Yoga

The third teachings in the yamas is Asteya – Non-stealing.

Believing in having enough abundance.

Stealing can include anything from taking someone from others, and not giving yourself fully to what you are doing.

If you are late,and interrupt the current flow of energy to where you show up, you are stealing time which can be never returned from others.

If you do not give yourself fully in a posture, you are stealing your opportunity for growth.

Today might not be the day the journey takes you a bit further, but you never know unless you show up and do the work.

The second teaching in the yamas is Satya – truthfulness.

Honesty.  No lies.  The whole truth.  In our thoughts, feelings, words and action.

Don’t pretend you can get yourself in a certain posture.

Don’t lie about what you are, who you are, because you are already complete.

You don’t need a headstand, a new designer handbag or a new car because you want to look a certain way to others.

Drop the lies.

Drop the ego.

Feel your centre, because that’s where your truth lies.

Have you heard of the yamas?

The yamas are part of the 8 limbs of Raja Yoga which help purify the mind and body.

It is a list of things not to do, to help destroy the lower nature.

The first one is Ahimsa, meaning Non-violence, Non-Injury.

This is not only for the physical body, but also consider the thoughts you think.  Wanting to elbow that person in the train, or yell at someone for not doing what you want them to do.  Forcing, pushing and pushing and pushing yourself, into a posture you are not ready to do yet.

Your words, thoughts, feelings and actions.

Even if you don’t voice them, it sends a energy through out your body.  We need to be kind, loving, and caring, to ourselves, and others.  With our thoughts, feelings, words and actions.

Why Practice Yoga?

Why Yoga?

It’s a BIIIIG question.

One word – Sadhana – enlightenment.

And that’s a concept that’s so out there, and it’s super hard to understand.

That’s normal 🙂

I practice yoga because I can be a more peaceful, kind and grounded person.  I practice to keep me sane, not have a nervous breakdown, and flip out in public in anger.

Don’t get me wrong, I still want to sometimes…

Especially when someone cuts me off while driving and I want to honk at them for 15 consecutive seconds!!

But I don’t honk at them for 15 consecutive seconds.

I let it go.. and Yoga has helped me do that.

Yoga also helps calm the brain.  Studies show that a 10minute meditation or Shavasana is equal to x hours of sleep.

Yoga helps build muscle, calms the mind, and improves flexibility.

Yoga also provides a guideline, a road map on how to live as a kind, loving human.

Yoga, often considered a spiritual practice, is a science.  There are many studies showing yogic concepts with modern science, and although ti is fascinating, you won’t find much of that here.

So why practice yoga?

Do you want to de-stress?

Do you want to build strength and flexibility?  Not only for your physical body, but your mind as well?

Do you want to have more patience?

Do you want to be a kinder person?

Do you want to be able to face challenging situations more gracefully?

If you said yes to any of the above, you’re in the right place 😀

“Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim.
The better the practice, the brighter the flame.” – B.K.S. Iyengar

HEYAM DUKHAM ANAGATAM – Yoga Sutra 2.16

“Future suffering can be avoided.”

There is nothing you can do to change the present.  You can only change how you react to it.  We can change the future.  The future is the consequences of our actions now.  The present is the consequence of the past.

This is one of the things mentioned in the Abundance Flow workshop which was held at Sun and Moon yoga earlier this year.  As usual, I listen to these beautiful words and think “oh that’s SOOO true!”, let it go, and don’t think too much about it afterwards.  Life goes on, and there isn’t a time that I would sit down and reflect upon the words.  What they really mean and how it could be applied to my life.  It really is hard to remember something we don’t relate to.  I’ve been thinking about these words for the last few days, and the more I think about it, the more I find out why the words were sticking to my head.

So the other day… this happens.

We have these beautiful glasses that are made from recycled glass and are made by a super kind gentlemen in Chichijima, Ogasawara.  It’s a very remote place you can only go by a 25.5 hour boat ride.  Every time we go, or we meet the couple behind these beautiful creations, we always purchase more to take home.  We think these things are so cool, we even gave them away at our wedding.

