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Support Boston Small Businesses-Play #BosBINGO at Health Yoga Life

Boston, as we all know, has had a rough winter. Shoulders are tight from shoveling and moods are sour because of traffic. Thanks to Mayor Marty Walsh, Boston is about to have some fun! The Mayor’s office just announced #BosBINGO a way for all of us to support local businesses who suffered due to the inclement weather this year. And the best part is you can win some great prizes too!

Health Yoga Life is excited to support the initiative. We believe supporting our local community ensures a thriving community! So come fill out your #BosBINGO card at our Boston yoga studio.

“You can purchase something small” how about a new reusable water bottle? Or new yoga mat? Or even try a yoga class out!

We also qualify for “Let’s hit the gym!” Our yoga classes at Health Yoga Life are athletic, mindful and will stretch you out body and soul.

Why not “Pick up a gift for someone else” did you know Health Yoga Life offers gift certificates that can be used on yoga classes, workshops, and yoga clothes, mats, and jewelry at our Boston yoga studio.

Ready to learn more about yoga practice? Want to join a growing industry how about “Purchase something large” and sign up for our Boston Yoga Teacher Training!

BostonBingo

You can pick up your #BosBingo card at Health Yoga Life or print yours out CLICK HERE. To learn more about this awesome initiative CLICK HERE

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Set Out on the Journey of a Lifetime-by Vyda Bielkus

The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.-Joseph Campbell

I know reading blogs we just hurry along, whiz through, and see if there is anything pertinent in the post that we need to know right now.  Well indulge me for a second, let me put the above quote to you again, this time read it and just sit with it for a moment. And, see if you can observe your reaction to it.

 The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.

Depending on where you are in life, you might have different reactions to this quote.  If you feel at ease, things are probably going just as they should; you are enjoying your life and feel like you are living authentically.  However, if you at all feel unaligned in how your external life lines up with your internal desires and dreams, then this quote might bring up feelings of anger, shame, or fear.  If you feel financially strapped, you might have the reaction that the “privileged” are the only ones who have the money to be who they truly desire to be (all in there cute lululemon).  If you feel stuck in some part of your true expression of where you are in life, you might be asking the question, but how do I do this exactly? How do I get clear on who I am so that I could have the energy and happiness I see others beam?

In my journey of becoming more of who I am, I have noticed some very critical steps along the way

 1.    Be Open

Learn to be inquisitive and curious.  Start to notice where your interests take you.  Look for new experiences; ask for them.  Reaffirm your openness by trying something new. Have courage.

2.    Be Okay with Uncertainty

Stop controlling your life and others.  See uncertainty as possibility.  Have faith that your needs will be met.  Be excited by change.

 3.    Svadhyaya- Self-Study (one of yoga’s niyama’s(self-disciplines))

Engage in an active practice of yoga and meditation to know the self.  Learn to quiet the mind to be able to hear inner wisdom.  Get coaching to reflect and take action on your dreams. Stop listening to the negative mind.  Let go of destructive habits.  Make peace with your past.  Act with commitment to your own inner knowing.

Taking part of our yoga teacher training is an opportunity for deep self-study.  Students who join us for the training do not leave the same person.  They leave having become more of who they are!

There is still time. Snag one of the last few spots in our fall yoga teacher training! CLICK HERE to register.

Got questions? Have a Lead Faculty call you back and tell you about the training CLICK HERE

Learn more about the Boston Yoga Teacher  Training: CLICK HERE

We offer payment plans, and if you need to miss a session don’t worry we will work with you to make up the missed time.

Learn how to fix the #1 mistake you are making in yoga practice-by Vyda Bielkus

In vinyasa or flow style yoga we open up the practice with the ubiquitous Sun Salutations: High-push Up, Low-push Up, Upward Dog, Downward Dog. It’s a great way to open up the whole body and start to clear away resistance and stress. However, this is also the part of the practice where you are probably making a very common mistake and do not even realize it. One of the poses to master in Sun Salutations is Low-push Up or Chaturanga and the transitions that accompany this pose. What we yoga teachers know is that this is one of the biggest struggles people have in the practice and mistakes abound.

People struggle with the correct hand placement and how to move from High to Low Push Up with ease. Watch this video to learn how to approach the pose with new perspective. Bring these tips to your mat the next time you practice.

Right Choice, Big Result!- by Vyda Bielkus

In the last blog post I told you about how at 24 I thought I was having a “quarter-life crisis” and instead found my way to yoga teacher training. Training was a blast! A kick-in the butt blast. No way was I prepared for the level of physical intensity I was experiencing. Third day of training my body felt oh so good and “oh no” not so good. Not so good in what was like my 1000th downward dog that week knowing I would have a 1000 more, but good because I felt lighter and stronger than I had, I think, ever. The training was in a retreat like setting, so my food and bed were made for me. Score! And I met great people. Sweet!

Although I never thought I would teach yoga, I approached the training with the hope of getting something. Some kind of deep insight. As we headed into the final days of the training, I was starting to feel a little disappointed. What was the big insight I needed to see changes I desired? And why hadn’t I “gotten” it yet?

And then in one of my last savasanas, I asked myself what do I really want and I listened. And my inner wisdom told me: “I want more yoga in my life” and “I want more control of my time”. These two small choices from deep within from my most authentic self, when finally all the noise had stopped, have led me to this moment in my life where I own a yoga business with my family, and I am my own boss. And this is going on 15 years ago now.

