Restless Spirit Hours the Week of December 16th...

Come in for a visit and let's chat! We'll sit here and do cards or a session for your deepening. Or we'll sit in meditation in the space right behind me and let Grace take over. Whatever it is that you would like to do, Restless Spirit is a very harmonious, spiritual place and you are welcome anytime to come talk with me! 

I'm planning to be in the studio Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 11-7pm, and maybe Friday. Oh of course it all depends on the weather.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I have some appointments so I'll be there for sure. Text me to make sure I'm available at the time you want to drop in.

Hope to see you all soon!

Remember to book your appointments with me here or email, or by texting or calling. Thx.

Restless Spirit: Handmade Malas...

Available at Restless Spirit

688 Richmond St. W. Ground Floor

Toronto, ON.

1restlessspirit@gmail.com

Beautiful handmade malas (by moi) at the studio!

I will make one for you from my collection of semi-precious stones if you want something a little different than the ones I have! :)

Click on the photo for more info!

How corporations fool us every time! Why are we so surprised?!

Photo: click to article about the tactics of lululemon founder chip wilson! (Use your back button to get back to this page)

And no I'm NOT wearing their clothing!

My response to this article:

If you ever looked closely at the corporate culture of this place (can't even say the name) it was never meant to embrace the "values" of yoga. It was a marketing ploy - as simple as that. And it worked. Why? Because it never really embraced the depth of the "values" of yoga and was a marketing ploy.

Chip wanted to turn it into a cult and it almost happened - only stopped by the constant stream of people leaving the place.

I sold my soul and became an ambassador years ago. What did it get me? Not much - except $1000 worth of clothing which at the time was great because I was poor and couldn't afford anything let alone at their prices. I've stopped wearing their stuff the minute I got a whiff of their cultish corporate tactics.
I worked with them for three years and tried to instill a yoga-sensability to no avail. I was the only one who tried to encourage participants to bring the only "payment" asked of them (on the website) for the Sunday yoga class which was a dry or canned good for the food bank. Only one person would bring anything every week out of sometimes 30+ people. I was appalled. There was no encouragement from the staff and I sometimes got looks. This to me was fostering a selfish, ego-driven, entitled culture of lemons and I wanted no part of it.

So yoga values - what are those anyway? Telling us to "breathe"? "Be Happy"? "Do one thing that scares you". These are not yoga values. The New Age equivalent of yoga values. You ate it up. That's why they're so successful. What a great marketing ploy!

To Chip and the lemons yoga values meant one thing and that was looking good in your expensive enviable yoga gear even if you didn't do yoga.

Restless Spirit Is Back In Business!

Hi everyone

After that nasty mishap with the rad flooding my space, we're back in business!

Restless Spirit is open... again!

I'll be in the studio next week - Tuesday-Thursday 11-7pm (unless there's a snow fall - I'll let you know!)

Come in for a visit!

We'll be launching all sorts of great things in the new year! Things about investigating and giving voice to the spirit within of course, through a variety of expressions.

Please stay tuned!

Restless Spirit

688 Richmond St. W. Ground Floor.

Toronto, ON

1restlessspirit@gmail.com

Reflection: Looking into the Mirror...

What if the only mirror you had was the one sitting right in front of you...

Practicing: Loving 1st Series

Urdhva Muka Paschimottanasana

Loving 1st Series again! Practicing in LA.

How to Book My Services...

You can book me for: Private Yoga, Mediation, Deep Immersion Program or Therapy (short or regular sessions available)

Book My Services Online here!

You can email me and ask any questions about the services anytime: 1restlessspirit@gmail.com

Namaste

Christine

Restless Spirit Blackboard #2

Restless Spirit Blackboard

at 688 Richmond St Ground Floor, Toronto

I've had this on the board for about a month. I'm going to change it this week.  I post something different at least once a month - soon I think every two weeks.

Peace!

Christine

Letting Go...

Vulnerability IS the human condition. Yes - You ARE vulnerable to EVERYTHING.

We get on a plane - we can catch a cold or worse. We could fall out of the sky - yet we fly!

