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

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

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. 

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!

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.

Anusara Video - The Heart of Transformation

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

Beloved Anusara

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

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

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.

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

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!

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

Anusara Yoga - Open to Grace

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