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...

My journey in yoga began 13 years ago. I hated it. I went to yoga and compared myself to others, and judged my postures in the mirror. I mentally competed with myself and others. I could not touch my toes and I was very upset about it. I left feeling stressed, depleted and worse about myself. I had long been a “sports girl” , and I made the typical “error” of approaching yoga as another sport. The intention we bring to the mat changes our experience of yoga. That intention was what I lacked in my first classes in yoga. I intended to get strong and flexible, but not necessarily with the intention of doing so with a calm, neutral, and compassionate mind. I hadn’t understood yoga in those first classes 13 years ago, and so, I missed all the fruits yoga offered. Hence, I returned to the gym where I could get flexible and strong much faster. Three years went by and I was quite content in the gym. Then one day, everything fell apart, and here is where many peoples journey in yo...

This is Almeria, Spain, where I have lived for the last 5 years. I am originally from Vancouver, Canada. Both Vancouver and Almeria are extremely beautiful places, but in stark contrast to one another. I switched enchanted forests for majestic deserts. I dreamt of a place like Almeria, specifically the landscapes found in Cabo de Gata. I also dreamt I would one day teach yoga in front of my house by the ocean. I am litterally living my dream everytime you come to class. The students who come to class are both Spanish and English speakers, and usually a mix of locals (from Almeria or other parts of Spain) and foreigners (mainly from Europe and North America). I adapt the language to whoever shows up that day. I also adapt the class itself to whoever shows up that day (providing more challenging postures for advanced students and adapted versions for beginners). Overall, I tend to attract a group of beginner/introductory students, people looking to enjoy a nice saturday morning yog...