Pledge for Peace

When all people of CONSCIENCE

do MORE

 than we are currently doing to

create peace

and nonviolence,

our collective actions will

GREATLY TRANSFORM

the world in which we live.

Oooch, Ouch!

So tell me, what do YOU think of when you hear the word "garland"?

I think of Christmas, ribbons, lace, pretty things you know?

Girlie happy things.

Enter Malasana. Aka Garland Pose.

Aka, pose from hell.

There's nothing lacey or happy about it.

And for the very first time EVER,

I am faced with not really being able to do a pose.

True story.

I can rock alotta poses you know.

And I can hardly walk today.

Malasana. Don't tick her off!

a borrowed quote with many thanks from "The Devil Wears Prana..."

"When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe,

there can be no doubt.

But that is not what great ships are built for."

{Clarissa Pinkola-Estes}

i coud have scurvy

maybe it's not scurvy.
i still think i am dying.

i blame my youngest child.

and September.

this ALWAYS happens in September.

my skin is crawling.

my head is pounding.

i can't stop shivering. and sweating.

ew.

my nose is red & raw.

i had plans mr. illness.

you screwed me out of a sunny summer day yesterday,

a night out last night,

a glorious 1/2 day on fantastic unit @ work,

and an afternoon party.

i miss the boys.

sniff.

i'm having one of those days...

In through the nose,

out through the mouth.

Repeat.

Are you ready for some Yoga???

Sun Salutation

(surya namaskar)

Surya Namaskar, aka the Sun Salutation, is a series of 12 postures performed in a single, graceful flow. Each movement is coordinated with the breath. Inhale as you extend or stretch, and exhale as you fold or contract. The Sun Salutation builds strength and increases flexibility, it activates digestion, ventilates the lungs thereby oxygenating the body and calms the mind!

For the series below, a single round consists of two complete sequences: one for the right side of the body and the other for the left.  {do you know that some yogis practice 108 sun salutations?? oooh another good future post!}

Now get on your mat & let's go!

1. Mountain Pose. Begin by standing in Mountain pose, feet about hip width apart, hands at your heart. Take several deep breaths. In thru your nose, out thru your nose.

2. Hands up, a gentle back bend, face to the sun! On your next inhale, in one sweeping movement, raise your arms up overhead and gently arch back as far as feels comfortable and safe.

3. Head to knees.   As you exhale, bend forward, bending the knees if necessary, and bring your hands to rest beside your feet. Hang your head loosely.  No tension!

 

4. Lunge. Inhale and step the right leg back.  Neck straight, heart raised & forward.

5. Plank {abs people! abs!}  Exhale and step the left leg back into plank position. Hold the position and inhale.  Contract those abs! Oooh shaky!

6. Stick. Exhale and lower yourself as if coming down from a push up. Keep your elbows tucked in tight to your sides, neck in alignment with your spine.

7. Cobra. Inhale and stretch forward and up, bending at the waist. Your hands should be resting lightly on the floor, not pushing you up. Raise just your chest off the floor for low cobra, extend your arms for high cobra. Be mindful of your back!

 

8. Downward facing dog. Exhale, push into child's pose, lift from the hips and push back and up.

 

  

9. Lunge. Inhale and step the right foot forward.

10. Head to knees. Exhale, bring the left foot forward and step into head-to-knee position.

11. Hands up, stretch it out, let the sun warm you.

Inhale and rise slowly, rag doll, one vertebrae at a time, extending your arms overhead.  Be good to your back during this gentle back bend.

12. Mountain. Exhale, and slowly, bring your hands to your heart into prayer position. Take a few breaths.  

Now, repeat the entire sequence, stepping this time with the left leg and you will be done one full Sun Salutation!

On days when you think you have no time for yoga or exercise at all, do a few rounds of the Sun Salutation. I promise you'll feel the difference!  You will be lean & strong and have peace in your mind in no time!  It's my favourite!

So, did you do it?

Do you feel warm & limber? Peaceful?
Strong like you can do anything? 

 Happy Thursday Yogi's!

Namaste.

"your blog is out of date"

Ya ya ya...tell me somethin' i DON'T know!

Mental block? Creative differences...with myself?

Tired? nothing witty to say? lazy? Lazy! That's it!

Ok, so what have I been up to...

Yoga classes are back in session at Unison Yoga. WOOT!

I dragged Ms. Cupcake with me for this set....

I think she likes it! She rocks the Eagle pose, & I'm secretly happy that her downward facing dog sucks as much as mine does! ;) I joke!

I have 7 shifts left on the Unit I work on...secretly happy again...& after that, the world...um, the hospital is my oyster.

Less than a month til my Yoga weekend getaway!  BLISS!!! {i still have to pinch myself!}

Next week is the Evening of Art Fundraiser for The Shanti Uganda Society. SO PUMPED!!!  I am just loving working with this organization...truly amazing!

The boys are good, the dogs are good, the husband is, well isn't that just another blog post in itself!  I kid! I kid!

What else...mmm, two things left for you....

1) A lovely quote;                             
    

"I live in possibility."

~ Emily Dickinson

2) I have started my Christmas shopping!

And now I believe that this makes me officially....UPDATED!

Honour the pain within you...

So, one of my fave yoga teachers, she always spouts some fancy comforting line at the end of class; honour the light within you etc etc.

I'm pretty sure that after last nights very lovely class, there is no light inside. That bright white light she always talks about during savasana, it's more like a white searing pain today!

