around 47 grams per day. There are many experts that believe that number is too high and we require only about 20 to 35 grams per day. Most people are eating around 100 to 120 grams per day which is far too much. There are exceptions to this like pregnant people and athletes.

   In some circles this is common knowledge, EATING ANIMAL PRODUCTS MAKES YOU SICK, in case you had no clue I hope you are at least interested now. If you don't believe me, totally cool but try it out for 30 days and see how you feel for yourself!   Add 4 yoga classes a week in there and we are talking major body renovations toward a more blissful and healthy state of mind and body.

Here are some more juicy highlights from Kris. You can get all the protein and calcium you need from a varied plant based diet. This plant based diet is your best defense against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Dairy causes mucus buildup and is linked to many diseases, like asthma, arthritis and Crohn's. ANY processed meats are full of gross stuff like fat, body parts, salt and carcinogens. When you buy meat know that there is a hidden cost to your health, the economy and the planet.

   Yoga is a powerful tool for living a balanced and happy life so roll out a mat and do it! Many of you already practice yoga but the challenge is to practice it in a deeper way then just a workout. Yoga is first a spiritual practice, meaning that it connects you to your heart where you can see your divine nature shining as brightly as it did they day you were born.

   A yoga practice takes...... ready.... wait for it........ DISCIPLINE! There's that scary word again. Why do you need discipline for yoga? Well deep changes take time and consistency of practice. Once a week is great but your body, mind and heart need and deserve so much more than that. Yoga will help your organs cleanse themselves, regulate hormones, improve blood, lymph flow and circulation, improve your sleep, digestion, increase muscle tone and flexibility, strengthen your bones, increase fluid to your joints, relieve that chronic back pain or other issues ( with good alignment of course, poor alignment can make it worse), help you feel connected to the world and your community. This list just goes on and on and again try it and see what happens.

We welcome you to participate in this 30 day challenge. We will meet on Sunday, May 1st for a brief orientation and sign up for a discounted yoga pass ($75 plus HST) for the 30 days. Do the best that you can but remember you will need some discipline to pass on BBQ's, fast food joints, and mainstream restaurants. Go to vegan or veggie restaurants instead of steak houses, have friends come over to your place and blow them away with a delicious vegan meal. Look for inspiration in your yoga community and new recipes to try. This is the perfect time of the year to do this, don't wait, go with the flow and start feeling better.

All of my support to you!
Mindy

Safety and the Root Chakra

2011-04-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday went for care free, happy go lucky, to yukky and scared within a few moments. I left to teach yoga in the morning and I came home to find that my neighbours apartment had been broken into. I froze on the spot and just stared at the broken glass right beside the lock. I didn't know if someone is still inside so it was scary!

After reporting it, I waited around for the police to arrive and several neighbours appeared as broken glass was being swept up, wondering what happened. It's crazy how much this happens, so yes my bubble of love was burst. Being from up north we barely lock the door, a habit I have brought with me to London and one that got a "slap in the face perspective change', thanks to this incident.

I found that every little noise made me jumpy yesterday. I knock on the door from my neighbour wearing a big black jacket made me wonder if I should have a weapon. WHAT? I'm thinking how did I go from happy go lucky this morning to paranoid and on edge!

Enter YOGA! You guessed it right if that is what you were thinking. Yoga has answers to so many of life's questions. The answer for why this happened, wait for it..... LILA! Just because, no reason, no karmic debt from a past life, just because! Lila is the Sanskrit word for divine play and it's place in the Tantric teachings, that is not just a world of causality but one of lila as well and in this world bad things happen for no other reason than just cuz.

When we don't feel safe, several things can happen. On a physical level, it's hard to breathe, breath gets more shallow and rapid, adrenal glands blast the body with adrenaline to deal with the stress of the situation, difficult to relax and settle, aversion to eating or some people go directly to food for comfort, insomnia to name a few. According to Dr. Anodea Judith, these types of events can "trigger our first chakra into working overtime." She also mentions that when we are threatened what ever has been pre-programmed into the first chakra will take over and mind gets taken over by the needs of the body to survive.

As the initial threat disperses and I go back to my more normal state, my heartbeat speeds up when I walk past the door. Even that will shift with time and with proof that I'm not in danger. It is important to have a place that you call home, where you feel safe, protected from weather and intruders. Home is where the heart as! For me OM is where my heart is, which means that no matter where I find myself, I'm a breath away from coming back to my true nature, which is unaffected by the external complications of the world.

Does Your Yoga Mat Measure Up?

2011-04-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

It has only been in the last few years that the yoga community has fully embraced the concept making eco-friendly mats more important. Many mats are made from toxic materials, the implications of this our quite large considering the rapid growth of new students into the practice. In face, it is estimated that about 15 million people are doing yoga that is a lot of yoga mats!

Yoga is not only about practices poses, in Tantra the teachings awaken us to how everything has a ripple effect, so yes choosing an eco-conscious mat is important. I still have my very first PVC yoga mat, that my sister gave me years ago and I do love it but I would not by a mat that wasn’t created with the highest intention to honour the planet and not to mention I prefer not to have plastic chemicals right under my nose while taking a breath in child’s pose.

One of the main materials used in many yoga mats, especially the really inexpensive ones, is polyvinyl chloride (or “PVC,” also known as “vinyl”), an environmental toxin. As if that isn’t gross enough add lead, cadmium, and a class of chemicals called of phthalates, which aggravate your endocrine system among many other health problems. These additives are added to make your mat soft and sticky but release gases over time and use.

The material used in yoga mats isn’t always listed so it makes it difficult for the consumer to make an informed purchase. Many companies have even added a print of a flower, an ocean or some image that makes us feel more connected to nature.

Several reputable companies have rises to the challenge of creating mats aren’t toxic and have been made with materials that will biodegrade and will not leach toxins into your body or the groundwater. prAna is a forward thinking eco-conscious company producing an alternative to the old PVC mats.

John Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga, worked closely with PrAna to develop a mat that would be safe, sticky and the greenest mat on the market. The mat is called the Revolution and it is unlike any other yoga mat. This mat takes up a lot of space; it is 78 inches long and 30 inches wide, noticeably wider and longer than most standard yoga mats. “This mat supports you as you stretch the boundaries of your practice on an ecologically sustainable surface. Three layers of biodegradable rubber, heat laminated without glue, offer your hands and feet a comfortable and sturdy platform. Instead of nylon or plastic, the interior scrim is a dual layer of cotton, which keeps the mat from stretching or bunching underneath you as you move.”

Having a mat that isn’t harming you or the environment is an important aspect reflecting your rising consciousness to make decisions that make our planet a better and healthier place to live. It is very difficult to find a use for old PVC mats and if you through them out they will not likely breakdown anytime soon.

Acceptance

2011-03-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

Nature doesn't always give you a choice. You have an event planned and it pours or in the case of where I live, snows. I woke up yesterday to a world of white and all I could do was accept it. Yoga has given me many things but not the ability to melt the snow. One thing that yoga has taught me is to recognize that I am not in control, grace is leading the way. Grace is the revelatory power of the universe that affirms life.

Sometimes things just are what they are, for no reason. This is not just a world of causality but a world where lila, diving play, operates. Because of lila, plans can change, people can pass away, natural disasters strike. It's what we do with the lila that we can change. Attitude is everything! My whole life I have been accused of having a 'attitude.' It wasn't uncommon for my mom to get calls from the school to discuss that very topic. Where did my bad attitude come from? Partly the environment I was brought up in, partly my nature, who cares at this point. When we shift our attitudes out of the 'i'm a victim in all this" to, a victorious one this aligns us with grace.

When you do that magic happens!!!!

Happiness Right Now!

2011-03-23T05:16:00.000-07:00

I thought of a spiritual path in the past like it was leading me somewhere very special. Sort of like Dorothy going to Oz. But more and more I realize what the phrase "it's a journey not a destination" really means. Part of Dorthy's journey was meeting new friends along the way, spending time with Toto, and fighting off evil flying monkeys and a real witch. What about the actual path, granted hers was bright yellow, easy to see, mine seems a bit confusing sometimes, many forks, many options and sometimes I find it hard to know which way to go. Who do I want to bring with me on my trip to Oz?

The path I have chosen in life, isn't the easy way, my old way was to numb myself, fill my life with drama and stress so after I numbed myself I could feel 'something.' My new way is with a yoga practice, teachers and like minded friends. The yoga way, much harder, but so much more fun. Last weekend, my yellow brick road led me and my hubby to John Friends Detroit workshop. John is one of the most skilled yoga teachers on the planet and you are bound to have a shift when you practice with him. Something in my heart shifts every time I get an opportunity to do yoga with him or listen to his Dharma talks.

