Blog
Advantages of an Abundance Mindset
A little clay bull sits beside the computer monitor at my desk to remind me to have an abundance mindset. Why would a clay bull remind me of this you ask? In today’s post I’ll explain the significance behind the bull, tell you a story of how an abundance mindset saved me $10,000 dollars and share some suggestions for cultivating an abundance mindset yourself.
Inspiration for the Home from the Sacred Valley
While snipping and stashing away my lemongrass cuttings before the cold evenings of Autumn begin to set in, my mind travels back to when I first began to enjoy lemongrass in my tea. It was a couple of years ago while in a lovely little dining room at the historic and romantic El Albergue hotel in Ollantaytambo, Peru. I was there for our annual Travel to Transform retreat and each morning we would meander down to the dining room to start our day with a fresh cooked meal and a cup of coca tea to help adjust to the change in altitude. They had a table in the dining room where they set out bowls of freshly cut lemongrass, fresh mint leaves and dried coca leaves (for assisting with the change in altitude), as well as fresh fruit, yogurt, granola and other breakfast goodies.
Roadblocks & Detours in Life
When life throws you a roadblock, it is time to look for the detours. There is almost always more than one way to get from point A to Point B. The problem is we usually have our blinders on and are so accustomed to our typical road home that we never see the myriad of other options. And even if we ultimately decide our familiar road is the best choice, it is wise to make a conscious effort to be open to and looking for opportunities, options and alternatives. This blog post talks about a few reasons why this is a good idea and reflects on a few personal stories that support this prerogative.
Choosing Good Vibes
It was a bad day turned good day by intentionally choosing good vibes over bad when things were headed downhill. Expecting good things are going to happen is so freaking powerful! I use this power of positivity time and again in life, but sometimes I catch myself getting in the habit of whining and complaining too often and then I’m amazed all over again at what happens when I strongly shift my attitude. In today’s blog post I’ll share just a little example of how that worked for me on Friday.
Harvesting Herbs for Winter
As nature begins to slow down and prepare for the end of another growth season, so too can we begin to prepare and look for ways to mimic her rhythms and slow down as well. We can celebrate this season of harvest by fully appreciating the last of the fresh local summer bounties from your garden or the farmers markets and if you are blessed with an abundance, by taking the time to store away some of this bounty for the winter ahead. I’ve been more than a little preoccupied with my pots of herbs on the deck lately, so it seems only right to devote this post to how to extend the enjoyment of these beauties into the cold winter months ahead. If you too have an abundance of herbs and enjoy cooking with them, read on.
Mango Yogurt Chia Seed Pudding
Since chia seed puddings are quick and easy to make in advance and store well for about five days, I am now hooked and have started to experiment with recipes for them on my own. I’ll share my favorite one with you at the bottom of today’s post, but first let’s talk about why would you want to eat these seeds anyway and what makes them so unique compared to other seeds you may already include in your diet? I’d often heard them referred to as a superfood, but after reading a bit more about them I now fully understand why.
The Simple Joys of Rosemary
I fell madly in love with rosemary years ago. It wasn’t love at first sight and I don’t even remember how she started capturing my heart, but there are so many simple ways of using rosemary that bring me such joy today. This fragrant fair maiden is native to the Mediterranean and is a member of the mint family. In this post I’ll share how to reciprocate love for this herb so you can cultivate a year long relationship and I’ll suggest some of my favorite ways to enjoy both inside and outside the home.
Ditch Goals and Replace them with Dreams
It is this difference in language of dreams compared to that of goals that leads me to assert that it is time to ditch goals and replace them with dreams instead. Many people will tell you to dream big dreams, but set realistic goals to help you achieve them. This thought has some merit, but it is my belief that the difference in the language used when working with achieving what you want for the future is very very important. When it comes to creating and altering your current reality, the mode of feeling is infinitely more powerful than the mode of thinking. When we envision how we would look and feel if we were to realize our dreams, our subconscious begins to activate movement in a direction to create the vision.
Weathering the Storms of Life
Wild. Bold. Beautiful. This summer thunderstorm. As I watch the trees bending under heavy gusts of wind, I am amazed at their resilience. It reminds me of how I too have managed to weather storms in life. How in the chaos, the hurt and the unknown of how to overcome, a sense of knowing resides deep down within that this too shall pass and that I’ll still be standing when it does. Perhaps a little ragged around the edges, but a little wiser too, a little stronger and with roots digging down a bit deeper to anchor me as I stand back up tall.
Cultivating Your Intentions
Just as you know that beautiful flower gardens don’t appear overnight, neither are intentions immediately set never to be broken. Let’s take a look at some of the steps that bring a gorgeous flower garden into being and how we can use this as a metaphor for creating our own beautiful intentions in our minds and for our lives.
Summertime Soup
So when you need to use up excess veggies, in my house, it’s time to make soup. This yellow squash and tomato soup is one of my all time favorites, especially for summer. It’s light and has a unique blend of vegetables that make it a little different, healthy and sooo delicious.
