Shine Your Sacred Self
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Last year’s Reiki Retreat was such a success that Paty Mariposa and I extended our stay by an extra day and night. This year, we will be at Kashi Ashram for 4 days and 3 nights from March 26-29, 2020. Click here if you want to reserve your space now.
Something powerful happens when we consciously gather in community to practice together.
It’s different than what you get from your personal practice and it’s different than when you roll your mat out to follow a practice from your TV or computer.
When you take the time to bring your body to a space to move and breathe with others, there’s a twining of intentions and a lifting of spirits that occurs, even if all you do is show up, do your practice, and go home.
I believe this coming together in community is important work, and that is why it is my mission to create small and large events, here in Tampa and outside in the wide, wide world for you to join with friends and strangers in a time free from digital distraction when you can fully feel your authentic self.
We had an amazing first weekend of the Essential You Yoga 200 Hour Teacher Training program, and I can tell that deep connection is already happening for this group of teacher trainees! It is exciting to see and I am honored to be a part of creating this sacred space.
Along with creating space for you to move and stretch and breathe, I believe it is important to create a space to soften and to heal. That is why I am so excited to pair with Jai Dee Massage and Yoga to offer monthly Reiki Circles on the last Friday of each month.
We’ll spend an hour together uniting our energy in a short meditation and then giving or receiving a Reiki treatment. If you are attuned to any level of Reiki, you are welcome to come and share your gifts. If you are curious about Reiki or simply want to feel rejuvinated, please come and receive a treatment. There is no Reiki experience required to attend!
Click here to add this event to your Google Calendar, and please feel welcome to join us this Friday at 6 pm.
If you are not attuned to Reiki, or simply want to refresh your connection with a second attunement, I am offering a Reiki One Training and Attunement on Sunday, April 28th at Jai Dee Massage and Yoga. I am happy to help guide you on this journey of connection and greater well-being.
I feel so blessed to be living in this time and age when science and the medical field are confirming what Yogis have been telling us for centuries – the practices of Yoga and Meditation have tangible and measurable benefits that can resonate in your life and the lives of the people you love.
In an article published today, neuroscientist Sara Lazar conducted an experiment on experienced and new meditators and found that meditating as little as 15-27 minutes daily created some pretty amazing results: brain scans showed that the Hippocampus and the TPJ thickened, creating better capacity for learning, memory, emotional regulations, and seeing things from other perspectives. The amygdala, associated with fear, anxiety and aggression, reduced, giving participants real results after just a short period of time. (8 weeks for some study participants.)
Dr. Lazar isn’t the only one studying mediation. The National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health tells us that “meditation may reduce blood pressure, symptoms of IBS, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.”
Further, a study by Central Michigan University showed that introducing a Mindfulness Meditation practice reduces unconsciously held bias based on age and race, and a Harvard study suggests that regular Meditation can increase focus and reduce the brain’s propensity for distraction.
In my own life, Meditation is a tool that I use to feel more calm, focused, and centered. It always helps me return to my true self when the world around me is feeling chaotic.
Join me on the last Friday of the month for donation-based Reiki Circles that include a group meditation component. We meet next at 6 pm at Jai Dee Massage & Yoga on April 26th.
When I first began practicing yoga, most yoga teachers fit a stereotype. I bet I don’t even have to tell you what that stereotype is because you’re probably already picturing that yoga teacher: young, white, thin, North American, and super flexible.
Since that time, I’ve been lucky enough to teach, learn, and practice from teachers of all stripes. I truly believe that diversity in yoga is critical.
Why is that? Because that stereotypical yoga teacher often dissuades people who don’t look like her from coming to the mat.
Yoga is a practice that benefits all people: all shapes, all sizes, and all cultures. Because the practice gives us a toolkit to use in our most human moments to help us shine our most authentic, bravest selves, it’s a practice that speaks to each one of us by making us comfortable in our own skin.
