LISTEN: Jane Fonda & Tara Stiles chat about issues facing Women, Yoga, Meditation and more…
May 8, 2012 by Going Out of Your Mind with Ed and Deb Shapiro
Filed under •-Feature, •-VividLife Radio Shows, Arts & Entertainment, Going Out of Your Mind with Ed & Deb Shapiro, Meditation, Yoga, Yoga
VividLife’s Ed and Deb Shapiro welcome Icon Jane Fonda and Yoga Instructor Tara Stiles, to discuss Women, Yoga, Meditation and more, in support of Tara’s new book Yoga Cures: Simple Routines to Conquer More Than 50 Common Ailments and Live Pain-Free
Jane Fonda, Born in New York City in 1937 to legendary screen star Henry Fonda and New York socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw, Jane Seymour Fonda was destined early to an uncommon and influential life in the limelight. Although she initially showed little inclination to follow her father’s trade, she was prompted by Joshua Logan to appear with her father in the 1954 Omaha Community Theatre production of “The Country Girl”. Her interest in acting grew after meeting Lee Strasberg in 1958 and joining the Actors Studio. Her screen debut in Tall Story (1960) (directed by Logan) marked the beginning of a highly successful and respected acting career highlighted by two Academy Awards (for her performances in Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978)) and five additional Oscar nominations (as Best Actress in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969), Julia (1977), The China Syndrome (1979), The Morning After (1986), and Best Supporting Actress in On Golden Pond (1981), which was the only film she made with her father). Fonda underwent a series of metamorphoses in both her profession and personal life. After finding her niche in romantic comedies such as Period of Adjustment (1962), Sunday in New York (1963), and Any Wednesday (1966), she starred in the notorious sci-fi sex farce Barbarella (1968), directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim. The events that followed became her most debated, scandalous, and controversial period: her espousal of anti-establishment causes and especially her anti-war activities during the Vietnam War. Her political involvement continued with fellow activist and second husband Tom Hayden in the 1970s and ’80s. In the 1980s she started the aerobic exercise craze with the publication of the “Jane Fonda’s Workout Book”. After divorcing Hayden and announcing her retirement from the film industry, she married broadcasting mogul Ted Turner in 1991; they split eight years later. In 2005, Fonda penned the best-selling autobiography “My Life So Far” and relaunched her film career with a starring role in the box office hit Monster-in-Law (2005).
Tara Stiles, Named “Yoga Rebel” by the New York Times, Tara Stiles has inspired a wide audience around the world with her healthy and relatable approaches to yoga, meditation, exercise, awareness, nutrition and every day well being. Tara has been featured in publications including Elle, Harpers Bazaar, Lucky, InStyle, Esquire, Shape, and Self, and has been profiled by the Times of India, The Times (UK), and Sweden’s Dagnes Nyheter.
Tara is the founder and owner of Strala Yoga, widely known for it’s unpretentious, inclusive, and straightforward approach to yoga and meditation. She is the personal yoga instructor to Deepak Chopra, whom she’s collaborated with to create the best selling Authentic Yoga iPhone app, Yoga Transformation DVD series among other projects. Jane Fonda named Tara, “The new face of fitness”. They partnered to re-launch Jane’s famous WORKOUT brand of fitness DVDs and equipment.
Tara is the author of the best selling Slim Calm Sexy Yoga, and the upcoming Yoga Cures, that is already climbing the charts. Her approach leads people to their own intuition and awareness. The results are radiant health and lasting happiness.
Tara is the first yoga instructor to use social media effectively to reach a global audience. Her instructional yoga videos, #1 iTunes podcast, blogs, and cooking videos have received over 20 million views so far. She engages with her wide range of subscribers daily through her video blog, twitter, Facebook page and her popular Tumblr blog, Tara Eats. Through social media Tara has been able to help millions of people ranging from kids, teenagers, moms, regular guys, and beyond not only get healthy and happy, but heal a wide variety of conditions from back pain, anxiety, sleep disorders, weight issues, body issues, and more. Her total social media reach is in the tens of millions and growing.
As Vanity Fair noted, “Tara Stiles has got to be the coolest yoga instructor ever.”
“One of the things I like about her is her ability to make yoga accessible to people who might be scared of it or think it might be too esoteric,”
–Jane Fonda
“We are both nonconformists who have incurred the wrath of traditional yogis,” Mr. Chopra said of Ms. Stiles, whom he now considers his personal instructor. “A lot of the criticism is resentment of her rapid success. I have been doing yoga for 30 years. I have had teachers of all kinds. Taking lessons from her has been more useful to me than taking yoga from anyone else.
