In the Zone

I am in the zone thank God. What I am referring to is my creative zone. I feel as if I have stumbled onto something fun and cool! As you know I love vintage and antique metal, paper etc.. and I love the the idea of recycling and giving old objects that were once loved new life. So what I have been doing is collecting all sorts of neat things and then combining them with wire, gemstones, pearls, my "Treasured Lockets" and metal that I have created from my molds to create one of a kind wearable art. Here is my latest creation that I just love. I posted it on ETSY so take a look there too. Let me know what you think. Since I work in my studio by myself it is great when other people help critique my work. Thanks for stopping by!
Namaste.

The Closing of Week Five

Wow another week just flew by. As I sit down to write with my steaming cup of decaf. coffee I am reflecting on how my "40 Days to a Personal Revolution" is coming along and what it has meant to me.

I have learned a tremendous amount about myself - both positive and negative traits have come to my attention. The positive traits that I have been rediscovering have helped me to become less sensitive to people's words and more assured as to who I am and my goodness. The negative traits that have surfaced have been humbling and have provided me a beautiful place to start to change from. For a person to change a person must see where the change is needed. Meditation has been a blessing for me in helping me figure that out. Even though I have a non-stop busy brain, I have had moments of stillness as I have continued to practice.

In reading both books by Baron Baptiste I have elevated my personal yoga practice to a level I never thought to achieve. Yes I have become more flexible and all of that but more importantly it has taught me to stay with the discomfort (not pain)and discover what kind of a person I am. I am learning I am a person that will stick with it when I have the urge to give up. This is monumental for me especially in chair pose which I normally just avoid all together.I have learned that in reaching your "Edge" that is when the pose really begins and breakthroughs are possible. Here is an idea I have taught and now I am doing on a regular basis. When you think you can no longer hold on give yourself the gift of two more slow breaths and see were you go.

Well speaking about teaching I must be on my way to the YMCA to do just that. Make it a peaceful day for yourself and those around you - it is within your power!

Namaste.

Wearable Art for the Spring

Here is the newest pieces in my "Wearable Art" line. I have combined antiques, vintage religious metals, my own charms that I created out of bronze and silver, with pearls and gemstones. I hope you enjoys my new work!Namaste.



This piece is called "Not Alone" and combines a 1940's miraculous metal, antique pin that I converted to a pendent, fresh water pearls, fine silver tags that I created with the title of the piece and butterfly. As with all my work each piece has a story, it own history, is original, one of kind and looks great with a t-shirt and jeans or dressed up for a night on the town.

Time Flies

I am amazed how time flies. It seems as if last week just started and in a blink of the eye it is over.

Well let me recap my week for you. Yes I am still doing the “40 Days to a Personal Revolution”. And Yes I did yoga everyday. Meditation I have to admit I missed one day. That day seems to go extraordinarily fast. The funny thing about that day is I felt unsettled and it wasn’t until I was going to bed that I realized I missed my meditation. What was cool about missing that day was I learned how meditation is really helping me feel more centered as I move throughout my day.

Last week I did the 3 day fruit “Fast”. I was very successful while I did it. But I have to admit that coming off the “Fast” I did not gorge myself but I didn’t follow the recommended diet to come back off of the “Fast”. So I am going to try again this week and follow the recommended path for this. I’ll let you know how it goes.

What did last week teach me aside from the importance of meditation? Well I learned how important it is to relax and as silly as it sounds how hard it is to do just that in our society. I also learned that if life seems to be to overwhelming and you are in over your head, unconditionally surrender everything over to God like Moses did at the Red Sea.

As my week five starts it is all about centering. The yoga practice now will be 1 hour and 15 minutes each day and the meditation is now 25 minutes. As I have noticed with each mediation time increase I find the first part of the week hard and by the end I am doing it with grace.

Here is to another week of learning!
Namaste.

Onto Week Four!

Well I have made it through 23 days - past the half way point. This week is all about restoration. The physical practice now increases to 1 hour a day and the meditation is up to 20 minutes. In addition to that I am on a 3 day fruit only fast which started today and I made it! Yeah! This week I will be posting a couple of readings I have been using in class, additional information about my 40 Days, information about the Haiti donation class and information that will help our NY libraries.

Make it a peaceful evening!
Namaste.

If you Love Someone, Hurry up and Show it!

Here is another reading that I read in yoga class this past week and have gotten a requests for copies. I thought it would be a great one to share with everyone! I hope you all enjoy it. I found it in a book called "How Many People Does It Take To Make A Difference?" that my dear friend Christine found at Starbucks!

