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Has the West ruined yoga?

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I recently heard the term “yoga industrial complex”. While it might not be new to you, it was to me and it piqued my curiosity. What did this mean? My research led me to question my role as a yoga teacher and practitioner.

The western yoga industrial complex is the web of relationships between studio systems, yoga celebrities, certifying agencies and large yoga businesses or industry, including yoga product companies like Lululemon as well as cultural producers like the Yoga Journal.Those who are part of the yoga industrial complex engage in activities that
construct yoga as a professional field as well as produce conceptions of the practice of yoga and representations of who is an “authentic” yogi.

While this yoga industrial complex often claims yoga is “for all bodies,” accessible to all ages and abilities, and welcoming to all individuals, the field continues to be characterized by inequality and exclusion. While demographic information is sparse, data shows yoga users are disproportionately female, white, well-educated, wealthy and young, indicating certain populations are excluded from the practice. Issues of racial and class exclusion are exacerbated by the heavy concentration of yoga studios in wealthy white neighbourhoods, meaning many lower income or non white communities have less access to yoga spaces

Is it still yoga if there is a whole industry based around the practice? Are we actually practicing yoga? The yoga industry in the west consists of expensive clothing, extravagant lifestyles of gurus, and increasingly expensive classes. Are we merely yoga consumers? Uninformed Westerners may stray away from the whole purpose of yoga: inner peace and happiness.

Shreena Gandhi a religious studies professor at Michigan State and Lillie Wolff, co-wrote an article titled, Yoga and the Roots of Cultural Appropriation. They state that Americans who practice yoga are contributing to white supremacy and promote the “yoga industrial complex.”

“Most yoga teachers in America do not learn about Hindu tradition or Indian cultural history. Generally in the United States, people practice the physical aspect of yoga, the postures or asanas, which comprise only one-eighth of the practice as a whole. The physical practice does help many people decrease stress, anxiety, and depression. However, when “Western” yoga teachers train other practitioners to relate to yoga only on a physical level, without exploring the history, roots, complexity, and philosophy, they are perpetuating the re-colonization of it by diluting its true depth and meaning.

Herein lies the invitation for white yoga practitioners to go beyond an unaccountable surface level relationship with yoga to a deeper, more transformative place of practice, awareness, contemplation, and engagement.

The result of this reality is that Western yoga is often represented and marketed in mainstream culture by thin, white, upper middle-class, cisgender, able-bodied women. Another layer to this reality is that white dominant cultural values, such as competitive individualism and either/or binary thinking, further distort and dilute the ancient teachings. Many people compete for the attention, time, and praise of their teachers, who are often treated as celebrities; and many teachers (and practitioners) strive to promote their style or brand of yoga as the best or most superior form of yoga. All of this conspires to create a culture of elitism and is antithetical to the true roots of yoga, which are all about yoking the mind, body, and spirit in order to remember our innate oneness and connection with universal consciousness.”

Yoga was not a practice aimed at physical mastery for its own sake. Nor was it a practice aimed at “stress-reduction” so people can function as better producers and consumers in a capitalist society. We are simply actors within the yoga industrial complex.

Yoga was originally intended to prepare the body as a foundation for unity with the spirit. The limb of asana, aims at strengthening the body. Asana, along with dhyana or meditation, aim to harmonize body with breath in order to attain deeper and deeper states of meditative awareness or samadhi. The purpose of this kind of meditative awareness is to experience, practice, and live oneness of mind, body and soul with the divine. This kind of freedom is called samadhi or liberation.

We need to address the current cultural context where there is a billion-dollar industry profiting off taking yoga out of context, branding and repackaging it for monetary gain.

There wasn’t an author named but the following is from an online article titled, Healing from White Yoga. The writer claimed to have been a former yoga teacher and quit with the following changes (note: I feel this may be too extreme).

“In an attempt to make amends, I have; stopped practicing and teaching this inauthentic western yoga, stopped supporting the western yoga industrial complex financially or otherwise, made (and will continue to make) financial payments to organizations serving Indian and Hindu people, work to educate other western yoga students and teachers, social justice activists, my communities, and the general population about the cultural appropriation of yoga.

