What Kind Of Energy Are You Sharing?

Oprah inspires me! I have found myself drawn to O: The Oprah Magazine a lot lately. It's tag line is "Live your best life," which is right in line with my view of yoga being a powerful tool for me to live my best life and be my authentic self. It seems a natural publication for a yogi to read.

Oprah decided to start her own cable television network (OWN) that will debut in the new year, where she wants to share inspiration and teachings with a television audience. In the January 2011 issue, Oprah discusses wanting to take responsibility for the energy that she is bringing into the rooms of every person watching her network. (Check out the article titled "Own It" for more insight!) That got me to thinking, what kind of energy am I bringing to the people I encounter everyday, from my husband and co-workers to people in line next to me in the grocery store, and even my dog?

Some people are more intuitive than others and can sense other people's energy more clearly, but the fact is that it's happening. People are sensing your energy all the time. They can tell if you are uncomfortable, jealous, irritated, tired, bored, or if you'd rather be somewhere else. They can tell if you are full of joy, gratitude, compassion, love, happiness, or humility. And the awesome - yet scary - thing is, that energy builds on itself. Positive energy can light up a room; while negative energy can bring it down.

Think about what energy you are bringing to the spaces around you. In the end it doesn't matter what you say or what you do; it matters how you are being. That is how people will remember you. And think about how a little shift in perspective can fill you with joy, and allow that joy energy to be shared and to grow with every person you encounter throughout your day. That's how we make this world a better place!

It's OK To Feel

It's OK to feel sad, my stepmother told me this past week. Underneath my cheery disposition was a lot of pain; and not unlike many times in my past when I was hurting, I hid beneath a fake smile and false positiveness. I told everyone that I was OK. I almost even thought that I was...

But this time her words sank into me, and I remembered them. When I felt sad, I cried. When I felt angry, I observed it. When I felt nothing - almost numbness, I sat with it. I can't say it really felt "good," but different, like I was letting it out.

So often in my life when I felt lonely or stressed, I'd reach for food and seek comfort; not really feeling the feeling, just feeling full. When I was sad, I busied my life with projects and appointments, so I couldn't feel that sadness. When I was angry, I'd create stories, and make the anger build. I had never learned to sit with my emotions and feel them.

Now, I am not talking about dwelling on my feelings, letting them define me. But giving my emotions room to be. Letting myself feel them and know they are not right or wrong, good or bad, but that this is how I am in the present moment. It helped me to put things in perspective. It also helped me to open my heart. Without covering my feelings up with something else, I was able to be honest about them, and share them with my friends. (This is something I don't often do. I try to be the pretty package perfect life girl... my goodness, that's a whole blog in itself - stay tuned!)

So often we drown our feelings in tequila, sappy movies, Ben & Jerry's, exercise, whatever it may be. But when the ice cream is gone or you sober up, the feelings are still there. It's not until we give them space to be, that they can move on, move through us, and continue guiding us on our journey.

It's OK to feel. In fact, its the only way you can be.

Holiday Card Letter 2010

Dear Friends and Family,


We hope this letter finds you filled with holiday cheer and cozied up with your family staying warm! 2010 has been a wonderful year filled with many blessings. While 2009 was all about our wedding, new house, and new puppy; 2010 has been a year of travel and breaking in our new home.

In April, Mike accompanied his good friend Cameron, a photographer, to a UFC fight in California and was asked by Universal Magazine out of Sydney, Australia, to write about the event. (This is the same publication Cameron shoots for.) Mike is as passionate about MMA as he is about food, football, and fishing, so when they asked him to cover another fight in August and write a piece on Anderson Silva, Mike was stoked. The next event he is covering with Cameron is this February in Vegas.

In May, Sara turned the big 3-0. We hosted seven of our crazy fun college and high school friends at our house to ensure Sara kicked off her 30s the right way! We had a blast, though Cuda couldn’t figure out why there were always – day and night – people playing in his favorite toy (the pool). Sara’s dad and step-mom came to visit the next weekend to round out a perfect entrance to a new decade.

