Pacific Elements

Purnatva & Shunyata: The Dance Between Fullness & Emptiness

2012-05-07T17:06:04Z

Spring has truly arrived here in Tofino. The flowers are in bloom outside my window, my garden is coming back to life, and we are enjoying a spell of warm and sunny days matched by luminous evenings bright with the light of the full moon. I have just finished up a long stretch of about nine weeks in yoga school where I got to be both teacher and student, and the beauty of the last couple days feels like a celebration of the fullness I am experiencing. The Sanskrit word Purnatva means fullness, or perfection, and refers to a fullness of essence that is experienced at the level of the Absolute. So often when we think of perfection at the relative level it is within the concept of being “without flaw”, but at the highest level the perfection of Purna embraces the so called flaws or imperfections and speaks to a fullness of spirit that is felt from within. For instance the fullness of this moment in time for me, personally, is felt as a state of satisfaction and completion, along with fatigue, and it is absolutely perfect. At the same time I feel a deep pull towards stillness and silence after the activity and expansion of the last couple months, which needs to be honored in order to maintain the dynamic pulsation of a balanced life.

The Sanskrit word Shunyata means nothing, or emptiness. Zero. It is the opposite of fullness and is a state of receptive stillness that is full of potential. For myself I have found that in order to truly enjoy the satisfaction and fullness of life I must have a practice that includes the conscious emptying out of experience and even a stilling of the desire to create. When I can allow myself to simply be in the quiet moments of my life, the silent pause between one activity and the next, one breath and the next, then I am provided the nourishment, and often the inspiration, for the next cycle of fullness. It is a beautiful dance.

So for the next two weeks I will be going in to a deeper place of self-nourishment, which will include greater periods of time in silence and in meditation, a time to listen deeply rather than to speak. I will be entering into a deeper phase of my spring cleansing practice so that I may experience more lightness of being, and on a very practical level I will be clearing out my inbox of all the emails I couldn’t get to in the last few weeks and finishing off projects that are on my desk. I will be doing this not only because it will allow me to be more effective as I enter the next cycle of creation, but because after so many years of practice I can feel the pull towards emptiness and it can’t be ignored. This is the beauty of practice over a long period of time, our intuition and inner sensing becomes ever more refined and we begin to fall into rhythm with the greater currents of our lives with less resistance.

I will leave you with the following questions to consider as a contemplation exercise to help you attune to the cycles of fullness and emptiness in your own life.

In which ways do you limit, or inhibit yourself, from savoring the fullness of experience in your yoga practice, and in your daily life?
In which ways do your resist the potential that is inherent in the state of emptiness in your practice, and in your life?
What practices could you cultivate to help you celebrate and honor both sides of the pulsation between Purna and Shunya?

Please feel free to comment below and share your reflections on these questions so others may learn from you as well.

Spring Cleanse Recipes

2012-04-20T02:40:17Z

After a long day at Yoga Teacher Training School I am still finding that the kitchen is my favorite place to be to ground myself (and avoid the computer work that is piling up!), and so thought I’d share some of the meals I’ve been making lately. I have been doing my teacher Cate Stillman’s Yogi Detox and I love how the experience of cleansing with her support doesn’t make me feel deprived at all but rather feels like a celebration of this fresh new season. These dishes all utilize the tastes that are best for the spring time diet and assist the body in naturally releasing excess heaviness and congestion. Give them a try and let me know how it goes!

Spring Kitchari with Dandelion & Collard Greens

2/3 cup of soaked Mung Beans
2 cups of White or Brown Basmati Rice
1 leek chopped fine
1 cup of chopped Dandelion Leaves
1 cup of chopped Collard Greens or Kale
2 Tbs Ghee or Coconut Oil
1-2 Tbs of Spring Masala Mix
1 Tbs fresh grated Turmeric Root
1 Tbs fresh grated Ginger Root

Soak the mung beans overnight, rinse and drain
Rinse the rice well
Heat the Ghee or Coconut Oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the Masala Mix, the leeks, and the fresh grated ginger and turmeric, stir till leeks are soft and well coated with spices
Add the rinsed rice and beans, stir well, and add 4-5 cups of water depending on how soft you like your kitchari to be (more water= soupier, easier to digest kitchari)
Bring to a boil, stir once, add the chopped greens, cover and simmer on low until the water has dissolved
Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste, eat with gratitude while watching the sunset

Spring Masala Blend (from Eat, Taste Heal)

2 Tbs Coriander Seeds
2 Tbs Cumin Seeds
1 Tbs Fenugreek Seeds
1 Tbs Ground Cinnamon
1 Tbs Ground Turmeric
1 Tbs Dried Sage Leaves
1 Tbs Ground Ginger
1tsp Ground Cloves
½ tsp Cayenne Powder

Dry roast the coriander, cumin and fenugreek seeds in a heavy bottomed pan and then grind them in a mortar and pestle if you have a good one, or a coffee grinder you use for spices only (unless you don’t mind cumin flavored coffee!)
Dry roast the powdered herbs in a heavy bottomed pan being careful not to burn them
Mix everything together in the coffee grinder or mortar and pestle till when combined
Store in a glass jar and use in all your favorite spring soups and one pot meals

