Well, last week I talked about how to become a yoga instructor, but Tao Porchon-Lynch of a suburb just outside of New York City has something to teach all of us. This week, she was officially confirmed, by the Guinness Book of World Records, as the oldest yoga instructor in the world at the ripe age of ninety-three years old. You can watch the news story on Tao by clicking this link.  On top of her yoga career, Tao is also an accomplished competitive dancer, showing that she can shake her hips in moves that will have you shaking your head in disbelief.

When you watch the video, Tao can easily bend into any pose asked of her and she insists that her students are equally pushed to their comfortable limits. The classes she runs are small and intimate and her followers seem both loyal and thankful to have such a dedicated instructor to impart her knowledge.

Undoubtedly, Tao is nothing if not an inspiration and confirmation of all that yoga can do for our minds and our bodies. After a hip replacement that threatened to end her yoga career, she refused to hear from her doctor that her new hip came with physical limits and continues to teach yoga with impressive flexibility. Instead, she jokes about sending her doctor a photo of her impressive Lotus pose. Furthermore, Tao seems to possess a calm demeanor, patience and calmness that we’re all so desperately seeking, proving that the mental benefits of yoga go far beyond that initial exercise high in the studio.

Physically, Tao is living proof of the health benefits yoga provides. Her body rivals mine when I was eighteen (which is a far cry from where I am now!), and certainly, she looks like she could outrun me despite being nearly sixty-five years older. She claims that she will teach yoga until she cannot breath any longer, as her practice is a part of her.

Not all of us will reach the age of ninety-three, and certainly, we won’t all be able to keep up our practice until the end of our days. But Tao is a reminder that if we persist, calm our minds, dedicate ourselves to our practice and remain positive, anything is possible and all can be achieved. Occasionally, we all need this kind of reminder.

Kelly

With my latest venture into the world of yoga instructing, I’ve been doing some research on what it takes to become a yoga instructor. I’ve already written a post on the qualities that we all look for in a yoga teacher, which range from compassionate to caring to dedicated. Although we’ve all fallen prey to a bad instructor or two, this posts looks as the structure and necessary qualifications for yoga instructors and how one can go about getting qualified, in a business with increasing demand.

Yoga instructors are required to be certified as having 200 hours of education in order to instruct, although requirements can differ from province to province. The next step is to find an instructor that you trust to teach you the method of yoga you wish to instruct. Ask around and get advice from people you know who practice yoga on a regular basis or visit an ashram. Much like any business, there can be a lot of hacks out there. The cost to train as an instructor can range anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars, so make sure you’re getting the most for your money. Yoga instructor training can be done over several straight days or over a series of evenings and weekends, so there is usually tons of selection for those who are already working.

If you choose not to work directly for a specific studio, you can choose to use your new-found training to run your own business of yoga instructor, taking up contracts teaching at different studios or even running your own. Running your own business has some side benefits, although it can be a headache all it’s own. On top of tax write offs that can benefit you at the end of the tax year, you can even write off a portion of your house bills, should you use some of your home for office space. However, Canadian tax law dictates that every receipt and expense be accounted for, so if bookkeeping isn’t your bag, then perhaps working for a studio is in your best interest, since being your own boss isn’t necessarily as easy as it seems. Trust me, I know.

All this being said, instructing isn’t for everyone. For those who are shy to be on display and tend to place their mat at the back of the room, perhaps this isn’t the career for you. Furthermore, most instructors don’t make a mint but rather, it seems to be more of a labour of love or a side job on top of other full time work. Being a yoga instructor can be demanding physically as much as it is emotionally and so instructors must be prepared to give all of themselves to each and every class, and sometimes, all you really want is a long nap.

More and more people are becoming qualified yoga instructors, since there seems to be a high demand for this kind of work. But before jumping into the business of bending, stop to ensure that this is the right path for you, your body and your mind.

Kelly

(This is not an example of One Tooth apparel)

I’ve written a few articles about yoga apparel, mostly because I’m a bit of a clothes horse and I’m always on the lookout for new yoga clothing, especially now that I work from home and stretchy pants take me from work to yoga, all in one fell swoop. So when I came across One Tooth Yoga clothing, I was more than excited. With the first store having opened up just a few blocks from my house, One Tooth quickly expanded across Canada in a very short period of time and now their are two stores within minutes from my house (dangerous, I know)!. With prices that are right and styles that are too cool for words, I just had to write a post about this awesome company.

