Yoga with Kate In Studio and on Zoom

3706 Nafziger Rd, Wellesley, ON 

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Pelvic Tilt Fix

Keeping a neutral pelvis is important to moving comfortably and feeling comfortable even at rest.

Two basic problems - simple drawings - simple solutions

First To Fall

Stratford resident, Trevor Horne (son of one of my Yoga Folks, Jean Horne) recently won the Sideroads cover photo contest with his entry "First to Fall". See more of Trevor's work at Gallery 163 in Stratford on November 12 & 13. Proceeds benefiting mental health initiatives.



By the way, Gallery 163 is right around the corner from our True NatureYoga Studio in Stratford. :)

Mudra of the Week - Week Two

Mudra of the Week - Week One

Yoga and Time

Yoga and Time ... "NOW" is the only time we have.  NOW is the only time Mind & Body can share.

Yoga brings Mind & Body to that space and time of HERE & NOW.



Bringing Mind, Body, & Spirit together ... breath by breath ... Here & Now.


Yoga!!!  A chance to MOVE & BREATHE & BE in the HERE & NOW.

Yoga and Time unfold our true Self.  

Namaste'

New Yoga Classes In Stratford

 117 Regent Street, Stratford, Ontario

Namaste' ... I Am Thankful for ME!!!

We often forget the FULL depth of saying Namaste'.  The simplest explanation of this greeting is "I bow to you" , and it is often extrapolated out into "The Light within me salutes the Light within you."  It is a gesture of respect for the person standing in front of you as you recognize how special they, and all beings are!!!

But don't forget the person standing in front of the person standing in front of you.  YOU.  That same wonderful Light!!!  Your Light was there before you had the career which may have come to define you.  That Light was there before your significant other and/or your good friends who may have come to define you.  That Light was there before all your possessions that may have come to define you.    That Light was there before you came into this world and a name may have come to define you.  And that Light will be there after you leave this world and all those things no longer define you.  That Light is the Essence of You!!!

Practice being thankful for YOU!!!   I am thankful for all of YOU!!!  YOU are that Light!!!

Namaste'

Kate

A Place to Start ... Let Yoga Move You ...

The Many Pieces of Savasana – Part II - The Inner Smile

At the heart of Savasana is Anahata Chakra ... the Heart Chakra.  Anahata is the midpoint in our climb up through the chakras.   In Savasana we find rest and balance in Anahata, that space between the primal chakras and the more ethereal chakras.

When we come to Savasana, we can bring to mind a person, a place, or a thing that makes us really Smile.  Then we let that Smile actually come to our lips and light up our face.  That Smile helps to relax and warm both the face and the mind.

Then we bring that Smile to Anahata Chakra, home of the Inner Smile.  We can bask in the warmth of that Inner Smile and allow its healing energy to spread all through the body and mind.

In Savasana we allow that Smile to carry body and mind into relaxation and rest.

Namaste'

Love Story

This post hasn't got anything to do with Yoga, except that it has everything to do with Union ... bringing together two parts into one whole.  That is what Yoga does, and when you find a true Love Story that's what love does.  So in honour of Valentine's Day just past, and Family Day today, here is a Love Story from my Family.

When I was 3 years old, I already realized that my brother had 2 great loves in his life.  One pre-existed me by a long time since my brother was almost 17 years older than I was, and that was HOCKEY.  He loved playing hockey.  He played organized hockey locally until he was well into his 60's. Here he is with his first love.

But a beautiful lady came into the picture back when he was a young man and shoved hockey out of first place.  So much so, that when an NHL farm team came knocking my hockey crazy brother said "no".  To take them up on their offer would have meant being away from his lady.  And he couldn't do that.

When I was 4 years old I was flower girl at their wedding, and they have been happily married ever since.

My brother and his lady retired to a Seniors' Apartment just a little while back.   But I found out this weekend that he had left the Senior's Apartment  because he required a 24 hour care facility ... his health failing.  I rushed over there yesterday to see how he was doing ... very much afraid of what being separated would be doing to both of them.  Much to my surprise and relief, when I arrived I found both their names on the door to their room.  It is just a small room, like a semi-private room in a hospital, and his lady could have stayed in the Senior's apartment in comfort.  But that would have meant being away from her husband.  And she couldn't do that.

Being An RYT

I recently received a new and improved logo from Yoga Alliance.  I thought I would explain to you what that logo represents.

