Just as toxins build up in our bodies, they can accumulate in our minds as well. Occasionally, a period of emotional detox is precisely what we need to find balance.

There can be aspects of certain conversations, books and movies, television programs, and other forms of entertainment that can be toxic to our spirits. Watching a particularly violent movie might not even faze us consciously (as inured are we to depictions of violence), but it will lodge in our subconscious minds. Later, we may surprise those around us (and ourselves) with an angry outburst, and wonder where it came from. Chances are that the violence we witnessed, although fictional, took root in our subconscious selves, waiting for an opportunity to manifest.

Sometimes we allow ourselves to be drawn into conversations that are filled with anger and hatred. Someone may say something so provocative that we feel we simply must reply. Thus we are pulled in and “hooked;” before we know it, we are making angry declarations of our own. This makes equanimity impossible; the other three “immeasurables” are soon out of reach as well. (It’s hard to maintain lovingkindness, for instance, when you are angrily declaiming some doctrinaire point.)

How can we effectively carry on our own emotional detox retreat? I’d recommend devoting a day or, if that is impossible, part of a day to it. Begin the day with an hour of asana practice, pranayama, and sitting or walking meditation. In your meditation, use the “Nourish/Dispel” gatha I referenced in my last post (http://www.yogaflavoredlife.com/everyday-spirit/gatha-for-spiritual-renewal.html). With each exhalation, you can thus mindfully expel poisonous things such as anger, hatred, jealousy, and bigotry. This is also an excellent time to rearrange and dust your altar or sacred space. New flowers, artfully arranged, will help support the sense of poisons leaving your mind. While you are dusting the altar, you can say, “Breathing in, I clean the surface of this altar. Breathing out, I release the toxins from my mind.”

Follow this with a candlelit bath with music that is particularly soothing to you. You will emerge from your emotional detox retreat a happier, more balanced person, one others will enjoy spending time with.

Namaste,

William

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YogaFlavoredLife/~3/KnSbGLVesLI/emotional-detox.html

I’ve arrived in Ontario for the Professional Writers Association of Canada conference next week, and so I thought I’d make a bit of a trip out of it and stop in Barrie to visit my family. Of course, no trip to Ontario would be complete without a trip to the Bliss Studio for a Yoga Warrior class with my (now) good friend Nicole, the practice I’ve mentioned that is designed to help soldiers and first responders cope with the stress of their jobs and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome or Occupational Stress Injuries. Even though we’ve only met once, the yoga cosmos have seen fit to reunite Nicole and I over and over, through poses and emails.

Much like last time, my dad and I laboured up the steep studio stairs, arriving into a warm welcome from Nicole Taylor, the Yoga Warrior instructor. Over the last six months of his own practice, I’ve watched my dad lend all of his military knowledge to Nicole, in order to help her build her business and the benefit it two-fold: she learns all the secrets of business planning and about those that she works so hard to help and my dad gets to revisit the military part of himself that is still ever so present. During this session of Yoga Warriors, I saw plenty of new faces gathered in the room, most of them younger and many of them travelling from Borden, where they also take Nicole’s Thursday class. Obviously, she’s building up a bit of a following, and it was nice to see a mixture of serving members, retired soldiers and a true range of ages sprinkled throughout the class. Proof is in the pudding: Yoga unites all kinds. Sadly, so does trauma.

It seems that Yoga Warriors is about to explode across the country, with some major players paying serious attention to this amazing yoga phenomenon. But despite all the hype, and my own excitement to eventually become a YW instructor, the root of this unique practice is in the comradeship that is built. It is a room free of judgement or snide comments or fancy gear. And as I settled my spine into the mat, I realized that in several ways, I had returned home, to Barrie, to my space on the floor in the Bliss Studio, and to my military self.

This post isn’t particularly informative or helpful. Just a little note from one yogi’s experience for others to relate to. Ultimately, I suppose the lesson of the day is that yoga can be such an escape for all those who practice it, not just those who struggle with PTSD. Somehow, we are all united in our battle with stresses, pain, illness, family or financial woes. But when we lay them out on the mat, offering ourselves up to the peace that could come with a little meditation and a little forgiveness of ourselves, the possibilities are boundless.

Kelly

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YogaFlavoredLife/~3/CBG49ttU7Ng/my-return-to-yoga-warriors.html

henryfaber

Do you ever stop to consider exactly how the foods you eat most are produced?

