Happy Healthy and Fit

People Are Like Candy

2013-05-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

The shiniest wrapper doesn't always contain the best-tasting candy. Often times, the best-tasting candy doesn't even have a wrapper.

In fact, homemade chocolate or candies with only a few ingredients, where the true essence and deliciousness, are not masked by chemicals and preservatives are the best. Homemade candies may not always be the most appealing to the eye, but once you get passed that, you will find them to be irresistible.

People are the same way. Perhaps, it is getting more and more apparent as I continue on my own spiritual path of transformation or maybe it is just a natural part of developing wisdom with age. When it comes to people, less is more. Less Wrapper. Less Shine. Less Bravado. Less Walls. Less Lies. Less Flash. All of those are like chemicals designed to preserve the ego while providing zero benefits.

Judging a person by appearance is like judging a candy by its wrapper. Sure, it's easy to be attracted to the person with fancy clothes, a new sports car, credentials, a showy watch and stories of grandeur. It's just as easy to overlook the person slightly unkempt, quiet and not seeking attention, as it is to pass on the homemade, melt in your mouth candy because it is lacking a wrapper.

True spiritual transformation is about ascending ego. It is about taking off your false armor, tearing down your own walls, removing your wrapper and letting your true delicious essence be known. Is it possible that you will lose a few friends in the process? That depends on how you define 'friend.' When you decide to live in Truth, your Truth, it is like turning all the lights on full blast in your house at one time. It can be a little shocking and uncomfortable for others initially. The fear is their own flaws may be exposed.

The Truth is the True self doesn't have any flaws. When you lose your ego and insecurities, you become a being of True Love. Like a homemade candy, you become irresistible to those who appreciate you.

Be confident in who you are. Just as a fancy wrapper doesn't have anything to do with the contents when it comes to candy, a new car or expensive purse doesn't have anything to do with the owner's pureness of heart. Less is more. Trust in your natural ability to let your heart shine. It is all you need. Catch yourself judging others, you just might be missing out on the sweetest part of life~ connection to another soul.

Life is Short. Make yours Magical.

The Real Problem with Male Yoga Teachers

2013-04-07T07:46:00.002-07:00

In the past few weeks, I have had several new to me yoga students greet me with a bit of a sheepish smirk. When I introduce myself as 'Randi' which happens to be my full and given first name, I hear things like~ 'I haven't been coming to your class, because I thought Randi was a guy.'

If it was once or twice, I would playfully disregard it. However, this aversion to male yoga teachers has come from both men and women. Surprisingly, well educated, professionals have expressed this shared opinion. It has inspired me to share my own views.

Teachers come in all shapes, colors and sizes. Teachers are those with a passion for learning and a yearning to share compassion. The greatest teachers may not have any formal teaching education, but instead bring life experience, heart and light into this world. I improved my Chakrasana, yoga backward roll, by watching a small child in gymnastics. I have improved my ability to meditate watching the elderly sit on a park bench.

When it comes to actual professional, male yoga teachers, I have had many. I am grateful for my first teacher, Ian Lopatin, who co-created At-One Yoga in Phoenix, Arizona. Ian was a practicing lawyer that decided to pursue his passion and switched careers early on. He is often credited with spreading the real 'power yoga' movement by adding hip hop to breath and flow. I also had the joy of learning from Aaron King and David Romanelli, who were also co-creators in the At-One project and have gone on to light up the world through, teaching, coaching and writing. Dave Oliver, another one of my favorite teachers and mentors used to teach Ashtanga to my whole family. His passion for the history, philosophy, healing benefits and storytelling has influenced my own teaching style tremendously. Dave who didn't step foot onto his mat until he was 40 years old and had an injury has been teaching ashtanga yoga for over 20 years. Together with his wife Cheryl, they teach yoga teachers from all over the country. Lastly, I credit Sumit Banerjee, who has created a tremendous movement in the Hot Yoga world. His teaching style and method have influenced me tremendously as well. Although, it was Ian, who first encouraged me to become a yoga teacher, it was Sumit, who was able to get me to breakthrough my own mental blockages and gain the confidence to stand up and teach. Then, it was Dave and Cheryl Oliver who officially got me Yoga Alliance certified.

After a journey that started in 1997, I am pleased to say that I have an amazing female yoga teacher, Sharon Denton, that I am also proud to call my friend and mentor. I believe that every step along the way has brought me to appreciate right here, right now. I am grateful for all of the other wonderful and amazing teachers that I have had along the way, but wanted to encourage everyone to be open to the teachers they are blessed with at the time of the blessing. Keep in mind that Patanjali, Guruji and Krishnamacharya were all men. Thank goodness for them!!

What is the real problem with male yoga teachers? There simply aren't enough! Go ahead and open your mind and open your heart. Be grateful to all who have decided to take their yoga off the mat and become yoga teachers. When you see someone named 'Randi' on the schedule, don't prejudge and shortchange yourself. Go and go with all of your heart, it just may change your life.

Namaste~

Get Into the Game of Life and Play to Win!

2013-03-20T05:09:00.000-07:00

If you find yourself repeating the same scene day after day and life feels like a daily grind of monotony, it's time to break your patterns. It's time to start winning.

A video game has many levels and so does life. The first level on a video game is usually pretty basic, it gives you an idea of how to play and then as you progress, the challenges are slightly more obscure and come at you faster, however, the greater challenges are met with greater rewards, of which most are intrinsic feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction.

In life, level one can be viewed as survival. It is associated with scarcity and fear. Level 10 is reaching the state of bliss, ecstasy and abundance, a term in yoga known as samadhi. The way to ascend from survival to bliss is by learning the rule, removing the obstacles, elevating your consciousness and breaking your patterns. Life is like a video game. If you continue to do the, settle and quit playing. This applies to personal development, relationships, love, work and happiness.

You cannot play on Level 3 and Level 1 at the same time. You must be willing to release the things that no longer serve you. Identify your patterns, your personal blockages and fearlessly remove them. How? Make a decision. Decisions are like sharp scissors. The moment you make a decision with your heart and mind, is the moment that you cut off the old and make room for the new.

If you have ever played a video game, even as a child, you can recall that in order to ascend to a new level, you must overcome the obstacles, face the challenges and persevere. You can usually see what you need to do, but you must resist the temptation to do the same thing over and over again. Even when you can intellectualize what to do, your muscles have memory and insist on repeating the patterns. In the video game, you must make conscious changes to your strategy or you will be stuck in the same place until you tire of the game. The same thing yields true in life. You must break your patterns and create change.

How do you play to win life? It's easy. Simply learn the rule and I say rule, because there is only one. Love. Replace lower vibrations with higher ones. Replace hate with Love. Replace fear with Love. Replace jealously with Love. Replace judgment with Love. I don't mean the romantic, cupid love, but true unconditional love.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means getting into the Game of Life and Playing to Win!

Breakdown Headstand to Breakthrough Fear in Yoga & Life

2013-02-15T06:19:00.002-08:00

I have been teaching headstand or, as the pose is known in Sanskrit, Shirshasana a lot lately. Generally, there are three kinds of students: ones who can headstand alone, ones who take their mat to the wall and ones that sit on their mat and smile, as if I am going to let them sit this one out.