I will pay back all the yoga classes, workshops, conferences that I ever attended; all money paid for yoga clothes, mats, accessories, yoga publications etc.; cost of my 200hr and 500hr teacher trainings, cost of a yoga trip to Mexico; Yoga Alliance/IAYT fees; profit from yoga related publications; and, profit from teaching yoga classes, workshops and private sessions. What I stole is what I owe with interest.”

The author went on to list places to make, and not make, financial restitution.

I think it’s great we live in a time where we can be exposed to and experience different cultures. And if other cultures want to explore Western clothes, food, etc. great too. But I have felt for some time that Westerners were bastardizing yoga. Taking a 5,000 year beautiful, proven system and making it a watered-down, competitive show. And we can’t forget that Osho and Bikram came to the west to monetize on their brand of yoga.

Shutting down an industry is impossible. I feel I must practice inwardly and focus on personal improvement while recognizing the core ideals of yoga and meditation; attaining peace. Moving forward I will more consciously and regularly include other aspects of yoga (all limbs, philosophy, history, Sanskrit, etc.) in my teaching and practice. And maybe even look for under-serviced groups. While my conclusion may not be perfect, I feel it’s a start and every change begins with a conversation.

Providing support during a pandemic

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There is a Zen koan that husband and father Layman Pang was once selling bamboo baskets. Coming down off a bridge, he stumbled and fell. When his daughter, Lingzhao, saw this she ran to her father’s side and threw herself down. “What are you doing?” cried Layman. “I saw Daddy fall to the ground, so I’m helping,” replied Lingzhao. Interesting here is that she does not help him get up and put himself back together. She does not fix the situation. She helps him fall. She falls right next to him. That is how it is, we fall down together. Falling teaches us something: that life is uncertain, unknowable, unpredictable. This is the water we swim in, always. As Lingzhao helps her father fall, as she falls with him, there is no fixing, there is no illusion.

When it comes to COVID 19, we’re all in the same storm but we’re not all in the same boat. The only way out is through.

I recently had the opportunity to partake in Alberta Health Services Psychological First Aid (PFA) online course. What is psychosocial support? Helping people meet their every day emotional and social needs. Distress reactions after an emergency don’t equal a mental health problem. The goal is to support individuals and families in managing their new normal at home.

Considerations during a pandemic are that everyone is impacted, which is not the case with all disasters. In the case of COVID 19, stressors emerge due to fear of being infected and increasing physical distancing and social isolation measures, along with physical, emotional, and financial changes. There may be increased mental health needs as people may avoid accessing healthcare due to fear of being infected.

Now more than ever, connectedness and how we support one another is vital to instill and sustain hope, humour, calm and a sense of self and community efficacy.

Think about who might be at risk? Some examples include people with mental illness, older adults, people living in poverty, children, persons with disabilities, people with chronic health conditions and newcomers.

A world-wide panel of experts identified five essential elements to helping respond and recover from a disaster; promoting safety (providing impacted individuals with accurate information), promoting calm (letting people know feelings of anxiety and uncertainty are normal and encourage calming techniques such as deep breathing and meditation), promoting self and community efficacy (encouraging individuals to carry on regular activities and looking for ways to participate in community or group activities), promoting connectedness (with a pandemic, this connection and community participation can occur in unique and innovative ways such as online or in driveways), and, instilling hope.

PFA action principles are in this order; Prepare (learn about the emergency, available services and supports and safety and security concerns), Look (look for people with obvious urgent basic needs and for people with serious distress reactions), Listen (make contact with people who need support, ask about their needs and concerns and listen to people to help them feel calm), and, Link (help people access services and connect with social supports).

When listening to someone it’s important to be effective such as asking open ended questions “how are you today?” or “how can I help you?”. Also show empathy and be reassuring. Brene Brown says empathy is about holding space for people and honouring their experience.

Common stress reactions are physical (pounding heart, low energy, sleep problems), spiritual (questioning their belief system), emotional (anxiety, sadness, anger, fear) and mental (trouble making decisions or remembering things, confusion).

Self-care red flags can include; change in eating habits or weight, loss of interest, guilt, conflict in relationships or changes in sleep. Also, domestic violence and child abuse risks can increase during self-isolation and times of increased stress.

