New Moon in Aquarius, January 23

Hello Ashtanga Yoga Community! 

This is the First NEW MOON DAY of 2012!  

And what a Beautiful Day it is here in Victoria BC! 

So... where do we find this New Moon today?  

It shows up in the sign of Aquarius -  deeming 2012 as the Year of TRUTH!

The New Moon is the time of the month when we do not see the moon in the sky.  

It is traditionally a day of rest from our physical Asana Practice, and is a wonderful time for introspection and personal reflection (pratyahara) and meditation (dhyana).

The energies during the time of the new moon are best utilized for NEW BEGINNINGS.

There is a much higher chance of anything planted or started during this time to come to fruition, and this gives us a great opportunity to plant new seeds and watch what grows in every area of our lives! 

The New Moon this month is in the sign of Aquarius, the sign of SPIRITUAL REBIRTH.  

It is ruled by the planet Uranus - the “Awakener”- the ruler of TRUTH.  

Aquarius is most associated with our Dawning Age of Freedom, Abundance, Truth, Enlightenment and Peace. 

Uranus is the God of chaos, who shatters old forms to make way for new ones...

Thus, this New Moon offers a huge potential for bringing with it a wave of breakdowns and breakthroughs... so get ready!

Today is a great day to ask yourself: What is you truth and Are you ALIGNING yourself with it?

Maybe you will have the opportunity find some quiet time to reflect on what opportunities are available to you right now?

One of my favorite questions has always been... "What would you dare to dream and do if you knew you could not fail?"

  

So, why not take some time today to get quiet, and set some intentions for the Year to Come... 

Plant some seeds, Awaken some dreams, Listen to your Inner Truth, and begin to move in a Conscious way along your Chosen Path!

This New Moon Energy is here to help you today - so get to it!  

What are you waiting for?-!! 

 

January 1st - Happy New Year!

So many hopes and aspirations are apart of this day, as we find ourselves excited about the future, the unknown, what is to come?  The year stands before us, an almost blank slate ready to be written upon!

We are super excited about the year ahead for us at Ashtanga Yoga Victoria and we hope you will be too!

Starting this month - Tomorrow - January 2nd - You can join us in our Mysore Challenge Month!
This is a great way to start your year, and get back into the rhythm of a regular daily practice of Yoga.

Maybe practicing 6 days a week is something that you've never done, or even ever tried to do... so why not start this year?-!

Challenge yourself!  You will be amazed with the results!  You will feel so good! 

You need not do a 2 hours of practice a day, but just come in and do something... even 20 minutes of sun-salutations with a nice shavasana will infuse your day with new energy and increase your positivity!

Interestingly enough... There is another 21 Day Vegan Kickstart Program starting this January 2nd as well... and it's not too late to sign up! 

Perhaps your diet fell off the wagon during the holiday season... I know ours certainly did!   
oops!  (Too Many Bon-Bons for sure!)
If you are anything like us... you might have woken up this morning feeling like you could use a good cleanse, and with a strong determination to eat more healthy, and clean up your act! 
This is a great way to start! 
Sign up and get daily recipes, meal plans, videos, and a community to help support your new healthy food choices! 

Let's Do It Together and make this month an AMAZING start to 2012!

Our second pro-tracked modular Yoga Education & Teacher Immersion Program starts January 13th!
We invite you to sign up for One or ALL of the modules.  If you have a desire to deepen your understanding and practice of Yoga, we have created a series of informative workshop weekends that we know you will gain huge benefit from.  This is an wonderful opportunity for self-growth.  We hope you will join us!

We have some incredible workshops coming up this year starting with Certified Ashtanga Yoga Teacher, David Garrigues, who will be with us March 23-25, followed by Ashtanga Yoga Icon, David Swenson, who will be here for ten full days starting July 20-29. 

These are two teachers we know you will love as much as we do, and we hope you will set aside both the time and resources to join us in learning all that you can from their wealth of wisdom, and years of experience in this practice!

