I recently watched the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) YouTube channel which featured a short video from Tyler Perry’s television program, For Better or Worse. The video features an African American female therapist who has lived with HIV for 18 years sharing her story in an effort to convince another African American woman who has recently had unprotected sex to get tested. It represents a powerful example of how OWN and Tyler Perry are using YouTube and their television programming to promote HIV/AIDS awareness.
For the past two weeks, I’ve been using Oprah & Deepak’s Finding Your Flow 21-Day Meditation Experience. Click here to join the Meditation Experience (it’s free)! Thus far, it has helped me develop a better understanding of my third chakra which governs the solar plexus, digestion, power, courage, and determination. Yesterday, I made a Spring collage series I plan to use to stay focused on my third chakra and yoga practice (see photo above).
What are you using to help focus your yoga practice this spring?
This week I have been thinking and journaling about the power of luminous faith and how it helps me to embrace fierce living. My Kundalini yoga study buddy Benjamin introduced me to luminous faith earlier in the week. To learn more, click on the link to listen to today’s podcast: http://soundcloud.com/ananda-leeke/listen-to-ananda-leekes-7.
April has been a month filled with creativity conversations. Yesterday, I hosted the DC Digital Sisterhood Network’s Breakfast Meet Up at Teaism, a woman-owned tea house (see photo above). Learn what happened at the meet up by clicking here to listen to the podcast I recorded with Valerie Trammel, founder of Trammel Communications. Valerie was the first person who arrived at the meet up. She won a Digital Sisterhood mug filled with Tazo Passion tea bags and chocolates. She also received a complimentary 20 minute creativity coaching session (which we had today). We had a great time chatting about creativity and overcoming challenges with Nia, founder of Karat Cakery, a DC Dessert Food Truck (makes the best carrot cake in the universe!!!!).
Two weeks ago, I hosted a creativity conversation during the Atlanta Digital Sisterhood Meet Up held at Proof and Provision, a bar and restaurant located in the Georgian Terrace Hotel. Click here to listen to the podcast I recorded with the amazing women who attended the event.
If you are in DC on April 30, join me for the DC Digital Sisterhood Meet Up: Sip Tea & Coffee, Eat Dessert & Chat About Creativity from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Mediterranean Spot, 1501 U Street, NW, Washington, DC (located on the corner of 15th and U Streets, two blocks from the U Street/Cardozo Green/Yellow Line Metro). Click here to register for the event on Eventbrite.
Do you know what creativity looks like in your life? Do you need to open your creative heart? Do you know what your creative voice sounds like? Are you able to access it? What is it telling you? Are you ready to give birth to your creativity? Do you need support and tips on how to give birth to your creativity or navigate your creative process?
If you answered YES to one or more of these questions, join me on Thursday, May 15 for the “Giving Birth to Your Creativity” online workshop from 8:30 p.m. EST to 10:00 p.m. EST. The online 90 minute workshop will offer a small group of five participants the following:
Creative Self-Care Practices (breathing exercises, guided meditation, affirmation, and kind and gentle office yoga for your eyes, hands, mouth, and shoulders).
Ice Breaker Exercise and Sharing Circle.
Talk on “Giving Birth to Your Creativity with a Creativity Recipe.”
Journaling Exercises with Sharing Circle and Creativity Coaching Feedback.
Action Planning Steps and Tips for Giving Birth to Your Creativity.
Two creativity coaching email check-ins (one in June and one in July).
A special discount on creativity coaching sessions and packages.
The workshop is based on exercises and information contained in my book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery (available on Amazon). It will be delivered via conference call. So all you need to participate is your telephone. Once you register and pay $26.26 ($23.95 workshop fee and $2.31 Eventbrite fee) for the workshop, I will email you an agenda with handouts, the special discount on creativity coaching sessions, and the telephone number for the conference call. Click here to register for the workshop.
Last week I started Oprah & Deepak’s Finding Your Flow 21-Day Meditation Experience. I am using the 21-Day Meditation Experience to deepen my home yoga and meditation practice. So far, it has helped me connect with my seven chakra energy centers and the flow of my Shakti energy (also known as prana, chi or life force) in my body, mind, spirit, heart, and breath. Click here to join the Meditation Experience (it’s free)!
The first seven days of the Finding Your Flow Meditation Experience introduced the foundation of each chakra with powerful affirmations. I used them to as guides for my daily yoga practice. See them below.
Today I had an opportunity to share what I discovered about myself through the meditation experience during my Spring coaching session with my life coach and yoga teacher, Yael Flusberg.
One of the things I appreciate and enjoy about Yael’s coaching approach and practice is that she supports her clients in cultivating a holistic, healthy, and balanced lifestyle. It is based on yoga as a life philosophy and lifestyle. Yoga is a Sanskirt word that means union of your spirit, heart, mind, body, and life. I call Yael’s coaching approach and practice the “Yael Flusberg Method” which invites you to define, explore, and integrate healthy attitudes, habits, and self-care practices into your life (business, career, creativity, digital experiences, finances, health, home, leisure, relationships, and volunteer service).
