Riding on the waves

Occasionally, my husband of almost twenty-five years will tease me by declaring that I am never in the moment. I think to myself, “And who is the yogi here? And who is the yoga teacher?” But when I separate his words from my ego, I get their meaning and I have to admit, if only to myself, that at times my husband is right in some of those moments in time! I am always appreciative of him and especially for his nudges and encouragement to me to keep evolving. Practising being fully present requires diligence and commitment as does remaining consistent in one’s yoga practice. When life gets in the way it is all too easy to slip from these practices but as greater symmetry is developed between life both on and off the mat, mindfulness envelops us in most of what we do. And herein lies the inspiration to keep plodding along.

For weeks, I have been struggling to figure out what feels right to write for my blog. I have missed my connection with my students through my written words, and even with myself through the creative process of writing. For during this past year various demanding situations claimed my attention and absorbed my motivation for writing, even at times influencing my yoga practice. Each challenge seemed to touch my body mind and spirit and brought me head on into the present moment. It dawned on me that writing about what has challenged me, what has sustained me, and where I am right now would make the most sense as I would then be sharing from a place of truth and honest intentions.

After returning home from travelling to India with my daughter last summer, I discovered that I had become afflicted with various intestinal issues and parasites. It took several months and various courses of antibiotics before I regained my health. My yoga practice was compromised because my body simply knew that it wasn’t interested in nor capable of moving in intricate ways. Recognizing that to everything there is a season, patience and acceptance guided me during this time of modified practise. In addition to these physical challenges, my family of origin became immersed in a very emotional business transaction. This stressful situation took an incredible amount of energy and time while I was concurrently preparing over several months for my role as a chaperone on a Holocaust educational trip. This journey was very impactful and truly dominated heart and spirit. While in Poland and Israel this spring with 300 sixteen and seventeen year old teens and eleven Holocaust survivors, we visited cemeteries, ghettos, death camps and death facilities, memorials and mass graves in forests. This was a deeply disturbing and powerful experience. As a chaperone on the March of the Living, I was responsible for the participants while simultaneously living history and experiencing these horrors through my own eyes.

On my personal march through these various transformational experiences something was required in order to manage it all. That something was my yoga. Thirty-two years of devotion to yoga practice has formed a foundation for my life and supports me with what I need in order to feel a sense of well being, wholeness and joy even while coming up against a challenge. Many of the lessons learned and the skills honed over the years from yoga practice enabled me to successfully navigate through the turbulent waters I faced during the past year. For yoga has taught me how to remain present and centered for the ride and I am able to do this because my life and my yoga merge into a single path. When I am riding on the waves I move completely into the present moment. It is my belief that in ways well beyond my comprehension, I was also being asked during the past year to simply trust in the universe and to trust in the Truth.

Processing these recent impactful situations will take a long time. However, finding my passage onto the yoga mat and back to the keyboard feeling inspired and excited, it seems that my creativity is again being sparked. This makes me very happy for I have longed for stillness and solitude and presence in moments that are unbridled with external stressors. By tapping into an authentic and honest place, I can remain true to myself, listen and nurture my spirit and sit still for my creativity to surface. Thus, yoga, mindfulness and creativity are all practices that are inextricably bound to every aspect of my life and for this I am most grateful.

 

Temmi Ungerman Sears

August 4, 2014

 

“Remember, the door to the sanctuary is inside of you.”

- Rumi

Invest wisely in your health!

Early this morning I heard on the radio that OHIP announced that many changes are coming to how physiotherapy services will be funded. The story focused on a 104 year old woman; however, my thoughts quickly turned to our youth and to the baby boomer population and I thought about how yoga is also such a valuable asset in one’s life. As a long-term practitioner of yoga, I understand first hand the multifaceted benefits of a sustained yoga practise over time. I have also been privy to how quickly new students derive the immediate benefits of the practise as well as seeing the ongoing effects and positive changes for students who have remained on the path for many years.

Canada is an incredible country and we have much to be proud of and thankful for. For example, with governmental support we are encouraged to begin making payments towards RESPs when our children are very young. These are worthwhile investments. Similarly, by investing time and payment towards one’s well being and acquiring the life skills that yoga teaches and reaping its many benefits, we are better equipped to maintain good health (mentally, physically and emotionally) while also engaging in preventative measures against future adverse potentialities. When we consistently practise yoga, we experience how it enhances our life today while also arming ourselves with invaluable tools in preparation for whatever future challenges we may have to face.

I often joke that my youngest student is five years old and my eldest student is 86 years young. Yoga is for all ages and stages and I have been blessed to be able to share this discipline with thousands of students over the years. Having entered my fourth decade of practise, I have observed how the yoga process has continually demonstrated its immense meaning and value for me. I can only hope and believe that for my own aging process, like good aged wine, the richness and rewards of the sustained yoga practise will improve becoming even more pleasing, developed and multi-layered because of the significant amount of time and investment that I have put in.

