Happy Holiday Season my Yogi-friends....

Wishing you all a wonderful, peaceful holiday season surrounded by friends and family. May the New Year 2011 bring you great joy and adventure.

Namaste...
Heidi

Aadil Palkhivala's Fire Burns Bright | Yoga Journal

This is a book that will definitely make it onto my book shelf and be a must read for 2011:Fire of Love: For Students of Life, For Teachers of Yoga by Aadil Palkhivala

Read all about it here: Aadil Palkhivala's Fire Burns Bright Yoga Buzz Yoga Blog Yoga Journal

One of the things in the interview that resonated with me was: "Yoga is not to be performed. Yoga is to be lived."

I love getting these newsletters delivered to my email box every day... makes the day start off in the right vein. Especially now during the holiday season when we are all running around, getting ready for family, friends, cleaning house, wrapping gifts... it is a good sentiment, to do for others and show our love for others but we can get a little carried away and forget to take the time for ourselves. This book feels like it will be one of those books that I grab, along with a cup of tea, and snuggle into a comfy spot to read.

What's your favourite book this holiday season?

Challenge Pose: Parsva Bakasana

This is a wonderful way to grow into the pose. Read and try it out. It is a good thing to challenge ourselves once in a while. If you are feeling a little shaky, ask your yoga teacher to "walk" you through it! Read on:

Challenge Pose: Parsva Bakasana Challenge Pose Yoga Blog Yoga Journal

Top 10 Reasons to Practice Yoga - #10

Today's reason... #10, and the final one in my series, is not only in honour of the season but also because I truly believe it:

10. Yoga is the GIFT you give yourself

We all know that blissful post yoga feeling and that is amazing, but the gift - the real gift - just keeps on giving. We enjoy so many benefits, not only to our physical health but also to our mental and emotional health. And this gift, these benefits, are transferred to those around us: Our family, our friends, our co-workers, our community. By taking care of ourselves we can take better care of those around us. In simple terms: if we are stressed, tired, angry or otherwise unhealthy, we cannot give anything GOOD to anyone. As one of my yoga teachers likes to say: The cup is EMPTY! We have to FILL it.

SO, go on.... give yourself that wonderful GIFT of yoga. Go to your local yoga studio, or better yet if you are in the Gorge, come and join me in a class. Or spread out your mat at home and practice. Take those baby steps towards your practice. Sometimes just sitting in Sukasana (Easy Pose) and connecting with your breath can immediately transport you to a better place.

For more reasons, read this article in Yoga Journal - Count on Yoga: 38 Ways Yoga Keeps You Fit

Namaste - The Light in me honours the Light within you.

5 Biggest Misconceptions About Yoga | Yoga Journal

Just read this and really enjoyed it:

5 Biggest Misconceptions About Yoga Top Five Tuesdays Yoga Blog Yoga Journal

It is so true, that there are NO absolutes in Yoga. Yoga is what you want and need it to be for YOU. There are times it is happy and easy and times it is hard work. But it is always worth it.

Read and feel free to comment below...

Top 10 Reasons to Practice Yoga - #9

Oh, this reason is almost a cheater but here it is:

9. That Yoga Glow... AKA Yoga Bliss...

The feeling that comes over me as I practice yoga and stays with me for a long time afterward. I can see it on my face, in my eyes and feel it in my heart. Looking at others in classes I attend or classes I teach, I know I am not alone in that feeling. That is one reason we keep coming back. I love the feeling I get when a wonderful piece of music starts to play and I feel my body moving into and out of the poses and a lightness of being overtakes me. The strength and grace and fullness of heart as I alternately hold and flow through the poses... THAT is one darn good reason, if I do say so myself!

(listening to Sade's "Flow" and the song "When Your Mind's Made Up" from the movie "Once")

One breath at a time....

This is what I come back to whenever the going gets tough, or whenever I just don't feel like doing something...

One breath at a time,
One pose at a time...
One foot in front of the other,
One day at a time...
Until the Rhythm helps me to find
The smile in my Heart.

Today I found my smile. My wonderful noon class was full of familiar faces, as well as some new faces and those I haven't seen in a while. I was filled with gratitude and humility and that smile came racing back. Sometimes I wonder who is the teacher and who is the student.

Thank you to all my yogis!