Your tax-deductible gift will allow MHS to care for the community’s most at-risk animals – including pets who are homeless, abused or neglected. With so many animals in desperate need of the Michigan Humane Society’s life-saving care services, donations to the 2012 Valentine’s Telethon are all the more critical. Through your support, MHS will bring hope to thousands of pets in need this year. You can choose to donate securely online or by phone, with a one-time gift, or a monthly gift. Every dollar will help MHS change precious animal lives.

Don’t miss the adorable animals, amazing transformations, and heartwarming happy endings, and see why your support is critical to the animals in MHS’ care.

Share the Love! To make a donation in support of the 2012 Valentine’s Telethon on or before February 9, please call 1.855.647.4483 or visit www.michiganhumane.org/Telethon2012.

Watch some of the amazing videos from last year.

Last week, my mom and I attended Gail Posner’s (yes, the wonderful Gail that writes articles for ASKinyourface.com!) “Nutrition While You Shop”. Honestly, at the time I didn’t want to go. I was dealing with that nasty stress-induced cold and just wanted to sleep! But I really wanted some guidelines on healthy food shopping. I’m so glad I went! Gail greeted us at Hiller’s and handed us some handouts. The handout I really learned from was the healthy food guidelines. I learned from Gail not to trust food packages.

Some snacks say low-fat, zero calorie, no guilt… what they don’t tell you is they are allowed to lie! Check out some of these so called “guilt-free” snacks and realize they aren’t so healthy for you. Here’s what you need to know when checking food labels (yes, you should always double check the label!):

• There should be 1 gram of saturated or total fat or less per 100 calories and absolutely no trans fat!
• Aim for less than 200 mg. of sodium per serving.
• Aim for under 5 grams of sugar.
• Bread is so deceiving! Go for 100% whole grain. Even bread that claims to be whole grain has “unbleached flour” which is bad for you.
• Aim for 11 servings of fruits and veggies a day – the more colors the better! Yum!
• Go for organic when buying the “dirty dozen”:

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Pears
9. Grapes (Imported)
10. Spinach
11. Lettuce
12. Potatoes

• Avoid additives and nitrates.

We will advertise the next time Gail does her “Nutrition While You Shop”! It is a great opportunity to learn more about what you eat and ask her specific questions. Visit www.gailposner.com for more information.

But silence can be lovely, and therapeutic, and powerful.

It can be the remedy for our stress and the habits that crush us.

If we want quiet in our lives, how do we create it?

I’ve been exploring this myself. As a father of six kids, I have to admit that I don’t always have silence in my life. That’s not a complaint — I love the messy noise that my family brings — but silence can be a welcome refuge from that noise at times.

I create silence by subtracting, and not filling the resulting emptiness withe noise or clutter.

And so my life is a constant experimentation with subtracting. When I’ve subtracted, and learn to love the empty silence, I subtract some more. Subtraction is a beautiful process.

Prefer subtraction over addition.

Learn to be content with little, or nothing.

Realize that silence is beautiful.

Find yourself in the empty space that results.

Empty a room, and put almost nothing back except that which produces quiet.

Speak less, listen more, contemplate even more.

Walk in silence. Watch the leaves quiver, fall in silence, whisper in the wind.

Sit and do nothing. Listen to your mind make noise in the silence, allow it to subside.

Eschew video, iPods, books, the Internet, mobile devices, social networks, and other purveyors of noise.

Be quiet, so that life may speak.

Post written by Leo Babauta, Courtesy of Zen Habits.