The biggest obstacle to a successful headstand is fear. Sometimes that fear is the result an attempted headstand gone bad and sometimes it is the result of someone telling someone else about a headstand injury. Then, there is simply the fear of turning upside-down, being out of control or the inability to do it. The same fears that exist in headstand exist in life.

After watching students, pull their mats to the wall and never making improvements, I have come realize that the way you approach your headstand is the way you approach your life. Do you Go for the Goal, Play it Safe or Stop in fear?

Going for the goal in any relationship, sport, business or activity requires getting proper training from an expert, asking questions, practice and discipline. In terms of the headstand, this approach means staying on your mat, without the illusion of the wall for security. Learn that headstand is not really a headstand, but an inverted balancing pose requiring strong use of the arms, core and bandhas.

Just like experiencing success in true love, business, arts or athletics, the benefits of proper headstand are infinite and boundless.

Playing it safe in headstand is not really safe at all. This is when you pull your mat to the wall, place your head on the ground and kick up. You are going through the motions and not experiencing the pose or benefits. Kicking your legs up until the wall catches you is not accomplishing anything. It is preparing you to topple over and injure yourself when you try this away from the wall. Looking at someone else doing the pose and taking this approach is like deciding you want to get married and ordering a bride out of a catalogue. Ultimately, it is a recipe for dissatisfaction and potential disaster.

For those who stop completely in fear, it is understandable that if you don't know what you are doing, you do not want to risk injury. Do not let fear hold you back from a life of balance, love, health, fulfillment and empowerment. Do not listen to what someone else says about headstands. Those are probably the same people telling you to hold onto your miserable job or stay in your dysfunctional relationship.

Expansion and growth require release. The release is fear. I do not recommend trying to learn headstand on your own anymore than I recommend kicking up to a wall. However, I have been experimenting over the past several weeks with teaching students how to build a proper foundation, Lift up from the belly, shift weight out of the head, tuck the tailbone and squeeze the legs. The success rate has been 100% regardless of age, ability or gender. The empowered smiles have been universal.

Notice your approach to headstand, do you give your whole heart, part of your heart or none of your heart? Whether your headstand, love life or business is suffering, do not accept what you have been accepting and expect a change. Decide to breakthrough and go for it! Get some sound coaching from a trusted expert, apply it with heart and diligence, your best life is waiting!

Just as a true, magical love relationship can cure you of all past relationship pains, according to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, proper headstand can cure you many ailments that resulted from improper headstand.

Need more inspiration to breakdown and breakthrough headstands? Some of the amazing healing benefits are improved, eyesight, glowing eyes, increased memory power, increased intellect, youthful rejuvenation and spiritual illumination.

namaste~

Teach with your Heart to Experience Ultimate Riches

2013-01-16T05:29:00.001-08:00

Last night, I was scheduled to teach a yoga class at a local in-patient rehab center. Usually, I like to arrive a little early to inspire and motivate the clients to participate. When I got there, a woman whom I have been working with for the past two weeks quickly let me know that she was the only one who would be practicing and I didn't need to stay for just her.

"You're here, I'm here, let's play," I smiled. To which, she made a few meager attempts at letting me know it wasn't worth my time. When I am called to teach, I also remember that inside the word 'teacher' are the letters to spell 'HEART.' A teacher teaches with their heart.

Considering it was just the two of us, I asked her what she would like to work on. I now had the opportunity to create a unique experience for her. She shared where she struggles physically and we spent the next hour opening up her hips, lower back and shoulders. After we bowed to each other and said namaste, she paused and looked perplexed. "It was all about me tonight," she said filled with gratitude.

As I drove home, my heart was full and I reflected on the valuable lesson. Of course, your ego wants you to have a classroom full of people if you have been called to speak or teach something, but the truth is if you can positively affect one person in this lifetime, you have succeeded. Just because you have 50 people in your class and you call out yoga poses doesn't mean you truly connected to any of them. May your hope be to connect to just one.

When you have the opportunity to share your gifts with someone else, be fully present for whomever shows up. Look at the divine beings from the beginning of time, they did not have fancy billboards or marketing materials to send out ahead of time to guarantee a full-live audience. Jesus helped the people he met along the way. Even yoga, was shared from one teacher to one student in the beginning. Kabbalah was spread in the same way. Believe in what you are doing. Impregnate your every thought and action with passion and you are living a purposeful life. Trust that the rewards will come and they will be priceless.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means making a difference in this world by being present and generous with those open to receiving what you have to gift. The best teachers teach with their heart.

When One Door Closes Say Thank YOU!

2013-01-14T06:42:00.001-08:00

You are fired.
Your services are no longer needed here.
We will be going with a different provider.
I am not in love with you anymore.
I want a divorce.
I've been having an affair.

The above words are just a few examples of some closing doors. The knee-jerk reaction to a closed door is fear. It can be quite scary to be the recipient of a pink slip, eviction notice or divorce papers.

The truth is that these things don't just appear out of no where. They are a result. Regardless of how your situation came about, the best way to receive a closing door is with gratitude. After all, do you want to be stuck in an uninspiring job or career, just because it puts food on the table? Do you want to be involved in an unethical business just because it affords you more material goods? Do you want to be in a relationship or marriage with someone who does not love themselves and therefore cannot love you, just because it is comfortable? The only comfort in these situations is the comfort of the 'known.'

As the calendar turned from 2012 to 2013, I was gratefully reflecting on my own closed doors. After a divorce and a few difficult financial years, I had spent 2011 working in a small business consulting and accounting office. What began as a part-time job had shifted into an all-consuming lifestyle. As a free-spirited entrepreneur type, I would often feel like I had sold my soul for a paycheck. Being a non-smoker, there were days that I would enter the building as the sun was rising and leave only after it had gone down. Regularly, the Managing Partner who had hired me would bring me to his office and encourage me to take a more committed position and a raise.

The money and stability would tempt me and then torment me. The possibility of waking up in 15 years and realizing that I spent the 'summer of my life' behind gray walls, being told when I could eat lunch, go on vacation and practice yoga sent me into a state of terror. I didn't want to fully commit, yet I didn't want to leave. I was comfortable with the uncomfortable. When January 3, 2012 rolled around and I returned to the office from the holidays, I remember the sun was shining very bright for the winter. I walked into that office at 7:58am for the last time and by 8:02am I had already turned around and was walking out for the last time. I wish I could say that I had the courage to resign, but it is not true. I was told that my heart wasn't into it and it wasn't working out anymore.

Initially, I felt the fear rise and then I took a breath and knew to replace it with love and gratitude. I didn't put up a fight. In my heart, I knew it was true. He deserved someone who was more committed and I deserved to be aligned with my divine purpose. After a breath, I said, "Thank you."

Although, in that moment, I had no real idea of what was to come, I knew it was the highest and best. When I reflect back, I see that although it served me at the time, I could have gotten stuck behind that door. When that door closed, I never looked back, I turned around and saw only infinite possibilities.

