Jun
17

Standing On That Diving Board

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Sapna Dayal rocked the stage this past week at the first SPLASH event in Vancouver. She, and the other story tellers, spoke so eloquently about her diving board moment – that moment where you’re standing on what feels like a diving board high above the water and you can either choose to go back down the ladder or jump off. Neither is right or wrong, yet they each produce a different result.

She recalled that moment when she was told that her long-time boyfriend had just died, “which was like getting pushed off the diving board by:
First name: Universe
Last name: I-don’t-care-if-you’re-ready-yet.”

This event also capped off my good friend Emma’s stay in Vancouver (for now). Her visit was a perfectly timed 10-day stopover as she was heading back to Toronto. During her stay in the Corker Cabin, she sat in on a vision and goal workshop I lead for a client, breathed and danced on a mat with me, made the most delicious food ever, fell in love with the mountains and ocean a bit more every day, and stood at the back of my fictitious diving board all week long.

I would consider myself a man of action. I now consider Emma the Queen of “let’s do it now.”
And so every day she gently reminded me to play a little bigger.
To put pen to paper.
To put one foot in front of the other.
To do. it. now!

As a result, you may notice some changes starting to brew around here.
Changes you have directly requested for and some you’ve asked for in that “wouldn’t it be nice if someone would…” kind of way.
The subtle ones came first – like the new URL (mattcorker.com), and the new mailing list option,and the Facebook page.
The larger ones will go-live when Canada celebrates its birthday.

Instead of telling you about this diving board moment after I’ve made the leap or climbed down all the rungs, I’m committed to bringing you along for the journey.
Imagine the kind of cannonball we’ll create together!

Until then – feel the wind at this incredible height.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.

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Jun
13

The Story of Dean Morrison

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Dean is the type of yogi that inspires me.

I met Dean when I did my yoga teacher training in Bali. At the beginning of the training, this sponsored Australian surfer would usually practice in the back row in class. He was there, after all, to take a break from the waves. We would frequently eat breakfast together in Bali Buddha after practice and just chill.

Over the course of the training, Dean began practicing at the front of the class. He was laughing and sharing a little louder. And he began to embody what we were learning in that yoga shala.

Fast forward to the final week of training when Dean got a call by his manager telling him about the big wave in Tahiti that he needed to get on. (Not such a bad call to get in my opinion!) So, in what felt like 24 hours, Dean packed up his things, booked his ticket, and was set to head out. His last day in Bali also coincided with our final exam day – which wasn’t the last day of the training. If Dean left it would mean he wouldn’t complete all 200 hours of the training and therefore not complete the course nor be eligible for certification.

And he chose to catch the wave.

Part of our final exam that day was to lead a 17-minute yoga class. Since he was the last one to go, instead of taking his group through a condensed version of a full class (as we were instructed to do), he put his entire group in savasana for the full 17 minutes. His group was shocked. The faculty was shocked. And I looked over at him in total confusion. “What is he doing?!?”

He proceeded to go around and adjust everyone as he shared with them how that person had made an impact on him. His group melted and was in tears throughout the whole thing.

In that moment, not being certified was not important to him.
What was important was letting those who made a difference know that they did.

Thanks for making a difference in mine Dean.
Ride on brother, ride on!

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Dean “Dingo” Morrison June 2013 from Dean Morrison on Vimeo.

Pick of the Post: BOY – Little Numbers

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Jun
10

A Blessing For A New Beginning

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In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
where your thoughts never think to wander,
this beginning has been quietly forming,
waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
noticing how you willed yourself on,
still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety,
and the gray promises that sameness whispered.
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
and out you stepped onto new ground.
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
a path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear,
you can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
that is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
for your soul senses the world that awaits you.

By John O’Donahue

Thanks for sharing this Nico Luce. After a weekend away with two great friends I met in Bali, this little poem was perfectly timed.
Big dreams ahead friends. Tally-ho!
 

Pick of the Post: Phillip Phillips – Gone, Gone, Gone

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Jun
03

Floating: The Urban Getaway

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I discovered the Float House via the magic of Facebook. In all honesty, I knew nothing about floating, yet it looked pretty darn cool. And, as sychronicity would have it, I met one of the founders, Mike, at the Baron Baptiste Vancouver Immersion I took part in right before I left for Bali. He was rad and spoke so passionately about the benefits of floating that I knew I wanted to test it out when I got back. When I came back from Bali the doors of the Float House had officially opened and their schedule was already filling up. I anxiously booked myself in for the float I was generously gifted thanks to Mike.

When I walked into my personal float room, I was so ready to (dis)connect for 90 minutes. A rainy Saturday morning felt like the perfect time to slow down, kick back, and float for the next hour and a half. I was told the simple-to-follow instructions and left alone with my warm water and Epsom salt-filled tank.

As I first laid in the water, the sensory deprivation element of floating started to play tricks on my inner ears – as gravity couldn’t help them find which way was up and which way was down. While I was lying on my back, it felt like my body was on a board that was rotating my feet up and over my head and slightly to the right. That subsided within the first 10 minutes – but, man, what an initial trip!

I began to meditate while I floated. My instructor from Bali would often tell us to “listen to the blood pumping in your ear” as a way to get us to quiet our breath and intensify our focus. For the first time, I could actually hear the blood in my ears as I floated.

And this is where I lost track of time. I came out of meditation throughout the session and started racking my brain for business ideas, next adventures, and for ways to finish certain conversations I had left open. It was just me and my thoughts. And then I would slip back into meditation and listen to the blood in my ears.

