Breathe...it's free.

Ignite the child in you...

I just wrote a post describing what I see when I look down upon my students in savasana.  A rewarding part of class for me is just knowing that we all can feel safe with our emotions on the mat.  Being still with ourselves for 90 minutes is not an easy thing to do - it forces us to face ourselves, our greatest fears, our deepest sadness.  But this time can also can bring out beauty, release feelings of joy and glory, and touch us at the most vulnerable of moments, both scary and fulfilling.

I teach yoga to kids every week, and today I could NOT get them to stop giggling in savasana.  It was this contagious infiltration of energy that exploded starting with one child and moving down the row to the next, and the next, and the next. Over what?  The most simple of pleasures - a lollipop placed on their heart center but only if they lay still and "close their eyes to open to this big surprise."  

As adults, we grow serious with ourselves and with others.  We learn to be guarded based on past betrayal and/or suffering. We can become paranoid that the joke is really on us.  We guard ourselves with layers of STUFF to keep us from releasing any childish behavior that may make us seem anything but professional, "adultish," and mature.  When did maturity become associated with seriousness?  When did professionalism become attached to a stearn and strict face.  

Of course there is a time and place for everything, but its important to remember the child in you.  Revisit playtime and remember to laugh.  Its good for the heart and soul.  Go ahead, gently place a lollipop in your heart's center.  

Looking down upon you...

As a teacher, watching a class full of people lying in savasana has become a truly remarkable observation for me.  Sometimes I feel as though I should put my head down and not watch the class, as its a very private time for people to be in thought. 

Its written in your face.  

Its seen in your eyes.  

Its disclosed in your body.

I see sadness.

I see anger.  

I see fear. 

I see pain. 

I see doubt.

And then I'll see the energy of of light and know that you are healing.  No smile.  But a genuine light glowing around you.  

Yoga class is for healing. I feel fortunate to be a part of each students' life, even if its through an energy sensation.  Thank yourselves for taking the precious time.  

Attachment theory

Nietzsche once said, "life is empty and meaningless, and its empty and meaningless that its empty and meaningless."

How do you interpret this quote?

Love

You cannot love another until you love yourself first.  Period.  Be happy with you are; Take the time to be honest with yourself and the choices you make; explore the dark side; explore the bright side; determine who you are at your core...the core.  Yes, the core.  That very sensitive, safely hidden, protected region where you'll find yourself.  Over and over again.  

No Risk, No Reward...

Someone recently reminded me that if you don't take safe risks in life, there is no reward.  So often we think about doing something that may put ourselves in a vulnerable position, a chance to win or a chance to lose.  A chance of reward or a chance of loss.  The unknown can be scary. 

Loss?  The way I see it is if you don't take that risk, you'll always wonder what may have happened if you had taken the plunge.  I'd rather regret something I did do rather than regret something I did not do.  

Whether its applying for a new job that is a total long-shot risk, but something you've always wanted.  Perhaps its asking someone out on a date that you wavered about for so long.  Maybe its taking the next step in a yoga pose and realizing that you may have been able to do that a long time ago.  

There is really no such thing as a loss in my mind.  Life is about taking smart, healthy risks and seeing what comes of it.  The reward may not come quickly and it may take form later on, but you'll never know unless you take the risky idea from your pesky little head and put it into action.  

Don't be afraid to see what may change your life for the better.  

Self Help Nation

How many of you have ever read a self-help book?  Maybe its a spiritual book by one of the known leaders as Wayne Dwyer or Carolyn Myss or Deepak Chopra or Thich Naht Hanh.  Maybe its a relationship self-help book, a breathing guide for beginners, a way to a "better" life, creating a "new" you.  Our libraries and bookstores are becoming a haven for people searching to find a better self. 

When does all this absorption in self-help go too far, can we go too far?  At what point do we put the damn book down and starting LIVING our life? 

Just this past week, I've had 2 people come to me in the studio and say, "Kelly, I'm ready to take my collection of self-help books OFF my bookshelf.  I'm done with it.  I'm psychologically drained from anaylzing everything.  I'm ready to get out of my head, and get physical!"

