Mind Body Messenger
Issue #42, December 2006

Keeping Up With Heather

Hello Friends,
I have returned safe and sound and (somewhat) enlightened from my journey into Levels I & II Yoga Therapy with Phoenix Rising in Massachusetts. I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I arrived at the course, but I soon realized that I really was in the right place at the right time. Phoenix Rising is a fascinating method that is “client-centered and present moment focused”, and has a lot more to do with “not-doing” than “doing”, so it was just right for me at this stage of life, where my goals and my needs are shifting away from the quest for experience and more towards the experience of being. But, isn’t that so often the case that life brings us the experiences we are ready for, just in time?

Due to the nature of the training it has been a great personal growth tool for me, and has helped me to develop better skills at remaining “present” instead of my usual habit of imagining into the future and letting this draw me into a state of anxiety. Good timing since my cross-continental life is currently all about planning. Often I am working out the details on programs over a year in advance. I find that when I don’t ground myself fully in the present, these plans can carry me away into the future, leaving me a feeling unsteady and even frantic. Perhaps you have experienced this when you have been driving somewhere in a hurry. You may notice that your body has a tendency to tense forward, as though with your body pitched forward you will get there faster? This is quite common, and you might find you do it at the computer, at the sewing machine, and in the midst of a compelling film. But over time it can be draining on the adrenals, harmful to your posture, a cause of tension and chronic pain, and quite unsettling for the mind.

The techniques I learned in the PRYT program have helped me to adjust my daily yoga and meditation practice to give myself a more stable foundation for clear, present-moment thinking. I wish I could say this was all new learning, but unfortunately sometimes I have to hear things from a few different angles before it really sinks in.

The truth is that this was a very important piece of guidance that was advised to me at just this time of year in 2004 by a master metaphysician in Australia. I had heard amazing stories of this man performing some extraordinary feats of the human mind, and I was really keen to meet him and hear his guidance on my own process as a yogini and metaphysician. He told me that he would teach me the secret to enlightenment. The Secret! Knowing that he actually may possess this secret, he wasn’t just a “snake oil salesman’ giving me a sales pitch, I was pretty excited, and I leaned in with anticipation, thinking that I would be given some secret key to fulfillment and illumination.

Instead, he gave me the truth. And the truth of being the most powerful, healthy, effective, self-realized, fulfilled and balanced person that you can be is not something that you need to seek or achieve or attain. The secret to self-actualization is right here, right now. The secret is this present moment. What enlightenment is, in effect, is being present and consciously aware as we engage actively in the world. This begins as a skill, and then becomes a way of life, and then becomes your consciousness.

To first develop this skill, the master told me to do this simple exercise regularly throughout the day. As this exercise has had, and continues to have significant impact on my life, my state of health and my state of mind, I offer this powerful exercise to you too. Are you ready for the secret to enlightenment? Here it is:

Regularly ask yourself, when driving in your car, sitting at your desk, lying in bed, eating your dinner or running on the treadmill the following three questions:

Where am I? What am I doing? What am I thinking?

So, there it is…the key to enlightenment. I won’t impose my ideas on what you might get out of this exercise, as everyone is different. However I do hope you find it as illuminating an exercise as I have. After losing touch with this skill, my recent training has reminded me of its impact in bring me again and again back to the present moment. I hope that you find it as beneficial, and I “look forward” to hearing your results!
Namaste, Heather.

Did You Know?

