With that has come clarity for me. I am now beginning to understand why the universe guided me towards leading yoga sessions with the team. It has all become very clear this past week.

Here we are at YogaHub, working on a momentous event that was one of the main reasons we built this site in the first place. Finally, after five years in the making, we are at the doorstep of our First Annual YogaHub Virtual World Conference! Yes, you read this right.

Initially, we were going to launch the site for registration at the beginning of next year, but because of the very helpful feedback we received, we decided to launch it next week.

Yes – next week!

When we told this to the YH Team, they went into a bit of a shock at first. I could well understand how they felt because even I reacted that way when I first heard myself say the words. But what else can we do but laugh? This is quite a focus. We will need to pull all our energies and resources together to fulfill this requirement.

So a yoga session every morning to ground our energies, ignite our spirits, and soar towards our goals is truly helping us expand our so-called limitations. We can do this, I know we can!

We’ll laugh if we succeed and laugh if we come close to our goal. And I promise that we’ll get a longer “Shivasana” next Wednesday morning.

Tags: shivasana, teaching yoga, yoga lesson, yoga at office, virtual conference, yoga teleseminar

Okay, that went well – up came a beautiful screen with all sorts of icons at the bottom. (I have to say that this new computer really is fine to look at – all sleek lines and no wires to fight with.) I started going through everything to familiarize myself – and immediately got side-tracked with iPhotos. Wow – love it, love it, love it! I can’t wait to get a photo album made of our trip to Europe in May.

Oh-oh…had to get back to learning other stuff. After moving around in iMac for a while, I decided to try to open Windows. My husband – bless him – installed Parallels so that I can continue to work with Windows and Word (my comfort zone). But that’s where the fun really started. I managed to open Windows and access Word, but it was a more recent version of Word that I’m unfamiliar with…aaarrrggghhh…. Not going there today, I decided, so I tried to go back to iMac and play around some more.

And that’s where I really got into trouble because different commands started popping up all over the place and I didn’t know what to do or how to do it. Since I was worried that I’d do something wrong, I decided to just log out. Well, could I log out? Of course not! “You need to close Parallels” a pop-up barked at me. How the (*&(*%* do I do that? I glared at the iMac and it glared back at me – stalemate. What now?

I figured I had two options: (a) throw our brand new computer out the window, or (b) calm myself down again with my “Stress Relief Yoga” DVD (which is definitely coming in handy). Obviously, I chose the second option as I thought my husband might be understandably upset if I acted on the first one!

It’s a learning curve – I get that. And I think I’m slowly but surely coming around to the joys of this new computer. But, not being a “techie,” I definitely can’t do this without help, so later today I’m heading over to the nearest bookstore to buy one of those “iMac for Dummies” books….

Tags: imac, new computer, apple mac, macbook, paralessl, stress relief yoga, yoga at home, yoga dvd

While I don’t consider myself a control freak, I do like to have at least some control in my life. Lately, however, life has been somewhat chaotic. We’ve had a few health challenges with Mumsie, as well as visits to our “Revolving Door” bed & breakfast from two sets of friends from out of town. (Between you and me, I’m seriously thinking of hanging a “No vacancy” sign on our front lawn!)

On top of playing chauffeur-cum-tourist guide to our friends (none of whom feel confident enough to drive on the “wrong” side of the road – sigh…), there’s Thanksgiving dinner at our house to contend with and Christmas to prepare for. (Yes, I know it’s still relatively early but we have gifts to buy and send to my sister and her family overseas.) Oh, and in between that, I’m also trying to get some work done. As for finding time for my yoga, uh-uh…best of luck….

But the other day, while I was browsing at a book store with Mumsie and our visitors, I came across a “Stress Relief Yoga for beginners” DVD. “Like I’ll be able to find an hour in my day to do that,” I remember thinking to myself. On closer look, however, I saw that it offered a complete workout in only 20 minutes. So, on impulse, I bought it.