Spring Cleanse Morning Juice

½ bulb of fresh Fennel
2-3 pieces of Celery
1 Green Apple
½ Cucumber
1 big handful of Nettle Leaves
1 big handful of Parsley
½ a Lime
1 sprig of fresh mint
1 inch of fresh Ginger Root

Run all ingredients through a juicer starting with the Nettle, Parsley, Mint and Ginger, followed by the juicier fruit and vegetables for best results

Spring Cleanse Sweet Green Smoothie

1 big handful of Nettle Leaves
1 big handful Parsley
1 big handful of Cilantro
1 banana
½ pear
1-2 Tbs Cocao Nibs
1 tsp Chia Seeds
2 cups of fresh Pumpkin & Hemp Seed Milk
1 scoop of Vanilla Chai Vega Powder

Blend all ingredients in a blender, adding water as desired to get a consistency you enjoy
Pour into a large jar and enjoy when you are craving a sweeter breakfast smoothie or light meal

Pumpkin & Hemp Seed Milk

2 big handfuls of Pumpkin Seeds (I like the large green Styrian Pumpkin Seeds)
½ cup of Hemp Hearts (Hemp seeds without hulls)
1 tsp Vanilla Powder or Extract
Pinch of Salt
Water

Soak the pumpkin seeds for a few hours in cold water, rinse and drain
Add pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts to the blender with a pinch of salt, and add enough water to just cover
Blend until the seeds are well ground, and then add water slowly till your blender is full and the milk is frothy
Strain though a couple layers of fine cheesecloth or a nut milk bag, save the pulp to make raw cookies with!
Pour into a large glass jar and store in the fridge

Pumpkin Seed & Hemp Heart Raw Chocolate Cookies

(okay I know these aren’t really spring cleansing fare but they are so good !)

Pumpkin Seed & Hemp Heart pulp from making seed milk
1/3 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup of liquid sweetener such as Agave or Maple Syrup
¾ cup of Raw Cocoa Powder
½ tsp mint extract
½ cup of Cocao Nibs

Blend the coconut oil, cocoa powder, mint essence, and liquid sweetener in a food processor until well mixed
Add the Pumpkin Seed & Hemp Heart pulp and the cocoa nibs and pulse a couple times till combined
Spoon onto a dehydrator tray in small balls and dehydrate at 110 degrees for 4-6 hours or until dry on the bottom
Enjoy!!

Spring Wisdom for Vibrant Health and Wellness

2012-03-31T17:09:17Z

I’m in Victoria for the weekend to take in some workshops with my teacher Robin Golt, who is visiting from Montreal, and to celebrate my husband’s birthday. Spring comes early to Victoria and so the cherry trees are all in blossom and the streets are full of early morning joggers, the stores are showcasing their spring wares, and people are dressing lighter even though there is still a chill in the air. I myself had to dress in many layers that I would put on, and took off, at various times during the day as I walked through the rain showers, sunshine, and cold winds that are typical of spring in the Pacific Northwest.

According to the science of Ayurveda each season is ruled by two of the five elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. The spring season is characterized by an excess of Earth and Water (Kapha Dosha) and has the qualities of coldness, heaviness, and dampness. So even though the cherry blossoms are out and the days are longer there is still a winter chill in the air on most days, the spring rains are heavy, and the ground is wet and cold. Because of this common spring health concerns are chest colds and allergies, and there can even be a depression that sets in during the rainy season as we desire lightness but are still feeling bogged down by the heaviness of winter. Understanding which elements, and qualities (gunas), are dominant in this season can give us valuable clues as to how we can adjust our diet and activities so that we can avoid these common health concerns and enjoy vibrant wellness as the wheel of the year waxes towards the fullness of the summer season.

During the long, cold, and drier winter months our diet consisted of heavier, fattier, and oftentimes sweeter foods such as root vegetables, stews, and rich grain dishes. This diet is entirely appropriate for the winter season but if we continue with this diet through the damp spring season we will accumulate excess Kapha Dosha and may find ourselves feeling heavy, and sluggish. We may wake up with a lot of mucus in our sinuses or our chests and feel that it is hard to get going in the morning. The spring diet may still include a large amount of cooked food as the temperatures outside are still cold, but we should begin to highlight flavors that are Bitter, Astringent, and Pungent to combat the heaviness that we built up during winter and that is being aggravated by the spring season.

Ayurveda characterizes all foods and herbs using a system of Six Tastes, which are Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter, Astringent, and Pungent. In the spring season we want to bring in to focus the latter three, and though these tastes are not as common in the typical western diet and may seem unfamiliar to you, you can find them in common foods such as the leafy greens of kale, dandelion and endive which are Bitter, beans, artichokes, and asparagus which are Astringent, and ginger, garlic, and onions which are Pungent. Adding herbs and spices to your meals can really help bring in the reducing and purifying qualities of the Bitter, Pungent, and Astringent tastes as well. Turmeric and Fenugreek are wonderful Bitter herbs that can be used in cooking or you could make a bitter spring cleansing tea of Dandelion and Burdock root if you prefer. Along with the common Pungent spices I mentioned earlier you could also add a pinch of cayenne or horseradish to your meals to stimulate digestion and increase heat or enjoy a cup of strong peppermint tea. Celery seed, sage, and are common kitchen herbs that have the Astringent taste or my favorite way to enjoy Astringent taste these days is with a tea of dried hibiscus flowers mixed with green and black teas which helps to reduce fat and water retention.

