Chaotic.

via

The above title is a clear description of the week thus far...
I am just surrendering to the chaos; letting it be as it shall be.

Teaching

I am really excited this evening as I am embarking on a new segment of my yoga journey! This weekend will mark my first class where I will be the teacher. The first 6-8 classes I teach will be donation-based Seva classes where we practice yoga together while also contributing to those who need a lift in their hearts.


I went through the flow once this evening as my husband scurried about the house... He must think I am crazy by now saying all of this stuff out loud ... but this is just the beginning!!


Light & Love,
Robyn

THOUGHTS...

"Because that's what life is about. It's about the time when you lay in the grass next to those you love. It's about the color of the ski.


It's about a roaring fire on a winter's evening.


You've got to realize that everybody bleeds, and that everybody hurts.


Everybody laughs, and everybody smiles.


That's what it's all about.


That's all it is.


There is no set meaning of life, there is nothing that can be defined, or written.


It's a matter of sculpting your very own definition."


- Unknown

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JULIE + JULIA

For book club, we completed Julie + Julia by Julie Powell. I was super excited we chose this one from the hat, as I have been wanting to read it forever!! The movie was very good, but I actually liked the book better! They definitely complement one another very well...

I found a deep connection to Julie - she messed up in the kitchen, got a upset about it, and in the end took a deep breath and got the job done - completing 3 or so recipes a night from Julia Child's cookbook: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julie took on the adventure of cooking every single recipe from MAFC, blogging about it, and risking her marriage to Eric, her long love. She took on a new role, really changing her life and setting it around her crazy goal!! Cooking in her cramped NYC apartment, finding all of the ingredients - which was an adventure in itself, she decided this goal that was "not easy, just simple".

"... I began to ponder; this life we had for ourselves, Eric and I, it felt like the opposite of Potage Parmentier. It was easy enough to keep on with the soul-sucking jobs; at least it saved having to make a choice. But how much longer could I take such an easy life? Quicksand was easy. Hell, death was easy. Maybe that's why my synapses had started snapping at the sight of potatoes and leeks in the Korean deli. Maybe that was what was plucking deep down in my belly whenever I thought of Julia Child's book. Maybe I needed to make like a potato, winnow myself down, be a part of something that was not easy, just simple." 


Julie was stuck in a job that was just not fulfilling. She didn't feel fulfilled with her life in general. She had a wonderful husband - but she needed something more... This is why the book Julie + Julia exists. It is comforting to know that you can put a goal in a place - work hard at it - and it could in fact change your life! Julie helps convince the world that once you set your mind to something - no matter how crazy people think you are (like her mother, for instance)  - great things can come out of it!


Julie taught me that you don't have to be stuck in a crappy job and lose everything creative or everything wonderful about yourself. You should always be reaching for something more. There is more to life than mere work and paychecks. If passion is not in your work  - then find it somewhere else in your life and GO FOR IT!


My favorite segment of the book was crustacean-related. The lobsters. How she could have her lobster "victims" in a brown bag on her back seat - driving around frantic NYC - hearing them moving around behind her - I am not sure I could do this!! It was kind of heart-wrenching when she described having to kill her victims... Again something else I don't think I could do!!

"When I got home I peered down at the lobster to see how he was doing. The inner plastic bag was sucked tight around him and clouded up. It looked like something out of an eighties made-for-TV movie, with some washed-up actress taking too many pills and trying to off herself with a Macy's bag."

WORDS OF WISDOM - DON'T SETTLE

The below advice from Paul Ferrini are words I tell my friends, but forget to tell myself... Always remember not to settle!!!


"Most of you know what you want, but you do not wait for it. You are constantly compromising your needs and your values to fit the situations which present themselves to you. You take the job or the relationship not because it offers you what you desire, but because you are afraid a better offer won't come. You live your life afraid to take risks because you do not want to give up the security you have.

I have news for you. That security is your death knell. It prevents you from asking sincerely for what you want.

If you are ready to release negative, masochistic, people-pleasing patterns, you must be willing to stand in the conviction of who you are, no matter how others respond to you. You must reach down deeply inside yourself and affirm yourself as you alone know yourself to be."

               Paul Ferrini, in "The Silence of the Heart" 

ROOT DOWN

This weekend has been filled with dirt, earthworms, flowers, weed control fabric, mulch... It is finally May, and we have began revamping our backyard!! I am ready to find some more blooms, but I need to take it one weekend at a time!! :)  Here are some photos that capture our day.

Placing the mulch over the weed control fabric after planting red and purple blooms.

They might be little now, but they are gonna root down and grow!!

Petunia Hybrid

Zonal Geranium (Pelargonium)

Another "friend" I found in the garden. Where there is earth, there are earthworms.

My little gardening partner in crime...

Herbs on the deck including CHOCOLATE MINT!!

