Interview with Annie Duke, Pro Poker Player and Yoga Enthusiast
Friday, October 3rd, 2008 by Michelle Trantina
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Annie Duke is known as the world’s most successful female poker player.
She spends 16-20 hours at a poker table making a living, all while being a full time mom of four and a yoga and health fanatic.
How do you find yoga affects your mental and physical well being, and energy level?
Yoga has been amazing in terms of my mental well being. When I first started I had trouble standing still before poses or just lying still in corpse pose. I was always fidgeting. Yoga has forced me to develop a stillness of mind that I lacked as a completely type A person. I have an ability to focus now that I never had before and that has been amazing for me in the rest of my life.
As for my physical well being and my energy levels, what hasn’t yoga done for me? I am so energetic. My body looks better than it ever has. I am strong. I am flexible. I sleep amazingly well and soundly. I have never done anything so good for my total well being.
How has practicing yoga affected your diet and lifestyle?
Yoga is so cleansing that I really don’t want to muck up my body after putting that much effort into it. I never eat right before yoga and I don’t feel much like eating afterwards. I never want to eat an unhealthy, heavy dinner at night because I will feel it in my belly when I practice yoga in the morning. You feel so cleansed after class why would you ever want to ruin that feeling by eating some sort of fried, greasy food?
Can you share anything you have learned about how to eat healthy and well with a busy schedule and young kids?
I think it is all in the planning really. If you only have healthy choices in your house there is basically no way around eating healthy. I am so busy that I don’t have time for long, lingering restaurant lunches and whatnot. I mainly grab something on the go at home until dinner when I make the time to sit down with my kids. I am a snacker so the snacks in my house are things like dried goji berries, raw cashews, raw almonds, rice cakes, hummus. It is hard to go wrong when that is what is at your fingertips.
I also always have healthy things in my purse, even if it is just an apple I cam carrying around with me. That way I never have an excuse to eat poorly!
With poker being a game that requires long periods of sustained attention, do you find yoga is beneficial in staying strong and on top of your game in a long session that requires continual mental focus?
I used to listen to an IPod constantly when I was playing. But after developing my yoga practice, I found that I did not need it anymore. I used the music as a way to keep focus and get through the long hours at the table. But with the energy and mental focus I have developed and, most importantly, the ability to find stillness, I don’t need the IPod anymore. I used it only a couple’ of times at this years world series and it was because someone totally annoying who would not shut up was right next to me! Even yoga can’t fix that problem.
Do you have any other tips to share with our readers about staying healthy and fit as a busy mom on the go?
I think the biggest tip I can give is to always make sure to remember that if you don’t take care of yourself you will not be able to best take care of your family. As busy as we get, it sometimes feels overwhelming to find time to make healthy choices for ourselves and, usually, when it comes down to a choice between making time for our kids or making time for ourselves, the kids always win. If you make it a priority to take care of yourself, then even if the only time you find to workout is to a video at home after the kids have gone to bed then do that! Don’t put expectations on yourself…just do what you have time for and what you can to stay healthy. You will find that you get back the time you workout with the increase in energy you have that allows you to use your time much more effectively. It also makes you a happier mom. And that is always a good thing!
Duke wrote her first book How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and won Millions in 2005 as well as released a series of Poker DVDS. She is now in the process of writing her second book on decision making and has developed her own production company Ten Dimes Productions, which she started with Actor Joe Reitman. She is also involved in various charitable organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ante Up for Africa (a project with Actor Don Cheadle, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck), The Children’s Hospital and The Decision Education Foundation.
Recently, Annie has been featured in Runners World, Forbes.com, LA Times, New York Times, Ladies Home Journal, People Magazine, In-Touch Weekly as well as late night shows, David Letterman, Jay Leno and celebrity appearances on Deal or No Deal and One vs 100
Popularity: 4% [?]
Benefits of Creating Your Home Yoga Practice
Sunday, July 27th, 2008 by Kreg Weiss
Practicing Yoga is a highly intimidate activity where one flows through the layers of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual in order to establish connection with the Inner Teacher and the Inner Self. By establishing a yoga practice at home, one can deeply enhance this connection by proceeding in one’s practice with bountiful choices – when and how long to practice; what yoga poses, breath work and style of meditation to perform.
I have discussed with many yoga participants the idea of home practices and a few common responses are: “I would not know what to do or how to put flows together” , “I prefer to be in a yoga studio with other people”, “I can not motivate myself to it at home”.
