Oddities of Enlightenment

Unclog a Blocked Drain

2011-08-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

Eventually the water in your shower, bathtub or sink begins to drain slowly, and you may even have a pool of standing water that does not drain at all. What can you do?

Usually this is caused by a mat of hair in the bathroom sink or tub, made sticky with soap scum and toothpaste suds. In the kitchen, it is caused by grease from dishwashing, congealed with food debris that has washed down the drain. Three good ways to open your drain are using a Zip It tool, using baking soda and vinegar, and doing regular preventive flushing to stop clogs in the first place.

The Zip It tool is a long flexible plastic stick with barbs on both sides that goes down the drain easily and pulls up the hair that forms the clog. It is cheap, easily available at Wal-mart or Canadian Tire for under ten dollars, and very effective. Once the hair or food debris is broken up, pour about a quarter of a cup of baking soda followed by about the same amount of vinegar down the drain, and wait about fifteen minutes. Then pour very hot water down the drain to flush the drain clear.

For regular drain maintenance, use this tip from a plumber I had to call once to open the drain with a plumbing snake for a very persistent clog. Homeowners can stop clogs from building by filling the sink to the brim once a month with very hot water, then letting it drain all at once. The hot water will flush the drain and keep it open.

Remembering the law of life, "As above, so below," we can see a clogged drain in the house plumbing as a call to action on a deeper level, too. Blocked energy on subtler levels manifests on progressively denser and more obvious levels of vibration as we ignore, deny or simply don't notice the signs as they appear first more subtly. If we are holding onto the past and to old patterns of thought, fear or feeling, they will hold us back from new growth. Life has a way of amplifying the signals until they are too obvious to miss--they appear in things breaking down in our car, our home, our relationships, or our health until we are forced to stop, take stock, re-direct and make changes. Hasn't this ever happened to you? It happens to me all the time. The first response may be irritation, even anger and rage, but once awareness awakens, we can laugh at ourselves, at the smallness of mind that tries to keep us in the familiar and comfortable, and avoid what we need most, which is our path of spiritual growth. Growth is never easy. It is painful and frightening, and is a form of death in that we can only grow by allowing the old to die. We are afraid, so we resist, we deny, we avoid, we cling to the past.

You may have been on a beach honeymoon in a Caribbean paradise and come back home to face the nitty-gritty in the plumbing and the clogged drains in the sink. But don’t worry--it’s a ten minute job to unclog your drain and get it running smoothly again. Do the job with love and awareness, not anger, and welcome the opportunity to scrutinize where in your life you are blocking free movement of energy and preventing full expression of the spirit within you.

Saturday Women's Yoga Class in Kamloops

2011-07-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday Women's Yoga is continuing for July at 1 pm -2:15 at Let's Move Studio. It's at 925 McGill Place, behind the Sunmore Ginseng Building. Click on the link for the directions, or look at the map in the margin.

July dates are:
     July 2
     July 9
     NO CLASS JULY 16, since the studio has a prior booking for the Anusara Yoga Workshop
     July 25 is the LAST CLASS TIL FALL

We will take a break for July 30 and all of August, and start again on September 10. Registration is open now. Let me know if you are joining the class. Email janisg@look.ca to register. I need 10 students registered to run the class.

Price: 4 classes for $40. Drop in is $12 per class.

Wear comfortable, stretchy clothing (no jeans!!) and don't wear perfume, fragrance or scented body products to class. Some people are allergic, and while we are working with yogic breathing we need natural air.

Soaring Voices: Il Volo Takes Flight

2011-06-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

Soaring Voices: Il Volo Takes Flight

Is it a waste of public money to fund arts and music programs in schools? Go no farther before you listen to this version of O Sole Mio, a trio of teenage tenors’ first song together on Italian TV.
Read more...

Saturday Afternoon Women's Yoga at the Kamloops Wellness Festival

2011-06-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

June 17, 18 and 19 is the Kamloops Wellness Festival at Let's Move Studio!! This is an opportunity to join workshops, take free yoga classes in many different styles with a variety of Kamloops' teachers, and explore a healing garden with trial treatments in various energy modalities for $1 a minute.

From 1-2:15 I am teaching a free all-levels Saturday Afternoon Women's Yoga class. This is your chance to try yoga if you are a beginner, get back into it if you are rusty, or try it outdoors in the yoga tent if you are experienced. Recharge your practice, and enjoy the atmosphere.

Regular Saturday Morning Women's Yoga is happening 11am-12:15 at Kamloops Sport and Orthopedic clinic, at 1201 Summit. Look for the maps in the previous post, or email janisg@look.ca for information.