More herbs...

Chives

Peppermint

Chives

Italian Basil

Lemon Thyme

Gardening Gloves are off...

Our apple tree in bloom. It smells delish!!!

Beneath the apple tree...

Justin checking out our tree.

Apple tree -  pink and white blossoms

Hubby is all smiles after a long afternoon in the yard!!

IN 2010 - LET YOUR HEART WIN

Happy New Year!! A Happy, Happy 2010 to you all! 2009 was a good year, but it is time to look forward to all that is 2010. I wish you and yours an amazing year!

My Goals and Intentions for this year...

1) Marry my fiancé, the love of my life and my best friend ... "boyfriend" of 6 years on January 14, 2010.

2) Watch and enjoy a SUNSET at least once a week - thanking God for each day he has given me.

3) Run two or three half marathons and possibly a full marathon!

4) Keep in better touch with my friends and family across the nation.

5) Smile more.

6) Adopt a family during the 2010 Holiday Season and GIVE BACK.

7) Do more yoga on and off the mat; introduce others to the yoga I love so dearly.

8) Make every day mean the most and follow my bliss!!

Do not forget ... It is never too late to begin again. No choice is more able to change your life than the one you make today.

A YOGI ONCE SAID

During these crazy days... the holidays - the deadlines - the traveling... I have learned how essential "me" time is. I have found this time in yoga and in running... but moreso in yoga because of the crazy cold weather we are having! These are the times when I am able to reflect on my week and on my life. Yoga brings me to the present as it should, but it also allows me to just let go. It lifts the weight off my shoulders, and I just breathe in the present.

This practice brings clarity and awareness into my life... I follow my breath and weave it into my movement and the world melts away. My gaze is soft and my body is light yet grounded into the earth. I dedicate my practice to whoever I feel needs a prayer or a little faith in their life. I open up my heart and let it shine. As I gaze out I am really gazing into my own being.

Iparsva Bakasana (Side Crow) has become my favorite pose. When I get it - I am balanced to the point where I know everything is just right for a few moments. This balance is not just a literal form. This balance I am speaking of is "balancing life". Seek out balance in your life - whether it is through yoga or some other form... You will learn that anything is possible! Yoga uplifts me from this crazy depression I fall into during these cold winter days. If you experience this when things start to get dreary and chilly, you probably know what I mean.

I leave my practice out into the cold weather and my heart is warm and I am glowing. The snow can fall. The freezing wind may blow...but my heart is warm and I am glowing.

YOGA, DANCE, LIFE: Quotes to Live By

(via here )

“I did not come to yoga to stretch. I came to live.” Maya Breuer

“What I want to say is that there is a strong relationship between yoga on the mat and yoga off the mat. I’ve really come to believe that the energy accumulated in practice has a lot to do with my ability to get clarity about the reality of things.” John Friend

“When you’re experiencing peace, it’s coming from within you, you’re ‘doing’ peace. And this is true of anything else you might be looking for. Love, happiness, contentment, well-being come from within. Nothing external needs to change for you to have what you want…..If you want to be happier – be happier. If you want to be more relaxed – relax. If you want more friends – be friendly. Sounds simple. It is.”  Cheri Huber

"Doubt everything. Find your own light." -Buddha

The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind. -Rodney Yee

Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours. (via my sister)

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny.

- Upanishads

First of all the twinkling stars vibrated,
but remained motionless in space,
then all the celestial globes were united into one series of movements.
… Firmament and planets both disappeared,
but the mighty breath which gives life to all things and in which all is bound up remained.

– Vincent Van Gogh

There is vitality,
a life force that is translated through you into action.
And because there is only one of you in all time,
this expression is unique,
and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.
It is not your business to determine how good it is,
or how valuable it is,
or how it compares with others expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours,
to keep the channel open.
You do not even have to believe
in yourself
or your works.
You have to keep an open mind
and be aware directly to the urges that motivate you.

-Maratha Graham

"Fall with awareness and acceptance" -Brian Kest

"Health is wealth. Peace of mind is happiness. Yoga shows the way." - Swami Vishnu-devananda

"Follow your bliss." - Joseph Campbell

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will." -George Bernard Shaw



"Be here now." -Ram Dass

FIRST POST!: SUNNY SIDE UP

Here are a few things I'm passionate about: my family and friends, travel, interior design, supporting local charities, fashion design, graphic design, and dance! I see the world SUNNY SIDE UP! You have to go through the storm in order to notice the bright, beautiful sunshine coming through the clouds! Life is SO much more than THINGS tangible. It is about EXPERIENCES. Live in the moment! Be present, as we say in yoga - on and off the mat. Have fun, make some goals, reach them. Keep Climbing!

I'm also getting married in the upcoming months so many posts will be about the progress! I appreciate any feedback you may have. Namasté.