Sleeping City in the Sun

It's a gloriously bright sun-shining Sunday, but Montreal is asleep recuperating from the city's 8th annual "Nuit Blanche" (White Night) festivities. The whole town went nocturnal: museums open until 3am, music on the streets, open air swimming at the Bonventure Hilton, and over a hundred art installations.

I have a hard time staying up uber late, but despite urge to crawl under the covers at 11pm, Craig  forced me to put on long underwear and venture out into the cold in search for adventure. We caught one of the free "Nuit Blanche" shuttle buses and headed to the Redpath museum for its famed 'midnight flash light' tours. Having missed the opportunity to explore this historic McGill museum in past years, I was excited to see dinosaur bones and stuffed creatures in the dark. But alas, after standing in line for 20 mins in negative 15, we were turned away due to over capacity. Oh well, next year.

We walked down McGill College to Indigo bookstore where my friend Darryl and his The River Beauty Band were performing. I love coffee table books, so it was fun listening to live music while turning pages of Andrew Zuckerman's photography, travel guides in Scotland and Marilyn Moore retrospectives.

Our last stop was the McCord Museum of History, where the party was packed with grinning adults. You see, there is a large interactive toy exhibition with a massive homage to Lego. There were even stations set up for play, so visitors constructed DNA coils, an Eiffel tour and even a Where's Waldo. On display were Lego replicas of the Millennium Falcon, the Twin Towers and a whole Lego city. Enough to bring out the child in everyone. 

We were home around 2:30am. A good effort on our parts, but I'm sure the celebrations continued until sunrise this morning.

I sometimes wish I was a better party person. The night intrigues me, but I have such a hard time staying awake past midnight. I suppose it doesn't help that my days are also packed with activity and it's near impossible for me to sleep in. (It's 8:30am and here I am typing away my thoughts!)

Yesterday afternoon, I did my fourth consecutive day of lunar series in the Lululemon window on Ste Catherine Street (more on that later) and then I co-hosted a cinema night at Om West, which was pretty cool.  We projected a film called "Time Wave 2013", a really interesting doc about the Incas and the prophecies surrounding 2012, the end of the Mayan Calender. Curious stuff...

That's it for now. I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day off-- maybe brunch on Laurier with coffee (a rare treat), followed by window shopping around my Mile End hood, then Moon Salutes!

Day 54/365...

Sorry I've been slacking on the blog front. I've been very involved in teaching and course development at my Om West Studio. I'm working on some cool stuff.  Nevertheless, yesterday, I had a thought. Wednesday is the 54th day of the year... So, I'm thinking, how about 54 sun sals for 54 days this year?  It's just six weeks. Could be fun.

Wanna join me?

Nude & vegetarian!

My dad's reaction on my voicemail this morning was pretty funny:

 "Hello, daughter.  It's around 8 in the morning and I'm sitting reading the Gazette and low and behold, I turn the page and there's my naked daughter right in this big, big picture with an article written about her. My goodness, gracious!"

Yes, there is a nude photograph of me in today's largest English Montreal newspaper, The Gazette, but it isn't gratuitous.  Plus, it's for a good cause. The cause of vegetarianism & eco-nutrition! (View article)

I'm Ms September in the 2011 Raw Beauty calender featuring healthy, athletic and NAKED vegetarian, vegan & raw food models. The Gazette article is about the calender, environmental eating, and the "controversy" over the pairing of food with nudity. (Eye-roll. Let's not discuss those poopoo nakedness. That's just ridiculous.)

As you probably know, eating a plant based diet is very important to me. I stopped eating red meat at age 11 or 12, and haven't eaten chicken in over ten years. I have been vegan on and off. Currently, I avoid dairy, but occasionally, eat organic eggs from a small farm near Montreal and the odd piece of goat cheese. I also use ghee (clarified butter), as part of my ayurvedic treatments.

My reasons for not eating meat have shifted over the years. I honestly don't remember why I first became vegetarian. I think it's because of my mom, who doesn't eat read meat. Now, I avoid animal products mostly for ethical and environmental reasons. In her article, Michelle Lalonde mentioned I speak about environmental sustainability and food, and that I believe that eating meat at every meal is selfish. All true.