"If you love someone, hurry up and show it.
If you have family or friends to forgive, forgive them now.
If you have childhood memories worth savoring or childhood friends worth calling, call them now.
If you your mother/father/sister/brother that are still living, start a fresh new relationship with them now.
If someone already died before you could tell them what you wanted to tell them...Go ahead and tell them now.
If there are children (or nieces or nephews) in your life, give them the positive experiences that you may have missed as a child - and do it now!
If you have a dream that is calling you to new heights, follow it now.
If you have special talents, gifts, abilities or energies to give, give them now.
If there's a cause in your community worth standing for or a battle worth fighting for - fight it now.
If you can help make someone else's dream come true, help it come true now.
If there is some kindness you can show to the people around you, show it now.
There are only so many tomorrows. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake."

The two author's of the above are Rosie Zadra and Marie Beyon Ray I believe.

Make it a peaceful day by choice!
Namaste.

What will Matter

I know I have posted this before but it is a popular reading I do in Yoga class from time to time. It is a good reminder for all of us on how we should spend our time here on earth. Every time I read this someone asks for it... So Stuart, this ones for you. I am glad you made it to class. Hope to see you next week too!


Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you have collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass on to someone else. Your wealth, fame, and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear, so to your hopes and ambitions. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of our days be measured?

What will matter is not what we bought but what we built.
Not what we got but what we gave.
What will matter is not our success but our significance.
Not what we learned but what we taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion and valor that encouraged others to do the same.

What will matter is not our competence but our character.
Not how many people we know but how many will feel a lasting loss when we are gone.
What will matter is not our memories but the memories of those who loved us.
What will matter is how long we will be remembered by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.
It is not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose a life that matters.


Make today a beautiful day - it is within your power!
Namaste.

I've Completed 50% of My 40 Days

I had a break through this morning during meditation. This week the theme has been "Equanimity", which means evenness of mind especially under stress; right disposition; balance. If you know me you will know I am always busy doing something; Everything from being a wife and parent and everything that implies, to artist, to yoga teacher, to volunteer and the list goes on and on....

Anyway I finally figured out this morning that staying still, or better yet not having anything "Due" causes me stress. I have always known I am a stress eater but could never figure it out. You see the busier I was eating wasn't a problem. But when things slowed down I would eat everything even when I wasn't hungry. Sure I would blame it on PMS, hormones, or maybe it might have been blamed on something I was obsessing over. The fact of the matter sitting still was hard and to avoid being uncomfortable with myself I masked it with food. This is what I was able to uncover and learn about myself this morning during my meditation.

This bit of knowledge is embarrassing for me to admit. It feels like failure but on the other hand I am as human as the next person and I need to take my own advice and let it go. Admitting it is the first step in fixing it I do believe.

So here is to sitting still and being comfortable with that. And funny as it sounds, this yoga teacher needs to learn to relax!

Have a peaceful day and enjoy.
Namaste.

Week Three: Equanimity

I am beginning the third week of my Lenten practice "40 Days to a Personal Revolution" by Baron Baptiste. The theme for this week is "Equanimity" which is the art of meeting life as it meets you - calmly, without drama or fuss. This is the way out of frustration and into the light.

Over the past two weeks I have noticed small changes taking place within my mind. Becoming more alert to areas of my life where improvement is needed has been the biggest change I have noticed. It is making me see life differently and taking responsibility for my actions and choices: helping me stop the "Blame Game"; making me mindful of judging others and myself with the hopes of stopping that behavior in the near future.

In the book "40 Days to a Personal Revolution" by Baron Baptiste, he writes about one of Buddha's lessons. "Buddha taught that throughout our lives, we should expect to encounter four specific joys and their opposites: pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame, and fame and disrepute. The world conditions us to seek unchanging pleasure, gain, praise and fame. The problem is that things don't always work out that way. When we experience pain, loss, blame and disrepute, we take it personally, as if something is deeply wrong with us. Equanimity releases us from unrealistic expectations about what life should be and allows us to stay centered amid the inevitable highs and lows."

I found the above excerpt from Baron's book to be very powerful and I understand it, it makes complete sense. Where I struggles is with the "HOW?" Hopefully by the end of this week I will have more insight into that!

Week three my yoga practice is now 45 minutes and my meditation is 15 minutes. I had the same experience that I had last week when I upped my meditation from 5 minutes to 10 minutes as I did this morning when I upped my 10 minutes to 15 minutes - my mind was wondering a lot. However,I should congratulate myself on staying put, breathing through it and not moving to change the uncomfortable feelings. I believe I am on the right path. By the end of last week I was able to just be, and what a blessing that was when I simply let go. I pray I can do it again!

This week I will be listing new poses (asanas) that I am including with this weeks practice and will be listing the next 4 and final laws of transformation. I know it will be a good week of learning.

Make it a peaceful day!
Namaste.

To Do List Finished!

Have you ever had a day when everything on your "To Do List" actually got done? Well had such a day, today! Maybe it was because I meditated twice today.

I started my day with my normal morning meditation - still a bit scattered but I am able to connect to my breath when I start going to far away with my thoughts, so I am learning. Then I did a second one before I started on my art in the early afternoon. I felt very clear the majority of the day and had a good rhythm going.

