Home Yoga Practice

One of the most common things I hear from people who really want to start yoga is that they feel they have no discipline when it comes to a home practice. Believe me, I get it. I have struggled my whole time as a yogi and yoga teacher to have a consistent home practice. It seems we can come up with a zillion reasons/excuses as to why it’s impossible–no real place to practice, too many distractions, no privacy, and most common is lack of motivation.

Truth is all of those things can be overcome with some simple steps to hold yourself accountable.

After all, we all know how valuable a consistent yoga and meditation practice is, otherwise we wouldn’t be dying to get back to the studio for the classes that were on the schedule, right? Many of us are now working from home and our practice is suffering when instead, there are a few simple things to do to get back to the mat, at home.

Here are five ways to overcome the excuses and develop a solid home practice.

  1. Set a schedule. If you are used to heading to the gym or studio for a Tuesday morning yoga class at 10am, then carve out the same time slot. Block it out in your calendar, set a timer, tell your family that hour is off-limits, and stick to it. Show up on time just as you would for the class at the gym but without the commute! Try for twice a week and watch what begins to happen.
  2. Choose a space. Let’s face it, not everyone is going to have a perfectly zen area in their home dedicated to yoga. No worries! You just need a space that is open enough to feel comfortable on your mat and perhaps a door to close. Light a candle, burn some incense or diffuse your favorite essential oils, and unroll your mat. Keep this space free of clutter, work items, and household chores like laundry to fold. Create a place that feels good, but let go of the idea that in order to practice it has to be perfect.
  3. Set boundaries. I love that yoga is called a practice because it truly does help us to see how we can apply the things we learn on the mat to our everyday life. Like boundaries. Decide first and foremost that you are worth it and then let your family know that you are giving yourself one precious hour. Feed your dogs and cats prior to practice and lock them out of the space or put them in a kennel–they will survive an hour without you. Turn off your phone. Yes, turn OFF your phone. If these things are hard for you, then revisit your worthiness and try again.
  4. Commit. Remember the first few times after you started to “get” this practice? You know, when your mind and your body came together into harmony and you started to feel something shift? Revisit that. Feel it. Does it really take a class on a schedule, in a germy gym with a bunch of strangers to motivate you? How about instead the physical health that you are developing? The reduction of stress your body is receiving? The peaceful state of being that your spirit feels? That should be plenty of motivation.
  5. It’s a practice. Remember, yoga is a practice not a perfection. Give your self some grace and try again. Any habit takes time to develop. Some say a new habit takes 21 days. How about trying 4-weeks of coming to the mat twice a week and see if you don’t develop a solid home practice that is based on self-love and cultivating a sense of self without the need to leave the sanctuary of your home.

The added bonus to all of this is that you will teach others around you the value of self-love and they just might see the peacefulness in you and make some changes themselves. It is after all a practice for the self, but it becomes selfless in how it enhances the lives of others as well. That is the ripple effect that we love to discover while on the mat.

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Essential Oils and the Mind

HOW DO ESSENTIAL OILS AFFECT THE MIND?

Your sense of smell is much more accurate than any of your other senses. Your ability to smell comes from sensory cells called Olfactory Sensory Neurons, found in a small patch of tissue very high in your nose. Those cells connect to your brain.

Each of those sensory neurons has one odor receptor – and molecules released by substances around us stimulate these receptors. Once your neurons detect your molecules, they send messages to your limbic lobe of your brain.

Our sense of smell is 10,000 more sensitive than our other senses. Scent travels faster to the brain with smell than it does with sight, or even sound.

The limbic lobe is a group of brain structures that is below the cortex of the brain – it includes the amygdala and the hippocampus. Your limbic lobe (system of brain structures) is directly connected to the parts of your brain that control many aspects of your body – hormone levels, stress, memory, breathing, heart rate, and more.

The only way to stimulate the emotional brain is through your sense of smell – which is one of the reasons why Essential Oils can work so incredibly well. Feelings of depression, fear, anger, happiness, joy and even anxiety all originate from the limbic lobe of the brain.

Essential Oils can help alleviate symptoms at a cellular level through their therapeutic properties. Stimulation of hormones and chemicals can drastically affect physiology and behavior.

Essential Oils can be stimulating (Peppermint), calming (Lavender), sedative (Cedarwood), balancing (Frankincense, and so much more.

