MoTownish Magic: New & Old

~ Thanks so much to my bad ass student, Robyn, for sharing Charles Bradley with me~

1) I Love You So~Finley Quay
2) Up With People~ Zero 7
3) New Soul~ Yael Naim
4) Since Our Last Goodbye~ Charles Bradley
5) Fat Ass Joint~ Cujo (Pina Soundtrack)
6) Look Up~ Zero 7
7) No Time For Dreaming~ Charles Bradley
8) You Are The Best Thing~ Ray LaMontagne
9) Sweet Life~ Frank Ocean
10) I Believe In Your Love~ Charles Bradley
11) Love Gonna Walk Out On Me~ Ben Harper
12) Share Your Love With Me~ Aretha Franklin

Morning Folk

A little folk to accompany your morning asana!

My sister Caroline, in Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver

1) A Worthier Man ~ Good For Grapes
2) Yesterday Was Hard On All Of Us ~ Fink
3) The War ~ Sanders Bohlke
4) Hard Sun ~ Eddie Vedder
5) Go Do ~ Jonsi
6) Falcon ~ Morlove
7) Towers ~ Bon Iver
8) Down In The Valley ~ The Head and The Heart
9) Morning Sheets~ Patrick Watson
10) Bloom ~ Paper Kites
11) Bag Of Wind ~ Lia Ices
12) Redford~ Sufjan Stevens

Im Afraid of Stillness

          Today in class we were practicing headstand. The teacher asked if we had any questions. One student shared she felt comfortable in her inversion, but never held it long because she got bored. When she experienced boredom she'd simply come down. I wanted to run over, hug her, and scream, "YOU ARE NOT ALONE"!
         Strangely enough, I've been experiencing the same thing in my practice. I've noticed lately that I can't stop moving on and off the mat.
         Even when in stillness, or between poses, I feel like something is constantly moving- my finger tapping to the music, or my head swaying. Am I simply feeling the need to move energy-to circulate it entirely through the body- or am I afraid of stillness? Am I doing this to keep myself busy? Am I afraid of facing nothingness, of being bored, of not thinking, of experiencing the thoughts and feelings my body has been trying to reveal, but I've been too busy to see them, or feel them, or receive them?
        Even throughout my day its finish one thing and move onto the next. In transition I'm thinking about what's to come after the task I'm about to perform. This is my constant struggle.
      I find comfort in knowing that many face this challenge. One of my old acting teachers- who I know has a busy mind- inspired me with his daily routine. Coming home after work, he'd drop his bags and before checking his emails, voicemail, reaching for food or getting at other work, he'd lay on his bed, stare into space, and do nothing.
        How often do I lay on my back, stare at the ceiling, and let brilliance naturally come in, probably quicker than it would with me trying to force it? I know that brilliance exists there. In silence lives clear realizations that can be often too beautiful to bare. In silence lives so much peace your mind doesn't know what to do without the drama. In silence lives so much clarity you laugh at how complicated you've been making things.  In stillness there lives some harsh realizations that can be hard to swallow. In the end, once you choose to digest them, you see that they're great gifts.
  This is why meditation is so challenging. We fear that when sitting we're wasting precious time. There is little faith in the power of simply existing, in the power of taking in the subtleties of our environment, and we have little faith that things will naturally unfold as they should.
   Its wonderful to notice when you get restless, or when you try to escape silence. Its even more wonderful when you begin to crave moments of stillness.
   Here are a few quotes concerning the topic from author and yogi, Michael Stone.
   Enjoy:)



"Stillness is a point of nothingness, yet is also everything."

"In yoga postures we dissolve the technique of moving the body into pure feeling and then dissolve the mind into that deep experience of feeling. When the mind returns to this natural state, anything can arise in mind, body and heart, and there is no pushing or pulling, just arising and dissolving, one form becoming, in turn another."

"We discover a lot more in the silent space between thoughts than through all the interpretations, ideas and views our minds generate. Moments of psychological stillness remind us that there are ways of knowing other than intellectual or habitual."

"When we move through the world 'concealed and wrapped in thought', there is no direct contact with reality and we know not 'who or what' we are. Yoga begins with the gesture of a gentle bow in service of the present moment."

Shake Your Asana

I'm very excited to announce that I'll be taking you on an incredible journey with DJ HYFI! While Hyfi works the turn tables, I'll be working out your bodies ! Come sweat, groove, and experience moving through asana to live beats!
Semperviva Yoga, City Centre, will be hosting us Sat, July 14th, from 7:30-9pm and tickets are $25!

