TEDxIsfeld Eoin Finn Hammock Enlightenment

I love Eoin Finn. I had the opportunity of practicing with him last summer. He is so amazing, excited about life and his Blissologist mission, so I wanted to share this Ted talk with you!

namaste,

Callah

Yogi Victor

A fellow teacher shared this with me. Too funny, thought you would enjoy!

Namaste,

Callah

running + being happy

I am going to copy and paste an article from the guardian because it is just so astounding.
Photo and article credit the guardian, found here. I cheered people on til about hour 5 at the finish line of this marathon, but threw in the towel to warm up at hot yoga (since I wasn't running, after all!). I love how he attributes his success to "being happy" - i think we can all learn from those amazing words.

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It took him more than eight hours to cross the finish line in 3,850th place, but those unimpressive figures earn Fauja Singh a remarkable record – as the world's oldest marathon runner.
The Indian-born 100-year-old from Ilford, east London, completed the full distance in Toronto more than six hours after the winner, as workers were dismantling the barricades.
His total time of 8.25.18 should make him the Guinness World Record holder once all documentation is verified.
Born in the Punjab on 1 April 1911, Singh was a farmer when he first developed a love for running, but only took it up again 11 years ago after moving to live with family in the UK following the deaths of his wife and son. He ran his first marathon aged 89, and has since run seven more.
The holder of several records for fastest nonagenarian, he also claimed eight centenarian distance records from 100 metres through to 5,000 metres during Sunday's Toronto waterfront marathon. Some had never been attempted by someone that old before.
Though Singh found he "hit the wall" at 22 miles he soldiered on for another two hours, and even finished ahead of five other competitors.
His coach, and translator Harmander Singh, said: "Just before we came around the final corner, he said that 'achieving this will be like getting married again'. He's absolutely overjoyed, he's achieved his lifelong wish."
Singh, who attributes his success to ginger curry, cups of tea and "being happy", has long been acclaimed as the "Turbaned Tornado" – the title of his biography, published last year, which he unfortunately has not been able to read because he is illiterate.
In 2004 his running prowess saw him replace England footballer David Beckham, and champion boxer Muhammad Ali as poster boy for Adidas's "Impossible is nothing" advertising campaign.
He now hopes his next project will be participating in the torch relay for the 2012 London Games.

Namaste,
Callah
article and personal photos copyright of Callah at callahyoga.blogspot.com

Forrest Abs

At my yin training this weekend, one of my teachers, Louise, got us working our core on the final day with some Forrest yoga style abs (she's the only teacher in Ottawa trained in Forrest yoga, and I am still looking for one in Toronto to try out this style of yoga! Have you tried it? Thoughts?). We did this move plus another one which I am still looking for a video for. (*edit: i found a whole Ana Forrest ab workout!) I can actually feel my core today- success, which is rare! Try it out.

* I think the beginning is cut off, the instruction should be to let your hands act as a hammock for your head and ensure the head isn't being pulled up on.

** We alternated elbows to knees as well to make it really slow bicycles with the resetting in the centre to re-lift the tailbone.

Enjoy the burn!

Namaste,
Callah
article and personal photos copyright of Callah at callahyoga.blogspot.com

freshly made mala

Occasionally i find myself in the perfect mood for mala-making. Calm, creative, with rare free time on my hands (which also translates to a blog post, yay!)!

Today I made a rose quartz and amethyst mala. I love rose quartz- it's called the "love stone", and is supposed to aid with finding love- romantic, platonic, self-love... you name it. (So, fitting that I love it?) To work with romantic love, it is best given or received as a gift. I can say that it truly worked for me -  I talked my mom into buying me a gorgeous huge stone that i made my very first mala with, and lo and behold, I am happily in a relationship now after 5 years of singledom! Maybe it was timing, maybe it wasn't - either way, it's gorgeous! So, i thought i would share my freshly made mala with you, in case you are looking for love (and a gift ;) ) or looking to share some. Check out the etsy link, and use the code YOGALIFE for 10% off in my shop!

I also got a lovely email from a musician named Neil Middleton, sharing his new CD, Sunrise Music, with me. I don't usually receive a lot of relevant emails but I am always on the lookout for new yoga music so I thought I would build up some good karma for myself and share it with you/ It's a great soundtrack for your practice, and I've added it to my playlist for mala making! Check out a sample track here.

Namaste,
Callah
article and personal photos copyright of Callah at callahyoga.blogspot.com

warrior dash... in photos

I recently ran the "Warrior Dash", a run that is basically an obstacle course, in which you end up completely covered in mud. Climbing up wooden barricades, up & over cargo nets, jumping over fire...

Of course I couldn't resist breaking out into a few yoga poses for some snaps, as I usually do when near a camera. (Anyone else like that?) Luckily, one of my running buddies, Ryan, is great at multitasking running and taking pics (and wearing a sweet helmet cam to boot!) so i have lots and lots to share, courtesy of his great photog skills!

my self-selected team nickname

first pose of the day!

(clean!) group shot, pre-race!

 i'm in the middle, jumping over fire... i was so scared of this and the flames were maybe 1-2 feet high, ha!

success! so close!

the shirt is not allowed to stay white...

made it! my comrades and i post run (aka, the guys who stuck with the slow girls!)

warrior, in more ways than one!

fireman hose down. actually painful!

  

cleaned up, viking dancer (on a downhill!) :)

Namaste,
Callah
article and personal photos copyright of Callah at callahyoga.blogspot.com

yin, here i come!

the first yin class i took was actually during my moksha training... which exactly one year ago, i was just in the beginning stages of! i can't believe a year has already passed by, seeing lots of changes in my life. I "celebrated" today by teaching FIVE classes! Yes, i felt a little crazy. I'm not quite sure how full-time teachers do it on a regular basis, although I'm your body does get used to it. Tons of water, electrolytes and coconut water later i am ready for an early bed time! of course, it is the middle of summer, HOT, and i am a little over the heat in this moment!

so what is a more perfect thing to do than expand... i am all signed up for a yin yoga teacher training weekend intensive in October. Yin classes always feel so delicious to me... they have the same effect as a restorative class, leaving me refreshed. I wasn't quite sure where I would take my training but some web searching led me to the Rama Lotus studio in Ottawa. After a few days of deliberating, consulting with my family in Ottawa and ensuring I could take a day off work... I am officially registered :)

image Rama Lotus  

I can't wait to expand my teaching knowledge, and hopefully delve into teaching outside of the hot room. What styles of yoga do you love? What kind of class do you consider a "treat"?

Namaste,
Callah
article and personal photos copyright of Callah at callahyoga.blogspot.com