The best beauty treatment...

In today's world people are consumed with "beauty" - we spend hundreds, even thousands, on miracles creams, cosmetic surgery, fad diets, etc. with the hopes that they will make us more attractive, skinnier, healthier...happier.

We think often on what we are putting in and on our bodies but there is something else we need to also consider.

What are we feeding our minds?  What our we using to nurture our spirits?  What are we doing to allow ourselves to be radiant?  To be content?  To be filled with joy?

There is no beauty that can compare to the beauty that comes from happiness, the randiance a person exudes when they are filled with joy and confidence, the kind that is infectious!

This is my challenge to you, and to myself, because we can all use a little more joy in our lives:

1.  Take time, at least once per week, to do something you enjoy! 

• We are often overscheduled  and overwhelmed with the things we HAVE to do (work, school, chores, taking care of the kids, etc., etc.,), when was the last time you did something because you wanted to, simply for the enjoyment of doing it?  Take a hike, volunteer your time for a cause you support, enjoy nature, read a book, get a massage, take a yoga class, revive your long lost hobby, cook a gourmet meal, tinker around in your garage...you get the point, do something for you, something that brings you joy, YOU DESERVE IT!

2.  Handle that unfinished business.

• We've all got it, that thing we need to handle that we've been procrastinating about. Maybe it's smoothing over a disagreement with a friend, calling grandma to say hi, cleaning out the garage or closet, finally selling/donating that junk that's been lying around, answering that email you've been avoiding...whatever it is, just do it!  Get it off your mind because chances are you think about it a lot and then it becomes a source of stress, just another thing for you to worry about.  "Handling our business" is a great way to help clear the mind and make room for happiness!

3.  Exercise.

• Get moving! Get your blood pumping, draw in fresh air and feed your cells!  Exercise can come in any form, I recommend yoga, of course because of it's many physicial and emotional benefits :) but do what you enjoy, run around outside with the kids, go skiing, go hiking, go kayaking, take a walk, go for a bike ride, dance, play with the dog, work in the garden - it doesn't only have to be counting the minutes on the treadmill.  Exercising releases endorphins, making you happy and beautiful from the inside out!

4.  Laugh.

• This one is simple but important - do something that makes you laugh because it's also good for your health!  Just act silly, watch a funny movie, go see a comedian, play with your child or pets (these are always good sources for fun and laughter).  The best beauty accessory a person can wear is a smile!

Nurturing yourself from the inside out is the best beauty treatment you can give yourself and it's good for your health - trust me you are worth it!

Living Balance Yoga - Corporate Yoga, Office Yoga, Private Training Yoga, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Orange County, sierra woodling

More than just asanas.

When we hear "yoga" most people think of the asana practice, the physical practice of yoga postures, but to limit yoga to only the asanas is to miss out on the wisdom and happiness yoga provides us.

Pantajali, often seen as "The Father of Yoga", laid out The Eight Limbs of Yoga in his sutras - these are guidelines to unify us with ourselves, with each other, with creation as a whole and ultimately with the divinity that resides in each of us.  To practice yoga is to quiet our restless minds, remove our egos and open ourselves to the divinity that surrounds us allowing ourselves to travel down the path to happiness, peace and contentment. 

Yoga is something that we practice on and off the mat.  Many, including myself, begin their yoga journey with asana practice and find themselves wanting to learn more once they see the change the asanas bring to their lives.  Asana is a great place to begin your yoga journey because it helps to cultivate awareness within the other 7 limbs of yoga even though we may be be conscious of it.

