Northern Groove

Snow crunches beneath my feet, but the world is silent. On this frozen moonlit night my senses are muted, leaving space for my mind to wander to and fro. My imagination gathers wishes and dreams as I watch shooting starts draw their white tails of light across the skies black canvas.

Ptolemy had a theory that stars slipped from the sky when gods peaked down from the heavens. He believed that in these small instances a window of opportunity was opened where whispered wishes reached the ears of the gods.

Some call it a wish, while others call it prayer. Whatever your spiritual belief may be there is undoubtedly strength in the power of thought and manifestation.  When we put our energy into an idea or a dream that comes from our hearts morals, beliefs and creativity we are powerful beyond measure.

Manifestations are messages of the heart; the actualization of the life we really want through positive thought. To reveal the true nature of our manifestations we must first learn to detach ourselves from our egos and objects of the physical world. In doing so we begin to realize that happiness and bliss is not based in power, wealth or dominance but rather in our connectedness to others and to our natural surroundings.

Yoga and meditation provide a platform for quieting the mind and clearing the outer world from the inner world. It’s like sweeping away the cobwebs in our minds, where doubts and fears get tangled. When the mind is quiet, our hearts desires can be heart, and this is where we find our light; this is how we unveil our true selves.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us…

With the turn of the New Year take the leap to find yourself, to find your path to real happiness. Step onto a yoga mat, meditate, breath – be brave.

~Randelle Lusk

Join Under the Yoga Tree’s 30-Day Yoga Challenge, Jan. 16th yo Feb. 14th.

Under the Yoga Tree offers and extensive yoga schedule for all levels, with public classes offered 7 days a week. For and up-to-date schedule visit www.undertheyogatree.ca

Private and Corporate sessions available.

Contact Randelle Lusk, RYT-200  for more information

250.263.5828 |   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Welcome to 2012, the year the Mayans gave up on calendars, life, the universe, and everything.  Well, not til December at least...which means we have 11 more issues of Northern Groove mag to go until, much like Y2K, nothing exciting happens and we sit around and wait for the next bit of nonsense about the end of everything to come around.

Partnered with my reflection, I danced a sock-footed-slip-step on the lacquered gymnasium floor. A melodic mishap of off-keyed notes tumbled from my lips and into my microphone/toothbrush as I belted out the lyrics to “all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth”.

Between refining my performance lisp for the schools annual Christmas concert and adding toys to my ever-growing wish list, my eight-year-old self didn’t spend much time thinking about the harsh reality that Christmas is often more of a struggle than a celebration.

The words to this playful Christmas carol seemed simple and carefree, as a young girl I thought this tune was charged with nothing other than comedic candor. After all, nobody in their right mind would ask Santa for teeth!

The tradition of gift giving at Christmas can feel magical but the veil between magic and reality is running thin. We have relented to measuring the worth of gifts with luxury and hefty price tags. The holiday has become increasingly smothered with over consumption that leads to stress that lingers long after the eggnog has passed its best before date.

Whatever happened to the perception that the greatest gift of all is love? This festive season take a moment to peer past the twinkling Christmas lights, look into the eyes of your loved ones, smile at strangers, shovel your neighbours walkway and give away hugs! Hugs hold a super power; the connection of a thoughtful embrace can make your heart warmer than any hot cup of cocoa. This holiday season get connected in a universal hug! Give love. It’s the only gift that will not tatter or break, and it’s guaranteed to last a lifetime and longer.

Under the Yoga Tree offers an extensive yoga schedule for all levels, with public classes offered 7 days a week. For an up-to-date schedule visit www.undertheyogatree.ca

Public Classes, Beginner Programs, Pass Cards, Unlimited Membership, and NEW! One-Week Into Membership.

Private and Corporate sessions available.

Contact Randelle Lusk, RYT-200  for more information:

250.263.5828 |   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | #4, 10104-100th Street FSJ

Happy Holidays from Northern Groove!

We've got tons of great stuff for you this month like interviews with Fay ... and Faye! They talk about their passions and the creative things they do. There's thoughts while travelling from Tony Warriner, a backstage peek at the cast of Charlie Brown, tales of multi-cultural Christmases, cartoons from Tyson Mowatt and Rainbow Owl...

And of course the always spetacular Gift Guide! Full of local artists and artisans sharing their great and unique gift ideas - from pottery to seatbelt purses and handknitted touques to paintings. And speaking of paintings, our awesome cover girl is Sarah DeMaid, a local painter and contributer to the Gift Guide and she makes a great coffee at Patch Java!

We've got Music to Move You and getting cool with tattoos as well as eco-friendly gift options. There's tons more but you'll have to check it out for yourself...

Northern Groove December 2011 Issue

The Chevron, the Dahli, the English, the Fu Manchu, the Handle Bar, the Horseshoe, the Lampshade, the Imperial, the Pencil, the Pyramidal, the Toothbrush, the Painters and my personal favourite, the Walrus. Movember has blown in and razors have been laid to rest across the continent. Left to oxidize in the sterile environment of medicine cabinets, shiny blades have been replaced with barber scissors to artfully manicure the growing array of stylized mustachios.

Wiry facial hair is surfacing before our eyes, all in the name of good fun and most importantly to amp up the awareness of men's health, specifically in regards to prostate cancer. Overall health is key to the prevention of any type of cancer. Unfortunately men and women often become too wrapped up in the fast-paced business of life, and health is slid to the back burner. Not only does this cause us to suffer physically but our mental and emotional bodies are affected by strong repercussions as well, increasing stress and disease.