My yoga practice came later in the day. I was supposed to teach children yoga this afternoon but there was a mix up with the schedule and they didn't need me to sub after all. I took advantage of the time and practiced with the kids just the same. It was a slow but nice pace. My body has been a bit sore from all the yoga I have been doing and this seem to fit my body just right!

Today has been an exciting day for me too because I tried a new medium called bronze clay in my artwork. I will let you all know how it turns out after I fire it on Saturday - it should be dry by then. I felt courageous as I tried it and boy was it fun.

Well I must be off to bed since I need to get up so early. Sleep well.
Namaste.

Today Has Been Great So Far and it is not Even 9am!

Good morning everyone!!!! It has been a great so far and it is not even 9am!!!!I got up at 4:45am, went to the YMCA and ran for 30 minutes on the Pro-core machine which totally kicked my butt, then did a short but intense yoga practice, then taught yoga to a wonderful group of early morning risers like myself!!! Came home got my older son off to middle school, showered and am about to drive my younger son to elementary school because he has a huge project to bring in plus his French horn so I thought I would help!

I believe my great day started when I was brushing my teeth at 4:50am and all I could think was how lucky I am to be where I am in life, and in the world. What a blessing that I am completely thankful for!!! I am almost giddy from that thought. Maybe it has been my meditations or my yoga practice kicking in, but what ever it is I love it!!!! It could also be the weather - it is bright and at the end of the 6-7am yoga class we could see the sky light up which we haven't seen all winter!!!

Well my little one is ready for his day so off we go! Choose to make it a peaceful day, it is up to you!
Namaste.

Ten Down and Thirty to Go

Ten down and thirty to go refers to my "40 Days to a Personal Revolution." I am a quarter of the way done and I have noticed some small changes already. First I feel calmer in my mind even though I still have busy brain, I feel less scattered. I have noticed that when I am doing crocodile I feel much more powerful and have noticed my body becoming more toned. Last but not least I am understanding how to balance my diet between foods that heat and foods that cool. My body was craving foods that cool but I was clueless!

I am understanding that yoga is more than just an exceptional workout physically but a program that shapes the mind as well as the body and gives you the power to liberate your mind. Something I have always known intellectually but it has been hard for me to put into practice consistently . Now I am learning to do just that, and the healing powers it has is beautiful. The key for me is the morning meditations. It starts me off slower and with purpose.

Here are the next 4 laws of transformation from Baron Baptiste's book, "40 Days to a Personal Revolution".

Law 5: Shift your Vision. In life we run into obstacles that upon first glance look like the fault of others, but a closer examination will often show that the obstacles can be a mirror of our own hidden barriers.

Law 6: Drop what you know. Too often, many of our educators lost sight of the fact the root of the word education is educere, which means "to draw forth from within". As a result, even to this day we are too easily influenced by what other people say. Praise makes us feel good while criticism makes us feel bad. We need to cast out our self-doubt. When we really let go suddenly we open up and there is space for new energy and insight.

Law 7: Relax with what is. Wisdom comes from not losing our cool in turbulent moments. Before we can find peace among nations, we have to find peace inside our own being.

Law 8: Remove the Rocks. Transformation comes not by adding things on but by removing what didn't belong in the first place. We change by peeling away all the toxic layers, emotional debris and beliefs that we have added on over the years. We forget that there is something perfect already within us.

The next 4 laws will come next week. Meanwhile I hope the laws listed above give you good food for thought.

I am off to start creating my spring jewelery line for "Wendy at Work" www.wendyatwork.com and Craft Company #6 www.craftcompany.com . If you have moment check out their websites. Special note: Craft Company #6 is celebrating women artists. All work by women artists is 20% off. Take a peek!


Namaste.

Happy March First!

Happy March first!!! We are only 20 days away from the beginning of Spring! How wonderful. When I look outside it is hard to believe spring is so close. Over the past few days we got about 20+ inches of snow and it looks beautiful!

Well I have completed 9 days of my "40 Days to a Personal Revolution" and am still going strong. This morning I was up and out of the house by 4:55am. Over to the YMCA and took a one and a half hour spinning class after that I went into the studio and did my half hour yoga practice. I felt very strong in my practice today. Chair/thunderbolt pose is always challenging for me but I did it a few times and held it for 8 breaths each time even though I wanted to come out of it. That is good for me! I also have been back bending more which is always something I avoid. I believe I am overcoming the poses that have held me back and that I am improving. It feels great!

Meditation on the other hand is still difficult. Today's meditation theme seemed to be "What do I have to do today and this week". I am able to quiet my mind for half of the 10 minute time frame. I thought I would be upset that thoughts kept popping up but it really didn't matter so much to me today. It was almost as if I was expecting that. This to will come with practice.

So much to share and so little time to do it. I will be sharing the next 4 laws of transformation tomorrow. Meanwhile choose to have a peaceful day and breathe!

Namaste.