Something I’ve been considering recently are the curing and smoking processes for meats.

If you indulge regularly in processed beef and pork, or smoked fish, you may be thinking it’s no big deal. However, eating these foods can certainly have consequences on your future health.

I always say read food labels (I don’t always take my own advice, either!!). But, if we don’t make time to do that, and actually understand what the ingredients are/do, then we won’t have any idea what we are eating.

I’ve said it before, but minimizing the amount of processed foods you eat is really important, if health is your top priority.

It’s not just the high salt content that makes processed meats bad for you. There are other ingredients to consider, too, like nitrites, nitrates, and the animal parts used.

Cancer A Major Concern

Back in 2007, I talked about the Food, Nutrition And The Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective report, which discussed some of the factors responsible for modifying our cancer risk.

One take away from this report was that foods preserved with salt, and processed foods ought to be limited. They stated:

Some methods of food preservation, processing, and preparation affect the risk of cancer. The strongest evidence concerns processed meats, preserved by salting, smoking, pickling, addition of chemicals, and other methods; salt from all sources; and salt-preserved foods. Salt and salt-preserved foods are probably a cause of stomach cancer.

In addition to this, when the World Cancer Research Fund reviewed more than 7,000 clinical studies, looking at the connection between diet and cancer, they concluded no one should eat processed meats, stating there is strong evidence that processed meats are the cause of bowel cancer.

And, it’s pretty clear-cut when they say, no amount of processed meat can be confidently shown not to increase cancer risk.

Minimize Your Cancer Risk By Educating Yourself

To reduce your intake of these unhealthy foods, it is important to understand a little more about which meats are considered “processed,” so that you know what to avoid.

It is actually possible to categorize processed meat products into six broad groups.

1. Fresh Processed Meats

These products are meat mixes, which are salted only. Certain ingredients are added to enhance the flavor, for binding purposes, and to add volume. These are raw foods, which are then cooked at home.

Examples include some sausages and burgers.

2. Cured Meats

Cured meats can either be raw or cooked. While the curing for both is similar (nitrite is added either as dry salt, or as salt solution in water), the difference is that cured-raw meats are not heat treated. They undergo a processed of curing, fermentation and ripening, and are then eaten uncooked.

With cured-cooked meats, the raw meat is cured, then it is heat treated.

Examples of cured meats include cooked ham, raw fermented ham, and bacon.

3. Raw-Cooked Meats

These products are made up of meat, fat and non-meat ingredients. They are heat treated, and this is why they are referred to as “cooked.”

Products in this group include frankfurters, hotdogs, buffalo sausage, and white sausage.

4. Precooked-Cooked Meats

Precooked-cooked meats contain a mix of lower-grade meats, fat, and basically anything considered an “edible slaughter” by-product (that means head, feet, skin, blood, and liver).

There are two heat treatment procedures involved in the manufacture of precooked-cooked products. The raw materials are precooked prior to grinding and chopping, and then the finished product is heat treated again.

Examples include blood sausage, pate, and corned beef.

5. Raw-Fermented Sausages

Raw-fermented sausages are uncooked, and are made up of less coarse mixtures of lean meats and fat, combined with salt, nitrite, sugar, spices and other non-meat ingredients. Their color, flavor and texture is due to the fermentation processes. They are not heat treated, and are eaten raw.

Examples include sausages like chorizo or salami.

6. Dried Meats

Dried meat products are lean meats, which have been dehydrated or dried in a natural or artificially created environment. This is basically meat with its natural tissue fluid evaporated.

Some examples of dried meats include biltong or meat floss.

Please see the linked article on processed meats for more information.

Understanding what foods are categorized as processed meats, and the consequences on your long-term health, will help you to make a more informed decision about whether you want to include these foods in your diet on a regular basis.

Why Smoked Meats Are Unhealthy

Meats, fish and cheeses are smoked for flavoring, cooking, or preserving. This is done by exposing them to smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood.

Modern day smoking processes are very different to the traditional smoking process. One main difference is that artificial smoke is often used, which is a lot more harmful than real smoke.

High levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found in meat cooked at high temperatures, such as grilling or barbecuing, and in smoked fish. These are thought to play a role in the development of pancreatic, colorectal and prostate cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Why Nitrates And Nitrites Are Unhealthy

Meats and fish are cured for preservation and flavoring. This is done by a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite, or sugar. But, many curing processes also involve smoking. The nitrates and nitrites are very worrying, because they have also been linked to cancer in both lab animals and humans.

