Posts In: begin again

Part 2 of how Yoga One founders Amy & Michael Caldwell turned their love story into a thriving yoga community! ? Read Part 1 here.

“After living on an uninhabited island in Fiji for four days, we returned to the main island Viti Levu where we met a man whose parents owned an apple orchard in Australia. Months later and wanting to make some extra money to fuel our backpacking adventures, we traveled to Stanthorpe and began a two-month grueling and glorious time as apple pickers. 

At the crack of dawn, we rose like zombies and made our way to the orchard. There we fired up the tractor and rumbled to our assigned paddock. For the rest of the day, we frantically scaled up and down ladders grabbing as many apples as we could and then unloaded them one bag at time into the trailer bins. At night, we returned to our cabin, hastily made sandwiches for the next day, enjoyed a quick dinner and went to sleep.

If there was any spare energy, we would read a section of “Fit for Life” by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. We had become vegetarians a year or so before and were trying out veganism and food combining. The book also suggested we do yoga and there were some super simple stretches included. After picking apples for ten hours a day, ten days in a row without a break, the handful of poses felt tremendous. And that was the genesis of our asana practice. Perhaps in retrospect, we had already begun our yoga practice by becoming conscious of our diet and lifestyle; the poses helped to further expand our awareness. 

Once you turn on to something you often see it all around you. As we traveled from country to country, we found additional inspiration to deepen our practice. By the time we got to India, we knew yoga was something we wanted to embrace more fully, and we began an earnest practice, study, and discipline. During a ten-day Vipassana meditation near Bangalore, we first heard the mantra, “Start again.” – Amy & Michael Caldwell

?Stay tuned for Part 3! ?

by Laura McCorry

What’s weighing you down? That idea pushed to the back of your mind that hasn’t left. Maybe it’s been days or months. Maybe you’ve been thinking about this thing you’d like to change for years.

Sometimes we let ourselves be defined by conditions and labels that have grown up over the years like weeds. They come from family, co-workers or friends – sometimes they have even been planted by our own hand in the night. The weeds grow up around the bloom of your true self and cut off the light.

You are the gardener of your soul. Approach your inner landscape fearlessly and take stock of everything growing there.

Keep the healthy growth: the relationships still in bloom that bring you joy, those habits and ideas that feed your passions with their abundant produce.

Prune back anything that doesn’t fit your true self, the person you’d like to be. Clear away doubt, anger, resentment and guilt. Let go of old sorrows that have ripened and fallen to the ground. Dig down into the earth of your being and rake away the last remnants of any bad seed.

These things weigh on your heart because they are not rightfully a part of you. A gardener’s work is never done. Each day you must go out and pull up small intrusions. Each day you must show up and begin again.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Laura McCorry

How are you doing with your New Year’s Resolutions? If you’re breezing through them, chances are you didn’t aim high enough and if you’ve already stumbled, it’s okay. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and begin again.

Motivation isn’t a delicate butterfly on a clear spring day that either rests on your shoulder or flits away out of reach. Motivation is a skill and like every other skill, it’s something you can practice and improve upon. Here are some tips to increase motivation and productivity, maybe one will give you the extra oomph you need to meet your goals:

• Honestly assess your goals to make sure they’re challenging but not unrealistic.
• Write down concrete steps along the way to achieving your goal rather than vague aspirations. For example, walk the dog four times a week, eat a new vegetable weekly, do yoga for at least 10 minutes a day.
• Make a list (not too long) and cross off items as you accomplish them.
• Pick an activity and a corresponding reward for the end of the day so you can increase your stamina for delayed gratification
• Choose rewards that support your well-being and are in line with your goals (make plans to see a friend or indulge in a leisure activity you enjoy but for which you don’t usually make time.)
• Tell a friend about your goals. Have them call you at a certain time and ask if you were successful that day/week/month.
• Set a timer and see what you can accomplish before it goes off (try the pomodoro technique for increased productivity.)
• Limit distractions. Put your phone down in another room. Block your internet. Hire a babysitter for an hour. Whatever you need to do to work on a goal with focus. 
• Keep a journal and reflect on everything you accomplished that day, you’ll feel productive and be more inspired to pursue your goals. 
• Give yourself a pep talk in the mirror!
• If you miss a day, call it a day off and let it go. Get right back to your goals the next day.
• Encourage someone else to keep striving towards their goals.
• When the going gets tough, take a two minute break to dance wildly in your kitchen.
• Practice gratitude daily. When you write down or say out loud specific things in your life for which you’re grateful, you increase your overall level of gratitude and happiness.
• Have compassion for yourself if you don’t make your goal. Tomorrow is a new day, take a deep breath and begin again.
• Celebrate when you reach a milestone (a goal that takes less than a year but longer than two weeks to accomplish)

---

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Laura McCorry

On the surface, yoga and the military may not seem to have much in common. Yoga is sometimes stereotyped as the domain of liberal, vegan, nouveau hippies and the military as gun-toting, meat-eating conservatives.

But the truth of any community lies beneath the surface.

As a yogi and military spouse, I feel like I’m always discovering new ways these two communities have similar perspectives on life.

• You must live in the present moment.

The military lifestyle is inherently full of uncertainty and change. Schedules are outlines at best and your service member could leave for training or deployment at any time. Depending on the service member’s job, the time of day they go to work and come home could change on a daily basis. There is often no such thing as routine.

One of my favorite yoga teachers would start class by asking, “Where are you?” The entire class would answer in chorus, “Here.” Then the teacher would ask, “What time is it?” The answer: “Now.” Here and now. It was a revelation.