John came into my life like a Kansas hurricane and when the dust settled, the winds died down and I dusted off the film from my heart, I could see myself clearly. Happy in this moment, right now, not after I get this, buy this, read this, watch this or do this, just right now! Yoga has taught me so many things, simple but incredibly profound but one of the things it has really taught me, is this is my path and I make the choice to align with the highest, friends, teachers, food, partners, communities. Whenever I choose from the highest I stay connected to myself and my true nature, which is that I am a good girl!

Today I might encounter a angry witch, a tree that throws apples at me, or someone trying to put a spell on me, but today I will also find happiness all around me simply because I am embodied bliss. Yoga is a journey, Oz is here, now!

Spring time Contemplation

2011-03-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

My nose is still running and the kettle's on as I warm up from my walk. All signs pointed me in the direction of outdoors today. Syncing myself up with nature so I can live more harmoniously requires I actually leave my warm home. After a mind-blowing weekend in Detroit with my beloved yoga teacher, John Friend and my amazing yoga friends, my body is sore, I mean I feel every muscle and I love it! My hip is bruised not from yoga but from trying to run to the bathroom and not miss even a moment, alas I fell down the stairs. Any physical pain ignored, pride in check, ran back in to wild applause for the Starne sisters doing Mandalasna with John. Interesting, I have never seen this pose down, I've been dying to try to learn it, then I miss it. No coincidence but divine plan for sure. Great news, my friend Erin can show me so I am going to try it out on Thursday. Another "impossible pose" becomes possible!

I'm not psychic like read your palm, talk to the dead kind, but I am super tuned into nature. I use Doreen Virtue PH.D's magical unicorn oracle cards to give me diving guidance. I'm a big fan of her goddess deck too. Anyway I pick two cards today one from each deck. I do realize how airy fairy it sounds to draw wisdom from a "unicorn deck" but hey I'm totally open so why the heck not, is what I say. I pick the Light card, it reads "see the light within yourself and everyone else." Easy to do after spending 8 hours doing amazing yoga. The next card, get out be some water. Good thing the Thames River runs just behind my house.

The air has the Spring smell to it, crisp and earthy. The ground is spongy, wet, and soft. There are actually green shoots everywhere, waiting to bust out but holding back as if the sense another snow fall, no thanks nature. This time of year is a time of revelation, there's my rake! The river is amazing, fast flowing, overflowing the bank, drowning tree roots and making a heck of a swimming pool for the mallards and Canadian geese. Spring even sounds different from the deep quiet of winter, welcome back noisy robins. The symphony of birds has returned to break the silence, thank goodness, since it gets pretty eire during Canadian winters.

Spring is a time of change, transition and new life. It's also a hell of a lot of work to clean things up again. What have you been eating the last 4 months, where did you think it went? Just to clean up my yard is a lot of work. People ignorantly let their dogs poop on our yard without picking it up, there is garbage EVERYWHERE! Boo! You can only temporarily hide, the thaw reveals all!

I'm excited about this Spring because I know it's bringing BIG changes to my world. Scary and exciting go hand and hand. I hope you get a chance to get your butt outside today, even a 10 minute walk will do. Smile at the robins, be careful by the raging river and see the light within yourself and acknowledge it in others as the walk by. Everyone's in a much better mood, maybe their horny but it's the time of year!

Bountiful blessings to you all,
P.S. if anyone can help me expand my blog audience please let me know how to do that!

Married life and Vimarsha

2011-03-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

Just over a week ago I was married in Punta Cana. The setting was beautiful, white sand beach, turquoise ocean waters, picture perfect blue sky. It was memorable and breathtaking. The contrast of coming back to Canada is a bit tougher but I am slowly starting to settle in again. We had planned the wedding for over a year and technically got married at city hall in November but we did not wear our wedding bands and there was no wedding dress or speeches or anything like that. In fact it was a frigid day in London, Ontario.

All the prep, organizing and travel and it feels like that day went by so fast, because it did. This is part of a strange time warp that occurs when your in love or having a great time. Once I broke my leg snowboarding and it took 45 minutes for the ski patrol to get me down, well that was the longest 45 minutes of my life. The Sanskrit word Kala, means that time is relative and the older I get the more I understand that.

When your a kid summers seem endless, now as a adult weeks whiz by one after another. My teacher, John Friend talked about this in a workshop I took last November in Santa Fe. He said that " when your consciousness knows itself, it is self aware, or when it looks back on itself (vimarsha), it sees that there was a thought that occurred in time. As you get older, we for me anyway, I know that my consciousness is expanding, through many modalities like yoga, meditation, pranayama and because of that my life is passing a faster speed.

I love to hear stories about couples that have been married for over 50 or 60 years, first of all I think that's madness and then I feel so blessed that my partner and I have the opportunity to grow closely and individually together for a very long time. Since time is also related to breath, I love to remind myself to breath and be present with what is. It seems to slow things down a little. The more yoga I do, the better I feel, the more fun I have, the fun I have, the more I live fully. It can explain the saying "time flies when your having fun." Cuz, you betta I am having a blast consciously watching things unfold and get better and better in my life.

om, peace.

Yoga is a Group Effot!

2011-03-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

Speaking from personal experience and from someone that tried to learn most yoga poses from a book or video, I will tell you firstly, it isn't that fun doing yoga in your living alone all the time and two you don't even know if you doing the pose correctly. For example I had a really great book called 40 Days to Personal Revolution, by Baron Baptist and in one of his sequences he was doing Bakasana (crow pose). I took a look at the picture, thought I could do it, gave it a try, landed on my face, skinned my chin, nose and thought I knocked my two front teeth out. Not good! In fact, I was so scared of that pose I didn't try it again for a very long time.

What's going on inside the poses is very important and not really obvious. Example #2, one of my first or second yoga classes, it was at a gym and I don't think the teacher was a "yoga teacher" I think she took a weekend course on how to choreograph a yoga class. I had no idea what I was doing, I was totally digging the blasting U2 song, bouncing and pulling my way down into a seated forward bend, when I heard a SNAP! I heard a snap people, not good! Then I couldn't walk, every time I bent over for a year and a half my hamstring attachment hurt.

Then I found a yoga that invites you to join, if you want to. Creates a deliberate atmosphere where you meet other yogis, like minded beings and you become part of a fun and supportive community. I didn't get it at first. After a few years of pr acting with Todd Norian and Ann Greene, I had a chance to study with John Friend in Florida. I knew nobody, was sort of scared of John, and was nervous about what was going to happen. I was greeted with a bunch of radiant smiles at the door, got my name tag and was very proud to represent Canada, and set up my mat. Everyone seemed to know everyone, except me. I wasn't even there for 5 minutes before total strangers were coming up to me and introducing themselves to me. I was blown away at this idea of community.

My past idea of community included being forced to go to church for many years, going on road trips with other snowboarders or rock climbers, or raves! All of these were a bit dry for my hungry mind. Sure I meet really great people along the way but now I like to spend my time with those people in the community living what they believe in, teaching others how to grow, expand, let go, make money, eat food, and drink wine together. And I value more than anything else the engaging conversation about the world. My friend D-Rail, informed me the other night over another amazing meal by KB (ktotheb.com), that the entire world population of 7 billion peeps could fit into the state of Rhode Island with 6 meters of space per person. That conversation lead to a discussion on collective consciousness.

I've decided I want to hang out with the beings that care, love deeply, care for our planet and all the animals that we share this earth with. I want to learn how to do harder poses by teachers that not only know how to do them themselves because they have practiced them, but they can teach me how to get there too! In my classes I get really excited when everyone can do the best that they can in crow pose or a challenging posture, and they are smiling while they are doing it. We don't leave anyone behind either! But we can only grow and expand as the people in our community are growing and expanding.

When we come together to practice yoga there exists an opportunity that goes so far beyond a simple hello at the front desk. Deep inside the hearts of everyone we long to be part of something bigger, a community that welcomes us and supports us just as we are. I have found this community with Anusara yoga, as well as 200,000 other students. Yep that's how many Anusara students there are in this world and that isn't by mishap, it was completely intentional. John Friend is helping the world connect on the level of the heart and looks to me like he is doing a pretty kick ass job of it too. It's hard not to laugh, expand and meet new friends when you attend one of his workshops or trainings.

My good friend Erin once said to me "wouldn't it be awesome if EVERYONE in London did yoga!" My response was hell ya, that would be amazing and London would be a much different place than it is now. I hope to see your smiling face at yoga soon. If your at all turned off by the talking and laughing at first, give it a chance it might grow on you and you might meet some new friends too.

Me with Gert, we first met in the Anusara Immersion, now she teaches at my studio, Me and my hubby and BF Erin doing drop-backs, may seen scary but it's fun and safe with friends and know-how! Next pic, is Florida right before going in to meet John Friend! Some of the totally amazing gang from me Yoga Teacher Training with Todd Norian and Ann Greene in Lenox.

Why Alignment Matters in Yoga?

