Open

Did you know that it is all here? Everything you want, need, dream about, long for?

Open.
Open wide.
Open with a knowing
That it is on its way
To you, right now.

Open so that
When it arrives
You can see it
Feel it
Taste it
Live it

Say thank you for it.

Open.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Pilates Body

Pilates will lift your backside, firm it and shape it. It will sculpt your muscles from tired to long and lean. It will develop in you muscles you never knew you had. It will make your core oh so strong. It will help you fully integrate your body allowing you to move with more integrity, flow and grace. It will be the reason you look great in your bikini...or nothing at all.

Get Pilates. You won't be disappointed.

Something About September

"Happily we bask in this warm September sun,
Which illuminates all creatures..." ~ Henry David Thoreau

I am so inspired by September. Every year. Perhaps it goes back to my school days. While summer was coming to a close, there was something so new and fresh about the month. New things to learn and ponder, new schedule, new clothes, new hopes and dreams.

This September is no different. I am enjoying the sunshine during the day and the cool nights with the sun setting earlier and earlier. I come alive in the dark evenings and nights. So many new thoughts and ideas are revealed to me. I am enticed to read and write and learn new things, alone in my warm little nook with just a desk lamp and warm slippers, sipping tea - illuminated.

Thoreau is surely referring to me!

Receiving

Yesterday afternoon there was energy in the air sent out freely by the flowers. After being sick for almost a week now the energy is yet to come organically from me. I accepted what they were offering with appreciation and gratitude. What a gift!

Capturing True Essence

"A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves." ~T. Guillemets

In my experience with both photography and yoga, I find something different. When taking photographs of people, I get the best shots when they are not posing for me but instead, being themselves - laughing and talking and being. Just like in yoga class. I help my students to find "their pose" - a comfortable and steady space of being. To breathe, to smile.

How wonderful it is to capture a person's true essence through a photograph or through a yoga pose. I am so grateful I am able to do both.

Thinking Of You, My Passat

It was December of 1999. She was fresh from the factory. I fell in love right away.

We were so connected - I asked her to speed up and she did. So responsive and her timing was second to none. Whatever I asked, she made my wish come true.

She gave me over 100,000 miles of pure driving bliss. It has been a year since I let her go, and I still miss her.

Thinking of you, My Passat.

2000+ Words

Ran across a great quote this morning that gave me a whole new appreciation for my NaNoWriMo experience. Unfortunately I cannot find the quote but I remember it was something about "as a professional writer" and writing 1000 words a day. A quick Google search comes back with many results for 1000 words in a day. Many pinning it as a respectable number for any professional writer.

I have been writing about 2000 words a day since November 1 - give or take a day. I am far from professional writer but since November 1st I will refer to myself as a writer because, well, I am. What have I learned from writing 2000+ words in a day?

1. As I write my novel, the words fly out of my head and out through my fingers to the keyboard more rapidly than before I was writing 2000+ words each day. If you write every day it is easier for your Muse to do her magic.
2. Editing ANYTHING is a breeze.
3. Can I write my blog post now? Please? Please! Something I felt a bit of dread about in the past I cannot wait to do now. It entices me to write even more!
4. It seems that the creativity muscle has been flexed. I have ideas for and about everything, not just writing stories.
5. I love words.

As of right now, my word count is 34,031 and I have yet to add anything to the 41 pages. By the end of today I will have over 36,000 words. And today's 2000+ words will fly off my fingers and onto this computer screen I call a book like nobody's business. I cannot wait to see what happens next in this story in my head.

Ahead of the season

It is true. The ideas are flowing and many a decision has been made. This is a new record for me as it is only the sixteenth of November. I know there are lots of people out there who have their Thanksgiving menus planned, know what they are giving for holiday hostess gifts, and have already purchased and wrapped gifts for all their friends and family. While I have no gifts wrapped or even purchased for that matter, I am ahead of the season with a plethora of ideas and it feels great. Here are a few highlights:

Holiday Sanity List (short list)
1. Holiday cards purchased (see photo)
2. Gifts for far away friends, known
3. Thanksgiving baking, known
4. Menu for December get together, complete
5. Birthday gift for husband, researched and soon to be purchased
6. Reading goal for new year, intended
7. Gifts for the kids who already have everything, researched and some known
8. December family birthday gifts, known
9. House decorations, planned
10. Peaceful sleep in the month of December FOR SURE!

