I got to “attend” some sessions on Friday but didn’t get to participate in any over the weekend as I had out-of-town friends staying with us. I started at 8:30 am with Soleil Hepner’s “Unplug to Plug in: Over-coming Technology Overload,” which was helpful because I’ve been having my own “technology overload” issues with my new iMac (although we’re rapidly becoming bosom buddies now). Other sessions included Dr. Mikio Sankey’s “Introduction to Esoteric Acupuncture,” Neil Pearson’s “Understanding Pain and Chronic Pain,” and Jill and Dan Johnson’s “Laughter Yoga: Laugh for the Health of It,” which was lots of fun.

My friends arrived on Friday evening so I didn’t get a chance to listen in on anything else, but I wasn’t concerned because I knew I’d be able to listen in on the sessions at my leisure the following week since they had all been recorded –great foresight from the team at YogaHub!

So it’s been a week now and I’m still listening to sessions, some for the first time and some over again because I enjoyed them so much the first time around. I’m taking it slowly because I know I have another week to go and want to make sure I get the most out of every session.

I’d love to hear from people who participated in the Conference and are listening to the recorded sessions. What sessions did you attend “live”? What are you listening to now? What are getting out of them? Do you have any recommendations?

I hope we can share our thoughts about the Conference. I, for one, thought it was awesome and would like to give a huge virtual pat on the back to everyone at YogaHub for all their hard work and dedication. They’ve certainly taken their mission to “revolve around you” to heart and have raised it to another level.

Namaste.

Tags: virtual yoga conference, teleconference, yoga event, virtual conference, health conference

But last week I finally had my first session with my personal trainer. After filling out the requisite forms (absolving the gym of any liability should I keel over), Paula had me warm up on an elliptical machine. Then she checked to make sure that my heart rate was well within the calculated beats per minute before we continued with some weight training and stretching exercises.

Before I knew it, the hour was almost up and it was time for the cooling down exercises. I was surprised to find that I had managed to complete all the exercises without feeling out of breath (or keeling over) and mentioned that to Paula. She said I wasn’t as unfit as I’d told her I was and also said she was surprised at how good my breathing is, considering I’m asthmatic.

That’s when I realized how much yoga has helped me. Learning how to breathe properly has literally opened up a whole new world for me. In the past, I would take short, small intakes of breath and even unconsciously hold my breath occasionally. But since I learned how to breathe through my yoga practice, I’ve felt so much better. No doubt my precious Neti Pot has had something to do with it too, although I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve been rather lax on that lately (I’ll bore you with those details in another blog).

So, in between my twice-weekly exercise sessions and practicing my restorative yoga at home, I should be fit and healthy in no time at all – if I don’t keel over first!

Now all I have to do is get hubby on track with his personal trainer and, once we’ve established a routine, we’ll be able to exercise together (oh the romance of it all)…!

Tags: yoga exercise, personal trainer, exercise at gym, practicing yoga, breathing exercise

No, actually, this year I’m determined (just like I was last year…and the year before…and the year before that…but I digress, as usual) to follow through on my New Year’s Resolution.

So what is my New Year’s Resolution? Well, this year I’ve decided to call it my “New Year’s Revolution,” as in “a complete or marked change in something” (according to Dictionary.com).

And that “something” is going to be my health. I’m now inching towards my mid-fifties, which means I’m beginning to have aches and pains, I’m not as flexible as I used to be, and my memory…what were we talking about? Oh yes, my memory – or lack thereof. And since we’re on the topic of “inching,” lately I’ve been finding it harder and harder to get rid of those unwanted inches and pounds that are gathering around my mid-section. Oh for the days when I could look down and see my feet without my stomach getting in the way….

Last year, I started taking some baby steps towards taking care of myself. I began taking vitamins on a regular basis, learned how to use my Neti Pot (as I’ve been blogging about ad nauseum), and also started walking with my husband in the evenings – well, most evenings…no, okay, some evenings. Unfortunately, those walks didn’t last long because the weather in November and December was horrible – wet, rainy, and cold.

