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How to Practice Yoga Off the Mat

June 21, 2017 Filed Under: Teaching Tuesday, Tips Leave a Comment

Practicing yoga ON the mat is a pretty easy feat to imagine. That’s the breathing, postures and relaxation you do when you unroll your mat in a class at a studio (or at home).

But so often you hear the phrase in yoga circles about practicing yoga OFF the mat.

Is this some new way of practicing postures bare-footed and standing in the grass? Does this mean breaking out into bridge pose when you’re at work? What does it mean really?

When someone says YOGA, the initial image is someone doing downdog (or some other cirque de soleil pose), but yoga is so much more than “just poses.” It’s an entire system of well-being with general and specific guidelines for achieving a STATE of yoga.

A state of yoga exists when the feel-good contentment of your one-hour asana practice permeates into all the other areas of your life in a 24/7 sort of way.

There comes a time for many as they’re practicing yoga ON the mat, questions begin to arise. Why do I feel so much better? Why do I feel more content and calmer? Why does this crazy one-hour of poses seem to untangle everything in my life, not just my body?

When you start having those questions, it’s time to introduce the 10 Pillars of Yoga.

The 10 Pillars of Yoga are what I call the yamas and niyamas; what some think of as the 10 commandments of yoga. These are the ten ways in which people who practice yoga can live their lives in harmony with others and themselves.

The yamas and niyamas show us how to live in harmony with others and ourselves. Click To Tweet

There’s so much goodness in the yamas and niyamas that I couldn’t appropriately capture it all in a single blog post (or ten). So I hosted a live training on them, and now I’m sharing that video with you.

Instant Access to The 10 Pillars of Yoga Video

In this no-fluff, no sales video, I explain the 10 Pillars of Yoga (aka the yamas and niyamas) in depth and provide real-world examples of how these pillars can be implemented (easily) into your life right now. Actually the 10 Pillars are easier to get into than Sage pose.

(If you’re already on my VIP list, you’ve already received the link to the video. You know what’s also cool for those on my list? They get invited to the live trainings.)

When you’re finished going through The 10 Pillars, come back and share with me which one resonated the most with you.

Benefits of Children’s Yoga

February 6, 2017 Filed Under: General, Tips Leave a Comment

By Purple Lotus Yoga Children’s Lead Trainer Michele Monaghan

“Yoga has helped me to feel peaceful and be more patient with my little sister,” said one of my seven-year-old students when I asked her why she liked yoga.

Having taught many young people over the years, I’ve heard countless stories similar to this that provide obvious proof of the benefits of yoga for children. And it doesn’t stop there; when children practice yoga, the benefits radiate to parents, families, teachers, and communities.

1. Improved Strength & Flexibility

The deep stretching and breathing during yoga poses improves range of mobility. Despite appearing to be a low-impact activity, yoga requires great muscular strength and concentration.

Yoga helps prevent injuries to growing bones and muscles, the perfect complement to repetitive motion and/or extra-curricular activities.

When children practice yoga, they learn ways to exercise that don’t involve winning or losing.

2. Listening & Self-Discipline

An enormous plus from the position of a parent or teacher is that yoga builds listening skills and improves self-discipline (yay!). It also allows children to be independent and embrace their differences.

Rather than being pressured to look and move identical to the person next to them, children are encouraged to pay attention (or “listen”) to the messages their own body is sending them about how it feels and move accordingly.

One of my favorite things about yoga is that it helps children learn how to control their emotions. The calming techniques learned in yoga help them to manage emotional melt-downs. In fact, studies show that yoga can be therapeutic for children with special needs like ADHD, Autism, Down syndrome and many other conditions.

3. Stress Management

One of the most important benefits is how yoga aids with stress-management. I once had a grown man laugh at me when I told him I am a Children’s Yoga Instructor. “Are kids really that stressed out?” he said

YES! Yes. They. Are.

Children are often over-scheduled and pressured to succeed, causing a healthy amount of stress to rise to toxic levels. When this happens, children are at risk for significant physical, emotional, psychological, social, and behavioral changes.

Unless they learn to achieve balance in their lives, this pressure will take its toll. This is why rest and relaxation is imperative for a balanced, healthy life.

In my Kids Yoga classes, we explore rest and relaxation through guided meditations, colorful stories, art activities, pranayama, and savasana. In doing so, not only are children learning that it’s important to chill every once in awhile, but they are also developing creativity.

4. Develop Coping Tools

Through a fun approach to breathing exercises (pranayama) children learn how to develop awareness and control of their breath. The ability to calm the breath, and in turn calm the whole body, is an important skill that can reduce test anxiety at school.