Today, as 2013 continues, I am grateful for the wisdom to know that crying over closed doors is like crying over spilled milk. There is no point in being angry or afraid. Why would you be angry if your spouse had an affair and it lead to a divorce and now you have found your soulmate. Wouldn't you be grateful? Would be angry if you lost a client that stressed you out and it freed up space for three new ones that pay you three times more money?

Learn to trust the Universe is full of abundance, opportunity and love. Sometimes, you just need to let go of your fear and of the Known, because magic is waiting in the Unknown! Love and Gratitude brings Appreciation and that is the key to Peace and happiness. To the man who set me free, I say, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Being Happy Healthy and Fit is living in gratitude especially when doors close! Life is short. Make yours Magical!

Yoga Lightens, Fixes, Heals and Liberates Hearts!

2012-12-28T06:57:00.000-08:00

Being a yoga teacher is so much more than teaching people to stand on one leg, breathe out of one nostril, do sun salutations or even do headstands. Teaching yoga is about guiding others to freedom or pure liberation; liberation from fear, ego and self. Each time one soul is set free, the consciousness of the entire planet is elevated.

Last night, as students were filing out of my Ashtanga yoga class, I was reminded of the true joy of being a yoga teacher. It was the first time I had taught that class at that time so most of the faces were new.

A gentleman, who had been visiting from Philadelphia with his wife stopped to say thank you and added, "I bet I am the first double lung transplant you have had." He went on to share how when he was in the hospital three years ago, he caught a glimpse on television of girls in bathing suits doing yoga on a beach somewhere. Somehow, his soul knew yoga was going to be his path to recovery. His limitations had been lifted.

Another young woman, who I have taught before was lit up like a Christmas tree. She beamed as she let me know that was the first time she had come up into headstand ever. It wasn't that she was bragging, it was that she was inspired. Her soul knew that her journey has just begun. Her limitations had been lifted.

Yoga is more than a way to free the body, it is a skillful and practical means to understanding 'thy will be done.' If you believe you can do something, you can do it. If you believe that it cannot be done, you will never do it. All it takes is one person to believe in you, to help you believe in yourself.

Whether you need to mend an emotionally broken heart, a spiritually broken heart devoid of faith, a physically damaged heart, or an intellectually closed heart lacking in hope, yoga is the purest path to an open, vibrant, healthy and radiating heart. As a yoga teacher, remember, it doesn't matter who is in your class or why they think they are there, know they are there to find, fix, mend or strengthen their heart. Through this, they will discover happiness, bliss and liberation.

I am grateful for every opportunity I have to teach yoga. More than being the teacher, I am the student. Yesterday I was reminded that I do not need to have any expectations for students, but belief in the true healing powers of yoga. When you see someone suffering physically, emotionally, spiritually or intellectually encourage them to try yoga. Your belief is enough to set them free from suffering and thereby elevate the consciousness of the planet.

Ready to transform your life, heal your heart, restore your faith and rejuvenate your soul?? Immerse yourself in a week of Yoga and Adventure, it's just what your soul doctor ordered! Life is Short. Make yours Magical!

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means knowing that you can heal your life, when you can heal your heart!

Inspired by a Gang-Raped Aspiring Yogi

2012-12-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

As a yoga teacher, it is common practice to ask students to draw their hands to heart center at the end of practice. This is known as Namaste or Anjali mudra. It is an act of balancing both sides of the body and symbolic of making an offering.

Recently, I have begun to ask students to draw their hands to heart center with gratitude and appreciation, then I pause before adding, "for all that you have and all that you do not have."

Sometimes I wonder what this brings up for the students. Do you take the time to be grateful for your right hand and your left hand? Your healthy lungs and functioning kidneys? Are you grateful for the things you do not have to endure like disease, hardship, plague and bombs exploding overhead? Sometimes it is easy to get so wrapped up in the material world that you forget to express gratitude and appreciation for the real miracles in your life until something happens.

The other day I was called upon to teach a private lesson to a new student. She introduced herself and let me know quickly that she had extremely limited range of motion and deep bruising around her back, lower back and ribs. She went on to say that she had been gang-raped just a few weeks prior. Although, I believe in living out loud and am accustomed to people sharing their deepest and darkest secrets with me, admittedly I was a bit taken aback. Perhaps, it was that she wasn't a young girl or maybe it was just the matter-of-fact way in which she was telling me, as if it were a knee injury.

I was grateful for the opportunity to share yoga with someone who had never experienced it. However, I had no idea how limited I would be by her range of motion. Every time I called for an expansive inhalation, she winced in pain. She could not lie on her back, she could not lift her arms over her head. At first, some doubt began to creep in that I couldn't teach her. Then, I received some divine inspiration and remembered yoga is not about the poses. The poses are designed as way to experience inner peace, samadhi, bliss.

I managed to get her to find comfort in child's pose. She melted down and I took her on a guided meditation, through her chakra energy centers and encouraged her to replace anger with forgiveness. At one point her foot cramped and she sat up. When I asked her if she was ok, she said that she wanted to keep doing what we were doing. For that moment, all the wrinkles had disappeared from her face and I could see that she was truly feeling free from her story.

When it was over, she sat up and brought her hands to heart center with gratitude and appreciation. After we bowed to each other, she said, "You know, I am grateful that they didn't kill me."

Without any blame, she said, "You know if I was sitting at the Olive Garden eating a salad and drinking a soda, this would never have happened." I admired her strength, courage and warrior spirit. She expressed gratitude for having found rockbottom.

The fact that this woman has found it inside of her to go on, has lost so much and is ready to find her true self is totally inspiring. As one of my first Yoga Teachers, Seane Corn shares in this short interview, the best teachers are the ones that have risen above their own garbage. When you can find gratitude and appreciation for your rock bottom moments, you will elevate the consciousness of your soul.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means replacing judgment with inspiration and remembering that true yoga is for everyone a path to inner peace.
Namaste~

Forgiveness~ the Greatest Gift You can Give Yourself this Holiday Season

2012-12-18T14:09:00.000-08:00

Holding onto anger is like grasping onto a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one that gets burned. ~Buddha

A grudge is the heaviest thing you can carry alone. A grudge is an anchor on your soul. Ultimately, it will weigh you down all the way to your grave. It is your birthright to be Happy, to be Healthy and to be Free! Allow Forgiveness to guide you there.

If you find yourself wishing everyone could just get along for the holidays, it's time to start thinking bigger.

Different people hold grudges for different reasons. Usually, a grudge is held against someone else as a result of their seemingly gain and your seemingly loss. You can also a grudge against a situation where you feel you have been cheated. Whether you think someone stole your money, stole your spouse, stole your car, stole your title or stole your job, it doesn't matter. As long as you think you have been cheated, you are suffering from victim consciousness.

Being a victim is often accompanied by anger. You may feel angry about the untimely death of a loved one, unexpected divorce papers or loss of a high-paying client. Family members holding grudges against one another generally have to do with money, expectations or unkind words. It doesn't matter how you arrive at being angry, but it is important to know that anger is energy and its toxic energy.

