YOGA TRAINING UPDATE

It is amazing to me how much time lapses lately before I get back on to my blog. My intention is to blog more often that I do however doesn't time just fly by! Anyways we are a month into yoga teacher training and I wanted to give you an update about how things are going. It has been an interesting process to start the day with meditation, become vegetarian and have an asana practice (that means practice yoga) everyday. It has been a good change and addition to my life however I have also noticed that besides the three things listed above, my life is still the same. I am having to do a lot of reading and journaling on a schedule now to make sure it all fits in, however it is what I do on a daily basis anyways. I haven't had anything really profound or any "ah-ha" moments happen just yet, though I also know that during this process, the transition can be really subtle and unnoticable on a daily basis. Today begins a 21 day cleanse from a book called "Clean". An MD designed the plan and wrote the book to allow a way for people to use his system. He comes from a mindset that our internal environment and our overall health come from the building blocks that we put in our bodies and that we never allow our bodies a chance to switch into detox mode. His program is designed around drinking breakfast and dinner (smoothies/soups or fresh juices) with a food meal for lunch and allowing 12 hours between dinner and breakfast so the body has time to get past the digestion mode and into the detoxification mode. It seems like a real simple and easy-to-follow detox/cleanse program that I am looking forward to seeing how my body does. So far so good but it has just been one meal so far. :-) Spring cleaning of the house is such a mainstream idea, I often like to do spring cleaning of my body at the same time to wash away the sluggish-ness of the long winter months.

If you are not interested in doing a detoxification program full force, how about some other simple ways to detox:

-take 10 minutes out of your day to lay and do some deep breathing

-increasing the amount of water you drink

-adding fresh squeezed lemon to your water

-finding time to sweat everyday - working out, sauna or steam room

-skin brushing - light bristle brush used all over the skin prior to showering or bath

-cleaning up your diet and include lots of raw, organic fresh fruit and vegetables

If you haven't started already, it would be really wise to become a little more conscious about what we put in our bodies. Every decision we make has ripple effects into the future...and we only get once chance.

YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

As many of you know, I practice yoga...a lot. I have been committed to cultivating my inner yogi for the past 4 years and spend 2-3 nights at Ethos Yoga Studio in Holly http://www.ethosyoga.net/.

It is one of my passions and helps to make me a better person in this world. My usual classes are Monday and Wednesday night over at Ethos and Friday afternoon either there or down at Center For Yoga in Birmingham http://www.centerforyoga.com/. It is therapeutic for me; mind, body and spirit. It is absolutely one of the greatest things I have added to my life and spend a lot of time talking about it during the day at the Cafe of LIFE. In order for the body to be and stay healthy, it needs to move. I haven't found a better way to move the body than to flow and twist and turn in a yoga class and would highly recommend it in some way to everyone.

Tomorrow starts a new phase of yoga for me. I am always on the hunt for rich, rewarding experiences and I will begin a Yoga Teacher Training course over at Ethos Yoga. The course is 3 months long and is designed to immerse trainees in the yoga philosophy. We will be practicing yoga on a daily basis on our own or in a class. We will develop a personal meditation practice on our own and in class. We will change our eating habits to vegetarian or vegan. So this is going to be in addition to what I already have going on which is running a really fun chiropractic practice, hosting an amazing Book Club, giving Half Hour to Health lectures, participating in an awesome Walking Club, being a dog mom, and a runner amongst many other activities I am involved in. It means getting up an hour earlier and time managing a little better. It means studying and spending a lot of down time reading and writing. I look forward to it. I will keep you posted during the process.

(pictures are right off Ethos website; Kel Leigh Coale photography)

WINTER'S END

I love the warm weather we are having and it makes me giggle when I see people out in flip flops. It is really amazing how having to wear socks and boots everyday can make one feel really confined and flip flops are so liberating after a couple months of winter. Having been born and raised here in Michigan, I know better than to think that these warm temps are spring. This is not spring just yet and is merely a teaser. I really do love winter. You all know my love for snowboarding and I have found it one of the greatest ways to enjoy the white fluffy stuff. This past weekend I spent snowboarding up at Crystal Mountain, snowshoeing at Sleeping Bear Dunes and playing in Traverse City (what a great area of this beautiful state). This coming weekend I am meeting some girlfriends out in Lake Tahoe...and then my winter comes screeching to an end the beginning of March. What does that mean? The first week of March marks a beginning of a wonderful journey into yoga teacher training at Ethos Yoga Studio in Holly http://www.ethosyoga.net/. It is a serious commitment that I will discuss in a later post, but the class meets every Friday night for 3 months. Being that I work Mon-Thur, during the winter months I spend those long weekends traveling north or out west chasing great snow. Once this class starts, the commitment to it will not allow me to sneak out of town under the radar. I do plan one quick trip to Boyne with my family in March, but other than that, I will be putting my snowboard up for the year and rolling out my yoga mat and living on it for 3 months. I am looking forward to it. Taking yoga teacher training will only add to what I do as a chiropractor. I do not even know if my plan is to really teach classes at all...this process will add to my knowledge of the body, movement, breath, postures, leadership, peace, compassion, nutrition, relaxation, meditation and so much more. I will be updating you through the process as I am going. Til then...RIDE ON!!!