ready to try?

If you are not a current student, but have some interest in trying out a yoga classes....please know that you are welcome....and you can pay for a single class/drop in at any time for $10. This applies if you are brand new to yoga, if you've been a former student and are considering a 'comeback' or if you have friends or relatives in town that just want to try some yoga.

Remember the old Life Cereal commercial with Mikey (Ok....dating myself here....try to keep up!) where one brother says to another "Try it.....You'll like it!" No sibling tricks here.....Getting out the door to try something new is often the hardest part....but I think I can safely say that you will be SO glad that you did! Yoga is an amazing practice....come and see what all the fuss is about!

Peace and Justice

As our nation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr day, celebrate your freedom and seek to bring it to those who still yearn for it. Love each other and choose kindness today.

Buy Bewilderment

Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment~ Rumi

Doesn't it feel so uncomfortable to be out of control? To be unable to predict an outcome? To feel that you don't have an answer to another person's question? I'm not sure, but I think in this quote, Rumi is offering some relief with his words. Rumi is capturing the idea that we don't have to posture and act like we know everything all the time. We could admit we don't know rather than pretending and bluffing our way through with an answer that we think may be right. When we cling to being right and having all the answers, we don't give ourselves permission to consider another point of view, or to allow new information to change our opinions or perspectives.

The next time you find yourself fiercely defending a viewpoint or an idea, maybe it's time to let go of needing to be right. Stop and listen. Question and be befuddled. Be willing to be bewildered instead of so clever and correct. Who knows....maybe you'll discover something new.

Change

How do you go about making changes in your life? Do you do your best when others encourage and support you? How well do you do with change if you feel coerced, obligated, or criticized? If you are like many folks that are trying to make some positive changes in the New Year, why not try to add some support and encouragement...some kindness to the effort? We would never berate a child in order to try to get them to behave, so why do we criticize and put ourselves down when we want to create a new habit or learn to do something new?

Maybe we will all do better with our goals and our New Year Resolutions if we first resolve to be nice! Treat yourself with deep patience and kindness. Think about the ways that you can nurture good and healthy habits and let go of ideas that involve deprivation and doing without. Start from a place that is loving and accepting.

"Things are beautiful if you love them." Jean Anoulih

Happy New Year!

It is with both optimism and dread that I look ahead to the new year. The dread part comes from the fact that winter is long in these parts... it's a hard season for me....full of cold, quiet, and darkness. As an impatient person, the beauty and warmth of spring and summer seem so very far away. The optimism piece as I consider a new year is that part of me that tends to be hopeful and positive by nature....I love considering the fact that the next year will bring joy (and maybe some sadness, surprises, and heartbreak) that I cannot imagine at this time. It's a time of wonder and enormous potential.

Rather than get overwhelmed by the length of winter, or the big unknowns of a brand new year ahead, my yoga practice brings me back to the here and now. I remind myself that it is in THIS moment that I have an opportunity to be aware and can attempt to live life to the fullest. It can be too easy to reflect on and dwell on the past, and all too easy to get caught up in trying to control the future. So, for today, I will try to live in contentment and peace...easing off the throttle of goals, to do lists, and all the things that take me away from being here....right now.

Peace, prosperity, laughter, and joy to you and yours in this fabulous new start to 2015.

New Favorite Ad

I recently ran across a new ad campaign from Whole Foods. The ad states: "Treat your body like it belongs to someone you love." Wow! How's that going for ya?? I'll be the first to admit that I use the "holiday season" as an excuse to eat treats and snacks that I typically avoid otherwise. I stay up late at parties, drink more wine, and generally get stressed about stuff that just is not that important. In other words, I'm not paying much attention to treating my physical self well. At this point, with Christmas come and gone and a new year coming in fast, I feel more than ready to use this ad campaign as my new slogan and words to really try to live by.

I hate the idea of dieting....it feels so restrictive. Changing the narrative to 'feeding my body well' and treating myself with deep kindness and respect feels optimistic and full of potential. As the New Year unfolds, I'll be trying to focus on all of the ways that I can treat my whole self with deep love....eating really nourishing food, getting plenty of rest, doing yoga, and finding time for laughter, reflection, and spending time really being present with family and friends. It's not a selfish enterprise....when we are healthy and whole, we bring that to our relationships and into a world that deeply needs examples of living in peace and good health.

I hope to see many of you back on the mat in 2015....let's make this the year that we treat our bodies like they belong to someone we love!

Present Posture

Maybe you are reading this blog sitting in a chair. Consider your current posture. Are you slumped a bit in your chair with your shoulders rolling forward? Are your feet propped up so that you are reclining? If you are in "less than optimal" posture...take a moment to sit up tall. Place both feet on the ground and take your back away from the back of the chair. Take a breath....and then notice what has happened. By bringing your awareness to your body and by activating some muscles to sit up tall, you likely feel a bit more awake and are noticing a change in your body energy. You may feel less sluggish and simply more "present." This is the basis of yoga practice.....to start to be tuned in to the here and now by attending to breath and body sensation.

It's not wrong to relax or melt into a comfy chair from time to time. Rest and relaxation are important.   Being active is also important. Using our bodies and asking them to move and stand tall keeps us alert, grounded, and strong. Our bodies were built for movement. If we don't "use it" we "lose it", so make a commitment now to be more active and more aware of how you are using your body to be at your best each day.