We live, work, ride on buses, drive on highways, interact with people who are in variant stages of insanity (including us) yet most of us get home every night. By the GRACE of the Universe, we do not live in a war zone!

We get up every morning and we step into the world in some form or another.

We are by virtue of being human - Vulnerable.

What a cruel joke it is that at a moments notice you could be gone - heart attack, stroke, getting hit by a car - simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time... or is it right place at the right time... There are countless stories about people 'cheating' death in one instance and weeks/months later It catching up with them.

Our hearts are vulnerable - how many of us have lost those near and dear to us, family, friends, lovers one way or another? Everyone has! Being in relationship is part of the human condition which is what makes vulnerability a part of the human condition. You can't "fight" it - it is not "like height". It is not measurable, it is not material - it is as it is.

Stop fighting it. Let go!

Beyond the layer of fear is a place of warmth that is the embrace of the Divine. The Ecstatic Surrender. Do this and vulnerability will not be your enemy. Look at the sculpture of the "Ecstasy of St. Teresa" by Bernini - it is her surrender to the Will of God - Ecstasy through Grace.

To know and live through your own heart is to know the Divine - and isn't that ultimately what we are here for!?

Give up the need for control. Shit happens for better or worse. If you must, learn from it. We always want reasons for everything - 'why' is a question that can never be answered. Especially to our satisfaction - so let go.

Everything makes sense when you die to your own idea of yourself. Fear of vulnerability comes from an Identification with the small self. Me and I; an attachment to you and your physical and mental ability to stave off intruders. To protect oneself at all costs - to the cost of one's Heart (not the sentimental heart though).

Non-attachment is key.

This energy that we live, flows through us whatever we are masquerading as - take it off - take off your costume and live as you truly are.

Spiritual Life...What It's Like...In the Real World...

It's like being the ocean.

The surface of the water because of its saltiness stays buoyant. It doesn't know the depth of the ocean, and stays happily afloat to tend to it's comings and goings.

Then it is churned up by a storm or a big wave and is brought under and gets caught in the current and so becomes aware of its own depth and a whole new world it didn't know about (or had forgotten about) opens up (awareness).

Perhaps the once surface of the ocean would like to stay down and discover this vast weightless, calm embodiment of Self, but because of the nature of the ocean, constantly churning and changing, reacting and flowing, the surface of the ocean will have to once again at some point become the surface. Once it's been churned and tossed around a bit, led and cradled by the depth of it, it will bring to the surface with it a part of that depth - it is no longer what it was.

The changes will continue to occur as long as the surface of the ocean allows itself to be taken to its depths. It will always resurface until one day, it is no longer the same as it started. If the ocean is stagnant - resists change - then the surface will forget its depth.

Let the wind, rain, storms, and currents of your life take you to your depths.

Peace!w

Ashtanga - Primary Series - Practice

The past two weeks, I have focused on the Primary Series. Haven't done it - consistently - for a while. Wanted to get back into it - really missed it. It was so hard to do in the beginning years ago when I first started to practice. My body and system did not like all the forward bends. It really effected me - and not in a good way. I remember how I would not be able to do ALL of the postures. It took years upon years of practice to get me to a point of feeling good in the practice.

But it came at a price. I mangled my body and stressed it out just by working into the postures.

I have a very sensitive system - even my bodyworker whether it is a chiropractor/thai massage/SOT therapist, says that my body has extreme reactions to adjustments. In other words, the work that I do in my practice can really set off a chain reaction of pain. Shoulder pain, back pain. Stiff neck and back. Sore hips and aching legs. So I had to lay off for a while.

Now - it's all back. The shoulder pain especially. It's because my right shoulder leans more into the forward bends and it puts it out every time. Even when I am totally conscious of it.

That's a part of the practice then isn't it. The physical practice is easier - I know the postures I can get into easily, I know the postures I can get into with some effort, and I know the postures, for my body's sack, I shouldn't push. It is a part of the practice to know these things.

I need to work like this for a while and let my body slowly work out the kinks again.

I know that if I were in Mysore practice I would try to push myself too much - spurred on by the energy of the room. Although I really love that - being with all those people. It has never served me.

