the heart of yoga: an online offering

In this wild, beautiful, crazy, precious life we need tools, ways of living and Being, which help us to stay connected to our center. 

Life is not inherently stressful, busy, and hard but it can feel that way to many of us. Yoga offers us a beautiful system that helps us to integrate body, mind, and spirit. It also offers us a powerful framework for not only living in accordance with our Self, but also how to live in harmony in our relationships.

The essence of Yoga is this integration of body, mind, and spirit through practices that enhance the mind-body-heart connection. These techniques awaken strength, poise, grace, and the development of centered awareness even in the midst of chaos and turmoil.

Who wouldn’t benefit from more of this?

Join me in this five week journey through the yamas. Don’t worry, that’s just a fancy Sanskrit word that basically means “restraint”. These so called restraints are not quite as limiting as they might first appear. They actually create the most awesome containers that encourage us to live and love in peace with ourselves and one another.

The focus of this online offering is about You + Your Relationships. After all, isn’t life one big relationship? Let us consider.  We have:

Our relationship to our Self.

Relationship to our family of origin, spouse or partner, friends, children, co-workers, community, the clerk, and yes, even your barista. And we must include our very own Mama Nature, the environment.

How about your relationship to passions, goals, dreams, intentions? Your relationship to your beliefs, habits, and the truths you have owned.

Friend, there is so much more.

Why is this exploration worthy of your time and attention?

Because if you are reading this, then you too feel the call to live life intentionally. To be awake and aware in this world. To love more fully and joyfully. You are devoted to a life of meaning and purpose. 

This doesn’t mean we are perfect, that we don’t slip and make mistakes. Oh no, this is not the place for judgments and righteousness. This is the place where we  each get to show up, turn towards our light, compassionately reflect, and consciously choose how we want to show up for ourselves and each other. 

Will you bring your strengths, your vulnerabilities, your joys, your hopes, your regrets, your sorrows and join me on this glorrrrrious adventure? 

I so hope you will. 

For five weeks you will receive an email from me three times per week… Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Each week we’ll journey through the five yamas, playing with one per week. You’ll have to digest, ponder, and play with the words, stories, and exercises presented. You can open and read each email at a time that feels convenient for you. We’ll also have a private Facebook forum for those of you wanting to connect in an online environment.

I’m also planning to teach my classes around the yamas during the five week course. Local yogis will have a chance to explore these practices on the yoga mat.

For those of you wanting to dive a step deeper I am offering a coaching session in addition to the class. This is for any of you wanting personal attention as it relates to the work we’ll be exploring and personal practices for you to engage in. 

The Details:

The Heart of Yoga: Five week online exploration through the yamas                                                       

When: May 20 - June 21                                                                                                                               Registration: $36 for online course, $100 for course + one coaching session

Click here for registration.

Please note there are two options, one for the course alone and one for course + coaching.

with love,

sharon

my one little word for the year - wholehearted

 

When you choose the word “wholehearted” at the beginning of the year you had no idea what it would entail. In your head you conjured up images and ways you would use your heart to guide you in your relationships, your work, your thoughts, and actions.

Sitting on the other side of the year, you see wholehearted also means brokenhearted.

For much of the year you sailed over smooth seas. Mama Alice moved through the year in health after putting the smack down on stage 4 cancer.

You did more of what you love, teaching and learning in beautiful locations. The Outer Banks (twice), Tulum, Mexico, Santa Cruz & California (three times!). You visited the beach with BFF and Asheville in the winter and fall. You made a commitment to spending your time, energy, and money in ways that moved your whole heart.

You led filled to the brim, sold out retreats at Shaker Village and Tulum. And did more of what you love love love by leading yoga teacher training in Corolla and Sonoma.

You spent lots of time with your mentor friend soul sister in Santa Cruz and finished your life coaching training. After years of wanting a spiritual teacher and actually giving up on finding one, you found just that, a teacher that resonated with your whole heart. Jenn Lee interviews you on her Business Summit.

You dreamed up a new website, a way to expand your teaching in the world. You declared yourself a yoga teacher, life coach, and spiritual hillbilly. You especially love the spiritual hillbilly part. Then you worked with Alexandra Franzen on a new website that you were giddy about.

On June 25 you got the biggest, sweetest surprise of your life when you saw two lines on a pregnancy test. You lay on the bed with your husband and went out for Mexican food. You sat there eating; chatting, living life knowing your world has totally changed with those two pink lines.  After years of never knowing if this would happen, it was, and you were ecstatic. You felt like your life was starting all over again. Fresh. New. You thought that anything is possible. You felt that with your whole heart.

On September 6 your life changed. You drove to your husband’s school, his place of work to tell him his father is dead. You sob and drive and try to find your way…..to the school, to the unimaginable words you’ll have to speak to him. Your heart is breaking. His heart is breaking. Hearts are breaking.

