Daughters of Ursa Major [playlist]

Pass the Spliff [playlist]

Reggae inspire playlist.

A Year Ago

I started teaching about a year ago. Here is a little reflection on my journey.

Are you cooking in the bathroom?

These are a few items from the kitchen that you will find in my bathroom.  Included are some of my favorite recipes.

The association between yoga and hippies is not an accident.  As yoga starts to seep off your mat into your life you start to look for ways to do the least harm to the environment.  There are many practical, natural products that can be used for skin and hair care.  Here are just a few.

1.  Coconut oil.  I use this for everything from skin to hair.  I rub it on my face, drop it in the bathtub and use it as a deep conditioner*.

2.  Sea Salt.  I use sea salt as a hair product.  I make a great beachy hair spray for pennies to the dollar of those found in stores.**

3.  Baking Soda makes a great face scrub or on the fly toothpaste.  Mix it with a little water and scrub away.

4.  Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV).  ACV is my new hair conditioner.  I wash my hair with an all natural bar soap from Jonathan’s Organics.  Every other time I wash I rinse with ACV.  I fill a small bottle halfway with the ACV and mix with warm water and pour.  Make sure to rinse out thoroughly as the smell can linger.

*Coconut Hair Mask:
– Soften the Coconut oil by rubbing it between your palms. (If it is really tough to get out of the jar run it under hot water)
-Saturate the hair with coconut oil (About 2 Tbsp)
-Wrap the head in plastic wrap or a shower cap.
-Leave for an hour or so.
– To rinse out: shampoo and condition as usual (you might need a few shampoos) OR pour Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) over the hair to take off oil.

**Beachy Hair Spray:
– tsp of sea salt
– ¼ tsp of coconut oil
– warm water
-small spray bottle

Mix all ingredients into the spray bottle. Shake until salt is dissolved and the oil is dispersed. (You may need to run the bottle under warm water to melt the oil each time you use it.)

Beginner’s Mind [playlist]

A playlist full of covers, giving a new perspective to some very popular songs.  Some of the covers are different than the ones that I included on my list so I captured the itunes list.  Some of the songs were things I grabbed years ago from various sources, so I am not sure where they can be found today.  Some were just not available on Spotify.  Scroll down to listen.

Be bold [playlist]

from Almost Famous

No Man is an Island

Yoga helps us to go inward and connect with our higher self, the Seer.  But we are still part of a community.  No matter whether we want to be or not.  

This week in class I read a quote that has always stuck with me from Dawson’s Creek.  The main character Joey is having a conversation with her college professor about Walden Pond by Thoreau:

Mr. Kasden: [reading from a book] “Near the end of March, 1845, I borrowed an axe and went down to the woods by Walden pond. Nearest to where I…”

Mr. Kasden: What’s the most important word in that sentence?

Joey: Woods?

Mr. Kasden: Borrowed. The important thing to remember about The Transcendentalists, is that while self-reliance is a most admirable trait, Thoreau wasn’t really all that alone out there by Waldon pond. He had neighbour’s, friends, people he could rely on. We should all be so lucky.

Each of us is part of a larger community.  We have our family and friends, acquaintances and strangers.  These people have helped us to get where we are today.  We are all connected to these networks of people, these nets that hold us and keep us from smashing to pieces on the ground.

The great thing about community, large and small, is that they are there to support us in our endeavors.  In this business of yoga and “finding ourselves” it takes more than a mat to get us to enlightenment.  We need the people around us to help us grow.  It can be as simple as needing someone to watch your kids while you go to class or having a buddy ask how your practice is going to remind you someone cares.  These people lift us up and support us.

Directly after the quote read by Mr. Kasden, Thoreau goes on to say.

It is difficult to begin without borrowing, but perhaps it is the most generous course thus to permit your fellow-men to have an interest in your enterprise.

Allowing other people into our story brings it to life.  Think about how it feels when a friend shares their goal with you.  You feel a part of their success.  You take a vested interest in their endeavor.

To this end, I have started a small meditation support group with a few of my friends.  I had wanted to include more meditation in my daily life and I asked for the support of my friends to push me along and keep me honest.  Today is day 10 of 30.  One-third of the way to the goal.  It has been great to hear feedback from others going on the same journey and having people who care how I am doing with my goal.

Is there something you’d like to achieve?  Can you invite someone along to motivate and support you?  I never knew how good help was until I asked for it!

Sutra Sundays: How to Be Happy Always

Here is some beautiful advice from Swami Satchidananda. I have been watching this on a loop.

Release expectations, you will be happy always:

You cannot fix the world

This quote comes from the article “Social Justice Burning you out? Stop Trying to Change the World.”

“Our aim is not to put an end to all darkness but our aim is to be a light in the darkness.

It’s the difference between being in a pitch black cave and trying to transform the entire cave into a beacon of light versus being in a pitch black cave and steadily and faithfully holding our one lit candle.  One of these is overwhelming and impossible.  The other will change the world.

Have you realized you don’t have to change the whole world to change the world?  If you help someone, you’ve changed their world, and that is definitely changing the world.

Although we cannot fix the world, we can certainly change it.”

We have the power to change the world.  We have the power to impact our world, which in turn impacts the world of others.  Each day we have the choice to change our world for the better or worse.  Each choice is a stone thrown in water, sending ripples from your world out into the world at large.  Make conscious choices.  You can change the world.

Songs I am OBSESSED with [playlist]

Today’s music post is a little different.  These are all songs that keep making it onto my playlist over and over.  Some are new, some are old, all strike my soul.  At the bottom of the post is the Spotify playlist with them all.  Please share your obsessions in the comments!

Joshua James: From the Top of Willamette Mountain

I am currently obsessed with this entire album.  Actually, I’m pretty must just obsessed with Joshua since I hear “FM Radio” and listened to it on buses across Spain while reading Into the Wild (also an obsession).  My favorite songs at the moment are : “Mystic”, “Queen of the City” and “Wolves,” in which the howling just forces you to sing along!

Colton Dixon: “You Are”

Angela Miller (American Idol): “Set Me Free”

I cannot put this one on a playlist as this has not been recorded yet, however it is a gorgeous song.  This is the best thing I’ve seen from Idol in a long time.

Jewel: “Life Uncommon”

I could write a diatribe on how under-appreciated Jewel is by the world as an artist.  Her lyrics are divine.  I have heard this song many times, but this live performance is amazing (too bad the front verse is cut off…)

I have added a few other songs to the mix: