India Bound

My bags are packed and all of the necessary arrangements have been made to ensure the life I will be stepping away from temporarily will run as smoothly as possible. In two days I leave for India... by myself. The only travel companion I will have will be Gandhi... well, more like his autobiography that I plan on finishing over the 22 hour flight.

I have to admit, until a few days ago I was extremely excited and confident about going, but as my departure date draws nearer, the reality of being so far away from my husband and children is beginning to sink in. I've been hugging them tighter and longer, while catching myself choking back tears at the thought of going. My relief is found in knowing they will be joining me three weeks after I leave– and what a reunion that will be! I also have concerns about my mother, who isn't quite comfortable yet living in a city where I am her only connection. How will she fair? But this is life and this is being human– it means I love and I am loved.

I also know that this will be a life changing experience. I am not going to be the same person when I return back to Canada. Three weeks of ashram, monastic life will be enlightening, challenging, rewarding and frightening. I've done it before during my first yoga teacher training, but that was in Florida; although it still took me six weeks to fully reintegrate into daily life when I returned home and I wasn't even in India! To be so close to the source of yoga while studying and experiencing it will be a game changer for sure.

Once those three weeks are over and my family joins me, the four of us will be touring around south India for another three weeks. We hope you join us on this Indian adventure by following our blog: diachinatravels.wordpress.com I will be posting every chance I get from the moment I leave, although I'm not sure how much access to the internet I will have while in the ashram.

As a result of this great expedition, there will be no post at Never Water A Weed for the month of December. In the meantime, I hope you have a joyful, loving holiday season. Please stay close to the Christmas Spirit.

Much Love & Peace,
Chantelle

Yoga in All the Right Places

Recently, my friend and mala bead maven Diana Charabin of Tiny Devotions joined me at the gym for one of my yoga classes. Afterward she blogged about it and Diana was right, the environment was noisy... at first.  As she also mentioned, the noise eventually faded away and all that was left was us practicing our asanas together.

I'm not going to lie –a fitness gym is not the "ideal" environment to be practicing yoga in. Personally, I prefer to practice in one of the beautiful studios at the Downtown Holistic Yoga Centre with my favourite teacher, Ajith –whenever I get the chance, that is.

So why do I teach yoga at the gym? Well, as Diana wrote, the gym is where my love of yoga began. Ten years ago, I happened to watch Late Show with David Letterman and Madonna was being interviewed. I listened to her talk about her new passion for yoga and then watched as she twisted herself into scorpion pose. That was enough for me to walk into my first yoga class at the gym I belonged to at the time. I was far from a believer. I just wanted to be ripped like Madonna, not sitting in lotus pose chanting "OM". But my beautiful teacher, Kiran, introduced me to the artful practice of yoga and it changed my life in more ways than I could ever anticipate. What made it even more a of a pleasant surprise was I didn't see it coming. I just thought I was attending another group exercise class. After all, yoga was just stretching, right?

My yoga practice has been such a gift in my life that I vowed I would share it with others who would be as least suspecting as I was, which is why I teach yoga at the gym. As far as I can tell, people who take their practice seriously enough to go to a studio are already familiar with the depths of what yoga can offer. I find no joy in preaching to the choir; I'd rather open the door that leads to a studio experience. Teaching at the gym gives me a front row seat where I can have the pleasure of watching men and women transform into yogis. It also allows me the privilege of putting my practice to the test as I apply this pearl of wisdom: find inner peace amidst chaos and you'll be able to find peace anywhere.

Namaste.

Hey Box Head!

After only being an ear shot away the entire day while my children were playing with their good friends from across the street, I couldn't help but notice my oldest daughter was showing signs of overbearing behaviour towards the others. I called her over and told her to meet me upstairs in her room. I got there first and laid across her bed. My daughter entered soon after with her arms crossed.

"Your body language is exactly how you are showing up in the world today. Come sit down," I say to my pouting child. "Jasmine, I've noticed everyone has become quiet around you. They're not sharing their ideas because you've become bossy. Listen and you can hear them downstairs right now talking freely and enjoying themselves while you are up here with me."

And there, in the background, were happy little voices chattering away while working on building a fort made of blankets.

"It seems to me that you've been carrying around a little box in your head today," I continue.

