Roller Skates

I was about twelves years old and shopping with my mom at my local K-mart when I learned the most valuable lesson she may have ever instilled in me.

For months prior to this day, I was becoming obsessed with rollerskating and spent every Friday evening at the local rink wishing the boy I was crushed on would ask me to slow skate with him, eating lemon heads with my girlfriends and basically feeling what freedom away from your parents felt like. I watched as some of the other girls started to show up with fancy white leather roller-skates with pink wheels and that amazingly cool toe stop. I noticed that some girls even got snazzy shoe-laces to make their cool skates look even cooler. These girls were no longer renting the smelling unisex brown and red skates that usually had a sticky wheel or some other defect, instead they looked like movies stars skirting around the rink. In my mind I was also convinced that they got asked to skate the slow skates with cute boys because of the skates, but I could have been wrong.

The late afternoon day at K-mart I was eyeing the same white leather with pink stopper skates that all the popular girls where bringing to the skating rink in a cool bag. I had been wearing old metal skates around my neighborhood that you just wore with your sneakers. Lame. I wanted to glide around my neighborhood and carry them into the rink on Friday like the popular girls. I wanted so badly to have these skates.

My mom found me in the aisle and I begged her with all my begging ability to buy the skates for me. They were priced at $10.97 and they had my size. They fit perfectly and I was about as excited as a girl could have been.

Nope. Her response to me asking was, “Save up your money and when you have enough, I will bring you back”.

She was not going to buy me roller-skates when I had “perfectly good ones at home that fit just fine“. She did not want to hear that other girls had them because that was the last thing she cared about (another amazing lesson). My mom was the type of mom that you did not ask twice if the answer the first time wasn’t what you wanted. You just learned to accept the answer no matter how crushed you might have been.

I was crushed.

I remember fighting back the tears and feeling so frustrated that she would not buy them for me. I was mad and jealous all at the same time. Why did I have to be the stupid paper girl tossing newspapers onto people’s porches, smelling like ink and being laughed at? Why couldn’t I just be the pretty girl that had fancy new skates with sparkly shoelaces and whatever else fad that came along?

Because my mom was teaching me the value of earning what you think you need. She was teaching me the value of waiting until you can get it yourself. She was teaching me the reward of working hard and saving up for something. She was teaching me that I can provide for myself.

What a gift that was and one that has served me so well. In fact I would rather work hard, save up for something and know that I earned it, than be given something. It feels richer knowing that I made choices to get something I wanted and I certainly learned to take really good care of what I worked myself to get.

The lesson that day is one of what people call a defining moment.

I will say that walking into the skating rink the next Friday night felt pretty amazing. The skates glided and I felt so good. I would love to say the boy asked me to skate, but he didn’t. That is okay because I gained so much self-value that I didn’t need a silly boy to hold my hand to the slow songs of Lionel Richie.

From that day forward, I polished my skates off after each use and prayed that my feet didn’t grow too fast. Oh, and my mom did end up buying me the sparkly laces and even made me a pom-pom to go on top.

Private Yoga Sessions

Teaching Yoga for just over seventeen years has given me a deep appreciation for the variety of reasons people come to the practice. Many people begin with a new physical goal or a recommendation from their doctor, and others come because they feel a need to wind down and reduce stress. After a few sessions those goals often change a little bit which for the teacher in me can be quite exciting, especially because the first reasons I cam to Yoga was solely physical. After a year or so I realized that there is so much to the time and experience on my yoga mat.

The idea of coming to a group class can be intimidating to most people so a private session is a great way to begin. These personal and individualized sessions are the perfect way to give a direction to personal goals of mind, body and spirit. Each session is tweaked based on the current needs of the student on that given day. Sometimes we may explore a different direction altogether and try all new things, and sometimes we stick to a systematic approach towards goals.

