Have a Ball

I came across this website about Becalm Balls. Check out this amazing Canadian product. A great way to quickly relax and something that can deepen the Savasana at the end of Yoga practice. I haven't tried them yet, but I've heard great things and look forward to giving them a try soon.

Clean Program - Week 1

I'm on Day 7 of a 21 day cleanse. This is the Clean Program, created by Dr. Alejandro Junger. There is a book version and a kit version of the cleanse. I'm doing something in between since I didn't have the book. I modified the kit version so that I wouldn't have to buy the kit (super expensive, especially for Canadians).

There are people that are pro-cleanse and some that are not. For me, it depends on the type of cleanse. My main goals in doing the cleanse was to give my body a break from the toxic food I had been ingesting (fast food, sugar, caffeine, etc) and to use the re-introduction process at the end to gauge my sensitivity to various foods.

I have a shake for breakfast and for supper. For lunch I have a meal out of allowed foods. One of the main characteristics of this cleanse is eliminating all foods that are known to cause food allergies or sensitivities. It is not calorie restricted and you still take in enough calories to meet metabolic needs. In addition, supplements are taken to help support the detoxification process.

While I'm on Day 7 of the cleanse, I also did 6 days before of the Elimination Diet, removing all of the foods that would be taken out during the cleanse to help ease my body into the cleanse a bit more.

My body definitely doesn't miss the food I used to eat. My taste buds miss it a little. My creativity really misses some of my standard foods. I can't have tomatoes on the cleanse but they are a huge part of my cooking repertoire, so I'll be happy to try and add them back in when the cleanse is over.

I am enjoying the cleanse. I feel like my taste buds have been rewired away from sweet a bit (since fruit is my only sugar now). My body is definitely loving the food. I am also finding it nice to not have to cook a meal at night. I'm excited to see how the last 2 weeks of the cleanse go.

Finding the Good

I love this post from Everything Yoga (and I've been to that Yoga class where Savasana is such a relief): Finding the Good

Introduction to Ayurveda

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of healing, the traditional medicine of India. It is a healing art that integrates body, mind and spirit. Ayur means life and Veda mean knowledge.

Ayurveda sees everything as interconnected. The body, the mind, the spirit. Ayurveda sees that blockages in energy can manifest in many different mental and physical ailments. Ayurveda looks for the root cause, as opposed to looking solely at the symptom.

Ayurveda is Yogic medicine. It is a holistic, energetic medicine. It looks at how a substance affects the prana (life force). It looks at how a substance affects the mind and spirit. Ayurveda considers that the inner treatment is more important than the outer treatment. The outer is just a manifestation of what is going on inside.

There are 3 Doshas or energies that make up everything including us. They are Vata (air/ether), Kapha (earth/water) and Pitta (fire/water). There are many quizzes out there to help you determine your dominant Dosha; here is one: Dosha Quiz.

Ayurveda dictates that there is a reason for all things. Any condition we experience is caused by something of a like nature. Kapha increases Kapha. Vata increases Vata. Pitta increases Pitta. Knowing what causes our conditions can allow us to treat them more effectively.

Dreams

Who determines whether your dream is valid? Who decides that something is worthy?

As a child, I was encouraged to "shoot for the stars", generally at that time considered to be a doctor or lawyer. I was told I could be anything I wanted. I wanted to be a secretary and a teacher (and I believed I would be rich because of the double career).

As a teenager, I was told I would be going to university, it was just a matter of what path and which one (and there were only 2 options given). Given those parameters, I chose to go into Computer Science.

At 17, I realized I didn't want to be in Computer Science and my options appeared to be limited to other disciplines at the university I was at. I chose Environmental Systems Engineering.

At 20, I was restless and a career counsellor gave me many options in the environmental field and I chose to study Groundwater Engineering Technology.

Throughout my environmental career I remained restless, always feeling like the grass was greener elsewhere. I took many other courses but never found a home. At 34, I decided to follow one of my dreams and become a Yoga Teacher.

Today I am a full-time Yoga teacher (with contract work supplementing my income). There is no greener grass. I am fulfilled and content.

And yet, when I did some research I found that 85% of Yoga Teachers in BC make less than $25,000 per year teaching. I'm still in that 85% but I work full-time because this is my calling and I believe that before long I'll be able to support myself teaching. If I had presented this as my career plan as a child, teenager, at 17 or at 20, I'm sure I would have been told to give my head a shake and pick a more practical plan. But without question this is the right path for me.

Who determines whether your dreams are valid?