Nitrates and nitrites actually occur naturally in food and water, and they are involved in many important chemical reactions within the body. The problem is they can react with other compounds, either in a food or in body, and this is when they become cancer-causing.

3 Ways To Make Your Diet Healthier

1. Avoid Nitrites and Nitrates

As I’ve already said, if you put your health first, it is wise to avoid processed meats most of the time. But, when you do eat them, go for “uncured” varieties, which contain no sodium nitrite.

Sodium nitrite appears predominantly in red meat products. Here are some of the foods you should check carefully:

• Beef jerky
• Bacon
• Sausage
• Hot dogs
• Sandwich meat like ham
• Frozen pizza with meat
• Canned soups with meat
• Frozen meals with meat

Healthier options include sliced turkey, roast beef, and chicken.

Check food labels for products containing 100% beef, 100% chicken, etc. This way you will know the meat is from a single species, and doesn’t include ingredients like skin or fat.

Ideally, when purchasing meat, do so from a local farmer or butcher, where you can ask about the ingredients.

2. Limit Smoked Foods

It is also wise to limit your intake of smoked foods, most of the time.

In addition to having less omega-3 fats than non-smoked fish, most smoked fish contains PAHs, which are harmful.

3. Eat Lots Of Fruits And Vegetables

Antioxidants, particularly vitamin C and E, inhibit the conversion of sodium nitrate into nitrosamines. Studies have actually found those who eat lots of cured meat, but have a high intake of vitamin C, do not have increased rates of cancer.

So, if you are eating processed meat, make sure you are eating it with a big portion of vegetables alongside.

Do you eat processed meats regularly? Does this article change your opinion on them?

Note: If you enjoyed this article, sharing it (on Facebook, etc) is a great way to say ‘thank you’.

Article source: http://www.dietriffic.com/2012/05/30/processed-meats/

Posted on May 29th, 2012

Question: How do you relax at the end of a day?

For those who like to relax at the end of a day with a novel, author Rain Mitchell has released the perfect book. Head Over Heels, the sequel to Tales from a Yoga Studio, follows five women of various backgrounds, brought together through a mutual love of yoga. This light-hearted novel is an easy read, perfect for relaxing after a long day.

If you’re looking for a light and comical read that brings in some of the underlying principles of yoga, Head Over Heels is the novel for you. Find some time in your busy schedule and pull up a comfy chair with this fun read so that you can relax for an evening.

Enter on Facebook, too! Join your My Yoga Online community on Facebook and enter to win there, too.

Share the love. Tell your friends about this great giveaway. Just click ‘SHARE’ at the top of this post.

The fine print: Click here to read the official contest rules. By submitting a comment on this blog or commenting on or ‘liking’ the Facebook post, you agree to the official contest rules.

Tags: My Yoga Online, Tuesday Giveaway, Head Over Heels, Tales from a Yoga Studio, Rain Mitchell, Head Over Heels by Rain Mitchell, yoga novel, free yoga book

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I’m also taking my reading outside these days. There’s nothing like sitting on a chaise lounge reading a good book (I certainly logged some chaise lounge time this holiday weekend). Here’s what’s captured my attention as of late:

Living Fully: Finding Joy in Every Breath
by Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche
Yes, usually I read books the traditional way — I start on the first page and read to the end. I suppose that’s why it tickles me to read a book like Living Fully, for it invites me to flip through randomly, finding the topic that inspires me in the moment. 

This delightful read is filled with practical tips for finding joy in everyday life. Rinpoche, one of the world’s only English-speaking Tibetan lamas says, “Our lives will not be truly satisfying if we cannot live each moment deliberately and grasp the essence of our precious human nature.” If you enjoy Buddhist philosophy and tradition, or if you just want to squeeze every drop of juice from life, you’ll enjoy this book. Rinpoche covers modern topics such as work, materialism, happiness, social media, beauty products and cosmetic surgery, and sex. 

I’m working my way through this book in a joyfully haphazard way (see, the book is working — I’m finding joy in reading a book the non-traditional way) — I simply flip through the contents and pick a topic that resonates with me. It’s the perfect book from which to read from daily. 