Because Kapha Dosha has an affinity for the stomach and chest it is important to do activities that will open up the front body and relieve congestion while increasing circulation. You may start running or biking or walking to work in the morning to kick start your metabolism, or simply do more vigorous sun salutations in your morning practice. The ideal yoga practice for the spring season is definitely a little stronger with a focus on backbends, poses that take the arms overhead, deep twists, heating poses such as inversions and arm balances, and pranayama (breathwork) practices such as the Breath of Joy, Kappalabhati (Skull Shining Breath), and Brahmari (Bee’s Breath). Increasing the intensity of our daily yoga practices will bring greater focus and clarity to our minds while firing up our digestive capacity so that we begin to feel lighter and can shed the heaviness of winter.

As well doing a simple spring cleanse can really help you to make the shift from winter to summer with greater ease and is considered an important health promoting practice in Ayurveda. If you are new to cleansing simply focus on eating a whole foods diet emphasizing the tastes and flavors I mentioned above and reducing sweet foods such as refined sugars and starches as well as heavy foods such as dairy and richer meats. Even cutting down on nuts and fats during this season is a good idea and instead get your protein from beans and bitter grains such as quinoa and rye. More experienced cleansers may go on a traditional kitchari (rice and mung bean) cleanse for a week or even a juice fast- though if you are going to do this I recommend doing a guided cleanse with a group that is led by an experienced teacher that can help you troubleshoot and support your process. My teacher Cate Stillman does a 21 day Yogi Detox each spring and fall which I absolutely love and which I will be doing again this April.

The main things to remember are to stay warm and dry, eat lighter, gently increase heat in your diet through spices, bring in the lesser known bitter and astringent tastes, and get your body moving. These simple practices can go a long way. I hope this article provides some inspiration and ideas and if you would like to access more information about spring wisdom according to Ayurveda I recorded a 90-minute workshop last week that is available for download along with fifteen pages of supportive handouts, recipes, and home yoga practices. I personally have found that making the simplest changes to my daily and seasonal routines have provided the most profound results in my own health, and the health of my family, and I love sharing this wisdom with all of you. Please feel free to email me with your questions or feel free to comment below if you want to know more.

May you enjoy the sweetness and beauty of this season in good health.

Kitchen Sadhana: Nourishing Your Soul Through Food Preparation

2012-03-18T23:50:49Z

One of my favorite ways to ground and nourish myself is by spending time in my kitchen preparing food for my family. My first Ayurvedic teach Kimberly Loeb introduced me to the concept of Kitchen Sadhana, or conscious food preparation, as a genuine path of practice, and since then my time in the kitchen has become even more purposeful. At the moment I am in the midst of teaching Yoga Teacher Training, as well as my full schedule of studio classes which means I am talking alot which can really aggravate the Vata (Ayurvedic dosha of Air/Ether) in my constitution. I find that getting some quiet time in my kitchen to slowly and thoughtfully prepare food is one of the best ways for me to steady my nerves and rediscover the appreciation for simplicity that can easily be lost amidst a busy schedule. Here are a few recipes I’ve been making recently. Try them out when you have some time to spend in your kitchen. Put on some nice music, prepare your cooking space, make yourself a cup of your favorite tea and enjoy!

Kale Chips

2 heads of curly kale

1 cup of cashews

juice of one large lemon

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tsps turmeric powder

1/2 tsp cayenne powder

1 1/2 tsps salt

1/4-1/2 cup of water

1. Cut the kale into bite size pieces, removing the thick stems. Wash the kale and dry in a salad spinner. Put aside.

2. Blend the rest of the ingredients in a blender, (pre-soak the cashews for 20 minutes prior to if you don’t have a high powered blender). Add as much water as needed to create a thick creamy sauce with the cashew mix.

3. Toss the cashew cream over the kale in a large mixing bowl and massage the cream in by hand, coating the kale evenly. (this part is fun!)

4. Spread on your dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 10-12 hours to make chips that will store well. Truthfully I usually take them out after 4 hours, or as soon as they are crispy, and eat them all up right away. If you don’t have a dehydrator use you oven at it’s lowest heat setting- but keep an eye on them that they don’t burn.

Morrocan Vegetable Stew

1 medium butternut squash peeled and cut into cubes, or 2 large yams

6-8 shallots

2 medium carrots cut into cubes

1 can of chickpeas or about 1 cup

3/4 cup of pitted, chopped prunes

2-3 cups of chopped greens such as collards or kale ( I like to add broccoli sometimes too)

1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger grated

1 1/2 inch piece of fresh turmeric grated (or 1Tbs dried)

1-2 cinnamon sticks

1 Tbs cumin seeds

1 Tbs dark raw honey (agave or maple syrup if you don’t use honey)

1 Tbs harrisa paste (if unavailable substitute 1 tsp cayenne or your favorite warming spice)

2-4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock

1. Peel the shallots, chop fine, and heat in 2 Tbs of olive oil or ghee along with grated ginger, turmeric, harissa paste, cinnamon sticks, and cumin seeds. Stir and cook until shallots are softened.

2. Add the squash and carrots, saute for about a minute or two and then add the prunes and honey.

3. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil.

