Yamas and Niyamas Discussion: Tapas and Yoga

The yamas and niyamas Overview:

The Yamas and Niyamas are the first two limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras — this post will discuss the niyama called tapas. The yamas and niyamas can accurately be described as ten guidelines to purifying life and reaching true freedom and mental emancipation.

The Niyamas Overview:

The Sanskrit word Niyama can be translated to mean “guideline.” There are five niyamas that Patanjali passed down in his Yoga Sutras which is what most scholars agree to be the most oldest, most instructive yogic text. Our teacher, Rory Trollen recently wrote a terrific post for the Lucid Practice community on one of the five Niayamas, Tapas. Here it is:

An Introduction to the Niyama called “Tapas”

Sadhana Pada, Sutra 43 in Patanjalis Yoga Sutras: 

(Sanskrit) kaya indriya siddhih asuddhiksayat tapasah

(English translation) Self discipline (tapas) burns away impurities and kindles the spark of divinity.

A start to the new year often thrusts upon us a ravenous hunger for change, often panicky and knee jerk…results must be gained now!

I’ve taught Yoga full time for 7 years and I can tell you that boom time business wise is January every year…why? You probably guessed it – New Years resolutions. The new calendar tells us that it’s time for re birth, resurrection and change! “If I sign up for 30 Yoga classes I’ll go to them all”, “if I sign up for  year at the gym I’ll go 4 times a week”…just because you wrote your name (“yes that’s me, the new owner of…the new me!”), signed on the dotted line and paid some hard earned cash doesn’t necessarily mean that your festive chrysalis will metamorphose into a new years butterfly, you can’t buy will power. I’ve seen people try and try and buy and buy, consumerism is far removed from the realms of evolution and personal growth.

Willpower is free, there is an ocean of the stuff at our disposal and to borrow an old Tibetan proverb that encapsulates our current dilemma “some people die of thirst whilst sitting at the edge of a lake”. We must tap into this reservoir of mightiness. How is this done? By borrowing a strategy, a secret from the ancient system of Yoga that has stood the test of time, vanquished forgotten resolutions and broken promises – we must make and take a Tapas. (Sadly not at your local Spanish eatery…a restaurant critic, I am not).

What is Tapas? An ancient practice of strengthening ones willpower and self discipline, to create true synergy between goal setting and goal achieving, as far as I believe first documented by Maharishi Patanjali 2,500yrs ago in his Yoga Sutras. A Yogi would take a Tapas, most probably several over a lifetime as acts of austerity, to strengthen resolve, to build fitness physically, emotionally and spiritually…to a point where everything (that being no-thing) is Realised.

Rory Practicing Meditation (image credit: tribe-yoga.com)

Applying Tapas to Goals

Whatever ones ambition from sensory to extra sensory, tapas is a strategy and an age old practice that works, and here’s how it does:

For the most part the mind works very simply, if I think to myself “I’m going to have a drink of water”. I pick up the glass, I have a drink. The mind registers that as a win – I set out what I was going to achieve. My will power is actually galvanised by that, albeit in a very small way!

Rory Trollen Practicing (image credit: tribe-yoga.com)

However if I say “I’m going to go for a yoga class/meditation/gym session/run” and I don’t, my will power also remembers that and registers it as a loss. When that happens, two things usually occur, we chastise ourselves for failing, engage in a bit of domestic abuse (yes, your own inner dialogue) and set a higher more demanding next mission that our now flabby willpower will laugh at in it’s state of lethargy…and we fail again….repeat pattern over years and we have the once magnificent Samurai becoming the simple Jellyfish.

If we equate will power to a muscle, and we wish to train and strengthen said muscle from it’s atrophied/inert state we work to training slowly, gradually, progressively. We start with light weights and gradually build up….if we start with the big heavy stuff we injure ourselves and success is thwarted. We must learn to walk before we can run.

This is Tapas; we set ourselves goals that yes will challenge us but we know we can attain. We start small over finite periods of time and slowly build our power of will to a point that we achieve exactly what it is we say we will do, we move from talking the talk to walking the walk.

How Tapas Can Help Develop your Home Practice

So let’s say you want to build a Yoga self practice but have never succeeded because procrastination always vanquishes action….you start with a Tapas like “6 days a week for the next month, I’ll stand at the end of my Yoga mat, lift my arms up over head on an inhale, look to my thumbs and bring my hands back to heart centre on an exhale”. That is your Tapas potentially.

