Month: October 2018

Mindful Monday: Center and Focus

Good morning and happy Monday, friends!

Well we’re quickly sliding into the holiday season and wrapping up the end of 2018.

This week, carve out some contemplative time to ask yourself the questions listed below.

Find a quiet, comfortable space where you will have no interruptions. Your favorite meditation spot or even all cozy in your bed are both excellent places. Just somewhere that has great energy and brings you peace.

Have your journal or a notebook nearby to jot down any thoughts and ideas that surface.

It will serve you to jot the questions down ahead of time, so that you can leave your phone in another room to really be distraction-free.

Before you begin, close your eyes and take several long, deep inhales and exhales to calm your mind and help you focus.

Let’s begin:

1. So far, what kind of year has 2018 been for me? Why?

2. What are some of my accomplishments and successes this year? In my work/career? Personal growth? Relationships? Any other areas?

3. Where have I learned some major lessons? Keep in mind, the biggest lessons are learned through perceived “failures” or “setbacks.”

4. With a full two months still ahead, how will I take advantage of this gift of time to complete any projects or goals that I set for myself this year?

5. Looking forward a bit to 2019, what are some seeds I want to plant now to see grow to fruition next year?

With this information, create some clear affirmations for yourself to stay focused and aligned with what’s important to you.

Also, create a plan to take just five minutes each morning and evening to quietly meditate on your affirmations.

Make sure you schedule your yoga practices with yourself for the remainder of the year and plan to stick as closely as possible to your much needed self-tending time. When things start to amp up, you’ll certainly feel much more grounded and stable!

Remember, you can handle anything that comes your way with grace and composure when you tend to yourself first and foremost! With that being said, also be flexible so that you don’t miss out on all of life’s fun surprises and tiny moments.

Make it a great week, friends!

Be happy!

Yoga for Every Body
Yoga for Every Body with Teresa R
Elmhurst

Saturday 11/3/2018
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Whether you’re new to yoga or an experienced yogi, the physical yoga practice can be frustrating and discouraging for practitioners with injuries or other range-of-motion challenges. Join Teresa in a supportive and safe environment and learn how to adapt prevalent yoga poses to meet your physical needs.This 1.5-hour workshop will be spent learning how to modify common poses and close with a relaxing level one class where we put our new modifications in practice.

 

Interested in becoming a Yoga Teacher?

Yoga Sculpt Teacher Training 
Sundays & Wednesdays 
Date: 1/27/2019 – 3/6/2019
200 Hour Teacher Training – 11 Month Program 
Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays (not all) 
Date: 2/1/2019 – 12/8/2019

Mindful Monday: Tending to Yourself

Good morning, dearest mindful ones!

It’s so easy to get caught up in a swirl of non-stop activities, isn’t it? In fact, you may even take pride in your perpetual state of busyness and being able to handle so many things at once. But eventually, there’s a tipping point: where stress builds up and burnout creeps in. That’s why tending to yourself is so vital to a true state of wellness and contentment.

What does your Mind conjure up when you think of tending to yourself?

I think of paying attention to myself. Taking time to turn inward and see what’s really going on physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.

Noticing what’s really happening and caring for and nourishing myself. Cultivating an overall sense of well-being and contentment.

Today, begin your week by deciding to give yourself some well-deserved attention. When you care deeply for yourself, you become the shiniest, best and brightest version of you that you are truly meant to be!

It starts on the physical level. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths. Your daily mindful practice … of course, take a yoga class at YBD!, but on those days that you just can’t seem to fit one in, still carve out some space to just sit and meditate and tend to yourself.

As the physical body is soothed and loved through proper rest, sleep, nutrition and movement, more awareness of what is happening mentally and emotionally naturally evolves. Notice thoughts and emotions as they arise, and make space for them to move through you. Rather than getting hooked and bogged down and making them mean something, give them so much space to move without attaching or identifying with them.

Take a few moments today to take some deep breaths and just pause. Make this as habitual as brushing your teeth and making your bed!

Take time today to tend to your soul.

Namaste, dearest ones!

Mindful Monday: Reality

Good morning, mindful friends!! Let’s get REAL this morning!

Reality.

Reality AS IT IS, not how you think it could or should be.

Not your opinions of it.

Not your preferences and projections.

Not your thoughts about it.

Reality. As. It. Is.

The truth is that the universe is always conspiring to keep you alive. To make you happy. On so many levels.

Think about all that must take place for you to survive this entire day! Think about it … your body alone must perform tiny miracles each moment: providing enough proteins and lipids to fuel your body, your mental faculties alerting you to dangers, your spleen regulating immune system. And that’s just on the micro level!

At the macro level, you need fresh, clean water; the Sun continues to shine and provide energy and life to everything on the this earth. You maintain a roof over your head and have plenty to eat.

I invite you to meditate on just how interconnected you are to the Earth’s ecosystem and to realize how important you are on this planet.

When we see just how miraculous and amazing each moment actually is, why do we spend so much time being paranoid. Anxious. Annoyed. Upset. Envious. Disdainful. Sad. Lonely. Depressed. Dissatisfied. Bored. Down on ourselves and those around us? Living in the past …

The universe has and always will provide you with exactly what you need in each moment. You are enough. You are sufficient.

The next time you start to feel anything but grounded in the present, in your body, in reality, take three deep, deep breaths and ask yourself ….

What in this moment is lacking?

Right here, right now, what is lacking in this moment?

