Why Refining your Alignment Matters in Yoga

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

Fall in Love with Change

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

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

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!

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

   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



  

  

Does Your Yoga Mat Measure Up?

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.

Happiness Right Now!

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

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

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!

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?

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!

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.

The Inner Warmth of Yoga

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

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

Shovelasana - Syallabus 5

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

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

Anusara Yoga in Santa Fe with John Friend highlights

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.

It feels so good to expand my boundries!!!

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

I know where all the guys are!!!

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