New Things

Hello All!

Whew! That last month was a doozie! It went by so fast...

I graduated from teacher training, got my certificate and have been teaching friends and family in the meantime during the last month.

Annnnnnd....I'm opening my own yoga room to teach yoga in on a consistent basis. My new place will be called Yoga Urth. I cannot believe how quickly and naturally this all unfolded. It sometimes seems unreal but then again, more real than anything I've ever done before. It's exciting and scary and so many things at the same time.

I'm so grateful to have been in the right place at the right time for all of these tiny things to add up to this big thing. I'm grateful for my wonderful yoga teachers and the girls that I shared the journey with.

I'm grateful for my husband who supports me always...and my dog. Who isn't grateful for their dog??

Love to all of you. Hope to be back on again and blogging more frequently.

xoxox,

Erin

Truth-Time about Blogging Every Day.

I decided to stop blogging every single day for November. It really was too much with my yoga teacher training and in-laws popping out of trees from every direction (love them, but they are taking over the city apparently!).

So, it's just me. Back to blogging when I actually have something to say. It was a good goal but I just don't have time to come up with interesting topics to write about every day right now. I'm working on being just fantastically amazing and witty at every moment, but as for now... :)

I'm going to be certified to teach yoga in December!! What, what!!

Peace and love,

Erin

Friends and Family

I had a good day today. I met with my yoga teacher, a friend, and went to see my sister-in-law who has recently had a very rough surgery. Her body is in shock from it and it has been very emotional for her.

It's interesting how we run from pain but when others we love feel it, we want to take it from them. So, the reason that my day was good was that between these three incredible ladies, I had a feeling of love throughout my entire day. Love isn't always light and fluffy but it's so worth it.

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." The Little Prince

Reaction to Media Coverage of Penn State Scandal

I'm kind of ashamed of the way we, as a society, are responding to this Penn State tragedy. I'm not talking on an individual level although I have to say I've heard some surprising individual comments about it. However, most people aren't mentioning it at all and if you didn't have cable you might not even know that this happened.

I do have to say, however, that when I did start googling all of the news coverage of this tragedy...I was disgusted. Not just by what happened, which is enough to make your head, heart and internal organs explode from the feelings of sadness/injustice/anger/disgust (pick one or all) but from the way the media is covering it. All they are showing in these initial days of coverage are pictures of Joe Paterno.

This is about those boys that were abused, not Penn State or even Joe Paterno. Those boys deserve better from us and definitely from the media. As to the people who are already making jokes or saying that they've heard enough about it, I wish they would have a little more empathy about those children and how they would feel if this happened to them or someone in their own family...

I remember hearing somewhere that the reason that we turn away from others pain is that we are programmed to turn away from our own. To be embarrassed by it, see it as a sign of weakness. Maybe we don't want to see the truth sometimes, but it's still there. And when we don't face it, people get hurt.

Husband Yoga

So....I just taught my husband yoga for the second time. The first time we went through one Sun A (which is a series of 7 poses that you're supposed to do three times in the beginning of your practice) and he sat up and said, "that's good. that's hard..." Okay. But he tried it.

So, I talked him into doing it again... (with a slight twisting of the arm.) This time we victoriously did almost half of the whole series and I really tried to make him comfortable in learning the poses. He did great! It is certainly a process and you don't want to get discouraged just because you can't do it perfectly the first time.

Yoga is hard. But so is life and I think what yoga tells us is that how you live your life on your mat is the same way that you will face your life off the mat. Do you run as soon as it feels tough? Do you try to cheat? Do you do what you can in a sensible way and facing your fears? I love yoga. It has taught me so much.

Sometimes, we may not want to do yoga, or something in life that scares us, but if we do it anyway...we feel better afterwards. I know that sometimes I go to yoga (excuse my language) pissed off that I have to do this right now, but when I leave I am always so grateful that I went. What scares us is often times the best thing for us.

