A funny but academic talk on finding happiness inside

Hilarious! I wanted to be a unicorn to - love the brother sister story to kick it off, I can so relate.

Love the graph with fake data, such a good exemplification of his point.
Funny how the goal post we set for ourselves just keeps moving, we never get there....below is how we can get there.

Become positive - rewire yourself in 21 days:
3 new gratitude
Journals 1 positive thing in the last 24 hours
Exercise
Meditation
Random acts of kindness - 1 a day


http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html

Yoga Lessons: Accept your limitations on and off the mat

When I talked to people about doing yoga, I often get the response "I am not good at yoga" or "I am not flexible enough". Yoga is not about being good or flexible. It is about just being - I will say that again, just being, fullstop.

Your body and its flexibility, is just how you were born, and a factor of how you've lived but as with everything it changes. And this change depends on how you will continue living. Through yoga you can start to recognise these body limitations (can't touch your toes in forward bend, or maybe back bending makes you want to puke), accept yourself as you are on the mat and take this to your daily grind. You might not be good at public speaking, finding relationships, showing emotions - just like how in yoga you can work on your body's limitations (through practice), as you get closer to touching your toes you will see these other things not as barriers but just things that are apart of you. And can be overcame if you want to, otherwise you are good just as you are right now.

To have more control in your life and more happiness; accept yourself, remove the blame and defy those limitations.

Accepting is hard:

"Accepting me just the way I am" is a hard thing in life to do. There is constant reminders and triggers of seeing things we should be, have or do. For some reason we forget that the celebrity on the front page of the magazine is completely airbrushed and that ideal body doesn't exist for 99% of us. It always seems if we were a little different things would be better. If I only had more muscle, a bigger house, smaller thighs, taller, nice car, more hair, less this or more that. And the even more ironic thing is that as soon as you get this thing you will want/need something else - it is life. Its the way our species is hardwired. And it does have benefits, like giving us the ability to thrive in any environment, be at the top of the food chain and not just stagnate.

With yoga we can learn to watch the thoughts, control the attachment to these thoughts and be happier just the way things are. Even though we will still want that nice house, amazing hair, cool clothes, flat tummy, etc. We can be happy just with what we got now; I am not a better person if I drive that red porsche but I am a better person if I am happier to be around because I like myself today. Yoga can help you find this sense of completeness and acceptance. Its a little reminder to stop for an hour and give yourself the space to find the "I" behind the chatter box telling us all these things. It helps you find and answer, "what is really important in life?"

Remember its not your fault its genetics:

People comment on my forward bend and say "wow your great at yoga." Not necessarily, I am just forward bendy. My 65 year old mother, who does not do yoga, can without effort touch hers as well. Its genetics people and as I mentioned initially everything changes and can change if you want it to. The key in that equation is "you" and "want"; anything good takes effort. And if this same person were to see me back bend or twist they'd say I was not good at yoga. My tight shoulders are my limitation. It doesn't make sense to generalise good and bad - if I can't shot a goal in soccer I might still be a great defender, I still play. So please don't let being good or bad stop you from yoga.

Understanding on the mat translates to off the mat:

So we now recognise that "hey I have limitations that I didn't ask for, it is just the cards I've been dealt." In life we have parents, family, circumstances, a body, we are just born into. If you sulk around about how crappy the hand you've been dealt you won't get anywhere. And progress and happiness is hard to find when your at the self-pity party.

Defying your limitations is possible, with a little effort anyone can do anything, there is nothing stopping you. The "how" is for the universe to delivery to you (future posts to discuss this more).

Instead of saying man I can't touch my toes, well yes you can with a little effort and yoga practice, why not.Like every heartwarming rags-to-riches story would exemplify - Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, J.K Rowlings, Jim Carrey...if they would've let their cards determine life they would've folded and we'd never learned so much from a talk-show, had the best airline experiences, escape in a world of wizards, and laugh at dumb things. So put on that pa pa poker face and get on that mat with whatever cards you got.

Yoga Events: Wanderlust

End of August - should be an great festival full of life changing experiences. Classes, talks, and people to meet...

http://whistler.wanderlustfestival.com/

Is spirtuality just evolution - the duality of reality

Great talk on spirituality - TED talks are fantastic. Many different views and angles on varieties of topics.

Expanded talk on evolution specifically natural grouping - competition within but more importantly across. This cooperation enables a species growth; reaping the benefits - construction and sadly the deconstruction. He explores phenomenon of self-sacrifice for the group - the act of soldiers in war. That the greater good for society outweighs self-preservation, there is something more, the notion that we are all connected anyway.

Duality: we have our ordinary everyday life vs the extraordinary higher experiences that give light to the spirit within - modern society is built to satisfy the ordinary self and the goal to to find the staircase in all the clutter.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_humanity_s_stairway_to_self_transcendence.html

Yoga Lessons: Children remind us how to live

If you watch a child closely pass through a day, they not only live more in the present not worrying about what they did in the past or going to do in the future, they are seeing the world vs just letting it pass them by. And enjoying these things. A simple stick on the sidewalk, a cool cloud in the sky, a plane flying overhead, a bee on a beautiful flower, a puppy.