2011-02-22T17:29:00.000-08:00

I've been to a few yoga classes where I have heard the teacher suggest that we "do whatever feels good for our bodies," and I have to scratch my head on that one. What feels good is mostly savasana, mild to zero engagement, napping, eating chocolate, sleeping in, you get my point here! What my body needs to do and what it wants to do are 2 separate things. This leads me to what John Friend calls the two main reasons for doing yoga. The first is to have a recognition of our divine nature and secondly to experience the highest forms of delight. Is that going to happen to me if I roll around on the floor, while rounding my spine? I think not and this is why alignment matters!

Yoga is a science that teaches you how to align your body/mind with a higher intention. The physical body has a very specific anatomical blueprint, John calls this the optimal blueprint, that is the most idea position for the body. Who cares? Well if you have any kind of injury yoga can really mess you up if your alignment is not precise and refined but yoga done with really good alignment is called "therapy" and that equals healing and happiness when things don't hurt anymore.

Here's the kicker, this alignment is actually really tough to get and then maintain. It is so much easier to collapse and let go then to hold asana with steadfast awareness and killer alignment. Let your body be your guide! If you are getting hurt from your yoga practice that should be sending a red flag high into the cosmic clouds and then it's time to consider perhaps a different style of yoga.

I've been practicing yoga for only 8 short but very intense years and I used to get hurt all the time on account of my disengaged muscles, collapsing armpits, internally rotating upper arm bones, hyper extended knees, and my finger pads continually lifting off the ground while fully weight bearing. Since then I have been blessed to have found and fallen in love with Anusara yoga. Since that day, those old habits, yes I found it very difficult to break my old collapsing ways, are long gone and what I get from this precise alignment is a practice that continues to expand, without injury and a tremendous amount of joy!

I learned how to engage, expand and align every bone and muscle in my body through my amazing teachers! My deepest gratitude to these very skilled, compassionate, loving and super supportive Anusara teachers! John Friend, Todd Norian, Ann Greene, Sianna Sherman, Desiree Rumbaugh, Shraddha, Noah Maze & Amy Ippoliti, all my love!

These teachers have taught me not only how to align my physical body but how to align my heart with a deep remembrance of what a gift life, embodiment and consciousness truly are!

Yoga is so much more than a streching class!

2011-02-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

Yoga's popularity has increased world world. Even in my community many new studios have opened up, there are lots of options and styles available to anyone or any age or fitness level that wants to start. Let me set your mind straight before you head out, yoga is not just a stretching class, in fact according to John Friend, founder of the globally recognized style of Hatha Yoga, called Anusara, stretching comes after 4 other steps!

On a physical level stretching your muscles are great, it's natural, just watch your dog in the morning when you say "wanna go for a walk" to see what happens. However, on a bio mechanical level just stretching or hanging can be dangerous for your body. In yoga, poses are an offering of your heart not just something where you organize your muscles and bones into a specific arrangement. What goes on in the inside of a pose is where the juicy stuff is and what separates some of the styles of yoga into purely physical or opportunities into a deeper understanding of your true nature.

Yoga will make your muscles strong so they can support your skeleton, with guidance this can lead to a feeling of safety and support in this world. When your muscles also get more flexible, you may find yourself becoming more open to new possibilities not just new poses. Yoga can bring people together in community and at the same time can honour what makes you special.

Beyond stretching yoga's reach is vast and deep, for me the grip of addiction in it's many forms strangling me for years, began to loose it's power as mine increased. Bad habits start dropping like the well formed icicles outside my kitchen window for months, solid, steadfast with some light, some heat they melt and then I can see clearly out my window again.

Contemplate deeply what yoga does for you! How it has impacted your life, your mind, your body and your heart. Get out to classes, regularly, that makes a big difference. Yoga once a week is fine but if you can get another class or 2 you this moments of clarity will expand.

Mindy Willis is an Anusara Inspired Yoga Teacher, living in London, Ontario.

Green Juice

2011-02-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

Just over 3 weeks ago I gave my body and my cupboards a major clean-up! I started to make green juices, almost every day. I have been having 2 of these juices until noon then some yummy vegan eats. The juice is made from 1 cucumber, 5 leaves of romaine lettuce, 1 lemon, 2 green apples, 1 pear, 4 kale leaves, 1/2 bag of celery, ginger, then I add 2 ginseng and a hint of agave nectar. I have cut out almost 100% of the gluten from my diet and I can honestly say I haven't felt this good for many years, health wise.

I've been a vegetarian for over 17 years now but my diet needed a lot of help. This time the help came in the form of a book, by Kriss Carr, My Crazy Sexy Diet. I highly recommend this book, it is so informational and inspiring. For many years of my life I suffered from a horrible eating disorder that ruled my life and it all started to change when I began yoga. Yoga helped so much, I just stopped throwing up everything I ate and for the first time in my life genuinely cared about my bod!

Although, I think I ate healthier than most, I knew I could do better. My wee Starbucks addiction, an innocent Soy Chai Tea Latte and a molasses cookie 2 times a week was unhealthy and I knew it. That latte has as much sugar in it as a pop does, so don't kid yourself if you have fallen into the chai tea trap too. Other than that my busy lifestyle made it hard to prepare and I realize now that eating the best, freshest and healthiest food is expensive, a lot of work, both preparing and prepping but it 100% worth it in the end.

Make a change today whether it is cutting out those chai lattes, coffee, too much alcohol, gluten, soy, eggs, dairy or meat. I know that you will feel so much better in only a few weeks. Plus your bod will love you for it by dropping extra pounds around the belly, thighs, backs of the arms and rear end! Kriss Carr recommends doing this with a buddy for inspiration and motivation. Whatever floats your boat, just get it in the water first by cleaning out your cupboards and replacing what is in them with whole foods. Throw out anything that is white, refined or processed. Your doing yourself a favour in the end!

om peace

The Inner Warmth of Yoga

2011-01-12T04:23:00.000-08:00

Every time I practice yoga I get a warm glow inside my heart. Anusara Yoga is a life-affirming heart centered yoga that allows students to awaken their hearts. I have had this experience over and over again. Sometimes it happens when I am on my mat, sometimes it happens when I am driving my car, sometimes it happens when I am in coversation with a friend. It is like getting bit by a yoga bug, it is hard to forget once you experience the warmth of self-knowing.

I want to be very clear on this, you don't need to heat the room to 100 degrees to feel the warmth of yoga instead the heat is created within as the mind blazes new trails through your consciousness. The resistance of old ways of thinking of yourself create friction, heat, tapas.

Yoga, unites me with mySelf! I am reminded to go in first, that all I need is there, now, waiting for me to remember. When I try to go out, I get lost, frustrated, my expectations let me down. In one conscious breath I can go down into my heart and be embraced with love. I can't wait till I can practice again.

Jungle Love in Costa Rica

2011-01-05T12:05:00.001-08:00

Well I just got back from the jungle which was a highly expansive and powerful trip. I can finally say that I have seen some insects the size of my hand now! The trip was amazing from the moment the door to the plane opened up and we stepped out to feel a strong, warm wind. After a 2.5 hour drive, half of it a crazy dirt road, we arrived at our new home for the week, Casa Capatian.
The next morning we had a nice tour around, followed by an amazing breakie of fresh fruit, smoothies, the food was delicious all around. Off to the beach, wow, endless beach on both the right and left. The ocean was showing off with her beach break surf that I could not wait to get into to. My lifelong wish of surfing, finally! I surfed almost everyday we were there and I find I am already missing the ocean, the waves (some very scary and intimidating) and the feeling of freedom when you catch a wave and ride it out.
While in the jungle I saw, giant grasshoppers, we mistook them birds at first, scorpions, butterflies, tropical flowers, palm trees, bamboo, sugar cane, mangroves, buzzards, unfamiliar birds, sea shells, a dead tortoise, 2 dead armadillos, giant iguanas, dogs, cats, horses, ticos and ticas, gorgeous red sunsets and dark nights illuminated only by the light of the millions of visible stars. I am still savoring all the wonderful highlights of this trip.
I am thrilled to have been able to teach and introduce Anusara Yoga to yogis on the retreat, meet and reconnect with friends, share many meals with the new kula and celebrate the beginning of the new year (we were in way before the clock struck midnight) with amazing people in an amazing place. I am already putting out the vibe to go back and teach another retreat there.

Buenos dias!
Mindy

How Ayurveda can keep you healthy over the holidays

2010-12-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

The ancient science of Ayurveda has many practical and easy suggestions to stay healthy in every season. I was introduced to Ayurveda in 2004 and it has changed the way I eat, shower, sleep, nap, drive, you name it and it has a new meaning after learning about my dosha.

Your constitution(dosha) is very important in order for you to stay healthy and live a long and happy life. The three doshas are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, air/space, water/fire, water, earth. These Mahabhutas (master elements) impact everything about you from the way your dream, think, walk, talk, what you are attracted to, and what you don't like.

Knowing your dosha is essential to make positive changes that create and restore balance in the mind-body. Here are my top 3 favorite Ayurvedic techniques that have helped me over the years.

