Leg flow with strap

beach yoga playtime

talkin' gratitude

I have a little nephew on the way, and woke up this morning feeling full of love and gratitude.  Using my classes as my platform, I gushed on and on about what a proud auntie I am and how excited I am to have another little man on the run.  This turned into a talk on gratitude.

I'm reading Brene Brown's The Gifts of Imperfections and one of her ten Guideposts is cultivating joy.  She talks about joy vs happiness and says that happiness is an emotion that we feel and is fleeting based on external situations that come and go.  Joy. on the other hand is an attitude that we cultivate. 

We are not born joyful, nor do we achieve joy and stay in a state of it, but we work towards it moment by moment, situation to situation.  She goes on to say that one of the things that  joyful people share is that they all practice gratitude.  And that gratitude, like joy, is something that you choose.  It's something that you practice.

Here is my practice:

Today I am grateful for all the people that come out to my classes week after week and let me ramble on and play with them as we work to crack each other open bit by bit. 

Today I am grateful for those who came out to practice with  me in the park despite the scary storm clouds that filled the sky.  Through breathing and love and gratitude, we brought out the sun.

Today I am grateful for my gramma - the ultimate yoga cheerleader - who came out to practice tonight and cheered us on and breathed with us.

Try this: 

1. Come into savasana.  If you have props, use them.  Laying on a bolster or blocks - something to open up your heart will help.
2. Tune into your breath.  Breathe from the center of your chest.
3. Say "I'm grateful for ____".  Bring an image to mind - let it fill you up, the sound of it, the smell, the way it makes you feel.  Fill yourself completely.
4. Stay here for a few minutes sending out your love and gratitude into the universe.
5. With palms facing up, crack open the space in the center of your chest and receive all the love and gratitude that is coming to you.
6. Go out and love.

Gratitude Photo Journal

Beach days

Nature Walks

 

Elivs Weekend

Vintage Jewellery

Yoga Play with my homeboy



Book shares from yoga pals

 



What are you grateful for???
      

the truth of it

The truth of it is, I live in a place of fear.  Fear of not being enough.  Of not being smart enough, or funny enough, or good enough.  And it's exhausting, but it also makes me sad.  Take this blog for example:  I started this blog with the intention of just writing.  Not writing to be read, but just writing to get my thoughts out.  And in the beginning this blog served me really well.  And then all of a sudden I had a comment and it was like "holy shit, it's not just me anymore, someone is actually reading this."  And then everything changed.  I stopped writing for me and I started writing for an audience.  My voice changed.  I started re-reading and editing my work as though I was writing for a publication.  Although I was being honest in my writing, I wasn't really being authentic.  I'm reading Brene Brown, and she talks a  lot about authenticity and the way she describes it is that people aren't necessarily authentic or not authentic, but that in every situation, every moment throughout the day you can either be authentic or not.  It's a choice by choice, moment by moment sort of thing.  And over time my writing lost it's authenticity.  As I read over past blogs, I can see the real me poking through but under a bit of a lens.  I'm tired of this.  I changed the blog's name thinking that it was catchy and would get me more readers...then I changed the url thinking that surely I should have my blog under my own name just like the big-wigs do.  I'm done with this.  'a side of yoga' is back.  And I'm pledging to myself to bring back the true intention of this blog.  Which is to write...for me.  And to provide a place to gather and store my thoughts and my studies.  So that's it.  I'm back.  Because I love to write.  And I'm choosing not to care if other people think that I'm smart enough, or funny enough or good enough...because the thing is...it doesn't matter so long as I believe that I'm enough.
Back to the basics. 
Love.

create your own sunshine

 

 

Balancing tea for you Solar Plexus Chakra.

Create your own sunshine.

1 part lemon balm
1 part honey bush
2 parts dried ground lemon peel
1 cube crystallized ginger
1/2 stick of cinnamon

Brew. Sip. Enjoy. Love.

chakra talk

I had no idea when I started this no shit experiment that what I was actually doing was gathering all the information and courage required to put together this Chakra Yoga Workshop.

Had I known at the time that this was where it was all going, I'm not sure I would have kept up with it.  Not because it's not wonderful, because it is.  But because I can be fearful and I can be lazy.  So, I'm glad I wasn't tuned into the higher beings at work and just kept on plugging away.

