Getting Back on Track

When I started this blog at the start of the New Year, I mentioned that I felt that January 1 is a hard time to make drastic changes. I shared that I like to wait until the New Lunar Year which will happen this Thursday, February 3rd. So while you may be at a place where you are holding fast to your resolutions or have already fallen away from changes you had hoped to make, I encourage you today to take a moment to reflect on the things that you do each day that either increase or decrease your own vitality and feeling of satisfaction in life. You might find one or two things or habits in particular to focus on  either decreasing or increasing so that you may feel greater levels of harmony and fulfillment. Small changes are the best! Small changes are harder to make than everyone thinks but they add up exponentially. As your energy and mental clarity increases, it is usually natural to start making more and more changes that transform your attitude and your life in a graceful fashion.

For me, it's committing to keep making it back here on a regular schedule and doing more things just for fun. My dog's passing and then a project that ate up every moment of spare time I had for two weeks knocked me off course. There will always life events that have the potential to knock us off course. When that happens we have many choices:  we might just need to sit tight a bit, perhaps some redirection is called for or maybe you just pick yourself up and get going again. Sometimes being knocked off course points out that perhaps the goals you were chasing weren't really the right ones for you at this time. Taking time to get clear about what you really need and what you actually want is essential to living an empowered life. I think there is a lot of pressure in this country to "stick to your ideals." But, what about maturity? What about the fact that we are (hopefully) always learning and growing and that what we once thought was what was right for us might have changed. With increased self-awareness and sensitivity it's easier and more fun to maneuver the inevitable changes and challenges that life has to offer.

Keys to Health and Healing

If you want to experience the greatest potential for health and happiness, it is important to have a strategy. It is in the nature of the pulse of life to move through periods of health and occasional illness or injury. Most of the time our body naturally recovers. However, our body's natural ability to heal is often hindered or slowed due to effects of stress. Although short bouts of stress actually elevate our body's natural defenses, long-term stress wears us down.

Most of us think of stress as the result of interpersonal-connections or our mental response to life's circumstances. But much of the stress that decreases health is measurable physical stress on the body. On a daily basis, we are all exposed to countless chemical toxins in which our bodies work viligently to filter out. These chemicals come at us in the air, in our water, in our food, in our grooming and beauty products, in our cleaners, weed killers and more. Our bodies experiences stress from less than ideal diets, constricted breathing and dehydration. Decreased movement, poor alignment and repetitive use movements wear down our musculo-skeletal system. Lack of sleep, a disconnection from nature, lack of sun exposure, noise pollution, too much staring at tvs and computer screens, among many other habits all contribute to physical stress.

It's not my intention to cause more stress by pointing all of these challenging influences out but I do want to call attention to the importance of having a personal health and well-being strategy. What can you do to nourish and care for yourself, your family and your environment so that you may offset some of the daily stressors we all experience? These small habits and rituals or "keys"  that you incorporate into your lifestyle will support your body's natural tendency to thrive.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Decrease the amount of toxic chemicals that you are exposed to on a daily basis. There are great natural cleaning and grooming products out there that are healthier for you and our environment.
• Check your drinking water. I've been hearing about this element of health more and more lately. Recently I came across an article on the health and safety of the drinking water in our country. Although our City of Cincinnati was rated 16th in the healthiest drinking water out of 100 cities in the nation, there were still 7 chemicals that exceeded health guidelines and 16 pollutants found in the water. Changes we might make to consume healthier water might be to decrease our own use of chemicals, get a water purifier and demand healthier tap water. This link will take you to the study http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/home .
• Reduce the amount of processed and refined food that you consume. Increase your consumption of fresh, natural, organic and whole foods.
• Get daily exercise.
• Check up on your posture. An Anusara yoga class is a great place to learn more. You might also make an appointment with a well-informed personal trainer, yoga teacher or chiropractor.
• Get out in nature. The air is most pure amongst a grove of trees. Give your mind a rest from the drama of everyday life by visiting  a park. Our natural world is essential to our health and survival and also reminds of the great energy of life that we all share. 
• Put some stress relief strategies in place. A few ideas might be: breath exercises, daily exercise, hobbies, getting together with good friends, visualization, journaling or just anything that makes you feel good naturally.

