Christmas is nearly here!! Are you feeling a little overwhelmed. Have no fear! YOGA is here!

Christmas is nearly here!! Three more days...are you feeling a little overwhelmed.  Have no fear YOGA is here. 

In this busy time it is good to take a few minutes to yourself to restore, rejuvenate and realign! Here are three step to step poses to help you relax before you get back to the busy bustle. 

Yes, it's the holidays but that doesn't mean you can't make a little time just for you. Even Santa does yoga...he's on a new fitness rasheme :P

Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose

Step by Step

1.     Before performing the pose, determine two things about your support: its height and its distance from the wall. If you're stiffer, the support should be lower and placed farther from the wall; if you're more flexible, use a higher support that is closer to the wall. Your distance from the wall also depends on your height: if you're shorter move closer to the wall, if taller move farther from the wall. Experiment with the position of your support until you find the placement that works for you.

2.     Start with your support about 5 to 6 inches away from the wall. Sit sideways on right end of the support, with your right side against the wall (left-handers can substitute "left" for "right" in these instructions). Exhale and, with one smooth movement, swing your legs up onto the wall and your shoulders and head lightly down onto the floor. The first few times you do this, you may ignominiously slide off the support and plop down with your buttocks on the floor. Don't get discouraged. Try lowering the support and/or moving it slightly further off the wall until you gain some facility with this movement, then move back closer to the wall.

3.     Your sitting bones don't need to be right against the wall, but they should be "dripping" down into the space between the support and the wall. Check that the front of your torso gently arches from the pubis to the top of the shoulders. If the front of your torso seems flat, then you've probably slipped a bit off the support. Bend your knees, press your feet into the wall and lift your pelvis off the support a few inches, tuck the support a little higher up under your pelvis, then lower your pelvis onto the support again.

4.     Lift and release the base of your skull away from the back of your neck and soften your throat. Don't push your chin against your sternum; instead let your sternum lift toward the chin. Take a small roll (made from a towel for example) under your neck if the cervical spine feels flat. Open your shoulder blades away from the spine and release your hands and arms out to your sides, palms up.

5.     Keep your legs relatively firm, just enough to hold them vertically in place. Release the heads of the thigh bones and the weight of your belly deeply into your torso, toward the back of the pelvis. Soften your eyes and turn them down to look into your heart.

6.     Stay in this pose anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes. Be sure not to twist off the support when coming out. Instead, slide off the support onto the floor before turning to the side. You can also bend your knees and push your feet against the wall to lift your pelvis off the support. Then slide the support to one side, lower your pelvis to the floor, and turn to the side. Stay on your side for a few breaths, and come up to sitting with an exhalation. 

Benefits

• Relieves tired or cramped legs and feet
• Gently stretches the back legs, front torso, and the back of the neck
• Relieves mild backache
• Calms the mind

Glute Stretch and Half Lotus Yoga Pose Using a Wall

You've probably seen or done the runners stretch or glute stretch when you have one ankle on the opposite knee and then you pull the knee towards you. Using a wall you can do a more relaxed version of that stretch.

Step by Step

1.     Place one ankle over the other knee then gradually move the supporting leg foot down the wall to increase the stretch. 

2.     Use a hand on the knee with the elbow on the floor to increase the stretch.

3.     From here a possible progression is lotus pose with one leg. 

4.     To get a foot into lotus you may find it helpful to press your legs against the wall to help lift your hips. 

5.     Then bend one knee and gently move pull it so that the blade of the foot is as close as possible to the opposite hip crease. 

6.     If your pelvis is still lifted, relax the other leg so that your hips sink down to the floor. 

7.     You can keep the non-lotus leg straight, or gradually bend it to better "seat" the lotus leg foot.

Benefits

• Calms the brain
• Stimulates the pelvis, spine, abdomen, and bladder
• Stretches the ankles and knees
• Eases menstrual discomfort and sciatica
• Opens deep into the hip flexor
• Traditional texts say that Padmasana destroys all disease and awakens kundalini.

 Butterfly Yoga Pose Using a Wall (Baddha Konasana)

You can do butterfly yoga pose sitting upright against a wall. But in this instance you can also do it while laying on your back with your feet on the wall. 


You can then use your hands to help press your knees towards the wall.

Butterfly pose stretches the inner thighs in a slightly different way that wide legged splits. 