What is the minimum thing you can do for your self-care? Suggestions include; physical activity, deep breathing techniques and, creative hobbies.

If you or someone you know need help there are resources available at www.informalberta.ca (information about community, health, social and government services keyword “disaster”), 211 (information on available community and social supports), 311 (information related to services and disaster information), 811(Health Link), 1-877-303-2642 (Mental Health Help Line) and www.emergencyalert.alberta.ca (Alberta Emergency Alert, click on ‘Sign-Up For Alerts’ to download the App).

Om Canada: An Intimate Glimpse at Yoga’s Firsts: Book Review

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Om Canada: An Intimate Glimpse at Yoga’s Firsts, by Valery Petrich, highlights sixty of Canada’s early yoga teachers, “…passionate souls who ushered in the practice of yoga in a post-war era, when contemporaries still perceived them as loners and loons.”

I, of course, had to purchase it because it included my teacher and mentor Gerda Krebs. She is included in Part 1 titled Survivors. At 89-years-old she is still going strong, regularly teaching public classes, workshops and teacher trainings.

Gerda grew up in Hitler’s Germany where she lost her mother at a young age. She immigrated to Canada with her husband in 1952. She began her yoga journey in 1967 and took her teacher training in 1970. Anyone who has done yoga in Sherwood Park knows Gerda. Many having taken classes with her in her own home. She was one of the founding members of the Yoga Association of Alberta but she may be best know for her television series Yoga Fits In, which she began in 1975 and ran for 25 years.

I was initially frightened to take classes with Gerda, her impressive history and German accent made me nervous but I soon learned she was one of the most sensitive individuals and caring teachers. She knows all her students intimately and teaches them from a place of almost maternal love. “Yoga is a philosophy. It will make you a better Christian. Yoga philosophy teaches us to do good deeds.”

It was time the pioneers in the Canadian yoga scene were recognized. What is as common as little black stretchy pants now was once frowned upon and even looked at as a weird, mystical religion. It took courage to stand out and offer something new to the public.

If you’re looking for more such history, you can head over to the website: Yoga Studio College of Canada Teacher Training program. Petrich founded the program in 1996 which has more data about the roots of yoga in Canada.

Get excited about your life again by balancing this chakra

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It’s day 77 of being shut in for the most part; more or less because of COVID-19. Have you taken inventory of how you are feeling? Physically, mentally, emotionally?

Has your energy felt off in one or more areas of your life? Are you specifically finding it hard to even get excited about being excited? Are you trying to remember how to get going again? If you find yourself in these situations then it may be time to take a look at your sacral chakra, the second chakra, and getting it back in line so you can enjoy the full beauty and benefits of life and all it has to offer. And there is still so much life has to offer.
The second chakra, the sacral chakra, is in the lower abdomen (couple inches below the navel) and it’s main focus is allowing the individual to discover what they enjoy; to form hobbies. It is in this chakra that we design the life we want. It is the sensation of being physically alive and creating the life you desire. This chakra is all about having the power to realize and utilize your talent to express the life you want to lead. It symbolizes our creative potential. Passion is the fuel of creative energy. Everything you create (a poem, a drawing, or a website), originates from the energy of second chakra.

A balanced second chakra has the ability to take risks and have the resilience to recover when things go wrong. Remember that nobody is perfect, all human beings are beautifully flawed.

Imbalance in the sacral chakra can manifest into low confidence, lack of motivation, inability to create intimate connections with others, lack of interest in self expression or artistic abilities. An under-active sacral chakra can show up as fear of pleasure, lack of creativity, feeling fatigued, lack of desire, not authentic to yourself, insecurity and detachment.

One of the most positive things about balancing sacral chakra is that all it really requires is for you to do more of what makes you happy. It’s doing all the simple things, dance and sing like no one’s watching or do simple exercises regularly like yoga or just go for a run.

You can balance your sacral chakra by keeping a journal to help let go of any negative emotions and know that only you can create the life and loving relationships that you want.

You could also try meditation and visualize the colour orange (which is the sacral chakra’s colour), and most importantly, let go. Learning to let go of unhealthy emotions, people, and memories is crucial as you are letting go of your negative emotional baggage and making space and energy for better opportunities in life.