Namaste, my peeps!

xoxo

Greece pics, continued..

Is "fitting in" unhealthy for you?

I'm a go with the flow kind of girl.  I don't like to cause waves, I don't like to be the center of attention. I just like to do my thing and let other people do their thing! But there comes a point when not wanting to be the center of attention gets in my way. I get nervous when all eyes are on me. But at this point in my life, I'm wondering, is going with the flow unhealthy sometimes? Why can't I let myself shine so that others can see?

It's like this blog. I only feel comfortable with certain people knowing about it. I almost want to tell everyone I know but then I feel like I'm going to throw up thinking about all of those people really "seeing" me.

One step at a time, I'm going to ease out of this shell. In yoga class we have to do a naked reflection where we get naked, look at ourselves in the mirror (by ourselves, thank God) and share our reactions. It's pretty deep and it's supposed to make you look at how you really see yourself. Mine's coming up on Saturday. :/  Wish me luck with that one!!

Trying to fit it all in...

Writing in November hasn't been so easy for me. I have a family (in-law) explosion going on with four new people to hang out with... and yoga to the max. We literally did about 5 classes last Saturday, about 7 1/2 hours of yoga. I felt like I was going to be sick, die...something. 

Do not get me wrong, it was so worthwhile, but literally exhausting. 

I am also very happy to have the family thing going on. But there are not enough hours in the day sometimes.

Very happily (and yawning) yours,

e-

Family

My in-laws are wonderful people. I'm very lucky to have such a great extended family. 

Full of heart and personality.

I remember my grandmother coming to all of my baseball games when I was younger. She would sit in her lawn chair instead of the bleachers. She would always say something like, "I'm the Grandma!" She was so proud of me, like I was her own little accomplishment. And whenever I came over to her house, even to take a nap, she embraced me into her home like I was a caterpillar and it was my cocoon. I hope that I can spread that kind of love and acceptance to the people in my own life. I do hope.

Sampling of Greece Photos

I don't have a lot of time today to post, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos from Greece. I'll try to add a few more later because there are definitely more! <3

Wise Words From Oprah

What can you say about Oprah that hasn't been said before? She is a powerhouse of inspiration and I am thankful for her existence if only for the occasional O magazine that I pick up and read something that touches me. However, there is so much more to her than this and we all know it. 

In this month's publication of her magazine, the last page or "What I Know for Sure" was just as meaningful as ever. She talks about perspective and the fact that stepping away from her show, she realized how much it had changed her and how she found a a new appreciation for everything she had done for those 25 years.

She also talks about the dark patches of life and how they are usually "pointing you in a new direction." I am not really in a "dark patch" compared to some others, although life has been difficult at times and there are definitely things that I struggle with. I do think that there MUST be a reason for these struggles, and that I am being prepared for something. 

"Who you're meant to be evolves from where you are right now," she says. "So learning to appreciate your best lessons, mistakes and setbacks as stepping stones to the future is a clear sign you're moving in the right direction and letting in the light."

Sometimes, it's not easy to keep forging ahead, looking for the light in the darkness instead of just crawling into a ball and saying that this is the way it will always be. It's easy to let other's problems become your own and set your focus there. Meditation, yoga and just my growth in general has allowed me to let these things go and to look to the horizon. The sun will come up tomorrow, my dears, just like Annie sang about. That's where my attention will be, on that big beautiful ball of light.

Ever evolving...

The Geese Are Flying

I was sitting in the office earlier today and heard a flock of geese flying overhead. 'Tis the season'... I thought. My bones are cold, pumpkin pie smells are in the air, squash are for sale everywhere and there is also a certain sadness or stillness approaching. The seasons seem to have emotions to me. Spring is hope, summer is happiness, fall is comfort and winter is sadness, or maybe just a feeling of waiting. I don't like the winter and I do apologize if I'm coming across as a downer. I know plenty of people that love winter and can't wait for sled riding, hunting or whatever the winter season holds for them. I just want to escape.

