How to Balance

As a yogi, my life focuses on balance. I am balancing in poses, balancing in life and balancing inner & outer choas.

 

I am the director/founder of a 501c3 yoga non-profit, work a full time job in educational technology, teach yoga once a week, am enrolled in my 500 hour teacher training, have OHMwork & work "homework", write blog posts, am in the midst of creating The Ahimsa Project and so much more professionally.

 

Personally I am a furry baby mom, a wife, a newbie chef, a green smoothie lover and have a brand new relatively large house to take care of everyday.

 

People often ask me how I do it. How I wake up everyday at 5:00am (or earlier) to meditate, do yoga, pick up the house, walk the dog, read, write, complete homework and still be home in time for movie night with my amazing husband.

 

The answer is simple: balance.

 

 

 

I have always lived a busy lifestyle. At one point in high school I was the secretary of the drama club, choir, youth group & community service group. I was the captain/creator of the color guard, editor-in-chief of the newspaper and did well in school.

 

I choose to be busy. And because I choose to be busy, I need to choose balance.

My dad always told us to look at life like a triangle of balance. Family, work & friends. My triangle has evolved into an octogan but I got what he was saying. In order for everything to work, each point of the triangle needs to be balanced.

 

I can only write a certain amount of posts per day or week. I write in the car (recording my own voice and then typing once I'm home), I write on lunch breaks at work and in the bathtub after dinner.

 

I need to set aside time for OHMwork & time for snuggling & walking apollo. Time for my hubby & I to just be at peace. Time for dinner and cooking a healthy meal.

 

One of the ways I accomplish this is through my google calendar. I used to have the most beautiful light lavendar filofax and evenutally for price reasons, went with a gorgeous Martha Stewart planner. All of this paper was everywhere. I always knew where I needed to be and what I needed to be doing, but I felt so cluttered. I wanted to be able to flip open my iPhone and know where I was supposed to be in the next hour.

 

It took me two full days, but I eventually transferred everything online. I am so grateful for it.

 

The other part of my balance is ME TIME. I will talk about this within The Ahimsa Project, but it is so important to encorporate self-love and alone time. I take bubble baths. I stop by the ocean to take pictures. I walk the beach with Apollo & just the sound of (my ever running mind and) the ocean. I write, which is the most freeing experience I know besides practicing yoga. I practice yoga! I take time to enjoy myself, to make green smoothies & indulge in ME.

 

 I do not think it is selfish, but rather essential to take care of yourself. If I am not taking care of myself and my health, how can I possibly take care of my loved ones and my non-profit?

 

I don't have super human powers. I sleep well, I take my vitamins, eat really well & practice yoga regularly both in the physical asana sense as well as meditation and lifestyle.

 

How do YOU keep balances everyday? Are you overwhelmed?

 

Remember: inner chaos creates outer choas. Take a deep breath & smile!

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle.

Namaste,

Jenny

The Ahimsa Project

It's here!

 

It's here!

It's here!

 

 

 

6 weeks

 

Yoga Videos

 

How to Meditate

 

Weekly Podcasts

 

OHMwork on self-love

 

A self-love project

 

Daily Affirmations

 

Private facebook page for support

 

 

$210 prior to May 1st (early bird special)

$270 prior to May 8th

 

We begin on the next new moon: May 9th!
 

 

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle!

Namaste,
Jenny

 

Magical Monday: Blissful Vibes

As I am writing to you, I am in such a beautiful, calm & blissful state. I am sending you all a million positive, blissful vibes. The only thing I can imagine is the perfect wave of a rainbow in a bubble - THAT is how blissed out I am after my first 500 hour teacher training weekend.

 

Blissed Out @ Teacher Training

 

Needless to say this past week was amazing, it was and is everything I had hoped for in a training and I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be in this moment. I even sent my husband a text the first night of training that said: "I am vibrating with such an amazing energy. I love you!" And as always, he supports me in my whimsical and crazy hippie ways and told me he was sending me more blissful vibes and that he loves me as well (what a lucky gal I am!).

 

This past week was challenging at work, but as always it was wonderful. I am blessed to work with some great people and more than thrilled to come in everyday. It is also such a blessing to have people wanting to know more about yoga while I'm at work. I try to keep everyone calm & happy and it makes me giddy to be able to share all that positivity with the folks I work with every week! It's great to be able to share a blog post or a simple chair twist. I love helping others and to see some of the subtle changes in my co-workers is a great feeling.

 

Karthik also joined me this week in yoga! He came to Kundalini and it was a great experience to squeeze his hand right before savasana and make eye contact right before a kriya - I sure am a lucky lady to have such an amazing man.