What will that do? Well from experience I know that most probably you will do that because it’s easy, and what’s more the chances are that you’ll end up doing maybe even a forward fold and hey while I’m at it and there’s no pressure to do lots I’ll do a cheeky wee plank pose…that was easy you say…I might do a wee down dog…etc etc….

What started as a 5 second practice turns into a minute long practice….you’re will power has just registered that as a win! You give yourself a suitable pat on the back and look forward to tomorrows practice…and most probably you’ll end up doing that little bit more. I guarantee you when the self created pressure is off it’ll be easier to do what you set out to do….the background aspiration to push things forward is always there but the feeling of obligation isn’t.

It works.

As you successfully complete each Tapas you set the next one will be that little bit more challenging and progressive but now that your willpower is playing ball it’ll be that little bit easier to achieve.

Five Guidelines for taking a Tapas:

• Be specific (the goal ‘to attain enlightenment by June’ is not a Tapas nor a strategy) you have to make it practical and progressive
• Dedicate your Tapas to an aspect of divinity that inspires you: Shiva/Buddha/Ganesha etc…it transcends a simple promise or New Years resolution
• Set it for a finite period of time 1-2 weeks in the beginning, longer as you find your willpower growing
• Write it down and be detailed, “6 days a week for the next 3 weeks I will sit down for a 2 minute breath awareness meditation, at the end of 3 weeks I’ll review my Tapas”
• Don’t talk about what your doing to people, just do it! This is a pact between your self and the higher Self.

Yamas and Niyamas, Tapas:

This is a very simple yet very effective system towards building inner strength, will power and emotional fitness. I personally have used this system for years and probably will forever more. Without setting my first Tapas many moons ago I’d probably still be talking about self evolution as opposed to actually partaking in it.

Leave questions/comments in the comments section, happy to hear your take on Tapas and/or to help you set your first Tapas! Onwards and ever upwards!

~Rory

Rory Trollen (image credit: tribe-yoga.com)

This post was written by our teacher, Rory Trollen. Rory is simply an amazing person and teacher. Rory has altered our life’s path — he’s had an enormous positive impact on us through his teachings. Rory will be contributing to Lucid Practice on a regular basis, sharing his lucid insights on yoga and life. Rory will be contributing an article to the Lucid Practice Community about once per month. You can read his previous article here:

• Rory on Svadhyaya (self study)

Here’s what we’d like to hear in the comments section:

Tell us about your life experiences in building willpower.

Will you set your first tapas??

Yoga Interviews : Maria from Daily Downward Dog

Today is the 6th week our 8 week yoga interviews series where we’re presenting interviews of 8 influential yoga bloggers. We ask 8 engaging questions and release an interview every Saturday at 8am US EST.

For this interview, we’re happy to learn more about Maria from the popular blog Daily Downward Dog. We originally connected with Maria on Twitter. Maria is one of the pioneers of yoga blogging, we’re fortunate to have the opportunity to feature her. Enjoy the interview and leave a comment or question for Maria in the comments section.

1)      When did you start practicing yoga?

Back in my early forties, I started having trouble getting out of bed in the morning due to back pain brought on by scoliosis and stress. I told myself I was way too young for that nonsense, and took the advice I’d been given about practicing yoga to relieve back pain. After I did my first few downward dogs, I was hooked and knew that yoga was the elixir I needed. Like most people, though, the daily grind of the corporate world kept me off the mat for extended periods of time. I took a deep dive back into the world of yoga five years ago, eventually traded in my black power suits for black stretchy yoga pants, and have been riding the waves of an incredible yoga high ever since. If you had told me five years ago that I would now be teaching yoga, I would have thought you were crazy.

2)      What drove you to share your message & your practice with the world through a yoga blog?

My first blog MariaMedia was a place to share all the things I was passionate about, like yoga, travel, books, food, and strong female role models (aka Women Who Rock). On that blog I began chronicling my yoga journey with daily snippets on a page titled The Daily Downward Dog. As my yoga practice began to blossom the snippets turned into longer posts and it was a natural progression to spin The Daily Downward Dog off on its own in 2011.