Before I knew it, the soothing music came on – notifying me that my float was ending. I showered and headed into lobby for tea, water, and a great chat with Mike and his brother, and Float House co-founder, Andy. (Gotta love siblings who make cool sh*t happen!)

Overall, my float session was relaxing, invigorating, and a perfect getaway without even leaving Vancouver.

If you haven’t checked out the Float House yet, now is a perfect time to do so.
Float on friends!

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Pick of the Post: Jason Castro – Only A Mountain

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May
30

Finish Lines Don’t Care How We Get There

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That colleague we don’t enjoy working with.
That injury we get in the middle of training.
That big request to do something that “isn’t part of the job description.”

It’s easy for us to validate the discomfort we feel in these situations if we remind ourselves of the greater purpose or the longer-term goal.
“It’ll be worth it in the end,” we say.

Yet we’ve forgotten that there is no true end.
One big goal always leads to the next big goal.
One project done opens up to another project to start.
One person leaving means there is room for another person to come in.
The cycle always continues.

The trials we experience along the way are not here to make the blip of a perceived finish that much sweeter.
They are here to remind us to enjoy the journey.

Each tough conversation.
Each ice pack on the injury.
Each “why the France am I doing this!?!”
… they take us back into our work of enjoying each step.

Finish lines don’t care how we get there.
However, the people we share the journey with, ourselves included, certainly do.
Enjoy this step.

Pick of the Post: Olly Murs – Army of Two

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May
27

#75: Teach A Yoga Class

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Last week I crossed off another one of my 100 Before 100.

At first I posted this – a snipit of my notes I was about to use to help me through the mixture of nerves and excitement I was feeling.

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Then these people came – 20 of my friends and colleagues eagerly rolled out their mats to sweat and support.

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Then I played them these – tunes to heat it up and then go deep. I shared stories of Bali and learned a lot about what teaching a full class really feels like.

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And, once it was all said and done, I noticed this. Thank you to the people in this company that helped make this goal a reality. Thank you as well to my friends that help run our digital channels that make me feel like a bigger deal than I actually am. #humbled #grateful
#stokedforthenextone

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Pick of the Post: Mike Tompkins – Trouble & As Long As You Love Me (Acapella Mashup)

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May
23

The Reason For This Ride

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The line between heartbreak and celebration is created within the mind.
Funny how quickly our view of a situation can change, eh?
 
Pick of the Post: Outasight – I’ll Drink To That

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May
21

Truth(bomb)s To Meditate On

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My philosophy and meditation guru, Jason Lamberth, dropped truth bombs like it was his job while we were in Bali together. He spoke with sincere conviction – making each statement land with such weight. Now that I’m back in Vancouver, I flip through my pages and pages of notes from our classes together to find one of these gems to consider while I meditate in the morning. My favourites thus far have been:

Let your shit entertain you. Not drive you.

Nothing can make you happier than you already are.

If you find the wisdom in pain, you can find the joy in it.

You can’t escape your own obsessions. You can only stop feeding them.

Wisdom and ignorance can’t be in the same mind at the same time.

It is no accident why I am experiencing what I am experiencing.

Don’t breathe because you want to do the asana better.
Don’t breathe because the teacher told you to.
Breathe because you love someone.

Others will attempt to piss you off, until you don’t attract people who piss you off.

The antidote for any tough situation is always ‘clean up your own shit.”

And, as he dropped these bad boys, he would always remind us that ‘nothing I say is true until you make it so.’

So take what you want, take what you need, and leave the rest.
Your Truth is yours.

Now, take a tall, comfortable seat….

 
Pick of the Post: Elisapie – Life Is What You Make It

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May
19

I Was Gonna Marry You

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All good things come to an end.

And those endings create the space to begin again.

So really, good things never ultimately come to an end.
It’s only how we experience them that changes.

Love lives on. And on. And on.

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May
10

The Final Few Days in Bali

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For the last 15 minutes of our yoga practice Wednesday morning, I was in full blown tears.
Yep, bawling my eyes out on my mat.

(And I don’t mean a little sniffle and a single tear. No, I mean ugly crying like a hormonal women watching The Notebook. Bawling.)

We had just begun to hold shoulder stand for 6 minutes when this wave of emotion started to pour over me. At first it confused me. “Why am I crying? What is this bringing up for me?” It confused me because I couldn’t find an answer to these questions. These tears weren’t attached to any emotion, thought, or experience that I could pinpoint. They were simply tears – and a whole lot of them. So I let them come – and they kept coming through shoulder stand, all the way into savasana, and then for another 40 minutes (!!) after practice had ended.

There I was in the shower after practice – still crying – asking myself what the France was going on.
I dried myself off from my shower and the tears finally ended.

Later that afternoon I headed over to the Yoga Barn for my first colon hydrotherapy treatment. (I’ll spare you the details of that unique experience.) With the help from a hilarious technician from Calgary, I spent another solid hour getting rid of more sh*t in my body (pun intended).

By 4 pm, I felt high – and not in the usual way Vancouverites may use that phrase. It was as if I had overdosed on bliss. I couldn’t stop smiling, my head was so clear, and everything my friends said to me for the rest of the day was hysterical. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced happiness like that before – if that is even what you’d call such a feeling.

And now, after my final exams have been completed and I only have a few more classes left before I board some planes to take me home, I can confidently say that this has been an experience like nothing I’ve had before. If I do say so myself, some serious sh*t has really gone down here in Bali.
And I’ve never felt better.

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