One week later you fly to Sonoma for the first of 16 days. During the day you teach students the intricacies of triangle pose and truthfulness (satya). In the evening you call grief counselors and massage therapists. You try anything to console your husband from afar. You lay in bed at night, rubbing your belly, counting down the days, the moments till you will be back with your husband.  Your whole heart is a broken heart.

You arrive home late. It’s a Sunday. September 30.  You finally rest in the arms of your Love. Together, you rub your belly. The next day we learn yogababy is a boy. The first thing you ask your midwife is, “Is he ok?” She says “He’s good, there’s just one small thing.”  You stop hearing what she says and you weep. Actually, you sob.

One week later, October 9, your baby is dead. They have a wheelchair for you to take you to labor and delivery. You refuse. You walk through the doors and read the words “Labor & Delivery”. You are numb. You wonder if this is really happening. You pray it’s a bad dream and you try to wake up.

It’s not and you can’t. But you go on. One day at a time. You get by with each breath.

Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.

You relish moments of peace. They are few and far in between. Yet they come. And you know that healing will come. It has to. It must. You won’t accept anything different, any less.

You take healing trips - one with Andy alone, one with your family, then a major healing trip at Christmas. You find a day here and there were there are no tears.

The heaviness is lifting, the fog dissipating, the joy returning. You’ll live. You’ll love. You'll grow. You'll learn. You'll teach. You believe with your whole heart.

Brene Brown has inspired me so with this idea of wholehearted living. She says,

“Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough. It’s going to bed at night and thinking, Yes I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.

At the beginning of the year, I had no idea what this really meant.  I wanted to live wholeheartedly, but I wanted to do it on my terms. Don’t we all? I wanted to it be pretty and perfect. I knew there would be times of imperfection, but I wanted to know when to anticipate them. Then I’d be equipped. I’d do what I do so well…. set an intention, make a plan, roll up my sleeves and get to work.

But then you suffer two major losses in one month. Two surprising, shocking losses that you could never anticipate, never plan.  The blows come hard and you fall to your knees. Your days look like this….

Weep. Sob. Rage. Repeat.

You struggle to see your worth outside of being an entrepreneur and inspiring and motivating others through yoga.  You have no plan. Your new coaching site sits there unfinished.  You feel fat and empty. Death becomes your new best friend and you wear sorrow like your favorite sweater.

Then one day you realize this is it. You are stubborn, hardheaded, but you are learning.

This is where wholehearted living begins. Right here, right now, with all the questions and the state of imperfection.

It’s enough to just get through the day. You are worthy.

It’s ok that you’ve put on weight. You are beautiful.

Your goal was to get through that class without breaking down. It’s enough.

You are allowed to sit at your table and make an art journal for your dead son on a workday. You have permission.

You can be brave and uncomfortable and sad and happy on the same day. At the same moment if it’s needed. You belong.

So this is what I’ve learned and continuing to learn about that one little word I started the year with. These are the questions I’m living into:

How can I embrace wholehearted living during all of life’s ups and downs?

Can I feel my worthiness when my passions and purpose hide like the sun on a cloudy day?

Can I live and love with my whole heart, even when I feel out of control?

I know I will. I’ll continue. Try my best. Do my work while looking in and looking up.

And looking forward to a new year. I'm ready. May the Universe bring it with softness, ease, and joy.

mr. sparkle

Source: hereiamloulou.blogspot.com via Sharon on Pinterest

This morning I left the studio to come to Coffee Times (this seems to be a trend with my stories) as it is my second office.

As I turned left onto New Circle, a bright eyed, bushy tailed man was standing was his sign. His sign of for our local car wash, Mr. Sparkle. This morning he was bundled up in a coat and hot as cold temps have descended upon us here in Lexington. Yet he waved, smiled, and enthusiastically gave me a big thumbs up.

I see him every time I drive to and from the studio. In the summer when it's warm I have my windows down and I'm donning my pink Hello Kitty sunglasses, he yells..."I love your sunglasses!"

No matter the season.
No matter the time.
No matter the temperature.

He greets me from such a place of goodness. It most always lifts my heart. Places a smile on my face even on a hard day and I think of how special I must be.

Maybe it's the sun glasses?

That thought quickly fades and I realize that every single person that drives past him probably feels special. Because that's just what he does.

It's his job to stand out, to make people feel good enough as they drive by that they come back and get their car spiffed up.

I could never ever never ever do what this Mr. Sparkle does. I would be sitting cross legged on the sidewalk quietly reading Mary Oliver out loud. I would look up and make eye contact with the passerbys. Maybe "namaste" them.

They would never come to my car wash.

I could play Michael Franti on the sidewalk and dance with wild abandon, another thing I love to do. This would draw more attention. Maybe attracting more peeps to my carwash.

Maybe not cause another key ingredient is seriously lacking....