–Deepak Chopra
Listen to more with Ed and Deb Shapiro on demand:
READ: What Does Karma Yoga Mean? by Ed and Deb Shapiro
April 4, 2012 by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Filed under •-Feature, Ego, Love, Meditation, Meditation, Mindfulness, Spiritual Guidance, Spirituality, Yoga, Yoga
If we act with kindness and without focusing on ourselves, happiness will arise naturally, like a flower opening in the sun.
Some people think that yoga means stretching, bending and twisting like a pretzel, or sitting crossed legged with our eyes closed and chanting Om. But if that is all we did we would be no use to anyone. We spent our honeymoon in India and lived at the Bihar School of Yoga, where the foundation of our training was karma yoga. This was brilliant, as it gave us the opportunity to deepen our understanding of what it really is.
Many great yoga masters have said that the greatest path of yoga is karma yoga, as it is the one that asks us to be the least me-centered. The teaching is very explicit regarding karma yoga, which is described as the path of action and selfless service, to renounce our own selfish pursuits and not to reap the fruits of our actions. Brad Pitt’s selfless work building houses in New Orleans, or yoga teacher and activist Seane Corn’s work with Youth AIDS are expressions of karma yoga. ”I realized that whether my yoga practice was fifteen minutes or four hours was irrelevant because it was not about how yoga can change me,” says Seane in our book, Be The Change, “but how I, through this practice, can begin to change the world. What I really felt was how dare I not step into the world and hold that space?”
Start by practicing selfless service for a day, giving in whatever way you can by offering kindness. How does it feel? Just one day of this can be transforming, so try doing it once a week. It doesn’t mean you have to deny or ignore your own needs—you are just as important as everyone else. But just for this time let it not be about you.
Tai chi teacher Arthur Rosenfield was in the drive-thru line at Starbucks. The man in line behind him was getting impatient and angry, leaning on his horn and shouting insults at both Arthur and the Starbucks workers. Keeping his cool, Arthur paid for the man’s coffee and drove away. When he got home later that day, he discovered that he had created a chain of giving that had not only continued all day but had been highlighted on NBC News. Within twenty-four hours it had spread around the world on the Internet.
“Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve,” said Martin Luther King. “You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
Karma yoga is creating goodness in the world. Do you treat your world with kindness or with aggression? Giving without any thought of getting is the most powerful act of generosity as it is unconditional, unattached, free to land wherever it will. But generosity can also raise fears about not having enough. Watch where resentment creeps in and remember that selfless action is just that: selfless.
On our morning walk through the alleys near our house we came across a back yard filled with used bicycles. Finally we met the owner. He had a bicycle shop in town and was collecting all these used bikes, repairing them, and then donating them to an Indian reservation in Montana. His goal was that everyone at the reservation, young and old, should have a bicycle of their own.
We see it in author Marc Barasch, founder of Green World Campaign. He decided that, “instead of cutting down trees to put words on a page, I wanted to plant some actual trees in the ground.” This year the nonprofit will plant millions of trees throughout the developing world, revitalizing barren land, helping sustain poor villages, and combating climate change. The slogan is, It’s amazing what one seed can grow.
And there is Aileen, a friend from England. In the last ten years she has created a farm in rural India. She sent us a photo showing her planting ‘flame of the forest’ tree seeds into starter pots. When these seeds become saplings they will be distributed to local school children so that each child will have their own tree to grow and tend.
Serving enables us to step beyond our own desires and to release any sense of separation. It takes us out of selfishness and neediness, and in the process we see our own self-centeredness in greater perspective. We discover that in giving we do not have any less. Rather, we gain so much. Let everything we do be of benefit to others.
Ed and Deb Shapiro are the authors of BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You And The World, with forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman and Winner of the 2010 Nautilus Gold Book Award. Deb is the author of the bestselling book, YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, winner of the 2007 Visionary Book Award. They are featured bloggers on Oprah.com/spirit, HuffingtonPost.com/Living, and Care2.com. They have 3 meditation CD’s: Metta — Loving Kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi – Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra – Inner Conscious Relaxation. See: www.EdandDebShapiro.com
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March 5, 2012 by Jacquelyn
Filed under •-Headline, Meditation, Meditation, Mindfulness, Yoga, Yoga
Isn’t it unfair the way that life gets in the way of your practice? Whether you’re experiencing life challenges or pleasures, whether they’re large or small, they do have a habit of getting in the way of our time on the yoga mat or the meditation cushion.
Sometimes we’re just using these life events as justifications for our own procrastination but sometimes they genuinely do get in the way of us going to a class or taking time to meditate.