Anger literally produces toxins in the liver that lead to depression, anxiety and heart problems. If you find yourself holding onto something someone did or said last week, last month, last year or even last decade, you are not alone. Whether you choose to internalize and bury your anger or act out in an explosive manner, you are poisoning your body, disrupting your mind and suffocating your spirit.

The path to ultimate health and happiness is through forgiveness. Decide to let go of all the emotions surrounding your grudge. Be willing to forgive yourself for all of your mistakes and be willing to forgive anyone and everyone that has ever hurt you in this lifetime and all previous lifetimes.

Before you find yourself refusing to attend a party because someone will be there or telling a story that you have told hundreds of times before decide to gift yourself forgiveness. You don't need to have a formal conversation or ceremony. You simply need to decide that it is time to move on. You can close your eyes and take some deep breaths, perhaps light a candle to remember the flame chooses the higher road. Silently or out loud, state that you forgive everyone that has ever hurt you, in this lifetime or previous lifetimes. Then ask for the forgiveness of all those that you have hurt in this lifetime or previous lifetimes.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means being willing to release ALL past hurts. Be willing to set your grudge down. Decide to give yourself the gift of a lifetime: Forgiveness.

May your holiday be bright. May you Be Happy Healthy and Fit. May your soul be Free into eternity!

Gracious Living Yoga & Adventure Retreat Photo Contest!

2012-12-16T11:58:00.003-08:00

Something amazingly powerful happens when you leave your worries and world behind for a week. Yoga retreats are a powerful way to transcend your limitations, stretch your body, relax your mind and return home deeply inspired.

Even if you have never experienced downward facing dog or stood like a tree, a yoga retreat is a great way to get introduced to a practice that will change your life forever.

Happy Healthy & Fit and Gracious Living are taking a group to the largest freshwater island in the world~ Ometepe, Nicaragua for Yoga & Adventure. Now is your chance to win a $200 savings and join us February 3-10, 2013. The contest is open to the public. Get creative with your photo caption and get ready to win!
Simply:

post a picture of yourself in any yoga pose to: FaceBook OM! Gracious Living Yoga & Adventure event page and add a creative caption including the information below:
Copy and Paste this: Photo Contest. Help me with this contest and a Spot at OM! Gracious Living Yoga & Adventure Retreat!!
be Creative by including our names "Gracious Living" and "I am Happy Healthy and Fit" in your caption.
Tag Gracious Living and Happy Healthy and Fit in your photo
share the link on your page and invite your friends to vote for you.
the picture with the most 'likes' that includes GRACIOUS LIVING and I AM HAPPY HEALTHY AND FIT in the caption wins $200 off this amazing retreat!

The contest closes at midnight on January 5th.

sample photo~ I am Happy Healthy and Fit when I do yoga and remember Gracious Living!

sample photo~ I would bend over backwards to show I am Happy Healthy and Fit and excited to attend the Gracious Living Yoga & Adventure Retreat!

thinking outside the box!
namaste~ Grace and Randi

Bring the Magic Back to Christmas!

2012-12-13T12:14:00.002-08:00

For every child that waits all year for the holiday season, there are countless adults whom have come to dread the merriest time of year. It is time to bring the magic back to Christmas!

As a child, Christmas means Santa, presents, cookies, Rudolph, Frosty, holiday lights, parties, time with family and magic in the air. Somehow this euphoria often transforms into stress and anxiety for adults. Santa and presents suddenly becomes shopping and debt. Rudolph and Frosty remind you that you have lost your belief in magic. Holiday lights become another thing on the to do list. Parties mean comparing yourself to your neighbors and strangely for many the most dreaded aspect of all, is time with family.

Some people would rather spend Christmas alone eating take-out in bed, than to be surrounded by immediate or extended family. If you find yourself dreading criticism about your cooking, cleaning, spouse, career choice, make up application, religious beliefs, dietary choices, lifestyle choices, child- rearing tendencies, the fact that you have put weight on, need to put weight on, political views, friends, hobbies or anything else that you can think of, you are not alone. The fact that you feel like your family has some sort of cords wrapped around you that connect to your emotional triggers and pain bodies is perfectly explainable. You actually came into this world connected by a cord. The physical cord gets cut, but spiritually other cords linger.

Your family is your primal tribe. The problem is not that your family is still hoping that you come around to their way of thinking, the problem is that you are still seeking acceptance and approval from anyone outside of yourself. Once you learn to love and accept yourself wholly and completely, you liberate yourself from the emotional and psychological cords that block and restrict you from being completely happy being you.

This holiday season, remember that memories are made in moments. The greatest gift you can give is the gift of your presence. Have the courage and confidence to show up with your heart this year. Eliminate all expectations. At the end of the day, the holidays are a time to connect with friends and family. Does it really matter if the prime rib is overcooked or ornaments break? Do you really care if people poke fun because you don't eat meat, voted for the other party or brought a lame date to the festivities last year?

Anxiety comes with expectations. What is a perfect holiday anyway? A perfect holiday is one filled with unconditional love and togetherness. Embrace your family and all of their eccentricities. As I set the holiday table this year with my grandmother's dishes, I reflected that it has been 15 years since she has been with us to share this holiday. Remember, life is short. You cannot always control the things that other people say to you, but you can control the way that you react to them. Find it in your heart to forgive everyone who has ever hurt you. Decide to make this the most memorable and cherished holiday yet.

Regardless of your religious views, wherever you find yourself this season, may your holiday season be filled with the confidence to be yourself, the discipline not to judge another, the courage to speak your truth, the patience to tolerate what you cannot control and the love for this life and everyone in it. May you be Happy, May you be Healthy and May you be FREE!!

It Pays to Be Kind to Everyone You Meet!

2012-11-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

Great love, great friendship and great opportunities are just a few of the ways it pays to be kind to everyone you meet. Meeting new people is like opening to the gates to vast new worlds. It is through connection to others that your whole world expands.

It is easy to disregard people that you meet in passing. Perhaps you do not feel any sort of affinity, connection or common interest. You may be on a different wave length or frequency all together. Perhaps, they do not look anything like you. Instead of passing judgment, try taking a genuine interest in the present moment. Refrain from being quick to move along or pull out your phone and begin to text someone else.

The thing about meeting a new person is that much like shining a mirror into a mirror behind that person are infinite connections and possibilities. The old man working at the post office may just have a handsome, recently divorced son who is your soul mate. The lady parked next to you at the grocery store taking too long to close her door may just be looking to hire a freelance creative writer. The person sitting in your seat on the airplane may be going to visit her cousin who went to the same college as you did at the same time and lives in your current neighborhood: your soon to be new best friend.

The thing with meeting new people is that when you click right away, you can feel the magic in the moment. Consider for a moment, all those people that you disregard because the magic isn't so obvious. Some of my closest friends, I was fortunate enough to meet on my own, but many came by way of introduction from some one else.

A great example of this is that when I moved to Florida in January, I was struggling to find a yoga studio that resonated with my soul. A friend of a friend put me in touch with another friend. I called the third person and referenced how I came by his number. We had a nice conversation and he directed me to White Orchid. It was love at first sight. Before I knew it, I was learning from and teaching beside excellent, passionate yoga teachers. Ironically, to this day, I have never actually met the person who sent me there. Fortunately, someone knew someone that knew someone. This is the way that the world works.