Mantras are very powerful. You might resonate with any of the following or come up with one of your own:
• “I know I can embrace change and make the best of my future.”
• “Every day, I experience more and more joy and satisfaction.”
• “I am full of inspiration and the potential for creation.”

You can connect with water. The sacral chakra is highly influenced by the element of water. A warm bath or shower can also help aid in balancing your sacral chakra. Aromatherapy can be a powerful and simple tool for opening and balancing your sacral chakra. You could combine these two with this simple recipe for a sugar scrub.

Sugar scrub

You will need:
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• glass bowl
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 12-15 drops of essential orange oil (I use 15 drops of my favourite oil – doTerra Wild Orange)
• mason jar or other glass jar

Melt the coconut oil in a glass bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds and let it cool briefly. Stir in the sugar and essential oil until combined. Package in airtight glass jar.

To use, gently massage a small amount into your skin in the shower. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Store the sugar scrub in a cool, dry place for up to six months.

So if months of social isolation has stifled your creativity or taken the joy out of life, try the above suggestions until you find your joie de vivre again!

Salute the moon with this yoga sequence

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You’re probably familiar with Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar) but are you familiar with the soothing sister sequence – Moon salutations?

Chandra Namaskar pronounced SHAHN-drah nah-muh-SKAR-uh harnesses the calming, cooling lunar energy. In Sanskrit “Chandra” means moon, and moon salutations give thanks to the moon and channels the calming energy she emanates.

This sequence of yoga poses is the yin to the sun salutation yang and are cooling and quiet because they channel feminine energy from the moon; whereas Sun Salutations are active and warming because they channel masculine energy from the sun.

You can flow through the Moon Salutation sequence as many times as you like. It stretches the spine, hamstrings, and backs of legs; strengthens leg, arm, back, and stomach muscles. It calms the mind and draws your awareness inward.

Perhaps Chandra Namaskar isn’t as well known as Surya Namaskar because it hasn’t been around as long. In all likelihood, it’s an invention of the late 20th century. The Bihar School, which is a yoga school in India founded in the 1960s, first published the sequence in asana pranayama Mudra Bandha in 1969.

Pay special attention to the quality of each movement. Instead of moving quickly, jumping into and out of poses as you would in Sun Salutations, move slowly, as though you were moving through water. This means that you don’t have to sync each movement to an inhalation or an exhalation the way you do with Sun Salutations.

The practice of Surya Namaskar is done facing the short end of the mat while the Chandra Namaskar is done facing the long end of the mat. The general practice of Surya Namaskar is done at the beginning of the yoga practice to warm and awaken the body, while to cool the body Chandra Namaskar is done at the end of the yoga practice.

Goat Yoga

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To change things to a lighter note during the current COVID-19 global pandemic, back in February my mom and I had the joy of participating in Goat Yoga.

What the heck is Goat Yoga you may ask. While an instructor led a yoga practice there were baby pygmy goats roaming around. You could pet them, pick them up for a cuddle and take as many selfies with adorable little goats as you like.

It was a 45 minute practice but we were allowed 60 minutes in total to ensure people had a chance to mingle with the goats. After the instructor introduced herself and before she began the practice, she said we could do 45 minutes of yoga, some yoga and some goat time or just spend the whole time playing with the goats. I can’t remember for sure but I think I may have spent more time enthralled with the goats than with my Sun Salutations.

An internet search reports that “Goat Yoga” accidentally originated on a farm in Oregon in 2016. Farm owner Lainey Morse found comfort in spending time with her goats after a period of depression following a divorce and an autoimmune disease diagnosis. Morse soon began inviting her friends over to do the same, dubbing the activity “Goat Happy Hour”. One of these friends was a yoga instructor who suggested they conduct yoga classes in Morse’s mountain-view field. From there, the idea went viral and Morse made $160,000 in revenue in her first year of business.

The article further reports that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, animal therapy has been said to help with physically lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, fostering connections for children with autism, and even diminishing overall physical pain. The mental health advantages are plentiful too, with evidence of animals helping with lowering anxiety, increasing mental stimulation and reducing feelings of loneliness. Goats are said to be the ideal therapy animals as they don’t need to develop a special bond with a human before they start interacting with them, meaning that baby and adult goats will just come up to a stranger asking to be pet.