Yoga has completely changed my life in many ways. I used to be a stressed out executive, and today I’m a blissed out yoga teacher. My back pain has gone away, and most of all, I just notice that I’m a happier person. I’m blessed to be doing work that I love and am passionate about. I smile more, I laugh more, I’m full of gratitude, and I wanted to share all of the benefits of yoga with anyone who would be willing to read my blog.

3)      Talk a little bit about one of your top three yoga blog posts.

Wow, that is a really tough question because I have so many favorites. I will say that I started to notice in the summer of 2012 that I really began to come into my own voice in my yoga teaching, which was very exciting and fulfilling for me. It seems that I can find yogic inspiration everywhere and I take these experiences and weave them into my yoga class themes and also began sharing them on The Daily Downward Dog. Now I get requests all the time to post my class themes and I love it when people come up to me and tell me that they read one of my posts and it inspired them. A few of my favorites: Top Thrill Yoga about using the power of pranayama breathing in stressful situations, like right before taking off on one of the scariest roller coasters at Cedar Point with my niece, Plenty of Fast Out There about taking the time to slow down both on and off the yoga mat, and P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E about why it’s called yoga practice, not yoga perfect.

4)      Music can be such a powerful tool in asana and/or meditation practice. How do you make music selections for your own personal practice and for practices you teach?

I’m not a fan of the harpy, Zen-like genre of yoga music. During portions of my playlist I like to include upbeat music. Sometimes that means a song has a little soul or maybe even a little rap (thank you, MC Yogi), and I always include a little reggae. Some of my favorite artists are Donna De Lory, C.C. White, DJ Drez, Girish, MC Yogi, Trevor Hall, Snatam Kaur, and Michael Franti. I have a whole page on the Daily Downward Dog devoted to posts about my yoga class playlists, yoga theme songs, awesome yoga musicians and new music releases.

When I first started teaching I used a lot of mainstream music with lyrics. As my teaching has evolved I’ve found myself turning to more instrumental and kirtan music. It is important to me that people can hear the cues and also that the music does not distract or take them away from their practice.

I have to say that the sounds of waves, wind, and birds chirping make up my favorite soundtrack while practicing and teaching yoga on the beach.

 5)      You’ve written about how yoga has healed your back pain. Let’s say someone comes to you having had 5 years of chronic back pain. They’ve never practiced yoga, but they’re at the point where they’re willing to try anything. What’s your advice?

I would encourage them to speak to their doctor first to make sure they are able to practice yoga. Then I would offer suggestions on which classes to take or private instruction, so they get a gentle approach that focuses on the asanas that will stretch and strengthen the back and core body.

Some back pain is brought on primarily by stress, so starting out with basic pranayama breathing exercises and meditation can be a huge help in reducing stress and alleviating back pain.

For those suffering from back pain brought on by scoliosis, I highly recommend Elise Browning Miller’s Yoga for Scoliosis DVD.

6)      What yoga or wellness books have had the biggest impact on you?

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is my go to book and bible of yoga.

7)      What style of yoga do you practice & why?

I practice several types of yoga, but my favorites are Hatha and Vinyasa. I like the classical approach to the asanas in Hatha and the flowing breath with movement of Vinyasa. When I take a Vinyasa yoga class I feel like I’m dancing on my yoga mat. My favorite kind of yoga class is when you start with a pranayama exercise to clear the mind and get centered, spirited Vinyasa flow, and then time after savasana for meditation.

I’ve been known to try different kinds of yoga to mix things up, so in the last year I’ve tried SUPYoga, Bikram, aerial, acro-yoga, and wall yoga. I love that there are so many different types of yoga, and enjoy trying them all.

8)      On what form of social media do you connect with other yogis/yoginis most effectively?

Facebook is really effective for communicating upcoming classes and workshops with my local students. Twitter is a fantastic way to connect with yogis all around the world, and I’m beginning to use Instagram more as a tool for sharing pictures from my yoga retreats and beach yoga classes.

Bonus Question:      What advice do you have for people who are 40 years or older and are just beginning to study & practice yoga?

It’s never too late! Come to the practice with an open mind and accept the fact that you won’t be able to do everything perfectly. Yoga is not a competition, and no one is going to judge you if you are not super flexible. We come to yoga to become flexible, not because we are flexible.