 

One of the highlights of my weekend in teacher training was when Coral told us that our 50 elective hours need to concentrate on a specialty. She mentioned that some of us may know already what our specialty was while others would go on a journey to find theirs. I did not know it until Coral mentioned it, but the moment she said concentration I knew: charkas, energy, healing. THAT is where I'm supposed to be and I'm so excited to begin diving into this additional curriculum.

 

What a great week behind and weekend I have had. I seriously feel as though I'm riding on a bliss wave and so excited to share everything I have learned thus far with my students and all of you! The week ahead is a beautiful wedding I am excited to DJ, Easter weekend, Kundalini, a fun date and lots of OMwork!

 

The Little Things

 

Hanging out with Zack & his roommate Ben, making them dinner at 10pm on Friday night (and having them eat EVERYTHING), having a great little brother in general, seeing my cousin Sam Thursday night & then having a wonderful lunch on Friday afternoon, getting tests done for my wrist, meeting my friend Leisl after almost 7 years & eating yummy cupcakes with her(!!), healthy food, yogi talk, meeting new friends, being re-inspired for Journey to Hope with all the energy of the weekend, Dakota's 10th birthday (a bunny), cuddling, Karthik coming to Kundalini, discussions around labeling, new knowledge, being overwhlemed & excited at the same time, getting excited about Easter (and the supposed good weather for Sunday), team building events coming up at work and so much bliss and loving energy!!

 

Dakota's 10th bday @ teacher training

 

 

I am wishing you a week full of love, blessings & gratitue. If you had a tough week or weekend, Iam sending you all positive vibes!

 

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle!
Namaste,

Jenny

Nama Say Wednesday: Chakra's Part 1

 

 

Chakras are something I often discuss in class. If we are in the middle of a deep twist I will ask my students to rinse out their anxiety and will power through their third chakra. Many of them likely have no idea what I’m talking about, but I try to describe in best detail as I’m able what a chakra is.

A chakra is an energy channel. We have seven chakras within our being and today I will discuss our first three: root, sacral & the solar plexus. I am starting from the root and going to the top in an attempt to discuss how important it is to stay grounded.

The first chakra is your root chakra also known as Muladhara. The root chakra is red in color and located at the bottom of our spine. It represents all things grounded. Money issues, shelter, work, stability and so much more can be found coming up through this chakra. It is where we store a lot of our deepest set fears in the world and often the toughest energy channel to break through.

The root chakra is best opened with grounded poses (warriors, triangle, mountain pose). Typically chakra flow classes begin from the ground up and as such we often begin by opening our root chakra first through grounding poses, as well as to build heat within our bodies to create a better flow.

Swadhisthana is the sacral chakra and is located within the sacrum. It is orange in color and represents sexuality, fertility, relationships, basic emotions and creativity. When I “open” this chakra through asanas (poses) I often jokingly tell my students I am not trying to get them pregnant but rather cultivate the fertility of new ideas. This is a very sensitive chakra but in my experience can be very easy to open through a yoga class.

The sacral chakra is best opened with hip openers (lunges, pigeon, frog). Hip openers tend to open a lot of energy channels and emotion (especially for women) and it is often where we store old pains and fears. This is one of the reasons we are so tight in our hips (among others: driving, sitting in offices etc) and why occasionally we feel like cursing the teacher or crying in pigeon. It's normal to open and release this energy while we're in our hip opening poses.

Manipura is the solar plexus or belly chakra. It is yellow in color and represents will power, anxiety & digestion. The poses most associated with the manipura are often twists to release some of the anxiety we build. We need to hold onto our will power, however so we must not twist too deeply. And as we do, we must rememeber to hold our will power within while letting go of what no longer serves us.

I LOVE asking my class to get into deep twists and begin rinsing away all of the worries that no longer serve them. Next time you're feeling anxious, try sitting cross legged on the floor and doing a nice spinal twist across your body. It may release a bit of your manipura energy and open your third chakra to let go of all your worries!

Chakra flow classes can be extremely eye opening. You  are often opening energy channels you did not know existed. You begin to use the physical to connect to the spiritual and the energy within you. I mention “opening the channels” as we literally open the channels of this stuck energy through asanas, physical yoga classes and spiritual journeys.

A yoga instructor can and often does take the seven charkas to create a yoga flow to help open your energy. It’s one of the reasons you sometimes leave class on a yoga high!

The quiz below is a lot of fun and represents where you are in terms of energy. If you answer the questions honestly you will understand where you are blocked and need to be reopened! Please do not hesitate to ask me additional questions and I will try my best to answer them.

Chakra Quiz!

Next week I will be discussing the final four chakras and creating an at home yoga practice to begin opening all your chakras!!

