Hello everyone!

It has been a little quiet on the blog for the last few weeks, but a lot has been going on behind the scenes!

Look for a lot of big changes to come including audio, video,  and more new classes! I wanted to reorganize the blog this year- notice on the bottom of the header what my main focus will be… I am branching out!

Although I am going to leave The Herbalist’s Path blog up so you can access the archives and be informed of my events, I am basically going to be posting all of my new herbal posts here on Authentic Mama.

New Look On Authentic Mama!

I am awestruck by the amazing new  header here on Authentic Mama created by artist Lisa Hunt!

Lisa and her husband Kort (graphic designer) are dream to work with! Professional, fast and absolutely amazing work.

I am going to add a new series on the blog about storytelling, myths and legends about herbs. Until then I thought I would share a post from way back on my Herbalist Path blog:

Herbal Legends, folklore & mediaval uses Hazel Corylus

Enjoy!

And stay tuned for all of the great new additions here on Authentic Mama!

Happy New Year! Look for some exciting changes on authentic mama in 2011!

Choose to grow with more new courses and free resources for mamas!

In the meantime, enjoy the New Year Celebration with your family!

Tonight I will be enjoying elderberry champagne -(for a quick ‘mimosa’ cocktail just add a little elderberry juice to store bought champagne)!

Cheers!

The holidays can get pretty hectic if we let them. We can get distracted by all of the big and shiny things.

With the modern world and all it’s advances we sometimes loose touch with what is really important.

A few nights back I was watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, he was visiting Provence France. Provence is famous for their simple living. In the episode Anthony was talking to one of the locals- he said, I’m paraphrasing, ‘isn’t it funny how people finally make it in life, become rich, spend their entire life working to make money so they can come here and get back to the basics again?’

I believe a simple life is what most people really want, but we get caught up in all the noise and glitter of modern life. We let the modern world around us influence what we are doing on a daily basis (most of the time without even realizing it- that is what good marketing is all about), when really the best medicine may be just to simply slow down and simplify.

You don’t need to move to Provence France to simplify your life, you can begin to make this a priority for yourself wherever you live. Who knows, your actions just may catch on to others around you!

Feel lost and confused? Lift the veil of confusion- focus on simplifying your life.

The more simple we make our lives,  the more clearly we are able to see ourselves for who we are and the world around us for what it really is.

Ask yourself what is more important the THINGS you have or your EXPERIENCES….

Read more related articles below for tips on how to simplify your life:

Related articles

• How to Simplify Your Life in 10 Steps (workawesome.com)
• Simple Living… with a Sense of Humor: Warren Johnson’s Muddling Toward Frugality (sustainablog.org)
• When In Doubt Simplify (zenhabits.net)
• Watch Anthony Bourdain Provence Part 1

Valuing yourself is one of the best gifts you can give to your children.

There are many ways to boost self esteem and feel worthy, below are a few ideas that you can use together with your children to nourish self worth.

1. Celebrate what is already working for you and your family.

2. Visualize the way you want your relationship between you and your children, family, and spouse to be;  take steps to live it on a daily basis.

3. Be in touch with mind, body and soul:  Teach your children to use positive visualizations and guided imagery for learning, creativity and relaxation. Practice your spirituality.  Encourage daily physical exercise so you can be in touch with your body. Give massage therapy!

4. Encourage your children to listen to the wise voice within, and you do the same!

5. Laugh and play together!

6. Live with gratitude and take time to thank others by both giving and receiving (you are worthy of gifts too!).

7. Keep moving forward; always growing and changing toward your best authentic self.

8. Ask for support when needed.

9. Stop judging yourself, be aware that negative chattering inside the mind and find ways to overcome it.

10. Valuing the place you live also shows that you care about yourself and the world around you. Get outdoors as much as possible, slow down and appreciate the miracle of everyday life (For example:  identify a new flower in your yard, learn as much as you can about it and follow it’s cycle through the seasons, what are the birds, squirrels,  bugs and other wild animals doing during the year?) Discuss and learn with your children.

