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Magical Mondays

Never Give Up – Magical Monday Post by Shasta

Sunday, May 6th, 2012

How many times in your life have you said, “I can’t.”?

When I started Yoga many years ago I had intense back-pain that made just standing unbearable.  I looked at fit, flexible bodies in back-bends and thought “can’t”, “wont” and “never”.   I had many personal beliefs and limitations.  “I can’t” was a mantra I said a lot.  But somehow I stayed in the practice and “can’t” thanks to dedicated practice became “can”.  It was not always easy or fun. I felt frustrated, annoyed and disappointed at times but I kept practicing.   The little “cans” along the way made me want more and more.  I had not ever felt that free, strong, relaxed and alive – that becomes an addictive state of being!

Yoga not only opened my body so that now over a decade later I not only stand without pain but the deep back bends I thought would never happen occur with ease and freedom.  Yoga is an opportunity for every single student to reach their goals or intentions.  What is it you want most?  What belief is standing in your way? Who can assist you? What do you need to dream? Do?

I share this amazing video to show how we CAN!!   Take the time to watch it. If you think you “can’t” or someone has told you “never”then watch Arthur’s story and the power of Yoga practice, our own determination as students and the belief of a great teacher.

Namaste

Shasta

Shasta Townsend is a passionate lover of life, cultivator of possibility and guide to radiant being both on and off the Yoga mat. She is the creator and director of Balanced Life Yoga, a freelance wellness, travel and well-being writer and a leader in grounded transformational spirituality. Her love of freedom and joy and her intention to always expand takes her to fresh and exciting places on the mat and around the globe. She offers group and individual transformation to help people live a life they love. Her own heart-based creation, Balanced Life Yoga is a community of light, transformation and possibility. You can connect with her in class or private sessions there (www.balancedlifeyoga.ca) or on Facebook (and follow her exploits and unfoldings).

Join her for a special offering dedicated to happiness and potential:

Super-Power Brain & Life: Life Purpose & Passion with Shasta

Tuesdays May 22-June 26 from 8:00-9:00 pm

Shasta leads you through inspiring techniques, meditations and empowerd teachings to assist you in finding your purpose, passion and joy. This is the time to truly step into your best life. Find out what all the buzz is about in this unique series with magical life coach, Shasta!  6 weeks for $99

Resurrecting Happy – Magical Monday by Shasta

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

What do you want most in your life?

If you are like most people you would say, “To be happy.”

Even if you said more money, a lover, a nicer home ask yourself why you want those things.  I would suggest in the having of them you believe you will be more happy.

What if you could just be happy now – even without them?

Our “American dream” culture suggests that we will be happy when we get more money, more status or more reputation but recently released studies suggest that although the wealth of the average North American has doubled in the last 50 years we are actually not any happier. So we have bigger houses and nicer cars but we are not actually happier.

So what does make us happy?

Research suggests humans are happiest when they focus on these three intrinsic values:

  • Personal growth or connecting to who we really are as individuals and unfolding our purpose
  • Cultivating close relationships or being apart of a community of like-minded people
  • Being in service to others and the world

Happy me doing all three values!

I am not suggesting you abandon your Porsche and live in a yurt but if you are seeking to resurrect happiness then connect to yourself, connect to others and just lend a helping hand.

Rather than negating yourself take that course or learning that you feel called to.

Rather than isolating ask someone to go for coffee or just smile at a stranger.

Rather than saying it’s not your problem, pick up that piece of garbage or help someone with childcare.

I guarantee you will feel happier.

Like me you may have spent many years of life working, striving, wanting to improve, overcome, succeed and achieve – which is all good but in the end for what if we are not happy?

I dedicate this spring to the resurrection of happy!    I still have a To Do list and love moving and shaking but at the top of my list every day is “Seek Happy.”

Much love to you all.

Namaste

Shasta

Shasta Townsend is a passionate lover of life, cultivator of possibility and guide to radiant being both on and off the Yoga mat.  She is the creator and director of Balanced Life Yoga, a freelance wellness, travel and well-being writer and a leader in grounded transformational spirituality.  Her love of freedom and joy and her intention to always expand takes her to fresh and exciting places on the mat and around the globe. She offers group and individual transformation to help people live a life they love.  Her own heart-based creation, Balanced Life Yoga is a community of light, transformation and possibility.   You can connect with her in class or private sessions there (www.balancedlifeyoga.ca) or on Facebook (and follow her exploits and unfoldings).