When you invest in a private session (virtually or in person) you will get:

  • initial assessment of current physical body and emotional wellbeing
  • personalized yoga practice based on assessment
  • guided breathing techniques
  • principles of Yoga embedded into session
  • a direction to go in home practice

Are you ready to dive deeper?

Stacie believes that it is her life purpose to share the gift of Yoga with anyone who is willing to say yes. In addition to raising a family and being an advocate for those with disabilities, Stacie is founder of Embracing Spirit Yoga which specializes in bringing adaptive Yoga into community centers and rehabilitation clinics. Bringing her depth of compassion to the mat–or the chair–she offers students the opportunity to grow as an individual in all aspects of their life. 

With over fourteen years experience, Stacie Wyatt is a E-RYT 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, a Certified Brain Injury Specialist, Life Wellness Coach, Senior YogaFit Instructor, Mind/Body Personal trainer, Stress Reduction and Meditation Instructor, Pilates Instructor, and Barre Instructor. Stacie is also certified in Integrative Movement Therapy™and is also a believer in the power and application of essential oils for health and wellness and proudly share doTERRA essential oils.

Stacie brings her personal life experience of raising a daughter with a disability and over 12 years working in special education to her everyday Yoga classes. In addition to teaching classes at a variety of local centers and health clubs, Stacie also continues to offer Yoga and Wellness coaching individually to those seeking private sessions.

My Lantern

Although I feel like I have spent the last ten years or so doing tons of self-work and unpeeling of the layers and layers of ‘stuff’ that has accumulated in my life, I still love that I am willing to do deep soul work.

A few years ago was a definite year of courage and the willingness to listen to my inner voice.  As the dust began to settle from the major changes in my life, I took a month or so off from the heaviness that can come when you are in the labyrinth of self-improvement.  Establishing myself into my new home space and adjusting (again) was my focus. It felt so good to pause from the rigorous self development and instead just enjoy myself.

Not soon after, I began an online course on Courage.  Brene Brown has been one of my favorite authors and speakers in the last few years and when the course was offered, I said a gigantic YES.  To be guided through courage, vulnerability and shame with a leading researcher and expert was an opportunity I was not going to pass on.

Knowing that I had spent the previous year in the ‘arena’, I was curious as to what I would find I would need to explore in the bravery realm, but willing I was to examine it.  Lesson one offered over one hundred values to identify just one that guides your way in life; everything from accountability to balance to faith to humility to love to optimism to spirituality to well-being.  Where do you hold your highest regard and when this value is not in place you know you are off your path? In my ego mind I wanted my chosen value to be something easy like compassion or kindness.  My soul said go deeper than that and asked what is it that I know for sure, when this is threatened, I am off my center?

Safety.

Safety?? Yea, like in the form of being judged, not being seen or understood for who I am, financial risks, being unorganized and chaotic, feeling unsure of decisions, having people in my life who are disrespectful or threatening, allowing fear to creep in, etc.  Safety.  I wear the armor to protect my safety.  So going into the ‘arena’ again, I had to be open to the rawness and vulnerability of the emotional exposure around this value of safety and to be willing to set the armor down.

Using the metaphor of a lantern, she explains that the flame that burns is the identified value. The glass that surrounds the flame illustrates the behaviors you display and people that you have in your life that protect that value.  The handle of the lantern symbolizes when you have set your value down and walked away allowing your ship to get off course.

My flame is safety.  My glass (behaviors and people) that keep my flame protected include  boundaries, choices, self-respect, meditating, journaling, keeping a budget, being organized, people who support and honor me, a knowing and exploring of self.  When I have set this value down I am allowing fear to enter, I take risks, I allow people to speak or treat me in ways that hurt, I am not grounded and I worry irrationally.

Knowing that this value is held in such high regard to me, I can see why some life decisions I have made, and the experiences I have been offered, have caused me to feel such anguish. In addition to better understanding what it is that stokes my flame, I am way more armed with tolerance as to what makes me tick and then respond when the value is threatened.