Today I practice quietly in my home - I've got a great little spot - breathing and working through the aches in my body with a clear and calm mind. I do not push. I listen and learn. And I love every minute of it!

Peace!

Sharath Jois in Copenhagen

Lovely vid of Sharath in Copenhagen. Wish I were there…

vid by Alessandro Sigismondi.

The Story Behind the Black Board at Restless Spirit

I painted and framed a blackboard at the entrance of the new incarnation of the studio, Restless Spirit. 

The intention behind the blackboard at the entrance of the studio was for me to ask a question and for the public - whoever came down the hallway, would write their answer to the question. I asked this question just before I left. (later I changed "today" to "lately")

I was looking forward to coming back and seeing what people wrote. I was going to document it in some way - through photos and writing.

Upon my return I found that someone had erased everything and put three words on it - nice words - but not My words. They decided for whatever reason to erase My board and put whatever they wanted on it.

So I decided that I was going to share quotes for now. Whether they are my own or from writings of my favorite teachers. I will post a new quote every couple of weeks.

I will revisit the "ask a question" project when I can be there more frequently, and have a discussion about the board with those around.

It Is The Practice That Teaches Not The Teacher

Ashtanga yoga and Iyengar yoga have a few things in common:

1. They both come from a very traditional background and were developed from ancient understandings of yoga. They come from students of Krishnamacharya.

2. They have been taught without variation for decades (except maybe variation of teaching styles to accommodate level of student and time spent in class) and there's a silent agreement that the form and process of the practice would not be altered. Meaning that: say the Ashtanga series would not see any variation or addition to the main idea and postures of the practice. Teachers knew way-back-when that yoga was not about them.

A lot of derivatives of these practices of yoga have developed since 

because of this particular person's predilections or perhaps that person's understanding of what it takes to bring Yoga (not only asana) to the masses. Whatever the case, these yogas became things like Vinyasa, Jivamukti, Anusara, etc., and the idea of yoga (asana) expanded for better or worse. We see an explosion of these variations because Asana yoga has become very popular. As it becomes more popular with the "Thinspiration" generation it is more about the body and looking good than ever before. Yoga (asana) is changing because the students have changed. 

Is There A Place For Traditional Yoga (Asana) Practice?

Being a fairly traditional Ashtanga teacher, the traditional and strict aspect of both styles can turn off newbie and young students, and those who are looking for self-gratification. I find that it is more the aspect of "I want to feel good about myself and look good" which seems to be paramount for most students these days. Precise instruction and conceptualization is not what students are looking for because somehow it makes some students feel "less than". It sounds like criticism and doesn't add the students' narcissistic vanity of "how good I am for being here and doing this".

I have found that these days having a good sweat is not enough. The classes have to appeal to the aspect of personal power. So the more challenging postures in a class the better.

I tend to balance my classes (this is when I teach Stylized Vinyasa) with a style of teaching that challenges and at the same time, I do not introduce postures like some arm balances or things like the splits, etc., unless I see that the majority of students are a little more seasoned and I've taught them for a while and gotten to know them. I have witnessed classes where teachers will put beginners into some poses at risk of injury without any concern and the students just love it. Conversely, I have challenged those who just wanted to really do a restorative class (wasn't even advertised as one but they expected it (?)) and gotten my head chewed off because of it.

Just Teach As The Practice Dictates - Not What Your Or Your Students' Egos Dictate

There really isn't any way to predict students' preferences anyhow, and I have to say that Iyengar and Ashtanga stay steadfast in maintaining the traditional way of teaching as much as possible - and no, I don't mean yelling at your students or calling them names - that is the style of the teacher not the practice, and doesn't come from the deep understanding of the practice. I mean that the process through which the student is guided is as much about the practice as it is about the student.

It Is The Practice That Teaches Not The Teacher

Iyengar must stay as Iyengar as possible. Otherwise it starts to get confused. I have taught Ashtanga for years now and have trained in it extensively. I know the practice beyond the postures just because of the practice itself. That is what I'm teaching. I know some "Ashtanga" teachers who do not practice it and therefore do not know the practice as a practice. They do not know the intricacies of it. These teachers bow to the pressures of students' to add postures which do not belong in the series, make it harder or easier, and let go of the rhythm of the class to appease those who just want to "feel good about myself" to the detriment of Ashtanga. I have had great difficulty teaching Ashtanga after these teachers because students are not being educated in it.