The DVD sat there for a few days until I decided that I just had to carve out 20 minutes in my day for myself. So that evening, I locked myself away in my bedroom and put on the DVD (this must be the one and only time I’ve ever appreciated having a TV in our bedroom – although I’ll never admit that to my hubby, of course). I lay down my mat and pressed “play.”

My first impression was that I really liked the voice of the instructor, Suzanne Deason. With a mellow and soothing tone, she took me through some gentle stretching to relieve tension (oh my neck!), and then continued with some postures to get the blood flowing and increase circulation. This was followed by some techniques to relax the mind and body.

The 20 minutes flew by and, before I knew it, it was over. I felt wonderful – calm, serene, and at peace with the world.

BANG BANG on my bedroom door (so much for a bedroom being someone’s sanctuary)! “Hey Fran, it’s Dave. Where d’ya keep your beer?”

Grrrrrrr…

Tags: yoga for stress relieft, suzanna deason, 20-minutes workout, yoga at home, busy weekends, yoga for beginners

Well, for the first time since I learned to balance myself through breath, my yogic breath was borderline non-existent this past weekend when my 2.7-year-old son decided to disobey me and continue jumping on my bed. Yes, most of us parents remember how, as children, we experienced the joy of bouncing up and down on our parents’ bed or couch despite their warnings. Well, I am sure you can assume what happened next, as you must have heard similar stories like this before. My son jumped up and down, lost his balance, fell backwards, and cracked the back of his head on my window ledge.

“Whaaaaaa…” he cried. I could see it all unfolding right before my eyes, so I quickly picked him up and proceeded to rub the back of his head gently as I would any bump or bruise. But to my surprise…no, no, that wasn’t it…to my HORROR, I felt warm liquid fill the palm of my hand.

I stopped breathing at that moment.

I held my breath, understandably horrified.

Then I glanced down at my hand, saw the blood, and felt it running down my son’s back on to my other hand, which was holding him. Quickly, I rested my hand on to the back of his head, not even wanting to take a moment to see how bad the wound was.

Next thought…

Breathe before I pass out from lack of oxygen.

Next thought…breathe, damn it!

Okay. I tried to pull myself together, knowing that I had to keep some pressure against my son’s head while attempting to calm myself so that he would calm down. How could I make him feel safe? I told myself to breathe with a light tone so that he could feel the vibration from my body – something like a gentle “OM.”

His father moved as quickly as possible as I called for ice, a towel, and a telephone. Luckily, my son had just woken up and was only in his diaper. With his back completely covered in blood, it was not a pretty sight but at least it could be easily cleaned and we didn’t have to worry about pulling anything over his head.

Talk calmly to him, keep ice pack firm, get Arnica tablets into him…breathe. Essential oils…breathe. No aspirin, but a little children’s Tylenol from his last injury administered at a half dose.

Thank goodness, everything began to settle down after 20 minutes of what seemed to be an eternity. The bleeding slowed down, and he wanted to eat and drink water, which was a great sign. We cleaned all the blood off his back and then I cleaned up all his blood that was on me. He sat quietly for a bit, watching his first snowboard DVD with daddy, and then he became more rambunctious for the rest of the evening.

Needless to say, I did not sleep very much that evening or the next. My son lay on his belly in an inclined position through the night and I kept my ears alert to his breathing. I made up for the lack of sleep later in the week.

I still hold my breath when I recall this incident. It was a good lesson to have certain things in place for events such as this, although I can only hope that it never happens again.

These past few weeks, I’ve been worrying about so many different things that have been happening in my life. Well, those few minutes, when I held my precious son close to me, put everything into perspective and made me realize what is really important in my life. Thankfully, my son’s injury wasn’t as serious as it could have been and I feel totally blessed that he’s now back to his happy, healthy, wonderful self.

Tags: blood from the head, injury on head, trauma, injury of my child, baby crying

My company’s year end is not until February, which gives me a bit of time to get some things in order, but the property taxes are due, the year-end payroll taxes are also due, Christmas is coming and with it seasonal gifting and gatherings – all these add up even though we have cut back in so many areas.

