Thursday evening's class at All Saints Lutheran is the last scheduled Yoga Moodra class for the summer! It's hard to believe that we have already reached the end of July! Hope to see lots of you in class on Thursday night (7/31) at 7pm. Watch for details soon about fall yoga sessions that will begin in September. Til then, soak up some sun and take every opportunity to play and enjoy the great outdoors.
Peace!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
Have to....or want to???
Thought for the day...consider how you view and "talk to yourself" about yoga, exercise, or self care. Do you "have to" take care of yourself...."should" you be on a diet.....do you feel you "must" control yourself??? Maybe you need to think of it all in a new way.....treat your body well....not as an obligation but as a delight and an honor. Give yourself the gift of good health simply because you deserve to live your best life. You "get to" do yoga....you are blessed that you are able to bend and breath....you are lucky to live in a country where you can choose healthy foods that are plentiful and abundant.
Live fully and well.
Live fully and well.
Monday, July 7, 2014
Freedom
A few days ago, we celebrated our country and our independence as a nation. The freedoms that we cherish are a unique part of our identity and a part of our collective experience as Americans.
Yoga is such a wonderful way to practice freedom. We can choose to let go of ideas that might hold us back or create personal pain and find release and freedom from mental anguish. We can build strength and body awareness to allow a release from tension and tightness....finding our way to more space and a feeling of freedom in the physical body. We can work on being fully present and blessed with a sensation that we are part of something bigger...finding spiritual connection and a sense of our place in the world.
Celebrate your freedom today. Remember that each day is a new start...a new opportunity to let go of old hurts or worries. Today we can prepare ourselves for a day full of richness and freedom to be at our best.
Yoga is such a wonderful way to practice freedom. We can choose to let go of ideas that might hold us back or create personal pain and find release and freedom from mental anguish. We can build strength and body awareness to allow a release from tension and tightness....finding our way to more space and a feeling of freedom in the physical body. We can work on being fully present and blessed with a sensation that we are part of something bigger...finding spiritual connection and a sense of our place in the world.
Celebrate your freedom today. Remember that each day is a new start...a new opportunity to let go of old hurts or worries. Today we can prepare ourselves for a day full of richness and freedom to be at our best.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Just breathe
The next time you wonder where all your time went, take a break and take a breath. We get so consumed with busyness and day to day activities and stressors, that we miss all the beauty that is right in front of us.
Focusing on the breath calms us and keeps us in the present moment. The next time you start to feel that things are swirling out of control....slow things down and BREATHE. After 2-3 breaths, your perspective and attitude should start to shift.
Your breath is the very best tool that you have for living each day to the fullest and avoiding that sense that somehow time has slipped away. Remember the quote from John Lennon: Life is what happens when we're busy making other plans. Make the decision to be aware and be an active participant in all that is in front of you....right now. You'll feel more connected and more alive as you stay in the present moment.
Yoga classes of mine this week (and really every week) will be focused on the breath....come and practice breathing and living a full life....full of joy and awareness.
Focusing on the breath calms us and keeps us in the present moment. The next time you start to feel that things are swirling out of control....slow things down and BREATHE. After 2-3 breaths, your perspective and attitude should start to shift.
Your breath is the very best tool that you have for living each day to the fullest and avoiding that sense that somehow time has slipped away. Remember the quote from John Lennon: Life is what happens when we're busy making other plans. Make the decision to be aware and be an active participant in all that is in front of you....right now. You'll feel more connected and more alive as you stay in the present moment.
Yoga classes of mine this week (and really every week) will be focused on the breath....come and practice breathing and living a full life....full of joy and awareness.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Peace for the Planet??
Creating peace in your own life helps to bring peace to the planet. I read these words the other day in my horoscope!! It seems so true....if we can cultivate our own sense of peace and contentment, then we start to interact with others in a whole new way. So, while it may seem a bit lofty to consider that your yoga practice contributes to world peace....in actuality it truly does!
Yoga is a practice, so it is something we need to keep coming back to and working on in order to establish it as a habit. If we experience a bit more peace and calm after our yoga practice, then we have not just benefited ourselves, but others as well. I personally look back at the times when my kids were young and how impatient and intolerant I often was with their behavior. I think about and wonder what my parenting would have been like if I had discovered yoga when my kids were small instead of when they were in their teens. I can't get those days back, but I hope that as my practice continues, that I will find more effective ways to deal with my impatient and sometimes irritable nature!
Take some time to practice some lovingkindness toward yourself...and then see if you are in a more gentle and forgiving place in your relationships as a result. Make a choice about what kind of energy you want to sustain personally and watch that energy ripple out into everything that you do!
Blessed are the peacemakers....
Yoga is a practice, so it is something we need to keep coming back to and working on in order to establish it as a habit. If we experience a bit more peace and calm after our yoga practice, then we have not just benefited ourselves, but others as well. I personally look back at the times when my kids were young and how impatient and intolerant I often was with their behavior. I think about and wonder what my parenting would have been like if I had discovered yoga when my kids were small instead of when they were in their teens. I can't get those days back, but I hope that as my practice continues, that I will find more effective ways to deal with my impatient and sometimes irritable nature!
Take some time to practice some lovingkindness toward yourself...and then see if you are in a more gentle and forgiving place in your relationships as a result. Make a choice about what kind of energy you want to sustain personally and watch that energy ripple out into everything that you do!
Blessed are the peacemakers....
Monday, June 9, 2014
Time goes by.....
I am in a constant struggle with time. I seem to vacillate between boredom and feeling that time is moving way too slowly, or I am racing around feeling that somehow time is about to run out!
Even when I have enough time in my day, I can catch myself feeling rushed and impatient if I decide that others are moving too slowly.
Yoga practice is my best defense against this push-pull feeling that I have about time management. I remember that it's ok to be still, to move more slowly, and stay connected to the present moment. Really, in the end, this moment, right now, is the only one we have. The past is already gone, and the future is not guaranteed! So it boils down to making a decision about how to live in the present and be content with the gift of time that we've been given.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Loving yourself
Each of us is a very unique and special person, created with gifts and talents that were meant to be shared. Sometimes we think it is a selfish pursuit to spend time on self care or taking the time to reflect about what it is we have to offer the world. In fact, if we do not spend some time caring for ourselves, we are pretty unlikely to care effectively for others.
Love and care begin at home....take care of yourself and treat yourself well so that you can effectively be present and available to others. When we can be forgiving of our own mistakes and missteps and recognize that all of us struggle in different ways, we become less judgmental and more accepting. This doesn't mean that we ought to give up on improving or trying to do better, but it allows us to nurture and care for ourselves in a way that promotes growth and change.
Today is a fresh opportunity. Remind yourself of your own inner value and worth. Care for yourself. Care for others. Be the very best YOU that you can be right now.
Love and care begin at home....take care of yourself and treat yourself well so that you can effectively be present and available to others. When we can be forgiving of our own mistakes and missteps and recognize that all of us struggle in different ways, we become less judgmental and more accepting. This doesn't mean that we ought to give up on improving or trying to do better, but it allows us to nurture and care for ourselves in a way that promotes growth and change.
Today is a fresh opportunity. Remind yourself of your own inner value and worth. Care for yourself. Care for others. Be the very best YOU that you can be right now.
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