Desire.

Yep, I have absolutely no desire to do this. BUT Mr. Sparkle, he does. He rocks this game.

I realize once again how we all have skills, abilities, and innate ways of Being that simple set us apart from the other Mr. Sparkles. Then when we have the desire to go along, magic happens.

Part of our job in Life is finding the things that we feel so magnetically drawn to that we can't resist it. And when we do? It's like a master key that so magically unlocks our heart revealing our own sparkle.

It's true, I do believe that one million people can do the same job and do it differently at the same time. In fact, I think when we're encouraged to do it different, to do it "my" way....we shine a little brighter.

We sparkle.
We feel good.
And when we sparkle and feel good, we light the way for others to shine.
We reach hearts.

That's pretty amazing.

when things change

Have you ever read something you've written and rolled your own eyes at your self?

That just happened to me. I was working on the December newsletter and was reading some things I'd written years back. This is where the eye rolling happened:

"We focus the mind in the moment and choose gratitude and contentment."

Blah. Blah. Blah.
My oh my, how things change.

I'm not at all saying that this isn't an option. It most certainly is. These words will ring true and inspire some. At the same time, they will annoy the piss out of others. It depends on where the student is in his/her own life.

For a long time I thought it was my job as a yoga teacher to show up and shine in a sparkly way. I was to be perky and perfect, in my soft sweet Sharon way. I thought teaching and being yoga meant I'd only radiate joy. Anything less was unyogic of me. Therefore the words and cues I used in class spoke to feeling good. Radiating joy and any other positive spin I could put on it.

I might as well carried around a jar of cherries and popped them in the mouths of students as they grunted their way through chair pose.

Pop. Pop.
Breathe. Now smile.

I had been working on this before the shit storm erupted that is my life right now. (I really should come up with some way that better describes multiple traumatic losses, but for now a "shit storm" it will be.) Anyway, if I had taken my classes in the past I'd probably want to eat my very own sweet yoga face off.

Because the honest truth is that yoga asana is not easy for the most part. We are doing some really crazy, often times uncomfortable stuff. We're bumping up against our weaknesses, fears, tension, and rigidity in addition to our ease, joy, strengths and sweet spots.

Life is not only the light.
Life is not only the dark.
It's both, in fairly equal portions.
We only have to look to nature and see this beautifully mirrored back to us.

What I'm learning is that my job as a yoga teacher is to simply meet my students where they are.

Leeann Carey speaks and teaches to this brilliantly as far as the body and pose is concerned.  When we as teachers are not meeting our students "where they are" physically, we are more likely to prohibit progression and get in the way of growth. We are not to force a student to any position they are not ready for. We are risking injury.

And we're doing so in more ways than one.

It's not my job to make them feel any certain way (not even good). It's not my job to take them out any any experience they are having, whether it's joy or sorrow. It's not my job to force a feeling, even in a subtle round about way.

It's not my job to pop a cherry in your mouth to sweeten the experience of chair pose when really you want to physically, mentally, and/or emotionally grunt and growl your way through it.

I consider it my job to teach students to be aware of how they're feeling in the moment. Once the awareness is there, students can get curious about ways to shift the feeling OR simply sit, stand, breathe and be in and with it.

It's their choice. Not mine.

 

learning how to bend without breaking

Greetings Dear Soul,

Tonight I'm thinking about creativity, unexpected relief, the difference between grief and mourning, and what it's like having your heart broken over and over each day.

Yea, it's realllly fun living in my head these days.

Luckily for you I'm sharing my world of creativity over the weekend. And the art of bending without breaking. Something I make no claims on being an authority on.

Weeks ago I signed up to participate in two days of virtual programs with Jennifer Lee, author of The Right Brain Business Plan (in which I'm a facilitator).

I went back and forth over whether or not I'd have the energy to participate. I sent Jenn an email before we began and explained the head (and heart) space I was in.

I made an agreement with myself that I'd participate with no expectations. I'd hold each day and the process very lightly. I'd take as many breaks as I needed. I'd quit, call it a day early if needed.

This my Friend is not how I would have approached this in the past. I would have stuck to the schedule because that's what "good" students do. I would have forced my focus (and been upset with myself if it was less than I expected). I would NOT have quit early. Not. An. Option.

Damn straight, I'd have been miserable first.
Silly, I know.

Due to recent circumstances, I had no other choice. I had to give myself freedom. Wiggle room.

The truth is, I don't have the energy to force anything these days.

Something shifted for me this weekend and I felt more energy and excitement around work than I have in a long time. This was totally unplanned and unexpected.

I'm not sure what it was....
The awesome people I met and interacted with all over the world.
Jenn's fantastic facilitating.
My excitement about work.
The space I allowed myself.
The permission to bail out early.

