Real English Conversation with a Yoga Teacher from Canada

Today I'm joined by my great friend, MJ, who is from Canada, but lives over here

in the UK, in the same county that I live in — Devon. Now, MJ is going to be

sharing some tips on how to live courageously; she blogs, she's a

fantastic yoga teacher, and she does a lot of mindfulness. But let's talk about

Devon first, MJ. So, place I know well, you know... it's got moors, it's got the

sea, fresh air. What do you like about living down here?

So, Devon, just the things you mentioned — it's close to the sea, and being...

going swimming and being near freshwater is really, really good for wellbeing,

and that's a big... a big part of it. I tried moving back to a city briefly, and

I realized that, like, being around fresh country air, being able to just be

in places where there's less cars, less people — it's actually really good for

the body. So, I absolutely love Devon. I do like driving, so even driving around

and seeing the beautiful vistas, being able to do the coastal walks. And, as

you know, having, like... being able to go horseriding, and certain things like

that — it's just a beautiful place to live. Also, it actually reminds me of

Canada, so I think there's... I lived in London, I lived in Liverpool, I lived in

a place called Shropshire, and I've landed in Devon. It seems I'm not gonna

get away. Plus it reminds me of Canada, so I think it's a good place to be.

It's a proper place to be.

It sure is.

So, obviously, it's not going to suit everyone. What can people do to ensure

they're in a place that really suits them? How can they sort of be honest

with themselves and, you know... make sure it, like, aligns with them?

For sure.

Gosh, there's so many different things I think people need to take into account.

Right? So, getting out into the fresh air I think is becoming more and more a

And obviously that's their livelihood; what they do for a living. For some

people, I think different times of their lives, places can be more suitable. When

priority for people; especially after all this, like, lockdown and people had

I was younger, living in a city and traveling around, and going in different

cities, and shopping, and partying and all that — that felt more suitable. But

that lifestyle was exhausting me, and I certainly... a lot of people that I work

to really be isolated — we're realizing that the outdoors has so many benefits.

with, it does eventually. And so, sometimes we don't need to radically

alter every part of our lives, and up sticks and move somewhere else, but what

I do find with clients that work and live in a city is that they manage their

lives so that they have regular breaks. Even things like going to a park at

lunchtime, or making sure that at the weekend they're getting out of the city

— because, let's face it: Most cities will have the countryside just outside

of the city limits.

So, again, it's kind of like feeling it out, knowing that you're looked after —

obviously financially and all that kind of stuff — and doing the little tweaks

in our day-to-day life that can help us feel better. And then, like some people

I've met, including myself — eventually it might come that you do just move to

the countryside. And I am seeing that a lot more where people are deciding to

sell up their life in the city and make a move, and get cows and sheeps, and do

all that crazy stuff, so...

I guess more people can work remotely.

Exactly, exactly. That's a big thing, isn't it?

One of the things you've spoken about... well, written about is "unplugging". So,

unplugging, you know... taking something out, but what do you mean by that? And

is that something that helps with, like, calming the mind and staying in a sort

of peaceful state?

Absolutely. So, part of my story is I had these sort of wild, spontaneous

spiritual awakenings when I was nineteen years old. I know. And a part of the

insight... and, again, I'm very kind of, like, sensitive; I feel things and I...

I intuit things that are going on; and I... I realized quite quickly that

watching the television news and, like, engaging with news — endless, negative

news stories was really affecting my state of being.

Okay.

Like, I was impacted. Like, wars and famine affected me so deeply that I just

realized, like: "Okay, most of that — if not all of it that I'm seeing on the

news — I cannot control." Like, my... in here and that moment I can't control

what's going on in that news story. So, I realized that it was a... it was valid

if I wanted to not engage. It's not that I'm not aware. You know? It's not this

idea of burying a head in the sand, but it's effectively managing your state of

being and realizing that if you're engaging with information, whether it's

on our phones, our televisions, the newspaper — and that information that

you're engaged in is, like, making you feel bad, or making you feel numb, or

making you feel depressed — whatever it might be — angry, out of control...

right? Any number of things — you have... you have the ability to make a

conscious choice to unplug, and that just means to turn off. And I can

honestly say: I have been not watching television, engaging with news stories

and that kind of stuff for almost ten years.

Right.

And I am definitely a happier person for it, and that doesn't mean that I'm not

fully aware of all the things that are going on in the world as such. You

know... you still get dribs and drabs; I'm on YouTube, I'm on social media.

Right? And that requires a lot of discernment and discipline. But, yeah, I

think we're living in a time where our personal responsibility can sort of

become a priority to feeling like we have to do all the things that everybody

else is doing.

