What we know is that there are many meditations, breathing exercises and yoga techniques that help relax both your mind and body. Finding the right mental approach to life so that you can maintain a sense of peace and composure no matter what comes your way is a skill, difficult at the best of times.
Wouldn't it be amazing to be relaxed with life, no matter what?
Well, start by stopping. Stop trying to constantly change reality and instead try to live life spontaneously even simply, in each moment. "Residing in the center of the circle", means to not be caught in changing tides of the periphery. It means to stay with simple moment to moment awareness and allow your responses to come directly from the challenges that the moment presents.
Ha, easier said than done, but perhaps it takes some time, patience and a dedication just as we approach our other activities, and our yoga practise. Although at first glance, one may think of this "acceptance" as a passive approach to life, it is really a very alive and active "acceptance". As this acceptance requires you to be free of your constant mental projections and embrace each moment completely. Approaching life in this way, means you are truly alive to what it is offering and ready to respond as demanded. Anything else is just escaping the moment and trying to manipulate reality in the futile pursuit of security and pleasure.
Trying to constantly shape reality based on your desires or as reaction to fears, is exactly what robs you of relaxation and peace. To understand how to live in the moment and do what is needed, without concern for results or expectations, could be the exact approach that leads to the ease of being. So, if you are looking for true relaxation and peace of mind, understand that the moment is always in flux, life is ever changing and stop trying to stirrrrr up reality.
One month away until One Love Toronto! I am super excited to be a part of this event, and hope that you are equally as excited! Below is information overload about this amazing event! Take a moment to read all about it, knowing you are participating in something BIG, something that matters! See ya on the mat!
http://www.onelovetoronto.org/
Welcome to One Love Toronto, the first annual 108 sun salutation fundraiser taught by a collaboration of instructors willing to live their yoga off their mat and challenge their students to do the same.
One Community
Yogis throughout Toronto unite in a collaborative effort in the spirit of what South African's call Ubuntu; the understanding of our interconnection and interdependency on one another, within Toronto as well as around the world.
One Practice
To inspire all Toronto yogis to collectively expand their practices by reaching beyond physical poses within studio walls and into underprivileged communities throughout the world. We will practice 108 sun salutations together led by 12 different teachers from 12 different studios. Participants are challenged to raise $108 or more in honour of their 108 sun salutations. We reach beyond the borders of the individual and practice as one.
One Cause
100% of donations support the Global Seva Challenge of Off the Mat, Into the World, whose 2010 efforts will directly support grass roots organizations in South Africa, where approximately 6 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and vast numbers of children are being orphaned due to parents dying from AIDS.
One Challenge
Each participant is challenged to raise a minimum of $108 for South African humanitarian efforts.
All One Love Toronto proceeds benefit Grace Dubery and Davian den Otter's Global Seva Challenge to Off the Mat, Into the World.
Event Info:
Saturday, Dec 4th 2010, 10am-Noon
Registration opens at 9:30am
The Guvernment
132 Queens Quay, Toronto, ON
a minimum of $108 in fundraising is suggested
http://www.offthematintotheworld.org/
Off the Mat, Into the World® (OTM), a program of the nonprofit, The Engage Network, is dedicated to bridging yoga and activism. Founded in 2007, OTM’s mission is to use the power of yoga to inspire conscious, sustainable activism and ignite grassroots social change.
Yoga is a powerful path of personal transformation. At its root, the word means ‘union’ – of mind, body and spirit. Yoga opens our hearts and expands our awareness of self creating space for balance and deep change in our lives.
OTM helps individuals take the path of yoga “off the mat and into the world," expanding the sphere of change outward to local and global communities. We do this by facilitating personal empowerment through leadership trainings, fostering community collaboration, and initiating local and global service projects. Our work focuses on three core areas of development:
As studies continue to reveal yoga's many health benefits, this centuries-old Eastern philosophy is fast becoming the new fitness soul mate for workout enthusiasts. Contemporary devotees range from high-powered execs trying to keep hearts beating on a healthy note to image-conscious fashionistas striving for sleek physiques. Even prominent athletes are adding yoga to their training regime to develop balanced, injury-free muscles and spines.
Yet to applaud yoga for its physical benefits alone would only diminish what this entire system has to offer as a whole. By practicing yoga on a regular basis, you may be surprised to find that you're building much more than a strong, flexible body.
"North Americans are usually drawn to yoga as a way to keep fit at first, but the idea behind the physical practice of yoga is to encourage a deeper mind-body awareness," explains New York yoga teacher and author Beryl Bender Birch. "Healing and balancing the physical body helps bring clarity and focus to the mind as well."
Initially, the sole purpose of practicing yoga was to experience spiritual enlightenment. In Sanskrit (the ancient language of India), yoga translates as "yoke" or "union," describing the integration of mind and body to create a greater connection with one's own pure, essential nature.
Classes that have gained popularity in North America usually teach one of the many types of hatha yoga, a physical discipline which focuses mainly on asanas (postures) and breathwork in order to prepare the body for spiritual pursuits.
To get started on your individual yoga quest, it's helpful to begin with a list that clearly prioritizes what needs you want to fulfill: Are you looking to sweat your way into a lean form, or does a gentler, more meditative approach sound more appealing?
"Not all practices fit into nice little cubby holes," warns Bender Birch. "There's a great deal of crossover among the various yoga schools, and there's even a diversity in teaching approaches within each discipline."
Try attending a few different types of classes, and you'll quickly discover the right match to suit your needs. Below you'll find brief descriptions of some of the hatha yoga disciplines that are being practiced in the Canada and The United States.
At Misfitstudio a more vigorous approach to Yoga is practised, a Vinyasa-style yoga combines a series of flowing postures with rhythmic breathing for an intense body-mind workout.
