Developing a deep meditation practice demands consistent daily effort. Incremental progress through daily practice enhances one's skill, and meditation is indeed a skill.
Are you sowing various seeds to encompass your diverse interests and connections? Or are you opting for a "mono-crop," focusing solely on one narrow aspect of your life?
I'm not typically a big New Year's Resolution person, but I love the idea of a fresh start. There's something about a crisp new notebook that holds the promise of self-reflection and organization. Wet markers and blank pages are my weakness, and I can't resist the allure of washi tape.
Building a new habit requires significant effort, but the challenge is not only achievable but sometimes it’s necessary. Initiating a new habit presents a dual challenge: not only are we integrating a fresh set of behaviours, but we are also detaching from previously ingrained patterns. Essentially, this process entails rewiring our brains!
Here are several ways to embrace the winter months and perhaps help cope with changes to our mood and lack of motivation, especially when the world feels challenging.
These are the props that I use regularly at home and prefer to have on hand when I am teaching my students:
I have been practicing yoga for over 25 years (teaching for over 18 years) and I have seen the trends come and go. When I was in my early 20s, my first yoga class was in a loud and chilly community recreation centre. It wasn’t very zen-like, but something about the practice had me intrigued. I continued to deepen my knowledge of yoga in small yoga studios.
My home practice started simply. I rolled out my yoga mat and explored some of the poses and ideas that I had learned in class. I explored sitting still in meditation and pranayama. It was challenging to stay committed, but it was essential to a nourishing practice.
As you know, last year I decided that it was time for me to close the studio portion of Creating Space. After 15 years and then finally getting through the difficult and exhausting pandemic years, I knew it was time for me to step away from the responsibility of running the physical studio space.
In the past few weeks in our Thursday evening Yoga & Mindfulness class, we have been exploring the STOP practice. It is a powerful, yet surprisingly simple strategy to help you feel more focused, alert, relaxed, and grounded in the moment.
Schedule “worry time” on your calendar…it may sound strange to create time in your day to worry. But if you become disciplined with this practice, you can give your worries a space to be.
Japanese “forest bathing” is the science of nature to heal yourself, wherever you are.
Science and research have finally proven something that mankind has known innately for centuries, that trees and nature have healing powers.
I love this book. I love the commitment that she and her family made to a year of seasonal eating.
We all know the importance of physical fitness and how it impacts our health. During the pandemic, most of us valued the importance of getting outside for simple walks and staying active. When we are physically fit, we enjoy the ability to live, move and play with a level of freedom and endurance that feeds both the body and the mind.
I usually greet each of the students as they log into our zoom classes in the morning with the familiar greeting, "How are you?". What has been interesting over the course of this past year, is that it seems we are becoming more honest or revealing with our answers to this common greeting. Most days, one of my students will reply "meh" to that question. Meaning, "I'm alright. I'm not great, but I am here, and for that I am fortunate."
Do you consider yourself a creative being?
Or do you believe that you don't have a creative bone in your body?
Regardless of how you answer the questions above, every one of us requires creativity to exist in our daily lives.
A morning routine is a set of actions that you curate usually before starting your day's main activity. The actions can be anything from drinking a coffee, brushing your teeth, reading your emails, or sitting for morning meditation.
It's been a year since the initial lockdowns and much has changed in the world. But optimism seems to be on the horizon! Lately, I have been thinking about how will we all move on.