| | Let's begin with a deep breath, and slowly exhale.
Since 2022 kicked off, there's two things that have taken center stage in my life, which you might not know about me: I started to teach yoga twice per week here in Chamonix, France under the concept I developed, called Après-Ski Yoga.
I adopted the most wonderful (albeit neglected and terrified) puppy on January 28th (made the decision mid November) who is newly renamed Rex, formerly Uffe.
| | There's so much that I could share on my journey as a dog mama but for today, let's focus on yoga.
To kick off Après-Ski Yoga, from January, I rented a studio for 3 hours per week, which was a great for getting going with a sense of professionalism. However, this was not like renting a few hours in an already established yoga studio, this is a new, independent private fitness studio, where instructors have to bring their own students and do their own marketing. Even though this was the reason why most of the yoga teachers in town shied from the opportunity, I decided to give it a shot.
Please note, Chamonix is a transient, French-speaking, mountain resort town - this is not big city studio nor is there any focus on yoga in this town.
Après-Ski Yoga launched and lucky for me, students kept coming back! And even luckier for me, there's a steady 5-8 who have come every single week since I began. What an honour!! I've also had the benefit of tourists recommending their friends and I've expanded into private yoga classes and some other paid events too.
BUT as luck would have it, the studio was NOT in favour of dogs as teaching assistants.
No longer permitted to bring Rex and without the option of leaving him alone (he was too traumatised at the start), I decided to set up my own home studio in my apartment.
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To be honest, this "home yoga studio" is something that I wanted to do since I took the apartment in 2019. In Jan/Feb of 2020, I had started to give classes to friends before you know what happened... so... after a delicious detour, here I am now, living my original intention with my home yoga studio.
Friend, you see, I had to make some big decisions in November and December as to whether I was going to stay in Chamonix and take another 3 year lease for my apartment.
What's the best way to make decisions?
Listen to your body, manage your mind and take ALL the aligned action you can to get you clarity.
I decided I better step up and CLAIM what I had wanted to do when I arrived bright-eyed and pre-covid in 2019, so... I did. ☯️
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Meanwhile, my dog mama philosophy is that a tired dog is a happy dog. So in between exploring the Pines, Rex gets spoiled by the local butcher.
As a result, my apartment oscillates between a yoga studio and a bone sanctuary! 🍖🧘♀️😁
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The thing that I want to communicate about yoga is that yoga is not to be performed; true yoga is lived.
Yoga is not about doing the splits and wearing yoga pants; yoga is about the shape of your life.
Yoga doesn’t care who you have been, yoga cares about who you are becoming.
Yoga is a sophisticated system for learning breathe and live in harmony with your health, your body and your happiness.
Because, Friend , you are in a constant state of becoming.
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Yoga itself has been in a constant state of becoming too. It is often cited that yoga is 5,000 years old as the yogic system outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutra was compiled between 200 B.C.E and 200 C.E. The changes the traditional practice went through over centuries could be considered organic, common to any living organism’s natural evolution.
Modern-day yoga, while modelled on the traditional practice, is shaped to suit our evolving Western needs.
People like to put mystical and hippy connotations with yoga - when in face the term "yoga" means 'to yoke the cart" as in "to pull the cart with the cart on" as in "a horse pulling a cart".
In order for a horse to pull a cart, he's got to be steady, sure-footed, calm, in alignment and focused on a (moving) point in front of him, knowing that he's moving towards a destination.
Yoga helps move gracefully through life's transitions as it combines intentional physical positioning with conscious breathing to awaken a sense of purpose in simply being you in your body. | |
Yoga creates symmetry throughout your whole body, making you strong and flexible as you balance mind, body, breath and action.
When you feel tired and weak, you also feel heavy as though you're dragging yourself around.
When you feel energetic and strong, you feel light.
Living yoga will make you strong and light.
Imagine, for example, if you were twice as strong as you are now, you would feel twice as light.
Light and buoyant, yet steady and sure-footed.
Most important, the more flexible you are (by flexible I mean "light and buoyant", the harder it is to lodge pain in your body.
As you balance and strengthen your body through a yoga practice, your body will develop strength and stamina, increase mobility and balance, restore health and harmony, dissolve tension, and release trauma (this is what happened to me).
Additionally it will help your mind to develop focus, release internal conflicts, make wilful decisions, and become more conscious, loving and compassionate (even with yourself!)
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For me, yoga continues to be the gift that keeps on giving ~ in fact, yoga saved my life, twice!
These are two stories for another day, but in short -
After a snowboarding accident in 2010, it wasn't until I started attending a yoga class in Berlin that I realised I had PTSD - not only did I resolve the PTSD through my yoga practice, I began to deepen my understanding and reverence for the mind and body connection.
Completely, coincidently, the woman who rescued me on that day in 2010 from Whistler Ski Patrol, ended up being my yoga teacher, when I returned to live in Whistler 5 years later.
My Rescuer and Yoga Teacher, Tina Pashumati is also who I later studied with for my 200hr Shantiseva Yoga Teacher Training.
As Pashumati says “yoga is not a negation from life, it’s going into life”.
So why share all this with you today, Friend?
Well, as evolution goes, soon I'll be offering some online yoga classes - so if you're interested in developing a practice with me - keep an eye out for the announcement!
Your body is your greatest adventure and it would be an honour and a pleasure to assist you to strengthen and relax your mind, body and breath into aligned action. | |
There's one more question left to ask ~>
what's the best that can happen?
Sending love, Heidi
H E I D I L I D H O L M love life, live love; from the inside out natural ~ adventurous ~ sustainable ~ spiritual heidilidholm.com | |
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