I’ve had several students report back to me about how they practiced specific breathing exercises they’d learned in yoga before taking standardized tests (a particularly stressful event in public schools).

And the application of controlled breathing can be helpful for children in many other situations, not just at school.

One of my favorite stories to recall is when a former five-year-old student proudly told me how he used “Flower Power Breath” during a doctor visit. He used this calming breath to “make it through the shots without freaking out.” His mom was especially thankful that he had acquired the knowledge to help him through what was previously known to be an anxiety-inducing situation for them both.

The Mindfulness Jar

A super simple and super easy craft we do in Children’s Yoga Training, and that you can do at home with your own child, is making a mindfulness jar. Kids love to shake the glitter and watch it settle to the bottom, and while they do, peace and quiet happens.

And the adults are known to enjoy the swirling glitter too!

Free instructions for making your own mindfulness jar.

Fun for the whole family.

That’s a lot of benefits! How can this be?

The short answer is this: because yoga teaches mindfulness. Instilling mindfulness in a young child is a priceless gift that they will be able to use throughout the course of their life. This applies to the physical, as well as mental and spiritual choices they will have to make along their journey in this world.

Actually, I can’t think of one situation in life where mindfulness wouldn’t act as a positive reinforcement. From healthier eating habits to the application of qualities like compassion and empathy, mindfulness has you covered.

Becoming more mindful doesn’t happen by accident; it is a practice, a lifestyle. I believe yoga is an all-encompassing component to a mindful, purposeful life. When we plant the seeds of mindfulness for younger generations the future begins to blossom and bloom into a beautiful, friendly place full of love and light.

Create Your 2017 Vision Board

January 12, 2017 Filed Under: Lifestyle Leave a Comment

The most common question about a vision board is how to do one. If you do a search on Pinterest or some other search engine, you’ll find plenty of tips for creating a vision board.

There’s no right or wrong way to do it.

The biggest hurdle is sitting down and actually doing it.

For the new year I co-hosted a planning and vision board fun-shop so there’d be no chance of NOT creating one for 2017, and I’m sharing my favorite tips and tricks to help you create one too.

What’s a vision board?

A vision board (also called a dream board) is a collection of images, and often, affirmations that represent the life you want to have in the future, you “dream” life.

I first learned about vision boards in the late 90s when my yoga mentor gave turned me on to the book Open Your Mind to Prosperity by Catherine Ponder.

If you’ve followed me for a while or taken training with me, it’s not the first time you’ve heard me mention it.

My love for her book is multi-layered.

She provides specific, yet flexible, instructions for creating a vision board. Long before I got into the philosophy of yoga, she wrote about kriya yoga. Without realizing it, this book introduced me to my favorite yoga.

She believed that before you called in the new and wonderful into your life, you needed to purge your existing (physical and mental) environment of clutter. Love it!

Why would I want to do a vision board?

Your brain is a powerful tool, and I’m sure you’ve heard the adage, we only utilize a small percentage of brain’s capacity. According to Entrepreneur.com celebs like Oprah and Katy Perry have used vision boards to achieve success.

Vision boards are not “woo-woo,” they tap into a little something called neuroscience.

Neuroscience has proven your brain changes and learns throughout your life. Neuroplasicity is the brain’s ability to create neural pathways in response to incoming stimuli. Your habits and thought patterns get hard-wired into your brain.

Good and bad.

Worried about finances? Over time that creates a connection, and the connection becomes a response. Suddenly, every night before you fall asleep, you’re worried about money and paying bills.

Exercise, meditation, visualization and other mindfulness practices are tools toward creating new, positive neural pathways.

A vision board is a form of visualization. Instead of the constant stress about money, you look upon your vision board and think “happier” thoughts, thus rewiring your brain for more positivity.

Determining goals for your vision board

Phew! Now that the science is out of the way…

General ideas for your future life such as “financial freedom,” and “healthier body” are great, however your mind loves specificity, something tangible to manifest.

I recommend spending a little time in goal setting before you jump into the fun part of cutting up pictures and magazines.

In the business world, we call this planning. ::shudders:: For the right-brain creative types, this might sound intimidating, but even spending an hour writing down your goals and plans for the coming year can be extremely helpful.

For all you left-brain logical folks, you’re doing a happy dance right about now. Yes, yes, yes, let me put pen to paper and plan out my year, quarter by quarter, month by month.

