Ruminations

I'd like to share my thoughts on this Thanksgiving 2020 Weekend.

First of all, thank you for being part of this journey I'm on. Together, we can make great strides in these changing times.

My commitment is to continue to share life-changing teachings in a manner that meets your needs. All you have to do is show up! There are now dozens of archived practices on a range of themes - all of which can serve you. 

You can also join me live online at 7 p.m. EST from Sunday through Thursday evenings. 

My message is one of gratitude. I'm incredibly grateful for your ongoing support and interest in learning from me. I continue to grow as a teacher and support your growth as a seeker. let's continue this journey of growth in a time when it's needed more than ever. 

It's important that you identify those things for which you are grateful as well. Gratitude when a part of your daily practice shifts your mind's pathways - your brain releases dopamine and serotonin, the...

It's been a while since my last vlog. I really needed to take some time away to reflect on the challenges Covid-19 brought to my life.  Losing my yoga space to a pandemic was not something I would have ever imagined, but alas, it happened. 

During my reflection time, I noticed how many of us are processing the impact of the pandemic in our own way. The feelings seem to range from pain, grief, sadness, disappointment, confusion, uncertainty to indifference. Some of us have experienced isolation and with it the feeling of loneliness. Some have reflected on their situations and decided to make significant changes - divorce rates have skyrocketed. I pray for those who have experienced violence and economic distress.

I hope whatever transitions you are going through you are finding a sense of calm, strength and direction to move forward.  

I'm calling upon you to double-down on self-care, this includes your practice - no excuses, there are now dozens for you to choose...

In this Vlog, I explore manifesting our realities. 

You do manifest your reality. Some things in your life are going well, yet others may need to change. 

How and what you think and do are the result of years of patterns. These patterns can be changed. 

You are energy, many forms of energy, including your thoughts. These energies can be changed. 

Like energies attract - this is the law of attraction -  so to create new things in your life you have to change the energy to manifest the reality you want to create. 

It starts with a daily practice including meditation. This helps you to access your higher, more discerning, mind. Then you can make some decisions about the changes you want to make. 

Use Sankalpa, the setting of intention, to affect the change you desire. Sankalpa is a present tense statement that clearly states the change you want.

You hold many beliefs at the unconscious level. Even deep-seated beliefs can be changed. Some of...

YogiLoren reflects on what we can learn from the Covid-19 pandemic when it comes to letting go. 

The yoga tradition teaches in the Yoga Sutras the concepts of abhyasa and vairagya - practice and non-attachment. Through regular practice, we are able to recognize areas in our life where we have attachments. These include actions, attitudes and acquisitions. 

Attachments keep us bond to who we are currently, preventing us from moving into our true potential. 

With Covid-19 we've been forced to do things differently, to let go of some of our habituated behaviour. 

What new behaviours would you like to continue as we move forward?

What old behaviours are you willing to let go of? 

These considerations warrant some reflection. With practice and a clear mind, you'll make the right choices.  

Check out my ideas of silence and stillness. 

While both of these are essential to your spiritual evolution, they are anathema to modern lifestyles. 

We've forgotten how to experience silence and rejoice in the stillness if affords us. 

We do so at our - and societies - peril. 

Take 7 minutes to listen to this vlog. 

In this vlog I share my thoughts on the ongoing pandemic reality and propose 5 steps to keeping well as we move towards reopening the economy.  The 5 steps are:

1. A diet that aligns with your constitution
2. Regulated sleeping patterns
3. Daily personal practice
4. Meditation
5. Self-care practices

Take 12 minutes to listen to this vlog. 

Om Shanti,
Peace!

Four Practices to Get Through the Coronavirus from a Yogic Point of View

As a yoga professional there are a number of tools I can recommend to help us adjust to the current pandemic reality. We may be in this situation for weeks and months. It’s best that we all embrace new practices, or modify current ones, to be prepared and be able to get through this individually and collectively. 

I include some contextual analysis following these practices. 

Here are four practices to consider as we move through the pandemic. 

1. Set aside time for stillness each day 

This can be a challenge for many of us, but it is essential. 

• Choose a time that will work for you and stick to this time each day
• Close yourself off from others - a bedroom, a study, your bathroom 
• Use earplugs to block out distractions if necessary
• Sit quietly and close your eyes
• Bring awareness to your breath and watch the breath move in and out of your nostrils
  
  OPTION 1 - Cultivate...

Patience. It’s a quality that is in limited supply for many of you. The practices of yoga can serve to increase your ability to find and rest in patience. There is a tremendous amount of chatter about mindfulness these days, so much so that its meaning seems unclear. Patience is something we all understand. If you struggle with being patient, adjusting your practice can be a great start. 

Patience and our modern lives 

In terms of physical yoga practice, are you someone who goes to class and starts doing the next move in the vinyasa flow before the instructor announces it? This is a perfect example of impatience. 

In terms of your daily life, do you struggle with slowing down and taking time to enjoy the simple things? A lack of patience prevents you from being in the moment and noticing the beauty around you. 

At work, do you find yourself being short with colleagues and frustrated by their work ethics? A lack of patience removes opportunities for empathy...

Have you ever taken the time to ask yourself this question? 

Does the question even make sense to you? 

How should a yoga practice serve someone? 

Why does this even matter?

When I started studying with my teacher, Yogarupa Rod Stryker, this question came up in one of our Master trainings. It created a pause for all of the students because like you, we’d never really taken the time to ask, to reflect. 

Most of us found yoga through its popularization in the west over the last few decades. It’s become a multi-billion dollar industry that’s hard to avoid. Some people “try” yoga but don’t find it a good fit. Others are hooked and embrace physical practice. 

Over the years the market has grown as entrepreneurial teachings create new styles of yoga, trying to reach more and different people. There’s yoga for runners, golfers, pregnant women, post-partum women, men, naturists, kids, elderly, survivors of trauma, those...