Take your time, learn to breathe, turn off your internal critic, turn up the corners of your mouth, smile, be curious, explore, and embrace this awesome practice of yoga. I think one of the most important things to remember as students of yoga is this simple fact – Yoga is a practice. You have the rest of your life to practice and grow in it. No need to beat yourself up if you can’t touch your toes or do a handstand. Instead, repeat this mantra: How cool is it that there’s still so much to learn about yoga? I have the rest of my life to go on this amazing yoga journey.

About Maria: Maria Santoferraro, E-RYT, is first and foremost a student of yoga and hails from the beautiful shores of Lake Erie, Ohio. A former marketing executive with a ‘Crackberry’ addiction, she now enjoys spending her time teaching yoga on the beach, building yoga brands, and creating meditation videos forHangTen Meditation.

Her playful, heart-opening teaching combines meditation, breath, alignment, and asana in flowing Hatha yoga classes that encourage students to reconnect to their bodies and breath and to fill up with joy. Maria incorporates uplifting class themes, music, poetry, laughter, and the spiritual teachings of yoga to create a peaceful environment where students can quiet their minds, let go, and experience a deep sense of calm and well-being.

In 2011, she was able to combine two of her greatest passions – yoga and the beach – to start her own beach yoga “studio” on the beautiful shores of Lake Erie, Ohio, where she has shared yoga with hundreds of students. She has added her passion for travel and adventure to the mix with her second beach yoga retreat on the idyllic Caribbean white sand beaches of Aruba from April 22-27. This beach yoga bliss retreat will include daily inspirational yoga and meditation classes led by Maria and the opportunity to bust out some yoga moves on a standup paddle board (SUP yoga).

Go from stressed out to blissed out on her blog The Daily Downward Dog, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Join Maria this coming April for Beach Yoga Bliss in Aruba on Eagle Beach at Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa or for one of her yoga workshops.

8 weeks, 8 yoga bloggers, 8 questions, posted each Saturday at 8am.

Hope you’ve enjoyed our yoga interviews series and that you’ll join us next Saturday AM for our next interview! Check out our previous five interviews:

• Meredith LeBlanc of The Pondering Yogini
• Tonya of The Yoga Deck and Ultima Healing
• Jen and Liz of The Travel Yogi
• Brandon and Anne of The Yoga Nomads
• Roseanne from It’s All Yoga, Baby

Yoga Blogger Interview : It’s All Yoga, Baby

Today is the 5th week our 8 week yoga blogger interview series where we’re presenting interviews of 8 influential yoga bloggers. We ask 8 engaging questions and release an interview every Saturday at 8am US EST.

For this interview, we’re happy to learn more about Roseanne from It’s All Yoga, Baby. We originally connected with Roseanne after reading her interesting views on yoga in the west. Roseanne is one of the pioneers of yoga blogging, we’re fortunate to have the opportunity to feature her. Enjoy the interview and leave a comment or question for Roseanne in the comments section.

1) Can you start by giving us a bit of background about yourself and your blog. How did you start practicing? When did you start blogging, and what did you expect readers to get out of it? 

I started practicing yoga casually while I was a university student in the mid-90s, but I got deeply into it 10 years ago. I started blogging, reluctantly, while I was working as editor of ascent, an independent yoga magazine. This was around 2006/7, when the magazine industry hadn’t yet figured out how to work with the internet or these new blog things. When ascent went out of business in early 2009 and I found myself out of a job and with an abundance of free time, I started It’s All Yoga, Baby. I wanted to stay connected to the community of teachers and practitioners I’d met while working at the magazine, and I also wanted a place to develop my voice and opinions on yoga in North American culture, to be able to speak out in a way that I couldn’t when I was at the helm of a magazine. I didn’t expect anybody would actually read it or be interested in it, and for the first three months I kept the blog a secret while I built my confidence. Slowly, from there, I started to comment on other blogs and share my posts with colleagues and friends, and then it just kept growing and growing.

2) It’s All Yoga Baby examines the relationship between yoga and popular culture. Can you touch on general or specific hypocrisies of yoga in the West when compared to the roots of traditional Eastern yoga?

First of all, I don’t think traditional yoga is without its hypocrisies; the roots of yoga are often tangled and complicated, and I’m not interested in idealizing or romanticizing them. Nevertheless, one of the general hypocrisies of modern yoga that I find fascinating is the value system that has gotten lost as yoga has become more popular and mainstream. My feeling is that at its essence, yoga is about living a simple, immaterial life and being content with what we have – but yoga has in many ways, ironically, become a status symbol, with a code of fashion, “spirituality lite” trends, and cult of personality teachers.