Taking Time for Tea - A Mindful Ritual
Tea has become a morning ritual for me and is something that can bring me back to the present moment multiple times throughout the day. While I don’t practice the full ritual I suggest below every time I take joy in a cup of tea, I’ve noticed that small segments of this practice have become a habit - a ritual of sorts, with almost every cup I brew. In this post, I’ll talk about a few of the benefits of different types of tea, when to drink each type and why, how to practice the art of mindfully drinking tea and suggest a few of my favorite teas that may be new to you. I hope you’ll join me on this little diversion into the joy and mindful practice of drinking tea.
Realizing Intentions through Mindful Attention
How many times have you set an intention, whether in a yoga class or just life in general, then immediately allowed your brain to shift to the next fleeting thought? …How can we make sure we follow through on our intentions? This post explores thoughts and ideas on this very question.
Creating a Solo Retreat at Home - A Wise use of Precious Time
So many joy filled moments, so much laughter, so much fun. Yet what we came away with was even more precious. We came away with a renewed sense of focus, a strong feeling of purpose and a plan. Each in our own we, we jumpstarted our paths forward in our own directions by allowing this time for ourselves. And this is why you should go on a retreat. With so many of us choosing not to travel this year, we can still create a lovely solo retreat at home or close to home.
Sthira and Sukha in Yoga, Life and Love
Sharing a journey and insights on stretching, but honoring your limits in yoga, life and love. As I reflect back over the years, I realize how many facets of life I stretched beyond my limits and broke parts of myself. Yes, I mended and in many cases came back stronger, but I don’t think the breaking was necessary for the strengthening along the journey...
Sao Jorge - Slow, Long, Deep Exhales
A new place. New friends. A new adventure. My happy heart began to beat quickly in anticipation of beginning to explore this new destination. Yet when I stepped off the plane it seemed as if instantly the world slowed down and a sense of calm came over me...
Tips for Grounding and Creating Moments of Joy in Uncertain Times
Grounding activities get you out of the chatter in your head and back into the comfort of your body. Grounding is a frequent term used in the yoga community, but you don’t have to practice yoga to feel grounded. There are a multitude of ways to reestablish your connection with the earth, with something bigger, to sink fully back into your body and to allow yourself a few moments to simply savor the joy of being...
Shaved Cauliflower Salad Creations
That is one of the great things about a cauliflower salad - it holds up well with no wilting and is just as appetizing on day three as it was on day one. Okay, well pretty darn close anyway. And if all this isn’t reason enough to add these to your summer salad favs, add the fact that cauliflower is low in calories, but jam packed with vitamins and minerals. In addition, it is high in both fiber and antioxidants and is low in carbs for those of you trying to stick to a low carb diet.
Is a Qi Deficiency Causing my Lack of Sleep?
What on earth is a Qi deficiency you may ask and what could it possibly have to do with my lack of sleep? That was my first question too when I had an herbal consultation with a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner last fall to see if there might be an herbal remedy to help me sleep better.
10 Ways to Press Pause on the Worry Button
10 suggestions for pressing pause on the worry button, whether you are worried about what your financial picture may look like at the end of this pandemic or you are concerned about your health or the health of a loved one or even anxious about relationship challenges caused by close quarter quarantining.
Creating Your New Normal
As you ponder what your new normal will look like in the coming months and after the pandemic is over, it might be a good idea to give some focused attention to what brings you joy and actively create your own personal new normal. In this post, you’ll find some ideas and techniques about how to purposefully craft your unique new normal in a way that will bring you greater joy and more inner peace.
Simple Ways to Clean from the Inside Out
While you are busy scrubbing all those frequently used surfaces, a spring cleaning on your insides will go a long way to strengthen your immune system and keep you healthy as well.
Rituals to Multiple Joy
I keep pondering the ending to a yoga class I recently took from Rachel Roberts, owner of The Yoga Bar studios. As we rested in savasana, she told us about a nightly ritual shared by her and her husband…
An Uncomplicated Life
Ah Corsica, dare I speak of you for fear the secret spread and taint your unspoiled beauty? What is it about you that lures me back time and again?
Zucchini Spirals – Delighting in the Bounty of Summer
Ah the dog days of summer; too hot to move; too hot to fire up the oven, so time to get creative in the kitchen…
One Breath. One Berry. Blackberry Escape.
The days have been a little crazy lately. I can’t seem to find enough time for all I want to accomplish. This is a challenge I’ve worked on for years and while some weeks I deal with it better than others, my monkey mind was really chattering away this morning...
You Can Learn a New Language
While many people swear by Rosetta Stone, it requires you to set aside time specifically to devote to your language learning experience. Since my days are already jam packed, I prefer to squeeze my practice into the drive to and from the office. If you want to limit your learning time to listening in the car, on your phone etc., a couple of popular options include the following:
Ideas via Meditation
Today – feeling amazed recognizing that knowledge already known, yet buried deep in subconscious, can be uncovered by spending a mere fraction of the day in purposeful silence.
Mindfulness goes Mainstream
This is an enlightening read written by David Gelles. I had no idea that the practice of Mindfulness is quietly becoming mainstream and that many corporations have developed mindfulness programs for their employees…
Preserved Lemons
I’ve got a thing for lemons, but lately the love affair has taken a new twist.