Top Five for Emotions:

Roman Chamomile: Helps support feelings of peace, love and acceptance.

Cedarwood: Helps support healthy focus and encouragement while also grounding.

Lavender: Helps support relaxation and calming. This one also helps with communicating feelings.

Bergamot: Uplifting and will help support healthy confidence levels. This one also helping foster self love and self worth.

Frankincense: Powerful cleanser of the spirit – grounding and can help during times of negativity.

REFERENCES:
How do Essential Oils Affect our Mind and Our Emotions. Retrieved from http://www.biospiritual-energy-healing.com/essential-oils-affect-our-minds.html

Want to learn more? Check out this free guide!

If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

If you would love to be part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.

Reverence 2020

I have chosen a word–or an intention–for my year for the last seventeen years. I have come to believe that this word becomes the thread that gets woven into the tapestry of our lives. Every year I marvel at how the word shows up or how the intention asks me to be pay attention in ways that I may have otherwise missed.

Choosing a word has always been easy for me. I typically start to feel a ruminating happen around mid-December as the current year begins to close up. I start to review the experiences that I have had throughout the year, purging what no longer serves me and making space for new things that will. I carefully choose what I want to hold onto and release the rest.

It occurred to me this morning that the last three years intentions have been very active, strong, even forceful at times in their feel. The past three years I have been on a mission of incredibly hard work, proving to myself I am beyond capable, establishing myself being a successful entrepreneur, healing from horrific pain, pushing through my limits and identifying false beliefs…basic badass mentality for at least three years.

No more.

Truth is I am exhausted. I am tired of the push. Although I had the best financial year of my life, my body paid a price. The success of last year was awesome. The people I met, the lives I helped change, the excitement of building an amazing business and solid reputation was by far one of the best feelings that I have ever had. But I hurt and I am depleted.

Being a full time yoga teacher may seem glamorous but the reality is, it is incredibly challenging. The energy and intention that is required to show up and hold space for others takes a tremendous amount of presence. Add to that, a yoga teacher doesn’t exactly make a ton of money, so in order to be successful, you have to teach many classes. That pressure combined with being the sole person responsible for a disabled adult child has been an incredible load. But, I did it. I built an incredible foundation to my business and I have a solid flow of goodness.

Earlier this fall I got the news I have been part avoiding and part dreading. After fifteen years of being followed by rheumatology for chronic pain, fibromyalgia and other vague auto-immune symptoms, I received the diagnosis of lupus. It was one of many pebbles that were thrown at me over the last few years in an attempt to get my attention. This was a big pebble and it definitely got my attention.

As I entered into this year I decided no more power words for me. I am moving out of the fire-filled solar plexus energy where action and “doing” exist and I am now moving up into the heart space. It is here that the breath is spacious and full and the energy is softer. The heart space is a bridge to just pause. To just be. To breathe. And as I do this, I can feel the shift coming to a glorious softening.

I chose the word REVERENCE for 2020. Reverence to me means to regard or treat with a deep respect and honor. I want reverence to be woven into every action I take. I want to be reverent towards my body, my students, my family, my people, my neighbors, my community, my planet. I also believe that being a reverent business women means that I infuse a new energy into being an entrepreneur. It means that my business model has shifted from a dynamic that is motivated by profits that are generated by serving others, to a dynamic of serving others that is made possible by profits.

When I choose a word, I post it in as many places as I can and I choose to make it part of my everyday life. This year I even made up a blend of essential oils, flowers and crystals to wear everyday.

In my blend I have included the following:

  • arborvitae (peace and grace)
  • birch (feeling supported)
  • black pepper (authentic)
  • cardamom (respect)
  • cassia (feeling valued)
  • copaiba (inner guidance and integrity)
  • douglas fir (respect and wisdom)
  • frankincense (truth and discernment)
  • hinoki (feeling balanced)
  • patchouli (body connection)
  • magnolia (compassion)
  • lime (gratitude)
  • pink pepper (compassion)
  • roman chamomile (guided)
  • rose (loving kindness)
  • spikenard (grateful)
  • vetiver (presence)
  • Rose flower buds (love, respect, devotion)
  • rose quartz (love and compassion, heart chakra)

I loaded all of these into a gloriously large 30ml roller bottle. My favorite 30ml bottles are here. I apply this to my heart everyday and along my wrists to grab a smell anytime I need to come back to reverence.

