The Ishwari Yoga Web site launched today! In keeping with the running theme in my life over the past year, an "Akhanda Yoga for Runners" class is being offered in the New Year.
I invite you to visit (http://www.ishwariyoga.com ) for schedule and more information on Ishwari Yoga and classes offered.
Om Shanti! (Om peace!)
Tatiana Ishwari
In case you are wondering what I am currently up to you can visit me at (http://www.planetranger.com/loveandacceptance)
or at
my Path to Peace blog at (http://pathtopeace.zaadz.com/blog)
Much love, many thanks and Be well,
Tatiana
Hello, remember me? I did in fact return from Brazil safe and sound as you know, but then jumped right into an intensive yoga teacher training program which I completed last Friday - YES! I graduated from something and something which I have wanted to do for a long while.
I plan to take the month of August to prepare for teaching and to connect with myself and the world around me so I will be posting photos and Brazil stories soon - better late than never n'est ce pas?
Speak with you soon.
Om shanti (peace),
Tatiana
I am not sure I have expressed this since my return - but taking a moment to say THANK you to every one of you who helped make this endeavour, this goal, this experience a reality. In total we raised almost $6,500 for the Canadian Diabetes Association - whoo hoo!
I have yet to have the time to upload any photos so I am sorry that you haven't had the chance to see some of the good times and race photos and people we met on this trip...one day. Hopefully soon. Like in August when I have some time off.
xo Tatiana
SUPER quick update – I have been REALLY busy since my return from Brazil. I was basically home for 5 hours and then a sleep before jumping into the next part pf my journey and so have not yet had time to decrief with you about the trip and my overall Team Diabetes experience. I plan to do so but in the mean time here is an update posted this morning on http://www.planetranger.com/loveandacceptance :
I am heading into week three of an intensive yoga teacher training course. It is AMAZING! All of it - the teachers, the curriculum, the philosophy, asanas, Sanskrit, and soon Ayurvedic medicine. Yoga is a holistic path and one whose elements I have unknowingly integrated into my life over the years and use as a guide for how I live.
In addition to daily classes Monday to Friday I have been working at Bluesfest. This has left little time for study or ANYTHING else as I basically come home to sleep only to rise again 6 or 7 hours later to go to school. I have managed to create some balance this past week but hopefully this week will be more balanced and peaceful as the festival ends today and I will have more time for study and to be home and to prepare meals etc.
I complete the course August 3 at which time I will be taking a few weeks "off" to assess what, where and when I will teach, manifest other work, integrate Terry and his belongings into the apartment :) and coordinate the next set of workshops for Phil Teertha Mistlberger's next visit in September AND coordinate a group trip to Egypt to visit some of the sacred sites and workshop with Phil. As you can see my plate is full - but note as I do that it is becoming more and more so with the work I wish to do on the spiritual, healing and joyful path.
I am off to a yoga class and then to work at the final day of the festival. On that note, yesterday marked one year since Terry and I met on Elgin Street as he came out of the bank lol! Just moments before we met I prayed to God that I be sent an adventure - little did I know it would continue to this day :)) Thank you.
Sending you all peace, love and light and wishes of fulfillment, joy and happiness.
xo Tatiana
Location: Buzios and Rio, Brazil
Oi! (Hello in Portuguese)
Tudo bem? I hope so. All is well here. It has been an amazingly busy and fun time here and it is almost time to head home. I haven't been doing the Internet thing much but I did write an email to my family today so here are some excerpts from it to give you an idea of what we have been up to.
We arrive home Monday afternoon - and then I start yoga teacher training on Tuesday morning so I will be jumping right into the next chapter of life when I get back. Not sure when I will have time to write more or to post some of the hundreds of photos we took - but I will - perhaps after Bluesfest.
For now here is an overview of parts of the trip....
We are having an amazing time. Part 1 - at the Caesar Park Hotel right on Ipanema beach with Team Diabetes was incredible - a most chi chi hotel and area - and a gorgeous beach. SO many restaurants and shops - Terry bought me an itty bitty Brazilian bikini - and I purchased a cool pair of red sandals - both from a Brazilian surf/design company called Osklen.
The marathon - the run went very well. The course was incredible - the scenery incredible - along the beach the whole way - except for a long climb up a mountain side and through a couple of tunnels to get to one of the beaches on the route. We began in Barra and passed through Leblon, Ipanema, Copacabana, Flamengo. I finished with just about the same time as Ottawa and that included two pee breaks and stopping to take a lot of photos along the amazing route. Josie and I ran together and had so much fun! I was pain free the next day and well hydrated during the race and well prepared. It was great. Everyone did an amazing job and had a good time and it was touching to see all the Team Diabetes shirts along the way.
Team D had a few dinners for us at the hotel and we had a HUGE breakfast buffet included with our room - the food was holy comolly amazing and we ate like kings and queens.