Just to pick up on a nice phrase you used there: So, "to bury one's head in

the sand" means to... if you imagine it sort of visually — you're putting your

head under the sand so that you're not aware of what's going on; you're kind of

Yeah, like: "Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo".

insulating yourself.

Right? A person, like: "Nothing's going on!"

Moving on to something you're an expert in: Yoga. What would you say the

benefits of practicing yoga are?

Oh my gosh, Benji. Benji! Benjamin! This... this question — my goodness. So,

I have been practicing yoga for most of my life. My mother... I was... I was in

a professional children's dance company from quite a young age, and I had a lot

of pressure. I was one of these kids that just seemed to put, like, a lot of

pressure on themselves. And I would be doing my dancing, like this. Do you see

my shoulders? My mom got me in to see a chiropractor, which helped me soften my

shoulders. And then not long after that, the chiropractor recommend...

recommended my mom get me into yoga. So, from the age of thirteen, I was there

because I was a very disciplined, little kid — I was there, listening... I think

her name was Dixie Carter, and watching this and doing this routine with Dixie

Carter morning and night to help me relax my shoulders.

Okay.

And then skip ahead to, like, 19–20; around that time I said I was having the

spiritual awakenings.

19–20 years old.

I was 19–20 years old. So, this is back in, like, 2001 — I moved out to

Vancouver to attend my first year at the University of British Columbia. And I

picked up the yoga then.

Yeah.

So, I was doing some Kundalini classes, I was starting to broaden my horizons.

There was something called... it became... it still is very trendy, but a

lot... some of these yoga trends are getting some backlash, but something

called "Bikram's Yoga".

Yeah, yeah, yeah, called "Yoga".

Yeah, yeah. And if I'm honest, I remember back then, thinking that yoga

was just like dance; it was just like a fitness thing. And you're there in the

Bikram's and you're sweating.

Purely physical.

Yeah, purely physical. And I sort of renounced or denied anything else until

another sort of five, six years later — I was pursuing... actually pursuing an

acting career after graduating from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

Yeah.

And I... I mean, it just is what it was: I was partying too much. I lacked

discipline, and I really didn't feel passionately about acting anymore. And,

legit: It was one of those sort of filmic moments of like being on my

knees, being like: "What am I meant to do with my life like this? This is

awful!"

Melodramatic.

It was very dramatic, Benjamin; it was very dramatic. But I, legit, like, had

that moment. And then the next day, I was, like, stretching in my local

gymnasium in Liverpool, and a yoga teacher from India walked in and said:

"Your body would be very good for yoga." That was my Mohan, who... I trained with

Mohan for a couple of years; I ended up going to India. And I just stopped

acting; I let it go completely. And it was like all of these doors opened

because even at that time, yoga still wasn't really that popular. And so, I

was being asked to teach yoga, like, quite quickly after I started training,

essentially. And I must say, like, in a very miraculous way, it's because of

yoga that I'm in Devon. It's, like, because of yoga, really, that I've met

you, yourself; and all these amazing people. So, yeah.

How do people practice yoga at home? Because you can go along to a class and,

you know... it's easy to follow because everyone's doing it, but it can be quite

more difficult... I mean, you probably know what you're doing.

Yeah.

But for the average layperson, any... any tips for kind of maintaining a

practice at home?

The one, just such a beautiful thing about yoga is, like, you don't need

anything or anyone because... So, the word: "Yoga" means, like, to sort of

yoke the connection to spirit. That's how I... that's how I kind of look at

it; or, like, it's a part of us; like, we all have this part of us that's like

a divine spark of life.

Okay.

And the practice of yoga, whether we're, like, moving our bodies around

consciously; or we're just, like, really being aware; being present, paying

attention: "What am I thinking? What am I feeling?" Like, in its essence, that's

the practice of yoga. But then most of us, what we see about yoga is the

movement. Right? All the poses. And, like, straight up, legit: Even if you're

just doing yoga posing — your body and mind will gain benefit because,

biomechanically... especially, okay. This is the thing is that so many people

nowadays, we wake up, put the TV out, we get in our car, we drive to the office,

we sit in the office, and then we get... Am I...? Am I right? That's a... There's

a lot of people...

There's a French saying for that; can't remember what it is, but yeah.

There's a thing. Like, that's like "the rat race" people call it. Right? And so,

what we're finding is that that lifestyle really is not great for our

bodies. And I have a lot of clients that have that lifestyle — right? — but

they're getting to a certain age, and they're having back problems, they're

having ankle problems, or having any number of little issues that are, like:

"Ooh", you know... "I probably need to make some change." And yoga is often

prescribed by doctors, physiotherapists, and all that kind of stuff because if

you implement a regular yoga practice... So, real, basic function of, like,

looking after your body from a yogic perspective is to just move your spine.

