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.