{Happy Monday}

I hope all of you have a wonderful day! I'm about to go teach my morning yoga class, and thought I would say hello before I do. I love this little reminder to stay true to you!
I was reading in a yoga book that I have, Baron Baptiste's, "40 Days to Personal Revolution," and it says that "Being true to yourself means looking within to discover what you know in your heart to be right and then acting on it. It does not mean following every last whim or urge that you might have; that is just selfishness in disguise. It means being true to your values and morals. It means being honest in all things: knowing the truth, and living by that truth. Regarding truth, Ghandi said:

What then is Truth? A difficult question, but I have solved it for myself by saying it is what the voice within tells you. How then, you ask [do] different people thing of different and contrary truths... [I]t is because we have at the present moment everybody claiming the right of conscience without going through discipline whatsoever that there is so much untruth being delivered in a bewildered world. All that I can in true humility present to you is that truth is not to be found by anybody who has not got an abundant sense of humility. If you would swim on the bosom of the ocean of Truth, you must reduce yourself to zero."

Baron goes on to say that, "Many of us have come to learn that when we live in alignment in truth, our life works. We forget to treat that as something sacred."-Baron Bapstiste, 40 Days to Personal Revolution

I just wanted to share that with you.
I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

Fall in Love...

...With yourself.

My friend told me a couple years ago, that I needed to first fall in love with my life, myself, before doing anything else. When she first said this, I thought to myself, "right, right, I know..." But thinking about it now, I realize how important this advice actually was/is. I began to realize that if I loved myself and my life, then what people thought of me became less and less important. I began taking care of myself in a way that I never had before. I began living for me-- not for anyone else. It feels selfish sometimes... to love yourself, take time for yourself, but really it's the best thing people can do for others. Have yourself, so you can give to others.

I hope all of you have a wonderful, wonderful weekend. :)

Give a little love and nourishment to yourself this weekend.

image via patterson maker and note to self

{The Dance}

"What if the question is not why am I so infrequently the person I really want to be, but why do I so infrequently want to be the person I really am?"

This question is from The Dance, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. My mom gave me this book in 2003 and she wrote the sweetest inscription, basically telling me that it is okay to fly. We all come to crossroads in our lives, where we have to make decisions. Sometimes they are big and sometimes they are small. Either way decisions can cause a certain amount of anxiety. What if I choose wrong? Go the wrong way? What if I don't like the path I choose? But this book basically talks about the fact that there are no wrong decisions. It's about allowing yourself to show up, stay present and be who you truly are. And if you're doing that... then no wrong decision can be made.

"What if the task is simply to unfold, to become who you already are in your essential nature-- gentle, compassionate, and capable of living fully and passionately present?"

I think that is probably one of the most profound questions of all... Because at the end of the day, that's what matters most.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday. I'm sharing this in my 4:30 yoga class at Yoga Ananda, so if you're in Houston, stop by! 

Summer Solstice

Happy summer solstice! There is something so exciting about the promise of summer. Everything gets a little slower, a little sweeter. Full of long evenings sitting outside sipping wine, talking, sunsets, mountains and fishing... Sounds pretty good to me! To kick it off, we are practicing yoga outside this evening.

Whatever you're up to this summer, I hope you take some time to enjoy all the little things.

images via bippityboppityboo

Clear your Mind. Clear your Heart.

Happy Tuesday all! Sorry for the missed post yesterday. I taught my second yoga class yesterday morning, then I was running around until I went to do my own practice later that evening. By the time I got home, I was spent. But, I hope you all had a great Monday. Yesterday, before I taught I was racking my brain for what I would give as a theme for class. After trying and trying to figure out something "outstanding," I read from Melody Beattie's Journey to the Heart about the value of clear thinking and I thought I would share it with all of you.

"As we clear the pathway to the heart by feeling, expressing and releasing old emotions, we will clear the path to the mind. Just as the body is connected to the mind, so is the heart. A cramped body can cause fuzzy thinking, but so can a clogged heart. To attempt to think clearly and consciously with the heart closed may not work. It may even prove frustrating and difficult. Don't think so hard," the wise old man gently instructed me. "You're hurting your head and your thinking isn't becoming clear. Relax. Stop trying so hard. Open your heart. Then your thinking will clear. The mind, "he reminded me," is "connected to the heart."

When I stumbled across this, it got me thinking about how sometimes it is best to stop trying so hard. When we're trying to accomplish, when we're trying to figure everything out, sometimes we can become so fuzzy-headed and confused that we don't know which way is up and which way is down.

Sometimes you just gotta relax, do what you love to do and enjoy!

image via pinterest

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday! I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful weekend.

Here's a list of some of my favorite posts, just in case you missed them:

- Take your time... 
- Just Breathe
- Don't Hold Back
- A lovely space to spend summer... 

For the teachers in my life

While we were on our yoga retreat my teacher, Maria read to us from the book "An Offering of Leaves," and I've been thinking about it ever since. The reading came from page 12:

When you're in a yoga class and the teacher says, "Straighten your arm," and you get a tug, that teacher has also been in a yoga class, where their teacher said, "Straighten your arm," and they got a tug. When the teacher is talking about kindness, and you feel nourished by their words, something inside of you is stirred and something that was sleeping awakens. This is because, that teacher also had a teacher who spoke about kindness and woke them up. You reach a point where you feel incredible gratitude toward your teacher and you want to be with them, and bring flowers coffee, candy, and gold.

