Monday, November 22, 2010

Call me weird


hahaha..Call me weird but I love to learn, study and practice (Yoga that is)!
And I am forever grateful that I found yoga as there will never ever be a shortage of things to learn, thats for sure! I am and will always be a student of yoga.

Do you have something in your life that you love so much that you could study and practice all day and night and never tire of? I hope you do. I didn't use to. Just because I attended my first yoga class twenty-something years ago doesn't mean that I was a committed yogi back then. Not at all! Thank goodness yoga is always there waiting for you. My lifestyle was so not yogic. In fact I was hurting myself in all sorts of ways. Yoga to me (for years) didn't really have much depth. I didn't meditate at all. I didn't get the mind/body connection, and making the perfect yoga pose was pretty much all I cared about.

My mind was always racing as I went through the asanas (poses) and my thoughts were always wandering to where the next party was, what guy I was seeing at the time...ahhh..the drama! As much as I wouldn't change my past I am happy for the now.

I still love drama, but high drama. And being 46 I'd be pretty haggard if I continued on that path til now and didn't slow down. I actually feel better than I did in my 20's and credit my yoga practice to no end for that.

I have been so blessed to have studied with some true Master Teachers from far and wide over the years.

This year alone it's been Cyndi Lee, Martin Kirk, Margot McKinnon, Nischala Joy Devi, Seane Corn...and honestly the list goes on. This year I received my Yin Yoga certification through one of my first and most respected teachers Bernie Clark, and I am currently immersed in Teacher Training with Sadie Nardini whom I have done quite a few workshops with in the past, and like very much. Come January I am thrilled to be spending more time with Michael Stone (and I really, REALLY can't wait for that one).

With yoga the learning never ends. And for that I am so grateful. I can't recommend enough finding something that turns you on and becoming a student of "it", whatever it is. I truly believe you will never get old. Find something you love and learn everything you can about it.

When I go to sleep I can't wait to wake up each morning, and I wish the same for you. Namaste XO

Yoga for the feet


Those of you who come to my classes know that I focus on the feet a lot. How important they are in grounding us, how the lower body meridians both begin and end in the feet and how important the health, openness and happiness of our feet is to our place in life. The earth has a natural flow of electrons emitting from it constantly. One element of this is called Earth Chi (Qi) or Earthing.

Here is an article by a much loved Teacher of mine Bernie Clark (whom I studied Yin Yoga with). Bernie knows a great deal on the topic.

At times there can be so much going on in our lives, so much energy going out of us that we can lose this connectedness. Stretching, massaging of the feet and toes, and really feeling our feet and the connection they make with the earth can sometimes ground us in way that nothing else can. Now that the temperatures have dropped and the winter is approaching we we're less likely to be barefoot and it is through our feet that we gather Earth Chi. Remember there is always Tadasana (mountain pose), and of course getting outside in nature no matter the season. When you need to ground yourself just pause, connect, and feel your place in the world.

And take care of your feet!

In this video Todd Caldecott (website here) interviews the lovely Alix Rodrigues of Greenroom yoga on the feet. Greenroom Yoga's website is here