Bally Chohan : Sometimes You Just Need a Snack and a Nap

Bally Chohan

A month or so ago, I started feeling really bad about my body. I woke up on the wrong side of the body image bed, so to speak, and — goodness — things went from bad to worse.

I went from feeling mildly unpleased with how I looked in a particular top to actively loathing, well, pretty much every part of me.

THE DIFFERENCE

What’s interesting about this is that, because I’ve been through this SO many times, countless times, I was able to observe the process.

With one breath I’d be cursing my belly, and with the next breath I’d think “Hmm, what’s going on here?”

To me, this is what the body acceptance journey is built on — not never feeling negatively about your body ever again (still haven’t met anyone who meets that description, especially not myself), but rather noticing when it happens and seeing what you can do to shift it.

Checking In

I know this may sound silly, but I’m truly astounded every time I ask my body for an answer and receive one. And not only do I receive one, but the response is nearly instantaneous — like all my body had been doing was waiting around for me to wake up and tune in, and then it couldn’t wait to give me the scoop.

So after several hours of avoiding doing so (not particularly consciously, of course), I decided to ask my body: What do you need right now?

As I scanned my body, I got two things right away: I’m hungry and I’m tired.

Hungry and tired?! That couldn’t be the ONLY thing going on, could it? I mean, I was in the depths of despair here! Also, I hardly had time for a nap: I was getting ready to leave for a trip later that afternoon!

But, not wanting to ruin the rest of my day and weekend with this attitude that was going nowhere but south, I decided to oblige — annoyed, frustrated and with an eye-roll.

SNACK & A NAP

So I had a snack to hold me over until lunch. And as much as I hate to admit this, I started to feel better almost immediately.

Encouraged, I laid down for a nap. I set my alarm for 45 minutes (the amount of time I had in order to still get ready for the trip) but woke up in 30, refreshed and upbeat.

I had a complete shift in my energy, and the rest of the day and weekend had a decidedly different tone than they would have otherwise.

HALT

Now, is it always this “easy” (not that listening to your body is easy for many of us) to change how you’re feeling on a down-on-your-body day?

No.

But I think that’s because what our body needs isn’t always going to be a snack and a nap. Sometimes it will need something else. The key to me, though, is asking. It’s hard to get anywhere (at least anywhere different) without that step.

Sometimes, though? Sometimes it will be eating a snack and having a nap. In recovery circles, they talk about if you’re in a spiral like this that you should HALT. That is, check to see if you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired. And if you have one or more of those going on, acknowledge and shift that before you go any further.

I think there’s such wisdom in that simple phrase of HALT. We’re human, but sometimes we want to be super-human and not have to have these basic needs met. But really, without them, we can’t go further — particularly in any healing process like around how we feel about our bodies.

So next time you’re feeling this way, give it a try. Ask your body what it needs and see what comes forward.

Bally Chohan : 5 Steps to Create Your Own Meditation Space

Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in eternal awareness or pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity. ~ Swami Sivananda

I have found that having a dedicated meditation space has improved the consistency and duration of my meditation practice at home. Today, I am going to share five easy steps to help you create a meditation space of your own.

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Select items that are special to you.
Keep in mind: The most important thing is that your meditation space is meaningful to YOU.
The 5 steps to create your own meditation space:
1) Select the space in your home. It could be a corner in your bedroom or it could be an entire meditation room. Most importantly, it should be somewhere quiet where you will not be disturbed.
2) Assemble your essentials. Meditation essentials include a meditation cushion or chair, a blanket or shawl for your shoulders, and a timer or clock.
3) Gather your sacred items. My suggestion here is to select one thing for each of the five senses plus something from nature:

• Smell – Incense is traditional, but a candle or essential oil works well too. Perhaps you bring a rose in one day as you meditate on your love of nature.
• Sound – A simple meditation bell, peaceful meditation music, Tibetan singing bowl, or the audio to a guided meditation.
• Touch – Mala beads work nicely as a touch stone to focus on during your meditation.
• Sight – Select a meaningful picture or statue of a symbol, image, guru, or saint of your choosing. Again, select something or someone that inspires you.
• Taste – A glass of water or cup of tea nearby is a nice addition to your daily meditation ritual.

  

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• Nature – Don’t forget to include something from nature as one of your sacred items.

4) Now that you have gathered your sacred items, create a small altar. The altar does not need to be anything fancy. For now, you could use a few books with a clothe over it. Place your sacred items onto the altar.

