moksha videos January

So, I've been both enjoying my holidays and madly busy, thus equalling a negligent blogger. I hope you've been enjoying the holidays too much to mind!

I'm back! Enjoy some Moksha vids to start off your new year. The ever challenging Savasana... I've got a 30-day savasana challenge coming up! One of our projects involves 30 days of a 20-minute savasana. It's not due quite yet but I'm a keener so I want to get it out of the way so I can focus on getting in my asana practice hours! My fellow Milton teacher Shan shows you how to get your body just right so you can focus on the challenging part... the monkey mind!



lots of great little tips for the green tips of the month! I never would have thought about all of the trees it takes to make chopsticks... time to invest in some to-go ware for my purse, i think!



Wishing you all the most fantastic new year.

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

happy holidays... don't lose your shit!

This video is doing the rounds with my facebook yogi friends, and it definitely seems appropriate to share here. I won't lie, I've got a few gifts waiting for me under the tree (wrapped in re-used packing paper, though!). But, I've cut my gift-giving to a minimum, eliminated paper holiday cards, and hand-made gifts for my friends. I haven't forgot about the "giving" part of the season, either. All in moderation and balance, right?



I hope everyone has an amazingly wonderful holiday, whatever you celebrate (or don't). Enjoy any time off you may have, and like I said in one of my classes this morning... remember any calm energy you cultivate in your asana practice, and take it with you... whenever you are feeling stressed out, remember that feeling... and BREATHE!

Happy holidays :) 

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

try

I definitely have new appreciation for daily bloggers. Even with the topics being given to me, I just don't have the time to write every single day! A lot has been going on with the holidays (and my new mala-making hobby :) ) and I'm content to post every few days. It's much more realistic. Also, while I've reflected on a few, they aren't posted as I feel they're pretty personal to be putting out there in the blogging world... not quite ready for that yet!

________________________________________

December 18 – Try What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it? (Author: Kaileen Elise)

In 2010, I wanted to try to learn how to ride a bike. For realsies. For some reason I just didn't get around to it. What happened? Well, I didn't learn how to ride a bike! I also realized I can be pretty lazy sometimes. And sometimes, you need to prioritize other resolutions. Like running a half marathon.

For 2011... I want to try to learn how to bike-ride! Haha. Also, I'd like to keep up with this creative thing I have going on. I am really enjoying it. In addition to the malas I've been dabbling in medium format photography. It's so much fun! Check out my first roll on flickr!



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

appreciate. remember.

December 14 – Appreciate What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it? (Author: Victoria Klein)

My body. While I have my ups and downs in regards to positive thinking, I am always grateful for it's existence, and what it does for me! it allows me to run (slash - walk!) 21.1 kilometres at a time. It sweats through 60-90 minutes of yoga (sometimes twice in a day). It expresses my creativity. It's my livelihood. 

I'm going to start expressing my gratitude better- more sleep! less junk! as previously outlined in  my action plan. 

December 15 – 5 Minutes Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010. (Author: Patti Digh)

London. Photographing amazingly old buildings, the gorgeous architecture, and being surrounded by those British accents.

Vancouver. The crowds. The Canadian flags. The instant friendships, and re-connected old ones. The pride. The cold. The excitement. The joy. The memory of watching Canada's final, gold-medal winning gold in the air en route to my home, and the whole plane-ful of passengers erupting in cheers.

The moment I decided to take my YTT.

The moment I read the email in my inbox being accepted to YTT.

The entire month of July. Amazing sangha. Amazing, so many emotions surfacing I didn't even know I had.

Good times with friends- just being. 

Everything clicking into place. 2 jobs in the span of a few weeks,

Teaching my first full yoga class on the beach. Bliss.

Finally unleashing my creativity.

Photography.

Family.

Self acceptance.

LOVE. 

Can you believe that was only 4 minutes? It's pretty chronological :)

Also - I've listed my very first item for sale on etsy. ---------> Perfect for your meditation practice, perhaps? :-p

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

action

December 13 – Action When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step? (Author: Scott Belsky)

~ Reduce unnecessary spending so I can save up enough to buy my own place.
~ Turn off my computer at midnight so I can get to sleep at a decent hour... on a regular basis. (Teaching 2 yoga classes and working an 8-hour day at the dental office on 4.5 hours sleep... so not cool).
~ eat more salad!
~ focus on the big picture :)

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

reverb catchup!

A week and a half in and I'm already slacking! Sigh, typical me!

December 10 – Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)
You know, I don't know. Perhaps it was taking my YTT in Toronto vs. Montreal. Absolutely love my sangha and it's hard to imagine having that experience with a different group of people! Also enjoyed housesitting in the city for the month - contemplating moving there! 

________________________________________

December 11 – 11 Things What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? (Author: Sam Davidson)

procrastination ~ constantly staying up too late ~ self-negativity ~ over-the-top consumerism ~ animal products (trying out veganism in the new year!) ~ wasteful spending ~ too much junk food ~ more shoes ~ clutter ~ my closets overfilled to flowing ~ dust!

Notice a theme? I definitely need to let go of my need for "things", to de-clutter my life. I think letting go of the need for physical objects will be freeing mentally, as well. (and while I have been better to an extent lately, ever so often I fall off the "non-consumerism bandwagon" and go a little nuts). I also just want to be healthier and give up all the crap that isn't serving my body. 2011, here I come!

_______________________________________

December 12 – Body Integration This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? (Author: Patrick Reynolds)


I think this could be the moment I crossed the finish line at my half-marathon in October. The last 6km were pretty much hell, but for that brief moment there was no pain- only pure joy!

almost there!

