Transformation

Most of us would love to change from being a caterpillar into being a butterfly. The journey from the dense creepy little bug (but let's not forget the awesome book by Eric Carle: The Very Hungry Caterpillar...maybe not so creepy up close in technicolor.) The journey from one to the next requires a total metamorphosis. The caterpillar must shed it's skin five times before the journey inward. I am sure that I have shed my skin multiple times. (This reminds me of my itching attacks, when I have literally become so incredibly uncomfortable in my own skin that my skin issues have caused me to examine and re-examine my self-care habits and what I must refine.) Eventually, the caterpillar enters the chrysalis stage when it becomes more of a nebulous mass. A pupa...this is the most private. I certainly know what it feels like to be in that stage. I call it being under construction. It's not the sexiest place to be. It doesn't look like much from the outside; it requires going inward and letting go of the structure of the former self, and it's done privately. The chrysalis phase is when all the magic happens. When the final skin is shed, the chrysalis is so soft, but hardens very quickly and protects this transformation. This magical period of time brings with it the alchemy that cause the caterpillar to become the butterfly.

I remember myself in this phase. The life span of a butterfly is 28 days, so the process is much quicker than my human form. I felt that I was in the chrysalis stage for a decade. During that period of time, it really looked as if nothing was happening. The final time I shed my skin and got very soft at that stage was after a physical assault. This attack softened me and created a vulnerability that brought me deeply inward. The shell around me hardened, I was no longer inspired to do what I had been doing for 10 years. I had been an actor. That role was already a skin that had shed if anyone was paying attention. There was, however, much more I needed to shed: my self-critical nature, my yo-yoing diet (alternatively binge eating and then starving my body), the belief system that I was "not enough" or that I had to earn love. I needed to be unsheathed of these uncomfortable costumes. And soon, I no longer knew who I was. I was "under construction".

When I emerged, I had found the voices of self-love from within, the need to help others and the commitment that it took to practice my self-loving and helping others on a daily basis. This was the gift I brought with me, and began to share with my students...and now with all of you.

It's no wonder that my Yogalosophy logo is a butterfly.

This very delicate and light way of being emerged from going deep and accepting the transformation. What appears light is just the bubbles rising to the surface....Yes. Yes. Yes.

A tip of the hat to treating the dark with light.
Happy Halloween

11 Favorite Things

Here's a short list of some of my favorite things. After this weekend of intensity due to the Eclipse, I thought I'd lighten it up and give you my hit list! Here goes:

1. Capresso Glass Electric Tea Pot:

I love a cup of tea in the morning. Just plug this lovely in and you are set.

2. Davines Hair Products:

Being a curly girl, I love a good natural hair product. 

3. Lollia Candle: 

For the home. Yummy scents.

4. Himalayan Pink Salt:

For cooking, and even in a sauna!

5. Vitamix:

The best blender of all time. 

6. Coconut Oil:

Moisturize with it, cook with it, oil pulling...this is a staple.

7. Epsom Salts:

Add baking soda, and detox in your own bath tub.

8. Siddatech Flower Essences:

Sleep Remedy really works. Choose from Youthful Skin to Relief.

9. James Perse:

These sweatshirt dresses are the best and travel well. 

10. Persephenie:

My brother's dear friend and artisan scentualist. Check out her products. LOVE.

11. Mastery Of Love:

This book by Don Miguel Ruiz is a life-changer.

The Mind-Body Balance

I just returned from the rejuvenating INSPIRATO ACCESS Wellness Retreat in Cabo hosted by myself and my friend, Keri Glassman, and wanted to remind everyone how important breathing & stretching are to your overall health, no matter how physically fit (or not) you are. The body and the mind get connected through the breath. When we hold our poses and breathe, we begin to access places in our body where old emotional baggage has been stored. We begin to dislodge all sorts of pent up stress, which reduces hormonal imbalances and as a result, we even release excess weight. Many of us think that by pushing ourselves harder, we will reap the benefits and results that we are looking for. If "more" is no longer working, let me suggest that your body may just fall into place quite naturally as you change your brain chemistry and your mind.

