Set Higher Standards by YogiRavi

This weekend I finished a teacher training intensive at my yoga studio. This intensive was 12 hours of yoga over the weekend (Friday night and 2 practices a day on Saturday and Sunday), with 25 other teachers and soon-to-be teachers from the Seattle area (though 1 person came in from Montana!).

My studio, Shakti Vinyasa, is a Baptiste Affiliate Studio, and this style of Power Vinyasa Yoga is quite popular nowadays. The training pushed us all to discover our own inner voice, our reasons for teaching and some of the key building blocks to leading an outstanding class.

Perhaps the most unnerving part of class was leading other students through small 3-5 minutes routines! In fact, at one point during yesterday evening’s class, while all of us were hanging out in downward dog waiting for the teacher to lead us to the next pose, we were asked to raise our leg if we wanted to teach the class.

Of course I did.

And of course I was then called on, and led the class through a little Sun Salutation B (with Crow thrown and a few Lion’s for good measure!). This was my first attempt at teaching a class this size at an actual yoga studio (in front of a bunch of other teacher’s no less!). It was a lot of fun.

Throughout the rest of the intensive, we had several practice rounds of teaching amongst smaller groups, with feedback (intense feedback I might add!) on what we did well and what we could improve on.
Feedback was a critical aspect of the training, and we were pushed to give feedback that focused both on “gems” (things we do well) and “opportunities” (things we could improve on). We were also repeatedly coached to not react to the feedback, and to just accept it.

I must say, that if you have never had to sit and listen to someone praise or critique you and SAY NOTHING…..you would not realize just how tough it is. No nodding the head or laughing or telling your story about why did such a thing…just sitting and accepting it quietly.

Through this experience, I have had a few realizations about making the transition from Yoga Student to Yoga Teacher:

It is far harder to teach a class (effectively) than I thought.

It is one thing to take class on a regular basis, and another thing altogether to remember the sequencing and cues for proper alignment that are needed when teaching. Remembering the proper breathing pace and cues also takes practice. From my own experience, it was as if there was a barrier between my brain and my mouth….and when I tried to teach, I smacked right into it! Already after just a few days of practice I can see that I’ve improved a lot. It’s also clear that I need to “study” more of the asana sequences and Sanskrit names more rigorously.

It is far more rewarding to teach a class than I thought.

It is a feeling that words cannot describe. On a practical note, teaching is an excellent way to really dial in your own practice. You also get to see many more people doing poses as an observer, which gives you insight into alignment issues you may be having in your own practice. It is also just so much fun. It’s like a runner’s high. I can also see how much you can contribute to society through effective teaching. You can help people remove stress from their lives and bring their bodies back into harmony. I’m so glad I’ve started out on this journey to become a yoga teacher.

For those of you who have read this far, are you a yoga teacher or student? If so, what is your motivation for practicing and/or teaching? Leave a note in the comments please!

Etavitom.com

etavitom.com is one of my favorite sites on the net. It has fresh content from around the web (much of it sources from blogs) centered on motivation, goals and other personal development related topics.

Often, instead of browsing over to CNN or some other news site, where I am bound to hear more of the same depressing news, I’ll head over to etavitom.com and invariably end up leaving the site feeling more motivated and optimistic about what the future might hold.

Bookmark-worthy for sure.

Oh yeah, for those of you that didn’t notice, etavitom = motivate spelled backwards

Randy Pausch, a long-time Professor at Carnegie Mellon recently passed away. This video. from his last lecture at the university a few month ago, is a powerful reminder of how precious every moment is in life. It’s well worth watching, a few times.

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/educational/5_Reasons_To_Live_A_Purpose_Driven_Life’;

For every person you meet who has a clear goal and direction for some aspect of their life, there are another 9 who are going through life aimlessly.

This is not to say that they may not be successful, happy or fulfilled. It is just to point out that not everyone lives a purpose-driven life.

Life just happens, and people seem to make the best of it.

I see this often in my workplace, with very few having any sense of where they would like their careers to head, just taking it day by day and hoping for the best. I also see it in the gym and in the yoga studio, where people just go through the motions, making little progress.