Many people in Northeast Ohio get the cold weather blues. This year, I want to try and tackle the winter with enthusiasm. I'm going to be writing and I'm very excited to stay committed to that. Plus, I have yoga which I think will play a part in my life for a long time to come. I assist the teacher in class tomorrow and I am really looking forward to that. I think I will enjoy it.

My Last Meal

I LOVE TODAY'S NaBloPoMo WRITING PROMPT!!! 

We actually have this conversation a lot around my house. 

I would have: 

• My grandmother's deviled eggs, pork chops, green beans and mashed potatoes with gravy and possibly also her potato salad. 

Literally, that is what my grandmother would make me all the time when I went over to her apartment for dinner. The love that was contained in that food, still to this day, overwhelms me. Now, because it could never be duplicated by anyone else... and because that is what I would want only if SHE were able to make it, I would have this instead:

• Sushi. Omg. Platters and platters of sushi. And sake to drink. And water. Amen.

Now, it's also interesting that this is the prompt because I just read a great article regarding this called The Spirituality of Cheeseburgers. Click here to read!

What Is My Favorite Part About Writing?

My favorite part about writing is the freedom. I'm basically having a thought in my head and that thought is traveling through me and ending up in my fingertips typing letters that make up words that make up sentences on this computer screen. The science (neurons, cells, what is the mind?) behind this is beyond me but if you really think about all of that, it is a miracle. 

And the beauty of it also is, you can be exactly who you are at that moment and no one is interrupting you with their opinion or disagreeing or doing something weird with their face. 

I've always wanted to write, since I was a child. I remember copying stories that I loved onto my own paper and then stapling it together to make a new book. I told stories to my little sister and brother to put them to sleep. I read books like a carnivore...(or I guess it would be bookivore? Does anyone know is there actually a word for that?). 

Getting lost in the story, connecting to something bigger than yourself, being inspired...all of these are great reasons to write. But for me, the best part is the freedom.

Winning The Lottery, Would You Share?

I played the lottery today. I never play the lottery. But I was thinking about all the good things I could do with the money if I won.

• Give to charity (of course). But more specifically, give to the starving children of the world, help the homeless here in America (my big soft spot), and various others but I'd have to give it more thought. Probably something with education...
• Take my husband on a long vacation and hire the best part time manager to replace him so that he could relax and enjoy it and I could enjoy him!
• Put some money in the bank (I'm not stupid).
• Give some money to my family members who need it. 
• Buy the home I've always dreamed of.

What would you do with your winnings?? 

e

Gearing up for November

Okay, I am joining the November BlogHer challenge to blog every day in November! I am very excited and will do my best to come up with interesting, relevant blog topics as much as possible. But, I can't promise there won't be any randoms thrown in there. :) I am a variety girl.

Click here to join the blogging festivities!

I am currently exhausted but was completely high on yoga all day today. Literally, I've never been an exercise buff and today I felt something that I have never experienced. It was a breakthrough moment for me. Exhausted, sore but incredibly happy to be doing more yoga. Strange.

I wish a yoga mat and a peaceful heart to everyone out there in the Universe. It has helped me immensely.

e

Yoga brainfreeze

I am so tired. I can hardly think words let alone type them...

Isn't this when good things are supposed to happen? When you push yourself beyond where you've gone before? This is definitely a year of firsts with working out in general, and now yoga in specific.

I actually did a handstand today for maybe two seconds. But, seriously? A handstand? It seems beyond anything I thought I could do...actually, I wouldn't have even considered it 5 months ago. Thanks to Studio Oxygen and now Sid Mcnairy's yoga bootcamp weekend it's a goal.

I love evolving. Holla if ya hear me...

The Worrying World

It seems like we are all worrying these days.


The economy, education, immigration, the food that we are feeding our bodies, war, saving the environment, animal rights, illnesses, not being true to ourselves...


What is going right, it is easy to wonder.