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

a beautifully different... party!

First, I wanted to share this video with you... 

This story makes me want to be a better person. How amazing is he?


December 8 (happy birthday to me!)– Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)


Of course the prompt for my day of birth is the most challenging thus far, only because it unusual for me to look at myself in such a way. Why is it that it's so difficult to put into words the things that make you you? 


Hmm... one thing that gets pointed out is how laid back am I. I am definitely NOT a drama queen. I'm up for adventure (to the tune of backpacking solo for 18 months). I'm independant and I usually rock at whatever I do when I set my mind to it. There's my little bit of self-love for the day! 

______________________________________________________________________

December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. (Author: Shauna Reid)


This one doesn't need many words: (again) Van 2010 olympics. Let me show you...



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

community

December 7 – Community Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)


I've had a lot of awesome community-ness this year. First up, the Moksha yoga family! It was one thing becoming part of my local studio community (I first started energy exchanging there in Nov 2009). It wasn't until the new year, however, that I really started connecting to the point where I decided to take the plunge and head off to teacher training in July 2010. There, the sense of community evolved- my fellow Mokshies became my sangha! We forged a connection that can never be replicated. I guess that'll happen to you after spending 6 days a week, 13 hours a day, going through the most emotional times of your life (and have more breakdowns than you thought possible!). I made some incredible connections during that month that I am so grateful for.

The other community i'm happy to call myself a part of is the yoga-bloggers community! I started my blog back in March of this year, as a way to keep a collection of my yoga-related thoughts and findings. Little did I realize how accepting this community is, and how many awesome people I would "meet"! 

The journeys are only beginning :)

Tomorrow is my bday and I'm working ALL day and then going out for dinner... so I'll catch up on reverb Thursday!

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

make

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)


This one is easy. I'm a fairly creative person (I think that is one reason I love blogging so much), and I've been exploring a lot of different things this year. I crossed an item off the "die list" (also known as a bucket list) by making a painting! It's for one of my yoga projects and one day I will scan it into the computer and show it to the world. 


As for the most recent thing I've made, well it doesn't get more recent than this!

I made this mala for my friend about an hour ago. It's African turquoise, with black onyx and rudraksha beads. 

There is still a lot of things I'd love to do that I need to clear time for. I want to continue painting with the yoga theme - I'm seeing om symbols and the tree of life! And more yoga jewelry- keep posted to this space for an etsy shop opening soon :) I definitely love to create - it's just hard to find the time in my busy life.

What would you make if you had the time?

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

let go

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)


I'm going to say this one is still a work in progress. I've been working on letting go of negative self-thoughts. Telling myself I'm not good enough, not deserving enough, can't do it. I think it's really easy in today's culture to get caught up in what we "should" be like, how we can fit in to the cookie cutter mold. It's time to break the mold and love ourselves for who we are! 


I stopped feeling the need to hang out with people for the sake of it. I'd rather spend time with myself than some certain people! 


One more thing that I'm working towards is letting go of negative thoughts in general. Similar to the idea of, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" - if you don't have anything nice to THINK, don't think it at all! I believe lulu summarizes this best when they say, "the conscious mind can only hold one thought at a time. Choose a positive one". 

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

wonder

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)


I'm an explorer, and a traveler at heart. I love to not only visit new places, but read about them too. I can devour travel guides as if they were novels, and I can never be still for too long- I'm always learning. I'm slowly adding to my knowledge bank by chipping away at my goal of a university degree (currently have a college diploma and so close to finishing my 8th credit out of 15 i can taste it).


So, I cultivate wonder by learning and exploring, and never letting my mind go stagnant. 

source

How do you cultivate wonder?

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

writing & moments

December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it? (Author: Leo Babauta)


Well, my very first thought was, "I'm not a writer, this doesn't apply to me!" So perhaps self doubt that I'm even a "writer" is something that holds me back. I have never thought of myself in that light before, despite being a blogger... I think I am underestimating my value! By starting to think as a writer I will be more confident, and willing to put more of myself out there.


Secondly, and I think this is a big one for anyone... procrastination. Particularly facebook!

--------------------------

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)


It's challenging to pick just one moment... like i wrote about on day one, i've experienced a lot of moments this year where i've felt so happy i could burst. And that is definitely when I feel most alive. But the moment I'm going to choose is experiencing "O'Canada" with the flag going up at the victory ceremony during Van 2010. 

I'm really bad remembering specific details but I do remember that feeling of thinking I might burst open, from pride this time. So proud of being Canadian and experiencing that moment in "our home and native land". The feeling, the vibrations in my chest as thousands and thousands of people sang along. That whole week was just a major high, constant adrenaline. 

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

Moksha Vids- December

For your viewing pleasure, the Moksha Green Tips & Posture videos of the month! and they're good ones :)

Green tips - Babies! Definitely a lot of great tips- I'll be sharing this with all of my friends!



And for the posture tip, thread the needle... one of my personal favourites! Especially post-run.



Do you have any more eco-baby tips to share?

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


P.S. I'll be consolidating some of my reverberations so I can post other stuff as well! Check back tomorrow with a two-in-one #reverb10

one word

December 1 One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)


2010: transform. So many amazing experiences (including Vancouver 2010 olympics) and deciding to listen to my calling to take a YTT in July 2010. I joined a running group and ran my first 10k and first half-marathon this year. I have met so many amazing people and achieved so many goals. Everything just seemed to "click"" this year. 


2011: growth. I want to continue this amazing journey i'm on. 

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

P.S. The winner of the mala bracelet is Aruna at Young Yoga Masters (where I took my kids yoga training!) Congrats :)