Safety.  Indeed my highest value for my life is safety.  I know when it is threatened or I am off course because of the internal responses that I have that then lead to behaviors that diminish the flame.  It is so clear to me now.  While compassion or kindness may have been easier, I am so grateful for this new knowledge about myself and can move forward in my life with a strong flame and people and behaviors that will protect that part of me.

Balancing Your Energy Centers

Are you curious about your energy centers, also known as chakras? Years ago I had heard about them but had no idea what they were. Since then I have spent years studying the chakra system and learning powerful ways to balance them so that my mind, body and spirit are optimal.

There are seven major energy centers in the body known as ‘Chakras’. Chakra is a Sanskrit word that means “wheel”. Our seven main chakras are connected to our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels. Blocked energy in our seven chakras can often lead to illness, so it’s important to understand what each chakra represents and what we can do to keep this energy flowing freely.

There are many ways to go about balancing the chakras but two of the most accessible, effective and relaxing practices are aromatherapy and crystal therapy. When paired correctly, crystals and essential oils can create potent combinations that help to release blocked energy and restore the body to full charge.

Chakras are invisible to the naked eye and yet interconnect our physical and spiritual selves. Each of the seven chakras is tied directly to a specific region and nerve center of the body. It is believed that each of the chakras absorbs and filters the energy that we emit through our thoughts and actions as well as through the thoughts and actions of all those that we come into contact with. When one of the chakras is out of balance as a result of negative energy flowing through it, it begins to spin too slowly or too fast. When a chakra is not balanced, it can effect that physical region of the body and also effect very specific aspects of our spiritual and emotional selves.

I am so excited to share with you an ENTIRE chakra series ONLINE. You can choose between investing in the entire series for a discounted bundle rate, or pick and choose which chakra you’d like to focus on. I am happy to help guide you through a quick assessment of which energy center you might want to address.

For each chakra we will focus on the aspects of that energy center and learn how to balance it through discussion, yoga session, a custom essential oil blend with gemstones, and a beautiful crystal. Cost per chakra is $30, or the entire series/blends/gemstones is $197 (valued at $315)Also included is a free downloadable ebook. Once registered you will get an email from me with content and a package in the mail!

Stacie believes that it is her life purpose to share the gift of Yoga with anyone who is willing to say yes. In addition to raising a family and being an advocate for those with disabilities, Stacie is founder of Embracing Spirit Yoga which specializes in bringing adaptive Yoga into community centers and rehabilitation clinics. Bringing her depth of compassion to the mat–or the chair–she offers students the opportunity to grow as an individual in all aspects of their life.

With over sixteen years experience, Stacie Wyatt is an E-500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, Certified Trauma Informed Coach, Life Wellness Coach, Senior YogaFit Instructor, Mind/Body Personal trainer, Stress Reduction and Meditation Instructor, Pilates Instructor, and Barre Instructor. Stacie is also certified in Integrative Movement Therapy™and is also a believer in the power and application of essential oils for health and wellness and proudly shares doTERRA essential oils.

Stacie brings her personal life experience of raising a daughter with a disability and over 12 years working in special education to her everyday Yoga classes.

In addition to teaching classes at a variety of local centers and health clubs, Stacie also continues to offer Yoga and Wellness coaching individually to those seeking private sessions.

Self-Care Series

School is back in session for most and that means many parents will have a little more time to think about themselves. For many, many, MANY years I neglected my own well being thinking that I was being a great mom by giving every ounce to my kids. Wrong.

Before long I was overweight, angry and exhausted.

Long ago, when someone mentioned to me the idea of practicing self-care, I had no idea what that could be and I had an immediate reaction that is was selfish.

Boy, have I ever come a long way.

Not sure what self-care looks like for you? For each of us it can mean so many things. There is no one-size fits all when it comes to self care.

The good news is, if you are not sure what self-care can be, I can help! I have an amazing virtual self-care package that includes a variety of tools to help YOU take care of YOU. And the best part? It is self paced and can be done on YOUR time, in YOUR space, but with my loving support.