Additional Resources- wonderful books for you and your children :
I’m a Medicine Woman Too!: A Tale of Herbal Wisdom and Personal Empowerment

Spinning Inward: Using Guided Imagery with Children for Learning, Creativity & Relaxation
Sanctuaries of Childhood: Nurturing a Child’s Spiritual Life

Related articles

• A Non-Consumer Christmas: Simple Gifts for Kids and Grown-Ups (getrichslowly.org)
• Charlotte Reznick, Ph.D.: New Study on Guided Imagery for Healing Kids’ Chronic Pain (huffingtonpost.com)

LOVE  Comments! Are there things you can do to express value for your family?

Fairy tales, folketales and myths live on!

You may think with all of the modern technology available that we would not need to sit around and tell stories to our kids anymore- heck we have hand held devices, TV and computers that can do that for us right? I couldn’t disagree more! Being a storyteller is one of the best gifts you can give your child.

Stories are not just for the camp fire. I find time to sit and tell stories with my kids daily. We have made this a daily ritual, if I ‘forget’ my kids remind me that it is story time!

I like to both tell my own stories and read classics from books.  I also use stories as a learning opportunity for my kids as much as possible.

Did I  mention that the stories are nourishing for me as well?

Being a mom of two young toddlers has been rewarding in more ways than I can count. One of the things that was a big surprise to me though, was how rewarding it would be for me to read fairy tales and myths again. I used to love them as a child, but as an adult I thought they would not have that much meaning for me now, boy was I wrong!

When I began to get curious as to why I would have these huge bursts of creativity after my kids were born, I listened to the audio , The Creative Fire by Clarrisa Pinkola Estes, I discovered right away just how soul nourishing learning through stories and myth can be.

I then began to delve into every story and myth I could get my hands on. Some of the fairy tales I read as a child and some are brand new to me. For those of you with girls out there, one of my favorite fairy tale books of the moment is The Maid of the North: Feminist Folk Tales from Around the World

Fairy tales and myths have deep meaning that I believe is missing in some of the forms of entertainment in today’s society. Watching a movie  is wonderful, but it is not the same as using your own imagination. Our imagination needs the power of story both from books and through the spoken word of the storyteller.

Create your own stories! Give your children a gift they can continue to pass down to future generations…

Within the last year I have began writing my own children’s stories as well. I began to take courses at The Institute of Children’s Literature .

I will also be beginning a writing course in January over at Savvy Authors called
Write a Novel With Mythic Impact with Marcy Weydemuller

My journey through story is ongoing. I am looking forward to sharing the power of story with my children as they grow.

We can learn so much about our own journey and personal development from the archetypes in literature.

***I will be writing a lot more about myths, fairy tales and folktales in future posts, there is so much to share! I feel so strongly about the importance of these tales in everyday life, that my blog theme (the new artwork that will be added to the top of my blog ) is going to be based fairy tale artwork (I am so excited, look for the new changes in early January).

If you would like to find out more about discovering your life path through literature, below are some books to get you started:

Stories We Need to Know: Reading Your Life Path in Literature

The Heroine’s Journey

The Power of Myth

How have stories touched your life? Have you learned anything about your own journey by reading myths, folktales or fairy tales?

Related articles

• Why do the National Book Awards bar fairy tales? (salon.com)
• Why fairy tales are immortal (theglobeandmail.com)
• Elizabeth Cunningham: Fairy Tales: An Antidote to Bullying? (huffingtonpost.com)
• A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (collectedmiscellany.com)

Be authentic, but don’t be self righteous about it.

” Too often we get hung up on the form of our growth, trying to find the “right” way to do it and then being self-righteous with others about our personal approach” From Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken: Transform Your Life with the Power of Authenticity

It’s pretty exciting when we are learning and growing and it really seems to be working for us. Whether it is a new spiritual path, a form of parenting style, or a lifestyle change, when we have that ‘ah ha’ moment it is tempting to tell everyone we care about it so they can experience the joy too.

There is nothing wrong with sharing what you know and your enthusiasm, and there is nothing wrong with setting boundaries if others cross the line.