Get out there – do yoga & make life sparkle!
Namaste,

Jenny

Magical Mondays

Yesterday my hubby was finishing dinner after our amazing weekend and leaned over to me and said "I'm so sad it's over we had so much fun!" I looked back at him and said, "Yes, but aren't you so glad it happened?" :-)

 

That's how I feel almost every Monday. Not necessarily sad the weekend is over but excited that it happened and equally as excited to count my blessing each Magical Monday. (Having great co-workers doesn't hurt to ease the Monday "pain" either!)

 

This past week was crazy wonderful. We had some weird work schedules, I saw a lot of my in-laws and ate delicious food. Hubby & I received loads of good news and we finally got my wrist looked at. I had x-rays and this week I am being electrocuted (over exaggerating, but I'm getting a nerve test done) to see what's going on. I'm not healed, but at least they are now looking into additional possibilities!

 

This weekend was full of meeting new friends, celebrating our newlywed friends marriage and dressing up in traditional Indian clothing!! What a whirlwind of a weekend!

 

With our favorite newlyweds!!

Anisha & I went to the salon ALL DAY on Saturday. We had brunch with our husbands and then skipped down the street in the light flurries to our hair and nail appointments where we proceeded to spend the next 3 hours sitting in comfy chairs and getting pampered! (Ohhhh la la). I got a new haircut and the nice young man who did my nails INDIVIDUALLY PLACED GLITTER on my toes and fingernails. I was in heaven. So much glitter and it all matched my sari perfectly.

 

My best friend. :) Love him so much!

 

We then got ready & ordered yummy Indian food before the guests arrived. We ate delicious food (I usually eat with my fingers as per the tradition and was totally called out for it - apparently people aren't used to seeing a little white girl eat biryani with her hands!). We danced the night away, ate cake and celebrated Niraj & Anisha's wedding in only the way young couples can. We ALL wore traditional Indian clothing and laughed late into the evening.

 

The next day we awoke to a delicious brunch next door and with the effort of 6 people, a clean apartment for our friends before we left for home. We picked up our boy, ate more food & snuggled all night long.

Toasting the beautiful bride, Anisha!

 

I am so grateful for all our friends & family, and so happy to know Niraj's new bride (and love her tons and tons!!) The week was also full of beautiful little blessings, as always! Keep your eyes open for them as they are always there for you.

My favorite picture! New friends: Susie & Mike!

 

The Little Things

 

My teacher training weekend (this coming weekend!!), Heart of Yoga, salon day, crazy friday work schedule, musical sing-a-longs, revisiting Wicked & all it's glory, showing hubby "my skills" while singing said Broadway musicals for 5 hours, traditional Indian clothes, eating with my fingers, selling the first 5 Leap of Faith Kits, getting the first video preview for The Ahimsa Project, Kris Carr, Marie Forleo & Gabby Bernstein (as constant inspiration), amazing horoscopes, great co-workers, finally feeling amazing in my "style", my new WHITE leather jacket, long necklaces, planning fabulous trips to Paris, individualized glittery mani/pedis, beach walks, collecting sand dollars, Apollo spending tons of time with his grandparents, Digger cuddle time, laughing until it hurts & being grateful, always.

 

I hope you are counting your blessings. Know YOU ARE LOVED. YOU ARE LOVE.

 

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle!
Namaste,

Jenny

Nama Say Wednesday

Hello ladies & gents!

I have decided to create a weekly blog feature post called “Nama Say” in which I describe to you some piece of yoga that you may have a question about. Yoga is comprised of an entirely new language to most western yogis: Sanskrit. 

Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language used for many of the poses. It is not only used within the physical world of yoga but also in breath (pranayama), meditation & scripture: the original yoga sutras and the bahgavad gita. 

This weekly feature "Nama Say" will cover not only words, but also poses, breath, meditation, moral ideals and symbols that you may be curious about. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below or on my facebook page. I would be more than happy to answer as many questions as I'm able!

We have been brought some beautiful translations into the west but there is so much room for interpretation, as well as so many who are unaware of many of the phrases we hear in our day to day classes. I thought I would shed some light unto you all and begin with two words you hear all the time in yoga classes: Vinyasa & Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskara).

VINYASA 

How many times have you heard a teacher say “flow through your vinyassa to your downward facing dog” in a class? 

If you’ve ever taken a vinyassa yoga class, you’ve heard it often. But what IS a vinyassa? Is it moving from a standing forward fold, to a high plank, to low plank, back up to upward facing dog and then pushing back to downward facing dog? Is it all of those moves in that particular order? No. That series is a sun salutation.

Vinyasa simply means flow. It is the fluid connection between breath & movement.

If you are in a particular position and move consciously with breath to another position without stopping to readjust, you are likely experiencing a vinyasa movement.

