yoga practice | Align and Shine Yoga in London Ontario

I was inspired this morning to write a post about yoga and how it’s like it’s own living entity in my life. There are so many thoughts running through my head, thankfully there’s meditation or I’d be so lost, but one of them that repeats often is “yoga, yoga, yoga…” I’m not 100% sure what that thought is about. I think it’s a calling to my mat or a just a call for to get the attention of my higher Self, either way, not a day goes by that I don’t think about “yoga.”

My life with my daughter Mayla, who is turning 10 months old very soon, has forever changed my formal practice for now that is. I don’t get to do 90 minutes where I am just totally immersed in my practice or heck even go out to classes but deep down what I can feel building is this deep desire, deeper than I have ever felt before it step up my yoga, my lifeline. Although I have limited time I do take full advantage of it. Morning naps mean Sun Salutations and as many postures as I can fit in, often cut short of savasana at the end, boo.

Over the time I have been teaching yoga I have witnessed many people come and go, some never come back and I don’t really get that since I know there is nothing like a deeply profound, spiritual awaking, hard as hell, transformative beyond words yoga practice, there is just nothing like it… nothing! So if you have found yourself lost from your yoga here are my top 5 ways of finding it again.

1. Consistency rules over the Time – Commit to 15 minutes every single day with no excuse. If you can do more wonderful but get those 15 minutes in every single day! WHY? Because you are worth 15 minutes every single day that’s why. Your body, mind and heart all need this.

2. Leave your Mat out – If your mat is out you are more likely to hop on and do a few dogs. Often a few dogs lead to other postures because it feels so damn good so keep it out like you keep your sofa out in your living room.

3. Enjoy every single Second – Santosha, Sanksrit for contentment means that you find the happiness in what you are doing. Sounds like a very good idea to hit your mat that way as opposed to whining about having to do yoga. The fact that you found yoga in your life is truly a gift so shift your perspective so you see it in that light, perhaps a few handstands will help with that shift.

4. Pick a Pose for the Week – Okay so you don’t need to get into a deep well thought out sequence, mainly because you can find those in so many books or on-line if you want but why not just pick one pose to do all week, say crow pose for example. So every day you do some Sun Sal’s, standing postures, hip openers then crow or something more advanced if you fancy. This makes it simple when you do get on your mat as to where you are going.

5. Go to Class- The landscape of yoga classes has really changed in the last 10 years, like wow! Some classes are hardly recognizable as yoga to me anymore, maybe because there are so many teachers out there having said that find a teacher you love and go to their class! Supporting yoga studios and teachers is very important and it helps to keep your practice going as well as giving back to the larger energy of yoga.

Well, I hope that has tickled some deep desire in you to wake up and yoga. Side note, I know more than most that yoga is clearly way more than postures but without that piece it’s very easy to get truly lost in your thoughts, in the negativity and in this crazy world.

“Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. It may mean giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, and relationships that have lost their meaning.” John Maxwell

If you do yoga I’m sure someone has told you “that’s not very yogic of you” or something like that. The truth is that being a yogi doesn’t mean your a doormat or a pushover, instead it means sometimes you need to be fierce like a mother lion protecting her cub.

Some days it’s difficult to find anytime to hit my mat but I notice when that happens because I don’t feel as connected to my body or my heart and the way I response to all the experiences that come up during the day, whether they are good or bad, seem to be greatly influenced by my yoga/meditation practice or lack there of.

I’ve been assaulted both physically and mentally in my life and my response has changed because of yoga. Yoga has allowed me to become stronger, like a diamond, in my very core and at the same time soften my outer body so when these assaults happen they don’t effect the core of who I am.

I’ve got a sweet story written all over my right palm, many years ago, in a rage I smashed two glasses on a table and in that process I mangled my hand. I had to get stitches and lost a huge chuck of flesh. That scar is always a great reminder of how much I have changed. At the time I didn’t have a yoga cool to loose but now I wouldn’t response that way to anything.

Yesterday was a different story. I love to walk to my class, we live really close to where I teach but the path is sometimes sprinkled with weirdos. I’m pretty good at ignoring them but yesterday was a bit more challenging.

Two drunken Pittas (fiery folks) came up to me when I waiting at the lights and the one was trying really hard to get my attention. A second before he was going to grab me I stepped out in front of an oncoming car and just walked calmly across the street. My heart was racing but I’m so glad I didn’t have to do anything else because it might have got ugly. If he did grab me this ending would be different.

I won’t stop walking or biking to work but I will keep practicing so that I don’t loose my yoga cool. My husband gave me some lessons in self defense on our walk home that I won’t forget! I’m a conscious being but I’m armed with knowledge and a deeper love for our planet and the other beings we share it with.

Keep your yoga cool by practicing,

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Lost your Yoga

Back off or I’ll loose my Yoga Cool