I once read a quote that said, “Meditate for an hour everyday. Unless you’re too busy. In that case, meditate for two.” For many of us, it’s not meditating that’s difficult. It’s finding the time to do it. While taking a long period of time to meditate can seem virtuous, it’s not always practical to keep up. Try out the following ways of managing your time to include meditation in your every day. 1 – Start early. Meditation is something…
Muladhara The root chakra, or Muladhara, is located at your tailbone, and extends to include your legs and feet. Representing the beginning of your spiritual development, the root chakra is literally your root, your base, there to ground you. Representing who you are at your core, who and what you trust, and your sense of belonging and tradition, the root chakra’s desire is survival, self-sufficiency, and stability. It governs how we deal with things like family, money, basic needs, and…
1 – Wake up every morning thinking of all the people and things you love in your life. 2 – Journal about ways you want to create and express yourself. 3 – Enjoy a good breakfast–even if it’s just a favourite morning drink or smoothie! 4 – Give yourself time to do tasks at a comfortable pace. 5 – Breathe slowly. Breathe fully. Breathe for your well being. 6 – Smile at people on the street. 7 – Ask the…
Find out more about Barbara and her upcoming Restorative Yoga workshop through our Q and A below! Hello Barbara! So, what is Restorative Yoga? There’s a quote from the renowned Restorative Yoga teacher, Judit Lasater that I like “We work very hard in our lives, and while we may sleep, we rarely take time to relax. Restorative yoga poses help us learn to rest deeply and completely.” And that, in a nutshell is was restorative yoga is: a slow, gentle…
Have you ever been in the park, or on the beach, or just in your kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil, and thought, “hmm, I’d like to do about 1 minute of yoga now.” Here are a few yoga poses that you can do almost anywhere, without any props or a mat: Arms Overhead, with Slight Back Bend This one is great for expanding the breath, and getting a wonderful stretch along the back, spine and torso. Remain with…
Have you ever wondered why your yoga teacher asks you to place your palms together in front of your heart? This gesture is one of many called a mudra. A mudra is a symbolic seal or gesture that we use in our physical practice to focus intention. Mudras can help to facilitate flow of movement, tune awareness, and relieve stress. One of the most common mudras in a yoga practice is Anjali Mudra. This is the positioning of the palms…
Last week we spoke about mindful ways to start your day, and this week we’re focusing on mindful ways to say goodnight. Try out these tips for mindfully ending your day. Put your devices to bed. Take at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before bed without using a phone, computer, television, or any other electronic device. When you use electronic devices at nighttime, the light from the screen affects your waking and sleeping hormones. There are apps you can use to…
When it comes to balance in yoga, a big key is the drishti. You may have heard this word before in class, but it’s likely that you heard it while trying not to fall over, which is why we’ll be going a bit more in-depth in this post. Drishti is the Sanskrit word for “focused gaze”. It’s when you focus intently on one spot, finding peace and strength in your physical and mental awareness. It’s so small of a movement that…
Step 1: Close your eyes and take 3 natural breaths in and out of your nose, counting to 3 seconds on every inhale and every exhale. Step 2: Place both of your feet on the floor. Draw your attention to the soles of your feet connected to the earth. Take 30 seconds (about 5 long breaths) to notice how this feels. Step 3: Place one hand over your belly button. Close your eyes and take 3 natural breaths. Notice the…
A few students have asked recently about one of the amazing scents that some of our teachers use. Although there are a number of different things teachers can to bring to class, Palo Santo is a favourite these days. Palo Santo is a piece of wood from a wild tree that grows in Central and South America. A small piece of the Palo Santo wood is burned to let off a medicinal smoke. Its naturally sweet smoke is light, compared…
