friday fun day

hey hey!  hope everyone's friday is off to a killer start! 

i officially, for only a short while, have no classes on fridays.  they will be starting up again soon, but for now i'm sans plans.  i decided to take advantage of the time and i've spent my morning prepping playlists and sequuences for upcoming classes.  i start my turbokick class in a week and a half and i also added a butt 'n gut class, which is basically just a lower body blast.  i worked through what i want to do for that class and my legs were on fi-yah!

source

i'm really pumped about all these upcoming classes!  can't wait to make 'em suffer sweat!

today i wanted to also mention the topic of being reactive. 

are you a reactive type of person or do you keep your words and emotions in control until you fully gauge a situation?  i'm so reactive.  i have so much trouble keeping my emotions under wraps.  i grew up in a household where we pretty much always expressed how we felt and holding in emotions causes me to stress and i have to find ways to relieve the energy.  i'm just used to being an open book.  but that's not always the best thing.  meditating has helped me slow down the reaction process a bit, but i still struggle with it.  and sometimes being reactive about certain situations could upset someone and i'm always concerned about that.  i hate being in that situation where i think it over and realized i over reacted.  i need to practice being underwhelmed and i need to digest situations before jumping to -an emotional- conclusion. 

how do you face things that come your way? do you react before thinking or are you pretty good at taking it all in before doing anything? 

basic meditation practice tips

happy wednesday!

i wanted to share some meditation techniques with you guys today because i took on Ah Meditation Challenge from patricia moreno and have actually seen a real impact in my life because of it.  i was doubtful.  i read the testimonies and life changing experiences, but i never really thought it would happen to me.  but i felt compelled to give it a whirl... and much to my surprise, things that i've meditated for have been manifesting in my life.  i've picked up a new mantra: when i meditate, i co-create

and man, have i been meditating.

i'm envisioning, i'm saying mantras, i'm manifesting and i'm meditating and i'm loving it.

so i wanted to share a basic meditation technique with you from the ever fabulous sadie nardini.

this meditation will bring you to the present moment and help relax an anxious, or overstressed, mind.

even just 5 minutes a day can have an impact.

and i'm gonna continue rockin' out my AH Meditation

enjoy your day!  make it a good one!

and if you try out the meditation, let me know what you think!

or if you're an avid meditator, i'd love to hear your perspective as i'm still new at it.

hey lady, where've you been?

it's been forever since i've had a chance to sit and hit up the blog.  i've sporadically been popping in and checking in with some of the blogs i follow, but i've rarely even had a chance to comment.  i promise i didn't fall off the face of the earth...

between an increased class load, work load and life load i've been running around like a chicken without it's head lately.  between running from class to class, impromtu road trips and travel and odd and end projects i'm working on, i've been slacking in the blog department.  sorry loves.

so i'm here now to fill you in.  i can't disclose everything that's been happening, but the great news is that one big thing keeping me busy is my summer schedule!  i have added at least 4 more classes per week to my schedule and some of those classes include spin and turbo kick.  very pumped about these additions.  i love to get my yoga on, but i also love to make people sweat!  i have the urge to kick butt in class every now and then and these cardio classes definitely fulfill that need!

on an anxiety note, i'm happy to say that the traveling didn't throw me for a loop.  car trips used to be a fate worse than death for me... but i happily made it through the entire quick trip and even managed to stay chill in the face of 2+ hours worth of NY traffic.  definitely something i'm super proud of and these challenges continue to show me just how far i've come. 

have you recently faced any triggers and remained calm, cool and collected throughout?  i love noticing and experiencing these milestones because it reminds me to constantly keep striving for tranquility. 

another fun thing i'm working on is lining up people for some fall/winter workshops as part of Discover +Recover fundraisers.  I have a list of some pretty cool people and should we get them on board, i'll definitely keep you posted because if you're in the area you'll absolutely wanna check 'em out! 

so what's the good word?  what have i missed during my whirlwind of craziness?  

happy weekend

my weekend has been off to a great start despite a rough week.  for some reason, my anxiety has been coming on pretty strong.  i know i've been dealing with a lot, so my goal is to take one thing at a time.  no sense worrying over everything because i don't have control over everything.  i can only do what's in my power.  in order to help myself along a bit, i'm amped up my workouts...

sweat much!

i kind of went a little nuts in my spin class tuesday night!

i've been doing more yoga at home... deep stretching and restorative, because restorative seems to be floating my boat a lot lately.  i've been finding lots of comfort in checking in with my thoughts and feelings and practicing just sitting with them.  i've also, as per a patricia moreno challenge, taken up a daily meditation.

the verdict?  i'm LOVING it!

its very powerful to sit with yourself and just listen.

and its especially amazing when i'm feeling anxious because the first reaction to that is always "ah! get rid of it!" haha. 

so i'm going to offer you the same challenge.

the next time you feel anxious, sit and close your eyes. rest your attention on your breath and just listen and tune into what's going on inside you.  don't run from your feelings or judge them.  you may be amazed at what you learn. 

i know i've been!  and when i do this, i'm not exerting energy trying to 'fight' the feelings.  i find they go away in like 90 seconds max!  fighting our anxieties and stresses actually brings 'em on stronger and it becomes a painful mental battle. 

so i am happy to say that i've been feeling pretty good since yesterday.  i had a heart to heart with one of my girlfriends about something that has been on my mind and causing me immense stress and she was so amazing about understanding.  i've been meditating and yoga -ing and working out like nobody's business!  i'm taking everything that's in my control and making it work for me and leaving the rest up to fate. 

on another note:

i ordered some things from iherb.com the other day and am in loooooove!  sun warrior protein powder is raw/vegan and i'm digging the chocolate.  it's given me a lot more energy than other proteins i've tried and i notice a difference.  its also a lot more filling.  i also have been taking probiotics.  i had lots of debate over this but everyone that took them swore by the power of them in helping keep a healthy tummy and regulating digestion.  something that keeps my stomach feeling great?  hell yeah!  they are going very well so far and i haven't been taking enough to know how the impact is long term, but i'll report back in a few days. 

have a fabulous weekend loves!