I've totally thrown myself into the chakras.  Through study, yoga, and writing.  At times it's been a bit intense, and even a bit scary, but it's been a totally rad ride.  And it's shaping the way that I teach and the way that I move and the way that I feel about my body, myself, and the world. 

So there.  In your face fear and laziness.

Chakras!  Chakras are energy wheels  in the body that govern all aspects of our health; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.  There are seven major chakras and 21 minor chakras.  The chakras that are most talked about and the chakras that we'll be exploring throughout the workshop are the seven main chakras that run up the length of your spine.  Starting right at your root - the space between your pubis and your tailbone - up to your crown chakra, the space at the top of your skull.

Exploring the chakras opens up a path for greater healing.  As we move our way up through the chakras we start to discover more about ourselves and our place in the world.  Shedding old skin along the way and opening up space for our true unique talents and gifts.

The seven main chakras are all interdependent of one another and if one is out of whack it will affect the others. 

Many people talk about 'kundalini rising' and using the chakras on the path to enlightenment.  And that's all good and wonderful.  However, to actually clear all of your chakras - allowing a smooth route for Kundalini to uncoil and slide her way up to meet her consort, Shiva - for that burst of enlightenment, is a little unrealistic for those of us new to the journey. 

So, the practice here is in learning to find balance in the chakras.  To study them through reading and movement and to develop a deeper understanding of ourselves - body, mind and spirit.

We're just giving Kundalini a little poke.  Waking her up.  Getting her ready for her journey.   In doing this we'll not only stir things up, but we'll develop the tools we need in order to deal with whatever it is that comes up.

Stephen Cope refers to this as "building a fortress of the self".  Creating awareness and equanimity. 

Sharon Ganon refers to the chakras as being "doors to perception"  And goes on to explain that "our reality only exists based on our perception".  By bringing our chakras into a more aligned place, our perception of situations and the ways in which we react to these situations will be more in tune with our personal Truth.  Using the 'fortress of the self' we'll be able to see more clearly and not be as directly affected by upcoming situations or attached to their outcome.

Our physical bodies act as energetic maps for our emotions.  Everything we feel, we store in our bodies.  By looking at imbalances in the body and by matching these imbalances to their governing chakra we can start to look at which chakras need a bit more work, and emotionally what we might be holding on to.

Working through the chakras is not for the faint of heart.  But if you're open to change and open to channeling in some major energy and light than this work is for you.

It's the Chakra Ride.  Admission: total vulnerability.

Enjoy!

*I'm working out of a book called "The Complete Guide to the Chakras".  by Ambika Wauters

a monkey tale

I love story telling, especially when the story includes a monkey.  Here's an old Hindu tale that I heard at the end of class the other day.

As the story goes...

The people of the village used to put out coconuts to catch their food.  In order to entice their dinner,  they would cut holes in the coconuts and fill them with sweets and leave them out around the village. 

When no one was around and the village was quiet, monkeys would sneak over, and seeing and smelling the sweets would draw nearer to the coconuts.  Making sure the coast was clear, they would reach in and take a hold of the sweet.  With the sweet in hand, they would then try to pull their hand out of the coconut to enjoy their prize.  But they would be stuck.  For the hole was only big enough for the monkeys to reach in, but small enough to trap a closed fist.

Determined to hold on to the sweet, the monkeys would remain trapped, and as a result would later become dinner themselves.  But had the monkey simply opened their hand and let go of the sweet, they would have been free to see another day.

This is us.  We are the monkeys.  And the coconut our minds and the sweets are our thoughts.

The moral of the story is to let go.   

There are times when we hold on so tightly, we are so connected and attached to certain thoughts and ideals that we become trapped.  Determined, we hold on with such force, with these tightly closed fists that these attitudes take over and start to become who we are.   At times it seems almost impossible to detach from these thoughts and ideals.  We want to be free, but it seems like a lot of work.

But if this tale of the monkeys is true, (and I'm sure that it is) than really, all we need to do is let go.  All we need to do is open our hand and let go of the sweets.  Letting go really can be that simple.

Try it.

What sweets are you holding on to that are keeping you trapped?