Step by Step

Bring your feet together and let your heels come as low as they can, and allow the knees to go as wide as they can. 

Place your hands where you feel most comfortable: either place them over your heart, your belly (or one hand over each), or let your arms fall to the sides. 

Wait here for as long as your intuition suggests.

Breath, allow a few sighs to slip out, and be present.

Benefits

·       A good stretch for the inner thighs, groins and knees, improving flexibility in the groin and hip region

·       Helps in intestine and bowel movement

·       Removes fatigue from legs

·       Offers relief from bowel discomfort 

Happy Holidays everyone! Keep practising, "Live your pose".

Enjoy! Namaste

It's live!

It's live :) Check out

http://www.gatheryoga.com/grow/this-december-celebrate-your-own-magnificence/#.UpzR740RnC6\

if you didn't get a chance to read Nov's here is the link to that one as well :)

http://www.gatheryoga.com/grow/new-november/#.UpzR_o0RnC5

Four Questions check list

Happy December world! Last month of this year. Lets take some time to look back on all that we have done with a sense of gratitude! I read tonight about the exercise we can all do together to help us look back but as plan for ahead. In moments of worry, fears or anger on certain thoughts (which will OF COURSE be a part of this reflection) turn those feels around by asking these

Four Questions about that thought:

1. Is it true?
2. Can you absolutely know that it's true?
3. How do you react when you think that thought?
4. Who would you be without the thought?

You may feel as you ask yourself these questions (especially the first one) that you already know the answer. The key to experiencing "The Work", the change the pivot in your perceptive is to go beyond the quick answers of the intellect and tap into a deeper wisdom. Ask, then be still and wait for an inner voice to respond. With practice, this will become easier. You will learn to rely on yourself—not the world—to see what's true for you.

Let's try it together :) For further info go to http://maureenandzelle.com/lovingwhatis.htm

Opening those Shoulders Shoulders Shoulders :)

Today I am wearing all my hats. My foodie cook book hat, my pro photographer hat, my yoga hat and my urban house laundry lady hat :P It's the start of the week and after the weekend of birthday celebrations with my mom, it's all gotta be done. 

So I am working this Monday  day and evening on my  gluten * sugar *  soy * animal free = a guilt free vegan book of awesome yummines. I am sending out photos for photo clients for their holiday stuff. I am putting together photos from past shoots  for the Four Seasons website in Nevis.  I am making a promise to get to that huge pile of laundry (though it is looking doubtful) and  despite my hot yoga class this afternoon at the beautiful Hudson yoga studio in Victoria, my shoulders are tried and sore from all this. Computer work is a killer for shoulders! I even work on a ball chair but still I feel my shoulder tighten

So time I thought to talk about some great shoulder openers to share with you for moments just like this. 

Lets get to it :) Lets start off in my "go to" pose for waking up the spine before I start any yoga session with my clients. It is called the Cat Cow sequence. Cat Cow is great for opening up your shoulders and upper back!

So here are the steps: 

 

1-Begin in Table Top, hips over knees, shoulders over wrists.
2-As you take an inhalation, roll your upper back and press it upwards towards the ceiling, keeping your shoulders and wrists, and your knees and hips, aligned with each other. Feel a release in your upper back. This is Cat.
3-When you exhale, bring your upper back down and raise your glutes to the ceiling, creating the exact opposite shape in your torso as you did in Step 2. This is Cow
4-Repeat this cycling of Cat Cow with your inhalations and exhalations for five to seven breaths.
5-When you are finished, sit your glutes back onto your heels into Child Pose, extending your arms forward and pushing your glutes back. Feel a stretch all along your spine and take five deep breaths

I think the name of this pose is too funny but it's a get one for the shoulders too:
Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana):