I am not suggesting you go through life as an opportunist seeing what you can gain from others. I am suggesting that you open your mind and open your heart to being present when in the presence of others. Perhaps you can help them in someway or connect them to someone that you know that knows someone that may just shift the direction if their whole life and consciousness. Trust that in doing this, the Law of Attraction will keep your world expanding exponentially.

Your soul mate, your best friend or the opportunity of a lifetime could be one warm smile and one introduction away. See the beauty and the best in everyone you meet. Thank you to everyone who has connected me to people, places, experiences and opportunity, I am grateful.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means being kind to everyone you meet. The possibilities of love, joy, fun and adventure and limitless!

Chant Your Heart Out~ Humiliation is the Path to Liberation!

2012-11-25T18:19:00.001-08:00

Someone once told me that you need to do is read three books on a subject and you can call yourself an expert. I've also heard that if you have 2 per cent more information than another, you are qualified to teach them. Chances are based on your own hobbies, skills and interests you have a gift to share: something to teach.

What blocks you from turning your passion into your career? Chances are it is doubt and fear. Last week I was reminded how quick the mind is to jump around like a monkey and play tricks. Left unchecked, it has a way of infusing seeds of doubt that morph into fear and spread like wildfire destroying your confidence and courage.

As a true Ashtanga Yoga teacher, each class begins with the opening mantra and finishes with the closing mantra. Traditionally, the mantras are chanted call and repeat-style in Sanskrit. In a way it feels like singing in front of a group of people. Although, I love the practice of Ashtanga for its roots, lineage and transformative powers, I have avoided teaching it for fear of chanting the mantra.

When I realized my fear is simply fear of humiliation and pure ego, I decided to accept the challenge. My first experience was a total flop. I literally forgot the mantra and one of my students helped me through it. Sure enough, my fear came to fruition and I was humiliated. The best part was that I didn't die from it! Instead, I went on and taught a great class. By the time, class was over, I felt totally liberated, albeit briefly.

The next time, I was prepared to chant the opening mantra, I realized that a woman from India was in the front row. After I chanted my line, the class would repeat. I could only hear her voice and noticed how I must be way off with my pronunciation. Then I remembered that the Dalai Lama had never heard of self-deprecation, until he learned it from Westerners. I continued to chant with all of my heart and knew that whether my sounds were correct or not, I gave it all I had.

After class, I was certain that she was going to offer me some tips on my Sanskrit. Instead, she humbly said, "A little better every time." She was referring to her own practice and expressed gratitude to be able to practice yoga with someone passionate about teaching yoga. The only way to truly become an expert at anything is to experience it as much as possible.

Doubt and fear are nothing more than dream killers. Release ego, expectations and judgment of yourself. Go with your heart and trust that your true self will shine. The moment you are willing to embrace humiliation, you will know the purest form of liberation: freedom from your false self.

Don't let what you don't know or what you think you don't know stand in the way of sharing what you are passionate about, especially when you have a gift to help others. Happiness is liking what you do, but Freedom is doing what you love!

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means wherever you go, go with all of your heart!

Make Yourself Happy~ Bring a Friend to Yoga!

2012-11-16T06:03:00.000-08:00

Innately, everyone wants the same thing: to be happy and feel secure. It is easy to catch a glimpse of happiness and security, but how do you maintain them?

As I was signing students into my yoga class, a gentleman I had seen before told me his friend was coming to yoga for the first time. I smiled and thanked him for sharing the experience. He then grinned from ear to ear and said, "I try to bring all of my friends to yoga, because it makes me happy."

This truth really resonated with me. In order to cultivate and maintain a friendship, you must be on the same wavelength or vibrational frequency. There has to be some common denominators. As a child friendships tend to be based on your classmates, neighbors, like activities or other matters of convenience. As you get older they are based on similar habits and lifestyles, which are often destructive.

True friendships are ones that have a spiritual connection. This is a result of experiencing your own awakening and then nudging others around you to wake up to things like compassion, selflessness, personal responsibility, divine inspiration, health and happiness. Words alone cannot create near the impact or influence of the yogic experience. Yoga is not just about the asana or physical practice, but about what happens to the mind, body and spirit as a result of this disciplined practice.

The physical practice of yoga wakes up your mind and body to the infinite possibilities. It is also a means to enlighten you to the ways of non-violence, truth and contentment. Yoga is a way of life.

If you love yoga and you love your friends, bring them with you on your journey! It will make you both HAPPY, HEALTHY and FIT!

Better yet, for some real bonding and memory making, bring a friend on a YOGA & Adventure Retreat! Kayak with crocodiles under the moonlight, practice yoga twice a day, swing from natural vines in the jungle, learn to create all-natural, delicious, raw vegan creations. Or come by yourself and make new friends! Join Gracious Living and Happy Healthy and Fit on the largest freshwater island in the world. Retreat to Ometepe, Nicaragua Feb 3-10, 2013!

Your Life is Your Movie~ Direct Your Way to Greatness!

2012-11-07T08:51:00.002-08:00

Your life is like a movie. The best part is that you get to star in the lead role and to act as the Director as well. You get to choose if it is a drama, comedy, romance, romantic comedy, horror, thriller, trilogy, inspirational, spiritual or love story. It's your movie. It's your story.

If you are not in the middle of the best movie or life you could be creating, perhaps it is time for a serious heart to heart with the Director: yourself. Has your life become a boring rut? Are your relationships based on shallow conversation about material things leaving you feeling unfulfilled on a spiritual level?

Maybe it is time to add a new character or two to spice things up a bit. Perhaps it is time to work some characters out of your movie, for they may no longer be adding value. Quite possibly, it is time for a complete plot makeover or new filming location all together.

A good movie director is not going to go through the trouble, time and expense of shooting a boring, uninspiring flick. Spice up your life. Do something you have never done. Experience adventure. Visit a foreign country. Try a new activity. Seek out humiliation. Help someone with real problems. Tell someone that you love them. Dare to live out loud. Leave your fears in the dressing room.

On the big screen when you see someone blocked by fear, you want to jump out of your seat and tell them to go for it. It is easy to see the big picture. You can see the near miss of great love and great opportunity in someone else's movie. Are you missing out on your own great movie?

A great movie transforms a victim into a victor, tragedy into triumph, the weak into warriors, the enemy into a friend and the mundane into the magical. A great movie leaves you knowing that it is not over, it is not the end, it is a turn into a new beginning. A great movie leaves the 'what happens next' to your imagination. It would be a tragedy to use your imagination more on the lives of actors than your own Box Office Hit. Get busy writing your next scene right now. Does love find you? Do you move to a tropical island? Do you become an inspirational speaker? Do you have children? Do you leave fear in the past? Is your health restored?

Time waits for no one. Life is Short. Make yours Magical.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means taking responsibility for creating your Best Possible Life! It's your movie, make it a smashing success in Happiness!