The truth is since the (still)birth of baby Nico I've had to make a conscious effort NOT to use planning for the future as an escape mechanism, a way to gloss of my loss. This is my "blindspot", my go to pattern, my particular way of escaping pain and any other unwelcome emotion.

"Nothing to see over here. I'm not sad. I've got things to plan and places to go."

What I noticed this weekend was that I wasn't using my creativity, my planning to stuff my feelings and emotions. I was not over riding, skipping over sadness. My work upstairs in my sweet sacred (and messy!) space felt authentic and in the moment.

 

 

 

I'm oh so grateful for that time and now I'm wondering....
How might my energy, aliveness, and the process in general shift by holding the process lightly.
What if I give myself permission to try then bail out as needed?

Most of all, how can I continue to bend without breaking?

being in the moment

"Ten thousand flowers in spring,
the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer,
snow in winter.
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life." Wu Men

This week for my classes I focused on mindfulness, on the present moment. We used the senses as tools in asana (postures) to be in the Now.

But you can do it anywhere and anytime. Shall we play right now?

Look around and observe what you see. I'm sitting at Starbucks. I see the table scattered with my belongings....mug, cell phone, keys, notebook, pen, book. I see a blue sky. And traffic moving up and down Nicholasville Rd.

What do you hear? I hear jazz music, the sound of a cash register, people chatting, mugs clunking, the sound of computer keys as I type these words.

What do you smell? I smell coffee. Delicious coffee.

Any tastes lingering in your mouth? More delicious coffee.

What do you feel? I feel my seat and legs touching a wood chair. One foots rests on the floor. I notice my shoulders feel tight. My breathing feels restricted around my chest.

Our tendency will be to create stories about our observations.

Why do my shoulders feel tight?
How can I make it go away?
I should spend more time in yoga on my shoulders.
I wonder where those people are going.
I need to go to the grocery story.
But I don't feel like it.
Gosh, I hate it when I don't feel motivated.
Maybe I should do more yoga.
My teacher says yoga makes everything better.
Oh wait, I'm supposed to be in the moment.
I'm terrible at this.

So please, I invite you to pick a sense, any sense and come to it throughout your day.

There is value in asking important questions and reflecting.
There is a time to plan and make a to-do list.
There is a time to learn from the past and plants seeds for the future.
There is a time to receive the beauty, the boredom,the sweetness, the sorrow we are feeling in the moment.
There is a time just to Be.

Maybe that moment is now.

evolution doesn't move backwards

 

 

There's no such thing as

"the way things used to be."

Evolution doesn't move backwards.

 

Atha.

That's the very first word in the book of Yoga Sutras.

It means "now".

 

Yoga is all about being in the present moment. It's taken me years to really get that. For a realllly long time I thought it meant that yoga is about being in the moment AND it means showing up, being in the moment in a joyful, peaceful, perfect way.

 

You know, the yogi way.

 

Early this morning I was walking in the cemetery. It was the time just before the sun was rising. The air felt cool, brisk. The trees looked different. You could smell fall lingering in space all around.

 

In the moment I checked in and thought to myself, "I feel good. I feel happy."

It was true.

 

With that single thought I realized I'd been pushing down the reality of my very first tri-mester during this adventure called pregnancy. The truth is all that many times I said I felt good, when I really didn't.

 

It's no secret that I prefer to have my face in the sun like a flower blossoming towards the sky. I'm an optimist (many times to a very annoying degree to Andy, family and friends) and always choose to see the glass half full. Aren't all so called dreamers like that? ;)

 

That has served me in amazing ways throughout my life. In fact it's one of my superpowers. And I love that about myself. You give me most any situation and I can find the silver lining. I'll tell you exactly where the rainbow is.

 

The downside of this, the shadow side is that I have a tendency to skip over the true nature of my feelings at times. Sadness, anger, grief, low energy, loss of focus. Nope, they've had little place in my adult life. I've restricted that space. I'm really good at being upbeat and positive, yet grounded and in control.

 

After this morning I realized I've been doing the same, not fully feeling my feelings all the way through over the past couple of months.

 

When I felt a loss of focus and motivation, I tried to will it, to force, to make things "the way they used to be". The way I used to be.

 

When I felt sad or confused, or emotional for any reason any newly pregnant mama might be....

I summoned gratitude. Joy. "There, that's more like it", I would think to myself.

 

The truth is, I believe we are powerful human beings who are fully capable of generating the feelings we desire. Awesome, yes?

 

But there is a place for confusion, sadness, and anger. They too have lessons to share. A voice to be heard. Ways to help us grow in the ways we most need.

 

If yoga is truly about being in the moment, isn't it about being with what presents itself in the moment? {Within reason, of course}.

 

The above quote has been my mantra since I read it a few weeks ago. I'm sorry, I don't even know who the credit goes to (but I thank them immensely).

 

It's my constant reminder that life is always moving forward. Regardless of what we have to say/think about it.