Tip: As you’re taking the time to develop your goals, be sure to think spherically to have the most balance in your life. Don’t just focus on finances, but consider all the parts of your life–health, relationships, self care, personal growth, spirituality, etc.

For example, you might put a picture that represents to you being healthier. Now your mind has the idea of what you want to look and feel like. The paper side gives you the plan to get there.

And at the fun-shop this year, I provided a pen-to-paper planning workbook, and you can get one too.

Get your free 14-page planner workbook

Plan out your goals and dreams, just download now.

Full Name

Email*

Making your vision board

For me (and I think most people), the part the takes the longest is finding the images you want. I love doing it the old-fashioned way, meaning I thumb through hundreds of pages of magazines.

Tip: If you have a Half-Price Books near year, or some other used book store, these are great resources for tons of magazines. I can get a stack of 10 magazines for $10. You can also ask friends and neighbors for their used and unwanted magazines.

A more modern approach for image collecting is to use your computer, good ‘ole Google or Pinterest. One benefit is being able to search for a specific image rather than hoping you come across it in a magazine. Make sure to print the images in color.

Whether you’re flipping pages or scrolling through them, pay attention to how the images make you feel. When an image, word, affirmation or quote strikes a positive tone for you, snag it and sit with it. It may or may not make your final board.

What to use for your “board”

In the past, I’ve always used poster board to affix my pictures. But I’ve seen some really beautiful upgrades such as framing the vision board, or using a fancy bulletin board.

Does a “fancier” bulletin board make a difference? Probably not. Again it goes back to how it makes you feel, and for some, adding some luxurious touches make them feel…well…luxurious.

For some additional ideas, check out these:

A Portable Version (I’m doing this one this year)
Going digital instead of paper
Make a Happiness Board instead

Arranging your images

Again there’s no right or wrong way to arranging and organizing your images on your board. Try it out several ways, and go with the one that feels the best.

Some people like a completely random collage, gluing the images wherever it suits their taste. Others like to make “sections” on the vision board and group the pictures accordingly.

In Catherine Ponder’s book, she offers the following tips when creating a vision board (she calls them wheels of fortune):

Don’t try to convince others of this method
Use big colorful boards for big colorful results
Use colored pictures (remember this if you’re printing your own images)
Put money on your board so you won’t go into debt
Place a spiritual symbol on your board for protection and your highest purpose

Then What?

Once you have your vision board the way you like it, place it somewhere visible; someplace you can see it everyday. I usually hang mine on my closet door because I go in there multiple times a day, and this gives my mind multiple times to absorb the images.

Maybe if you work from home, you can put it above your workstation, or on your dresser so you can focus on it before you go to bed.

You’ll know when you’re ready to take it down. But don’t worry, your subconscious is still busy bringing life to your goals and dreams.

A negative mind will never give you a positive life. Click To Tweet

Over the years, I’ve used a vision board to bring about writing a novel, finding my soulmate, and owning my own business. Accomplishments I’m happy to say manifested. There are dreams on my board I put every year–like living by the beach and earning a $1M in business. Those haven’t happened yet, but it doesn’t mean they won’t.

Vinyasa & The Cycle of Life

September 14, 2016 Filed Under: General, Modern Zen, Thursday Threads Leave a Comment

*This weekend, my family and I will lay my 92-year-old grandmother to rest. I wrote this a little over five years ago when my other grandmother passed away. Still rings true.*

One concept I teach in training is called vinyasa krama which means a logical sequencing, and it usually applies to designing yoga classes. Krishnamacharya defined vinyasa simply as a beginning, middle and end, and taught birth, life and death was the ultimate vinyasa…

With thousands of tiny vinyasas in between.

As we laid my 81-year-old grandmother to rest, I rubbed my ever-expanding belly with a growing life inside. I, at 40-years-old, was the middle. I was experiencing a beginning, middle and end all in one moment.

I wish I could tell you I appreciated the profoundness, however I could only grieve the passing of a wonderful, caring, loving woman.

I think about the little attention we pay to the cycle of life….and if we’re so blatant in our disregard for the ultimate vinyasa can we truly honor the cycle of a yoga class?

A great example of this is our avoidance of the term “corpse” as in corpse pose. In our politically correct times, in our attempts to be sensitive we gloss over it by referring to it in Sanskrit because it sounds better and prettier.

We describe it as resting, relaxation and beach pose because we don’t want people to have to think about death. Someone explained to me that corpse pose does signify a death–an ending–and upon rising out of corpse, we arise a new being.

We honor births with flowers and celebrations. We acknowledge death with eulogies and sympathy, but what do we do about the middle?