You can roast whatever kind of pepper you like. My favorite peppers are mild, sweet bell peppers — being a contact-wearer makes me leery of handling hot peppers — but if you like hotter peppers, look for poblanos. They tend to be on the spicy side and are especially nice to roast. (Poblanos look like pointy dark-green bell peppers.) The key is to roast until your pepper of choice is quite charred on the outside; this will make it easy to peel once it’s cooled enough to touch. If you have a gas stove and a penchant for playing with fire, you can poke a long metal fork through your pepper and hold it just above the flame to roast it, turning until all sides are blackened. I am a wimp when it comes to fire and prefer to use a closed oven for my pepper roasting.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 red bell pepper

4 cloves garlic, chopped

15 oz. can of chickpeas, preferably Eden (they use BPA-free cans)

1 T. tahini

Sea salt

2 servings whole-grain pasta of your choice (I used Tinkyada’s brown rice linguini)

Sweet paprika for garnishing

Make the oven ready for roasting by placing a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom-most rack. This will catch any potential drips coming from the pepper and will potentially save you tons of clean-up time. Preheat oven to 425F. Place pepper on the middle rack, being sure to center it over the foil. Roast for 10-15 minutes or until all sides are blackened and blistering. (The larger the pepper, the longer the roasting will take.) Remove and slip into a plastic bag. Seal bag and let sit until cool enough to handle. When it is, the skin should easily peel away. Do so over a cutting board, because water will leak out of the pepper as you handle it. Cut away the seeds and stem. At this point, if you’d like to save half of the pepper to use later, just put it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Or use all of the pepper in the hummus.

While the pepper is roasting, sautée the garlic in a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil over medium-low heat for 3 minutes or until garlic is soft and fragrant. Slip into a food processor. Drain chickpeas, reserving the juice, and add chickpeas to the garlic. Scoop in tahini and sprinkle in some salt. Add the peeled roasted pepper and process until smooth. If the mixture seems too dry, add some of the reserved canning liquid OR a dash of water. (If you use the whole pepper, you probably won’t need to add any liquid; if you only use half the pepper, the hummus might be a little dry.)

Let the hummus sit and the flavors marry while you prepare the pasta according to package directions. Toss cooked and drained pasta with as much of the hummus as you’d like (leftover hummus makes a great dip!) and garnish with a dash or two of paprika. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Courtesy of The Cultured Cook.

It must be February…love is in the air! Embrace this time to give and receive love with a wide-open heart. If your back feels stiff and your heart is aching, perhaps this month would be a perfect opportunity to flex your spine, open your chest, and feel the love inside of you! Roll out your mat…lay on your back and let’s begin our love-in!

Many of us spend hours bent forward going about our daily tasks (at computers, at desks, reading, driving, biking, chasing kids, standing at the kitchen sink, cleaning around the house – forward tilting tasks are endless! It’s no wonder our back,  neck and shoulders are screaming at the end of the day.

Even our natural standing posture tends to be curved forward. Instinctively, we protect the front of our bodies; our throat, face and chest. We do this by taking a protective posture, covering the front of our body and closing in around it. Think about the times when you stand with your arms crossed in front, shoulders hunched forward and back rounded. It is a very protective stance.  We can all benefit from backbends to open the chest and front of the body and counter these tendencies that have both physical and emotional roots. Backbends tend to elicit a passionate response from most. Often this passionate feedback is fear based. We may fear falling on our head and hurting our neck – a reasonable fear. This is precisely why intelligent instruction and guidance is necessary. Evolving in our practice with more gentle backbends (Half Locust, Sphinx, Cobra), to Ustrasana or full wheel pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana) is recommended. Often we avoid backbends because they make us nauseas or lightheaded. We love them, dislike them or practice “backbend avoidance”.  Many of my students love supported backbends but admit the love stops there. They would prefer a more familiar, comfy forward fold that requires less of our heart, mind and body.  Surely this is an indication that we need more backbends in our life!  Back bends require that you take a posture that is completely opposite to the naturally protective posture we crave. We intentionally expose the soft, more vulnerable parts of our bodies. This feeling of vulnerability can make back bending difficult and emotionally intense.

But it can also be quite liberating. Backbends encourage us to open the chest and heart, to inhale deeply — actions that symbolize embracing life. “The act of being able to feel– to truly feel — is important for balance, whether physical, mental, or emotional.” Moving toward Balance – Rodney Yee

A healthy backbend practice encourages and supports an open heart – allowing us to love more and love deeper.  When we are in a state of love, we are naturally giving, compassionate, peaceful, and ultimately…. loving.

