Reflexology for Neck Pain

I have had a lot of neck pain for the last week. For years I've been a stomach sleeper and have been unsuccessful every other time I tried to change it. However, this week I easily switched to side sleeping. While my neck hasn't gotten worse, it also hasn't gotten any better.

So, I'm going to give reflexology a try. I found these two sites and I'll give it a try over the next few days:

• Neck Pain Relief: Use Reflexology to Feel Better
• Reflexology for Neck Pain

Yoga at Home

I enjoy reading The Feeble Yogi. Most of the time he is blogging about the Yoga classes he takes. However, I encourage you to read this post. He talks about enjoying a great home practice. My favorite part: "While I enjoy having an instructor, a studio, and fellow yogis around me, I do not require these things to practice yoga. I am learning how to do yoga on the inside."
While I love teaching Yoga, I am always happy when people tell me they are practicing at home as I think that is when Yoga really sinks into your being.

August Newsletter - Meditation Tools, Breath and Booking / Cancelling Classes

I've posted my August newsletter: click here.

Club Med of Salvation

I found this really funny. And quite true. It's easy to look for a quick fix, but real progress is hard, honest work.

Club Med of Salvation

Great Magnet Sign

I wanted to thank MagnetsOnTheCheap for my awesome new sign. They provided me with the above sign free of charge, in exchange for this post. It is actually a sign for the side of the car. Since I don't have a car (but can use this on the one I borrow), it is residing most of the time on the front door of my house (where my studio is).

I found it easy to navigate their website for designing my magnet. It shipped quickly and without any hassle from the States. And I'm quite happy with the results. It was a fantastic replacement for my previous sign for my front door (ordered elsewhere). That was corrugated plastic, which I used adhesive magnets to attach. However, the morning sun and the black door kept consipiring to melt the adhesive and drop my sign to the ground. I've had no problems since I got my lovely MagnetsOnTheCheap sign!

Yoga Teacher Barbie

I was reading this post from Spoiled Yogi on the new Yoga Teacher Barbie.

On the awesome side: you know Yoga has gone mainstream when Barbie is doing it! While Yoga going mainstream has its downfalls and in some cases causes Yoga to lose some of its depth, I generally consider more exposure to the general public a good thing.

The less than awesome side: [roll of the eyes] This is exactly why many of my students were hesitant to try Yoga. They have seen the Lululemon ads, the Yoga Journal covers and have the impression that Yoga is for thin, young women. Now you can add Barbie to the list. Don't get me wrong. Yoga is for thin, young women, but it's also for every other size, age and gender.

July Newsletter - Important Class Information

I've posted my July newsletter early to highlight some changes coming up: click here.

Not Perfect, Don't Want To Be

I wanted to share this great post from Everything Yoga: Practice Far From Perfect

I love this perspective. Because I know I'm far from perfect. A student and I were having a conversation about awareness, and how it is sort of painful. There is a period when you become aware of your thoughts and actions, but haven't actually made the steps to get them in line with your beliefs. It's an uncomfortable period where two parts of yourself just aren't lining up.

That's what the Far From Perfect post reminds me of. There are definitely parts of me that don't yet line up. Some get resolved relatively quickly, some take years. Some might not happen in this lifetime.

But that's what it's about, isn't it? The journey. The learning. And keeping things light and in perspective while I travel on life's path.

Change is Good

Today's post was inspired by this post from Everything Yoga. It is good to change things up, question the routines. What am I questioning these days:

What is the best way for me to eat? That's a huge, rather dominating question in my life. But with a history of digestive problems competing with a love of rich food, it's something I continue to work on.

What are the important things I want to fit into my life? That was the idea behind my Big Rocks exercise last month.

And the big one that's coming up right now: What is important to me in teaching? I will be reducing my teaching hours in the next couple of months. I want to ensure that I still carry forward the messages I want to carry. With less time to do that, I want to spend some time thinking about exactly what those messages are, how I reach the most students and how I serve my current students with the changes happening.

June Newsletter - Online Booking

My June newsletter has been posted - click here.

What Type of Yoga is Right For You

I like this article on choosing the right Yoga for you. It just hits on a few of the main ones, but in that way isn't too overwhelming. Personally, I practice (and teach) Gentle Hatha Yoga, Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga.