A True Test of Your Strength~ the Ability to Hold Your Tongue

2012-11-06T06:13:00.000-08:00

Perhaps you have seen men pulling 18-wheelers during Strong Man competitions on television. Maybe you remember cranking out pushups and sit ups while taking the Presidential Fitness test in grade school. There is the heroic person that can lift a car. There are athletes that can run, jump, swim and flip through the air. Like modern day gladiators, there are now mixed martial artists fighting in the octagon. There are many ways to gauge and measure strength.

A true test of strength is the ability to hold your own tongue. Physically, it may not seem like much of a feat. However, I can think of no act that requires greater strength than harnessing your tongue when an opinion has been formed with the force and pressure of ego behind it. To hold back words can be like trying to keep an ignited rocket ship from taking off.

It requires great strength to refrain from speaking anything that is unkind, untrue and unimportant. You can build this strength by practicing often. Before you open your mouth and let words flow, ask yourself: is it kind? is it true? is it necessary?

Differences of opinion and thought don't cause war, but words do. Self-depricating thoughts cause inner conflict. Gossip causes conflict. Outward criticism of other people and nations stirs hatred and anger.

Learn the art of discernment. Learn to hold your tongue. It will strengthen you beyond measure. Think you won't make a difference, you will. Compiled together, all small acts will shift consciousness.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means being the strongest person you know: the person who can hold their own tongue.

Yoga, Balance & Why You Need to Learn to Stand on One Leg

2012-10-30T14:25:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, when I ask people if they have ever practiced yoga, I get a slightly cynical response like, "I don't need to stand on one leg."

This morning when I was teaching Power Flow Yoga, I was very much in the spirit of balance. After all, what is balance?

After spending five days in New England enjoying family, friends, fine dining, freshly-baked treats, wine, sugar, Dunkin' DonutsDunkin' Donuts Ground Coffee - 40oz - Ground & Instant Coffee (Google Affiliate Ad), salt bagels and Friendly's Reese's peanut butter sauce, my heart feels very full of love and experiences. My body feels grossly off balance. As a daily yoga practitioner, I realize that from the moment I departed Tampa and up until this morning, I didn't do one downward facing dog and the closest I got to touching my toes was pulling on and off my designer boots.

A shift in environment can quickly lead to a shift in lifestyle. Aside from love and compassion, my yogic lifestyle went out the window. As the holidays approach, it is easy to find yourself in a similar position of parties and pleasure, sacrificing health and ultimately happiness.

This morning I was reflecting on what exactly it means to say: 'yoga brings balance.' A regular yoga practice does bring balance to things like work/home life. Yoga also balances out the right and left sides of the body, as well as, the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

Standing on one leg balances out your soul. Standing on one leg draws your energy and attention inward, it requires focus, commitment and courage to risk falling. It also requires humility to fall with grace, to rise, try again and honor the place that you are in. It requires tenacity to turn defeat into victory and discipline to keep stretching your limitations.

The physical benefits of properly standing on one leg are numerous: strengthening your standing knee, engaging your core and aligning your spine to name a few. The emotional benefits are tremendous. Having taught yoga in several states and countries the smile of victory is universal after a new yogi successfully stands on one leg. Spiritually, the pose is just a means to self-empowerment.

Chances are if you have never tried standing on one leg, you have never tried a lot of things. Yoga stretches so much more than your body. It stretches your mind, your heart, your consciousness, your beliefs, your compassion and your world. May this be your Happiest Healthiest and Fittest holiday season yet!
Much love and Namaste~

Ready for a lifestyle transformation?
Join Happy Healthy and Fit & Gracious Living for a week of fun, Yoga & Adventure on the world's largest freshwater island of Ometepe, Nicaragua Feb 3-10, 2013.

Destiny or Karma? Every Action is an Instruction to the Universe

2012-10-23T05:30:00.004-07:00

Your every Action is an Instruction to the Universe. Give only that which you wish to receive, for consciously or unconsciously, you are always placing orders at the drive thru window of the Universe.

Perhaps you give money to a beggar, buy candy from a child or donate to a charity and think 'good karma.' Or, maybe you see someone litter, steal a parking spot or take salt and pepper shakers from a restaurant and think, 'bad karma.'

Karma is often referred to as your destiny or fate. It is also used in a joking manner to refer to a build up or depletion in your universal bank account of luck, future blessings and curses. If Karma is your fate, your every action dictates it.

Quite simply, Karma refers to the Law of Cause and Effect. For every effect or outcome that you can see their is a cause that you may not see. Every action you take today will result in a cause at some point in the future. Some will produce an instant result and some may be delayed for years. If you light a match carelessly, the action can burn down a forest. If you smoke cigarettes, it may be years before you see signs of cancer. Those are examples that you can see.

You can also bring patience, positive people, returned phone calls, loving relationships, money and anything you can imagine to yourself. If you want people to be more patient with you, be more patient with everyone you meet. If you seek compassion, give it away. You desire more money? Be generous with what you have. Seeking a loving relationship, shower all of your relationships with true love.

If you desire to change your destiny, increase your desire and change your approach. Your every action is a perfectly communicated instruction to the Universe. Apply a little patience and produce glorious effects or results. Just as chances are you don't want to know what is going on on the other side of a drive thru restaurant window, only that you get your order correct, the same is true for the Universe's drive thru window. You don't need to understand the 'how' orders get fulfilled, just trust and test the Universal Law.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means living a purpose filled life of abundance, friendship, fun, laughter, love, joy and peace, perhaps with a milkshake or side of fries.

Savasana~ Take Rest in the Magic of Fall!

2012-10-21T06:59:00.002-07:00

Reflecting on this absolutely beautiful fall morning. The sun is shining and the air is crisp. Things are starting to slow down. Leaves lose their connection to the trees and gently float down to the ground.

When the seasons change, Mother Nature is reminding you of the impermanence of all things. Part of life and growth is relaxation and rejuvenation. Things appear to be dying down or dying off completely, but really they are preparing to turn their energy inside and spend some time in peace and preparation for an even more abundant reawakening.

It is human nature to associate success with go go go. Often times I see this attitude in the yoga studio. Students want more and more advanced postures. To tell them that savasana or taking rest is the most advanced posture is often greeted with disappointment.

I love to practice handstands, twist like a pretzel and have even recently found myself drawn to AcroYoga, because it is fun to balance, dance and play with the energy of another. The Truth is that according to the 8 limb path of yoga, Samadhi, the 8th limb is the ultimate objective. Samadhi is union with the divine or ultimate merging. It refers to an awakening of almost beyond consciousness, while the body and senses appear to be asleep.

Take a moment to notice the magic of fall. Instead of seeing things are dying down, see them as withdrawing or moving inward. In life, it is easy to lose yourself when constantly projecting energy outward. Like a tree wanting to show the world new branches and bear delicious fruit, it can take a great deal of energy moving through life worrying about accumulating material goods and wealth. Perhaps just for today look inside and find appreciation for all that you have and all that you do not have. Enjoy your Sunday in a highly conscious way. Take active rest.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means appreciating that there is magic in the slow times.