Yoga Cures: Simple Routines to Conquer More Than 50 Common Ailments and Live Pain-Free
by Tara Stiles
In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a Tara Stiles fan. Still, I like to stay current on what’s happening in the wide world of yoga, so I explore with an open mind. I’m mixed on this book — I tend to frown upon quick fixes and this idea of one-size-fits all prescriptive yoga and yet a book like this is often easily accessible to anyone curious about yoga. The book starts out with some yoga basics and then moves into yoga “cures” (ick — I hate using this work in regards to yoga, but the marketing machine will do as it must), offering up short routines for the following:

• Aches and pains
• Acne
• ADD/ADHD
• Allergies
• Anxiety
• Arthritis
• Bingeing
• Blurred Vision
• Broken Heart
• Bulging Belly
• Cellulite
• Chill the *@# Out
• Cold Repair
• Couch-stination
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Droopy Shoulders
• Exhaustion
• Fear Factor
• Fibromyalgia
• Flu
• Foot Cramps
• Hangover
• High Blood Pressure
• Hot Flashes
• Jiggly Thighs
• Killer Car Rides
• Lack of Self-Esteem
• Laziness
• Migraine
• Monkey Mind
• Office Body
• Office Mind
• Overweight/Obesity
• Party Pooper
• PMS and Cramps
• Pregnancy Discomfort
• Procrastination
• Runners’ Aches
• Saggy Booty
• Saggy Pecs
• Scattered Mind
• Shin Splints
• Sugar Cravings
• Tension
• Thyroid Imbalance
• Traveler’s Anxiety
• Tummy Trouble
• Under-Eye Bags and Dark Circles
• Vertigo
• Wrinkles
• ZZZZs (Getting Some)

The final part of the book covers tips and routines for deisign your own at home yoga retreats.

Overall the book is…fine. The routines are solid, even though I don’t quite agree with the whole quick-fix tone of the book. I also don’t care for the publicity strategy (that is, of course, quite common) that features cover quotes from “big names” like Deepak Chopra and Jane Fonda. Again, this just isn’t my thing. Still, the book offers up some decent yoga and breaks it down into edible chunks. There’s also a yoga post library at the end that offers instruction for each pose featured in the book, which can be quite helpful to the yoga beginner. 

Yawning Yoga: A Goodnight Book for a Good Night’s Sleep
by Laurie Jordan
This is a children’s book, but I would recommend it for any adult. Heck, I loved this book and I’m 40 years old. The illustrations are delightful and the practice recommended is perfect for bringing the day to a close and welcoming peaceful slumber. If I had children, I would use the nightly routine to put them to bed. As I said before — I would also recommend it to an adult who wanted to wind down for bed. I love this book!

Yoga Skills for Therapists: Effective Practices for Mood Management
by Amy Weintraub
Don’t let the title fool you — you don’t have to be a Yoga Therapist to use this book. This useful book starts off with some basic information on yoga and then moves into pranayama, sound, imagery and intention, yoga nidra and self-inquiry. It offers up a well-rounded practice to keep one calm and peaceful. Personally, I find this book to be much more helpful than Stiles’ book and I feel it offers tools that can be used to affect a person on a deeper level — after all, there’s more to life than fixing “jiggly thighs.” 

This book is clear, easy to understand and follow, and it also offers helpful pictures for the visual learners out there. No, this isn’t a book of asanas — it’s much more than that. And if you’re seeking freedom from anxiety and/or mood disorders, I highly recommend this book.

And here are a few more books that are front and center on my Kindle these days:

The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life

Tantra Yoga Secrets: Eighteen Transformational Lessons to Serenity, Radiance, and Bliss

Intimacy: Trusting Oneself and the Other

Beauty Pure and Simple: The Ayurvedic Approach to Beautiful Skin

Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim Your Life

Enough Already: The Power of Radical Contentment

Happy reading! And may your chaise lounge time be enjoyable and relaxing with a little helpful information thrown in.

Namaste!

Amazon.com Widgets

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/EverythingYoga/~3/naQgE3oU4WY/on-the-bookshelf.html

With this in-breath, I nourish compassion;
With this out-breath, I dispel anger.
With this in-breath, I nourish lovingkindness;
With this out-breath, I dispel hatred.
With this in-breath, I nourish joy;
With this out-breath, I dispel jealousy.
With this in-breath, I nourish equanimity;
With this out-breath, I dispel bigotry.

This is a gatha I developed while meditating recently. It works in the opposite manner of tonglen, in which the meditator “breathes in” negative characteristics and “breathes out” good ones to take their place. Using this gatha in meditation, one concentrates on using the in-breath to nourish positive attributes, and using the out-breath to expel their opposites.