Om Shanti Om

Tutoring and Academic Course Support

2011-06-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

I am available a few hours a week for private or small group tutoring.
Services I offer include:

conversation on current events and cultural topics
IELTS and TOEFL preparation
Academic course support
driver training support

When: Friday at 1pm, 2pm or 3pm

Sunday at 1 pm, 2pm or 3 pm

Where: 274 Whiteshield Crescent, Kamloops

Investment:

private: $100/hour
group of 2: $80 each student/hour
group of 3: $60 each student/hour
group of 4: $50 each student/hour

To book an appointment, email janisg@look.ca

Saturday Women's Yoga Classes in Kamloops

2011-06-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

I am teaching a Women's Yoga classes in Kamloops on Saturdays at 1pm. Bring your friends, your mothers, your sisters, your daughters, and practice classical hatha yoga with us. The 11 am class is no longer running due to low enrollment.

The class is at 1-2:15 pm at Let's Move Studio, 925 McGill Place behind the Sunmore Ginseng building.

Click on the link to see the map. Each class includes yogic breathing, postures, chanting mantras, relaxation and meditation. Wear comfortable stretchy clothes and bring a yoga mat. Since breathing is such an important part of the yoga practice, please don't wear scented body products to yoga class.

Dates: July 2
July 9
            NO CLASS JULY 16 since the studio is previously booked for a workshop.
            July 23
            NO CLASS JULY 30 since I will be away for a reunion in Vancouver

Classes will break for August and start again in September.

Investment: 4 classes /$40; $12 to drop in.

Opening Mantra
This is a peace mantra from the Upanishads, one of the sources of the teachings of yoga.

ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Om Saha Naavavatu |
Saha Nau Bhunaktu |
Saha Viiryam Karavaavahai |
Tejasvi Naavadhiitamastu Maa Vidvissaavahai |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Meaning:
May God protect us both (the teacher and the student),
May God nourish us both,
May we work together with energy and vigour,
May our study be enlightening, not giving rise to hostility,
Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.

Listen to it here.

2 Bedroom Apartment in Simon Fraser Hills, Burnaby is rented September 1

2011-06-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

This quiet, unfurnished, ground-floor garden apartment is rented for September 1. In a park-like setting adjacent to the green space of Burnaby Mountain, it is close to Lougheed Mall, Production Way-University Station, Cameron Library, SFU, and PMC Sierra. It has in-suite washer and drier, dishwasher, laminate floors, a patio for barbecues, and a line of sight from the kitchen sink that looks out to park. The complex has a fitness centre and outdoor pool. Near the intersection of Production Way and Beaverbrook, it is on Centaurus Circle , a 40-minute Skytrain ride to downtown Vancouver.
A cat or well-behaved dog is allowed. An assigned underground parking stall goes with the unit.
This is a family-oriented complex with quiet hours between 10 pm and 10 am. Dogs must be leashed on common property, and owners are required to clean up after their pets. Wildlife is common in the neighbourhood and it is advisable to keep pets indoors at night to be safe from coyotes and raccoons.

Rent is $1300. One-year lease. Damage deposit. No smoking.

Queries email me at janisg@look.ca

Help Me Sleep

2011-02-13T19:03:00.000-08:00

Sleep deprivation can be used as a form of torture, and it is one many people put themselves through these days. We all pay for it, in costs of increased road accidents, lost economic productivity, stress-induced illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and more. The Mayo Clinic reports that as many as 1/3 of adults may suffer from insomnia and restless sleep at some point in their lives.

Although occasionally extended periods of insomnia and inadequate sleep may be symptoms of an underlying sleep disorder, usually there are ways people can help themselves improve their quality of sleep. These include:

establishing a regular bedtime and routine,
removing office equipment and electronic devices from the bedroom,
reducing caffeine intake, and
learning relaxation techniques like gentle yoga, guided relaxation, and yoga nidra.

For 15 tips on how to sleep better tonight, read the full article here.

2011-01-04T00:28:00.000-08:00

Promote your blog or website by publishing a short summary with a referral link at SheToldMe.com. Be sure to use the "share" tool to send it to Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, LinkedIn and others to increase traffic to your site. It's free!! It works!!

Happy New Year 2011 Year of Gratitude

2011-01-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2011 Year of Gratitude

Winter Woodsmoke

2010-12-17T21:10:00.000-08:00

Exams are over, final grades are in and the holidays are here!
In the morning Rick is delivering a load of seasoned birch and fir firewood from Knutsford, so tomorrow night we will be sitting around a log fire, sipping hot apple or chocolate, and roasting marshmallows. With the smell of woodsmoke and the glow of Christmas lights inside while it blows and freezes outside, we will be enjoying our own brand of cheer in sunny Kamloops.

Meru Mountain Yoga

2010-09-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

yoga...

boosts immunity
helps manage stress
induces restful sleep
improves flexibility
cultivates a quiet mind

Janis Goad has been practicing yoga since 1986 and teaching since 2000. She trained at the Prana Yoga College in Vancouver and at the Sivananda Ashram in Val Morin, Quebec.

