Sharing Yoga with Women in Shelters

Want to share your yoga skills with women in shelters?  You do not need to be an experienced pro –just someone who can put a sound class together for people who otherwise would not have access to the benefits of yoga.

A Wider Circle (www.AWiderCircle.org) is looking for a yoga teacher to teach classes at a battered women’s shelter Thursday evenings in April from 7-8pm.  If these dates are not good for you but you’re interested, contact them anyway.   If you have any interest in bringing yoga to those in need, please email or call Mark Bergel at 301-657-1010

Love What You DO

Sifting through a stash of receipts yesterday, I found a Starbucks receipt.  Why I kept it, who knows?  Like I’m going to take my coffee and muffin back a week later?!?!?!

What jumped off the receipt was the tagline at the bottom promoting Starbucks employment:  Love What You Do.  I’m not sure working at Starbucks is for me but I whole-heartedly agree with their recruiting slogan. 

Life is too short not to love what you DO.  If you don’t enjoy what you do, assess where you are and where you want to be.  What is does your ideal life look like?  View your life as a blank canvas and you’re the painter. 

The first step is to recognize what you want (set goals), what your values are and what makes you smile.  Then start painting your life masterpiece.  Map out the steps required to reach your goals.  Ask yourself:  If I only had 6 months to live, I would do X,Y and Z.  What have you always wanted to do but afraid to attempt?  What do you enjoy doing?  What if you won $1M, tax-free?  It’s a detailed process that can take time and energy but ultimately help you find what you love. 

To help you paint your life masterpiece, read Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy.    

Take II: Teaching Yoga at 34

Following up to my previous post on “what’s the age of your yoga teacher”…I’m always slightly envious when I see that colleges are now offering multiple yoga classes and certification programs.  During my last semester at University of Delaware, yoga was offered and I was lucky to be able to take it as an elective.  At that time being all of 22, teaching yoga never crossed my mind.  Let alone I despised speaking in front of a group larger than 2 people.  10 plus years later passing through a multitude of yoga classes, yoga workshops/trainings, relationships, corporate jobs and just general life, I’m now teaching yoga full-time and registered at the 200 hour level with the Yoga Alliance.

My point (yes I have one) is I needed life experience to be a yoga teacher and I need more.  I look at everyday as an experience.  I view my new experiences as the key to further develop myself as both a teacher and yoga student.  I’ll always be a student of yoga and life. 

Speaking of students (which we all are), it’s important for yoga students to explore yoga teachers, styles, studios, etc.  Play with yoga on and off your mat.  You’ll eventually find a teacher with an loving soul who makes you feel young at heart.  And who knows when it will happen but as a student you’ll eventually discover your inner yoga teacher.  It’s there in all of us. 

Does the Age of Your Yoga Teacher Matter?

Given the rise in popularity yoga has experienced in the U.S. over the last 5 years, it’s not surprising to see this article about the popularity of yoga being a career decision for people just out of college.  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/fashion/08Fitness.html?_r=1&ref=fitnessandnutrition&oref=slogin 

In some ways, I think it’s great (and I’m a little jealous as I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do at 22).  There are some individuals in their 20’s that have experienced more in and of life than some have in a lifetime.  This isn’t true for all 20-somethings but for some.  We’re all unique and our journey in life is different than anyone else’s. 

Though regardless of age, more senior teachers (those teaching 10 to 20 plus years) definitely have a lot more spirit and knowledge about the practice to share.  They also have a better handle on anatomy and the energy body, both of which are essential to guiding a yoga student and take years to grasp.   

Thoughts?      

What are you doing for Karmapalooza?

Yes, KARMApalooza; not lalapalooza

Maybe it’s not realistic to go Florida on Saturday (3/17) or a studio near you to participate in a Salutation-A-Thon (108 Sun Sals) to raise money for Trees for the Future.  Instead can you do 20 Sun Salutations, participate in spirit and write a check for $88 (20+$88=108) for Trees for the Future.  

Don’t have $88 to donate?  Go to http://karmapalooza.com/sunSals.html , print out the pledge sheet and collect small donations from friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc.  If 20 people give $4 and you do 28 Sun Sals, you’ve done a good deed.  Trees for the Future is a worldwide non-profit organization who has set the intention of planting over 3 million trees this year!  Your intention will aid their intention. 

As a good friend of mine always says, all the good karma you need is happening within the four corners of your yoga mat.  So get on your mat Saturday, give a little and share a little karma. 

Expand Your Yoga Wardrobe…

Live in DC?  YES.  Looking for a new pair of yoga pants to inspire your downward facing dog?  YES.  Look no further.  lululemon athletica is opening a showroom in Georgetown this weekend (weekend hours only).  Yippee! 

Get your shop on…When: Sat., 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun., noon-6 p.m.  Where:  1081 Wisconsin Ave. NW, between K & M, 3rd floor (202-333-0849)  Before you go:  Wear green for the St. Patty’s Day celebration and get a free headband.  Take your credit card –only major credit cards; no cash accepted.

Don’t live in DC?  Visit www.lululemon.com

follow-up to my karma yoga rant

The following quote is on the front of my volunteer training book.  It’s a great add-on to my previous post.   

Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.      - Margaret Mead

Volunteer work = Karma yoga

I’ve had this desire to volunteer in Arlington, VA (my community) for the past few years.  Work (the long hours, commuting, traveling, etc.) always seemed to be my excuse.  Of course, I donated money instead of time but it always seemed to be a passing thought –something I simply did each December.  Writing a check also felt so cold and out of touch with reality. 

Since starting my own yoga business, I now control my schedule and can donate in a way that is more meaningful to me.  I’ve selected a domestic violence organization (http://www.doorwaysva.org) to work with.  Since starting my volunteer training (it’s 30 hours of just training!) and learning more about the people in need, I’ve been thinking more about Karma Yoga, The Bhagavad Gita and my place in this world. 

Karma yoga is the yoga of action.  Rather than working to receive something, karma yoga (like volunteering) is the practice of helping others and working for the greater good.  A true karma yogi has no desire for personal gain.  The desire is to help others in need. 

I wasn’t expecting to “receive” anything in exchange for my time –sort of like when I donated money I didn’t expect anything in return.  Though something is clicking – I’m starting to feel an indirect result from helping others in a new way.  My heart and spirit are experiencing a level of joy and satisfaction I was not expecting.  I’m realizing helping others is a way to help ourselves, those around us and the universe.  And, I’m seeing how beautiful my life truly is.  This is something I definitely never experienced through writing a check or reading about karma yoga.

Do it and experience it for yourself.    

Free Samples for your Yoga Students

Yoga teachers, have you heard of the YogaFit® Gift Pack?  If you teach yoga, visit http://www.nichesampling.com/yogafit/ to complete a simple form and receive YogaFit® Gift Packs for free. 

The YogaFit® Gift Pack is an assortment of samples and offers that are meaningful to people with healthy lifestyles, like your yoga students. Annual sample distribution will be in the May/June timeframe.  It’s free.  So why not sign up?    

What are you reading?

Okay, so I read more than magazines.  At any given time, I have five books by my bedside.  Can I blame it on being a Gemini? 

Current reads include:  Light on Life, Meditations from the Mat and Eat, Pray, Love.  All are excellent in their own way –trust me!  You barely know me but believe me when I say I have never had such an enjoyable set of books at any one moment next to my bed.  It’s hard to go to bed at night!

Check back in a month or so for details, reviews and the titles of the new books sitting on my modern nightstandJ