In Hatha Yoga backbends are a wondrous physical motion that opens the fourth chakra and thus our hearts–literally and figuratively. In many ways a backbend puts you in a vulnerable position – the heart is a vital organ you cannot live without. Not only does this put your physical body out in the open, but your emotional self as well. There is a reason we use the term “heart – ache.” To let go and experience love, we must be willing to be vulnerable. When you expand your chest and open across the front – you are exposing your heart!  In this posture, letting go of pent up grudges and resentment is simply – easier. Together with the conscious intention to forgive and let go and the desire to connect deeply with others – your heart is unbounded and open to grow in every direction.

“Love is the best anti-depressant.” and “Love is as critical for your mind and body as oxygen. It’s not negotiable. The more connected you are, the healthier you will be both physically and emotionally. The less connected you are, the more you are at risk.”

Benefits of Backbends

Strengthen the back and increase mobility in the spine.

Open the heart chakra and emotional center.

Energize both body and mind.

Expand and stretch the chest and shoulders, solar plexus, abdomen, hips and thighs.

A Few Ideas to Bring to Your Backbending Practice

Intend to bring your spine into an even arc so that no particular area is stressed. Certain areas of the spine (the lumbar region for example) have quite a bit more mobility than others. This makes it easy to depend more on these areas for backbends. Look for a sense of “evenness” throughout the entire spine.

Passive Back Bending

The Pose: Place a folded blanket or yoga bolster across your mat. Lie over the bolster with shoulders at the top, and support your head so that it’s slightly higher than your chest. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on floor for more comfort in the low back area.

Because backbends often require quite a bit of effort, especially when starting out, there is a tendency to tighten the muscles of the neck and face. Focus on your breath, keep it continuous and flowing and release tension from these areas.

Relax your shoulders away from your ears, shoulder blades moving down towards your lower back. Also open the chest by bringing the shoulder blades together.

Set the foundation for your backbend with mindfulness and awareness. Move slowly and with compassion – there is no hurry! Clear your head of any negative thoughts or images and focus on smooth, deep breathing.

Remember:  ”Consistency of practice is the secret to success” and you will get stronger, just by trying.

Full Wheel Instructions: from Anne Pizer – About.com

1. Come to lie on the back

2. Bend the knees, bringing the soles of the feet parallel on the mat close to the buttocks.

4. Bend the elbows and bring the palms of your hands underneath your shoulders with the fingertips pointing towards your feet.

5. Inhale and press down into the palms as you lift the hips up off the floor.

6. Bring the crown of your head to the mat. Pause here for a moment as you make sure that the elbows are staying parallel and not splaying out to the sides.

7. Straighten the arms as you lift the head off the floor.

8. Make sure to keep the legs parallel.

9. Reach the chest towards to wall behind you.

10. Begin to straighten the legs.

11. To come down, tuck the chin into the chest and lower down slowly.

12. Rest, allowing the knees to knock together.

Beginners: Try the pose at the wall. Take two blocks and place them leaning on the wall at 45 degree angles. Put each hand on a block.

Have someone stand behind you and hold their ankles instead of putting the hands on the floor.

Advanced: Lift one leg at a time straight up to the ceiling.

Come into the pose from standing and/or come up to stand from the pose.

A loving backbend on the ball

This feels really yummy!

Backbends on the ball are a wonderful alternative to the mat:

Related Posts:

No Slouching – Stand Tall

Yoga Pose Of The Month – Ustrasana

Nine Ways To Open Our Hearts To Joy

Strengthen your will power, but how?

