Ananda Leeke

Happy Yoga Monday: My Final Visit to the Smithsonian’s Yoga: Art of Transformation Exhibition

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 27, 2014January 28, 2014in Yoga, Yoga MondaysLeave a comment

Happy Yoga Monday!

During the weekend, I made one last visit to the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery’s “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” exhibition. My first visit was in October. “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” represents the world’s first exhibition of yogic art. It includes more than 120 works, from the 3rd century to the early 20th century, that celebrate the essence of yoga and its diverse history through temple sculptures, devotional icons, illustrated manuscripts, court paintings, photographs, books, and films borrowed from twenty-five museums and private collections in India, Europe, and the United States.

When I walked through the Sackler Gallery’s doors, I was greeted by two yoga practitioners who were practicing yoga on their mats and sharing their yoga wisdom and insights with visitors.

I love this pose. It reminds me of the Balasana squat pose, one of my favorites.

I was in total awe of this yogi’s ability to focus in the midst of a large crowd.

Right before I left the exhibition, I posed for a photo and signed up for a free raffle of a bag of yoga goodies from Whole Foods. Today, I received an email indicating that I won the bag of goodies. Hooray! I will pick it up this week and share a photo of it on next week’s blog.

I spent a lot of time checking out sculptures of yoginis. See photos above and below.

One of the highlights of my museum visit was meeting the exhibition’s chief curator, Debra Diamond. I told her how much I enjoyed seeing the yogini sculptures and paintings.

FYI: The exhibition closed on Sunday, January 26.

Happy Creativity Thursday: Intentionally Living A Creative Life

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 23, 2014January 24, 2014in Creativity Coaching, Creativity coaching clients, Creativity Thursday3 Comments

Happy Creativity Thursday!

The topic of intentionally living a creative life came up during a recent creativity coaching session with a client. I shared how I have developed an intention to have creative moments in my life on a weekly basis and their impact on my artwork, writing, books, creativity coaching services, and work as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts. These moments energize me and allow me to explore new ideas. They excite and leave me in a state of awe. They teach me. They often push my edge. Sometimes they console my sadness and help me face fears and doubts. They are medicine for my creative spirit.

Listening to music in the morning is one of my favorite creative moments. It awakens my spirit and opens my heart. This morning, I began my day with London-based Omar’s new CD, “The Man.”
See photo above. To learn more about him, visit http://www.omarmusic.co.uk.

Guess what? Omar’s music is featured in my debut novel, Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One. It will also be included in my upcoming novel, Love’s Troubadours – Symon: Book Two.

How does music inspire or impact you?

What music are you currently listening to?

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday: Live Tweeting at White House on 1/28 & Using Uber for Transportation

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 21, 2014January 22, 2014in Internet Geek TuesdayLeave a comment

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

Guess where I will be next week on Internet Geek Tuesday, January 28? Live tweeting at the State of the Union White House Social. Yes I said the White House. And I’ll be using my smartphone to access the Uber app to arrange my transportation home from the event.

Photo Credit: Uber.com

Have you heard of Uber?

Uber is a digital lifesaver for urban dwellers that was launched in 2009. Uber connects riders to drivers through its smartphone apps in over 50 cities in the United States and around the world.

Click here to sign up for Uber and download the app to your smartphone by 12 noon on Wednesday, January 22. Use my code when you sign up: BAL975455.

Happy Yoga Monday: Grace, Yoga & Service

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 20, 2014January 21, 2014in Yoga MondaysLeave a comment

Happy Yoga Monday and Dr. King Day of Service!

I started my day with gentle yoga and Snatam Kaur’s “Grace” CD. My yoga practice and Kaur’s music opened my heart and reminded me of Dr. King’s wisdom on service. He taught us that we are all great because we can serve.

Today, I am spending the day in service with friends. We are cleaning up a local park. I am grateful for the opportunity to join with others in community and service.

How are you honoring Dr. King’s legacy?