1. Abhyanga - Full body oil massage. Heat up the oil (sesame for vata, coconut for Pitta, sunflower/safflower/mustard for Kapha) , rub it all over, leave it on, then have a hot shower/bath. Clean only the parts that need it and leave the oil on. Benefits, relieves dry skin, keeps you feeling warmer and detoxifies the body.

2. Neti Pot - For years I have raved about the benefits of this practice. Neti pot is done with a small pot that has a spout. Mix some warm filtered water with ionized salt, tip your head pour the water through, after warm use Nasaya oil to keep your nose lubricated. Benefits, helps prevent colds/flu by maintaining a healthy, clean mucus membrane in your nose, gets rid of excess phlegm and mucus, helps keeps sinuses clear and open.

3. Tongue Scraping - I can't live without my stainless steel tongue scraper. It's a small metal (you got it, depends on your dosha which is best to use) u shaped scraper that you drag across your tongue from back to front 7 to 14 times to remove the buildup of ama (toxins) that settle on your tongue. It is especially noticeable first thing in the morning. When you stick your tongue out you may see a whitish, or yellowish layer, that's ama and if you use your toothbrush on your tongue you're only pushing it deeper into your tongue. Think of your tongue as a shag carpet! Main benefit, your breath is fresher, tongue is clean so you taste food better, and you get rid of ama instead of swallowing it or pushing it deeper into your tongue.

I hope you enjoyed this little intro about the way Ayurveda has helped me to be healthier and happier!!!

Shovelasana - Syallabus 5

2010-12-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

Talk about an extreme pose, SHOVELASANA! Wow did it ever snow a lot here in the last 24 hours, which means shoveling for many of us. Every year thousands of people seriously hurt their backs from shoveling. Many of the injuries are related to loaded flexion of the spine (rounding in your lumbar back) add some rotation in there and that spells danger for your discs.

The discs in your spine act like tiny shock absorbers and are like a jelly filled doughnut (what a great word -DOUGHNUT). When you round forward it causes the jelly (meniscus) to squeeze out the back or sides, if you do this over and over and over again, you can tear, herniate or rupture these discs. The most common site of bulging or herniated discs are L5 - S1. The bulging disc is only part of the problem, it impinges on the nerves that run through your spine and can cause debilitating pain, and numbness.

Prevention is far easier than treatment folks. If your back has been impaired Anusara Yoga offers several bio mechanical alignments that can relieve the pain, the swelling and even heal the rupture. It takes constant work, every day though, you can't let it slide!

Many yoga students have been taught to roll up and down or bend into a forward bend while loading the spines flexion mostly at L5-S1, or even hang while doing that. Sure every once in a while no big deal, in fact a wide variety of movements are good for your spine BUT, if you are a serious yoga student and you do this kind of movement everyday, this can be weakening the discs in the spine and you never know what action will potentially rupture the weakened disc.

If your yoga practice is causing you more pain, and not just in your back or your're getting injured you likely have no muscular engagement that helps hold the spine in it's natural, safe alignment. Pain is the bodies way of telling you that something is misaligned somewhere.

Emergency rooms, walk-in clinics and doctors offices will be filled today with people that injured their backs shoveling (although now you know perhaps that action was the 'straw that broke the camels' back' Sorry, I had to say it!)

So practice SHOVELASANA, first check your attitude, open up to a bigger energy like the one dumping all the beautiful unique snowflakes down from the sky, enjoy this SNOWDAY, do a little bit a time, don't lift more than you can handle, small scoops, hire someone to do it for you, if you are doing it yourself than alignment is the key to reducing the chance that you may end up flat on your back, missing work and having fun for the rest of the week.

Bend your knees deep, create a curve in your lower back by taking your thigh bones, in, back, and apart, once you have a curve, lengthen your tailbone down, draw your belly in (a strong core also supports a strong back), keep your spine long and listen to your body

Also I recommend coming in having a warm tea and do a backbend practice. Your legs govern your lower back so if you are having pain in your lumber spine that make sure you are engaging your legs, lift and spread your toes, hug your shins to the midline and then take you thigh bones, in, back, and apart.

I would never myself do backbends with pulling my knees into my chest in between. If the backbends are causing you pain (discomfort is normal)then there is a good chance you are not optimally lines up and need some clear instructions on how to do that. I can help you with sore backs!

I LOVE the snow,it means snowboarding for me and I can't wait to hit the slopes with my pain-free back :) that was created through proper, specific alignment in yoga!

The Holy-Days are here

2010-12-04T06:20:00.000-08:00

I am about to get ready to venture down to the mall to do some holiday shopping. I am not even there yet and I know the parking lots will be full of cars, the roads are icy because we had our first real snowfall yesterday, and people can be... well.... stressed lets say around this time of the year.

So, here is my yoga practice while at the mall. I will stand in Mountain pose with my feet aligned (center of the heels out to the base of my second toes) which I will do through my winter boots. I will microbend my knees and take the top of my thighs back so my femur bones sit well deep in there homes, I will lengthen my tailbone and from there I will be physically grounded and emotionally. Then comes the hard part, lengthen up through my spine to the very top of my head and beyond to the sun, stars and moon but this is the toughest, I will keep my heart open!

In the hustle and bustle I will keep my eyes open so I don't miss all the beautiful lights and decorations. We can get so myopic when we are deep in the crowds. Then I will acknowledge that these folks are just trying to do what I am doing which is get a gift for someone I love or care for to remind them that we love them this holiday season.

If I don't get you a present this year, forgive me! Know that you are loved and love doesn't need to be in box, with wrapping paper and a bow. I will challenge you to do the same the next time you are caught in a long line up of holiday shoppers since that might your toughest yoga practice to date!

om and warm holiday blessings,
m

Light in the Dark

2010-11-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

As the days get shorter, the dark comes early and the desire to snuggle up with a cup of warm tea and my cozy blanket calls. These will be some of the darkest days of the year in London, Ontario but there is always light in the dark. We just put up our tree and I love to sit by it's warm glow. Even walking around outside people have put up their holiday lights to brighten up the darkest days. I love that single candle in the window of a dark home. So symbolic of the light within our hearts. It's precious and sometimes we forget it's even there. I use my yoga practice to remind me of the light of my consciousness, my mind, and my heart. When I close my eyes no matter what time of the day or where I am I can still see the dance of a faint light. The Yin-Yang represents just that. We can only know the dark because we know the light. We can only know what being and living positive means because we know what it is like to live in the negative. In Tantra, two energies that seem totally opposite are actually complementary. The dark has it's place, as does the light. The yogi always remembers the light and honours the darkness.
warm cups of tea and cozy blankets to you.
om
Mindy

Anusara Yoga in Santa Fe with John Friend highlights

2010-11-01T14:04:00.001-07:00

WOW, that is the only place I can begin to describe what went down in Sante Fe over the last 5 days. First, Sante Fe is so beautiful they call it the land of enchantment. The retreat center is on a mountain of rose quartz and home of the Carmelites. The sunsets here are so beautiful and every day the sky was clear, blue and vast. Being surrounded on all sides by the magnificant mountains, Sangre de Cristo Mountain, Spanish, in English it means "Blood of Christ" they are actaully part of the Rocky Mountains, and got their name for the red colou the mountains take on at sunset and sunrise. Sante Fe is surrounded by other mountain ranges like then Culebra Range,Taos Mountains, Rincon Mountains, and the Santa Fe Mountains.

It is pretty amazing to be here on Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. You should have seen the puja! WOW, it was full of pictures of loved ones that had passed, skeletons, flowers, candles, and candy. On this day the viel between the spirit world becomes very thin, making it easier to connect with ancestors of the past. I felt a very deep connetion to my Grandpa -Norman Willis, he always supported my wackiness and I loved him dearly. I was brought to tears many times as John instructed us to remeber the way those people we cared about laughed, spoke,and walked. Truly powerful. I also felt connected to my Uncle Mono (Germono Ongaro) who passed away many years ago, he had a strong presence in our family and we all miss him still.

Canada had great representation there too, Catherine Heighway (London), Lynn and her hubby from Winnipeg, Robin Galt from Montreal and myself. But seriously Canada, when I get back I am going to work very hard at expanding Anusara in our city and in Canada. We are a bit behind and we don't have to be.