Let go through it step by step 

1 - Sit in Dandasana (Staff Pose), then bend your knees and put your feet on the floor. Slide your left foot under the right knee to the outside of the right hip. Then cross your right leg over the left, stacking the right knee on top of the left, and bring the right foot to the outside of the left hip. Try to bring the heels equidistant from the hips: with the right leg on top you'll have to tug the right heel in closer to the left hip. Sit evenly on the sitting bones.
2-  Inhale and stretch your right arm straight out to the right, parallel to the floor. Rotate your arm inwardly; the thumb will turn first toward the floor, then point toward the wall behind you, with the palm facing the ceiling. This movement will roll your right shoulder slightly up and forward, and round your upper back. With a full exhalation, sweep the arm behind your torso and tuck the forearm in the hollow of your lower back, parallel to your waist, with the right elbow against the right side of your torso. Roll the shoulder back and down, then work the forearm up your back until it is parallel to your spine. The back of your hand will be between your shoulder blades. See that your right elbow doesn't slip away from the right side of your torso.
3-  Now inhale and stretch your left arm straight forward, pointing toward the opposite wall, parallel to the floor. Turn the palm up and, with another inhalation, stretch the arm straight up toward the ceiling, palm turned back. Lift actively through your left arm, then with an exhalation, bend the elbow and reach down for the right hand. If possible, hook the right and left fingers. 4 - Lift the left elbow toward the ceiling and, from the back armpit, descend the right elbow toward the floor. Firm your shoulder blades against your back ribs and lift your chest. Try to keep the left arm right beside the left side of your head.
5- Stay in this pose about 1 minute. Release the arms, uncross the legs, and repeat with the arms and legs reversed for the same length of time. Remember that whichever leg is on top, the same-side arm is lower.

Moving right along, another really great one is Big Toe Pose and don't worry I can never  say it right in Sanskrit either "Padangusthasana"

(both images are right -it just depends on your range of motion - listen to your body)

This is how we do that one

1- Stand upright with your inner feet parallel and about six inches apart. Contract your front thigh muscles to lift your kneecaps. Keeping your legs completely straight, exhale and bend forward from your hip joints, moving your torso and head as one unit. 2- Slide the index and middle fingers of each hand between the big toes and the second toes. Then curl those fingers under and grip the big toes firmly, wrapping the thumbs around the other two fingers to secure the wrap. Press your toes down against your fingers. (If you can't reach your toes without overly rounding your back, pass a strap under the ball of each foot and hold the straps.)
3- With an inhalation, lift your torso as if you were going to stand up again, straightening your elbows. Lengthen your front torso, and on the next exhale, lift your sitting bones. Depending on your flexibility, your lower back will hollow to a greater or lesser degree. As you do this, release your hamstrings and hollow your lower belly (below your navel) as well, lightly lifting it toward the back of your pelvis.
4-  Lift the top of your sternum as high as you can, but take care not to lift your head so far that you compress the back of your neck. Keep your forehead relaxed.
5- For the next few inhalations, lift your torso strongly as you continue to actively contract your front thighs; on each successive exhalation, strongly lift your sitting bones as you consciously relax your hamstrings. As you do this, deepen the hollow in your lower back.
6- Finally exhale, bend your elbows out to the sides, pull up on your toes, lengthen the front and sides of your torso, and gently lower into the forward bend.
7 - If you have very long hamstrings, you can draw your forehead toward your shins. But if your hamstrings are short, it's better to focus on keeping the front torso long. Hunching into a forward bend isn't safe for your lower back and does nothing to lengthen your hamstrings.
8-  Hold the final position for one minute. Then release your toes, bring your hands to your hips, and re-lengthen your front torso. With an inhale, swing your torso and head as a single unit back to upright..

Ahh...now that is feeling better...oh I wish there was a yoga pose for getting the laundry folded and put away :P

Have a restful night.

Enjoy! Namaste

It's UP! Come see me for whatever service best suites you! Yoga YOU!

It's UP! Come see me for whatever service best suites you! Yoga YOU! Click to the link.

http://www.atlashealththerapy.com/service/private-yoga/

This is my new location here in Victoria BC Canada. The AMAZING Atlas Health Therapy Centre. Here is what my service page on their website says:

The physical practices of stretching, breathing, and deep relaxation bring about a natural balance of body and mind and help to sustain and enrich the quality of your life at any age.
Each yoga session is lead by Tara Leigh, a direct student of Allaine Stricklen, (creator of Gentle Therapeutics Yoga), who uses this style to help you prefect the alignment of your postures.  Sessions include hands-on passive stretching, massage, and muscle manipulation of particular areas to enhance muscle length and improve circulation.
Because your session are customized specifically for you, a thorough assessment of your body alignment and function will take place on your initial visit. Your personalized program will take into account your history of injuries, your physical condition, and your personal goals. From there we will develop a yoga routine and a program that can be maintained at home.
Clients experience a multitude of benefits including:

• Strengthened core stability and overall body tone
• Postural alignment and reduction
• Improved flexibility
• Enhanced mind/body awareness
• Decreased pain caused by muscular imbalance and injury
• Improved body chemistry
• Increased focus and relaxation

Unique Yoga Classes Offered by Tara Leigh

See Tara to Restore, Rejuvenate, and Realign!