As part of Sara’s 30th birthday celebration and as an official honeymoon (Yes, we got married in Mexico, but never had a real honeymoon with just the two of us!), we spent almost two weeks in Vietnam the end of June/early July. We backpacked the trip and saw Hanoi (Vietnam’s capital city and a foody’s Mecca), Halong Bay (2000+ limestone creations in a turquoise bay which we sailed through on an overnight cruise), Sapa, (a Hmong tribal village amidst the Tonkinese Alps – boasting the highest mountain in Southeast Asia), Nha Trang (a beautiful beach town on the South Sea of China), and Ho Chi Minh City (the cosmopolitan center of Vietnam loaded with war history). It was an amazing experience, but very HOT there during the summer. Mike ate his way through the country, of course, in search of the best pho – he sampled over 17 different bowls during the trip!

In July, Cuda turned one, so we had a big birthday BBQ bash for him. He loved playing with the other doggies and kids. Smushes and Callie have warmed up to Cuda a bit over the year, and they all keep Sara good company while working from home.

In August, Sara completed her 200-hour certified yoga teacher training at Bala Vinyasa Yoga. The certification program consisted of one intensive weekend of training a month for six months, and was one of the most challenging – and rewarding – things Sara has ever done. She now shares her passion for yoga by teaching at the studio a few times a week on evenings and weekends.

In October we traveled to Italy to celebrate Mike’s parent’s 25th wedding anniversary with them. We conquered Rome (hitting a dance club in a 2000 year old cave ‘til the wee hours of the morning our first night there), Venice (a magical city with lots of great meals), Florence (to have our breath taken away by Michelangelo’s David), and Camiore (a charming little town in the hills of Tuscany where we celebrated our good friends’ honeymoon with them) – and took in lots of fresh truffles, porcini mushrooms, pasta, pizza, and of course, vino! Back in FL, Sara’s mom graciously took care of our “children.”

Amidst all this, we squeezed in work and play trips to Key West, Miami, CA, NY, OH, and MN (experiencing the awesome new Twins stadium, and a Vikings game… womp… womp…), and created great new memories with you! For those of you we haven’t seen in awhile, we miss you and hope our paths cross soon!

Wishing you unending joy, love, and blessings in 2011,
Mike, Sara, Smush, Callie, and Cuda Mueller

Words Of Wisdom For The Happy Couple

Good friends/family of ours recently got married. One of their friends put together a beautiful anitque "Words of Wisdom" book that we all signed. This was my poem for the newlyweds from Mike and I:


Love each other as if this is your last breath

Laugh until it hurts, then keep laughing

Choose to always experience joy and gratitude together, no matter the circumstances

Dance! Dance! Dance!

Never underestimate the power of a hug

Cherish the simple moments together for the miraculous gifts that they are

Love each other as if this is your last breath.

Distractions... Or The Universe's Plan?

My life has been... well, crazy the last two months. Travel for fun, travel for work, huge work deadlines, more yoga teaching, Thanksgiving, showers, parties, and more. I had been wanting to do more writing and more personal yoga study for my teaching, but that didn't happen much in October and November. When Thanksgiving ended and I had time to catch my breath, I began to worry, was I letting the business of my life distract me from being the person that deep down in my core I know I want to be?

Instead of worrying about it too much I decided to allow my life to settle, to pick up my meditation practice that was so inconsistent the last two months, and get on my mat for some kick-my-booty yoga workouts! After one week I already feel more grounded, more in touch with my authentic self, and having more faith in the universe's plan.

I do believe that life distracted me a bit, but I also believe that I am right where I am supposed to be. And, if you think about it, life's precious gift is the life that you are living, the breath that you take day after day. While I work toward my goals, I have to appreciate - and completely live - my life. What a waste the past two months would have been if I was worried about doing more writing, rather than truly experiencing the moment I was living.

