Lets Get It OM 🕉💚

I had the privilege of going to Courtnay Comox to see Geshela Yong Dong. Geshela is a Tibetan Buddhist monk who offers teachings and meditation. One of the first things he said to us was "imagine the person who hurt you the most in your life". Our eyes were shut and we were to manifest the person who hurt us and engage in a process of letting go. When he said those words, the first and only person to pop in my head was MYSELF. I realized how much I neglect my own health and feelings. I am constantly putting others ahead of my own needs and I need to work on that. I want to find balance between giving and taking. Take only what I need and give only what is left to give. I find that I give up too much because I'm unaware of how much I myself need. For example I have always put the health of others ahead of my own health. Most of us go through life wanting to become more selfless but remember to nourish yourself first ! 💜💕❤️

The other day I was reflecting on a yoga challenge I did for a month last February. The first photo is me doing a forearm #plank variant or #makaraadhomukhasvanasana. This was the first day of the yoga challenge and I was super excited and eager to see how I could push my self to try new poses I've never had the courage or discipline to do before. The second photo is a picture of me on one of the last days of the yoga challenge doing #rajakapotasanall. A friend of mine actually commented on this photo saying, "when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly". He had been following my yoga challenge posts and watched me over the month evolve and change through each yoga pose. I didn't realize it at the time but he was totally right... this was me evolving into my next truer form! Doing this challenge was really hard because being a full time student and working full time on top of that, doesn't leave much room for yoga. But boy was I wrong ! It's all about making time to spend 10 mins a night doing one single yoga pose that can make all the difference in the world about how you feel and interact with others. Some days I would come home dreading doing the next pose because I was exhausted and just wanted to lay down and watch tv or go on social media but instead the yoga challenge, challenged me to make time to do something more beneficial to my health. Looking back to that time I realized that I am in a really bad place right now, mental and physically. I feel very disconnected and unauthentic at this time in my life. One of my friends told me that now is the time to reconnect to yoga as I've been feeling distant is many aspects of my life. So that is what I am going to do!

The last class I attended at the 2018 Victoria yoga conference was Vitamin Yin! Vitamin Yin in a Yin class with a lot of hands on manipulation by volunteers. There was one teacher, Katie, who lead us through each Yin pose and then there was about 10 volunteers who walked around the room and would help you go deeper into the pose or give you mini massages and reiki! It was a truly amazing experience and I didn't want the class to end. I don't even know who to explain how I felt during the class. First off I was really sick during the conference so it was really hard for me to let go when I'm trying not to cough but during this class I didn't worry about that at all. I just let go of every thing and decided to just be in the moment. Sure I coughed a few times but I wasn't tense or struggling to breathe either. This was the only class I actually felt completely relaxed in and I think it also had to do with the mixture of everyone's energy! There was so much love and acceptance in the room ❤️

I also attended a workshop at the Victoria Yoga Conference called yoga and meditation meets neuroscience. This diagram pretty much sums up what we talked about during the conference. How yoga and meditation can effect the body's stress response and basically creates a chain reaction in the brain and effecting different regions and responses. We talked a lot about trauma and the effects yoga and mediation have on trauma victims. Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the mind that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event. Trauma is often the result of an overwhelming amount of stress that exceeds one's ability to cope, or integrate the emotions involved with that experience. Since yoga and meditation have a strong effect on the stress response of our brains, which is the main part of the brain that is effected from psychological trauma! Wooowwzzaaa there's also some chemical reactions that occur in the brain that yoga and and meditation can help increase like serotonin, which is responsible for regulating anxiety, depression, happiness and your overall mood. Picture taken from www.yogauonline.com