Current all levels Classical Hatha Yoga classes in Kamloops:

Saturday Women's Yoga
11 am to 12:15 at Kamloops Sport and Orthopedic Clinic, 1201 Summit
and at 1 pm to 2:15 at Let's Move Studio

DVDs available to support your home practice.
at Banyen Books Vancouver
Let's Move Studio Kamloops
www.merumountainyoga.com
by email at janisg@look.ca

Meru Mountain Yoga DVDs

2010-09-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

This graded sequence of DVDs will help you develop a home practice that you can deepen at your own pace. Similar to what Janis Goad teaches in her Meditative Hatha Yoga classes, these DVDs offer the right level of practice for beginners and more advanced students alike.
Each video is structured in chapters that allow the user to choose all or parts of the program according to need or time today.

Volume 1--Gentle Yoga for Seniors and Complete Beginners
Volume 1 practice begins with an introductory flow with a chair then continues on the mat with easy variations of sitting, lying on the belly and lying on the back postures. It includes two or three forms of easy guided breathing (pranayama) and concludes with deep guided relaxation in savasana. Highly recommended for evening practice for all levels and for people who are learning tools to help manage stress. (63 minutes)

Volume 2--Yoga Flow for Beginners and Early Intermediates
Volume 2 classical hatha yoga class introduces the basic postures including cat, down dog, cobra, child, head to knee posture, seated half twist, seated side stretch, ballet, staff, dancing cat, balancing cat, low lunge, prayer twist in low lunge, locust, bow, rabbit, standing forward fold, triangle, warrior 2, extended side stretch, wide-legged forward fold, windmill, spinal lift, reverse pose, shoulder stand, and plough. It includes some different guided breathing exercises from those on Volume 1, and concludes with guided relaxation in savasana. (66 minutes)

Volume 3--Mixed Levels Yoga for an Advancing Practice
Volume 3 practice opens with 3 pairs of easy Sun Salutations, 1 pair of a more advanced version of Sun Salutations, and moves through an active, quick practice for experienced students who already know the alignment and have developed connection with their breath. It includes down dog, extended dog, lunge, prayer twist, extended triangle, warrior 2, reverse warrior, warrior 1, tree, eagle, the dancer, revolving triangle, Egyptian, windmill on elbow, side plank, dolphin, cobra, king cobra, locust, bow, shoulder stand, half plough, bridge, knees to ears pose, and others. It concludes with guided relaxation in savasana. (61 minutes)

Volume 4--Advanced Yoga Flow for Strength and Flexibility
Volume 4 advanced class opens with 3 pairs of Sun Salutations variation 2, 2 pairs of a third variation of Sun Salutations, leg lifts, reclining hand to toe pose, shooting arrow, boat, lunge, prayer twist, warriors 1, 2 and 3, triangle, standing hand to toe posture, dancing cat with push-up, dolphin, headstand, shoulderstand, plough, half wheel, fish, camel, beautiful thunderbolt, seated forward fold, slide, seated half twist, pigeon, crow, and guided relaxation in savasana. This is a challenging, dynamic practice with a variety of standing postures, arm balances, inversions and backbends for very experienced students. (75 minutes)

Grow your own practice.

Practice at home, on business trips, and on vacations.

Never miss yoga class again.

Available at: Banyen Books Vancouver
Let's Move Studio Kamloops
www.merumountainyoga.com
Nature's Fare Kamloops
or email janisg@look.ca

Ten Lessons in Life from the Yoga Mat

2010-08-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

It is easy to feel stillness and peace while we are practicing yoga.

Strength

Roots
Balance

It is not so easy to remember our connection with the Self once we roll the mat and resume our
mundane activities.

We call it “doing our practice” because we are practicing for life in the world off the yoga mat. The more we give to the practice, the more it enriches our lives.

Stillness

Courage

As you practice the asanas like the ones shown here, consider how they embody these qualities of character in you. Turning the mind inward as we practice is the beginning of the part of yoga called Pratyahara, or withdrawal of the mind from the objects of the senses to fix it on the Self. What we focus our minds on, that we become.

Trust

Grace

1. Strength: Virabadrasana II
2. Flexibility: Matsyendrasana
3. Heart: Vasisthasana
4. Roots: Vrksasana
5. Balance: Bakasana
6. Stillness: Karnapidasana
7. Courage: Sirsasana
8. Trust: Vrischikasana
9. Grace: Chakrasana
10. Joy

Joy

My graded sequence of DVDs will help support your home practice. They make an excellent adjunct to regular practice with a qualified teacher. Available at Banyen Books Vancouver, Let’s Move Studio Kamloops, and by emailing janisg@look.ca. Details on Oddities of Enlightenment YogaBlog and at Meru Mountain Yoga

photo credits: Jane Weitzel
Jaime Kowal

Grasslands Pup

2010-08-23T17:46:00.001-07:00

August heat braised the desert river valley.