The RYT means that I have studied with a Registered School, for at least 200 hundred hours.  The cost of that varies, but since I chose to go to an in-residence school at quite a distance, for a full month, the total cost of the courses, the transportation, and the accommodations was appx $10K.

The "E" in front of RYT indicates that I have taught at least 1,000 hours since I became an RYT.

The RYT  500 means that I have pursued another 300 hours of formal teaching from trainers who are designated  E-RYT 500.  Again, the "E" designates that they have taught 1,000 hours since becoming an RYT 500.  I chose less expensive routes (no in-residence), so that cost was about $8K.

In order to keep my designations, I must do Continuing Education each year and hold Teacher's Insurance. Coverage and pay dues. Those 3 things cost about $2K a year.

I also now qualify as an E-RYT 500, but I have not claimed that designation because with each addition to one's credentials the "Union Dues" get higher per year, and unless I want to open a Yoga Teacher Training School it does not really apply.

So the little logo is fairly expensive, but I am committed to supporting it, because I see too many folks teaching Yoga who had very little formal training, no live mentor, no anatomy, physiology, kinesiology,and psychology training ... and RYTs have all of those.  So when you are looking for a Yoga Teacher, look for an RYT.

Namaste'

Kate

My Lifetime Sankalpa - Ascending the Chakra Verbs

• Muladhara - I am 
• Svadisthana - I feel 
• Manipura - I do 
• Anahata - I love
• Visuddha - I speak
• Ajna - I see
• Sahasrara - I understand

The Verbs of the Chakras all sound very simple, but there is a lifetime of meditation involved in actually ascending them.

Below, I have added a few thoughts to each.  Do that for yourself

• One Chakra at a time
  
• Explore my thoughts
  
• Add your own thoughts
  
• See what arises

Muladhara - I am - my Foundation - my Tribe - Material World - Existence

Svadisthana - I feel - I Sense I Am a Separate Physical Being - I Hold a Place of My Own

Manipura - I do - I Have Power - I Have Control 

Anahata - I love - I Accept & Love Myself - I Accept & Love Others

Visuddha - I speak - Communication - Express Self - Trust Others

Ajna - I see - Trust Intuition - Develop Insight - Release Negative Thoughts

Sahasrara - I understand - Knowingness - Connection to the Infinite

Shoulders Can Be a Pain in the Neck, and Elsewhere!!!

Using your Bandhas is important.  It is important to your Yoga practice and it is important to just plain living comfortably.

Other important things to use are your Lower Trapezius muscles.  Here is a diagram of your Trapezius muscle.

There are three parts of the trapezius muscle: the upper fibers (shown in YELLOW), used to bring your shoulders to your ears, the middle fibers(shown in BLUE) that bring your shoulders up and also inward, just like the rhomboids, and the lower fibers (shown in RED) that pull your shoulder blades downward.

Try pulling your shoulder blades down.  Not so easy?  Outside of a Yoga class, when was the last time you remembered performing this kind of action?  Probably not very recently, as we don’t spend a good deal of time with our shoulder blades back and down.

Now, lift your shoulders towards your ears – fairly easy?  This action is performed readily when the “fight or flight” syndrome is engaged; pulling our shoulders towards our ears is a protective mechanism.  What else feels tight when you hold your shoulders there?  Well, if you hold your shoulders there long enough, you might feel several things

• the base of your neck may feel tight
• an uncomfortable pulling in your rhomboids (in between your shoulder blades)
• tight contracted feeling in your chest
• even discomfort in your rib cage
• tension headaches, stiff neck, achy shoulders 

I've been incorporating some deliberate moves in my Yoga classes lately to get an "anti-shrug" happening.  Let's work on it!!!

Doing Your Yoga Homework!!!

Cathy and Dave are two of my Yoga Folks who do their Yoga homework faithfully.

Cathy has done her Yoga homework faithfully to strengthen and heal her problem knees.

 See http://kateskinetics.blogspot.ca/2012/03/makes-me-smile.html for the whole story.

Dave uses his Yoga homework to keep his back from suffering the effects of too much driving.  That's his job.  Long haul trucking.  But he has built Yoga into his trips ... right in his truck!!!

Mastering Namaste' with Ahmimsa

(a) Selective Namaste'   Now ... how would that work?!?!?   If you behave in a manner that I consider proper, or if your skin is the right colour, or if you have the right religious beliefs, or if you share my sexual preferences (and not many folks share mine ... I've been practicing Brahmacharya for over 20 years), and the list goes on.