Small authentic choice can be big guiding posts in your life. You don’t need goals, you need the right choices!

If you connect to something in yoga, and you see it serving you, consider joining us for our Yoga Teacher Training. Right choice, big result! Our Summer Yoga Teacher Training Intensive starts at the end of June! Sign Up here

Does the question “what should I do with my life” freak you out?-by Vyda Bielkus

When I was 24, I felt like John Mayer was singing to me when he penned the words “quarter life crisis”. Now don’t get me wrong, I had gone to a great school, had loving family and friends, and had a dream job at a high-tech start-up. I felt like the “it girl”-working hard and playing hard. But something in me felt like it was dying inside. The dream life I was living felt more like a freakish nightmare with no true ability to be myself. When I looked ahead into the future, I wasn’t sure if the destined outcome would satisfy me.

It was at this moment, that my mom dragged me to my first yoga class. Looking back at that first class, never in a million years did I ever dream I would own a yoga company, let alone teach yoga. But when I took that first class, I connected to the part of me that knew that she wasn’t authentically happy. This was a shock! Ah the power of awareness!

Change wasn’t immediate. But as I continued to practice and still my mind, I started to see that I had more control of my life than initially meets the eye, and that if I wanted to be a happier person, I would need to do something about it. But what? Now I could have gotten myself all riled up about it. “What should I do with my life?” is an anxiety provoking question, but instead I turned to yoga. I took a yoga teacher training, not because I knew I wanted to teach yoga, but because I didn’t know what I wanted to do or what new choices I wanted for myself. But I knew focusing on yoga would force me to focus on myself.

Yoga teacher training ended up being instrumental in leading me to two very small choices that changed my life forever! In the next blog post, I will share with you what those two super small choices where and how they still effect my life today.

If you are ready to explore yourself deeper and at a more intimate level, even if you might be shocked by what you find out, consider joining us for yoga teacher training!

Our next yoga teacher training is going to be amazing: A Summer 2 week Yoga Teacher Training Intensive Vermont Retreat (can’t make the two weeks join us for the first week and finish up the training later) LEARN MORE HERE! Early Bird Ends April 30th!!

Free Info Session this weekend at the Boston Yoga Studio! Come have your questions answered. Register here or email yogatt@healthyogalife.com or simply come to the studio at 11:45am! The studio is at 12 Temple Street, Boston, MA 02114

5 Reasons Why Every 19 Year Old Should Take a Yoga Teacher Training. Guest post by Nicole Hicks

Oh yes. I said it. Just like we all read Shakespeare in high school and learned how to make mac n’ cheese in the microwave, I believe that a yoga teacher training (like the one I experienced) should be added to the list of must-do things for all people under twenty. Here’s why:

  1. At 19 you’re just figuring out who you are. It’s better to dive in deep now than when you’re 45 and have to break all of the habits and stereotypes you’ve been working with for so long (not that teacher training isn’t a great thing to do at 45!). Wouldn’t it have been easier to develop your sense of self when you were 19 and had lots of time to mull it over? The path of self-discovery should be introduced to more young people – perhaps the concept of a mid-life crisis could disappear.
  2. Yoga teaches you how to live. But really. Just the physical practice (asana) can help you learn to deal with stress on and off of the mat; not to mention the other seven limbs of yoga that most people forget even exist. Signs of stress, peer pressure, and judgemental attitudes become pretty universal by the time kids are in third grade. Now 19 years old seems a bit late to start a deep yoga practice, doesn’t it? Yoga gives us ways to cope and even avoid the plague of negative feelings that many adults unfortunately consider normal. The younger you learn, the better!
  3. Change is permanent, and any yoga teacher will tell you this. At 19, most people are experiencing dramatic upheavals (moving away from home, starting college, deciding on a career, etc.) and need to be told this. Change is natural and necessary. Life will go on, I promise.
  4. Learning to be open and present will change your life“Hellz no” you say. “I’m fine, thank you,” you say. And that is how being closed just kept you from taking a yoga teacher training and meeting wonderful people. Being open to new ideas is the only way we can grow into our authentic selves. Like everything else, it’s best to start this when you’re young, so you can practice keeping an open mind and heart for the remainder of your life! Being present is incredibly hard to do too – right now you’re probably half reading this article, checking facebook on your cell phone, and pretending to listen to your friend who’s telling you a story. With the insane amount of distractions adolescents face today, it’s easy to get lost in “la la land” (yes, I know, I’m a victim of it too). Teacher training will give you the tools to be present when you’re teaching a class of yogis, and that skill sticks with you outside of the classroom.
  5. Most importantly, you will learn to be authentically you. Any yoga teacher will tell you that one of the highest compliments you can receive is that you taught a class authentically. Being authentic, or “real,” is something that many of us struggle with as we try to figure out just who we really are. What better way to start your adult life than by learning who you are, and how to present that true-you to others?
  6. I know I promised just five reasons, but this one is good – You’ll learn really cool things like how to do a headstand, how to avoid that nickname for Massachusetts drivers, and what breath of fire (pronounced: BREATH OF FIYAHHHH) is and how to do it.

(This picture may or may not be an accurate representation…)

To learn more about the 200-hour teacher training course that I  took, check out www.healthyogalife.com!