Ananda celebrating creativity at the Mickalene Thomas exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
Happy Creativity Thursday!
Museums are great places to go for creative inspiration. The Brooklyn Museum is one of my favorites!
Brooklyn Museum
In December, I visited the Museum to see the Mickalene Thomas’ exhibition. She is one of my favorite artists. Her mixed media paintings and installations set my creative heart on fire. Click here to read about my visit.
Where do you go for creative inspiration?
Do you enjoy museums?
What are your favorite museums to visit?
Any plans to visit one soon?
For more Creativity Thursday inspiration, follow me on Twitter @anandaleeke and look for the #CreativityThursday hashtag. Also, visit my Pinterest board dedicated to creative inspiration. Enjoy!
Have a creatively inspired day!
PS: Click here to read all about the launch of Creativity Thursday.
Ananda the Internet Geek enjoying Fast Company while sipping Zen green tea at Starbucks
Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!
February is truly my month of new beginnings. Today, I am launching Internet Geek Tuesday to celebrate all things Internet and Geeky! This weekly celebration is a part of my latest effort to marry my blog and social media content to my “Yoga + Creativity + Internet Geek” personal brand statement (Yoga Mondays and Creativity Thursdays).
One of my favorite issues of Fast Company
I wanna tell you about one of my favorite magazines, Fast Company (FC). I have been reading FC since its launch in 1996. Yep, it’s been that long. I was required to read it when I worked as a knowledge manager and intellectual property protection manager for Hamilton Securities Group, Inc. I fell in love with it on the first day I read it. It was the perfect combination of creativity, business, entrepreneurs, and technology.
Photo Credit: FastCompany.com
Lynne d Johnson is one of the first FC writers I felt connected to. Lynne’s work with FC’s Most Influential Women In Tech cover stories exposed me to a diverse group of of digital diva sheroes. Her career and Twitter wisdom continue to inspire and inform me. To learn more about her, click here to listen to our 2010 chat on Digital Sisterhood Radio.
February issue of Fast Company
Right now I am reading the February issue. It’s all about creative conversations. Click here to read more about them.
Photo Credit: FastCompany.com
FC has an amazing group of writers. Ellen McGirt, a FC senior writer, rocks my world with her words, interviews, and feature stories. Ellen’s creative energy helped give birth to FC’ June 2012 issue on The League of Extraordinatory Women. Click here to watch her 2011 IFT talk on the power of invention and innovation. Enjoy!
Before I close this post, I just had to share that Ellen responded to my tweet with a kind message. It made my #InternetGeekTuesday! Here’s our Twitter exchange.
PS: Be sure to follow me on Twitter @anandaleeke and the #InternetGeekTuesday hashtag for more Internet Geek treats. Check me out on Flickr and Pinterest too!
Happy February! Happy Black History Month! Happy Heart Health Month! Happy Love Day/Month! Happy #YogaMonday!
It’s a lot of happy going on today! Why? I am very excited about sharing reflections and resources that celebrate my yoga passion, practice, and services as a yoga teacher on Mondays. This month, I’m sharing yoga reflections and resources that promote an open and healthy heart on my blog and social media platforms (search #YogaMonday on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter for my yoga goodies).
Do you practice yoga?
What are your favorite poses?
How does yoga make you feel?
What kind of music do you like to listen to while practicing yoga?
Love Is Space by Deva Premal
One of the things I love to doin my personal yoga practice and in my sessions with clients is chant mantras. Mantras are words or phrases that create energy-based sounds when they are repeated over and over again during meditation and yoga. Devi Premal has a beautiful collection of mantras I use to open my heart. Her Love Is Space DVD is one of my favorites.
I fell in love with her rendition of Om Mani Padme Hum which means “Hail, the jewel in the lotus.” Click here to listen to it. I use the mantra to open my heart to the practice of compassion. I love to chant it before I do several rounds of cat and cow yoga poses (great heart openers). Yoga Journal has some great instructions on how to do the poses: cat pose and cow pose. Many of my clients enjoy using the online resources too.
Here are some of heart-related quotes I am using this month as reminders to keep an open heart and practice compassion as I move through my life.
“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” Oprah Winfrey
“A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.” Mother Teresa
“Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.” Braveheart
“Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart.” Author Unknown
Click here to read Renita Weems’ post with 21 quotes to open your heart on BeliefNet.
Mudras is one of my favorite yoga books
Did you know you could practice yoga with your hands? This kind of yoga is called mudras. They are hand gestures and seals that can help improve flexibility and coordination in your fingers and hands. When you use them with breathing exercises, they can stimulate an opening to your lungs and heart and open your joints and relieve tension in your head, neck, and shoulders. They can also help cultivate a specific state of mind during your yoga and meditation practice. I use them in my yoga practice and sessions with clients. The lotus mudra is one I use to open my heart.
Ananda practicing the lotus mudra
Click here to watch my video on the lotus mudra. For more information, check out Yoga Journal’s article on mudras. Enjoy!
OM #YogaMonday OM!
PS: If you would like to read about my yoga journey, check out my memoir That Which Awakens Me on Amazon.com. It is available on Kindle
My debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One features a main character who works as a yoga teacher in Washington, D.C. Click here to visit the Love’s Troubadours’ Pinterest board which contains some great information about the novel. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.
Winter 2013 has been a series of new beginnings for me. The theme of new beginnings inspired me to return to my regular practice of blogging for FUN! Yep I said for FUN! So I developed an editorial calendar for my blog and social media posts that corresponds to my personal brand, “Yoga + Creativity + Internet Geek = Ananda Leeke.
Yesterday, I launched Creativity Thursdays to share creativity reflections and resources and my creative work. Next week, I am launching Yoga Mondays and Internet Geek Tuesdays. Each day allows me to share reflections and resources about my passions. I hope they inspire you to pursue and celebrate your passions!
Enjoy your weekend!
PS: Remember to stop by on Yoga Mondays, Internet Geek Tuesdays, and Creativity Thursdays! Be sure to follow me on Twitter @anandaleeke, LIKE me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, pin with me on Pinterest, and hang out with me on Google+!
@anandaleeke: 
Ananda Leeke 