As the shallow water

disappeared downstream,

the salmon run began.

Roosting inland gulls foraged on warm sand flats

while on the dusty hillsides, brush and lichen crackled underfoot, dry as tinder. Deadfall branches snapped.

Lightning strikes kindled wildfires in the grasslands, torching conifers ravaged by pine beetles.

A haze of smoke half hid the distant golden hills.

At last rain came.

Along the shady street, mountain ash bore bright berries and crab-apples ripened.

Apricots grew round and heavy then fell to the ground.

In the emptiness beneath the rainbow, the new girl longed for a puppy.
"All right," said Mom. "Let's go look at these pups at the farm."
"There should be laughter after pain, there should be sunshine after rain," crooned the tenor on the car radio.

They followed the rainbow to the ranch at Coldwater Road.

"Our farm dog had thirteen puppies," explained the lady at the ranch. "We want to find good homes for them."
The family said goodbye. The girls whispered to the puppy in her travel crate.

"Goodbye, pup," waved the sun-fresh laundry on the clothesline.

"Goodbye, pup," leaned the ladder against the unpainted plank shed.

"Goodbye, pup," nodded the sunflowers beneath clear blue sky.

There were rainbows in the garden where fences make boundaries and endings make beginnings. Gladiolus spires nudged dahlias. "Goodbye, goodbye."

Rainbow Princess Sunflower made a silent wish for the pup in her new home.

Rainbow Princess Dahlia whispered, "Safe journey."

At first the pup was timid in the big room. She missed her old family.
"Are you my friend?" she asked the girl.
"Let's call you Soda," said the girl. "You have freckles on your legs like fizz in Ginger Ale."

Next morning the girl and her mother took the pup to the park. The pup liked it there. She shook off raindrops, and trotted along gravel around the bend in the road

With a backwards look,

with a moment for rest and reflection,

in the dry grasslands, Soda pup came home like gold at the end of the rainbow.

(credit to Dire Straits for the lyrics "Why Worry" from the album Brothers in Arms.)

Yoga Voyages: Yoga Absolute Goes to Assissi

2008-12-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a Guest Post from my friend and colleague, Yeshie Palmo. When she is home in Vancouver, Yeshie Palmo teaches yoga and meditation at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Vancouver.

For the past several months she has been away on a meditation retreat, and is currently in Italy visiting Assissi and Rome.

Check her website for more details about her yoga from a Buddhist perspective and meditation trip to India in April 2009.

Ciao,

So far, my best Italian is the greeting line above! I always love a multi-functional word. I have to admit it is a bit intimidating to be here on my own and not among any other tourists. Being in a new foreign country can be quite difficult to figure out and normally I am either near someone I know that knows the way around or other tourists that do not know their way either, but at least we can figure it out together. The house is so far away from everything, I do not get a chance just to duck out to the streets and check it out and slowly get more familiar with the lay of the land or the language. So I am going to dive right in and take the train to Rome next week - the next sunny day.

Other than that, things are going well. I am finally over the jet lag and the flu that I had and have finally started doing some yoga. The house has so many books that I can really read whatever I want. Yoga, Buddhism, Hinduism, Renaissance Architecture, History of Italy, India, Tibet, etc etc. Actually I do not know what to read! I am reading a book that the owner of the house published about his teacher,Anandamayi Ma. I had not heard of her, but she was a pretty amazing self realized Indian female master. I have included some photos of the house, Assisi and Perugia (about 15 minutes from Assisi - quite a pretty little town that is across the valley from Assisi).

From here I am leaving soon for London. I tried to go to the Putney Sivananda Center last year but it is really far from my friend's home in Kings Cross. Maybe I will try again this time. I love checking out all the centers around the world. I usually have my uniform with me when I travel and try to teach a class but I did not bring it this time. I did not think that I would venture out of Italy! Instead I have not really ventured in Italy! Hahaha! One of my big reasons for going to London is to see a very close yogi friend of mine. I go to as many of his classes as I can. He is an amazing master. I met him a few years ago in Rishikesh and since he has moved to London. He is now building an Ashram in Vrindavin. I think he will come to teach a retreat in Vancouver sometime this year. He is quite something, this Himalayan Yogacharya Yogi Ashokananda.
I hope you have a nice holiday season and are not too snowed in!

If you have been to a wonderful place on our planet to practice yoga, send me a few pictures and a description in 200-300 words, and I would love to post you as a Guest on Yoga Voyages.

Written Inc.: Thematic Photographic 30 - Holiday

2008-12-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

Written Inc.: Thematic Photographic 30 - Holiday

Holiday in Canada

2008-12-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

In the West Coast Rain Forest of British Columbia's Lower Mainland, Boxing Day is usually balmy and the busiest day of the year for retailers, but in 2008 we had snow. Again. The third blizzard in a week, and the snow is now so deep cars are buried half way up the doors.