But that being said, there have been times in my life when I allowed myself to be distracted. Like when living in NYC and I didn't feel I was on the right path; so I spent six months studying for and taking the GMAT to get into business grad school - mostly because my friend Steph was doing the same thing (and she seemed to be so sure this was her next step in life). Looking back, what was I thinking?!?!?!?! I was living her dream, not mine.

So what I learned these past two months is that I have to be grounded. I have to come to stillness - especially amidst chaos - to ensure I connect with my true self and stay on the right path. Sometimes life just happens, and you have to go with the flow trusting in the end things will work out as they should. It is in the moments of stillness, of centering, that I connect with God, with the universe, with my true self, and allow it to guide my direction.

And from there, all I need is faith, and I will be right where I am supposed to be.

Change

Yikes. For the first time in a long time I feel like I have a moment to stop and catch my breath. Life has been crazy busy, as you can see from my lack of a blog post for a whole month!! But crazy busy in a good way...

On my run tonight I couldn't help but think about change. There I was, running the same road I ran before, thankful for the cooler autumn air and beautiful sunset, just as I was one year ago; but oh my, how much things have changed in one year.

Cuda has grown from a 12-pound puppy into an 80-pound puppy. Mike and I have visited two new continents, Asia and Europe. My friends are getting married and having babies. Business is picking up at work. Even our house that we moved into just a little over a year ago has gone through a grand transformation with walls torn down, bathrooms re-done, and new furniture decorating each room.

But the biggest thing that has changed is me.

It's nothing too obvious like I cut my hair, quit my job, or gained 50 pounds. My changes have been on the inside. They have been small, but they've made a huge difference in my life. Somehow I have connected to happiness within myself, and that has let my life just bloom! I contribute a lot of it to my yoga practice and the teacher training I completed at Bala Vinyasa.

I have found peace with where I am at in my life and have given up the need for a detailed roadmap outlining all the future stops on my journey. I have made more friends in the last year than I did throughout four years of college. I have become a better wife to my husband, and in turn I love him even more. And I have become a happier, more "this is the real Sara" at work, and in turn I love my job even more. Plus I have started teaching yoga at my studio, and can't get enough!

Perhaps one of the biggest changes I have noticed in myself is my ability to handle stress - to just take in and deal with life. As I mentioned, I have been BUSY the last few months. But unlike in the past, I have not lost my cool, I have not taken my stress out on my husband, and I've managed to balance (to some degree!) work, play, family, friends, and sweat (meaning exercise!). As my to-do list piled up, I happily worked through what was necessary, and found joy in having the opportunity to have to "do" all the things in my life. What a blessed life I have!

Yes, my friends, change is good.

Can I Trust Having Faith?

It's very hard for me to have faith, to trust in the Universe that everything will work itself out. Faith that I am on the right path. And faith to just let go of the needing to know what the future will look like, how I should get something done, what specific steps I should be taking. It's hard for me to let go of that power to need to know all the answers right now.

Oh I try, I try really hard. Sometimes it works, sometimes... not so much. But its a lot more comforting to believe that I am right where I am supposed to be at this exact moment in my life, at this exact minute in my day.

However, I struggle with the idea of trusting that this is where I am supposed to be vs. striving to be a better person, to learn, to grow. By believing that where I am at in my life is right, does that keep me complacent? Does that hold me back from following my dreams or living a life of passion? Does it make someone stay in bad relationship, unfulfilling job, or a deep bout of depression?

I don't know the answer. But I feel like when I live each moment as it is - the ONLY important moment now, the only time that matters, I give myself space to be where I am at. And it is with that space that I gain clarity on my life, I gain clarity on my self, and gain clarity on where I should be going.

I'm a generation X-er, so I want things NOW - everything at my fingertips the second I need it. But that's not how life is. Life is a journey. It is through the journey that we gain the strength we need, we build our confidence, and we embrace the opportunities that the Universe presents to us each day.

Happy journeying, and remember to have faith.

Follow Your Heart

A person I care deeply about told me recently that he was choosing to follow his head, instead of following his heart. He told me that his heart and his head were each telling him to do something differently. Part of my heart broke when I heard this news, but boy, could I relate with him.

