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Sep
11

Oh Those Canadians: Yoga… ‘Cannabis Enhanced’

Leave it to the Canadians and their legalized marijuana to find yet another excuse to get high:  yoga class!

I suppose to some, yoga and pot are synonymous anyhow.  But to those of us who practice regularly, the high we get from a practice, any practice, from more mellow Iyengar to balls out Bikram, is just so satisfying and remarkable on its own, it keeps us coming back to the magic of the mat as often as we can.

But, apparently there is another faction of yogis that feel there’s just that much more can be achieved through a practice enhanced by the ganja… the herb… the tea… by the cannabis that they’ve developed a series of classes incorporating the hallucinogen to maximize their yogic experience.

Dee Dussault, founder of Follow Your Bliss center and Ganja Yoga classes, told Relaxnews that she has “been smoking marijuana for four years, practicing yoga for 15 years” and “teaching cannabis-enhanced yoga for about one year.”

Classes range in participation from four to fifteen students, and along with mats, towels and water bottles, it’s a strict policy of  BYOP: Bring Your Own Pot.  There is no sharing or mooching and there is certainly no buying or selling.

Classes include “a vaporizer café and chat (approximately 30 minutes), followed by a profoundly trippy yoga class, set to mystical music (approximately 75 minutes). Light munchies served afterward” for about $15 CDN.

Most of us don’t live in the Toronto area to take advantage of this unique approach to yoga, but if you’re interesting in experimenting with your own ganja infused practice, Dee Dussault offers a few pointers:

-  Focus more on the sensations that one feels in the body than on trying to achieve more intermediate or advanced postures while high.
-  Really slow down, focus inwards, let go of your idea of what “yoga” is supposed to look like. Just “be” in different poses. Hang out there, let the ganja take you to new realms of experience. Notice your breath. Notice how the body moves and feels. Do some simple stretches, whatever your body calls for.
- Always listen to your body, and err on the side of doing less than you think you can.
- Stay away from balancing poses unless you are used to them, as marijuana can negatively impact balance for some people. Spend a lot of time in meditative poses.
- If your mind wanders, just come back to your breath. If thoughts interrupt or distract you, see if you can commit to focusing on the breath and the feeling of the body.
- Marijuana is great for making us super-interested in things for the short-term. Be super-interested in things you’ve never noticed about your body before. Continually commit to coming back to the breath, to the body.
- If you feel anxiety or cannabis-induced paranoia, try “Child’s Pose” – kneel on your knees and lower legs, with your hips reaching down towards your heels, and your forehead on the mat. You can have your arms extended over your head, or by your sides. Child’s pose reduces mental tension and anxiety.

Category: Articles, Class-y, health, Just Crazy... In A Good Way, news, Practice, yoga  One Comment
Dec
08

If I’d Known Bikram Was Coming….

I’d have cranked the heat… but it is Canada, after all!

bikramIn our neck o’ the woods we’ve seen celebrities of all stripes, most notably the whole Twi-hard phenomenon as they make their homes locally (roughly) to film the monster vampire franchise.

Anywho… a celebrity nearly as big, at least in his own mind, and certainly more interesting, recently graced our northern shores.  With mouth, cocked and loaded, attitude and cash in abundance, the ‘bad boy’ founder of Bikram, Bikram Choudhury, did Vancouver.

“It takes six hours,” the Los Angeles-based yoga mogul said, before laughing: “And I buy all the junk. I love it, you know?”

Here to conduct a lecture as well as judge the Western Canadian Hatha Yoga Championships- who knew?!- Master Bikram, whose efforts and commitment have manifested in a veritable empire founded on heat, sweat and just plain balls(!), boasts more than 350 affiliated studios around the world and the devotion of millions.  Without doubt, were it available to me and given my penchant for celebrity yogis, I’d probably be sitting sweaty and happy on the Bikram train as well.

The roots of Bikram’s methodology lie in a childhood devoted to hours of practice, where he became more and more aware of the positive effects of heat on his body and it’s response to yoga.

“When room is more hot, then I can sweat more, I can stretch more, I can push more, I can go more deeper and deeper and inside the body, it hurts less and you never get injury,” he said, recalling early days in India when he’d shut doors to keep in the heat.