On his holiday, I didn't feel like I should leave today's blog entry without mentioning Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. All of us can use his example as a source of inspiration. He knew in his heart that what he experienced in the world around him was not right. He cultivated courage, wisdom, passion and endurance to make changes with great skill. He aided the transformation of an entire nation of people and overcame fear, hate and resistance. If he had it in him to influence history, I believe we all have it in us to make simple changes that will create a better life for ourselves and our world.

Take care!

...And, Sometimes You Just Have to Get Through the Day

Sometimes you flourish and thrive and other days there's nothing to do but make it through. I’ve had a rough week this week. In my food post on Monday, I mentioned that my dog, Chloe, had not been eating. Her time with me on this planet, ended on Tuesday night. I loved her like a child and miss her immensely. I have to say the pain is stronger than I expected. In times like these one has to pose an important question, “am I going to slow down and honor the pain I’m feeling, or am I going to push through it?”

Sometimes there appears to be no choice. We know people are expecting things of us and we also place expectations on ourselves. It is true that we need to be challenged in order to grow but sometimes we just really need to give ourselves a break. I think our society today is definitely “a push through the pain” society. Just look at the pharmacy shelves and the commercials on television for all of the pain-killers, acid reducers, anti-depressants, and more. Don’t get me wrong, I understand there is a time and a place for medicine and I am grateful for all the physicians, surgeons and researchers out there who are working to improve our health and wellness. I just really think that if we all felt more comfortable with giving ourselves time to more fully heal when our hearts, our bodies, and sometimes even our egos are bruised, we’d all feel much better more often of the time. 
I am grateful for the practice of yoga, which has helped me to become more self-aware of how my behaviors and life circumstances are affecting me. In a yoga class you start to pay more attention to how the way you move and think affect the way you feel. As you increase your self-awareness, you start to see more clearly what little things you can do for yourself to ease your pain and encourage faster, fuller healing. Sometimes it means challenging yourself to do things you are a little uncomfortable with and other times it means retreating a bit and allowing yourself time, space and a healthy dose of TLC to help you recover more quickly and grow more fully because of the experience.
Thank you to everyone who sent little notes of recognition and comfort. It was very helpful and much appreciated!

FooD!

I don't really think I can have a health and wellness blog without talking about food! So I guess this is as good a time as any to start the conversation. Food is intensely on my mind for several reasons. 1 - I'm in the middle of a food-based "cleanse" where you simplify your diet to give your body systems a break and help you find greater balance. 2- The topic of food and dieting is all over the media because diet and exercise resolutions are so abound right now. 3- My sweet doggie is not eating! So here I am cutting back on food for myself and doing everything possible to get her to eat something. To keep the topic light in my heart, I joke that she has simply decided that life isn't worth living if she has to eat dog food. So "master" has become "servant" (although it's never really been like that) and I find myself making special meals for her that my husband and I hand feed her.  All this situations are shining a light on the preciousness of food.

Food is life. Food is medicine. Food fuels us and feeds us. Food can give us great pleasure. Food connects us in celebration and conversation. But, food can also do all the opposite things. In this time of reflection, you might ask yourself what small changes you might make to both enjoy your food more and get more out of it.

If you are interested in paring down your diet, here are a few links that might have some good info. I am doing an Ayurveda Balancing Program in which I'm eating lots of kitchari + veggies. The food is actually very tasty but no doubt it will be new to a lot of you. I'm including a website with an article about it and another with recipes. Whole Living Magazine also puts out a great New Year's/New You edition each January. Much of the info is on their website. Check the links below and Eat Well!


http://www.wholeliving.com/photogallery/4-week-makeover
http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/888
http://www.ayurveda.com/online_resource/kitchari_recipe.htm

Sunday, Jan 9th > Workshop > Use Yoga to Improve Winter Health

BRING BALANCE BACK INTO YOUR LIFE… 
YOGA AND AYURVEDA FOR THE WINTER SEASON

JOIN US FOR A WORKSHOP THIS SUNDAY (JANUARY 9TH) 

FROM 1:30 TO 3:30 P.M. at Shine Yoga in Hyde Park

Is winter already dragging you down? Do you feel susceptible to digestive issues and disruptive imbalances like the flu, anxiety and insomnia?  Why does this “funk” seem unavoidable?

From an Ayurvedic perspective, the accumulation of Vata energy is causing depletion in the body. From a Western perspective, the accumulation of holiday stress is keeping you from your “regular” routine. Both hold true when it comes to your health. 