Four nights ago we were cooking and I was getting some plates from the cabinet.  Unfortunately one of the bowls in there slipped out, hit my favourite wine glass and it broke from the stem.  My first reaction was to scream! OMG! I cannot believe this has just happened!! Time must be reversed!! I throw my arms up in disbelief. Eventually pulling myself together enough to pick up the pieces and put it in a bowl.  I look at it every time I go to the kitchen, and it makes me sad.

Well, lesson #1, There is nothing you can do to change the present.  Okay, the glass is busted.  Mmm, yes I can change how I react to it.  I DON’T want to be happy about it.  But maybe it’s a sign that I should contact them.  We were supposed to go last September, but these came up and we couldn’t make it.

We CAN change the future.  I CAN change how I feel.  If I do book a trip to go visit, or even drop them a line to check how they are doing it would make me feel a whole lot better!  As for future objects in the cabinet being busted?  I think it’s time to downsize the content, and only keep what we really love to use.

HEYAM DUKHAM ANAGATAM 

“Future suffering can be avoided.”

When I was 24, I knew I couldn’t continue doing my corporate job forever.  It was a high-stress, high-pressure kind of environment.  I did enjoy my job.  I had a lot of fun.  I met a lot of good people, people who I will be friends with forever.  Joining the company was one of the best decisions I’ve made during my 20s.  Another one of my best decisions I made was to start thinking of an exit plan.

I started thinking about the different career paths, and one of them was yoga.  I took my first 200 HR Yoga Teacher’s Training Course in 2010.  I decided to attend a course where I go to class during weekends and holidays, so I can keep my day job. I often get asked why I decided to teach yoga.  These are five reasons why I decided to teach yoga as a career.

1) A Job I can do at any age & life stage 

I knew at some point in time, I would get married and start my own family.  Having small children, keeping a full-time job, commuting, and praying the daycare won’t call you up to say your child has a fever is not my ideal work situation.  I know a lot of people do this, and they seem to be doing it very well.  But for me, it’s not something that I want to put up with.  It is also important to me that I continue working at any age.  I hope to be able to work even after a ‘retirement age’.  Teaching yoga fits the bill.

2) A Job I can do anywhere in the world 

I have not lived in one place for more than 4 years my entire life.  Picking a place to live in ‘for the rest of my life’ sounds impossible.  Maybe a family situation will come up that I will have to move closer to home.  Maybe my husband will be transferred to another country.  Maybe I’ll get sick of where I’m living and move somewhere completely random.  You never know, I’ll never know.  Being able to work anywhere in the world, having location freedom was a very important factor for me.  If I have a myself, and a student, I can teach anywhere in the world.

3) A Job that gives me time freedom

Honestly, it was cool for a while… but I started to hate having a Outlook calendar tied to my phone, and living by that calendar.  Most of the events flying in where not in my control.  I dreamed of being able to have a lunch date with a good friend on a random Wednesday over Mimosas.  Being able to have a 3 day weekend, every weekend.  Teaching yoga means I can create my own schedule, and have more flexibility in my working hours.

4) Do What I Love for a Living 

If I want to continue working at any age, and through any stage of life, I better love what I do.  If I hate my job, I would not want to be working at the age of 70 when I could be singing songs and dancing with my grandchild.  I knew what I do needs to be something that I love to do myself, and love to share with other people.  Something that I enjoy so much, that it actually energies me when I work.  Teaching yoga is exactly that for me.

5) A Job that does good for the world 

We live in a super crazy high-tech world these days.  It’s hard to unplug and simply live in the moment.  Yoga teaches you this.   It teaches you that peace begins with yourself.  It has saved me on more than one occasion, and I hope it can help others too.  I have big visions of being able to contribute to being a positive change in the world.  If I can teach something that would give a little bit of peace to the lives of my students, it means the world to me.  It makes me feel like it was worth teaching.

I hope sharing why I decided to teach yoga can inspire you to practice more, and share yoga with more people around you.

Love and light,
Tiffany