I find myself in a state of numbness as I go through the bills and cut the payroll cheques. I sometimes find myself staring at the computer screen, not knowing which screen to click on. I do have nine screens, so pick one – any one – and there will be something to do on it. Task lists become daunting…again.

I know I speak for many people when I say that making ends meet as a company has been challenging. And building a site like YogaHub, which is personally funded, is even more challenging. But ultimately the passion always prevails. I tell myself to remember why this all began. It has always meant so much to me to be able to support others on their journeys of well being.

So even though I often question whether my decisions are right and whether I’m heading in the right direction, ultimately only the universe will answer that. So why not let go of all my fears? Why not just trust that – sooner or later – what goes around comes around?

“Take a few long, deep breaths” I remind myself. All this energy surrounds us, so why not fill it with positive and productive flow? If everything is in alignment, it will all flow gently.

Tags: financial fear, calm down, energy, challenging, deep breaths, energy flow

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/financial-fear/feed/ 3 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/power-of-belief/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/power-of-belief/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:46:55 +0000 Allistair Santiago http://www.yogahub.com/blog/power-of-belief/ A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about a newspaper article. This year’s unusually high military suicide rate had sparked a radical new approach to soldiering, whereby yoga was being offered on the frontlines to manage stress. I came down – rather hamfistedly – against the theory and principles behind this development.

Predictably, however, since posting the blog, a heated discussion has ensued regarding the propriety of yoga for soldiers, with many people suggesting I had been hard-nosed and unfair.

Respondents, it seems, are unequivocally in favour of this change of program, sympathizing with the traumatized and often shell-shocked purveyors of violence. And they’re right in their sympathies. Perhaps I was not clear enough on this point earlier, so it behooves me now to agree wholeheartedly with these sentiments. Violence is a terrible, stressful thing that shouldn’t need to be dealt with. Period. And it follows, therefore, that those gung-ho, passionate individuals who recognize the necessity of violence for defense are entitled to their mental health. They selflessly place themselves between society and danger in order to protect the former from the latter, and for their dedication to such a cause, they should not be punished. Agreed.

Now, I don’t aim to re-argue my point here; I’m not hunting for converts. In fact, I’m not even going to continue evaluating military stress management schemes. There seems to be more to this issue than simply solving soldiers’ stress disorders. You see, all the responses banked on the same “fact”: violence is necessary. I agree, but only to a point, and that’s where we diverge.

The necessity of violence is a funny thing. In fact, necessity itself is a funny thing; things are never unqualifiedly necessary. They are always necessary for something. Breathing, for example, is necessary for living. Justice is necessary for society (and here we get into some gray areas). But since we think violence is necessary, we must determine what is it necessary for? Automatically the response is defense. The only time violence can become necessary is to protect your natural rights. But even then it’s only necessary up to a certain point. We have a concept of violence as something that is sometimes necessary to resort to once other avenues have been exhausted. I mean, let’s face it, no one wants to get hurt, right?

So violence is truly necessary only under certain circumstances. More specifically, if we were to explore the various avenues open to us, I believe we would further discover that violence is only necessary to defend against, or prevent further violence. It’s cyclical. All it takes is one instance of belligerent aggression to kick-start the cycle and suddenly it spins out of control.

But there’s still more to it than just that. Violence is a thing that people partake in. It isn’t a force in and of itself; it must be perpetrated by someone, and that someone usually doesn’t act on the necessity of violence in that instant, but on the belief in the necessity of violence in that instant. Necessity doesn’t move people. Belief in necessity does. If you believe violence is necessary, you will do violence. If you don’t believe it’s necessary, you will not. Simple.

I therefore urge everyone to examine their own belief systems. We all believe violence is necessary to a certain degree, but all it takes is one. If a single person believes in the necessity of violence (in any given instant) and acts on it, the only necessary response is further violence.

The hopeless idealist’s take: The only thing that makes violence necessary is the belief that violence is necessary.