When we breathe in, oxygen nourishes our bodies and minds. It would seem to make sense, then, to imagine our inhalation giving life to compassion, lovingkindness, and the other attributes we wish to encourage in ourselves and others. When we exhale, the waste product carbon dioxide is expelled; we can easily imagine things like anger, jealousy and bigotry being dispelled as well.

These are based on “The Four Immeasurables,” so called because they were thought to have infinite benefit and give unlimited merit to those who practiced them. They are compassion, lovingkindness, joy and equanimity. I’ve imagined their opposites as anger, hatred, jealousy and bigotry. Compassion is the act of “feeling with” another who suffers; a lack of compassion often creates anger. We don’t see or feel the suffering another person is experiencing, which is what makes him behave in ways that make us angry. When we work on developing lovingkindness, we’re trying to bring joy and happiness to other people; if we fail to even try, we become locked in a prison of our own pettiness and hatreds.

Joy as considered in The Four Immeasurables is about sympathetic happiness, the ability to feel happy at someone else’s good fortune. The lack of such sympathy creates jealousy, envy, and a covetous spirit. Finally, equanimity is the ability to respond similarly regardless of circumstance or provocation. Those who do not try to learn such positive self-discipline fall prey to bigotry: the tendency to lump other people into groups and pre-judge them. If you develop your ability to respond to all people in the same loving, joyous spirit, you will avoid this unfortunate tendency.

Namaste,

William

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YogaFlavoredLife/~3/BBGXjcZQSsc/gatha-for-spiritual-renewal.html

Straps, bags, sweat-wicking clothing, toe socks (with grips no less), blocks, cushions and mats have all become tools of the yoga trade. Every corner we walk on seems to have a new yoga store selling wares to both new and experiences practitioners, and I’ve even taken to writing about many of them who make amazing products that do all that they claim to, adding a little special something to each and every asana. Don’t get me wrong, many of these products are beneficial and helpful to our practice, but are they necessary? Do we need them as much as the industry seems to think we do?

I myself have quite the cupboard full of goodies including blocks, cushions and a strap, and will shamelessly admit to owning many hundreds of dollars worth of yoga clothing that blissfully swaths me in snugly stretchiness. Furthermore, due to my injury, my block in particular has become vital for me to bend into certain poses, since my right knee no longer has the flexibility and strength to perform the moves all my own. And downward dog without a mat? Unheard of. My knees would cry out in both pain and pleading for the squishy few millimeters of protection. But there are also many people out there who also have injuries and are happy to perform their moves in the middle of a park with a pair of cutoffs and a tank top. No fancy swag required. I got to thinking, is one way of practicing better than the other?

These days, many classes have been adding more and more props in order to both deepen practices for more familiar yogis and ease into poses for those who haven’t been at yoga for very long. It also serves as a means for making classes more interesting, when studios seem to be popping up in every city and competition for the next new thing is vital to the success of the studio. To an extent, many of these pieces of equipment have become part of the hype, which is getting us further away from the meaning of yoga, and the ability to be able to practice anywhere, anytime. We soon get to feeling like without all the pieces we have become accustomed to using, we no longer know what to do.

Like anything else, it is my humble opinion that yoga equipment should be used in moderation. They can easily be brought in to specific classes and occasions, and in fact, many specific kinds of yoga require equipment, but at the end of the day, you should ensure that your practice doesn’t rely on all of these pieces. All this being said, for those with injuries and disabilities, equipment can help you to perform moves without, or decreasing, the amount of pain they cause and furthermore, give you the confidence you need to improve your practice. In that way, equipment can be fantastic and sometimes, totally necessary.

This week, after a bike ride that ended in a long and painful hill up to my house, I decided to hang out in the park and perform a few moves, cushioned by the grass that Mother Nature gave me. I couldn’t get into downward dog…it hurt too bad. Sitting cross-legged is almost impossible. Is yoga better with a mat? Sometimes. But there’s also something to be said for the smell of blades of grass in your nostrils and a little dirt on your cheek.

Kelly

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YogaFlavoredLife/~3/vvEqNmC2IYQ/all-the-extras-do-we-need-them.html

What are you aiming for?

A lot of the stuff you read on the web these days is the same old thing regurgitated over and over again.

As Solomon says, there really is nothing new under the sun.