(b) Now if you can say Namaste' and not add conditions, then you may now rest and spend eternity just polishing your halo.   The rest of us will have to keep working at it for a while.  Being careful not to smack ourselves too hard when we slip.   That would be not practicing Ahimsa ... non-harming.

(c)  So Ahimsa, but just when it works for us?  What can we eat without harming?  What can we wear without harming?   What kind of energy can we use without harming?   Can we stop pushing ourselves so hard and practice "allowing" instead of "trying"?   What kind of casual, off-hand conversation can we have without harming, without issues from (a) coming up?

(d) So Ahimsa under control or not?   Same as mastering  Namaste' or not in (b).   Note loop most of us will now be stuck in ... that's Life!!!!   For the lucky few of you, those halos sure look great!!!

Namaste'

Kate

Looking For Yoga ...

One evening, several years ago, we were having our first Yoga class in a new location.  It was a little "off the beaten track", and even at that, more costly rent than I could afford.  I was just arriving to set up, and it was a very foggy evening, and growing dark quickly.

Out of the dark and the fog, I saw a young lady waving and calling out, "I'm looking for Yoga!!!"

That moment has stuck in mind ever since, because I'm looking for Yoga too.  It is a lifelong journey, but it is so worthwhile.  And along the way I find others who are looking for Yoga too, and I try to help them on their Journey.

Namaste'

Kate

Meditating On The Onion ...

“Life is like an onion.
You peel it off one layer at a time;
And sometimes you weep.”

—Carl Sandburg, American poet

And sometimes you laugh ... that is what life is all about.

In ancient Egypt, the onion symbolized eternity because of its circle-within-a-circle structure. Paintings of onions appear on the inner walls of the pyramids and in the tombs of both the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom.

The onion was an ancient symbol of eternity because of the concentric circles that it contains. For this reason, Russian and other orthodox churches are designed with onion domes, a bulb-shaped dome with a pointy top.

Namaste'

Kate

Mindfulness, Meditation, & You (Summer Reprise)

I read something interesting recently ...


"Never go to bed the same person you were when you woke up."   

The theory is, to add something to yourself every day ... and everything counts ... things, people, and places that change your perspective, enhance your understanding, add to your personal "I can do that" list, or otherwise enrich your world.

The trick is, to do it consciously ... remembering that everything counts ... and looking at all your interactions with things, people, and places as additions to YOU.

Take your Yoga off the mat.  Be mindful as you walk through the world.  Be mindful as you talk to others, mindful of your words as well as theirs.  Be mindful of the beauty everywhere and be grateful to view it.

Meditate on these things ... meditation doesn't have to be a formal practice ... just a few quiet moments to think about your day, and add it all to the sum of YOU.

Namaste'

Kate

Distractions & Obstacles & and Bears!!! Oh my!!!

What are your Distractions & Obstacles & Bears?!?!?

What are those things, those Distractions, that pull you away from your intentions?  The things that grab your attention ... the bright, shiny things ... something new to try ... something interesting to follow.  And next thing you know there's that vague, anxious, worried feeling getting into your shoulders, and they're coming up around your ears.  It happens because somewhere inside you know that you've been pulled away from what it was you really wanted to do ... what you really wanted to be ... your best ... your highest.  You find yourself left standing in the middle of nowhere, with your hands full of shiny paper and trinkets ... Distractions.

And what about those Obstacles, the things you run up against every day?  Those things also get in the way of your intentions ... your best ... your highest.  The things that seem immovable and get bigger as you stand staring at them with your hands on your hips.  That solid stance ... that dropping into the hips, that's where those things stay.  Anger and frustration settling into the hips, because you know you're left standing there in the middle of nowhere ... staring ... while those Obstacles get bigger.

And what about the Bears?  Not the Bears in the woods.  Not the cuddly Bears, the cute fuzzy Teddy Bears.  The things you BEAR, the things you swallow, you put up with ... the little hurts ... the big ones ... the disappointments ... all the things that you don't express, and that the HEART doesn't want to see.  So you push them back in that heart space, in that Anahata Chakra,  There they sit ... stuck ... and there you sit ... stuck.  Stuck in pain and discomfort your intentions ... your best ... your highest, all seem very far away.

So find those Obstacles & Distractions & Bears!!!  Shine the light of awareness on them.  Watch them melt ... wither ... fade away, under that light.  Get back on your course to your intentions ... your best ... your highest!!!  Your path to happiness and true contentment.

Namaste'

Kate