However, as I mentioned in my self awareness post When it comes to being truly authentic, the intention is bigger than being ego driven (comes from our true authentic self- not based on seeking approval).

How many times have you met someone who ‘found’ a new spiritual path, diet plan, or parenting tactic and all of a sudden they are putting you down for your lack of following it- they must be right no matter the cost! By them being right it affirms that what they are following is okay, and they must have your approval. If you don’t agree with them then there is something wrong with you (even though just last year they were cheating on their husband in the back seat of the family minivan behind the pub- but now they have seen the light, and it is their job to judge you).

You may be asking ‘what about constructive criticism? ‘ well, if it is not asked for it is not welcome. Even when advice is asked for getting to preachy can be a big turn off. People are not going to be shamed into changing, and it is not going to inspire them to embrace your ‘right’ views.

Even if what you are doing is working wonders for you, it may not be ‘right’ for everyone else. A big part of being authentic is being compassionate and accepting of others, even if you don’t agree.

When you place your focus on others you are taking the focus off yourself. When it comes to self growth, what others are doing is not really that important.

What is important and what you should be asking yourself is:

• What do I need to deal with and heal inside myself in order to be the best version of myself I can be?
• How can I create the best environment or circumstance in which my growth will be supported and enhanced?
• What do I need to be fulfilled?

Choosing to grow and REALLY knowing yourself is hard stuff- for some it is a lifelong journey. We are all growing and changing, we can support each other with compassion without being judgmental.

Have you ever had someone judge you when you try to be more authentic? Leave your comments below I would love to hear from you!

Related articles

• Mike Robbins: Seeing Adversity As Happening for Us, Not to Us (huffingtonpost.com)

Greetings Everyone!

When I decided to bring Authentic Mama back as a blog, I really did a lot of thinking about what I wanted to focus on. There is so much ‘self help’ and ‘self improvement’ info out there, I did not want to come across as a blog that was about ‘fixing’ yourself- I wanted it to be about NOURISHING yourself, REJUVENATING yourself, and BECOMING yourself.

Too many people think that there is some big ‘secret’ out there, you can get just as addicted to information as you can to other substances, never living your own unique path.

My intention is to empower others to be THEMSELVES, not change into someone else (certainly not be like me!). This blog is a process on my journey too, I hope  that some of the information I share can help you be the best version of yourself you can be!

I will be sharing some of the things that help me to return to center- with all the distractions in life it is easy to get thrown off from your soul’s true path. I believe that everyone was born with a purpose and we can get past the obstacles that seem to be in the way (Author Natalie Goldberg calls it the Guardians At The Gate) we can be the Hero’s/ Heroines of our own life’s journey.

SIDE NOTE: In fact some of the obstacles are there for a reason, to teach us and to make us stronger… yet another post!

As I said in the past post this is not about ‘fixing’ yourself or being ‘perfect’ it is about BECOMING your true self.

Some ‘imperfections’ are actually gifts, just because someone else does not like some of your ‘imperfections’ does not mean that you need to change- the only things you may need to consider changing are the things that are holding you back from being authentic.

I am not asking you to look at every little ‘imperfection’ about yourself and fix it, as long as you are not hurting yourself or others some of these could be celebrated and in fact make us unique from everyone else.

For example if you are not ‘good’ at housework or organization, maybe surround yourself with someone who is and you can enhance their lives with things that may not be part of their unique personality but things you are naturally good at and enjoy.

This is why I think that self awareness is so important, when you recognize these things and evaluate how you feel about them, you can stop beating yourself up about not being ‘good enough’, stop trying to control things and focus your energy in the wrong direction.

How much time is wasted trying to master something that is not right for you but was someone else’s idea of what you should be doing? This is not living with integrity, you are lying to yourself and to others.

I will talk more about approval seeking in another article, when you do some introspection you may find that these things you were trying to ‘change’ about yourself really don’t need to be changed at all. BUT if you are repeating behaviors that are hurting yourself or your family, keeping you from being authentic, read on!

This post is a continuation of Authentic Empowerment Step 1

Authentic empowerment:

If your goals are to have a positive impact on others, be of service while at the same time living from a place of authenticity and integrity, then self awareness is the first step.