One reason most diets fail is that long-term goals can be overwhelmingly difficult: When the plan is to watch what you eat for the next six months, drinking one caramel latte with whipped cream seems like a minor slip. To avoid that kind of thinking, commit to eating well for a fixed amount of time that you’re 100 percent confident you can manage, even if it’s just a few days. Breaking up a long term diet plan in your mind in 5 day intervals will help your mind stay focused on the “Now” instead of worrying about 3 months from now or longer

“Once you make it to your goal date, start over,” says Mary Vernon, M.D., chair of the board of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians. “This establishes the notion that you can be successful and gives you a chance to notice that eating better makes you feel better, reinforcing your desire to continue.”

Finding meaningful motivation

If the main purpose of your diet is cosmetic, such as to look amazing in your clothes, you’re probably not going to stick with it for the long run.

The solution: “Arm yourself with additional motivators,” says Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D., of the University of Connecticut. He suggests keeping a daily journal in which you monitor migraines, heartburn, acne, canker sores, and sleep quality in addition to body measurements and the number on the scale. Write down feeling or thoughts about your moods and how they prompt you to eat certain foods, while taking notice of what eating that food is really doing for you at that time. “Discovering that your new diet improves the quality of your health and your level of energy is powerful motivation,” Volek says. Even keeping a photograph of a realistic person whose weight you could achieve, handy on the fridge can remind your brain of your goal over and over.

Move on after a mistake

OK, so you overindulged or pigged out. Try your hardest not to say, “Oh well, I ruined my diet for today so I may as well just eat whatever I want and try to start tomorrow or another day”. Instead ask yourself, “What’s the next step? The answer is: “Forget about it,” says James Newman, a nutritionist at Tahlequah City Hospital, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, who followed his own advice to shed 300 pounds. (That’s right, three hundred.) “One meal doesn’t define your diet, so don’t assume that you’ve failed or fallen off the wagon,” he says. Institute a simple rule: Follow any “cheat” meal with at least five healthy meals and snacks. That will help ensure you that you’ll be eating right more than 80 percent of the time.

Eat Breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up

Sure, you’ve heard this advice before. But consider that if you sleep for six to eight hours and then skip breakfast, your body is essentially running on fumes by the time you get to work. And that sends you desperately seeking sugar, which is usually pretty easy to find. Try to eat a healthy protein, healthy fat and healthy unrefined carb which will keep your blood sugar levels running evenly until lunch if you can’t catch a healthy mid-morning snack. Examples might be a non-fat, plain Greek yogurt mixed with some almonds and walnuts and berries, or a waffle smeared with some peanut or almond butter, or a couple of eggs (even hardboiled to save time) dipped in some hummus if hard boiled or if cooked, then make them in healthy olive or coconut oil ), along with a slice of whole grain toast.

Bagels will make your blood sugar fall within 2 hours if not balanced with a healthy protein food. Bagels have too much bleached flour anyway and should be avoided. If you are desperate and in a place where there is nothing else to eat, you can pull out all the dough from the center and just eat the insides without it and pair it with a protein like a nut butter, cheese, yogurt or egg (turkey too) .

Restock your shelves in the fridge and cupboards

You’re more likely to give in to a craving when the object you desire is close at hand. So make sure it’s not even there: Toss the junk food and restock your cupboard and fridge with almonds and other nuts, cheese, fruit and vegetables, and canned tuna, chicken, and salmon. Do the same at work.

By eliminating snacks that don’t match your diet plan and providing many that do, you’re far less likely to find yourself at the doughnut-shop drive-thru or the vending machine. Snacks like Raw Unsalted Almonds, Raw Unsalted Walnuts, organic dried fruits like cranberries or raisins, sunflower seeds, natural popcorn with no oil.

Spot hunger that’s not really hunger

Do you have a craving for sweets even though you ate just an hour ago? Many times reaching for sweets after meals is just a habit that you are so used to, and you don’t even think twice. But if you have to have something, you can have a 60 calorie Tootsie Pop sucker, or a frozen natural no-sugar added popsicle for 45 calories, chew a stick of minty gum, a piece of low sugar fruit like an apple or grapefruit, brush your teeth, or drink a large glass of cold water or club soda with lemon. Wait another 20 minutes after that and you will find the craving will be gone. Change your environment, which can be as easy as stretching at your desk or turning your attention to a different task. If at home, walk into a room that is away from the kitchen and get your mind on anything else but food.