If you have only taken vinyasa classes and not yet had the pleasure and opportunity to discover other styles, you may have assumed a vinyasa is a sun salutation. A sun salutation (or surya namaskara) is a vinyasa but a vinyasa is not necessarily always a sun salutation. Vinyasa is the action of fluid movement with breath. It is found in many styles of yoga; vinyasa, ashtanga, Forrest and occasionally found in gentle or yoga flow classes.

Hatha yoga is a familiar style to many yogis and although is is a nice practice, traditionally hatha yoga and vinyasa are NOT the same. They are very similar within particular asanas (poses) but hatha yoga does not have the fluidity of a vinyasa class. In a vinyasa class you are often going to be flowing through your poses and more often than not, moving at a much faster rate throughout the entire class time.

Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation)

A sun salutation is a series of asanas. You begin by placing both feet on the floor hips width distance apart. You fingers are spread wide with your arms by your side and your gaze looking forward. Reach your arms towards the sky on the inhale and as you exhale you begin to slowly fold forward into your standing forward fold (utanasana).

As you inhale place both hands on your shins and look forward. BEND YOUR KNEES A LOT and step back (or jump if you're a more "seasoned" yogi) in your high plank.

High Plank

In your high plank, you want your gaze looking slightly forward, but down. Your shoulders are directly over your wrists. You pushing the weight through our heels and thinking about tightening your core for a strong posture.

Chataranga 

As you lower down, only lower down half way into your chataranga (or low push up) position. You are still holding your belly and core in tight and bringing the weight from your head to your heels in a straight line.

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog)

As you begin to "sweep through" to your upward facing dog, think about ROLLING your shoulders behind you to open your heart even further. (Or as I very kindly say when I have all women in class.... stick out your boobs!)

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog)

Begin to tighten your core as much as you are able and think about rolling over your toes as you left you hips up towards the sky. This will bring you into an inverted V position - Adho Mukha Svanasana, or commonly, downward facing dog. In this position, try to relax your head in between your shoulders and think about eventually reaching your heels to the earth.

And there you have it! Often times, teachers refer to a sun salutation as a vinyasa and it is! But a vinyasa is not only and always a sun salutation.

I hope this first Nama Say Wednesday was helpful. Please let me know if you have any additonal questions in the comment section below or on facebook!!

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle!

Namaste,

Jenny

P.s. Thank you to Candice Harper who helped come up with the name of my new feature. Check out her comic strip!

Magical Mondays!

Good Morning Yogis!!!

 

What a marvelous Monday! I feel so rested and balanced - it is amazing what a quiet Sundaycan do to reset your body. I had so much fun this weekend at a friends birthday party and then spent much of the day in bed on Sunday just lounging with the hubby & furry babies. It was so nice to read, watch movies and generally lounge around all day - something I VERY rarely do. I'm terrible at sitting still but my body needed rest and now that it's the Monday following daylight savings, I feel so much more rested and wonderful!

 

Yesterday the only thing we actually did do was go see Oz - The Great & Powerful! It was amazing. The cinematography, the graphics, the sparkly flowers and James Franco (swoon!) & the whole cast did an amazing job. I loved every moment of it and it was so nice to have a bit of fantasy. We haven't been to the movies since Christmas and it was so fun to go on a movie date!

 

This past week I spent a lot of time on my mat in the studio and thought a lot about the balance it brings me and the styles of yoga I enjoy. I decided that this year will be dedicated to discovering new styles of yoga and what they can bring me. I will begin writing about them soon, and going on many adventures to various studios across New England. I'm so excited to begin furthering my physical practice as well as delve deeper into what it means to teach. My 500 hour teacher training starts in two weeks & I am THRILLED to begin learning even more about the practice I love so much.

 

The Litte Things

 

Spending quality time with hubby, snuggling with our pets, lauren's birthday party, Cupcake Charlie's, yoga, yoga, yoga, teaching for Jill during teacher training weekend, creating new blog features, finishing the leap of faith kit, starting B school, handstands at the bar, feeling productive, our Journey to Hope photos arriving, my email cleanse and our clean home.

 

One of our JTH photos of the volunteers & I!

 

I am looking forward to the weekend ahead as we have an Indian wedding reception to attend & I get to wear a sari and devour delicious Indian food while visiting our favorite NYC friends!! I am also excited for my homework,  the final touches on a few projects and more yoga.

 

What are you grateful for? What are you looking forward to in the week ahead?

Count your blessings & open your heart for a Magical Monday.

 

Don't forget to recharge your intentions as today is the new moon!!

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle!
Namaste,

Jenny

Leap of Faith Kit

My lovely yogini's,

I have decided to create a Leap of Faith Kit for you all. Many of you are reading from afar while others have the opportunity to practice with me on their mat weekly. I appreciate your support from all ends of the earth and couldn't be more thrilled to begin to spread my joy, and love of yoga to all of you!

