Cats Playing Patty-cake...

hahahaa..

He's a comin'!

A Roundhouse special event...

Sun Dec 5, 10:00am-12:00pm, Exhibition Hall

Children: $6 , Adults: $7.20

Santa’s coming to the Roundhouse! Come join him and his helpers for a pancake breakfast and take part in many fun-filled activities.

Please pre-register as space is limited! Children must be supervised by an adult. Children under 1 year are free. Pre-registration required.

Cheap thrills

I am so not one for kitchen gadgets. Like most people out there I have had my share of useless kitchen gadgets and for me in all honesty most of them really are are useless. The fanciest thing in my kitchen is my crockpot (which has been pumpin' non stop for about a month now with this cold)!

One day out of the blue I picked up these two things from London Drugs (which was really unlike me). I am not a fan of shopping to begin with, and useless kitchen stuff is about the last thing I'll buy. But to my delight I have been using both of these items every single day! One is a milk frother (under $5). And the other is a rice cooker ($14). The rice cooker is something that I would have deemed completely useless (although I do have a girlfriend who swears by hers). And now I can see why!

I love it and it makes every single type of rice and whole grain perfectly (and it steams veg too). It shuts off automatically too. I just wanted to share because I am using both of these things every single day, and both of them together are under $20 bucks. Yup, cheap thrills :)

Zen Meditation-the basics

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?

“It was great, Dad.” “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh Yeah” said the son. “So what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

With this the boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks, dad for showing me how poor we are."

Just be kind

Every 5 minutes it seems there's another study touting the effects of yoga..

The most recent one is yoga and happiness ♥

Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine investigated whether yoga or walking made people happier and the answer was Yoga.

People who practiced Yoga 2-3 times per week reported being happier and much less anxious than those who walked for the same length of time. And the science backed them up completely. The yogi's had much higher levels of mood boosting chemicals in their brains too.

Those of us who practice yoga regularly always find these studies entertaining. We feel the effects of our yoga. I'm thrilled that medical science is discovering what we have all known for years (and the ancient yogi's have known for literally thousands of years). It is nice that it can all be confirmed in a lab or by a fMRI machine these days. And it is really lovely the way that yoga is moving more and more into a clinical setting as well. That makes me so very happy as yoga truly is self care of so many levels.

I love my yoga and I do love my walking too. I recommend the best of both worlds. Walk to yoga!

P.S. registration is on for both The Roundhouse and Mt Pleasant classes so let's do it up!

Do you volunteer?

Do you volunteer? Over the holiday season or throughout the year?

Pretty much everywhere you go this time of year you can see people giving of their most valuable commodity. Time.

Speaking as somebody who has volunteered pretty much my whole life I can tell you that everybody wins. Not only the person/people you are giving the time to, but you too benefit. Hugely. I'm not exaggerating in saying that it might just be one of the most valuable experiences of your life.

If you give of yourself, good on ya!

And if you don't you should do yourself and the folks in your community a favour by giving of yourself. There is only one you. And the world needs us! All of us.

We all have causes we believe in and topics that interest us. And we all have skills and ways of helping unique to us. Everyone can benefit! I almost feel guilty volunteering. Nothing makes you feel better! It adds such a richness to your life. I believe it releases endorphins too. And from a karmic stand point you can't go wrong. We will all need help in this life and thats a fact. So why not help?

I have an array of organizations I love to help but the two biggest are The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada (website here), including their BrainWAVE Program ( website here), and the one and only Shanti Uganda Society (website here). *Both of which are always looking for volunteers!

If you ever had any questions for me or wanted to be pointed in the right direction feel free to contact me, anytime at yoginilori@gmail.com I'd really love to help you get started. You will not regret it!

Happy holidays and namaste xo

Did you know?

The winner of the 2007 NYC marathon was the mother of a 9 month old baby.

Isn't that amazing? I heard it mentioned the other day and it is just so inspiring.

All you moms inspire me so. You are all so truly amazing.

Thanks for being in my life. xo

take some time to get quiet and don't be afraid to be who you really are

Every day we slaughter our finest impulses. That is why we get a heart-ache when we read those lines written by the hand of a master and recognize them as our own, as the tender shoots which we stifled because we lacked the faith to believe in our own powers, our own criterion of truth and beauty. Every man, when he gets quiet, when he becomes desperately honest with himself, is capable of uttering profound truths. We all derive from the same source. There is no mystery about the origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we have only to open up, to discover what is already there. ~Henry Miller

snow withdrawal

I'm going through a little snow withdrawal now that it's gone. Was it something we said?

Todays the day! Bring a clean blanket on your commute!

