So my site has been behaving badly. It was hacked and has been creating pop-up windows and doing other annoying things. Sorry about that. So while I do some saucha (cleanliness, purity) of the old website, with the old colours and look that I had worked so hard to get, I’ll practise aparigraha or non-attachment, and have you be with me on this standard-issue WordPress template until things are all cleaned up.
Next Sunday I will be giving a talk on How Yoga Works and why it might make you healthier and happier at the India Canada Friendship Circle at the Rockcliffe Park Community Centre at 3 pm. Please come! There will be a question and answer section after the lecture part, which will be around 45 minutes.
To register for the session, please visit the India Canada Friendship Circle’s website.
Did you know that yoga was more than just a series of yoga postures? Have you ever wondered how you could incorporate yoga into your daily life?
This 8-week course is about living your best life and balanced life, using ancient yogic principles as a guideline for life in modern times. Specifically we will be looking at the yamas and niyamas (yoga’s dos and don’ts) and how they can positively impact your daily life.
The program consists of facilitated group discussions, experiential sessions, journaling, reflection and small assignments. Transformational!
Tuesday nights – 7pm-9pm
October 11 – November 29th
Location: Old Ottawa South
Led by Kat Mills and Jamine Ackert, both EYRT200, EYRT500.
Info/Register: makataliving@gmail.com or jamine@capitalyogapublishing.com p.s. (If you are a yoga teacher, this training is worth CEUs.)
$240.00 plus HST
Includes materials, session. No physical practice required!
Lately I’ve run into a number of old students from the Yoga Teacher Training programs I’ve taught in over the years and they’ve mentioned that they could use some support staying fresh as a yoga teacher. Just like how the obstacles on the path of yoga are the same as the obstacles on the path to anything you want to do, staying fresh as a yoga teacher is the same as staying fresh at anything you want to do.
A few years ago I was on the Omega Institute campus talking to old friends one who was a writer and the other a midwife. The writer said, “if I have to write one more course description…” The midwife said, “if I have to say ‘push, push’ again…” and I was saying, “if I have to say, ‘inhale arms up’ one more time…” And we all laughed at how we were in the same place but in different professions.
It happens to a lot of people – when you’ve been at the same job for over 10 years or however long until you feel that way – you get tired of doing it. Sometimes it’s just the natural process of getting older. We struggle when we’re young to settle into a routine and sometimes after awhile we feel constrained by it.
What to do?
You could quit. It’s at that point some people quit their jobs and find something else to do. There are pros and cons to that. If you aren’t dealing with whatever are the underlying issues to your frustration, you’ll run right into that again after you’ve been in your new job after some time.
You could take a break. Sometimes going on vacation or trying something else new will refresh you. If you haven’t had a holiday in a long time, build in a break for yourself. The particular summer I’m referring to at the top of this post was one where my holiday was a working holiday. I taught more yoga while I was away and at earlier hours than I did at home. I didn’t occur as a holiday at all!
You could do nothing. Just knowing there are days when you will struggle to find inspiration to do your job can help make it normal and just like the passing weather, you can rest assured it will change again.
Another thing you could do is dig even deeper into your profession. Rather than going away from it, you could get right back in there. Study more. Take new courses, get a mentor, and remind yourself of what fired you up in the first place to become a yoga teacher, writer, midwife, or whatever.
Nurturing yourself, connecting with others, exploring your profession – these are some of the ways you can stay fresh as a teacher.
Do any of you have ways that you stay fresh as a yoga teacher or other profession? I’d love to hear your comments.
Next week I’ll be leading a workshop series about using social media and covering topics such as how to use Twitter and Facebook, how to set up a blog or do simple website and how to stream video to create webcasts or share live interviews.
“But wait,” you say, “Jamine, you’re a yoga teacher. How do you know so much about these other things? Can you teach me?” One of the things about how I teach computer stuff is that it’s a lot like how I teach yoga stuff. I really believe that anyone can do yoga. I also know anyone can tweet or use Facebook or learn how to do some of the simple multi-media things that make interacting in the interwebs so fun.