4. Turn it down to low and stir in the cooked chickpeas and the chopped greens. Simmer on low and cook gently for 25 minutes on the stove top or a few hours in a crock pot (my firs choice). Adding additional stock as needed to create a thick stew.

5. Serve topped with fresh cilantro chopped roughly and over a bed of fresh cous-cous or quinoa

Hope you enjoy these recipes. If you’d like more I’ll be teaching a Seasonal Wisdom Workshop this coming Sunday March 25th that will include Ayurvedic tips and recipes for supporting health and wellness during the spring season.

Living a Life of Practice

2012-03-11T23:35:33Z

I have the afternoon off from teacher training and as I sit at my table watching the weather change from misty rain to sunshine and slowly back to rain I know that spring is here, the season of growth and renewal. In January of this year I wrote a blog entry about how I felt that 2012 was going to be a big year that would require courage and a willingness to shift, and just three months in to the year I am reflecting on how very true that has proven to be. In the last month the yoga community that I was aligned with, and that I have received much inspiration from, has gone through a powerful dissolution. At the same time we are planning for a big move to a new town which means leaving the town I have lived in for most of my adult life, and my husband is going through a period of deep questioning as he redefines his goals and his dreams. It seems no area of my life will be left untouched by the power of change this year and as a result my daily practices of asana, meditation, study and self care are more needed then ever.

Though we consider it natural for night to follow day and winter to follow summer somehow when it comes to things changing or in our own lives we often find ourselves resisting. And of course it is hard to accept change when it means that someone we love is going to pass on or the community we are part of starts to evolve into something that is not familiar to us- but accept it we must for relationships and human lives are just as subject to the laws of nature as the trees outside my window and the tides moving up and down the beach.

Most of us crave cycles of growth and renewal in our lives, as we all want to feel the newness of discovery and expansion in our relationships, in our careers, and in our spiritual practice. But we often forget that before growth there must be a period of birth, and before birthing there is a period of change, death or release. It is in these aspects of the pulsation that we often become stuck, because death or letting go is painful, and birth requires effort and a willingness to push into the unknown.

In the science of Ayurveda the spring season is ruled by the elements of Earth and Water and if we look at the qualities of these elements we find powerful tools that we can bring into our practice and our lives to help us navigate times of change with greater skillfulness.

The Earth element offers us the power of steadiness and discipline, while the Water element teaches us that the ability to be adaptable makes us strong and allows us to flow with life’s shifting currents. This week in teacher training we looked at Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and one of my favorite sutras is Sutra 1:12, where we are introduced to the concepts of Abhayasa, or determined practice, and Vairagya, or non- attachment. When I think of Abhayasa I am reminded of the Earth element and the way that commitment to practice is strengthened over a long period of time, through repeated effort, and in the face of all obstacles. This type of commitment to growth takes strength and discipline which are qualities related to the Earth element. Vairagya asks us to be fluid, not grasping to outcomes or clinging to our expectations, and yet still remain committed to growth, which takes immense flexibility, qualities of the Water element.

This month in your home practice work on cultivating steadiness by committing to doing a regular period of practice at the same time each day. It doesn’t need to be long and involved but it does need to be consistent. Try 10 minutes of Sun Salutations each morning or 15 minutes of meditation to begin or end your day. The consistency and commitment to daily practice will allow you to strengthen the qualities of Earth in your life. To bring the adaptability of Water in allow yourself to notice how each day of practice will have it’s own challenges and delights and encourage yourself to be open to and receptive to both. If something comes up and you can’t practice at the time you had scheduled in, don’t give up or skip it for the day but rather fit it in at the next available opportunity. If you are open to it that opportunity will present itself, even in the busiest of days, and when it does make sure to take advantage of it even if it means meditating in the lunchroom at work or doing your Sun Salutations at the park while you walk your dog.

I am still young at just 36 years of age but I have learned that life is complex and mysterious, as full of joy as it is pain and difficulty. It is with immense gratitude that I reflect on the experiences I’ve had and the teachers I’ve met as they have brought me to the path of yoga, and yoga has taught me a way of living that asks me to remain open and responsive to life even when it may seem easier to shut down, cry victim, or avoid action. Through practice I have learned that if I can stay both open and engaged then I am able to celebrate the newness of spring, the fullness of summer, and the haunting beauty of winter in each aspect of my life. By living a life of practice I am able to receive the richness of life in all its entirety and though it doesn’t promise me a life free from challenge it does give me the ability to meet the challenges that are sure to arise with courage and with grace.

How Do You Stay Inspired?

2012-02-21T01:55:08Z

A common question that comes up for yoga teachers, and students is “how do I stay inspired?” Inspiration is key to great teaching and as such is vital for teachers of yoga, but it is equally important for students of yoga as inspiration is what keeps you coming back to your practice despite the busyness of life or the challenges it may present. I have lived in a small town for the last eight years where I did not have access to a senior teacher and so this is a question I needed to learn how to answer for myself. How can we stay inspired and committed to a life of practice while also juggling all the other demands of our lives? Pondering this question today I’ve created a list of suggestions all of which I have used, and continue to use, to keep my practice and my teaching fresh and new.

Get on Your Mat!