Yoga You means my focus is on exactly that, YOU. While my I am certified in a number of different yoga styles, my focus at  Atlas Health Therapy Wellness Certer is on you. 

Gentle Therapeutics Yoga is a method utilizing props to restore the body’s balance and vitality. It is a life enhancing practice and is appropriate for anyone at any age or stage of life and in any physical condition. Whether you want to become super powerful, increase your strength/ range of motion, improve your body image and health or keep fit while you are recovering from an injury or you want to maintain physical health while you are pregnant: I am there for you making our yoga and training adaptable “for anybody and any body”.  Your body.

Gentle Therapeutics Yoga is for emotional healing, it is yoga with a whole slue of benefits.  It is the practice of entering into Yoga postures using an assortment of props: blankets, bolsters, blocks, straps, walls, chairs, eye pillows etc. Supported and stabilized by various props, one experiences the Yoga postures as profoundly relaxing and deeply rejuvenating, invoking a natural state of healing rest, renewal and equanimity. Supported and passive Yoga postures allow the body to naturally release, letting go of held tension and stress. The results are a balanced state of being from inside out.

Restorative/Gentle Therapeutics Yoga.

Pre-Natal Yoga is offered on a request basis to clients. These unique classes offer a carefully selected series of asanas (postures) and breathing techniques to restore balance and vitality while deepening your awareness of pregnancy. Concentration and relaxation techniques assist in preparing for and providing relief during labor and birth. Pre-Natal Yoga also helps relieves physical and emotional discomforts associated with pregnancy including, back pain, heartburn, constipation, swelling, sleepiness, depression and anxiety.

Post-Natal Yoga: Mom’s & Babies Yoga. Deepen the experience of bonding with your baby by continuing yoga practice in the moms and babies class. In these baby-friendly classes, we focus on postures that help restore alignment and tone, and provide relief from lifting, carrying, and nursing. The Postnatal class is a supportive class for new moms and babies three weeks old to crawling to little one stretching with mom!

Little Yogi Classes. Yoga is amazing and fun for children of all ages! According to the Yoga Journal: Children derive enormous benefits from yoga. Physically, it enhances their flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness. In addition, their concentration and sense of calmness and relaxation improves. Doing yoga, children exercise, play, connect more deeply with the inner self, and develop an intimate relationship with the natural world that surrounds them. Yoga brings that marvelous inner light that all children have to the surface.

Power Yoga. Are you looking to build strength one on one with me. Are you wanting to find that fantastic inner power? Do you want more energy? Do you want to transform your body in ways you never thought possible before without the risk of injuries that often other conventional boot camp high impact fitness classes can cause? Then POWER it up with me. I was certified in Miami by rock hard yogi bodies focusing on strength training through correct posture and alignment.  In this practice we move quickly: Power Yoga is definitely an intense workout. Prepare to work hard and work up a sweat! In Power Yoga, you lift and hold your entire body’s weight constantly. These classes incorporate a serious number of Vinyasas, and they’re definitely going to get your entire body into gear. For one, your arms will definitely feel the burn from all those Chaturangas! It makes you feel energized:  Power Yoga classes always leave you feeling calm but with an extra little skip in my step!

Couples Yoga. Couples yoga is the perfect to introduce partner yoga into your relationship. Practicing yoga with your significant other helps to bring your relationship into balance. I my couples yoga session I focus on poses that help build companionship, trust, compassion, intimacy, and so much more.  Sharing your yoga practice together, while extra challenging (as well as extra rewarding!) at times, shows a mutual respect for the holistic health and wellness of both yourself and your partner too.  It isn’t difficult, but, it can be challenging of course as any yoga practice can.  That said, as with all yoga practices (individual, partner, class, etc.) you can also go at your own pace, and there are always opportunities to create an individualized practice that will work for you and your partner. The results bring you together in a very special way.

