February 2008 Newsletter

Director’s Thoughts . . .

I went to get my 22-month old daughter out of bed this morning, and as I knelt down beside her, eyes just starting to flutter open, she looked up at me and said “Love you Mama”.  I said “I love you too”, my heart melting, to which she replied “Love Dada too”.

Ah, love.  ‘Tis the month of love.  Everywhere you look are heart shaped boxes of chocolates, red roses and cute little teddy bears.  Stores are gearing up for Valentine’s Day, one more holiday where we tend to spend lots of money wooing our loved ones with gifts.  Let’s stop for a moment to reflect on the word “love”.  What is love?

You’ve probably heard people talk about unconditional love, the kind of love you get from your dog or cat.  They don’t question your decisions, judge you or love you more one day than the next.  And they never stop loving you.  My yoga teacher, an incredible lady named shakti mhi (owner of Prana Yoga Centre), told me once that there is really no such thing as “unconditional love”.  Why?  Because LOVE itself is unconditional.  If we put the word “unconditional” in front of the word “love” it implies that there is a kind of love that is NOT unconditional.  All love is pure, unconditional love, with no strings attached.  Any other type is simply something other than love.

We could learn a lot from being with our pets, or our children, who simply don’t know any other type of love.  Children and pets come from a place of feeling and being, rather than an intellectual place of analyzing, judging and evaluating.

This month, savour the romance of Valentine’s Day, but take some time to explore what love means to you.  Open your heart and experience pure, simple love, both on and off your yoga mat.

Lynn Roberts

Director, Pure Yoga Inc.

This Month’s Healthy Workplace Exercise:

Seated Side Stretch

Benefits – Stretches the sides of the trunk and the spine, increases overall energy and decreases lower back pain.

Instructions:

• Begin by sitting upright in your chair with your feet parallel and flat on the floor.
• Interlock your fingers together and as you inhale, raise both arms up overhead, palms turned out to face up toward the ceiling.
• Tighten your abdominals, and as you exhale, lean to the right.  Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears.  Lengthen the length side of your ribcage.
• Gaze towards the floor to keep your neck relaxed. Hold for 5 deep breaths. Bend a little further to your right on each exhale.
• Return to the starting position.  Repeat on the other side.