In today’s fast-paced, very stressful life, it seems that nothing soothes us like food. Try to brainstorm on activities, hobbies, prayer, writing or communicating with others that can take its place and “fill you up” emotionally rather than the emptiness of filling up on food beyond what your body needs.

By: Linda Wolschlager, Certified Nutrition Counselor/Wellness Coach

www.naturalnutritionadvisor.com/Email: naturalnutritionadvisor@gmail.com

I can’t remember ever being taught anything about relationships in school. The only way we learned to relate was watching how our parents related to their family, friends and us. It was pretty clear that the schools didn’t offer classes in relationships for them either.

When your relationships work your life is so much more in a state of flow. It feels like going downstream in a lazy river. The river of life, the river of love.

Through my years of working with people on their relationships, I have created a simple and yet remarkable tool that I call The Ladder of Communication. When you utilize this ladder in your daily life, you have a reliable tool that will transform your relationships…with friends, family, co-workers, bosses, children and of course significant others.

So this valentine’s day…make sure that love is more than a feeling in your heart, that it is a decision, a choice an inspired action. It may take practice, but once you are in the flow… nothing can stop you!

Below is the Ladder of Communication. Start reading at the bottom and work your way up…the higher you can be on the ladder, the more joyful your relationships will be. There is more explanation under the ladder.

Pure Spirit and Love: I see the goodness of you …and hold in in my heart.

Understanding: I can understand how that would make you so sad and scared too.

Validation: I see that you don’t like when I am late.

Mirroring: What I hear you saying is that when I yell you get scared.

Listening: I am listening with an open heart.

Lecturing: You know better than to do that!!

Arguing: I would rather be right than be happy.

Judging: You are irresponsible and lazy!

Attacking: Just shut up you stupid woman! You can’t do anything right!!

Blaming: I wouldn’t drink if it weren’t for your spending habits!

Contempt: I despise you!

Withdrawing: I despise you so much—I refuse to even acknowledge you.

Working the Ladder

•The bottom of the ladder represents our lowest self: the part of us that threatens, shouts, accuses, blames. This is the animal part of our brain or our reactive brain. Animals react all day long. They are simply stimulus-response creatures—no creative thinking, no thoughts about the future.

•The upper rungs of the ladder represent our highest self. This is our proactive self—the self that is “in charge.” This is the self that differentiates us from all other animals. This is the place where we interact with people soul to soul. Martin Buber referred to this as an “I-thou” relationship.

•It is the upper rungs of the ladder where we listen to others with our whole heart, where we hear not just the words but the meaning behind the words. This creates a sense of peace and safety in our relationships.

•In studying people who struggle with relationships it has become obvious to me that they are stuck on the lower rungs of the ladder. They fall into the same stimulus-response habit that is common in the animal kingdom. Rather than creating the relationship they want, they are constantly in a reactive state.

•It is important to note that we are not sent up and down the ladder because of someone else’s behavior. We can choose how we react in any given circumstance. We can be “creators” rather than “reactors”. Our relationships will improve as we become more conscious of our responses.

•In visualizing the ladder and putting it into practice in our daily lives, we can watch as our relationships become magical!

Enjoy your time at the top of the ladder and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Brenda Strausz is a holistic therapist and coach in the Metro Detroit Area. She specializes in stress reduction and women’s empowerment. She combines conventional therapy with alternative modalities to help you live with more ease, joy and freedom. She can be reached at DearBrenn@aol.com or through her website at www.BrendaStrausz.com or her facebook page Open to Joy.

Also, please check out A Call to Wholeness, a women’s conference on March 24th where Brenda will be the keynote speaker! You can register and get all the information here.