Down Dog, Dating & Raw Food~ What's the Common Denominator?

2012-10-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

They all can be intimidating at first and life changing with practice and patience.

As a yoga teacher, I am often blessed with the opportunity to teach people their very first downward facing dog. There is something richly rewarding about this experience. A positive downward facing dog experience has the potential to take someone's life in a whole new direction. Watching people struggle with the awkward nature of sticking their hips in the air reminds me of my responsibility to be kind and compassionate. As a yoga teacher, I understand the importance of beginning with the basics and progressing with practice and experience. I would never expect a new student to backbend into camel, fold into tortoise or do arm balances.

The same wisdom applies to all new situations. Many people wait years to try their first yoga class, quit their miserable job, leave their unfulfilling relationship, start their business, learn to dance or meet their soul mate, simply because they are intimidated by false fears. The only way past fear is into it. How would your life be different if you weren't afraid to make a change or try new things?

Recently, I have been blessed to spend a great deal of time with my Yoga Retreat co-creator, Grace of Gracious Living. She adds the magic to things that to me resemble dust, like dried lentils, buckwheat and quinoa and turns them into glorious decadent creations. Initially, I was so inspired by her lentil dip that I decided to create a white bean dip. Seemingly, I followed her lead, yet I ended up with something resembling mashed potatoes and wet concrete. My next attempt was to soak chickpeas for 24 hours and then leave them on the stove a moment too long at a heat too high until they turned black, ruined the pot and stunk up the house.

The difference between my dip and Grace's dip is knowledge and experience. Simply put, she is an expert and I am a novice. It is the same as my down dog and a new student's down dog. It is pure ego to think that you are going to do something that you have never done before and will immediately be an expert. Just as I assure yoga students to breathe and relax their shoulders away from their ears, she guided to me to add lemon and salt to my recipes to fix almost anything. She also reminded me to keep it simple in the beginning.

To my single friends and readers. Dating is the same. It can be downright intimidating, or maybe, you tried it once or twice and your experience resembled my white bean dip: not good or your first downward dog: not great. Just like your yoga and healthy eating, dating can change the direction of your life and open vast new doors. Go ahead and put yourself out there. Keep it simple and put your ego away. Let people know that you are interested in meeting someone special and don't judge yourself or the other person. Tip for successful dating: make a list of all the character traits you are looking for in your soul mate, become your list, make a list of deal breakers and stick to it.

Practice yoga properly and you will turn downward dog into handstands. Practice playing with raw food and you will acquire the skills to rejuvenate and nourish your body. Start dating with intention and friendships will blossom into love.

Intimidation is simply fear of failure. Fear of failure is pure ego. Let ego go and let Love flow! Being Happy Healthy and Fit is means having the courage to try to new things and let your guard down. Release expectations, practice often and be patient. Life is Short. Make Yours Magical!

Namaste~

Give a Girl Happiness Feed Her for a Day, Teach a Girl Happiness Feed Her for Life

2012-10-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

Are you Happy?

Recently, there have been a lot of books, articles and studies around this illusive topic. If you never stop to ask yourself this question, perhaps it is time. Happiness matters. Research shows that happiness is linked to health and longevity.

The same idea of give a man a fish you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish you feed him for life applies to Happiness. The proverb became popular in the 1960s, but is first attributed to Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism in the 4th century BC. The idea of the fish is about self-sufficiency. It applies not only to the lower frequencies of things like survival, but also to higher frequencies like love, joy and peace.

A hungry child looks to his mother to feed him. As long as she feeds him, he will feel temporarily satisfied, at least until he becomes hungry again. He is dependent on his mother for food an thereby for survival. As long as she continues to give to him, he can survive another day. Only, when she teaches him how to fish can he reach his potential as a self-sustaining human.

In the spirit of yesterday's blog about finding true love inside yourself, it occurred to me that the same is true of true happiness. It is easy to feel happy when someone pays you a kind word, gives you a compliment, gift or takes you on a nice date. The trouble is when you attach happiness to people, places or things outside of you, you run the high risk of crashing into depression when the situation changes.

Until you learn to feed yourself, you will spend a lot of time being hungry. Until you learn the true nature of Happiness, you will spend a lot of time unhappy. Happiness comes from the inside. No one can make you happy and you cannot make anyone else happy. You cannot buy happiness and you cannot sell happiness. Happiness is an elevation of consciousness. It is a result of being aligned in mind, body and spirit. Pleasure can be found in the material world, but it is fleeting, like eating for the day.

As long as you are seeking happiness outside of yourself, you will always be surviving. Raise your vibrations and start thriving! Happiness is your birthright! Life is Short. Make yours Magical!

Looking For Love in All the Wrong Places?

2012-10-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

You're on a mission and you're wishin'

someone could cure you're lonely condition
You're lookin for love in all the wrong places
Not fine girls just ugly faces
From frustration first inclination
Is to become a monk and leave the situation
But every dark tunnel has a lighter hope
So don't hang yourself with a celibate rope

~ Young MC (Bust a Move lyrics)

It's been over 20 years since the one hit wonder Bust a Move was released by Young MC, but the lyrics remain timeless. And as the Beatles so eloquently put it, 'all you need is love, love, love is all you need.' Yes, yes, yes, but where do you find this love?

When you are in love, the world is full of infinite possibilities. The sky is bluer, the grass is greener, the air is cleaner and you become a dreamer. Love is the most powerful vibration in the Universe. Unfortunately, most people spend their whole life searching for true love and never find it.

Chances are you are either in love, looking for love or claim to have given up on love. Perhaps you can close your eyes and travel back in time to a moment when you felt pure love; maybe you were a small child, maybe you were holding a small child or perhaps it was a grade school crush. When you picture this moment, it lifts your heart. With your eyes closed you can actually begin to feel the same love you felt earlier.

When you begin a new relationship, you initially feel like you are in love, you actually feel high and float through life. You just give and give and do not calculate who is giving more. When you begin to fall out of love, you start to notice the faults of another and begin to judge. This is not true love, it is the result of what began as a physical attraction. True love and lasting love cannot be found outside of you until you find it inside of you. If you are looking in bars, clubs, the grocery store, coffee shop, online dating services, yoga class or anywhere else for love, then you are looking in all the wrong places.

Perhaps you are married or in a relationship and you are feeling disconnected or coexisting without passion. It is easy to blame your partner for not doing their part, but that will not bring you any closer to the love you are missing.

The place to begin is by looking in the mirror. You cannot have a loving relationship with another, until you create a loving relationship with yourself. A life without love is like a candle without a wick. First you must look inside yourself for your own light, it is your wick. The moment you ignite your spirit and put fire in your soul, your soulmate will come find you, or your relationship will take on a new life.

Love is an elevation of consciousness. It happens inside of you, thereby creating a magnetic affect drawing others to you. Love is the Law of Attraction in Action. Before you decide to become a monk and take a vow of celibacy, take inventory of your own character, and honestly note if you are vibrating in the true frequency of love.

The Truth is, you don't need to look for love at all. In fact, when you chase it, it runs away. The moment you become love, it comes to find you. Like Gandhi said, "Where the is Love, there is Life." It's your Life and Life is Short. Make yours Magical!

