Wednesday 30 November 2011

Lululemon Ambassador Photo Shoot!

Here are the best pics from my fun shoot with Lululemon. It was a chilly yet sunny day and we shot around UofT, starting of course, at the finish line of the Goodlife marathon, which is why that location was so meaningful to me!

Not sure which one will be blown up (hopefully there's one that is good enough to do that!) for the store; we'll wait and see :)




Cathedral Grove

Still out west in B.C. so won't take too long to write about my trip as I want to savour every moment of my time here with my family.

On our way up to Tofino last week, Dana and Ed were nice enough to stop by Cathedral Grove (McMillan Park) so I could experience it. It was my first time going to this old old old forest to soak in this coastal wonder. My breath was taken away when walking through the trails, gazing up, waaayyyy up, at these giant 800 year old Douglas firs, covered in moss, meters large at the trunk's circumference. Serious beauty in such a majestic place. 

So much to write on Tofino too, next time!




Tuesday 29 November 2011

Why I love Toronto (even as a west coaster)

Alive

My mom suggested this video might be good for my blog. I'd seen it before and it touched me then, but after my weekend in Tofino, and driving around the island seeing how amazing this coast is (and the whole country really), it's resonating in a different,  much more powerful way.

Sunday 20 November 2011

Victoria! Vancouver! Tofino! Nanaimo! Saltspring! OH MY!

A few days and I'm off!

If you're in Vancouver on the 23rd, Nanaimo on the 24th, Tofino on the 25-27th, Victoria from the 28-December 2 and Vancouver again on December 3-4, let me know! Let's yoga! Chat! Have coffee! Run!

Looking forward to:
-celebrating my brother's birthday
-seeing the Burnaby studio
-going to the Lululemon lab
-seeing my nephews and nieces
-seeing Dana
-surfing and yogaing in Tofino
-seeing my parents
-hanging out with my sister
-teaching in Victoria
-practicing in Victoria
-taking time off work!

Yippee! :)

Reflections on week 3 - 30-day challenge

Day 20, getting up to the last week!

A few interesting observations this past week.

-With running and a lot of Moksha practice, the yin practice is especially beneficial to me these days.
-Day 18 I started getting that "yoga elbow" feeling I got last time I did my 30-day challenge. It's like tennis elbow but from too many chatarungas.
-Home practice with pup is almost impossible. He thinks I am playing. Also, I get very jealous of his downward dog.
-After practicing at a number of different studios, when I went to Danforth yesterday, it was like this big exhale feeling of warmth, love and home. Love this.
-Making the time for a daily practice gives me more time in life.

Friday 18 November 2011

December yoga schedule and races

YOGA!
Back from BC December 4 and will be teaching at various Mokshas and a few classes in private spaces. Hope to see you out there! Moksha schedule is:
Saturday, December 10, Moksha Yoga North York, 3-4:30pm
Saturday, December 17, Moksha Yoga Uptown, 3-4:30pm
Sunday, December 18, Moksha Yoga Danforth, 7-8:15pm
Monday, December 19, Moksha Yoga North York, 1:30-2:30pm
Monday, December 26, Moksha Yoga Stratford, various classes (9:30am, noon, 5:30pm, 7:30pm)
Tuesday, December 27, Moksha Yoga Downtown, 4:30-5:30pm and 6pm-7:15pm
Wednesday, December 28, Moksha Yoga Downtown, 8-9:15pm, 9:45-10:45pm



RUNNING!
No races but here are some run activities you should come out to! Free!

Run Club - Lululemon Eaton Centre every Thursday nights at 6:30pm and Saturday mornings at 8:45am (or
meet at the North West corner of Queen and University at 9am). Various paces, various distances! Do it!

Resolution Run - volunteering and cheering on runners - December 31! Come on out for some hot chocolate and brunch post race!

Saturday 12 November 2011

I WILL be your new run club ambassador!

I have fantastic news. I was proposed to. And I accepted!

Let me explain a little before you get carried away...

I was asked to be the new Run Club Ambassador for the Lululemon Athletica Eaton Centre store and I (of course) accepted.

This is something that is extremely meaningful to me in many ways. To think that someone who, seven years ago, didn't have a sense of who she was, who didn't make time to be part of a community, and who didn't value her body, mind or life is someone who now wants to (and is recognized as being capable of) inspire others to find inner strength, to help people see the worth and beauty of accomplishing goals and having support, and mostly, to really be able to relate to where people are coming from - from whatever place they're starting from - and taking each and every breath of life with gratitude and amazement at what the human body and mind can do.

Being an ambassador, to me, means representing the Lululemon manifesto - its guiding values - in my daily life - on and off the mat, during a run, during a stretch, while riding my bike, when at work, even in line at the supermarket. It also means being involved in the community and sharing in every victory, from a first kilometer to a tenth marathon or from a first asana class to a ten-day silent meditation retreat.

I am looking forward to what the next year will bring. As I was told when I accepted this opportunity, I'll get as much out of this as I'm willing to put in. And I can't wait to turn the potential into amazing discoveries and experiences.