 

This isn't my first go round with this idea. I've felt myself clinging to the past in a variety of ways over the years. Wanting to re-live that awesome vacation Andy and I had. Wanting to relish in that retreat again. Wanting to experience that particular training, that moment, that meal, that conversation again and again.

 

Feeling a sadness hangover when I couldn't make it so.

 

I am learning today, perhaps more than ever, the power of the present moment. I'm getting that on a whole different level.

 

I can mourn the parts of me and my personality that are literally dying, while at the same being ecstatic about what's happening in the moment, and what's yet to come. I can make room for all of it.

 

I'm feeling a willingness to grow and stretch in all parts of my being, as my belly does the same. See above photo. :)

 

I'm wondering what you think? Not about me (I promise I don't need anyone "fixing" how I feel) but how you make space for all feelings and emotions? If you find yourself clinging to the way things used to be? If you feel you have to be any certain way as a yogi?

 

 



my world + this weekend

Welcome Friday.

Welcome Friend.

I've got so much swirling around over here in my head.

And in my heart.

I've got about 19,001 things I want to write about.

Like how I'm still recovering from the yuckiness I picked up in Mexico.

Like how my body feels different.

I want to tell stories about the darker, shadow side of my yoga self.

In particular one story that Andy and I learned a lot from.

I want to tell you how amazed I am by the latest group of yoginis to graduate from my 200 hour yoga teacher training. How brilliant they are. How they inspire me to want to be a better teacher. I want to tell you about Jen and how she is breaking the mold and chasing her heart's desires.

I want to tell you how fantastic the completion of my life coaching training was. How awesome it was to be part of a beautiful, like minded group that's dedicated creating and living a life by their design. I want to tell you how this time has rocked my world in ways I'm still waking up to.

I want to tell you about the push/pull I feel about diving into coaching. How excited I am. How primed I am. How I really do believe I'm made for this and how I've already been doing this thing called coaching through my teaching and writing (thank you Mia for shining a light on that).

I want to tell you about all the ideas I have for Barefoot Works, the treehouse. And how thankful I am for the awesome teachers I am blessed to have supporting me and our students at said treehouse.

I want to tell you about the cowboy boots I want to buy.

New dishes I want to replace.

New dreams that are coming true.

Adventures Andy and I are planning.

And our dogs. How cute are they?

It's a lot.

Instead I want to share something else I'm pumped about.

The manual I had printed.

The pink binder and new gel pens I just bought.

And the fact that I get to participate in a training this weekend led by a fave,

Miss Leeann Carey.

Leeann will be teaching our Saturday group class at 9:15. Hip, hip, hooray!

The Sunday 10:30 class is canceled.

Sunday 4:00 class is on, subbed by Laura Whitaker.

You can still join in on the fun with Leeann. Here are some deets:

Each segment (descriptions below) is $59 and are as follows:

Friday: 5pm -9pm
Sat: 11am - 3pm or 4pm - 8pm (these are adjusted times from our typical schedule)
Sun: 9am - 1pm or 2pm -6pm

I highly recommend Friday for sure and Saturday. If you take only Sunday then you will have missed all of the foundational information from Friday. Leeann will probably end a bit early on Sunday so the 2nd Sunday segment is not recommended.

You can register for the segments on our website or simply show up a little early tomorrow and pay Leeann when you are there.

Friday, 5 - 9pm
Observation Skills - This includes learning how to look at your students using the propping, collapsing and yielding metric, form and function rule, range of motion.
Inquiries - Proprioception test and breathing patterns.
Physio-emotional assessment tools.

Saturday, 9 – 1pm
Understanding which pose best teaches us about a specific condition.
Pose breakdown using observation skills with other students and applying strategic prop placement.

Saturday, 2pm – 6pm
Pose modifications to address unique needs for therapeutic results.
Yāpana yoga class.
Sunday, 9 - 1pm
Continue pose breakdown using observation skills with other students and applying strategic prop placement.
Continue pose modifications to address unique needs for therapeutic results.

Sunday, 2pm – 6pm
Breathing: Brhmana and Lanhana and organic explorations in relation to poses and the diaphragm(s) Ethical Inquiries - how to teach who is in front of you.

*Segments are designed for those that want education on a portion of the training and are priced in an affordable manner. Although the total of the 5 segments are less than the $445 rate, in order to receive a certificate of completion you must complete all segments of the training and pay a $150 certification fee on top of the 5 segment total (which comes to a total of $445).

increasing energy

Sunday evening I left Santa Cruz, CA for the airport. It was the last of my 10 days in CA, the final day of a nine month life coaching immersion. The wave of this immersion had been building and building over the course of five days.

And just like that it was over.

The marinating, the savoring,  the building, the learning had come to a conclusion. With hearts permanently connected, hands strung together, and a certificate signed we completed the process of closing, of letting go, of destroying this experience so that we could move on, and move out in the world to create anew.

