barefoot works yoga do's....

yoga with seane corn

Spending six hours in the car driving on Saturday was so worth the three hour workshop with Seane, practicing yoga between Sarah and Leah, and the great conversations I got to share with Sarah in the car. Just put two yoginis on the road for a few hours and there is bound to be thoughtful, reflective, fun conversation.

And now I find myself crushing on Miss Corn even more. I've been fortunate enough to learn from a few of our "yoga masters"....Seane remains my fave. Maybe we shouldn't have faves. But can't help it here! I love being in her presence. She is grounded, and fun, human, likeable and relatable, she's honest, compassionate, and like the word she uses often....she is fierce.

She spoke of the idea of not having a teacher. Yes we have people to learn from as we don't know it all. But no one knows our past, our struggles, our hopes and fears quite like we do. We are our very own guru. Kinda cool way of thinking I believe. The self help books, the blogs, the teachers, the travel and other peoples stories will only take us so far. It's up to us to go that extra mile....or as far as we wish.

She spoke of "seeing past the stories and seeing the soul". My fave thought to ponder for the day. How much this world would be different if we didn't get caught up in our own stories and the stories of these we know (or think we know).....if we could see past the likeness, and the difference, past the labels, and see deeply into the goodness, the lightness and brightness of the soul.

So today I'm setting an intention to see past the stories and see the soul. I invite you to join.

Wishing each of you a super happy Tuesday. It was a great weekend, but I'm really happy to be back at work.

my miss corn crush

Sarah and I are driving to Indianapolis EARLY tomorrow to learn from my yoga crush, Seane Corn. I told Andy today, "Ya know, there aren't many people that I'd spend six hours in a car for, but a couple come to mind.....Jon and Seane.

When Andy and I lived in Houston, he drove me to Dallas (on a school night) to see my major crush...Bon Jovi. It was about ten hours in the car in one day. And since living in Lexington, he drove me to Columbus and back (on yet another school night) to see Bon Jovi. Again. He is a sweet husband and understands my need to crush. And dance. And scream when I see my not so long ago big haired band sing to me in the stands. :)

And this long day in the car will be a much different one. Sarah and I will most likely spend most of our time talking yoga. On the way there I imagine I'll share with Sarah all the things I love about Seane and her teaching. On the way back we'll reflect on the workshop, yoga, and life in general.

And in between we plan to do a little shopping. Hope each and every one of you have a safe and happy weekend. Enjoy.....

the sweetest thing

Ask me where I've been this week and I'll say that I've been spending as much time as possible swooning over this little one......


She arrived Monday, May 18th....one day before my birthday. I love the idea of celebrating my birthday with the birth of this little gal, Zoey Hazel Rose.

The other Rose kids are equally excited about the arrival of a new family member. At least for now anyway. :)

Thank all of you for the birthday wishes. It was truly a perfect day. Little bit of family time, little bit of "me" time, good times with Andy and two dear friends.

And the BEST (made from scratch) strawberry cake one could possible wish for. Thanks Liz for always spoiling me with such a de-lish sweet treat on my birthday.

It's gonna be a grand year. I just know it. :)

this yoginis life

This life I've been living is a well crafted dream mixed with a little luck and a lot of determination.

This life I've been living has brought me closer to my husband, my mother, my peers, my students, the clerk at the store, and the strangers on the street.

This life I've been living cracks my heart open a little more with each passing day. Leaving me more open. More vulnerable.

This life I've been living has taught me the value of understanding my mind, my patterns, and my habits.

This life I've been living has taught me that I'm more than what I do for a living. I'm more that the house I own and the (box) car I drive. More than my possessions. Much more than a yoga pose.

This life I've been living has shown me my strengths and my weaknesses. My joys and sorrows. My confusion and my will to seek clarity.

This life resembles the one I've thought about, dreamed about, wrote about and hoped for with my whole heart. The one I shared with my husband, brother and friend.

It's not a life full of riches or extravagance. It's a life filled with clutter and chaos, mixed with a bit of confusion. It's a life filled with connecting, loving, sharing.

If given the chance, there is very little I'd change in this yoginis life.

Wondering about the life you've been living. Care to share?

good karma cause

We are selling these sweet bracelets at the studio made by Abby, age 12. Abby's mamma comes to the studio and she's in our teacher training.

Making and selling these friendship bracelets is part of her service project for her Bat Mitzvah. And guess where 100% of the donations go to??? Florence Crittenten Home, our very own "we love to support local nonprofit".

It's a suggested donation of $6. Mine has my fave spring-ey pastel-ey colors....pink, purple and green. I even made a wish with mine and I'm sure by the time it comes off the wish will surely have come true. :) We've already sold a few and there aren't many left so take a look before and after class.

We have more fun, fabulous and free events lined up for the weekend:
Come snack and stitch this sunday at noon. Newbies are welcome. Sarah and Emily are heading this up. Believe it or nt, I've been somewhere other than here each time they've had it, but I hear it's great fun. So gather your yarn and needles, bring a snack, and come socialize and stitch.

This coming Sunday (the 17th) we also have our community yoga class from 4:00-5:00. Please tell others that may be interested in coming!

leisure life + lunge love

Ah it's been a good week. Really good week. Seems that things have slowed down a bit for me. Or maybe I've slowed the pace down. Or maybe I've slowed down.

