You Are Welcome Here by Meagan Santa

Finding Yoga During a Season of Uncertainty By Assistant Manager of In Fine Feather Yoga

I found yoga during a season of uncertainty. I had just finished college and felt a little lost. I was searching for a style of movement that felt safe for my knee injuries. I had 2 knee procedures during my dance career that had left me feeling disconnected from my body. 

My good friend gifted me In Fine Feather’s New Student Intro Special Pass so she and I went together. My first class was with Shelley Gordon, owner of Love My Mat and I loved it. I did pay what you can/community classes for months until Helena suggested I do Yoga Teacher Training, additionally offering me an Energy Exchange position. Through months of consistent practice, I felt my anxiety become more bearable and I developed tools to ease my stress. I made new friends and started dreaming about what it would be like to guide a yoga class, having been a dance teacher in the past. I felt my knee continue to get stronger and my own awareness of my physical body and thoughts become more clear.

As an experienced yoga teacher and assistant manager at IFF, I’m now sharing what I would have wanted to read on the first day I attended a yoga class at In Fine Feather Yoga. I hope you feel supported and even more confident that you’re being led into a community that welcomes everyone no matter what. A community that values, health, wellness, vitality, and most importantly, compassion for ourselves, each other, and the world. 

What You Can Expect: Functional Movement & Mindfulness

Functional movement & simple integrations into mindfulness are important to us during any class on the schedule. All teachers begin each class with breath as an opportunity to land in your space and check-in with yourself. This allows students to heighten their own body awareness and notice the quality of their thoughts. Although our yoga classes are traditionally based on the Vinyasa and Anusara practices we sometimes like to veer off into other creative and playful movements. 

Your safety is our priority which is why all teachers have studied anatomy and alignment for a number of additional hours to ensure we are fully equipped to guide with the utmost care and consideration. Through regular practice, students often find they build strength while increasing their range of flexibility and mobility. The benefits of a regular yoga practice are known to heighten your quality of life off the mat. 

Going even deeper than the mindfulness practices we teach in class we offer a number of additional resources like blogs, IGTVs, quick chats after class, book recommendations, community chat in the private Facebook Group and more so you can feel confident when inviting additional mindfulness habits into your day to day routine. We want our students to feel a sense of ease, balance and connectedness as often as possible, not just on the mat. 

Love & Kindness Are the Only Student Prerequisites

We continue to learn and unlearn how to create a welcoming community for everyone. There is room for every body shape, belief system, ethnicity, background, age, and representation at In Fine Feather Yoga. We feel inspired by the work Robin Yolanda Lacambra does and highly suggest our community explore her Sharing Privilege workshop here as an opportunity to go deeper.

You can show up exactly as you are. Rest your “baggage”, trauma, stress, mental health battles, hurt, etc down beside your mat and give yourself permission to simply be. We believe each yoga practice or act of mindfulness is a step closer to healing, growth and inner peace. The more often we can open our arms and hearts to one and another to share this gift, the more love and kindness there will be.

Financial Accessibility

This has always and will always be important to us. You can begin your practice for as little as $5.00 by exploring the various Online Offerings available here. Many of our regular students began their yoga journey with the New Student Intro Special which gives you 30 days of unlimited live classes for $30.00 here. If you are still unsure if a home practice will suit your lifestyle you can try a class with Helena for free here. We occasionally pop up free replay classes on our YouTube channel! In the warmer months, we host Yoga in the Park at Hamilton Gage Park. These classes are pay-what-you-can and give students an opportunity to practice outside! We will release the Yoga in the Park schedule in late spring!

How Our Community Stays Connected

It’s been really beautiful to see our community come together to support each other. You can request to join our private Facebook Group here. One of our ambassadors and key members is Carol. She has been the glue keeping the students and teachers connected virtually through book shares, donation drives, engaging post opportunities, etc. 

We are better together. However, you find In Fine Feather Yoga, we are happy to have you and accept you where you’re at in whatever season of life you may be walking through. So many of us have found yoga during difficult seasons and our mat was and still is a safe and peaceful place to be. As teachers, we know this to be true for ourselves from our experiences. This is part of the reason we are so passionate about guiding you and holding space. 