3) Tell us a little bit about one of your top three yoga blog posts.

One of my favourite blog posts is my coverage of Yoga Journal’s dismissal of an international boycott of Hyatt Hotels in order to hold their 2013 conference in San Francisco. I had followed that story for six months, interviewed union activists, and published the post just before the January conference. I was amazed at the response and the discussion that ensued (although not surprised at all by YJ’s lack of engagement and their generic corporate reply to the issue) – SF yoga practitioners even showed up at the hotel and picketed in solidarity with workers and activists. The whole thing affirmed that there is a powerful and thoughtful cohort of practitioners who align their yoga practice with a vision for social justice. It was beyond inspiring.

4) There are organizations sprouting up in an effort to preserve traditional yoga and to prevent the rampant commercialization that we see in the West. Do you think these organizations will be successful in decelerating the Westernization of yoga or will the practice continue to be diluted here in the West?

I’m less concerned about the dilution of the practice than I used to be. I think yoga is in a constant state of evolution, and it’s responding to North American culture in diverse and fascinating ways. Some of these are awesome (like yoga as part of this holistic stress reduction program in Toronto schools) and some are ridiculous (like doga, yoga raves, SUP yoga). What will be interesting to see is what has a lasting impression, what forms yoga in the West will take in the next 10, 20, 30 years and beyond. We’re in the midst of a massive boom, and the popularity of yoga is showing no signs of slowing down. I’m curious to see if it will hit a tipping point, and what will happen then.

5) What yoga or wellness book or books have had the biggest impact on you?

Stephen Cope, Yoga and the Quest for the True Self; Swami Radha, Kundalini Yoga for the West; Michael Stone, Yoga for a World Out of Balance.

6) Do you practice a specific style of yoga? If so, why?

I happily practice a no-name unbrand of yoga in my living room, responding to whatever is happening in my body on any given day. My roots are in the service and reflection based Yasodhara Yoga, which I studied at an ashram in western Canada, and I’ve also studied and trained in Anusara Yoga, before that scene imploded. To shake things up, I practice once a week or so at a community studio near my house, and I also love to check out new classes and teachers around town. But my home practice is essential in keeping me grounded, connected and sane.

7) On what form of social media do you connect w/ other yoga practitioners most effectively?

Twitter, for fun conversations and up-to-the-minute news (on not just yoga but culture and politics), and Facebook, where a community of people discuss blog posts and yoga news on the IAYB fanpage.

8) What advice do you have for people who are just beginning to study & practice yoga?

Just do it. There is a practice, teacher and style for everyone, so be willing to experiment and explore until you find something that clicks. Avoid reading yoga blogs. Don’t talk about yoga non-stop with friends and family, you’ll just annoy them.

About Roseanne:
Roseanne Harvey is a writer, editor and geeky girl who lives and loves life in Montreal. She is the founder of It’s All Yoga, Baby, a blog about yoga and other things, with a mission to spark investigation into the relationship between yoga, the body and popular culture. IAYB questions, provokes thought and shines a critical light on yoga culture ~ while celebrating community, service, creativity, the independent spirit and good ol’ fun. Founded in spring 2009, IAYB has grown to be a leading voice in the North American yoga community.

As the former editor of ascent magazine, Roseanne isn’t afraid to use her media literacy skills to call out the hypocrisies and contradictions of modern yoga. She is all for dismantling the dominant hegemony of rock star teachers, expensive class fees and designer clothes/accessories/products. She also loves supporting progressive yoga projects, innovative and independent teachers, and general awesomeness. Active offline as well as online, Roseanne is a co-producer of Yoga Festival Montreal and the co-editor (with Carol Horton) of 21st Century Yoga: Culture, Politics & Practice Find Roseanne. You can connect with Roseanne on It’s All Yoga, Baby, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

8 weeks, 8 yoga bloggers, 8 questions, posted each Saturday at 8am.

Join us next Saturday AM for our next interview and check out our previous four interviews:

• Meredith LeBlanc of The Pondering Yogini
• Tonya of The Yoga Deck and Ultima Healing
• Jen and Liz of The Travel Yogi
• Brandon and Anne of The Yoga Nomads

5 Tips for a Successful Interview

Interviews, whether a job interview, college admission interview, or a fellowship interview, can be daunting and intimidating so we put together this list of 5 Tips for a Successful Interview.