We grow up with our parents telling us to think things through before we act and with our teachers telling us to prove how we came to a conclusion. We are taught in school that the answer can always be found in a book or that we should do group projects to see if - as a group - we can come to a better solution. But nowhere, really, are we told to listen to our heart.

When I am trying to make a major decision, I talk to my husband about it; I ask my friends what they think; I feel my family out for insight. I research trends and make lists and think through all possible scenarios. I devour books like the answer will spill onto the page right in front of me. But do I ever go inside and listen to my heart? Do I ever really hear what my heart is telling me? And when I am quiet enough to feel and sit with my feelings letting my heart speak to me, how do I respond? Do I actually listen?

No. Instead, I tell myself I am dreamer. That no one truly lives a life of passion. That what speaks from my heart cannot exist in the current reality in which I live. I go back to my head, back to outside sources, and let fear of the unknown win the battle and clamp down on my heart's voice, trying to forever lock it closed.

I would love to tell this person to follow his heart. That life is about love. That life is too short to not choose your heart. That dreams can come true. That what people think doesn't matter. That somehow things will turn out OK. But I can relate so clearly to the act of following my head instead of following my heart, that I feel like a phony to share this with him.

But then I look back at my life. I remember the times that I HAVE let me heart speak and have actually listened to it. I sat with my feelings and experienced them, and thus, the answers I needed appeared. I feel the peace these decisions have brought me. I feel the love these decisions have allowed me to share with the world. I know the better place I am at for following my heart. I guess I need to gather the courage to follow my heart again and share with this person from a place of love.

Certified To Save

I obtained my CPR certification last night. It has been over 14 years since I last practiced on an "Annie" doll, so I gratefully welcomed the refresher course. It is very empowering to learn how to save someone's life. I encourage everyone to get certified.

But it made me realize that accidents happen, that life can be short - oftentimes too short. This week I also learned that a childhood friend's father lost his battle to cancer ten years ago. She and I had lost contact when I moved to Minnesota so long ago, but we recently reconnected on Facebook. I have lots of memories of her father, so it is strange to me to think that he is no longer around, and actually hasn't been for a long time.

I don't mean for this post to be dark or depressing, but I do hope you take a look at how you are living your life and remember those people that ARE in your life now, just as this week has opened my eyes up to. I am blessed that my father is still here; when was the last time I called him and told him how much he means to me? Tomorrow an accident could happen to me; is this how I want to live and who I want to be if it were my last day on this earth?

I often get up each morning and go through the motions: coffee, work, yoga, dinner, read, bedtime, wake up, repeat. But where can I add more passion, and more living, into these actions I do each day? Where can I share more love and joy to the people I come in contact with, from my co-workers to the grocery store clerk? I am now certified to save others, but what am I doing to save MY life right now?

I will remember constant gratitude for the countless wonderful people and things in my life. I will choose to give importance to that which really matters in the current moment. I will live each day of my life as the beautiful gift that it is.

"Begin each day as if it were on purpose." - Mary Ann Radmacher

How To Embody Fearlessness?

Fear.

I feel like I am living my life in fear an awful lot lately - if not for many, many, many years. I have fear about sharing my true self when teaching yoga. I hold back. I have fear about going into wheel pose. I fear making a fool of myself. I fear failing at anything I do. I fear having to figure out how to pay the bills. I fear not knowing what my future will look like. I fear having children. I fear that I will never have enough, even though I know I'm supposed to believe I already have everything that I could ever need. The list could go on...

I'm not exactly sure where this fear came from, though I have my suspicions. But what is most frustrating to me is that I do not know how to bring fearlessness into my life. I always thought I was a person that took risks, but am I? I thought I lived passionately, but do I? Or do I actually "live passionately" vicariously through my husband and his passions? Right now I have fear that I won't be able to figure out how to live fearlessly!!