Check this out! I’d love to walk alongside with you on finding YOU again.

Essential Yoga–Connection

Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves. ~Brene Brown

This workshop uses oils designed to help us open the heart, forgive, let go and greet the world from a place of emotional & physical balance. February is the month of the heart where we open to a new view and move ahead with love and trust. The oils in this workshop are a wonderful combination of aromas. If you need essential oils samples to work with this class, please reach out to me.

Essential Oils

YLANG YLANG (AROMATIC/DIFFUSE):

PHYSICAL: Helps equalize or balance key body functions such as our respiratory and circulatory systems. Popular oil in perfumery. Aphrodisiac qualities assist with sex drive and impotence as it helps with hormone balancing—allowing us to connect with others. Helps promote restful sleep as it assists with anxious feelings and balancing our emotions. Calming, lessening stress and tension –“cools down” agitation, helping the nervous system to bring itself into balance.

EMOTIONAL: The Oil of the Inner Child. Ylang ylang is known as a powerful remedy and connector to our heart. It reconnects us to our childlike nature, innocence and our intuition. Opens up our sexuality when fear or anxiousness has created a block. Helps release past emotional trauma, in a natural, nurturing & gentle way. Used in today’s workshop to set the stage of a calming, approachable nature within so we can begin connecting from a place of balance.

WILD ORANGE (INTERNAL/DRINKING):

PHYSICAL: Powerful cleanser and purifying agent for surfaces. Protects against seasonal and environmental threats –as it is high in antioxidants and supportive to the immune system. Uplifting aroma lifts the mind and therefore, the body as we take in a sip. Taken internally or applied topically, this oil can provide relief from occasional digestive discomfort

EMOTIONAL: Oil of Abundance. Helps reduces anxious feelings, and calm emotions. Inspires creativity, a positive mood and brings joy & peace, happiness and FUN into your day. Encourages creative thinking and fearlessness. Used in today’s workshop to help us recognize that there is an abundance of love that surrounds us and when we tap into it –it can help lift us up.

FRANKINCENSE

PHYSICAL: Powerful and rare oil that is very diverse in its use on/in/around the body. The “one” oil you want if you can only have one! Known historically as a holy oil used for anointing and sacred ceremonies when spiritual awareness is desired. Distilled from frankincense tree resin harvested from a small region in the Middle East & Northern Africa. Highly researched for its ability to helps build and maintain a healthy immune system and function. Known to support the rejuvenation of skin and other epithelial tissue.

EMOTIONAL: The Oil of Truth. Connects us to our spiritual selves creating a healthy attachment to our actual father or the father figure in our lives. Reminds us we are loved and protected with a gentle, loving Divine spirit (God). Helps release us to break free from our past, making it an ideal oil to use for those seeking spiritual awakening and evolution. Used in today’s workshop to open our heart from a place of peace, love and support that comes from deep within us and connects us to our highest self.

AROMATOUCH BLEND

PHYSICAL: Blend includes: Basil/Marjoram/Lavender/Peppermint/Cypress/Grapefruit. Referred to by doTERRA as the Massage Blend. Relaxes, calms and soothe muscles and joints –great choice to apply after a rigorous workout. Promotes circulation in the tissue to which it is applied. Oils in the blend support the healthy function of the respiratory system as well.

EMOTIONAL: The Oil of Relaxation. Opens the heart and mind –relaxing as it provides comfort in times of grief or sorrow. Calms and slows the body, therefore the mind as well as it releases tension. When muscles release tension and we slow down, we reconnect with our heart and it opens, allowing us to move in harmony with our body. Used in today’s workshop to connect with our spirit and ask where our path will lead.

GERANIUM

PHYSICAL: Helps support clear, healthy skin. Used to balance emotions. Assist with blood flow and circulation–a gentle oil used to calm nerves and lessen anxious feelings.