On the ride to the airport I wondered what I would create in the upcoming days, during this time of transition. Those of you that have been part of a sweet like minded group engaged in a transformative process know in your bones what I speak of. Those of you immersed in yoga teacher training know what I speak of.

I knew I had a choice. I could come back home feeling exhausted from the intensity of it all. I could come home feeling heavy, feeling sad because it was over. I could have chosen to feel anxious about integrating it all. I could have told myself it would take me days and days to get over the red eye flight from California.

I made a conscious commitment to go the other direction. To continue to build on this energy, this excitement, this creative force when I landed back in Kentucky. I would rest when I needed to rest. I would work when I felt inspired to work. I would savor each bite of food I took. I'd take time to connect to my body. I'd be open to receive and express appreciation. I wouldn't let my head get too far forward of my heart.

And this is what I'm thinking about this week. And this is what I'm teaching this week in my yoga classes, the practice of brahmacharya.

My translation/interpretation of brahmacharya is not celibacy (nope, most definitely not), but regulation, moderation of energy.

And in this context I am referring to energy as the amount of aliveness one feel's within oneself.

In yoga classes I am asking that students assess the energy they feel at the beginning of class.

How does your body feel? What are the foods and drinks you've taken in today? With a curious and nonjudgemental mind ask how those foods and drinks have increased or decreased your aliveness. Be in the place of not knowing, be willing to be surprised.

After a few moments shift to your mind. What is the tone of your mind today? What are the thoughts you've been having? What are the experiences you've taken in today? The books you've read, the images you've seen, the conversations you've had....have they increased or decreased your energy, your aliveness? Again, be in the place of not knowing, be willing to be surprised.

Shift your focus to your breath. Without any particular rules, begin to breathe in any way that brings you into your body. Knowing that breath is energy and energy is the thing you are made of, move the breath in any way that helps you to feel more present in your body. If your body wants to move, allow it to move. If your breath wants to make sound, let it make sound.

From this place, begin to examine different areas of your life.

Your marriage/partnership

Your work

Your home

Your body

Your money

Your hobbies

Your time

Where are you filled with energy, ease, excitement, presence?

Where are you feeling anxious, depleted, confused, and/or stressed?

Where in your life do you feel free and liberated?

Where do you feel constricted, restricted, or obsessive?

Lots of food for thought, eh?

And this is where I am feeling so energized these days.

This integration of yoga lifestyle + life coaching.

Lots more to come Friends.

I've missed you.

PS - I'm a certified life coach, wahoo!!!!

what is a balanced life?

Source: naturae-filius.tumblr.com via Nutmeg on Pinterest

I've been thinking about this for the last week.
Balance that is. 

In the past I've viewed balance as a neat and pretty thing. It was always something I was working to get to. If I arrived to that elusive destination of balance I could feel myself teeter tottering....

To the left
To the right
(And is it even possible to read that and not think of Beyonce?)

Ahhh, there am I am. Center. Let me see how long I can maintain this.

Today I've been thinking that it all seems a little.....
What's the word?
Boring.
Unrealistic.

Balance is defined as harmonious equality of distribution.  There is symmetry, proportion among all the parts.

I see myself as an excited kid on a seesaw.  You too?  Wasn't that fun?!
It was always so much fun to find that perfect place of balance where you and your friend where perfectly level,
perfectly balanced.

I don't know about you, but I could only stay there for so long.  Why?
It got boring!

I loved the thrill of being hoisted fast and quick into the air. Feeling the seat of my pants momentarily lifted into the air.  The scenery up here was different. I felt light and excited.

I loved the ride back down to the ground where I could plant my feet and legs. The scenery and the feeling down here was different.

These days I'm getting curious about what balance means to me.

If I look at balance in terms of my work life, home life, and inner/self life, then by definition I'd be dedicating 33.3% of my (waking) time to each of those three areas.

My life doesn't work like that.  There are times when work gets way more than 33.3%.  April for example, when I was getting ready to lead yoga teacher training in the Outer Banks, then actually being there for two plus weeks.  My home life got very little piece of the pie.  My inner/self life got very little of the pie.

May, however was totally different.  I've dedicated way more than 33.3% of my time to my home life. Andy and I have been savoring this time. We've been going golfing, mid-week hiking, re-doing our living room, organizing, cleaning (ok, he's doing more here, but who is counting).

My inner life also goes in spurts. Sometimes we are hot and heavy, totally on. There are times you can't drag me away from my yoga room. You can't pry my journal out of my hands. And there are days and times when I just want to go to a movie and drink cherry coke and eat chocolate covered almonds.

You know what? I kinda like this.
It makes it a little easier on me when I need to hammer down and get loads of work done. I don't feel bad for neglecting my home life because I know it's only a matter of time before the pendulum will swing back the other way and I'll be reveling in spacious home time.