The first and foremost way to stay inspired about your practice is to practice. It seems so obvious but I think this is one of the key areas that yoga teachers and students overlook when they feel uninspired. When it comes to teaching there is a limit to what you can learn in a teacher training, the rest must be learned through personal experience and then articulated in your own voice. Great teachers teach from a place of personal experience and as they are continually refining that experience through practice their offerings are never stale or repetitive. As well regularity of practice, done with focus and intention, will allow the dedicated yoga student to continue deepening their understanding of both the practice and of themselves. Here are some tips for practice,

Commit to 10-20 minutes a day no matter what. Set a timer if need be, let go the idea that you need 60-90 minutes to do anything of value and just start moving (most days you’ll end up practicing longer when you have the time just because it feels so good).
Schedule in your practice time in the same way you schedule in lunches with friends, important appointments and all the other details of your life. Poor time management is the main reason most students and even yoga teachers are not getting on their mats enough.
Go to class. If you are not disciplined enough to do home practice yet make sure you schedule in time to go to classes. As well try a variety of styles and teachers throughout the month so you can learn new things- this is so helpful if you teach yoga as it gives you new ideas.
Buy some videos or try online yoga resources such as My Yoga Online, YogaGlo, or Yoga Today. While learning yoga from a video is not recommended this is a great way to keep up your practice at home.
Create a welcoming yoga space in your home so you will be drawn to it and keep your yoga gear out where you can see it. At the same time don’t let the fact that you don’t have a dedicated space in your home for yoga be an excuse not to practice! I have only ever had the space of my own mat on the living room floor and though I dream of my own yoga room one day I still get on my mat regardless.

Read a Book

Many yoga students and teachers I know overlook the value of simply reading the books they already have on their shelves. If you have books on yoga practice, meditation, philosophy or anatomy that you have yet to read all the way through or could use a review of then this is a cheap and easy way to get inspired without having to invest a lot money or time. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your home studying,

Treat study as you would your yoga practice and set aside time for it.
Do your studying at a time of the day when you will be alert and can focus, for me that is early morning but for you it may be different. Avoid trying to study in bed before you go to sleep, as you will probably not retain much -though if you are reading yogic philosophy it will elevate your dreams!
Do journal work on the topic you are studying to ensure that you have digested and comprehended what you have read or start a study group.
Don’t let yourself read too many books at one time. Not only is it crazy making but it will lessen the impact of what you are studying. Read one to two books max at any one time and don’t buy any new ones until you have finished the previous one. Watch that you don’t mindlessly consume knowledge- digest it and make it yours.
Here’s a list of some of my favourite yoga related books..

Write or Teach

One of the best ways to really deepen your understanding of a topic is to write about it or teach it to someone else. If you are a yoga student, rather than a teacher, keep a journal where you write about your practice and record your insights, or teach simple poses and relaxation techniques to your friends and family members. For teachers of yoga here are some of my favourite suggestions.

Start a blog, write articles for your local papers or yoga publications, or be a guest writer on someone else’s blog.
Teach a Master Class or afternoon workshop on a specific subject. This will get you to study the topic and articulate what you already know which will help you to deepen your comprehension.
Teach an ongoing learning series for a certain group of people such as Yoga for Back Pain, or Pre-Natal Yoga, Yoga for Teens or Yoga for Depression.
Teach a workshop series with a specific focus such as the Chakra System or the Yamas and Niyama’s of Patanjali Yoga, or any other philosophical teaching you want to deepen for yourself and your students.

Sign Up For a Workshop or Do An Online Course

Through online learning this year I will deepen my studies of both Ayurveda and Anatomy without having to leave town or schedule time away from work. There are so many options available these days for online learning from shorter courses to longer yearlong offerings on a seemingly endless variety of subjects that everyone can take advantage of. This is great news if like me you live in a rural area without access to senior teachers or a yoga community. However if you do have access to live yoga workshops and learning series than decide on a learning budget for the year and deepen your learning by attending workshops, yoga immersions or pre-registered series. The value received in a workshop setting compared to a regular drop in yoga class is incomparable and I have noticed that when yoga students start attending workshops their commitment to their own practice really shifts to the next level. As well here are a few great ideas for online courses for students or teachers of yoga that are looking for more inspiration.

Refine & Amplify! My online mentor’s course for yoga teachers
Yoga Anatomy Fundamentals. A 10-week anatomy course for yoga teachers created by Leslie Kaminoff and hosted by me this spring
Yoga Anatomy Principles. Leslie Kaminoff’s 9 month Anatomy Training
90 Minutes to Change the World. Amy Ippoliti’s online course for yoga teachers.
Living Ayurveda. Cate Stillman’s 9 month online Ayurvedic living course.
The Mentors Club. Cate Stillman’s 9 month mentors program for heart centered entrepreneurs.
Tantric philosophy courses with Tantric scholar practitioner Hareesh Wallis
Premium Yoga Workshops on yoga practice or therapeutics on YogaGlo
Meditation courses with renowned meditation teacher and author Sally Kempton

The main point with all of this is to engage your practice and your studies whenever you find yourself feeling uninspired or stuck in a rut. This can happen to anyone from the newer student to the most seasoned teacher so don’t despair when it happens to you but rather get out your mat, brush off your stack of books, or sign yourself up to learn something new. Just keep learning, keep growing, and keep sharing!

Are You Ready for Yoga Teacher Training?

