We continue our “guest blog” series and would like to introduce you to Josie Gintoli. Regular doses of smiles and laughter are essential in her world. Josie attended the 500 hour Moksha Yoga Teacher Training in Toronto in the summer of 2010, after recognizing the positive impact yoga has had on her life. Since graduating, Josie has been teaching varying yoga styles over the years. Yoga helps to continually remind Josie to live in the moment, go with the flow and just breathe which helps her to Stay Simply Well, Naturally! A little more about Josie……
Yogidioms! Bring your practice to light! When we think of yoga we think of the union
between the mind, the body and the spirit. An idiom is a word, phrase or
expression that has a figurative or literal meaning, kind of like a double
meaning. For example my tag line, bring your practice to light could mean Eureka
I’ve got it, I see the light, it could also mean I practice yoga with an air of lightness.
So I married these two words together and there you have it Yogidioms! I stumbled upon this Eureka moment while guiding my yoga classes, noticing the positive response after accidentally putting my own spin on idioms and relating them to yoga and to life! So don’t have a cow is an idiom and don’t have a cow, do yoga! is what I call a Yogidiom!
Since launching Yogidioms, I am always exploring new and fun ways to bring your practice to light and add lightness to your moments! Yogidioms apparel, yoga retreats and yoga+wine events are just a few ways I help encourage others to add lightness to their moments and remind myself to do the same!
Speaking of lightness, how can you literally bring your yoga practice to light? Here are a few tips I think may help!
Taking yoga too seriously becomes work and with work comes a sense of heaviness!…and when we are trying to focus on bringing our practice to light, heaviness can turn you into a debbie downer pretty fast.
Here are ways to bring your practice to light using idioms!
A BLESSING IN DISGUISE
Do you always place your mat in the same spot every time you enter the yoga room and if it’s taken you become so fixated on your spot, it messes up your whole practice? Maybe you even accidentally gave the person in your spot cut eye while saying that’s ok?! Lol it’s ok, relax let go of the need to control where you are in the room. Maybe choosing your least favourite spot can help you switch things up! Believe me when I say, I was religiously a front row right corner girl so I totally get it! But what I realized when I was forced to move is when I became less attached to where I was in the room it helped me grow leaps and bounds and the change of view helped me gain new perspective. Now I move around embracing a new spot with every practice.
ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN ONE DAY
Patience is a virtue. Try not to analyze, overanalyze or micromanage your movements. Don’t compare your practice to anyone around you. Remember you could be at the beginning of your journey in a pose whereas they are halfway through theirs. Don’t beat yourself up inside your mind or put yourself down – if you don’t get the stretch, posture or flow exactly right – continue to practice with confidence and lightness, adhering to the mindset, after all it’s just yoga!
WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE
What happened the moment before is in the past, let it go. Maybe it was the best Natarajasana you’ve ever done and you keep reliving it in your mind while you move through your next pose or maybe you fell on your face and you are recounting the steps before the fall. It’s important to catch your thoughts and redirect yourself back to the present moment and no matter how grand the pose or how hard the fall, notice it but don’t judge it and then let it float away. Everyone is going to fall at some point, if you do, save yourself the embarrassment by embracing the fall with lightness, grace and laughter!
AVOID THE EGO TRIP
Ego can disguise itself as an inner witness or your authentic self. It can push you too far beyond your breaking point and too far beyond your edge. Let go of the need for recognition, find your edge and ride the wave, sustaining the pose.
Hope these little tips bring a smile to your face and lightness to your moments!
Life is filled with so many serious moments, Here’s a cow tip video in cow pants to add lightness to your practice. More videos to come on my new you tube channel!
Big namaste and God bless, Josie Gintoli – Yogidioms
Favorite Quote: “Life is too important to be taken seriously”-Oscar Wilde
Contacts for Josie:
Website: yogidioms.com