My mother in law and my husband's cousin recently came to America from Greece. They recount stories of new homelessness and violence which they have never seen before. Greece is a country with strong family values and it is surprising when things like this happen there. Where are their people that they can be on the street or hurt another's mother, grandmother or brother, traditional Greeks wonder? How could there be homelessness at all?  Where is their family?


I've long admired the close, if sometimes messy, family values of my husband's culture. Even when you are not family, if you are friends, if you are practically a stranger, they will invite you in no matter the condition of their homes, have you sit, feed you and offer you something to drink. Most times, they will hold your hand, look at you lovingly and say things that it seems hard to say sometimes to those we are closest to in America. Greece definitely warms the heart as well as the belly with all of their wonderful food.


I truly hope that Greece can hold on through this tough economic time and hold true to their values. It would be wonderful to see a new vibrant Greece with a strong work ethic and smart politics but still with that warm and fuzzy heart that they so beautifully beat out to the world.


For the rest of us, take a yoga class, try to breathe, hug yourself and your loved ones a little tighter and take pleasure in the small things! Check out Lavender Luz's monthly post, Perfect Moment Mondays.

Dancing at a Taverna in Greece.

First Class Today!

So, I'm leaving to go teach my first yoga class and I have a strange mixture of tiny bit of nerves with more excitement than I anticipated! I think I am going to do well, which is odd, because I never think that!! We will see what transpires...


I'll check back in about it later tonight.


<3


I'm back! Had a surprise visit from my old roommate, Jordin! She ended up staying over and she's all tucked in upstairs with my pup, Spencer. :) Very nice to see her!


Class went really well! I could have done better, of course, but for my first time teaching a real class I'll take it! So sleepy...have to sign off! Good night.

Purpose, where for art thou?

In my book report for yoga teacher training last week I talked about the fact that:
"while you are perhaps still waiting for something significant to happen in your life, you may not realize that the most significant thing[...] already happened within you: the beginning of the separation process of thinking and awareness.” (261,2) Eckhart Tolle


This morning I came across this quote:


"Success begins the moment we understand that life is about growing, it is about acquiring the knowledge and skills to live more fully and effectively. Life is meant to be a never-ending education and when this is fully appreciated we are no longer survivors, but adventurors. Life becomes a journey of discovery, an exploration into our potential. Any joy and exuberance we experience in living are the fruits of our willingness to risk, our openness to change and our ability to create what we want for our lives." David McNally


These two seemingly different quotes both inspired me. One is talking about the fact that you have it already. Just be present. The other is saying, get out there and do it! Explore!


Which one is correct? They both are. They both get down to the nitty gritty of being present. 


1. You already do have it within you. And always have. Like Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz, all you had to do was click your heels together and you will be taken to where you need to be. Right where you are and right where you have always been. "How do you know that this is the experience that you need? Because this is the experience you're having." Baron Baptiste


2. Just because you already have it in you doesn't mean you should lock yourself in a room and be snug about it! Taking that knowledge into the world, sharing it and growing with it is the key. We should be like children with curiosities and excitement still pulling at us to do things we didn't think we could or would ever do. Jim Merhaut, a national faith speaker, said to our yoga class that when we were babies, we never thought we were too fat, or too bald, or too loud. We just experienced life as it was. 


Putting limitations on ourselves is easy to do. Taking them off, seemingly hard and maybe even scary. But I bet you won't regret it! 


Hope your day is full of love and excitement! 

The Meaning of Letting Go...

Why did I choose this name for my blog, you may ask? Well, first let me say that this is now my third blog and that this is the first blog I did without the aid of a song lyric for my title. Which I kind of like that this title just came to me.


Yoga helped me with my new blog and I thought, you know, we are constantly having to learn to let go. Letting go of ideas, of relationships, of beliefs, of a job, of bad or un-useful habits... So, I'm not really sure that any of us ever "get" there. Which is perfect because I can keep this blog through all the stages of my life. What a great name for the whole life process and also for right now in this moment with my yoga journey.


