Category Archives: Yogic Lifestyle

5 Reasons To Go On a Yoga Retreat

Whether you are brand new to yoga, or a lifelong skilled yogi, attending a yoga retreat is an experience of a lifetime.

1. Deepen your yoga and spiritual practices:

+ Only in a yoga retreat setting, do you have the opportunity to live full time with your teacher, practice with them daily, and to dedicate a holistic 2-7 days to your yoga and spiritual practice. The retreat setting allows you to dive head first into your practice, to become curious about the possibilities of your body and mind, and to explore the depths of your practice, to grow and transform, on all levels of being.
+ A yoga retreat gives you a chance to get one on one with your instructor, to ask questions, to ask for support, assistance and to try and practice new things that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to in a regular 60-90 minute yoga class.

2. Meet amazing like-minded people:

+ Yoga retreats tend to attract very unique, beautiful and kindred spirits. Yoga retreats give you a chance to really get to know the people you are retreating with in a more intimate and loving setting than any other, and build deep, life-long friendships— sisters and brothers.
+ Experience a deep sense of connection; these people at retreats, they just get you. They are on the same path. They are passionate about the same things. They seek what you seek.
+ Some of my dearest friends are from all over the world that I have met at yoga retreats | yoga trainings. We keep in touch today, and many of them, I have met up with again after the retreat. I love my retreat siblings.

3. Experience a deep reset in life:

+ The nature of most yoga retreats are very empowering, transformational and deeply nourishing. It gives you the time and space to rejuvenate, recharge and reset in life.
+ You will leave feeling balanced, completely inspired, ecstatically motivated and devoted to your path and practice.

4. Deepen your connection to yourself:

+ Attending a yoga retreat is a large investment into yourself, your health, your wellbeing and your practice.
+ Embarking on a yoga retreat is a radical act of self-love, self care and self-honor.
+ It gives you the opportunity to reflect, meditate, and redirect your mind and energy to yourself.

5. It’s an opportunity to travel:

+ Whether it’s a solo international flight, a road trip with a bestie, or a short ride from your home, yoga retreats are a chance to travel. And when we travel, we are granted new landscapes, and a fresh perspective. We are taken away from our daily routines, and schedules, and maybe even away from our comfort zones. And that is where magic happens; just outside of the comfort zone. Check out our Yogi Travel Packing List.

If the above sounds absolutely amazing to you, add attending a yoga retreat to your bucket-list. Check out our Vancouver Island Yoga Retreats or your favourite yoga instructors, travel to your favourite places, make new lifelong yogi friends, deepen your practice, and connect deeply with yourself.

Is going on a yoga retreat on your bucket-list? Have you been on one before?
I want to hear about your yoga retreat experiences in the comment box below!

– Brit x

“Do No Harm, But Take No Shit”

“Do no harm, but take no shit.”

Messages of compassion and loving-kindness unite most world religions today; the notion of non-violence or non-harming.

In yoga, we call this concept Ahisma.
Ahisma means to take responsibility for our own thoughts, words, actions and behaviors, to cause no harm to other beings.
It is about living in harmony with one another.
But we live in a world where the art of being human isn’t all rainbows and lollipops,
(though sometimes it is!)

There is also pain, suffering, harassment, trauma and plenty of ego.
This is half the beauty of our entire human experience.
But this is a breeding ground for causing both conscious and unconscious harm or violence to others
(of course as a projection of their own pain, but that’s a whole other blog post.)

Dealing with shit as yogis, empaths, conscious beings and generally good people of the world, we are constantly challenged to find the balance between the ‘ignorance is bliss’ path of keeping your head down to disregard the violence and abuse present in our world and resenting every human being that crosses our path.

We have made it our life mission; our practice, to be
neutral, resilient, unaffected
by the shit that comes our way.
This shit presents itself in the form of
abuse, manipulation, injustice, harassment.
And such an illusion this supposed dharma of always being cool as a cucumber really is.

Hurt people hurt people.

But someone’s own pain is no excuse to harm, or abuse, or harass others.
It is the highest dharma, (life mission,) of hurt people to transform the poison of abuse into a medicine to heal themselves so as not to perpetuate the cycle of destruction.

It is important to understand that the concept of Ahisma also means to the best of your ability, to prevent or attempt to stop the potential harmful behaviors by others to both others, and yourself.

Mistreatment to any beings on this earth creates a karmic imbalance, (which surely will be taken care of eventually in their souls adventures through the cosmos,) but need not the rest of the world suffer for someone’s cruel behavior in the meantime.

Standing up for others is both brave and kind.
But standing up for your self is the greatest act of heroism.

There is an old story about a yogi and a cobra.

“There was a big, mean cobra that lived in a village and he would bite anyone that would come too close. A Yogi came to stay at the village and one day, decided to practice right beside a tree near the cobra. The cobra slithered over to the yogi and lifted up as if to bite him until he realized that the yogi didn’t want to harm the snake so he didn’t bite him. The cobra said to the yogi that he wanted to learn all about yoga and the yogi told the cobra he would come back in a year to teach him if he could practice ahimsa (non-violence) for the entire year. 
So the cobra practiced ahimsa but the village people started to get closer to the snake and they began to throw rocks and him, but still the cobra did not bite them. 
A year went by and the cobra was near death. The yogi asked the cobra what had happened and the cobra told the yogi about the village people, but that he never bit anyone for the entire year. 
The yogi replied –
“I told you to practice non-violence, but I didn’t say you couldn’t hiss.””

So what does this look like for us?

When you can be empathetic, be empathetic.
When you can’t be, just be human.

In times of mistreatment or injustice, look into them; see their pain that is now being projected towards you. Step into their shoes and see the raw roots of their harm.
And send them love, in mind, or word or action.

