Asanas for the Chakras

An overview of the Chakras and which poses can help to get energy flowing through your body freely was written by Yoga Journal. Follow this link, Asanas for the Chakras. On the 1st of March, I will be posting the first of a 7 week Chakra series where each of the seven Chakras will be discussed in more detail. With the spring soon to come, lets use this energy of renewal in the air to transform ourselves inside and out. Please interact with me and ask questions and post comments as we go along through the series. Enjoy!

5 ways Yoga teaches us to Roll with the Punches

1. Yoga teaches us to sit back and enjoy the ride, to simply let go. So many things are out of our control that if we really think about it, it's ridiculous to try and control every aspect of our lives. Being a mother of three crazy children, I have realized that I have very little control over how things will turn out, short or long term. While being a great planner is useful, to get as much done in one day as humanly possible, being able to happily adapt to changing circumstances is a much more useful skill to develop. Yoga will teach you that.

2. Yoga teaches us perseverance. Some yoga poses can be quite difficult to say the least yet with time, patience and practice, our body and mind changes to give us the skills we need to master the pose. If we can learn to persevere through our yoga practise, we can take this into the rest of our lives and survive the tough times patiently.

3. Yoga teaches us awareness of our mind and body. With awareness we can listen to our thoughts, detach ourselves from those thoughts and become an observer. As we begin to examine those thoughts we realize how silly many of them are. If you sit down and really think about your responses to life's challenges, you will start to see that being angry or upset about things is probably not helpful to the situation. We learn with yoga to control our emotions instead of our emotions controlling us.

4. Yoga teaches us to use our breath. No matter what the situation, taking a breath gives you some space in your mind to think more clearly and put things in perspective. Control of the breath is one of the most fundamental and powerful teachings of yoga. So, next time life throws you into something difficult, take a breath right down into your belly to clear out your chattering thoughts and slowly look at the big picture. Ground your feet into the floor, or better still, the earth, lift your head, open your chest and breath in deeply. Remind yourself of your strength and beauty.

5. Yoga teaches us compassion. Many of our problems stem from interactions with other people. Through compassion we can see things from the other persons point of view. We can learn that other people have problems too and the way that they have treated us may be because of the ways others have treated them in their lifetime. To break the cycle we must learn to have compassion for those who have hurt us and in turn find happiness within our hearts.

Follow your dreams

Wow! Time flies. Over two years have past since I started this blog, posted one article and then never wrote again! I guess it's been a busy couple of years. As a working mother of three children, trying to build a business, there have been some highs and lows over the past two years to say the least. Looking back now, yoga has helped me through all of these ups and downs and I feel so blessed to have that kind of outlet and grounding force in my life. Over the past couple of years, I have had moments where teaching yoga has seemed like too much trouble to keep up; taking time away from my kids or from projects at work that I really needed to get done.

So, when I got an email telling me that I would have to pay the $200 annual fee to keep my website active, I contemplated not paying. I was so busy with work and the kids, trying to move forward in my career and help my son catch up at school, that yoga seemed like an irresponsible thing to be spending my time on. With only a few days left to pay the money or lose my website, I had just about decided to give it up, when I got a phone call. It was from a lady in town, whose business it was to help other women start their own businesses. Talk about timing. It was a weird conversation that lasted almost an hour! When I first answered the phone, she seemed like any other parent, just interested in having private yoga instruction for her young boys. We set up a time and date for yoga but then she started asking weird questions about my business and my life in general. Being a pretty open person, we had a lengthy conversation in which I told her my issues in trying to start my business while trying to balance family and work etc. It was then that she told me what she did for a living and suggested ways in which I could improve my business while working, so that eventually I could transition to yoga full time. It seemed a little far fetched that it could ever happen but never the less, that was my dream.

I don't really remember much of the conversation but I am so grateful that she called. We never did do any yoga. My guess is that she called to sell her services to me, not for yoga classes! It wasn't what she said in that conversation, it was just the coincidence of her calling and telling me to have confidence and follow my dreams right when I was giving up on them. It was enough to make me pick up the phone and pay the $200 to keep my website up and running. Almost immediately more people started calling for yoga. Not enough so I could quit my job, but just enough to make me think, maybe this could work after all. Six months later, here I am doing yoga full time and loving it! Funny how things works themselves out.

Yoga as a parent

Well, I am so excited to be "blogging". This is my first time doing it but I thought that it would be a great way to start writing. Along with yoga, singing, playing with animals and walks in the forest, writing is one of those things that just calms me down. As a mother of three, I don't have all that much time to devote to writing ( in fact I haven't written anything since I was in University) or to any of the activities above but I try to fit them in here and there. So, combining two of my passions, here I sit, writing about yoga.......from a mothers perspective.

What is yoga? It is the union of body, mind and spirit. It has been practised for thousands of years as an avenue toward a peaceful heart. Personally I can tell you that when I practise yoga, I feel better, every time. For just a little while I can turn off my mind. I can be in the present moment, not years ago or years ahead, just right now. Many parents run around from morning till night, never taking a second to stop and take a breath. Yoga allows us that time. Life is unbelievably busy and stressful for most of us, especially in those years where our kids are small and they rely on us to do everything for them. Never getting a minute to think of ourselves, we tend to their every need. Years later we look back and wonder where we lost ourselves along the way. Practicing yoga every day gives you a break from the chaos of the family life. Even if you can only squeeze in 15 minutes, it's worth it. Yoga philosophy teaches us that we need to put ourselves first in order to give all that we can to our family and community. So, go to a yoga class or do some yoga at home, insisting on a few minutes of uninterrupted time by yourself without feeling guilty. You're not being selfish, you're taking care of yourself so that you are strong for your family physically, emotionally and spiritually. You are being a role model for a healthy lifestyle too which will set your children on the right path for life.

If you would like some help to create a yoga routine that would work for you in your family life, please visit my website at www.yogasolutions.ca or contact me.