Life List

a fabulous fellow yogini commented about my Life List and suggested sharing more of it with you. as i love hearing from you guys- i was more than happy to share some more snippets of it

in no particular order...

Bonnie's Life List ... so far

1- explore every place i visit by going for a run (would love my sneakers to touch at least 2 foreign places before getting a new pair!)

2- sipping wine in a hot air balloon

3- take a volunteer vacation to someplace i wouldn't normally travel to

4- learn a language - would love it to be french!

5- take a raw foods and vegan cooking class

6- open a yoga studio

7- begin to host Present Moment workshops in other states

8- write a book (this is a BIG one for me!)

9- run the San Diego Rock 'n Roll marathon

10- drink wine and snack on cheese in Paris

11- live in Paris for a few months, possibly have an apartment there to travel to whenever i want

12- renew my vows with my husband in some exotic location on the beach for our 5yr anniversary

13- meet the President

14- get pilots license

15- go skiing in Switzerland

16- pray in India

17- create/work on a documentary exploring anxiety and holistic health /healthcare

18- create a non-prof focused on helping people dealing with anxiety, OCD, hoarding, self mutilation, depression, etc.

19- learn to dance -ballroom and hip hop and swing

20- learn to surf in Australia

21- own my own company (or yoga studio) and have hubby quit his job and work with me

some of these i've already done and some i hope to do really soon! i'd also LOVE to take a girls trip up to kripalu annually or host my own yogini retreat one day... ahh, so many dreams, so little time!

what are some things on your life list?

image

take a challenge

i've been totally engulfed in everyone's recap of the 10.10.10 chicago marathon. i follow many bloggers and have read a lot of their journeys.... to some of them being marathon veterans to others losing their marathon virginity! and it's been so exciting!  i love hearing their accomplishments, listening to them talk about struggles and how they overcome them and getting inspired by their dedication. i adore running.  but i'm terrible at it! and i think that's why i'm so drawn to it. i truly do believe it's important to do things you aren't naturally good at or talented at because it promotes a lot of growth. especially for someone like me that used to be a perfectionist and wouldn't even try something if i didn't think i could automatically master it.

and we practice this intention a lot in my yoga classes. i always encourage students to try new poses and experience new sensations as they practice. i often remind them that no one cares if they fall out of a balance or topple out of crow. i've done it myself a couple hundred times! and i used to think nothing was worse than if i was teaching a balancing sequence and i just couldn't stick it. here i was, teaching the poses, trying to show them how to breathe and move, and i would lose my footing or wobble over... but you know what i say now? i'm human! i have my good days and my bad days and so will they! it's nothing to be ashamed of or to not try or to get frustrated about!

so to all those inspirational marathoners - CONGRATS on a great journey and adventure!  what an accomplishment! you've inspired me to continue on my running journey and let it take me where it will.

a marathon is something on my Life List.

what are some aspirations and/or goals you have?  who encourages you to stay dedicated?  how do you find ways to stick with challenges? 

source

Let it Go

after our big sunday running excursion, the hubby and i were feeling pretty tight. i took to my yoga mat and got my stretch on and felt much better after about 30 minutes of hip openers and backbends. hubby was feeling a bit jealous so he actually asked me to show him a pose to help him loosen up his sore legs. i guided him into pigeon and quickly saw resistance in his body. being the awesome wife that i am, i pressed my hands into his lower back to draw him deeper into the pose. his whole body shook, he pushed back against my hands and said "that's it, i'm done!" i thought about his experience for a moment. during yoga classes, i often help guide students deeper into their asana practice with gentle adjustments, but here was a true beginner that was very resistant and not used to moving his body this way. my hubby comes more from the school of "muscle through it" then soften and i realized he's really not the only one. how many times does ego get in the way and we push through a pose that we know is uncomfortable for our bodies or we so desperately try to get into a certain pose that we lose all sense of alignment just for the sake of reaching our hands behind our backs or balancing on our palms?

so this week, i've dedicated all my classes to the intention of surrender. and not the kind of surrender that means just giving up and throwing in the towel.  the surrender that comes with softening the body, accepting the pose and releasing into it with no expectations or force.

here are some of the poses we've focused on during class

high lunge

natarajasana (dancer pose)



plank into chatarunga

vasisthasana (side plank)

eka pada rajakapotasana (1 leg king pigeon)

*we added a forward bend to this

we also did a lot of moving core work and downward dogs.

the entire time, we focused on creating calmness and softness within each asana. we used our breath to guide us deeper into our hip openers, to give us grounding in our balances and strength in our plank work.

when you feel as though you are struggling or muscling through a pose, smile, bring peace to your face and focus on softening throughout your entire body. trust that you will move into the pose without having to push against it.