“So I developed this with my own practice,” he said. “Years and years and years and years.”

Guru to any number of celebrities, Shirley McLain chief among them… oh, and Tiger Woods as well, along with the likes of Madonna, Elle Macpherson and the lovely George Clooney.  Despite his roster of notable clientele, when it comes to giving them the celebrity treatment, Bikram states emphatically,

“This is the way I run my kingdom: my way or the highway,” he said in a tone that leaves little room for dispute. “I don’t listen to anybody. You need my help: Come to me, shut up, forget who you are. I will take care of you. And I do my job.”

For anyone perhaps considering taking Bikram to a more competetive level, take a peek… Here’s Mari Dickey, number one woman at the competition.  A little inspiration:

Category: news, people, strength, Trends  One Comment
Dec
06

Breakfast… And Yoga. The Keys to Success

We’ve all known for ever the importance of a healthy breakfast to children’s learning, but one British primary school is also recognizing the benefits of incorporating yoga and meditation into education.

Riverside Primary in Rotherhithe

Riverside Primary in Rotherhithe

According to a recent article in The London Evening Standard, the children of Riverside Primary in Rotherhithe were provided with not only a proper breakfast heading into their primary SAT’s but also,  under the guidance of a local yoga instructor, exercises in breathing and yoga.

The results astounded as the school, serving an area of considerable social disadvantage, found themselves ranked top of the Evening Standard’s league tables today, helping pupils soar more than a year ahead of their peers between the ages of seven and 11.

While the school made a concerted effort not to merely teach to the controversial tests, contributing to the remarkable results, the additional support in the form of healthy breakfast and relaxation exercises without doubt paid off this year.

Category: health, Kids, Meditation, Spirit, yoga  2 Comments
Nov
30

The Balancing Series… Love on One Foot. Part 3: Dekasana… Airplane!

airplane Back from Thanksgiving and, Idon’t know about you, but I’m finding the need for balance, in diet- navigating my way from abundant meat and cheese (until Christmas, creamy fondue and Calabrese salami!) and back to hot rice cereal, greens and lean protien…    and practice!  Whew! Moving on in the series we find ourselves moving from grasping our toe as though for dear life long, extended and upright, into Dekasana, or Airplane Pose… I’m guessing (cuz I don’t really know) a modern, 20th century evolution of Virabhadrasana III, or Warrior III.  Regardless, a welcome relief from the intensity of Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, or Extended Hand-to-Toe! From the extended leg, hand-to- toe, the leg is brought forward briefly yet again where the toe is released, controlled of course, not dropped… the hands grasp the hips and that extended leg is lightly, strongly extended forward from the hip.  Alternatively, that leg can be supported by the hands, fingers intertwined below the hamstring- my preference, in fact. more »

Category: health, Postures, Spirit, strength, surrender  Leave a Comment
Nov
25

Sanctuary… Clean, Organized & Tidy? So What If It’s Not?!

homeI mean, some people swear they function best when they have to rifle through piles to find what they’re looking for… they even maintain that unless they are rifling through piles, they couldn’t possibly actually find what they’re looking for.

Really?!  I’m always struck a tad incredulous with those claims… but hey, who am I to judge?

What I know for myself is that when my home, particularly those spaces in which I need to be productive… ie. kitchen, office, bedroom- ahem!… is tidy, clean and efficiently functional, I’m all the better for it.  I’m more comfortable in these spaces and therefore enjoy spending more time in them.  This is especially wonderful for me in my office… for my kids in the kitchen, and in the bedroom… well, I suppose hubby is the lucky beneficiary there!

Surely you’ve heard Oprah and her lovely Nate Berkus frequently wax poetic about your home “rising up to meet you…”; or her Australian guru of all things tidy and organized, Peter Walsh, making some mighty strong statements about the reflection the condition the home makes of one’s true state of mind and mental health.  Then again, the people he’s dealing with are dealing with some pretty big issues beyond just some unruly piles of mail and magazines and general untidiness.