Join her for a special offering dedicated to happiness and potential:
Super-Power Brain & Life Creation with Shasta

  • Tuesdays April 9-May 13 from 8:00-9:00 PM $99

YOU can be, do and have all that you seek. Join Shasta for a compelling and enjoyable journey into mindfulness, manifestation and metaphysics and learn how to train your brain to be super powerful, calm and present so you can create the life and success you seek the most. All levels. This course is open to everyone seeking to create a great life. You do NOT have to have any meditation, Yoga or spiritual practice. If you participated in our January session, please note we will review some aspects but much of the material will be new. Please join us again for a fabulous journey that will blow your mind!!!
Six weeks for only $99

You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For – Magical Monday by Shasta

Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Today I share a beautiful insight from a Hopi elder.

It reminds me of the potential that is in all of us.

How often do we believe someone else is the answer? How often do we wait for the prince on the white horse to appear? How often do we believe that someone else will make us whole?

 

You are whole, amazing, beautiful, Divine and FABULOUS as you are now.

This is your time…step into your possibility.

A Hopi Elder Speaks

“You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.  And there are things to be considered . . .

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.”

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, “This could be a good time!”

“There is a river flowing now very fast.  It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.  They will try to hold on to the shore.   They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly.

“Know the river has its destination.  The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water.   And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate.  At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, Least of all ourselves.  For the moment that we do,  our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

“The time for the lone wolf is over.  Gather yourselves!  Banish the word struggle from you attitude and your vocabulary.  All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

– attributed to an unnamed Hopi elder

Hopi Nation

Oraibi, Arizona

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Embrace Embrace Your Passion, Your Potential and Your Joy

Join Shasta and our amazing teaching team for Balanced Life Yoga’s Inspiring Spirit 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training and Self Development Program.

We invite you to join Balanced Life Yoga’s senior and seasoned teaching team and heart-felt community as we guide you through a journey into your Self, the ancient teachings of Yoga and the latest science and techniques in                new thought in our January 2012 Inspiring Spirit Teacher Training Program.

This is the time. YOU are the one you have been waiting for.  We would be thrilled to have you on this journey.

2012 is a year of major transformative, healing and heart-felt energy – a perfect time to complete your Inspiring Spirit Teacher Training.
Also learn first hand from our students on the success they have had in their lives, relationships and also teacher careers on our testimonials page

Please let us know how we can assist your journey. We are currently taking registration for our January to June once per month weekend program.  Follow your inner calling and join us today.

LEARN MORE NOW or call 905-428-2300

And remember to tune into Shasta’s Vivid Life Radio Show Possibility 101 every Wednesday at 4:00 pm eastern standard time on www.vividlife.me.

Shasta Townsend

A celebrated transformational leader and a leading pioneer in embodied spirituality and Yoga, Shasta has inspired hundreds of people through her breakthrough methods for awakening and empowering your inner voice and divine power. Director, founder and senior teacher with Balanced Life Yoga, she delivers public talks, seminars and trainings on evolution and empowerment. She draws on a wide variety of techniques including Yoga, Shamanism, meditation, energy healing, coaching and the Law of Attraction. She is especially appreciated for her passionate way of allowing individuals to make sense of their world and embodied, holistic means to become the change they wish to see.

As early as in her teenage years, Shasta embarked on her journey as a spiritual explorer which led her to India, where she studied yoga, meditation and energy healing. She has studied with many remarkable mentors and she has undergone thousands of hour’s intense practice of meditation and spiritual studies. Shasta has taken every opportunity to become adept in her field through her own practice as well as through extensive training in yoga, group dynamics, meditation and spiritual counseling.

www.balancedlifeyoga.ca

The Only Question that Matters in 2012 – Magical Monday Post by Shasta

Monday, January 16th, 2012

We are living in a zone of change in 2012.  We are beginning the 5th world age according to many ancient prophecies including the Mayans. According to the Mayans there is a window of time that is called the zone of change and it is from 1980-2016. That’s when we can expect and see a lot of change. We are halfway though that window.  We are already living the prophecy.

We are seeing great and beautiful things happening but for many people it is uncharted territory.   We are living in a zone of change but it’s not necessary that something bad is going to happen.   However it is a key time to begin to reflect and shift our thinking patterns so we may create a life based in joy, sustainability and collaboration.  Much of our thinking patterns are based on false assumptions of competition and lack.  Many choices are based in fear.  The new age asks for cooperation, innovation and faith.  We are the generation that bridges two worlds. This is no ordinary time.  It is a time to reflect on all our assumptions, paradigms and roles.

This is the time to APPLY the spiritual teachings in combination with the new science to find solutions to our own challenges as well as the global challenges. This is the time to ask the only question that really matters…

This is the year to ask and answer Who Am I?

Am I a limited body trying to compete, fight and overcome the meagerness of life?