If you were going on a grand voyage….the biggest and most massive adventure (as one might use as a metaphor for life which is the grandest adventure of all) would you not at least start with a purpose?

When I get in my car, no matter where I am going, I at least have some sense of why I am in the car and where I would like to end up. If I didn’t have any idea, I would not get in the car to begin with! On the occasion (rarely) when I just drive around aimlessly, even that is done on purpose.

Why then don’t people take the time to consider what the purpose for their own lives are? This could be a simple purpose for their job, their family-caring and home life, their fitness plan, yoga practice, etc.

If I ask a half dozen people on the street to clearly state at least 1 goal in their life right now, I doubt any would be able to do so.

A purpose can even change over time. It does not need to be “right.” The point is to just have one. Why? Well, here are five reasons why I feel it is critical to have a purpose driven life:

1. If you are not growing you are dying. Without progress in some aspect of your life, you are not just staying still, but regressing. When you understand the reality of this world and that all living things are slowly evolving, you are either evolving yourself or falling behind.
2. Harness the untapped potential of your brain. The brain is a deletion machine. Of the millions of pieces of information that your brain captures in each day, it doesn’t keep everything. As I wrote in my post about vision boards, having a goal helps you focus your brain to notice things that will serve you in the pursuit of your goals. There is massive power in this, and takes no conscious effort on your part.
3. Inspire the people you care about most. Achievement isn’t just about you. As you focus and work towards a goal, you’ll see that your efforts will in turn inspire others to look inward and cultivate their own character and ambitions. They say actions speak louder than works and your own purpose-driven actions will indeed speak volumes and influence those you care about in a positive manner.
4. It keeps negativity at bay. The more you work to towards a positive end, the more you will notice that you have far less negativity entering your life. It is simple accounting. If you are consuming your thoughts, feeling and actions with energy directed towards a positive intent, you will have fewer mental, physical and emotional cycles to spend on things that drain your body, mind and soul.
5. It is incredibly fun. Yes, making progress is fun. With a clear goal and purpose that is a stretch yet achievable, you’ll notice that each day will become more fun. It’s a pleasant byproduct of a purpose-driven life.

I could go on for days writing about how important it is to have a purpose-driven life. Remember, it is not so critical to figure out your overall and grand purpose for being on this planet! What matter most is to just focus on one thing (or a few things) that you feel is a positive and motivating ambition. It can be related to your family, body, finances, career, etc.

Just pick something, focus on it daily, work towards it sincerely, and watch what happens.

Don’t worry so much about the end, that is to say, don’t worry about the outcome. Just keep working towards the goal with confidence and see what manifests in your life. You’ll be amazed at the results, even if they end being something that you didn’t quite expect.

Vision boards are simple and powerful.

What makes them powerful is that they help you marshall all the strength and power that you have locked away in your mind. This is a strength that is not born from conscious thought necessarily. It is the strength that is present in your other than conscious mind.

You see, your brain is a deletion machine. That is, you encounter so many images, sounds, smells, feelings and experiences in your life that your brain has no choice but to focus on the few things that it feels are most important to your own existence.

What are those things?

You probably know all about Maslow’s hierarchy. That’s a starting point. Self-survival and basic human needs are a priority for everyone, and your brain is hard-wired to make sure it is capturing things that help in this regard.

What about goals and dreams? Will my brain support my pursuit of those things?

This depends. Do you believe that you can really achieve the goals that you hold so dear? Do you have a clear image in your mind of what success looks like? Do you even have goals to begin with?

As Tony Robbins is fond of saying, “without a vision people perish.”

As far of your brain is concerned, until you get clear about what you are after, your brain will have a tough time marshalling it’s other-than-conscious resources to help you out.

Take the classic example of buying a new car. When I purchased my Silver 2001 Honda Accord Coupe several years ago, I hadn’t seen a single one on the road. Definitely not in that color at least!

Now, hardly a day goes by that I don’t run into my exact same car model, being driven by someone else. Did the car just get that much more popular or did my brain actually start to notice it more because it was not top of mind for me?