At times it seems an overwhelming task to squeeze in time for ourselves, especially when the going is rough or busy. But, this is absolutely the time when we need our practice most.
Although every day is still a challenge for me, I am trying to let go of the idea that I need to do a full hour of yoga practice and a full half hour of meditation. Sometimes it’s just not practical for me to take all that time out of a day. Since I tend to take a ‘full practice’ or nothing approach, this leaves me missing out on practice completely and of course feeling guilty and less connected as a result.
My challenge is to accept that my practice won’t look the same every day. Some days I might have a full hour, other days I need to content myself with just one or two postures. Either way I feel better for it if I practice in some way.
However much time you have today, use it to make yourself feel more grounded and connected. Do two or three of your favourite yoga poses or take five minutes to focus on your breathing in meditation. You’ll feel better for it and your day will be improved.
Many blessings and best wishes.
Namaste,
jacquelyn
Join me at our Uxbridge studio for ‘Energy Healing and Chakra Balancing – The Third Eye Chakra’ on Friday, March 9th from 7:30 till 9.30 pm.
This workshop series will take you on a journey through the chakras, the main energy centres of the human body, and bring awareness, balance and harmony to each. In the sixth of the series we explore ajna, the third eye chakra. Connect to your centre of inner knowing, your innate wisdom to see the patterns and flow of your life more clearly. We will combine a physical yoga practice with meditation, aromatherapy, music, visualization, reiki and breathing techniques to encourage the free flow of energy in each chakra. We will journey inward to release unconscious blocks and imbalances. Join us for one or all of these workshops. $25 + HST
http://www.balancedlifeyoga.ca/home-pages/retreats/uxbridge-workshops/
Jacquelyn is a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher and Reiki Level Two practitioner. Yoga has helped her to overcome paralyzing fears and chronic pain and find her true purpose in life. Her focus is on encouraging those around her to have patience, kindness and compassion for themselves and the courage to stand, fearless, in their own light. Jacquelyn has studied meditation and mindfulness in the Shambhala tradition and with Thich Nhat Hanh. She teaches Gentle Yoga, Chakra Flow Yoga, EMpower Yoga, Beginners Yoga, Power Yoga, Learn to Meditate and a variety of workshops.
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READ: Why Yoga Is So Misunderstood ~ How It Has Gone From the Sane to the Bizarre by Ed and Deb Shapiro
February 28, 2012 by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Filed under •-Feature, Meditation, Spiritual Guidance, Spiritual teachers, Spirituality, Yoga, Yoga
Yoga has come a long way from its roots in the east. As it has become more popular in the west teachers have added their own twist – both literally & figuratively. In the process of becoming so widespread, however, it often gets misunderstood by both teachers and practitioners.
Yoga is a way of life, the uniting of the body, mind and spirit. Its real purpose is not just to become physically fit or mentally relaxed but also to deepen our own spirituality, enabling us to be more caring and aware, ultimately leading to self-realization. It is about making friends with our world, true inner happiness, and having a clear mind that is free from delusion.
Developed thousands of years ago, yoga has many different aspects: ethics, discipline, relaxation, service, meditation, devotion, and knowledge, as well as movement, in order to develop every aspect of our being and bring awakening. And it is in some of these other areas that we are seeing a lack of awareness, real misuse, and even abusive behavior.
In the early days, when yoga first became known in the west, the only way to train was by going to India or by a Swami or yoga master coming from India. They were the experts who embodied the wisdom of the ancients. For instance, Ed trained at the respected Bihar School of Yoga in India in 1968, in an unbroken lineage of yoga masters. He was initiated as a Swami by Paramahamsa Satyananda, whose guru was the renown Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh.
Nowadays, trainee teachers are being taught in “yoga schools” by western teachers, many, sadly, without the benefit of the traditional lineage. As a result, misunderstandings get passed on from teacher to student, in particular the idea that yoga is basically just exercise, without the addition of the rest of the teachings. For example, relaxation is sometimes included just for the last five minutes of a class, whereas the practice of yoga nidra (pratyahara), a deep, dynamic relaxation also known as yogic sleep, is traditionally practiced for at least 20-30 minutes. Similarly with dharana (concentration), and dhyana (meditation), that are rarely emphasized enough and yet are main teachings.
We went into one yoga center near us and no one there had heard of any of the ‘other’ yoga teachings, they just knew and taught hatha yoga as an exercise class. This is not unusual, but hatha is only one aspect of a rich and expansive system and these teachings are there for a reason: to develop conscious awareness.
