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Hello readers! Is anyone still listening to this channel?? As you can see from my lack of blog posts I’ve been busy! Is this a good thing? Well the journal of Psychological Science would say yes! They just published a new study, which claims that busy people are happier overall than the “I’m bored” category of people. If you’re one to have a long to-do list everyday chances are you get a kick out of checking things off the list and now you can say that there is SCIENCE behind that little sense of satisfaction you get! You can read about the study here!

If you’re bored…here’s a handy list of ideas to get you “busy” and happy!

1. Take a walk

2. De-clutter! I’ve always said that making space on a surface in your home creates space in the brain, which can lead to number 3….

3. Get Creative! Yes! Do something for pleasure! Now that’s a novel idea yea? Paint, write a letter to a friend (snail mail ROCKS), create a vision board!

4. Take some pictures. Capture what your soul windows see all the time! Nobody sees the world like you do :)

5. Start a blog! You can accomplish 1-4 and then WRITE about it in your brand new blog! Meet like minded people via online social groups like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress of course.

So remember…even if you think there is absolutely NOTHING to do (insert whining voice here)…There is! So get your busy on because as this proverb states…

The idle man does not know what it is to enjoy rest, for he has not earned it.

With that…I’m going to go take a much enjoyed rest before I wake up to teach some yoga at ASU tomorrow! I’ll be teaching classes 3 times a week this semester! Are you faculty or staff? Come out and visit moi! May you be productive and happy this week! xo

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all it’s sham drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

– Max Ehrmann

Beautiful words to meditate on this weekend. Desiderata is latin for “Things Desired”. What do you desire? What can you manifest today? Peace and mountain views to you!

Hello yogis! I had a fabulous yoga workshopping opportunity last weekend that I haven’t had time to share with you until now. The workshop consisted of yoga teachers coming together to learn how to adjust their students under the guidance of Sarah Faircloth. The workshop ran Saturday night and all day Sunday and it was AWESOME. As a yoga teacher you should know how to TALK your students through yoga poses first and foremost, but sometimes words aren’t enough and at that point you must know how to use TOUCH. We started by looking at the SSA method:

Sensitivity: Before you ever adjust your students  you observe and then step in with sensitivity. Observe the energy of the pose first and ask, “how can I unlock energy for this student and help enhance the posture”? Have a vision of the assist you want to perform and good intention.

Stabilize: Before you manually adjust someone in a posture, make sure your student is stable. You never want your fellow yogi to take fall over so make sure you’re close to your student when you adjust. You can place your foot to the outside of their back foot and that in itself is stabilizing. Not only should your student be stable, but you should be too!

Adjust: After you have stepped in with sensitivity and stabilized your student, THEN you can adjust. There are adjustments that will deepen OR enhance the posture.

Speaking of adjustments, I’ve been doing ALOT of them! Recently I taught yoga avec Katheryn Harlan and I got to practice all kinds of yummy assists on some beautiful yogis and yoginis. Check it out!

I really love floating around the room helping people to feel lighter and brighter in their yoga positions. We’ll be having another class in the same space on August 18th and its FREE! :) I hope to see you there! I also wanted to share a video from the breast cancer survivor class I’ve been interning with the past month. They are beautiful women inside and out! Enjoy…namaste!

Hello darlings! I’ve been thinking about how we can all connect with our inner yogi even when we’re not on the mat. Getting connected with the part of yourself that you always seem to meet when you’re in a yoga class can be so grounding and HEALTHY! So, I came up with 3 simple ways of doing this when you’re at work, standing in line, on an airplane…just about anywhere!

One: Pick up all ten yogi toes! Lifting your toes off the floor, no matter how high you can get them, instantly helps connect you with the four corners of your feet. Our feet have corners too ya know!? The pad below your big toe, the pad below your pinky toe, and then either side of your heel form the points which make up the sole of our foot. One way to physically ground yourself is to lift those tootsies and connect with your corners. So slip your shoes off at the office today and try it out!

