Love and Acceptance Tour

Wednesday, 23 July 2008

As this IS my travel page I thought it important that I note that I went to Nova Scotia and P.E.I. in June and that I am just back from Ireland having attended the oxegen festival http://www.oxegen.ie/2008/ with Amnesty International gathering messages of support for Small Places http://www.smallplaces.ca from artists performing at the festival. Over 30 artists were filmed including Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and Eddy Grant.

A PSA (Public Service Announcement) featuring Michael Stipe has been cut and will be released soon - stay tuned!

One of my photos appears in a news item on the R.E.M. site along with information for Small Places http://remhq.com/news_story.php?id=840

U2 gave Small Places space on their web site too.
http://www.u2.com/news/index.php?mode=full&news...

You can participate in Small Places too. Visit http://www.smallplaces.ca and http://www.myspace.com/smallplacestour for more info.

And P.E.I. and Nova Scotia are both beautiful places! The people are super friendly, the food incredible and the landscape breathtaking. We road tripped around for a week stopping as inspired and stayed in bed and breakfasts to rest. We fit in a couple of wine tours and visits to cheese making farms and ate very well.

Peace,
Tatiana

Tuesday, 01 July 2008

Location: Gatineau (Hull) Quebec, Canada

Happy Canada Day!

As you can see I am not living online much of late - at least not for pleasure however, I did recently join Facebook - yes FINALLY - but I am not on it all the time.

If you would like to connect with me sooner than later I suggest you go there as I am afraid I haven't been checking in here much for the past, well, almost year! I can't believe it. In fact, it is exactly one year ago today that Terry and I returned home from Brazil and that I ran the Rio half marathon with Team Diabetes.

Since then I have purchased a house, have 3 more nieces (Abby) and nephews (Noah & Liam) which makes 5 with Zoë and Austin, am teaching lots of yoga, am working for Amnesty International on a super cool project called Small Places (http://smallplaces.ca/) and (http://www.myspace.com/smallplacestour), am helping to found and am working on the yoga crew for the Ottawa Folk Fest (http://www.ottawafolk.org) , am working at Bluesfest this week and also continue to help Sheila at Windhorse Yoga (http://www.windhorse-yoga.ca/) .

I attended NXNE (http://www.nxne.com/) for the first time in a few years and we are just back from the East Coast where we road tripped through P.E.I and Nova Scotia and finally, I am in the midst of planning my 40th birthday celebration in Hawaii in January - you are welcome to join.

We are doing a one week bike tour with Common Circle Expeditions (http://www.commoncircle.com/) and then to Maui for a few days to chill on the beach before coming home.

Suffice to say life is busy and as always, an adventure.

So that's it for now. Again, I will post here when I can (read: have time) and in the meantime can be found on FB. I hope to keep some of my travels documented here but just never know when I will have the chance to post photos and entries. Fingers crossed I find a bit more balance so I can continue to write here.

Wishing you well and look forward to hearing from you.

xo Tatiana

Thursday, 14 February 2008

Location: Gatineau (Hull), Canada

I woke up this morning to my wonderful Valentine wishing me a Happy Day - and it has been. Upon opening the curtains this morning a gorgeous winter scene was unveiled. I took a few photos and posted them for you; I was out there in my leopard print bathrobe, bare legs, Sorels and a hat taking photo after photo of the winter wonderland before me that is my yard and neighbours yard.

Fresh fluffy snow drifted and crispy icicles hung from the trees while the sunshine shone through making for the most magical surroundings. I stayed out until my fingers froze, adjusting the camera controls until I had just the right exposure (or the best I could get under the circumstances), all the while wondering if any of my neighbours saw me - the new neighbour outside - in her bath robe in awe at our home.

So far several friends have come by for tea and I look forward to hosting more - so please come and visit.

Happy Valentine's Day. May your day be filled with rays of love and sunshine.

xo Tatiana Ishwari

Wednesday, 30 January 2008

Location: Hintonburg, Ottawa, Canada

I have been up since 3:45 am! I guess I am excited as we take possession of the house this afternoon and move in tomorrow morning!! I have been packing and packing and am ALMOST ready to move. Thankfully my mom and my friend Lynn are coming to help me clean the apartment this afternoon and maybe even the new house too.