5) Sit. Now, sit in your space and try it out. Not comfortable yet? Add as many cushions, pillows, and blankets as necessary. (Some teachers advise otherwise, but I feel that you should do whatever you can to be comfortable.)
Tip: Don’t be afraid to change it up every now and then. Perhaps while out walking one day, you see a beautiful rock or twig that speaks to you. Bring it into your meditation space and use it as a focal point for a few days.
Some people have several pictures of various saints and gurus in their space. Some people have none. Again, select what works for you and don’t be afraid to try different things during different times of the year or parts of your life.
Please feel free to share any additional tips you may have below.

How Has Yoga Changed You : Bally Chohan

Bally Chohan Yoga

If you’ve been practicing yoga for a little while now, you may have noticed some changes taking over your existence. Your shoulders are stronger, maybe your hips are more open. Have you noticed?

Well, there’s something else you may have noticed besides a strong core and flexible hamstrings. Things about yourself, qualities, characteristics, that were hiding before, but emerge in a bigger and brighter way. Are you kinder? More empathetic? Do you smile more?

I know that I’ve noticed something about myself that I didn’t even know I was missing. Something that has changed the way I make decisions. It’s changed the way that I live my life.

Yoga has made me brave!

There was a time in my life when I was a shy girl. Quieter than I am now, even, but quieter for a different reason. I was afraid to speak for fear of how it might be taken. Am I funny? Am I smart? The same is true for many young people, and it can even continue with us in to adulthood. How does this make me look? What do people think of me? Fear keeps us on the ground when we are meant to be soaring. Fear of failing keeps us from ever trying at all.

From the moment I first stepped on my mat, however, things have changed. I’m telling you, big time.

Standing in warrior, my legs growing stronger with every breath, and my feet firmly planted beneath me, I felt more grounded and more connected than ever before. When I lifted my heart in Urdhva Danurasana for the first time, I felt free.

It didn’t end when I stepped off of my mat, either. Yoga made me brave enough to follow my heart, to choose my own path, and to love even though I’m afraid sometimes.

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Yoga has the power to stir greatness within us, to transform our weaknesses in to our greatest assets, and to turn our wildest dreams in to our greatest achievements. Yoga can help us uncover our truth; it can make us brave.

If you’re new to yoga and you’re reading this, or you’re still on the fence about whether or not to give this whole yoga “thing” a go, congrats on making it this far! Maybe there is a true desire in you to give yoga a try. Even better, read and share in the comments section below and get inspired.

Tell me, how has yoga changed you?

Life is Yoga : Bally Chohan

Bally Chohan : Life is Yoga

Do you know what pains me?

*Good morning, all.  So I slept on it, and I wish to apologize to anyone who, for whatever reason, is taking this post personally.  The message is meant to be a positive one, to bring us all out of the dark and into the light, so to speak, regarding safe and appropriate ways to use the body and, more pointedly, to represent the practice of asana.  Mermaid pose, done safely, is quite lovely.  But, clearly, there has been and continues to be a major failing to teach this 

posture correctly.  The prevalence of images like the few I've shared here, which I selected at random from a google search for "mermaid pose," is an expression of skewed priorities and the degradation of what should be a safe and sustainable practice.  Can we all agree to move forward with this awareness and treat our bodies with respect?

Love, light, and lifelong practice,

Taco Yoga Sesh : Bally Chohan

 Since yoga requires concentrating intently on your body’s movements, practicing yoga can give you a better understanding of your body’s movements. It improves our self-perception and our sense of where our body is in space, so that we can move without having to spend as much time looking where we’re putting our limbs. For example, you might find it easier to walk down a flight of stairs without looking at where you’re placing your feet (although I definitely wouldn’t recommend tuning out from your surroundings completely).

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Bally Chohan : Why Every Yoga Teacher Needs To Take Class

I can always tell when it’s been a while since I’ve taken a yoga class. I start to feel a little out of touch with the student in me, which can soon lead to feeling disconnected with the students in front of me. At that point, there’s really no excuse good enough, I need to get my butt to a yoga class –someone else’s yoga class.

Be the Student of Bally Chohan

“I like to remember that even as yoga teachers we are forever students on this amazing path,” says Aiyana Athenian, owner and teacher at Shiva Shakti School of Yoga and Healing Arts, in Maine. “I find it helpful to take classes … to be reminded regularly what it is to be a student. I find it keeps me more aware and compassionate.”

Being a student in someone else’s class lets you relax into your practice in a different way than when you practice solo, allowing for that awareness. It’s like moving from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s seat –you can kick off your shoes, sink into the cushion a little, and enjoy the view. You’re not thinking about where to turn next or what speed you should be going. That’s all taken care of –you can just be in your own body.