My blogs in the following weeks will dive a little deeper into the 8 limbs of yoga, but following is a brief description of each:

1.  Yamas - these guide us in our interactions with the world around us, they teach us that we are compassionate, generous, honest and peaceful by our very natures:

• Ahimsa (nonviolence)
• Satya (truth and honesty)
• Asteya (non-stealing)
• Brahmacharya (sense control)
• Aparigraha (nongrasping/nonposessiveness)

2.  Niyamas - these are guidelines in our actions toward ourselves, our personal disciplines, and include:

• Sauca (purity)
• Santosha (contentment)
• Tapas (right effort/austerity)
• Svadhyaya (self study)
• Ishvara-Pranidhana (dedication to the divine) 

3.  Asanas - physical postures
4.  Pranayama - breath control
5.  Pratyahara - withdraw from the senses
6.  Dharana - concentration
7.  Dhyana - meditation
8.  Samadhi - enlightenment

We are all born with a bright shining light inside of us, an innocence and magnificent wonder about the world that fosters love for ourselves and each other, that bonds us to each other, the universe and the divinity present in all of it; as we grow older this light can grow dim, getting covered with figurative dirt and debris left behind by our experiences - yoga can help us clear all of that away so that our light again shines brightly.

Simple pleasures.

After a busy day of leading yoga practices yesterday I found myself a bit tired today; I wanted to take it "easy".  The weather is beautiful in SoCal (in the low 70s and nothing but sunshine) so I decided to take a walk.  I've lived in SoCal for 16 years and before today had never visited my local wetlands...I thought to myself minutes after beginning my walk, "I can't believe this is in my backyard and I've never taken the time to appreciate it before!"  There were so many birds, ducks, sandpipers, swallows, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, White Faced Iibis' (these are fairly uncommon to see, so I was lucky today), American Coots, killdeer and many more that I'm not sure of  what they were. 

The highlight of my birdwatching today though was being fortunate enough to watch what I believe was a Peregrine Falcon* hunting and have it fly by, so close that I was able to look into it's eyes!  What an amazing creature, circling above, diving down to the water and gliding right above the wetlands with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop - it was truly amazing to see. 

Such simple things: a walk in my backyard, birdwatching, enjoying the sunshine, watching a bird of prey do what it does naturally, hunt - so simple, so beautiful and so amazing.  A flock of seagulls is often seen as a burden, they are scavengers, pests to be shewed away, yet today I watched them circle, hovering on the wind in a large flock, acting almost as one large bird, all together, moving in unison; it was magnificent.

How fortunate I am to have experienced this today; the simple pleasure of watching birds fly, feeling the sun on my face and the wind in my hair, it left me smiling, filled with joy and truly grateful to be alive.

Lose your mind...

One of my yoga teachers recently said something in a practice that sticks with me.  She said, "Lose your mind and come to your senses!"  It's such a simple statement with a simple message that's not so simple to put into practice.

We are constantly bombarded with mental stimuli; we are constantly asked, by others and ourselves, to make judgements and solve problems, the wheels of our minds are always turning, sometimes with so much force that they are all we notice; we get caught up in our world of logic, and though it's useful, it sometimes needs to be put on the back burner so we can get back in touch with our senses, our wonderful senses.

When was the last time you stopped to appreciate the pure joy of sunshine on your face, the warmth it provides, the happiness it bestows, the life that it gives us?

When was the last time you actually did stop and smell the roses, or the sea air, or that wonderful earthy smell in the forest after it rains?

When was the last time you took a bite a food and noticed the wonderful layers of the flavor instead of just "scarfing it down" while you watched the news or hurried on your way to some other appointment?

When was the last time you appreciated something, anything, simply for it's beauty and not for what it was useful for?

When was the last time you stopped to enjoy the sounds of the waves crashing, or the birds chirping, or your favorite song, or maybe even the silence?

Many of us don't take the time to appreciate all the joys that our senses can bring us on a daily basis; we miss out because we are stuck in our minds.

I encourage you to take the time to notice the small things around you, all of the things that your senses can take in, let them guide you for a day.  Enjoy your friends' laughter, the taste of the wine on your tongue, the breeze on your face, the beautiful building your drive by on your way to work or the wonderful aroma coming out of your neighbor's (or maybe even your) kitchen.  Let these little things bring you joy; give thanks for the wonderful body you inhabit and the beautiful world we live in that lets you notice all of these things.

There is a time for thinking and a time for simply being - allow yourself the freedom to do both.