On our tombstones, the middle is represented by the dash between the date of birth and date of death– a full life summarized by one little typographical character.

We acknowledge the beginning of a class with a quiet centering and celebrate the end with relaxation and meditation. But what about the dash of your classes? Has it been boiled down to a typographical character?

My challenge to you is to make your classes (and your life!) more than a typographical character, barely remembered. Allow the middle to be as important as the beginning and end because that is truly where the richness lies.

5 Stages of Yoga Teacher Training

August 31, 2016 Filed Under: Teaching Tuesday Leave a Comment

Congratulations! You’ve officially enrolled in yoga teacher training. You did your research, paid your tuition and bought your books. Woo-hoo! As you’re prepping for your first training class, I want to share the five emotional stages you’re likely to experience as you go through training.

Stage 1 | Nervous Excitement

Occurs pre-training and throughout first session

The stars aligned and you’re taking teacher training. Yippee! You fell in love with yoga and are ready to learn more. You know it will deepen your practice, and take you to the next level. Plus, there’s been this whisper to teach, and you’re finally heeding the call.

But you’re also secretly doubting your decision. The timing, the investment, will the kids blow up the house while you’re gone. Then the normal mind-litany: What will training be like? Can you really do this? Will anyone like you? Will you like any of the other teachers? What the hell have you gotten yourself into?

It’s a see-saw. I’m nervous-I’m excited-I’m nervous-I’m excited.

Stage 2 | Deer in the Headlights

Occurs somewhere between first and second training session

Holy crap. It’s the end of the first session and your brain is fried from new words, new ideas, and just how far your comfort zone is going to be stretched. The day after your first training, you’re exhausted and hung over. (Oh yeah, training hang overs are a real thing.)

You get a glimpse of the effort and homework (homework?!?) it will take to complete the training. And now you’re seriously questioning your sanity. Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe you’re not meant to be a yoga teacher after all.

This is my favorite part of teacher training and one of these days I’m going to snap some Before & After pics. Those wide-eyed stares of terror, like sitting at base camp after you’ve agreed to climb Mt. Everest.

Stage 3 | Overwhelm

Occurs somewhere between 25-50% of training

Whoa baby, this is when those doubts really rear their ugly heads. The requirements feel a bit like you’re in school again, and you were never a top-notch student. Words are rambling in your head and you’re not sure the difference between updog and downdog anymore.

You’re going to have to get in front of people and actually–gulp–teach. Who the hell are you to be teaching anyone? Clearly you don’t know enough–that’s why you’re in teacher training. Who’s going to take yoga from you? No one’s going to be interested, no one’s going to show up.

And you still have so.much.homework left to complete. There’s no way you’re going to finish everything. You have a life outside of yoga, damn it, and if you hear your teacher say “trust the process” one more time you’re going to go berserk.

Stage 4 | Acceptance

Occurs somewhere toward last 25% of training

You want this, and you’re going to do it. It’s been hard, but you put your head down and kept checking off requirements one by one. You’re not there yet, but you’re closer than you were two months ago.

You’ve taught a few classes and you don’t suck as badly as you thought. You received some nice compliments and most have come back for another class. One or two have shared how much better they’re feeling or how well they’ve slept. ::Squee:: That’s exactly why you wanted to become a yoga teacher.

Stage 5 | Bittersweet Joy

Occurs at the end of training

OMFG. You did it. You completed training and you were pretty good at it. You still have a long way to go and so much more to learn, but you completed the first major step. You proved to yourself you could do it. It was everything you imagined it would be–and so much more.

You’re a different person at the end of training than you were when you started. You’re surprised at the personal growth you experienced and are extremely happy you went through the entire process. You understand the process and why it was necessary.

When you get your picture snapped with your certificate–pure joy.

The cozy cocoon of training is over. You won’t be seeing your training buddies on a regular basis. Your mentor won’t be there to ask questions and calm your crazy fears. This is where the bitter comes in.

But you can continue the post-graduation high…CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE.

Yoga Sutra 1.20

I’m not sharing anything new because thousands of years ago, the Yoga Sutras addressed these very stages.

“Through the faithful certainty in the path and directing energy towards the practices, repeated memory of the path and the process of stilling the mind, training and deep concentration and the pursuit of real knowledge, by which higher samadhi is attained.” –Swamij.com

10 Qualities of a Yoga Teacher

June 27, 2016 Filed Under: Tips Leave a Comment

Have you ever been on a job interview where they asked you to list three qualities that make you the ideal candidate for the position?

