Pacific Elements

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.

My Brief Two Cents & Some Thoughtful Responses to the NY Times Article

2012-01-20T02:39:55Z

Earlier this month the NY Times published an article entitled How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body and it quickly went viral. I was truly disappointed by the content of this article and found it to provide very little useful information while it was very high in sensationalism. While I have decided not to write a full response to this article myself as I am currently on vacation with my family I have chosen to post some of my favorite responses to this article as I think they are very well written and are in alignment with my feelings on the subject.

When yoga asana is practiced in an intelligent way with focus and attention as well as a life affirming intention it has the potential to heal on many levels. The same asana practiced in an aggressive or unconscious way has the potential to harm. It is that simple. As an experienced yoga teacher I am well aware of this and for that reason have committed to hundreds of hours of formal training with world class teachers so that I can guide my students safely and with confidence through a practice that will enhance their well being rather than cause harm. It is also why I am committed to teaching alignment based styles of yoga and am constantly encouraging my students to make a serious commitment to both their practice and their overall physical, mental, and emotional health.

Again I could say much more on the subject but I think that the following teachers and health professionals have already said it all and hope that reading their articles will ease some of the fear based reactions that the NY Times article has provoked

Aadil Palkhivala’s Response to NY Times Article

Yoga, Injuries, and William J. Broad’s Trainwreck.

Eva Norlyk Smith, PhD’s Response

Anusara Yoga Teacher Bernadette Birney’s Response.

Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Eddie Stern’s Response.

Sarah Miller’s Hilarious Response! Love this one!

Amplifying Your Impact as a Yoga Teacher

2012-01-11T23:53:54Z

On Monday I taught the first of four classes in my one month Mentor’s Course for Yoga Teachers and it was so much fun I can hardly wait till next Monday comes around so I can teach again. We have a great group of teachers from all over connecting via the wonders of the web and teleconferencing technology and already there is a real buzz around the content we are sharing. I really love the enthusiasm and excitement that occurs when a group of like minded folks get together to share what they know with the intention to grow. It’s a lot of fun and everyone comes away from it inspired to take it to the next level.

Webs of Connection & Support

Yesterday I brought my teacher Cate Stillman on for a bonus call so she could share what she has learned being both a yoga teacher and a holistic practitioner for over a decade. Cate has created a successful business that is guided by a meaningful core message of personal and planetary health and is one of my most influential mentors in this field. She is a great force for change and seems to have an inexhaustible amount of energy which I believe is due in part to the fact that she is doing what she is passionate about, engaging in the conversations she wants to be having with people who want to hear her message, and making a living doing it.

I know so many fabulous yoga teachers and healers that have so much of value to offer the world who are not getting there basic needs met financially, not connecting to the students/clients they most want to work with, and are burning out as a result. I truly want to see that change and my Yoga Mentor’s Course is my offering in support of that change as it pains me to see brilliant teachers give up simply because they don’t have the resources or the support they need to be able to leverage their impact within their communities.

I am already planning my next session of this course to include more work with other guest teachers who are leaders in the field and if you are a yoga teacher that wants to be part of the next round please sign up for my newsletter so you can stay posted.

I’ll be heading to Whistler for the next week to play in the snow with my family and am otherwise enjoying some down time so won’t be as active on my blog for the next couple weeks but I’ll leave you with this recording of my chat with Cate Stillman on connectivity, finding your joy, and sharing your vision as a yoga teacher.

Why You Should Have A Big Vision for 2012

2012-01-02T17:48:17Z

2012 is going to be a big year. 2012 is going to be the year that you will change your mind, expand your horizons, shift your direction, step into your potential, and make a difference. 2012 is going to be a game changer.

If you choose it to be.

I am writing today to encourage you to choose 2012 to be a year of high intention. Why? Because I can say with a confidence that comes from over a decade of living intentionally that when you have a high vision and you strive to act in alignment with it each day that very soon your reality begins to take on the shape of your dreams. I can tell you from a place of experience that the effort to make changes in your life that have been inspired by your deepest values is worth the effort and the rewards will be greater than you can probably imagine at this point in time.