I am very much like my mother. We are both lifelong learners. I call my lifelong learning experiences #FierceLiving learning opportunities. They help me dream, imagine, create, and grow.
What helps you dream, imagine, create, and grow?
My day started with a series of #FierceLiving learning opportunities at the DC Sustainability and Social Enterprise Summit held at the University of District of Columbia’s David E. Clarke School of Law.
Seth Goldman, founder of Honest Tea, gave a keynote on “Scaling an Authentic Brand While Keeping it Honest.”
The first session I attended focused on “Social Entrepreneurship and Social Value Creation.” It was facilitated by Sara Herald of the Center for Social Value Creation at University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Alex Simon, Executive Director of Compass Partners, conducted the second session I attended on “Breaking Into the Scene: The Who,/What/How of the DC Social Enterprise Landscape.”
My greatest takeaway from these #FierceLiving learning opportunities was clarity around how I describe the work I do and services I offer through my company, AnandaLeeke.com. I was able to share my new and improved company elevator speech during several conversations with fellow participants. Here’s what I shared: AnandaLeeke,com is a digital social enterprise company that creates value through Digital Citizenship, Digital Communications, Digital Sisterhood, and Digital Wellness.
If you answered YES to one or more of these questions, join me on Thursday, April 24 for the “Giving Birth to Your Creativity” online workshop from 8:30 p.m. EST to 10:00 p.m. EST. The online 90 minute workshop will offer a small group of five participants the following:
Creative Self-Care Practices (breathing exercises, guided meditation, affirmation, and kind and gentle office yoga for your eyes, hands, mouth, and shoulders).
Ice Breaker Exercise and Sharing Circle.
Talk on “Giving Birth to Your Creativity with a Creativity Recipe.”
Journaling Exercises with Sharing Circle and Creativity Coaching Feedback.
Action Planning Steps and Tips for Giving Birth to Your Creativity.
Two free creative coaching email check-ins (one in May and one in June).
A special discount on creativity coaching sessions and packages.
That Which Awakes Me by Ananda Leeke
The workshop is based on exercises and information contained in my book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery (available on Amazon). It will be delivered via conference call on FreeConferenceCall.com. So all you need to participate is your telephone. Once you register and pay for the workshop, I will email you an agenda with handouts, the special discount on creativity coaching sessions, and the telephone number for the conference call.
Click here to register and pay the workshop fee of $23.95 on Eventbrite.
PS: The “Giving Birth to Your Creativity” online workshop will be offered again on May 15 and June 19 from 8:30 p.m. EST to 10:00 p.m. EST for $23.95. Stay tune for more details on how to register in the coming weeks.
Today I am sharing a Digital Citizenship (#DigCitizen) Project profile featuring Danyell Taylor, a social media leader, I met while attending the White House Social (#WHSocial) for the French Arrival Ceremony for French President Francois Hollande in February.
I am a Communications Specialist at the Council of the Great City Schools, a nonprofit organization that focuses on education legislation. I’m from Plano, Texas, and currently live in Washington, DC. To stay updated on my social media adventures, follow me on Twitter: @IDreamInChanel.
2) Why did you apply to participate in the #WHSocial?
I love all things Parisian and volunteer with Alliance Francaise. I saw the #WHSocial as an opportunity to expand my cultural knowledge and social media influence.
3) Share the key moments you experienced while participating in the #WHSocial.
My key moments included:
Seeing school-age children vying to get a look at President Barack Obama.
Watching the 21-gun salute.
Being close enough to hear and see President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Attending the #WHSocial Meetup Happy Hour at the Old Ebbitt Grill and discussing our stroll down digital memory lane.
4) What social media tools did you use to support your participation in the #WHSocial?
Instagram and Twitter
5) Did you learn any lessons while participating in the #WHSocial?
Anything is possible. I can expand my digital knowledge both personally and professionally.
6) What does digital citizenship mean to you?
Digital citizenship is learning and using online tools to explain and comprehend American and global culture, norms, and politics.
7) How are you planning to stay engaged as a digital citizen?
I plan to stay engaged through mainstream newspapers and their digital presence.
8) Share several ways Americans can use their digital presence and online network to engage civically on a local, state, and/or national level.
Share your concerns, questions, revelations, and insights with your network.
Grow in your knowledge and don’t except the status quo in life, religion or politics.
Be curious about the world outside of your block, city, state, and country of origin.
Today I started my morning yoga practice with Oprah & Deepak’s Finding Your Flow 21-Day Meditation Experience. I am using the 21-Day Meditation Experience to deepen my home yoga and meditation practice. It will help me connect with the flow of my Shakti energy (also known as prana, chi or life force) in my body, mind, spirit, heart, and breath. Click here to join the Meditation Experience (it’s free)!
Photo Credit: chopracentermeditation.com
The theme for Day #1 of the Meditation Experience is “Finding Security.” While standing in the Mountain or Tadasana pose, I used today’s affirmation as a mantra: “My security and peace are within.” It stayed with me all day!
What is the focus of your Spring yoga and meditation practice?
Ananda Leeke 