This picture is the result of the Victoria Yoga Conference Spice Shakti workshop. During the workshop we used a mortar and pestle to grind up whole spice while chanting a mantra together. Thoughts before: I wasn't sure how working with spice would be related to yoga and I was curious to attend this workshop and learn more. Thoughts during: In the room there were 4 blankets laid out. Each one had a mortar filled with spice and a pestle. We were told to sit at which ever one we wanted with a max of 10 people per blanket. I sat down at the mortar filled with star anise. Glynnis went on explain the properties of each spice and said we chose our spices for a reason whether we were aware of it or not. She said we were the lucky ones because star anise is a powerful spice. Apparently star anise's effects on the body included: clearing excess mucus from the respiratory tract, fighting bacterial/fungal/viral infections and can be used as an anti-inflammatory. Effects on the mind include a sense of clarity and grounding to the mind. Which is funny because I was super sick and full of mucus at the time (yuck). The other spices included coriander, black pepper, mustard seed, sesame seed, turmeric and Himalayan salt. Glynnis taught us a mantra which she described as being the vibrational channel for directing the healing energy of plants into the mind. It imbues the spices and herbs with the power of psychological healing and spiritual integration. We took turns grinding the herbs and spices and at the very end we mixed them all together. We each received a portion to take home with us. Thoughts after: I loved the mantra and the process of grinding the herbs and spices. I often found my self closing my eyes and swaying to the tune. It wasn't until a few days later when I saw my portion of the spices that I realized the connection spices have to yoga. Each spice has different ways it effects our body, mind, heart and spirit. If we fuel our bodies with good food and spices we can reap some of the benefits different herbs and spices offer. #yogahappensonandoffthemat If you would like to learn more about different spices and their benefits or you're interested in attending a workshop please visit Glynnis' website at www.thespicelife.com

According to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar a meditative state of mind, also know as a higher state of consciousness, exists somewhere between the waking, sleeping and dreaming states of consciousness . Through meditation we can reach a higher state of consciousness known as the cosmic consciousness that resides in all of us. Cosmic consciousness perceives the whole universe as part of oneself. There are many different types of activities that can help you reach this higher state of consciousness. Some of those activities include, meditation creating mandalas, spice work, asana practice, mantras, song and hypnotherapy. Since the term yoga means union of mind, body, soul and spirit ... oneness... which leads us to a higher state of consciousness... all of the above activities would be classified as yoga.

My first ever mandala sketch! I did a workshop at the Victoria yoga conference(VYC) called meditate and create. During that workshop we were guided through a mediation and then taught how to start a mandala. My thoughts before: I wasn't sure how creating mandalas and mediation would be linked together and I was nervous because just looking at a mandala gives me a headache trying to figure out how to draw one. My thoughts after: I couldn't put my pencil down when it was time to pack up. I was so engrossed in what I was doing that the time flew by. When I first started the mandala I was anxious but as I Slowly made circles and a grid it became easy and even soothing. The smaller the portions of the grid are the more complex the mandala gets. The mandala is created with a lot of repetition of patterns. The process of repetition can either get you into a meditative state of mind or it can become super frustrating. For me, it really helped having smaller sections to focus on. I would ignore the rest of the sections and focus on one at a time. I loved using a ruler and protractor but I wasn't strict on being too precise. I started my mandala with a completely open mind and no expectations and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I will continue to work on this mandala and many more ! I find it super calming and an easy,fun and creative way to reaching a meditative state of mind. ✏️💜📏

Victoria yoga conference 2018 goodies! This was my second time attending the Victoria yoga conference and it just keeps on getting better. The positive energy and all the beautiful instructors, participants, staff and vendors make each year SO worth it. Not only do you get to learn and experience different yoga and meditation practices but you also get to meet some amazing people along the way 🤗🙏🏽💛

Set an intention for your practice on and off the mat! 🙏🏽💚

In Sanskrit the word “yoga” means union according to sacred texts, the Rig Veda. With that in mind Vivekananda’s quote “the purpose of yoga is yoga” really means the purpose of union is to be united. What are we uniting ? Mind, body, soul and spirit…💭💛

Hello everyone! For my grad project I will be doing a deep dive into the history and evolution of yoga and all it encompasses! Stay tuned for all things yoga 😋