Happy Creativity Thursday: Defining Creativity

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 16, 2014January 18, 2014in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Happy Creativity Thursday!

Today, I had a chance to chat with a good friend about my definition of creativity. For me, creativity is a gift I give to myself and the universe when I surrender and allow the divine flow of energy that dwells in my spirit to express itself. Painting is one medium I use to share my gift of creativity. See my painting entitled “Karma: Aham Prema” above.

What is your definition of creativity?

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday: Celebrating Get Real On the Internet Week

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 14, 2014January 15, 2014in Internet Geek TuesdayLeave a comment

Photo Credit: www.realsimple.com — Photo Credit: http://www.realsimple.com

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

This week, I am celebrating “Get Real On the Internet Week” created by Real Simple magazine. I am using this week and several articles from Real Simple‘s January issue to explore how I am going to express my Flowista spirit by incorporating more digital wellness moments into my life this year. The first article I read, “Finding Balance in A Wired World,” asked me if I was addicted to my digital devices. I was close to saying YES because the month of December was super busy due to Digital Sisterhood Month and then I reminded myself that I did slow down at the end of the month. I used two yoga workshops to slow down and recharge. They helped me settle into reflection mode where I was able to enter a period of stillness that opened the door to some juicy journaling sessions. Looking back, I can honestly say I was close to being addicted to my digital devices. Now that’s not something I want to get close to in 2014.

Would you describe yourself as addicted to your digital devices?

Today, I pulled out a Flowista collage I made while writing my book, Digital Sisterhood: A Memoir of Fierce Living Online. Flowista is a Digital Sisterhood Leadership Archetype I identified and have used to remind myself to unplug from my digital devices and online activities.

Photo Credit: Ananda's Flowista collage — Photo Credit: Ananda’s Flowista collage

The words and phrases on my Flowista collage are powerful reminders of my intention to be real on the Internet with self-care practices and regular unplugging moments.

Are you celebrating “Get Real On the Internet Week”? How?

To learn more about Digital Sisterhood, visit Amazon.com. The book is available for Kindle and as a paperback or hardback book.

Happy Yoga Monday: Creating Digital Wellness with Yoga for Computer Users

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 13, 2014January 14, 2014in Yoga, yoga for computer users, Yoga Mondays2 Comments

Photo Credit: http://dam.londonpubliclibrary.ca/book/export/html/152

Happy Yoga Monday!

This month, I am infusing Digital Wellness moments into my yoga practice. Just in case you wanted you know, I define Digital Wellness as “a gift you give yourself to help manage your time online with mindful self-care practices. Mindful self-care practices encourage you to slow down, become aware of how you spend your time online, and identify and take small steps towards having a healthier digital life. Examples include breathing exercises, journaling, massage, meditation, physical movement (walking, running, yoga, and aerobic classes), rest (naps and a good night’s sleep), setting time boundaries, and using time management tools (HootSuite, TweetDeck, and an editorial calendar) to schedule your blog and social media posts” (excerpt from my new book, Digital Sisterhood: A Memoir of Fierce Living Online). Click here for tips on creating a Digital Wellness plan.

Sandy Blaine’s Yoga for Computer Users is a guiding force in my daily yoga practice. Blaine’s book offers illustrated yoga poses and breathing and relaxation techniques that can help you take better care of your neck, shoulders, wrists, and hands. The beautiful thing about the poses and breathing and relaxation techniques is that they can be done at home or in the office. I love the book because it gives you lifestyle suggestions and mindfulness practices that encourage you to unplug from your digital life, make more time for joy in your daily schedule, learn to alternate your mouse hand, and more!

Are you using any yoga poses to take care of yourself while you are online?

Have you created a Digital Wellness plan? What does it include?

Visit Amazon.com to learn more about Digital Sisterhood. It is available for purchase on Kindle and as a paperback and hardback book.