However, I’ve now turned over that proverbial new leaf and have started this year by signing my husband and me up with a personal trainer who also happens to be a yoga instructor. (My husband is grumbling because he doesn’t know why my revolution has to become his revolution!)

We’re starting our training next week and I’m excited about it (my husband – not so much – but he’ll humor me because he wants peace in our house).

I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.

Tags: new year’s resolution, neti pot, vitamins, 2010, health, training, yoga instructor

Time is moving faster and faster, days go by with the blink of an eye. It’s never been quite like this before. I hear from several mentors that it will just become faster. Individuals will either learn to flow with it or spin out of control.

The more the days move forward, the more I am focused on my yoga practice with my team. Daily – well, almost daily – from Monday to Friday, we make it a point to have a session. Not for one moment in the past three weeks have we even thought of not rolling out our mats. That tells me a lot about how the practice has grounded each of us. As busy as we are with all these deadlines, we still make the time to practice. Although it cuts into our day by an hour, I feel that the time spent is worthwhile as we have become so much more productive.

The practice. I thank the wonderful support of those in the community for supporting my fears of leading a session. These past weeks, I have felt myself connecting my practice to my heart instead of to my fears. This is my passion – supporting the body, mind and spirit. Allowing myself to be honest and to share that authenticity with others.

Most of all, it’s a wonderful experience to share this with the core of individuals who spend most of the day with me. My community, my team, my family.

Tags: fear of leading a yoga class, yoga everyday, yoga at home, yoga in the office, yoga community

This year, however, is the first year that I’ve been practicing yoga while in school. I’ve been finding it difficult to get to the evening classes I like, so I’ve been trying to use The Gift of Yoga DVD at least once a week. The upshot of this, however, is that this is the first time I’m noticing exactly how de-stressing yoga can be. And the results are nearly immediate.

Last weekend, for example, I was tearing my hair out over a lengthy and complicated animation exam. Our teacher asked that we do it all the old fashioned way: pencil drawings and flipbooks. Before continuing my work on Sunday morning, I decided to procrastinate with a bit of yoga. The workout was intensely relaxing. I finished the workout, lying in shivasana, feeling refreshed and ready, if not eager, to hit the drawing table.

Apparently, the half-hour yoga session turned my irresponsible stalling into an academically responsible course of action.

Since then, I’ve been inspired. Yoga has become an incredibly useful technique in a manner I didn’t expect. Not only does it provide me grounds for procrastination, but it makes my dawdling worthwhile. It’s perfect. Anything that can actually make me ready to work while slightly gratifying my laziness is an invaluable life technique that must be preserved and explored further.

Tags: yoga for irresponsible, shivasana, the gift of yoga dvd, yoga at home, yoga dvd, focus, school, yoga class

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yoga-for-irresponsible/feed/ 0 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/simplest-things-in-life/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/simplest-things-in-life/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:45:57 +0000 Christina Souza Ma http://www.yogahub.com/blog/simplest-things-in-life/ This is a question that comes up quite often for me.

Yes, me.

I ask myself that question when I procrastinate over silly things like making a call to sort out a bill that was incorrect, or paying a bill, or writing another blog. LOL.

Anyone who knows me – like my team – can see that I have a lot to juggle on a daily basis. Hence my nickname – “Tsunami Ma.” Phone calls to vendors, customer support, which includes emails and social networking (the newest technology that I am trying to grasp) – that’s just the start of it. Then there is getting my child to and from the park, cooking lunch for the team, putting my child down for his nap (this is my only downtime, which lasts about 15 minutes), etc. And then there are all the other items that still need to be taken care of.

Okay, so those are all great excuses.

But let me ask you. Why do so many of us procrastinate on simple things that could support our health and well being? I can honestly say that I do not procrastinate on these areas or, on the rare occasion that I may, it’s not for long. If I didn’t have good health, I would not be able to live the life I am living now, the life of “Tsunami Ma.” Not only would my body break down but so would everything else.

We need to realize that the more stress or issues we have to deal with in our lives, the more essential it is to find that key factor – balance. This means staying healthy. Maintaining a good diet. Going through simple cleansing, such as nasal cleansing, colon cleansing, liver detoxing – and the list goes on.

These are just some things for us all to evaluate and think about.