I live on a hill and did not put on snow tires this year, so I left my car parked and walked to the mall, stopping along the way to watch people spinning their wheels as they tried to get up the road. Whole families came out to shovel and push their visitors' cars uphill to help their guests home. I joined a few pedestrians more than once to help, random acts of kindness for drivers unskilled in snow.

But as I am walking, the scenery is beautiful. Douglas Firs soar into snowclouds and cedars' fragrant boughs droop over the sidewalk, dropping a load of snow as I brush against them.

Robert Frost's words run like a mantra in my mind:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep..."

No, today I would not rather be barefoot at the edge of a tropical pool.
I pause and listen to the salmon stream running over stones down Burnaby Mountain.
The air is clean and still, not silent yet calm. As the city shuts down around me, I feel the moment unfold its perfection, and I am happy.

Yoga Voices: Yoga Wellness, Yoga Wealth

2008-12-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

A quiet mind in a healthy body is the source of personal authenticity and profound spiritual profit. The practice of yoga can help people in all walks and at all stages of life. Pranayama, postures and contemplative practices of chanting, concentration and meditation are some of the limbs of yoga, the "ashtanga" or "8 limbs," that purify and balance our physical, mental and emotional bodies and bring us to inner stillness. Yoga is a practice that can help everybody improve health.

At the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Vancouver, one of our guest yoga teachers leads a class two Thursdays each month for people with any diagnosed mental illness who have been through the mental health system. No yoga experience is required. This is a gentle class that includes guided relaxation, pranayama or yogic breathing, a flow of asanas or postures, and occasional readings from inspirational texts. Although people are welcome to share, there is no expectation to talk about students' personal conditions or diagnosis. There is a feeling of friendship and community in this class that comes from knowing that everyone is there for a reason. This class is sponsored by Vancouver-Richmond Mental Health Network and is free for participants who are members of this non-profit organization. One only needs to have been through the mental health system and be a member for $2 of the VRMHN. Take a look at all the opportunities this membership would bring.

The teacher, Sarah Toolan, came to yoga after doing ballet and jazz dance. Wanting to be of service and touch hearts, she took yoga teacher training as a way to grow spiritually. She studied with Carolyn MacManus of Serenity Yoga near Commercial Drive, and apprenticed in Restorative Yoga with Evelyn Neaman at www.tikkunyoga.com . She is influenced by the way yoga makes her feel, and sees this resonate in her students. At the base, yoga is about a relationship with ourselves, which is the most profound relationship we will have. In every class, Sarah shares her conviction that "yoga is a very kind thing we can do for ourselves, body, mind and spirit. And when we feel good we spread that around."

Timelessly, yoga remains what it always was--a practical way to help us reach our highest goals for happiness and liberation.

For more information about this class contact yoga@mail.com or sarahtoo@shaw.ca or phone me at 778-388-8295.

Meet us on the Mat for World Aids Day in 2009. Join the Sivananda Team at yoga@mail.com. Check for updates and for information about how to get yoga and the Compassion Curriculum into your neighbourhood school at www.yoga4kidz.ca.

All welcome to our next Free Yoga Day and Open House at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Vancouver on the first Saturday of the month. In case of a holiday weekend, we do it the second Saturday. Mark the next dates and join us with your friends for short sample classes in asana, meditation, philosophy and chanting:
January 10, February 7 and March 7 2009
12:30-5:00 pm
at #180-2010 East 48th Avenue at Victoria.
See our full schedule at www.sivanandavancouver.com.

Meet Us On the Mat: 24 Hour Yoga Relay 2008

2008-12-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all the yogis and yoginis of Burnaby, Vancouver and around the Lower Mainland who met us on the mat for World AIDS Day and participated in the 2008 24-hour Yoga Relay. For 24 hours from 4 pm Nov 29 to 4 pm November 30 in participating yoga studios and at the Croatian Cultural Centre, participants of all ages practiced yoga and collected pledges from families, friends and sponsoring businesses.

Together we raised over $70,000 for Unicef to help children around the world whose lives have been changed forever because of AIDS. Orphaned, infected at birth, or infected through sexual activity forced on them by war, disaster or poverty, these children need help. The money this project raises each year helps Unicef provide them with shelter, food, medical care, education, and hope.

At the Croatian Cultural Centre, volunteer yoga teachers taught back-to-back classes in various styles of hatha yoga, including Sivananda, Kundalini, power, flow, yin, yoga nidra and others. Some people practiced every class; others came for one or more, and left when they needed to. In their breaks participants could cast their intention into the Wishing Well of Intentions, bid on the Silent Auction, eat a snack, meet their friends in the conversation alcove, nap or meditate in the silent room, or mark the OM canvas with their fingerprint.