Happy Creativity Thursday: Breathing Life Into Your Creative Dreams

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 9, 2014January 10, 2014in Creativity, Creativity Thursday, That Which Awakens Me - A Creative Woman's Poetic Memoir, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Photo Credit: "Kreative Grooviness: That Which Awakens Me " by Ananda Leeke — Photo Credit: “Kreative Grooviness: That Which Awakens Me ” by Ananda Leeke

Happy Creativity Thursday!

Have you ever dreamed of making something with your hands and then allowed your fears or lack of training to stop you?

It happened to me several years ago when I started dreaming of painting. I was afraid to try it because I had never attended art school. My perspective changed after I started working with a master artist during my tenure as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts at Howard University Hospital. The master artist happened to be a patient I was assigned to work with on creative projects that would help him express his feelings. He transformed our sessions into art workshops where he taught me to trust my intuition and natural creative gifts. He pushed me to paint and gave me numerous painting assignments. This experience helped me create a series of paintings that I used to illustrate two book covers (see paintings above and below). The master artist breathed life into my creative dreams.

Photo Credit: "Be Love. Love Light. Live As the Spirit of Life." by Ananda Leeke — Photo Credit: “Be Love. Love Light. Live As the Spirit of Life.” by Ananda Leeke

Has anyone breathed life into your creative dreams?

How did the person breathe life into your creative dreams?

What creative actions were you inspired to take?

Visit Amazon.com to learn more about my creative journey and book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetical Memoir of Self-Discovery (2009). My book is available as a Kindle download and a paperback book.

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday! Using My Digital Footprint to Support Andy Shalal’s DC Mayor Campaign

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 7, 2014January 8, 2014in Andy4DC, Internet Geek TuesdayLeave a comment

Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!

This year, I am celebrating my 10th anniversary as a blogger and social media leader. In honor of my 10th anniversary, I am using my digital footprint to support campaigns, causes, and organizations focused on making my community and city better, creativity, education, health, people of color, social justice, affordable and accessible technology, and women.

For the next several months, I am using my blog and social media sites to share information about Andy Shalal’s campaign for Mayor of the District of Columbia (DC) . I support Andy’s campaign because he is committed to making DC an affordable city that works for all of its residents, businesses, community organizations, government agencies, schools, colleges, and universities.

As a long-time entrepreneur, founder of Busboys and Poets and Eatonville restaurants, activist, and artist, his fresh approach to leadership will:

* Make affordable housing truly affordable for all income levels.
* Fund more programs for adult literacy and job readiness.
* Reduce poverty by creating good jobs with a living wage and paid sick leave.
* Help small businesses prosper.
* Put the public voice back into the public education.
* Improve government services like the Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs.
* Provide more assistance to returning citizens.
* Reform the tax code.
* Reduce wasteful government spending.

Click here to learn more about Andy’s campaign. Be sure to follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy Yoga Monday: Yoga, Me & 2014

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 6, 2014January 8, 2014in Yoga, Yoga MondaysLeave a comment

Happy Yoga Monday!

Today, while I was reading the latest issue of Yoga Journal, I started thinking about a phrase that appears on the magazine cover: “Tap Into Yoga’s Power.” This phrase took me back to 1995, the year I started practicing yoga. Memories of my first yoga teacher, Gloria teaching me how to breathe mindfully through each yoga asana especially child’s pose, pigeon, downward facing dog, and forward fold, made me smile. Other memories flooded my mind and reminded me of how powerful yoga has been in helping me manage anger, change, conflict, death, disappointment, fear, grief, sadness, stress, and writer’s block over the past 20 years.

20 years of yoga in my life … can you believe it? It went so fast and yet made a powerful difference in my life. This year, I plan to use this blog to share reflections about my 20 year yoga journey and where it is taking me in 2014 …. Bhakti Yoga, Integral Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Yin Yoga, writing yoga poetry about turning 50 and a new novel featuring a cast of yoga students and teachers who live, love, and practice yoga in DC, and making yoga art. So get ready for some OM fun!

How is yoga guiding, inspiring, and supporting you in 2014?