Tags: power of belief, combat yoga, violence, yoga for stress, yoga for military, army yoga

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/power-of-belief/feed/ 1 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-for-computer-stress/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-for-computer-stress/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:12:19 +0000 Francesca Silva http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-for-computer-stress/ Right now, I hate computers – specifically, my computer! My stubborn, pig-headed, temperamental computer that has a mind of its own and is the absolute bane of my existence.

Without going into any sordid details, last week my computer suddenly decided to contract a virus. There I was, happily doing some research for an article I was writing, when a big red “VIRUS ALERT” blinked on to my screen. This was followed by the ominous message “Your computer has been infected by a Trojan(-something-or-other) virus.”

Okay, so what now? And why now – when I was feeling particularly inspired in my writing and everything was ticking along merrily.

To spite me – that’s why.

I immediately made a panicky call to my online help and was, of course, put on hold (with annoying elevator music playing in the background, which certainly didn’t improve my mood) for about 25 minutes. When someone finally came on the line, I somehow managed to retain admirable control of my temper (it wasn’t his fault, after all, that my computer was misbehaving) and explained my predicament. I was then provided with the ever-so-helpful information that I would be given a “ticket” and a technician would call me back within three to five days! Excuse me???!!!

So what was I supposed to do in the meantime? Stare at my computer and sulk? Perhaps I could pick it up and throw it into my ancient hot tub, which was leaking anyway (yes, it’s been that kind of week)!

Well, obviously I needed to calm down, so I started doing some deep breathing. After a few minutes of that, however, I realized I was still glaring at my computer, so drastic action was called for.

I put my yoga mat on the floor, took out one of my yoga DVDs and popped it into my DVD player. It took more than a few minutes for me to adjust and re-focus my mind and get into the rhythm, but once I achieved that, I began to flow smoothly through the poses and let go of my frustrations. I felt so wonderful after my yoga session that I was determined not to ruin my mood by even looking at my computer for the rest of the day.

So, now that my computer’s working again, we’ve re-established a wary, mutually beneficial working relationship – as long as it doesn’t misbehave again, I won’t throw it into the (still leaking) hot tub!

And life goes on…

Tags: compute stress, computer virus, yoga for stress, yoga DVD, yoga at home, re-focus, frustration

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-for-computer-stress/feed/ 2 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/combat-yoga/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/combat-yoga/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:12:32 +0000 Allistair Santiago http://www.yogahub.com/blog/combat-yoga/ I read a newspaper article today. This alone is surprising as I have an acute aversion to current events – I find their reality disruptive to mine. But this morning, as I sat waiting for my coffee to percolate, the newspaper was the only thing within reach. With careful ambivalence, I paged lazily through it (looking mostly at the ads).

An article with the word “yoga” in it soon caught my eye, however, and recklessly I began reading.

It turns out that yoga is starting to be used rather extensively as a form of psychological therapy. The article outlined a new, unorthodox, and potentially ill-conceived plan by the US Army to include yoga training for their soldiers on the front lines in an effort to combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

This radical movement was inspired by Posing Warriors, a particularly successful yoga program originally intended to help Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD. Since its inception, the program has grown to include veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan as well.

So, with the increasing incidence of soldier suicides, the army has turned to yoga. And already arrangements are being made with a yoga instructor in Iraq.

Now I get to editorialize.

As good an idea as this may seem to be, it sounds downright silly to me. Whoever’s in charge has missed the point of yoga. One of its first and most important tenets is a principle of no harm. It seems to me that, as a practice, yoga is conceptually and psychologically at odds with the soldier mentality – so much so as to make the two mutually exclusive. Simply put, the violence required of the military profession does not accommodate the successful practice of yoga. Practiced this way, it will become a meaningless waste of time and serve only to confuse rather than enlighten.

Well, that’s my two cents. And I’ve since remembered why I rabidly avoid the newspaper.

Tags: newspaper article, army, post traumatic stress disorder, ptsd, vietnam veterans, iraq, afghanistan, soldier, military

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/combat-yoga/feed/ 9 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-on-flight/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-on-flight/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 15:36:48 +0000 Francesca Silva http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-on-flight/ By the time you read this blog, my husband and I will be on our Mediterranean cruise – bliss.