Anyway, this is a long winded way of saying that one of wonderful things about vision boards is that they help you to get clear and STAY CLEAR about what some of your big goals are in life.

By using fun visuals and powerful slogans on your vision board, you make it interesting and inspirational, and just looking at it for a few minutes (or even seconds!) each day will be enough to remind your brain (at a conscious and other-than-conscious level) what is really important for you.

Here’s an example of my first vision board. I started out by scribbling this down in a notebook at Date With Destiny back in December 2006. I then used Microsoft Office PowerPoint and Clip Art to trick it out! It is now printed on 4 foot wide poster board, and is hanging on my living room wall. Not a day goes by that I don’t see this thing.

December 2006 Vision Board

Next up, I created this Vision Board in May 2007 with more of a creative and visual feel. It was produced as part of a Goal Setting Workshop that I led for the Seattle PowerGroup. We had about 20 people all setting goals and building vision boards together. Wow, what power there is in doing this type of activity with other motivated people!

May 2007 Vision Board

Lastly, this vision board I created about eight months ago, again, as part of another Seattle PowerGroup vision board workshop. This time, I took a few of the key themes from my previous vision board (fitness, health, yoga) and expanded on them.

November 2007 Vision Board

How To Create an Outstanding Vision Board

There is really no right or wrong way to create a vision board. The most important thing is to be in a positive and upbeat mindset. Below are a few general guidelines that I follow:

• I generally like to start by thinking about goals. I will take out a sheet of paper and think about all the things I want to see, have or experience in my life. I put on some good music and write for 10 minutes nonstop!

For those who have never written for 10 minutes nonstop…this is a big challenge. I’ll usually get a list many pages long. Be sure to think about things relating to yourself, your family, your career, education, health, wealth, relationships, etc.

• I then look at the list, and write a 1, 3, 5, 10 next to each item, based on the number of years that I wish it to take to manifest each thing in my life.
• I then review the list, and circle the top 3 goals for 1 and 3 years. These are things that I will focus on right now. I write a paragraph for each of these 6 items, focusing on how my life will be different once I have achieved the goals. I also like to focus on how other people’s lives will be better as a result of my progress as well!
• Now the fun begins…I get as many magazines as I can find. If you can do this friends….even better…since they may have magazines that would be useful for finding great quotes and visuals.
• I then just start ripping out photos that resonate with me. Don’t worry about arranging things or cutting them out nicely. Just pull things out that FEEL GOOD.

TIP: For financial goals, I like to just make out a check to myself for the monthly income I expect to make at some point in the future!

• Now, I sit back, and start arranging the images and quotes on my vision board. I’ll usually use a piece of poster board that you can pick up from any drug store for less than $1.
• Once I have an arrangement, I use a glue-stick to make it permanent and use colored markets to draw or write in more quotes.
• Lastly, I put the board in a place where I will see it daily…right now, I have 1 vision board on the wall right behind my computer (which I use daily) and two others sitting on my living room table. Not a day goes by that I don’t see them!

That’s it! I hope this was helpful for you and motivated you to make your own vision board. They are a ton of fun, and a great little project to do with your family or friends on a lazy weekend.

If you have a vision board already and would like to share it, please leave a comment to this post with a link to it! I get motivated by seeing what other people are dreaming about…so please do share!

In a recent Today Show interview, Tony Robbins speaks about fear, how society is facing situations (war, economic turmoil) that many people have never had to deal with in this generation, and the need to condition our emotions to deal with such situations effectively.

[Note: if you subscribe to my blog via e-mail, you may not see the embeded video. Just visit my website to check it out.]

Those who don’t believe that you can be strong and healthy on a plant-based diet need to take a look at Robert Cheeke. Robert’s a good friend of mine, and is living proof that you can really achieve outstanding physical health as a Vegan.

Read the rest of this entry »

Entitlement is a joke.

What you, I, or anyone has accomplished over the past minute, hour, day, month, year or lifetime may have been incredibly profound and impact-full. However, that really doesn’t have a thing to do with the present moment and the reality that is unfolding in front of you.