 Partner Yoga. Practicing together with your sister, your cousin, your BFF or even you life partner is FUN ! Traditionally, yoga is seen as an individual practice, but Partner Yoga brings people together through movement, play, breath and touch. It can be practiced by any two people and is a great way to strengthen a relationship by fostering trust and communication. Partners rely on each other’s support to keep correct body alignment, balance and focus in a posture. When you feel physically supported, not only do you experience a yoga posture differently, but you also begin to allow yourself to trust and laugh someone else, and laughter is the most healing thing of all. Partner Yoga is an exhilarating and challenging practice. But don’t just take my word for it-try it for yourself!

3 Victoria Yoga Studio Reviews

Hello happy short four day week in November everyone.  My reviews for this week are up on "Gather" (where you can click to the studio websites and addresses).  www.gatheryoga.com

 Feel free to read my reviews here too :)

 Yoga Studio/ Class reviews

Studio 4:  Sunday mornings 11am Hatha Flow Class.

So, I have been exploring the idea of yoga outside of the traditional yoga studio setting this week, which has brought me to Studio 4 today on a colder Sunday morning  here in Victoria.  The yoga studio in the Studio 4 gym is not what you expect.  Even though the music is pumping and load and the energy is high in the gym of Studio 4, the Yoga studio is upstairs tucked in it’s own corner. You pull back the heave sound proof doors and enter into this beautiful exposed wood and brick hard wood floor studio space complete with floor to ceiling windows looking into the city on one side and mirrors for alignment on the other side.  It is bright and clean.  Today’s class held about eighteen of us with ease.

Our yoga guide for the 75-minute Hatha Flow Class today was Karley.  Her class opens with a meditation and an outline of the theme of the class. Today was twists. Karley’s tone of voice was smooth and soothing guiding us seamlessly through her set of dynamic and passive twist poses such as twisting triangle pose (parivrtta trikona), eagle pose (garudanna) and seated twist (bharadvaja).  The pace of the class was calm but active and by shavasana the energy in the room was that of a great rejuvenating Sunday morning experience.  It is not until you have rolled up your matt and the heavy door is pulled back open that you realize where you are again (met by the music and the world of an active gym).

Karley’s class on Sunday’s is one of many that Studio 4 hosts throughout their week. Located downtown off Government and Yates street, the schedule for yoga classes throughout the week are designed to be flexible not only to the avid yogi but also to the downtown business professional on their lunch breaks or after work to find their place of Zen. If you haven’t checked out Studio 4 for yoga yet, I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

 Fierce Studio:  Thursday evening 5:30-6:30pm Flow Yoga 

 

Fierce Studio is  “Home of Jiu Jitsu, Yoga, & Hit to Fit”. While the studio has a great vibrant staff, enthusiastic for fitness, it is more of a martial art area then a yoga space.  The studio is located at the corner of Fort and Cook Street in Victoria.  The room is a large space with floor to ceiling window that are fully exposed to the outside busy street. Since it is a room used for multiple things it is a little busy with lots of stuff in it and around the edges of the room.

While practicing you do have to get use to the fish bowl effect. Yes, yoga is meant to be a personal practice, but I have to say it is a little distracting with all the car lights flashing in and out of the space as they drive by. You will also catch glazes from people walking past.

The floors are very squishy and padded making holding yoga poses unstable. While these floors are ideal for breaking someone’s fall in a Jui Jitsu class they were not my favorite for practicing yoga on. Nevertheless, our yoga guide, Michelle, was very personable. Managing the hour time well we flowed through Sun salutations A and B in addition to a few other pose sets before shavasana.

Fierce offers at least one yoga class a day; either the flow style or an hour of yoga exploration class. If you an athlete looking for additional stretching I would encourage you try out Fierce. The studio also offers your first class for free, so you have nothing to loose!

Yoga Shala Ashtanga Yoga Studio Saturday Yin Restorative 4:30-5:30 class

 Yoga Shala Ashtanga Yoga Studio is a more traditional yoga studio. “Studio owner and frequent instructor Jennifer Pritchard is authorized by the KPJAYI of Mysore South”.  At the Shala their focus in teaching is on the primary series and traditional practice. Every day the shala hosts a number of classes.

Located in the heart of downtown just two blocks from the mall on Broad Street, the studio is a couple floors up from the street access. Yep, you are going to get your heart rate up before class begins by climbing those stairs. The building is a little older and has that older building Victoria damp smell.  The studio room is small. I would say it would be a struggle to fit more the 18 to 20 students in there at a time maximum but ten fit nicely making for a personal class dynamic.