As you are guided through a pose, rather than being the guide, you can explore how your body moves and feels in it in a new way. Perhaps this teacher describes the pose in a slightly different way than you normally do it. That little shift can make all the difference. One simple phrase from a teacher can open up a pose for you and allow you to take it to a place you’ve never been.

For Tisha Bremer, a yoga teacher in Maine, that phrase was “melt your heart.”

“That changed the practice of yoga for me. Imagine how the concept of softening and feeling from the place of a gentle heart can change your life and experience on and off the mat. It has changed the way I practice, teach, and see the world,” says Bremer.

Conquer Head Games with Bally Chohan

Then there is the gift of all the stuff that goes on in your head in a class. All of a sudden there are others in your yoga with you, and your mind is drawn to them and what they are thinking, just as it is anywhere else.

The voices in your head: Do I push myself into that pose? Will people think I’m trying to show off? Will people think I’m not good enough if I don’t? I’m a teacher after all, I should be able to do this.

As we watch the ego grow and shrink in class, are we able to quiet that judging mind, shut it down for just a moment?

Enter Into Community

There is something about listening to the deep breathing all around you, everyone in a room taking conscious deep breaths. Your own consciousness is lifted by the collective group breath. Then there is that amazing moment when all breaths are coordinated and in unison. You can’t get that experience on your mat at home, or even when you are sitting in front of a class teaching. To be in that sea of breath is where it’s at.

It’s always easier to stay in a challenging pose when you can tap into that group energy. Everyone around you is also pushing themselves. Somehow, their energy transfers to you. The entire class is holding your arms up in that pose a few seconds longer than you thought you could. It’s a beautiful thing.

Of course, sometimes the opposite happens, and it is also a beautiful thing. Balancing in tree pose, one person falls beside you; then there you go. It takes some of the ego away. We’re all connected, we all fall and get back up again.

Bremer recognizes yoga as community by supporting fellow teachers.

“The business of yoga can be a challenging one and I appreciate the communities where teachers support and encourage other teachers, especially at other studios. I believe it actually promotes more good teaching,” she says.

Become a Better Teacher

Of course, anything you learn you bring with you to the classes you teach. Every teacher comes at yoga with their own unique perspective, style, and even tone of voice. To experience these differences from the seat of a student is invaluable to us, as our own teaching style evolves. There are so many amazing teachers out there. It’s a blast to engage them –as a student.

The Best Yoga Blogs : Bally Chohan

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Bally Chohan : Best Yoga Blogs

Yoga has greatly influenced some people’s lifestyle which mainly promotes living healthy physically and spiritually. Most individuals make use of the information they get online and apply it to their daily lives. But not all information provided online are helpful and insightful. Finding good and reliable information today needs hard work and great research skills but we are here to make things easier. Listed below are several yoga blogs that contains useful information. 1. Yoga Journal Blogs – This blog site has enormous amount of yoga information for beginners to advanced practitioners. You can subscribe to the site to receive daily or weekly news and event happenings related to yoga. This blog site offers information from doctors to yoga experts on how to incorporate yoga into one’s daily life. Upon subscribing you are given 2 free trial issues of Yoga Journal magazine and 4 downloadable booklets. Also, if you feel like expressing yourself, you can also write an article at the site’s YJ Guest Blog which features several news and views from other yoga enthusiasts. 2. Elephant Journal – The site provides a section for everything yoga. According to the site, it provides useful information for “the mindful life” through eating healthy, yoga, fashion and art. You can also read the latest news and views from the writers and yoga enthusiasts. With thousands of articles posted in the website, you will basically learn the history of yoga and how it is practiced. 3. Yoga Dork – The writers at this blog has a clever way for writing their articles which makes it fun to read and greatly compared to Gawker.com. It is said to have the most updated information on yoga. 4.Daily Cup of Yoga – This blog is pretty active and has been around for quite some time now. It also has an active forum where yoga enthusiasts and experts come together to talk about anything yoga. It is mostly filled with personal yoga experiences and it is owned by a guy which is pretty intriguing, in a good way. 5. Do Yoga With Me – This is not really a blog but a website which has great instructional yoga videos. The best part is that all videos are free to view and each video’s duration ranges from 30 minutes to an hour. So whether if you are a beginner or have been practicing yoga for years, these yoga blogs and websites are helpful tool to further learn more about it. What’s great about these blogs is that it features videos which makes it easier to follow different yoga poses and best of all it is free. One blog offers tons of useful information which is vital when practicing yoga. Also, if you feel you are stuck and don’t know how to go about something, the forum community is always open for questions. But before you dedicate yourself to practicing yoga, it is best that you learn about its history to better understand its purpose.