Two: Shimmy your shoulders back in their sockets! This past weekend I went to a yoga teacher workshop all about adjustments. And I think almost every single adjustment involved bringing these long wavy appendages that we call arms and legs back into the core of our being. Plugging back into the torso. One way to do this is by taking the shoulders, shrugging them up to the ears, and then rolling them back onto the back. WOW! Your heart is instantly more open and tension is released. So now you’re grounded AND you have an open heart.

Three: Permit yourself perfect posture! If you’ve completed the two tasks above then you are well on your way to action three! Taking a moment to tuck the tailbone and lengthen through the spine allows you to check in with your body language. What are you telling yourself just in the way your carrying yourself right now? Is your weight shifted more toward one side or the other? Body reading tells you ALOT about what energy you have at the moment and guess what!? We can control our own energy just by adjusting our posture. Check out Kimberly Wilson’s six movements of the spine video to get the idea!

So open up those channels for some nourishing energy and stand tall, roll the shoulders up and back, and bring all ten toes off the Earth. Witness how this  helps you connect to the divine energy within you…It’s always there and you don’t have to be on a yoga mat to find it! Voila! Namaste lovelies! See you soon xo.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

I recommend watching the video above…or at least part of it….before you read on! Otherwise you might be a little lost! Trust me you’ll be happy you did…it’s beautiful! xo

What a concept!? This Ted Talk by Elizabeth Gilbert was the inspiration for the mini class I taught for NYTT (Neighborhood Yoga Teacher Training) graduation. I meant to share it long ago, but never got around to it. After hearing her speak on the subject it has changed the way I think about the moments when I’m at my best. It relieves so much pressure to think of one’s shimmering moments of brilliance as a divine intervention, where preparation meets your little genius and magic happens! It’s also a reminder to always write down ideas when they come up or they could just pass you by! Inspiration has a magical characteristic about it that you just can’t deny. So the next time you are preparing for a presentation of any kind just remember that all you can do in the end is show up and give it your best. If you show up and you’re less than brilliant? As Elizabeth Gilbert says, “Not your fault…your genius was just kinda lame”! So take a deep sigh of relief and know that you are as wonderful as your daimon is today.. “If your job is to dance, do your dance.If the divine, cockeyed genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed for just one moment through your efforts then ole´. And if not, do your dance anyhow. Ole´to you nonetheless just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up”.

P.S. – Here’s a picture of the space I’ve been teaching in at ASU! I hope my genius comes to work with me more often than not.

Peace and love to you and your daimon. xo

Greetings Shimmering Souls! I have so much to tell you all. Remember a few weeks ago when I said Yoga to Go would be slowing down with teaching? Well, as soon as I mentioned that on the blog oodles of new opportunities started flowing my way! I am now the proud yoga teacher at Appalachian State University Health Promotions for Faculty & Staff (what a mouth full!) and I couldn’t be happier. I was able to teach my first class there on Wednesday and although it wasn’t the largest attendance I’ve ever had, it felt so good to have my own space! I’ll be teaching there on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-2 so if you know anyone who works for ASU, tell them to come promote their health and spirit in my yoga class! Mats, props, music, and lots of new yummy vinyasas will be offered every class. Just bring your self, maybe some water, and your breath!

Another new happening at Yoga To Go is my internship with….drum roll….Through Healing Eyes! I officially started work today, and up first on the agenda was to make them a shimmering blog that was as beautiful as they are. Check out the link above to see the new blog and please comment and subscribe! So, I’ll be writing for them as well as assisting many of Katheryns amazing yoga classes and so. much. more. If you’re in the Hickory, NC area you can come practice with us too! Here’s a link to Katheryn’s weekly class offerings. She is phenomenal…if you get the chance, come visit!  I couldn’t have dreamed up a better internship with nicer people. Through Healing Eyes..here I come! :)

I’ll also be graduating from my Health Promotion program at ASU in December and I can’t tell you how excited I am to put all the knowledge I’ve collected to good use. The past few days have been full of new beginnings and joy and I look forward to sharing all my new endeavors with you! Thank you for stopping by and reading…your comments and emails mean the world to me!