The website details how One Tooth came to arrive at such a unique name. Apparently, folklore from the hometown of the founder of the company dictated that anyone who told a lie would lose a tooth, and since morals and values were extremely important to the owner, he decided on the name One Tooth in order to remind him of the original concept of the company. Today, it is obvious that these morals have been retained throughout the franchise, lending to the hometown Canadian feel that seems to get lost in larger conglomerates.

The company also maintains their Canadian roots, ensuring that all clothing is still made right in Canada, instead of farming out production to other countries where prices may be lower but quality tends to sag. And certainly, all of their products maintain true quality, style and great fabrics and colours, competing with some of the larger yoga apparel companies, with their supple fabrics and innovative design unique to One Tooth. Furthermore, the price tags won’t shock you and in fact, are a nice change from some other companies. I can assure you, upon trying on everything from coats to shorts, all of their items are well-made, comfortable and stylish. And for my fellow ladies with a bit of “somethin’ somethin’ in the front,” One Tooth offers a wide range of bra tops that can be worn all day for endless comfort and support. I’m officially in love with this company.

I encourage you to check out one of their shops, now found across Canada, and indulge in a little affordable luxury. You won’t regret a purchase from One Tooth and furthermore, you’ll be supporting the Canadian economy every step of the way.

Kelly

The downside is that we can anticipate the future: as far as we know, ours is the only species aware of its own mortality. We can anticipate a difficult event long before it occurs, and therefore can suffer much more than other animals from inevitable difficult life events through anticipation. Our remembrances of things past can trigger painful memories as well. It is precisely because our emotional attachments and relationships have the potential to be so rich and fulfilling that our grief is so powerful in loss. Grieving is an inextricable part of the fabric of the human experience.

Antonio Porchio wrote, “Man, when he does not grieve, hardly exists.” I would concur with that view. To deny our perhaps-unique depth of ability to mourn loss is to deny an essential part of what defines us as human beings. I’ve been to memorial services in which the mourners were exhorted not to mourn: this day was one of celebration for the departed, who was now in an infinitely better place. The ones left behind should be rejoicing in that knowledge, they were told, and in the certainty that they will see that loved one again.

I think this is a fundamental mistake, and has the potential for being emotionally abusive. First, the grieving family and friends may not share the minister’s enthusiastic certainty about the persistence of consciousness beyond physical death. Secondly, even those that do have still lost a loved one today. Their grief and pain are real; they should be acknowledged and allowed expression.

How does the observance of grief present for yoga and meditation practitioners? First, our belief systems run the entire gamut: we’re members of conventional faiths, adherents of secular philosophies; we’re theists, non-theists and pantheists. For some of us, the principal goal of spiritual practice is to achieve enlightenment through a direct encounter with the Ultimate Reality beyond all words, thoughts and concepts. What we have in common is that all of us have found yoga and meditation (or perhaps just yoga) to be an integral, important part of our lives.

I would suggest “sitting with sorrow” in a time of grief. Rather than resisting thoughts and feelings of grief, fully embrace them. Experiencing fully the normal feelings of loss and bereavement has the power to make us more compassionate human beings, deeply aware of others’ pain. It may bring insight to an interpersonal conflict: rather than looking at your opponent as if across a vast chasm of incomprehension, we can say to ourselves, “Perhaps she’s dealt with a major loss recently. I remember when I was in that state; I was barely sane!” Experiential understanding of the depth of feeling involved in grief can traverse the often huge ideological chasms that divide us, particularly in our current, highly-polarized society.

I return once again to the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, “The One Who Hears the Cries of the World.” Avalokitesvara is a mythological construct of the human being defined at his or her core by the energy of compassion. To simply sit with our grief, neither denying it nor wallowing in it, we can become the embodiment of this bodhisattva for other grieving human beings.

Namaste,

William

Duncan, doing what he does best...sleeping

Okay, for a moment, when I was writing the title of this post, I wondered if I had gone off the deep end, officially becoming the true definition of a Vancouver hippie. Alas, my doggie yoga research was really quite innocent. It all comes down to a mad love for English Bull Terriers. Allow me to explain.