But in situations that are more sensitive to you, when our own ego fires up and our blood begins to boil. When an old wound is broken open; just be human.
Standing up for your self is the human form of hissing.
And hissing doesn’t have to mean biting.
But this hiss creates boundaries that protect us all.

Accepting abuse from people clearly causes us harm, but it also causes the abuser harm.
They’ve abused you, and now you resent them,
or have harmful thoughts or words to say about them;
without them even knowing it.
And this perpetuates this cycle of karmic imbalance and further separates humanity.

Like the snake, don’t be afraid to hiss.
Transform poison into medicine.
Do no harm, but take no shit.

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Yogi Travel Essentials

Whether it’s your first time heading out for an inspiring yoga retreat, or seasoned backpacking yogi, this is the ultimate list of must-haves for your soulful travel adventures.

Here is my ultimate yogi travel essentials list:

+Yoga Mat: My Lululemon yoga tote & Manduka Yoga Mat Pro have traveled the world with me for so long that it should have it’s own passport by now! Manduka makes Eko Lite mats for portability, but I prefer my heavy duty mat as it has been through a lot for over 7 years now, and still has no sign of damage or wear. It straps easily to the side of your backpack, or in a yoga tote which you can carry on.  Extra tip: your mat works great as a mattress during layovers!

+ Passport: This is a given, but your passport becomes a sacred memoir filled with your finest mug shot, and a collection of 5 years worth of stamps, Visas and memories.

+ Portable Altar: you can take the Yogini away from her altar, but you can’t take the altar away from the Yogini.. Or something like that. It’s nice to have a little incense or smudge to clear your space especially when staying in new & unknown places, and it brings a sacred quality to all that you do. I usually bring few of my favourite small gemstones or crystals to keep me grounded and centred.

+Inspirational Book: A New Earth by EckhartTolle is my usual book that has been with me around the world. It charges me up spiritually while on the road. Others I have taken with me are: “The Desire Map,” by Danielle Laporte, “Broken Open,” by Elizabeth Lesser, “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho and “Autobiography of a Yogi,” by Paramhansa Yoganada.

+Comfortable shoes: While I usually prefer barefoot or flip-flops, I’ve got my NewBalance Fresh Foam 980’s with me for lots of walking or hiking.

+Camera: If you’re a picture addict like me, you’ll have a camera or two with you on your travels. I’ve got my iPhone and Canon Rebel T4I for spontaneous yoga pictures and videos in paradise.

+Natural Lip Balm: I always have a natural/organic lip butter with me because planes and constantly changing our environment can dry us out!

+ Natural Hygiene: Liquids can be annoying on flights. So if I can avoid checking my bags, I limit my liquids to 100mL of Dr.Bronner’s Soap (an all natural & vegan all purpose liquid soap; works as shampoo, laundry detergent, body wash, first aid and more.) I bring a small tub of coconut oil which is my whole body lotion, conditioner, sunscreen (low SPF,) and sometimes toothpaste. And I use Lush Cosmetics Toothy Tabs that you can carry on so you can still brush your teach with layovers. Light, convenient & delicious.

+Water Bottle: SO much plastic and packaging is wasted on flights. I always have a reusable water bottle and get it filled up as I travel. And, you don’t have to worry about spilling!

+Infinity Scarf: This is a must! It works great to cocoon your head up and try to get some sleep when your jetlagged. It works great as a little blanket to keep warm. I spray it with my essential oils and breathe in the anti-bacterial and calming oils to keep me healthy and grounded.

+Natural First Aid: I always have a portable medicine cabinet and first aid kit. Usually, I travel with my favourite essential oils: Tea Tree, Citronella, Lavender, and Clove. From bug bites, sun burns, tooth aches and sore muscles, these 4 magical oils have got me covered. I also have a small roll-on perfume blend I made of lotus, lavender, ylang ylang, patchouli and sweet pea. Yum.

+Mala: Bring your altar and sadhana with you. My mala keeps me grounded, centred and aligned. I like my moonstone mala with me to help with jet lag, and it is a constant silent meditation when I wear it.

What are your travel essentials, yogis? Share it with everyone in the comment box below. 

-Britney

5_points_of_yoga

5 Points of Yoga

5 Points of Yoga
(As summarized by Swami Vishnu Devananda)

1) Proper Exercise: Asana (Yoga Poses)

+ The physical body is the house of the soul. Your body is your temple.
+ Asanas were invented to keep the physical body strong, open and well.
+ Open our subtle energy body, so our prana or chi can flow freely within us.
+ Yoga postures focus on the health of the spine, bringing the spine into flexion, extension, side flexion and rotation. A large part of our nervous system is contained in the spine. We are as young, as our spine is flexible.
+ Allows the body to sit for periods of time in meditation.

2) Proper Breathing: Pranayama

+ Control & regulation of prana, subtle energy
+ Practice our ability to use our breath more efficiently, to bring in more oxygen into the body, and remove more carbon dioxide.
+ Many of us don’t breath properly or efficiently, our tissues starve of oxygen and we wonder why we feel tired.

3) Proper Relaxation: Savasana

+ Physical & mental relaxation; resets nervous system, metabolism, flushes cellular waste, reduces stress hormones, balances blood pressure, reduces pain perception.
+ We all know the importance of relaxation.

4) Proper Diet: Typically vegetarian

+ We are what we eat!
+ Pure, simple, natural foods that are easily digested and nourish the body.
+ Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, herbs, herbal teas, and fresh water.
+ Processing, refining or chemically/genetically modifying our food lowers nutrient content
+ Listen to your bodies innate intuition.

 5) Positive Thinking & Meditation

+ Focus the mind, exceed the Ego, deepen our experience, reach the ultimate goal of yoga; Samadhi (enlightenment, bliss.)