These classes are open to yoga practitioners of every skill level.

Handlers roam around the whole time promptly cleaning up any messes. Most of the goats were two weeks old and one special guest was only two days old; clad in a baby diaper as he lived in the handler’s home.

The youngsters had playful bursts of energy bounding around and off objects, and head butting each other.

I would absolutely recommend giving goat yoga a try to enjoy the experience of playing with goats but not as a serious yoga practice. Namaste.

An open letter to dog owners:

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I am so fortunate to live in an active community with plenty of safe pathways to explore by foot, bike, scooter or otherwise. The majority of my use is for running. I always see other people out walking or running either alone or with friends or family of all ages. While we are not a family which owns a dog a lot of others are and therefore we’re sharing the walkways.

As a runner I am always nervous when someone approaches me with their dog; are they a responsible owner? Is it a well behaved dog? The size of the dog doesn’t matter I am cautious of all dogs. I have been bit a couple of times (very minor it never broke the skin) and they were both small dogs. I would feel better if owners thought not only of the safety of others but their feelings of security as well. Remember these are shared pathways.

1. If the area is not designated as off leash, why do you think the rule doesn’t apply to you? You could get a fine. Your dog may act out of character. Your dog could get hurt. Your dog is no longer under your control. Other people do not know you or your dog so therefore do not feel safe (regardless of the dog’s size).

2. Please do not use retractable leashes. They are not the strongest leash. When they are extended out to their max capacity; those dogs can be very far from their owners and are no longer under the owner’s control – you cannot retract the dog with the leash.

3. In these parts we drive on the right side of the road therefore we also walk on the right side of the sidewalk. If I’m approaching from my right you should be on the other side of the sidewalk regardless of where your dog may want to be at that time.

4. Further to number three; please have your dog on the outside and not the inside of the sidewalk when you are passing other users. I would rather have you between your dog and myself and not be in contact with your dog.

5. Please be aware of your surroundings at all times. I may come up behind you and your dog. If you can’t hear me you can’t move your dog out of the way in time. Also, your dog may be startled and act out in fear.

I will say, for the most part dog owners are very responsible about picking up after their dogs. I rarely see evidence of dog waste not being picked up. Kudos on that part and thank you.

Signed,
A cautious runner

Rejoice: Naps are good for you!

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I love a good nap. There, I said it. I feel like I have to keep naps a dirty little secret. When you mention naps to people, they think you’re lazy. But a well placed nap in your day can actually make you more productive.

Taking a nap is like rebooting your brain. American journalist Pete Hamill once said, “The replenishing thing that comes with a nap — you end up with two mornings in a day.” Sir Winston Churchill managed on just four hours sleep a night during World War Two — but insisted on a two hour nap in the afternoon.
Albert Einstein reportedly slept for 10 hours a night, plus daytime naps.

Scientists have shown that a 60- 90-minute nap is the equivalent of eight hours of sleep for replenishing the brain.

“It’s only since the industrial revolution we’ve squeezed all our sleep into the night rather than having one or two sleeps through the day,” explains Vincent Walsh, professor of human brain research at University College London.

In one study of 23,681 Greek men over six years, the participants who napped three times per week had a 37 per cent lower risk of dying from heart disease.

Sleep experts have found that daytime naps can improve many things: alertness, creativity, stress, perception, stamina, motor skills and accuracy, enhanced sex life, aid in weight loss, reduce the risk of heart attack, brighten your mood and boost memory.

Daytime naps can be one way to treat sleep deprivation. You can get incredible benefits from 15 to 20 minutes of napping.
With more rest, your brain will be better at processing the glucose you get from food, giving you more mental energy throughout the day.

One of the keys to power napping or “cat napping” is to keep them short. Many experts say 10 to 20 minutes is the ideal duration to bolster energy and heighten alertness. Too long a nap and you risk grogginess. The benefits of a nap can even last for several hours.

For a perfect nap, find a restful, cool, dark place to lie down in, without any noise or distraction. Or invest in a sleep mask and even earplugs.

There you go, permission to nap. Or, if you already enjoy 40 winks, sleep on my friend, sleep on.