This is a photo of my English Bull Terrier, Duncan, who was given to me as a gift (I do not advise such “gifts”, by the way) when friends worried I was lonely. He came into my life during a stressful time, made everything more light (despite a hefty 75 pounds of stocky poundage) and comical and brought so much love into each day. Sadly, on Remembrance Day last year, Duncan had a massive seizure and died when he was only three years old. I wrote about losing him with my Chatelaine blog, and you can read it here. To say the very least, I was devastated to lose my boy, my friend and my ultimate relaxation tool.

A year and a half has passed and so it is officially time for a new puppy, and since I didn’t quite get enough time with such an awesome breed, another Bull Terrier is officially on order and to be born in less than two months, to affectionately named Pot Roast. (The irony of the fact that I just cooked an actual pot roast last night is not lost on me, but I digress.) So, since I have no particular social life, I do a lot of “Bull Terrier” research, which is how I came across the story of Yoga Dogz, inspired by a Bull Terrier who began to imitate his owner and her yoga poses. Instantly, I ordered one of the funny calendars to brighten up my office.

But this got me to looking into actual yoga for dogs and I came across this article in Reader’s Digest. Yoga for our pets is popping up all over North America and why not? They already serve as such stress reducers for their owners that why shouldn’t they be part of our yoga practices? After all, our pets are family and all they really want is to be part of the pack. I mean, they already how “downward dog” mastered, right? And in a world where people push their dogs in strollers, carry them in purses and buy them $100 collars (guilty!), what’s wrong with a little relaxation in our lives?

But is doga (yes, I literally saw the term used in an article) a new-age fad, or do you think it has the same relaxation benefits for our pets as it does for us? Admittedly, I can’t picture any primal wolves strolling into a studio and bending into warrior pose, but at the same time, so many of the stretches we practice have been garnered from animals…cat, dog, lizard, frog, cobra. So is yoga for our pets really that far off the mark?

I don’t know if doggie yoga is in the future for Pot Roast and I, but I’d certainly be willing to give it a shot. At the very least, it can’t hurt.

Kelly

I’ve arrived and I am home,
In the here and now.
I am solid, I am free;
In the Ultimate I dwell.*

Once again, I quote a gatha by my primary spiritual teacher, Thich Nhat Hahn. This one never grows old for me. I’m inspired by the idea that we “arrive” in each consecutive moment; that we can nurture the sense of “coming home” anywhere and anytime, simply through awareness of our breath. Our home is the here and now—in the present moment, wherever we happen to be. The line about being “solid” and “free” refer to Nhat Hahn’s teaching on deep awareness of breathing. When our minds are scattered and our thoughts diffuse, we are like the small branches at the top of a tree in a storm: we are blown every which way and feel as if we might be dislodged from our source of nourishment at any moment. But when we bring our minds and bodies together through conscious breathing, we are like the base of the tree: strong, solid and unmoved, our roots safe in the deep earth. Seeing ourselves as one with infinite space, we experience a transcendent sense of freedom.

The last line is about nurturing a sense of oneness with the sacred or transcendent. Nhat Hahn speaks of “the ultimate” and “the ultimate dimension” in the same way that a monotheist speaks of God. In fact, he equates mindfulness with the Holy Spirit—a concept some Christians and Buddhists find shocking—but which resonates perfectly with me. To mindfully “dwell in the Ultimate” is a spiritual exercise not unlike the Centering Prayer endorsed by the Benedictine order in ancient times and popularized in the 1970s by Abbott Thomas Keating.

To use this gatha in meditation, inwardly say one line during your in-breath and the next on your out-breath. After ten to twenty minutes of mindful repetition of the gatha, you’ll find yourself opening to the sacred, centered in the ultimate, and deeply calmed.

Namaste,

William

*From The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hahn

A soldier once...a yoga instructor in the future?

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Yoga Warriors, a practice designed for people suffering from PTSD, and Nicole Taylor, the only trained instructor in all of Canada. Nicole, as it turns out, has become a part of our family in a very short period of time, with my father now proving to be one of her most loyal “yoga warriors.” Daily, I see positive changes in my dad, and I know that Yoga Warriors is a big part of that.

