Yoga and the sports that we do (and a few poses to boot!)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about different sports that we do and how many of us use our practice to complement these other activities. Or maybe, what you complement is a sedentary work/life!  Either way, we come to our Mats to fill in the pieces!

So how can we optimize our practice to optimize what we do? So what I’m going to challenge myself to is to develop a practice for some of the sports, starting with running and then cycling.  

Broga or Yoga for a Man's body

I taught my first all men's yoga class today.  Regularly speaking, this class is not a men's only event, and I would say that as a general rule, the women outnumber the men. And let's face it, that's what the community of yoga in North America looks like. A 2008 US statistic was published by "Yoga in America Study" stating that over 70% of yoga practitioners were female.  So, as you might understand, I felt a glint of happiness and excitement that I am able to cultivate a practice in these men so that they will  consistently come back and perhaps encourage more men that its a good idea to join the practice.

I had so much fun and they enjoyed the class so much, that it got my brain wheels turning.  "Maybe this could be the first class I market myself for. Create a small class environment that is specifically for men, or those (I never want to be exclusive!) who are in need of that extra TLC in certain areas but have the brute strength in others." Oh the possibilities were tantalizing!

But then later, I remembered the honour that I received.  Putting my business brain to the side, so I could enjoy the pleasures of teaching a class where each student is finding something they need and something that keeps them coming back for more.

I am truly blessed to be able to teach yoga and I look forward to the day when all I have to do is teach and share what I love.

What is your Mantra?

We all have them!  Often though, they aren't positive! and that is sad.

Mantra's are like the power of suggestion, if repeated enough times it will simply become a manifestation, a way of being.

In yoga we use mantra's constantly, even OM is a mantra.  But what does OM mean. Well simply, nothing.  But it is also everything.  We don't need to understand what a mantra means for its positive effects to take hold.  It is the vibration that the mantras create, the vibration within your own body as well the vibrations that you send out into the world as you chant.

The simplest Mantra that I know for anyone to start chanting is one that you can do silently and with your eyes closed.

Sit in Easy Pose with your palms facing down resting on your knees. Looking inwardly, begin focusing on your breath noticing each inhale and exhale. Once you feel yourself settling into your natural breath, on the following inhale silently chant SAT and on the exhale, NAM.

SAT NAM, translates to Truth is my identity, or as I prefer, I AM - THAT. I love this meditation when I need grounding and to reestablish my personal mantras. Some of my mantras are:  I am: a teacher, I am: a wife, I am: a friend, I am: honest, I am: beautiful, and so on.

To me each inhale, as I chant SAT or I AM, I am grounding myself and going inside to my core and discovering what I am, and then as I exhale and I chant NAM or THAT, I am telling the world what I found.

I don't always finish my mantra, I more often leave it open since I am so very much and it leaves room for so many possibilities.

Now I ask again, What is your Mantra?

Don't Panic

Let's Welcome February into our Lives!

Here we are at the end of the first month of the year and entering into what most provinces know as the most difficult month to survive due to the harshest and coldest weather that typically visits this month.


This past week for me was a hard one, in fact only these last 3 days were really all that tiresome, and why is that? Well my usual excuse is due to the crappy grey weather that Vancouver treats us to, but really because I hadn't practiced yoga for the three days prior to that.  When I keep up my practice I always feel fresher and more vibrant, I feel like I can handle what the day throws at me, even if that day is grey, rainy, and cold.


So join me as I celebrate some of the great things of February.

• As of February 1st we will have already gained a full hour of daylight since Christmas!
• At the end of February our days will be just a minute short of 11 hours!
• Valentine's Day.  I know this might seem weird, but Valentine's isn't just for those with a partner, it is the day of love, or as I prefer, connections.  I like to celebrate all of my friends and my family, each and every loved one that I might cross paths with. And to be clear I don't necessarily mean chocolates and flowers and commercial stuff, I mean acknowledging their worth in my life.
• In Vancouver with longer days usually means a little less rain and best of all...
• Blossoms! In fact I have heard rumours about some cherry blossoms already downtown.