Love Notes & Reflections from Helena McKinney

Moving Through Another Lockdown

It is now May 2021 and we’ve been living with restrictions and multiple lockdowns in Ontario for over a year. I have a feeling that many of us are struggling; our energy and tolerance is low. We are craving human interaction and a sense of freedom; we are social beings after all. Never in my life did I think giving someone a hug could be so compromising to their health. Never in my life did I have to think twice before deciding to leave my house. Never in my life would I consider an outing to the grocery store as potentially ‘dangerous’. This is EXHAUSTING to say the least; mentally and emotionally, and it drains us energetically. We are processing a huge global crisis and we can even witness how it has left some people very divided on what is happening in the world. 

I live alone and the solitude is not always peaceful or relaxing. I often get restless, sick of hearing my own voice, craving company and truly lonely. I don’t know what I would do without my cat Gus. Saying this, if you are living at home with a full house, kids and partners etc, maybe we can trade for a week, lol. I acknowledge how HARD this is on all of us but I want to share the things that have been getting me through yet another challenging time.

Thank you to the Staff at In Fine Feather Yoga

The amazing instructors at the studio have been an essential glue to keeping the In Fine Feather Yoga community thriving and vibrant. I could not possibly do this without them. Each of them showed up for me the second this crisis began, offering their support both professionally and personally, and I will never be able to thank them enough. Meagan Santa, Stephanie Weiler, Jackee Desimone and Michelle Smith - you are AMAZING humans. The other day a student complimented our teaching staff for how much they’ve shown up for the community through this. Even if they have had a hard day, they show up genuinely, authentically and with their own unique insight to teach their classes. I couldn’t agree with this student more! In addition to being solid instructors and really amazing people, I consider them my lifelong friends. We have shared a very intimate experience and one that we are all very passionate about; keeping In Fine Feather alive and vibrant! We regularly check in on each other to talk about life, headspace, heart space and I can’t wait for us to be all together. I owe you ladies a drink, especially WHEN patios open again. (Hand on forehead emoji).

My Online Course: NeuroScience of Mindfulness

I enrolled myself in a four week online course through the University of Toronto and I am grateful for every second of this program. I had been looking for a course like this for a while. I am fascinated by the anatomy of the body, the physiology of the body and the nervous system. Through some of my previous training, I became even more amazed with how beneficial a consistent yoga and mindfulness practice is for overall health. These practices reduce chronic stress, chronic health issues, mental health conditions, the aging process and so so much more, so when I found this course I knew it was for me. It also came at the perfect time - during another lockdown. It was a great opportunity for me to continue my studies and integrate it into my teaching. It also kept my mind active, interested and motivated. What interests you? What are you passionate about? What have you always wanted to learn more about? There are so many online courses, especially now. Find something that intrigues you.

I never thought I would like online learning but the instructor did an amazing job delivering the content and still making the live sessions social. This course was just another reminder of how innovative and creative we have become over the last year. Our ability to transition and make information accessible is a gift. This course gave me a lot to be grateful for. I recognize that personal growth and self realization are lifelong processes. We are on a path whether we like it or not. I want to continue on a path of mindfulness, self inquiry and constant learning. I’ve also started listening to the audible book, Wherever you Go, There you Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and I would highly recommend it as an introduction to mindfulness.

Finding Peace in Simplicity

This has been a great time for me to dive into and immerse myself in new hobbies. I have found fun little projects that help me stay busy, stimulated and active at home. I think many of us have picked up new skills and I am certain we will come out of this as master chefs and artisans, lol! I have become a botanist… in my own eyes, at least! My house plants and seedlings have taken over my entire house. This all started a few weeks ago (before lockdown) when my mom and I went to the Watering Can in Vineland, Ontario. I was so plant inspired when I got home that I immediately began researching plant health. My plants already got a lot of my attention but this is a whole new level; making homemade fertilizers, solutions to dust the leaves and propagating new plants. Half of my phone calls with my mom and best friend Danielle now involve plant talk. (Which is much better than covid talk I might add). 

Anyone else watch The Crown on Netflix? If you haven’t I highly recommend it. I’ve always enjoyed learning about history and the Royal Family. As a kid, I woke up with my mom to watch Princess Diana’s funeral, and I remember the day she died. My mom and I also woke up to watch the Royal Wedding of Prince William. Then, with the recent passing of Prince Phillip and the family drama with Prince Harry, this last month I have completely spiralled into watching documentaries on the history of the Royal family. My bestie, Meag and I have both been doing this and we laugh at ourselves because we’ve even started drinking tea. She and I agree, Princess Margaret reminds me of myself. I just can’t seem to figure out romance and have been known to enjoy a good party from time to time, lol. 

