Yin Yoga with me every Thursday evening at The Roundhouse from 730-845pm

The Roundhouse is located at 181 Roundhouse Mews at the corner of Davie St @ Pacific Blvd right across the street from the Canada Line skytrain Station (Roundhouse stop)
 Get ready to feel delicious!  604-713-1800 (press 2)

It is these moments

We must remember to be present during those fleeting moments in this life where we are deeply touched, and awake, and present in our lives... for those truly are the moments. The real moments that take our breath away and break our heart wide open. Its moments like these that give our lives meaning. 
Wishing you a joyous and peaceful weekend friends. Namaste.

“When we do our Practice…”

Have you noticed that the sunset is more vivid when we do our practice? And that there are fewer “jerks” on the freeway? The hardwood floor is the most comfortable bed in the world when we do our practice. Our mate is more patient and kind when we do our practice. Even the government seems more organized - when we do our practice. We want less and give more, we notice beautiful hearts, and are more forgiving of the mean-spirited. When we do our practice it is as if we live in a different world with our hearts open wide. But of course it is not the world that has changed; it is we who have changed, and that is one of the great secrets of yoga. We change but it appears as if the world around us blooms like a flower.-Max Strom

Sympathetic Joy

"To help us bring benefit to others through our words and actions, it is useful to cultivate an attitude of sympathetic joy in others’ achievements and good fortune. This attitude is a powerful antidote against envy, which is not only a source of unnecessary suffering on the individual level but also an obstacle to our ability to reach out and engage with others."

~ His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Please join us in protesting the BC government's proposed cuts to newborn health visits.

“All mothers and newborns should receive a visit from a public health nurse, if they want or need one."

These visits are a godsend to new moms when they are at their most vulnerable. They help detect post-partum depression, jaundice, breast feeding issues and much more. These problems ...cut across socio-economic lines. Funding for this decades old program should not be cut!

On Friday November 25 at 11:30am, Parents for BC Babies will gather outside Premier Christy Clark's Vancouver office at 3615 W. 4th Ave to protest her government's decision to cut public health nurse visits to women who have just given birth.

Hope to see you there! Bring your stories of why/how much a nurses home visit mattered to you and your newborn and new family.

Here is the BC Nurses Union petition for you to share and sign.

mmm...mmm....garden.

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life." -Socrates

I'm sick of the word busy. "How are you ? Busy...so very busy.." "You? Oh the same...just extremely busy".

I am just so sick of being busy. I find that thats all I hear, and say anymore. I am really bored of hearing myself say it.

I came to the realization last week when I was super stressed and unable to keep up with deadlines and such (and I found myself so stressed that even my decades long yogic tools weren't cuttin' it) that I have simply said yes to too many things. Since then I have been watching my use of the word. Yesterday I spent the most delightful day at my community garden plot and was so happy to see my garden friends. All we could speak about was how busy we are/have been. It's an epidemic. I am really convinced the whole world is busier than ever. I remember Seane Corn once telling me to "pick my battles wisely" when I asked her how she manages her time. As difficult as it can be to set limits, I am slowing things down. I am taking my own advice and practicing what I preach as far as the self care goes. I will certainly not be clearing my schedule (not by a long shot)! I'm just setting some limits. I love what I do so much. Both the teaching and the volunteer activities. I just plan on carving out more time for me. More nature and less busyness. More time at the garden, and less busyness. More road trips to the Island, less busyness, less computer time (my facebook friends will all tell ya, thats a HUGE one for me haha), and MORE downtime, doing more of what is depicted in the photograph above! Not sure where it all went wrong, and I know its easier said then done but I'm going to try. I'll let you know how it goes! Good luck to you as well. I know I am in good company. Summers almost here and its short in these here parts. Remember you & your self care.

Truly, nobody can do it for ya.

See you on the mat. Namaste xx

Patanjali and his 8 fold path of Yoga

This art of right living was perfected and practiced in India thousands of years ago and the foundations of yoga philosophy were written down in The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, approximately 200 AD. The core of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is an eight-limbed path that forms the structural framework for yoga practice.

In the video below Deepak Chopra gives a very brief description of the 8 limbs.

The 8 limbs are:

Yama : Universal morality

Niyama : Personal observances

Asanas : Body postures

Pranayama : Breathing exercises, and control of prana

Pratyahara : Control of the senses

Dharana : Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness

Dhyana : Devotion, Meditation on the Divine

Samadhi : Union with the Divine