The important ordinary things we do. -Krista Tippet This quote really stuck with me. Upon hearing it, I immediately felt a deep sense of affirmation. For what, you ask? For desiring the ordinary. Unapologetically, unabashedly craving ordinary things. This is not a failing. To partake in what many deem as ordinary behavior or basking in the miraculousness of the everyday, I have realized is a practice and a hard won skill. Washing the dishes, ...
Lie Fallow
This past weekend afforded me time to sit still and reflect. As I woke in the morning, as I moved through these slow, quiet days of rest the title of this post became so apparent. "Lie Fallow" the small voice inside me kept repeating until I could no longer deny it. Anytime I sought to be busy it would retort, "Lie Fallow". As I moved into the week this phrase stayed with me. My early morning walk to the studio is one of my favourite moments of the day. The city is still quiet. My ...
Yoga Practice: Creating Space to Feel All the Feels
This past weekend, I wasn’t feeling so hot. I was having a sad, lonely day and wanted to do anything but feel sad and lonely. I tried going to the gym for a workout, followed that with a yoga practice filled with handstands and fancy moves. I then proceeded to run errands all around town, called my family and cleaned my apartment. I was keeping busy - all in an attempt to not feel what I was feeling. Finally, the end of the day arrived. Everything I spent the day running from was sitting on ...
Students Are The Teachers
Students are the teachers I have amazing clients. I promise I'm not saying that to create client retention through flattery (wink, wink). Withstanding all superlatives, I teach private yoga sessions to some of the best humans I've ever met. Having written this blog for the past two and a half years, my clients, who are hilarious and terribly witty, often tease me, asking me to write a blog about them. "Geez Jelayna, all you do is write your blog about yourself!" "Oh my god you're ...
Finding The Nice In The Niyamas
After writing about the yamas I had some wonderful conversations with students and teachers alike. They appreciated having the yamas talked about in a more practical voice. I was heartened to hear the more modern, realistic view of the yamas made them slightly more approachable and maybe even a tad bit enticing. I’d like to apply the same voice to the niyamas. Arguably, the niyamas are tougher than the yamas. They start to get a bit more hands on, diving deep into things like self study, ...
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Niyama: (Sanskrit) Positive duties or observances. Recommended activities and habits for healthy living, spiritual enlightenment and liberated state of existence. When I first learned the niyamas, my initial reaction was - “Wow, this is intense and asks a lot of me.” Thus, I was overwhelmed with the urge to immediately eat triscuits and take a nap. The transformative change the niyamas suggest didn’t become palatable until I began breaking each of them down into bite size pieces. ...
Blog-a-yama: Part Five
Steal a way into peace... Asteya - The concept of non-stealing. Don’t take what is not freely given. Easy enough, right? Don’t hold up a corner store. Avoid stealing an old lady’s purse. Try not to rob a bank and you’ve nailed the day! Asyeta high fives all around. If only it were that obvious. Like the other yamas before, it challenges us to go deeper and apply the notion of Asteya in all aspects of our lives. It’s a bit hard to integrate the idea of “not stealing” by ...