Book your live class via Mindbody here and explore our membership options here. I encourage you to read our additional blogs here to learn more about yoga, meditation, mindfulness, our community and the personal growth resources available. Follow us on Instagram here to find even more including Flow Progression videos and inspiring chats with myself and Helena McKinney, our founder. If you have additional questions, email info@infinefeatheryoga.com.

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 

How to Be Consistent in Your Movement Practice by Meagan Santa

There is so much we can’t control in this season but one thing we can is how well we take care of ourselves. Yoga is an incredible practice that you can take with you anywhere. A consistent home practice is one way you can check in with yourself daily and receive benefits physically and mentally. You don’t need much space and it can be any length of time.

I feel like consistency is my super power! We all have our own strengths and unique gifts so I’m sharing what has been helpful for me in continuing to have a consistent movement practice and how these habits have led into other healthy habits.

I want you to envision how you would feel if you moved your body for a week straight. Imagine having a sacred space in your home where you roll your mat out. What are the other living beings in your home doing while you carve out this time for you? Perhaps one day you break a sweat and the next you keep your movement slow and gentle. One morning you flow for 15 minutes and the next night you give yourself a full 45 minute class. Envision how you might feel on day 7 of consistency. You’re beginning to settle into a routine, maybe your stress levels feel lower and you are more focused and patient.

Hold onto that feeling. That is your drive to show up for YOU every day, especially on the days you might not want to at first. Know that by you showing up you are also stepping into the best version of yourself and bringing that quality of life to all of those around you. It’s a win-win, plus you are a role model for those around you.

So let’s dig into my 5 tips:

1. Consume motivation daily like you consume food & water.

   When you are hungry, you eat. When you a thirsty, you drink water. When you don’t feel motivated, consume motivation! Who inspires you? Is there a quote or song that pumps you up? Is there a social media account that has content you connect with? A book or affirmation card deck? Start filling your tool box with different ways to consume doses of motivation! Some days you might need a small dose and other days you’ll need more than a little.

2. Set your space

   I recommend practicing in the same spot in your home. Gradually you can make this space sacred and special with plants or an essential oil diffuser. Before you press play on your practice, have a little ritual of setting your space where you roll out your mat, get changed, maybe make a tea. All those little tasks leading up to practice are cues to your mind, your body and the people in your home that you are gearing up to move your body. Preparation and frontloading are key!

3. Habit Stacking

   According to Esquire, habit stacking can be, “Also termed 'habit chaining', the process involves grouping together small activities into a routine which you link to a habit already set in your day. This makes the routine memorable and anchors your new habits to an existing trigger.”

   Think about what time of day you see yourself practicing most often. Then what habit are you already doing that you can stack your movement practice behind! Maybe you cue up your yoga class on your laptop right after making coffee or after walking the dog. Make this unique to your routine and as easy as possible to add in.

4. Have a Pre-Determined Calendar

   This is my favourite tip because it feels so darn good to check something off a calendar or list! I love to commit to challenges where they are 3 days, 7 days, or 30 days. It makes me feel organised and I can plan my practice into my week. This eliminates distractions and obstacles while also communicating early on to those around me that I am unavailable during X time because I’m moving my body! IFF has a 30 day home program, and a 7 day series to provide you with this type of layout to support your practice! Find them HERE!

5. Accountability

   There will be days when you don’t want to show up. Plan to overcome this obstacle with accountability! If you know me, you know I love to use social media to share how I’m taking care of myself every day. (Search #everydaywithmeag!) I also have an online community of friends and clients who are expecting me to show up. That’s my accountability and I know someone will reach out if they notice I’m MIA. Checking in with an accountability partner, workout buddy, yoga friend or even our IFF Community Page on Facebook are easy ways to give and receive support and encouragement. Plus you can celebrate together when you accomplish your goal! The power of accountability will remind you that you are never alone in your endeavour and you will never regret taking the time for yourself on your mat!

Pick one of these tips and start there. One step at a time. One day at a time. That’s how you build momentum. Before you know it, consistency could be your super power too!