Okay so here are some John highlights:
~ Halloween is John's New Year! It is the time of year that we move into the dark, where we plant seeds that will be nutured over the next few months and manifest in the Spring.
~ Shiva Shakti Tantra is a blend of the the northern India's Shaivism and South India's Goddess teaching.
~The essence of helping people is love, duh! Too bad not everyone is aware of that.
~The viels get thin at this time of the year between the absolute and the relative worlds so we have more access to spirts. This is the week to learn how to become more physic.
~Being tight leads to dullness of life. In yoga you learn to be sensitive and feel more, be more in tune.
~Be open to what really is without preference.
~You are more vulnerable when you are tight and contracted that is why being open is so important We can move through life with more ease and grace.
~Most people will come to yoga as their last resort for healing and Anusara teachers are highly trained to meet them where they are and help them to shift their attitude, line up so healing can happen.
~Working on your feet can clear your hole body because they are full of terminal points.
~RICE is an old way of treating injuries. John teaches therapies from a sprained ankle, a hip replacement, falls, breaks, everything!
~The body holds memories, they come up and are released with these therapies when the body is ready to let them go, it can take some time.
~ You have to be ready and willing to drop old ways of seeing yourself. If you are ready to do that then we are here to serve you.
-What seems chaotic is not. Naure is full of patterns, even raindrops have a pattern when the fall.
-The universe communicates in ways that you are not expecting.
-om should be chanted with an ng sound at the end and your mouth open, even though John had been teaching it with the mouth closed for years. Because he is open to learn something new.
- Any yoga pose is a double edge sword. Healing or hurting.
-Yoga is living with excellence. Everything we do we do with awareness.
-Bandha not a lock but refer to the locks you would see in waterways, they are channels that direct the prana.
-Question authority or paradigms!
-You can become allergic to oats if you eat oatmeal everday for breakfast.
-You can`t change what you don`t notice.
-muscle cramps happen because musclar energy and organic energy are not balanced.
-Prana is the messenger of the mind.
-MS research shows a connection to eating wheat! No wheat Mommy|

okay so there is about 20 more pages of notes. That`s all the tid bites for now! See you in London on Wednesday morning.

Meditation in New Mexico

2010-10-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm at the Toronto airport waiting for my flight to Sante Fe. I always get a bit nervous when I fly but I have found several ways to help me get through it with more ease. In 2003 I was taught a meditaiton that I used for 4 years with great benefits.

These days I meditate on Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. I have to tell you his works like magic for me. Meditation is a tool to help foucs the mind. Many people think that the purpose of mediation is to stop your thoughts. Ask anyone who meditates if that is possible and I think they would tell you that you can't do it.

Instead meditation can be used to redirect thoughts, for example using a mantra. I find the use of a mantra helps remind me of why I am meditating and what I am meditating on. Most cities have meditation groups which can really help you get started. I love to mediate with others since it feels so powerful. I am happy to sit quietly and use my mala beads, like right now in the airport or on the plane or perhaps ontop of a moutain of rose quartz in New Mexico.

If you are interested in following my journey I thank you and I will share as openly from my heart as I can.

May all being be happy, free and at peace,
om,
mindy

It feels so good to expand my boundries!!!

2010-10-17T11:07:00.001-07:00

I am having a bit of a hard time typing since I am still buzzing from the yoga practice we did this morning. A few months ago I was randomly inspired to go deeper into my yoga poses and really breakthrough the places in my body that I feel are stuck or tight. I found the tightest place in my body is right behind my heart, that part of my spine has been the most stubborn to move, but not anymore. I realized how much hard work it takes to get into that place and I am more than willing to do it after feeling my heart fully open and expand.

There is nothing easy about the path of yoga! Yoga is not a casual effort you make every now and again. If you truly want expansion then you must apply the right-effort and not passively sit by the side-lines of life waiting for something to happen. Year after year the deeper I go into yoga, the more I learn about myself, my fears, my limitations, my boundries and by knowing that I can safely, slowly expand from there.

Today I was surrounding by some of the most amazing yogis in our community, committed to practicing 128 poses in a row, it was very very difficult, we were at our boundries and we smiled when we radically expanded from the place that we started. I have said this many times, I have NEVER been the same and neither has my yoga practice since doing the 3 Anusara Syllabus series from beginning to end. I hope you will be inspired to join us next time.

Smiling from the heart and through every fabric of my being,
Mindy
Check out the making of the Anusara Poster with the amazing Darren Rhodes

Life Changing Experience

2010-09-29T04:55:00.001-07:00

After a full week of recovery I am almost, but not quite back to normal. A seemingly harmless change of hair colour translated into a severe allergic reaction including my entire head swelling, a visit to the ER, headaches, body aches and not being able to go to work. Not only was this a physical journey but an emotional one.

I care about the way I look! Is that because I was born with an ego, I suppose but I know that my ego is part of who I am and I don't need to transcend my ego to reach Self-Realization. The ego can play tricks on our minds but we must learn to redirect the ego back to our true nature. I am aware that I am aware! I am joyful that I am awake! Pratabhijna is the splendor of Self-Recognition, when the individual self, realizes the Universal Self, and that can be recognized in this moment, right now!

Sicknesses, injuries, traumatic experiences, loss at situations in which we can become cloaked, isolated, depressed and it leads to a feeling of disconnect. That feeling has haunted me for the last week but as I heal and move forward instead of just looking at this experience as horrible, I am looking at how it connects me back to the big picture again. What have I learned about myself? What work do I need to do to stay connected? Every experience is a learning opportunity and I am taking my time to figure out how I will expand my own consciousness from this particular experience.

I know where all the guys are!!!

2010-09-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

I figured out where all the guys are when their lady counterparts are at yoga. So where do you think they are? They are at hockey, that's right hockey. I was just a two Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie games and it is full of guys and if they weren't at the game they were likely watching it on tv.

So how do we inspire our male consorts to start stepping it up and doing some yoga? Suggestions? No really please tell me!!! It is strange that most of the yoga classes are filled up with woman with a few men sprinkled in. I love when there are more guys in the class, it does help to balance the feminine energy, plus the om and innvocation sound so much better with their deeper tones.

I guess we need to bribe them to come, tell them you will go to a hockey game with them if they will come to yoga with you. That seems like a fair trade to me. Let me know how it goes or I can't wait to meet your boyfriends, husbands and friends at yoga very soon.

Yoga is not just for women, humanity needs this practice!

Peace,
Mindy

Iceberg Effect

2010-09-11T05:38:00.001-07:00

Unlike El Nino which is a warming effect, the iceberg effect it a a chilling experience. You probably already know this but please let me put my 3 years of University to some use here. Only the tip of the iceberg is showing on the surface, one ninth to be more specific, hence "this is the tip of the iceberg" saying. I am not really relating this to physical Geography although I find that all intriguing, but instead I am referring to the mystery of life and the ways in which we see the tip and then remember and relive our problems and our past.

When I look back into the past, I recount this memories of friends and experience that I can conveniently categorize by the tip, the one person that reminds me of the other people I used to hang out with because of that one person, or the stories tied to that particular iceberg. That person only has to grace my mind in a passing thought and I remember the entire iceberg below.

The mind creates pathways through our habitual thoughts and our experiences so it makes sense that we may have a hard time seeing the big picture or we are reminded of it just by seeing that one person from our past. It doesn't depend on whether the person represents a "positive" or "negative" our minds will flashback to the past and all the sorted details of the relationship.

I remember hiding from an ex-boyfriend since I didn't want him to see me, even though I could see him, all the while I am fuming "he's this,that, ahh that one time he did this to me, and so on and on and on and on. That can go on for some time, if we let it. Then we have a Titanic situation on our hands, we see the iceberg, we are heading right for it, then boom, you know the rest. So have can we steer out minds in a new direction?

I suggest yoga, I know big surprise for some of you, but really, yoga gives us a chance to re steer our minds, habits, attitudes toward something better, like the setting sun on the ocean. Through yoga we can learn how to hold the image of a challenging person in our hearts, minds, and bodies with space, maybe even forgiveness. Easier said than done, like most yoga. It is really in the practice that we create a capacity to actually do it, without it make no mistake it is far easier to see the tip of the iceberg and then dive deep into your mind and pull out a bunch of painful stories of betrayal, hurt and abandonment.

Metta is the practice of loving kindness. It can be a way to help you move on from your past, cut the ties to that iceberg or at least admire their beauty from a distance without steering right into them. This is not something I feel can happen on your first attempt, I am quite certain it can and will take some time to learn how to steer your ship so be patient, open, soft and even forgiving toward yourself. It might help your cruise through your day a bit easier or at least without catastrophe.

happy travels and much metta!
Mindy

Anusara Video - The Heart of Transformation

2010-09-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

I was super excited to come home yesterday and see my shipment of the new Anusara movie. I snuggled up last night after a wonderful weekend in Buckhorn lake, getting deeply connected to nature and nurturing myself as I transition into Fall. The movie was great, I just love to hear John speak and it was awesome to hear all of the other teachers talking about their own personal journey with Anusara. i can relate to almost all of the other teachers and also the love that we all feel for John and the work that he is doing for our community. I really want everyone to see this video so you have a deeper understanding about what this is all about.

What Anusara is about for me is a way, a method, a opportunity for me to live more fully from my heart. Easier said than done. I realize I have more work to do but that it is just getting better and better as I go. One day I hope to be in that circle of teachers, closest to John because I truly believe that we can all change the world but that it begins within our own community. Every time I teach a yoga class my intention is to bring my students into the sacred space of their own hearts, the place of a connection to something bigger, to have a moment where they accept themselves as they are.