All you need is love, all you need is love,
All you need is love, love, love is all you need.
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.

Yoga Stretches the Im-possible into I'm Possible

2012-09-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

"Is this possible?" is the question that Master Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Tim Feldman would ask in his Danish accent, after showing students how to lift themselves up to jump back and jump through at a workshop last weekend. It's the same question I asked myself last night at my first partner AcroYoga class.

To the students who answered that it was not possible, Tim would ask the next question. Does your mind think it is not possible or does your body think it is not possible? This is the same question that limits or unleashes your potential everyday. Thoughts become things. Take the time to notice when you stop short of your dream in anything, what is actually stopping you?

Tim Feldman would then go to any student who believed that they could not do the move and coach them through. He did not discriminate based on skill, age, ability or physique. Then after helping them to stretch their limitations, he would simply ask, "Now is this possible or impossible?" Of course, it was always possible.

Although yoga really isn't about the poses and certainly being able to jump back or up and through isn't going to affect your overall level of health and happiness, it does teach you to observe yourself and your limited belief patterns.

The important lesson is that you can do anything you want the moment you are willing to stretch your beliefs and remove the 'im' from impossible.

I had seen beautiful pictures of people doing partner AcroYoga, but it is far different than my daily Ashtanga practice. As soon as I got uncomfortable, I recognized that my mind wanted to stop. Fear creeped in. What if I fall? What if my partner falls and smashes my teeth? What if I hurt my shoulder, back, legs? Then, I asked myself, what wants to quit and is this possible or impossible?

Yoga is about stretching the mind and removing limitations. Taking the impossible and making it all possible. The most powerful sentence is simply 'I am.' Blend it together and you get I'm or I'm Possible!

This technology applies to everyday living as well. Where do you feel limited? Do believe that you don't have time for a relationship, vacation, exercise or the money for a car, boat, house or amazing Yoga & Adventure Retreat? Change your beliefs, remove your blockages and believe that all things are possible!

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means knowing that yoga stretches more than your muscles, it stretches your beliefs! The sky is the limit! Life is Short! Make Yours Magical!

Namaste~

Vision Boards + Yoga = Blissful Liberating Breakthroughs!

2012-09-21T05:48:00.003-07:00

As a yoga student, you may be familiar with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The196 sutras or Truths are over 2000 years old. They are evidence that yogis and non-yogis alike have been seeking the path to samadhi, liberation, freedom and enlightenment since the beginning of consciousness.

How can you be free if you don't know what freedom looks like?

Yoga was not always known to be an asana or physical practice. Yoga is truly about yoking and uniting the mind, body and spirit. The freedom or liberation is not from sources outside of you, but sources inside of you. The freedom you seek is from your own mind, patterns and programming. It is freedom from your limited belief system and the beliefs instilled in you in this lifetime and previous lifetimes. It is the belief that you need to be a doctor, lawyer, homemaker or realtor to be successful. It is the belief that you must go to church on Sunday to get into Heaven.

By the time you are born, you have so many patterns ingrained in you about who you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to accomplish in this lifetime, it is no wonder that your mind is filled with chaos and your body with dis-ease. The first two yoga sutras boldly describe the path to this liberation you seek.

Simply translated by from Sanskrit to English by Chip Hartrancraft:
1.1 Now, the teachings of yoga.
1.2 Yoga is to still the patterning of consciousness.

Being Present and with calm mind is the path to ultimate peace and joy within yourself. The next 194 sutras explain the first two, but the Big Question remains: How do you get there to that place of your birthright joy, love, peace, selflessness and Liberation? It's easy and anyone can do it!

Begin with a Vision Board! This age old technology is about creating a picture of your ideal soulful life that you can imprint into your mind. It will break you free of your patterns and elevate your consciousness. You may be surprised by your stifled creativity. Simply grab some magazines, a pair of scissors, poster board and a glue stick. Start flipping through and noticing the images that you are attracted to.

Don't think. Just flip and clip. A variety of magazines is helpful. Just scan each page and see what jumps out at you. When you have made a nice pile, go through and trim them up. See which ones still resonate with your soul and keep those. Lay them out and paste them together. Notice if your mind is in chaos making excuses as to why you will never have a boat, go on a yoga retreat, get married, have children, go to Scotland, own a business, simply Be Happy or if you can just be present in this project.

Once you have completed your project, keep it someplace where you can see it regularly. Every time you see it, you are further imprinting it in your mind's eye or 6th chakra. You are engaging the Law of Attraction. You will be amazed with the results you produce. A vision board is a blue print for your life. You wouldn't build a house without one, why leave your life up to chance. It's your Dream. Life is Short. Make Yours Magical!

Be Happy! Be Healthy! Be Fit! Be FREE!

Stop Surviving and Start SELF-REALIZING!

2012-09-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

The word survival invokes words like enemies, fear, desperation, scraping by and scarcity. Self-Realization inspires ideas like friendship, love, inspiration and abundance. Both are a matter of choice. You may think someone is just 'surviving' if they are struggling to get by financially and in the material world. That would insinuate that you must be wealthy in order to experience self-realization.

The journey toward self-realization is an elevation of consciousness, it is a journey inward toward your core, your essence, your soul. It is realizing that you are your own worst enemy and fear is the greatest obstacle on your path. It is an awakening, a blossoming, an unfolding. In the yogic tradition, this process is described by the Sanskrit word chakra, translated to mean 'wheel,' 'circle,' or 'vortex of energy.' There are seven of these electromagnetic intersections of energy located from the top of the brain to the base of the spine, regulating the physical, mental and emotional states.

Each chakra is represents a realm of emotions, desires, goals, thoughts and ideals. The first chakra, located at the base of the spine is associated with survival. As you move up through the energy centers, you will journey through relationships, purpose, compassion and love, communication of truth and beauty, cognitive awareness and ultimately self-realization at the crown chakra.

The journey through the chakras is about ascending ego and removing blockages to discover your infinite potential and to align with the divine. Seeking Enlightenment? You must go to the your root. Psychologically, the first chakra, also known at the Root Chakra is a selfish place. It is the energy center associated with money and material things. Survival and possessions are priority creating insecurity, jealousy and the idea of never having enough. When your root energy center is blocked true love is blocked by fear, abundance is disguised as scarcity.

This is not to say that you must renounce all of your material goods and money is order to be blissfully happy and self-realized, but you must let go of your fear of losing them and attachment to them. The unborn and undying part of you is waiting to be rediscovered. There are many paths to enlightenment, but the physical yoga practice is one of the fastest ways to align your energy centers and remove the blockages distracting you from optimal health and happiness.

Being Happy Healthy and Fit means replacing Fear with Love, Enemies with Friends, Desperation with Inspiration and Surviving with Self- Realizing!

To learn more about chakras and the flow of energy in the body, join me next week for an evening of Chocolates and Chakras: Super Foods, Super Powers & Super Fun! If you want to take your yoga practice to new heights, consider a Yoga & Adventure Retreat! Life is Short. Make Yours Magical!
Namaste~