If you are a punctual on time-focused yogi (like me) I am going to forewarn you that the Yoga Shala will test your patience on this. Instructors are never on time and always seem to be in a busy busily panicked rush when they arrive with one excuse or another for while there are late. Nevertheless, while this may be irritating in the start, if you take a few breaths and allow yourself to experience one of Jennifer’s yin classes you will be in awe. Jennifer combines her yin class with passive poses and the power of her own musical voice to guide you through these long holding poses.  Struggle is released throughout your body feeling the compassion in her voice as you melt into your pose even deeper.

I have been practicing yoga and yin a long time.  While I do have my favorite all time instructors all over this world I have to say there is something magical in Jennifer’s voice and lullaby songs that, when coupled with her yin series , make for a wonderful match.

Yoga Shalla is also often featured on Groupon in Victoria so if you want to try the studio out for a great deal I would suggest looking them up there as well.

A Day For Peace shanti shanti shanti om

So today is Remembrance Day, November 11th. Please,  at some point  today,  take a moment to reflect, to be grateful for all that we are, all that have and all that we can be. Most people ask that today we remember those who have died in these terrible troubles/conflicts we call "war".

Instead, today I am asking that you move through your day in a sense of gratitude for the peace we are so lucky to have in whatever small or large way we connect with it.

Our thoughts are the most powerful thing we can use to create a shift in our behaviours, ideals and patterns. If we think conflict, flight, death and war we attract more of that within ourselves and within our world (even if we do not want it to be). Thoughts attract like thoughts, so I ask you today to think on peace. Join me today in being at peace.

“I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there.” Mother Teresa

Yoga poses for peace:

Lotus position

The lotus position, also known as the cross-legged position, is one of the most well-known poses in yoga and most often performed while meditating. According to Zen Mountain Monastery in New York, the position of the body during meditation often has to do with the function of the mind. When you’re in an open position like the yoga lotus pose, you can open yourself up to meditative thoughts more easily. There are several types of lotus positions, including the full lotus, or Padmasana in Sanskrit, the most stable position which places a foot on each thigh, and the half lotus, or Ardha Padmasana, where one foot rests on a thigh and the other foot is placed under the thigh. Whichever one is most comfortable, that’s the best position for you to find peace of mind.

Standing forward bend

This position is best for those who are flexible and don't mind standing. According to Yoga Journal, you can start forward bend, or Uttanasana, by standing straight with your feet parallel to your hips. Keeping your back straight, bend from the hips until your hamstrings are stretching. If you're flexible, place your palms on the floor on either side of your feet; otherwise, cross your arms with each hand on the opposite elbow. With each exhalation, allow your body to relax deeper into the stretch. With each breath, allow your stress to dissipate and peace to fill your mind.

Corpse pose

According to Yoga Journal, the corpse pose, or Savasana, is one of complete relaxation that can help calm you down as well as relieve mild depression and headaches. To do this pose:

• Begin by sitting on the floor with bent knees and feet on the floor.

• Next, lift your pelvis off the floor, and use your hands to push the pelvis toward the tailbone before coming to rest it on the floor again.

• While breathing in, push through your heels to stretch out both legs. Allow your groin to relax as you make sure your feet are angled out from the spine.

• Now, allow your tailbone and your torso to relax, with your hands behind the back of your head to keep it from lying down with your spine.

• Finally, lay your head down, staying in this position for about five minutes.

Thank you my dear yogis for joining me today in this union of Peace.

shanti shanti shanti om

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XP-f7wPM0A

The Power within Us: Taking it back for ourselves.

It is Thanks Giving weekend coming up here in Canada! & I just realised it has been since EASTER that I have posted here on my blog.  I know I love posting more on my facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/YogaYouwTaraLeigh?hc_location=timeline

But it has been too long since I have taken the time to say "Hello, Sweet friends!" and I am sorry for that.

A lot has happened since my last entry! For one, I live in a completely different part of the world now! Lane took a position as the Executive Sous Chef at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in Victoria BC Canada. This of course means that I had to leave all of my amazing yoga students in Nevis behind (as well as my yoga practice, studios ext). I even sold my yoga mobile that use to take me from clients to locations to other clients so many times daily in Nevis.