Am I a lone individual in a caustic sea of strangers with little more than my wits to protect me?

Am I a mistake, a misdeed, a wrong-doing?

Or

Am I Divine creator whose 50 trillion cells reflect my own potency, creative power and ability to regenerate, renew and birth whatever my soul desire may be?

Am I a light being whose appearance on this earth at this time has a specific, deep and meaningful purpose to my own life and the entire planet?

Am I being of joy, love and infinite potential that is cared for by a Field/Energy/Divine being that continually has my back so that I may give wings to my own soul?

This is the time of awakening or remembering.  It is a time to step fully into love.  It is about expanding our consciousness beyond the old creationist myths of limitation and realizing that the entire cosmos is based in love and cooperation. Love is what we are, we are not victims of fate, karma or chance but we are Divine creators. The loving universe we exits within is primed to make our dreams come true. It is up to us to allow our dream or not.

At the moment many of us are straddling two different world: the commonsense world of fear, struggle, blame and victim-hood that is mirrored by the news media and the other world that is the emerging world of love, joy, healing and spiritual awareness that is bubbling up behind the scenes and sometimes very much at the forefront within the ever expanding group of light workers who are holding a new consciousness.

Once we fully step into this new reality, everyday life takes on a sense of true possibility and we feel more and more alive. We realize that the outer world is a reflection of the inner world.  There is no separation between inner and outer as more and more of us live in this place of possibility and connection we literally begin to change the world.

Most of us have internalized messages regarding fear and unworthiness whether they came from our religion, media or family.  It is time to release the cold, critical, repressive inner voice – that place of judgment within that keeps us feeling trapped and dis-empowered. The only inevitable result is anxiety, depression, illness and pervasive disillusionment.

This great awakening is about all of us maturing and realizing our own greatness.  It is time for all of us to realize we are Divine creators. We don’t have to deserve or get over our karma. The universe has infinite resources that can fulfill everyone’s needs. Ask and it is given – it is that simple. We can be or do or have anything.

Wishing you all infinite possibility.

Namaste,

Shasta

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Join Shasta for Super-Power Brain – Meditation & Mind Training at Balanced Life Yoga

Tuesdays January 24-February 28 from 8:00-9:00 pm $99

YOU can meditate, create and elevate – it all starts in your mind. Join Shasta for a compelling and enjoyable journey into mindfulness, manifestation and metaphysics and learn how to train your brain to be super powerful, calm and present so you can create the life and success you seek most. All levels. Beginners welcome. $99 LEARN MORE

And remember to tune into Shasta’s Vivid Life Radio Show Possibility 101 every Wednesday at 4:00 pm eastern standard time on www.vividlife.me.

Shasta Townsend

A celebrated transformational leader and a leading pioneer in embodied spirituality and Yoga, Shasta has inspired hundreds of people through her breakthrough methods for awakening and empowering your inner voice and divine power. Director, founder and senior teacher with Balanced Life Yoga, she delivers public talks, seminars and trainings on evolution and empowerment. She draws on a wide variety of techniques including Yoga, Shamanism, meditation, energy healing, coaching and the Law of Attraction. She is especially appreciated for her passionate way of allowing individuals to make sense of their world and embodied, holistic means to become the change they wish to see.

As early as in her teenage years, Shasta embarked on her journey as a spiritual explorer which led her to India, where she studied yoga, meditation and energy healing. She has studied with many remarkable mentors and she has undergone thousands of hour’s intense practice of meditation and spiritual studies. Shasta has taken every opportunity to become adept in her field through her own practice as well as through extensive training in yoga, group dynamics, meditation and spiritual counseling.

www.balancedlifeyoga.ca

Spam Assassin Installed (in brain) – Magical Monday Post by Shasta

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

I have to laugh at life some times and the message that come through by not coming through.

This past week my email started blocking incoming mail – like 98 percent of it for no reason I could figure. If you have ever had your email go down you know how stressful this can feel.

Fortunately my helpful hosting company fixed my issue lickety-split. The problem was that I had my Spam-Assassin on too high and it was filtering out 98 per cent of my email. (so if you emailed me this last week, please resend).

I love that our computers are so smart to filter out what they perceive as not helpful even if sometimes they over do it. It got me thinking. What if we could install a Spam Assassin in our own brains?

What if there was a program that let you know when you were receiving something negative and then deleted it before it penetrated your operating system?

How many times have we taken on the “viruses” of others? How many times have you let a projection, belief or just junk thought permeate your brain?

I am a pretty positive and clear person but I am re-installing the Spam Assassin in my brain.

My Assassin says, “Not every email, thought, projection or idea from others needs to come into your head.