More About Meagan

Meagan grew up as a competitive dancer in Hamilton and found yoga after suffering a knee injury which prompted her to find a form of fitness she could take on at her own pace. She quickly fell in love with the elements of yoga that encouraged mindfulness, increased flexibility and strength. Suffering from anxiety kept her seeking the peaceful and welcoming space at In Fine Feather Yoga in 2015. Meagan felt a calling to deepen her practice and learn how to share it with others, leading her to commit to Yoga Teacher Training at In Fine Feather in 2016! This began a lifelong commitment to her mat and self-study to grow as a student and teacher. Meagan has gone on to study meditation and personal development more deeply, following a certification in nutrition and personal training. She has gone on to teach at various facilities to individuals of all ages, experience levels and backgrounds. 

In February 2018 Helena McKinney hired Meagan on as the assistant manager of In Fine Feather. Her forward-thinking, ambitious spirit and drive to learn as much as she could about business put Meagan in a position to support the studio’s regular needs alongside Helena. With the community and studio’s missions and values at the forefront of mind, she continues to grow personally and professionally within this role finding comfort in the faces of the other team members and students who find home within In Fine Feather.

What I've Learned From 31 Days of Minimizing by Alicia Giannetti

Spring is officially here. The birds are chirping, the leaves are budding, the sun is shining. People tend to feel more motivated and energized when the weather starts to warm up and this is why I think it is the perfect time to declutter your life. 

I just finished hosting a free 31 day minimizing challenge to clean your mind, body and space! This challenge helps you to purge all the unnecessary, unwanted and unused “stuff” that is clogging up your home. By letting go, you create more room for peace, balance and joy.

The challenge is broken down into 4 themes, a theme per week: digital, physical things, physical habits and mental habits. Each day I share a new challenge. Every day I share a new challenge for you to gradually declutter your space. You can find all the challenge on my Instagram page HERE.

4 TIPS BEFORE GETTING STARTED:

1. Identify your why

Why do you want to simplify? How might your life be better with less? Whether it is for your mental and physical health, saving more time, saving more money, having time to spend time with family and friends, having more time for yourself, ask how minimizing will get you there? 

2. Visualize the kind of space you want, both mentally, physically and digitally

How much do you want to let go of? What does your space look like? When you organize your physical space it helps organize your mental space. Studies have shown that a clean and comfortable living environment reduces stress and therefore increases health and happiness. Just as you fill your body with delicious, healthy foods to achieve optimal health, it’s important to create a home that lights you up from the inside out.

3. Make agreements with yourself

Make an agreement with yourself that you will let things go, that you will only keep things that you love and that add value to your life. Everything you own should serve a purpose. Minimizing isn't about getting rid of what you use, it's getting rid of what you don’t use. It is not about depriving yourself of what you like, it is about keeping the things you use and find necessary. You must commit to making serious changes even if it will be challenging. 

4. Schedule it in

Get very clear on when you will complete the challenge. Reserve at least 15 minutes each day this month to focus on this challenge and to complete your task assigned. Try not to get overwhelmed; you don't have to do it all at once, just do one thing at a time.  Taking small steps towards minimizing can have numerous positive effects on your life.

Given the current circumstances that we all are in, this is the perfect opportunity to declutter your space, to surround yourself with only the things and people you love.

If you’re ready to make a change and get rid of all of that unwanted clutter in your space, join the challenge!

If you want all the eBook for the challenge, send me an email energeticallyalive@gmail.com 

If you would like to learn more about health, wellness, self development, and/or personal growth follow my social media accounts on Facebook or Instagram @energeticallyalive.

More About Alicia

Alicia is an In Fine Feather yoga teacher graduate and active community member. You can find her spreading love and joy online and in person with her vegan pot lucks, sharing challenges like this one, educating on essential oil use and other healthy lifestyle tips.

Embracing Your Home Practice by Michelle Smith

We are a few weeks into our social distancing measures and we are seeing such an overwhelming amount of love and connection from the yoga community locally and worldwide. There are more opportunities than ever to hop on a virtual yoga class and practice in your own home. We are each experiencing an endless list of adjustments in our lives right now; however the adjustment to an at home practice can invite some much needed routine and familiarity into our days. 