I am doing my best to seek joy in each day. I am finding it in the consistency of my routine: yoga, mindfulness, house hobbies, books and good films. I try to find other people who share these passions with me so we have something that connects us other than the obvious state of our world. It's not that I am ignoring what is happening, in fact, it's the opposite. I am very aware of how sad our condition is BUT if I did nothing about it, I would find it completely overwhelming and I would be suffering more than I already am. So, I see the negativity that surrounds us but I am doing my absolute best to better myself through it. This takes conscious effort but it is what's making me feel stronger and on the really hard days, it is what's making me feel at the bare minimum, ok. 

I hope you can find some lightness and positive connection throughout your day. When you notice yourself in that space, embrace it fully and acknowledge it as a BIG win. We need to take the wins, small or big, when they come our way right now. If you ever need me I am here. If you want to move your body more, I am here. We just released the Spring 30 Day Home Yoga Program. It is a great offering for becoming more consistent with movement. The In Fine Feather community is a solid group of humans lifting each other up daily. 

Even when I wrote this, I felt happy and excited to share it with you. WIN!
Thanks for being here, 

Xo
Helena

Why Yoga & Mindful Movement Helps to Reduce Anxiety, Fear & Stress

with Helena McKinney, Founder of In Fine Feather Yoga

At some point in our lives, we have all experienced a certain level of stress, worry, doubt, anxiety and even panic. I think it is fair to say that during this pandemic we have all experienced heightened levels of these sensations. Some days it is easier than others to navigate our way through it. Some days the unknown is enough to make us want to stay in bed and not wake up until this is all over. But it is so essential that we keep showing up, the best we can, every day for ourselves and for each other even when it is hard. It can be really challenging creating healthy habits and patterns for ourselves when it feels like all of our energy reserves are depleted. BUT… guess what! Yoga and movement shifts, creates, cultivates and generates new energy in the body and mind. I like to compare it to convincing a kid to eat broccoli; they don’t want to eat their greens but you know the long term health benefits. You’ve got to do the hard thing because it’s the best thing for you. Adults, you need to ‘eat your greens’ too! Let’s explore just some of the benefits of a daily movement practice.

1. Benefits of Taking Deep Breaths in Yoga

Every yoga practice that we offer begins with slowing down the pace of your breath; softening all the muscles of respiration around the shoulders, ribs, and belly to take deeper, longer inhales and exhales. (I bet you already started paying attention to how you are breathing). When the body receives more oxygen, it invites our muscles, tissues and joints to release tension. Ahhhh, sigh of relief, you can let go for a minute. This also calms the nervous system  which invites you to feel safer, calmer and less panicked. (You aren’t running from a bear or trying to put out a fire) Your heart rate will begin to slow down and you can often physically feel when this shift happens. 

2. Yoga Stimulates the Body, Gets you Moving and Shifts Energy 

Movement is the body's friction. Scientifically movement gets fluid moving in the body releasing all the ‘happy’ hormones and improving your overall mood. This is often why you feel fired up, more positive and lighter when you finish a workout or a class. When you stretch or build heat in your body you can process physical tension, tightness and discomfort that is often associated with localized stress and anxiety.

3. Yoga Brings you into the Present Moment and Helps you Focus

Every class encourages you to pay attention on a heightened level to how you are moving. This limits the mind’s ability to wander off into the experiences of your current life. When you are focusing inward to your body you are literally turning off your brain's quick reactions and responses to your stressful experiences which allows you to enjoy being in the present moment doing what you’re doing. This can lead to a general sensation of feeling more content, centred, secure and simply OK. Sometimes all we need is to feel ok and to distance ourselves from the chaos that surrounds us. Moving your body can become a daily reminder of your current strength, flexibility and endurance. All the qualities we need to get through the day! 

4. Practice Creates a Positive Mindset for the Day

Once you have established a clearer head space for yourself, you might feel more equipped to set an intention and take on the day. Each yoga class with In Fine Feather will invite you to focus your attention on sensation and how you would like to feel. Perhaps you want to feel calm and more balanced; if you have achieved that in your practice, let it guide you into all the other tasks you need to complete. You can remind yourself of the calm and balance you cultivated in class. You are capable because you have witnessed it within yourself. You will feel more confident to handle anything that comes your way and you will have the resources to move through the challenging moments. How empowering is that?!!! 