As I’m tidying and cleaning to prepare for this fast approaching holiday weekend and seeing piles disappear to whence they came- where they actually belong or the trash!- there’s a sense of calm and peace come over me that I usually only know after a cycle of sun salutations.  There’s a feeling of all being right in that moment and I revel in each and every clutter-free space.  Even the hallway downstairs where I’d been piling clothes to go to my sister’s kids, clothes to donate, seasonal items to be put away (yes, I have those infernal to-be-put-away piles that grow and grow until you have company coming to stay and finally PUT the stuff AWAY!!), ski suits to be tried on, car and boat batteries, the new light fixture for the dining room… I could go on….

Anyways, the feeling of satisfaction at having finally dealt with the various piles, the various messes, the general disorganization, is so worth the effort once the day is done.  So, in honour of Thanksgiving… despite the stress that always accompanies these holidays, I wish everyone gratitude and peace of mind, whether it be from digging through your organized piles, or getting rid of them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Category: Good Intentions, gratitude, health, Meditation, Spirit, surrender  Leave a Comment
Nov
17

The Balancing Series… Love on One Foot. Part 2: Utthita Hasta Padangustasana or Grab Your Toe and Don’t Forget to Breathe!

bal-legraise-sketchJust when you thought all was well with the world… you’ve successfully unwound yourself out of Eagle and with a long, delightful exhale are ready to take it down a notch.

Well, nope.

The series continues, long and extended, as we head into a remarkably high energy posture, Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, or Extended Hand-to-Toe, requiring strength along with steadiness and focus. The good news is that for beginners, or if the day- and the joints- say, “let’s just not” there is a lovely modification that still fosters knowledge and understanding on one leg, but offers a little break in the intensity.
To modify, rather than grasping the big toe and extending the leg, merely keep the knee bent.  Keep the hands on the hips and hold the knee forward for five breaths, foot flexed and supporting foot grounded into the floor to maintain the stable foundation.

After five breaths, keeping the knee bent, move the knee to the side of the body and hold.  If you’d like to intensify this a little, challenging the balance, turn the head to settle the gaze on the opposite wall to the bent leg.  After five breaths bring the bent leg back to the front, with hands still on hips, hips square, extend the leg forward and hold at whichever height your leg and hip allow for a breath or two before releasing to the floor to switch sides.

If you’d like a little more challenge, actually working towards extending the leg and maintaining that extension, consider using a chair on which to support that leg for the five breaths.  Props are always strongly encouraged!

As with all of the balancing postures, this provides wonderful strengthening and lengthening in the supporting leg, and certainly that which is extended should you take it in that direction. As always, here’s a little more info…

Lovely.  Lovely.  Lovely.

Category: Postures, Spirit, strength, surrender, weight loss  One Comment
Nov
16

The Farmer’s Luck… Maybe. Words to Live By

zenshortsI’ve raved written in the past about this wonderful book of stories before.

In Jon M. Muth’s Zen Shorts, Stillwater, the serene and friendly Giant Panda of a neighbour to three children, siblings Karl, Michael and Addy, offers his own brand of Zen guidance and advice.

Through ancient stories infused with traditional Buddhist teachings, Stillwater provides solutions to the childen’s various individual conflicts.

These stories provide such tangible messages through simple yet engaging narrative along with wonderful artwork, moving between the full colour drawings of Stillwater and the children, and black & white sketches of the various ancient tales.

And while, yes, this is another plug gentle encouragement to give this book to your child, or your neighbour’s child, or your sister’s husband’s mother’s child… or yourself for that matter, it’s really one of the stories I’d like to specifically address here.

It’s the tale of an old farmer and his son.  In short, and without infringing on copyright(!), the story has the farmer’s son buying a horse (good luck?), horse running away (bad luck?), horse returning with two other wild horses (good luck?), boy attempts to ride one of them and is thrown, breaking his leg (bad luck?), shortly thereafter visited by military recruiters who won’t accept him due to his injury (good luck?)….

And so it is.  With each new circumstance the ever-sympathetic neighbours qualify it with either judgement, “such good luck”  or conversely, “such bad luck”, to which the wise old farmer consistently and simply replies, “maybe’.

The message, as summed up by young Michael to the gentle Stillwater, “Maybe good luck and bad luck are all mixed up.  You never know what will happen next.”