There are a few definitions of impact- one is to strike against (by force) and the other is to have a positive effect. We can gain power by striking against someone with aggression or yelling. This approach does work (most of the time)  in the short term- it is sometimes quick and effective, but you will have to suffer the consequences.

Most people who are forced to do things by aggression retaliate eventually, or even retaliate in the moment- heck you may have someone who is still waiting to get back at you if you use this method often. If you have a habit in doing this in relationships at work or home people will likely talk behind your back, spit in your burrito, or sue you the second they realize you have enough money for them to make a buck- you become the enemy and as soon as they see you at a weak point, they will strike.

I have a pretty loud voice naturally, the tone of it just carries- and this is in regular speech ( at least I don’t need a microphone:) When I let myself get burned out and tired one of my weaknesses is to lash out. The other day the kids were buck wild, one of the kids ran into me full blast with one of their wood toys, hitting me pretty hard in the side of the leg- I yelled “get out!” .

You may ask what the first reaction from daughter was. She stood frozen on the edge of the kitchen as if to say “hey, don’t yell at me or I will not move”. As I have mentioned in past post I was raised in a family where there was quite a bit of dysfunction.

My intention of course is always to improve and raise my children differently, but lashing out and yelling, while it does not come up often, is something I find myself having to consciously work on, simply because this was the norm in my family growing up and it became a reactionary habit.

If I am having an extra bad day, I now recognize my feelings.  If I get bitchy and snappy I always apologize in the moment.

It is a process… I won’t say that I am not ashamed when I let this happen, but I always remind myself that no mother is perfect and I am doing the best I can to recognize and to improve (I don’t let guilt and shame eat away at me- instead I make a plan). I also take this as a signal that I need to learn to ask for help (another one of my weaknesses) I am working on it:)

When I do mess up I see the results, I don’t feel good, the kids do not feel good, it is simply not effective to have a fun and functioning household. I am not empowered (or I wouldn’t be reacting) and the kids are not learning a good way to live their everyday lives. There is a better solution that is usually more of a win/ win.

Authentic empowerment is based on;

1. A high degree of self awareness

2. Based on self responsibility

3. Intention is bigger than being ego driven (comes from our true authentic self- not based on seeking approval)

Using self awareness to move toward a more authentic life.

There are a few things you can do to become more self aware.

You can either journal this (writing down is a really good method because you can track your progress)-or take some time when there are no distractions or interruptions to evaluate the situation.

When an event happens where you feel dis-empowered (or you find yourself wishing you would have reacted another way), take some time for reflection and do an analysis what happened and your reaction to it.

• Did you speak /express your authentic self fully -without blaming or judging- more on this HERE?
• What are your ‘triggers’.
• Do you notice a pattern?
• What purpose did your reaction serve (For example, were you trying to protect your ego by not feeling ‘stupid’, were you trying to fit in, were you trying to control?)
• What was your TRUE intention? Maybe your needs are not being met- a description of needs HERE
• What will you attempt to change next time?
• What were your immediate thoughts? For example; do you find yourself blaming others or taking responsibility for your part in the conflict?
• What were your feelings (both physical and emotional)?

The reactionary dysfunctional patterns are learned behaviors that have probably sabotaged you in more ways than one- they are not part of your authentic soul. If you notice a physical response (sweating, rapid heart beat, stomach pains) this is stress.

Stress can cause multiple health issues that can hold you back, or even shorten your life. For this reason alone I think it is worth it to learn how to deal with everyday situations confidently and with integrity. When you are telling your truth clearly a compromise can more easily be made when there is a conflict- this makes it more likely to be a win/ win.

Recognizing and changing some things that may be holding yourself back from being your true authentic self is one of the best gifts you can give yourself, the  people you love, and the world.

If you notice mistakes you have been making, learn from them then focus on what makes you shine! The only ‘regret’ you should have is abandoning your true authentic self.

