Monday, August 29, 2016

Saving Up Summer For Winter * * *










Oh, Summer, I wish you could last forever.  Just kidding, I don't really.  I love summer but I like change too. I would go crazy without the change of seasons.  These are some of my favorite scenes of what turned out to be a blissfully long Summer.  I will be coming back to these pics 6 months from now, when we are buried underneath layers of ice and snow to dream of succulents, warm summer sun, patio time with friends and about what the future holds.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

YOGA is Not For Yogis, YOGA is For HUMANS < < <



I can't tell you how often I'm thankful that I found yoga years ago. Its not just about exercise - its about moving your body in healthy ways, while you contemplate the way you move through your life, while having time to think about the philosophy and laws of nature which help us to understand where we are in this experience of being human. THAT is yoga. And THAT is why I studied, and continue to study with Laurel Van Matre at#YOGAGardenMPLS:
This is my personal "Yoga Has Helped Me With..." List:
- Managing stress in college at the University of North Texas
- Managing spring #allergies symptoms for several years
- Transition to living in New York, New York
- Managing #anxiety when my income tanked along with the crash of 2008
- Bad bout of #depression in 2010
- Managing #stress as a new teacher / head of department in Idaho
- Sorting out what I want to do next with my life / career#NoForRealWhatAmIDoingHere
- Moving INTO the home I grew up in as a #GrownAssWoman
- Learning how the hell to #ACT for #VoiceOver after a dozen years as a vocalist, and keep my character by keeping me IN my #BREATH...
The last item was just this week. We all have our own list. And these#hashtags exist because in our modern world, we all deal with this stuff. Yoga is not for yogis, yoga is for humans.
I never ever ever intended on teaching yoga. I always loved that a yoga mat was a place for just ME - nothing to do with money, work, relationships, jobs.... it was a place to pause, so I could be better at those other things.
This stuff is about your own human #experience.
* * * 
Thank you Miss Calley Bliss - 2016 YGTT Graduate, singer (voice of an angel, seriously), and always fun to be with. 
P.S.  I can't tell you how thankful I am you found YOGA Garden xo
* * * 
+ SHOW Up EVERY Day + 
: )

Friday, August 12, 2016

BEAUTY is MAGIC * * *



A lucky lady am I to have such artistic friends.  They say you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.  I feel blessed to be around people who have designed their lives around how they see beauty in the world and how much they appreciate the magic in that.  

I've centered my teaching and practice around the breath the past few years (you regulars are like "yes, we know").  I always (ok, almost constantly) remind my students to remember to pause long enough throughout their poses and shapes to feel their breath make it's way through them.  It keeps us grounded in our muscles and bones and gives us our individual experience while we work together as a group.  Feeling our breath move us in our practice gives us a memory of what it feels like to be grounded and empowers us to map our way back there off our mats, when we need it most.

These pics were taken almost exactly a year ago in Joshua Tree National Park over Labor Day weekend.  It's absolutely one of the most magical places I have ever been.  It started to rain just as we were driving into the park so we had to pull over and wait.  It was incredible to see so much rain fall so quickly and recede just as fast.  But it was perfect timing, rain drops hung on to all the Joshua Trees and plants in the park and reflected the sunlight.  All that water made the colors richer and you could smell the earth in that way you only get after a good rain but like times 10.  I think of it often, it's beauty is just unbelievable.  And when I get lost or sad or lose my way I can map my way back to it's colors, the smell of the air, the heat of the desert and it brings me right back to my breath and my muscles and bones and makes me see the magic in getting to experience all that.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

The BOUNTY Begins



The Bounty Begins! The tom's were a gift and the flowers are from my garden. How lucky are we to live in a place where we can trade food and flowers? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #bounty #summer #freshfromtheearth

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