Right.

So, let's try it together. So, if you just like sit up straight... and any of

us could do this, like, sitting in our office chair. Right? Okay, so think of,

like: "All I want to do is move my spine in all the directions it can go in", so

we could move forward.

Forward?

Forward, and you get, like, a little stretch. Even if you stretch your legs

out, you'd be like: "Oh, my gosh. I can feel my back; I can feel my hamstrings."

So, that's forward. But then we'd also have to go back. So, maybe we could

stand up for this, and just, like: Stand up. If you put your hands behind you,

and then press your hips forward.

Right, there we go.

And then you can feel that. Right? Like, breathing. So, breathing is a big part.

If you're not breathing, there's an issue. Right? So, like... So, then we

did... we did back and forward. Right? And then, what's the other direction?

Let's go... we can do...

Sideways?

Sideways. Okay, so, let's do our classic. Benji... Benjamin has done yoga

with me, so just, you... he's a bit of an expert, too. So, reach up.

Sort of into an acting, breathing...

Yes, stretch; and then you stretch to the side. Right? So, like, big stretch;

you feel it down your side body; you're breathing into it. And then you can go

the other way. Ala-shazam. Here we go.

Imagine that.

Imagine that. Okay, so then what did we do? We did front and back; and we did a

side to side; and then, finally, a twist. So, let's sit back down for the

twist.

Okay.

I... I often like to make it just as easy as possible for people because,

like, even people can... yeah, it being hard to stand up. So, now we're just

going to twist. So, see this; I'm going to put one hand on one leg; and then the

other hand — you're going to put on the bench behind you.

Practicing this at home.

You could. I mean, it's... it's very safe. So, then just look back behind

you; use that hand to kind of press into your knee. You feel the twist. Right?

Yeah.

And as long as you're just breathing deeply, you literally really cannot hurt

yourself; and then come my way as well.

Right.

Because we have to do all the directions. Oh, do you hear that? My

spine just gave out a crack.

I can see sheep.

I can see sheeps as well, and trees. Ah, okay. And then... So, honest, and I know

we might be a bit biased, but like just from doing that spinal movement, do

you...? Do you, like, feel any different?

I feel great. I feel... I was feeling a bit stuck; I didn't know whether I could

move this way or that way, and now I feel a little bit more comfortable.

A little bit more awake; a little bit more aware. So, that's... that's the

basics. So, yoga just, like, has many, many, many physical benefit; but then

via the way you practice with mindfulness and conscious-breathing —

that's how yoga tends to permeate our lives; like, we just feel better, make

more conscious choices, and then... Yeah, it's sort of exponential at that

level.

So, "exponential" means it gets...

Better and better. Yeah.

Yeah.

You kind of become more self-aware. Not to say, like, there aren't continuous...

like, sometimes I always want to remind people: Like, there's still challenges

in life. You're not, like, floating on clouds or anything, but you do... It

would appear, like, you know... typically, by some people's narrative,

like, you start to degenerate and get worse off. For me and for my yoga

community, I see people becoming more vital, more flexible, you know... more

capable into old age. And so there's, you know... there's a lot of that stuff

that I think yoga is very powerful at transforming people's lives.

So, thank you for that, MJ.

Thank you.

Now, you've got a website, and there are different things on your website. One of

those is a book that you wrote quite recently, called: "The Fearless Life"...

"Guide".

"Guide".

Yes.

What's that all about?

Okay, so "The Fearless Life Guide" — I mentioned my early spiritual awakenings.

Or did I? Yeah. And all my research... so, these sort of past twenty years I've

been quite obviously heavy into the yoga; and alongside the yoga, I studied

a fair amount of metaphysics; different world philosophies, or world religions

rather, and yeah, philosophical standpoints. And simply based on my own

journey and help from other people, and after many years of blogging and sort of

writing for different well-being websites, and if I'm being really honest

— just a way to expand the brand and expand the work that I'm doing: I

published this book, "The Fearless Life Guide". And it really is just my own

interpretation of all these different sort of healing modalities and areas of

scientific research. And, you know... where we are as a human humanity; my own

personal transformational journey as well. And then, like, little lessons and

bonus lessons that are, like, breath exercises; or like the things I just

shared with you — like, simple things that help people look after themselves

that aren't necessarily, like, socially-propagated. Like, we don't...

We don't learn about emotional intelligence and emotional well-being at

Right.

school; and yet, in my adulthood, I recognize that that's a very... our

emotional and mental well-being is, like, a huge, important part of our

total well-being. And it is something that I sometimes see lacking in our kind

of mainstream conventional society.