Not every thought, idea or belief that you have Shasta is helpful, true or real.

Not everything needs to be stored in your data banks – sometimes DELETE is the answer.”

For me my Yoga practice is really my Spam Assassin. I know after being on the mat or meditation cushion I feel lighter, clearer, more free and always happier. I feel like I am more tolerant, loving and even o.k. with whatever comes my way as my operating system is wired for joy – viruses just don’t stand a chance.

Wishing you all a great spam-free day!

Namaste

Shasta

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Join Shasta for Embracing 2012 – Magic, Evolution and Power with Shasta

Tuesday, January 10 from 7:45-9:15 pm at the Ajax Balanced Life Yoga  $25

2012 is a powerful year of creation and finding our truth and living it. Human conscious is moving into a Higher vibration of consciousness and collaboration. Learn what this new powerful year brings and why it is so a pivotal time for evolution. Join Shasta as she dispels myths and unveils a time of magic so you can truly live a life of power and peace as you learn how to live your soul path. LEARN MORE

And remember to tune into Shasta’s Vivid Life Radio Show Possibility 101 every Wednesday at 4:00 pm eastern standard time on www.vividlife.me.

Shasta Townsend

A celebrated transformational leader and a leading pioneer in embodied spirituality and Yoga, Shasta has inspired hundreds of people through her breakthrough methods for awakening and empowering your inner voice and divine power. Director, founder and senior teacher with Balanced Life Yoga, she delivers public talks, seminars and trainings on evolution and empowerment. She draws on a wide variety of techniques including Yoga, Shamanism, meditation, energy healing, coaching and the Law of Attraction. She is especially appreciated for her passionate way of allowing individuals to make sense of their world and embodied, holistic means to become the change they wish to see.

As early as in her teenage years, Shasta embarked on her journey as a spiritual explorer which led her to India, where she studied yoga, meditation and energy healing. She has studied with many remarkable mentors and she has undergone thousands of hour’s intense practice of meditation and spiritual studies. Shasta has taken every opportunity to become adept in her field through her own practice as well as through extensive training in yoga, group dynamics, meditation and spiritual counseling.

www.balancedlifeyoga.ca

Why Resolutions Fail & How You Don’t Have To – Magical Monday by Shasta

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Happy 2012!  There is something wonderful about the turning of the calendar into a new year. It is that feeling that anything is possible. It is that feeling of getting a second chance. It is the feeling that this year finally I will get it right.

So many people make New Year’s resolutions just hoping that maybe this year they will make the changes they want for themselves and their lives. And so many people will fail.

I love New Year’s but I know resolutions don’t work.

Resolutions are based on the idea that there is something wrong with you and your life – that there is something you need to change and if you can change then and only then will you be happy.   Resolutions require a lot of hard work and this hard work is often based on the idea of unworthiness, self-loathing and lack.  If only you could lose that last ten pounds or stop smoking or eat better then you would be worthy and happy.  Resolutions don’t work for you because ultimately they make you feel bad, they are overwhelming AND they are not based in an uplifting energy.  No one wants to feel bad or overwhelmed so you get gung-ho for a while (like a week) and you don’t smoke but then it feels hard so you have just one cigarette and then you feel bad and overwhelmed which only makes you want to smoke more so you do and then before you know it you are smoking a pack a day and it is only January 15.  Whoo.

Rather than resolve how about you use the new year to REMEMBER…

Remember your truth…You are an infinite, powerful, amazing creator who is supported by an infinitely loving Divine Source.  In other words there is nothing wrong with you. This doesn’t change because you smoke.

Remember your value…You are a wonderful person whose smoking, over-eating or whatever action you don’t like does NOT determine your value.  Live a great life based on your value. Quit smoking because you want to feel good not because someone says smoking is bad.

Remember your joy…Life is not about being perfect. It is about having purpose, joy, love and ease. So maybe it is time to find deeper purpose and joy so that you don’t even want to smoke.

Once you REMEMBER then ask what is my intention?

For me when I REMEMBER my truth and I begin to let go of the voices, ideas and thoughts that keep me small and contained. The same voices that tell me something is wrong with me and I need to change. We all need evolution and expansion but what if we sought it from a place of possibility rather than self-loathing?

When I remember my truth I say, YES, anything is possible. Then from this standpoint of possibility I ask myself what do I INTEND to create this year? What do I want to step into? What fun do I want to have? What do I want to gift myself and the world with this year?

THEN…I have a clear intention.

THEN…Actions follow naturally and not because I am forcing it.

Feel the difference in these statements:

I need to lose 10 pounds so I will force myself to go to Yoga everyday and put over 5 kilometres on the treadmill each day.