I can only offer my humble gratitude to my teacher Todd Norian that once told me in the midst of my confustion...."Mindy you just have to follow your heart." Once again easier said than done but since that was over 5 years ago I really trust my heart more than I ever have and it has only lead me to bigger and better things. Does that take courage, discipline, effort, you bet it does but when these moments of total delight follow you know in your heart it is so worth it.

I am heading to Sante Fe, New Mexico for more John and I can't wait!!! I appreciate everyone that has been supporting me on this journey and I can't wait to support you on your path however I can. Follow your heart today and you will be transformed.
om
Mindy

Kula

2010-08-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

I used to think I could teach myself everything I needed to know about yoga from books and through home practice. I know that although I deepened my understanding of yoga and myself by doing that, I was also very limited in how expansive I could become alone. This is where Kula and community comes in. If you have been coming to my class lately I have really been trying to hard to inspire community, let me clarify, meaningful community in my classes and the studio. Without yoga friends this can be a lonely path. I love love love the community that we are building at The Mindful Body. I hold it in the highest light. I have seen friendships begin, old relationships end, love bloom and kinship of a special kind at the studio and it truly touches my heart. The bottom line is you need to get involved in the community, even if your shy, I get it but smile, say hello, take a chance to meet someone new every class, and you will see that it gets easier. I want students to know that most of the people that come to class would probably never crossed paths in this lifetime and to understand that not only have we crossed paths but I am honoured to walk beside you, as a teacher, student, and a friend. Love to my Kula, lets grow our community. Please bring your friends to a free class the entire week from Sept 7th to the 11th and spread the love!

Lululemon Ambassador Summit highlights!

2010-08-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 2 weeks since the summit in Vancouver and I am still lit up over the entire event. First I have to offer my deepest gratitude to everyone at Lululemon that believed in my to send me there to be a part of this event. I am so grateful to be part of the Lululemon community and it has only grown since being in Vancouver connecting on a deeper level to what Lulu is all about. The entire Summit was about ways in which we can elevate our communities. So hear it is folks, what do we need in our community to elevate it?? I agree London is a bit on the conservative side so what can we/I do to inspire greatness here? I want to know what you think. If you have any suggestions for me please speak up, I want to serve this community the best that I can.
I was also amazed and blown away by the other ambassadors, wow what amazing people!!! I had 3 Olympians at my table when I was eating breakfast, total honour! I have to give a huge shout out to the Ambassadors in our community Dave, Lisa, Heather, Brian sorry if I missed anyone but what a true honour to be in each others company.
So apparently Lulu likes to break the mold and rules!!! I guess that is one of the reasons I like this company so much. They are not afraid to be themselves, and in order to shift people from mediocre to greatness sometimes you just have to! Not everything fits nicely into a box or label so Lulu's are always thinking outside the box for creative ways at making this world better! So cool.
Peace my lulu friends and yogis in our community get down there and pick out a nice outfit, support our local store, you need to know how much this company gives back!!! Not to mention I saw how much work goes into making one sports bra and it is so impressive. okay now i'm done!

Yoga at the Beach

2010-08-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

I just had a great weekend with some great friends at the beach. One of the reasons I like the beach so much is that I love doing yoga in the sand. Sure you are giving up some of the stability of the floor but the sand is a soft catch if you try a new pose and fall over. I did my very first drop back on the beach and maybe some other poses too. Yesterday all three of us were in a line doing headstand, how fun?? Warning, you may get some strange looks but people are really just curious and want to know what your doing? Last Thursday we had a group of kids watching us and clapping when we did handstands and arm balances. Before you know it you will see kids and adults staring to give it a try too. I think seeing a group of adults laughing, hula hooping, spinning poi, swimming and laughing is so great for the next generation. You choose how you participate in the world so choose well and have fun :)
Blessed to have great people in my life and to live by the beach,
Mindy

Beloved Anusara

2010-07-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

I too like so many other students and teachers passionate about Anusara and John have felt the desire to say something about the article written by the New York Times. If you have not yet had a look then be sure to check it out. I don't feel that the author was truly able to capture what Ansuara is all about. In fact it is very difficult to capture an experience or to speak from your heart clearly about it.

Our London kula traveled to Detroit to study with John when the Times were shooting pics of the class. There are so many things that tugged on my heart strings about they way it was written I needed some time to process and step back. After coming back from Paris and having the joy of getting to spend 7 days with John (the most amount of time since I first met him back in 2007) was an absolute expanding experience. John is a source of light, knowledge and love for those that choose to walk with him on this path.

I believe that the article did a crappy job of truly describing what John has created, which in my opinion is a style of yoga that touches your heart, spirit and opens the body. Before yoga I suffered like many others from addictions, like an eating disorder, shopping addiction, gambling issues and many others and only really truly began to heal my life when I was introduced to Anusara Yoga. I had tried and was also passionate about other styles of yoga (particularly hot yoga and vinyasa) when I first started in 2003. I found that the Anusara teachers (Todd Norian and Ann Greene) were so welcoming of me and supportive, I remember sitting in awe at The Toronto Yoga Show in 2004 at how many people were going up and hugging them both. I knew exactly what they were talking about after spending only a few hours as a student in the loving guidance. I gained so much clarity on yoga were I felt more confused then ever by studying all the different types with the subtle but powerful underlying philosophies.

In the article the author refers to John as 'doughy' and I think WTF, how can you talk about this man that has helped so many of us on so many levels heal and love life, how can you call him 'doughy'. John is an unwavering presence at the core of the Anusara system. He created a yoga that frankly works miracles of healing through his no nonsense biomechanical and yet deeply spiritual teachings. I have healed not only my injuries but my heart with Anusara and the amazing teachers that I have been blessed with.

I am sadly guilty and working each day to grow as a student and teacher when speaking of other types of yoga. I don't feel any shift, or do some yoga teachers even mention why I am practicing yoga, what are the deeper meanings or even say anything at all about spirit, in fact some yoga teachers are told not to talk about it in their classes. Again I have to question that. I have been to yoga classes with "certified teachers" that don't have a clue about alignment and actually set their students up for injuries some very serious. I have been adjusted out of good alignment by teachers but never an Anusara teacher. I went to a class in Windsor where the teacher was blasting Lady Gaga while showing us her vinyasa home practice, blasted by heat dishes at the front of the class, while the rest of the class lingered in what I see as dangerous alignment.

Part of the Anusara system that is so powerful is the certification process. If the teacher is certified I know I am going to have a great class, learn, expand, meet new people, and other than that I just don't have confidence in some of the yoga teachers out there. I don't question that their heart is in the right place and they truly want to serve their community but they don't have sufficient training or any at all for that matter. As a student first I have been to some horrible classes and with the rise of yoga's popularity it seems to me like that is more and more common.

I am a huge spokesperson for Anusara since yes like many others my life has evolved in a way I never ever thought possible and I send my deepest, sweetest gratitude to my teachers Todd Norian, Ann Greene, Martin Kirk, Noah, Tara, Ross, and so on.... and especially to John for all that he has done for this world. He deserves all the successes that he has and if you are open can teach you how to remember your own worthiness and live an inspired, fun, happy and healthy life too.

Peace and blessings,
Mindy

Here is the article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/magazine/25Yoga-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1

Gratitude

2010-07-15T05:15:00.000-07:00

Well I am happy to be back in Canada, with my family (pug and Marty). We were in Paris for almost 2 weeks and it was so spectacular. What a radical expansion it is to visit a new country, see their culture, eat the food. We saw so many things that were new I can barely keep it all straight, it seems like a blur. That trip to Paris was a huge marker for me and what I dream of.

I am closer and closer to getting certified. Each time I study with John, I get it more and more and more. John Friend is one of the most inspiring yoga teacher that has walked this planet. What he does every day is so amazing, that it is truly a blessing to be able to spend my time learning and growing under his watchful eye. My dream means that I must travel and Paris was a stepping stone on that path. I am planning to go to the next training with him in New Mexico and by then will be almost ready to write the exam and take the next few steps on this amazing path of teacher training.

Now that we are hope, I am so grateful for no-smoking by-laws. It seems that so many people smoke in Paris, old and very young. I was a bit taken back by it all, it made me feel sick many times. I rode the waves of health from a terrible cramping episode the day before the training, that had me bed ridden, possibly from drinking the water, but not sure, to moments of feeling great, followed by well more sickness, throwing up and just feeling out of sorts digestion wise. Back home I am so grateful for all the food, veggies and fruits that was have access to and especially the kitchen. Food is so important, we must enjoy what we eat, who we are eating with and how we are eating.

om peace,
Mindy

From Paris with Love Vol.3

2010-07-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

This is such an amazing place, I am loving my time learning from John and all the other students here. I have noticed that at times I am so emotional, i just start to cry, tears that are truly originating from a deep gratitude to be able to recieve this knowledge from John. I know, just like in the past, that every time I step fully onto the path of Anusara, I am a new person, stronger, more sensitive, more attuned, more physically aligned.