Yes exercise is good for your mental health

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Most people think of the physical benefits of exercise but there are many other benefits as well. Students tell me they are there for strength, mobility, balance and some have specific goals such as getting in shape for a family wedding or improving their golf game.

There are also mental and emotional benefits. One student came after her son said it would help her depression. She now beams from ear to ear as she flies into class, has made friends who she now also plays pickle ball with (another new pursuit), and she has lost weight to boot.

Exercise helps relieve stress. For some of us, that would look like a vigorous workout including lots of sweating. At the other end of the spectrum would be practicing yoga for stress relief. Scientifically, exercise increases levels of norepinephrine, which helps the brain deal with stress more effectively. There is increased blood flow to the brain and endorphins are released during exercise. These hormones make us feel happy combating symptoms of anxiety and depression. It is believed that one of the mechanisms of fatigue in exercise is the increase in tryptophan levels in the brain. Tryptophan is an amino acid and it gets converted to serotonin. Serotonin is the “happy chemical.” When serotonin levels rise, you feel happy and relaxed. For only 10-15 minutes of exercise, anxiety is reduced, and usually for up to 6 hours. In the case of depression, it seems that both cardio and strength training have equal effects.

If you were to hook up the brain to an EEG machine and measure electromagnetic waves, you’d notice four types of waves: alpha, beta, gamma and delta. The beta waves are what you experience when you’re awake and concentrating. The gamma and delta waves predominate in deep sleep. It’s the alpha waves that are less present in the person with anxiety. Alpha waves signal relaxation, and they’re most evident when a person is relaxing, daydreaming, or in that period when lying in bed and you’re not quite asleep, but not quite awake. Exercise helps increase alpha wave activity and calms you down.

Physical activity can help improve your mood. It can also improve brain functioning by increasing blood flow to the brain which can improve concentration and memory. Daily physical activity can lower the risk of dementia by 20 to 30 per cent.

Benefits spill over into other areas of our life; productivity and creativity is boosted.

Being fit is also a self-esteem boost. I think you’d agree that self-esteem and confidence play a part in mental health. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their innate ability to achieve goals. Self-efficacy affects every area of human endeavour. By determining the beliefs a person holds regarding their power to affect situations, it strongly influences both the power a person actually has to face challenges competently and the choices a person is most likely to make. These effects are particularly apparent, and compelling, with regard to behaviours affecting health. Self-efficacy means that you feel like you’re in control. When you have anxiety or depression, it feels like things are happening to you. You feel helpless, out of control. But then you start exercising, and you quickly realize that if you exercise you can make yourself feel better, which brings back a sense of control to your life. You start to understand that you can control how you feel. You can control when, where, and how intensely you exercise. Exercise doesn’t just “happen” to you. You make it happen.

Other side effects of exercise include better sleep, a strengthened immune system and increased energy. All of this in as little as three to four 45 to 60 minute sessions a week.

If you’re interested in training with me, check the teaching calendar on the website or contact me directly.

Always consult with your primary health care provider before starting a new exercise regimen.

Vulnerability leads to growth

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It was while I was standing around nervously waiting for the 2016 CrossFit Games Open 16.1 workout to begin, that a friend mentioned that she had just watched Brene Brown’s TED Talk on vulnerability (The Power of Vulnerability). This gym buddy said growth happens when we make ourselves vulnerable. She also mentioned that she had gone to the bathroom three times since getting to the gym, yeah, we were terrified.

I put myself out there entering in 2016 and it was the most gruelling test of fitness and mental toughness I had ever experienced. There was a moment during one workout that I actually thought, “I wish I was just running 50 kilometres right now. That looks pretty good.”

But the next year I entered again. And I did even better. I have entered races – road, trail, 5 kilometres to ultra marathons – that continue to question, “where’s my limit.” And you know what? I continue to feel fear and, I grow.

I agree to teach classes that push me in a new direction (say yes and figure it out later) and continually take new courses/certifications. I’m so out of my comfort zone all the time, I don’t know what my comfort zone is.

Naturally I had to watch this TED Talk as soon as I could, out of curiousity and to justify why the heck I was putting myself through this.

I’m paraphrasing and taking liberties with some of Berne’s points:

Have the courage to be imperfect. Where are you holding back out of fear that you or what you create won’t be perfect? We strive for perfect – but it doesn’t work. We are imperfect and wired for struggle.