I have computers in my history. My father was a computer programmer back in the days when they filled whole rooms. Fun party favours at the Christmas parties were Snoopy cartoons printed out on that wide printer paper using characters to create the shapes. My grandparents gave me a calculator for my tenth birthday. (Okay it’s not quite a computer but totally related.)
I did not study computer programming in school but went in to Film and Communications at McGill in the English Department. I was the only one I knew who had a computer. It was an Atari, hooked up to my TV as the monitor. I called home for files using a modem that had my corded phone that jammed and whined into a big thing on my desk.
After university I went to Kripalu, where I was a spiritual lifestyle trainee, and after 3 months of being on a cleaning crew (beds, toilets, mopping, etc.) I was offered a job where I was to teach yoga teachers how to use their computers. “Seriously? I don’t know how to do that.” “We’ll train you,” came the answer. It wasn’t my only duty as the administration assistant for the Programs Department, but it was one of them. “How do I make it bold again?” came the questions. “What’s a desktop?” “I can’t find my file!” I would design little workshops for them and train a few people at a time in our tiny computer room.
In my free time I would check my email on GEnie where I’d get letters from my mom in Ottawa and my grandmother in Huntington Beach. (I still get email from them but it comes in colour and with pictures!) I played Tetris until the blocks fell in my sleep. Those Tetris blocks fell in front of my eyes as I watched more than one big name spiritual teacher do his thing. (Sorry Pir Valyat, I could still see you whirl but there were blocks coming down on your head.)
After Kripalu I moved to Omega where I helped implement their first website. I did not choose the domain name, I’m sorry to say because the first one had a hyphen in it and was hard for people to remember (good old www.omega-inst.org). In my lunchtimes during the summer I offered courses for staff in how to “surf the ‘net.” I bought my first big computer for thousands of bucks and it was supposed to answer my phone and do everything. It was in the back of the trailer I was living in during the summer. I was jamine@AOL.com for a while. You might say I was an “early adopter.”
I bought my first laptop computer while I was working at Omega and there was a while where the computer on my lap was worth more than the car I was driving, which I thought was hilarious. (I didn’t have the computer on my lap while I was doing the driving, that would be when Chris was driving me to work!)
After Omega I was in South Africa, where I actually tele-commuted back to New York, to complete filling in the summer catalog data into the website. That was expensive because back then, we paid for phone time unlike here, and the connection was slow and it took forever to update the site.
That was 12 years ago. Since then, I’ve had more computers, offered more training, had the domain Jamine.com, which I let lapse and now sells tea I believe. I’ve had a cell phone since I moved here back when Telus was Clearnet, and when I got my iPod Toucha few years back I wanted to find a way to get my own data into that little machine and started a company to build apps for that gadget. In fact anyone who’s got some text or a photo or sounds can build their own app – it’s for anyone!
So when an old yoga student wanted to meet for coffee to talk about computer related stuff and found out more about what I know about these social media he asked if I’d lead a workshop on it. “Are you kidding? I’d love to. This stuff makes my mouth water.”
The first series starts next week and goes Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for two weeks. I want people to try things and come back with questions. For this first series we’ll be in my living room. If it grows and more people want to learn, maybe we’ll find a different spot, but for now it’ll be cozy and you’re welcome to come!
I wasn’t always a terrible sleeper. As a child I had no problems sleeping. As a young adult sleep did not elude me. I think it was after my daughter was born that my sleep was disrupted enough and over time it wore on, wore me down and a decade later, sometimes it’s really hard to get solid sleep. I also think that as we age, uninterrupted sleep is harder to get, but I’m no expert.