My lecture was co-written by Brendan Brazier, my vegan friend, who is the formulator of Vega and author of the Thrive Diet. (Btw, the Thrive Diet is an excellent resource for people considering a plant based diet.) Here are some stats regarding animal agriculture from our Eco-Nutrition talk:

Due to erosion, the overuse of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers, and other farming practice, the Earth is currently, losing arable topsoil at a rate of 75 to 100 gigatonne per year. If soil loss continues at present rates, it is estimated that there is only another 48 years of topsoil left!

Given depleting rates of fertile land, one would expect that the world’s grain crops would go to feed people, but instead most of it goes to feed animals. In fact, 70% of the world’s arable land is used to grow food to feed animals for our consumption.

This is a huge waste of land, because it takes:

•  7 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of beef
•  4 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of pork
•  2 kg + of grain to produce 1 kg of poultry

The irony is that livestock food isn't even nutritious to the animals. Cows for instance are supposed to eat grass, not grain, so they emit flatulence, releasing tons of highly toxic methane gas into the atmosphere. I'm not kidding! These farting cows produce a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more destructive than the CO2 emitted by gasoline engines!

It is estimated that the animal agriculture in North America produces 38% more green house gases than all of transportation combined! This includes all stretched Hummers and jet airplanes...

Now water: It takes a minimum of 47.6 bathtubs full of water (2000 gallons) to produce one pound of beef. 

Not a very sustainable and efficient industry, eh?


Stay tuned for better options and awesome veggie recipes to try this winter.


* PS the Raw Beauty calender makes a great Holiday gift and is for sale online or at my Pointe Claire studio, Om West.

World AIDS Day

Today is December 1st, World AIDS Day. It's the official end of my Stephen Lewis Foundation fundraising campaign and I'm thrilled to announce that WE DID IT!!! Since the start of the Guinness World Record challenge in August, just over $10,800 was collected for SLF!

(I can now admit I was a bit worried that perhaps this fundraising goal was out of my league, because I've never raised that much money before.)

I'm so grateful to my generous supporters and sponsors. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is really special to me.

Radio Canada International had me on The Link today with Marc Montgomery to talk about my SLF campaign as well as the Guinness Record. It was fun. I brought Craig, who is a huge CBC fan and Jasmine, my new business associate in charge of press. Thank you to Seana Pasic, who was so nice to greet us and give us a tour of the studios. Also, thanks to friendly man at the reception who insisted on singing all of our favourite Christmas carols! Here's a photo Jasmine took of me talking to Marc, the host:

I've been trying to create a video of the interview, but my computer keeps getting choked up. So here's the link:

http://www.rcinet.ca/english/column/the-link-s-top-stories/15-46_2010-12-01-yogi-sets-guinness-world-record-to-help-aids-victims/

 *      *     *

In other great news, I spoke to my DVD distributor and it looks like we might release a series of videos for beginners! Very cool.

Birthday!

Whether it's mine or someone else's, I love birthdays. Always have. It's such a great reason to see all your family and friends at the same time and celebrate. I'm all about that. It's sad for me to hear others trying to hide or poopoo their birthday, because deep down I think everyone wants to be acknowledged as the birthday girl or boy. (Thank God for Facebook. Now no birthday child is left behind!)

I turned 108 today! It was a great day.  But alas, I have a confession: no sun salutations... I had every intention of practicing my annual 108. However, a wonderful and late party with friends last night lead to leisurely lounging in bed until noon this morning followed by brunch, a walk up the mountain, and early dinner for 25 people at my parent's house celebrating four November birthdays, so I had little opportunity to sun salute. It's also a full moon, and traditionally, we're not supposed to practice at this time. Anyway, excuses aside, I figured I'd take it easy and 'go with the flow'.  After all, it's one day a year I can do whatever I want "because it's my birthday."

It's was a really lovely weekend and I was really spoiled. Friday, Craig and I went to the Centaur Theatre to see the stage adaptation of Don Quixote, which incredibly creative and highly entertaining. Last night, we had some friends over for homemade pizza. Great conversation and great spontaneous live piano music performed by Nico and Andrew. And tonight, it was nice to be with family.