I have dreamt about owning a home for a long time, somewhere where I can put my energy into and know that I am not moving and can't believe it is happening.

It makes me smile to know that I have a place to host friends and family, and that I have somewhere to come back to when I travel (and I don't have to pack it up each time I go away!). I am SUPER looking forward to spending time in our home, to making it a home with Terry and to having a house warming at some point in the not so distant future.

xo Tatiana

Saturday, 26 January 2008

Location: Hintonburg, Ottawa, Canada

In just 6 days we will be in our new home!!! (photos of which are finally uploaded). I am so excited that I have woken (is that a word?) up early two days in a row to pack and prepare. The apartment is looking a bit box-y now with most everything not in cupboards pack up. Today I attempt to get the office and some of the kitchen done.

Terry is off to an all day Photography Composition workshop (my Christmas gift to him) and although he felt badly not being here for the packing today, I am so glad he is going to be away having fun while I can practice my anal retentive packing measures on my own lol! I actually LIKE packing. I enjoy organizing and categorizing and playing Tetris with all the stuff, trying to fit it into the boxes. It's good therapy when heading into the unknown - a way of being in control when I don't feel like I am lol.

On that note, holy mackerel do I feel that there is alot going on lately and also that the Universal energy is quite frenetic. With the full moon earlier this week and Mercury going retrograde on Monday (the effects of which are already being felt), things have been kinda crazy. So far I have been able to laugh it off even though there have been moments of frustration and I hope that I am able to maintain this attitude over the next while, especially during the move.

I started a dance class this week. A technique called NIA which blends dance, martial arts and body integration therapies. It is both choreographed and free form, and works with flexibility, mobility, agility, stability and strength and energy, and is a nice compliment to yoga where we stay on the mat. I am actually interested in studying it and becoming certified so that I may teach it.

OK, a part of me wants to continue writing and getting to the "good" stuff - the deeper stuff - however I am also anxious to get packing.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day. Let us Be present to every moment.

xo Tatiana

Tuesday, 22 January 2008

Location: Hintonburg Ottawa, Canada

It's January 22 and so much happening man!

A couple of squirrels have moved onto our roof and have taken to sunning themselves on the flower shelf outside our bedroom window. Yesterday morning as we lay in bed listening to their mating calls I wondered if grey squirrels mate with the black ones. I'll have to google that.

We are moving to our new home next Thursday!!! I am slowly packing a few boxes at a time as we haven't much room here to put boxes. Every day is like a life sized game of Tetris and we are making do. I am SO looking forward to having S P A C E and to hosting this and that; dinners, parties, BBQ's, games of Risk, family gatherings, holidays, guests from out of town ;)

On top of this things are quite busy with work and it never seems as though there is enough time in the day. You'd think that having a career as a yoga teacher things would be all calm and balanced but it ain't so. You have got to prepare for the class and then get there, teach, then get to the next class and somewhere in between eat and rest and get in a little time for yourself and if possible - practice yoga :))

But I am learning much and am growing and like it alot. I am surrounded by mentors from whom I am learning and by whom I am inspired and my daily practice accepting where I am at as perfect and reminding myself that I am SHARING what I know and as I learn more I have more to share but also to lessen my expectations on my Self. When I do this I feel peace. I am peace.

What else, well, I turn 39 next Monday and in between everything else I am taking time to dine with friends at a favourite local spot ( http://www.mekong.ca ) after next week's Akhanda for Runner's yoga class. I SO look forward to seeing everyone and to spending time together.

I am off to a massage and chiro appointment -- the first of the year - so I best get going. I am so glad I took the few minutes to connect today and look forward to the next.

Be well.

Shanti, peace.
xo Tatiana

Monday, 03 December 2007

On this "30 cm of snow" wintery Ottawa day I'd like to announce that Ishwari Yoga officially launched today!

Please visit (http://www.ishwariyoga.com) to find out about more about Ishwari Yoga and classes offered.