Now we live in Victoria, and it is quite a dramatic adjustment. Besides the from the colder climate there is a lot more then I thought there would be to get use to. There are so many great things about being back in Canada! But there are also so many things I miss about my own life and established careers which need to be rebuilt here. The nice thing about a career like Lane's is that he can go from one kitchen to the next no matter where it is in the amazing and vast world and it is pretty much the same in its requirements. This is not the case for an entrepreneur photographer or yoga instructor, let me tell you.

Yesterday, I was meeting with a wellness centre about working with them.  Turns out we are not the ideal fit for each other but I did meet these amazing health and wellness orientated group of people. It was awesome. One of the women I was interacting most with talked to me about a woman's meditation group she was heading to that evening and I thought "how amazing".

Of course in yoga we always talk about the importance of meditation, clearing your mind and focusing. But in truth, focus on what? Trust me - I know it's difficult to figure that out. I always start my yoga classes with a request that we (as a group but for ourselves)  set our own personal intentions for our day. In my move to Canada, in our busy bustle to get here and then to find our place here I have forgotten to take those moments to place myself in a space that it just for me. I have lost how to  find serenity, peace and my path.

I  have come to realise in the last weeks that I have fallen off my path. I have looked outward to the world, my friends and family who live close to here to reconnect me to where I am meant to be.  While I have met love and joy I have also met disappointment, conflict, drama and lack of what I thought I would be a part of.  I react to those negative feeling which only increase their power. In "The Secret" it states in defense we shout "no" at a feeling we do not want we in actuality we are only giving it more power. Thoughts (good or bad) attract like thoughts.  I have been forgetting that all I need is to turn my gaze inward. That is where the true me is. This is where the guide I seek lives.  It is my choice what type of things I feel, no one else.

This woman from the wellness centre and I talked about how we allow this thing we call  "life"  to get in the way of taking time to meditate, to connect to ourselves.  If you think about it - how crazy is that?? How illogical that we can make the time needed to take a shower in the morning before our daily commitments but we can't take 5 minutes to sit quickly, ground ourselves, close our eyes and reflect positively on all that we are, all that we are grateful for in that moment and all the gifts (goals)  we would love to allow ourselves to bring into our realm, our path for that day. How powerful are those five minutes. How much more important are they over anything else we do in our day and yet we prioritise differently. I know I have...and I know this is the last day of my life I ever start again without clarity.

Can you make yourself that promise too? Let's change ourselves and our world around us together. I pledge to all of you and to myself to take 5 mins every morning just to sit in silence and do exactly that we have been talking about. In those five mins I will:

- Reflect on myself and all that I am in a positive and grateful way.

- Reflect on all of those close to me that I am so happy to have a part of my life

- Reflect on my goals and what is really most important to me

- Reflect on any challenges and ask myself: if I give energy to this, am I staying true to the path I want most for my life?

- Sit in silence allowing beauty, awe and love to guide me through and be pass on to others in my day.

My mantra is to "live your pose" and by that I am meaning to say that this life is yours to live as you dream. Take back your power. In the words of Anita Moorjani from her book "Dying to be Me", "life your life fearlessly".

Thank you my dear ones!

Music that may help you set the tone for those 5 mins (it's a little over 5 mins which is perfect for you to have a moment to settle in too) xo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MlYPDOgkH8


Enjoy, Namaste

Perfect day for Rabbit Pose

Happy Easter Monday Everyone - what a great day fro Rabbit Pose!!

Instructions
1)  Begin in a child's yoga position--kneel down and then lower your buttocks to sit on your lower leg and feet. With your arms on the sides, lower your torso on your thighs, as you bring your head down on the floor. From this position, you can start the rabbit pose.

2)  Press your forehead slightly on your knees. Then, extend your arms backward and hold on to the base of your feet. Give your heels a firm hold and then take a deep breath.

3)  Exhale as you gradually lift or elevate your hips. Keep your forehead as close as possible to your knees and the topmost part of your skull (crown of the head) near the floor or mat.
      
4) Contract your abdominal muscles as you hold the pose for 5 to 8 seconds, then relax.

watch me on tv

watch me on tv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yYGFt_rbSo&feature=youtu.be

<3 Tara

WINE, BEER & CLEANING PARTY

Retreat!!! Check it out!

GET RID of your muffin tops - hey look they say power yoga!!

