"Feeling unlimited in her flow..."

Teaching at Lululemon at South Coast Plaza this Sunday was fun. I met up with Bobbi from Lululemon on Wednesday and she had me try on a few new items, and strike some yoga poses in the über comfortable clothing for their newsletter! I had just visited the doctor about my chest, as I've re-aggravated an old rib-injury, and was a little nervous about doing yoga in front of the camera, but the room was warm, the process quick, and after a few deep breaths I felt relaxed and at ease on my mat.

Thank you to SCP Lululemon Athletica for having me. Special thanks to Bobbi. I will be back on Sunday, February 17th, 9:30-10:30am!

my beautiful vibrant friend

There are few people in the world that offer my as much inspiration as Lionda does. In the midst of any adversity, you will find this little nugget smiling bigger and wider than a man who just won the lottery. And it's genuine. She's got some massive spunk and when life kicks, she kicks harder, and even though she's almost two heads shorter than me, in many ways, I look up to her.

Over the years I have become very close to Lionda, and we share a mutual passion: health and fitness. Lionda is a trainer at "The Perfect Workout" - a slow motion strength training specialty gym. No one has broken me down the way she has: sweating bullets, laughing, groaning, more laughing, more animalstic groaning - thankfully this ridiculous kick-your-butt-cheeks workout only lasts 20 minutes, and thankfully I have the best trainer in the world.

I also went on my biggest running adventure with her: 18 miles along the Santa Ana River, from Yorba Linda to Huntington Beach. Even though her knee was beginning to hurt about 16 miles into it, she was the one encouraging me as we paced ourselves towards the blue crisp line on the horizon. "Just close your eyes, and imagine you are sitting on a big comfortable couch, feet kicked up, drinking a glass of wine..." I felt like I could barely smile, but she managed to make me laugh. She knows I love my wine.

Most recently, she managed to talk me into a cleanse. No processed foods, no processed sugars, no dairy products, no meat (which we both already don't eat), no breads, cereals, potatoes, and the list goes on... (I know, right? Sounds like we can't eat anything - ha ha). As we were negotiating the terms of this cleanse via text, I found my monkey hungry indulgent mind resisting. Why do this? I already eat clean and healthy, and even my indulgent moments are fairly mild. Why put myself through this ... torture. Why put so much thought and energy into this? Why obsess? My thoughts were lashing out.

I was trying to wiggle myself out of this one. Why is my beautiful vibrant friend challenging me again?

"What about wine?" 

The negotiation room went silent. This was the deal breaker. Wine and health is an issue of considerable debate, and in my head I had already begun to defensively prepare a deliberate speech on the pros of wine consumption. Wine drinkers tend to share similar lifestyle habits - better diets, regular exercise, non-smoking, etc. ( P. Mansson "Eat Well, Drink Wisely, Live Longer" Wine Spectator, Nov. 29th, 2001). That's US! Hello! We love to share a glass of wine together! Wine is probably a contributing factor to the strength and divinity of our friendship :)

My phone buzzed. "One glass of wine per/day."
She knows I love my wine. I smiled. 
"Okay, I am in."

In my head I told myself that these glasses could accumulate, like sick/vacation days at fancy corporate jobs, and at the end of the week I could drink the whole damn bottle if I so pleased. I had to tell myself this, even if I never took my big vacation to Cape Coast.  

We originally agreed to the cleanse for 30 days, but after doing some research on www.psychologytoday.com, I was the one that insisted we do it for 66 days. Lionda agreed immediately. An extra month didn't seem to intimidate her, and she barely asked for any rhyme or reason to my suggestion. The rhyme and reason? Recent studies show that it takes anywhere from 18 to 66 days to create a good habit. There is a lot of variation - among people as well as habits. Some people are simply "habit-resistent", and some habits are just more challenging to create. I wasn't sure what we were up against, but if we were gonna put all this effort into it, I wanted to do it right, and leave absolutely no room for error. To be sugar-proof, we needed to do the full 66 days.

Today is DAY 11. 

We log what we eat on the "My Fitness Pal" application. It's easy to use, and a simple way for us to reflect on our day and stay on track. It's not really necessary, but it helps. She's my only friend on there, and I am pretty sure I am her only friend, too. We occasionally comment on each others progress. Not that we don't already know what the other one is up to. We picture message each other the healthy delicious foods we love and are enjoying, and on rare occasions the yummy and not-so-healthy things we see that we are missing a little. We also workout and cook together. She is a better cook than me (well, everyone is a better cook than me, ha ha) but when I get really bored of the salad routine, I run to her for ideas and comfort. 