Tags: balance, life, healthy life, cleansing, nasal cleaning, colon cleansing, liver detoxing, practice yoga

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/simplest-things-in-life/feed/ 3 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yogic-form/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yogic-form/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:03:44 +0000 Francesca Silva http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yogic-form/ So I was telling you in my last blog about how yoga managed to find me, even in the wilderness.

While we were at the cabin by the lake, six people in their early twenties were staying in another cabin next to us. One morning, I walked out onto our deck and saw three lovely girls in bikinis practicing their yoga on their dock. I watched them for a while, impressed by their balancing skills. Then my husband came out to see what I was doing and he proceeded to watch them, commenting on how “fine their yogic form” was (uh-uh…never says that about me – and what would he know about “yogic form” anyway)! Well, of course, that comment brought the other men out – and the next thing they knew, those girls ended up having an audience!

An appreciative male audience, I might add.

Being beautiful girls in their twenties, having an audience didn’t deter them at all. They took it all in their stride – in fact, I’m sure some of their more strenuous poses were done with their “audience” in mind!

When the “show” was over, we all went back in for breakfast. “I never realized how great yoga could be,” my brother-in-law commented, with a grin. “Me neither,” responded my hubby with the exact same grin.

I pounced. “I’m so glad you’ve found such an appreciation for yoga because now we can finally take a class together.”

As expected, that immediately wiped the grin off my husband’s face – HA!

Since our return, he hasn’t brought it up again and has, in fact, remained suspiciously quiet about it. No doubt he’s hoping I’ll forget. But of course I won’t – I’m not about to give up this “land in your lap” opportunity!

And talk about perfect timing – our community recreation guide landed on our doorstep the day after we returned home. All I have to do now is find a class for both of us….

Tags: yoga for youth, yoga form, practicing yoga, yoga in the morning, balancing skills, yoga for men

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/yogic-form/feed/ 2 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/global-gift-of-yoga/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/global-gift-of-yoga/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:03:47 +0000 Christina Souza Ma http://www.yogahub.com/blog/global-gift-of-yoga/ So, after working all these years focusing on my vision of YogaHub and other sites on health and wellness in my attempt to connect people from all over the world, it’s finally here.

After the first week of our “Gift of Yoga” launch, we had individuals connecting with us from all over the world. What a dream come true for me and my team.

And yet this is just the beginning for many in this community – and especially for us. When I began to create this Hub, I knew that there were many individuals out there who were just like me – not tech-oriented. And I know that many people still don’t have computers, let alone email addresses.

So how can we reach these people? How can we make it easier for everyone to access information on health, fitness, and nutrition? How can we convey messages from professionals and experts to them? Well, I’ve decided that since I had to become educated in all these areas, including (and especially!) technology, it would be a great idea to do the same with my community.

Some of us are fortunate enough to already have an understanding of the Internet. Others are lucky enough to be able to travel to classes in our area. For example, here in Los Angeles we have been able to tap into a wealth of information through workshops and a diverse range of classes in studios.

So now it’s time for us to share our wealth of knowledge with others out there – and hopefully they will want to reciprocate by sharing their knowledge and wisdom with us.

Tags: gift of yoga, my yogahub, social networking, yoga community, health, wellness, nutrition

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/global-gift-of-yoga/feed/ 3 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/matter-of-perspective/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/matter-of-perspective/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:16:16 +0000 Francesca Silva http://www.yogahub.com/blog/matter-of-perspective/ As I mentioned in a recent blog, a couple of weeks ago I had to take my car in for repairs and, since it was a sunny day, I decided to walk back to the mechanic’s to pick it up.

I do that drive almost every day on my way to and from home. Well, walking instead of driving gave me a totally different perspective of that route. I never realized how much I was missing by keeping my eyes on the road when driving (which is highly recommended, of course).

For one thing, I never realized how lovingly people care for their gardens and front lawns. I could smell the fresh grass as I enjoyed looking at all the variety of flowers that were in full bloom. There were several people out and about and we smiled at one another with a friendly “hi’.”