If you missed us this year, mark your calendar for next year. December 1 is World AIDS Day. The 24 Hour Relay usually runs the weekend before that. Check the Yoga4 Kidz website for updates and for how to get yoga into your child's school.
Free Yoga Day and Open House on Saturdays from 12:30-5 pm: January 10, February 7 and March 7
2010 East 48th at Victoria at theSivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Vancouver.

4 levels of yoga DVD for practice at home, on business trips and vacation so you never miss yoga class again www.merumountainyoga.com.

The Glamour and the Real

2008-10-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

We live in a society that glamourizes youth, and women as well as men face pressure to mask signs of aging. Whatever form of falseness you choose to invest in--botox, breast implants, liposuction, hair dye and more--it is all available at market rates. But if you paid me ten million dollars, I would not want to live my youth over again. For me the time I shook hands with my own power began after thirty, when I met a retired nurse from Arizona named Rose and began a journey that is awakening me to my soul's purpose and the reason I was born.

I would never claim to be awake, like some enlightened beings, self realized masters of various spiritual lineages who have completely actualized their human potential through their practice--Jesus, for example, or Buddha, or Sri Aurobindo, or Swami Sivananda--to name only a few great avatars who have appeared at times of humanity's great need to teach, to serve, to heal.

But before I met Rose and practiced yoga for the first time, I was in the wilderness in my life, alone in darkness and unconnected with a great ideal to serve. In all the material abundance of my Canadian upbringing and surroundings of the 60's, 70's and 80's, I was in despair beneath a patina of social cheerfulness, for my life felt purposeless and empty. I had dreams of darkness, yet more than dreams, for when I woke up the darkness was still there, imbuing my life, distancing me from everyone with apathy and exhaustion, although on the surface I seemed to be doing all the right things--running laps, running Marathons, winning prizes, graduating from university, working. I dreamed of falling into dark pits, unable to climb out, of watching my own face being eaten alive by ants, of drowning, snagged on underwater trees, of being shot through closed doors and watching my own blood spatter the blue kitchen wall behind me. Each night as I prepared to sleep I prayed I would not have those dreams, but the other ones that sometimes came, the dreams of liberation, of flying over colourful carpets of autumn forest, over blue water lapping white towns, my body immediately responsive to my thoughts to float up cliffs effortlessly, and to hover and dart at will.

Rose by no means rescued me, but taught me a practice that I felt ignite within me and open deep channels that have been purifying and healing me ever since. Every morning at the meditation retreat I had joined, she led us in a yoga class, and in these ancient postures, the twists, the inversions, the forward bends and back bends, and the corpse position of perfect stillness, I experienced a quality within me I have never known in any other life experience I have since encountered. I knew this was my practice. I knew this was my way home. Without doubt, fear or question I felt yoga resonate within me and I knew this was the most priceless of pearls, this was what I had come into the great bazaar of life to find, to remember, to embody.

I have had moments of transcendence in life, like on the cliffside in northern Scotland above Achiltibuie overlooking the Summer Isles and Ullapool, when the mist swirled beneath my feet, the sheep bleated above me on the mountainside while the sea petrels cried below me as they soared on the wind and sought fish to dive for. In the stillness after days of near-fasting and silent meditation, I felt my energy open near the base of my belly and suddenly I expanded. For some timeless period I was the wind, I was the mountain, I was the light of the gleaming sea and the blackness of the Summer Isles silhouetted on the shining path of the sun. I was huge, eternal, and Real.

For me yoga is a discipline which offers a path to what is real. In the face of life's vicissitudes and all the suffering each human life encompasses, yoga gives a way to stay connected with the hugeness of all that is. Of course it is not really a path back, for in fact we have never been separated--only our minds and the barriers of our own ego make us believe we are separate, that we are our bodies, our names, our social personality, our job or role in life, our money, our vacations, our hair colour, our physical youth or beauty. But yoga teaches us that what is real is not any of these things. These things of time and change, of beginnings and ends are "asat," unreal, and only the things that were never born and never began and will never end are real--the stuff of spirit, or "brahman" in the vocabulary of advaita philosophy which yoga comes from.

As my practice matures and deepens, once impossible postures become easy, my focus shifts to cultivating the inner qualities of yoga, and I begin to understand that the more I learn about this infinite practice, the more I know nothing. Along the way I have become a teacher and to my amazement students look to me as if I have something to teach them. Compassion, discrimination, non-attachment, non-violence, recognizing one Self in all that is, these are the real lessons yoga offers humanity. Our teachers are all around us--not only on the yoga mat, but off, in our fears, our perceived threats, in the angry bosses, the bad news bankers, the crying children, the enraged drivers who cut us off in traffic.