Has there been a time when you have felt dis-empowered? Do you  have some of your own strategies you would like to share? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Related articles

• Authenticity (psychologytoday.com)
• Self Confidence – 10 Simple Things You Can Do Now to Become More Empowered Tomorrow (socyberty.com)
• Shifts to Empowerment (defyinggravity3.wordpress.com)
• Your Personal Power-Up: Five Steps to Take Control of Your Life and Career (prnewswire.com)

Hello everyone! This is a big subject so look for a series of blog posts coming in the next few weeks on authenticity and empowerment, and how this can help you connect with others, become a positive role model, and live your true purpose.

Personal Awareness

You may have heard it 100 times before “the answer is within”, easy right? Now that you know the secret you should have no problem living your life authentically and being empowered right? Well, for most of us it is not that easy.

The best way I can describe acting from a place of self awareness is to mention it’s opposite- reactionary. Have you ever had the feeling that you were not yourself, that you reacted to something and regretted it? Do you find yourself having to lecture and explain yourself instead of just speaking your truth without blame or judgment in a confident and concise way?

Why is it that when we are seeking to be empowered and authentic, the skills that we are attempting to learn and use abandon us when we need them the most?

How many times have you left a situation that you know you did not follow your instincts- “I should have said this” or “I shouldn’t have agreed to do  ____” fill in the blank…

Why does this happen? The main reason is lack of self awareness at the time of the event. Some people refer to this as a ‘dear in the headlights’  moment or a reactionary moment. Instead of coming from a confident ‘knowing’ place we are simply re-playing old destructive patterns that do not work for us or bring us closer to being authentic. We lack the tools to respond because we are not in touch with our intentions, emotions, and/or our core beliefs and interpretations.

We all begin this life expressing our needs without a problem. Babies do not explain themselves, if they need something they let us know in no uncertain terms- they cry when they need to be fed or changed, and they don’t ask permission or make apologies.

The other day my four year old daughter Ella made me so proud I cried. To give a little background, up until a few months ago Ella was communicating mainly by sign language. She just began answering yes and no questions, as well as speaking in conversational sentences a few months ago.

Someone (I won’t mention names due to privacy reasons) said  to her “well you don’t have a choice” Ella’s reply was “yes, I do have a choice”. WOW! She did not need me to dive in and rescue her, that was the best response I have ever heard! Ella has not been conditioned to please others yet, she is coming from a place of 100% integrity (oh to be able to start out fresh at four years old!).

At some point from when we are a baby to when we are adults we learn to manipulate, distort, deny, repress, and lie to others and ourselves about our true selves and our true feelings, and slowly we loose our true selves in the process. We are conditioned to do this by society, our family, and others. We follow along to simply survive.

By the time it is our turn to be parents we can completely forget who we truly are, we have spent so much time pleasing and conforming in order to survive or fit in we lost our true selves somewhere along the way.

Most of us know what we don’t want, but how many of us, without a doubt, know what we DO truly want? If we begin to get a feeling for what we want (or the direction we want to go to follow our true purpose), our first reaction may be to ask our peers what they think, or do research.

Here is the problem, even though you may find no shortage of ‘good’ or ‘right’ advice from others (this includes books, the net, and seminars)- they really can’t truly know what is best for you! Only you know your true purpose and the only way your are going to find it is by true self awareness. Sure you can use tools to help you get there, but in the end it is up to you to follow your inner voice.

Thales of Milet, a philosopher in the sixth century B.C was asked ” What is the most difficult of all things?” he replied “To know yourself” when asked “What is the easiest in life?” his response was “Giving others good advice.”

Back to choice: The fact is we do have a choice weather or not we act from a place of self awareness or not. Some of the things that get in the way of this are:

1. Societies values: For the most part our society is about spending and consuming- this does not encourage self awareness.

2. Time: It seems that here in the USA many of us fill our schedule and don’t make enough time for self growth. We are burned out. We continue to live life on auto pilot.

3. Approval seeking: Instead of acting from a place of authenticity, we wish to seek approval from others (this is mainly ego/ fear driven).

In the next post I will talk more about self awareness as well as give you some tools you can use to incorporate living from a place of self awareness in your everyday life (even when your buttons are pushed!).