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How to... lose your muffin top

STRIP THE FAT

Muffin tops are made up of excess fat around the abdominal area all the way round your body. Stripping excess fat from your body with cardio exercise is one of the best ways to get rid of it.

Jogging, power walking, cycling, aerobics, swimming - anything that gets your heart rate up and your body moving - will burn fat. Women tap into fat stores for energy much more slowly than men, usually after 40 minutes of exercising, so aim for at least this, but ideally building up to an hour, three times a week. 

WORK OUT LATERALLY

Women often exercise the muscles of the front of the body, backs of the legs and abs by jogging, squats, lunges and crunches, but neglect the sides and the back. Having conditioned muscles all the way round will greatly decrease the muffin appearance. Try raising your legs to the side and galloping side-to-side on your usual walk or jog.

For the less fit, you can get a fantastic workout in water by holding on to the side of the pool and kicking out behind you. Add twists or scissor kicks to tone hips. For best results do a few lengths, then a couple of minutes of exercises and repeat as much as you can. 

TAKE UP POWER YOGA

This is arguably the best way to get rid of excess bulge around the middle, with its yoga warrior and chaturanga combinations, punch work across the body and movements that involve twisting and moving side-to-side. The fact that it is high intensity, and includes balancing and core work with pretty much every sort of movement, means you really can't beat this as a muffin-top-blasting workout. 

CONSUME FEWER TOXINS

As a survival mechanism, our bodies try to protect us and keep toxins away from our vital organs by wrapping water, fat and cholesterol around them. This is then stored, particularly around our middle and hips. Toxins include processed foods, caffeine, alcohol, too many animal products or acidic foods, pollution, sugar and smoking.

Eat a low-sugar diet rich in vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains and drink two litres of water a day to help flush out toxins. Regular baths with Epsom salts will also help expel them and reduce excess water retention (£2.15 per 1kg pack at www.justasoap.co.uk). This is popular with celebs who want to keep their waists and hips as streamlined as possible. 

EAT MORE ESSENTIAL FATS

Our bodies need fat for energy, to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, to give us shiny hair and nails, and to transport nutrients around the body. Perversely, not eating enough fat can stop our fat cells functioning properly.

Debra Waterhouse, author of Outsmarting Female Fat Cells, believes that including around 70g of 'good fat' in our diets each day makes our cells work more efficiently, releasing stored fats to burn as energy. 

EAT LESS SUGAR

Excess calories are converted and stored as fat and this includes low-fat

foods, sugary foods and alcohol. Even though there is no fat in wine, there are the same amount of calories in a bottle of white wine as four fishfingers. A latte or glass of orange juice (containing around 200 calories each) a day adds up to around 1,000 calories over a working week. 

To lose 1lb of fat, you need to burn off 2,500 calories, so cutting out excess calories will decrease the flab. By eating slow-releasing (low GI) carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, oats and basmati rice with low-sugar foods such as nuts, fish and green vegetables, you will also help stabilise blood sugar levels.

AVOID STRESS

Cortisol, the hormone released in response to stress, encourages the body to release blood sugar into the bloodstream to give us energy for the 'fight or flight' response. If we use this energy to get away from a physical danger, there is little chance for this sugar to be stored as fat, but if it is released repeatedly through stress, the increased blood sugar will be ultimately stored as fat.

The female hormone oestrogen causes fat to be stored around the pelvic region anyway, so getting stressed makes matters worse. Try to stay calm - a few drops of lavender oil in your bath or a cup of camomile tea should help. 

IMPROVE POSTURE

Having strong core muscles (which include the abdominal, back and hip area) will not only help the muffin-top area look better because the muscles will be more defined, but by having stronger, well used muscles, the circulation will improve in this area, too. This, in turn, improves blood and oxygen supply to the cells, which will improve rejuvenation and help expel toxins.

Yoga and Pilates will help, but basic correct posture is even more important. This means sitting or standing tall, and pulling inwards and upwards by tensing your core muscles (stomach, lower back and hips) throughout the day. Over time, using these 'core muscles' regularly will work wonders. 

BRUSHING AND SCRUBBING 

Brushing and scrubbing your muffin top with a good exfoliator and gentle massage (as you would around celluliteladen bums and legs) will also help stimulate cells and improve circulation, getting nutrients in and toxins out. Next time you are in the shower, scrub as vigorously as you can for at least five minutes.