Hari om!
Tatiana Ishwari

Wednesday, 21 November 2007

Good morning! It is the first snow of the season in Ottawa today! It came on a little more gently than last year.
Life is god. It's busy - I taught 4 classes (6 hours) of yoga yesterday and have been working full time at Windhorse Yoga ( www.windhorse-yoga.ca) helping owner Sheila get it up and running. I am enjoying my work there very much and soon the hours will level out which will allow me to focus on writing proposals to teach corporate and private yoga classes.

I have not been writing much here due to lack of down and personal time however I find the Zaadz.com daily "Questions & Reflections" email helpful in getting me to take 2 minutes to myself almost daily. You can check some of the questions and responses here ( http://pathtopeace.zaadz.com/blog).

The search for a house continues and today we go to see a house for the second time - my favourite so far - in a wonderful location but slightly out of our price range - and then another which would be a huge fixer upper project in the almost up and coming area - but isn’t quite yet.

It really feels like Christmas is coming. I have that feeling of excitement inside. This has nothing to do with presents but with the fact that for my family this is a time when we all get together and eat and laugh and I look forward to this time.

Oh man I have some time “off” today and am SO looking forward to it. I need groceries and winter boots and to pay bills lol! Time to take care of me. Wishing you the time to do so in whatever manner you need.

Hugs and kisses,
Tatiana

Tuesday, 30 October 2007

I am happy to say that I journaled almost every day last week - for the first time in almost two years. As you can see I did not include the entries here. One morning while lying in bed I realized this and thought about why I had not posted lately. I thought about when I first began this page and was sharing alot of myself, all of myself - my experience, my feelings, my mistakes, my struggle and my adventures.

In considering this I came to a couple of conclusions regarding why my postings (and journaling) have been so far and few between since the fall of 2005; 1. I have been so busy that I let this way of loving myself slide. The years were consumed by the transition of moving to Ottawa, then France, the ship, then training, fundraising, securing work and then working. 2. Many things I wrote about or shared in the past did not happen the way I thought they would and so began to wait until certain things solidified before writing about them and so 3. I set some boundaries to allow myself to move through stuff before sharing when I wasn't clear or ready.

Oddly enough in the next paragraph (now replaced with this paragraph), I began to summarize all I had been through over the past four years and realized that wow, I need to take a look at it myself before sharing so have pasted into a word doc and will continue it as a journal entry.

All I can say at this moment is that man, I have never made it easy on myself, but that I wouldn't change the choices I have made or the life I've had for a thing. I have an abundance of love, of laughter, of friends, family and community, of incredible experiences and accomplishments, arts, culture and travel and admittedly I have experienced struggle, or tapas (not Spanish snacks in this case (although I have had those too) but a Sanskrit word for “that which generates heat or energy”).

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali speaks of tapas as "the practice of conserving energy and directing it toward the goal of Yoga, toward union with the Atman." (the Universal Soul or Spirit) I am not sure if I conserved my energy in the zig zag path I have chosen however most certainly the heat I experienced - and the way I have dealt with it - has lead me to My Self and closer to union with the Atman. In everyday terms I could say that the choices I have made so far have left me with a nice tan and not a sunburn lol!
Although it may take me some time to realize and accept a challenge or struggle, I am aware that they are gifts and look upon them as opportunity for growth, to let go of something and to create room to experience more love, more joy, more peace, and light. I am also aware that the struggle is created by the resistance to grow or accept, whereas life flows when we are able to trust and surrender.

Just last week I was feeling stagnant, as if I had not “grown” or learned in a while and so I thought I needed a teacher, some guidance and I talked to God about this. Lo and behold I have been presented with several situations which provided me with the opportunity to either defend, or expand. I have had moments of resistance but am choosing expansion and in doing so am faced with the need to take stock of - and responsibility for certain ways of being, the impact they have on my life and those around me and the willingness to see that perhaps they no longer serve me and to let them go.

With awareness and willingness comes transformation and one step closer to bliss. Although if truly present each moment IS Bliss isn’t it? Yes, Tan it is. I know this and go forward into the day doing my very best to be present to each moment of Bliss, and aware of when I am not.

Deep breath. Oh yeah, I am on a journey, moving through something which will no doubt bring me somewhere, which I believe is peace, love and acceptance.

As usual on this trip, I am not quite clear, but I am getting there – to the heart of my Self.

Tatiana Ishwari