Yoga

 

Yoga... Some believe in it's amazing healing powers and just all over well being for their lives. Some believe it's for granola loving hippie vegans and that the whole practice is silly and incredibly difficult. Which category do you fall into?

Before my accident, when I was shaping myself to be a dancer, yoga was something incorporated in all my dance classes. My professors usually infused yoga and dance together for every warm up we had at the beginning of class. My first attempt at this warm up was awful. I was struggling to keep up, sweating through every single pore. My body was so tight (tight hamstrings, muscles, etc.) every move felt ridiculous because I could do only half of it , mainly because of my lack of flexibility.

Well, I was determined to get better at this warm up. So day after day, class after class I kept at it. Then one day, almost as if everything fell into place, I seemed to have a flow with it. I wasn't struggling, the warm up made sense and I could feel just how in tuned to my body I had become.

Fast ward years later- I had an accident. I fell off a building. My once very loose, very powerful body was now back at the very beginning. My body was tight, wound up, stiff, and not showing many signs of flexibility.

Sure, there were exercises I did in physical therapy, but non to the extent that yoga played...until one therapist of mine recommend I get back into it about five years ago.

My return back was at a YOGA studio in MS. The instructor was Debi Lewis. A little unsure how I could handle it, I gave it a a shot. Debi was an amazing instructor and patient. Her verbal ques and the way she treated me (like I was just like everyone else), was really important. Information kept flooding back into my brain remembering certain moves, relaxing into certain positions and so on. But the best part, was that I started feeling and seeing results. 

http://joyflowyoga.com/ 

I kept at it for about a year. Life started to get busy for me, and I neglected my yoga practice for about two years. Until I started going back and forth to New Orleans so much. About a year and a half of traveling, I decided to pick up some classes at a yoga studio in Nola.

http://www.shantiyoganola.com/ 

Once again, it felt like starting from scratch. Eventually, by the sixth class, I could once again, see and feel results. My body really embraced this practice. I had only bought enough for 20 classes, so once my time was up, it was time for a renewal. Wanting to expand my horizon, I discovered a yoga Studio not far from where I stay when I'm in New Orleans...Balance yoga.

http://www.balanceyogawellness.com/ 

I've been going to Balance for the last couple of months. Not consistently, due to a crazy schedule, but I try to go as frequently as I can.

My first attempt back was the same as it's always been. I was starting from scratch. However, I've been very lucky, for all the different studios Ive been to, I've always had really amazing instructors. This was no exception. You know when you meet someone and you just click right away?  That was my feeling after my first class. The instructor and owner, Jessica, had this very nurturing, kind, and patient Ora about her that made it  easy to trust her automatically. I noticed that whenever she came over to help me or anyone else, she really and truly gives you her full undivided attention. As does the rest of the instructors

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Here is why I have a very special place in my heart for this studio and their instructors. I have been going to these early morning classes, getting tweaked what needs to, and making sure my forms are all accurate, and I decided to branch out and take another morning class one day, you know, to test the waters. My first class, a low impact class with Erin,  another instructor, was just as satisfying, exhilarating, and rewarding. "Ok," I'm thinking, "maybe tomorrow I'll try another one."

Tracy. Tracy was my instructor. Again, her class was low impact but had a great flow. So class is winding down, we've engaged our proper muscles, our bodies are warm and she invites people to participate/try to do and work on their own hand stands.

Side note- I learned how to do a handstand before my accident. I got really good at it, then after my accident never really attempted it since.

I thought, why not? You never know unless you try right? So, Tracey is so kind, and watches my first attempt- which, with the aid of a fellow classmate, I did a handstand!!!! After a huge moment like that, I had to document it- only this time, Tracy was my aid, and here are the results:

Yep, no stunt double. Just me, Tracy, and a HANDSTAND!!! By the way, I didn't totally come crashing down.  The feeling of ''possibilities'' at what this body can potentially do was such an incredible feeling. Possibilities are out there for you, you just have to make the first step towards them. 

Right now Balance Yoga and I have a great relationship. I plan to keep it that way.

Nicole

Everything is AWESOME!!

This past May I watched the LEGO Movie. I was aware of the movie but really had never thought about watching it. When my beau convinced me to watch it, and I did, I was blown away! Want the plot summary? Check it out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lego_Movie

I am a believer of being an individual. I also believe that when we work together creatively and collaboratively we can open many different  doors. One day, and we'll never know when that day is, our time to shine will come, and when it does, it really will be like none other. This movie exudes that message.  Indeed, it is a kids/family-friendly movie, but adults can enjoy just as well, this gal did.