Within the Leap of Faith Kit, I have created a mini meditation/yoga starter kit. I have coordinated with some of my amazingly talented friends to bring you this beautiful box of goodies. It includes mala beads, cards, candles and more! I will be including each person's business card and tags as well so that you can learn about these local artists and purchase more of these goodies on your own if you are interested.

I wanted to create something that would bring you a bit of magic and sparkle to the beginning or middle of your meditation practice. It is NOT easy to sit on your mat or your pillow in silence and listen for the answers. We so badly would rather pray and ask then meditate and listen. Because I know the difficulty of beginning of meditation practice, I wanted to create a Leap of Faith kit for you all that would ease you into the meditation practice as well as bring you beauty & joy.

I will include suggestions and will be writing each of you hand written, personal notes within this kit but ultimately what you do with it is up to YOU. The Ahimsa Project is creating love, promoting peace and the Leap of Faith kit is just the first step. I'm here to guide you, to nuture you and to send you love but you need to complete your journey on your own!

Please let me know if you are interested in purchasing a kit but commenting below or letting me know on facebook!

 

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle!
Namaste,

Jenny

The Power of a Nap or a Bubble Bath

Yesterday I was in a terrible funk. I was grumpy, I had a headache and I was just sad. The snow, the wind, the rain and insignificant "bad" news was all beginning to get to me. I came home, gave my husband a quick kiss and the furry babies a pat and went straight into the bathroom.

I have to admit, I love bubble baths and since experiencing LUSH products, I have been quite obsessed. I started with my favorite scent, Karma but I have recently opened my palate to include others. My friend Ashley sent me a fun gift pack that included all kinds of citrusy scents and it was so full of sunshine (she knows me so well - winter is NOT my season)! I also purchased a few bubble bath bombs a few weeks ago and have been experimenting with those as well. One of them made my bathtub look like a lagoon and made me feel like a sparkly mermaid, which is ALWAYS a plus in my book.

 

With my bubbles in hand and a notebook & pen nearby, I sank in. In my personal opinion, bubble baths & naps rank in the top 5 stress relivers just below yoga and a wee bit above the perfect hot chocolate. It was so nice to actually be able to relax. I put on my pajamas and went from the bath to the bed for a wee bit of a nap. An hour and a half after I came home, I looked, felt and was a completely different person then the frazzled woman who had walked in the door earlier that evening.

 

 

I believe self care is something we do not invest enough time in. The 21st century is teaching us to rush and constantly be connected. My doctor recently diagnosed me with carpal tunnel (which I don't believe and am getting a second opinion), but if it is then I directly relate it to my overuse of technology. I am constantly connected as my job is at an internet company and I want to create an online yoga presense for you all as well. Sometimes we just need to unplug and destress without the use of technology.

 

After my bath and nap, I cuddled on the couch with hubby and made us a nice dinner before we went off to bed. Sometimes all it takes is a bubble bath and a nap. Other days it is a yin yoga class, a power yoga class or a glass of wine! Whatever brings you joy and allows you to destress.

 

My husband is amazing and knows when I just need a few minutes. Our friend Lauren calls them her "Lauren minutes" and it's a really nice way of letting others know you just need a little bit of alone time, or a break from the world.

 

It's time for you to indugle. What will make YOU happy today??

 

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle!
Namaste,

Jenny

The Fat Journal

I have been trying to write this article for you for a few weeks now, but did not know how to begin. So here goes nothing: I used to have a hate journal.

 

 

There is no way to write that without it sounded quite as retched as it actually was, but it’s out there: I had a hate journal. The hate journal was dedicated to me and how much I hated myself. It was horrific. I thought, at the time, that it was a normal thing to have and that many people abused their bodies in the way I did.

I wrote terribly mean things to myself in BIG BOLD BLACK letters. You will be alone FOREVER. NO ONE likes you, fat bitch… and so on and so forth. Thinking about it now gives me a stomach ache. I was constantly on a diet and failing miserably at it. I would cry because I didn’t know how to make myself throw up and I loved food too much to stop eating it. I didn’t have to many friends in the middle of my college years and in that time I sunk into a terrible depression. My mind warped me into believing I would be alone forever, I would never be loved and I was FAT. (The picture below is a picture of me at the time...)

My friend Ashley, myself, Justine & my friend Crystal (in 2007)

Of course, none of this was or is true. It took me a long time, but with the support of amazing friends and a re-dedication to myself, I began to see love. I remember specifically begin on a trip with a group of leaders as I was crawling out of my depressive state and I started skipping through San Fransisco screaming: "I hate being sad. Let’s just always find love & be happy." It was the first time in over a year I think I had seen the sun for what it was: a beautiful ball of energy allowing us to live beautiful and strong lives.