These tools will help you to communicate with others better, and you will discover your true values and priorities so you can move toward the direction of living your true purpose. If you are reacting out of anger or fear and this is having a negative impact on your life, we will discuss how you can recognize your needs as well as learn to recognize and transform destructive patterns so you can come from a place of authenticity and empowerment.

In the meantime I want to mention this is not about being perfect! Everyone is reactionary from time to time, this is truly a process. In fact when you truly know yourself and your intentions you are a lot more likely to let go of control and be much more compassionate with yourself and others.

You learn to trust yourself and with trust comes understanding. The first step is awareness – you can recognize you ‘blew it’ and learn from it so you can hopefully do better next time around. Slowly but surely you can start to become more present, and choose your responses to others based on your TRUE feelings not old dysfunctional patterns you have been repeating.  There is no such thing as failure – only learning.

Where are you at when it comes to self awareness? I honor your responses/ comments and would love to hear from you!

Courage allows the successful woman to fail-
and learn powerful lessons-
from the failure-
so that in the end,
she didn’t fail at all.
– Maya Angelou

Resource: High-Impact communication skills with Susan Baile Volume 1 1992

Related articles

• Authenticity (psychologytoday.com)
• Mike Robbins: Seeing Adversity As Happening for Us, Not to Us (huffingtonpost.com)
• Integrity Right to the Core (LearnThis.ca)
• Self Confidence – 10 Simple Things You Can Do Now to Become More Empowered Tomorrow (socyberty.com)

Hello everyone! Just a quick not to let everyone know I decided to bring back the blog Authentic Mama!

I still have plans for a group/ website in the future, but in the meantime I miss blogging!

I am starting from scratch (blog has been down since July- lost all subscribers to my list/ newsletter) , if you subscribed before, or would like to subscribe as a new subscriber, please subscribe (or re-subscribe) on the green button sign up area on the top right of the blog ( simply add your name and email and hit submit). I will be giving away some exciting free gifts (to be announced )  and special deals only available to new list subscribers (who sign up in the gray sign up button area to the right) on my herbal/ mothering courses.

After you subscribe I will be sending occasional tips/ newsletter (once a month or so) that will keep you up to date on my events.

Be sure and check your spam box if you don’t receive a follow up email with your gifts after a few hours.

Enjoy!

I didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon and make it seem like I am doing an new years resolution- I just had to share this! I am being true to my body… it was time for a change- nothing really to do with New Years, more to do with the cabin fever blues.

I have discovered Yoga…. again.

I was probably around 19 when I first heard about yoga. 

I was working at an athletic club at the time. I remember the class was later in the evening (by that time I was already looking forward to going to the next party). Yoga wasn’t really my ‘style’. Frankly, at the time it seemed a little woo woo and wimpy for my taste- I could go on a mountain and contemplate the world some other time, I used to joke to myself (of course I view things a little differently now).  I already got plenty of stretching in my Tae Kwon Do class, I also reasoned (my least favorite part of the class at the time). I thought Yoga was all about gentle streching and relaxing – something I didn’t have the patience or time for.

I have always been into more ‘agressive’ type sports. I was pretty into weight lifting (I won 1st place in the Jr National Championships in Chest press power lifting if you could picture that-  has it been almost 20 years?….) I loved high risk/ high energy sports- playing around with downhill skiing, mountain bike riding, riding 4 wheelers, and high impact step aerobics as well. I used to have quite a bit of stress in my life- so all these aggressive sports were a literal counter balance, at the time it worked out nice and probably saved me in many ways.

Don’t get me wrong. Working out the ‘hard core’ way had it’s benefits (and it’s downfalls, I can still feel the huge bone spur on the front of my knee from asgood slaughters disease- an ailment that is usually reserved for boys who play soccer or football- but I was lucky enough to get it when I was 12 in both knees ). The main benefit for me was the self esteem boost I got from meeting and exceeding my goals and the stress reducing endorphin rush. Even though I was more prone to injury because of the high risk sports I choose, overall my body was strong and I was confident because I found something I really excelled at.