We just got back from the Eiffel Tower where there is a huge line up to take the elevator up, but a small line up for the stairs. Today was hot, the hottest it's been since we have been here and I was all for taking the stairs. Staris are a really good idea since it has been very difficult for us to find food other than the amazing fresh breads and cheeses and I am pretty sure that I will be bringing back some extra weight from Paris and it is not from souveniers either. Everyone enjoys the experience of food here, we are too but honestly I miss my juicer.

bon soir,
Mindy

From Paris with Love Vol 2.

2010-07-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

I did intend to blog much more but it is so amazing here I am just always out taking everything in. We went on a bike tour (crazy, I will NEVER EVER complain about traffic and the drivers in London, you would know if you have been to Paris). The bike tour ended with an awesome boat ride on the Seine River and through Paris highlighting all of the amazing buildings that make the Paris skyline so amazing. The Eiffel Tower sparkles with thousands of lights every night on the hour, it is beautiful!!!

Now to update you on the Teacher Training with John. The training is going amazing. Each day is intense and full. The room has about 130 students from 17 different countries (there are a few other Canadians, woowhoo!!!!). There are translators for both French and Spanish. We have begun doing some practice teaching and each day it gets a bit more layered. I was finally able to make a comment out loud in the class, I was sweating, my heart was racing and my face was beat red. I have so much respect for John and this system I always want to be clear and speak intelligently. He is randomly calling on us to get up in front of the room and teach. I pray that he asks me and that he doesn't know I am there at the same time.

He is so supportive of all of the students and we have been speaking a lot on Adhikara, which is studentship. It is important for you to know what type of student you are since the amount of knowledge I can share with you depends upon your desire to know and ask questions. I promise to be the best student always, so that i can better serve all my students. This training only solidfies why I am here, why I am teaching yoga.

For all my friends and kula back home I am sending you love everyday! I am dedicated to this system fully and will stay focused on every detail while i am here. Please stay cool, I hear that there is a wicked heat wave back home. Breathe in through you mouth making a small o-shape (like sucking air up through a straw), this can help cool your body temperature.

Missing you all,
Mindy

John Friend in Paris

2010-07-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

I am always amazed but never surprised at how everthing aligns. I have to begin by thanking you for sending me healing vibes yesterday. Just over 24 hours ago I was bedridden with cramps and feeling horrible. I posted that I was in need of some extra love and energy and show up for John's workshop and the first topic of discussion is how when we think of someone we can actually change their electromagnetic field. John's class was so great today! As soon as we sat to center he asked us what our intention was, what did we offer, what did we need? I needed to remember I am worthy, I am divine, I am healing with every breath and I immediately began to feel better when I aligned myself with something bigger than the painful cramps that still lingered. Now a few hours later and wine, bread, cheese and wonderful company with Marty and Robin I feel on top of the world. The Effiel tower is so amazing tonight, it is sparkling with tons of lights.
bon nuit mon amie,
Mindy

Paris Bound!

2010-06-30T04:45:00.000-07:00

I am like a kid before Christmas, can't sleep, so excited to go on this adventure. This will be my first time in Europe, the longest flight I have been on so far and I am sharing this experience with Marty, which I know will make it even better. The main reason for his trip is to study with my beloved teacher John Friend. It starts off with a weekend workshop then 5 days of teacher training with him focusing on Shiva-Shakti Tantra. I am positive that I will return with some great stuff and can't wait to share it with you. Thank you everyone that has been supporting me on this journey toward certification. I will be blogging while in Paris so keep checking my blog for updates.

Au revoir mon ami...
Bonjour Paris :D

light,
Mindy

The Passing of a Yogi

2010-06-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

I just found out some sad news, the passing of one of our community's yogi teachers, Calvin Hawn
Calvin passed due to a car accident early on Tuesday morning. Sadly I found out last night and instantly felt deeply saddened to hear about the end of this man's life. I started to see Calvin around at The Lotus Centre, in 2004 and have ran into him many times over the last few years. He always had a big bright smile and was always beaming with positivity. He started a Daily Gratitude that many people in our community followed on his facebook.
I realized that I have been very fortunate since I have not been affected personally with news like this for a while now, in fact since my grandfather passed in 2002. The end of his life is really just a new beginning. This past week I have been teaching my students about Karuna, the emotion of sadness. When we go beyond our own sadness, we move toward compassion. Compassion allows us to heal and to let go. The rasa of sadness, deserves it's place in our mind-body, but I take comfort in knowing this is all part of a pulsation, that joy will replace the sadness and then the sadness will return. If we understand our human experience so full of emotions, such a wild ride sometime,then we can remember the place within us that never changes, never dies, the place of pure, auspicious light, of peace, deep in our hearts. Every time I do yoga I connect to that place inside of me and through compassion to those around me. Sending love and light to Calvin Hawn, a wonderful yogi in our community that left a trail of light behind him, in order to remind us of our own light.

Veerya Rasa

2010-06-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

This week I am teaching classes that remind us of our courageous nature. Each person will expereince Veerya Rasa - Courage in their own way. For some people it will be to taste a new food for others bungee jumping is just not enough so these rasa's are relative to one's personal life experience. You will be facing what you fear on your yoga mat, you may see or feel things coming up that are not pleasant but be courageous because you will uncover so much good stuff about yourself, you will touch a part of yourself that is a fearless warrior.

Roar today......

om
min

Abhuta Rasa

2010-06-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

I had such a great time last week teaching about Abhuta Rasa. When we can just be in the unknown, present in the moment we are filled with awe, but as soon as we understand the how and why that feeling disappears. I believe it is important to acknowledge your feelings and emotions in the moment, to sit with them, to taste them, to be okay with them. If you give emotions space and acknowledgment then they can happily move through your body and they don't get stuck or ignored and because you are acknowledging them they will dissipate.

in awe,
Mindy

70 Birthday Salutations this Morning

2010-05-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

This morning I continued the tradition of doing as many Sun Salutations as my age. Each one dedicated to that particular year of my life, from a thought in my parents hearts, to womb, to kicking and screaming, then growing up, tragedy, triumph, miracles, meltdowns, successes, failures, loves, heartbreaks, friendships present and past, perfect health, sicknesses, life, death, falling off bikes, climbing mountains, snowboarding through powder, dreams, desires, camping trips, University, Casey and Betty, acne, eating disorders, tattoos, road trips, yoga trips, yoga, light, dark, sandals, snowshoes, lakes, rivers, sunrises, sunsets, amazing ideas, very bad ideas, psychiatric hospitals, laughing hysterically, smiles, tears, promises, truth, lies, responsibilities, irresponsibility, awards, trophies, races, beaches, dinner parties, front porches, baby birds, beauty marks, hand made scars, laundry on the clothes line, hands in the wet cement, bike paths, double bikes, meteor showers, northern lights, asthma attacks, pranayama, jobless, best job in the world, single, engaged, soon to be married, happy, in love, proud.........

So many memories blasted through my mind in every round, there were moments during the sun salutations that I was sobbing, eyes soaked, sweating, smiling, laughing, talking to myself, talking to my dog, singing, chanting, feeling the support of the universe in the form of a warm breeze coming through the open windows, wanting to quit, wanting to keep going, heart pulsing, every cobra sliding through the patch of sun on the floor, birds singing...

I treasure my life now, then and always, and i am beyond grateful for all that I have, for consciousness, for love, light, peace and hope. Thanks for sharing this day with me in any form....
mj

2010-05-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

Friday, November 26, 2010
Continuing Education Credits
November 26–28, 2010 Friday–Sunday 2 nights
Anusara Yoga® and Sacred Music: Optimize Your World
Amy Ippoliti and Shantala

Open your body, tune your vibration, and optimize your world. Join popular Anusara Yoga teacher Amy Ippoliti and international kirtan leaders Shantala, Benjy and Heather Wertheimer, over Thanksgiving weekend and discover the powerful tools of Anusara Yoga, pranayama, meditation, and chanting. more …
This program is eligible for CE credits for athletic trainers, and yoga instructors.

I think this is the perfect bachlorette party!!!

The Radiance Sutras

2010-05-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

Enter the space inside your head
See it as already vast,
Endlessly spacious.