Yoga and Ayurveda for the Season is a workshop dedicated to bringing Yoga and Ayurveda together in action.

This two-hour workshop is designed to help you safeguard your wellbeing throughout this winter season. It combines a simple, Vata-reducing yoga practice with guidance on Ayurvedic diet and lifestyle choices. Attendees will depart with a Managing Vata tip sheet and a short home-practice for “grounding yourself” over the upcoming winter weeks.

Join Kate and Liz at Shine Yoga Center www.shineyoga.com this Sunday. Use your class pass, or pay at the door. The workshop cost is $15.00.

About Kate Noble and Yoga: The inspiration for Kate’s teaching style is rooted in the celebration of everyday living. She brings a wealth of information and passion from a broad background to help each student connect to their inner wisdom and cultivate greater personal harmony.

About Liz Stites and Ayurveda: Liz’s strong interest in individual wellbeing led her from business to the practice of Ayurveda. She is a Certified Practitioner from the Kripalu School of Ayurveda and studied under some of the world’s leading Ayurvedic teachers. She incorporates techniques that have been accepted for thousands of years in the East—with a practical approach for today’s Western living. 

Please visit my other blog for today's post.... www.kateeo.blogspot.com which is dedicated to more personal inspirations stories, notes, quotes and photos. I'll try to meet you back here Monday:-)

CARVE some time for yourself

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." – Buddha

Please note that the strong proactive word of “carve” is an intentional replacement of the word take in the all too familiar phrase of “take time for yourself.” I don’t know about you, but that phrase always make me cringe a bit. (Although you will continue to find me using it throughout the course of this blog.) But here is what goes through my head when I read or hear the phrase, “Like I don’t have enough to do already without adding one more thing. I can hardly keep up with all that I’ve created in my life already.” Anyway… if you aren’t taking time to care of yourself — body, mind. heart and soul — chances are you are actually losing time, health, and energy.

Finding time that you didn’t have before to take better care of yourself can be difficult but it is important for so many reasons. I’m sure you can think of a few yourself! Let’s come back to that idea of "carving." Imagine a fine Renaissance sculpture… think Michaelangelo’s David perhaps. Now consider the skill, and planning, and time that must have gone into this sculpture. To carve you have to take away from one thing to create something new and potentially more beautiful or satisfying. There’s no going back either. You can’t just glue on what you took off. (Here you might think of the Venus di Milo — sans arms.) So, feel free to create time for yourself a small bit at a time. The breathing exercise from yesterday is a fantastic start.

I mentioned in the beginning of this blog that I am not encouraging New Year’s resolutions. I am however encouraging a time of reflection. Perhaps you can think of one or more unhealthy habits or experiences that are using up your time without giving you anything meaningful in return. Take time to observe. What energizes you? What drains you? What can you release so that you will have time to do something more meaningful or beneficial for yourself or others?

By the way… me?... I’m a “piddler.” I take forever to decide what I’ll do next and what order I should do it in. Then I second guess it all. I’m working on being more spontaneous and efficient in my decision-making and not worrying “too” much about each and every detail. Right now I'm resisting the urge to re-read this more than twice. So for all you detail oriented people please forgive the typos and grammar errors;-) Sometimes you just gotta’ flow. Or so I suspect?????

Carve time today…  peel away one little thing that drains you to make space for something that makes you feel alive and HAPPY. If you aren’t ready for the carving yet… plan it.

B – R – E – A – T – H – E !

As I’ve begun to more thoroughly organize all the health and well-being wisdom, I’ve collected over the years. I think one of the most helpful thing one can do for themselves (and for each other) is to breathe well. Sounds simple enough, right? But, I bet if you could see yourself breathing throughout the day, you’d be amazed at how often you hold your breath or at what a low percentage of your available oxygen consumption you actually use. Breath is the stuff of life! It powers our cells, it clears our minds, it calms our nervous system and it is a bridge between spirit and matter.

The following excerpt is how I begin most of my yoga classes. It takes just a few minutes to more fully find your center where you are more integrated and harmonious. If you are so inclined, give it a whirl. If you are an “over-achiever” maybe try it out a few times a day and enjoy the bliss. 