Eye Yoga

Check out this great article on Yoga for the eyes: Yoga keeps your peepers happy and healthy longer

November Love List

20 things I'm loving right now:

1. Coconut rice pudding.
2. Friends who I never run out of things to talk about with.
3. Sunny days.
4. Curling up on the couch to read in the mornings.
5. Restorative Yoga, it adds such a nice balance to the Hatha and Yin.
6. The feeling of lightness from the elimination diet I'm on.
7. Wheat free soy sauce.
8. Waking up with a cat next to me.
9. Time outside.
10. Club soda with lemon.
11. Both new and continuing students.
12. My mom's boundless energy (glad one of us has that).
13. My hair: it's getting so long!
14. Melons, it may not really be the season but I'm glad I can get them right now.
15. The new tv show Grimm.
16. Water: the most nourishing thing I can drink.
17. Big hoodies and warm toques.
18. My relatively small to do list.
19. Exploring Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported Shoulderstand).
20. The knowledge that I'm giving my body nutrition right now instead of things that tax it.

The A word, S word and F word

That's right: Ambition, Strive and Future. What did you think I meant?

Why are these bad words? They don't have to be. Just like the ego isn't a bad thing, as long as I don't get stuck in it.

I am self-employed, a small business owner. The networking organizations talk about setting goals, long term planning, etc. So I spent some time recently doing some long term planning. It was actually a fun exercise of where do I see myself in 1 yr, 2 yrs, 5 yrs and so on. I did it because I knew what my vision was for the next year but hadn't thought much beyond that.

My thoughts during the planning included "what is the logical progression of my career", "how do I reach more people once my classes are full".

And then the next night I was doing an oracle reading and the question came up "What is your heart's true desire?" And I immediately realized it wasn't what I had projected in my planning. My true desire aligns with what I'm doing now and my vision I already had for about a year down the road. Everything beyond that was getting into a business so busy that it wasn't at all what I wanted. Everything beyond that was feeding my ego and a cultural drive to always be moving upward.

Striving isn't a bad thing, but what am I striving for? My true goal is happiness and I'm happy, so why would I need to get somewhere else?

Thich Nhat Hanh said it well: "The Heart Sutra says that there is 'nothing to attain.' We meditate not to attain enlightenment, because enlightenment is already in us. We don't have to search anywhere. We don't need a purpose or a goal. ... In aimlessness, we see that we do not lack anything, that we already are what we want to become, and our striving just comes to a halt."

Fire the Grid: Global Meditation Tonight!

A friend sent me info on Fire the Grid earlier in the week. I admit that I thought "heck no!". I thought the idea of global meditation (everyone meditating, praying, whatever sends out good vibes for them at the same time) was a fantastic, powerful idea. However, since our timeslot is 3:11 am to 4:11 am, I was not feeling drawn to the idea.

Something made me think of it this morning. And I thought "why not?". I don't have classes tomorrow morning, I don't have classes tonight. I can get up for an hour in the middle of the night. Hopefully I won't fall asleep while meditating.

I encourage you to consider joining this amazing movement. It's short notice, but if you can make it work, join the love! For those that live on the east coast or overseas, they've got much more palatable times of day since everyone is synced up across the world. I've attached the website link below and I'm going to borrow my friend's word because he said it well: "It's a little out there at moments but the reality of the situation is there will be a giant healing taking place across the globe. So if you're interested you should give it a try and/or spread the word to those you know who might take interest."

The website: Fire the Grid

The Yoga Conference - Restorative Yoga

This year I just went to The Yoga Conference for 1 day (Sunday). I took a 6 hour workshop called Learning to Teach Restorative Yoga and Nourish Bone, Blood and Breath taught by Djuna Mascall.

What an amazing experience! I have taken Restorative classes before and have had a personal Restorative practice for a while now. But I really always thought of Restorative as relaxation and it was great to learn about all the nourishing aspects of Restorative and how it works on the fluid body.

I taught my first Restorative class last night and it was great to share these amazing poses with one of my students. I hope that more students try this class out as I think it is a great complement to either a Hatha or Yin Yoga practice.

Now I'm looking at how I incorporate what I've learned into my own Restorative practice. Last night I did a supported Shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana) variation and it was amazing! It was great to be in such a fabulous inversion without the effort I usually need to put into it.

The other thing we learnt a little of in the workshop was Somatics. I am really excited to study more on this amazing mind/body integration practice.

Preoccupied

I admit it, I'm rather preoccupied right now. Tomorrow I'm going to Vancouver for The Yoga Conference. Monday I've got a photo shoot with Jne Photography. My Blackberry calendar is completely messed up (and since it is where I keep my class information, that's a pretty stressful situation). And I'm looking at some major changes in what I eat.

I'm still loving my sadhana (spritual practice). I'm making time for me, even when I'm busy. But, I just don't have the time today to update the blog. So I'll see you next week with stories from Vancouver and the photo shoot.

Your Daily Ayurvedic Rhythm

I have been studying Ayurveda for a couple of years and I love this article on MindBodyGreen about aligning with your Ayurvedic rhythm:

How to Align with Your Daily Ayurvedic Rhythm

November Newsletter

My November newsletter has been posted: click here.