Nicole and I have stayed in constant contact with one another and I have written several promotional articles for her, trying to promote what I see as being a vital service being provided to all of our military, veterans and first responders. Recently, Nicole mentioned that she felt I would be an excellent Yoga Warrior instructor, since as a veteran myself, I would be compassionate and understanding of each person’s situation. So much of the Yoga Warrior way relies on those character traits and without it, many of those who benefit from the sessions would never walk through the door of the studio. Do I have what it takes to be this special kind of person? My interest was certainly piqued.

It’s funny, since as I’ve been trying to carve my own path since releasing from the military, I’ve found myself feeling rather aimless. Sure, I have my writing, but in this economy, I constantly worry about paying the bills. And then the other part of me feels as though I no longer contribute anything to the world, and as a yoga warrior instructor, I could effect so much positive change on so many lives. When I worked with all the injured and ill soldiers during my last post in the Forces, I left each day feeling as though I had contributed something to the world. When you suffer with mental health injuries, the small act of someone lending an ear can make such a difference in your day. I was honoured that several members chose me to tell their stories to. Yoga Warriors serves as an outlet for the stress and anxiety associated with mental health injuries so prevalent in the work of soldiers and other first responders.

I never thought of myself as a yoga instructor, or even of it as a career possibility. But I’ve been signed up for instructor classes, and when I return home in June for a writer’s conference, I’ll also be training to become a certified Yoga Warriors instructor. It’s not the direction I saw my life taking, but like life, yoga is a journey. And somehow, it’s directed me here.

Kelly

My sister was diagnosed with a moderate case of scoliosis in her early teen years. Like many brothers of girls with the condition, I have a slight bend of the spine in roughly the same place as her more pronounced curvature. Even though it’s caused fairly predictable lower back pain over the years, my situation is nothing compared to what my sister endured. For two years during her adolescence, she had to wear a back brace: an unwieldy, difficult contraption indeed. Fortunately, it worked for her and her spine is now in great shape.

For me, a disciplined yoga practice turned out to be the long-term answer to my mild scoliosis-induced lower back pain.

My number one position for relieving persistent lower back pain is the Full Lotus position (Padmasana). It has the most amazing effect on the spine, taking all the pressure off it and allowing one to sit comfortably for long periods without strain or the need for support. As most readers of Yoga Flavored Life no doubt know, it’s quite remarkable in its simplicity! Ancient yogis discovered it in their search for a meditative position in which the body would be perfectly balanced, allowing the seeker to sit for extended periods without bodily interference.

Here’s a lovely gatha regarding Padmasana, one that expresses a compassionate intention for all sentient beings:

When sitting in the full-lotus posture,
I vow that all living beings
will have solid good roots
And attain the Unmoving Ground.
(FAS Ch11 127)

(The “Unmoving Ground” referenced here represents an interesting parallel to the Paul Tillich’s definition of divinity. The 20th century German theologian called God “The Ground of All Being.”)

Another wonderful antidote to persistent lower back pain is the Bow Pose, or Dhanurasana. (Does anyone out there know an inspiring gatha about this pose? I just lost my connectivity and thus my access to the online source that provided the gatha above!)

Designed to stretch the spine, Dhanurasana is a great way to take pressure off your back and relieve pain. I find that when I hold this position for three full breaths, I experience both pain relief and a sense of being more fully at home in my own body. The picture above suggests an excellent way to proofread your writing (with the possible exception of the fact that you need a friend—or your nose—to move the cursor for you!).

Human beings are so constituted that we tend to become deeply attached to our opinions and points of view. Sometimes we can become so rigid and doctrinaire that not only do we refuse to learn from another perspective on an issue; the very fact that there might be another legitimate viewpoint is anathema to us! It seems doubtful that any one of us is completely immune to this human trait–although some certainly succumb to it more readily than others. Remaining habitually in this state of mind practically guarantees stagnation and rigidity; it’s a highly effective inoculation against spiritual growth. Much better to keep our minds flexible than to become mentally “arthritic!”

Most yoga practitioners are familiar with the well-known quote from an Indian sage, “You are as young as your spine is supple.” Just as yoga can keep our spines from growing rigid, an assiduous meditation practice can keep our minds supple. One of the suggestions the Buddha had for his followers was to practice non-attachment to views. This is very important to prevent suffering: countless millions have died violently in ideological clashes over the centuries. The Cold War and the Vietnam War were about a disagreement about how to arrange a nation’s economy! (Capitalist vs. Communist). The ripple effects of the Crusades—religious wars fought centuries ago—are still being felt today. Clearly, the Buddha was right about the importance of practicing non-attachment to views to reduce human suffering.