I do know that I put up a wall between me and others. I put up a wall between me and my immediate family for many years. I even put on a mask with different groups of my friends at times. Am I scared of what my true self looks like? Am I scared of what I will find?

I don't know the answer. And I don't even really know where to begin. For now I plan to keep journaling, to maintain my meditation practice, and to keep working through it. I'm on a mission to break down my walls and embody fearlessness; and I guess the only way to get there is to start.

Coordinating Your Mind

I've loved teaching yoga ever since I became officially certified. In fact, I can't stop. I keep asking my friends, family, anyone, to let me teach them. I begged my mom to let me teach her when I visit MN in September. She's a trooper, so she said sure, "just remember I'm not real coordinated, but it would be fun to try."

That got me to thinking: Who is really coordinated? Are some of us born coordinated while some of us aren't? Maybe. Or maybe we are all born one way, then the experiences in our lives lead us to how we act or feel today.

Surely I did not feel coordinated when I started yoga. My legs were always bent because my hamstrings were extremely tight. I'd fall over in tree and dancer and eagle pose (in fact, I still do!). But as I keep practicing, and as I envision a new place for my body to go to (like being able to balance gracefully or someday come into headstand), these poses become a reality for me. It may take decades for me to get there, or it could take just minutes. I have learned - through yoga - not to worry about that. That life is the journey and I will get to certain places along the journey when I am meant to, and I will face and overcome all of the obstacles that are planned for me. But throughout it all, I have to trust in God, the universe, a higher power, whatever you feel in your heart, to carry me on my path, into the right spot at the right time, in my perfect body as it is today.

But taking this journey doesn't mean that we sit back and continue to do what is familiar, what we know. We have to take risks in order to grow. Opportunities are presented to us each day where we can choose to take the risk, try something new, and grow into a bigger person. Or we can choose to stay in our comfort zone, while our journey passes us by. Why not try yoga, even if you feel un-coordinated? One day in practice there could be a shift, and you just might feel that you ARE coordinated.

I encourage you to take a look at your life and determine where you can walk a little closer to the edge. Where can you take that first step and try something that your heart has been telling you to do, but which you haven't yet? Where is there room for a little more joy, fun, happiness, and playfulness in your life? Life is short, why not just TRY, and as my mom said, let it "be fun!"

Meditation - It's For Me

I've had a steady meditation practice for five months now where I sit for at least 10 minutes almost every day. Five months doesn't seem like that long of a time, but it feels long to me because it's helped my life a lot in just this short time. I have also been wanting - and trying - to meditate for many years now, but I couldn't get into a routine practice.

But this post is not about how or why I started meditating. Instead, I want to share with you the subtle changes it has made in my life. First of all, on days that I don't meditate in the morning, I can tell. I move through my day almost lethargic, with less passion, a sometimes foggy brain, and often have feelings of discontent. But when I do meditate, the opposite happens. I make better decisions and am more focused. I am less reactive at work and to my husband, and I have a slight smile to my face most of the day. Even the sky looks bluer and the clouds fluffier. For these reasons I find it most important for me to carve out meditation time in the morning vs. at night, though I still enjoy my night meditation as it helps to clear my mind and leads to a good night sleep.

I led my husband and I through a meditation last night before bed. Meditating is new to him, and I respect him for wanting to try something that is so important to me. It was hard for him to get comfortable, and he broke out laughing when I referenced "your true essence," as phrases like that are new to him. But he stuck with it for a whole ten minutes - and said that his mind had never been so clear. He didn't think about work, or his to-do list, but he sat peacefully. Hopefully he will join me again!

So even if meditation, or yoga, is a foreign concept to you, open your mind and your heart up to it. You can start small, or perhaps you dive right in, but just try it. Be OK with being uncomfortable with something you are unfamiliar with. Be OK with not being perfect at something. Be OK with taking some time just for your self. Some days will be good, some days, well, not so good; but little by little - if you stick with it - meditation and yoga will change your life and keep you in a happy place.