OR

I intend to feel alive, whole and at peace in my body so I will commit to healthy practices that help me do this such as daily Yoga practice, eating more alive food and walking over 5 kilometers everyday. I use these tools to help me celebrate my body.

So what is your remembrance, intention and natural actions?

For me…

My remembrance is anything is possible because I am Divine.

My remembrance is life is about play, joy and expansion.

My remembrance is I am a creator who seeks to BE love and light here now.

My intention is let’s see how far we can take all of the above in 2012 and truly be possibility!

Stay tuned for the actions. I know it will be a great year and a great ride!

Wishing you all deep remembrance and love,

Shasta

Join Shasta for Embracing 2012 – Magic, Evolution and Power with Shasta

Friday, January 6 from 7:30-9:00 pm at the Ajax Balanced Life Yoga  $25

2012 is a powerful year of creation and finding our truth and living it. Human conscious is moving into a Higher vibration of consciousness and collaboration. Learn what this new powerful year brings and why it is so a pivotal time for evolution. Join Shasta as she dispels myths and unveils a time of magic so you can truly live a life of power and peace as you learn how to live your soul path. LEARN MORE

And remember to tune into Shasta’s Vivid Life Radio Show Possibility 101 every Wednesday at 4:00 pm eastern standard time on www.vividlife.me.

Shasta Townsend

A celebrated transformational leader and a leading pioneer in embodied spirituality and Yoga, Shasta has inspired hundreds of people through her breakthrough methods for awakening and empowering your inner voice and divine power. Director, founder and senior teacher with Balanced Life Yoga, she delivers public talks, seminars and trainings on evolution and empowerment. She draws on a wide variety of techniques including Yoga, Shamanism, meditation, energy healing, coaching and the Law of Attraction. She is especially appreciated for her passionate way of allowing individuals to make sense of their world and embodied, holistic means to become the change they wish to see.

As early as in her teenage years, Shasta embarked on her journey as a spiritual explorer which led her to India, where she studied yoga, meditation and energy healing. She has studied with many remarkable mentors and she has undergone thousands of hour’s intense practice of meditation and spiritual studies. Shasta has taken every opportunity to become adept in her field through her own practice as well as through extensive training in yoga, group dynamics, meditation and spiritual counseling.

www.balancedlifeyoga.ca

My Skinny Jeans Self – Magical Monday by Shasta

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Like me you probably have a closet full of clothes and no matter how many outfits you have there is that one favorite that you always feel good wearing. It is your standby. Your go-to. Your I feel skinny, radiant and alive in this outfit outfit. You choose it purposefully because you feel and believe you look better in it. The world seems better when you are wearing it. People are nicer to you. You are nicer to them. You get better treatment and exude a confidence or je ne sais quoi when you have it on.

In our wardrobe of personas or personality traits we have our favorite as well. It may be a way of being that you feel comfortable in or maybe it is just a pattern that you have take on so long that you can’t remember what anything else feels like or you are scared to try something else on.  Maybe you see yourself as quiet and shy or maybe you are always the life of the party.  Maybe all of what you believe to be is just what you have been putting on for a long time so it begins to feel like you.  Imagine wearing the same outfit day in and day out so that you come to believe that you are that outfit, that it has become you.   One day you realize that these are just clothes you are wearing and not really the truth of who you are in essence AND you can choose something else to wear or even go naked.

What if we purposefully chose what and who we wanted to be and not in a contrived way but with intention and purpose.  What if asked ourselves, “What best version of me do I wish to offer today? What best self do I wish to put forward.”

Maybe it is time to break out the equivalent of that hot, confident black dress or collaborative, caring three piece suit or maybe it is time for that track suit of ease and allowing.  We often believe that who we are is – well who we are but we can choose what and who we are just as we choose what we wear.

Me I have been setting the intention to choose my skinny jeans self. This self is not about being skinny but about feeling confident, radiant, at ease, loving and collaborative.  It is my self that expects the best case scenario. It is the self that is in the solution, the opportunity, the allowing. It is my, “I am fabulous and so are you” self.  I choose it purposefully. I put it on and practice keeping it on.  I notice when those old outfits of self-doubt, fear or self-criticism arise and say thank you but today we are choosing a different outfit.

What outfit will you choose today?

Much love and many blessings,

Shasta
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Choose Joy and Experience Love in One of the Most Amazing Places on Earth – Costa Rica

Join Shasta for an experience of delicious renewal and bliss at the Prana-liscious Yoga and Nature Retreat December 4-10, 2011 at the Blue Osa Retreat Centre in beautiful in Osa Peninsula Costa Rica. Enjoy lush jungle, first rate accommodations and inspiring practice that will enliven every cell and leave your heart singing. Limited capacity. LEARN MORE

And remember to tune into Shasta’s Vivid Life Radio Show Possibility 101 every Wednesday at 4:00 pm eastern standard time on www.vividlife.me.