I have been on a journey of letting go for some time now. I would say about five years or so... I was always open minded but had a lot of bad mental habits. A lot of my religion classes at YSU subsequently opened the door for Eckhart Tolle to then blow my mind with his book, A New Earth, which I've previously mentioned in this blog.


I was attached to my identity for a long time as being the victim. The victim of not feeling loved, the victim of not feeling good enough, the victim of not feeling like I had a strong foundation. A lot of that was not my fault when I was young but when we get older, it can be because we are just reliving the patterns of our minds. But we've got to learn to let it go! Because if we don't....we're just the victims of ourselves.


The path is right in front of us if we just take that first step...

Mudras for balancing energy

Need a little balance? I sure do. And I kept wondering why you see different people touching different fingers to their thumbs in meditation practice. Here's what it means...

Coincidence?

It's funny how things hit you all at once. Like you think about a friend you haven't talked to in awhile and then they call you?


I just started listening to that Krishna Das song and becoming really interested in the meaning and last night our talk was given by Marni Task, who shared with us the meaning of some Sanskrit chants. And she had us chant with her. She was really amazing. I loved last night's lecture and didn't know the full extent of how much I loved it until I was sharing it with my husband this morning. He loved it, too.


It's funny. Even though I still have my bad days, I really am trying to be a more positive individual. And the more I become positive, the more I realize how many wonderful people there are around me. Coincidence?

Hare Krishna

When I think of these two words together, I think of what most Americans think of. Crazy people on the corner in New York City chanting and waving their arms.


But are they crazy? And what does it all mean? I don't really know any Hare Krishnas personally. Is that even what they call themselves?


I got onto this topic because one of my yoga teachers recommended a song for yoga called Baba Hanuman by Krishna Das. The only way that you could get that song was by buying the album. The song is amazing and so I bought the album, hook, line and sinker.


The song that comes after that is Kainchi Hare Krishna, and I also became obsessed with this song. It's such a happy song and I kept feeling like I had heard it before on Eat, Pray, Love. But I looked up the soundtrack and it's not on there. Regardless, I started to wonder what it was that they were talking about! So, I googled it. "Hare", Wikipedia says, can be interpreted to mean "the energy of God while Krishna and Rama refer to God himself."


I think it is interesting that there are different names for God. They have different gods, yes, but at times they almost seem interchangeable. I did a little more digging and found that this is due to the Hindu belief of incarnations. Depending on your sect, there is a different god who is the Supreme Being. Vishnu seems to be the most widely known as the Supreme Being but Shiva and Shakti are also known as this in their own sects of the Hindu religion. These Supreme Beings come down to earth to help us as different identities. Krishna and Rama are god but we know them while they are here on earth as Krishna and Rama until they reveal to us their true identity.


To me, is seems like it all goes back to the belief that God is everywhere, in everything, and everyone. Which isn't such a bad belief. If God is in your enemy, then you can't really be enemies...can you? If God is that rude person in the car beside you, then it's not so easy to think they are an ass and YOU would NEVER act that way. Life is hard enough as it is without having people to hate and revenge to enact.


There are few people that I truly dislike, and really, only two come to mind. I'm trying to let it go and think instead, what are they here to teach me and others? It might not be easy but if I can let that part of me that is hateful go, maybe others can too and maybe the world would be a better place. What do you say we try?

Finding Focus

I have realized how hard it is for me to do one thing at a time. I love multi-tasking. Let me take that back. I loooooooooooooove multi-tasking and have always prided myself on the fact that I can do five things at once. My husband (who I call the turtle to my rabbit) is a single tasker. And though I think the world of him, his single tasking slowness sometimes drives me a bit nuts. It feels like you get more done if you multi-task and hurry...