I’ve been implementing these amazing 5 tips for the past two years in interviews for fellowships. Follow my tips to absolutely crush your interview and walk away on cloud 9! 🙂

1. Visualization.

Lay down so your back is on the floor, on your mat, or on your bed (just don’t fall asleep!) Close your eyes, picture yourself walking into the room you are going to be interviewed in. If you know the panel, visualize them as vividly as possible sitting in front of you. Visualize the interviewer asking you questions and see yourself answering these questions swiftly and enthusiastically. Your bright energy lights the room and the interviewer is SO convinced you are fit for this. You then leave the room still smiling (since you’ve been smiling LOTS this entire time) and you know you have crushed it. Open your eyes and know this will happen. See it, believe it.

2. Arrive at Your Interview Early

Show up to your interview AT LEAST 15 minutes early. This gives you time to settle into your new environment. You are ready to start manifesting your awesome, confident energy in this new space. You are prepared to crush this interview.

3. Positive Affirmation

5 minutes before your interview, go into the bathroom and look yourself in the mirror. Set your feet hip distance apart. Raise your arms above you in a Power Pose. This power stance has been proven to show positive results in those who do this for 2 minutes before an interview. As you hold this pose, look directly into the mirror and say, “I AM GOING TO CRUSH THIS INTERVIEW.” Repeat this 5 times with complete presence. Confidence, power, and energy will all radiate from you!

4. Practice.

No, not practice your lines. That’s actually the next on this list of tips for a successful interview. 😉 I’m talking ASANA. A few Sun Salutations, Warrior II, Camel, and a Shoulderstand before the interview. These three postures are great for opening your throat and building your self esteem.

Breath is SO important, especially at times like these when your body naturally tenses up and restricts normal rhythm of breath. Some prefer to practice at home beforehand. If the location of your interview has enough space, you can even practice there!  Find quiet space in the bathroom or that small room down the hall that’s calling your name. 🙂

5. Know what you are going to say!

Of course we can’t know EVERY question that will be thrown at us, but we CAN formulate questions that we are pretty sure will be asked of us. The most obvious question is, “Tell me about yourself.” Be prepared for this!

Define what you want the interviewer to take away from you. Define four key points that you will show that you are the right candidate. Tell yourself that you will not leave that interview without making these four points. If you prepare and rehearse, these four qualities/qualifications will be easy for you to remember and express gracefully during your interview. Don’t think too hard, or stress yourself out; remember, this is fun and spontaneity in answers is still so effective! 🙂

One of the cures to nervousness is preparedness!

Conclusion on Tips for a Successful Interview

On top of all these tips for a successful interview — it’s most important to BE YOURSELF AND LOVE YOURSELF! You deserve this and your interviewer deserves to see & hear how fantastic you are! 🙂

I’ve found these tips for a successful interview to be extremely helpful in my preparation. How about you guys? What practices have you found helpful for your interview?

Yoga Blogger Interview: The Travel Yogi

Today is the 3rd week our 8 week interview series where we’re presenting interviews of 8 influential yoga bloggers. We ask 8 engaging questions and release an interview every Saturday at 8am US EST.

For this interview, we’re happy to learn more about Jen and Liz of The Travel Yogi. We connected with Jen and Liz recently through Twitter. Enjoy the interview and leave a comment or question for Jen and Liz in the comments section.

1. When did you start practicing yoga?

I became interested in yoga at a very yoga age. Around 10 years old, I begged my parents for ‘yoga lessons’ and our family ended up renting a yoga video and trying it out in the family room. I became more involved in yoga when I moved to California and have found the more I practice the more I can stay grounded in other parts of my life.

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Yoga Blogger Interview: Tonya of Ultima Healing

Today is second week of our 8 week interview series where we’ll present interviews of 8 influential yoga bloggers. We ask 8 engaging questions and we release an interview every Saturday at 8am US EST.

For our second interview, we were pleased to interview Tonya of Ultima Healing. We connected with Tonya a few months back after our readers had asked us questions about Stand Up Paddle Board Yoga. We decided to interview Tonya because of her expertise in practicing on the water!

Enjoy the interview and leave a comment or question for Tonya in the comments section.