The Media & Your Mind

I have to admit that over the last month I have become a huge CSI fan. While I've never seen the shows before, I was quickly drawn into the clue-chasing mysteries and the fascinating technologies and tools they use to solve the crimes. I found myself watching a new episode on On Demand TV each night.

Then I noticed a change in myself: While walking my dog Cuda at night, I was a bit fearful of the dark street and what might be around the corner. I started double locking the doors and had a bit of anxiety staying in my house one night while Mike was in Oakland. I carried a sense of mis-trust to strangers I would see on the street. So I began to wonder, "why is this?"

I realized that because I had been filling my evenings with dramas of murder mystery, this became a reality in my life. I never before had these thoughts of horror or human acts of violence, but now they were there in my subconscious, telling me that this is how life is. I never understood the argument that horror and war movies, gangster rap, gruesome books, and other areas of the media influence our society, especially kids. But I see now how one TV show has made a change in my life. What if these movies and books didn't exist? Would there be less war, murder, rape, etc. in the world?

Start to notice how what you watch on TV, read, or who you hang out with impacts your life. Can you surround yourself with more positive things or people that in turn make your life happier, more joyful, and more fulfilling? Perhaps its time to turn off the nightly news, and instead spend some time with your family in conversation, or spend some time with yourself in meditation.

Trust Your Intuition

When Mike left town on Saturday our dryer stopped working, like something was jammed in the motor. Meanwhile a major stench started filling our laundry room getting worse each day. I had my suspisions so waited until Mike got home late Monday night. He opened the piping leading to the dryer and sure enough, found that a snake had crawled into the machine, got caught in the motor, and died. It was overtaken by maggots, it was decomposing, and it had become the most disgusting thing I have ever smelled.

I have always prided myself on being a strong, independent woman; but was very glad I was able to leave this for my husband to deal with.

Hmmm... so what does this have to do with happy life yoga? Well, something inside of me started connecting the stench and the broken dryer, even though I had never experienced anything like that before. Luckily I trusted my gut, and let my husband "investigate the murder scene" rather than I stumble upon the unfortunate experience of the poor snake. Do you ever notice that feeling in your stomach when you do something that scares you, or when you are trying to make a decision and one choice just leaves you with an upset or uneasy stomach. I believe that is your gut, your intuition, talking to you. Sometimes I can hear it clearly, and sometimes I am so out of tune with myself, that I barely feel the intuitive glimpses pulsing through my body...

I encourage you to experiment with ways to dive closer into your intuitive self. When you feel the tiny glimpses of intuition (maybe that's a queasy stomach, maybe its your fluttering heart, whatever it might be) pause, listen to them, and FEEL them, before you move forward. You'll then be in a better position to do what is right for you in your life right NOW.

I once heard somewhere that if you don't feel good, then you didn't make the right decision. I can tell you now, I feel GREAT about letting Mike find that snake on his own! :) Thanks hunny!!

Peace, and trust your gut!

Addicted To Travel?

I shared with some friends last night that I think I'm additcted to travelling. I looked at my calendar this month and saw that I was not getting on an airplane until September 11th! Wow, so much time at home! Then a few days later I saw on Facebook a fun golf outing towards the end of August that many of my college friends were attending in Minnesota and immediately looked up flights. I don't want to miss out, I thought. But for the first time in my life I paused, took a step back for a moment, and didn't press the purchase button on kayak.com.

"Why do I always need to be travelling?" I asked myself. Tricky question... with many answers. There are so many things I want in my life that travelling actually gets in the way of. I wish I had more time to read, to meditate, to do crafty art projects, to write, to make closer friends. And especially recently, I want to establish a routine yoga class that I can teach each week that doesn't interfere with my job. That's rather difficult if I am going away each weekend. The reasons that I want to travel are many too: I want to keep in touch with my old friends and family; I want to take advantage of my ability to travel now that I don't have kids; I don't want to miss out on life... But as I thought through that last reason I came to realize that travelling is actually causing me to miss out on my life, my life that is happening right now, here in Naples.