5.5% of Canadian adults or 1.4 million people report that they are now practicing yoga. This is an increase of 15% from the prior year and 45.4% from 2003

Approximately 2.1 million Canadians, or 1 in 12 non-practitioners say they intend to try yoga within the next 12 months
PMB (Print Measurement Bureau)

Upcoming Events

January 2007
Thai Yoga Massage Canberra, Australia

You have just a few more days to register for the Lotus Palm Thai Yoga Massage Professional Certification Program in Canberra. For more info please visit www.yogatrinity.com To register call Chris at 0437 710 582 or heather@yogatrinity.com

February 2007
Yoga and Pilates Classes, Canberra

Yoga and Pilates classes will be starting in Canberra in the first week of February. We are still finalizing the details on locations and dates, and will most certainly keep you all posted. For private session bookings beginning mid-January please contact Heather at heather@yogatrinity.com

YTT Canberra Feb 2-Apr 22

A 12-weekend non-residential program designed to assist you in deepening your practice, exploring the foundations of Yogic technique and philosophy, and beginning to integrate the practices of Yoga in your everyday life. Includes an online journaling program in advance of the training, as well as 12 weeks of unlimited Yoga classes. Registered 200 hour (Yoga Alliance). For details visit www.yogatrinity.com or write to heather@yogatrinity.com

May 2007
YTT in Japanese May 13-Jun 9

We are excited to be offering our first Japanese language YTT program. Classes and lectures will be translated by two of our Trinity certified graduates and the teaching manual will be offered in Japanese. The course is offered in a one-month residential retreat just outside Sydney. For details contact Yoshimi Anzai at anzai@firstship.net

July 2007
YTT Sydney Jul 7-Aug 5

Join us at the beautiful Govinda Valley Retreat just outside of Sydney for a highly experiential one-month residential Yoga Teacher Training program. Program includes over 200 hours of study of the foundations of Yogic philosophy and technique. Take a quantam leap in your own practice, and become an internationally recognized Registered Yoga Instructor. Visit www.yogatrinity.com or write heather@yogatrinity.com

Yoga Glossary:

Namaste: A salutation; The Divine in me salutes the Divine in you.
Om Namah Shivaya: Om, Greetings to Shiva (the transformer and Lord of Yoga)
Om, Shanti Shanti Shantii: Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all.

Pay It Forward-Pass It On

This time of year in North America when the temperature begins to dip below zero, Christmas preparations add a bit more pressure to our “to do” lists, and snow, sleet and rain deter us from stepping out of the warmth of our cars, the Drive Thru becomes a commuter’s best friend. Recently, I was in line at Tim Hortons’ and I let another car in front of me. The couple in the car looked surprised when I waved them in, but I thought nothing of it until I got to the window and the cashier informed me that the car in front of me had paid for my tea. What? I asked. The cashier looked just as confused as me and she explained again that the driver ahead of me had paid in advance for my tea. Then I got it; he was saying thanks for letting me in. I was so touched, it really made my day, and I decided to pass on the good cheer by paying for the coffee of the car behind me. The cashier was starting to catch on and she was smiling too when she gave me my change. I smiled just thinking about how surprised that driver would be when he realized that a total stranger had paid for his coffee. By the time he realized it, I would be long gone, and he would be left with a free coffee, a smile, and a choice. Would he pass it on?

Cold Prevention
All in the Attitude?

As reported in a recent issue of the IDEA Fitness Journal, there is a “growing body of evidence” supporting a correlation between your attitude and the strength of your immune system.

A recent study published in Psychosomatic Medicine showed that emotional stress influences your susceptibility to upper-respiratory tract infections. Studies showed that people with a more positive outlook tend to have a much higher resistance to the common cold than those with a negative outlook. As well, a recent review of studies has shown an association between a “positive attitude and better health, greater longevity, fewer symptoms and less pain.”

During one study, subjects who reported experiencing more positive emotions such as happiness, pleasure and relaxation had a much lower risk of developing a cold when exposed to a virus, it was those who Interestingly, while subject who reported more “negative” emotions such as anxiety, hostility and depression more often developed colds when exposed to the virus, they also had a tendency to report more unfounded symptoms of illness.

So, is a cold all in your attitude? Perhaps a “vaccination” of daily exercise, Yoga, meditation, healthy eating and time for leisure and fun might be the best preventative medicine that you can get!