Practicing Yoga at a studio offers great benefits in that one can establish a foundation of knowledge. You can receive direct guidance and corrections. You can also enjoy a social environment of sharing energy and a common interest.
There are downsides to only practicing in yoga studios, though. As mentioned above, it is common for students to become attached to the guidance of their teachers and move into a passive state in their practice. They do not learn how to explore and find the practice within themselves and establish the capacity for self-motivation and expression. Having worked in the fitness industry prior to teaching Yoga, I noticed all too often other trainers pushing their clients to pure exhaustion. Since some of these people were friends, I would ask them about their exercise program and would often hear that they were unable to generate the same type of workout without their trainers, which resulted in dependency and/or inconsistency in their exercise programs.
I see this similar trend appearing in people’s yoga practice. Many yoga participants spend a wealth of time attending classes without the development of personal practice. Even after years of practice, they are still unsure of their form and alignment. Rather than mastering the skill of yoga, they choose to remain at the level of follower and become dependant on the guidance and motivation of others.
Another major downside to practicing only in yoga studios is the attachment to the social environment or social energy. When we practice in groups, there should be an equal circulation of sharing and receiving energy. But often, participants move into an unbalanced state of receiving more than giving. Sometimes the ego takes hold as one turns from practicing to ‘performing’ in order to show the ‘progression’ and extent of one’s practice to others. It is very common for participants to also draw energy from their teacher in unnecessary excess.
One’s yoga practice is a reflection of what one’s overall lifestyle and daily intentions will be. If the practice is ego driven, the ego is trained to be more firmly set in later actions and behaviors.
With a home practice, the solitude encourages external distractions and influences to dissolve leaving a more harmonious engagement of connection and self-discovery. If one has uncertainty in the capacity of their practice, there are vast amounts of resources to guide one in this solitude: DVDs, books, online programs etc. Trusting oneself is also important – trust in the Inner Teacher and your guidance systems. Find the postures that provide the greatest nourishment in healing and renewing. Recognize the difference between generating holistic progression and moving into fatigue or pain. In group practices, one can readily flow with the ego and ignore the inner guidance systems, thus moving into undesirable levels of fatigue and discomfort – all for the sake of ‘doing what the group is doing’.
By practicing at home, in solitude, the growth of the Inner Teacher becomes a profound tool to access when one returns to the yoga studio. An ideal yoga practice combines a home practice with on-going attendance to classes. Depending on the level of experience, time constraints, and budget, the amount of attendance in a studio will vary from person to person. Ultimately, it is the quality and intention brought into the studio practice from the home practice that matters.
Take the time to slowly grow into a regular practice at home. Embrace the knowledge you have acquired from your teachers and other resources. Apply the principles and techniques that readily suit your body, energy, and intentions. Create a space that is special, inviting, and supports your time of solitude. Create a space that flows with positive energy and fosters a harmonious state of connection. Through these intimidate practices, your time in future studio classes will have more depth and quality. Through these home practices, you will enjoy great freedom and a more readily sustainable and consistent yoga practice.
Popularity: 33% [?]
My Yoga Online Featured In En Route Magazine
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
This month My Yoga Online is featured in En Route Magazine as part of Air Canada’s on demand in-flight entertainment. Short practices designed to energize, relieve stress, calm the nerves, and have a great flight.
These new video meditations will be joining My Yoga Online’s featured content on Air Canada’s in-flight on-demand entertainment system. These classes will begin airing in June on their health and wellness channel.
Aero Sleep Guided Meditationwith Daniel Mirecki
A hypnosis style guided meditation to induce a
state of sleep and minimize or eliminate the effects of jet lag. Using
a combination of an ancient yogic meditation and Ericksonian voice
induction hypnosis the listener is transported into a relaxed state,
highly conducive to deep relaxation and sleep. In addition, an
affirmation of eliminating the effects of time zone variance (jet lag)
is introduced. This experience results in an effective and sound rest
and readies the practitioner to function effectively in the new time
zone.
Freedom From Flight Anxietywith Padma
A three part total freedom from stress program:
1. BODY: relax and unwind
2. BREATH: develop a strong nervous system
3. MIND: find total freedom from anxiety
Popularity: 44% [?]
shakti mhi - Inner Silence Video Satsang
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
In this free yoga video presented by My Yoga Online, Shakti Mhi talks about the concept of “the observer” as a state of consciousness; of seeing and experiencing the moment as it is, and the experience of true silence.