“Just take a nice slow deep inhale and a full complete exhale. Take a moment to adjust your body so that you are relaxed in your hips and you can allow your spine to lengthen up. You might gently close your eyelids to encourage a few moments of relaxation. For the next few minutes just bring your awareness to your breath. You don’t have to breathe any certain way and please don’t judge your breath. You might notice if your breath is shallow or long. You might also notice subtle differences between your inhalation and exhalation but nothing should be judged as right or wrong. You are just increasing your self awareness without any criticism or judgment.”

Usually just taking a few moments to pay attention to your breath will help your breath become more regulated which means a clearer, more peaceful and more vibrant state of being your you.

Enjoy. 

Alive to Thrive

Thanks to everyone who posted positive feedback. I am so incredibly appreciative of your support! So today's blog post title is "Alive to Thrive." I had actually hoped to use this as the blog title but that name was already taken. So I decided "Alive to Thrive" would be the name of my "program." Flourish is the name of my personal training, yoga and oh so much more business. So Flourish and Thrive will have to do.

So why "alive to thrive?" This past year a dear friend suggested I read the book "The Power of Full Engagement." It was one of those life changing reads. In the book the authors suggest you write out your own personal mission statement. You know one of those exercises where you ask yourself, "when I look back on my life, how do I want to have lived?" and other such things. Basically the exercise is that you write the line, "My purpose for living is...." I can never really come up with one clear answer - well maybe? There are too many purposes! Or, maybe I don't really know if what I do on a daily basis really counts as a purpose. Recently though it's becoming clear that my purpose for living isn't totally clear and that is just fine. I fill in the line with, "My purpose for living today is to enjoy my life as much as possible and try to find a way to make a positive impact on the world around me." So basically I am alive to thrive. It's an empowering thought. Even though I am in a big state of transition and I still don't really know what I'm "going to do when I grow up" I am at least living purposely for myself and others. I think the exercise is an amazing way to develop self-appreciation and to focus your energy. During this season of reflection you might want to give it a try?

Here's how you can take it a step further... fill in the blanks....
My purpose for living (today) is.....
The best way I can do this today is....
The best way I can do this in the future is....

You are unique for a reason! Let your light shine... flourish and thrive.
Peace, Kate

Welcome to Flourish and Thrive

OK, so first I have to say I’m a little intimidated by what I’m about to begin. I wanted a way to offer inspiration, motivation and information to help myself, my friends and members of my community stay on track with better personal health care habits. As a yoga and fitness teacher by trade, one of my guiding work principles is that when we care for ourselves we have more energy to enjoy our own lives and we have more to offer others.

Still, there’s a big part of me that wonders if anyone really wants to hear this stuff. But, every week in my yoga classes I remind people that they are special… that if they feel called to do something, they should. I really believe that each of us has many gifts to share with each other and that it takes courage to offer them. For some reason my appreciation for life has flourished into a desire to live the healthiest, happiest life possible. I really enjoy studying about life and about our bodies. I also enjoy coming up with strategies to help people thrive in life.

I hope to offer small tidbits that will inspire you to connect or reconnect with your innate wisdom. By increasing self-awareness you’ll know just what you need to do to flourish and thrive. 

So here is step one.... take time to reflect.

I know many people out there are working on New Year's resolutions or maybe working on already "failing" on their New Year's resolutions. I would like to offer another alternative... take time to reflect. Take time for yourself! Just let yourself be as you are right now and know that maybe you really are perfect for this moment. Sure, there are a million ways each of us can do better. That's the exciting part about life. We as human's have the potential to change. But, if we are always focused on how we want to be different, we can never really enjoy who and where we are. 

Placed close to the middle of winter, the solar New Year is not really the ideal time to make progressive changes. Look around you and you'll know what you are supposed to be doing. Like all of nature around you this is the time for you to slow down a bit. To draw energy back in to yourself, to remember what brings you joy and energy. The lunar New Year falls a little later, usually in February. Although February still feels pretty wintery here in the midwest it is a little closer to spring. There is more light and more energy available to make positive progressive change at the this time of year. So, I use the solar New Year as a time to turn inward, to reflect, to rest and to restore my motivation and drive. I begin to think about what changes I'd like to make and then I give myself the few weeks between the Solar and Lunar New Year to come up with a plan to make the changes I hope to see in my life. This year's Lunar New Year falls on February 3rd. Whether you are working on small or big hopes, dreams and goals or are perfectly content with how you are right now, I wish you all the best for 2011.