2012-02-14T03:42:30Z

The question that I get asked most often in regards to my yoga teacher training courses is something along the lines of “I can’t do all the poses yet, would I be able to do a teacher training?” or “ I have only been doing yoga for a few years, am I ready for teacher training?” I often find these questions hard to answer as I don’t have set answers for them because as with so many things in regards to yoga it really does depend.

In my opinion you certainly don’t need to be able to practice all the yoga poses in the common syllabus with mastery to attend yoga teacher training or begin to share your love of yoga with others. Nor does I think it really matters how long you’ve been practicing yoga. What do I mean by that? Well many people have been practicing yoga for a decade, but they don’t practice regularly. When they get busy they may not show up for practice for weeks or even months and when they leave the studio after a good practice that they are happy with what they have received but they are not going home to read yogic scripture in their spare time or attempting to adopt the lifestyle practices of yoga off of the mat. And then there are others who may be fairly new to yoga yet they practice with intense enthusiasm and a strong desire to learn as much as they can. They are engaged and show up with curiosity and openness. So you can see the overall time spent around a yoga studio does not necessarily quantify the readiness of the student in this case.

And what do I actually mean by intense enthusiasm when it comes to practice? Does that mean practicing advanced poses or sitting for hours in meditation? For some it does. And for others it is simply attending class a couple times a week and making effort to embody the teachings in their lives. Again we cannot quantify the level of enthusiasm by the depth of a student’s backbend any more than we can measure it by how many times a week they practice. Rather the only real measure is the amount of intention they bring to the practices they do.

So when a student asks me whether or not they are ready for teacher training I am more interested in knowing why they want to be teachers and what the practice has given them then how many years they’ve been practicing. I want to know how hard they are willing to work in order to refine their ability to articulate what they’ve experience through their practices so that they can then communicate that with others. What I really want to know is how committed they are to the ongoing learning process that is yoga- not whether or not they can balance on their head. Teaching methodology, alignment technique, anatomy, and philosophy can all be learned in time, whereas a passion for practice and a desire to be of service can not- they can be cultivated- but they can not be taught.

When I first came to the mat I had no idea what yoga was. I had never read a yoga book, or attempted to meditate. I certainly didn’t know the difference between Trikonasana and Sirsasana, Iyengar and Ashtanga, Patanjali’s Sutras or the Bhagavad Gita. But in my very first class I knew that I had found something that felt more real than anything I had ever experienced before that. And as I continued to practice I discovered valuable tools that helped me to live with greater skill and integrity. Was I proficient in Sanskrit language, anatomy of movement, and yoga philosophy before I signed up for my first teacher training? Certainly not. Was I a highly disciplined person that had all my emotions and appetites under my control? No I wasn’t . Did I have a strong desire to know myself better and to learn more about the practices that were so powerfully impacting my life. I did. Was I committed to practicing what I learned so that I could translate it into knowledge I could one day share with others in the hopes I could offer them the inspiration my teachers had given me? Without a doubt.

So instead of asking me, or anyone else, whether or not you are ready for yoga teacher training ask yourself. Do you have a true desire to be of service? Do you have a passion for practice and a willingness to commit to it? Even when the going gets tough? Because in a lifetime of practice there will be tough times. Ask yourself whether or not you truly want to learn and continue learning about the great traditions of yoga so that you may add something meaningful to the conversation. Because though yoga is ancient it is also evolving and that evolution will be determined in great part by who is transmitting it to the world. And if you can answer yes to all these questions than you are ready so hurry up and dive in because the world needs passionate people like you!

Dinacharya: Nourishing Routines for Mindfulness & Good Health

2012-02-10T17:26:25Z

At the end of this month I will be heading into four weeks of Yoga Teacher Training which means I will be teaching long hours six days a week in addition to managing my business and the other aspects of my life outside the classroom. In preparation for this I am placing an added emphasis on maintaining a healthy daily routine in order to be well rested and prepared for the busier month to come. Whether you are the teacher or the student Yoga Teacher Training is always a fun, inspiring, transformational, and exciting journey and at the same time it is also challenging as you are learning and experiencing so much while asking yourself to grow in new ways. To manage the challenge and excitement of it all I will be teaching my students the benefits of a nourishing daily routine on the very first day.

Sunrise to Sunset

The daily routine, or Dinacharya as it is called in Ayurveda, is central to promoting health and well being and preventing imbalance and in my experience is one of the simplest and most powerful tools we have to take our health into our own hands. At the heart of the Dinacharya is the concept of mindfulness and ritual, making conscious the everyday transitions and events of our lives. A teacher whose writings and teachings have greatly inspired me on my own path is Maya Tiwari. I love the way she speaks about the Seven Daily Transitions as sacred phases of the day and her work has inspired the way that I think about the daily routine and so here I have included my own version of the Dinacharya to support you in your pursuit of good health.