I HATED that question, and usually I pulled something random from my tush, depending on the job and person interviewing me. Thank goodness (and knock on wood) I don’t have to do formal job interviews anymore.

But now I’m on a crusade. I want to save you from having to pull random qualities from YOUR tush, and share with you the top answers I receive from students when I ask them what they look for in a yoga teacher.

And I bet they’re not what you’d expect…

What are some of the top qualities YOU believe make a great teacher? Share with me in the comments so I can add it to my unofficial list.

Are you the next great yoga teacher? The next session of the 200-hour training starts in 12 days. Find out why Purple Lotus Yoga is the choice for non-traditional yoga teachers.

10 Places to Start Teaching Yoga

May 31, 2016 Filed Under: Business, Teaching Tuesday, Tips Leave a Comment

This, by far, is one of the most frequently asked questions I get from clients who are talking to me about starting teacher training or who are already in teacher training with me. Where can I go to teach yoga? How can I find a place or a space to teach yoga?

And what I tell my students is, if you’ll get creative, think “non-traditionally” (not a yoga studio or a gym), you really have a wide open space. I’m sharing 10 of those places today.

#1-Go Outside

If you live in a place that has warmer weather and shorter winters, then you really have a longer period of time in which you can take advantage of this free outdoor space. You can look at your neighborhood park, if you’re lucky enough to live by a beach, you can offer a yoga class there. Or you can do it easily in your backyard.

You don’t have to have a fancy backyard. You just have enough green space to lay out some mats. And some people really do have excellent backyards. I had one teacher whose backyard looked out onto a lake, and so she always did her classes there. Another student who had a really cool deck in her backyard, so she offered yoga classes on that deck.

#2-Office Buildings

Not necessarily corporate buildings, but small business, smaller offices. If you live in a city that has a great downtown area where they’re renovating buildings, go check those out and see what’s already there, what businesses already exist. Perhaps they have a conference room, or a business room, a meeting room. Or maybe they have off hours the space isn’t being used.

Look at dance studios, or martial arts spaces. They do have times in which these spaces are open and available. People are always happy to collaborate and bring others into their space.

#3-Churches

Many students are members of churches, so they’ve gone and talked to the people who are in charge of the facilities or in scheduling activities. Churches always have out-buildings, they have classrooms, they have basements, they have meeting rooms, and those spaces aren’t being used all the time.

#4-Schools

Now I recommend that you approach schools in one of two ways –

If you’re just getting started, look at possibly teaching to teachers, because they’re so stressed out too, and they would love to have somebody come in after school, while they’re wrapping up, before they have to go home to the hecticness of their own families. Come in and use their classroom or use the library in a school.

Other side of that is if you’re interested in teaching kids, this is a great way to go in there and test the waters with kids in schools. School districts may be a little tougher, but, look up Montessori schools, look at home schools. Those spaces are always looking for additional activities that they can expose their kids to. Preschools, mother’s day out, those are all great “school-type” places that you can check out.

(If you’re interested in teaching kids, we have a Children’s Certification coming up soon.)

#5-Parties

Number five is a fun one. This is another kind of out of the traditional space, but to look at possibly offering your services at birthday parties. Again, you can look at kids. Kids are always having birthday parties. Moms are always looking for cool, new, fresh ways to host a party, and this is a great opportunity – a birthday party.

If you’re thinking about adult parties – girls night out. Those are amazing opportunities. Pour a little wine, offer a few yoga classes – I recommend the wine after the yoga, not before, or you might not actually get to the yoga. But girl’s nights are so much fun to do.

#6-Community Centers

Most cities and towns have community centers. There may be someone already established in there doing yoga, there may not. But unless you look into it, you’ll never know. Summer might be a little bit busier because they have kid’s activities, but they may be open, they may be looking for somebody.

Again – you can come in and offer something a little bit different than what they would typically offer in the past. Go check out those community centers.

(This is how I started my yoga career.)

#7-Senior Centers

I know that in my town we have community centers and, specifically, senior centers, so go check those out. Senior centers and assisted living – they are always on the hunt for people who are willing to come in and teach classes. Whether its yoga classes, pottery classes, and painting classes – this is an amazing thing. Untapped space to go in there and talk to the people who run community centers and senior centers.

#8-A Spare Room

Do you have a game room or media room that you could take advantage of while your kids are at school? While your house is empty? Or maybe something you can do on the weekend. So this kind of goes a little bit with your own backyard. If you don’t have a nice yard, maybe you have a room that’s not being utilized. Maybe you have a spare guest room that you could rearrange and bring in 3 or 4 people to do yoga.