Have you chosen a word for 2020? I would love to hear from you what you have chosen to create.

If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

If you would love to be part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.

When Great Trees Fall

“When Great Trees Fall

When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.

When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.

Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance,
fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of dark, cold
caves.

And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.”
~Maya Angelou

A Personal Manifesto

A personal manifesto is a declaration of your core beliefs, values, and guiding principles. It’s like a roadmap for how you want to live your life, make decisions, and show up in the world. It can be a written statement that reflects your purpose, priorities, and the kind of impact you want to have.

Some elements of a personal manifesto might include:

  • Core values (e.g., kindness, authenticity, growth)
  • Life philosophy (e.g., “I believe in showing up fully present each day.”)
  • Guiding principles (e.g., “I will choose love over fear.”)
  • Aspirations and goals (e.g., “I commit to lifelong learning and self-care.”)

It can be as short as a few sentences or a longer, more detailed document. The beauty of a personal manifesto is that it’s deeply personal—it reflects you. It can also evolve over time as you grow.

Writing a Personal Manifesto

Several years ago I took a course with Brenè Brown that rocked my world. Doing so invited me to be think more about how I show up in my life and to create a manifesto. I was also reminded that being vulnerable and courageous, and sometimes face down in the arena’s of life, can be the most powerful moments a person can experience.

My Personal Manifesto:

In creating a life of happiness and peace in all facets of my life, I will cultivate habits of practicing self love. Included in my self love practices will be engaging in daily activities calmly and mindfully, resting my body, eating clean, meditating, being in nature, taking time to be alone, and nourishing myself with friendships and interactions that support me. I will love myself by consistently and gratefully engaging in these practices. Doing this requires me to set boundaries with myself and others and ask for what I need. I will communicate honestly and authentically. I will hold myself and others accountable for engaging in interactions and experiences that are respectful, peaceful and without shame and blame, especially when I feel pressure or high demands. Practicing self love and cultivating a life of calm and peaceful interactions will create a life that is centered, joyful and wholehearted and one that allows me the space to continue making a difference for those in my personal life and in my work.

Boom. Do you have a personal manifesto?

If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

If you would love to be part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.

Freedom

We have all heard of the metaphors of feeling stuck in a cage and not able to be free to fly, or the imprisoning walls that have been built around us. The brick and mortar is often what we place around ourselves that create our own version of prison.  These can include negativity, questions of worthiness, regrets of the past and worries of the future. Similarly the key to the cage that we so often feel trapped in resides in our own hands. It is our choice to stay in the cage or take the key and unlock it.  No matter what circumstance we are in, we ultimately have choice in what we do with it.

We are not our circumstances, instead we are our possibilities. 

As I was planning this month’s classes around the concept of freedom and being liberated, I received a message from a dear friend whose young daughter was just diagnosed with autism. Heartbreaking as those initial words were, I saw within a few short days a woman take on this experience like that of a true champion.  Sure, she cried her eyes out and felt fear for the unknown.  We all do when we hear those words.  The first thing I did was send her the Welcome to Holland Poem.  Then we talked awhile about what may lie ahead as she leaned on my experience to help her navigate the first few steps on this new and scary journey. Then she got busy.

She certainly could have felt like this news was a giant reason to give up and stay stuck.  Many do.  She however, in her warrior spirit, immediately saw a need to advocate and start asking questions about services and community integration for her sweet little girl.  She took this as a chance to make a difference in the lives of her daughter and others.

That is what freedom is.

Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. My friend refuses to feel imprisoned by this diagnosis and she will use the power of her light to act and speak without restraint.

This is just one of a million examples of how we can feel stuck, trapped, locked in, or caged.  Whether it is a relationship, a job, a location or a belief you have about yourself, WE have the power to act, speak and think without restraint and hindrance.  We are in control of what we do with our circumstances.

Do you feel imprisoned?  Are you the one laying the bricks down and filling them with mortar?  Do you hold the key in your hand and refuse to unlock the door?

What would freedom feel like? This month we are going to chisel away the beliefs and fear that build a wall around ourselves.  We are going to slip the key into the lock and learn to fly. We are going to feel free.

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If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

If you would love to be part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.