It hasn't been THAT long since I was on my mat....

Funny thing about that...there was some giggling & joking about who HASN'T been on their mat while the studio was on "vacation".  You could easily tell by the curly ends of their mats! I felt pretty proud that my mat was perfectly flat on the floor...I mean heck...I re-rolled it the night before so it WOULD lay flat...HAHAHAHAHA! Purely for purpose & function, not for the looks of awe I received last night for being the yogini who surely must have practised all summer! WINK!

Namaste! 

I might pee!

I cannot even contain myself!

I C A N N O T even contain my glee!

With my husband's encouragement & bank account {wink!}

I am registered for a Yoga Retreat in the Shuswap with PADMA!!!!

SHREEEEEEEEEEIK!

Padma! Can you believe it???? The one & only.

Padma is a world renowned Yogini, she even lived & studied with her guru for 10 years in the Himalayas!

She is the author of many  books,

has hosted her own TV programs &  radio programs,

and is responsible for the development of many learning &

education programs locally in Vancouver

and the world alike. Oh the list is endless!

{ps, she teaches yoga to Freida Pinto,

Uma Thurman and Charlize Theron...just sayin'}

And little ole me....I get to spend a Friday to Sunday doing

yoga classes, meditation classes,

ayurveda & stress mgmt workshops,

eating wonderful vegetarian food

& all blissfully away from the family

{i mean i will be crying the whole time}

 in beautiful lovely serene Shuswap Lake.

In all honesty,

I am looking SO forward to a total yogic weekend,

 just for me,

totally just yoga, peace & balance. 

I wasn't kiddin' when I said I might pee.

Transform Your Life

"Something we were withholding made us weak,

until we found it was ourselves."

~ Robert Frost ~

Today's Assignment:

See what you are willing to give yourself to. 

It doesn't have to be something big.

Wholeheartedness is a process and a habit.

What to do first???

If I had an ENDLESS supply of

MoNeY...

well, I would not know where to begin!

Money 4 everyone!

But since this is the REAL world....

and $$$ is limited...

I need to prioritize my wants...

{this is of course after all the necessary needs}

Yoga teacher training?

Registered Holistic Nutritionist?

Breastfeeding Coach?

just to name a few...

One thing at a time...

Perhaps I do not need limitless cash,

but limitless...

~ PATIENCE ~

September is National Yoga Month!

~10 Reasons to practice Yoga~

1. STRESS RELIEF: Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging relaxation, yoga helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Related benefits include lowering blood pressure and heart rate,

improving digestion and boosting the immune system as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.

2. PAIN RELIEF: Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga asanas (postures), meditation or a combination of the two, reduced pain for people with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and hypertension as well as arthritis, back and neck pain, and other chronic conditions. Some practitioners report that even emotional pain can be eased through the practice of yoga.

3. BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung function, trigger the body’s relaxation response and increase the amount of oxygen available to the body.

4. FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps to improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing aches and pains. Many people can’t touch their toes during their first yoga class. Gradually they begin to use the correct

muscles. Over time, the ligaments, tendons and muscles lengthen, increasing elasticity, making more poses possible.  Yoga also helps to improve body alignment resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint and muscle problems.

5. INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asanas (postures) use every muscle in the body, helping to increase strength literally from head to toe. And, while these postures strengthen the body, they also provide an additional benefit of helping to relieve muscular tension.

6. WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga (even less vigorous styles) can aid weight control efforts by reducing the cortisol levels as well as by burning excess calories and reducing stress. Yoga also encourages healthy eating habits and

provides a heightened sense of well-being and self-esteem.

7. IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps to improve circulation and, as a result of various poses, more efficiently moves oxygenated blood to the body’s cells.

8. CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING: Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardiovascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.

9. FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware and to help create mind body health. It opens the way to improved concentration, coordination, reaction time and memory.

10. INNER PEACE: The meditative aspects of yoga help many to reach a deeper, more spiritual and more satisfying place in their lives. Many who begin to practice for other reasons have reported this to be a key reason that yoga has become an essential part of their daily lives.

{Text courtesy of Yoga Alliance}

 

Welcome September!

Somebody shoot me!  Back to school shopping is sucking the life right out of me!

It's not the supplies, it's the clothes, and the desire of the little men in my life to "look cool"  I really want my children to be the kind that don't care...I want them to understand that it doesn't really matter what other people think.  Having said that, we all know what other people think DOES matter to some extent, and when you are 9 & 12, it TOTALLY matters what other people think!  I get that...I do...sigh...

I'm getting right giddy for Unison to be up & running again...hands down the best yoga classes I have been to...ready to work on my cobra, and my downward dog.  Giddy to lay still in savasana pose and work on my meditation skills...

My very VERY smart & beautiful sister in law said something today that made me laugh..."whoever said what doesn't kill you will make you stronger was a real asshole"  I think she has a point...I hate hearing stuff like that myself, but I do believe it.  I have learned in the past few weeks that through thick & think, crap & crappier, nothing killed me, and hopefully I will come out a bit better, a bit tougher & a bit wiser for it.  I am starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel....{big satisfactory exhale}

On a {sad for some, but not for me} side note, The Amazing Adventures of Rocketgirl was put to bed last night.  Nothing more to comment on that so DON'T ASK if you know what's good for you!? ;)

Lastly, I lost something. Actually, 7 of them somethings, and I'm pretty happy about it!  heehee!