Revitalize Your Relationship Coaching

At the beginning of last month, there was a day I was awake for nearly 24 hours straight.  You might read that and think, "Gee, Erin why would you admit that while you are trying to teach me about self-care?" Well don't stop reading just yet. I wasn't staying up late to meet a deadline, or missing a night of sleep worried about something, I was travelling with my family to Hawaii where we spent a month together. The way it all worked out, we left our home at 8am and arrived at our hotel about 22 hours later. The weather, the land and the people are incredible and I feel so lucky that we were able to go back to one of our very favourite places on earth with both of our kids. As one would expect Hawaii to be, it was magical. We had beautiful days on the beach all together and I was able to carve out solo time to attend amazing classes and get some much needed mental space to think about how I want to shape the next few years of my life with my beautiful husband and children. But there is another side to the rosy picture here I need to highlight; Self-care takes work. Between home and the beach are about ten thousand practical details. A few times I caught myself joking to friends that, "After all the planning and travel back and forth I will need a month in Hawaii alone to recover". An epic trip like this takes careful planning and we spent many hours researching, booking places to stay, packing and unpacking everything a family of four needs into a single suitcase and a few backpacks. Then there is the reality of traveling with two kids under three years old.

Sometimes the warring yoga factions out there make my head spin. While I understand the passion some yogis feel when they find a practice philosophy that resonates with them, I find it hard to watch if that turns into disrespect for other schools of practice. I wrote this after watching one such "debate" turn into a full blown yogi feud about how one type of yoga was a magical cure and another illegitimate fluff. When I first began my practice I often read things in the more "revered" yoga texts like "The cure for x (disease or disorder) is to hold y (usually an advanced) pose for 25 breaths." Maybe it happened to work for someone out there, but so far I haven't come across any school or method that has the power to cure. Yoga is not a cure afterall.

  The holiday season is here and chances are right about now you are freaking out about what to give someone special in your life. Personally, I love to give gifts but in recent years I have shifted my approach to both giving and receiving. With two little one's in our lives, Steve and I have become much more discerning about what we bring into our home, trying to avoid a wasteland of toys our kids never play with or impractical clothing they never wear. I talk about it a little bit in my podcast this week. In our relationship too, we have new standard for exchanging presents. For me the ideal gift is some combination of: functional (aka. something that we needed or makes our lives easier) beautiful (aka. art or something that looks nice in my home or on me) experiential (concert tickets, spa treatments, a full night of sleep) These things need not be expensive but certainly call for a bit more creativity. And when I speak to other yogi's I hear that many of them feel the same. So here are a few ideas for the different yogi's in your life from my personal shopping list this year

Join me for some extreme self-care this January. Get the details here. Less than two weeks ago, I gave birth to my second child. Julian Bronson Aquin-Haase (sorry kid, about that long and impossible last name) joined our family on November 14 after a few sleepless days of back and forth to the hospital. After a long recovery for me and a big adjustment to our lives when Audrey was born two years ago, Steve and I decided "winging" our first few weeks as a four person family might not be wise. We did a LOT around our place to make it feel more comfortable. We turned our storage room into an artroom so Audrey would have a fun spot to play in, we decluttered a full carload of stuff, we asked my mother come and stay with us for a few weeks (thanks mom, you are a true saint) and I made the decision not to teach or do much work until January. I told myself that after months of insomnia, heartburn and general pregnancy malaise I would use these first few weeks to rest and embrace any of the physical aftermath of labour as a chance to hang out with this new little person. In short, I was going to be the postpartum self-care queen. The thing is, this time around was different.

  If you have been following my podcast you will know that Fall is the perfect and most natural time to let go of physical, mental and emotional clutter in your life. Just as trees pull their energy inward, the leaves change colour and are released to make their bed on the forest floor, so can you call your energy back in and let go of things in your life you don't need to carry forward. I have written about the some of the techniques you can use make more space in your life physically, mentally and emotionally, in both of my books but today I want to share a simple yet powerful practice that can help you get into the frame of mind to sort through the clutter at any level.

This article was originally published on November 18 2015. It has been updated and reposted as I feel this contemplation is relevant today.  It is hard to make sense of our world sometimes.

