Christmas Yoga with Toulouse

Here by popular demand is an 8-pose Yoga Exercise for Christmas given by my good friend, Toulouse LeTrek:


While Nina is busy doing Christmas things (probably eating and drinking herself silly), I thought I’d provide a public service to those of you indulging in the holiday festivities. Here is my 8-pose Christmas Yoga Exercise to help you gear up for all that Christmas cheer. It’s just the thing for a body bloated on Christmas pudding, turkey and baking.

Did you know that the word yoga means “union”. Yoga creates harmony by controlling your breath and holding your body in steady poses called “asanas”. Five key elements include proper breathing, proper exercise, proper relaxation, proper diet, and positive thinking and meditation. Yoga should be supervised by a qualified teacher. Don’t worry. That’s me.

So, first off, choose a pleasant, peaceful and spacious setting for your exercises. You might like to turn the lights down and light some candles and put on your favorite Christmas music (so long as it isn’t “I am Santa Claus” by Bob Rivers or “Takin’ Care of Christmas” by Randy Bachman). You can use a mat for extra comfort and give yourself lots of room. Then you need to do some stretching exercises …

The purpose of the Headstand is to rest the heart, which usually has to work against gravity and will likely do some extra laps this Christmas with all the cholesterol coursing through you from figgy pudding, turkey stuffing and eggnog. Some people think headstands heal everything. Well, it sure gives you a different perspective on things! And that’s gotta be good for you.

The Dolphin pose strengthens the arms and shoulders. It kind of prepares you for the headstand. I’m doing a great job, aren’t I?

The Plough pose increases overall flexibility, but it’s particularly effective for relieving tension in the upper back and shoulders; especially after you’ve been with the relatives for over two days...

Here’s the Cobra, one of my favorite positions. It does tons of good things like toning and strengthening the superficial and deep muscles of the back and abdominal regions. It also increases backward bending flexibility—something a cat like me does lots—and it relieves tension, especially in the lower back. Good for after you’ve been shoveling the driveway…

The Locust is a backward bending exercise that increases flexibility of the upper back and strengthens the lower back muscles. Holding the pose also massages the internal organs and makes them frisky—which you will be too; good for combating the “big meal” doldrums.

The Camel pose I’m doing here…well, I might have gotten carried away… lets you exercise all your back muscles and extends your spinal column by bending your back fully. It’s useful for increasing spinal and hip flexibility.

Here I am doing the Spinal Twist, which stretches the spine and helps the vertebrae regain their mobility. The roots of the spinal nerves and the nervous system get toned and provided with increased blood supply.

You need a lot of strength, flexibility and concentration to do the Peacock. As you can see, I have a lot of it! When the pose is held, your elbows press into the abdominal region, drawing fresh blood to the area and nourishing your internal organs.

Last but certainly not least, is the Final Relaxation, my favorite part and I do it well, as you can see… Relaxation is important because it leaves you with a calm mind and relaxed muscles. It allows the body to absorb the energy released by the asanas. You need to relax this way for at least five minutes. I’m so good at it that I do it for … well, hours.

Have a safe, joyous and meaningful “giving season”



Merry Christmas, everyone!

You can find more Toulouse adventures on the site Toulouse on the Loose. Read about his great travels across the globe to France, Switzerland, Romania, Thailand, Australia, Canada, USA, Sweden, Mexico, Costa Maya, Belize and so many more places... There Toulouse finds the best places to go, eat, drink and relax. Somehow, he also finds the best places for adventure and discovery along the way. Learn from this consummate traveller, sommelier and purveyor of great food: Toulouse LeTrek. Go find him on Trip Advisor or on Facebook...

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.

Sensual Writing and Why I Love the Smell of Smoke

Last week, as I was driving down a winding country road on my way to Bridgewater from Lunenburg, I caught sight of the billowing smoke of a small fire. Someone was obviously doing some roadside autumn clearing.

Without thinking, I slid the window open and inhaled deeply as I passed through the billows. I was preparing to experience the exquisite “taste of home”. As I breathed in the aroma of burning vegetation, memories of outdoor campfires and old wood-burning stoves flooded in from my childhood. A goofy smile slid across my face as I bathed in the joyful innocence of adventure, wonder and the comfort of the hearth. I’d had a wonderful childhood and the smell of smoke brought it back to me in its full glory.