1. Please tell us a bit about your background and how you created Ultima Healing.

Ultima healing seemed to evolve, I love social media and have my share of pages but many clients and friends have been urging me to do a website. I like to work through referrals with the belief that someone that needs what I have to offer will connect with me somehow…I believe that we are all connected. Ultima means the end…and new beginnings always follow. This past summer I offered healing sessions on The Yoga Deck and it was magical for me to work outdoors & on the water.  Allowing the flow of healing to move through me and see peace within my clients was a gift to me. When I work with clients I always want them to leave with the knowledge & tools to create healing within and on their own.  The most simplest of things is our breath. Our breath heals us if we just take the time to sit with self and focus. The breath balances our bodies and  opens the mind to know, healing is an inside job.

2. When did you start practicing yoga?

I started practicing yoga on my own many years ago probably sometime in 2000. My son was just a few months old and I was walking and doing yoga at home, having a new baby was an adjustment and I had to find something I could do at home. I had a few videos and just did my own thing. That is the great thing about yoga, you really don’t need anything but you and your mat! Fast Forward to 2009 I went to check out a Hot Yoga Studio and 6 months later I enrolled in their first teacher training program at Yoga Flow Pittsburgh. I am a certified Vinyasa Flow Teacher a  200 hr. RYT with Yoga Alliance. I have taught SUP Yoga for 2 years now and enjoyed bringing SUP Yoga to the Pittsburgh area.

I think finding a teacher that you connect with is very important. Find a home studio and focus on you and your practice. I love yoga workshops, usually they are all-levels so I encourage you to try new classes or different styles of yoga.Most cities have amazing teachers that travel and teach workshops that can offer new insights for your practice.

If you are new to yoga I think it is important to do a self practice at home. This provides a place for you to really focus on yourself.

Finally I believe meditation is one of the most amazing aspectss I have discovered through my love of yoga. Taking the time daily, to sit, reflect, and breathe, can open yourself up to your own true knowing…

I meditate everyday. Meditation can be anything. You can meditate while you take a walk in nature, before you go to bed, on your yoga mat or my favorite, on a paddle board. Meditation can be sitting with self drawing in the breath, it can be 2 minutes or 20. Guided meditations are amazing also, they can provide beautiful visualizations and can help with focus. Every breath allows peace and space in the body…healing begins within!

Tonya’s Bio:
Tonya Kapis has been practicing yoga since the late nineties. In 2009 she began a dedicated yoga practice and in 2010 became a 200RYT with Yoga Alliance.  Her teaching style is Vinyasa based focusing on the breath and personal alignment that allows her students to guide themselves deeper or gentler into each pose. Using the breath and never forcing any pose is always a focus in her class, to flow with ease. Every practice is different, we all have days that we flow with our breath and other days where our balance eludes us.
In 2012 she started teaching SUP Yoga and in 2013 she opened The Yoga Deck. The Yoga Deck, LLC is a floating yoga studio, a 28ft Pontoon Boat. During the Spring/Summer/Fall seasons she teaches outdoors, on the boat and SUP Yoga. Taking your practice outside the studio allows for a connection to nature, water, and all of the elements. Each class ends with a guided meditation to further connect or guide the student inward to higher self and peace.
Tonya lives outside the Pittsburgh area and most likely will be found at The Yoga Deck or discovering the beautiful waters of Pennsylvania. This past fall she launched her website, Ultima Healing where she shares blog posts, photos, SUP Yoga, art and her love of Leg Warmers that she up-cylces!
You can also find Tonya on Instagram as freespiritbeauty, or on Twitter and Facebook.

8 weeks, 8 yoga bloggers, 8 questions, posted every Saturday at 8am. Join us next Saturday AM for our next interview. Click to see the first interview of this series, conducted last week with Meredith LeBlanc of The Pondering Yogini.

Today is beginning of our 8 week interview series where we’ll present interviews of 8 influential yoga bloggers. We ask 8 engaging questions and we’ll release an interview every Saturday at 8am US EST.

For our first interview, we’re happy to interview Meredith LeBlanc of The Pondering Yogini. We connected with Meredith years ago through the Yoga Book Club on Twitter. Enjoy the interview and leave a comment or question for Meredith in the comments section.