There is a momentum at this time in the world that supports positive change. Everywhere people are waking up to their potential and changing the way that they operate in the world. And it’s not just individuals that are making change, it’s entire communities of people. People are changing the way they eat, the way they do business, the way they communicate, the way they buy, the way they sell, and the way they think. It’s powerful stuff. And this can be a powerful time.
If you choose it to be.

I recently saw a great Ted Talk on the topic of big ideas and the brain given by Mark Robert Waldman. In this talk he spoke about the actual changes that can occur in the human brain when we are inspired by a big vision such as compassion, peace, freedom, Pure Consciousness, or God to name a few. He explained how having a big idea that was positive and life affirming will actually grow dendrites in some very key areas of your brain. Dendrites are the branches of nerve cells that pick up information from neighboring neurons and transmit this information to the cell body. When your cells grow dendrites they are able to transmit and receive more information so in essence you become capable of receiving and digesting greater amounts of information. In other words your mind expands. He continues to explain how having a big idea, or a high vision will affect positive and powerful changes in areas such as your Thalamus which he calls your “Grand Central Station of Reality Processing”, and your Parietal Lobes (Right and Left brain) which form the part of your brain that allows you to process and receive sensory information from the body as well as the ability to form letters into words and words into thoughts. The long and short of it is that if you have a deep value or a high intention and you meditate on it daily and actually make effort to live in alignment with it than you can begin to change the actual function and structure of your brain in ways that will allow you to experience greater connection with the world around you. You will begin to see and experience the world and your place in it in a new way.

You can choose this.

Ask yourself what matters most to you? What is, as Mark Waldman put it “your deepest innermost value?”. What is worth striving for? What is your highest intention? Meditate on it each day and let it grow stronger within you. Write it down. Speak it out loud. Share it with friends. And most importantly of all filter all your actions through it. Make your choices based on the big idea that is at the heart of your most powerful vision. Do this for the next three months and see what has shifted for you. Do it for the entire year of 2012 and let’s see what we can shift by January 2013!

Let’s choose to make 2012 a big year. A year of high vision, positive action, and radical expansion. A year that will change forever the way that we see the world, ourselves, and our ability to impact not only the people we live and work with but also the environment we live in.

Let’s strive as individuals and communities to shift our perspective from the inside out and in doing so begin to create real lasting change in the world.

Let’s choose to begin today.

Cleansing Comfortably in January

2012-01-02T19:28:09Z

So we are just a few days past Christmas and already I have had a number of conversations about how to cleanse in January. It seems to be part of our cultural pulsation that we somewhat overdo it during the holiday season and then get serious about our fitness and health in January. To support you in making lifestyle shifts that will support your overall health and wellness in 2012 I’d like to offer the following tips on how to cleanse safely and comfortably in January. Keep in mind that seasonal cleansing is ideally done in Spring and Fall when nature supports us in eating lighter so January can be a challenging time to lighten up, especially if you live in a cold climate. These guidelines offer some very simple tools that can support you in releasing excess and up leveling your overall wellness though the next month

