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Coraley-Ley, Yogini

Musings from a yogi in the Canadian Rockies

coraleyletcher.com

A Journey with Many Paths

9/24/2014

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Sponsored by MPH@GW Public Health
Cleaning the studio floor between hot yoga flow classes the other night I had an interesting conversation with a student who had rushed in early to enjoy the heat.  She confessed to me that she was trying to get into yoga, which prompted me to ask whether it was her first class.  She told me that it wasn't, she had been to a few hot flow classes.  Her face scrunched up and there was a slight pause before she followed this with "I come to yoga for a workout.  I don't like the spiritual part of it, I find it distracting. My theory is that the harder classes have less of it [philosophy]."  Despite myself, I felt my shoulders tense and I'm fairly certain the look on my face was not the open and non-judgemental one the yogini in me would have liked it to be.  "That's interesting," I said as I turned to put away the mop and vinegar. 
After class I found myself reviewing the conversation in my mind.  I shared it with the owner of the studio.  I shared it with other teachers.  I knew that the conversation had affected me and had gotten my back up.  I knew that I had feelings about my reaction and that I wished I had been more supportive of the student and her prerogative.  But I couldn't quite figure out why I had reacted the way I did. 
In my mid-twenties I ended an unhealthy relationship.  It was the hardest and easiest thing I had ever done and, even though it was a time fraught with uncertainty, I was excited for a brighter and better future, a hope that was soon shattered as my ex's behaviour took an obsessive and scary turn.  By the time the ordeal was over, I found my life in tatters and myself housebound with anxiety disorder and PTSD.  I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I knew that I was severely unhappy, scared of everything from shadows on the wall to unidentified bumps in the night, and unable to function in my life, or even get out of bed most days.  I needed help.  I reached out and soon began weekly counselling appointments, taking anxiety medication and finding my way back to my yoga practice, which had fallen to the wayside in the chaos of the split and ensuing stalking. 
My counsellor was also a yoga teacher and so my weekly counselling appointments included breath work and looking at the asanas that challenged me most, as well as tools for incorporating yoga philosophy into my daily life and thought processes, all of which helped to reverse the patterns that a mentally abusive relationship and subsequent stalking had helped me find my way into. Yoga was the best medicine for me.  I was off of my anxiety medication in less than a year and back to working, living, and yes, leaving bed - and even the house - in due time too. 
While giving a lecture at a recent teacher training a student asked me if I felt that my PTSD and anxiety had been "cured" (when they diagnose you with anxiety disorder/PTSD you are told that it is a permanent, life-long diagnosis because the chemistry in the brain and body has changed with the stress response being altered, and so it is thought that there are no "cures" just coping mechanisms, medications and emotional tools/habits that allow a patient to deal better with the disorder.)  I paused before I answered but knew I had to say what I honestly felt in my heart.  "I know that they say that once the response has altered you can't ever get it back to normal, that it will be a life-long mental health issue. But yes, I do think that PTSD and anxiety no longer affect me, and I do think that yoga played a very large role in changing that. I haven't had any symptoms of either for years now."
I could site studies on the ways that yoga, meditation and breath work affect the central nervous system, cerebral health, thought and behaviour patterns, and even physiological responses to stress or rigorous physical activity, but to me no recounting of a study could have the impact that sharing my personal experience can.  Yoga healed me and  without it I have no doubt my life and health would not be what they are today.  And maybe that is why I struggled to maintain the non-judgement and openness that I longed to with my student that night. My yoga has been such an intense journey and has touched and healed the deepest depths of my being. In the moment, with the church-like glow of soft orange light, tranquil silence and deep warmth of the studio, a space where I have bowed to those once broken parts of my being so many times, I was unable to separate how I needed to travel the path of yoga from the way that she needed to.  And that's okay.  I am only human after all - divine in my imperfection but imperfect, none-the-less. Her yoga journey doesn't need to be the same as mine and no matter how amazing mine has been, or how important that aspect of practice has been for me, it doesn't mean that it needs to be the same for her.  It isn't meant to be the same.  And I'm thankful to her for reminding me of that and for creating a space where I could reflect on the profound impact that yoga has had on my life and be humbled by both how far I've come and how far there is still to go.

Has yoga impacted your physical, mental or spiritual health? For the month of September the Milken Institute of Health at  George Washington University is running a blogging campaign to spread the word about yoga's role in health and wellness. Follow this link for more information on how to participate: http://publichealthonline.gwu.edu/yoga-matters-invitation





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When the Universe Blows You Kisses Make Sure You Blow Some Back