But when you’ve read 10 tips for this, and 25 ways to do that, so many times, it really does get a bit tired after a while.

I know, I’ve written blog posts like that in the past, too. There is a place for them.

But, often you find yourself coming away from that type of article with very little, because there’s so much in there you just don’t know what to focus on.

The result is that you end up focusing on nothing.

The Best Diet Tip

As I thought about that, I wondered what my best diet tip would be if I were forced to give just one.

And, that’s a difficult question.

How do I come up with just one tip that will really and truly help you to improve your diet?

It’s tough, but I know this diet tip is extremely beneficial, because I apply it everyday in my own home.

No-one can deny that chronic illness is rampant, but we cannot escape the biological law of cause and effect — that means the food choices you are making are the most significant cause of disease and premature death.

You can, however, put that right in your own kitchen, by choosing to eat the most nutrient dense foods available to you.

Today, I want you to do just one thing that will make a difference to your health and life.

Focus on adding to your diet, not taking away

Often the negativity associated with taking certain foods out of the diet can hinder our progress. As a result, we get nowhere fast.

In addition to this, when you add nutrient packed foods to your diet, you will naturally eat less of the unhealthier foods you’d like to avoid.

This is because you feel more satisfied from the volume of the other foods you are eating, your body is getting more of the nutrients it needs, and so you crave food less.

So, what foods can you add to your diet to make it the most nutrient rich diet?

Let me give you just one example of how this works.

Diet Tip: Add Fruits And Vegetables

When you focus on getting at least 7 portions of fruits and vegetables into your diet each day, you will very easily start to eat better and feel healthier.

This is because you will be filling up on nutrient dense, high fiber foods, yet these foods are also low in calories. That means lots of nutrients, more energy, a lower calorie intake, and you don’t feel hungry all of the time… it’s a win-win situation.

I suggest that you try to work more vegetables into your recipes, as well as just serving them on the side of your dinner plate.

I like to add grated vegetables like carrots or courgette to chili and curry, or spinach leaves to soups, for example.

Something else we do regularly at home, is to have a large bowl of salad in the middle of the table at dinner time to eat either at the beginning or end of our meal.

My favorite salads have green leaves (spinach, watercress), with tomatoes, red peppers, raw broccoli, grated carrot, with a lemon juice and garlic dressing. It’s so simple and delicious.

You can take this basic principle and apply it to all of your meals and snacks. You could, for example, swap a sugary, highly processed snack for raw nuts, or cut out sodas and drink water and green tea instead.

Basically, your focus is to get the most nutrients into your meals and snacks each day.

When you think about your eating habits in that way, it really helps you to avoid foods that aren’t so good for you, because each time you reach for a cookie, you are forced to ask yourself if this is really the best choice available to help you meet your goal of a nutrient dense diet.

I asked on my Facebook page, what’s the best diet tip you’ve ever heard? This is Waseem’s response,

When you’re standing in front of something you’re about to eat ask yourself: “Is this going to clog me or cleanse me?”

Thank you Waseem. I thought that was a very appropriate diet tip for today’s article

Action Tip: If you’re not already, set aside one week to experiment with adding 7 or more portions of fruit and vegetables to your diet every day. Don’t focus on removing bad stuff. But, if you focus on adding these nutrient rich foods, you’ll consequently eat less of the stuff doing you no good. Let me know how you get on.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, too. What’s that best diet tip you’ve ever heard/tried?

Article source: http://www.dietriffic.com/2012/05/23/diet-tip/

• I just don’t have time…
• I’d like to but…
• I’m not _______ enough…
• I’m already doing X, Y, and Z…
• I wish I could…
• Some of us have to work/be a parent/be a partner/be a friend…

I could go on and on, and I’m sure you’ve got your own to add to this list. What is this a list of, exactly? Excuses? Reasons? Get out of jail free cards? Lies we tell ourselves to make us feel better? 

And in the spirit of “how you do one thing is how you do everything,” if you’re using reasons/excuses/beliefs like these to get off the hook for practicing yoga, then you’re using them in other areas of your life. I’m not saying that there aren’t certain circumstances that can be consuming — parenting a child with disabilities or taking care of an aging/dying parent, etc. — but do the excuses really hold?