In an effort to become less dogmatic, we can actually devote part of our meditation time to “trying on” other points of view. It probably makes sense to start with something close to our ordinary views (after all, it’s a rare student who starts a yoga class and assumes the advanced asanas on the first day).

It might be helpful to use the same approach as in the Metta Prayer: begin with yourself, and then move out in ever-widening circles. You might start by considering a viewpoint you held in the past from which you have since evolved. We tend to assume a sense of superiority over our past perspectives; not necessarily because they were actually inferior to our current views, but simply because they are in the past. You can sit in awareness of your old views for a few minutes; opening to the possibility that there may be something valuable that you jettisoned—a “baby” to be reclaimed from the “bathwater.” This might be comparable to performing a very simple asana, such as sitting in a half-lotus position.

You might then proceed to “try on” the worldview of a close relative. Do you have a brother, sister, or in-law who’s a bit more conservative (or liberal) than you? Sit with their viewpoint for a few minutes to discover what parts of their conservatism/liberalism actually make sense. (You might be surprised to find that their perspectives aren’t any more monolithic than your own.) This might be somewhat like holding a Downward Facing Dog position for several breaths. (These references to asanas obviously refer to the level of difficulty I had in learning them; it may be quite different for others.)

You could then proceed to consider how someone you know in passing might see the world. Consider his or her circumstances and personality, such as you know them. Can you imagine a perspective (s)he might hold that could widen your view of the world? A slightly more advanced exercise—perhaps comparable standing balanced in Vrkasana for the first time—would be to try thinking like someone whose worldview conflicts in some obvious way with yours. If you’re a member of one political party, try thinking like a member of another. If you’re devoted to democracy, try thinking like an anarchist (but please don’t destroy anything!). If you’re an anarchist, try thinking like someone devoted to the rule of law. These exercises will stretch your mind just as a good yoga workout stretches your spine.

Finally, try thinking of those with whom you are in direct opposition, those who would qualify as opponents or perhaps even “enemies.” This would be analogous to achieving Tittibhasana— again, for me, because I can’t do it yet! If you can muster the courage to take these oppositional world views for a short “test drive,” it might provide the basis for empathy that could be literally life-saving in a contentious confrontation.

Keeping a supple mind and body brings great benefits to us and to those around us. It can reduce interpersonal conflict and help us to develop empathy. It’s definitely a goal worth pursuing, and a dedicated yoga and meditation practice can help us achieve it. And if someone thinks otherwise, let me know; I’d like to try on your views next time I meditate!

Namaste,

William

My dog Duncan and I, having a snooze in the sun

I am quite possibly the worst bed partner anyone could ever hope to have. I am a painfully light sleeper, am woken by the tiniest of sounds and wake up a million times a night, my mind restless with thoughts (combined with a tiny bladder). It also takes me eons to finally slip into slumber and so I am willing to look into anything that will help me catch a few more precious moments of sleep. So I was excited to see a recent article in my Chatelaine magazine, which commented that women who did yoga twice per week were 30 per cent less likely to have a hard time sleeping. You can read the article here.

The benefits of yoga are endless, and I’ve discussed many of them in previous posts. And in lives that are increasingly hectic and technology oriented, it can be difficult to find a few moments to yourself to wind down, which is key to falling asleep easily and peacefully. And when it comes to getting proper rest, they also say that quiet time, about an hour before bed, can help you easily drift off, without having to count millions of sheep. What better way to wind down and relax than to perform a couple of gentle yoga poses, designed to ease your body and mind alike?

Chatelaine claims that the best pose is Lord of the Fishes, serving as a gentle stretch of the spine. Fitness magazine even provides a series of five moves that readers can use to promote sleep but it doesn’t stop there…the moves can be done while in bed!

So it seems the jury has reached a verdict: Yoga will promote better, longer lasting and deeper sleep, since both your body and your mind will be at peace. Just keep in mind that it will be the gentler poses, not power yoga, that will help you slip into slumber, since other methods can raise your heart rate and endorphins, making you stay away even longer. So practice gentle moves and better yet, follow up with some meditation so that your dreams will be sweet.

Kelly