Living in the present moment doesn’t happen over night, just like you can’t walk into your first ever yoga class and pop up into headstand. “Be here now” is a mindfulness skill you can practice over the course of a lifetime, but you get to enjoy the benefits of peacefulness the same moment you begin.

• True alignment demands honest communication.

Separation is a fact of life for military families and deployments can range from four months to over a year depending on the branch of service. This can be one of the hardest trials for the military family and one the civilian world understands so little, mostly through lack of exposure and not a want of sympathy. If you want your relationship to survive thrive during a long separation with limited communication opportunities, you need to make sure the communication you do have is honest and of high quality.

Alignment in yoga can have both a physical and a spiritual or emotional meaning. You are aligned physically when muscle groups and joints are positioned to provide a strong structural support for a posture. In order to experience this in class, you must be very honest when asking your body whether it is working hard and knowing when you are tired and should rest.

Beyond the physical, alignment is experienced when what you think, what you say and what you do are the same. The communication you have with yourself must be honest and of high quality, checking in frequently. This kind of deep alignment with the core of yourself brings serenity to chaotic or stressful life circumstances.

• Deep roots grow in communities.

Military families move more frequently than most civilians, often to a city or town they’ve never been to before. They know what it’s like to be the new kid, to start over with a new job and to go through the awkward stage of friend-dating. Consequently, the military community is usually very welcoming and helpful to new-to-the-area families because they know how important it is to build ties and feel connected.

Yoga practitioners know that you can’t “fly” in an inversion until your core and support system is fully grounded. And yoga is all about connection, not just to the inner self but to a wider community. Both yoga studios and military communities are known for their hospitality and welcoming spirit – because they understand that families and individuals in strong communities are happier and healthier.

Are you a service member or military spouse interested in yoga?

Yoga for Vets offers a listing of classes around the country for free or reduced rates for current service members.

MyCAA is an excellent resource for military spouses looking to gain portable career training, one option is to become a yoga teacher! Yoga One Teacher Training proudly accepts MyCAA candidates.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

Get off the mat this month with Amy Caldwell, Yoga One co-founder, co-owner and head instructor. She also co-teaches the annual Yoga One Teacher Training.

Amy’s classes distill years of teaching experience and yogic knowledge into a light-hearted, often playful flow. Her personal warmth and clear, concise guidance will keep you coming back for more. Catch up with her on Mondays at noon and Fridays at 5:45pm (starting 1/24). You can find our full schedule here.

1. What is your favorite style of yoga?

“Quality” yoga 🙂 and by that I mean a well-balanced practice that emphasizes present moment awareness through equal parts conscious participation and peaceful abiding. I love alignment-based practices, slow flow and challenging vinyasa depending on the day.

2. What first attracted you to yoga when you began your practice?

With my second exposure to yoga, like so many practitioners, I experienced a deep feeling of contentment. Having exercised regularly throughout my life, I also enjoyed the weaving together of philosophical inquiry along with the physical practice.

The first time I took an 8-week yoga class in college, however, I fell asleep in savasana and didn’t return to the practice until 5 or so years later. Just like so many things in life, there is an element of timing. I still often tell students not to give up if they don’t resonate with their first yoga class or teacher or studio. We are blessed with many choices that sometimes it’s hard to narrow them down and find your niche.

3. What is your favorite yoga pose right now?

I’ve recently been going back to the basics of plain old backbends, handstands and splits. If I had to pick one this month, I guess I would say backbend. I’ve been contemplating doing 44 on my next birthday in August in honor of my age. I feel that urdhva dhanurasana (upward facing bow) beautifully counterbalances our lives which are filled with so much forward bending like sitting and so much visual stimulation! Accessing the back body helps connect us with the other facets of our being beyond what we see on a day to day basis. Plus, it’s energizing and empowering.

4. What pose is still the most challenging?

I practiced pigeon in Sarah’s class yesterday and she reminded us to allow the exhale to be complete and to let the tongue fall off the roof of the mouth at the end of the inhale. It amazes me how challenging it is to truly stay in a place of conscious participation and peaceful abiding in this pose – even after so many years. Some days are easier than others!

5. If you were an animal, you would be:

A dolphin – although I recently heard sometimes they aren’t so nice to porpoises, so I may have to rethink that. I grew up swimming and love the water (although San Diego ocean water is a bit cold for me!!) I believe my dosha tends toward pitta and recently read that being in nature and in or near the water helps balance my energy – I feel that to be true every time I’m at the beach!

6. Describe what yoga means in your life using just 6 words: Tools for learning, loving and being.

7. What might your students be surprised to learn about you?

Well, the secret came out a few months ago at Rachel Krenztman’s going away party, but I truly love dancing and take cardio hip hop classes whenever I can (: Other than that, I am a pretty open book.

8. Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for new students?

As I mentioned in question #2 above, know that there are MANY styles, approaches and teachers of yoga – so the first, most important step is to find a studio and teacher where you feel comfortable, safe and taken care of.

The next thing I would remind new students is that yoga isn’t about being “good” or “flexible” or “strong” – it’s about meeting yourself where you are at this time in the present, being non-competitive and non-judgmental. Our 9 year old daughter explained to our 5 year old son last week, “you can see that glass as half empty, but just as easily you can see it as half full.”

Let’s all keep on practicing how to see the good in ourselves and each other. And when we forget, no judgement!, simply begin again. Happy practicing 🙂