My good friend Crystal told me I needed to burn the journal and I did. My friend Richie held my hand without ever knowing my truest deepest pain but knowing I needed a real friend. My friend Leisl introduced me to leadership roles on campus and I was suddenly surrounded with bountiful energy and people I loved who loved me in return.

It was less than a year later that I discovered yoga and although I did not yet know the benefits, I knew something was happening and I was transforming. I did not know what Ahimsa was, nor did I know how to create self-love but I slowly put myself on that path and am ever grateful for finding its ways.

I want to tell you something: you are loved. You may not know it yet, but you are loved JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. Accept the love, accept the help and let joy into your heart. It may not be tomorrow, but by viewing yourself with self-love and joy, you will slowly become joyful once more and learn to appreciate who YOU are.

I also want to share this video with you. Please, please, please watch it. It shows the vulnerabilities of a beautiful model who tells us that beauty isn’t everything. There is so much beauty within and we need to tap into that power as well. Love with your whole heart and remember that you are not alone. MANY of us have been on this journey as well and I hope to share as much joy, love, laughter & yoga with you as I am able.

 

Sending you all so much love & light.

Get out there – do yoga & make life sparkle!
Namaste,

Jenny

Inspirations, Gratitude & Obsessions

The end of January is typically a great time to reflect and check in with your goals and “resolutions” but what about February?? I have decided to do a monthly reflection for you all of my own goals, as well as some of the fun adventures I have been on each month. I believe it is so important to express gratitude for your life, as well as share tips & tricks. I learn so much in 24 hours let alone 30 days and would love to share some of my ever expanding knowledge! I hope this post is inspiring you all to create your own gratitude lists and your current obsessions. If you have a particular post, please feel free to share yours as I would love to see your gratitude lists as well.

Yoga

My personal challenge to myself was to be on my mat three times a week in studio. I did not reach this goal but did come pretty close. While I was stuck in Austin, TX and snowed out of my own city I did some discovering and went to a yoga class at Wunderlust Live which I adored. I was not able to make it on my mat as often while there but did manage to walk all over the city of Austin! I will be continuing this personal challenge as well as my meditation practice and am excited to share new experiences along the way.

One of those experiences is Kundalini yoga. I have been truly enjoying my Kundalini practice of late. It is very spiritual, with heavy breathing and intense meditations. As the full moon was upon us mere days ago, I have done a lot of spiritual workshops and intentions as well as Kundalini classes. One of the highlights of February for me was attending a Crystal Bowl Workshop on the evening of the full moon and setting an intention for the months to come. I have a beautiful goal in mind and am excited to begin on that path and journey!

Meditation

I have continued my daily meditation practice. While in Austin, I meditated all but two days and got right back into the groove upon returning to my humble abode. I have been using May Cause Miracles as a guide, and am excited to continue. The best part of this meditation practice is that although I am using May Cause Miracles as inspiration, if the battery on my nook dies I arrive in front of my altar and simply listen to my heart. It has created in me an intention of keeping a regular routine and an open & clean heart. I am thoroughly enjoying my meditations.

Inspiration

I try to keep a running list of wish list items for eating, watching, reading & inspiring. This month I have created quite the “To Watch & Read” list as The Oscar’s were on this month & I’ve been spending a lot of time researching new inspiring authors.

A list of movies I really want to watch: Silver Linings Playbook, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Inocente & Paper Man.

A list of books I’m ready to tackle: Atlas Shrugged, The Great Gatsby, The Richest Man in Babylon,&  The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I would also love to re-read my favorite book, The Alchemist. {Along of course with the required 500 hour teacher training reading… I wish we had more than 24 hours in each day sometimes!}

An amazing list of 30 things you can do in your life RIGHT NOW. *Watch the videos in #28 ASAP!!

Glittering Adventures

This month was (as always) full of beautiful, fun, glittering adventures! My cousin Heather came for a visit with her friend Sarah and we had a girls night out at Embargo. While the girls were visiting, we played karaoke with our friends Nadia & Tom that same weekend along with a healthy dinner party (YUMMY!)

 

I had a few adventures touring around Austin, TX. I went on a tour of the Texas State Capital building, ate delicious foods, found a brand new amazing yoga studio, went up on stage at a performance, saw my first Mardi Gras on 6^th street & worked my behind off at a conference for educational technology!

The following week was full of snow days where I was able to work from home and pamper my puppy, as well as a beautiful Valentine's Day out with my hubby. Some alone time at our one of our favorite places and a well as the wedding album I created for us (and my fun new presents!!)

 

This past week I went to dinner with a few yogi friends for Thai food & all month long I have spent time cuddling with my little family and falling deeper in love my husband and our furry babies.