Ok, it's late. I've been officially 29-- I mean 108 for 53 minutes! I think it's time for bed.

Happy Birthday Voltaire, Rene Magritte, Goldie Hawn, Björk, and Cousin Manela!

:)

Back to the Future of Yoga

Recently, I spent four weeks being my own receptionist while in between studio managers at Om West, my Pointe Claire yoga centre. I noticed within the first week of answering calls and emails that most people wanted the same thing: A course for beginners that would make them feel comfortable and where they would learn how to practice yoga safely without feeling silly.

So, I started teaching a new course this week: Yoga Basics for Beginners! It's a four week program designed to introduce new students to the fundamentals of the yoga practice. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but didn't get around to organizing it until now.

It's great. I have more than a dozen people registered in my Tuesday class and about the same in my Saturday class! Their enthusiasm and keen interest in learning about the practice has totally re-invigorated my teaching.

Having spent so many years leading people through intermediate and advanced practices, posture to posture, I realized I really missed teaching yoga 101. So, this Yoga Basics program is awesome for me as an instructor and great for my studio. After all, there more people out there who don't do yoga then there are avid practitioners. I hope to make this an ongoing thing at Om West.

Here's an excerpt from my handout "Young Yogi here some things you need to know…"

1. There is no right or wrong way to do yoga & anyone can do yoga-- Yoga is an art, a healing science, a lifestyle and mindset and ANYONE can do yoga, regardless of age and ability. The great yoga master, TKV Desikachar, wrote in The Heart of Yoga: “The starting point is never the teacher’s needs but those of the student. This requires many different approaches; there is not just one approach for everybody (…) It is not that the person needs to accommodate him- or herself to yoga, but rather the yoga practice must be tailored to fit each person.”
2. Practice on an empty stomach-- Meals should be taken at least 90 mins prior to practice, so you digest fully and avoid eating heavy food. A small snack before practice is ok, especially for diabetics, hypoglycemics or pregnant women.
3. “Don’t make and Asana of yourself," (David Swenson, Ashtanga Yoga Master)-- The original intent of the yoga practice has little to do with yoga postures (‘asana’). Yoga postures are meant to build strength, stamina and increase flexibility so that the practitioner can maintain a steady pose for long periods of time without discomfort. So as senior yogi Hart Lazar says: “Let go of competition, especially with yourself at a younger age!”
4. Breathe-- The breath is key. It's the life of the pose! In yoga, we breathe in & out through the nose during regular asana practice. My basic rule: if you can’t breathe in a pose, you are in too deep!
   
5. Seek stability before flexibility-- Be sure that you are stable & grounded in a pose before seeking depth or a greater “stretch”. You don’t build a house without a solid foundation, so think of your postures in the same way.
6. When not to go upside down-- Inverted postures, like shoulderstand, are not recommended during menstruation as there is a natural downward flow of energy during this time and reversing this flow can disrupt the cycle. (It can also cause a flood!)
7. Keep the potpourri out of the studio-- Refrain from wearing perfume, cologne or essential oils when practicing with a group, because these smells get stronger the more you sweat and this can be distracting, not only for you, but also for everyone around you.
   
8. About chanting-- Most classes begin and/or finish with OM chanting. “OM” isn’t a word. It’s a vibrational sound that helps release tension from the body and helps to connect to the breath and the body. Ashtanga classes traditionally start with an invocation in Sanskrit which pays tribute to the lineage of teachers past & present. Other yoga styles may also chant as part of the practice.
   
9. What’s “Namaste”?-- Most yoga classes finish with a gesture and the saying “Namaste.” In Sanskrit this means: “I honor the divine spirit within you and recognize that this is the same spirit that is in me."
10. Better out that in-- It’s possible to feel a little sensitive or emotional after your practice. This is normal, as yoga and meditation dislodge deep tensions from the mind and body. Clear the residual tension by resting, drinking a soothing tea/water, eating good food and practicing again tomorrow!

However, most importantly, find what’s right for you. Have fun and enjoy your practice. There are many different types of yoga and many different teachers. It’s important to discover what and who resonates with you, and this may change over time. In fact here some web directories to help you find yoga classes near you:

www.yogamontreal.com
www.yogadirectorycanada.com
www.yogafinder.com