Because of that, I am committed to bringing yoga out of the studio and into the community so that more people can overcome the misconception that yoga is not for them and can discover this practice and it’s profound impact on their bodies and on their minds.
It is with this hope in mind that I open up my Yoga Teacher Training to everybody. The more different sizes, ages, and cultures represented in yoga teachers, the better off this world will be.
It is important that people understand that nailing a handstand is not a pre-requisite to being good at yoga.
What is important is cultivating a connection to breath and movement, learning to slow down and embody an asana, or yoga posture, and embracing your body and Spirit as it is in this moment.
Yogic philosophy tells us that Maya is the name of the veil that sits between perception and reality. When we’re peering through this veil, we see things as we are, not as as they really are.
This happens because the human memory is a funny thing. When we encounter a person, place, or situation that reminds us of a traumatic event of our past, our Spirit naturally tries to resolve this trauma. It’s kind of like trying to retake a test that you failed, except, in reality, we aren’t resolving a past trauma, we’re simply confronting a new situation with a veil, and behaving as if that situation were the past.
For example, when I first moved to Tampa, I reached out to many different yoga studios, hoping to find the perfect space to offer my classes and workshops. One studio owner kept me waiting for almost two hours, which put a bad taste in my mouth for waiting for anybody. The next day, I had an appointment with another space, and when that person was 10 minutes late, I felt myself begin to get bristley. I had to remind myself that it wasn’t this person who kept me waiting so long the day prior, and that being 10 minutes late really isn’t a big deal, nor would it have normally irritated me to the level it did, because I was still feeling sensitive over having waited so long the day prior.
This is a small example, and the consequences were minimal, but you can extrapolate how this can become a larger issue if your Spirit is trying to resolve a big trauma over and over again at the subconscious level.
This is what we call shadow work, and it is possible to move through it with many different modalities. What I love about yoga is that we get a simple tool to shake stagnant energy off of our physical and mental bodies and allow ourselves to meet the world with clear eyes and an open heart.
The philosophy of yoga goes more in depth about how to peel away these layers of Maya, in part by naming the different layers of illusion and giving us very specific tools to see through each of them, such as using Mantra to break through psycho-social layers of illusion or Pranayama to release old emotions.
I’ll be digging deeper into this philosophy and more in the upcoming Essential You Yoga 200 hour Teacher Training, set to begin in just two weeks. You’ll also see elements of this in upcoming workshops and retreats!
Each person is put on this earth to fulfill a destiny. How can you overcome distraction and be more fully present on your path?
I think the first step of this is finding an activity that pulls you out of your monkey mind and helps you become embodied. This could be dance, walking, running, or my favorite – yoga.
I was reminded this weekend of the many paths of yoga.
For some, yoga is an exercise regiment, helping them lose weight and tone up. For others, yoga helps pull them out of the rut of everyday life and enter the present moment. Others practice yoga to maintain their health, while still others seek more consciousness and awareness.
Each of these reasons to practice are valid, and there is a practice of yoga that will meet you exactly where you are and guide you towards your own personal goal.
For me, the magic happens when you find yourself linking breath to movement, with your thoughts centered on how your body feels in this asana, this moment, and how your breath is moving in and out, in and out.
One of the reasons I make it a priority to offer yoga in different settings is because I think it’s important to bring the practice to you exactly where you are.
That’s the beauty of this practice, and what keeps me coming back to the mat. There is always something to explore!
That’s also why I’m so excited to offer a Yoga Teacher Training, starting April 12, so that as you step into that magical space within, you have the tools you need to safely guide others there.
I hope you can join me in class, or at the upcoming Essential You Yoga Teacher Training in Tampa this April.
As Americans, we tend to lead lives that create an environment of high stress. Many of of us, or the people we love, are walking around in a constant state of stress. This has the potential to wreak havoc on your body.
