Yoga is meant to be about the mind, meant to be a spiritual practice, a way to know the true self & therefore the universe, truth and ultimately allow us to feel truly happy by doing so. So the question is: What does a physical body practice have to do with any of that?  Sometimes, I still question it myself. As I go through my Ashtanga practice sequence of postures. I sometimes wonder, am I really bringing myself closer to knowing myself, or knowing what I consider as god, or doing anything more than just getting a bit more flexible and a bit stronger? I do feel at least I am ´´cleansing the system´´ as I compress and twist the internal organs, as I breath conscious ujjayi with lengthy exhale breaths-I feel yes I could agree this breath internally heats and then expels toxins-both physical and mental malas/toxins- yes it makes sense to me. I can agree that I am physically becoming healthier and I know this too impacts the quality of my thoughts. I can understand that my microb...

  My training, as well as my practice as a student, have exposed me to  various styles  of yoga for extended periods of my life.  All of  these experiences have provided me with a variety of tools from  various styles  of yoga, to meet the needs of my students. In line with Krishnamacharya, I teach dependent on the student or students I have in front of me. I teach what the  particular student   requires , at this  particular moment  in time. As per Krishnamacharya's teachings, there is no ultimate or general protocol. The teaching given depends on the student.   My training and evolution as a teacher of yoga   I began teaching in 2013, after completing my first yoga training in Dharamsala India. Since my  initial  training in India, I have continued to pursue and build my knowledge of yoga through both my own practice, and  additional  yoga teacher training, which I continue to the present day. Initial...

The yamas and niyamas are two of the eight limbs of yoga, as described in my post “What is Yoga”. They are therefore an essential aspect of a complete yoga practice. Although they can be integrated as you practice yoga postures, they are truly practices to integrate into your daily life. The yamas and niyamas give us a framework for a way of living; They provide guidance on how to be in relationship to other beings , the earth, and ourselves. We can think of the yamas as the practices which cultivate a healthy external environment, and niyamas as practices to cultivate a healthy internal environment ; though in truth both are instructive about actions and mental states which are beneficial to the individual and society. As we go through life our experiences shape us to react in habitual ways, and many of these habits may not be very useful. Studying the yamas and niyamas helps us to identify habitual and often reactive behaviors and thoughts we have developed, and guides...

I didn’t grow up in a household that knew about the dietary concepts I described in my previous blog “Eating Yogi Style”. My family, like the majority of Canadian families, followed the standards outlined in the Canada Food Guide, provided by the Federal Government of Canada . These guidelines are meant to provide general information on healthy eating to the citizens of the country. The contents of the food guide, which I will return to later in this article, are very different from what I described in my previous blog “eating yogi style”. Here in this blog I want to describe why I began to question what I had been taught about healthy eating, and how I came to the conclusions described in “Eating Yogi Style”. In hindsight, I suffered many symptoms during my childhood and adolescents which could have been alleviated by changing my diet. At the time, however, I believed my symptoms were simply weaknesses I had been born with, inherited traits. The pharmacy or doctor always prov...

Eating yogi style means eating a diet that is optimally digestible for you. This requires you to be attentive to your own body, over and above externally imposed concepts. It also requires you to be aware of how your food is produced, processed, and prepared; for this affects how you can digest it as well.  Food which is hard to digest stresses the organs, creates imbalance in hormones and manifests as mental instability. Food which is easy to digest optimizes organ function, balances hormones and manifests as mental stability. Food is an important tool a yogi can use to cultivate samadhi, the settling of the mind (described in detail in my blog post “What is yoga”) . Through yoga postures, meditation, food, and thoughts, the body & mind are purified and the mind settles. As with selecting a style of yoga to practice, selecting your diet is very much dependent on your individual body . A plant based diet works for some and others may require meat. Nuts and seeds can be n...

Yoga (samadhi) is a state of being. This state can be cultivated through the practice of yoga (the 8 limbs of yoga). The answer to "what is yoga?" depends on if you refer to the state or the practice. The state of yoga (samadhi): The "aim" of yoga practice. Yoga (samadhi) is not a state reserved only for mystics or advanced practitioners. You have almost certainly experienced a state of yoga, albeit in fleeting moments. Those who have a practice aimed at a state of yoga, may experience the state with more frequency and with some qualitative difference, but the experience of samadhi is one available to everyone. Yoga (samadhi) is defined by Pantanjali, writer of the Yoga Sutras (a kind of "yoga bible") , as “ the settling of the mind". The wording is important, he does not say the “settled mind”, but rather “the settling of the mind”. According to the Yoga Sutras samadhi is experienced in ever deepening stages. The mind settles in stages...