i try to set intentions at the beginning of each class. so this week we set the intention to surrender. let go. whether its a demanding asana or a fight with a friend or a looming work project, don't worry about forcing a conclusion. trust the process and learn to let go. sometimes letting go is the most powerful thing we can do for ourselves. 

images

back to basics

happy wednesday! it's the middle of the week - almost the weekend! i've been off on my days all week. yesterday was mine and hubby's anniversary and we celebrated by going out to this little italian restaurant we adore. i kept mentioning how i couldn't believe it was only monday - hubby was like "hello, how strong is that drink??" i absolutely had to have a french martini last night. what can i say? i'm a martini yogini.  it's kind of cool to feel a day behind. it means my weekend will get here even faster!

i've been going back to basics lately with food, exercise, yoga and life. over the weekend, i laced up my running sneakers and headed out with the hubs. we did a quick mile and it felt great. i had a short lived love affair with running last year but the brutally cold winter kept me indoors and once summer hit my schedule went haywire and i didn't make much time to fit in the miles.  this cooler, fall weather is just begging me to get out there and who am i to ignore mother nature? we had a blast and my love for running returned hardcore. i'm signing myself up for a local 5k event that's hosted in december. yes, it's always crazy cold, but the race's claim to fame is the hot chocolate awaiting you at the finish line.
score.
'nuff said.
so back to basic race training. and i'm pretty thrilled.

i've also been relishing in my home practice. i've taken it back to basics with my asana and pranayama and am practicing with more of a beginner's mind. i tend to want to always push ahead in my practice and get all sweaty in a vinyasa, but sometimes restorative and yin yoga just rock my world and i need to honor that slowness and deepness of practice. i'm exploring my practice from the inside out and taking my time.
i've also been busting butt in the kitchen lately. making super simple raw or vegan meals and making sure the hubs and i are nourished with whole foods that fuel us. he's been loving it and i'm finding it really fun to just discover new recipes and get busy baking. i haven't made the same meal twice in close to 3 weeks and i'm finding a love for things i never thought i would. white button mushrooms, butternut squash 'fries' and kale salads... nom nom nom.

vegan black bean burgers were on the dinner menu on monday. i made extra and have since crumbled one up over a kale salad.

i just finished a small batch of vegan pumpkin scones. my entire apartment smells like fall. um, how freakin' awesome! who needs candles when you have a stove and some organic canned pumpkin? these puppies are for after dinner tonight with some warmed cinnamon vanilla almond milk.

and hopefully i'll be enjoying that decadent treat in bed next to these

anniversary flowers from hubby!

and this

because who doesn't love to have a slumbering puggle next to their bed?

and if he's in his bed, that means i get my bed all to myself!

well.. at least until the hubby comes in.

have you ever felt the need to just take it down a notch and switch things up by going back to old routines, hobbies or practices?  do you find peace in returning to basics?  or do you thrive on pushing to the next level?

manic monday? not so much

its a gray day today... full of chills and cold drizzle and whipping winds. it's the kind of day you want to bury your head under your comforter and throw your alarm clock across the room.

my weekend was pretty terrific. it wasn't too busy, which i love, and i got to fit in everything i wanted to. friday night a friend and i hit up a 2 hour zumba-fest. so fun! we were sweating like crazy and it felt good to crawl into bed that night.  i had to get up early, like usual, for my saturday AM class, and felt great. i taught my power yoga class and the hubby and i stayed in and celebrated (early!) our anniversary. it is actually tomorrow, but hey, you can never have too many celebrations, right?  i tend to milk events for everything they're worth  ;)

the party wasn't quite this rockin, but we still had a total blast!

the weekend definitely brought the cooler weather in - fast and furious- so hubby and i decided to head out for a run sunday morning. that's one of the {very} few things i enjoy about cooler weather - outdoor workouts! some plans fell through and i was left with little else to do but watch 6 full hours of football. for some, this may seem torturous, but for me it was heaven. i didn't leave my hooded sweatshirt or flannel PJ pants for nothin! i stay curled on the couch and we wound up ordering in because i've been a fiend in the kitchen lately!  i'm kinda patting myself on the back for that one ha!

i had a bit of anxiousness friday before the zumba-fest because my stomach was acting slightly violent to me throughout the day. i was concerned and thought about cancelling, but i really wanted to do this. and i really wanted to see my friend. and i really wasn't going to let the nerves call the shots. i was still a bit queasy on the drive there, but i loosened up and really enjoyed the workout. and i (tried) to rock the dance moves like i was a seasoned pro! no stomach aches, no issues. score.

have you ever cancelled plans or skipped out on something because your anxiety "might" make you sick or "might" act up and you didn't want to take a chance? 

i used to do that all the time! its funny how we tend to anticipate the worst, and things rarely turn out to be as scary as we imagine.

source