I would never have finished those 18 miles without her, and I certainly would not have gone 11 days (and still going strong) without my favorite little breakfast burrito at The Lost Bean. I am so grateful to have a friend like her, constantly motivating, challenging, and encouraging me. Her love for life is contagious. If it's not with my own will that I complete these 66 days, it will be with the help of hers.

I will continue to blog and share about this adventure that Lionda and I are on, so tune in! To find out more about The Perfect Workout visit http://www.theperfectworkout.com/why-is-the-workout-perfect/  Lionda  Liepiņa works out of the Anaheim and Tustin locations.

Happiness

We can experience pain and trauma, and still find ourselves singing and smiling, even if just for a few seconds. It reaffirms the will to live, and propels us towards a greater joy. These are my happy feet, and this is that moment for me.

Well, this is pretty cool...

So excited about this!

www.yogatoday.com

 "Discover a new way to do yoga. Search, stream, and download from our library of over 200 one-hour video classes –in settings that harmonize with the postures and at the level and intensity that’s best for you.

Much more than a convenient practice, Yoga Today is a growing community where you can immerse yourself in a lifestyle of health and wellbeing. Interact with our expert instructors, expand your practice online, and discover the place where yoga lives today and everyday" - Yoga Today

 

Pictured above are Sarah, Neesha, and Adi, the regular Yoga Today instructors. You can find hundreds of videos with these great instructors on Yoga Today! They are truly knowledgeable and seasoned instructors, and I recommend their classes for anyone who can't make it to the studio!

This past August I was presented with the opportunity to travel to Wyoming, and work with the online yoga website Yoga Today.

I've been meaning to blog about it for months... it's almost mid October now. This intense procrastination has mostly been fueled by my inability to find the right words to accurately paint the fantastic people I met and experiences I had that week. There is much to say, but I've decided that I am going to keep it simple and let some of the photos do the talking for me.

In retrospect, part of me wishes that I would have had the time and discipline to journal my experiences as I was living them. On the flip side of that, I feel that sometimes it's better to stay out of your head, away from paper and pens and over contemplation--- c.o.m.p.l.e.t.e.l.y --- and simply be IN those great moments one hundred percent. And that's what I did.

Although I cannot reveal much about the content, and have no clue when the yoga classes will be released, I can say that teaching yoga in front of the camera and out in the wild is one of the most challenging things I've ever done as an instructor. It quite different than teaching in a studio/private setting. When teaching a class in a studio or group setting, there are so many things to balance and juggle. When teaching in front of a camera and in the wild, there are 100,000 more such things! To be frank, returning to the studio, at least that first week, seemed like a piece of cake! This experienced most certainly made me a better instructor ... and humbled me to the core! ha ha

I want to thank Kim, Rich, Sunny, and everyone else who took such great care of me while I was there, and truly made me feel at home. I was not ready to leave Jackson when time time came (which is maybe why I accidentally missed my flight and had to stay another day - ha ha).

Thank you, thank you, thank you a 100,000,000x to the Yoga Today team! (Also, big thank you to my friend Ashley, who connected me to Kim. I am very grateful!) I look forward to the day that I am able to visit again. Enjoy the photos. I guarantee if you have not been there before, they will make you want to visit!

Trying to capture the immense stillness!

That's a lot of love all at once.

Early morning outside the Yoga Today Van. This is my favorite photo.

Sunny putting on sunscreen on of of the yogi-extras! It was hot up in the mountains!

"One need not travel to distant lands, seek exotic mystical experiences, master esoteric mantras and treaties, or cultivate extraordinary states of mind in order to experience a radical change of heart and inner transformation. Spiritually speaking, everything that one wants, aspires to, and needs is ever-present, accessible here and now -- for those with eyes to see. It's the old adage all over again: You don't need to see different things, but rather to see things differently." - Lama Surya Das

Street Class/Art Crawl/Downtown Anaheim Photos

Below I've posted a few photos of The Street Community Class that took place this past Saturday, August 11th, right before the Art Crawl. For more photos visit:

http://www.facebook.com/TheYogaMatAnaheim

It was incredible witnessing all the yogis stay focused and present despite all the LIFE and NOISE unfolding around them. As a teacher, it was truly inspiring to observe.

In fact, while in Savasana, a student got her face kissed by two dogs who were walking by with their oblivious owner.  Although I almost started laughing, Dre, the student, remained in savasana with a beautiful smile. Her eyes never opened and her face never tensed. Talk about embracing the moment and going with the flow! It was a memorable moment, to say the least!

Thank you to everyone who came. It was a lovely way to spend a hot Saturday afternoon. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!