This reading made me think about all the teachers I've had in my life. From my parents, to teachers in school, to all of my friends who have all taught me so much.

So as the inevitable flow continues, my teacher read this to me... and I wanted to share it with all of you! I hope you all are having a wonderful Thursday!

Floors, Counters, Oven

Love it all.

via Land of the Free

Enjoy Summer

Taking the day for a little time to soak up the sun and relax. Since it has been pretty hectic lately, taking the time to rest and absorb everything feels very necessary. Teaching yesterday felt almost surreal. I loved every second of it. Even the mistakes I made, I still loved them because I know they will only teach me to be better for my next class. Never in my life have I felt so aligned with something. I used to think everything needed to be "hard." Life needed to be "hard"-- It wasn't really work, unless it was difficult. It is only once I learned that it was okay to go ahead and love my life, that I started allowing good things to happen. I stopped beating my head up against a wall, and stopped beating myself up. Sometimes we have to learn how to experience joy without feeling guilty.

"Each moment of our lives is important. Each moment of our lives is a spiritual experience. To live fully in joy, we need to learn to enjoy the good times as well as weather the storms. Most of us are proficient at hunkering down and getting through the winters of our lives. Now, it's time to learn something different. 
Take off your heavy wrap. Grab your straw hat and go bask in the sun. Tomorrow's lessons will take care of themselves. Today the lesson is learning to enjoy summer."- Journey to the Heart, Melody Beattie


image via pinterest

Letting go of the shore...

Today is the day! I will be teaching my first Power Vinyasa Flow class this afternoon. As the butterflies fly around in my stomach, I can't help but to feel excited and so very grateful to this process. It has truly been one of opening up even more of myself, which hasn't necessarily been the most comfortable process at times, but probably the most rewarding. The more we open up and connect to ourselves, we can in return connect to others. I hope that this day is the beginning of being able to share myself through this practice as a student and now as a teacher--- giving to others what has been given to me.

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday. Know when to let go of the shore, push out into the water, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, allowing yourself to let go of the known and push into the unknown. Taking chance after chance, breathing in and breathing out. 

Headin' to the Country

Hi all! We are headin' off on our yoga retreat today. I can't believe it. I'm ready... this is definitely only the beginning of a wonderful time of teaching/sharing something that has been given to me, and influenced my life in so many ways. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week/weekend.

I wanted to leave you with this eggplant recipe, because I recently how nutrient dense eggplants are. I never knew... This recipe comes from Maza Cooking Journal .

4 Servings

1 large eggplant
3 large tomatoes, to match the diameter of the eggplant
0.4 lbs Bulgarian feta, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
juice of half lemon
2 garlic cloves
½ extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut of the eggplant crosswise into ½” thick rounds. Lightly season them with salt and leave them for 30 minutes on a side to let water to come out of the eggplant.

Once ready drizzle some olive oil on top of each slice and grill them on a lightly oiled grill rack for 2 -3 minutes each side.

Blend the basil leaves with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt in an immersion blender until smooth.

Cut the tomatoes crosswise to 1/4” thick rounds.

Lightly oil the baking pan. Arrange 4 eggplant rounds side by side. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the basil-garlic mixture on top of each one, then generously sprinkle feta crumbs. Top each with tomato rings. Add another layer of eggplant, basil spread, feta and tomato rounds and top with the rest of the crumbled feta.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Drizzle some olive oil on top of each stack and bake for 15 minutes.

Find more great recipes at the May issue of MAZA Cooking Journals

I haven't forgotten...

Hi all! I am sorry for the radio silence. Life has been busy. I graduate from my yoga teacher training this weekend. Woohoo! I'm r-e-a-d-y. We leave tomorrow morning for Chappell Hill, Texas to enjoy lots of yoga, healthy food and just a little more learning. One of the books on our reading list is The Tree of Yoga and while I was reading it, I came across a passage that I wanted to share with you guys on yoga...

"Yoga works on each individual for his or her growth and betterment, physically, mentally emotionally and spiritually. It is meant for the whole of humanity. That is why it is called a universal culture. When you are at one within yourself, yoga does not end there. Having acquired a certain discipline in the body, mind, senses, intelligence and consciousness, the yogi has to live in the world without getting involved in his or her actions. This is what is known as skillfulness in action, which does not just mean dexterity. Skillfulness is when one performs one's actions without expecting good or bad results from them. The yogis actions are performed without vice and virtue, but with purity and divinity (Tree of Yoga, 10)."

Wishing you all a great day! I'll try to plan some posts and catch up a little. :)

Sweet as Pie

Happy Weekend everyone! I'm home in Arkansas for the weekend for a little fam time and fun with friends. My mom made a strawberry pie for dessert last night, and I ate almost every last bite of it. Sometimes nothing is better than something sweet and fresh. It was perfect.

Just in case you're in the mood for a little pie, here are some recipes...

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie and Strawberry Icebox Pie.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Make it sweet.