Shasta Townsend

A celebrated transformational leader and a leading pioneer in embodied spirituality and Yoga, Shasta has inspired hundreds of people through her breakthrough methods for awakening and empowering your inner voice and divine power. Director, founder and senior teacher with Balanced Life Yoga, she delivers public talks, seminars and trainings on evolution and empowerment. She draws on a wide variety of techniques including Yoga, Shamanism, meditation, energy healing, coaching and the Law of Attraction. She is especially appreciated for her passionate way of allowing individuals to make sense of their world and embodied, holistic means to become the change they wish to see.

As early as in her teenage years, Shasta embarked on her journey as a spiritual explorer which led her to India, where she studied yoga, meditation and energy healing. She has studied with many remarkable mentors and she has undergone thousands of hour’s intense practice of meditation and spiritual studies. Shasta has taken every opportunity to become adept in her field through her own practice as well as through extensive training in yoga, group dynamics, meditation and spiritual counseling.

www.balancedlifeyoga.ca

The Calling:Why I Don’t Pity the Prostitutes – Magical Monday by Shasta

Monday, November 21st, 2011

I had a major aha about the organizing principle of the universe this past weekend.

I often say Yoga saved my life.  Like many, I came to Yoga at a dark time, a time when I felt trapped, isolated and just plain crazy.  I would watch the homeless women and prostitutes in my Parkdale neighborhood and wonder how long it would be until I was living on the street with them. (I won’t get into the philosophical discussion that I am them, they are me, we are all one. At the time they terrified me.) I would wonder how many days I could stay up in a row without sleep and actually continue to drive – I think my record was five.   I would wonder if at age 25 I was feeling this way what 50 would be like.  Would I make it?

Then something happened. Despite the lack of sleep, over-medicating, over-drinking and over-doing something within me dragged my tired body to a Vinyasa Yoga class and a door opened. I felt a way to relax my body and mind.  I felt clear and inspired and yet relaxed and grounded.  I began to learn to extricate myself from myself but also to love all those parts of me that I feared would drag me into insanity.  I learned to live passionately on the edge of stability and freedom.  Yoga truly helped me come home to myself and realize that I was not broken nor was anyone else.  It is truly a remembrance practice – that all really is well and unfolding perfectly.  Which leads me to my aha.

I had a flash moment of insight in a seated twist. As I looked back behind me (symbolically into the past) I realized that everything that I had lived had been perfect and more than perfect perhaps destined.  Yoga did not save me it called me.  I was thinking I had accidentally discovered this amazing practice at a time when I really felt I needed saving but perhaps the universe was actually conspiring on my behalf to get my ass on the mat all along.  You see most of us don’t evolve unless we are on our knees.  Maybe the universe gave me a swift kick and then a few more to call me forward to my destiny.  What if a higher intelligence, an organizing principle actually created all the chaos, drama, bad choice points, neurotic processes and failed relationships to get me to the Yoga mat and therefore into my deeper knowing, purpose and passion.  What if everything that I thought I was healing THROUGH Yoga was what actually GOT ME TO Yoga?

Often we feel life is to be survived. What if all the events were there to actually help you thrive? What if everything that happened happened to bring you to this very moment. The question then becomes what will you do NOW?  If there is nothing to overcome, to survive or heal from what will you do NOW with this precious moment and this precious life? If there is nothing wrong with you what then is standing in your way to your own excellence?

We often use our past as a way to stay stuck or to justify our misalignment.  What if there was some deep organizing principle that was actually calling you on to clarity, purpose and truth? What if your pain was a mirror to pleasure?  By knowing what you don’t want you know really clearly what do want.

Maybe I lost my mind to find my sanity.  I gave up control to get true power. I left the party to get drunk on the play.  It gives me peace knowing there is a Divine plan unfolding and that I am co-creating in it.  I just need to step back and see the opportunity out of what appears to be obstacles. What is the message in the mess? (Thank you Todd Norian for that saying!).

Now I do not wish to learn through sorrow or suffering – that is of the old-world paradigm. I want to know who and what I am and what I want. I don’t need to drink arsenic to know it is not good for me.  I am clear, however that all those past moments brought me to this amazing today.  Today I look the homeless ladies and beautiful prostitutes in the eyes and smile. I know that we are all one and we are all on our own journey.  I no longer fear them or pity them but allow them and affirm them.  I assist where I can and love always.   Let us appreciate all that got us here and be clear about where we are going to fulfill our own destiny and birth-right as Divine creators.