For so long I have struggled with Naples becoming my "home." I have found it hard to meet friends and find a community that suits me. So I pack my bag and go on a trip, clinging to my past. Now don't get me wrong, I love my family and friends that don't live in Florida and absolutley cherish the time I do get to spend with them; but realize that my travel addiction is taking away from other things I find sacred in my life, and especially from allowing me to feel at home where I currently live. What am I afraid of? Why can't I just be where I am?

People are addicted to many things in our society: drugs, alcohol, work, cigarettes, food, gambling, exercising, multi-tasking, the list can go on and on... One common theme among addictions is that they cover up true feelings we are experiencing (that maybe don't feel so good) and keep our attention so we don't have to face the feelings. Part of me is afraid of opening up and allowing Naples to be my home (by maintaining friendships and teaching a regular yoga class for example). When I was young my family moved around a lot for my father's job so I think I am afraid of becoming too close to others and to a happy life here because I don't want to deal with the hurt and sadness of leaving a place again that feels like home. Just realizing this was powerful for me.

Think about what your addictions might be. Think about the things you say yes to that you don't really want to do. Ponder what you really want out of your life right now. What is taking up your time and energy that prohibits you from doing the things you find sacred in your life.

I love travel, and will continue to do it; but I am forcing myself to live here in my home, in my life as it currently is. I listed the things I want more of in my life at the beginning of this post and realize that travel is keeping me from doing those things. I have to learn to find a balance and to say no to travelling some times. Where can you say no, so that you can say yes to a happy life?

What Is Happy Life Yoga?

What makes a happy life? I was hesitant to name this blog Happy Life Yoga because, as Lululemon says, "the pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness," which I agree with. The more you strive to be happy, the less happy you are with where you are currently at. For example, I have thought many times: I will finally be happy here in Naples once I buy a house, once I make more friends, once I lose five pounds, once I become a yoga teacher, once I go on vacation, once I [[fill in the blank]]. But what about where I am at now in my life? It is important to set goals and to learn and grow, but accomplishing something, checking something off your list, won't bring you lasting happiness. You may be happy when you get that new car, but then you want something else, and life becomes a series of wanting and getting, instead of embracing the current moment for how beautiful and special it is. I find peace in totally accepting where I am at, and being grateful for the many amazing things I do have in my life.

I have learned many times in my head that the pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness, but I think I am just beginning to understand it in my heart...

But I DID decide to name this blog Happy Life Yoga because yoga has made my life happy :) It has changed me and I want to share it with the world. And I don't mean just the physical practice of yoga, but also taking yoga off my mat and living yoga philosophies in my life.

Seven Months Later - A Certified Teacher

Here I am seven months later after completing the 200-hour RYA certified yoga teacher training at Bala Vinyasa. I wish I would have documented my experiences on this blog throughout the training - as they were transformative and life changing - but I didn't. However, one thing I learned is that this is a thousand-year process, that I will ALWAYS be a student, and I will ALWAYS continue to learn and grow. So I will not beat myself up for what I did - or didn't do - in the past, and will keep moving forward.
That means I will share on this blog what I continue to learn about yoga, myself, and living a "happy life," as I have so much more to share!!

Taking The First Step... Finally

Today I decided to take a 200-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher Training Program that will start on February 19th. I've been playing with the idea of a teacher training for about two years now. In fact, my husband barely looked up from his computer when I told him I was going to do a training. But this time it is for real.

The yoga studio that I've come to love so much - which has kept me sane while I've been living here in Naples, FL - finally announced their first teacher training program since they recently moved into a new, larger studio space and have quite the yoga community following them.

Today I was asked, "why would you like to become a yoga teacher?", to which I replied: "I love yoga. It’s changed how I live my life and I want to be able to share that with others. I am not sure exactly how quite yet, but one thing I would like to be able to do is volunteer teach as a way to give back to the community, perhaps to a women's support group. I also love learning about yoga (and myself) and know there is so much more for me to learn."

I intend for this blog to be a witness of my learning journey with yoga and how I "live yoga" in my day-to-day life.