Last race of the season - Road2Hope marathon and half-marathon in Hamilton

A bit of a delay getting this post in and a bit anti-climactic getting to it a week later.
Not good enough to order but a memory of the finish line.

November 6 marked the end of the fall running season with the Road2Hope marathon and half-marathon in the Hammer. An early wake up (made less painful due to Daylight Savings) and off I was to Hamilton to meet a number of CCRR folks who were running (most of them doing the full) or cheering.

Lack of signage and backlog on the road heading to Confederation Park made for hiccupy logistics but we all got to the start line on time (and if we hadn't, we would likely have been okay as race organizers delayed the start times). Aside from that, the sun from shining, the wind was minimal and the coolness was starting to get less frigid so there was little to complain about.

I was feeling relatively strong so figured that if conditions remained good, that I'd be able to get a PB. It is afterall, a race with a good amount of downhill-ing. I didn't follow a pacer and just found a rhythm and stuck with it for about 10km. A good per km pace that slowed slightly at 13km when the downhill portion stopped and my hip flexors started fatiguing (big goal for 2012, work on this!). I still kept up with the training though and kept pushing through, digging much deeper than I had in a while.

All was good until about 17km, or when we turned around to run by the water. The lake effect wind was coming on head-on. And something about my gels (again) gave me the major pukeys. I walked once or twice more than I would have liked along this stretch, trying not to hurl, and trying to stay focused. The 1:50 pace bunny passed me but I was okay with that. My goal was 1:52:22 or less so as long as I kept up with him, I knew I'd be fine. But I wasn't keeping up with him. And then I lost sight of him.

At around 19.5, I slowed to walk and Mike Lin approached me from behind and said something like "we've got this" or "you can do it" and I looked at him (this is why we have a community folks, the power of it is phenomenal) and found a lot of internal strength and made it happen. I looked at my Garmin and saw where the finish line was and just started going as fast as my body could. While it wasn't enough to give me a Personal Best (1:52:52 - off by 29 seconds~), I chalked it up as a Personal Awesome. My best 1/2 time of the season, more left in me for next time, goal of PB and sub 1:50 in sight.

The cowbells and cheering (and man, were there TONS!) at the end helped me cheer up, as did getting to celebrate so many personal bests, Boston qualifiers and happy finishes for my running friends. I put this season to rest, my first after a two year hiatus, so excited at what increased fitness and 2012 will bring!

Reflections on week 2 - 30-day challenge

Day 12. It's been going swell so far. It hasn't been tough finding the time for the daily practice but the cross-training has really had to be minimized. Less core, less strength training, less running. It's tough to balance it all but my focus this month is getting to the mat daily, practicing my yoga off the mat (including not being hard on myself for not doing it all), and cross-training when I can as it makes me happy and is part of my life as well.

Day 8 was pretty emotional in practice for me. Even riding in in the morning, I thought a lot about the death of Jenna Morrison. Jenna, an important part of the Toronto yoga community, wife, mother, was killed by a truck while she was riding her bicycle. I felt pretty shaken and dedicated my practice to Jenna, her loved ones, and especially for her son Lucas. The outpour of support for Jenna and her family has been, and continues to be, so strong. The sense of community and the light that Jenna brought to it can really be felt. Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo.

I've been extra prudent on the ol' bicyclette these days myself and because of this, missed my day 10 class by 10 minutes.... but I didn't fret about it too much. Instead of doing a home practice, I decided to do a make up class on day 11 and not be judgmental about it. After all, my intention to get to the mat was there. And I didn't want to turn my efforts into a negative experience.
Two of my favourite things... Lulu proposal flowers and Moksha Danforth.

When I did my make up class on day 11, it was really interesting to see  how one day off during this challenge makes a difference to how your spine responds to the mat when you first get to class. Granted, my make-up class was at 6:30am so there's a whole different body dynamic at that time of day, but it made me have a really great, 70% effort practice to slowly allow movement into my body. A patient practice. Lovely. (My second class of day 11 was a 90-minute yin. Speaking of patience... ;) But I must say, what a difference yin makes on my body! Take note runners).

Off to teach and practice in Stratford this weekend for classes 12 and 13. Looking forward to sharing new sweat, energy, and breath with the Stratford sangha!

Saturday 5 November 2011

Reflections on week 1 - 30-day challenge

Am on day 5 of this 30-day challenge. My first in a few years if you don't count the daily month of practice during teacher training. I feel stronger than I have ever felt. Both physically and emotionally. The emotional strength has been manifesting itself as not being hard towards myself, pacing through classes and as the days go by, and really feeling what my body is telling me daily, not just assuming where it's at in the practice on a particular day. Trying to fit a daily practice in outside of the house with my schedule has also allowed me to practice at various locations with different teachers. This has been refreshing - you learn so so much from others and it's been stirring up creativity and new insights. Living to learn. In the past few days, months, years, especially when it comes to yoga, everything I have learned about yoga is like suddenly understanding something you've understoon all your life, but in a brand new, eye-opening way. 



Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
 -  Cicero