How to Use Mala Beads

Whether you’re just starting a meditation practice, or you’re an advanced practitioner, Mala beads are a great tool to help focus your attention. They provide this amazing tactile sensation to come back to when your mind starts to wander.

Rolling the beads through your fingers is a physical way to direct your energy and attention back to the present moment. It’s a gentle reminder every few seconds to reground and refocus.

Here are some simple ‘how to’ steps for incorporating Mala Beads into your meditation practice:

  • If this is your first time using a Mala, start by holding it out in front of you.  The tassel represents an end point — signifying you’ve gone all the way around the Mala for a full cycle of meditation. Between the tassel and necklace loop, there is one single bead, called the guru bead.  There are 108 beads in the necklace loop.
  • Now, start with the necklace in your dominant hand, tassel facing towards you
  • Start with the bead to the right of the guru bead
  • Begin turning each bead individually in your fingers, making your way slowly to the next bead
  • When turning the beads, try not to use the index finger as that is believed to represent the ego.
  • Try using your thumb to turn the beads. You can use your thumb nail to pull the bead towards you. Or you can use your thumb to rotate the bead by turning it and moving to the next.
  • You will notice there is hand knotting between each bead, this is meant to help ease the practice of moving from bead to bead.

Do you feel have the hang of it? If you are comfortable try adding some breath work.

  • On each bead, take a deep inhale and exhale. Then move to the next bead. Deep inhale and exhale.

Once you have the breathing down, you can layer in mantra. 

  • On each bead, along with your breath, try silently repeating your mantra to yourself
  • For the sake of this, we will use an affirmation based mantra, which is an “I Am statement”
  • On each bead, inhale “I Am” and exhale a word that embodies how you want to feel in that moment. It can be abundant, strong, patient, intuitive, etc.
  • Inhale “I Am” and exhale your word on each bead
  • You can also simply use one word such as grounded, or love
  • Once you have made it around 108 beads, you will reach the guru bead
  • The guru bead signifies a moment to pause and sit in reflection. Here, you can thank and honor your guru, your mantra, and yourself for taking the time to sit in stillness.

Congrats! This signifies a full practice! 

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What did you notice in this practice? What came up for you? One thing is guaranteed —  your mind will wander. When it does, simply return to the beads.

When your mind wanders, you have the choice to judge yourself and think things like “I’m the worst meditator, I’m never going to get the hang of this.”  These statement only keep you in a place of self judgement and are not useful.

Or, you can acknowledge you’ve had some thoughts, let them go, and return your focus to your Mala beads, your breath and your mantra.

You’ll be challenged consistently in your practice with a wandering mind. It doesn’t mean your a bad meditator — it just means you’re human.

Meditation isn’t about eliminating the thoughts. Rather, it’s about creating space between them, allowing yourself the room to connect to your higher self.

Your mala is a beautiful guide on that journey to the inner self. But remember, like most things it’s a practice.  Make a decision at the beginning of each practice to not judge yourself when your mind wanders. Instead, treat yourself with patience, grace, and love — as you would anyone else.

Check out this video to learn more.

Santosha: The Path to Contentment

Contentment is defined as a state of happiness and satisfaction.

Emotionally it is in the middle of the emotional scale and vibrates at a fairly neutral resonance. It is that space within us where all is okay. It is a feeling that offers neutrality and a sense of ease because there is not the push for more.

When I first began to understand what it meant to live yoga, I wondered if I could I ever really achieve contentment?  The Sanksrit word for contentment is santosha which means to cultivate a sense of being all right with who I am and what I have. And yet, we are humans who have been conditioned to constantly crave and strive for more. Yogi or not, I have dreams and goals so contentment, or santosha, often eludes me. Both on the mat and off the mat.

My work is to balance my dreams with the presence of knowing that all is okay.  I mean REALLY knowing that all is okay.  I can still have my dreams, but right now, in this breath, all is okay.

When we look at this on an emotional level, we see just underneath contentment on the emotional scale is complacency.  And just above it is hope.  So this middle ground of contentment could take you either way, depending on your awareness and your willingness to be, or not to be.

In my life, when faced with a challenge (on the mat or off),  I have three choices.