An incredible tool to help deepen your awareness, to heal and to ground you, is music and sound. The yoga of sound is called, Nada Yoga. The cosmos, nature, humans, our entire planet consists of sound vibrations. The vibrations shake up your insides bringing new life and energy to the surface. It also helps to reconnect you with the energy channels in the body, the chakras.
Here is a description of what you're in for:

Take a journey across a sonic landscape of groovin' beats and lush atmospherics. DJ HyFi weaves together a wide array of electronic music, catching the pulse of each vinyasa wave and carrying the collective energy to intense peaks, through smooth groovin' valleys, and eventually melting into deep spacious bliss.

About DJ HIFY

Ian Hyman 
DJ Hyfi is a Philly-based DJ who has taken his art into the yoga studio to create a deep fusion of sound and movement. He spends most of his time on the road spinning for workshops, festivals and conferences around the nation and internationally. He strives to create a fresh experience for yoga enthusiasts everywhere with his unique approach to this dynamic art. Finding inspiration from life on the road and the interesting collection of characters along the way, he shares his perspective on yoga through his turntables. Ian's DJ mixes are infused with a wide range of soulful electronic music, from deep ambient tunes to ecstatic rhythms of Jungle/DnB.
http://soundcloud.com/search?q%5Bfulltext%5D=HYFI

Feel Good Tip of the Day

 Today, why not add some music to your daily rinse? Make your bathing experience into more of a cleansing ritual & celebration.
 Shake your naked bum to some drums. Personally, I love blasting world music-little reggae or African...whatever floats your soap!
Splish, splash, have a dance party in your bath and get out feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the world!

Playlist For My Ladies @ Semperviva Yoga

   








Today is June 16th... and it's pouring rain,...it's cold...and everything looks black and white.
     I taught on Granville Island, at Semperviva Yoga. The studio there hangs right over the water. It's almost made up entirely of windows, the ceilings are high and decorated with solid wood beams, and to top it off the floors creek! On days like these, there is nowhere else I want to be.
       However, when I walked in it was quite difficult to pick up on the energy in the room. Personally, I was craving a cozy class, but half of the students seemed quite lively. Mmmm, what music do I play and how to a cater appropriately?
     I scrolled through some playlists, but nothing was resonating with the complicated vibe. Instead, I just asked everyone what they were in the mood for: Bumpin Reggae or Yummy Folk.
      Both answers were thrown at me!!! GREAT...I shouldn't have asked.
      Why not make everyone happy? I scrambled to help these two very different musical styles find unity and quickly mixed them together. After some dissecting and resembling we rocked out to a not so shabby playlist.
          And by request, HERE IT IS !!!!!!!!!



1) Jamming~ Bob Marley
2) Mile Maker~ The Innocence Mission
3) Bloom~ Paper Kites
4) I've Got This Friend~ Civil Wars
5) Track #3 (not sure of title) ~ Finely Quay
6) Fears~ Jono McCleery
7) Swing~ Zero 7
8) New Love~ Josh Heinrichs
9) I am A Light~ Sarah Slean
10) More Love~ Molyah
11) Je Te Laisserai Des Mots~ Patrick Watson
12) Redford~ Sufjan Stevens
13) Swimming Pools~ Patrick Watson

Harvest The Spirit, Nourish The Soul: An Autumn Yoga Retreat

THIS JUST IN!!!!!

Sue Horning, owner and founder of Unity Yoga, and I will be leading a retreat to Salt Spring Island, BC.  Join us at Stowel Lake Farms from Sept, 28th-30th. 

For more details please visit, www.harvestthespirit.wordpress.com.

Here is a summery of what we'll be offering:

One of our biggest challenges of modern day living is to live harmoniously with 

nature and the changing seasons.  Autumn is a time to harvest the bounty we grew 

in summer, to store and prepare for the winter ahead, and is associated with the 

metal element, signifying contraction and introspection, as opposed to the upwards 

and outwards movement of

the fiery summer. It is a time to reflect, to receive what 

is of essential worth, and to let go of what is not useful to us. Through Yoga, Thai 

Massage, Chinese Astrology & Meditation, we’ll draw inwards to connect to the 

energetic change of fall, at cozy Stowel Lake Farms, on Salt Spring Island. 

Wanna come? Email mlemillen@yahoo.com to sign up!!!

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