Last week, I got stuck driving in the iciest roads I’ve ever seen. I was going 15 mph and being extra careful on the freeway and still slipping and sliding everywhere. Terrible road conditions with the added fact that it was nighttime put me in a state of panic. One of my biggest fears is getting into a bad car accident. Add to that I had just seen a movie where the premise was that a couple got into a car accident because of snowy roads and she lost her memory…. eeek.

Then the next day, I was all set for the cake decorating class I had been taking. It was the last night of class where we had to bring an iced cake ready to decorate. I had spent hours making sure my cake looked perfect, including icing it twice so it was beautiful and white and not showing any tasty red velvet crumbs. Fast forward to 15 minutes before class while waiting for my friend to pick me up… the cake carrier slides off a chair sending the cake upside down and ripping all that beautiful frosting off. Cue more panic. My friend convinced me to go to the class where all my icing bags broke and our frosting was a complete mess. Blah, at least I tried I suppose!

These disasters along with other stress led to a couple of days of not feeling so great off and on. Today it seems a full blown cold is on its way. Perhaps I did pick up a bug somewhere along the weekend, but feeling stressed and anxious is probably what hurt my immune system the most. No matter how great you eat, how much you work out and how careful you are with not touching germy items, I know that stress can break down your immune system and not give you the tools you need to fight off infections and illnesses.

So for right now I am resting, drinking a lot of liquids and doctoring myself up and hoping I feel better tomorrow and realizing I need to stay happy and stress-free. While this is definitely impossible to avoid all the time because accidents happen, things will cause me to become anxious, but I need to take a deep breath. I need to continue to do yoga and perhaps pump up my practice because I know it helps me stress less. I need to take a breath and try to laugh instead of cry when something totally annoying happens like dropping my cake.

What about you? Do you believe stress causes illness? How do you stay stress free?

To read more from Lauren (including a review of “The Vow” before it has been released… this was the movie I mentioned above), check out Lauren’s Thoughts.

Tomorrow, February 4, 7:00 am

Royal Oak Farmers Market, 316 E 11 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI

FREE

Farmers and specialty food vendors will be at the market every Saturday.

Where Royal Oak Farmers Market 316 E 11 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067

Next on

February 4, 2012

More dates

February 11, 2012

February 18, 2012

February 25, 2012

March 3, 2012

March 10, 2012

Time 7:00 am–1:00 pm

Who to bring Everyone

Phone 248-246-3276

Snow Daze – 4th Annual

Tomorrow, February 4, 12:00 am

Rochester Mills Beer Company, 400 Water St, Rochester, MI

$5 donation

Come join us for some Adult Fun in the Snow (that is if it doesn’t all melt away by then!) Unlike the Fire and Ice Festival, we plan to host our Annual Snow Daze Charity Softball Game whether there is snow or not! This event has been growing over the years from a somewhat cult-like following. Hanging out in the potentially cold and snowy weather while playing or watching softball games isn’t for everyone… But we think it is LOTS of fun and we enjoy getting a little crazy every once in a while! Our charity this year is the Animal Care Network and we are asking for a $5 donation to get into Snow Daze, or you can bring some pet care / pet food items from the “Donation Wish List” posted below. Snow Daze will feature several softball games, based on how many players we have interested. There will be $2 beers, fire pits, some shot specials, as well as some food for sale. The event takes place from Noon-4pm on February 4th. Everyone should do a little snow dance…this will be a lot more fun with a blanket of the white stuff on the ground! Hope to see everyone there!!

*$2pints Outdoors ONLY

$5.00 Donation Cover Benefits Michigan Animal Adoption Network / Animal Care Network

Most Needed Items for the Cause:

Dog food unopened 18-40 lb bags

Cat food unopened 5-30 lb bags

Canned dog food

Canned cat food

Bowls – medium and large, stainless steel

Buckle collars (18, 20, 22, 24 inch sizes)

Bonus: Special Guest Appearance by local beer celebrity Pamela Canderson – bring your camera!