Hmmmmmm.  Wonderful messages and a certain must read for any child… or adult….

Category: Kids, maybe, reading, Spirit, surrender  3 Comments
Nov
10

The Balancing Series… Love on One Foot. Part 1: Garudasana or Eagle Pose

bal-eagleMaybe it’s autumn, maybe it’s my current serene state of mind, fair & balanced, but I’m all about incorporating the Balancing Series into my practice these days.

So, if you’re looking to cultivate strength, balance and open-ness… look no further!  The Balancing Series provides you with a well-rounded and challenging set of postures to help you achieve all three!

It’s a personal favourite of mine, and one that I look forward to as I’m sweating through the warrior series in anticipation of the sweet serenity and focused stillness of standing on one foot.

I know it may not be everybody’s cup of tea.  Balancing postures, while providing a beautiful payoff, require a heck of a lot in return.  Passive it ain’t.  You will work… your. butt. off!  Heh heh.

But, truly, the balancing postures embody the foundations of yoga and are so worth getting to know better despite the degree of  physical endurance.  The rewards extend, literally, from head to toe and I encourage you to incorporate it, in part or in full, regularly into any practice.

more »

Category: health, Postures, Practice, strength  Leave a Comment
Nov
02

Gentle-ness and Ease… Power in Listening

stream_01After a crazy Halloween weekend, with all of its various excesses, primarily candy and Fireballs (I did say crazy…!) I was eager for this morning’s practice knowing I needed it to clear the cobwebs.

Well, as eager as I may have been, the ol’ bones were not so.  The juices took some time to get flowing, the furnace some time to get warm and therefore the joints, muscles and tendons some time to let go and allow me to move, albeit slowly, through my practice.

What also took some time, was me convincing myself… or shall I say the gentle voice inside my head, when it was finally able to make itself heard over the mean, nasty critical voice inside my head, convinced me after several turns through less than energetic sun salutations A and B, that I could pull back.  That it was quite alright to take it slow.  Let everything move at a pace it- I- needed rather than that which I’d have preferred.

That takes some doing, I must say.  Outside of a vacation, and even then it can be questionable, what with all the activities we tend to plan… we are so not conditioned to taking a step back into ease.  Into letting our bodies say, through their tension and tenderness, ‘go gently’.  Closing the door to the judgment of our own minds and expectations and allowing quiet and serenity through instead.

We are far more inclined to push forward, ignoring the signs and twinges, in our quest for the ‘challenge’ that is often synonomous with yoga, and the ‘workout’ that yoga, in our 21st century fast & furious frame of mind, has become.  Also, as with many of us, I enjoy the feeling of pushing and challenging my body in yoga in the seemingly unlimited ways it can do so.  It’s an activity in which my body typically accepts, embraces and responds to pushing further… hence it’s one I enjoy the most.

But sometimes in yoga- as in life- the challenge comes in stepping back, embracing ease.  Consciously saying, and accepting- that with this general feeling of lethargy, I will pass on my powerful sequence today and enjoy some balance.  Perhaps, with this little twang in my lower back, I might better enjoy some gentle focus on the core.

I’ll revisit this all again in my practice tomorrow… but today I take satisfaction in having done it… and listened.

Category: health, Meditation, Practice, Spirit, strength, surrender  Leave a Comment
Oct
26

Sanctuary… Conveniently Squeezed into 2X6

yoga_001

As I resume a regular routine of practice- the autumn always seems the season where I am most prone to structure- it occurred to me this morning that, regardless the disorganization or mess surrounding me, on the mat, if I allow, it all seems to dissolve into the atmosphere.

Not having an appropriate space, or an appropriately neat and tidied space, has always provided me with a handy dandy excuse to sit around watching Oprah with a bag of Miss Vickies put off practice, often delaying it until the day just gets away from me and then it’s time for bed and I collapse into the arms of JayLenoDavidLettermanConanOBrianDailyShow a good book and off into dream land with noble yogic intentions for the next day, where FOR SURE I will tidycleanvacuumredecoraterenovate the perfect space to best enjoy my practice.

more »

Category: Practice, strength, surrender  Leave a Comment
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