Fully embrace vulnerability. It’s not comfortable or excruciating but it’s necessary and it makes you beautiful.

Be willing to do something where there are no guarantees. There is no control or prediction of the outcome. But life would be boring if we always knew exactly what was going to happen. Has your life up to this point turned out exactly as you envisioned? The spouse, the career, the kids, etc?

Vulnerability is at the core of shame and fear and struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it’s also the birthplace of joy, creativity and of belonging.

Tenderness and vulnerability are important. Surrender and walk into it. I’ve had two major moments in a class where I felt especially vulnerable, revealing personal things that had incredible and unexpected results. Once as a student in a workshop, and another time as the teacher. The relationships grew out of these admissions and it allowed others to open up their own vulnerabilities.

We live in a vulnerable world. When we try to numb the feelings around vulnerability, we also numb joy, gratitude and happiness. To practice gratitude and joy in those moments of terror, instead of catastrophizing what might happen; to feel this vulnerable means “I’m alive”.

Work from a place that says, “I’m enough.” When we’re kinder and gentler to people around us, we’re kinder and gentler to ourselves.

Where are you holding back out of fear? What’s the thing you’ve been thinking about doing but don’t think you can? I challenge and encourage you right now to say, “damn it I’m going to do it.” Manifest a bigger, brighter future! Be vulnerable!

Kettlebells have a 300 year history for strength training

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Kettlebells trace their origins back to Russia approximately 300 years ago. If you’re not sure what they are, there’s a good chance you’ve seen one at the gym or a store; they look like a canon ball with a handle. They are simple and effective for strength and endurance training and an incredible calorie burn.

Firstly though, treat every kettlebell as if it’s very heavy, save yourself from injury by not picking it up in an unsafe, casual matter.

Secondly, stop using this free weight when your form starts to deteriorate from fatigue. Again this is to avoid injury.

There are many ways you can use a kettlebell; the two-handed swing is the most common movement. Pick an appropriate weight and with the kettlebell between your feet, hinge at the hips and reach the arms down.

Don’t squat too much in the swing. Yes your knees will have a slight bend, but the body is a pendulum moving with the kettlebell. As the swing comes in rock back and your thumbs come into your groin. As you swing away squeeze your glute muscles and extend your hips in front and straighten your legs. All the while keeping your gaze up and back straight. This is great for building the posterior chain. That is a group of muscles including glutes (buttocks) and hamstrings; areas that have been weakened or deactivated by day-to-day sitting. The swing can help teach you to fire these muscles and correct muscle imbalances.

In the Russian style swing, your arms and the kettlebell don’t go higher than shoulder height. American style you will see the arms and kettlebell go overhead but that’s no longer the exercise, it then becomes an arm work out.

Kettlebells are a great cross training tool; for example making you a faster and more efficient runner. They can improve aerobic capacity, explosive power, dynamic balance and core strength.

I wrote about Tabata in an earlier newsletter; here’s a great Tabata workout: 20 seconds of swings and 10 seconds of rest for eight rounds, equalling four minutes.

If you try this or are interested in learning more about kettlebells such as different movements and workouts, reply or message me, I’d love to hear from you – Certified Agatsu Level 1 Kettlebell Instructor.

Quick and simple workout

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When I want a full body workout without thinking too much, I do a Tabata workout. Starting at the top with shoulders and hitting all the major muscle groups down to my calves.

Tabata training is a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout, featuring exercises that last four minutes. It was discovered by Japanese scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo. Their research built the workout of 20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest for a total of eight rounds. They found this high-intensity interval training has more impact on both the aerobic and anaerobic systems.

You can do pretty much any exercise you wish. You can do squats, push-ups, burpees or any other exercise that works your large muscle groups. Kettlebell exercises work great, too. Tabata workouts can also be done with running or on a spin bike, either speed or hills.

Tabata is great to get a quick workout in if you’re short on time, you need to switch up your routine, or you want to improve endurance and speed. Incorporate this type of workout into your fitness routine and produce results.

You can find timer apps or if you have Apple Music, search Tabata songs and let the song do the counting for you and keep you motivated.