As I walked up to a traffic light, I came across a senior sitting in a wheelchair on his front lawn, so I stopped to say hello. I’d driven past him many times – I always waved to him and he waved back cheerfully. He said he recognized me by my car (“black civic, licence plate number ____”) and he appreciated my always greeting him with a wave.

We chatted for a while and he told me he enjoyed sitting on his front lawn, people-watching. “You might not believe it but you can get a good perspective of people just by watching them as they drive by. There are those who take a moment to wave, like you do – and then there are others who are too busy rushing, rushing, rushing, so impatient to be somewhere that they’re missing out on experiencing the joy of being in the present and enjoying the beauty that nature has given us.”

I confessed how I’m often like that – rushing to be somewhere – and he smiled and said, “Just don’t forget to occasionally stop and smell the roses and you’ll be fine.” He then reached over to his nearby rose bush, plucked a beautiful peach rose and handed it to me.

We chatted a little more before I went on my way, every so often turning and waving until we lost sight of each other. I picked up my car and waved to him again on my way home. He responded with a grin and a thumbs-up sign, mouthing “See? Black civic!” Since then, I’ve driven past a few times – he’s always there when the weather’s good, and we’ve now progressed from smiling and waving to blowing each other a kiss.

My rose has of course wilted now but before it did I gently pulled out some petals and pressed them into one of my favourite books as a reminder of a wonderful gentleman who gave me precious advice on the importance of living in the moment.

Tags: different perspective, walking, importance of living, take a moment, nature, joy

]]> http://www.yogahub.com/blog/matter-of-perspective/feed/ 0 http://www.yogahub.com/blog/victory-yoga/ http://www.yogahub.com/blog/victory-yoga/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:07:14 +0000 Allistair Santiago http://www.yogahub.com/blog/victory-yoga/ They say “no pain, no gain.” Well, I’ve been attempting to practice yoga for a few months now and while there’s been a steady supply of the former, I can’t help but notice a woeful deficit of the latter. Until now.

If you’ve read any past posts, you’ll know that I’ve been experiencing some trouble with flexibility. Basically it’s been non-existent. I couldn’t even approximate some of the bends and twists. But this week, things changed slightly.

I’ve been trying to focus more on myself and my own alignment than on the instructor’s. I’ve been pushing myself too hard to get right into the full pose. This, I’ve learned, does damage. So instead of trying to copy the teacher outright, I’m trying to understand what the pose is supposed to feel like and work my way into it. Since I practice Yin, which holds poses for up to five minutes, there’s plenty of time to adjust and deepen.

Empowered by a few tips from friends and blog respondents, I attended my regular Yin session eagerly. However, being stiff from two days of soccer didn’t do much for my physical prowess. Everything hurt.

The session started with some hip-opening leg exercises. I held shallow versions of the stretches and tried to concentrate on my breathing and my own physical space. It didn’t work. I got distracted again and had to keep pulling my mind back.

It was close to the end of the session when something clicked. I was tired and stiff. I really just wanted to head home and slip quietly into a coma in a cool and secluded corner. Nico, our instructor, had us assume a bizarre seated position with one leg in front (knee bent and shin parallel to the front of the mat) and one leg stretched behind us. It seemed like a softer version of the splits. I immediately had my doubts, and assumed the position reluctantly.

Once we were all seated, we were instructed to bend forward from the hips, tilting the pelvis towards the ground. I started leaning into the pose, but predictably couldn’t go far. But this time it was different. I was more comfortable than I had been in any of the other poses. I focused on my breathing and soon found I was lower to the ground.
“Now try to put your forearms on the ground” Nico instructed us. “Ha!” thought I. But I tried anyway and found that my elbows were only inches from their goal. Calmly, trying to breathe into the stretch, I spent the rest of the pose trying to get my arms acquainted with the ground. And, deepening with every exhale, it finally happened. I felt one elbow touched down firmly. The other was not so successful, but I could feel it brushing the ground closely. Then we were told to come out of the stretch for cool down.

So it’s been a victory. A minor one, but a victory nonetheless. I think I understand the whole process better after that experience, but I haven’t had the chance to try it out again. Guess we’ll see what happens next week.

Tags: yin yoga, practicing yoga, breathing, focus, yoga poses, bending

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