Yoga Is Yoga First And Foremost

But teachers will try anything including risking the injury of their students because for some reason we have decided in this culture that yoga is about popularity and money instead of teaching simply and with humility.

It is the teacher's role to teach their students about the practice beyond the ego-ic need to be appeased and catered to (Spa-like). The most essential teaching for us as teachers and for our students is that: It is not the practice that makes you feel bad nor is it the teacher's responsibility. Feeling good about yourself is an inner conflict and learning that and coming to terms with it is revealed in the practice.

The teacher must teach the practice as it is because the practice is beyond the teacher and the student. It is bigger than them.

Peace!

This post is an extended version of a comment I made to another post by a fellow yogini. Here is the post:
http://yogaspy.com/2013/07/08/can-iyengar-yoga-attract-the-masses/

Thanks Lucy

Christine

Lessons of a Yogini

The body is a funny thing. Every day is different. Last year I was able to almost reach the ground: about 2 inches to go. Then all of a sudden I was unable to get low at all. My inner thigh muscles were excruciatingly tight. No warning. Nothing. They just didn't want to play anymore.

My first reaction was - sadness - not anger. I was sad because "I've worked so hard..." etc. I was sad because I have the type of body that snaps back and sometimes can't do things I suppose a 'normal' body can - or what we think a normal body can - it snaps back and I basically have to start pretty close to the beginning again. I was sad because when you get to a certain stage in your practice there's a kind of flow that allows for that elusive sensation of freedom in the body which can be viscerally experienced and I lost that - at least I thought I had. I still feel it - even when I'm tight and my body seems uncooperative.

As I get older, I've realized a few things:

That this is really as far as I can go - physically. There are postures that I will never be able to do "successfully" - whatever that means.

That I know my body so well, that I can feel the small changes in my body which can be very satisfying, and therefore I work very smart these days.

And that what I was chasing in my early years of practice are not important anymore. Oh that doesn't stop me from working postures to the point of a good sweat or at least feeling satisfied with my efforts. But that pendulum swing back and forth of emotions about what my body looks like in the posture does not equal my efforts doesn't drive me.

I am grateful for all those years of effort though. The wish to be the best teacher drove me to really get to know postural yoga in a different way. In a way that was about asking the question: When I do postures, what makes it an aspect of YOGA? How am I expressing YOGA in an 'imperfect' body? Perseverance, courage and humility are the foundations of practice - am I expressing those? What is the difference between:

perseverance and greediness?

courage and ignorance?

humility and self-consciousness?

With those questions and more inspiration I became very attuned to my body, mind and spirit.

Back to the task of practice: it is more now about practicing and working on things as a matter-of-course rather than trying to get somewhere...fast.

So with the help of a combination of postures in my practice - including some unconventional ones like squatting sideways, with warrior twos and side angle, some seated and lying down hip openers. Now with a few months work I am slowly making my way down again. First time in months I am able to place my chest on the floor.

I am very content with my body and my practice these days. There is a certain amount of calm. That I suppose is what it means to really do YOGA.

Peace!

This Is Why Your Lover Thinks You’re Gorgeous In A Holey T-Shirt And Sweatpants

 Reblogged from Restless Spirit: The Collision and Integration of Two Worlds:

See on Scoop.it - Deep Immersion

It's a beautiful thing.

See on www.upworthy.com

The Meeting: Maharaji and Ram Dass

This is a beautiful story. I love hearing it. It is the magic of meeting your teacher.

Photo: Neem Karoli Baba courtesy of the internet

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Another woman's view: What I Love and Hate about Tantra and Sacred Sex

What I Love and Hate about Tantra and Sacred Sex: Have you ever experienced the kind of relationship that, years after it’s ended, you look back and think, “how is it possible ...