But before even boarding the cruise ship, we have to contend with a nine-hour flight to Frankfurt and another two-hour one to Rome, where we’ll pick up our cruise. Ugh (to the flight, not the cruise).

Being a white-knuckle flyer, to say that I am not looking forward to this part of our trip is an understatement. I firmly believe that if God meant us to fly, he’d have given us wings! I hate flying – the take-off, the landing (I always plant my feet firmly on the floor of the plane to “help” the pilot land!) and all the parts in between. And when the turbulence starts – oh help. It’s the only time in my life when I get very, very quiet. My husband says that’s why he likes to fly with me – he can actually get a word in!

This time, however, I intend to be prepared. I remember reading one of Christina’s blogs where she mentioned how she had focused on calming her energies with some yoga breathing techniques and stretching exercises during a flight.

So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to ask Christina to recommend some breathing and stretching exercises so that I can calm myself down and perhaps even sleep en route. Now that would be wonderful. My husband can fall asleep even before the plane takes off – although he wakes up pretty quickly when I grab hold of his hand in a vice-like grip during take-offs and landings!

It’s going to be interesting to see what type of yoga I can do in the restricted space of an airline seat – and what kind of reaction I’m going to get from my husband. I suspect he won’t complain at all if it means he can keep his hand from being broken!

Tags: long flight, yoga before flight, yoga on flight, stretching during a flight, breathing technique

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-on-flight/feed/ 0 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-with-child/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-with-child/#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 14:41:47 +0000 Christina Souza Ma http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-with-child/ For those of you who are parents of young children, I am sure you will be able to relate immediately to the situation I faced the other day.

We were at Science World, a wonderful, educational environment for everyone of all ages. My now two-year-old son and his father were playing at one of the exhibits when an accident occurred. My son put his arm into an opening on the top of a table at the same time as his father moved in the opposite direction.

A scream of pain from a voice that I know all too well caught my attention. By the time I looked up, his father had already pulled his arm out and was standing up. My son cried out for me, reaching only one arm towards me.

I could tell by the anguished look on his father’s face and the sound of my son’s cry that this was not just your regular “ouwy.” I took him into my arms and attempted to take his focus off his injury but that didn’t work. He has a very high pain tolerance so it concerned me when he flopped his head on my shoulder and began to whimper.

Not knowing if he was just tired because it was past his nap time or if he was truly still hurting, we decided to try and distract him by looking at other exhibits for another hour. All the while, he did not want to be put down, which is not like him at all.

The biggest tell tale sign that something was really wrong was that he didn’t even want me to kiss his “ouwy” better!

It was awful getting him into the car seat as he screamed in agony. When we got home, we then had to get him out again and put him in bed for his nap. He cried himself to sleep. Even though he is normally an active sleeper, this time he did not move at all during the 90 minutes of uneasy rest. While he slept, I checked his arm gently and as I did, he winced in his sleep but did not pull it away. He awoke crying and only moving one arm.

Needless to say, we were very concerned. Being a Sunday, the medical clinics were all closed by then so the only place we could take him to was the hospital emergency.

He was quite the trooper. He didn’t fuss unless we bumped or had to move his arm. Fortunately, the x-rays confirmed that there was no fracture and only soft tissue trauma.

Thank goodness for that. For the first time ever, he was given a little Tylenol as a pain reliever to take the edge off. He made a fast recovery within 48 hours. Phew…it was so difficult to watch my son feeling so helpless and not able to fully communicate to me exactly what was hurting and how much.

I know that my years of yoga and meditation have really grounded me so that I’m able to flow through these situations with ease. I now have much more trust in my ability to keep myself calm, which I know benefits him to the fullest. Children are so attuned to our energies and they will flow with us, breathe with us.

So you Moms and Dads out there, keep up the yoga, as it definitely supports us through our children’s journeys as well as our own.

Tags: trauma, children, injuries, meditation, calm, accident

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