One of the strongest medicines available (no Rx required!) is right under your nose...

Just breathe!

Tis the season to do YOGA!

While some people are still cursing the holiday decor that has been on store shelves since Halloween & the Christmas carols playing overhead in said stores, MY Christmas spirit kicked in, full throttle, over the  Thanksgiving holiday. It may have had a little something to do with all my aunts, uncles, & cousins driving in from all corners of the country to celebrate Tofurkey day (& my fiance & I's engagement!) together in Pennsylvania. All the festivity & happiness packed into that one weekend would be sure to get any scrooge into the holiday spirit! Fortunately (or unfortunately for the bah-hum-bug people), that joy has overflowed into the playlist for my Yoga class this afternoon at a local Catholic high school:

Moola Prayer -- Sudha, Maneesh De Moor

M3 Mantra Remix -- Mark Bell

Carol of the Bells -- The Bird & The Bee

The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act 2: (Dance of the Reed Pipes) -- Kirov Orchestra & Valery Gergiev

Amazing -- One Eskimo

Moment of Surrender -- U2

One Love/People Get Ready -- Bob Marley & The Wailers

O Holy Night -- Musiq Soulchild

Peace on Earth -- U2

Ganapati -- Girish

Across the Universe -- The Beatles

Silent Night -- Sarah McLachlan

*Being mindful of the fact that you never want to offend, disrespect or alienate anyone in your classes, this playlist, understandably, may not be appropriate for all classes (especially those at larger studios or fitness centers with students of multiple religious backgrounds) but..I'm hosting an after school class for teachers at a Catholic school so, I think I'm safe.

Happy Holidays! 

"In most cases, our so-called limitations are nothing more than our own decision to limit ourselves." ~Daisaku Ikeda

Do Yoga, Do Good

"Love everyone, serve everyone, remember God" -- Neem Karoli Baba

If a 90 year old can do it...what's your excuse?!

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Hellllo! I'm back! Part One...

Wow! It's been ages since my last post! What a lame blogger I've turned out to be! In my defense, there was a lot of good Yoga to partake in over the past few months & I was just trying to soak it all in. So to fill everyone in, here's a quick run-down of the amazing Yoga experiences I've been fortunate enough to participate in & learn from since March.

Meet the Innovators weekend workshop with David Life & Sharon Gannon, founders of Jivamukti Yoga in Washington, D.C. (March 27-28th, 2010)
I attended this workshop with another instructor from Lifesource Yoga & I think I can safely speak for both of us when I say that this workshop was a monumental, life changing experience. Just FYI...David Life & Sharon Gannon are living Yoga legends so, on the 6 hour drive to D.C., Deirdre & I sounded like teenagers unsettled by our raging hormones going to meet our heartthrob.  We wondered what they'd wear, if they'd live up to their fame or be caught up in it, if they were truly still in love with one another, if they'd really interact with us, & OMG what if they touched us?! Honestly, we were like little kids!

I am ecstatic to report that David & Sharon superseded our expectations. They are truly divine beings. The love, peace, humility & complete lack of judgement that radiates out of them is almost too much to bear. Both D & I were in total awe of them, captivated by them, yet both found it difficult to look directly at them. Ironically, these two Yogis with all the success & clout they have, were the MOST hands on of any of the other Yogis I've attended workshops with. Both worked the room the entire time & personally made adjustments to each student. I saw David Life get down next to a student & walk her step-by-step through Sirasana (supported head stand). Not only did he instruct her step-by-step through the pose, but he stayed there with her until she got it. D & I also received several assists throughout the weekend from each of them. This might not really seem like a big deal, but it is! Having David & Sharon offer you an assist or adjustment would be the equivalent of having Bono sit down to help you right a song & oversee the development of the song until it was ready to go the record compay & become a hit. Ok, I feel like I'm slipping into star struck teenager mode again so, on a more significant, meaningful level what I took away from their teachings & being in their presence was:

• No matter what you do, whether it's practicing your asanas to grocery shopping to listening to a friend sharing the details of a trying situation they're going through -- do it with intention.
• The only way that we can find true happiness & peace for ourselves is to wish for others to have true peace & happiness in their lives & make sure that our words & actions contribute to the peace & happiness of other beings. It's the simple law of Karma; what we put out into the universe (whether it be thoughts, words, actions) will come back to us.
• Non-judgement. Not judging ourselves, nor others; you never know what another person could possibly be going through & yet without taking a second to consider this, we'll easily pass judgement on another person. We also fail to give ourselves enough credit & instead criticize, compare, & judge ourselves to others. It might be a lifelong endeavor but...try to cultivate as much empathy in yourself for others AND for yourself as possible.

I've just realized that if I listed out all other workshops/teaching experiences I've had the pleasure to be a part of after this particular one, this would be an overwhelming mega, mega blog post. I will instead create a different post for each workshop/teacher training I've been through. Thank you for reading Part One! I'll be posting again soon....PROMISE! I have so much Yoga goodness to share.

Peace & Love,
G

Tips of the Trade: Preparing for Yoga Teacher Training Article (Click Here!)

My 20-hour training weekend is now just a month away& I am still as excited about it as the day I enrolled. (Not to mention, a little anxious!) It's just like the night before the first day of school all over again. Growing up, (& even in college... I can't lie) I always felt like I should know what questions the teachers were going to ask me & already be able to answer them before I went into class that first day. But, just like with school, at any level, the whole reason you're going is to LEARN. If you already have all the answers, there would be no point!