Hopefully you feel inspired to get up and get moving even if it’s just for 10 minutes a day. Perhaps next week it will be 20 and then 30 minutes. We have so many resources online to help support you with a home movement practice. Check out what we have available on our YouTube Channel. See what you can download from our website In Fine Feather Yoga. We also host LIVE classes every day. See our schedule HERE and reserve your spot for a session. Small steps accumulate and eventually get you to the next step. Any action is better than inaction. Starting somewhere is a start. 

Keep a positive mindset and remember that all of the staff at In Fine Feather are here to support you! Reach out whenever you need. If you have more questions about igniting your Yoga practice, email  info@infinefeatheryoga.com. 

Much Love, 
Helena  

2020 Reflections with Helena McKinney

A Year in Review with the founder of In Fine Feather Yoga & Hamilton entrepreneur, Helena McKinney. 

Every year around this time I share a personal and professional reflection of the year. I usually highlight the major accomplishments, milestone moments and successful events. (Check out the 2019 reflection). Well, as we all know this year has been extremely different and challenging in so many ways, so this year's reflection is going to have a different vibe as well. Rather than bringing to light the specific things that happened (or didn’t happen at all), I want to talk about the overall sensation of 2020, as well as my core values that have been strengthened and have supported me immensely throughout ALL the decisions and hardships that came with this year. These words have been my mantras, repeated daily to myself; they have been my constant reminders for how I want to feel, that it's ok to not be ok sometimes and they’ve picked me up when I needed a gentle hand.

Acceptance

It's felt like a rollercoaster for all of us but navigating the physical location of the studio was causing me so much additional stress and taking so much emotional energy from me. At some point I had to LET GO and find radical acceptance with all of the circumstances that were out of my control. Once I landed in this place, I was able to focus my attention, be clear with my intentions and explore my creativity again. Leaning into this time and trying to find peace with it has allowed me to cultivate new adventures for myself and ultimately offer new services for you. I have deepened my own daily mindfulness practice and I am beyond excited to share them with you in the 21 Day Meditation Challenge that is about to begin on January 4th. I have developed as an entrepreneur by learning new skill sets and been able to do more lifestyle and business mentoring with Emerge Mentoring, the other business I founded in 2019. Taking on new challenges has actually been refreshing and invigorating once I let go of the forces that are greater than me.

Consistency

Showing up for myself hasn’t always been easy over the last 10 months and I have sometimes felt the added weight of showing up for a community. BUT I do it and I LOVE it! I have often been asked how I show up to teach our LIVE classes every day with something insightful to say and how I don’t even skip a beat when it comes to being present. Here's how: I understand the importance of my role and the service I offer for people's mental health and wellbeing every day. I always feel better after I teach and move with our community. In Fine Feather Yoga is my life and you need to show up for life otherwise it keeps happening without you. Even when it is the hardest it has ever been, I want to move through it together, rather than feeling stuck and alone.

Self Care

Taking care of myself has become a top priority. I began to understand that my energy is different right now and I need to have a different level of expectation from myself. We are all trying to process so much every day and it's exhausting sometimes. Taking rest and time to slow down has been essential to making it through the weeks of isolation and now the current lockdown. Without the usual hustle of day to day life I have embraced new hobbies that feed my soul and aren’t so closely associated with working all the time the way I used to. My schedule is much more balanced and allows me to crochet, nap, cook meals in the evening, listen to an audible book, catch up with a friend on the phone, nourish my plants, do projects around the house and soak in the tub for an hour. Want to see a little more of my personal lifestyle and sillness? Check out my  instagram account @helena_hamont; you’ll get daily doses of my cat Gus, witness my ridiculous solo dance parties and hear my random rants. 

Finally, I move forward with HOPE

While this year has looked really different, I have learned so much about my personal drive and cultivated deeper connections with our community. I am HOPEFUL that we will emerge from this time stronger, more compassionate and more understanding humans. I think we will be more mindful to our work/life balance, respectful of each other's boundaries and appreciative of human connection. These are good things! I want you all to take 10 minutes of quiet space to yourself to explore what this slower, more introspective time has offered you. What have you learned about yourself through the challenges? What relationships have been strengthened? How have you grown as an individual? I would love for you to join me on New Year’s Day for our Intention Setting LIVE yoga class. I will guide you through an Intro to Flow class, (safe for students of all levels) followed by a journaling exercise that will deepen your awareness of the growth you have received this year. Please be sure to sign up online HERE to receive the live class link. 