Our beloved teacher and Yoga Master Sri. O.P Tiwari has also promised us that he will visit again this year, and will teach a workshop for our students while he is here!  So... stay tuned as we will post the dates as soon as he confirms his travel plans.

Well, that's what we're looking ahead to as we take some time to stop and pause today... we hope that you are as excited as we are, as you begin to plan and anticipate what awaits you and your practice of yoga in the year 2012!



  

Waiting for 2012...

As Jediah waits by the window to welcome the New Year, Jeff and I have time to reflect on what a year 2011 has been. We have so much to be thankful for... we can't even begin to count everything and everyone that we have deep gratitude for... the list is long and innumerable! 

We have a little game that we like to play at this time of year, where we choose a word to describe our impressions of the year-gone-by, and then one for the New Year.  We like see what word comes up to reflect our aspirations, hopes, intentions, and focus for the year to come...

I asked Jeff this evening, what word he would choose to describe 2011, and he said "Change" - funny - that was the same word I chose as well.  This year was a year of "Change" for us, in every way!
 
Starting with the huge transition from our simple Mysore program at the Shambhala Center to opening a full functioning Yoga School in the heart of downtown Victoria.  That, followed closely with the birth of our beautiful son Jediah, less than one month later, and of course all the changes that have come along with his arrival and first year of life... sleeping (or lack there of), smiling, laughing, sitting, eating, crawling, standing, walking, climbing, talking, and expanding more & more each day - getting into pretty much everything!

I looked up the word I chose as my intended focus from January 1st last year, and it was agapao - meaning "unconquerable benevolence and goodwill" or what we might also call love in its truest form.  And looking back on 2011, it was certainly a cornucopia of this deep soul love.
How could it not be... just look at his precious little face! 

So, as we stand at the crux of transition between one year and the next, what is our foresight into 2012?

Only time will tell...

But as we enjoy a quiet evening at home, and look forward to seeing what is the first word that comes to mind for us tomorrow will be - the First Word on the First Day of the New Year...  we invite you to join us in our little New Year's tradition...

What's Your Word for 2012?

2012 - A Mysore Challenge!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Hanukkah!

Let's Celebrate the coming of the LIGHT together!
Darkness Be Gone!

The days are about to start getting longer once again, as we all settle in for a little time of Rest & Relaxation with family & friends!   Ashtanga Yoga Victoria will be taking some time to Chill from December 24 - 26, but we'll be back with Bells On come Tuesday December 27th!

We had a sweet little Christmas Gathering with many of our amazing students this past week!
A HUGE thanks to the talented & beautiful Laura Harris, who hosted the party this year.  I think I speak for everyone, when I say... "It was so much fun!"  It was a great opportunity to actually talk to the people you sweat beside daily in class, and also for us to hang out with everyone who was able to attend this year.  Santa's little helper was there making a list & checking it twice... so watch out for what shows up in your stockings come Christmas Morning!    

Thanks to everyone who brought delicious food & treats and made the party memorable!  As well... We missed all those who couldn't come... and we look forward to celebrating with you in the New Year!!  There will be more festive moments for sure!

As we turn to 2012... We are excited to welcome many new students to our beautiful Yoga School situated in the heart of downtown Victoria - Market Square.  We love it here, and we know you will too!

It is hard to believe that it was one year ago now that we opened our doors in this great space!
Every day as we practice and teach, we feel so blessed to be apart of such an amazing community -  we  are surrounded with some of the best people in this city, and it just keeps growing!

May 2012 be the best year yet - for everyone and for Ashtanga Yoga Victoria!  

So... 2012... Let's Kick Off the Year with a BANG!  Let's get started on the Right foot! 

In the traditional Mysore Style of practice, a student would typically practice 6 days a week.  

Usually Saturdays are taken as a days of rest from the traditional Ashtanga Yoga asana practice, as well as Full & New Moon days, so most months every other week is a 5 day practice week.  

We want to challenge you to take on this traditional method of practicing Ashtanga Yoga - Mysore Style - for the full month of January 2012!   