  Back to the benefits… I tend to be high energy and happy on my good days, but on the flip-side can be aggressive and snappy if I don’t burn off that energy. I tend to start nervously doing things like cleaning around the house or searching for new projects to take on- sometimes it is hard for me to just be.  Or, if I get exhausted from not getting enough exercise (sounds weird I know, but I am the type who really needs to move my body) I can start getting the blues big time.

In general, I like to jump right into things- really going for it. Again this tendency has it’s advantages and disadvantages. I have worked for many years to try and balance this, and I do have a gentle and sensitive side, but I just tend toward the latter if I am not too careful. Spring and summer are great because I get to be out in nature- this is when I feel the most ‘myself’. Working with the plants, hiking, this was my center, but in the off season, whew hewww look out!

All that being said I have really calmed in my old age, but some of those old tendencies are still there- I tend to get edgy if I don’t get enough movement in my body. This has been fine so far, I have a double stroller and I am able to take my kids most places with that, there are beautiful places to walk here with challenging hills for a nice workout. Both of my kids are super active, so lifting them off counters, breaking them up from their baby brawls has really been a workout in itself.

 Fast-forward to these last few months. I live in the Pacific Northwest. It rains here (yes the rumors are true). Not to convenient to take the kids for a stroll. Don’t get me wrong, I love and appreciate the rain (I know it is why it is so beautiful and green here) but these past few months it just seems to go on and on and on….. So I have been getting a serious case of cabin fever here. I don’t keep weights or my exercise ball around because it can be downright dangerous (OK I guess you need to know  my kids- trust me). So my body has not been getting the movement it needs.

My husband has insisted on turning back on the cable TV for his sports obsession, that has made matters worse - or has it? I ran across Yoga on TV!

WOW what have I been missing all my life! I feel wonderful! I am not concerned with the amount of calories burned, or if it is a ‘real’ workout. I am going on how it makes me feel. All my muscles feel awakened- it is literally like getting a drink of much needed water after walking in the desert for the past few months- (or should I say getting dried off and  cozy by the fire,  in an snuggie, after being submerged in the Pacific Northwest rain). 

I have been practicing daily for about a week now. It is really amazing. I am a total novice of course, but that is not even an issue with me! I was lucky enough to try my first session when the kids were napping so I got to feel that real connection. I am not able to experience that every day because usually my daughter gets a kick of trying to hang off my back leg (great for resistance, not so great for concentrating) when I am attempting Warrior 3- or my son is laying under  my head when I bend over to perform ‘downward- facing dog’ - I get to see the backwards, upside down smile on my son’s face as he grabs the back of my head so I can’t come out of the pose.

But really, it is no big deal, I am  not on a mission to perfect Yoga. I am going with what my body tells me and how I feel. It does not have to be done perfectly, and I accept even the few poses I am able to get in (without interruptions from the adorable rapscallions) and am very grateful for it!  Other than hiking and wildcrafting, this is the only ‘workout’ or exercise I have done where I don’t try to compete with myself, or have some goal I want to attain, it is really all about being in the moment and the process.

I am so glad I decided to give Yoga a try! It has become part of my morning routine and I am lovin’ it! Some other interesting ‘side effects’ I feel much more in touch with and aware of my body. I have even been eating more healthy and feeling more energetic overall- because I am just so in tune with my body, I am also in tune with what it needs food-wise. My posture has improved tremendously in just one week, and my hips feel like they are getting more aligned (they never felt quite right after my son was born). My stress (a side effect from not taking care of/ making time for myself like I should) seems to be gone.

I have also been inspired to pencil more time for myself~literally~ doing creative things that I love. I have been writing some fiction short stories (something I have wanted to do forever) and have been making even more time for reading.

In general I just feel more balanced and ‘with it’. Yoga along with my herbs (like my old stand by milky oats) and I am good to go- I feel relaxed yet energized for the entire day, with more energy to spare in the evening after the kids go to bed. And dare I say it, but I don’t even need my morning coffee—God I never thought I would give up that- you have no idea how much I enjoy being the rebel herbalist who refuses to give up her coffee addiction!

 Yay! I never thought making one small change like this could make such an impact!