As adults we are thrust into a world of responsibility, of bills, of having to be more, get more, do more; we slowly move away from some of the simple joys. We get caught up and forget that living like a child is not only a good way to find happiness but important in not taking ourselves so seriously.

Cause really...that nice car, hot new handbag, job title, next appointment, are all things pulling away from the purpose of life. Temporary things that should make you happy but you soon find out the new car breaks down, the handbag gets a glass of red wine spilled on it, higher job title means let time with friends/friend and more tears in the bathroom, and there will always be another "next appointment". As society moves towards more awareness around spirituality and this understanding of temporary and hopefully shift away from consumerism, we can more easily find our inner child and stop to smell the roses as cliche as that advice is, it is key. Key to finding a bit of happiness right now, in this exact moment no matter what circumstances life has given us, we all love a bit of sunshine on our face or the smell of popcorn popping...

YOGA: in yoga we find ourselves pushes through familiar poses, to try to find our edge, to maybe get to the next level of a posture or even to get done with this class so we can get back to our to-do's. But there are subtleties in the transitional movements, in the poses we are good at that we need to enjoy vs rush through. To ensure that we do not have our mind focused on the next posture as this is what you are working towards - enjoy that downward dog as this is the foundational postures that realigns your spine between posture, vs wanting to get to warrior 3 or crow cause that the posture you want to improve on.

Fear - connection gives us confidence

I read the article below on Fear. It is funny how when you read something or find out that you are not alone, how good that makes you feel instantly. It is like we hold this fear that we are freaks because of certain behaviors, thoughts or action/inactions. When you have this connection, like "hey I am not alone, this is normal" you get this reassurance and confidence that is innately missing from our DNA (atleast us in the West). It gives hope; a light at the end of the tunnel.
http://www.positivelypositive.com/2012/04/12/conquer-fear-and-live-in-love/

I point out "west" because I was recently listening to a speech from the Dalai Lama when he was teaching lessons on life (as he does via Buddhism) to mostly westerners, he stopped and asked those in the audience to raise there hands if they lack confidence and have self-doubt (all the hands shot up). He took at moment and said he needs to adjust his teachings as this is not a mind-set of Tibetans (due to way they are brought up); this is not hardwired as it is in our society. I found it fascinating to learn there are universal emotions but some that are cultural by-products. And most of self-doubt and lack of confidence stems from some kind of fear.

The article I originally was reading about fear gives some tactics to attacked these personal fears which ultimately frees us from the mind-traps so we can live a happier, more fulfilled life. These tactics are Bhakti Yoga: positive personal affirmations daily and cultivating self-love - manifesting through "thoughts becoming things". There is a bit of faith needed in practicing something that is not necessarily a clear path of success, its not a mainstream tactic yet. Its hard to deduce results directly back to this method - ie: "I no longer fear speaking in the public." This could come from multiple things like speech practice, healthier lifestyle gives you body confidence, daily affirmations, etc. But one thing is that it doesnt hurt, so tackling these personal barriers (like fear) from all angles is a must.
So its a win win, time to start and end the day with "girl you are amazing, who wouldn't want that thin hair, your kind, deserve gold, oh and that stomach was made to make babies so rolls I love you."

Another video that almost everyone has watched and anyone that hasn't should. It is an interesting and indepth study of our fundamental need for connection and belongingness (physically, emotionally and on every level it is why we are here). And shame and fear underpin what we do in order to ensure we connect - but is a barrier to our own happiness. We need to embrace vulnerable, to allow the opportunity for failure in order to achieve what we want. In the study the only thing of people that dont have fear is the simple belief that they are worthy of love and belongingness. Once more...just believe and you will achieve. 'nough said!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

I LOVE yoga

So "marry it" - remember that when you were little. Ha! The irony of it, is that Yoga means unity, or marriage...think of it to yourself. Understanding you behind the body and mind...finding spirit is the goal of yoga....more to come on this.

I decided to start blogging about all things yoga, positive and inspirational. I have a bit of time on my hands and want to channel my energy into collection, cultivating and putting these kinds of things to the universe.

Left: Summer Solstice at Stonehenge my signature yoga pose Dancers Posture, or Natarajasana. Lord Dancer - Shiva.

"We can experience movement within Natarajasana. When we hold the hand to the foot we create a complete circle of birth, life and death. Through the dynamism of this pose, we
experience expansion, growth, the ability to change to become open hearted, courageous and fearless. In this graceful, elegant pose we feel as though we're dancing.

Practicing this pose also provides an opportunity to find the stillness within the motion. Because
it's such a challenging balance, one must cultivate a quiet and focused mind. In
order to remain still and balanced we must be completely present.

Natarajasana is a balance between stillness and motion. The stillness speaks of peace and poise
that lies within us all at the center. The intense motion is an intimation of
the fury and ferocity, the vigor, which fills this universe. It's the idea that
in the middle of this wild dance of the universe we discover stillness. In the
midst of his wild dance, Shiva's head is balanced and still, his expression, calm and serene, he's in perfect equipoise."
An essay by Kristin Leigh