What would you like more of?

In the new year I plan on adding what has somehow gotten lost from my life through much of this year to crappy stuff like family stresses and paperwork etc... 

It's Nature. There will be much more nature. 

ahhh...earth chi

LOVE this woman.

While not big on New Years Resolutions I am big on changing things that aren't working for me and I currently have some of those "things" going on in my life, and I am pondering the future.

I just read this on Facebook. Here is my Facebook Page if you'd like to be on it.
Such wisdom from Pema Chodron below:

 LEAVING THE NEST

All too frequently we relate like timid birds who don't dare to leave the nest. Here we sit in a nest that's getting pretty smelly and that hasn't served its function for a very long time. No one is arriving to feed us. No one is protecting us and keeping us warm. And yet we keep hoping mother bird will arrive.

We could do ourselves the ultimate favor and finally get out of that nest. That this takes courage is obvious. That we could use some helpful hints is also clear. We may doubt that we're up to being a warrior-in-training. But we can ask ourselves this question: "Do I prefer to grow up and relate to life directly, or do I choose to live and die in fear?"
Excerpted from "The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times", page 7.Heart Advice weekly quotes from Pema Chodron, courtesy of Shambhala Publications.

This is a great quote. And throw some yoga into the mix and you've got it made!

Being in control of your life and having realistic expectations about your day-to-day challenges are the keys to stress management, which is perhaps the most important ingredient to living a happy, healthy and rewarding life. 
Marilu Henner

Greet everyone you meet with a warm smile.

No matter how busy you are, 
don't rush enounters with co-workers, family and friends.
Speak softly. Listen attentively. 
Act as if every conversation you have 
is the most important thing on your mind today.
 Look your children and your partner in the eyes when they talk to you.
 Stroke the cat, caress the dog.
 Lavish love on every living being you meet. 
See how different you feel at the end of the day.

 ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach 



A sweet student of mine had an article published and she is a really great writer.

The article is by By Lisa Marie Sterr and it's on Page 7 of the Fall issue of the Networker

Lisa Marie is really talented and lovely and open and honest and I cherish our relationship very much. We go way back have shared many a yoga class together. She inspires me. She wrote this one evening after a yoga class with me and I am glad she shared it with me. I can certainly relate in a huge way to much of what she says. 

It’s nice that yoga is always there for us through challenging times AND happy times. *All we have to do it show up. 

It isn't always easy, but we always feel better for it on every level. That’s the promise of yoga.

Here it is: Sometimes help comes from the most unexpected places. I’ve been feeling so tormented lately; full of raw emotions. About an hour before leaving for my yoga class, I have the most intense cry. I am so sad. Yet somehow I manage to eat, put on my yoga clothes, and head out the door.

Entering the classroom, I notice the soft lighting. My yoga teacher says hi to me by name, and I feel like she’s happy to see me. I settle on a mat. As the class begins, I focus on breathing. Still, it is a struggle to stay present, since I’ve been floating away from my body so much lately. I tell myself it will be a victory if I can have even moments of being grounded.

In the quiet room, all I can hear is my teacher’s voice, the yoga music and the sound of people breathing. Everything else falls away. I focus on my body and on following the poses. My neglected body, so alienated and uninhabited, is now moving and stretching. I feel it freeze, as it has been doing so often lately. I take a moment to notice it, then start moving again.

In the “downward dog” pose, I push all my tension, all my feelings of being trapped, into my arms. In “warrior,” I stand tall and feel my feet rooting down. My vision sharpens and I am present in the room, for the first time in weeks. I twist and bend, feeling the rawness in my joints, the heat rushing through my body.

And then the reward: relaxation.

I relax into my teacher’s voice – a pleasant melody soothing all the discordant notes inside me; into the supports under my head and knees and the cushioning of the yoga mat beneath me. The floor is smooth and cool under my hands. It is safe here. For the first time in weeks, I can rest.

Fluid, juicy sensations float through me as I leave the class. I’m melty, like the most exquisite piece of chocolate, and also warm and tingly, like feeling really close to someone. My body has been craving this sooth- ing – which I found, not in a bag of cookies or in my therapy group, but at yoga. I found it inside my body, where I’ve been feeling so much torment. I don’t know how long it will last; the anguish may come flooding back tomorrow. But for now I revel, and rest, in the relief.

My classes will be subbed from Tues July 31-Thurs Aug 9th

 *Yin Yoga UPDATE- yin students will be called and refunded for the two classes missed after all. take care friends!
Hi friends!

I suddenly have to split town for a family emergency and all my classes will be running with subs. 

