12 Questions with Myrah and Robindra about integrating yoga, marriage, entrepreneurship, and parenthood."

Hi friends, Myrah here. 

I had a chance to catch up with a local Magazine in Edmonton called Bridal Fantasy.  They had interviewed my hubby @Robindra and I about we have navigate this new world of yoga, our home, marriage, entrepreneurship and parenthood.  I hope you enjoy. 

Empowering Women is one of the main intentions we have with our company. Are you an entrepreneur? Momma? Yogi? Do you have a story to share? We would love to hear from you and feature you, your business, your creative projects in our blog. Do reach out, we would love to share your story. Myrahpenalozacollection@gmail.com

xo

Myrah

1. Describe your personal style and how it reflects on your day to day

Myrah: My personal style is eclectic and bohemian. I find people are usually surprised when I wear pants outside of teaching yoga. You will more often than not see me in a dress and over accessorized :-) . Since my pregnancy and post partum life, my day to day is constantly changing. My personal style certainly reflects how I feel. I wear all white clothing most of the time from my own collection. Wearing all white makes me feel light and graceful.

On days when I haven't slept due to baby being up most of the night, these are the days that I especially get ready and dressed up for the day, even if the days plans is primarily about staying home with baby. There's a new book out called Girl Wash Your Face which shares this idea in detail. 

Robindra For me style is more about how I do things vs what exactly I am wearing. Style is a choice we make everyday about how we are choosing to live. How you choose to live essentially is your life-style. On the day to day, I am constantly looking to innovate how I am choosing to live. This takes a different kind of awareness, one that is kind of a commodity these days in the generally distracted information age, to me true style is presence.

2. Tips on curating a small home space ?

Myrah & Robindra: You want to create a living space that inspires you. Personally, I love plants and I do stay home often during the winter so our space is designed to feel like a sanctuary.  

Create a space that you feel excited about coming home to... share things that reflect your style and allow you to live how you want to live.

Small spaces need to be constantly kept up so that when you wake up in the morning you are living in a fresh new canvas to create from.

It’s all about flow in your small space, feeling it, moving it, and aligning to it.  We also love to cluster things, like putting 4-5 pieces of art or photos on a wall together, or hanging a bunch of hats together to turn a functional space into a piece of art. Let your bedroom be a sanctuary, take out as much technology as possible, let it be your space to retreat and restore.

Your most treasured items, necessities for your living space ?

Myrah: My Sandstone kettle for my morning tea meditation is one of my most treasured items. I love the combination of Himalayan crystal Salt lamps, persian carpets and plants to warm up our space.

Robindra: In terms of necessities, I would say my vitamix blender to make anything from smoothies to soups, a proper chef’s knife to create something delicious in the kitchen and a marshall wireless speaker to play the soundtrack of our day.  My treasured item is our flower of life headboard that also doubles as decor that we use for MainStage at our Festivals.  

Why is yoga so important to you and what is the next level in your practice ?

Myrah:  Yoga gives me a pathway to escape the prison of my ego, thoughts and mind. It constantly gives me access to freedom, space and joy in my body and in the expression of everything that I do. As a creative, I know that my ideas flow when I take care of myself, life just flows with yoga. The next level of my practise is in raising my baby girl Soleil who is 18 months old right now.

Robindra: Yoga begins way before you get on your yoga mat. It begins with the first limb of the 8 limb path which is Ahimsa, traditionally defined as non-violence. I recently heard a new definition of Ahimsa which really landed for me which is “To be so full of love, that there is no room for anything else”. That is yoga right there for me, it starts and ends with self love. We were never taught self love in school, yet yoga so subtly teaches you just that. The second limb of yoga 'Satya, or truthfulness is such a great way to learn ‘Self Love’. When you say you are going to do something and actually do it, you begin to trust yourself at the core. With your strength now developing at your core, you gain the confidence, energy and trust it takes to live life in full BLOOM, to your highest potential.

Please describe your journey and devotion to your practices and how it has shaped you.

Robindra:  I am simply grateful for my journey, the ups and downs as they have shaped me into the man that I am today. I have gone through so much with my best friend committing suicide over a decade ago, which broke my heart wide open. I fell into my own depression, anxiety and it was through a regular practise of yoga and meditation that I began to find myself again. Now, at 40 my yoga looks a little different than it did when I was 25, but the key to it is simply being consistent with it, being patient with yourself through the ups and downs and having an intention to be KIND. Kind with yourself and then extending this kindness to everyone around you. 

Please describe some misconceptions about yoga.

Myrah: I think the biggest misconception about yoga is that it is all about the physical practise because that is all most people see everyday.  Yoga begins before you even get on a yoga mat. The 8 limb path of yoga written by Patanjali 5000+ years ago shares that the first step in the ladder of yoga are the Yama’s, beginning with Ahimsa, which is non violence, or I like to look at it as self love. The second yama that is the next step is truthfulness or satya, which identifies a way to approach everything.  Back to the misconceptions, people think that for some reason they have to be “good at it” or that they are not “flexible enough”, and this is because we live in a consumer culture, where everyone is always seeking more, being more, having more….

You have to be a certain body type, background that its not accessible for everyone. Its not for the lazy. Just like with any practise it requires your commitment, dedication and your receptivity.

What is your mission, ultimate goal with Bloom Festival ?

Our ultimate goal with BLOOM is to help make Edmonton one of the world’s healthiest cities which begins with the individual.  We want to help create more leaders, people who are really lit up about what they do and sharing that with the world. With that in mind, we want to light up a ton of new entrepreneurs and make Edmonton just an even more incredible place to live. In addition, we would like to have this as our legacy project that gives back to support inner city youth programs. We plan on expanding the festival across Canada and working more and more on a global scale to uplift and inspire humanity.  Check out Bloom Festival here.

How has living in Edmonton impact your artistic expression ?

Myrah: Our long winters really stimulate an opportunity to within and create some amazing things. The ease at which we can share new ideas is really alive here. Starting things in Edmonton is really incredible, the community is really really supportive! Artistically, it feeds us with a drive to make a difference in the world beyond just the yoga mat and ourselves. We want to make a global impact.

Some things you love about Edmonton ?

Myrah: We love the people of Edmonton, its always great to come back to Edmonton after an extended trip, some serious sweethearts here. We are foodies and the restaurants here are quite amazing. The entrepreneurial culture here is inspiring, the river valley is absolutely stunning and the restaurants here are out of this world!

Favourite places to shop ? Favourite locally purchased items ?

Our favourite places to shop are Pura Botanicals, Shakti Jewelry, Mr Derk, Oak & Fort, Duchess, Corso 32, Ellerslie Gardens, Two Mothers and Yogalife Studios.

Advice for local and aspiring yoga teachers, entrepreneurs, dreamers ?

Robindra: SLOW DOWN, To SPEED UP!!

My advice for aspiring teachers, entrepreneurs and dreamers is that before you go full speed in any direction, really slow down and get connected to what lights you up.

Once you figure what your why, then its much easier to constantly create from an inspired place. Being an entrepreneur is not easy, there are so many ups and downs, so do something you love which will light the way when things get hard!!

Make your business not about money, but about a way to impact the world. For us, our why, is that we want more people to BLOOM, to be fully lit up, so everything we do is an expression of this why.  That you, yes YOU, are BLOOMING!

Thank you for reading this post friends.

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