Jasmine just looks at me with the same sulking face she had before I started talking.

"The name of that box is 'This Day Will Go My Way' and you've been working hard to make sure everything fits perfectly inside that box– even your friends. It's making you miserable and it's making your friends miserable. Which do you think everyone will enjoy more, you wishing everyone has a good time or you taking care of the little box in your head?"

"Wishing everyone has a good time," she replies.

BINGO!! And with a little more talking, Jasmine was able to shift her attitude and even thank me before returning to her friends.

I tell you this because it's tempting to have a "This Day Will Go My Way" box in your mind. In yoga, this would be an example of living with attachment. In this case, the attachment is to outcomes and it causes great stress and suffering in our daily lives and in the lives of others.

Many Eastern philosophies talk about the practice of non-attachment. Instead of a box, think of a lump of warm clay that you can give a basic shape to, but don't worry about getting into too many details of what the finished product will look like. You always have to leave a little room for universal chaos to sculpt your clay as well. In this way, you are co-creating, not controlling. It may seem like a lot of work to continually adapt, adjust and modify, but it's actually less and you (and your friends, co-workers, family and partner) will be much happier for it.

Namaste.

Breathe Deep and Breathe Often

In yogic philosophy, it is said that your life has a predetermined number of breaths, so breathe slow and breathe deep...

As  a yoga practitioner, I find breath to be fascinating. For those of you not familiar with yoga, we spend a fair amount of time doing what is called pranayama, which is a series of seated breathing exercises. I remember when I tried yoga for the first time, I found the practice to be strange, but had to admit I noticed the immediate calming affect.  I cannot help but to attribute a much stronger immune system and a higher tolerance for stress to the years I have invested in the practice.

Most of us spend our days breathing short, shallow breaths and sometimes we stop breathing altogether, thanks to stress and unconscious breathing. By simply bringing your awareness to breath, you can instantly de-stress the body, improve a negative mood and become less reactive to your environment. I know if I have trouble falling asleep at night because my mind won't shut off, I focus on deep, rhythmic breathing and before I know it, I quickly drift off into a peaceful slumber. Physiologically there are so many benefits to mindful breathing exercises because unlike regular cardiovascular activities, where the fresh intake of oxygen is immediately burned up by the muscles being used,  seated breathing gives oxygen the chance to properly rejuvenate the body.

From a larger perspective, I believe that breath is something we too often take for granted and for no good reason.  Our lives begin with one big inhale and ends with a final exhale; all of the breaths in between create our sweet, sacred life and declares "I am alive!" My entire life hinges on my final exhale. Every major life decision I make is an acknowledgment of that moment as I aim to ensure that when it happens I will have no regrets.

What about you? When is the last time you felt the significance of waking up in the morning and inhaling as you stretch your body out to prepare for the day ahead? Or maybe you hold your breath as you jump out of bed in a mad rush to get ready. Either way just remember, every day's waking breath is another opportunity to right some wrongs and enjoy life's surprises. As the saying goes, any day above ground is a good day... and you have your breath to thank for that.

A Hero Among Us

Last night, while teaching my yoga class, I had the privilege of meeting a man with an incredible story.
The class was packed with women. In walked a male newcomer. Middle-aged and bald-headed, he's husky and tattooed. His braced legs and cane carried him as he made his way to the front of the class. Within the first few repetitions of our sun salutations, he began showing signs of struggle and I became a little concerned that he may be discouraged and leave the class... but he didn't.
In fact, he gave his all throughout the entire class, taking breaks whenever he needed to and without apology. He was the last to leave and as I approach to thank him for coming, he introduced himself and told me his story.

Three years ago, he had a flu shot and he nearly died. His entire nervous system was blown out and recovery has been a very long process. He spent months in the hospital, extensive time in a wheelchair, eventually progressed to walking with two canes and now he is down to one cane. His neurologist told him to come to yoga and if he continued making the progress he was, he'd be back to work next year.

This... man... is... INCREDIBLE. As he told his story, I couldn't help but to notice his determination and positive attitude and my eyes couldn't help but to fill with tears of absolute humility. It's not often I come across such courageous and inspiring individuals face to face, but when I do I am wise enough to recognize I am in the presence of a hero.