EMOTIONAL: The Oil of Love and Trust. Helps us restore our confidence in the goodness that surrounds us and in our world. Assists our desire to establish trust when trust has been broken by others. Reopens the heart –softening anger and helping heal emotional wounds. Instills unconditional love and trust with those who are stuck in the mind so they can begin focusing on their heart. Used in today’s workshop to help all of us connect with our true emotions. 

BALANCE BLEND

PHYSICAL–Blend of Spruce, Frankincense, Blue Tansy, HoWood and Blue Chamomile. Designed to help us ground our emotional and physical body –to keep us centered or balanced about whatever challenges cross our life’s path. Soothes and relaxes sore muscles and joints. Assists the nervous system to remain healthy and balanced. Harmonizing blend –connecting body, mind and spirit together and calming anxious feelings. Frankincense in the blend is known to support cellular health and overall well being.

EMOTIONAL— The Oil of Grounding. Calming tree and flower oils that brings tranquility to our spirit. Helps us reconnect or settle into our “roots”–very important to help those who spend a lot of time thinking, speaking or in spiritual activity.Good for those who tend to avoid long-term commitments to root down like a tree rather than finding themselves drifting on to the next thing, with the wind. Applying it helps us stay present in the moment to achieve our longer term goals –as a tree grows slowly over time. Used in today’s workshop to help us take the emotions we experience through the layering of these oils, and reconnect them into our heart as a way of “grounding” ourselves at the close of this gathering

You can purchase the essential oils here and that will give you exclusive access to education, mentoring and a free personal wellness coaching session. Plus I will teach you all the ways that you can also use these essential oils that you purchase for this class. The uses are endless! To learn more about the basics of essential oils and how to use them safely and effectively, check out this gorgeous ebook.

The yoga practice that compliments these essential oils and the theme of connection, just click here.

Crystal Grid for Love

I love spending time every month setting an intention and creating a crystal grid to reflect that intention. I have my grid in a center location in my home so that each time I walk by it I see not only its beauty but I am reminded of the intention. 

This particular grid is for bringing the emotion of love into the space and everyone who lives in the space. This can be self-love, love for others, and everything in between. Unconditional love is such a beautiful feeling to experience and the stones chosen in the grid are perfect for that! 

Rose Quartz is the center stone in my grid and it is the stone of universal love. It restores trust and harmony in relationships, encouraging unconditional love. Rose Quartz purifies and opens the heart at all levels to promote love, self-love, friendship, deep inner healing and feelings of peace. 

The next stone is Amethyst. Amethyst is one of the most famous and prominent crystals because of its beautiful purple coloration as well as its spiritual and literal meaning. The spiritual meaning of Amethyst is groundedness, tranquility, and calm. The literal meaning of Amethyst is “not intoxicated” – its name translates from the Greek word améthystos. To be tranquil and calm is a great way to invite in love. Amethyst is used often in dealing with addictions…and that can be of any type. I like to use amethyst when working with love because it helps to ward of the patterns that we can slip into that do not promote self love. 

The next layer out is alternating green aventurine and clear quartz. Green aventurine  comforts, harmonizes, protects the heart, and can help attract love in life. It is one of the premier stones to attract luck, abundance and success and lots of LOVE. The meaning is also linked with the heart plexus chakra, which makes it a powerful gem for calming negative emotions that often gets stuck in the heart center. The Clear Quartz crystal meaning is known for its high vibrations. By clearing your mind, body, and spirit of any clutter, clear quartz can help you align with your highest self and live at your highest potential.  Clear Quartz is known as the “master healer” and will amplify energy and thought, as well as the effect of other crystals.  It absorbs, stores, releases and regulates energy.  Clear Quartz draws off negative energy of all kinds and is perfect for promoting love.

The final layer is alternating more rose quartz and clear quartz points aiming outward. This brings all the goodness and energy of each of the other stones and energetically sends it outward. 

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! 

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.

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