All but Yin Yoga. Yin Yoga Thurs Aug 2 &  9 is CANCELLED.

I can A) make it up to ya

or B) You can get the class refunded.

Can't always plan for the family sadnesss.

I'll be missing my little yoga family which is YOU!

See you again soon.

And P.S. There is no Yoga on BC Day, Monday Aug 6 anyways.

Have a great long weekend.

Any other questions please feel free to email me at yoginilori@gmail.com anytime

OR I'm always around on both my Facebook Pages regardless of what city I am in so you can always find me there! (links on the right hand column of this page).

**Be sure to continue to register for the classes/sessions of your choice! Looking forward to catching up right where we left off, the week after next! ** 

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has been so supportive throughout this very difficult time. You all know who you are and you all mean the world. 

We really are all dependent on each other

This video is only a couple of minutes long and really is a must see. sigh.. such beauty and magnificence captured on film. Love the bats!

I know I've been a lazy blogger these past weeks...

posting lots of you tube video's and quotes and not much more but...here's another one! haha! I couldn't resist. A huge thank you to a long time student of mine I cherish beyond words Carol for bringing this video to my attention. I thought I'd share too. Miracles happen in yoga class every single day and yoga really is for e-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y. It's all in finding the right class and practice for "you". Us yoga teachers get to see students blossom  in every single class, and thats what keeps us doing what we do (it sure isn't the money)! 


It's better than money. So much better than money. The only thing this video is missing is a scan of the guys brain. I'd love to see it. Weight loss completely aside, this guy got his life back. Yoga is self care in the highest sense of the word. Send yourself and the people you love to yoga. There's no reason to wait. 

they're always there

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.

I've been at births and I have had a loved one die in my arms and...

Finally someone else speaks of the correlation between birth and death. I have never been to a birth that hasn't reminded me of that moment when my grandma took her last breath in my arms. Its not morbid or sad in anyway. It is real life and is something that we will all face both at the beginning and end of our lives. 
Thank you Dancing Star Birth for posting this video on your Facebook Page today. Poignant and touching, this video chronicles the last days of the life of a man named Lord Gould. He says that when you really know you are about to die "Life screams at you in its intensity". Let us not be afraid to die or afraid to live while we are here. Namaste friends.  

I love Parabola magazine

Have you ever wondered why the Buddha offered Four Noble Truths? Why not just Two—Suffering and the Way Out? Better yet, why not skip straight to the point: The 8-fold Path out of Suffering? Did the Awakened One stretch out the explanation because he lived in a leisurely, pre-literate culture and didn’t have access to the many examples of Steps to A-New-You that abound on the internet and bestseller lists?
No, the Buddha knew that liberation takes place in the wild and woolly space between the recognition of suffering (in one of its infinite guises, even mild boredom at our unrelieved success) and our conscious awareness of stepping on a clearly defined path. Awakening—or the movement towards awakening—takes place in those times when the bubble of ego is popped and you are in pieces and overwhelmed. The work of awakening takes place in that wild interval of not knowing.
“Those times, when you absolutely cannot get it back together, are the most rich and powerful times in our lives,” teaches contemporary Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön. In such moments we look at life and ourselves in a kind of detached wonderment--and sometimes we are met by another kind of awareness that seems to take mercy on us—a free attention from another level. It can feel as if we are being seen and embraced by a higher consciousness that is there all the time (inside and outside) only we are too caught up in our little world to notice. Madame de Salzmann called it a “look from above.” At certain moments, we are joined by this attention in our efforts.
In the “Burning World” issue of Parabola, Rafe Martin retells “The Brave Little Parrot,” a traditional Buddhist Jataka tale—or past life story of the Buddha. Here is my retelling of his retelling: A little grey parrot lived in a green forest. One day a storm sparked a fire that set the forest ablaze. The little parrot reacted in the usual way, flying away to safety. Yet because of her past efforts and many other factors in her conditioning, she couldn’t forget the sight of the trees and animals that couldn’t escape. When she reached a river where many of the other animals were huddling, she didn’t fly on to safety. She dipped her wings in water and flew back to the burning forest to shake a few drops on the blaze. The other animals thought her effort was ridiculous, pathetic—such a tiny effort against such an out-of-control fire. But she flew back again and again. Finally, her brave effort attracted the gaze of a god—who wept at her sincerity (or in other versions banged clouds together and made it rain). With this special help from above, the fire is put out.
At certain moments in life, we cannot deny our suffering. At certain moments we see all the way down to root of it—that we are limited and usually in ignorance of the forest in which we dwell. We spend our time and efforts desperately wanting things to be other than they are, blind to immense fact of our conditioning—we live in an inextricable web of causes and conditions, just like that parrot in the forest. Yet sometimes, instead of trying to fly away and relieve our suffering as quickly as possible—we dip our wings in the living water of understanding. We turn back and bring the cool water of understanding to our situation. And sometimes making the brave effort to be in the fire—to see and feel the heat of our situation-- attracts help from above. It might even attract help from below—or transform the way we look at our lives.
“If you are working inwardly, Nature will help you,” taught G.I. Gurdjieff. “For the man who is working, Nature is a sister of charity; she brings him what he has need of for his work.” From the perspective of awakening, a forest fire is not a calamity but a crisis that brings the ultimate healing, liberation from suffering.