Shaking hands with our own power is something that we can only do for ourselves, for the only power there is, lies within us. It is not in money or fame or beauty or any form of empire we may choose to establish. As I stand now on the final side of menopause and feel the liberation that brings, I remember old dreams of flying and know I am living them now. I watch my daughter move into the circle of life as I step back from it; I see the generations pass. I share this now in the wish that every daughter in the world, and every son too, might find the way to experience this for themselves. The best part of yoga for me is the feeling of joy it has brought to my life, the deep sense of purpose and knowing that even if I die tomorrow, it won't matter, that I will have done my part to keep the teachings alive for humanity, and that others will continue to carry on the work.

Managing Workplace Stress: Corporate Trust and Team-Building

2008-09-25T11:06:00.001-07:00

Are employee stress, illness and burnout reducing quality and productivity in your workplace, and increasing mistakes? Are stress and job insecurity undermining trust among regional managers in your organization?

Research shows that North American businesses lose about $12 billion each year due to stress related disorders.

High levels of work-related stress result in lower levels of performance and commitment from employees.
Illnesses resulting from stress lead to increased rates of absenteeism.
Workplace injuries can increase as stressed workers may lack the concentration and alertness necessary for safety.
In Canada and the US, employees are now taking more stress-leave absences from work that ever before.
Lack of trust among regional and district managers blocks communication, reduces team effectiveness, and impacts customer service.

You can avoid this in your organization!! Email me at janis@merumountainyoga.com to receive a free newsletter about my three-day Corporate Trust and Team-Building Workshop that uses values clarification, communication strategies, yoga and relaxation techniques to build trust and unblock relationship patterns in your organization.

How does Yoga help increase manager and employee effectiveness?

Yoga is not only a physical activity but also a meditation, which can increase strength, flexibility and body awareness, boost immunity, develop concentration and mental focus, and reduce stress. Because yoga teaches relaxation and life skills for managing stress, it helps managers and employees improve performance on the job and in customer relations; because it boosts immunity, it helps reduce absenteeism due to illness. Moreover, yoga is a practice that can be sustained into old age, with cumulative benefits; it is a non-competitive, portable, low-cost activity that appeals to many people who do not enjoy other forms of sport.

Does this sound like a program you would like for your organization? Email me today at janis@merumountainyoga.com to receive a free newsletter about my three-day Corporate Trust and Team-Building Workshop that uses values clarification, communication strategies, yoga and relaxation techniques to build trust and unblock relationship patterns in your organization.

If you want a free newsletter with pictures of ten minutes of yoga you can do in the office in business clothes to ease tension in your back and neck from computer work, email me at janis@merumountainyoga.com.

My 4 levels of yga DVDs to support your practice at home or on vacations or business trips out of town are available at Banyen Books in Vancouver, at the Sivanada Yoga Vedanta Centre Vancouver, and through my website at www.merumountainyoga.com.

I teach yoga classes in Burnaby on Wednesdays 8:15-9:15 pm near Lougheed and Gilmore and in Vancouver on Tuesdays 8-9:30 pm, Thursdays 4:30-6:00 pm, Fridays 1:45-3:15 pm and Sundays 10:30 am-noon at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Vancouver, 2010 East 48th Avenue at Victoria www.sivanandavancouver.com. Email me for details.

Enjoy my blog!

Regards,

Jithamaya
janis@merumountainyoga.com

YogaVoyages: Yoga Cruise to Alaska August 2008

2008-09-22T13:32:00.001-07:00

If you have been to a wonderful place to practice yoga, send me your guest post in 200 words or so and a few pictures. Let's share this transformative practice with every human being that wants to know!!

In August I took a group on the Celebrity Mercury up the Alaska Inside Passage from Vancouver and back for 7 days. We practiced yoga together every morning at 7:30 in the Navigator lounge, then spent the rest of the day enjoying the ship.

The weather was cool and rainy so I didn't get to practice outside--the first morning I went up to the 14th deck to practice at sunrise, but I was freezing, so I moved inside. Next time I will take the group somewhere hot, like the Eastern Mediterranean and practice up close to the wind and the stars in the warm dawn.

The scenery was spectacular, with snowy mountains, old volcanoes, green forested islands in the mist, and dolphins at sunset leaping through the wake. We made a few stops along the way and got off the boat to look around. There were opportunities to do shore excursions like walk on the Mendenhall Glacier in Ketchikan, watch carvers at work in Juneau and visit the Russian museum, the totem park or the eagle rehabilitation centre in Sitka. We cruised into Hubbard Glacier Bay one afternoon and saw this huge wall of ice which is rapidly shrinking as the earth's climate warms.
Sea days were pretty relaxing. I took a lot of naps. I watched movies like Casino Royale and The Queen. We could take some dance classes, hang out in the hot tub, have timeless conversations with no hurry to end and race off to some other agenda. That was the best part--to have time to share the spiritual journeys and life histories of people I have been teaching and practicing with for years without ever knowing very much about each other.