Starting Monday JANUARY 2nd - Challenge yourself to commit to a traditional 6 day / week Yoga Practice!  

You can come to our Mysore Classes held Monday - Thursday in the mornings from 6am - 9:30am or in the evenings from 4pm - 6:30pm... and if you can't make it to one of the Mysore Classes then come to one of our "guided" classes either at Noon or in the evenings at 6:30pm!  

There is lots of opportunity for you to fit your practice of yoga into your day!  

Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, we have several "guided" classes for you to choose from, to make up your traditional 6 day / week practice!  

You can see our full Schedule for 2012 on our website!

(And if that's not enough... You can also find us at our Johnson Street neighbours lululemon on Sunday evenings at 7pm - teaching the community classes throughout the month of January!)  

Don't worry... there are a couple Moon Days in there for you to take extra rest!

Monday January 9th & Monday January 23rd - Two Long Weekends in a month!  

How Lucky! 

So - There it is... Our Challenge to You & to Ourselves - to make it Happen starting this January - A NEW YEAR - 2012!  

Let's turn our minds to things of a Higher Nature, to our True Spiritual Purpose here on the planet, and use this opportunity to Focus on the real practice of Yoga, to raise our consciousness and increase our awareness as we embrace another year!   It's going to be GREAT!

For those who want to delve even deeper into the practice and study of Yoga, we will start teaching our EDUCATION IN YOGA course starting JANUARY 13th at Ashtanga Yoga Victoria.
These classes are offered on the weekends, and if you attend all the modules, you can qualify for a 200 Hour Teacher Training Certificate.  Please read our details about Yoga Education for more Information.

We wish you all the best in 2012 & look forward to growing with you more & more! 


Love & Light
Namaste
Om

Making Time...

So here we find ourselves stuck in this busy life filled with a million things to do, people to see, work that demands our immediate attention, text messages to send, phone calls to return, emails to check, planning our next week, or possibly our next year, rushing kids to activities, doctor's appointments, and all the other meetings or engagements that seem to relentlessly pop up, and then someone asks for a "small favour" and we're just about to loose it... but we stop & breathe, pull ourselves together, and add it to the growing list of things to do...

So, where in the midst of all the different, and seemingly important things that demand our constant attention, are we able to find the time to practice Yoga?  How do we find some time for Ourselves?

Now, I hear you... believe me - I can relate!  With a 9 month old son, who (bless his little heart), on most nights still feels the need to wake up every couple hours, try to think of your most hectic day and add chronically sleep deprived to the mixture, and you'll start to get a glimpse of my new "normal".

I've learned though that if you don't CHOOSE to MAKE the TIME, then you will NEVER FIND the TIME!

Time is funny that way - it's slippery!
It has a way of sliding through our fingers... "like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of our lives... [insert music here]"  (hopefully a certain generation will be chuckling at this point!)

When we find ourselves overly busy, and becoming buried by life's complications, then it becomes even more important to create a sacred time, and space for our own Self - a time set apart for peace and practice.
It is during the busy times that we need our practice of Yoga the most!
It is during the busy times that we will feel the benefits of taking this time the most as well.

So set aside a piece of your day for silence, mediation, and a time to connect with your own body, breath, and spirit.

You will never regret time spent in communion with that deep, true, Inner Self.
You will make better decisions throughout the day, and I bet you will find that you can accomplished more as well.
Through the practice of yoga, you will find that your clarity of mind and creativity increases.
You will feel better physically and mentally, and you will find more balance and enjoyment amidst the periods of craziness.

So the question is Not how can we find the time to get back on our Yoga Mats for a Daily Practice, the REAL question is how can we possibly afford not to?-!

You need not take a long time... but make some time.

It is the best thing you can do!
Do it not only for yourself, but for all those other people who need you functioning at your very best, filled with peace and positivity!

Do it, because to miss it, is to miss out on your chance to truly connect with something very deep, untouchable, and unspeakable.
And you certainly don't want to miss out on that!