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,
no matter how long,
but only by a spiritual journey,
a journey of one inch,
very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet,
and learn to be at home.
―Wendell Berry: "A Spiritual Journey"

Whatever inspiration is, it's born from a continuous "I don't know."
―Wisława Szymborska from her Nobel Lecture: "The Poet and the World," 1996


Parabola magazine www.parabloa.org 

Ever practice Tonglen meditation? I often do. Especially lately. It's powerful stuff..

Changing pain to compassion.

We really need to listen to each other. Even the boring bits.

What a brilliant talk this is. I love technology and am as hooked as the next person (maybe even more!) but I am also really glad I know how to have a conversation. For lot's of reasons I am really glad I wasn't a child growing up in this computer age. What she says is so true. "It's when we stumble, hesitate, or lose our words that we reveal ourselves to each other" I love that line.

Your mind is like a living room.

Sometimes guests arrive and sit down. Sometimes you realize that you don’t like them, that you don’t enjoy their company. Eventually they leave. And you vow to be more careful about the people you invite. Learning whom to invite is an art. —Thich Nhat Hanh

Loving kindness. Community. Practice.

"It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community, a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the earth." --Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist now based in France.

Is pain a part of your life? It can help to understand it. This vid is 5 minutes long. And remember to keep breathing.

Changing our relationship to pain.

Oh..I have the most exciting weekends haha.

I took a test this weekend that I didn't have to study for. One that apparently only 32% of Canadians take. The test is for people over 50 (generally), and although I'm not there yet age-wise I have had food sensitivities and some stomach issues (and even colonoscopies) so they thought I might as well take this test a little early.

I'm not worried about the results. And I don't want you to worry!

Its just that this test is soooo easy it's ridiculous and according to The Canadian Cancer Society 8,900 Canadians will die this year from colorectal cancer and 22,000 more will be diagnosed while only 32% of people over 50 take this test!

I'm here to tell you how easy it is after doing it. It was literally nothing. (and don't worry, you don't have to handle anybody else's poop!) It literally takes 5 minutes and is completely painless in every regard. You just take a "teeny tiny sample" and put it on a slide and voila! Its done. Drop it in the mail or take it to your Doctors office (depending on whether your Doc wants it directly etc.)

And lets face it..We all love somebody over the age of 50. AND we live in Canada so its available to all of us, so there's no reason to not take this test.

Caught early enough the survival rates are better than some cancers, such as lung cancer, according to the CCS.

I ♥ Thich Nhat Hanh. We don't want to miss our life.

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

See these kids? I know them all as well as their incredible parents.

They are all some of the bravest and coolest (and most fun) people I know! They are local brain tumour fighter/survivors and their parents and I am really fond of each and every one of them (and they are all doing well right now too I am happy to add).

The are part of an program I love called BrainWAVE. BrainWAVE is a support program for families with a child (19 years old or younger) with a brain tumour and it is comprised of four separate but related components: events, parent support, information sharing and education. If you are looking for a way to provide fun and support for your child and family as you face the journey with a pediatric brain tumour, consider joining BrainWAVE.

Several times a year, BrainWAVE families have the opportunity to meet and relax through fun activities such as trips to sports events, historical sites and other family attractions. These FREE events give all members of the immediate family a welcome break from treatments and doctors' visits. Our next event is March 4 and I can't wait!

For more information on BrainWAVE and Brain Tumour Foundation click the links. If you have been affected by a brain tumour you are NEVER alone and there is ALWAYS hope and Brain Tumour Foundation is a wonderful resource with Education days, Support and Loads of information whether you are a child or an adult, have a brain tumour, or love somebody with one.

The 2012 Spring Sprint is coming up as well on May 27 click here for more info on that. Its a wonderful time for everybody. Namaste.