Who knows? Who cares? Just feels good. Andy and I spent time celebrating over the weekend in Owensboro. Little nephew we hadn't seen, celebration of mothers, celebration of births. We got home Sunday evening and both needed some "me" time. I walked to the coffee shop, sat in my fave seat by the window, and wrote in my journal. And drank a yummy soy vanilla latte.

I continued the play day into Monday. Did some work in the morning and early afternoon. But then I took time off when Andy came home at 4:00. We walked the dogs, dined on the porch, went to the library. Simple things that I love. Adore. More and more these days.

I've so loved teaching my classes this week. Finding that when I have more "space" I come to my teaching feeling fresh and with a fresher perspective. Taught three classes today and relished each one.

Shot the following video this morning and shared this sequence in a couple of classes. I love lunges. Yes we do them often at Barefoot Works. So good for the body. I hope you enjoy.

virtual yoga retreat?

I have what I believe to be a pretty great idea, so I wanted to throw it out there to all of you and gauge an interest.

Retreating to Tulum, Mexico for yoga is such an amazing experience. I have always felt that we should all be so lucky to get to experience it. But for whatever reason, we all can't. Sigh.

So I've been debating what the next best thing might be? How can one get the benefit of retreating, but staying at home? How can one dig deeper, peel the layers, nurture oneself, grow, and have fun at the same time?

I think by participating in a virtual yoga retreat. I haven't worked out the details, just have a bunch of ideas. Before I dive into this, I wonder if you yoginis have an interest.

Ideas so far....
~Daily emails for inspiration and intention
~Yoga Practice with Sarah Powers DVD (love this one)
~CD of guided meditation and relaxation from me
~Six days of practices, explorations, fun stuff compiled in a workbook for your retreat week
~Additional resources for each day

Add ons for the retreat week could be local massage, tea party, etc....

If you have an interest, please share with me what a perfect virtual yoga retreat might mean for you. Feel free to leave a comment here or on facebook or twitter. Or email me.

Thanks so much lovelies! Have a beautiful Monday!!

day for mamas

Andy and I will be leaving shortly to go to Owensboro for the weekend to spend time with the fam. I have the new Yoga Journal waiting patiently in my car. Undoubtedly I will prop my feet up in the dash, flip through the pages once for a preview, then come back and re-read the articles of most interest, then go back once more to finish. It's a process.

This weekend I'm celebrating....
My brother's 35 birthday on Wed.
My mom & dad's 38th wedding anniversary on Thursday
Sis-in-law's birthday Friday (today)
Mom-in-law's birthday Saturday
And mama's day on Sunday.

As you can see loads to celebrate.
Not to mention the birth of little baby Zoey that we're (or should I say my sister) expecting next week. I heart May. Plenty to be thank-full for.

Wishing each of you a super sweet weekend. Love to all.

reminded

Tonight I am reminded....
about what really matters.

It's about living big.
And loving even bigger.

It's about connecting daily,
To yourself, your loved ones, and strangers too.

It's about the little moments
that mean so much.

It's about being kind to one another.
And knowing we are all interconnected.

My prayers, your prayers,the whole worlds prayers
All drift and soar in the same universe.

It's about my truth.
And your truth.

Living
Loving
Connecting
And knowing
Even when it seems impossible.

todays reading....

"The Poet Comments on Yet Another Approaching Spring"

Don't flowers put on their
prettiness each spring and
go to it with
everything they've got? Who

would criticize the bed of
yellow tulips or the blue
hyacinths?
So put a

bracelet on your
ankle with a
bell on it and make a
little music for

the earth beneath your foot.
~Mary Oliver

PS-That's Mary in the photo above, a sweet gal from my yoga teacher training in Hazard.

why barefoot works

I've been getting this question quite a bit here of lately. This morning I was scrolling through the older posts of my blog (I want to turn my blog into a little book for myself so if any of you techie gals has any tips do let me know) and found this.

I find that I spent (and still do) a lot of time really thinking deliberately about myself, my life, teaching, yoga, the studio, and all of you. Way before I had yoga students, I was thinking about the type of students I wanted to surround myself with. It has clearly worked. I couldn't have dreamt up a better group of inspiring people. Always hoping all the way to the seat of my soul I get all of "this" right....or as right as I can get it for right now.

So here it is....a little story about Barefoot Works and how the name came to be.

When I was a young girl growing up in a rural area of Eastern Kentucky, my siblings and I could step out of our front door and into an untamed world of magic and imagination. Countless days and times, we would come home from school, run onto the front porch just to take our shoes off and escape outside for hours. Walking barefoot with the soft moist grass beneath my feet was a joyful experience that allowed me to feel complete freedom. My siblings and I were more at home in nature than our own home. We were completely surrounded by the most magnificent mountains and it was here that we learned that we could do anything and be anybody. We set forth with impossible challenges, risked everything, and always played for keeps.

Years later I stumbled upon yoga. In a yoga class just outside of Houston, I took my shoes off and for an hour and a half I stretched, twisted, and balanced on my bare feet. It was here on my yoga mat, that once again I discovered the same blissful barefoot freedom that I had experienced in my younger years. Yoga is a creative and joyful expression that nurtures my body, mind and spirit, much like the mountains of eastern Kentucky. Upon returning to Kentucky, I made a decision that I would find a way to share my love of yoga with others. This creative vision resulted in Barefoot Works. A deligtul yoga studio located in Lexington, KY. I invite you into a soulful space where I hope you can rediscover your very own barefoot bliss.

So the question to you....what's your story? It's just like they say, "Everybody's got a story, what's yours?"