This post (see link above) is a very honest portrayal of what happens during the Spiritual journey.

Everyone's journey is expressed differently through different passages and avenues. We all go through a kind of right or ritual when a part of ourselves needs to manifest. Each passage is different in how it is expressed and the intensity with which it is expressed. Some of us do not even feel that there is a need at all. Or worse, we are not directed correctly by the people we trust - hopefully eventually, most of us who are seeking can find the way on our own...

In this case, this woman's psyche led her in a Tantric/Sacred Sexual direction - just because of what her organism at that moment in time needed. This was her right of passage that she believed would end the emptiness, and the fear.

After going along this journey fully and completely in full surrender, I would imagine she need not visit this particular part of herself again. On the other hand, like it is with the spiritual process - this experience may just be the tip of the iceberg and there may be things yet to uncover... I don't know.

This woman like so many of us pursued a particular path in order to find what she thought she lacked and in the end came to the same conclusion which is offered at the outset of any spiritual teaching - "...that which I seek was within me all along." It doesn't matter who you are and what you believe or what you are told - we all have to go through the 'fire' in order to heal, to become conscious and whole. We must experience whatever it is we need to in order to live fully and develop deeply. It doesn't matter what anyone tells you or what you understand intellectually, living our lives fully means to dive into parts of ourselves by doing things, experiencing what might seem risky, shameful or embarrassing. This passage this woman took is like many passages we all take in our lives over and over again. I'm sure if she thought back on it - this wasn't the first time she's encountered something like this and... it won't be her last.

This is how we unfold!

Peace!

Christine

“I Don’t Know” #2

TIM KREIDER, A NY Times writer, writes about writing for media and how most writers are asked to write about things they know nothing about: ”…and actual expertise so rarefied, that almost nobody knows enough about anything anymore to have the right to any opinion at all.” 

This has always been an issue for me about the media. 

I remember back in 1992, when the National Gallery of Canada acquired an earlier Rothko. How excited we all were (my artists friends and I) – finally the Canadian Art world was coming into the 20th Century. 

http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artwork.php?mkey=41892 

The day I found out, I was having lunch in one of the many cafeteria-type cafes on campus. I was doing my homework there as I often did and reading the papers. The Star on its front page of the art section, had a picture of the Rothko in question – an earlier variation of the work that made him famous, and beside it was a drawing the “writer’s” young daughter did with magic markers and crayon. It was a very good copy for a 6 year old – meaning it wasn’t messy. The caption read, “My daughter is as good as Rothko! Can you tell the difference?” I screamed out “YES!” I was incensed. The writer didn’t get it. Didn’t get why this would be big news for Art fans in Canada. Why this was great news. So then why was it news that some ‘writer’ guy who wrote about something else, not art last month should have any opinion about a piece of art that Art lovers pay good money to come see? Why was his opinion news that Canada was insane to spend 1.2 million (a mere pittance for a Rothko) “on something my daughter can do?” (That’s all the article was about.) I actually stopped reading the paper (and watching the news) shortly after that. But not before I called his extension at the paper and left three terse VMs for him. That was somewhat satisfying. 

Why is it then that the media is full of people like that – writing about stuff they know nothing about and don’t have the balls to admit it. It seems everyone wants to be an expert but don’t take the time to become one. It would make for better reading for those who want the depth of the issue whatever it is. It would have been nice to read instead, a little of Rothko’s bio, the details of the piece (oil on canvas, etc.), and what made this piece a-must-have for the National Gallery. That would have made everyone excited about it. You know though, my experience has taught me that the public doesn’t want to hear about someone’s expertise or details of an issue. It seems they just want to hear about opinion or rather gossip worthy. The news today is more like a gossip mill then about real informed knowledge. Isn’t it? 

I Don’t Know 

Anyway – I was going to write about “I don’t know”. That powerful statement which can free you. Everyone has a fraud squad – that’s what we call it in my small circle of friends with whom I went through therapy training. It’s the voice that tells you you really don’t know what you’re talking about or what you’re doing. And although sometimes it’s the fear of being found out or made a fool of that keeps writers or anyone else in any walk of life from admitting they don’t know and keep insisting to fake-it-till-you-make-it. But honestly, if you don’t know – say “I don’t know”. Try it. You might find it invigorating. 

