april: embracing the first time for everything.

april was the month of many beginnings.  I started teaching friday night yogaaah, I wrote my first guest post, I went to the Brisbane Queer Film Festival for the first time, and I finally met some local lesbian mums.

writings featured elsewhere

• The Art of Making Magic Moments.  This piece was written as part of a series about 'presence + parenting' for Carina at Mindful Ground.  Love love love the wisdom from all the guest posts.

 
helping these dreams come true

• She teaches a POWERFUL yoga class + has an awesome canadian accent, and she's on a mission to raise $5k by June 1st for the Africa Yoga Project (and she's already half way there!)  Lauren has a big heart + knows it's all about philanthropy.  
• Nicole + Marina of Soul Kiss Films are empowering women one film at a time.   I connected with these ladies because their story (which they showcased in their film Elena Undone) was very similar to my story.  I was one of the many donors who helped these women succeeded in raising $50k to get their next film off the ground!!  With a little extra help + support, they'll reach their next target of raising an additional $35k to finish the film.  This film family has demonstrated the power of women + community + love wrapped up all in one.  

There's a lot of movement coming up in May...stay tuned!

social media: dissolving communication barriers + fostering deep and meaningful connections

There’s something amazing happening here on the Sunshine Coast.  Maybe it’s been here the whole time and I’m simply discovering it now because my awareness is expanding.   Or maybe it’s thanks to social media.

I know some people get their knickers in a knot about facebook and twitter, but I truly believe these mediums are powerful tools to harness for anyone who has a message to share.  
 

Why?

When I studied marketing at uni, sharing your message/service/product was all about identifying who would want it, then discovering how to market/package/sell to those people so they want to buy it.  This process is all about 'pleasing others'. 

It's a vital + necessary aspect for anyone in business.  But for any of us who have lived a life of pleasing others, know that it's draining + exhausting, and eventually leads to resentment.  Operating from this viewpoint of constantly pleasing others is not sustainable.  

Harnessing the sustainable power of attracting.

There has been a massive shift lately towards sacred commerce, conscious business, meaningful work, and authentic art: people who have a desire to share their story + their message to anyone who will listen. 

This is the beauty of social media: those willing to listen will seek you out.  They will find you, befriend you, follow you, and connect with you.  And because they seek you out there’s no convincing needed: they already get it. 

So I invite you to put it out there, wear your heart on your sleeve, and give it your all.  Because when you do, you create space for others to put it out there, and wear their heart on their sleeve, and give it their all.   

You create space for communication barriers to dissolve + for deep and meaningful connections to grow.

conforming to the perfect yoga pose

When people talk about yoga I'm instantly flooded with images of slim bodies elegantly contorting their bodies into perfect poses.  I envision them all to flawlessly touch their toes for forward bend pose, effortlessly balance on two hands for crow pose, gracefully bend into wheel pose, and joyously sit in full lotus pose. 

But when I go to a yoga class, the reality of that image is very different.  There are many people of all different shapes and sizes.  Most of them can't touch their toes with their belly flat on their chest.  Many of them can't hold their own body weight on two hands.  And some of them struggle to sit cross-legged with a straight back.  The truth is, every participant brings with them their own story, and this story includes their past experiences and knowledge, their injuries and conditions, and their own beliefs and attitudes.  

Still, this image of slim bodies elegantly contorting their bodies into perfect poses must also be on the minds of others (even if it's not the exact same image as mine).  

Why?

Because when I go to a yoga class I also see many people striving towards that perfect pose at all costs.  We're determined to touch our toes even though our hamstrings are screaming to stop.  We're determined to get our hand flat on the floor and reach for the sky even though the integrity of our spine has gone out the window.  And because everyone else is doing it, we're determined to bend over backwards to avoid feelings of shame or inadequacy.   

So next time you try a yoga class and you want to make it through the class without injuring yourself, remember this: do not conform to a pose, let the pose conform to you.  Find your truth in every single pose.  And for this to happen, you need to forget about everyone else in the room, turn down the volume of your mental chatter, and simply listen to your body.  Relax all your expectations.  Quit wanting to be better.  Quit wanting to be stronger.  Quit wanting to be more flexible or more balanced.   
You are already perfect just the way you are.  

When you truly get this, magic happens.  On and off your yoga mat!

how to give yourself an energy booster without having a caffeine hit

Next time you're needing an energy boost, forget about a caffeine hit.  Instead, try this easy self massage technique known as the 'meridian pummel'.  (And  just in case you didn't know, meridians are the integral energy lines of the physical body through which breath + blood flow).

1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and make a first with your thumbs on the inside of the hands.
2. Inhale, and as you exhale forward fold as far as you can.  No need to touch your toes.  Keep your knees bent if that's more comfortable for you.
3. Pummel up the back of your legs and buttocks as far up the back as you can reach.
4. Then pummel the outsides of the legs, the insides of the legs, then the front of the legs.
5. Standing upright, cup your hands and move them in a clockwise direction around your belly + the sides of your ribs.
6. Pummel your chest (like Tarzan!).
7. With one fist, pummel down + up all sides of one arm, and then pummel the upper back where you can reach on one side.  Repeat on the other arm/upper back.
8. Tap with the ends of your fingers up the neck and around into the throat.  Keep tapping over the face and sides of the head.
9. Again, make a fist, but this time use your knuckles to tap into the top of the head (and don't be afraid to tap quite hard).  This will wake up all the dull sports in the brain and help you feel energised.

 Try it!  Let me know how you go.

xx
 

Seane Corn's orgasmic interpretation of what Power Vinyasa Yoga is

For all of you who have asked what Vinyasa / Power Yoga is, this one is for you. It doesn't get any better than this.  Enjoy!