Spiritual Safety Class 101

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO RECORDING:
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Have you ever uttered the phrases, “My day was a blur!” or “Where did the time go?”  You may feel like every day is in fast forward.  Wouldn’t you like to relish in each passing moment?  A transition is a unique opportunity to capture the [...]

Zen & the Art of Making Your Bed

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO RECORDING:
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
My day officially begins when the bed is made.  Here is the process that repeats itself each time:
The bottom sheet and light brown blanket get pulled over the bed…no lumps in sight.  Then two body pillows get stacked, followed by four sleeping pillows, which are [...]

Guru…Meet My Friend Craving

Student: So, I had another relapse last night.

Guru: What happened?

Student: I completely lost it. It was midnight and I devoured a half a dozen oatmeal cookies.

Olympic Gold Mind

Perhaps the Olympics should have a category for the brain. Each competitor would sit in meditation and be evaluated on heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, stress hormones and muscle tension. The meditator would also be hooked up to a “brain monitoring device” for measured results of beta, alpha, theta and delta waves. Along with these numerical results, an energetic score would rate overall posture, steadiness and ease of the meditators’ seat. Would you be excited to enter this competition?

How Palmolive Softens Hands and Enlightens Minds

I still have oatmeal cookies on my mind. Whenever I make them, I find that I am truly in the present moment, much like when I teach yoga. Each time I bake, my actions become more refined (think Vinyasa, ‘to place in a special way’) and the results more beautiful and rewarding.

Yet I noticed as I was putting away my big yellow mixing bowl that it was still dirty. In fact, it had a large chunk of oatmeal cookie dough on the outer lip. I was shocked! How could I have missed this?

The Perfect Yoga Recipe

Yoga is quickly growing in popularity. As a result, students are find it challenging to comprehend the vastness of this ancient tradition. So many styles of yoga have been created in the west since Hatha Yoga was born over 2,000 years ago. What you need to know is that most have one thing in common; they are based in a style called Vinyasa.

You will quickly understand what Vinyasa means when you compare it to cooking a batch of soft oatmeal cookies. Come into my kitchen.

Go Ahead, I’m Listening…

To advance in the ancient practice of yoga, you need to become more intimate with your mind. Studies claim that you have as many as 60,000 thoughts per day. That is a lot for the mind to digest. But how aware are you of your thinking? The less you know about your own thoughts, and their patterns, the less you know how they are shaping your choices and perceptions. I don’t believe it is a question of whether you are wanting, for I know that you desire happiness. The real question is, are you brave enough to open the lid and look inside?

The Possibility of Stillness

please click on the title to read the full entry

When you hear the word ‘stillness’, how do you react? For some, this word conjuers up the feeling of being next to a warm fire on a cold winter’s day. For others, it feels like a far off land or more like Don Quixote’s Impossible Dream. You can’t seem to sit still for a few seconds so how far must you journey to really find this gem called stillness?

Focus. Intention. Grace.

please click on the title to read the full entry

As we usher in a new year, I would like to offer a compass of thoughts to guide you. These views are meant as broad-brush strokes but come from my observations in our society and speak to a universal urgency to reclaim vital aspects of life that have been lost. Use these as an inspirational springboard so you can find a more profound truth in your life and the happiness that you deserve.