One definition of balance is to move toward and then away from. It makes the idea of balance seem less static and more like a dance.

And when it feels more like a dance.....
Well, you know I'm convinced.

What does it mean to you to live a balanced life? 

more on the zone of genius

This weekend we had a gathering of yogini minds..... or a teacher meeting.  I opened up our gathering with a guided meditation that connected us to all the teachers, mentors, guides, and role models we've had throughout our life.  Beginning as early as we could recall and working up to present time.

I also reminded my fellow teacher that not all teachers and the experiences we had with them would be positive.  Some teachers may simply have taught us how we didn't want to be.

I also encouraged them to make note of books, songs, words, lyrics, and movies they can recall as having resonated with them.  We used this as inspiration to draw forth qualities and traits that were wanting to emerge in us as yoga teachers.

I have a few teachers that stand out in my mind.  When I do this exercise the one that continually comes up in my mind as creating the biggest impact on my life is Mr. Brashear.  I had Mr. Brashear for three years in high school.  That's him in the photo above on a trip to Canada.

He was my first teacher in anything business related. He cared about all of his students. He was down to earth, funny and easy to talk to.  He believed in me. He saw something in me I didn't see in myself.  He saw potential and year after year, he kept drawing that potential out in me.  He believed in my worth well before I did. 

Mr. Brashear taught me that dreams come true. He showed me the power of travel.  I took my first flight, saw the ocean for the first time, as well as Niagara Falls under his leadership.  It is because of him, his teachings, and his belief in me that my world expanded and I could see bigger and farther than the ways I'd always known. 

I'm deeply, deeply grateful for Mr. Brashear.  Now I can look back. See the links. Connect the dots and see that he was drawing forth my own natural genius.

Last week I wrote on the zones of incompetence and competence.  I shared lots of my flaws. Today I'm writing on the zone of excellence and the zone of genius.

The zone of excellence are the activities you do really well, the ones you excel at.  It's likely you make a living from doing the things that fall under this category.  In The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks says,

"For successful people this zone is seductive and even dangerous trap. To remain in this zone is to hobble yourself from taking the leap into your Zone of Genius. The temptation is strong to remain in the Zone of Excellence; it's where your own addition to comfort wants to stay. It's also where your family, friends, and organization what you to stay.  You're reliable there, and you provide a steady supply of all things that family, friends, and organizations thrive on.  The problem is that a deep, sacred part of you will wither and die if you stay inside your Zone of Excellence."

This is an area you rock.  But are you playing it safe?  What are the activities that fall under this category for you?

I'm excellent at teaching group yoga classes.  My groundedness, my ability to stay in the moment, and my mind all work in ways that support me in teaching group yoga classes.  In my early days when I was studying to become a yoga teacher, I could look at a sequence, process it for a few moments, then teach it with steadiness and ease.

I was able to excel at this even though I didn't like public speaking.
I was able to excel at this without having all the muscles and bones memorized.
I was able to excel at this even though I was shy and introverted.
I was able to excel at this without having ten years of yoga experience. 
In fact, I took my first yoga teacher training within a year of practicing yoga.

Even in those early years, something else would kick in and take over when I was leading yoga.  It felt natural and easy.  Seventy five minutes later I felt I would finish teaching class and feel so filled with peace, contentment, and joy.  Eight years later and I feel the same. 

Yesterday I was walking alone in the cemetery and I realized that I've taught yoga nearly double the amount of time that I stayed in my full time job in Texas after graduate school.  I've done so with great joy, with great passion and great purpose.  This feels significant.

I love being a yoga teacher.  Since the beginning I've challenged myself to do the things I wasn't quiet sure I could do.  I've continually challenged myself.  I've summoned the courage to continually grow, to risk my own significance.

Over the past 16 months I've asked myself, where am I playing it safe in my life?  How can I hone in on my greatest strengths and abilities? As Grace asks me, what produces the highest ratio of abundance per time spent?

The zone of genius are the skills and strengths that are unique to you.  This is full fledged working and living in the zone, feeling in the flow when you are doing these activities.  Work doesn't really seem like work.  You feel deeply satisfied and nourished by these pursuits.

What are your top strengths?

What are your greatest passions?

What are you praised for?

What are the things that make you different, unique?

What are your unique abilities?

What work do you do that doesn't feel like work?

In her book The Fire Starter Sessions, Danielle LaPorte says that gratitude is a feedback loop that will show you where you are thriving.  That the "gratitude you receive from others is a reflection of your genius."

When you receive gratitude for the things you do within your natural genius it will resonate on a deep level.  Even if you can't explain it.  Your body will vibrate with a certain energy, an aliveness that feels affirming, full, juicy, and yes.....delicious.

