walk gently through the world

I continue to read The Buddha Walks Into A Bar, and my most recent favorite takeaway is this.

“The majesty of the tiger comes from the fact that while she is capable of slashing with her claws, more often than not she chooses not to”.

“Learning to walk gently through our world like the tiger is a practice.  It takes reflection, learning, and patience.  Ultimately we can embody this quality.  Once we are gentle with ourselves, then we can offer that gentleness to others”.

I like this imagery and believe it can be applied by both man and woman.  If we can learn to walk through our lives carefully and “place each paw with precision and care” we can be more present.

-Jen

quotes taken from Chapter 3 – The Buddha Walks Into A Bar, by Lodro Rinzler

Barry’s Bootcamp

Although we often talk about yoga on this blog, It is not my only form of exercise. I really enjoy trying everything from training for half marathons, to trying to newest class at the gym. I think switching up your workout routine is important. It keeps you inspired and motivated. Over time my yoga practice has become a mental practice for me, so while it remains stable in my life, and I cannot imagine ever changing it, my cardio and weight training is always alternating. My newest workout obsession is Barry’s Bootcamp. This highly glamorized workout class is often mentioned by celebrities and athletes, and recently opened up in Boston. The class consists of two segments, a treadmill portion and a floor portion that you alternate between, all while remaining inspired by awesome music, and a room dimly lit with red lighting. Let me tell you, this workout is NOT easy, and you will be dripping sweat within two minutes. Literally…only two minutes. Oh, and you will most likely burn close to 1,000 calories in the one hour sweat sesh. Can’t beat that for efficiency. Barry’s is not open in all cities, but if there is one around you I highly recommend you check it out!

-Ali

“There is no substitute for hard work”

-Thomas Edison

brrrrrrrr

photo provided by http://www.jessicaryanjenkins.com

“It’s that time of year when we can no longer leave our yoga mats in the car” said my yoga teacher this morning, and I had to laugh out loud.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten in the habit of leaving it in the passenger seat after class.  No bag.  No yogi toes.  Just me and my yoga mat, commuting, running errands, fetching the kids.  Recently, however, I find myself in a deliciously warm studio trying to warm my body and begin my day on an ICE COLD yoga mat.  If you live in New England, you hear me, am I right?

Well if you happen to be in the market for a yoga tote, swing by Lululemon asap.  They presently have some fun, brightly colored yoga totes on sale for $19!  I made the purchase and brought my mat in the house last night.  Today as my neighbors in class were trying to warm their chilly toes I was all set!

Namaste!

50 ways to reuse your yoga mat!

Click here to see 50 clever ideas for making use of your old yoga mat.  My favorite as Christmas approaches, is to make tree ornaments out of them.

-Jen

framework

Much of the suffering we experience is created by the framework we place on things that are happening.  Once we realize that and learn to control our thoughts we can find more happiness in our lives.

The other day I witnessed this first hand.  I had seen someone in the parking lot at school and had given them a quick wave, no smile; lost in my own thoughts, not my style.  So when I hopped in the car, I grabbed my cell phone and made a call.  I wanted to explain myself, feel better about the energy between us.  I placed the call, and when my friend didn’t answer, I started to worry.  I’m pretty smart and very creative so when my friend didn’t pick up, I started creating a story in my head about why my friend hadn’t answered.  Then I noticed that this story was making me feel sad and I checked myself.  I was able to notice these thoughts, and dismiss them.  Furthermore, I was able to tell myself that the scenario I was putting myself through was not real.  The place I let my head take me to was all just framework.  So I reframed the situation and the suffering ceased to exist.

I later found out, that my friend didn’t even know I called.

Words in Water

Last Friday I attended Jacqui Bonwell’s chakra cleanse at HYP studio. Jacqui does this class once a year and the last time I attended was four years ago. I think I have said it before, but Jacqui is one of my favorite teachers. I am not able to get to her classes as often as I would like, but when I can it’s a blessing. She truly is amazing.  Therefore I could not pass up an opportunity to spend 3 hours with her. When I mentioned this class to others they were confused by the word “cleanse” in the title. They assumed I was going to drink green juices and meditate. I had to explain that the class was a normal vinyasa class, taught in a certain sequence. One that catered to each of the 7 Chakras individually in an effort to align them.Throughout class I was yearning to write down everything Jacqui said; simple yet profound thoughts. One anecdote in particular stayed with me. As we began working on the 5th Chakra, the throat, Jacqui talked about the frustration that many of us feel regarding relationships. She recommended for the 5th Chakra, if there is a relationship you have no closure around you can write what you want to say on paper- burn it- and put it in water. Visualize the words in the water next time you think about the relationship or scenario that needs, yet can’t get, spoken closure within your life. Even if you can’t physically write your thoughts down, the mere visualization of this is enough to help calm frustration, anger, or sadness.

-Ali

“If you realized how powerful your thoughts are you would never think a negative thought”

                        -Peace Pilgrim

Happy Halloween!

Today’s yoga sequence…. Namaste!

Day one – Meditating at home

Some things came up this morning and I had to come to terms with the fact that I was not going to get to class today.  I’ve been participating in a yoga challenge along with my sister, who teaches at …

“How Yoga Changes Your Body, Starting the Day You Begin”

I have seen this article posted on various social networks a few times today and thought I would share it. Enjoy 🙂

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/28/body-on-yoga_n_4109595.html?ir=Healthy+Living&utm_campaign=102813&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-healthy-living&utm_content=Title

-Ali

7 Morning Mantras You’ll Love

Center yourself in the morning with a Mantra…

What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Look at your phone? Think about everything you have to do that day? Why not start your day off on the right foot by centering yourself with a morning mantra.  Just a few moments of thinking positively can transform your day.

A mantra, according to the dictionary is:

“Any sacred word or syllable used as an object of concentration and embodying some aspect of spiritual power.”

Below are 6 positive morning mantras. If any of these resonate with you,  print them out, write them down, or pin them on your Pinterest board so you can easily remember them. 

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