Sound familiar?  Take a look at how much "work" you are doing on yourself.  Its always good to check in, and determine at what point your actually helping yourself and at which point you're drowning in self-help?  Pat yourself on the back, give yourself a positive affirmation and go enjoy your day.

Desire, wish, want, crave, covet

Desire. To have desire for. I've deeply contemplated this term for awhile now, and its association with the concept of non-attachment, and then further through the idea of yoga as a competition.  Recently someone posted on my blog regarding competition and yoga and said this: "I read somewhere, I'm not sure where, that in order to overcome suffering, one must overcome desire." In thinking thinking this through (and please feel free to share your thoughts), so, if we were to relinquish our our attachment to our desires (perhaps to win or to lose), then perhaps we relinquish any suffering that may go along with our experiences and our accomplishments. 

To get a better understanding for the term desire, I looked it up on Merriam-Webster's dictionary and found some other interesting synonyms along the way:

Desire: stresses the strength of feeling and often implies strong intention or aim

Wish: sometimes implies a general or transient longing especially for the unattainable

Want: specifically suggests a felt need or lack

Crave: stresses the force of physical appetite or emotional need

Covet:  implies strong envious desire

What do you think about this topic, and term desire.  I can't imagine not having desire - it goes along with motivation and we all need some desire to get us up every morning.  But if we are suffering, perhaps its important to check in with our strong intentions and aims in life and perhaps relinquish our attachments to them in order to extinguish the suffering?

But isn't suffering good?  Isn't it through the suffering that we reach joy?

New Top 5 Superfoods

About a decade ago, it was galic, broccoli, soy, peanuts, and salmon.  Today, based on new scientific discoveries, here's the new superfood list picked by dieticians:

1. Walnuts - Rich in fiber, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.  Apparently, walnuts are a good memory-boosting food as well. 

2. Flax-seed - Contains fiber and lignan (an ingredient known for its anti-cancer properties), omega 3 Fatty acids.  Add it to your yogurt or oatmeal in the morning, or your favorite juice smoothie. 

3. Pomegranate - High in antioxidants, slows down the LDL cholesterol, and reduces blood pressure.  It was recently ranked healthiest fruit juice.

4. Salmon - Perfect source of protein, high in omega 3 fatty acids, and the American Heart Association is advising people to have 2 servings of fish a week, preferably wild salmon (with the growing concern over farmed salmon).

5. Dark Greens - Kale, broccoli, asparagus, green beans are all packed with fiber, vitamin A, iron, calcium. They are a low calorie food with great nutritional properties.  

Climb a Mountain. Strike a pose. Find beauty.

For 29 years, I've spent the 4th of July on Cape Cod with my family - cookouts, beach, bar hopping.  The special place where the Mayflower pilgrims first landed.

This year was a little different.  It was 71 degrees at the bottom of Mount Rainier, just outside of Seattle, WA on the 4th of July.  Close to the top: 49 degrees.  Amidst the breathtaking views and the beauty of the snow-capped mountain, I took a deep breath and struck a pose.  It was a wonderful way to spend the 4th of July. 

What is beauty to you? 

Nothin' like a great complement

Its sometimes easier to criticize another person than to give out a nice complement. Think of all the times where you may have "observed" someone's "absurd orange shoes" or "awful hair cut."  Speaking of hair cuts, have any of you experienced the person who says "Hey, did you get a haircut?"  You answer "yes" but don't get a complentary response (ie It looks really nice).  I've decided that if I don't like someone's haircut (and I KNOW it was cut), then I don't ask.  Most people look for the complement to follow the simple question, and if its not given, then we assume you may not like the haircut. Why make us wonder. So to all you "observers" of someone's new haircut: DONT ASK if you don't like it.  If you do like it, there's absolutely nothing wrong with sending a nice complementary "it looks fabulous!"

It's the goodness in people that makes us positive creatures to be around.  Rather than staring someone up and down and walking away, either 1. Become a little more stealth about your "stare" or 2. Follow it up with a complement. 

Genuine complements make people feel great.  Don't save them.  But on the flip side, don't over-complement...that's an entirely different blog.