To Salute Oneself

Today in yoga we looked at how do you salute yourself in the quiet of your own mind?

First off I wanted to really understand what salute means. By definition "a gesture of respect, homage, or acknowledgement". How often do we salute ourselves? Ever? And in the quiet of our own mind?

So in contemplating this I came to recognize how often I put myself down in my own mind (which is A LOT) so I take this statement from yoga as a reminder to at least in my mind catch myself when I have negative self talk going on and make a gesture of respect and acknowledgement about something about me that is awesome - recognize myself! Recognize what I accomplish. Recognize my cool traits. Recognize me for just being me.

Namaste!

Equanimity

Today I started a new program on YogaGlo called Self Care for Women: Practices for Resilience and Grace taught by Elena Brower. Today's fist class was called "Equanimity". I have to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what the word "equanimity" meant even though I have heard it many times. I looked it up and by the picture above you see it means "mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation". I can certainly see that needed in yoga as there is an attempt to reach certain benchmark poses. And in life - yup, every day. I tend to get frustrated pretty easy ...even if you can't see it on the outside there is a good chance I am feeling it on the inside; just hiding it. I feel my lesson for the day from this class is to gain that equanimity on the inside AND on the outside; in yoga AND in life. I love classes taught by Elena. She is very wise. I always take away far more than a yoga practice from her classes. This is a four week program so I'll share more wisdom the journey continues.

A Fun Afternoon of Wellness on September 2

Walk and Talk - An Afternoon of Wellness
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Ever since I was a kid I was interested in wellness and exercise. 
My mom and sister spent one summer going to McDonalds everyday for lunch where I opted for a salad or sandwich at home knowing that fast food wasn't the choice for me. I picked vegetables in the garden with my Grandma, often eating them as soon as they were rinsed. And animals were always my friends not my food.
Then exercise... I am happiest when I am moving. As a kid it was years and years and years of tap, ballet, and jazz. We had 6 dogs so walking our dogs everyday after school and in the evening was my other favorite past time. In high school my best friend Laurie and I would power walk. Our peak was a 10 minute mile. In my early 20s I even became AFAA (Athletics and Fitness Association of America) certified to teach and train in the fitness arena.
This all kept going...
Living on my own I would make sure to read all labels, research what was in my products and food, and strive for chemical free living. Some situations and set backs a long the way but all in all - healthy living.
And now at 44, I am vegan. I do yoga, walk, Zumba, and hoop dance. And I also am a Young Living Independent Distributor. Essential oils support all areas of my life from cleaning products, to beauty products, to dental products, etc. Plant based! You can't go wrong in my opinion when you use what is naturally grown (ok... except for strawberries which I am oddly allergic to).
So - while doing yoga (of course) the other day I came up with the idea to have a fun afternoon of wellness with some friends. We'll go for a walk, have a snack, chat, laugh, and I will share some information about essential oils.
If you are in the San Diego area reading this and would like to join us, you are invited to an afternoon of wellness. Join me, Jim (my husband) and Hennessy (our pooch) at Liberty Station! We’ll meet at Starbucks at 3 pm (2401 Truxton Rd, Liberty Station, San Diego, CA 92106), enjoy a nice walk for 30 – 45 minutes, then head back to Starbucks for a snack of your choice. (There is also a Trader Joe’s, Panera Bread, etc. over there so we can all grab whatever snack we feel drawn to.) Then I will lead a conversation about how to kick toxic chemicals out of your home using wonderful essential oil products. Come for the fun, the frolic and the education! 
Here is the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1916886665217879/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%222%22%2C%22ref_dashboard_filter%22%3A%22upcoming%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22[%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22dashboard%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22main_list%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A[]%7D]%22%7D

Reconnection in Mercury Retrograde

Another Mercury Retrograde upon us....
Some blasts from my past which have brought such delight.
Last Thursday I got to see my former step sister (her dad and my mom were married for almost a decade) who I haven't seen I believe in about 13 years (see picture above). She is the same very smart, caring, beautiful person she was as a kid and teenager. It was such a blessing to be able to spend a bit of time with her while she and her husband were vacationing in California from Virginia Beach.
And the next day on Friday I had the delight of talking to my high school BFF, as they say today, about life, business, and family. I've missed her and thought about her for many years after we lost contact (by college, moving, no Facebook yet). It is amazing how we still connect like we always did, we really understand each other, hold similar beliefs and interests, etc.
Sometimes mercury retrograde can be frustrating...
Sometimes it brings blessings.
I wish all of you the latter.
Happy New Moon Solar Eclipse Day!

NingXia Red + LA Kings

Saved up my Essential Rewards Points and bought the family two bottles of Young Living's Ningxia Red. And when you drink it in an LA Kings mug... joy to your morning!  Young Living NingXia Red benefits include support for energy levels, normal cellular function, and whole-body and normal eye health. It is such a amazing tasty kick start to the day! Happy Friday!

Oola for Women - Day 21 - 21 Day Challenge

Today's #OolaforWomen Challenge is to come up with 3 steps to put your knowledge into practice.
Since reading the Oola for Women book I have been doing this every day on an index card. 3 steps a day equals 1095 steps per year... so in a year, where will you be? Where will I be? Even in the couple weeks I have been doing this I have seen more balance. It might not be completely visible in my OolaOne YET but in some of my other 7 key areas - definitely. For example, taking 3 steps a day led me to do my first Lammas ritual in years last night. So the Faith key area is becoming more balanced.
This Oola stuff works!
If you are interested in the OolaLife (who wouldn't be??), check out: http://www.oolalife.com/

Oola for Women - Day 20 - 21 Day Challenge

Today's #OolaforWomen Challenge is to do a random act of Oola.
Could we really be on Day 20 already?
Wow! I never know where time seems to go to.
Anyway, for today as I was walking this afternoon I decided that my random act of Oola was going to really be something very random. I bought a scratch off lottery ticket and asked my husband to give it to any of his teammates at his men's meeting tonight that he felt inspired to gift it to.
I do not know the outcome or anything.
That is what I felt inspired to do.
Random Acts of Oola are sooooo fun!