I'm living into, honoring my own inner genius when I'm combining yoga, work around passion and purpose in beautiful and natural settings.  Part of my genius is in creating new material and information for the retreats and yoga teacher trainings that I lead. 

Part of my genius is found in inspiring people to believe in themselves, to be devoted to the process from dreaming to doing, to live into their highest purpose.  Yoga and yogic wisdom are the tools I use for doing so.  That's what I love love love about teaching.

What are your very own genius ways of working and being?

Thank you again Mr. Brashear. You rock.

what is your zone of genius?

Source: tumblr.com via Sharon on Pinterest

In exploring genius-ness we can also look at the ways we're currently using our energy, time, and resources.  We explored this in February at my life coach training and I just ate it up!  It's about looking at the ways in which you currently use your energy, doing some investigative around different zones, and committing  to living more in the zone of genius.

In The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks writes of four different zones:

1.  The Zone of Incompetence
2.  The Zone of Competence
3.  The Zone of Excellence
4.  The Zone of Genius

The zone of incompetence is made up of activities that you're simply not good at.  I agree with Miss Danielle LaPorte that being "well rounded" is just a little over rated.  I know that I don't excel at certain things.  I'm ok with it.  Call it incompetent, call it what you want. 

For example, I'm a hot mess when it comes to "setting things up."  I can barely work the TV remote.  I despise setting up computer and printers.  I can pretty much bank on a boatload of frustration when I  have wires in hand that rely on me plugging them into the right hole in order to work.

Another example is keeping the studio clean.  Terrible.  Horrible keeper cleaner of the treehouse I am.  For a while I insisted on doing it (because I struggled "justifying" paying someone else to do something I could do).  It didn't get done often enough.  I didn't do a good job.  I didn't enjoy it. 

Finally I got it.  Someone else is a genius at cleaning.  That is the thing they totally rock.  Just so happens that one day at the treehouse I saw a car with a sign on the door that read "OCD Cleaning".  I met Debbie in the parking lot and she's been cleaning the studio since then.

Tuesday she was cleaning the studio.  I was happily writing.  Before she left she walked all around the studio floor.  Seeking out any last lil dust bunnies.  Looking for any spots that were not shiny and sparkly.  She does this every time.  I see where the OCD part of her cleaning comes from.

I deeply deeply appreciate her.  She is a genius at something I'm incompetent.  I just love that.

One more example (cause I'm clearly incompetent in more than one area) is moving furniture.  Last week Andy and I helped BFF and her husband move furniture in the nursery (they have a baby girl Ruby coming!).  Andy and I have both come to realize we're pretty incompetent when it comes to moving furniture.  It's a good thing we're both relatively strong, cause our minds most definitely don't work in the way of angling, turning, and maneuvering furniture. Not. At. All. Thank god we barely owned any furniture when we bought our first house in Texas.  With no outside help, we probably would have ripped half the walls down.  Plus we get frustrated in the process and have a tendency to use all sorts of colorful four letter words.  It's not pretty.  If we ever leave the big blue house we'll need movers.

Your turn......

What are the things you're simply no good at?

What are the thing you don't enjoy?

What do you insist on doing that others can do better?

Next we have the zone of competence.  These are the things you can do, but others can do them just as well.  It's taken me a good amount of time, yet slowly but surely, I've been delegating the things that I'm just competent at (mostly in my work life).  Two things come to mind for me in this area.  One is paperwork that accumulates at the studio.  Thank god our paperwork is mostly just a one page waiver.  It would likely me an utter mess otherwise.  Sure, I could enter the data into our software.  Not a problem.  But I procrastinated.  It didn't get entered in a timely fashion.  I didn't enjoy it. I didn't enjoy it.  Did I mention....

I didn't enjoy it.

This is something I've delegated.  Again, so deeply thankful for this.

Quickbooks and general accounting I also put in the category.  I can do it.  I'm competent.  But it's the same as data entry to me.  I'm amazed by some people in this area.  Again, BFF is a genius at this.  She has a business.  Her book-keeping, Quick-booking wizardy skills are ahhhmazing.  Pure genius.  Not a surprise, her checkbook stays balanced to the penny. If she's off by five cents she can't rest until she knows where the error is. 

Really?  I'm amazed that people like this even exist because it's so far out of my range. 

What are the things you insist on doing just because you can? 

It might be as painful as having a tooth pulled, but damnit...you can do it.  Mama didn't raise me not to do something I'm fully capable of doing.  God gave me hands to use them, right?

Yep, all conversations I've had with myself.  I'm over it.

What are the things you are doing in which you are on auto-pilot, just going through the motions?

Lastly, how much time and energy are you spending in the zones of incompetence and competence?

{Seeing that this post is getting rather long, I'll save the next two zones and write on them this weekend}

Have a delicious weekend Friends.  Cheers to you and your genius-ness.