While working in downtown Calgary I often practiced yoga over my lunch hour. The studio would be wall-to-wall packed. Over half of the people walking through the front entrance were men dressed in business casual, stepping away from the office for a mid-day break. Initially this surprised me but I later learned that yoga is now being considered the fitness regime of the business man. Not only does the practice challenge the body, it also trains the mind to breathe and be still in the midst of stress and discomfort. Author and financial advisor, Brent Kessler suggests that yoga creates the discipline of stillness in the mind and body, and that 'surrendering that control allows you to have more objectivity in investment and career decisions because you are better able to detach yourself from the result…the more attached you are to something, the more distorted your view of how things actually are becomes".

2011 Stanley Cup MVP Tim Thomas attributes his goaltending ability to his personal yoga practice. Musicians have claimed to gain a deeper control of motor skills and vocal stability. I've had students announce that yoga has improved their golf game!

Ultimately the practice of yoga reduces stress on the mind and the body, improving sleep quality, moods and overall quality of life. Yoga is prevention.  

Namaste.

Under the Yoga Tree offers an extensive yoga schedule for all levels, with public classes offered seven days a week. For an up-to-date schedule visit: www.undertheyogatree.ca

Private and Corporate sessions available

For more information contact Randelle Lusk, RTY-200
ph: 250.263.5828   e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Northern Groove for Movember (er... November) features moustaches, welding adventures with Rain'mo Owl, Home Routes with Marianne Girard, spectacular Spotlight photos, meeting FSJ and the mooses, integral arts in FSJ, funny times with Spontaneous Combustion, what's up at the Rising Spirit, living the good yogi life, facing the music and degrees of musical separation, Cuban beats with Alex Cuba, giving local AWEsome gifts these holidays, the home stretch for the new hospital, and more mustaches!

Check out the November issue of Northern Groove online now and get connected with the Gift Guide!

Gold on the hillside, pink in the sky.  One step out the front door and the fragrance of dying leaves floods your lungs as the winds of change bite at your face.

Though the beauty of autumn whirls around us, we often take this transitional season for granted. Mourning the loss of summer and hiding from old man winter as he shuffles toward our doorsteps.

Transition and change can yield fear and difficulties as we are unable predict what is coming around the bend. When we allow our fears to take over we forget to live in the moment, finding ourselves feverously planning for the future or clinging to the past. We loose touch with the brilliance of life, which is now.

Losing the moment has become habitual in our human minds. Even on our yoga mats there is a common struggle with transition. Our busy minds become obsessed with the pose the body is moving into; forgetting about the strength and resilience of which the mere movement between poses brings to the mental, physical and emotional bodies. We have become blind to the importance of transition and how it prepares us for what is to come.

Movement between poses can awaken a cascade of activity in the body; similarly the beauty of autumn can rush in and stimulate each of our senses, provoking experience called life. Drink this time in, breathe every ounce of fresh fall air into your cells. After all, this is the moment we have been waiting for. The exact moment of now is all that we have.

Namaste.

Under the Yoga Tree offers an extensive yoga schedule for all levels, with public classes offered seven days a week. For an up-to-date schedule visit www.undertheyogatree.ca

Private and Corporate sessions available.

For more information contact Randelle Lusk, RYT-200  

250.263.5828 |   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I find myself pacing the studio. Evaluating the cleanliness of the floor; observing the contrast of the chipped red polish on my toes to the milky white of my skin; my skin to the black hardwood floor beneath. Finally I sit cross-legged, squeezing my eyelids shut. Wait - I can hear the motor running in the water cooler. Crossing the room to hush the cooling hum, I spy a dirty cup that must be washed immediately. No, I don’t have OCD, I’m merely trying to sit myself down to meditate. I feel like a three year old fighting my afternoon nap.

Turning the key, I hear the familiar clunk as the deadbolt turtles back into hiding. Swinging open, the door squeaks on its tired hinges, and I am received by the familiar aromatic blend of lavender, hardwood, raw rubber and burnt Indian incense. The warmth of the room soaks into my pores, washing a feeling of relief over my scalp and shoulders. Releasing an involuntary sigh, I smile and welcome this wordless greeting from the silent studio within.

For 365 days I have made this my ritual. For 365 days the studio has been my home. In this time there has been lessons learned in love, loss and even legal proceedings. There has been sleepless nights, tear streaked cheeks and gasping bouts of anxious laughter. It’s a good thing I’m in the business of relaxation ;)

But every difficult decision and sacrifice I’ve made, is quickly dissolved at the mere thought of all the beautiful people I have met along this path. Each of you has taught me a lesson I treasure dearly; it may be a new body alignment trick or a nicer way to approach life. When I settle onto my mat in front of a room of eager eyes and searching souls, I can’t help wonder – who’s teaching who here?

Yes, this journey in hot pursuit of my dreams has been far from leisurely, but it has been heavily adorned with blessings that boil over the walls of my heart. For this I will be forever grateful. This first year has been more than I could have asked for. To all of you, Thank You!

Randelle

Under the Yoga Tree offers an extensive yoga schedule for all levels, with public yoga classes offered 7 days a week, as well as Prenatal yoga. For an up-to-date schedule visit www.undertheyogatree.ca

Private and Corporate session available

Contact Randelle Lusk, RYT-200 for more information
Ph: (250) 263-5828  E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.