In particular, we see yoga teachers wanting to be the most well known–my yoga, my meditation, my practice is the best. And even though the traditional methods are well proven over thousands of years, in an attempt to stand out from the crowd many create their own ‘brand’ of yoga, often loosing the essence of the original meaning. It’s gone so far that, as reported in the UK Daily Mail: “Babies left screaming in terror as they are swung around head of ‘baby yoga’ guru who claims it is good for them.”
Being in the role of a teacher is a position laden with responsibility. As notoriety grows we see how easily the ego can get involved and how deluding power can become. Some teachers use their role in order to make more money (a lot of it!), to have sex with students, or, as reported in a recent case, to use students to receive drugs. Gone are the teachings of yama and niyama, instructions on how to live an ethical and caring life through practicing harmlessness (ahimsa), being truthful, not being greedy, or indulging in addictions, as well as the importance of self-reflection so that we become aware of our own habits and mental tendencies.
Anyone can be a teacher as long as we chose that person to guide us. Which doesn’t mean that person has practiced all of the teachings, or is living a yogic life. Those that have tasted the beauty of yoga and embodied the depth, breadth, and full intent of its different forms could not harm, use or abuse another. They will have realized the beauty within themselves and be able to bring that out in their students. There is really no true yoga without love. A teacher with a loving heart is like a precious jewel.
****
See our award-winning book: BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You and the World, forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman, with contributors Seane Corn, Richard Freeman, Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Byron Katie, Jane Fonda, Marianne Williamson, and many others.
Deb is the author of the award-winning YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages That Underlie Illness.
Our 3 meditation CD’s: Metta—Loving kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi–Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra–Inner Conscious Relaxation, are available at: www.EdandDebShapiro.com
Ed and Deb Shapiro are the authors of BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You And The World, with forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman and Winner of the 2010 Nautilus Gold Book Award. Deb is the author of the bestselling book, YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, winner of the 2007 Visionary Book Award. They are featured bloggers on Oprah.com/spirit, HuffingtonPost.com/Living, and Care2.com. They have 3 meditation CD’s: Metta — Loving Kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi – Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra – Inner Conscious Relaxation. See: www.EdandDebShapiro.com
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READ: Mindful Living ~ Life in Verse by Jacquelyn O’Brien
January 31, 2012 by Jacquelyn
Filed under •-Headline, Buddhism, Meditation, Meditation, Mindfulness, Yoga, Yoga
What’s your first thought when you wake up in the morning? You’ve probably heard it said that you can choose to start your day with ‘Good God, morning!’ or ‘Good morning, God.’ It’s certainly true that the way you begin can set the tone for the whole day and once the tone is established it can be very difficult to change.
I invite you to try a wonderful and simple technique to help you start your day in a positive and mindful way. When you wake up recite to yourself, either from memory or from a note by your bed, the following little verse, or gatha, from Thich Nhat Hanh.
Waking this morning, I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment,
And to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.
Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that, as a young monk, he wrote this down and stuck it to his mosquito net so that it was the first thing he saw when he woke in the morning. It’s a wonderful way to begin the day with a moment of slowing down and setting a good intention.
I have found gathas incredibly useful for focussing my mind when I’m moving through my day and particularly during the more mundane activities of life. After all it’s at these times that we often allow our minds to wander down roads of worry and fear. In trying to live with mindfulness we attempt to prevent this from happening and gathas can be very helpful.
For example, when walking from one meeting to another replace the worries, false frettings and concerns that normally arise with a favourite gatha.
The mind can go in a thousand directions,
But on this beautiful path, I walk in peace.
With each step, a cool wind blows.
With each step, a flower blooms.
To focus on a gatha and prevent the monkey mind taking us down the rabbit hole of a thousand imagined and unlikely disasters is to remove a great deal of the worry and stress from the day. Try this simple technique and see what a difference it makes to you.
You can find a gatha for most daily activities in the wonderful ‘Present Moment, Wonderful Moment’ card and book set by Thich Nhat Hanh but you can also have fun making up your own. Good luck watering the seed of mindfulness in your life.
Many blessings and best wishes.
Namaste,
jacquelyn
Jacquelyn is a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher and Reiki Level Two practitioner. Yoga has helped her to overcome paralyzing fears and chronic pain and find her true purpose in life. Her focus is on encouraging those around her to have patience, kindness and compassion for themselves and the courage to stand, fearless, in their own light. Jacquelyn has studied meditation and mindfulness in the Shambhala tradition and with Thich Nhat Hanh. She teaches Gentle Yoga, Chakra Flow Yoga, EMpower Yoga, Beginners Yoga, Power Yoga, Learn to Meditate and a variety of workshops. www.balancedlifeyoga.ca
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