Miss you all and yoga!

Just wanted to say hi and let you all know I am really missing class. After only being there two days this week I am craving some intense yoga! I am visiting my brother in Ft. Lauderdale, but I'll be back in town soon and I can't wait to get back to the studio. I really need the regular routine of coming in because I am so new to keeping my practice that it's still a challenge for me. Seems like everyone else is really having a much easier time with the regular practices and meditations. I think once my schedule is back to normal I should be able to get in the groove. I have to admit, it has been a bit a of a mental struggle trying to push myself to do it on my own.

Miss you though : )
See you next week!
Shalini

Happy Friday!

Well let me just say that reading through the posts I can really see the beauty in this program. It is so nice and comforting to know that there are other people experiencing the SAME things as I am. I am not as alone in my feelings as I thought. The food hasn't been too challenging, well I lie. I work in a restaurant (Mimis Cafe in the Town Center) and we have these muffins, I swear they are laced with something, maybe what Chrissy puts in the kool-aid (jk Chrissy) but anyway, I find myself snacking on them throughout my shift when I really don't even want them, they just look really good and I know they taste good. But they are not what I want, so I really just need to stop (easier said than done though) But other then that this week has been a lot of fun. It's been nice to see all the familiar faces around the studio on a more frequent basis, keep it up yall and see you soon!

in peace in love
Siddie

Hi Everyone!!!

I'm finding my regular diet is well balanced overall.  Today however I hit one of those little bumps in the road and found myself ravenous with a handful of Terra Blues. Yowsa!  Meditation is good, I've been practicing for a while so it's a regular part of my morning and night.  I wish I could be at the studio daily, but I'm there in spirit!  Hugs to y'all!

Morning Miracle.

Hey fellow yogis (yogis is right, right? remember I'm new at this stuff)

I had my first meditation breakthrough this morning. It was awesome. Amazing. Incredible. I vibrated before I knew it! (I set my phone alarm on vibrate. Nice break from a loud alarm...) But really, I have never, and I mean never, been able to meditate! I had the usual trouble in concentration ofcourse. Kept having to come back to Om Namo Shiva, and think of my thumbs, etc. But it was such a great achievement. And relief. And pleasure. I can't wait for tonight.

The food thing is going alright. I totally agree that taking time to shop and buy and sit down with whole foods is what keeps me from them most. I find I eat hot foods most, but when I eat cooling foods I feel cleaner and better somehow. Infact I'm craving cooling foods. I crave watermelon all day. I can't wait for the 3 days of fruit. I'll be in heaven.

See you soon : )

- Shalini

hey all! well i don't know about you but even just the act of writing down what i eat has really made a huge difference. you know sometimes i eat snacks mindlessly throughout the day when i don't really need it. so writing down what i eat sorta makes me more aware of just how often i am mindlessly scarfing down crackers or peanut m&ms and junk like that. not that my eating pattern is looking that great this week b/c of it but i am snacking on junk snacks way less because then i would to write it down:) i don't seem to leaning towards one side more than the other but i do need to watch out for those foods that rob me. . . they have shown up on my chart a couple times. anyways i hope everyone is have a super day and i will see ya at class!

Food Issues

My turn to say hello. I missed seeing everyone last night and wished I had been able to come down to take class. I teach spinning classes on Tuesday's and Thursday's so those nights never work for me. I took my friend's mind/body class to get some yoga in and it just wasn't the same. I tried to approach it in a different way, being mindful of my movements etc. but my head was spinning and I just had too much time to think about other things to stay focused. Not so different from how it feels to meditate right now but I'm working on that too.

In writing down what I am eating every day I've noticed that I'm definitely hooked on the convenience foods right now- lots of Lean Cuisine's for lunch, Odwalla Bars, protein shakes..... I rationalize things saying that I don't do fast food, soda, chips, candy and all that other stuff but I'm still not eating "real" food. I think the problem is that in order to eat whole, unprocessed foods you have to have time to shop and prepare them on a regular basis. Every night that I go to yoga I am gone about 3 1/2 hours because of my travel time so there is very little time left over at the end of the day. So where to go from here........ What has to give in order to make things better when there isn't a whole lot of wiggle room left to play with? Lots to think about. Sending you all good thoughts from Georgia.

Melinda

Meetings start next Wed!

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know that the Wednesday night meetings will start next Wednesday, September 3rd!

See you around the studio,
Mel

howdy, fellow cult members

I'm teasing, of course. I woke up today thinking I won something on ebay last week and forgot to pay. So I zoomed out of bed to my COMPUTER and found I'd been outbid. Then I checked my email, and got a sinking feeling that I was starting out all wrong.

Bad Chrissy.

So I logged off, got back in bed, and shut my eyes for 10 minutes. Then I sat up in bed and began my meditation. Pretending the ebay thing never happened. I'm kind of slack on myself that way-- I pretty much always give myself a second chance.

I decided to check out the food thing, like whether I'm hot or cold. Since I've been craving the cumcumber-dill combo for the last week I decided to stick with cold for now. I made some very kick-butt avacado cucumber dill soup and I'm happy to say it was de-lish.

Happy Day : )

No worries on being number two Effie. It was your unintended gift to me today : )

It brought me much relief as I have been online all morning, doing just what Mark said we should not do these 40 days- but it's soo my routine, online Outlook emails, checking notes in my day planner, a zillion phonecalls to the office and clients.

Am I already sucking the zen out of the blogs? Lol.

But I made a commitment to making myself good and you good. So from tomorrow... a different morning routine!

I'd love any suggestions. I will see you all tonight in class. Thanks so much for being a part of my journey.

Shalini -

Ps. I can't wait to share my story some night about what my Blogger name means and how it came about.

hi everyone! wowzers i am number two to make a post. i am so excited to be a part of this program and to develope new friendships with all of you. i really did not realize how much i needed this in my life until we got together monday. this is going to be an amazing experience!

Presents for Presence!

Hey all! Hope you found it easy to connect to this blog and welcome.

As Mark mentioned last night, this blog is open to the 40 Day Participants as a means of support and communication. You know like, "Let's all do a double-header tonight, see you there!" or "Help! I can't sit still during meditation!" Remember- we all made that commitment for growth within ourselves, this program, as well as with each other!

So week one- PRESENCE. Anyone else see the presence meditation as a gift? I know for me, I will be sitting there, silently, no distractions (besides my mind!) and I will have that one shining moment when I realize that I was able to follow one complete breath from beginning to end. I get so excited... a moment of presence! And then, just as soon as I have it, there I am again, back in the thoughts. But it was there, even if only for a moment. A joyful, peaceful present of presence.

And eating- who knew there could be so much presence in it? To actually sit with a meal- no emails, no TV, no music, no newspaper... just food. What a concept!

And of course, yoga. To practice presence in poses is profound. (As is alliteration.) Looking forward to seeing ya'll at the studio!

In peace, in presence,
Mel