Yoga, goals and other goodness

On Sunday I went to Yoga Meltdown, which was part of the Festival of India.

The event was originally supposed to take place on the island, but due to the city's (seemingly never-ending) garbage strike, it was relocated to Queen's Quay.

The events of the festival included a free Indian feast, various vendors, cooking demonstrations, plus a schedule of performances including beautiful music, dance and drama.

I attended the 2:00 yoga class, facilitated by Vani Devi of Jivamukti Yoga. It was incredible to be in a kind of unfamiliar part of Toronto, with a view of the lake surrounded by people with a passion for yoga.

The class was lovely and challenging and I really appreciated a lot of what Vani Devi was talking about. At one point she said "flexibility and strength are not goals" and went on to say that you need to look further than that and dream bigger, and that those two things are steps in achieving bigger goals. I love that! It really aligned with the goal talk I had given on Saturday. Wishy washy goals get you nowhere. Your goals need to be positive, specific, juicy and a good fit for your life.

Here are some goals that I'm currently working on:

• I would like to move to intermediate bellydance by the end of the year. I would also like to perform in another show (either gala or hafla). I will work to accomplish this by attending my weekly classes, practicing at home and keeping notes in my bellydance journal. Getting to the next level will feel amazing!! It will be the first time I will have been in ANY sort of intermediate dance class, which will feel INCREDIBLE!!
• I want to attend nutrition school in September 2010! I have already started to put aside money from each pay cheque to cover my tuition and in the meantime I will continue to network and absorb as much as I possibly can.
• I want to win the Booty Camp "New You" Challenge. I have been working hard at boot camp, doing my DVD on the weekends, doing a variety of classes outside of boot camp and eating well. I will continue to work hard over the next two weeks, write a kick ass essay and submit my pictures within the deadline. (Whether I win or not, I am going to be so proud of myself for sticking with it and making some amazing changes in my physical activity routine. I look forward to continuing with this "new me" long after booty camp is over)

I was given a free pass to check out the Jivamukti Yoga studio and I plan to do so in the coming weeks. On the pamphlet I was given it describes Jivamukti Yoga as "a method where the student is constantly reminded that their True Self is none other than happiness and Love itself".

Yoga is an incredible gift. I'm so happy that this year I have practiced more regularly. I really need to do it more often because when I do I feel light, refreshed, energized and filled with passion.

Events like Yoga Meltdown make me incredibly thankful to live in such an amazing, diverse (albeit smelly) city. The summer brings so many festivals, events and parties to Toronto and I was very happy that I attended this one. I look forward to the event's third annual event next year! Hopefully it will only get bigger and better from here. Until then I will just have to enjoy things like the Canadian National Exhibition and Taste of the Danforth.

How do you feel when you do yoga? I know that a lot of you have been thinking about goals this week (as a result of my meetings and/or Amy's 15 week challenge) - what are you currently working towards?