#9-Non-profit Organizations

Some non-profits might be a little harder to get started with because they have different protocols in place, so if you wanted to teach at a domestic violence location, you might have a few more things that you have to do in order to teach at that space. You might have to go through a background check, or something like that.

But again, non-profits, like senior centers, like Montessori schools, they are always looking for people who can come in volunteer. So if you’re looking at a non-profit, you might have to volunteer your time, but it’s a great way to build your experience or to get back into the swing of things, or to give back to your community.

#10-Hobbyists

I can think of two students, that, not only do they love yoga, but they also love cycling. They’ve offered to talk to people who organize their cycling activities, and say, do you think the group would be interested in having a yoga class after a ride. And they have really been met with resounding affirmation – yes, come on in.

Think about some of the other hobbies you do – a book club or painting – there’s just so many different hobbies out there, that they might be interested in being exposed to something different with yoga.

Getting People To Attend

The last part of this vlog that I want to share with you is how to get people in there to actually take the classes from you. You have to start talking to people. Start letting them know, “I’m a teacher, I’m going through teacher training, I need to practice, I need to get out there and dust off my training wheels.”

If you’re on Facebook, put a message out there on Facebook and let people know, I am going to be teaching here, and at this time, and at this date, so come on over.

If you’re not on Facebook, look at your email list. I know that you probably have plenty of people that you could email – friends, family, acquaintances, people that you’ve worked with, your hobby friends. Put an email out to them, ask them, and get their interest.

Also, you have that old-fashioned way – pick up your phone and call and invite people directly to come in and take classes from you.

Part of getting out there and teaching yoga is that you have to be active and you have to put yourself out there. You have to let people know that you’re doing this, and you have to give them an opportunity to participate with you.

If there is a space that I didn’t talk about, that you’ve had great success with, or you’ve heard about it, I would love for you to share that in the comments, because we’re always trying to help each other find places and find people who can benefit and who we can share our love of yoga with.

Purple Lotus offers a Children’s Yoga Certification–ideal for teachers, moms, therapists, counselors, anyone who’s interested in sharing this practice with the kiddos.

5 People You Need in Your Life

March 30, 2016 Filed Under: Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Nope. This isn’t one of those “you’re the sum of the 5 people you hang out with the most” because if it was I’d be furry with four legs and throwing temper tantrums when I don’t get my way.

Maybe half of that’s true.

In the last vlog, you discovered the 5 types of people it’s probably time to divorce (hey, divorce isn’t just for marriages). These releases are sometimes a very necessary part of your development and self-awareness.

There are also 5 types of people you need in your life that provide support. Your inner circle of sanity. Find out who they are…

Transcript for 5 People You Need in Your Life

Mentor

This is the person that we can turn to when we have questions, when you are getting down, when you need some accountability. This mentor, they don’t have to be and expert in their field, or whatever you are wanting them to mentor you for, but, experience. What is that person’s experience, and how can you benefit from this persons experience. They don’t need to be 10 years older or 20 years older than you, they just need to be a few steps ahead of you on their journey, to be a good mentor for you.

BFF

This could be your best friend forever or your best friend for now – whichever works the best for you. The BFF is that person that will listen to you, good and bad, let you rant, let you cheer, you share all of your wins and losses, and, this best friend, there’s an equal balance that you share between the two of you, so not a BFF that’s all about her, or that she might be one of those 5 people that you need to let go of, but that BFF that when you get together, no matter how much time has separated the last time you got together, it’s as though you just talked and saw each other the day before. That BFF that you know, thick and thin, they’re gonna be there to listen to you, and you, in turn, are there to listen to them.

Peer

Whatever you’re doing in your life, whether you’re working in the corporate world, whether you’re owning your own business, whether you teach yoga as a career or a hobby, I think it’s important for you to have a peer. This isn’t your BFF that you talk about all your personal or professional things. A peer is someone who is somewhat equal to you, doing very similar or comparable to the work that you are doing. This is the person that you can bounce ideas off. This is gonna be the person that understands the struggles, and the frustrations, and the wins you go through in what you’re doing in your profession.

Mentee

Just like you have a mentor that’s just a little bit above you, you’re also giving back, you’re working with a person who’s just a little bit under you. You’re providing them your expertise, your guidance, your advice. You may just be a couple of steps ahead of them. Just like your mentor might be a couple of steps ahead of you. Take that time to help that person along, because, in reality, none of us got to where we are today, whether your practice or our lives in general, none of us got there by ourselves. Somebody along the way helped us out, and did it out of the kindness and generosity of their heart. So, in turn, be that person for somebody. To be someone’s mentor.