1. When did you start practicing yoga?

I started practicing yoga 17 years ago while living in Las Vegas. At the time there were no yoga studios so I had to really seek out my first teacher. At that time, she taught in apartment complex rec rooms, dance studios, and even a raquet ball court. Even though I haven’t practiced with her in 15 years, I still feel her teachings and her love of yoga.

2. What drove you to share your message & your practice with the world through a yoga blog?

My initial intention with blogging was to strengthen my yoga voice. I had just gotten my teacher certification and although I felt confident with the knowledge, sometimes I felt like I didn’t know how to convey it effectively. It was a way to practice teaching.

3. Talk a little bit about one of your top three yoga blog posts.

I can’t name a specific one, but rather a series of posts I did in 2010 after my 14 year old lab Nicki passed away. She was my first dog and my guide through some of my greatest ups and downs. I credit her with really teaching me how to love unconditionally. Her passing was a profound experience for me; what yoga had taught allowed me to experience the loss with a great deal of compassion and find the beauty in it. Those posts helped me heal as well as others who read them.

4. Can you share with us the origins of Yoga Book Club & how you see it evolving? What role has Twitter played in the club’s success?

The Yoga Book Club started out in 2010 with a few of my Twitter friends and me all wanting to read Yoga School Dropout by Lucy Edge, so we decided to set up the club to share our thoughts on it by tweeting. It just kept rolling from there. Eventually I added the YOBC page to my blog for people to check in on what books were in the queue.

I’d like the YOBC to be a resource for yogis to come and find books that speak to them. As I mentioned earlier, when I first started taking yoga, there wasn’t much out there so I relied on books for a lot of my information. Book are a wonderful way to expand our yoga experience.

Editor’s Note: On Twitter, search “#YOBC” to view recent conversations within the Yoga Book Club.

5. What yoga or wellness books have had the biggest impact on you?

My first yoga book is still my favorite: The Sivananda Companion to Yoga. I’ve had it since I started practicing and still refer to it all of the time.

Also, Ethics for the New Millenium by the Dalai Lama is another wonderful book. I had the priviledge of hearing him speak at Salve Regina University in 2005 and was moved by the pure flow of joy that comes from him.

There are a lot of books I could name as well, but those two come to mind first and foremost.

6. What style of yoga do you practice & why?

I teach and practice Hatha Yoga. I like the completeness of the practice with the chanting, asana, and meditation. I like to keep the pace slow and strong.

Kundalini is the other form I’ve been practicing for a couple of years now. It compliments my Hatha practice perfectly. Its totally different and allows me to get out of my teacher head to simply be a student.

7. On what form of social media do you connect w/ other yogis/yoginis most effectively?

Twitter is where I connect most with other yogis. I’ve made some great connections there. I like the simplicity of the format and its easy to organize my interests.

8. What advice do you have for people who are just beginning to study & practice yoga?

Take beginner classes! I really feel strongly that even if one is already physically fit and can keep up with a rigorous practice, that learning proper alignment and breathing is critical for a safe practice.

If one teacher or style doesn’t work, try another. Research online and ask friends who practice about their preferences too. Don’t give up, try try again!

Meredith’s Bio:
Meredith LeBlanc has been practicing yoga since 1996 and became a Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher in 2007. Over the years she has studied Hatha, Bikram, Vinyasa Flow, and Kundalini. Her teaching style focuses on foundational asana to build a strong body, strong mind, and strong spirit; the pace is accessible to beginner to advanced levels of students. Emphasis is placed on listening the body and breath as each pose is explored. She feels breath is the key to inner alignment and soothing the soul. Through communication with ourselves and creating awareness we make space to acknowledge our connection with all beings.
Meredith lives in Rhode Island and teaches at Tenth Gate Center for Yoga & Meditation. She writes the blog The Pondering Yogini and moderates the Yoga Book Club, aka #YOBC, on Twitter.

8 weeks, 8 yoga bloggers, 8 questions, posted each Saturday at 8am. Join us next Saturday AM for our next interview.

Your heels may never touch the floor in Downward Facing Dog. It isn’t a hard and fast rule. This pose is a spine lengthener, and you want to use your arms and legs as a way to support the actions of lengthening the spine while keeping the hips and shoulders in alignment. Sometimes, your stance may be too long causing the heels to lift. Sometimes, tight hamstrings, lower back muscles or feet can cause the heels to stay lifted. The main idea is to find alignment thus allowing your body’s innate system of reducing stress to activate.

~ Niki Saccareccia