Don’t wait. Don’t search elsewhere because Iyengar Yoga is the finest system of yoga available today. It is highly refined, safe and thorough, and its certified teachers are the most knowledgeable and well trained in the world. Don’t go to yoga for simply a fitness class or settle for less! Forget the drop-ins; make the commitment to a full session of yoga and sign up your kids, self and loved ones to classes or private sessions at YogaBuds this fall. Surely what you put in to your yoga practise will come back in spades, and your investment towards good health will return excellent dividends. Awaken your wellness at YogaBuds today. Now is the time to invest.

Living Life With Grace Through Yoga

I recently experienced a major milestone. It was the 20th year anniversary of my yoga practice. I first discovered yoga during my university days, and it has since been a major component of my life. It has remained a constant throughout all of the life stages that I have passed through. My yoga has evolved with me as I matured from a young single woman into marriage, pregnancy and parenthood. Yoga, in all its manifestations, has enabled me to live my life with grace. Throughout the past 20 years I have successfully woven yoga into the fabric of my hectic life, and it has greatly helped to sustain me.

As a professional and mother of three young children, the struggle to achieve a sense of balance in my life is ongoing. In addition to nurturing myself and my marriage, providing for my children’s needs and schedules, managing the household and housework, I also run a business and teach weekly yoga classes and workshops to kids, adults and families. I am blessed to have discovered many valuable work-life balance tools which I strive to daily implement in my journey towards balance and wholeness.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word that literally means “yoke” or “union”. Through the process of yoga, we bring into unity the three aspects of the self: mind, body and spirit. We also create a balance between active practice and passive surrender. Harmony is created inside of ourselves as all aspects come together like the different performers playing a symphony.

Over the past few years, yoga has moved rapidly into the mainstream. However, the very essence of what yoga is at risk for becoming lost due to the commercialization of yoga. Yoga is about so much more than the attractive appearance of the superstars and models doing yoga and the vast array of props, products and paraphernalia available. The 5000 year tradition of yoga is becoming diluted as yoga offshoots and hybrid forms of yoga are being developed, as studios pop up on every corner as quick money-making ventures, and as the advertising industry at times misrepresents yoga in campaigns that distort its meaning and value. As the marketing of spirituality and the false pursuit of the body beautiful is promoted, people believe that enlightenment and inner beauty can be bought. So for the average woman interested in pursuing yoga, how can she understand what yoga is really about? And how can she learn to apply its richness to her life?

Using Yoga in Healing Practice

In the Fall of 2001, my mother began to experience physical limitations due to osteo arthritis, sciatica and back pain. At 78- years of age, she turned to yoga to maintain her mobility, manage her pain, and soothe her spirit. Due to her serious and oftentimes debilitating physical issues, her yoga has been practiced primarily for relief from aches and pains, and for gaining physical benefits. Supports like the wall, and props such as chairs, wooden blocks and belts, as developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, have often been utilized during her practice.

Due to yoga, her body awareness and her posture have greatly improved. As she practices standing postures, she practices lifting her trunk up as she extends and lengthens her psoas and abdominal muscles. After the first time that my mother practiced a new resting pose on her own, I received a phone call from her. She stated, “You’ll never guess what happened? I fell asleep for twenty minutes while doing this pose!”

Establishing a new routine for someone at this stage of life is not easy and there have been some pitfalls along the way. Yet despite the difficulty in maintaining motivation and consistency with her yoga practice, my mother has remained committed to her yoga. As positive results continue to occur, she has come to enjoy and trust in the yoga process. Yoga has given my mother hope, healing and health. And after a lifetime of selfless giving, it is such a pleasure to see her learning to take time for herself and responsibility for self-care.

When practicing yoga together, my mother, my children and myself may all be in the same pose but in three different ways. Poses may be modified to meet each person’s needs for we each have different abilities and are at different stages of life. At times my children act as my assistants, helping their grandmother in a pose and there is always much laughter in the room. Yoga is a highly individualized process and may mean different things for different people. When doing yoga together, grandmother, daughter and grandchildren experience this ancient healing art nonverbally, and this connects all of us in a deep manner.

As I have become the conduit to carry the gifts of yoga to my mother and to my children, my roles as daughter, mother and teacher merge, and I am an active partner in their journeys. Interestingly enough, a role reversal occurs as I become caregiver to my mother while also being a role-model of living a healthy lifestyle for my children. This unique triad involving three generations practicing yoga together is a very special gift in my life. I feel immense gratitude for the opportunity to touch the lives of those I love so dearly through the yoga teachings. Regardless of what stage of life we are at, we hold the key to achieving balance in our lives. With this, we can practice our yoga on or off the mat.

Your Journey to Wellness in the New Year

As the holidays approach, we begin to wind down and gear up for extended time spent with family and friends. The holidays can be a time of many temptations and potential indulgence; therefore, it is imperative that we continue to embrace the idea of balance and moderation. Make sure to incorporate techniques for self-care and an awareness of mindful eating and drinking! It is easy to "let everything go" in ways that aren't always health-promoting! Remaining active, and staying consistent in your yoga practise over the holidays will help to maintain your health and keep you well.