Which Type of Yoga is Right For You

Gillian B on Yoga (courtesy of Bodyhack)

See below for a fantastic video with Gillian B (a Yoga teacher out of Toronto), courtesy of Bodyhack. Gillian talks about her experiences with Yoga asanas and meditation, breathing, motivation, common beginner challenges, energy, religion in Yoga and nutrition. It's about a half hour long, but is definitely well worth a watch/listen.

Need a Good Laugh?

I haven't done laughter Yoga in a while, but I have fond memories. It may seem strange to meet up with people to simply laugh, but it's not so simple. A good laugh is very therapeutic and sometime too many days go by without a good laugh. As well, laughter is contagious, making a laughter Yoga session that much more fun!

A great article about Laughter Yoga: A Laughing Matter

May Newsletter - Karma Yoga, Classes in the Park and Feedback to the City

My May Newsletter has been posted - click here.

How Your Brain Ages

Having a blog, I get a lot of email traffic with various things I may want to link to / include on my blog. I like the infographics below from http://www.termlifeinsurance.org/. Yoga asanas and meditation can help reduce your stress level to help delay the effects of brain aging.

Presented by: Term Life Insurance Resource

Week 16 Challenge - Letting Go

This year I decided to challenge myself to reflect on various Yoga and Buddhist aspects throughout the year. The challenges come from a variety of places including readings in Deborah Adele's Yamas and Niyamas and Thich Nhat Hanh's Heart of the Buddha's Teaching and Happiness.

This week's challenge was to use the breath as a guide for letting go. Breathe in and, as I exhale, let go.

Ah, letting go. One of my favorite things to practice...because it certainly takes practice. I've blogged about this at least twice before last year and just last month.

When I teach meditation I rotate through the 6 practices I teach, one each week. This week was Mindfulness of Breathing, which was a good way to practice letting go. With each exhale I felt myself release.

What did I work on letting go of this week:

• expectations
• judgements
• frustrations
• all-or-nothing thinking
• the past
• the future
• anything that isn't serving me

How do I feel? Lighter and less burdened. I love it! This is a great practice to continue.

Earth Day Celebrations and CHLY fundraiser

I wanted to let those in the community know about a couple of upcoming events:

This Sunday (April 22) is Earth Day and NALT and the City of Nanaimo are hosting celebrations at Bowen Park. I will be leading a meditation at the Duck Pond at 11:30 (meet shortly before in front of the Bowen building). For additional information on the festivities: click here

Support our community radio station by attending the Spring Clean Your Closet workshop on April 24: click here

The Gathering Webcast Series

See information below on The Gathering Webcast Series. The Gathering (a Spiritual Woodstock) sounds amazing, but would be a pretty far trip for me (Toronto area). That's why I was so glad to find out about this Webcast Series starting this coming Sunday.

 

The organizers of The Gathering are hosting a LIVE webcast series with awakened teachers, starting on Sunday, April 15th, 2012 at 2:00pm EST (11 am PST).

Each 1½-hour video webcast will share a taste of enlightened consciousness with you, and offer you conscious guidance to help you along your path toward awakening.

You will be able to comment, ask questions and share your feelings via live web chat. And if you are available to appear on webcam, you may also be invited to appear on video for a live discussion.

The first webcast will be hosted by the founder of The Gathering, Arvana Robinson, and the first guest teacher will be Canela Michelle Meyers, whose spiritual lineage is Ramana Maharshi, Papaji, and Isaac Shapiro, with support also from Paul Lowe. She currently resides in Vancouver, Canada.

Each of the awakened masters in this series will be sharing Truth in their own unique way, flavoured by each of their unique backgrounds, lineage and experience, and yet all pointing to the same universal understanding.

Each webcast will also give you a little taste of what will be happening at The Gathering. It will help you live in increased freedom, joy and love...

...and hopefully give you an experience of the deep inner calm and bliss of enlightened consciousness.

There is a nominal $5 fee, which is intended to ensure that the participants have genuine intent. Click here for more information and to register online.

April Newsletter - More Class Times, Intermediate Hatha Class and Earth Day!

My April newsletter is posted on my website: click here.

Yawning Yoga

I don't have kids, but the kid in me thinks this looks like a great book: Yawning Yoga