Well, some know-it-alls want to tell me that I'm not doing anything 100% if I'm doing five things at once. Humph! So, these know-it-alls happen to be "experts." What do they know!? (hmmmm....) Check out this article and decide for yourself. There are plenty of good articles online but I "focused" in on this one. :) http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-myth-of-multitasking


Seriously, especially since I've begun my yoga journey, I've been trying to slow down, and sometimes I'm just naturally slowing down. Sometimes, that feels amazing. Sometimes, it feels like I'm swimming against the current. Today, my arms are exhausted from that swim. I really feel like I'm retraining my brain and I guess that is exactly the case. Yoga teaches you to come back to the breath. When you focus on the breath, your thoughts subside as you breathe in and out becoming one with it. I've needed a lot of breaths today.


It's funny, I think I've been so up on yoga (even though I have been sick or sick-like forever now) that I'm surprised to have a bad day! I guess I'm still human. The prize is in the process, the prize is in the process, the prize is in the process.... Say it with me.

Awakening

I'm rereading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth; Awakening to Your Life's Purpose for my book report. Right now I'm reading about how we are all really mentally ill until we become awakened and realize that our mind is not WHO WE ARE.


This book saved me five years ago or so when I read it for the first time. I mean, literally, I would be in my head so much and so anxious about everything. And when I read this, for me, it was what Oprah calls an "aha moment."


He's also talking about how divisive religion can be "and yet [...] the Truth to which they point still shines at their core." This is getting back to what I was talking about the other day. I have always felt spiritual but not religious because, at a very young age, I found out how divisive religion really can be. People get divorced over it, stop talking to family members, become angry and aggressive in the names of their religions. AND YET.


I don't dislike religions. I used to be in that place where I blamed it for suffering. But now, I see that even in religion, we're still just humans getting caught up in our "selves." Where it becomes our identity and our need to prove "my religion is better than yours" and therefore proving our superiority in general. And that is what hurts us. It's not easy being a good human and letting go of all of our crap that makes us feel important. But what we don't realize is that we are the most important, without all of that "stuff" that we think defines us.


Glad to be reading this again. It is really an inspiring and healing book.

Faith

I have my book report coming up in yoga teacher training...what should I talk about?


I've been reading so much that the information is swimming around my brain with no apparent port in the harbor. But I know that it is not swirling in vain.  I feel stronger in myself these days. "The prize is in the process," as Baron Baptiste says. Kind of loving that book of his, aren't I? But we're all reading that one so I probably need to pick another one.


I have to talk about this radio show that I heard today. I ran to lunch to get some peace and hopefully concentrate on this book that I ordered to do my report on...Spiritual Journeys Along the Yellow Brick Road by Darren John Main. I like the book but I kind of think it's not right for my book report.  But anyway, on the way home, I turned on the radio and this woman's voice came on talking about the death of her three daughters in a car accident two days before her son's wedding. Her voice completely drew me in. Something about it and of course the story she was telling mesmerized me.


Her and her husband were both talking about the tragic event and how their faith was basically able to save their lives. After they found out, she didn't know what to do so she went for a walk with her pastor's wife to just move instead of think. When they got back to the house, the pastor's wife grabbed her hands and started praying. During this, the woman looked at her mantle and saw pictures of her three girls who had all tried on her wedding dress at separate times and taken pictures in it. She said that the thought came to her (sounded like to her from the Divine) that they were now married to Christ. She said that at this moment she was able to find some peace.


I mean, they made it fully clear that every day they miss their daughters like mad. They get angry, they have their moments...but their faith is amazing. I've never experienced faith on this level. I've never had a religion that made me go to church every Sunday or that I believed in excluding all others. I'm not saying that these people do exclude all other religions but their particular belief system and faith was so strong. I was crying the whole way home. To lose your three children and be able to live, let alone inspire others after such a tragic loss is incredible and certainly beyond themselves. It definitely came from a place and a being much larger than them as individuals.


I believe in God. I just don't know what that means exactly or if there is a right religion out there. I have always felt like there are many paths to the Divine and judgement should not be one of them. I pray. I have had moments where I felt the presence of the Divine. I feel like I have angels watching over me during times of hardship. But these people just really touched me with how deeply they felt their religion.