This past summer I noticed that I was feeling sleep deprived and stressed more than usual and I took it upon myself to develop some guidelines to give myself a chance to have a decent night’s sleep when I needed it. These aren’t everyday guidelines necessarily, but are the big guns I use when a solid night isn’t imperative (that would put too much stress on the situation), but is likely. Then I can be fortified the next day with the knowledge I had a good sleep, I get the real benefits that come from having a good night’s sleep, and the relaxation that comes from knowing I’ve done what I could to take care of myself.
Most of what I’m going to type here is common sense and you can probably already find loads of articles about these items. These are my personal guidelines.
Project Get Good Sleep Guidelines:
Go to sleep at the Right Time. Be in bed ready to sleep before 11. By 10 is even better. But not too early. Not before 9:30.
Eat the Right Amount at the Right Time. For me this means I can’t go to bed hungry or else I’ll wake up, and I can’t go to bed full or else I’ll be digesting and that will wake me up. So dinner after 6 and before 7:30 is what works for me.
Don’t Drink Too Much Alcohol. Too much wine makes me sleepy but then wakes me up in the middle of the night. So if I’ve had anything to drink, I try to make it happen with dinner so it’s all done by 7:30.
No Talking After 9. This isn’t strict, but I try not to talk on the phone or have any conversations that are going to require that I think a lot or have any emotional content before bed. I’ll talk by texting or maybe an email, but I try not to gab after 9. (This is just for Project Get Good Sleep, remember?)
No Electronics in Bed. Again, not strict, but I don’t have a TV in my bedroom anymore and if the computer’s in there, it’s limited to low key activities. I put the wireless devices on airplane mode so I don’t get email. The strict version has no computer, iPad, phone, nothing that will beep or light up.
Hot Bath. I find that after I take a hot bath, I’m dopey and good for just about nothing but sleep. So a hot bath is key for me in setting the tone for bedtime if sleep is what’s in store.
Responsibilities. If I have an inkling that tonight might be a night for Project Get Good Sleep I make an extra effort to tie up loose ends during the day, so I don’t go to bed and wake up remembering to do something important or wondering if I shouldn’t handle such and such.
Exercise. Making sure that my body has had sufficient exercise makes Project Get Good Sleep more likely. It’s also a way to get tired – tire out the body in a good way.
The Bed. Not that high up on the list obviously, but fresh sheets, the Perfect Pillow, room temperature and brightness/darkness, can also factor in, so I make sure I’m set up to be not too hot, not too cold, not woken up by the lights of downtown, and all of that good stuff.
Opportunity. Project Get Good Sleep is not something you may be able to have every night. If you’re living a full life, there are many nights you’re out late, you’re eating late, you’re having a blast and travelling and having fun with friends or working on exciting projects until the wee hours. These are guidelines for the times when you have a chance – or you need to build in a chance – to get a good night’s sleep every once in a while. I find the more I tackle it and know that when I have a chance I’ll get a good night’s sleep, I’m more relaxed on the night’s when I can’t, and I know that I have it in me to create a night of good sleep for myself.
And there you have it. Jamine’s personal guidelines for Project Get Good Sleep. Thanks Twitter, for asking!
Today’s the first day back at teaching yoga after the holidays. It always feels strange to come back to teaching after having a big break. It’s a bit scary sometimes because it has become unfamiliar. It’s also exciting because it’s almost like it’s new again to get up there and open my mouth and lead people in an experience of yoga practice.
Leading a class so close to New Years means there are usually people in the class who are renewing their commitments to something – if they’re up early on a Sunday sometimes that commitment includes restoring their yoga practice – and it’s a privilege to be with them. It’s a time for me to renew my commitment to the practice, even if it doesn’t look any different on the outside. Renewing my commitment to something that I’m already totally into and seeming to do well at, feels good. Reminds me I’m on the right path for myself.
Without yoga in my life I’d be a completely different person. If someone took away yoga studios and yoga DVDs and local teachers, I’d find it inside. It’s something that has merged with who I was and has made me someone new. Yoga could be externally shut down and it would live in me. And I’m grateful that it is surrounding me outside. I’m happy to see reminders of it everywhere even if sometimes those messages in advertising seem shallow – they still point to something I know has depth and I’ve given meaning to. So off I go, my first class of the new year starts in 45 minutes!