As you close your eyes and deepen your breath, you come to the realization that there’s nothing lacking right now. You have and always will receive exactly what you need to get through each moment of your life.

Now that doesn’t mean you’ll always get what you want, but you will always get what you need.

And the more we understand that all of life is this moment and each moment, the less we have the need to project and judge life. As we relax into each moment, we accept life as it unfolds with so much gratitude.

Expectations begin to fall away, thus freeing us from heartache and disappointment.

We truly have the opportunity to embrace life and all its lessons.

Your life is right now. Reality is your next breath.

3 Workshops this weekend!
Intention Setting – Yoga Nidra – Sound Therapy Workshop with Ruth E
Location: Wheaton

Friday 10/12/2018 7:15 pm – 9:15 pm

We start with Intention cards and Essential Oils (optional) to ground and focus. Then it’s time to get comfortable, relax and clear your energy with the sounds of an Ocean Drum followed by  60 minute Yoga Nidra meditation.

End with Sound Healing – singing bowls and tuning pipes tuned to healing frequencies to facilitate transformation.

Bring a friend, bring a pillow, & get set to enjoy a blissful evening of deeper self-care that heals at the subconscious, energic and cellular levels.

“Releasing with Forgiveness” – Extended Practice with Jenni A
Location: Western Springs

Saturday 10/13/20182:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Holding onto resentment and pain prevents our hearts from opening and limits the manifestation of our highest intentions. We’ll use gentle movement to get energy flowing and then a quiet introspective Yin practice (YBD restorative) to unfold ourselves into a more joyful experience. We’ll finish with simple breath-work and guided meditation.

All levels welcome.

Vibrational Sound Healing Meditation with Jenny B
Location: Glen Ellyn

Sunday 10/14/2018 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Immerse yourself in the healing sounds of the gong tuned to the planet Uranus and healing the Sacral Chakra, balancing emotions.The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. Based on ancient wisdom, the gong vibrates at the same frequency as the body allowing the body to heal itself. The gong balances the central nervous system and aids in deep meditation. Singing crystal and Tibetan bowls, harmonium, drums, and flute will be added to raise the vibration and heighten the experience. No yoga practice, all relaxation.

Mindful Monday: Smile

Good morning! Happy Monday, mindful ones.

There are millions of reasons to smile each day! Even in the midst of tragedy and loss, there’s always space for a smile.

One of my very favorite emotions is laughter shining through in the midst of tears.

But it doesn’t have to be so dramatic!

As we focus so consciously on breath work in our yoga and meditation practices, a very simple addition is to layer in a smile.

Inhale

Exhale

Smile

It’s the first time I do each morning.

Wake up

Stretch

Smile

Smiling can become a habit, much like all of our other conditioned and learned responses.

Start practicing on the easy stuff.

Today it’s pretty easy to smile at the sun and mild, springlike weather!

Smile at your barista.

Smile at your coworkers – especially the crabby ones! It annoys them and makes you smile even harder.

Smile when your friend texts you.

Smile at a funny meme.

Smile for no reason at all.

Then start practicing smiling at the harder stuff.

Just smile when your son spills his milk.

Smile when the person in the car in front of you is going under the speed limit.

Smile when the person next to you beeps their horn.

Smile when you really don’t feel like it.

When things are really rough, start digging deeply for one measly reason to smile.

Smile.

Smile.

Smile.

Choose happiness. Choose gratitude.

Smile.

October 2018 Pose of the Month: Paschimottanasana

Happy October! In this time of transition from summer to fall, it’s so important to work on grounding and stabilizing.

October pose of the month is Paschimottanasana or intense west stretch.

Pashchima = the West, or the back of the body.

Uttana = intense stretch.

This pose honors the inner wisdom and voice of your spirit; calms the nervous system, and allows you to literally turn in toward yourself. It is one of our most grounding poses!

• Extend your legs in front of you and ground down through both sitting bones. If your low back is particularly tight, consider sitting up on a folded blanket so your pelvis can tip forward.

• As you bow over your legs, aim to initiate the fold from the pelvis/hips, as opposed to the mid back.

• Keep the lumbar spine long, and then round over with the thoracic and cervical spine.

• Take slow and deep breaths as you surrender to the stretch and connect to the inner quietude.

Simple and yummy!!!

Enjoy!

Mindful Monday: Fly Into Fall

Good morning, mindful ones! It’s the first day of October, and it definitely feels like fall.

After the autumnal equinox, our days get shorter and shorter and the nights become darker and longer.

This is the time for dramatic and drastic transitions evidenced by how quickly Starbucks started peddling their pumpkin spice lattes (end of August!) to all of the Christmas decorations retailers are already selling!!!! Can we please at least get through Halloween?!

Personally, I prefer to take my cues from Mother Earth. The lush greenery surrounding us turns to vibrant hues of orange, red and gold; a biting Vata wind flows through; trees slowly demonstrate the process of non-attachment, one by one eventually letting go of each and every one of their leaves.

Right now, as we transition into fall, we can capitalize on the light, clear, and moving Vata energies in our practice! Join me for an arm balance and inversion workshop this Friday in Elmhurst!

We will begin with a stabilizing and grounding warm-up, and we will spend the majority of the practice actually practicing poses like crow, one-legged crow, side crow, headstand, forearm stand and handstand!

You can sign up at any location or even online! Let’s fly!

Have a great week, yogis! Namaste 🙏🏾and aloha 🤙🏽