Many blessings,

Shasta

———————————————-
Choose Joy and Experience Love in One of the Most Amazing Places on Earth – Costa Rica

Join Shasta for an experience of delicious renewal and bliss at the Prana-liscious Yoga and Nature Retreat December 4-10, 2011 at the Blue Osa Retreat Centre in beautiful in Osa Peninsula Costa Rica. Enjoy lush jungle, first rate accommodations and inspiring practice that will enliven every cell and leave your heart singing. Limited capacity. LEARN MORE

And remember to tune into Shasta’s Vivid Life Radio Show Possibility 101 every Wednesday at 4:00 pm eastern standard time on www.vividlife.me.

Shasta Townsend

A celebrated transformational leader and a leading pioneer in embodied spirituality and Yoga, Shasta has inspired hundreds of people through her breakthrough methods for awakening and empowering your inner voice and divine power. Director, founder and senior teacher with Balanced Life Yoga, she delivers public talks, seminars and trainings on evolution and empowerment. She draws on a wide variety of techniques including Yoga, Shamanism, meditation, energy healing, coaching and the Law of Attraction. She is especially appreciated for her passionate way of allowing individuals to make sense of their world and embodied, holistic means to become the change they wish to see.

As early as in her teenage years, Shasta embarked on her journey as a spiritual explorer which led her to India, where she studied yoga, meditation and energy healing. She has studied with many remarkable mentors and she has undergone thousands of hour’s intense practice of meditation and spiritual studies. Shasta has taken every opportunity to become adept in her field through her own practice as well as through extensive training in yoga, group dynamics, meditation and spiritual counseling.

www.balancedlifeyoga.ca

My Power Play – Love: Magical Monday by Shasta

Monday, October 24th, 2011

We are living in an amazing time.

We are transitioning from one world age to another as we move toward the marker of December 21, 2012. For some this date feels scary and for others it brings great hope. Regardless we are in transition. Just look around your world and life to see that things are in an evolution right now. Systems are breaking down and this can be scary as we are often afraid of change. We are in a time when WE can choose and create new systems bases on values of the heart. Wow. This is power.

Many say we are in a crisis. I think we are in an opportunity so profound and so full of potential that this time really is a gift for us all. We are all here for a profound and meaningful reason – to finally access the most powerful force in the universe – love.  Scientists have shown that the Earth and humankind moves through 5,000 year cycles and we are at the end of a 5,000 year cycle that began August 11, 3114 BC.  The last 5,000 years have been frought with war, weapons and destruction.  The era that is dawning is one of love, peace and prosperity – if we choose it.  It is the day to day actions that we all take that bring about global evolution.

The most powerful force in the universe is the human heart. And moment to moment you can choose to express love or fear.  These daily choices will determine your own life as well as the life of those around you and at a bigger scale the life of our society and even planet.  Sometimes we think love is for that hippie guy or maybe just the very few people in your life who you call your friends and family.  Love, I have come to realize can be the powerful force of connection, awareness and right action in every moment if I choose.  It is also the most powerful force in my life and the universe. It can be yours too.

Little BIG Ways to Choose Love:

* The next time you are in line at Starbucks or the grocery store make an effort to actually make eye contact and maybe even smile at the person serving you. Put down the cell phone and actually be present to someone with openness and appreciation. This is love in action.

* When you are in traffic which is usually a stressful experience take a moment to smile at someone passing or imagine all the people in the cars receiving a moment of light and love from you as you wish them well on their way.  This is love in action.

* Next time you have an argument with someone you love. Let it go. Let them be right and tell them you love them.  This is love in action.

What’s your love in action power play?

Everyday we are faced with a choice:  love or fear?  What will you choose?  These choices are the basis for our new world dawning. Let’s make it amazing together.

This video by Shawn Gallaway is powerful…Check it out.

 

Namaste

Shasta

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Choose Joy and Experience Love in One of the Most Amazing Places on Earth – Costa Rica

Join Shasta for an experience of delicious renewal and bliss at the Prana-liscious Yoga and Nature Retreat December 4-10, 2011 at the Blue Osa Retreat Centre in beautiful in Osa Peninsula Costa Rica. Enjoy lush jungle, first rate accommodations and inspiring practice that will enliven every cell and leave your heart singing. Limited capacity. LEARN MORE

And remember to tune into Shasta’s Vivid Life Radio Show Possibility 101 every Wednesday at 4:00 pm eastern standard time on www.vividlife.me.