Take a deep breath and let go.

Self Love

Me and my Valentine

Vaentine's Day isn't just a day for romance, it's a day for love.

For all love.

Friendly Love.
Family Love.
Confusing Love.
Unrequited Love.
Passionate Love.
Frustrating Love.
Forbidden Love.
Love of chocolate.
Love of books.
Love of wine.
And self love.

Charlie Chaplin gets real for a moment in this beautiful poem.  He wrote this on his 70th birthday. (April 16th, 1959)

As I Began to Love Myself – Self Love Poem by Charlie Chaplin

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering
are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.
Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY”.

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody
As I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time
was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this
person was me. Today I call it “RESPECT”.

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life,
and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.
Today I call it “MATURITY”.

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance,
I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens
at the exactly right moment. So I could be calm.
Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE”.

As I began to love myself I quit steeling my own time,
and I stopped designing huge projects for the future.
Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do
and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in
my own rhythm. Today I call it “SIMPLICITY”.

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for
my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything that drew
me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude
a healthy egoism. Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF”.

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since
I was wrong less of the time. Today I discovered that is “MODESTY”.

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry
about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING
is happening. Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT”.

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me
and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my
mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART”.

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems
with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing
new worlds are born.Today I know THAT IS “LIFE”!

Happy Valentines Day!!!!!

a couple of firsts

Here it is, my true video debut!

I've been super inspired by a crazy, talented beautiful yogini named Meghan Currie.  I've posted a video of hers on here before.  Anyways, since watching her timelapse videos I've been wanting to make one of my own.  So here it is.

The video is of my first attempt at the primary series.  Needs some practice, but had fun working it out.

Enjoy!

inspiration

The theme for January is inspiration.  I thought this would be great to kick off the New Year.  Last year I worked really hard to get myself set up teaching as many hours a week as I could.  And the  hard work payed off.  I'm finally teaching a full (ish) schedule and not having to stress about it.  So for a couple of months now the question has been: "What's next?"

And I don't know.  I'm not sure if what I want is to keep growing my yoga practice and to start offering workshops and retreats, or if maybe it's time to start exploring other passions and see how they can fit in to my life and career.

Inspiration.  I have a Desire to Inspire.  But before I can go out into the world and inspire others, I need to find my own inspiration.

This month I have been working out of a book called Desire to Inspire.

It's a super fun, creative book filled with inspirational quotes and stories from a collaboration of artists and other creative souls.  At the end of each chapter there are exercises to help you to dig a little deeper.  Exercises to start to bring things to the surface.  What do you want to do?  What's holding you back?  How can you make a difference?  What makes you happy?  These are the types of questions that are to be answered through the exercises.

So far I've been having a ton of fun going through the book and am learning more about myself than I thought I would.

The book was kicked off with a battle cry and a letter.

It looked something like this:

Exercise ~ The Superhero in you

My Superhero Powers

Magic words: "move from your heart", "you are as strong as the wind", "you are enough"
Power move:  standing/sitting tall
Talisman:  meditation ring - gives me calm, creative courage
Theme song:  Between Two Lungs ~ Florence and the Machine

Exercise ~ Letter to your small self

You are free. You are free to choose—to choose the life that you want to live. You have the whole world before you and the unshakeable love and support of your family behind you. All you have to do is jump, and trust that the wind will carry you.

You’re young and smart and beautiful and live in a time and a place where anything is possible. Your path to freedom and happiness is yours for the taking.

It’s this spirit of freedom that makes you special; this sense of wonder that keeps you alive. Don’t cage yourself to suit others. Embrace who you are. Even if what you want and what you need seem scary a times.

Your free spirit will lead you to greatness if you just let it.

Believe in yourself. Don’t hold yourself back out of fear. Don’t let yourself be held back by others out of a sense of duty.

You’re light and loveable—let yourself soar.

Free yourself of judgment and expectations; of fear and worry. Let go and follow your heart. 

You are free. Never forget that. 

P.S. I love you.

~peace :)

happy new year

Happy New Year!   I'm so excited for the new year!!

One of my main resolutions for the year is to start shooting and posting videos.  Here's a couple I've been playing with.

Enjoy!