Dinacharya: Nourishing Daily Routines To Support Mindfulness & Good Health

1. Waking

Strive to get up early enough to do the practices that will nourish you as well as allow you time to enjoy the stillness of early morning as this will affect how you will experience the rest of the day.
Getting up just before the sun rises is ideal but if that is impossible due to your work schedule at least make sure you are awake a minimum of 90 minutes before you have to be anywhere so you don’t need to rush.
Early morning is ruled by the elements of Air and Ether and so has the qualities of subtlety, spaciousness, clarity, and coolness. If we miss this precious time of day we may feel harried, tense, or mentally overheated through the rest of the day

2. Cleansing Your Body

Start the day by putting on the kettle and making a large jar of boiled water and lemon to sip throughout the morning. This helps clear out the digestive tract of any undigested food from the previous day and stimulates your agni or digestive fire for the day to come.
Head to the bathroom for a brisk dry brushing or Abhayanga-Oil Massage and a shower to stimulate circulation, nourish your nervous system, and warm your body.

3. Practice/Prayer

Do some form of movement practice such as yoga asana or a silent walk on the beach as well as a brief meditation. I consider these practices a form of prayer as it allows me to get in touch with the mystery of my life through movement, breath and awareness.
I personally include a more formal practice of prayer as well, which for myself is simply an expression of gratitude for the day and for the blessings of my life, a statement of my deepest intentions and a request for guidance and support.
Remember this doesn’t need to be a long drawn out affair to be effective. 10 minute of Sun Salutations and 10 minutes of meditation goes a long way and will support you in putting the details of your day into a larger perspective .

4. Eating Well

Meal times are wonderful opportunities to pause and focus on nourishing yourself. Do your best to plan your meals and your meal times so that they are conscious and free from stress. This may mean getting up earlier and preparing your meals or your shopping list in the morning which is a lovely sadhana or practice of it’s own.
Avoid eating on the go and rather try to sit down for your meals. Don’t work while you eat but instead take in the sounds around you and place your attention on the smells and sensations that accompany eating. This type of mindfulness will allow you to make better food choices and avoid overeating.
Eat food that is fresh, local, and in season for optimal health.
Breakfast is should be taken after your movement practice, lunch is best mid day and can be larger as digestion is strongest at that time while dinner is ideally a lighter affair taken early in the evening.
Meal times are another great opportunity for giving thanks and this practice will cultivate a greater sense of gratitude and abundance in our lives overall

5. Working

The way in which we approach our work is so deeply important to our well-being. Cultivating an attitude of service in regards to the work you do in the world will allow you to bring joy and positivity into your workplace and keep you from developing negative states of mind that can bring you down. I worked in restaurants for many years and if I could remember what a treat it was to be on the receiving end of good service as a customer than I was able to provide it as a waitress. This remembrance made everything more fun and rewarding for both myself and the people I worked with as well as the people that I served.
Avoid overworking. This can happen when we love our work or when we own our own businesses but it is important to avoid overworking by creating boundaries around your work hours in order to avoid aggravating Pitta dosha (Fire), which can lead to burn out.
For those of you who really struggle with finding enjoyment in the work you do at least take the time each day to cultivate gratitude for the fact that you have a means to support yourself when so many people don’t and you will find in time that this gratitude will allow you to find more pleasure in your daily efforts.

6. Celebration and Play

Take time each day, even if it is just a few moments on your walk to work, to celebrate the beauty that surrounds you.
Look at the sky, witness the trees, silently honor the strength and kindness of the people you see, breathe deep and welcome the gift of fresh air in your lungs and as often as you can get your hands in the dirt, walk barefoot in the grass, swim in the ocean, walk in the rain or play in the snow.
Remember that the world is a beautiful place and no matter where you are there is always something to celebrate.
This practice done daily helps take you out of the smaller sense of yourself as a separate being disconnected from the whole and will not only bring joy to your day but will relieve stress and anxiety as well.

7. Contemplation

Finish the active part of each day by making time for stillness and reflection.
Put your legs up the wall for a few moments or sit for formal meditation practice.
Restorative poses are wonderful if you’ve had a stressful day.
Even just sitting silently for a few moments with a cup of tea before bed to listen to the sounds around you and feel the day coming to an end can be deeply nourishing and will help you to sleep well.

8. Sleeping

The hours before midnight are worth twice as much as the hours after midnight so do your best to get to bed by 10pm most nights in order to feel your best.
Turn off all computers, television and bright lights 30-60 minutes before you want to sleep.
Take a warm bath to help you sleep on nights when you feel wound up.
Reading inspirational literature before bed is a practice that supports good dreams and uplifting thoughts.
Never go to bed angry at someone in your household-kiss and make up or at least agree to lovingly disagree.
Take a few moments just sitting in bed to be still and simply listen to the sounds around you and allow the activity of the day to settle. Sleep with peacefulness and gratitude in your heart.

Finding Your Unique Voice as a Yoga Teacher

2012-02-03T18:29:55Z

Today I had the opportunity to speak with Jessica Boylston Fagonde, a woman who has profoundly impacted my own life in the past year and whose work has shifted the trajectory of my own reach as a yoga teacher. I asked Jess if she would do an interview with me as part of my pilot project for my online yoga teacher’s development course because the work that she is doing in the world is so perfectly in alignment with my own offerings and I knew she would spark the vision of the yoga teachers who were on the call. Jessica is one of the most passionate people I know and what is so fantastic about Jessica’s passion is that it is the direct result of connecting to her own unique purpose, stepping into her own power, and getting over her own fears about putting herself out there and sharing her message. This is such a key point for all yoga teachers out there who are feeling disempowered to understand. We go to school and study hard, we do our practices and hone our craft so that we can gain some skill in sharing the practice of yoga with others, but if we don’t articulate what we have learned and experienced from an authentic and personal reference point then the impact of what we are sharing is lessened. Until we are able to really own what we know, no matter what part of the journey we are on -and let’s be clear here that the evolutionary journey of yoga is never ending!- then our intentions of supporting and serving others, of initiating a shift in the perspective of our dear students will lack power.