Where Rochester Mills Beer Company 400 Water St, Rochester, MI 48307

Next on

February 4, 2012

Time 12:00 am–4:00 pm

Who to bring Everyone

Website http://­www.­roche­stermillsbeerco.­com

Phone 248-650-5080

Price $5 donation

Glamour Mini-Sessions Just in Time for Valentine’s Day

Tomorrow, February 4, 10:00 am

302 W University Dr, Rochester, MI

$20.00

Glamour Mini-Sessions will be offered every 15 minutes on Saturday beginning at 10am. Beth Szulborski from Mary Kay will be on hand to do makeovers before your session.

The cost is only $20 per session and is waived if you spend more than $75 on photographic items, including glossy, lustre and metallic prints, accordian books and other print items. Custom framing is a great convenience.

Gift certificates are available.

Call 586 781-8689 to book your spot before they fill up.

Questions regarding the shoot? Call 248 652-0877.

Where 302 W University Dr, Rochester, MI 48307 (Independent Expressions Photography and Design Studio)

Next on

February 4, 2012

Time 10:00 am–1:00 pm

Who to bring College Students, Moms, Singles

Website http://­www.­indepe­ndentexpre­ssions.­com

Phone 248 652-0877

Price $20.00

35th Annual Pancake Walk at Stony Creek

Sunday, February 5, All day

Stony Creek Metropark, 4300 Main Park Dr, Shelby Township, MI

$3 per child/$5 per adult

Stony Creek Metropark holds its 35th Annual Pancake Walk. Join a park interpreter for a walk along the winter trails, and then warm up with a pancake breakfast.

Cost is $3 per child or $5 per adult. Call 586-781-9113 for details and times.

Where Stony Creek Metropark 4300 Main Park Dr, Shelby Township, MI 48316

Next on

February 5, 2012

Time

Price $3 per child/$5 per adult

Bowl for Jobs

Today, February 3, 7:00 pm

Drakeshire Foods & Lounge, 35000 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI

$20

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit and 89X invite Metro Detroiters to “Bowl for Jobs” tonight.

Participants will receive bowling, shoe rental, pizza and soft drinks included in the $20 price.

Please bring clothing items or consider giving a monetary donation to further support the fight against local unemployment.

You can purchase tickets at the door or by email.

Where Drakeshire Foods & Lounge 35000 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48335

Next on

February 3, 2012

Time 7:00 pm–10:00 pm

Who to bring Everyone

Price $20

Knit Michigan Fundraising Event

Tomorrow, February 4, 10:00 am

Academy of The Sacred Heart, 1250 Kensington Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI

$10, $15 for early birds

Knit Michigan, a non-profit organization that raises funds for cancer patients and their families as well as donates comfort items to cancer patients, is holding a fundraiser today at the Academy of the Sacred Heart. There will be a learning area with demonstrations, a silent auction, shopping in the market, giveaways and more.

The event will benefit five Michigan cancer charities.

Where Academy of The Sacred Heart 1250 Kensington Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304

Next on

February 4, 2012

Time 10:00 am–4:00 pm

Who to bring Everyone

Website http://­www.­knitmi­chigan.­org

Email haveyoua­nywoolmi@­yahoo.­com

Price $10, $15 for early birds

But yoga isn’t about competition and I love that. As competitive as I can be (you should see my boyfriend and I play Hanging With Friends… yikes!), I love that yoga isn’t about competition. It is all about you and your health. I love that when doing yoga you can close your eyes as you flow through the moves. This allows me to tune out how flexible my friend is, what the person in front of me is doing, or whatever distractions can come. I can listen to my body, adjust a pose if it is killing my knees and give myself a pep talk as I push through any difficult poses.

I love that I can go into yoga and forget my worries and stress that accumulates over days, weeks and months. I can start to deep breathe and melt into the different poses. I can push myself to become more flexible and stronger. I get to spend time with one of my best friends. I must say I am getting more hooked each time I go! I find myself wanting to go more and more and feel my balance getting better and my mind growing stronger.

Do you love yoga? Tell me what you love about it or even vent what you hate about it!

To read more from Lauren, check out Lauren’s Thoughts.