*Bring a blanket on your way to work/school/yoga Friday Nov 26!

Click here for more info

Let's join Gregory and his young son help keep the homeless warm this winter!

Qi

The character for Qi (pronounced chee) represents steam rising from rice, meaning the air of life, a symbol for effortless sustenance.

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

sometimes you've got to stop everything and just take in the scenery..

Went to a friends wedding today just outside of the city and the view from their deck is just stunning. And tonight's moon...absolutely magnificent.

nothing like a fresh dusting ♥

Wishing you a lovely and safe weekend...

A few pics from my walk home today. Have fun this weekend! Be safe. Lot's of snow is expected so drive carefully and have a blast ;)

the hood

I was literally running down the street yesterday for the bus when I had to stop in my tracks and pull out the camera. I love this season. It is so moody. The shadows, the colours..anyways thought I'd throw a few pics up.

Fred Herzog "Vancouver Color"

Absolutely stunning photographs. Perfect for this rainy Vancouver morning. Enjoy:)

.

cute quote of the day...

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for. -Anonymous

Ever tried light therapy?

Ever see one of these things? My last one was much larger in size and had long tubular bulbs. Its a S.A.D. lamp.

If you get gloomy in the fall/winter with the shorter days (and if you live in these parts with all the rain) don't despair, just give one of these little suckers a whirl. It's light therapy and you may not need it at all, but I sure do.

I lose that spring in my step after a couple of months without much sun. Everyone's different though. For instance my partner has no problems at all with the lack of sun. For me my sad lamp is a staple, and as soon as I wake up it's me+coffee+sad lamp every single day (while I'm in Vancouver anyways). I begin around now and go straight through the winter and early spring. They are a little pricey though, generally running $200-$250.00 plus. Personally I truly can't imagine not having one. It has changed my life out here the past few years.

As your light exposure decreases in the fall and winter, the general consensus of the experts is that these changes in light exposure affect the body’s natural rhythm and chemistry. There is tons of research and info on the web so I'll leave that to you. For as long as I live in a rainforest I will be sitting in front of my light box every morning in the darker months. (although if you suffer from depression, are pregnant, taking light sensitive medications, suffer from any health issues that you think may prove a problem I would talk it over with your health care provider before making the investment). For me it's money well spent.

The one thing to make sure of when purchasing one is the strength needs to be what's called 10,000 lux (or it's pretty much useless). Light therapy can help with more then the winter blues as it helps to set our circadian rhythm. Its good for seasonal depression but it's also good for shift workers, jet lag and a host of other situations. Again, it may not do a thing for you, but I swear by it. Thought I'd share. Namaste.

practicing mindfulness

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if it is the axis
on which the world earth revolves
- slowly, evenly, without
rushing toward the future;
Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.

- Thich Nhat Hahn

"Breathing in, I dwell deeply in the present moment. Breathing out, I know this is a wonderful moment.

It's Midwifery month!

As I was running around town yesterday I was reminded by this poster that it's Midwifery Month!

And just like the poster says...

there are free workshops all across the city!

To learn more click here

traditional Buddhist prayer - Rimpoche Nawang Gehlek -

A few months ago at a workshop with Cindi Lee of Om yoga I was introduced to this lovely Buddhist prayer. We opened and closed our meditations with it, and I just came across it again. It is really beautiful. Thought I'd share.

Maru keeps tryin' ;)

If you have or had cats you know that the great majority of them love love love boxes, laundry baskets, bags..anything they can crawl into. I once came home to a cat with a glass jar stuck on it's head (and that wasn't good). It had to be smashed off and was pretty scary (he wound up being just fine btw). Anyhow, a friend posted this on facebook and Maru is cute and never gives up. And he tries to make the most out of what he has. Thought I'd share

♥

Cute little commercial for East vanity Parlour

Heres the latest commercial for my favourite little hair place in the world! East Vanity Parlour. Kristi and the gals will beautify you up like never before! It's

located directly across the road from Mount Pleasant CC. Come to Yoga, then walk across the road & get beautified. Feel good AND look good :) I'll actually be in the chair tomorrow and can't wait. I have been putting my head in Kristi's hands for years now. Support your local businesses people! It feels good and you'll look great. I promise:)

www.eastvanityparlour.com

We remember

Here are a few pics from The Cenotaph at Victory Square today. I was happy and amazed to see so many children this year! We must remember the men and women who have lost their lives and those who continue to serve around the world. They gave their lives and their futures so we could live in peace.

For more information on Remembrance Day or information on programs & services for Veterans click here for the Veterans Affairs Canada website. Namaste.