Most Team D folk left for Canada Tuesday and we moved to my friend Juliana & Carol´s in Catete, which is a neighbourhood north of Ipanema and is an interesting and diverse sort of bohemian area and the total opposite of Ipanema and Copacabana in every way. There are SO many neighbourhoods here with all different character and we have visited many - mostly on foot and taking lots of pictures. (Lapa, St. Tereza, Gloria and we took the cable car to Sugar Loaf and also visited Christ the Redeemer statue which was absolutely hugely cool. I found it particularly cool since I saw the episode of CSI Miami shot there :)
Juliana left Thursday to go back to work on the oil rig where she teaches English, and Terry and I and 3 friends from Team D Saskatoon headed east to a peninsula called Buzios where there are about 20 little beach towns. Leeana and John and Brent spent the day with us there Thursday and then headed back to Rio so as to catch a soccer game tonight. Terry and I spent two nights there - one in a super cheap Pousada and the second in a posh hotel overlooking the ocean. We ate VERY well there - look for the review of our dinner at Solar - and purchased a few items of clothing designed and created locally - in Buzios. This morning we spent some time at the beach swimming in the blue blue waters before our three hour bus ride back to Rio to Catete to stay at Juliana and Carol´s again. (Juliana is still working on the rig but Carol is still there.)
Tonight we are going to a classical concert as guests with box office seats....At the start line of the marathon a very nice gentleman began speaking with me and after a few minutes of talking he asked me if I liked music - I said yes of course and he told me that he was the director of a concert hall here and a composer. He invited me and guests to see a show on Saturday night - the finale in a series of Classical music with an orchestra.
I found out about the concert hall and it is a famous one just close to Juliana´s in a neighbourhood called Lapa - THE Bohemian/arts place here in Rio. We stopped by there last Wednesday to see him and say hello. We were treated so well and welcomed. He gave me 4 tickets in their best box seats and he also presented me with a book - commemorating the 50 year anniversary of the hall with stories and photos - I feel so blessed and honoured. So Terry and I and Carol and Juliana and Carol´s friend Gisele are all going together. As he is a composer I googled him and found a ton of stuff about him and the work he has created. I will include a link later.
Last Wednesday we walked around St. Tereza and went to visit a famous set of stairs where a famous artist (Selaron) adds tiles to it every day - it is a piece of art with tiles from all over the world.
We Selaron which as cool as I had seen many of his paintings around town and have been photographing them. He asked me to send him tiles with a totem pole on it - specifically THREE tiles which make a totem and with the words Canada and my name on them, so that will be a project for me some time in the future. I hope to find a First Nations artist who would be willing to donate them to him.
Tomorrow we plan to go to Santa Tereza again as the neighbourhood is having a celebration and houses are opening their doors for people to go into and the streets are lined with artists selling their crafts and there are many cool stores and restaurants too. Then, to the airport to catch an 11 pm flight. Home tomorrow afternoon, unpack, rest, do laundry and I start school on Tuesday.
There is SO much more to share - so many stories and adventures took place each and every day - but they will have to wait.
It's almost time to go for dinner before the concert so I best get ready.
Thank you for checking in - and for your part in making this possible.
Happy Canada Day!
xo Tatiana
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
HI!! We are having a great time! The race yesterday was an awesome adventure and I have stories to tell later. The Team Diabetes people we have met from across Canada are great and I have enjoyed swapping fundraising stories with them - two gals from Calgary raised $30,000 mainly by auctioning off a steer - 3 times!! People kept buying it and then donating it back! I think I am going to have to take a lesson from their technique...
In any case, a bit more of an update below - and hopefully more soon.
xo Tatiana
HEYYYY!!
It is the day after race day and the fun continues!!! The experience so far has been AMAZING! This city is...well, there is just SO much to see and do and so many different areas and neighbourhoods and restaurants and beaches and people! The people here LOVE life. I want to write about the beach and sport culture and about the race and the people I have met and the laughs we have had - I am talking gut wrenching good times - and visiting with Juliana and meeting Carol and the adventures we have planned for the remainder of the trip - but for now I am going to have to leave at that.
Perhaps I will say that the race went well - Josie and I had a BLAST as did most of the folk running - oh, there are some good race stories to be shared including the scenery on the route - from gorgeous beaches through a favela, the Carnivale man running and more - but it was fun and not TOOO hot - it was Hot but we hydrated and took it "easy" on the run and finished with a good time - 2 hours 36 minutes and that includes stopping for a pee break, for many photo ops and a short walk with our cheerleaders Terry and John who met us at the 12KM mark (which happened to be our hotel) who stocked us up with water and a good luck kiss.
This is the first time I come to the internet cafe and I will try to do so again but tomorrow we move to Juliana´s place in Catete and then plan to take a two day trip to Ilha Grande - about 150 KM from Rio and then a 90 minute ferry ride to an island paradise with no cars.