In good faith, I don’t know a lot about writing, I’m re-learning it I suppose to a certain extent. I like what Neil Gaiman wrote once, “I learned to write by writing”. So that’s what I’m doing.

Peace!

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“I Don’t Know” #1

The Creative Process needs a kind of openness akin to what the Spiritual Practice needs in order to see what is truly ‘there’.

This article, written on this site: http://99u.com/articles/15339/the-joy-of-creative-ignorance-embracing-uncertainty-in-your-day-to-dayspeaks from the writer’s pov – or rather advises writers to have an “I don”t know” stance when approaching their work.

This kind of “I don’t know” recipe for the creative process is Inherent In Spiritual Practice. It isn’t a new idea even when Keats was around. One of the best books on the subject of “I don’t know” is “Zen Mind. Beginners Mind”. The Spiritual Practice needs a mind that has no attachment to identity. No Strings attached to Outcome. When the mind is free, It opens the heart. In an all-embracing attitude possibilities are endless.

Short Vid: Questions People Ask The Internet

Photo courtesy of datingwithdignity.com

Touching.

Film - Free The Mind

“Directed by Danish director Phie Ambo, Free the Mind premieres at the Rubin Museum in New York on Friday, May 3 and is expected to open in many major markets throughout the summer, so look for it then.”

Can hardly wait!

The Spiritual Edge by Seth Mullins: (Psychic Sanctuary) The Essence of Ourselves

The Spiritual Edge by Seth Mullins: (Psychic Sanctuary) The Essence of Ourselves: Before I'd ever had any experience of the soul - and by this I mean being   consciously aware   of the experience, because I thin...

The Difference between Sukhasana, Siddhasana, Padmasana

Traditional meditation cross legged sitting postures. The most done and most traditional used all over the world is: Sukhasana. The next is Siddhasana. And only rarely, Padmasana.

Sukansana – sitting “easy cross legged” pose.

This is “easy” because it is simply sitting cross legged.

Siddhasana – sitting with toes tucked into thighs or set the feet side by side keeping the knees wide.

Siddhasana is a little more difficult than Sukasana and is a cross legged pose where you tuck your feet into your thighs (between thighs and calves specifically), or lay your feet side by side (on the floor in front of you) keeping the knees wide: a wide kneed pose. Which means that it can only be done when the hips are more open, and it can help open the hips even more than simply sitting cross legged.

Padmasana – sitting with feet on top of thighs tucked close to hips

Padmasana or lotus pose is the most difficult of the seated “meditation” poses. It is done by tucking the feet up on top of the thighs and close to the hips: a closed knee pose. Which means that the knees are closer together and can be done when the hips are much more open than the other two. It is not easy to get into and takes a great deal of practice to make sure the knees are protected.

These are important distinctions. All three are available to use – but please practice especially the last two, with a GOOD teacher – one who knows the difference between the three poses.

Once you practice all three poses, the differences and the benefits of each will become clear.

Please keep yoga asana names and terms correct.

Peace!

My teacher's teacher...

http://www.rzc.org/about/who-we-are/roshi-philip-kapleau/

He, Philip Kapleau, wrote the Three Pillars of Zen.
My teacher talks about how demanding the practice was. Austere and painful at times. And worth it. He, my teach that is, has written a book about his experiences with the Spiritual Process - hasn't published it yet. I've read most of it. It's a long book. But then any journey like this is a long one. It's decades of sitting, practicing, and deep self-discovery. Waiting for a kensho, waiting for something that signifies that your practice is becoming deeper.
It's hard to tell in any practice. It's not anything you can see. It's certainly not in how well you sit. Because it doesn't matter how long you sit for - years, decades, the pain returns - because you're body changes, that's why. Day to day, week to week, month to month and in the years. Even - it shifts from morning to night - anyone with a cold can tell you that.
It's a good book, Three Pillars of Zen - if you haven't read it. Any of Roshi Kapleau's books are a good read.
Just wanted to share that with you...