During a recent peer supervision meeting of therapists, I realized that "Mindfulness" has become a popular concept, even in the psychotherapy field. This is a very positive thing. Yoga trains us to attend mindfully to our habits, to awaken to our selves "moment by moment, breath to breath", and to remain present-focussed in mind, body and spirit. The holidays provide us with ample opportunity to practise remaining present and mindful in many situations.

As we approach the New Year, many are drawn towards the idea of making New Year's Resolutions in order to try to change or improve aspects of their life. For some, this can be self-defeating as often there is the tendency to make too many promises and set the bar too high. So as 2010 approaches, if you are keen on making a commitment to something that is a positive change in your life, use the idea of a New Year's Resolution only as a starting point to try to initiate the change, and think long term. Perhaps the change that you commit to will be something that starts from the inside. Yoga can be the change in your life, and it can actually change your life! However, it is important to recognize that yoga is not goal-oriented so enter the practise (or continue to remain true to it) but do so with commitment but without ambition. Change is not instant but if you stay true to your intention; consistent to your practise; patient in your approach; and firm in your resolve, your yoga journey will create profound change over time. Honour your efforts and recognize that change happens in small increments and successes along the way. Try to implement small endeavors or "yoga bits and bites" each and every day, and the positive results in turn will inspire ongoing attention and become habit. Make 2010 the year to commit to your Self and to come to YogaBuds, an oasis in the middle of the city.

In 2010 I look forward to continuously being a part of your transformation and personal renewal through the yoga process. Thank you again for trusting me to be such an intrinsic part of your healing journey. Happy Chanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Have a wonderful holiday season and Happy Holidays!

Temmi Ungerman Sears, Director of YogaBuds

YB Newsletter: Mindfulness and Yoga

Today the gift of solitude was given to me in three different contexts. Sitting in our Muskoka room, the only sounds that can be heard right now are the rain drops on the concrete patio nearby, the rustle of leaves, and the din of the nearby highway traffic. The warm breeze surrounds me as trees, lake and sky beckon.  In solitude, I view nature at its finest, listen to the sounds, and relax. 

Earlier today during a reprieve from the rain, my yoga practise was long and focused. While remaining quietly in an asana, the realization arose that perhaps the reason this is my favourite place to practise yoga is because of the quality and quantity of prana here. Inhabiting and surrounding each cell of our physical body is the universal energy called prana (named qi in Japan and chi in China). Everything in the natural world has a field of energy surrounding it and circulating through it. When practicing on the dock, I am tapping into the life-force energy of the natural world as it fully envelops me like a warm blanket. 

For almost thirty years, my yoga practise at the waters’ edge has sustained me. The practise feels different here than anywhere else. An outdoor practise offers the opportunity to experience more fully the interconnection between all things, and especially between one’s self and nature. Concentrating and tuning into my inner landscape of ever-changing sensations, I am simultaneously observing the natural world. In sync with each new breath, I observe the variations on the surface of the lake, the shifting clouds, the songs of the birds, and the sound and feel of the wind. Practising the poses mindfully in constant changing conditions is challenging and rewarding. 

Kayaking is an activity that I also greatly enjoy for it is an opportunity to practise mindfulness and yoga off the mat, and in a different way.  Kayaking allows one to experience the stillness in the midst of activity that we also seek in our asana practise. As the kayak moves forward, my soft gaze is inclusive while still remaining focussed on one point in the far distance. I feel the alignment in my spine, and the union between my mind, body and breath. As I create my strokes to match my inhalation and exhalation, the muscles of my front chest and thoracic chest, my abdominal muscles, my arm muscles and even my leg muscles are engaged. My breath helps to guide my actions, and to glide the kayak smoothly and steadily across the lake. 

My brain is as quiet as the lake, and mindfulness permeates all that I do. 

During my ride the sky seems endless and is blanketed by a translucent light that is both calming and powerful. After an hour the sky darkens, and the rain begins. Initially, it is a soft rain but in time it begins to intensify. The wind picks up, a cool wind, and the water’s surface quickly changes. Although the moment is perfect, fear of an impending thunderstorm motivates me to paddle faster. By the time I return home, I am completely soaked. With fatigued muscles, skin refreshed and clean, my spirits soar for the kayak ride is yet another gift of the day. 

Writing from a screened in porch, practising yoga in nature, and kayaking in the rain, were all opportunities to engage in what the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh calls “our appointment with life” which is ever in the present moment. This is simply practicing mindful awareness, moment to moment, breath to breath. While staying present, one is able to be with the experience as it is, which is ultimately the essence of yoga. Today’s offerings of solitude, moments of stillness and silence infused with the pure prana of the natural environment, were wonderful opportunities to practise mindfulness. The pace of our Canadian summers is slower than during other times of the year. Why not commit to using these remaining weeks of summer to practise mindfulness, and to fully opening our eyes and hearts to each day’s offerings?

 

Temmi Ungerman Sears

July, 2009