Here are a couple of tips and tricks to get a healthier body and happier mind:

STRETCH
Begin or end your day with these 3 stretches. Hold each pose for 30 seconds minimum, and up to 2 minutes each.

1) Pigeon
Draw the sole of the left foot to the groin area or inner thigh of the right leg. Lean on the outside of the left hip, and sweep your right leg behind you. The hips should be facing squarely to the floor. The left knee is out slightly to the left of the left shoulder, and the foot is coming toward the right shoulder. Fold forward and breathe for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. When you have completed, walk the hands back up, lean to the side of the bent leg, and sweep the straight leg forward. Shake out the legs in front of you, then switch sides.

2) Forward Bend
With both legs extended in front of you, move the fleshy part of the butt away to the sides. Ground your sit bones to the floor. On the inhale, extend the arms up and reach for the sky, and on the exhale, reach the chest to the tops of the feet and fold down. If you can reach the feet, use the leverage to draw your body down. Breathe here for 2 minutes, or 10 breaths.

3) Happy Baby
Lie down on your back. Open your knees on either side of your ribcage, with the soles of your feet facing the ceiling. Grab the outside edges of the feet. Use your hands to pull down, so the knees are open and bent. From here, start to bring more of your lower back to the floor by arching your back. Breathe here for 5 to 10 breaths. Try to hold this for 2 minutes.

BREATHE
A tip that Keri Glassman shared from her Nutritious Life mantra is a belief that we both share: Take 8 minutes to yourself each day and just breathe in and out of your nose. 8 seconds in, 8 seconds out. This is the beginning of literally changing the grey matter of your brain. Keri shared with us that studies have shown that if you set aside 28 minutes per day of an 8 count inhale and exhale for 7 weeks, that your brain literally changes. Begin with 8 minutes a day and build. You will notice a shift in all areas of your life, including weight loss (if that is your goal). More importantly, your happiness levels will increase and you will have more joy in your life on a moment to moment basis.

Find balance in your life by working this easy, 10 minute wake-up routine. Watch your mind and body fall right into place. Start or end your day with these poses and breathing technique to establish a healthier, more life-embracing mindset.

Life Is A Mirror

Have you ever noticed that, the way you see your external world changes depending upon how you feel internally? The very same event can happen on one day when your perspective is positive and can be seen as a gift, but the same scenario at another time can feel like doomsday.

I'd like to take this a step further and say that the outside literally changes when we change our insides. What you see and encounter outside of yourself is a direct reflection of your internal world, and as you shift and change internally, your outer landscape literally morphs. I have a tendency to see the glass as half full. It may be my genetics, my conditioning, or my history. It may be my body chemistry or my nature. The first matter to address is my perception. Can I view my circumstances in a more positive light? Could my current challenge actually be of benefit to me? Whatever it is, when life has pushed me to the wall, and I have bumped up against intense and increasing dissatisfaction, I hit a critical mass, and soon have nowhere left to go but up. I am pushed to  make a decision to see things in a more positive light. I choose the life that I have as perfect, and I start being nicer to myself. I slow down and stop trying to force the outside to be different, but begin to change my own attitude. Soon enough, I feel an internal shift, and then....the outside follows suit. My relationships seem to change. The view and scenery begin to become more harmonious and my personal struggles ease up. Miraculously.

Life is a mirror of our inner experience. Our relations with others directly reflect our relationship with the Self. If you are experiencing conflict with another, first try seeing this trouble as a gift. Remind yourself that the "other" is not the issue, and turn inward to come to terms with your own inner conflict. If the "other" is critical, where are you critical of yourself? If the "other" doesn't hear you, where are you abandoning yourself?

Here are some ways to begin to shift internally rather than place the responsibility outside of yourself:

• Take 10 minutes to say out loud to the universe what you are afraid of. Then sit for 10 minutes in silence, listening and opening up to the answer.
• Write down 5 things you love about yourself and that you are doing well.
• Write down 3 ways you can make changes in yourself to find a solution.
• Be open to change, and listen.
• When communicating with another, especially in a tough situation, try to repeat back to the person what they just said, mirroring them to make sure you have clarity.

Remember that life is a mirror and gift so that you may see yourself as you really are.