Leading research shows us that too much stress in a body can lead to:
Reiki is a Japanese stress-reduction technique that activates the parasympathetic nervous system and promotes deep relaxation for participants and practitioners. According to the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, Reiki is
“a complementary therapy that can be implemented alongside all other medical and therapeutic techniques. A gentle technique that is suitable for even very fragile patients, it is accepted in hospitals and hospices around the world. The profound relaxation produced by Reiki has been anecdotally reported to alleviate anxiety and stress, the perception of pain, and to promote a feeling of psychospiritual well-being”
Reiki has been gaining more acceptance in the medical community, with Reiki practitioners being invited into Hospices to help patients ease pain, and hospitals to help patients before or after surgery. The Endometriosis Foundation published this article recently about Reiki’s use in easing chronic symptoms.
The wonderful thing about being given a tool like Reiki is that you have a simple way to solve the problem of stress both for yourself, and for others. Know that the work you do to release tension and feel better reverberates to all the people in your life. By calming yourself, you act as a beacon of calm to everyone you come into contact with.
I’m now hosting monthly Reiki Circles at Jai Dee Massage and Yoga, on the last Friday of each month (except May 2019) from 6-8 pm. Join me for a chance to decrease your stress and practice or experience Reiki.
If you are interested in learning how to use this tool, then you’ll want to join us for Reiki 1. In that class, we’ll focus on opening your chakras and atuning to the energy of Reiki. Participants leave with the tools they need to perform self-Reiki, including a Reiki 1 workbook explaining specific hand positions to perform self healing.
I traveled last week to Coral Gables, Florida to take part in my friend’s event “Stress Less Sunday.” It was a long drive, but I was excited to be a part of her vision of offering donation-based self-care techniques and education to the community. Continue reading “Yoga for Kidney Health”
Mother’s Day is an excellent time to appreciate and connect with the Divine Feminine.
You’ll find this archetype throughout popular culture and in different religions.
The Goddess, the Queen, Wise Woman.
Mother Mary, Durga, Laksmi, Saraswati. Asherah, Astarte, Isis, Athena.
Each of these anthropomorphized archetypes offers an opportunity to connect with one aspect of the Divine Feminine: The Powerful, The Wise, The Strong, The Nurturing, The Compassionate, The Creative, and The Mother.
This Mother’s Day weekend, I encourage you to connect with the wisdom of the nurturer. Here are some ideas:
This has become so much of a buzz-word lately it’s almost lost it’s meaning. However, it bears repeating: with all of your responsibilities and all the ways that you serve others, it is necessary and important to make time to meet your own needs.
This means scheduling time just for you, and honouring that time as much as everything else on your calendar!
In this always-on world, it’s easy to stop hearing the sound of your quiet inner voice. Carve some space out to turn off your phone and unplug.
If you have been feeling isolated, you might need some unstructured time with somebody you love, your family, friends, or even strangers united over a common interest!
The amazing thing about self-care is the ripple-effect it has! When you implement these practices and begin to feel better, you find that you are more patient and kind with the people around you.
As you shed the hard layers of stress and soften the brittle fascia of your body, you’re better able to connect with your sacred self. When you shine from that space, you give others permission to live from their truth.
What more powerful gift can you offer the world than your conscious presence?
You’ve probably seen your local studio advertising a Beginner’s Series. They’re a popular way to for people to learn about a new practice, but you might be wondering what is so different between a Beginner Series and a public class?
We’ll zero in on a small piece of the larger yoga puzzle, and each class will progressively build on previous classes, which leaves you with a strong foundation to walk into any yoga class you want.
Unlike a public class where everyone is silently moving from posture to posture following the teacher’s cues, inquisitive minds are encouraged to explore in this small-class format. Your wrists always hurt when you’re in Downward Facing Dog? Chances are, you’re not the only one, so we can pause as a class together to explore options that might benefit you and several other people in the room. Continue reading “5 Reasons a Beginner’s Series is Preferable to a Public Class”