Sunday, September 30, 2012

Early morning Ashtanga yoga class, Oakville ON


Ashtanga and Vinyasa Yoga Classes Oakville ON.

NEW CLASSES ADDED
TUESDAYS &  THURSDAYS 7:30am ASHTANGA! All Levels

Starts week of OCTOBER 9th/11th - 8-week program. $100/class session. Sign up today!

PLZ call: 905.845.2332 - Leave a message. (name, number and which class you'd like to join)

Tuesday 10:30am - 12pm Ashtanga - cancelled
Tuesdays 7pm - 8:30pm Rockin' Vinyasa - Vinyasa class with great contemporary music! Level 2 running
Wednesdays 8:30pm - 9:30pm - Vinyasa Core - Vinyasa class with focus on Core work! Not to be missed. Level 1/2 running
Thursdays 11:30am - 12:45pm Vinyasa Core All Levels - cancelled

All classes held at the IGITA studio on Lakeshore in Oakville Ontario.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

I'm talking about ANTM sure but it's so much more than that!


I know this is an unusual thing to talk about for me...but I came across this article about the America's Next Top Model (ANTM) contestant, who was and is a meth addict (maybe Dr. Phil did something), and I really couldn't help responding. As I wrote, it became clear to me what the big picture was: the moral (ethical) and social responsibility of those who are much more fortunate (the 1%) than the rest of us. I realized a long time ago that all these newly rich individuals and corporations creating the big divide in our society, a very few of them, have any ethical social conscience. It used to be that the barons of industry were actively involved in their communities building things and donating to causes which in their day were about societal betterment for all. If the idea that promoting institutions such as: Education or the Arts were important to that betterment, then that is where they put their money. Now, the newly rich put their money constantly into themselves. We live in a very narcissistic and fatalistic age. It seems that everyone just takes care of themselves. They make sure they have much more than what they need, and maybe if they step out to donate to a cause, they do what is "trending"! Which is still all about them.

I wrote what you will find below in response to what people were saying about Tyra and the ANTM franchise. So this is how it went:

In this day and age, when corporations are being asked to take stock and responsibility of what effect their actions have on an individual and the whole of society (financially (banks/investment companies), emotionally (tabloids), health-wise (cig/pharma companies) and are sometimes being jailed for it or sued, the excuse that this is just a (reality) show and after the show, well, you're on your own; that there is no responsibility of the show to be mindful of those that have borderline personalities, is just a bunch of hogwash.

But Hollywood is full of that, isn't it.

I'm only interpreting and responding to, the responses people are giving defending Tyra. But she's the exec producer. She can change the way the show is conducted if she really wanted to. To have a marginally stable personality on a show because it's good for ratings (that's why they choose some people), well, the show is just as bad as a Springer show, or whatever the other shows are called!

She's convinced herself that she's doing a good thing, that she is contributing somehow (as they all do). We all know, she's making a shit load of money off you guys through the show. The cult-like following of her or any other celebrity (for that matter) can only add to the blindness that drives Tyra as a producer and those like her. We all contribute (yes, I've watched the show...duh), but that still doesn't mean she and her producers should continue to conduct themselves and the show in such a way that when someone really needs their help they are not there.

Tyra thinks she's a mentor to all the models, but really she only has herself in mind. Which is not a bad thing entirely if you divulge that in the beginning and let people make decisions on the whole truth of the show. Nothing wrong with having a successful show.

But... caring about the people during and after the show would only make a little dent in the bottom line and would probably catapult them into the realms of philanthropy and good works which is about legacy. Not something anyone with money, lots of it, think about these days. It probably doesn't occur to her as producer (a business person), to think about what she's leaving behind. There's a great opportunity here to do real good in your own community, to really make a difference, to finish what you've started, and not only Tyra but a lot of Hollywood...and the rich 1% are missing out. That's sad...tragic really. Can you imagine if they actually cared about the well-being of those that have gone through, (opened a counseling center, had (real) therapists on staff, were pro-actice in identifying troubled individuals and guided them to seek help, donated to America's (and all the countries' you find ANTM) foundations for good mental health, drug abuse, etc..) how great their legacy would be!

If Tyra thinks she's a mentor, then be a mentor. Mentor's stay for the long haul. (But are wise to those who just want to suck them dry or wise to when they can't help any longer). That's what mentors do. Business people and corporations are the ones who suck you dry for their own gain and then toss you.

Yes - some survive this treatment and that's because of their own strength and conviction, not because ANTM did you any favors ("agencies don't know what to do with you because you're so famous and still a rookie".)

So remember that ANTM is like any other show in Hollywood and is there strictly for ratings and revenue. And that means your idol Tyra... she is executive producer after all. She (the show) has enough money to change the foundations and mandate of the show and the 'schooling' of the contestants. But as exec prodr, she hasn't yet.

This is a call out to anyone who has the money and the power; will you take up the challenge of real mentoring and philanthropy? To have a social conscience and put some of your energy into caring deeply about your effect on those around you and who come to you for guidance? Do you care enough to follow through with what you've started given your resources, and make a difference in your community?

I'd like to hear from you.


http://gawker.com/5942348/americas-next-top-model-alum-is-now-the-face-of-meth?tag=television-without-pretty

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Ashtanga and Vinyasa Classes in Oakville Ontario, Canada


Ashtanga and Vinyasa Yoga Classes Oakville ON.

Starts week of September 25th 12-week programs. Sign up today!