An Unconditional Love

Someone that you love unconditionally – and that loves you unconditionally back. Love makes the world go round. Love is what give meaning and purpose to everything that we do, and it’s such a comfort to go home and have that person. And it doesn’t matter who that person is. It could be your parents, it could be your mother, your father, and it could be your child. Someone that, when you walk in the door, they open up their arms and give you a big hug. It could even be your pet. My dog loves me unconditionally, and I love my dog unconditionally. When all else feels like it’s going to shite, I can lay on the bed with my dog and pet her, and everything feels just that much better. An unconditional love, could be a spouse or a partner. Again, just somebody, that when the world feels topsy-turvy, you know that you can get a hug from that person, and because that person is there, know that everything is fine and everything will be OK. It’s just a bump in the road.

Those are the five people that I think are really important to have in your life. If you’re taking a quick investigation of whether you have those five people and one of them is missing, I challenge you to go out and start cultivating some of these relationships. If you watched the last blog of five people you need to let go of, as you let go of those five types of people, you are creating room and space to cultivate and connect with the five people that you need.

How does your support system look? Tell me in the comments.

5 People to Release from Your Life

March 16, 2016 Filed Under: Uncategorized 1 Comment

One of the equally beautiful and burdensome parts of yoga is the awareness you get from practicing. Reality takes on a different shade, you get better at understanding your motives and aspirations.

Yoga shows you when it’s time to detach from a certain way of thinking or being. It encourages you to purge, purge, purge. (Did someone say Kriya?)

But what happens when your yoga is showing you it’s time to release certain people?

For many, purging physical surroundings is damn tough. The idea of releasing clutter sends a shudder through them. Not gonna lie, letting go of people is 20x harder.

I’m shaking things up this week and I’m pinpointing the 5 people it’s time to release…in my first vlog!

Transcript for 5 People to Release from your Life

One of the things about yoga that I love is all of the awareness that it brings into your life. You just really become connected to the world around you, you become connected to what really brings you contentment, satisfaction, happiness, and, on the same side of that coin, and sometimes awareness can be a burden.

Especially when it comes time to let go of relationships. Sometimes it’s easier for us to get rid of the things, the material possessions, things that are cluttering up our lives. But the people that are cluttering up our lives, or no longer serving us or relationships that just don’t have the same meaning that they use to, those can be harder to let go of.

Energy Stealer

That person that, when they text you or they call, you see their number pop up on your phone, and you just go “ugh”, it’s that person again. I don’t know that I have the energy to talk to her today, or I need to talk to her later when I’m done with everything. When you have an internal feeling that your energy is going to be drained by talking to somebody, or meeting with them, that is an “energy stealer”, and you want to make sure that you keep the energy for yourself.

Drama Queen

There’s probably a chance, that as we talk about these five people, you might have been that person at one time. I know I’ve certainly been a Drama Queen in my life a time or two, or three, or four or five. The Drama Queen is the person that when she walks into the room, it’s all about her.

She talks a little bit louder, she laughs a little bit louder, she wants all the attention on herself. She is the one that when you have conversations, she always manages to find a way to bring it back to about her. And whatever you might be sharing with her, she wants to “one up” you. And it seems like things are always happening to her that she just has to share and tell you.

Drampire

This is a combination of that Energy Stealer and that Drama Queen. So this is the person that, not only is it always about her, so dramatic about everything, and she steals your energy too. She just sucks the life out of you.

Dream Stealer

They’re all important, but this one, if we’re not careful, this person can really zap a lot of energy, a lot of creativity from us. And this is that person that steals your dream. And I’m not talking about somebody, you tell them what you want to do, you’re thinking about doing, and then they go in and steal that idea – I mean that is pretty crappy too – but the Dream Stealer is the person that you tell them something that you’re thinking about doing and they know just the right thing to say, just drop the right comment to you, that it just makes your dream explode or implode, and you’re like “maybe that’s not such a good idea”. Get rid of or let go of those Dream Stealers.

Now what’s tough about these first four, is that sometimes they can be really close friends, or they can be family members, so you’re going to have to work doubly hard about figuring out how to let go of, or detach from, relationships that are really close. Your family, your mother and father, it could be a brother or a sister, or it could be your best friend. Somebody that you’ve been best friends with for 10, 15, 20 years. I’m not saying that it’s gonna be easy, but you will find that you have a lot more energy for yourself, you have a lot more contentment, and you don’t feel drawn into unnecessary situations of drama.