The best and most gitter-tastic adventure of all however was our Journey to Hope photo shoot (with the amazing Ashley Bilodeau) and potluck this past weekend! We have some amazing photos coming soon and had a wonderful time discussing which shelters everyone worked at, what their passions were and WHY they volunteer for our organization. I am so blessed to have such wonderful volunteers and couldn’t do what we do without them. Thank you so much ladies…so much love & light to each of you!

Creating

I have been spending a lot of time creating video content, hooking up with my videographers (and sending them loads & loads of glitter & yoga inspiration), creating logos, collaborating with friend on the Leap of Faith Kit and creating a place where you all will be able to see my schedule, read the blog in a better format and learn more about yoga, love, life & glitter!! I am so excited to finally see things coming together on this last day of February and feel so blessed to be coordinating with some RAD women.

 

Materialism

The THINGS I have been loving lately: my new alex & ani bracelets from hubby (Ohm, Peace & Anchor), my PINK Victoria Secret hoodie, my mala beads via Connie Mooney, lululemon yoga pants (which I LIVE in), bright blue jeans & loads of blazers in every color, wearing more accessories, glitter spray & all of my LUSH products.

 

Journey to Hope Yoga Inc

Our non-profit is the best thing that has ever happened. Hands down. The end. In love.

I am in love with: our efforts, our board, what we bring to the community, our volunteers and the amazing, wonderful, beautiful people we serve every week. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a part of the journey with us no matter if you’re reading, donating, participating or watching from afar!

Get out there – do yoga & MAKE LIFE SPARKLE!
Namaste,

Jenny

Magical Mondays

Good Morning beautiful yogis & yoginis!

 

What a beautiful day to count our blessings. There is snow on the trees, but not on the roads. The birds are singing, the sun began shining early this morning and today is a full moon.

 

This week I am full of energy and light! Last night I attended a Crystal Bowls class and it was amazing. I left feeling light and airy - full of energy and complete with a new intention and manifestation for the new moon. As this weekend began Mercury Retrograde, I was feeling a bit of a downpull in energy...but once I attended the workshop and created a loving and healing intention, I felt 100% better.

 

The workshop was eye opening. I felt all kinds of beautiful energy within me and was blessed to have been essentially dragged to the class by my friend Patty. In terms of energy, Patty is another entity on her own and an amazingly intuitive person. I was so glad she asked me to come out on a dreary evening and feel so much more attuned and open to the changes happening around me.

 

Mercury Retrograde is a time to reflect and a time of immense changes. It is a great time to try a more spiritual practice of yoga and listen to your whole mind, body & spirit within yoga. I truly encourage you to slow down and begin to listen to your own wisdom.

 

Along with my amazing energy healing class last night, my weekend was full of blessings. I was able to coordinate a photoshoot for the amazing Journey to Hope volunteers!! The handful of volunteers that were able to make it to this session were greeted with the most beautitful, kind and loving yogini photographer, Ms. Ashley Paige!! Check out her facebook page and I promise I will be posting photos of the shoot in the near future.

This beautiful photo shoot was complimented with a dinner at our home. It was so nice to see all of our volunteers conversing together and discussing what shelter they work at, why they volunteer and so forth. I wish some of my board members were able to attend - but circumstances proved otherwise this time. Next time, we will ALL be in full swing and I am eagerly anticipating photo shoot number two with the rest of the amazing volunteers we have for Journey to Hope!

The Little Things

 

Springtime birds, sunlight when I'm waking up, the Journey to Hope Yoga photo shoot, Power Yoga of Cape Cod for allowing us to borrow the space, Ashley Bilodeau, our amazing volunteers, a delicious potluck dinner, my hubby, a yummy cafe for Sunday brunch, sleeping in, cuddling, puppy presents, rain instead of snow, my mom finally going to Florida for a vacation, the AMAZING Crystal Bowls class last night, the full moon and my intentions, channeling my passions, making fruit paste from Crazy Sexy Kitchen (and various other recipes), writing my book, creating video content, The Oscars' (my little musical heart is STILL doing backflips over some of last nights performances), good music, funny youtube videos, lessons in slowing down, listening to my inner wisdom {especially during mercury retrograde}, The Leap of Faith Kit I'm creating for you all, my daily meditation, YOGA REACHES OUT, assisting in yoga reaches out, creating healthy meal plans and Kundalini this week!

I hope you are counting your blessings today. Remember, Mondays are magical. Let's take back Monday's bad rep and remember that we are blessed and we are loved.

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle!
Namaste,

Jenny



Things I love Thursday

Good morning yogis!!