When I began studying The Five Elements of Chinese Medicine one of the most fascinating parts for me and many of my Acupuncture colleagues was the idea that each person has a constitution.  While we are a complex mix of energies, cultural influences and sets of conditions based on our personal life circumstances, in this system each person has one Element that stands out. The "element of primary influence" as I like to call it can be both the greatest strength and weakest link for you. While it is important to never reduce yourself or another into one particular personality type or constitution, I will say that knowing a little more about how the Five Elements work in human beings can dramatically change your relationships.  For me and many of the students who are working with me this year, learning the element of themselves, their partner, close friends and even their students has given them the opportunity to change their perspective and offered different ways to communicate and function harmoniously.

If you missed it, I have been leading a 20 Day Yoga Challenge this month. A group of my yoga students and I have committed to doing at least 20 minutes of yoga each day for 20 days. It has been refreshing to share my practice with others and also to stay connected to the physical expression of Yin Yang Yoga. However, physical yoga (yoga asana) is the tip of the iceberg. On July 19th I am taking this exploration beyond the mat and hosting a free weekly online bookclub. We will be going through my newest book Elemental Yin Yang Yoga together and you can take part even if you haven't read the book yet. Whats the point of this bookclub?  I don't know about you but when I read a book on yoga theory or lifestyle, I come up with a lot of questions. As an author I do my best to answer those questions but responding to emails and having very little time to chat with students at the end of class doesn't feel like enough. So I am making myself available to everyone who registers and joins the conversation. Together we will share insights, ask questions and virtually "meet" like minded yogis who want to explore the benefits of Elemental Yin Yang beyond the yoga mat. Why should you sign up? Sure, you could just read the book on your own. But if you sign up you will get access to an exclusive page where you can not only ask me specific questions about the book but also read it along with me and a community of others with the help of my personal notes and reflections. There are also a few perks to registering for this free content. You will get: a free intro chapter to the book to get your started access to a free Elemental Yin yoga video a free Elemental Yin Yang audio class a promo code for discounted Float sessions with our friends at Zee Float  the chance to win a private online yoga or coaching session with me These are my gifts to you for your interest and participation in the bookclub.  Register here before July 19th to get access to the club and all the bonuses! We are also hosting an online contest. If you share the link: www.aquinyoga.com/bookclub on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #elementalyinyang you will receive an additional entry into our draw as thanks for spreading the word.

This article was originally published on Oct 15, 2013. It has been updated AND a free yoga audio has been added. Please enjoy! Poor sleep doesn't happen all at once. It may begin with a few late nights here and there. Perhaps you are sparked by an interesting idea or conversation or have loose ends to tie up from the day. At other times, the late nights and restless sleep may be a symptom of having too much weighing on your mind—an attack of the dreaded late night stress monster. In fact, so many people have sleep issues that we as a culture, have begun to normalize them. Every time I read a study about how copious amounts of coffee are suddenly good for you or that getting less sleep might help you to be more alert, it makes me want to scream into my chamomile tea. Personally I know that my own sleep cycle has swung out of control when I wake up exhausted, and keep hitting the "snooze" button until I am left with the least possible amount of time to get ready.  Perhaps you can relate. If you are ready to redirect yourself back on the path to quality sleep and better health, I have some tools for you. The first key is to develop better habits or proper “sleep hygiene.” Granted, this is simple common sense stuff, but most people find that bad habits are a huge culprit for poor sleep. 

Parts of this post where originally published on Sept 25, 2013. It has been entirely updated for your reading pleasure. Enjoy the tips! Last week I opened the doors to my 20 Day Online Yoga Challenge. This flexible and fun challenge is perfect for keeping up a regular practice over the summer if you happen to be away or are simply looking for something outside of your regular studio class. However, it takes a certain mindset to cultivate a solid home practice. And sometimes trying to self-generate inspiration on the yoga mat becomes more of a chore than a joy. So in addition to sharing my challenge with you, here are some ideas to help you create a consistently, outstanding practice at home. 1. Make Space and Set the Mood Before you begin your practice, make sure you have everything you need, your mat, your blocks and clothing appropriate for your environment and the temperature. At bare minimum, you need enough level, uncluttered surface area immediately surrounding your mat to move on.  In an ideal situation, you should set up the space to be beautiful, inspirational and alive. The space and mood of your setting then becomes an extension of your practice and makes you feel joyful and ready to have the best practice possible. Be rigid about being comfortable enough to let go on the mat.  This is so important! One might think yoga in a forest at twilight is going to be blissful…and for the mosquitoes eating you alive, it just might be. Find a place to practice whether it’s indoors or outdoors that isn’t going to pull your focus off the mat for any reason.