You may have been the star Quarterback in high school, the champion Swimmer, the National Merit Scholar or the Class President; but it is what you are now that matters, not what you were.

Just because you use to be able to run a fast mile when you were a kid doesn’t mean you will also be fit and in shape, immune from any physical malady for the rest of your life.

Just because you were voted “The Most Likely To Succeed,” doesn’t mean that you will never have to worry about finances for the rest of your life.

Life unfolds moment by moment.

Life does not happen in the past, or the future.

Life happens in the NOW.

In the NOW, there is no sense of entitlement. That is, there is no concept that life actually owes you something or anything.

In this realization there is a tremendous sense of freedom. In the NOW, you can be and do anything….really.

You can a champion, be wealthy, be a victor, be an example for others to look up to. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t think of yourself as these things in the past.

This is the beauty of the present moment.

Throw out any thoughts about deserving things because of something you were….and realize that you can really be anything you want to be in the NOW, that is, in the present moment.

Today has been a great day for getting work done, exercising hard and eating well.

I had a lot of writing to do, and was amazingly able to clear my schedule and work from home today. When I have a lot of creative work to do, I do my best from home.

Especially now that I have no TV to distract me, it is quite easy to focus.

I started out my day with a Raw Power Smoothie. Every time it varies a little, depending on my mood and how much activity I’ve been doing.

Today’s recipe called for 2 tbsp Raw Hemp Seeds, 1 tsp Ground Flax Seeds, 1 tsp Maca Root Powder, 1 large handful Goji Berries, 1 tbsp Raw Cacao Beans (ground). Sometimes I’ll add an apple or banana, but skipped it today.

I worked for about 3 hours (8:30-11:30am or so), and got some good editing done on a paper I’m putting together.

I snacked on a few large and fresh organic black mission figs (I love summer!) before heading to a 60minute power yoga class (another benefit of working from home, yoga is right across the street).

After yoga, I had a nice falafel sandwich with some French Fries at a local place, sitting outside in the sunshine.

I went back home, put another solid 4 hours of work in, wrapped up a good draft of the paper and a bunch of e-mails, and then headed out for a 35 minute run around Meydenbaeur Bay in Bellevue.

Right now I’m sipping on a smoothie made from blended over-ripe pineapple and frozen raspberries (I buy the fresh fruit and blend it at home). Interestingly, tastes like liquid cotton candy! Incredibly good.

I’ll probably get another hour of work in, and then put together dinner. That will probably be a few Teff Wraps (a gluten free grain, high in protein) with rice, beans, peppers, avacado, tomatoes and whatever else I can find.

With the weather as beautiful as can be right now, I really can’t ask for anything more. Here is the view looking out over the trees, from my deck:

Yesterday was my second 5K running race in the past month, following up on the Furry 5K.

I’m slowly gaining fitness, with 3-4 runs per week, each roughly 30 minutes in length or so. I’m also practicing yoga 3-4 days per week, lifting weights at least twice a week and assisting at my yoga studio another two times per week.

The Run of The Mill 5K, in Mill Creek, WA was a great event. The course was mostly flat and on paved roads and walking paths. The event is becoming popular with the attendance of around 1400 runners almost doubling the turnout from last year’s event.

There were also some stellar runners in the field, attracted by prize money for the top 3 overall male and female finishers. In fact, seven runners who competed in the Olympic Trials showed up!

My time of 21:50 was a full 2 minutes faster than my race three weeks ago, but still well off my PR of 18-flat. I am happy to see the big progress in a short period of time.

Overall, my fitness is great, but the cardiovascular strength will take more time to come along. I also had this weird cramping/tightening feeling in my back that slowed me a bit. I am pretty sure it was from a vigorous yoga workout (with lots of handstands) the day before.

I might race another 5K next weekend just for the heck of it.

Below are a few videos taken from the race, including interviews with the winners.

Vanessa Hunter – Women’s Winner (Ran Olympic Trials in the Marathon)

Mike Sayenko – Men’s Winner (Ran Olympic Trials in the Marathon)