Hot Water with Lemon & Ginger

Boil a kettle of water each morning and pour it over thinly sliced ginger or turmeric root and add fresh squeezed lemon juice. Pour this into a thermos and sip it throughout the day.
Plan your meals for the day (or even the week) ahead of time so that you are less likely to make unconscious choices when you are feeling hungry or tired.
Buy yourself a crock pot and make fresh soup or stew every other day to support your digestion and warm you from the inside out.
Eat whole cooked grains and porridge for breakfast if you are hungry and need a big meal, otherwise consider green smoothies or juices for a light breakfast- just add lots of fresh ginger and avoid frozen fruit so you don’t chill your digestive fire.
Eat whole foods in moderate amounts favoring dark leafy greens such as kale and collards, root vegetables and winter squash, and beans. Try cooked spiced apple sauce for a sweet treat when needed.
Don’t eat past 7pm at night. Sip tea, broth, or warmed spiced almond milk if you feel too hungry too sleep.
Buy yourself a big bottle of extra virgin coconut oil and make a batch of ghee so you have healthy fats on hand as your body does need more of it this time of year. Use these fats in your smoothies, on your cooked grains, or in your soups to nourish you deeply without congesting your system.
Avoid refined sugars, processed foods, white flour, hydrogenated oils and fast food.
Avoid dairy products and excessive amounts of meat or poultry.
Try green tea instead of coffee for the time you are cleansing if you feel you can’t go entirely without caffeine.
Avoid alcohol and intoxicants. It is almost impossible to make lasting change if you don’t have a clear mind and your body will be more able to process ama or toxins if you can avoid these substances.
Move your body every day. Do yoga, swim, run, ski, surf, or hike. Don’t be afraid to get a good sweat going.
Meditate every day even if it’s only for 5 minutes each morning and evening. Clearing your mind of excess is key to releasing excess in the subtle channels of your body and will allow you to stabilize new and more positive habits.
Go to bed earlier (before 10pm ideally) and get up earlier (by 7am if possible).
Give yourself and Oil Massage each day.
Rest consciously when you are tired but avoid napping as it increases Kapha dosha and congestion in the body and mind. If you are tired just go to bed earlier.
Overall take in less. Less media, less food, less noise, less activity. Give yourself space to feel what is arising and enjoy simplicity.

If you’d like more support and want to take on a more structured cleanse head over to my Ayurvedic wisdom teacher Cate Stillman’s site. She is offering a free mini cleanse e-book to those who want it and it includes a coupon for her Yogi Detox which is a one month online course that will go on sale in the next week or so. She offers it live in Spring and Fall but you can purchase the recordings and handouts in January for a discounted price.

As well please feel free to ask questions in the comment section below or email me at any time if you want to chat.

Here’s to a healthy and clear transition into 2012!

Holy Nights

2011-12-27T01:41:05Z

I am going to take a mini retreat up until January 6th so that I can drink in the sacred stillness of this winterseason. I will not be going away anywhere, nor will I get to enjoy entire days of solitude or silence. I will still have to maintain my responsibilities as a parent and a business owner, a studio co-manager, and a yoga teacher, but I will be taking a break from anything that doesn’t need to be done at this time. I will not be starting any new projects or signing up for any new courses or “working” on my teaching. Rather I am simply going to focus on spending more time in practice (favoring meditation over asana for now), more time in conversation and connection with my loved ones, more time listening to the deep hush of this sacred time of year.

The Wheel of the Year

In the Christian traditions the period of time between Dec 24th and January 6th is known as the Holy Nights or the 12 Days of Christmas and is honored as a sacred time. For myself I feel that my own Holy Nights begin on the Winter Solstice and run right through to the Feast of Epiphany on January 6th. This is a time where I like to give myself extra space to savor, appreciate, and reflect on the joys and challenges of the past year, and though I planted many seeds at the time of Samhain (Halloween, Nov 1st) for now I give myself a break from working on those projects and visions and simply enjoy a quiet pause to enjoy the simplicity of Being. If I can do this fully then I can return to the activity of Becoming with much more true inspiration and focused intention.

Here are some simple ways that you too can enjoy this magical time of potentiality.

Light candles.
Drink tea quietly and silently.
Create beautiful meals slowly and with great pleasure.
Meditate more often or for longer periods.
Put your legs up on the wall and just enjoy deep breathing and resting.
Let your evenings be quiet when you are at home, favor gentle music over television or computer work.
Connect with friends and family over warm meals or laughter filled game nights.
Walk outside and take in the subtle beauty of winter.
Don’t overeat. This includes not only food but also information, activity, or stuff.
Maintain a sense of simplicity if your living space. Consider filling a box with stuff that you no longer use that you could take to a charity shop or give to people you know.
Journal more. Reflect on your accomplishments for the last year and truly celebrate them. Remember all the good times you had with friends and loved ones. Honor the challenges you faced and the difficulties that arose. And finally do take the time to write out your dreams and visions for the year that is coming.
Let yourself slow down and delight in this precious time of year- it only comes round once a year.