PLZ call: 905.845.2332 - Leave a message. (name, number and which class you'd like to join)

Tuesday 10:30am - 1pm A-Z of The Astanga Primary Series (12 wk program) All Levels
Tuesdays 7pm - 8:30pm Rockin' Vinyasa - Vinyasa class with great contemporary music! Level 2
Wednesdays 8:30pm - 9:30pm - Vinyasa Core - Vinyasa class with focus on Core work! Not to be missed. Level 1/2
Thursdays 11:30am - 12:45pm Vinyasa Core - Vinyasa class with focus on Core work! All Levels or an Ashtanga class (we'll see which class everyone wants) All Levels

All classes held at the IGITA studio on Lakeshore in Oakville Ontario.
Christine U at the Shama-Bhakti Yoga Centre

Saturday, September 15, 2012

I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore (well I'm mildly perturbed...haha)


Most of the time when I search for yoga sites for someone to follow because there is a resonance with their approach to the yoga practice: that, it is true and unencumbered, I can't find any. Pages upon pages are full of people doing 'stunt' yoga like that's where it's at or all about.

I'm getting really tired of it. You're just a bunch of showoffs. Really. Big deal, you can bend over backward and kiss your own ass. Big deal that you can put your leg behind your head. Big deal that you can do a handstand! Any circus freak can do what you are constantly bombarding us with on your websites and your blogs. And I don't think they're (the circus freaks) doing "yoga". They're creating a spectacle that is the circus.

Yes, I can do most of it. There are still things I struggle with daily. But that's what teaches me.

Yes - it looks pretty. BIG DEAL. Do you even know what yoga is? I don't think you get it. Yeah yeah, you're so impressive, that you can do that. Whoop! But that's what it's really all about for you isn't it? You crave for attention. For people out in the world to look at you and say, oh, I want to follow you. You're gorgeous or remarkable (because they are saying to themselves, I can't do that - so you must be great.) And stop blogging the perfect beautiful photo of yoga. Take a picture of yourself doing a pose. Yeah! That's part of the teaching. Would you dare to show yourself in a not so perfect pretty pose? Would you? The real learning of yoga is to get over that...as a individual, as a business, and as a culture.

Show me you're not perfect. If you want to keep showing those pristine shots on your website, then that's fine just don't call it YOGA! It's not yoga.  For crying out loud. Enough already! It's fouling around with what looks like yoga postures. And please don't write me about how a yogini wouldn't get mad. I am channeling 'Kali". You know Kali - the hindu goddess of creation and destruction! Sometimes things must be destroyed to create something new. And it's about time!

Please send me your not-so-perfect-yoga-asana-pic, I'd love to see it!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Anniversaries: A Moment to Reflect (Hard Lesson Part 2)

Wrote this a couple of days ago:

Anniversaries. I hardly celebrate my own. I even just quietly remember the death of my father on the day (November 1st, 2009; 11am) by lighting a candle, kissing his picture and saying "I love you Papa". Anniversaries are things that we celebrate in public and it is not a part of my nature to outwardly talk about the passed past. Pain of loss is a personal thing to me.

Today is just another day in my doings. But the lessons of the heart that/this day are always with me.

The years for me have taken away the palpable experience of the horror and pain of that day. For the most part, it is a faint sensation. That day was so painful for everyone and painful for me to witness their pain; I remember crying constantly as I watched what was happening. As the days went on, watching as innocent lives get taken because they had no other choice but to surrender to the fate of that day. To hear about those who went down with a fight and the stories from those who survived. Hearing about the sacrifices of those who went in to do their part in rescuing, searching, seeking and cleaning up. The aftermath was excruciating. People searching for their loved ones. The vitriol from those who only wanted to blame and attack back, and the pleads of those to let calmer heads and softer hearts prevail. And then, the pain of those innocent people who took the blame in the wake of the evidence against a select group.

But I don't express it outwardly. Maybe it's because it wasn't my country, so therefore not really my experience. I remember that day. I taught a yoga class - Ashtanga. At the time, I felt it was appropriate to have the class do 108 sun salutations (suryanamaskara) for the class. 108 is a sacred number. Like the number of times you are to chant the Gayatri Mantra or the number of beads on a Mala string, the 108 sun salutes were to be a prayer for peace: the chant heard across the land that we are with you in our hearts and souls. I said a few words about something, I forget. I went around partaking in the practice as a teacher would. Assisting to deepen the students' experience.

The experience of what was happening, for me, still felt close to home (I spent weeks at a time for a number of years in the city). I had a dear friend living there at the time. He lived on Bleeker St. and was actually taking a run down by the river as it was happening, not realizing what was going on as he jogged passed people running covered in soot the other way. Himself almost getting caught in it. (A lot of people afterward talked about how surreal and unreal it felt at first.) During the days that followed he talked about his feelings of helplessness. That even bringing socks and footwear for the volunteers to the salvation army did not ease the confusion, deep pain and the need to be able to do something. Living there was a constant reminder: the smell in the air of smoke and soot, and the posters of the missing up for months and months. It was not normal. I've kept the feelings of this day deep in my heart because although I am not American, I wasn't there and I have only tenuous personal connections, my friend's experience, my connection to the city, and witnessing it all on tv made it a part of my deeper experience.

I still mark the day in my heart. I still feel a kind of alertness on this day: A vigilance to treat everyone with kindness and to maintain a softness in my heart even at times when I feel frightened and alone. I still feel the loss and pain of those who experienced it directly, and I am only too aware of how this feeling is experienced by people around the world daily. It reminds me to take the feeling of that day and turn it into compassion in the present.

I was fortunate I feel anyway, to be able to go to Ground Zero on New Year's Eve 2001, to pay my respects and to pledge to always have them in my heart and yes today I am reminded again to do so. Because, of all the lessons we learn from day to day, the one that keeps coming back to me is, to Pray for Peace in the World and in Our Own Hearts.

Thanks for letting me share.

LOVE WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!

Peace!
Christine