Members can view more of shakti mhi Satsangs Here…
After nearly 30 years of personal practice and teaching thousands of students around the globe, shakti mhi has made Yoga her passion and her life’s purpose. She is the co-founder of Prana Yoga College, Canada’s first and only fully accredited college of yoga, attracting students from around the world. She is has also released a new inspiring book “The Engina of Self Realization”. Learn more about shakti mhi, her book and teacher training programs.
Popularity: 41% [?]
Yoga Meditation-Exploring Sankrit: Mrityunjai
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 by Kreg Weiss
We are happy announce a new series of Yoga Meditation articles by Padma Meditation exploring various sankrit words and their application in Yoga, Meditation and daily life. In the first of this Yoga Meditation series, we will look at Mrityujai.
Mrityunjai means freedom from fear of life’s changes. Mrit means death and jai is victorious. Death is in the change of any situation, expectation or idea. Whenever the world changes there is an end of the previous situation. Whenever a relationship changes it is an end of the previous relationship. Even when our expectations are unfulfilled or an idea we hold is challenged, it is a kind of death of what we have known. If we have been particularly attached to a situation or idea, these changes unsettle our mind’s sense of stability and can cause fear.
Jai is the freedom from this fear. Not by trying to suppress or stop changes from happening, but by expanding our awareness that changes will always happen and are inevitable: The world is in change, people are in change. The victorious state is an understanding and acknowledgment of this universal and timeless change.
Meditation allows you to remember the unchanging essence of your life. Remembering this essence makes acceptance of changes so much easier.
About Padma: Padma is one of Canada’s best-known teachers of meditation and yoga, and hosts a nationally syndicated tv series on meditation and yoga called ‘Living Yoga with Padma’. For eight years Padma studied advanced-meditation in the western Himalayas of India. She read and mastered original Sanskrit texts of meditation philosophy and is authorized to teach by the director of the International Meditation Institute of India. Learn more about Padma.
Popularity: 56% [?]
Yoga Readings-The Unsatisfied Self
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 by MyYogaOnline
Imagine taking a piece of gold and melting it into different forms of jewelry, such as earrings, a ring, a bracelet or a necklace. You show the jewelry to person A, asking him what he sees and he says, “I see earrings, a ring, a bracelet and a necklace.” You show them to person B, asking him what he sees and he says “I see gold.”
Person A represents the small self that sees forms and identifies with them. Person B represents the observer who sees the essence beyond forms. After all, the ring as a form is temporary, as it can be melted to become an earring, a pendant, etc. As for the gold, its essence remains unchanged, no matter what form it takes.
Like gold, the essence of existence manifests itself in infinite forms, and your existence is one of those . Your existence as body/mind is limited, because it represents only a segment of your entire actual existence. If you are a woman, you are not a man, and if you are a human being, you are not a tree. If you are old, you are not young.
If you identify with your form you will always be lacking. You will miss the essential part of you which manifests in all the other forms that exist. You are the ocean, you are the mountains, you are the galaxies, you are she, and you are he.
As a result of feeling separated from everything that you perceive is ‘not you’, the small self is in a perpetual state of lacking.
The small self, as a ’separate piece of existence’ can never feel complete, and constantly demands to complete its’ state of lacking, expressed through endless desires. “Now I feel complete.” is often a statement of a self that has temporarily satisfied its’ sense of lack through relationships, possessions, career, consumption, entertainment, etc. It can feel ‘complete’ for a time, and then the desires return.
Only when we shift from the small self to the higher self, immersing back into oneness, can we let go of all of our definitions (I am woman/man, success/failure, beautiful/ugly). This is when the sense of separation and lacking ceases, and with it the sense of not being complete. In this state, all desires vanish and internal peace ascends within.
This is an excerpt from the book “The Enigma of Self-Realization” by shakti mhi. Reprint permission of this excerpt has been obtained and copying of this text must be acquired by shakti mhi.
Popularity: 39% [?]
Sleeping Green
Thursday, January 10th, 2008 by Michelle Trantina
Get a better nights sleep knowing that your efforts are greening the world. Many adults sleep at least six hours per day. People rarely stop to think about the environmental hazards lurking in the majority of bedrooms. This green tip examines ways to green your bed and your sleeping conditions.
The Bed Frame
· What is your bed frame made from?
· The chemicals that bind the fibres of pressed wood products together outgas urea-formaldehyde (contributes to poor indoor air quality)
· A green bet is solid wood, especially if that wood is sustainably harvested
1 Canwood Furniture is a BC company that manufactures furniture made from sustainably harvested wood (Sears and The Brick carry their products)
The Finish
o Conventional paints and wood finishes typically contain petrochemicals, solvents, preservatives, and heavy metals.
o It is best to use environmentally-friendly READ MORE….