I just got the news that someone close to me has someone close to them who’s been moved into palliative care, which means that they are likely going to die soon. The yoga teachings would say it’s not a death at all but the person is just getting out of one car and getting into another car. I don’t know what to think. A part of me wants to be realistic and say I’d send prayers or intention or however I’ve described it in the past – to helping them have a smooth transition. But recently I was talking to a friend who’s a priest who said that even as people are facing death, he prays that they get well. That sort of stumped me. I mean, the guy prays professionally so there must be something to that system.
There’s a shift in me when I think about wishing that someone actually get well and recover and not die than when I imagine wishing they have a peaceful conclusion to this life. I guess I could also wish for both at the same time. And I don’t know that my prayers or wishes make a difference at all, they probably don’t, but I’ve heard enough instances where they seem to, that I figure it certainly doesn’t hurt. I wouldn’t offer prayers in lieu of treatment or anything, but I’m figuring that it not only may help really, it at least helps to align me to the current situation.
Praying that someone be well in the face of the circumstances that point to otherwise seems a waste on the one hand. It’s obvious that they’re not going to get better, so why go against what’s happening? Why fight with reality? On the other hand, praying they get better feels closer to being their champion, and putting all of my possible energy on their side, than just allowing them to pass.
I’ve met people who have had extreme diagnoses who are still alive thanks to prayer and intervention in their own opinion. I haven’t had to face anything like that yet in my life so I don’t know.
And prayers in a situation like this might really just be for me, to help me integrate what’s going down, having no effect whatsoever on the person I’m praying for. But what I’ve found through my prayer project and other activities is that it really feels good to know you’ve got someone praying for you, for the best, the highest, sending you all the goodness they can, and it feels really good to generate those feelings inside yourself as you do it for others, which may help provide the fuel we need to get through the tough transitions.
It’s finally here. A cold. I mean, I’ve done really well. I think it’s been a few years since a cold has taken hold of me. So I’m not really that bummed about it but I am a bit. And it’s a good reminder for me of how much my mood is generated by what I’m thinking and how my body’s feeling.
In the past if I was in a “bad mood” I’d just take it as a bad mood and live inside of that, without looking any further. Nowadays, when I find myself in a bad mood I get really curious and see how I’m feeling and what’s happening in my head that could be the source of a bad mood. It’s like the weather – it comes from someplace and it passes – and it’s definitely not personal.
Fortunately, I don’t have any classes today so working from home is perfect. I don’t have to decide whether I’m too sick or not to go and teach. And in my job, there are no sick days. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid, it’s as simple as that, which is a good motivator to stay healthy and take really good care of myself. It’s funny, because I live in a “government town” where people have vacations and sick days and they take extra sick days and have maternity leave and sabbaticals – it’s amazing! I think it’s great. I just don’t have that in my job.
So for today, I’m drinking apple cider vinegar, eating Cold-FX, laying low, and being happy in my cloud of sadness or just extra sensitivity. I know it will pass.
During our photo shoot yesterday, Robin encouraged my daughter to let me wear her shirt. It says FREE HUGS.
My daughter is already extremely huggable and does a lot of it, especially with her other very huggy 12-year old friends. She went to one of her favourite stores in the market recently though and had this shirt made for herself. I’m not sure what prompted it but she got it in her head that she wanted to do it and bam! it was done.
It’s bright pink and has letters spelling out FREE HUGS. She said it increased her hugging traffic in general and on days when she wears the shirt she really gets tons of hugs.
Free Hugs days were established in the past few years and there’s a video here that’s a real tear jerker. That day made headlines not just in Ottawa but in places around the world.
If you’re feeling like you need a hug sometimes the best thing is to give one. Because as you know with a hug, you can’t give a real hug without getting one right back at you.