Harvard health is recommending yoga and meditation as coping mechanisms to deal with coronavirus anxiety. Our yoga community knows this - and this is such a great opportunity to invite those you live with to practise with you, or to share classes and your love of yoga with your friends afar (virtually, of course!)

Schedule it

Make your yoga practice a part of your routine. Setting a routine and inviting a bit of structure to our days can help us adjust to our new normal, and can ensure we get to the things that will make us feel our best. A great way to do this is to sign up for live classes. The added bonus to this is that you get to connect with your yoga community in real time - bringing the studio experience right into your home. After all, we’re all in this together. Get the details to practice daily with In Fine Feather Yoga HERE!

Set Up Your Space

If you have a yoga mat and props, you’re in good shape! If you don’t, you’re still in good shape - the necessary tools for your practice are your presence and your breath. If you don’t have a yoga mat, your carpet, a towel or blanket will do the trick. A pillow or couch cushion can make for a quick bolster. A towel or belt makes for a great yoga strap in a pinch, and any food boxes or books can easily turn into a makeshift block. If you're looking to purchase props, Love My Mat is offering 10% off with the code LOVEINFINEFEATHER for a limited time. A portion of these sales will go directly back into our studio.

Find the atmosphere that works for you and your current lifestyle. It might be difficult to find a quiet, tidy corner where you can find focus - but if you can, try to de-clutter right before your practice. It helps to de-clutter the mind when your space is neat. Set up a Spotify playlist, or move in silence. Switch things up and see what works best for you. Click HERE to access a playlist we at In Fine Feather have created for you to use!

Experience it

Release any expectations and accept that this practice will feel different. The energy may be different, your focus may be off, you might miss your favourite teacher’s playlist and adjustments. You might have a dog barking and kids running around - the yoga class might even have sounds in the background! Accept the change and thank yourself for arriving on your mat even in these changed circumstances.  We’re seeing our community at home and it's a beautiful experience 

More importantly, through these scary times, see if you can invite a sense of gratitude into your practice - how lucky are we to have the ability to connect as a community online and use this practice to invite a bit of love into our days and actions!

Reach out

If you are having trouble setting up your home practice, reach out to us and let us know! If you are not part of our Community Facebook Group - now is a fabulous time to join and get the social aspect of the studio that you might be missing before and/or after class. While your yoga instructors and the In Fine Feather community are missing connecting with each and every person’s shining light in the studio, we are overjoyed to hear from everyone and to know how they’re doing these days.

More About Michelle

Michelle found yoga after a lifetime of organized sports gave way to post-secondary student life. Struggling to keep a steady fitness routine, she enrolled in a yoga class. She quickly found herself continuing to return to her mat after noticing a sense of focus, steadiness and ease in her chaotic schedule. The four corners of her mat have remained the space where she can slow down and reconnect with herself.

Looking to strengthen her personal practice, Michelle enrolled in 200-hour teacher training at Anjeli Teacher Training Academy with Diana Lockett and Daniel Horgan in 2017. She quickly felt the call to share her passion for the healing properties of yoga and thoughtful movement with others. A life-long student, Michelle has continued her training with a 50-hour Asana & Anatomy Training with In Fine Feather Yoga and is currently studying at the Canadian Academy of Osteopathy. 

 Michelle’s teaching offers an alignment based and heart-centred class that encourages exploration of the body and spirit. She holds space for students to bring awareness and agency to their physical, emotional, and energetic bodies. Students can expect to leave class feeling a little bit lighter, and feeling a greater sense of connection. Michelle is honoured to be a part of such an amazing community at the studio.

@chellesmithyoga

Why Yoga & Mindfulness Are Beneficial for High Performers by Meagan Santa

If you are striving to be a high performing employee, business owner, athlete, etc then practicing yoga and mindfulness techniques will offer you a long list of benefits. The majority of us want to show up as our best self, whether that’s the best mother we can be or the best manager in the workplace. Carving out time to practice regularly is probably providing you with more benefits than you realize.

