Thriving Mindfully as the Real You!
Happy Yoga Monday!
Today’s podcast gives you an inside view into my afternoon yoga session that included mala beads and a Shakti mantra. Click on the link to listen (3 minutes).
http://voicebo.com/6mGAnv
What mantras do you like to chant during your yoga practice?
If you are in the DC/MD/VA area and would like to experience kind and gentle yoga or a Reiki healing touch session, contact me at kiamshaleeke@yahoo.com to schedule a phone consultation about your yoga/Reiki needs and my fees.
Happy #YogaMonday!
What are you focusing on during your yoga practice this month?
My February yoga focus is on developing a deeper understanding of the inner Shakti energy (chi, prana or creative life force or power inside you and all things in the universe) that opens the door to meditation and spiritual evolution. Click on the link to listen to today’s podcast (5 minutes) that shares how the February issue of Yoga Journal sparked my focus. http://voicebo.com/xnZQBR
Happy Yoga Monday!
What are your favorite yoga treats?
Last week, I won a fantastic bag of yoga treats from the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery. The giveaway was held as a part of the “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” exhibition and sponsored by Whole Foods Market. My yoga teacher and mentor, Debra Mishalove, founder of Flow Yoga Center, selected the yoga treats.
They included a Gaiam Metro bag (I’ve been craving one of these bags since early last year), Sesame Oil (just what my skin needed), the latest issue of ORIGINS magazine (yummy reading for February), dried white sage smudge sticks (perfect for cleansing my “chakra castle” home), Nag Champa incense (adore it… great for my morning and evening yoga/reiki practices), raw almonds and cashews (lovely winter snacks), a Whole Foods bag (something to carry my groceries in), Mineral Fusion Nail Polish (my niece Jordan claimed the polish), and a $100 Whole Foods gift card (awesome…. since I love to drop by on Saturday mornings after my Kundalini yoga class for oatmeal and green tea).
Many thanks to the Sackler Gallery and Whole Foods!
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 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 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 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?
Happy Yoga Monday!
Today marks the last Yoga Monday of 2013. In honor of this auspicious occassion, I thought I would share how my Yoga Monday blogging practice impacted my life on and off my yoga mat this year. Blogging about yoga each week helped me stay grounded like a tree rooted in the earth (see my Christmas tree pose photo above) to my home yoga practice and goal of taking more workshops and classes.
I was able to take several vinyasa and restorative yoga classes at Embrace Yoga Studio that opened up my heart to my creativity in the spring and helped me digest changes in my life at the end of the year.
Through my weekly yin yoga class taught by Danielle Polen at Tranquil Space, I was able to face my fears about finishing my Digital Sisterhood book, become clear about the next phase of my career as a digital communications professional, and begin the process of atonement and forgiveness with several people. I also became a member of a supportive yoga community at Tranquil Space and received lots of positive energy and encouragement, hugs, and kind words while writing my Digital Sisterhood book.
This summer, I took a yoga and wine workshop just for fun, a yoga and writing workshop to overcome a funky case of writer’s block, and a winter solstice yin yoga workshop to celebrate the end of a very full year.
Blogging each week inspired me to read Yoga Journal each month and check out other yoga magazines. This year, I became a huge fan of Origin and Mantra. The articles encouraged me to open my heart to a bigger yoga life that included reading yoga-inspired poetry, creating a yoga station on Pandora.com via my iPad, and attending concerts featuring some of my favorite yoga mantra chanters, musicians, and vocalists like Snatam Kaur, Krishna Das, and Deva Premal and Mitren.
When I started dreaming about taking Kundalini yoga classes at the Yoga House during the summer months, I allowed procrastination to stop me from signing up. So I wrote a blog about Kundalini yoga and publicly announced my intention to take classes. My public announcement created accountability. And now I am happy to say my love affair with Kundalini yoga is in full swing. It is following me into 2014.
What did you gain and learn from your yoga practice in 2013?
Thanks for joining me on my Yoga Monday journey this year. See you in 2014!
Happy Yoga Monday!
The Winter Solstice is the first day of winter which happens when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees or the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. It is the shortest day of the year. It is also one of my favorite times a year because it reminds me to SLOW DOWN for rest and relaxation, and TURN INWARD for reflection with more yoga, meditation, mantra chanting, journaling, walks in nature, collage making, and reading.
In preparation for this year’s Winter Solstice, I planned a weekend of yoga and meditation that started with a wonderful yin yoga and yoga nidra workshop taught by my yoga teacher, Danielle Polen at Tranquil Space on December 20. Danielle’s class was exactly what I needed to open my heart to the Winter Solstice season.
On Saturday afternoon, I attended the monthly Buddhist meditation circle for my People of Color Sangha. It felt really good to sit for 30 minutes in silence with my Buddhist sisters and brothers. After the sit, we listened to a dharma talk on the emotions that occur during the holiday season given by our meditation teacher, La Sarmiento. We also shared our thoughts with each other in a mindful discussion.
On Sunday morning, I listened to a Winter Solstice sermon on stillness given by Reverend Rob Hardies at my church, All Souls Unitarian. Rob’s sermon reminded me how important it is to take time out to be quiet. Later that day, I treated myself to a restorative yoga class at Embrace Yoga Studio.
How did you celebrate the Winter Solstice?
Happy Yoga Monday!
Last week, I was shopping in Whole Foods and discovered a fabulous new yoga resource, Mantra Magazine. Mantra Magazine is a holistic publication that meets so many of my yoga heart and soul needs. The cover story featured an interview with yoga activist and teacher, Seane Corn that revealed her thoughts about aging, body image, and celebration. I was moved by the following comments she made: “I love representing what a healthy 47-year-old looks like and I don’t want to be portrayed like I’m still 25. I earned this age and am grateful to still be in this body, and would like to role model aging in an empowered and unapologetic way.” Her comments reminded me to appreciate my 48 year old body, mind, spirit, and heart, especially when I am on my yoga mat at home or in class and find myself not being able to hold a pose for a long period of time. They also reminded me to be grateful for the body I do have and how it supports me in my yoga practice and life.
Special thanks to Mantra Magazine for creating a wonderful publication.
Ananda Leeke 