If you haven't seen this movie, here is one critics take on the over all message:

"At its core “The LEGO Movie” epitomizes the internal struggle every LEGO lover has when they open a new set of the plastic bricks: Should I follow the instructions or go my own way? And it is inescapable which side the film comes down on. It stands its ground as an endorsement of creative, collaborative, and free play — for both kids and adults. The heroes in the film are rebels who figure out that you don’t have to follow the instructions and that, if you work together, you can save the world" 

That last line is unbelievable:
 "You don’t have to follow the instructions and that, if you work together, you can save the world" 

So, being an individual makes us who we are. Working TOGETHER opens a world of possibilities, which brings me to the movie's poetically perfect theme song, EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! EVERYTHING IS COOL WHEN WE'RE PART OF A TEAM!! 

Everything the main character expresses in this quick excerpt, I agree with....with the exception of the overpriced coffee. Many of us have fallen victim to this before.

You are special, and you posse many qualities that if used correctly, maybe in a group setting, could be absolutely awesome.

Nicole
 

Thoughts for Wednesday

Hello all. I hope on this Wednesday, these quotes shed some light, inspire, motivate, and just make your day go by a little easier.

 

 

 

Nicole

"Sunny day..sweeping the clouds away..."

SESAME STREET

Yes, I said it. Sesame Street. This fantastic show has been a friend, educator, instructor, provider, and so many more wonderful things. I used to watch this show growing up, and the friends I used to watch it with now have kids of their own who they now watch it with.

Today is a very special day for Sesame Street. Today, is Sesame Streets 45th anniversary!!!

I was born is '83. Sesame Street helped me, my imagination, and the world around me. As a kid, Sesame Street was on a level I completely understood. It was a huge staple in my life, and I'm glad it is still moving forward as one fantastic children's program.

So to honor today's 45 years and the late great Jim Henson's brain child, here are some blast from the past and a few new Sesame Street skits. 

Plus, the fact that celebrities have always jumped on the Sesame Street band wagon is pretty cool.

 

So I hope you enjoy, and remember what it was like to be a kid again 

 

 

Nicole

Ponder this

When I met my fella, which was over two years ago, I didn't really get a good first impression. To me he seemed to have this air of arrogance about him. It wasn't until we actually spoke to one another that I realized, he was a very nice guy and that he was just very confident and not arrogant. 

So on this Wednesday, I leave you with something to ponder: "don't judge a book by its cover". 

Nicole 

Frustration

Frustration is such an ironically, aggravating emotion. It always pushes our buttons, and wants us to eventually reach our breaking points. Frustration will effect us both mentally and physically and is not afraid to prey on either one. It builds us up to a point where we snap and open its doors.

Of course, frustration loves this. The problem is, we don't. If you stop and think about it, no one really actually enjoys being frustrated. It isn't something we get out of bed in the morning and will to ourselves. It isn't a hobby or past time thing we want to do. Not to mention the health risks that come with frustration, high blood pressure for one.

In my opinion, frustration is for the birds, because if we really boil it down, we'd know that we are the presidents of our own frustration. We are the ones that can control it, use it, lose it, we have the power! And being in power of yourself, and your own emotions, feels pretty nice.

There's an episode of Family Matters I'll never forget. The main character, Karl, is fed up with his pestky neighbor, Steve Urkle. In this episode, Steve has pushed Karl to his breaking point. Karl wants so badly to lash out at Steve, but instead recites out loud a rhyme he read on an anger management pamphlet. "Three two one, one two three. What the heck it bothering me?" He takes a breath, and subdues some of his anger. As the episode escalates, Steve keeps pushing Karl's buttons unintentionally, until Karl eventually does snap. He completely loses his cool, explodes into an erruption of rants until he is forced to stop because of the heart attack he has caused for himself. 

The fear on Karl's face (actor Reginald VelJohnson played Karl), knowing that he brought his heart attack on himself due to his frustration, was amazing. Mainly because it was performed so well, but also extremely scary just to realize that we as humans can be that self destructive. 

You're going to get frustrated throughout life. That's just a fact. But wether you choose to give that frustration life or not is your choice. Make a wise one, you deserve it. 

Nicole