What does this have to do with sensual writing? Everything. That’s because writing is metaphoric. That is what storytelling is: sharing universal truth through metaphor, delivered from the heart, where these lie. Sensual writing doesn’t just involve making sure to include at least a few senses like sight, sound, smell, taste and touch in your narrative--though this is a good writing mantra. To write sensually involves much more than the simple description of a sense, though this is certainly the first step (and something all too often neglected by novice writers).

Happy Birthday, Toulouse!... A Cat is a Cat is a Cat…Or is it?

To celebrate his birthday today, I treated Toulouse to lunch at The Knot Pub in Lunenburg. The Knot is a friendly pub where locals go to eat homemade food and tell stories. According to the staff, “the person sitting next to you could be a scallop fisherman, Christmas tree farmer, Norwegian sailor, world famous actor, musician, painter, or scholar – you never know who you’re going to meet at The Knot! The outside looks a bit like a quaint little seafaring shack complete with port hole in the front door. Inside the pub exudes sea-shanty charm, with lots of local boat building oak, nautical brass fittings, copper pennies on the ceiling, flags and other nautical things. The place even has its resident ghost, a lady who apparently glides by, especially when you’ve had a few too many pints.

Sarah recommended the Knot's Ale, made by the Propeller Brewery, a lovely nut-brown ale rich in complicated flavors that quench your thirst.

Galactic Party at the Lord Nelson Hotel!

Imagine a royal palace on an alien planet in a galaxy far far away…add hundreds of bizarre and wonderfully costumed aliens from all over the universe and you have Hal-Con at the Lord Nelson Hotel.

Hal-Con at the Lord Nelson Hotel was out of this world!

Toulouse and I attended Hal-Con last weekend, where I launched my latest SF thriller Angel of Chaos and gave several workshops. Hal-Con is the prime science fiction / fantasy / comic & gaming convention in Halifax; after an over-decade hiatus, it returned this year to a sell-out crowd of enthusiastic fans. Over 1,200 fans poured into the splendid lobby of this historic hotel on Halloween Friday and formed a moving sea of elaborately costumed SF and Fantasy characters beneath its sparkling chandeliers. Aliens, characters, and robots from Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, Iron Man, and many more universes milled about, entertaining hotel guests in the elevators, hallways, lobbies and Victoria Arms restaurant pub all weekend.

Nina Munteanu Launches Angel of Chaos at Hal-Con and the Hero's Journey

Angel of Chaos is ... a gripping blend of big scientific ideas, cutthroat politics and complex yet sympathetic characters that will engage readers from its thrilling opening to its surprising and satisfying conclusion —Hayden Trenholm, Aurora-winning author of The Steele Chronicles


I'm looking forward to attending Hal-Con, the premiere science fiction convention this weekend (October 29-31, 2010) at the luxurious Lord Nelson Hotel in downtown Halifax. I'll be launching my latest book, the eco-thriller Angel of Chaos (Dragon Moon Press) on Saturday morning at 10:30, with reception following, where you can eat and drink and ask me silly questions to which I will give you silly answers. You may also get an autographed copy of the book, which you can then sell on Ebay for a bazillion dollars.

The day before (on Friday at 4 pm) I'll be giving my popular writer's workshop in which I discuss common and effective plot approaches for compelling storytelling and expound on the "Hero's Journey" myth and the importance of metaphor that encompass heroic adventure in all writing.

The hero's journey encompasses 1. archetypes the hero encounters [or embodies] in the various stages of her adventure; and 2. the various stages of the actual journey itself. The kind of hero also defines the quality and form of journey depicted, based on the story/myth/message intended.

To write a truly compelling story is to resonate with the universal truths of metaphor within the consciousness of humanity. According to scholar and mythologist Joseph Campbell this involves an open mind and a certain amount of humility; and giving oneself to the story...not unlike the hero who gives her life to something larger than herself.

Note the words he has carefully chosen in the following quote:

"Anyone writing a creative work knows that you open, you yield yourself, and the book talks to you and builds itself....you become the carrier of something that is given to you from what have been called the Muses--or, in biblical language, "God." This is no fancy, it is a fact. Since the inspiration comes from the unconscious, and since the unconscious minds of the people of any single small society have much in common, what the shaman or seer [or artist] brings forth is something that is waiting to be brought forth in everyone. So when one hears the [artist's] story, one responds, "Aha! This is my story. This is something that I had always wanted to say but wasn't able to say." There has to be dialogue, and interaction between the [artist]and the community." This I call tapping into the universal truth where metaphor lives. A story comes alive when these two resonate (see my two previous articles on resonance).