All we can do is our best. Keep showing up for yourself and support yourself in whatever ways possible. Keep connecting to your community and loved ones. We are in this together! Sending all my love and gratitude,

Happy New Year, 
Helena xo 

A Reflection from Helena McKinney, Operating a Business During Covid 19

I remember the moment Coronavirus touched down in Hamilton and on March 15th I decided to close the yoga studio for what I thought would be two weeks. Schools had just announced that they were shutting down and I felt a social responsibility to keep our community safe, to be a part of the solution to end this deadly virus. I can hear my words, “This is 2020. We have modern science. There is no way this can last longer than a few weeks.” HOLY… (insert all the cuss words you would like). I know we have all been drastically affected by the last 8 months but I wanted to write this blog for a few reasons. I haven’t really talked about the studio’s ultimate decision to close and perhaps I can process a bit here. The studio has been my home for 7 years and I still don’t even know how I will fully adjust without it. Also, anyone who has built their career from the ground up and who works in the service, hospitality, entertainment or group led fitness industries might be able to relate. Navigating your business around this has been a shit show. 

Owning In Fine Feather Yoga During a Global Pandemic

I wrote the following being in isolation and quarantine for 4 weeks, when the impact of this was really sinking in for all of us. It seems appropriate to share now. “I am in week four of lockdown, at home by myself and with my cat Gus. At this point I am riding the emotional waves with everyone else in the world trying to process everything that is happening. 7 years of owning In Fine Feather Yoga has almost broken me a couple of times, but this is something next level. This is something different. I feel rocked by this. Learning to navigate not just a business crisis but an economic, health and societal crisis. All I can say is, is this really happening? There are moments where I just have to surrender and find acceptance with not knowing what the world will look like after this. Or if my business will even be standing.” HOLY… (insert all the cuss words you would like). Well we are still standing but in a very very different way. If you told me a year ago that my business would be entirely virtual, I never would have believed you. 

The Studio isn’t Closed, It’s EVOLVED! 

So at this point in the article, I hope you’ve realized, I closed the brick and mortar to the yoga studio. I still hate saying it and have secretly been avoiding Ottawa Street, the location of the studio, for weeks. It was an emotional rollercoaster to get to this decision, so let’s talk about that journey a bit. Right from the get go, the IFF staff hustled. As an entrepreneur, I have come to realize I thrive in chaos. (Not 7 months of it! That’s not sustainable for anyone but I do alright under pressure.) We got our classes online rather quickly and formulated a quick marketing plan to get this out to the community. I have to thank the universe for a few people here. Thank you Meagan Santa, studio assistant manager, my business partner and best friend. Meag has been working in the virtual studio world for awhile and stepped up with confidence, while I poured a glass of wine and said, “What the bleep are we going to do?!!!??” I am grateful to our students. Our members are loyal and I would like to attribute that to importance of COMMUNITY and how I made sure it was the foundation of everything we try to create at In Fine Feather. Almost everyone followed us online! There have been some tech hick-ups and our instructor, Stephanie Weiler, has been there to support each and every student along the way. Carol D’Alves, our community ambassador has been an advocate on our Facebook community page; daily sharing inspiring posts, initiating book exchanges, porch drops offs and charity drives for local organizations. WOW… I couldn’t ask to be surrounded by more amazing people. 

Why a Virtual Home Yoga Practice is the NEW Way 

So obviously, I would initially say that teaching on a live stream was not ideal but there are certain things I have come to realize about this new method of delivering classes. There is something so comfortable and intimate teaching right from my home. I feel like I have been able to open new doors for all of you. The more I was exposed to teaching online the more familiar I became with it; in fact it became a part of my daily routine. This routine is keeping me feeling safe and supported as our world is constantly changing. My decision to close the physical location is still supported by my initial response to Covid; a social responsibility to keep our community safe. I will always stand by that. We are so SO fortunate that yoga is something we can still access virtually. The message still translates online and our service to teach can still be delivered. The fact that we, as a community, pivot like this is remarkable. Want to check out our Daily Live Stream Class options, click HERE.

Over the last 8 months we have done everything; we closed, we went online, we went outside to Yoga in the Park, we recorded, uploaded, downloaded and reopened the studio to in person classes. We recreated the business at least 5 times. The truth is, that being in person made me feel uncomfortable and also carried the huge financial burden of keeping the space open. When our second wave was coming, I wanted closing to be MY choice, not the larger forces that are working against us right now. So I came to terms with it and made a very tough call. Saying that, I know deep in my heart In Fine Feather Yoga will continue to evolve and grow. We will overcome this challenge and any other challenges that come our way. I visualize a new space for us in the future; one with outdoor space to practise, quiet, lots of light and more PARKING, lol! My heart remains hopeful for our future. Until we can be in person again practise in the warmth of my home, with Gus by my side. What is most important is that you are here and I am here, no matter where we are. 

Much love for where we have landed as a community, 
With gratitude, 
Helena xo