  1. Stay in contentment. I could recognize that my true self is pure and perfect. I can know that I am whole and good enough, right now.
  2. Slip into complacency. I could get lazy in my efforts and desires.  I could choose to weaken my desires and make excuses as to why it is not worth the effort due to my smugness and perhaps falsely known self-satisfaction.
  3. Rise into hope. I could take a breath and aim for a feeling of expectation and desire for goodness to happen.  I could take in the knowing that dreams and desires are right there waiting to arrive.

I  definitely do not spend much time in complacency. Although I am often vibrating higher in hope, optimism, positive expectation, enthusiasm, passion and ultimately deep appreciation, I am striving to also exist in the space of contentment.

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If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

If you would love to be part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.

Preparing the Soil

I think of early March as a time to prepare for growth. To toil the ground and prepare ourselves for deep growth.  I also love spring and the symbolism it represents.  It is during the spring time that we often think of beginnings, newness, and growth.  For some, this is a great time to begin to cultivate your “soil” to soon plant seeds of intention. One way to do this is to write down anything in your life you wish to increase–friendships, health, abundance or joy, are just a few ideas.  Be clear with your visions as this brings life to your “seeds”.

Next, it is so important to prepare your inner “soil” by eliminating and removing the old and now transpired blossoms of last year.  The memories of past that have come and go and no longer as vibrant as they were just a few short months ago. When we invest time in preparing ourselves for a season of growth (no matter what time of year, really) we must start with cleaning up the areas so that we are open to allow space for growth. When we spend time doing this we are investing time into right now.  We are dirtying our hands with the fertile soil that awaits.

As you do this, become aware of the subtle changes in Nature during this time of the year.  You might see the peeking of crocus bulbs emerging from the hardened winter ground.  Watch as the trees begin to grow tiny nubs that will soon break into full leaves.  Listen as the birds start to make song in the early mornings and the air has a scent of newness.  Use all of your senses to experience what is happening around you.

As we connect with Nature we also connect with ourselves. We realize that we too, are ever-changing and growing beings.  We can set the seeds of intention and begin to nurture and cultivate what we wish to have grown in our lives.

This month in my classes we will be exploring cleansing postures to eliminate the old and make space for new.  We will also be looking at ways our bodies can twist and unwind to come fully into the now.

Here is to growing, less pain, more joy and flourishing!  Happy Spring and while you are preparing your soul for growth it is never a bad idea to get your hands dirty in Mother Earth, either.

Learn more about this powerful process in this short video! 

If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

If you would love to be part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.

Cooling Balance: An Essential Oil Blend for Pitta Dosha

Cooling Balance: An Essential Oil Blend for Pitta Dosha

Pitta dosha, governed by the elements of fire and water, gives us drive, focus, and a passionate zest for life. But when Pitta becomes excessive—especially in the heat of summer or during stressful times—it can lead to irritability, impatience, and an overheated body and mind.

This calming essential oil blend is designed to soothe and balance Pitta’s fiery energy. With cooling, sweet, and grounding aromas, it helps you restore inner harmony, release tension, and invite a sense of ease and flow. Perfect for moments when you need to cool the flames and reconnect with your natural state of balance.

I finally figured out why I have so much heat (inflammation) in my body. I have a really hard time this time of year and I remembered a few days ago that historically the time that is summer turning to fall is sooooo hard on me because of my Ayurvedic dosha Pitta. (Ayurveda is the sister science to yoga that looks at body constitution). I seem to burning on fire inside and outside, and interestingly bugs and insects are obsessed with me.  They must sense my inner fire and want some.

The last few weeks have been really hard with a constant inner burning.  My joints are on fire, my belly is boiling, I have a burning in my stomach no matter what I eat, my temper is a tiny bit shorter and I am overall just hot.

I have started to implement eating more cucumbers, taking cooler showers and baths, drinking cool water, spending time with blues and greens, meditating on cool water imagery and just doing what I know to do. I also created a lovely and pitta-dosha calming blend—it’s all the lovely cool florals; rose, jasmine, neroli, lavender, helichrysum, geranium and sandalwood. Plus, I added some peppermint for a topical cooling sensation. I added turquoise to amplify it’s cooling properties and bring in the cool vibes of turquoise.  I apply this to my neck, chest and spine a few times a day.

If you’d like to know more about your dosha, let’s chat. I have some great resources and can do a quick assessment. Also, be sure to check out this free ebook for reference to essential oils.

Follow me for more goodness!

If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

If you would love to be part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.