Warriors

Tuesday, Hatha for Warriors day!

Each Tuesday we work on the warrior series of poses, Virabhadrasana I, II and III, as well as their variations and the peak poses that build from them. While the term Warrior refers to the mythology that the poses symbolize, it can also refer to your “Warrior Within” that prods you to let go of the excuses and self imposed hurdles and continue to show up on your mat!

The Warrior poses are accessible to any level of yoga practice and are a tremendous way to build balance and foundational strength; in our hatha series we hold poses for five to tens breathes allowing you to really settle into alignment and find the connection to your pranayama breathe and mindfulness.

930am, who’s feeling like a warrior this morning?

Namaste 😊
Shawn

Warrior Within

Today is Tuesday, every Tuesday is Hatha for Warriors in my weekly series. If it wasn’t obvious before, each day’s theme is a bit of wordplay; yes we work on the Warrior poses and their variations, but warrior also refers to the people who make up our growing community.

If you’ve been to even one class of ours this year, there is a strong likelihood you’ve practiced next to someone currently dealing with cancer. Some of them can see the light at the end of the long tunnel of treatment and are celebrating great news, some of them are gracefully accepting their fate and making the best of the worst possible prognosis but they have been in class with you.

You may be practicing next to someone dealing with a disease affecting their motor skills, sharing your energy and helping them build strength and confidence as they learn to deal with a new body and new reality.

You may have practiced next to someone dealing with a lifetime of intense pain and a body slowly breaking down.

You have most certainly practiced with someone struggling with depression and anxiety, many people actually.

You have probably practiced and held space with someone who has recently been hit with an unimaginable personal tragedy or the loss of a loved one that brings suffocating grief.

Whether they are students or teachers they are all an integral part of this growing community, they always find the courage to face up to another day and we are honored when they choose to come in to class and share that courage and strength.

Everyone of us is coping in our own way, and everyone of us is absolutely a warrior 😊

930am Hatha for Warriors, who’s going to join me?

Namaste!
Shawn

Thanksgiving

Each of us at Lotus and Lettuce wanted to post this weekend, taking the time to let you all know what Thanksgiving means to us.

First of all, I’m grateful for my family. I don’t see them as often as I would like but I know I have their unconditional love and support and that has never wavered despite my jagged edges and my struggles with alcoholism, OCD and depression.

I’m grateful for my healthy body and the 22 extra years I’ve been granted since the day of my cancer diagnosis. I struggle mentally at times but I don’t take for granted that I wake up able to get out of bed with energy and free of pain. I love that I am healthy and fit enough to teach yoga for a living and that I have a steady if not consistent personal practice.

I’m grateful that I still play soccer twice a week. I’ve loved this sport intensely since I was five years old and to still be able to play it and play to my capabilities and enjoy it as much as I ever have is an enormous blessing.

Lastly, I’m eternally grateful for my Vernon adventure; my great friend Michellene and her family that have welcomed me with open arms and the extended community we are growing at Lotus and Lettuce.
Michellene’s decision to open this studio and offer me the chance to join her allowed me to leave behind my old life, move back to my home province of BC again and get back to the mountains and lakes I grew up with.

I deeply love and admire my fellow teachers here at Lotus and Lettuce; and I am grateful every time a member of our community comes through the door, allowing me the opportunity to live my dream and teach for a living.

Happy thanksgiving to each and every one of you 😊

Namaste!
Shawn

Hatha for Strength

We all face the change of seasons differently, each one of us has our reasons for loving one season more than the rest.

I usually like to say that fall is my time of year. Despite my love of outdoor sports like soccer and rugby, as I grow older I don’t really enjoy the unrelenting heat and at night I find it hard to sleep. Autumn brings cooler temperatures at night, less crowds around town, no insects, the chance to wear clothes and feel comfortable; I really do love this time of year.

If I’m completely honest though, this time of year is also an epic battle internally.

I struggle with change and really begin to dread the shorter overcast days and longer nights. My OCD causes me to mentally tally and obsess over how many summers I potentially have left.

Inevitably grief and anxiety have crept in and I sink deeper and deeper in the couch making excuses to avoid getting out and being active.

My yoga practice has tailed off again and I struggle to even look at the schedule to find a class I might enjoy. I begin to feel guilty about my lack of motivation and then the panic attacks come.

Holed up in my apartment I’m now using food for comfort and reward and starting to feel the weight gain. All the old habits flood back and I can see the familiar signs of depression looming.

The old me would be self medicated with alcohol which would allow depression to take over.

However, It’s not the same old story anymore. My discovery of yoga ten years ago and it’s gradual takeover of my life has provided me new perspectives.

The ability to cut away the noise and clutter, to clear the mind and just breathe, to acknowledge, accept and forgive the things that I once used to hate myself for - all the things I’ve learned on the mat allow me to see things the way they truly are and take steps to fight back.

I am now part of a community of like minded people who share my values and a Kula who unconditionally support me. I have the vocabulary and the voice to speak up and tell my story, to share it and maybe have it land for someone else.

This week a dear friend sent me the cartoon posted below; I haven’t written her in a while and it arrived with no context, it was just something she sensed I needed. Another dear friend called this week and said she had a powerful thought that I needed her call, each of these couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time.

Yes, I am struggling, but now I have weapons, and warriors coming to my defense 😊

0930 Friday Hatha for Strength, who’s feeling like a warrior?

Namaste!
Shawn

Autumn is Here

The fall season is here, a reminder that it's the time in our life's cycle to set limits and protect boundaries. In nature, autumn represents the process of contraction, decay and decomposition - returning all matter to its original source.

This time of year we are also contracting and pulling inwards, slowing down and focusing our attention internally. It's the time of year where we organize our life's clutter and clear out the chaos in our lives. Shedding the things that no longer serve us, letting go of unhealthy relationships and habits; we pare back now in order to create clarity and new space for future growth.

As we let go of all that clutter and let go of our attachments to the youthful yin energy of summer there is naturally a feeling of grief, maybe a little fear as the long nights of winter loom. Our bodies need the stillness and quiet though; summer's nonstop activity and lack of downtime left us depleted, stressed and burned out.

We need to honour this time of year, we need to lean into the discomfort, take the time fall offers us to slow down, let go, release and surrender.

Today at 930 my weekly Hatha series features the Warrior poses; come in, find a mat, find your breath and let go.

Namaste!
Shawn