I have go to go....food to eat, art to see, laughs to be had and a skimpy bikini to be bought ;)
Thank you for checking in - can´t wait to share the stories and the photos.
xoxox Tatiana
We depart for Brazil TOMORROW! I can't belive the day has come and am getting excited. I just finished up laundry and am about to begin packing. This final entry before departure is the long version of the summary email I am about to send out to my friends, family and supporters.
I hope to check in from Brazil but if not then check back for photos of the trip.
xo Tatiana
Whoo hoo! WE DID IT!!!!!
Together we raised over $6,500 for the Canadian Diabetes Association!!
1. THANK YOU!! for helping me raise over $6500 for the Canadian Diabetes Association! The final event which took place on May 23 - a screening of Michael Franti's film "I Know I'm Not Alone" raised over $800 and was a success on so many levels. The turnout was amazing - just seeing how much people enjoyed and were inspired by the film in itself was enough but the support I recieved for screening it and for my participation in Team Diabetes was overwhelming - I felt like a rock star that night lol! Many thanks to all the volunteers who made the event possible. Congrats to Duncan for winning the tickets to Bluesfest to see Michael perform live and to Scott who won the DVD of the film.
2. A couple weeks back I ran the ING Half Marathon in Ottawa . It was my first ever half and it was a FANTASTIC experience. I ran it in 2 hours, 30 minutes and 2 seconds which I am very very pleased with. It was a great practice for Rio and I now I know I can do it! Thanks to Elaine, Janice and Monica for keeping me company (and for keeping me laughing) for the entire 21 km, and to mom for being at the finish line to greet me!
3. We depart for Brazil TOMORROW - Summer Solstice :). We have a couple of days to acclimatize and run on June 24th first thing in the morning so please send me your energetic cheers as they help ALOT! Go Team Rio - Duncan, Josie, Frank and I - and our cheer leaders Terry and John too! Terry will be celebrating his 40th there so to be sure we will be having good times on Monday - AFTER the race :))
4. Check out the photos of Blackmail Karaoke and soon - of the IKINA film screening and our trip to Rio. (look for the link on the righ hand side of the page.) Most photos courtesy of Terry and some from Bonnie - thanks for documenting :)
Obrigada to all of you! You will all be on my mind as I complete the final stage of this amazing adventure.
xoxo Tatiana
Team Diabetes, Rio Marathon 2007
Location: Canada
It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN!
Precisely one week until we depart for Rio and Team Rio is ready! With our final group run taking place this Sunday the excitement is building and I am counting the sleeps.
This weekend will be spent preparing for the trip and planning some of the things I would like to do in Rio like visits some markets, see live music, take dance lessons and local foods not to mention visit with Juliana and Carol and explore explore explore!
It has been almost a month since I held my last event and I am happy to say that I have surpassed the fundraising goal and the donations continue to trickle in which means more money going to support the work of the Canadian Diabetes Association - fantastic!
I want to extend a special thanks to my dad and to Terry for their support in gathering pledges from their friends and colleagues on my behalf - that really helped to get me over the "edge" of the goal. Thanks guys!
Ok well I will be checking in as often as possible whilst away although photos most likely won’t be posted till I am back – but if you are on my email list I will let you know when they are.
Thanks for checking in and have a fantastic day!
xo Tatiana
Although I have been silent for the past week or so - I am still here, still present to the task at hand and am preparing for Rio. I have met and exceeded my fundraising goal and this is in no small part thanks to you. Although I achieved the goal the donations continue to come in and this is cool because it all goes towards research for diabetes and helping those with diabetes and the more we raise the more work which can be done to do so.
I continue to meet people with diabetes and the list for whom I run grows longer - which is great because I have a feeling I am going to need to think alot about all of you as I run. Although I have trained and I have one half under my belt now, I have needed to rest and take care of myself over the past couple of weeks and have not been running as much as I "should" but also as much as I would like to - and I MEAN like to. My body is in fact craving it and misses the rigorous schedule. But I plan to begin regularly again this week to keep the momentum and remain toned, now that I have rested up a bit.
I ask that you stay with me in spirit and help me to continue to fly, or run, with wings on my shoes as I have over the past 5 months. Thank you.
On another note, I am beginning to get excited about going to Brazil. I have been so busy with raising funds and the training that I have yet to really let it soak in that I am going. But I feel the excitement in my stomach and chest now as it draws near. I need to spend some reading the Lonely Planet Rio Terry gifted me, and to choose what kind of adventures I'd like for us to get up to when we are there.
We will be staying with my friend Juliana and her partner Carol who are creative and fun loving and will no doubt be fantastic hosts in their city. And I CAN'T wait to see Juliana and it has been over a year now since we left the cruise ship (where we met and worked together) and I last saw her.
I told you I would one day come visit Juliana - and I am cooommiiing!!! Very soon :))))
I will keep you posted over the coming weeks.
Happy wonderful day to you!
Tatiana