I know plenty of people who are in constant reaction mode — they deal with what’s thrust in front of them, consumed by who yells the loudest (the squeaky wheel gets the grease), always reacting, never acting. Time seems to slip away from them, making them feel like they have no control over the trajectory of their lives. They feel rushed, disconnected, frazzled. The saddest part — these folks are largely unhappy. It’s like they’re not living but merely existing and distracting themselves by always being busy.

Yoga calls for going inside. It calls for undisturbed time away from demands, squeaky wheels, technology. Some try to cram it in and rush through their practice as though it is another task on a long and ever-growing list. Love and relationship call for the same thing. Hell, LIFE calls for the same thing. 

A few months ago, I found myself in the trap of unconsciousness. It was amazing all of the things I could find time for — and none of those things were important. I was trying to wrest satisfaction from people, places, and things (thank you for this nugget, Nicole Daedone), knowing that this is futile but trying anyway. I felt like I was living in a haze, never really feeling like I was doing what was important to me. And, more importantly, I wasn’t being who I wanted to be.

That’s when I turned it off and got impeccable with my time and effort. I turned off the running excuse list, I silenced the voice inside my head tempting me with the unimportant, and I got real clear on how I wanted to spend my time and with whom. I expanded my yoga practice and I established (for the first time in a long time) a daily meditation practice. From this quiet place, I realized that all of those excuses were just that — excuses, lies, my ego placating my mind, illusion.

The past few months I’ve found myself surrounded by folks saying variations of something on the list above. It was interesting to me how annoyed I became by these people, seemingly not walking their talk. This annoyance was my first clue that I was doing the same thing. Now I ask myself what’s really behind my excuses. This last month I’ve packed in an enormous amount of experiences into a tight schedule. Somehow it all got done. My yoga and meditation practices didn’t suffer although my inbox was probably neglected. 

More importantly, I was happier, less distracted, more present for said experiences (and it felt good to not have to say these excuses out loud to others knowing in my heart that they were cop outs). So I leave you with this video: 

If this man ran the list of excuses above through his head again and again, the video wouldn’t have ended the way it did. 

Namaste!

Amazon.com Widgets

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/EverythingYoga/~3/D0Z6UdLfjAc/excuses-excuses.html

Posted on May 21st, 2012

The monkey god Hanuman is revered for his physical strength, perseverance and devotion. The Hanuman Festival of yoga and music is known for its inspiring teachers, rockin’ dance party, and bringing together an all-round friendly, committed community of yoga lovers. Given what it takes to pull together a yoga festival, the team behind the scenes of Hanuman just might share this deity’s honoured characteristics.

The team here at MYO is excited to add the Hanuman Festival to the growing list of yoga festivals we support across North America. The Boulder, Colorado yoga and music festival is set in the foot of the Rocky Mountains and takes place this year from June 8-10, 2012. My Yoga Online will be sponsoring the festival, hosting a studio on-site, and filming and sharing everything we can, of course.

“We’re excited to be working with the Hanuman Festival team,“ says Jason Jacobson, CEO of MyYogaOnline.com, “Our vision has always been to bring yoga to the world, and now we’re bringing the yoga world to people all over the planet by teaming up with festivals and teachers from around the globe. The Hanuman Festival has an impressive roster of teachers, musicians—and you can’t beat the location.”

Featured teachers include:
• Richard Freeman
• Hala Khouri
• Faith Hunter
• Giselle Mari
• Sara Ivanhoe
• Gina Caputo
• And more!

Hanuman Festival is a community-oriented yoga and music festival set at the foot of Colorado`s Rocky Mountains. The celebration includes world-class yoga instructors, music that inspires, and a nourishing community. Classes and workshops will feature a range of styles including Vinyasa, Kundalini, Hatha, Ashtanga and Therapeutic yoga.

Plus, White Swan Records—the largest distributor of yoga-centred music in the nation—is collaborating with the Hanuman Festival to bring attendees the best in inspirational, uplifting music. Every night will play host to an electrifying musical performance.  The celebratory highlight of the festival is the Saturday night dance party featuring Desert Dwellers and DJ Drez.

If we don’t see you there, don’t worry, you won’t miss out! We’ll post everything we film.

Namaste,

The team at MYO

Tags: Yoga, My Yoga Online, live, hanuman, Hanuman Festival, yoga festival, music festival, boulder yoga music festival, colorado yoga festival, boulder, colorado, festival, my yoga, sponsor, join, filming, classes

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Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MyYogaOnlineNewWorldBlog/~3/ib71sbFa4NA/hanuman-festival-and-my-yoga-online-join-forces