Apparently, today is Thursday.... I have no idea what day of the week it is because we had a holiday off on Monday at work and I completely forgot about Magical Mondays! Ah, well - better late than never :-)

This past week was full of snow. We had four snow days at work due to a power outage and needed to work from home. I was able to cook healthy lunches & hang out with my puppy boy. I worked one day in the office last week (on Friday) and then had a wonderful snowy weekend where Karthik & I were snowed in watching movies, eating and snuggling with our puppy.

Monday was a nice day off and time for yoga. I enjoyed an amazing class with my yogi friend Kathleen on Monday mid-day. I then took my spoild puppy to the dog store to get him some treats and me a nice almond chai latte (YUMMY!!) and then we went for a brilliantly bright & COLD walk on the beach. I spent the evening with hubby once he got out of work, making a delicious meal for dinner.

The Little Things

I enjoyed having hubby cook me dinner, watching the Downton Abbey season finale (sad!!), yoga, home practices, meditation, healthy eating, a new tofu recipe, eating clean, getting excited about going to Kundalini tonight, the planning stages of jennyravikumar.com, my new web designer, my video friends, the MAD content/blogging/book material I've been conjuring up, work going well, dealing with stresses of my work through breath, creating amazing projects for all of you yogis & yoginis, feeling the LOVE, Mermaid by Train, planning tomorrow's sequence & of course cuddling!

I hope you have found something amazing to be grateful for today. Remember that you have breath in your lungs, an open heart and someone who loves you.

Get out there - do yoga & make life sparkle!
Namaste,
Jenny

Magical Mondays: Apollo's Anniversary & I'm HOME!

Today I am so grateful for a big huge list of things, but the two most important are being home with my husband and our furry babies, and today is Apollo’s anniversary!

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We have had our puppy boy for a whole year today and it has been the best adventure and experience a girl could ask for. I count him in my blessings everyday. Although it has taken Digger a long time to accept him as a brother, I now find the sneak cuddling sometimes when we come home from work! They are slowly becoming friends – kinda.

Apollo woke us up this morning with his usual litany of kisses and his sweet smelly breath greeting. I love him so much and we couldn’t be more blessed to have this little rescue in our lives. Our bonsai lab/rescue/hound/pointer puppy is just perfect no matter what his background. Tomorrow is his one-year rabies shot appointment and we will find out if he’s grown!

Hidden Bistro Wall

Today is a very magical Monday indeed – I AM HOME! I was so excited to step off the airplane that I didn’t even mind the 2.5 feet of snow that greeted my return. I was stuck in Austin this week at a conference for work and was literally snowed out of my own city. I missed my family so much and wanted nothing more than to be home and cuddle.

Nadia & I at the Capital Building

Fortunately, however, I took the yogi approach and discovered why I was supposed to be in Austin. I went shopping with a few girlfriends who were also stuck, went to Ester Follies (and got pulled up on stage!), discovered 6^th street, went to yoga at Wanderlust Live, drank smoothies, went to the state capital and ate brunch in a hidden cafe bistro with Nadia.

Inside the Capital Building, Austin TX

I had such a blast while I was there for the weekend and it was much warmer in Austin than Boston so I cannot complain. The best part of the trip was on the way home. I love landing into Logan Airport as it looks as though you are going to be crashing into the ocean and yet you land beautifully on a runway surrounded it instead. I was sitting next to a nervous flyer and taught him how to breathe using ujjai breath and asking him to meditate – and he said for the first time he really saw the way we landed and felt much calmer. I loved being able to help him feel better on the way home and loved landing in my city!

Hubby and I had a bit of a lazy morning as I’m working from home and awaiting another big meeting. It felt so nice to be snuggled up and loving my family.

Enjoying the hidden bistro

This past week was full of traveling, trying to stay healthy on a business trip, walking, fun nights with friends, yoga and a lot of busy. I am grateful for the week ahead in my own studios with a much calmer pace and am certainly looking forward to Valentine’s Day & Kundalini yoga this week!

The Little Things

Uncommon Objects on South Congress Street, Kendra Scott jewelry, walking all around Austin, petting rescue puppies on the street, amazing desserts, eating flowers, texmex everywhere, Jackalope's, being a magicians assistant at Ester Follies, experiencing Mardi Gras for 10 minutes, finding yoga & smoothies, healthy food trucks, little Eiffel Towers, having dinner with my Norwegian boss while being snowed out of Boston, calling hubby everyday, picture updates of Apollo, Digger & the Blizzard of 2013, not having to shovel any of the storm, working from home today, the joy of cuddling when arriving home and being able to finally snuggle next to my love last night!

Here’s to hoping you had an amazing week and an even better Monday. Stay safe in the snow if you’re in New England.

Sending love & positivity.

Get out there – do yoga & make life sparkle.

Namaste,

Jenny