What has brought you joy this week? Whatever it is (big or small), I invite you to just sit beside it for a bit…and smile! Remember that if you dream it you can become it. Start now and manifest your joy! Would you like a joy cupcake? :)

I hope you’re having a beautiful weekend. Xo

Hello yogis and yoginis! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend full of good food, family, friends, and rest! Not only can we all celebrate the independence of America, but I vote we also make today a day to declare our own independence from negative self-talk. Have you ever stopped to listen to the negative tapes we play in our heads over and over again? Make today the day you hit stop on the negative tapes and press play on the tapes labeled “I am loved” “I am strong” “I am good enough”! Self-love is an imperative step to health and wellness of mind and body. Don’t fill your muscles, blood, and lymph with negativity, send yourself some compassion this day and onward. Remember, you are what you think! The mind is a powerful tool on your journey to wellness.
And in the spirit of Celebration…here’s my recommendation on the beer you should bring to your next event! Did you know that having 1-2 beers a night helps to raise your HDL (good cholesterol)? It totally does! And the best beer for a yogi is:

Lucky Beer! An Asian-style lager, its brewed and bottled in China before embarking on its global good-will journey. It features the seated laughing Buddha holding a large gold ingot above his head. Many believe this figure of Buddha to be a symbol of wealth, happiness, and life fulfillment. I love this bottle so much that I often hold on to it and use it as a vase!  Have a great fourth everyone! Namaste.

I happened upon a blogger yesterday who had written a post about the midyear and it dawned on me…it is already the middle of 2010! I can’t believe how fast this year is going. I guess that’s a testament to all the activity around here lately. New puppy, wrapping up my BS in summer school, weddings, family get togethers, and lots of creating and writing! So now its time to check back in with my yearly goals and see how I’m doing and what I need to be focusing on for the rest of this year. Here are the goals I have set out for myself, some of which I’ve completed and others that are still being mulled over or are in progress:

1. Finish BS – in progress! I’ve finished all my Health Promotions classes…all that’s left are a couple classes for my minor and my internship! yayy!
2. Use social networking sites more often- Check! Creating a community online is so much fun! I’ve been keeping up with my blog baby, tweeting, and using tumblr as an inspiration board for all things health and wellness.
3. Yoga practice everyday – This a lifelong process and always in progress! :)
4. Teach more yoga – I have taught much more this year and I see quite a bit of teaching in my immediate future. Love teaching yoga! It keeps me whole and brings a whole new meaning to my own daily practice.
5. Sew and use my Etsy – I managed to create a couple pieces as trial runs for an idea I had in the middle of the night. Hopefully this week I will have more time to get more pieces done and then make an Etsy for Yoga to Go! I have a long way to go here.
6. Read some books for pleasure – Hasn’t really been accomplished yet. I was drooling over my wish-list on Amazon last night…maybe now is the time to order a good read :)
7. Can food – I’ve done a couple things, but would love to do much more before the season is over. Peach butter, pickles, and strawberry jam have been the extent of it.
8. Find the perfect Internship – Workin’ on it <3
9. Work on Bridgette – love my baja beetle, but she is in need of some TLC…do I see moi in some work gloves changing her oil soon? I think so!
10. Hike, swim, run…something other than yoga more often – I really need to challenge my body in new ways.
11. Vlog more – I’ve created one vlog all year, but I’m in the middle of another gem coming out soon! Get excited :)

There they are! My top ten goals (plus one) all in a text box! So far I think I’m on my way to the completion of them all. Have you checked in on yourself for the halfway mark of this year? I hope you will. Namaste peeps! xo