What is on your Holiday Sanity List?

The Finer Things

Embossed stationery IS one of the finer things in life. I love to receive it. Nothing sets my heart a flutter more than beautiful paper with beveled edges and letters and words that jump off the page. Receiving them is my inspiration for sending just these kinds of notes, accompanied with handwriting and plenty of thought. Someone wrote with a pen, a special note, just for me. It then shows up in my mailbox with a stamp. It may have been written days ago. When I hold this in my hand I see the writer sitting at a desk on a cool fall afternoon, wearing a sweater and drinking tea, gazing out the window between sentences, thinking. The pen moves easily as the words flow from its point. Priceless are these notes.

In this photo,
the last few pieces of this fine stationery,
I have had for years.
It is time to purchase new,
so I am able to write that special note,
just for you.

Danielle LaPorte Says It Best

Found this little gem in my inbox this morning. All I can say is Wow and Thank You Danielle.

Yay!

It is a new day!

Homekeeping Dreaming

I spent some time tonight paging through Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook. It is a book filled with information about ANYTHING you ever wanted to know about "keeping house". I have a fascination with "keeping house". When I was in the 8 to 5 world, I would daydream at my desk about organizing, cleaning and repairing whatever needed to be fixed in my house. Sometimes I would even come home at lunch time and clean out a drawer or organize a corner of the garage, pull weeds or clean a bathroom. I also talked to my co-workers about the joys of laundry and ironing and gave them helpful hints like not adding fabric softener while washing towels (the towels dry your body better that way).

As I was cleaning under and around the stove yesterday, I thought of Martha. I remembered I had this book and pulled it off the shelf.

Martha writes in the opening paragraph that she started to research and compile information many years ago when she realized that homekeeping, homemaking and housekeeping were her favorite subjects. Since leaving the 8 to 5 world I had forgotten that they are some of my favorite subjects as well. Thanks for reminding me. I didn't (and still don't) have a "routine cleaning" and "periodic maintenance" list as Martha does in the book. Hmmm - I think I want one.

Northern Minnesota

This is where I spent last week. Ever been to Northern Minnesota? I highly recommend it. The air is fresh and clean, the skies big and blue, the lakes are clear and clean and I promise you will sleep like a baby. And the best part, the call of the loon to wake you up each morning so you don't miss a minute of the best summer days you will ever experience.

For Real - Wow!

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true." ~ Richard Bach

You have the power! Make it happen.

Astound Yourself Today

"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves." ~ Thomas Alva Edison

Astound yourself today.

Who Is Your Yoga Teacher?

...to keep the channel open.

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. --Martha Graham

Libra - That's Me!

Jennifer over at Pink Heels posted her Sagittarius 2009 prediction from Yahoo.com. How much fun is this? I loved what mine says, here it is.

Year 2009 Overview for Libra - that's me!

Brilliant ideas come easily into Libra's awareness throughout 2009. As you trust your higher self and allow thoughts to flow freely, you are able to embrace new opportunities and make positive changes in your life. You come to a higher level of understanding and appreciation as you let go of old ideas. You're no longer separated from what you want as you to detach from limiting thoughts, bringing you a new spiritual perspective of feeling fully supported and loved.

As you stay centered within your core, your highest ideals manifest, and you have the ability to help others realize their interconnectedness, and bring balance into their lives. Your efforts bring you into a more stable way of working than ever before, an important development, what with all the changes occurring this year.

You are a natural conduit, and you are able to receive messages that will help you grow in every area of your life. You have a strong inner sense of direction for where life is going, so trust and allow your struggles to be released.

What does 2009 have in store for you? Take a look...

WoYo A Go Go!

Happy New Year and come WoYo with us! Practice every day for the month of January. It is so fun and a great way to inspire you to your mat every day.

Tomorrow I will be focusing on twists to twist out the old. I'm ready to bring in the new.