9/17/2014

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I've been floating along lately giving a lot of attention to day-to-day but not working on my writing or much else.  It's not that I don't want to be, it's just that sometimes in life situations arise that keep us from certain activities.  It's fine, I've been happy to take some time to slow down and do what I need to do.  It isn't like I don't know that I'll be able to make my writing and website a priority in due time, life has a way of evening out like that, which is pretty sweet, but what's really cool is how when you have to step away from something for a bit, the universe sometimes puts it back in your path to keep you from letting it slip too far away.  Which is why today was so amazing for me.  I woke up to not one, but two writing related emails.  One was about a poem I submitted to a magazine several months ago.  I had assumed that they weren't interested but was delighted to find out that the poem is currently under consideration for publication in a future issue.  The second email was about an exciting opportunity to help George Washington University spread the word about how yoga can play a role in healthcare.   If you are a blogger and you'd like to help them out by participating or spreading the word on social media, check out the info here: http://publichealthonline.gwu.edu/yoga-matters-invitation/ You can help raise awareness of yoga as a complimentary health care practice and you could end up with $500 in the process. I've already started my draft post to contribute.  I can't let all of these good vibrations float by and not push my limits a bit to honour them~

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Long to do inversions? Me too!

9/9/2014

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Here are my top four tips for getting there (via My Yoga Online) :-)

http://www.gaiamtv.com/article/inversion-aversion-4-tips-getting-upside-down#sthash.0NcUWl6X.3kZjlUlm.dpbs

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Between the Lines

9/4/2014

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As soon as I plucked it out of my mailbox, I began to read Angie Abdou's latest novel Between. In the  lead-up to the novel's release it was touted as being a book about Filipina nannies, gambling and hot yoga. It had all of that, and more.  Decidedly less yoga than other activities, including drinking, drugs, and a healthy dose of sex, but that was okay - Angie comes to my yoga classes and so I was happy not to see shades of myself splattered throughout the yoga scenes, though I've heard that you rarely are able to identify yourself in novels anyway (perhaps there are pieces of me in Roger, the middle-aged, hot short wearing, yoga teacher;-) Though it isn't a book about yoga, per say, I'd highly recommend Between to anyone looking for a good Can Lit read and a good laugh. And though the yoga takes a back seat to the other themes in the novel, there's some definite food for thought in the spaces between what's written and what we perceive about yoga. 
I've had Angie as a teacher for several university courses, I've been her carpool buddy, hung out with her for coffee and read to her from my deepest, darkest, memoirs during writing festivals.  She's a damn good teacher and a lover of all things literature -particularly good grammar and dark humour.  It's because of her hard ass approach to teaching the  English language that many a student has left her class with a much better grip on proper grammar. So it is fitting that this post about her book be shared with my promotion of Grammarly's Promote Literacy Program.
It just so happened that around the time Between was released, I saw a post on Grammarly searching for bloggers to help them spread the word about literacy.  I wrote to them right away saying I'd be keen to help them out.  It took a while for them to respond, but that's a good thing.  As it turns out, they have had such a great response to the program that it was taking a while to respond to everyone.  So what is the deal anyway? Grammarly, who anyone that happens to be friends with me on Facebook probably knows, is an awesome blog about grammar that posts even more awesome memes about grammar. Oh snap, my literary nerdiness is showing.  Their Promote Literacy Program(http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2014/promote-literacy-with-grammarly/) is a push to get the word out about the importance of literacy, not just for students, but for adults in the workforce too.  For every blogger that posts about the program, Grammarly will donate to a charity that works to alleviate illiteracy. Follow the link to learn more and if you have a blog consider participating.  In the high tech age that we live in, written communication is more important than ever before, together we can work to eradicate illiteracy (a feat that would make Angie very happy, I'm sure;-)
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All Good Things Must Come to an End

9/2/2014

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How I wish this wasn't true of summer! Alas, August has come to an end and I find myself planning for Fall. First order of business, getting back on the blog train. I've been more than splotchy with my posting over the summer and it's time to set a schedule and get a post list going. I promise you can expect a post every two weeks from me.

What else is new? Hosmer yoga is back. Monday nights starting September 15 and running to October 13th. This introductory series will cover the basics of yoga etiquette, discuss various aspects of the practice, and help you begin a hatha practice. More info on my website www.coraleyletcher.com

I'll have more My Yoga Online articles coming up, as well as some guest blog posts to be announced soon. I'll also be blogging weekly for Body Love Athletic on health, wellness and yoga. I'll post links once my blog posts start going live on their site.

In addition to weekly classes at Essential Yoga, I have a few workshops coming up in the Fall and Winter. I'll be doing a five class "Elements" series beginning October 30. Each class will be themed around one of the five elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether). And on January 24 you can join me for a two hour workshop called Cultivate Compassion. This workshop includes a discussion on the role of compassion in our emotional and spiritual health followed by a heart-centered flow class. Find more info under the Workshops tab on my website.

If you're looking to get back into a daily yoga practice, don't forget that Essential Yoga has the 30 Day Challenge starting up on September 15.

Hope to see you soon at class!

Namaste, Coraley

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    I'm just a yogi in the mountains of British Columbia.  If you've found your way to this site, it's very likely that you are too.  Here you'll find information about my upcoming classes, workshops and retreats via the link to my website, as well my thoughts on yoga philosophy, what music I'm pumping in class, pictures, videos and other news about yoga and spirituality.

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