‎I want to talk about the subtext of the self-help culture. Amidst the promises and easy steps to improving something about yourself, the message implicit but buried is that you are not enough. You are not whole. You are insufficient as you are. This is a self-sustaining mechanism of self-help. If you really truly believed that you already are all that you need why would you look outside yourself for resources? 
But the honest truth is that the person who deeply embodies that level of self-containment is supremely rare. 
This information is not meant to get you down, however. Look at all the different layers of a deeply enculturated need for external validation we are given before our bones have even fully fused. We need the approval and support of our first tribe/family in order to survive. Then we go to school with the belief that the outcomes of our efforts there determine the next 40 years of our life. We have someone else judge our handwriting and math skills, but also the colour of our lunch bag, the brand of our shoes, the type of friends we make.   Within those early contexts the stage is set for a life of believing we need someone else to tell us we are okay. 
It is no coincidence that most of our structural ideas of the divine are about an authority figure who either approves of us or divvies out punishment . 
We develop out physical bodies through cell division beginning as one piece that divides into numerous functionally different areas‎. We are physically always whole. Barring something like fillings, or a titanium hip we are always whole and always have all the components we need. So why is it such an intellectual (and I would argue, spiritual) leap to believe that our non-tangible self is whole too?
I think the culture of relating to others through our wounds is a big business and a difficult pattern to untangle but I know that my wounds don't define me. Most of you reading this know very little about what would therapeutically be called "my story" because it isn't my story, really. To be sure, the things that wound us inform our shape and reaction to experiences but they don't define us. So looking to self-development through a wound-specific lens is maybe a narrow perspective. 
What I'd like is a community that reminds me that I am whole and I am all that I need and yet I am part of something much bigger than just me. My form and experiences change and shift and so does my perspective. But personal evolution is too slippery a thing to be defined so simply, unlike what many self-help resources would like us to believe. If it was really true that in a few steps, or with the purchase of certain tools we could become all powerful, why does it seem like more of us feel less empowered on our own healing journey. 
I will do my best to remind you of your wholeness and I ask that you do the same for me. 

For more thoughts on healing and being a whole being :

‎http://www.timjlawrence.com/blog/2015/10/19/everything-doesnt-happen-for-a-reason

‎http://www.liberatedbody.com/joanne-avison-lbp-045/
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 I have been very tired lately for reasons I am not quite sure of. Perhaps part of it is settling into a new routine, or the fact that it is very dark when I wake up. What I do find helps to wake me up and keep me energized during the day is making sure that I move around. 
I have been continuing my pursuit of structural integration education (mostly through Tom Myers) and it seems that it can't possibly be overstated that everyone must MOVE around!
In order to maintain good working tissue health you need to keep squeezing and rearranging your body. Our cellular body is contained in a mixture of extra-cellular fluid and tougher strands of protein that contain the fluid. The more you move around, the more that fluid arranges itself in an orderly manner throughout your body. And when you introduce new or unusual movements in your body you hydrate harder to reach areas that might otherwise dry up and become stiff and more difficult to use. 
Don't be afraid to add new things into your yoga practice to keep your body hydrated, and also to keep forming new neuro-motor pathways too!
But the most important thing is to make sure you move around every day. Even if you read this post and then take five minutes away from your screen to do a couple squats (you know I love some squats), or stand up and move your arms around,  movement is so so important. I'm a big fan of this modification of triangle pose right now. Rather than reaching up with your upper arm wrap your arm behind your back to create more space between your shoulder and ear.
Before you go, just for a moment pay attention to the way your ribs move when you breathe. Try to make your ribs more spacious as you inhale.  Then let your ribs come closer together and feel your belly draw up toward the ribs as you exhale. Even just taking a moment to be aware of your breath can be a helpful re-set button.
Keep moving around and keep getting on your mat at Fearless Heart!
​See you soon, Yogis!

In one of my fits of semi-regular insomnia the other night I came across an article in the NY Times about a microscopic creature that lives mainly in moss and lichen. Tardigrades resemble tiny bears (with extra paws), or to me they look a bit like dugongs. You can read the article here.
Aside from my fascination with the world in general, and especially weird trivia, this article resonated with me because the Tardigrades are possibly the most adaptable and resilient creatures on the planet. They can live in extremely hot and extremely cold conditions. They can change their metabolism to suit the environment they are in. And they can curl up into basically indestructible balls called tuns that can be subjected to enormous amounts of atmospheric pressure. They can be dried up completely and then brought back to life. I read this article and I thought, I want to be indestructible!
I think the key take-away that is transferable to us is that change is key to being anti-fragile. Recognizing that it is a strength to be able to bend a little and to shape-shift with our environment. We are fed the constant message that you are an INDIVIDUAL! You are UNIQUE! That the clothes you wear and the instragram accounts that you follow tell people what they need to know about what kind of person you are and what you believe about the world. And that it is important to hold that position of individuality and special-ness. But what if our beliefs make us stiff and unyielding? We can't change our minds, or admit we were wrong for fear of giving up any hard-won ground.
Resilience is being able to take up strain and absorb it, then follow it through to its natural resolution. My hunch is that most of us are capable of taking up strain and absorbing it, but then we hang on to it, creating tension and dis-ease in our bodies as we struggle to hold one position. We only seek resolution when we are confronted with a crisis that forces us to change something in our life.
Being flexible doesn't have to mean that you are vulnerable to being swept up by other people who are more forceful and rigid in their behaviour. You can be okay with adapting to new situations while still maintaining your core essence. It just means that maybe when change inevitably comes into your life and your job changes, or you have a baby, or your intimate relationships begin or end, that you can walk toward the change with more poise and possibly be less negatively impacted by it. 
Our yoga practice can teach us to relax into difficult or uncomfortable poses by moving slowly towards them. We don't need to avoid them, nor do we need to rush head-long toward them. Here is what I think of when I think about change: I can see myself ten years ago and know completely that I am a radically different person. And that evolution was not an easy thing and a lot of it was painful and ugly. But I wouldn't go back for anything in the world. 
As for the tardigrades, I hear they are the new sea-monkeys. I will be sending away in the mail for mine today.
Thanks for reading.

 Welcome to our first post here at Granola HQ (AKA Fearless Heart Yoga in UpTown Waterloo)

So let's start with the big picture. The klesas (afflictions of the heart) in yoga label for us the fears that drive our personal decisions and narratives. When I chose the name Fearless Heart for the studio, I was choosing to challenge my own story and to find out for myself what it would really mean to be fearless. 
Each day we choose our story about the way the world works and the way we see ourselves within it. And sometimes that story is driven by concerns about what other people think, fear of being wrong, fear of humiliation and if you drill down, they all distill to a fear of being unlovable. 
Rather than looking at fear as a whole, I have been finding success lately and simply labeling one action at a time when I recognize it. For example, I am pretty afraid of things going well. Lately, I have had a decent string of personal and studio related successes. It has been terrifying. Because I have been working on a core belief that if things go too well, it just means there is something terrible lurking around the corner. My experiences as a relatively conscious adult would tell me that isn't true, but it is a belief that has been woven deep into my personal fabric and the only way to unravel it is to tug at one string at a time.
So I am going to keep my focus for now on going after things that I want. One of those things is to make the studio bigger and more successful this year. I am making a declaration and working on pulling that thread loose. I have attached a picture of me playing with Hanumanasana uptown, recently. The story behind this pose is about taking a big leap.
Tell me in the comments what you are afraid of! I'd like to send words of encouragement to you on your own practice becoming fearless.
See you on the mat soon, friends.