Inner Critic

For me in the last couple of weeks, my Inner Critic has really been chattering up a storm. So having kind of “step back” from some of my normal things, it’s probably time for me to take a tech detox day, meaning get off the computer, get off of social media, get out of those placed that, when I compare myself, I really start getting down on myself. The Inner Critic is the hardest because that Inner Critic wants to be a part of, it’s a layer of your ego that you have to learn to let go of and sever that part. But, with the Inner Critic, with all the other four people that you need to let go of in your life, when you set out to do mindset work, then it does become easier to distance yourself from those five people.

Share with me which one (or more) of the five people are cluttering up your life right now.

5 Ways to Blow it as a Yoga Teacher

February 17, 2016 Filed Under: Teaching Tuesday, Tips Leave a Comment

I’ve been around the yoga block. Several times. I’m not new to this game, and I try to diligently follow my path as its laid before me without getting overly worried about what others (teachers) are doing.

When several articles popped up with variations around a central theme, I had an itch to throw in my two cents. Haha…which is how these blogs usually come about.

The overarching idea of the articles was what a yoga teacher “should” or “shouldn’t” do during class, followed by an arbitrary list.

I’ve practiced for almost 20 years. I’ve attended my fair share of workshops. I’ve taught a lot of classes, and trained a lot of teachers. And there are so many ways a teacher can create a moving experience for their clients.

I’ve seen it done with and without:

Using Sanskrit
Chanting OM
Saying namaste at the end of class
Sun salutations
Assisting
Music (whether it’s rock, indie, flutes or rap)
Using mirrors

Now it’s true, as a teacher, you can’t please all of the people all of the time. It’s nearly impossible to teach a class that everyone likes every single time. (But it doesn’t stop us from striving for it.)

However I’ve pinpointed 5 ways in which a yoga teacher can totally blow the whole experience for their clients.

Using the time you teach to get your own practice

If someone asks you how many times you practiced this week and you count the two times you taught, then you’re using your teaching time as practice too. The reality is your personal practice can only be as good as you’re present for it, and if you’re trying to teach AND practice, you’re not really doing either one. You and your client are both losing out, and you’re doing your clients a disservice by not being present with them.

If you need to “practice” while teaching, then perhaps you need to carve some time to do a personal practice at home, or recommit to attending classes when you’re not teaching. It’s important for teachers to refill their cups because they give so much. But do it some other time than when you’re teaching.

Trying to “impress” your clients

As in showing off. As in popping up into a handstand (or some other “impressive” pose) when you’re teaching a gentle class, or introducing yourself, or generally doing a handstand anytime you’re not actually teaching a handstand.

This goes for trying to impress other teachers too. There’s usually little to no need to do the splits or lift into a headstand AFTER you’ve taken an hour long class.

If you find yourself doing this, stop and ask, what is the purpose? Why do I feel the need to do/show this pose at this particular moment in time? If you’re in the middle of an inversion workshop and need to demonstrate said inversion, you’re probably doing/showing it for reasons outside of your ego. Otherwise, be there for your clients, not your ego.

Using your clients

Think Bikram. Yeah, I went there. He’s a douche. No matter how great a yoga teacher he may be (or have been) he’s a douche because he used his students, particularly the female ones.

Your clients are there to fill in the missing pieces of their lives, not yours. You’re not on a pedestal above your clients because you still have your own shit to work through. But you’re doing it on your own time, outside of teaching your classes. You’re not teaching classes because you desire the accolades and adoration.

Breaking your clients’ trust

Vulnerability is a part of practicing yoga, and when someone shares that raw part with you, as a teacher it’s your responsibility to respect it. There is nothing worse than learning that something you told your yoga teacher in confidence got blabbed to other teachers, or worse, other students.

As a teacher trainer, I use stories to highlight teachable moments. However when I tell a story, I never use names, and I may change one or two facts. If I have a teachable story but someone in training may know the person in the story, I skip over it all together.

Don’t cheapen that reach out by gossiping it to the next person you see because once that bond of trust is broken, it’s rare to regain it.

Skipping savasana

I can usually overlook the four previous teaching mishaps (unless all four were committed in the same class by the same teacher). BUT if I wander into a class and there’s no final relaxation, I can promise you, no matter how great the other fifty-five minutes might have been, the class sucked because I was jipped out of my savasana.

And I’m not the only person who feels that way. So don’t do it.

If you’re running late, cut out poses, but keep in savasana.

Have you had a teacher blow it? Share it in the comments!