This spaciousness that you are
Is permeated by luminosity.
Know this radiance as the soul of the world

Vijana bhairava tantra,
The Radiance Sutras

We can go so limited in our minds about our life. I can attest that yoga has opened my mind fully and has helped me discard my negative self-talk. When you soften, breathe, and turn into your heart you will be touched by the light that is always there.
Om
MJ

Anusara Yoga - Open to Grace

2010-05-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Darryl and Karen Bell for their support and vision to create such a beautiful video and include me in it. Karen and I had discussed this video over a year ago and now it is done. We are creating our own destiny's in every moment. The flowers that bloom in the garden now are from seeds planted earlier. Dreams can be realities if we nurture those seeds with love and mindfulness. Thanks for checking the video out.
Om peace,
MJ

Home Practice

2010-05-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

I felt like just describing how excited I get to practice my own yoga at home. Today, I have two large windows wide open and the wind is blowing a freshness into the room. The sun is shining in the top corner of my mat. Every time I step onto my mat I am reminded of my nature. I am reminded of my freedom to live my life the way I am living it right now. I am not trying to escape the world around me through my yoga practice, instead I learn how to engage in this world fully. My home practice gives me strength and peace of mind, courage to expand my limits. Have you been on your mat today? What did you learn?
Om peace friends,
Mindy

Dedication & Commitment

2010-04-30T05:25:00.000-07:00

I have always felt like I run out of fuel to stay committed to anything for long periods of time. Maybe I get bored or just don't stop "feelin' it" after a while. Whatever the reasons, I am pleasantly surprised at staying fully committed to my yoga practice. Yoga is an evolving practice so it is always interesting, I never get bored doing it. When I was younger I couldn't do the splits or handstands or anything like that but after even a year or two of yoga, I could! Or at least I was closer. Yoga takes a dedication and a commitment in order to see the amazing benefits in all areas of your life. So stick with it, let the fuel to stay committed come from a place in your heart, to be part of something bigger.
Peace on the path,
Mindy

Moment of Gratitude

2010-04-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

I can't begin to explain how I feel about being asked to assist my teachers Todd Norian & his Goddess wife Ann Greene! It is such a privilege to work along side 2 of the most amazing teachers in the world. Every single time I get to see them or study with them I expand my mind ten-fold. I was introduced to them back in 2004 at the Toronto Yoga Conference. I was totally drawn in by their little write up about the workshop they were offering and it was everything they said it would be. I had so many moments of awakening that I had not EVER experienced in yoga before that. Something I have always hung onto was they taught me to spread my toes, my pinky toe in particular and something huge lined up inside me, it was an AH-HA moment. I came back to London telling all my students to spread their pinky toes!!!! I didn't quite get it back then but I got the feeling of Anusara and now I wish so much to teach that to my students. Hope to see you at yoga very soon!

Spring Cleaning

2010-04-13T06:57:00.001-07:00

This Spring I have the urge to rid more than just weeds from the garden. How many habits, friendships, jobs do you feel zap your of energy? What would you do to gain that energy back? The last few weeks I have had to make some hard decisions, decisions that will hurt and upset people around me. I quit two jobs last month and I already feel that the energy that was stagnant is churning again. Without our careful attention we may end up with a garden full of energy-draining weeds.
Even more difficult than leaving a job is cutting out friends. If our friendships or relationships are more work than what we feel we receive are they worth it? Again difficult questions with no easy solutions. Just because it is difficult we still have to honour and recognize our place in this world, in our lives, we are in the captain's seat, we are steering the ship, we are ultimately responsible.
Sometimes I feel just like Arjuna in the middle of the battlefield as described in the most popular yoga text, The Bhagavad Gita. In this story, Arujuna faces difficult decisions on right and wrong and asks for God's help. In the end he is told to do his Dharma, his righteous duty and do it well, that inaction is action. I am choosing to act on behalf of my heart. I hope you also find peace in the difficult decisions we all must make on this journey.

Crazy Birds!

2010-04-11T05:23:00.000-07:00

Maybe your someone like me, I see birds everywhere, all the time, all different ones. So I finally went to purchase a well known book called Animal Speak to find some answers about the ever present energy of birds in my life. I told my fiance all about the book and he has witnessed my bird thing many times in our relationship. As we sat and chatted about the book I went to turkey vultures, since they are always around me. They represent Purification-Death and Rebirth-New Vision. More details on the vulture to follow but first check this out!

Yesterday I was on my way to a massage, early morning and as I was stopped at a long light I saw a vulture off to my far left soaring around effortlessly as they usually do. Once I got to the massage I was speaking to my friends in their living room, I looked out the window and I couldn't believe my eyes. I asked my friends, "do you SEE that?" as I point out the window. That same vulture had landed on the chimney of the house across the street. He sat there majestic with presence and formidable size, for quite a while as I told them the story about the book and my "bird things."

So here is some of the significance I have come to understand about that experience since I certainly believe well beyond a shadow of a doubt that , the experience has a deep message for me. This is from the book "For those with this totem, it speaks of a coming time when you will be noticed more for what you do than for how you appear," "If turkey vulture has come into your life, you will probably soon start to see auras and colours around people and things, if not a vulture can teach you." On levitation, the book says "It is a symbol of the disintegration of physical holds. It is a symbol of distributing one's energy so that gravity does not weight and hold one down-be it the actual gravity of the earth or the gravity of mundane situations and experiences."

Many things in my life have been shifting lately, friendships, jobs, opportunities and in the next few weeks I can see that continuing. I found this interesting as well, given my circumstances, "The turkey vulture has a highly developed sense of smell. They can find food simply by smelling if it is necessary. The sense of smell has been long associated with higher forms discrimination in metaphysical traditions. They can assist you in developing your own sense of smell that you can use effectively in all areas of your life. It will help you to decide whether or not something doesn't quiet smell right in your life." Whoa! This speaks so true to me and my current situations I have found so much wisdom, direction, and power to do what I need to right now in my life, for that I am so grateful.

Moving Onward & Outward

2010-04-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I just gave notice that I am leaving another teaching job, that is 2 in the last few weeks. It became very clear to me with my busy lifestyle that in order take on new ventures I have to leave old ones behind. There is only so many hours in a day that someone can teach yoga. As a teacher if you don't practice yoga yourself you are undoubtedly going to experience some form of burn out. As the winds of change blow I set my sails and fly with grace onward and outward.

May all beings be happy, peace, peace, peace

What is MJ Yoga

2010-04-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

Some people have been asking me what's all this "MJ yoga about?" And I say ask my mom!!!! She named me Melinda Jane. My understanding is the one grandma was Linda and the other Amelia, hence Melinda. I am honoured to be named after to amazing women.
As for MJ Yoga, my dream is to travel the world and teach yoga workshops, conferences and events so I am marketing myself as a Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher through this website/blog/facebook.

To Make a Difference is the Difference

2010-04-06T05:41:00.000-07:00

I have a teaching job that began with a lot of uncertainty but has now turned into one of the most positive experiences I have had with teaching yoga. I knew I was going to teach teens, and not that I regularly follow psychics or anything but the one time I ever spoke to one, she told me I would be teaching teens. I tried for years at one place and it was great but it was not nearly as powerful as the opportunity I have at the moment. These girls are in trouble, weren't we all, but they are so young and now after 6 weeks way more open and trusting of me, I think that yoga can help them so much. Grace lead me there, literally her name is Grace, and I am happy to part of an effort to help our youth in trouble.

Super Green!

2010-04-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that everything blooming outside right now is so vibrant!!! The shoots poking out of the earth are the most vivid green I have ever seen. In the Spring, prana is concentrated in these new seedlings, growing taller and producing some of the most beautiful colourful blooms we will see all year. What is growing in the garden of your soul this Spring? Make time to remove old debris and self limiting behaviours so that new life may spring forward out of you....

Memories

2010-04-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning remembering how my mom used to hide easter eggs around the house for my sister and I to find and then some presents at the kitchen table. One of those gifts was always a dress to wear to Easter mass. I enjoyed the ritual of getting together all dressed up with family. It is so beautiful outside this morning the air is warm, the sun is clear, I feel like it is a good time to resurrect something new. I will make new rituals that are life affirming.

light and life,
Mindy

Long weekends

2010-04-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air, flowers are blooming outside. I was outside this morning with my fiance and puppy walking in the woods in the warm sun. Life is good! Long weekends help me to recharge, rest, clean and spend time with friends and family. This weekend we are getting together with friends since we both have no family around to eat and celebrate together. We have decided to have a raw vegan diner potluck, which is really challenging if your not used to making raw food. I am going to enjoy my food so much this week since next week I will be starting a cleanse.

Svadhyaya & Svatantrya

2010-03-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

Through the practice of yoga we study ourselves very intimately. Self study - Svadhyaya is one of the niyama's as stated by the 8 Limb Path of Yoga. By studying ourselves, our reactions, our thoughts, our habits, our dreams we learn to better understand ourselves. This self awareness allows us to return to our true nature which is Svatantrya - Ulitmate Freedom. We are free to change our lives, to get a new job, to leave an old job, to wear whatever colour we want, to be a free thinker and spirit. Freedom is your birthright.

Om peace,
mj

Creating space

2010-03-30T16:18:00.000-07:00

I quit a teaching job today. I was at this place for over 2 and a half years. It was time to leave and I knew it in my heart. I can only work if my heart agrees, if not it causes me to wilt inside. By leaving that job I feel like I created space for the universe to present me with a new opportunity to grow. I will be patient.