So, one of the ways in which you help people is they will find the book. One

of the other ways is that you coach people online; you've spoken about

clients around the world. How do you help those people?

You know, I would like to reflect as well, like, it is such an exchange,

because one thing I'm increasingly aware of is, like, these people are showing

up... so, like... and really, from a kind of spiritual perspective — all I

often do is... is, like, hold space for people; to share what's going on in

their lives. Yeah, just share. Like, possibly in an environment or in a

non-judgmental space that they couldn't find otherwise, for whatever reason. And

then the efficacy of yoga is that...

Efficacy?

So, the, like... what... how... how well it works. So, the word: "efficient",

it's, like... it's, like, how efficient it is. So, then, when you kind of open

people up, and then you can offer them the tools, like meditation, like yoga...

right? Some people, and depending on their budget — being straight — like,

they might just meet once a week, and be wanting to implement that once a week.

And then just through that, committing to that once a week, they might

naturally start and I would... I would encourage them to do maybe a few minutes

more every day as well. Some people, they just dive in, depending on where

they are in their lives and they're wanting to have, like, a, you know...

five days a week; like, we're on our yoga, we're meditating, we're moving,

we're yogaing, and we're tuning in. So, I support people with that.

And, yet, increasingly, as I navigate this work, I really realized, Benji,

that, like, all this transformation is an inside job. Okay? So, when you

support people in transforming their lives — like, that's all you, like...

it's a wonderful thing. But that's all I'm doing is... is permissioning those

people to make change. Because sometimes when we make change, our family, our

friends, our co-workers — they might not necessarily want us to; or they might

say: "No, no, no. Don't do it." Or... or: "Actually, that's a security; you

need that job", or... right? And I'm somebody increasingly that says: "No.

Like, you have one life; you might as well live it." And, yeah, so people then

transform themselves.

Beautiful. If someone is going after their dreams, how...? What can they do

to make sure that they're living sort of in harmony with nature, and not having a

negative ecological footprint?

Well, that would require in the first instance, you know... a level of

awareness for sure. Once people become aware of it... one of the other courses

I talk about and worked with another woman on was called: "Zenful Zero

Waste". And this is very much in...

"Zenful Zero Waste" — okay, quite a mouthful.

Well, because sometimes I think when you look... when you start to look at some

of the information about, say, climate change, or... yeah. Some of the

environmental issues that we're facing as a humanity — personally, I just feel

is a direct connection to how much we are consuming blindly; just buying

stuff, like, eating whenever and all that, so... so, in the first instance, I

think...

I've never seen you eat, by the way.

Yes, you... yes, you have! You absolutely have. I've eaten chocolate

with... with Philly, with your wife; and yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. I am a

Yeah, no. Horrible.

vegan, though. So, I like... I... but I'm somebody who's like a non-radical; I

just say, sort of, like, you try these things. So, the zero... the reason it's

Right? And you're like: "Oh my God!" And that is a direct... that plastic is the

called: "Zenful Zero Waste" is that a lot of people, I find myself included —

stuff that we buy on a conveyor belt blindly. So, like, initially, I think

when you start to sort of pull on a thread and, you see, like... I don't

it's going: "Whoa, whoa, whoa" — like, there's a connection. Right? But the

know if you've seen any of those crazy photos of, like, the plastic islands

that are floating in our oceans.

reason I call it: "Zenful" is that it's not worth compromising your emotional

well-being, because man, like, we're all in it. Right? We're buying, we're

buying. However, I think even this, Benji; like, even our ability to have a

conversation, that maybe... maybe as a generation or people we could, like,

make a few changes. Right? Maybe we could consume less. And I don't know

about you, but, like, living more in nature and, like, you know... hanging

out with people you love and feeling good in your body; and, like, being able

to eat the food that the nature provides — like, there is seriously awesome

reward that comes from that, that makes you genuinely not care about having lots

of stuff. Do you get that? So, it's suddenly not like a race. Like, I

don't... I don't diss on it. Like, if people want all the fancy cars, and

jewelry, and stuff going...

See? Kind of going for experiences more than, like, consumables.

For sure. Especially, again, when you look at the state of the oceans, or you

Well, look, it's been absolutely fascinating speaking with you; and I'm

look at some of the, like, trash piles that we're creating. You think, like:

sure lots of our viewers will enjoy checking out your YouTube resources

"Uh, maybe we could do better."

more. So, that's All To Love TV, and we'll put a link under the video for

that. But thank you very much for coming to talking to us today.

Thank you.

It's been educational and fun. And, yeah, thank you very much, MJ.

Thank you, Benjamin.