In the evening we met for dinner and ate food that was art on the plate and on the palate. In the late evening people who like to stay up late could watch a show, dance in the nightclub, hang out in a lounge with their friends, gamble in the casino, watch a late night movie or run laps on the 12th deck track for exercise before sleeping.

I am planning a group cruise next summer, July or August 2008, in the warm part of the planet. Probably Eastern Mediterranean--Greek Islands, Turkey, Adriatic Sea. Email me at:
jgoad@cruiseshipcenters.com or janis@merumountainyoga.com
if you want to be on the mailing list for info as I work out the details.

My 4 levels of yoga DVDs to support your home practice or to help you relax and sleep soundly on your business trips are available through my website www.merumountainyoga.com

I teach regular yoga classes near Burnaby at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Vancouver,
Suite 280-2010 East 48th Avenue at Victoria. Free parking and easy access by transit. www.sivanandavancouver.com

Yoga Voyages: Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre Vancouver

2008-09-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

If you have been to a wonderful place on the planet to practice yoga, send me your guest post in 200 words or so and a few pictures. Let's share this transformative practice with every human being that wants to know.

In Vancouver we have so many wonderful choices about where to go to practice yoga. Almost every style and lineage is represented here and even yogis and yoginis from the suburbs no longer have to travel in to Kitsilano to find a yoga class, but can practice in their communities, in Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond, White Rock, Maple Ridge, Mission and more.

If you like classical hatha yoga in a bright pranic room filled with inner and outer light, try the Sivananda Centre at 48th and Victoria. The studio is small, about 700 sqare feet, with a bank of windows along the east wall and heirloom carpets on the floors in the form of mandalas. The second floor view looks over the parking lot and the rooftops of the next-block neighbours, so as we prepare to practice we see sky, sunset bronzing clouds, cherry trees in springtime, and sometimes on a clear day a distant snowy glimpse of Mount Baker.

The Sivananda practice is meditative and relaxing, with variations to suit all levels of practice. Here we begin as we end, relaxing on the back in Savasana and allowing the mind to settle into stillness and inner focus. We chant the opening mantras, ancient Sanskrit verses which are energetic keys embodying a certain power of sound, and begin pranayama. In every class we practice the Shining Skull Breath, Kapalabhati, and the Alternate Nostril Breathing, Anuloma Viloma. These breath practices purify and balance the energy system and have healing physical effects as well.

Three to six pairs of Sun Salutations bring the class into unison with synchronized motion, breath, and mental focus. They stretch all the major muscles, get the blood moving to every cell and organ, and open and lubricate all the joints to increase flexibility and strength.

The class moves through a series of asanas that are arranged to open the energy system from the top of the head down through the seven main spinal chakras, or energy centres. At the same time these postures fold the spine forward and bend it back, squeezing and then stretching all the organs, and keeping the spine flexible as we age. These postures include headstand for those who practice it or want to learn it, shoulderstand, plough, bridge, fish, forward fold, slide, cobra, locust, bow, half twist, crow, standing forward fold, triangle, tree and sometimes other asanas for variation and growth of the practice.

Because we hold the postures for ten breaths or longer and relax in Savasana in between, there is a deep feeling of stillness in the Sivananda class. The class can be very strenuous without being busy. By the end of the practice, final relaxation feels like paradise.

This is a wonderful studio to come to in the late afternoon or evening as day turns to darkness, and the thoughts, like the crows alighting to roost in the cherry trees, come to stillness. Make a point to visit for a yoga class or for Satsang, meditation and chanting, on Sundays at 6 pm. Plan to attend the Free Yoga and Open House Days on Saturday, November 1 and Saturday, December 6 from 12:30-5:00 pm with sample yoga, meditation and chanting classes, door prizes and vegetarian refreshments.
Regular schedule and rates are on line at:

www.sivanandavancouver.com

Mats and equipment are there. Parking is free. It is easy to reach by bus #20 from Commercial Station (15 minutes) and by bus#49 UBC from Metrotown (10 minutes).

2010 East 48th Avenue suite 280, Vancouver V5P 1R8 604-321-9039 yoga@mail.com

Angles of Incidents

2008-09-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

Which draws us, angles
of incidence, angles of
reflection or
equals signs that yoke
these two in one?

Life incidents construct us now and here,
the child's moan
the siren's wail
the chattering shattered glass:
sudden shards of the heart.

But learning logs in later
in grateful solitude when
scrutiny reflects awareness
flashed
upon an inward eye.

I strive to live here now.
I mark time in breaths
of quiet stillness, when I hold
the inner voice yet not surrender
chaos,

shine incidents
upon the mirror of my mind
and seek the angle,
this geometry of angles,
this geometry of joy.