My book report is nothing compared to the story I just told. If people can have faith through something as terrible as they went through, I can certainly have faith to get through a presentation and teaching a yoga class and whatever else that comes up. Living in the moment and living our best isn't easy but it has to be done. God bless us all!

Where I'm at...

So, yoga class last night was great and not so great. I would've loved it if I wasn't feeling like crap. I know, that doesn't sound very yogic...but I am so tired of being sick. I am trying today to be content even in my sick state. I am giving gratitude for having a body to be sick, it means that I am alive and have a chance to be better.


We had the second half of our gratitude seminar during last nights class. Jim Merhaut taught it. He is/was wonderful. There was so much said that rang true with me. But, and this sounds gross, I literally felt like I had constipation of the mouth. I was dying to say something but felt if I did, I would start crying or blush. I was feeling very unsure of myself last night, possibly due to my illness but also because he was talking about bathing as a ritual. The example that he used was of an elderly lady who was about to die and all I could think of was my grandmother, sitting in her hospital chair wanting her bath. I wish I had those moments back. I was not ready to deal with her death. I miss her and love her dearly.


Baron Baptiste says in Journey Into Power that "letting go is not when life is over. It is when life really begins." My grandmother knew this and let go gracefully. I can't wait to "let go." No, I'm not contemplating suicide! Letting go can mean a multitude of things. And I mean a multitude of things when I say that I can't wait to let go. But, apparently you can't force it. I guess I'll put my crowbar away. (Joke)


I am so grateful, honestly, for the teacher training class and all the women in the class. I love people, always have, and with people I trust I can be myself but that circle is very small. I think this class is exactly what the doctor ordered. These women are great and even if they were mean and judgey, like it says in Journey Into Power again, "it doesn't matter if people love you in that moment; you love them. It doesn't matter if people understand you; you understand them. And if they do not forgive you, you forgive them." This is such a powerful statement, it makes me want to cry!


I love people...I guess I just need to love myself more and then I will be able to love people even more.


Thank you to yoga, Marianne for creating this studio and deciding to do this training, Melissa and Shannon for being awesome people and teachers, and all of the girls in the class for being funny, smart, beautiful and non-judgey type people in general. Hearts.

So.

I am starting this blog to talk about the process that I am going through in yoga teacher training. We are now beginning our 4th week of classes.


I am so sore from yoga last weekend, I cannot tell you. I've never really been the "work out girl." I was the "join a gym, workout for a week and then forget you bought a gym membership" girl.  This is something new that I've dedicated myself to only this year. First, my husband and I started running/walking. Then my friend Dawn and I started to search for a yoga studio that we loved. I've been to various yoga studios/classes throughout the years...and nothing ever stuck. My wrists hurt, it was too hard because I didn't know the positions, it was too boring, it was too slow. For some reason, I kept trying it, though. And then...we went to Studio Oxygen. Literally, both our faces lit up after class like, can you believe it? This is awesome! It was hard, but good hard. Pushing you but also allowing you to do only what you were capable of. So, about two to three weeks after I started going, I heard about teacher training and thought, WHY NOT? I was scared and still am but I'm doing it.


One of the books that we were assigned to read is The Yamas and Niyamas, Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele. I'm on the part where she's talking about Ahimsa, non-violence, and she's talking about how if you are not nice to yourself then you really can't be nice to anyone else. This is interesting to me because I feel like I am very nice to others...and possibly not too nice to myself.


Maybe I'm not as nice to others as I think?? Guess I better go meditate on that one!

Getting Started

Good Evening...


I have to be at dinner in 30 minutes and I'm in sweats with my snoring dog laying on the bed with me. OBVIOUSLY...I don't feel like going. But I will.


Just wanted to get this blog up. I feel good about it. Goal accomplished. :)


Good night...