Shasta Townsend

A celebrated transformational leader and a leading pioneer in embodied spirituality and Yoga, Shasta has inspired hundreds of people through her breakthrough methods for awakening and empowering your inner voice and divine power. Director, founder and senior teacher with Balanced Life Yoga, she delivers public talks, seminars and trainings on evolution and empowerment. She draws on a wide variety of techniques including Yoga, Shamanism, meditation, energy healing, coaching and the Law of Attraction. She is especially appreciated for her passionate way of allowing individuals to make sense of their world and embodied, holistic means to become the change they wish to see.

As early as in her teenage years, Shasta embarked on her journey as a spiritual explorer which led her to India, where she studied yoga, meditation and energy healing. She has studied with many remarkable mentors and she has undergone thousands of hour’s intense practice of meditation and spiritual studies. Shasta has taken every opportunity to become adept in her field through her own practice as well as through extensive training in yoga, group dynamics, meditation and spiritual counseling.

www.balancedlifeyoga.ca

Today is the Greatest Day I’ve Ever Known- Magical Monday by Shasta

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

It really is all perspective and choice.  Depending on your world-view you will either think:

A. Life sucks and then you die

B. Life is an illusion and you need to return to your True Self

C. Life is amazing and you are Divine now

What world-view dominates your life?

A walk on the beach - something to celebrate!

I use to think A. most of the time especially during my teens and 20s when it really did seem that life sucked much of the time. When I learned Classical Yoga which shifted my view from this all sucks to I am not what I think about, I learned the philosophy that life is an illusion and I was mistakenly caught up in it AND life was actually about returning to Source energy.  This was super helpful at the time and certainly better than option A but it still left me wondering where the joy was NOW.  Why did I always feel like I had to work to get somewhere?  Why could all the good and the bad not be ok?  And it certainly all seemed real to me.

Then I began to journey into my own sense of truth. I felt good – that could not be an illusion.  I saw beauty and the Divine everywhere – it could not all be a big mistake.  I studied more and more including other branches of Yoga such as Tantra philosophy and Shamanism and Divine Mother teachings.  I listened deeply to mySelf, to others to the Earth and to the greatest teacher: my heart and I discovered life is amazing and so am I and so are you. Life is NOW and believe me it wants us to participate and be present to its magic.

If we truly embrace life as a celebration then we have an amazing opportunity to see the Earth as a home that provides all we need for our expansion, our play and our joy.  If we see life as a celebration then every person we meet even the crusty ones are a potential play-mate. If we embrace life as a celebration every day can be the greatest day you have ever known!

There was/is something you can really celebrate about today.  What was it?   Make a list and milk it.  Literally mull it over in your mind, celebrate it, post it on FB, tell someone about it, write a blog.  Life is good.

Here are some of my celebrations for today:

* I woke up to birds outside my window

* I studied with great teachers and students

* A new friend told me I have beautiful eyes that sparkle with mischief

* I enjoyed an amazing mochaccino

* I found out I dropped a whole pant size – Hallelujah

* I held handstand with the help of a friend - double Hallelujah

* I laughed as I ran through the pouring rain

* I actually got a Monday post completed on Monday

Wishing you all an amazing day.

Namaste

Shasta

————————————————
Join Shasta for an experience of delicious renewal and bliss at the Prana-liscious Yoga and Nature Retreat December 4-10, 2011 at the Blue Osa Retreat Centre in beautiful in Osa Peninsula Costa Rica. Enjoy lush jungle, first rate accommodations and inspiring practice that will enliven every cell and leave your heart singing. Limited capacity. LEARN MORE

 

 

And remember to tune into Shasta’s Vivid Life Radio Show Possibility 101 every Wednesday at 4:00 pm eastern standard time on www.vividlife.me.


 

Shasta Townsend

A celebrated transformational leader and a leading pioneer in embodied spirituality and Yoga, Shasta has inspired hundreds of people through her breakthrough methods for awakening and empowering your inner voice and divine power. Director, founder and senior teacher with Balanced Life Yoga, she delivers public talks, seminars and trainings on evolution and empowerment. She draws on a wide variety of techniques including Yoga, Shamanism, meditation, energy healing, coaching and the Law of Attraction. She is especially appreciated for her passionate way of allowing individuals to make sense of their world and embodied, holistic means to become the change they wish to see.

As early as in her teenage years, Shasta embarked on her journey as a spiritual explorer which led her to India, where she studied yoga, meditation and energy healing. She has studied with many remarkable mentors and she has undergone thousands of hour’s intense practice of meditation and spiritual studies. Shasta has taken every opportunity to become adept in her field through her own practice as well as through extensive training in yoga, group dynamics, meditation and spiritual counseling.

www.balancedlifeyoga.ca

 

 

 
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