A few months ago I began teaching at On Ice Hockey Performance Centre and Bujan Goaltending where I’ve been really inspired by the high performing athletes who walk in and out of those doors. Simultaneously, Helena and I hosted our second Emerge Mentoring workshop with a focus on finding your flow state, and tapping into your optimal consciousness to feel your best and perform your best. Creating all this content for entrepreneurs and teaching young athletes made me think about how the average yogi can still enhance their life.

Let’s explore the top 5 benefits you are getting from practicing yoga on and off your mat!

1. Increased Energy & Productivity

2. Improved Memory & Concentration

3. Enhanced Visualization & Motivation

4. Decreased Stress Levels & Regulated Nervous System

5. Reduced Physical Tension & Pain

1. Increased Energy & Productivity

I can’t be the only one who sleeps better after a yoga class. When we sleep well we have more energy during the day. Yoga also boosts your productivity by stimulating the prefrontal lobes of your brain where higher level thinking and critical decision-making occurs, as well as where the “feel good” hormones are released.

2. Improved Memory & Concentration 

When practicing yoga, especially balance poses, you are training your mind to concentrate on a single task, whether it’s a handstand or boat pose. A well-rounded vinyasa flow class will move you through a variety of poses that stimulate the nervous system, increasing circulation of blood and oxygen while regulating your breath. If you are also practicing meditation, or exploring it at least, you are taking focus and concentration to another level entirely! 

3. Enhanced Visualization & Motivation

I find myself receiving my best ideas and solutions during my yoga practice. I suddenly remember an idea I had forgotten about earlier in the day or a tailwind of emotions starts to surface on my mat. Because we are less stimulated in class (notice how minimal and simple IFF’s decor is) our mind has a chance to catch up to the present moment and process thoughts and feelings. So why visualization? Nineteen year old Mississauga local, Bianca Andreescu, scored the victory against Serena Williams at this past year's U.S. Open and she reported that she had been visualizing for years. "I’ve been visualizing ever since I was 12 or 13 when my amazing mother introduced me to it," Andreescu said. "I find it very helpful ... I believe we create our reality with our mind." Take time to visualize your greatest goals and the life you wish for yourself.

4. Decreased Stress Levels & Regulated Nervous System

Practicing yoga can aid in changing your perspective of stress but also give you tools to process these emotions and release the physical symptoms like tight hips or chest. Healthy stress responses are a gamechanger, along with using your breath as an anchor to come back to the present moment. Increasing your body awareness and ability to see your reactions from a clear point of view (rather than your ego) allows you to soothe yourself or put yourself in a position to ask for help. There’s lots more scientific evidence of this if you want to research further! 

5. Reduced Physical Tension and Pain

From an article in Harvard Health Publishing: “Yoga can help people with arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine, low back pain, and many other types of chronic pain conditions. A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that among 313 people with chronic low back pain, a weekly yoga class increased mobility more than standard medical care for the condition. Another study published at nearly the same time found that yoga was comparable to standard exercise therapy in relieving chronic low back pain. A meta-analysis of 17 studies that included more than 1,600 participants concluded that yoga can improve daily function among people with fibromyalgia osteoporosis-related curvature of the spine.” 

Former first-round NHL draft pick Kris Beech, now a mindfulness coach with Aim Mindfulness, said using mindfulness and meditation practices helped him derail negative thought patterns multiple times throughout his career. He said, “We like to say in mindfulness that attention is currency. What you place your attention on is valuable.”

We offer a variety of classes to suit your level and hold space for you to receive the benefits that this practice can offer when practiced regularly. For today, simply set a timer for 5-7 minutes and focus on deep breathing. Continue to bring your focus back to your breathing when you notice your attention wandering. This is normal. Slowly increase your timer in the following days, weeks and months. Happy practicing!

More About Meagan

Meagan is a graduate of the In Fine Feather Yoga 200 Hour Teacher Training Program, the assistant manager at the studio, a lifestyle coach and yoga instructor. Learn more about Meagan HERE. Come meet Meagan on the mat at In Fine Feather Yoga by checking the class schedule HERE and find her bio HERE.