Author: Andrea Loewen

Andrea is a certified yoga instructor with first aid certification. She has danced, sung, and acted her way through a life in the theatre and loves bringing her experience to her yoga practice.

To Be Happy

Recently I came across this great blog post called 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy. Normally I have an instant-recoil reaction to anything telling me what I “should” do, but there is some sound advice in this one.

The most “yogic” of all the pieces of advice is probably to give up attachment. Non-attachment is very linked with a lot of yoga philosophies. I like this writer’s description of non-attachment, as it’s so often misunderstood as a lack of caring. Here is the description of this step:

Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

Truly worth a read. What are you holding on to that gets in the way of happiness?

It’s Getting Better All the Time…

I kind of dislike standing ovations. Even more so, I dislike when people just keep on clapping and the actors come out for multiple bows. Generally my attitude is, we clap to say thank you for the experience, the actors bow to accept our thanks and give it back, and then we all move on with our lives. The standing ovation should be reserved, I feel, for those truly exceptional theatrical experiences where you are transported – where you realize that you weren’t breathing, that you had your hand clenched to your heart the whole time, or laughed your face off.

So I was surprised to realize, then, that I have given several enthusiastic standing ovations in the past few months. Possibly more than I have ever given before.

Am I going soft? Have I been worn down into believing that theatre that is just good is amazing? Or is the theatre in Vancouver just reaching a new level of awesomeness?

Some of the shows that swept me off my feet over the past few months include: The Meal at Pacific Theatre, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at The Cultch, Doubt at Pacific Theatre, Hunchback at The Vancouver Playhouse, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea at Pacific Theatre, and Chelsea Hotel at The Firehall.

Looking at that list, I’ve got to say, I don’t think I’m going soft. Sure, there might be a hint of bias there as I do work at Pacific Theatre and thus know and love the artists involved in our productions, but each play on that list was a truly solid piece of theatre. Some transported me through the simple magic of a solid script and amazing performances (Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot), while others grabbed me through their larger-than-life innovation and musicality (Hunchback, Chelsea Hotel), but they were all phenomenal pieces of theatre.

So this post is a shout out to the Vancouver theatre scene. We’re on a roll, guys, let’s keep getting better and better!

World Theatre Day 2012

Technically World Theatre Day has already passed (I’m actually not sure why I didn’t think to post about it last week!), but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate now.

For the uninitiated: World Theatre Day is an internationally recognized day to celebrate theatre, pure and simple. Theatres all over the world celebrate with special showings, discounts, and behind-the-scenes events. There is also an official WTD speech written each year by an invited artist, and this year it was the esteemed and awesome John Malkovich:

I’m honored to have been asked by the International Theatre Institute ITI at UNESCO to give this greeting commemorating the 50th anniversary of World Theatre Day. I will address my brief remarks to my fellow theatre workers, peers and comrades.

May your work be compelling and original. May it be profound, touching, contemplative, and unique. May it help us to reflect on the question of what it means to be human, and may that reflection be blessed with heart, sincerity, candor, and grace. May you overcome adversity, censorship, poverty and nihilism, as many of you will most certainly be obliged to do. May you be blessed with the talent and rigor to teach us about the beating of the human heart in all its complexity, and the humility and curiosity to make it your life’s work. And may the best of you – for it will only be the best of you, and even then only in the rarest and briefest moments – succeed in framing that most basic of questions, “how do we live?” Godspeed.

Yoga Journal Talent Search

I saw a this in the Huffington Post Health News – Yoga Journal is hosting a talent search, inviting its readers to send ina photo of themselves doing their favourite asana. Here are some of the entries thus far:

How is that for the beauty of true yogis? No fancy make up, costume, or flattering lighting. Just regular yogis doing their thing. Love it.

Check out the Yoga Journal Tumblr to see the awesome variety of people doing yoga, and maybe add yourself to the mix!

Lessons from Being Stuck in an Elevator

Sincere apologies! I wrote this post last weekend, and scheduled it to be published (or so I thought), but it turns out it has been sitting in the drafts all along. Here is last Monday’s post, unintentionally belated…

Last week I had one of life’s great questions answered for me: I found out what it’s like to be stuck in an elevator for 90 minutes with a high pitched beep going on the entire time.

Here’s what I learned:

You have a choice
Often in life you have a choice between being annoyed or amused by a situation. Being stuck in an elevator is one of them. While I won’t go so far as to say that I was entertained by the experience, I did laugh. A lot. Sure, it was a crappy situation and I could have grumbled and been miserable the entire time instead, but the only thing that would achieve is 90 minutes of misery on my part. Instead, I hunkered down and let the ridiculous humour of the situation carry me through.

Company is key
The people we surround ourselves with make all the difference for how we experience any event in life. Some company we can choose and some we can’t, but when you can, choose people who help you stay positive! I am so lucky that a) I wasn’t trapped alone in there and b) that my companion had an equally positive attitude about the situation. We helped each other stay positive and the 90 minutes passed relatively quickly (considering).

You can do yoga anywhere
Elevators included.

Technology can be wonderful
Because of the wonders of modern technology, I was able to not only communicate with the outside world (vital, since the emergency phone in the elevator wasn’t working), but be entertained and get support from it. I posted on my facebook “Trapped in an elevator, where’s the app for that?” and was met with a flood of responses that varied from straight-up support to hilarious comments that truly helped pass the time. Plus, my friend whose elevator I was stuck in texted me links for all sorts of youtube videos, and my battery actually lasted long enough to enjoy them all.

So there you have it! Get trapped in an elevator, learn something new.

Another Opening! Fiddler on the Roof

This week is the opening of Fiddler on the Roof at Trinity Western University! I did the choreography for this one, and it was a blast – the entire team embodied that perfect mix of professionalism and fun. This one’s definitely worth checking out.

The show runs March 13-31 at Trinity Western University in Langley.
For tickets visit their website.

Happiness and Work

A great video on happiness and work. A while back I had my own little epiphany where I realized that I could change my life by changing my focus. I started jotting down things I was grateful for that had happened each day, and the effect that it had on my life overall was incredibly profound. Here’s some scientific backing to the idea!

Rut vs. Groove

Doing the same thing over and over – no need to think about the steps, everything just happens on autopilot.

Does that sound like a good thing, or a bad thing?

The difference between being stuck in a rut or working a groove is simple: interpretation.

Do you feel good about your situation, or do you think it needs to change? If you’re rocking a groove, keep it going! If you’re starting to feel like your energy is being pulled into the ground, then seek change.

Yoga Break

Here’s my latest (and so far greatest) solution to the problem of incorporating yoga breaks into my work day: alarms.

I downloaded an alarm app on my work computer, and set alarms to go off every hour and a half after 10am. Then I get a guaranteed reminder 5 times a day to jump out of my chair and get moving.

Lucky for me, I work in a casual enough office that nobody minds (or even really notices) if I jump up and do a couple sun salutations and heart openers in the middle of the room, so I get a nice, full body mini-practice every hour and a half. If your office isn’t quite so open-minded, you can be a little more subtle about it: when you alarm goes off, just do a little desk yoga. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, stretch your arms up over your head and do a little twist and a backbend or two. Then get yourself out of your desk and go for a little stroll – even just to get a glass of water.

The app I chose can be found here, but there are tons of options. Just do a search for free alarm apps!

If You Could Not Fail

I’m sure a lot of people have said this very smart thing, so I don’t know who to credit it with, but I will admit that I heard it quoted in the movie New Year’s Eve:

What would you do if you could not fail? Go do it.

I’m pretty sure there’s nothing else to add to this one, so I’m not going to gum it up with my own ramblings.