Popularity: 72% [?]
Greening Your Winter Heating Part 1
Monday, December 17th, 2007 by Michelle Trantina
Around the world we spend mega-billions every year on heating our homes. Being conscious of how we heat our homes can make an impact on the environment and save money. This year be sure to green your winter heating by following some of these helpful tips:
1. Seal the leaks: All you need is a tube of exterior silicone caulk or insulation strips, which you can take to your windows, plumbing and wiring holes, doors and fireplace dampers. To find the leaks, light a stick of incense or a candle on a breezy day, close all the windows and doors, and wander around your rooms searching for places toward which the incense smoke drifts.
2. Cover your glass :Installing clear plastic barriers or storm windows on your existing windows can cut heat loss by 25% to 50% by creating an insulating dead-air space inside the window. Storm windows cost about $7.50 to $12.50 per square foot. Exterior storm windows will increase the temperature of the inside window by as much as 1.1°C on a cold day, keeping you more comfortable.
3. Spread the heat : MORE….
Popularity: 59% [?]
Mind Body 101 Examining Self-Perception with shakti mhi
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 by MyYogaOnline
My Yoga Online is proud to introduce its’ new Mind Body TV featuring shakti mhi. This thought-provoking video segment examines concepts of self-perception. What are our authentic thoughts? What are our authentic feelings? How do we see ourselves in the eyes of others and how do we draw from this in our creation of the self? shakti talks about how we develop our own concept of who we are from the moment we are born.
Sign Up for MyYogaOnline’s mailing list to receive updates of more free videos on Yoga, Meditation, Pilates, Nutrition, and Wellness. With your registration, you will receive a Free streaming Yoga Video.
About shakti mhi: After nearly 30 years of personal practice and teaching thousands of students around the globe, shakti mhi has made Yoga her passion and her life’s purpose. Since the age of 14 when she first discovered Yoga, she has traveled the world in search of Yoga and Zen teachers who would expand her knowledge of all aspects of Yoga. Her dedication to the ancient ways of yoga led her to study with a variety of accomplished Zen teachers, deepening her understanding of the original intent of Yoga. Learn more about shakti.
Preview shakti mhi’s selection of download products available at MyYogaOnline:
Guided Zen Meditation - click to preview
This class will prepare you for silent meditation. When you hear the sound of the gong, you will sit for ten minutes in silence.
Full Body Relaxation - click to preview
Enjoy being guided into deep mental serenity and physical release through song and visualization.
Popularity: 80% [?]
Standby Power
Friday, December 7th, 2007 by Michelle Trantina
Call it what you will: phantom load, idle current, vampire power, wall wart; they’re all euphemisms for the way devices use and waste electricity when they aren’t even on, and they’re everywhere.
Researchers estimate that phantom loads (standby power) account for 2-8% of total household energy. If you’d like to find out which appliances/electronics in your home attract the largest load, devices like the Kill A WATT and WATTSON will do the trick. The best action you can take is to start eliminating unnecessary power use in your home today by following these tips:
1) Purchase a “Smart” Power Strip (available in Canada & US for about $40) that automatically cuts the power when your devices are turned off. Alternatively, you can buy a remote control outlet system such as LaCrosse RS-204 (the same price) which comes with two outlet receivers and a remote. Place the receivers in the wall outlet, plug a regular power strip into that and you have remote control over all the devices (+ their phantom loads) on that strip. The Mini Power Minder has the smarts to shut off your computer’s peripherals when the computer itself is shut down.
2) When buying new items, be sure to buy MORE….
Popularity: 54% [?]
-
-
Blogroll
- be Conscious now
- Blog Catalog
- Dr Carla Cupido Chiropractor
- Evenewra Brainsite
- Fresh Eye
- Fresh Eye Productions
- Green Girl Guide
- happyfrog.ca's FrogBlog
- Healthbolt
- HealthCare Blog
- Jiva Fit
- Jon Swift
- Just Breath
- Mahamondo
- Mark's Daily Apple
- MyYogaOnline Bloglines Blog
- MyYogaOnline Social Network
- Nikkishell
- Rivita Natural Healing Blog
- Scaboozie Baby Bibs
- Smut and Steff
- Take Two With Jane
- The Accidental Yogist
- The Delaney Diaries
- The Hindu Life Blogs
- Wellsphere: Pilates Posts
- Yoga Insight
- Yoga Postures and Asanas
- Yoguestyle
-
-