But what does it mean to step into our own power? And how do we find our own unique voice? Well as Jessica said so beautifully in our conversation today it means owning your whole story. It may even mean allowing yourself to be vulnerable. It means welcoming back into wholeness all the aspects of yourself that you may have thought were less than holy or not relevant to your work as a yoga teacher. It means befriending those aspects of yourself that you may see as faults or shortcomings so that when you share the teachings of yoga they filter through the wondrous prism of your total life experience.

Now if that sounds terrifying just consider the fact that the teachers that have inspired you the most in your life allowed themselves to do just that. Because we learn from each other. We are inspired by each other’s stories and we are most often propelled into action when we find resonance with someone else’s experience. I can personally think of a number of key moments in my life when my teachers spoke a word or a phrase that dropped into my heart with such power it’s as if the message was meant only for me, and the depth of that exchange was enough to change the course of my life in an instant. That exchange can only occur when the teacher is speaking from their heart. And to speak from our hearts we must be intimate with ourselves and we must be operating from that place of intimacy, authenticity, and even vulnerability.

If you are a yoga teacher I urge you to reflect on the greater purpose behind all that has led you to where you are now, in this exact moment in your life, and to ask yourself if there is anywhere that you are holding back from sharing the full story of who you are with your students, your community, your loved ones, and anyone else you come into contact with? And just to be very clear I don’t mean that you should start sharing the nitty gritty details of your life to everyone you come across I am simply urging you to make your offerings to the world from a place of wholeness. Why? Because I truly do believe that there is purpose behind you. There is a message that is meant to be delivered through you. And the sooner you can begin to allow the teachings to be expressed through the entirety of your experience the sooner that message can be delivered to those who are meant to receive it. The sooner you can make the impact you are meant to be making in the world.

And if you are not a yoga teacher but are considering becoming one I am here to encourage you because the world needs your vision and your light and this is an exciting time to be stepping into the yoga teaching world as there are a wealth of support networks to assist you and the resources you will have available to you are growing by the day. There is a huge shift happening in the yoga world right now as the old models of doing business are dissolving and newer, more collaborative, more inclusive models are being explored. These are exciting times and I am delighted to know that when I train a new yoga teacher I can send them out into the world knowing that they will be held and supported by the industry in a way that simply wasn’t available before. This is important to me and for that reason I applaud all the visionaries like Jess who are sharing their message with yoga teachers and light workers around the world making the world a brighter place and empowering people everywhere.

To listen to the interview with Jess click this link.

Empowering Yoga Teachers: Changing the World

2012-01-26T23:31:55Z

Yesterday I had a chat with Amy Ippoliti as part of a series of conversations I am having with yoga teachers and leaders in the yoga community that have inspired me greatly and who are pouring their energy into empowering yoga teachers. Amy Ippoliti has been involved with the yoga community since 1986, was part of the rise of the New York yoga scene in the early 90′s and has been a student of John Friend’s since 1998. She is widely respected as not only a fun and inspirational workshop leader but also a teacher of teachers.

I have not yet met Amy in person but I have experienced her as a teacher in the virtual classroom as I took part in her signature 90 Minutes to Change the World online course for yoga teachers last year. I was thrilled by what Amy was offering as it was so entirely different to any other yoga teacher development courses I had taken over the years as she not only shared technique on teaching to be used in the classroom but placed a great emphasis on encouraging yoga teachers everywhere to think of themselves as professionals and to take charge of the business aspect of their careers from the ground up.

I have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours in the classroom learning how to teach asana, pranayama, yoga philosophy, and meditation and a fraction (and I really do mean a fraction) of those hours were dedicated to how to manage time effectively, how to market yourself as a yoga teacher, how to manage your finances, and how to create community. These things are just not part of yoga teacher training curriculum for most schools as there is so much to cover in regards to technique and practice that there just isn’t enough time and as well most often even the most talented yoga teachers out there are simply are not experts in business. And this is such a shame as it means that so many talented yoga teachers out there burn out after a few years of teaching as they are overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated.

This is the reason Amy created her online courses for yoga teachers and it is the driving force behind my online offering as well as my revised curriculum for my Yoga Teacher Training Programs . As I have stepped into teaching and mentoring newer yoga teachers I have realized that so much of what I have learned in the last ten years being a full time yoga teacher is valuable and can literally save years of time and excess effort for teachers just starting out. I have realized that if the teachers I train are to have a chance creating a respectable career out of teaching yoga than this information needs to be shared with them along with teaching methodology and yogic philosophy. Which ultimately means more yoga teachers can continue to share their life affirming messages with their local communities and the world at large. Its a simple equation. More stable and inspired yoga teachers=more supported and inspired yoga students=more positive and uplifted communities around the globe.

I am incredibly inspired by the work of visionaries like Amy and I was delighted to speak with her yesterday. I will continue to offer free content such as the recording below here on my blog so that you too can hear what these passionate teachers have to share.

Click this link to listen to Amy’s call from yesterday.