Teaching Yoga, Interning, & Lots of Joy

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

Mid-year Goals

Good morning! It’s Monday again and I am still on respite in Charlotte. It’s always so relaxing being here in a house full of love and warmth. And warm it is here in Charlotte! We finally got a good cleansing and cooling rain last night thank goodness.

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

Have a Daily Ritual

Seriously. If you don’t have one…find one! It could change your entire day, even your life! My definition of a daily ritual is:

A. Something you do everyday without question.

B. Whatever “it” is, you do it mindfully! Key word: Mindfully!

• The ritual doesn’t have to be the same for the rest of your life. Choose what your ritual will be, commit to it for a certain amount of time, and then let the journey be a fluid experience.
• There are two ways to go about picking your daily mindful moment. You can choose something you ALREADY have in your daily routine and choose to do it mindfully. Examples of this are brushing your teeth, washing your hair, making tea, petting your dog/cat, etc. Or! You can come up with something you really want to add to your life and commit to that. Examples: Getting on the meditation cushion every morning, eating a meal without TV, or Taking a walk around the neighborhood.
• If you choose to add a new ritual to your life, please know that there will be days you won’t want to do it at all! Do it anyway. Sit with your thoughts asking yourself, “What am I feeling right now?”, accept the feelings, and just do it! I promise it will make your journey so fulfilling in the end. PROMISE.
• Your mindful moment should not have a cut-off time. Allow yourself the freedom to end your mindfulness when it feels right each day.

So how will having a ritual enrich your life? So many ways…lets talk about em’.

• Connection – to the Earth, your spirit, nature’s cycles, and your own cycles. In today’s fast-paced world with media overload and constant noise its nice to reconnect.
• Quiet the Mind – Being quiet and turning inward daily will help manage the monkeys in your mind. They need lots of managing! When your mind is still you are more balanced and can think more clearly about what really matters.
• Home Base – Pretty soon your moment will become your rock. It’s always there to help ground you and bring you back to center.
• The Physiological  Simply observing the breath and turning inward helps manage our nervous system. This in turn helps with heart rate, anxiety, and tension. It’s all about you baby!

Ground yourself, feed your soul, get some closure, and connect with the divine. Have a daily mindful moment. Namaste.

Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice, or midsummer, is right around the corner. In fact its tomorrow! The 21st will be the day when the earth’s axis holds its greatest tilt towards the sun. It marks the longest day of the year and the beginning of summer. It has definitely felt like summer arrived early this year with all the heat, but that’s another story. So when you get on your mat tomorrow morning and salute the sun, take in the extra energy that will be pouring out upon us from the giant star in the sky.

Several traditions around the world celebrate the summer solstice by burning a bonfire all day and night. This is meant to celebrate the sun at its peak performance and to ask the sun not to withdraw back into winter. I won’t be creating any bonfires tomorrow, but I do plan to light a candle and keep it burning all day.

Summer solstice is also a time of reflection. Take a moment to take in the greenscape all around you and the growth of seeds you’ve planted. If you have projects that you’ve been working on or any other “seeds” you’ve planted. Now is the time to reflect on those and check in on their progress. Celebrate growth, love, and the world’s vitalizing energy within and around you. How are your seeds doing? I hope the solstice finds you well!

OH! and happy father’s day! Thanks for being here xo

Hello Autumn!

Today was one of my favorite days of the year! The Autumnal Equinox is the day, which marks the beginning of Fall. The equinox rings in the season with a balanced amount of night and day hours for North and South of the equator. Pretty awesome what nature can do right?! I honored the special day with a morning Vinyasa into Fall followed by 10 minutes of Nothing of course. Since the fall season brings with it many projects and transitions I felt that I needed to be grounded and centered on the day of its beginning. Just like the equanimity of day and night…I wanted to be balanced for the arrival of my favorite season. If I get more time I’ll post the sequence!

I’m also working on creating an alter for my yoga practice…a little space to represent my heart and my intention. I’m taking my time with it, but when it’s done I’ll make sure to put a photo up. Hopefully I can get it done soon so that I can do “Nothing” in front of it for the Joy Diet journey!

It also happened that I was graced with some good luck today! I went to an expo for local businesses quite by accident the other day with Stew and saw a beautiful necklace at one of the booths. I never do this, but I signed up for the drawing and I WON! Eeek! Yes the Autumnal Equinox has been good to me. Oh! Annd it just so happens that Stew and I’s anniversary is today! Did I mention I LOVE the autumn equinox?!

How was your day? Did you breathe in some crisp, fall air? Do some sun salutes? Journal?

Here’s hoping we all see a landscape ablaze with color and love this season!

Beginnings…

The beginning of any journey is always the most exciting and fearful time. So many unknown variables lurk in the distance and taking that first step can sometimes be overwhelming! So here I am beginning a new journey with the launch of Yoga To Go and I’m looking forward to settling down in my little corner of the web. The Musings feature of the site could possibly be my favorite space! I am launching it with visions of building a community where Internet savvy yogis can come to get inspired, informed, and infused with like-minded sentiments. But, as with all lifelong paths, I am constantly challenging myself to stay present and grounded throughout the process.

I am currently enrolled in a Behavior Change class and realized how appropriate that is for this time in my life when we were discussing the business of changing. My professor says that the most important part of behavior change is the change itself. In other words the end result. After a few years of yoga it strikes me to hear that the most important aspect of anything is the end. Even in working tirelessly to change unwanted behaviors I wondered if there could be SOME joy in the process. Then I read this quote and it put exactly what I felt into words:

“We all work for some reason: to feed our children, to earn money to support ourselves, to justify our life, to get a little bit of power. However, there are always tedious stages in that process, and the secret lies in transforming those stages into an encounter with ourselves or with something higher”-Paul Coelho “The Witch of Portobello”

This site isn’t nearly “complete”, but here’s to letting the journey be the destination!

I am currently enrolled in a Behavior Change class and realized how appropriate that is for this time in my life when we were discussing the business of changing. My professor says that the most important part of behavior change is the change itself. In other words the end result. After a few years of yoga it strikes me to hear that the most important aspect of anything is the end. Even in working tirelessly to change unwanted behaviors I wondered if there could be SOME joy in the process. Then I read this quote and it put exactly what I felt into words:

“We all work for some reason: to feed our children, to earn money to support ourselves, to justify our life, to get a little bit of power. However, there are always tedious stages in that process, and the secret lies in transforming those stages into an encounter with ourselves or with something higher”-Paul Coelho “The Witch of Portobello”

This site isn’t nearly “complete”, but here’s to letting the journey be the destination!