Monday, August 30, 2010

'Are you a flirt?'

'Are you a flirt?'

The other day I was shopping with one of my girlfriends. We've been through a lot of life's ups and downs; relationships, jobs, kids & health issues. She is a person who sometimes goes to yoga, has divine intuition, loves a good spiritual workshop and prays.

As we shopped she talked about how her ex-husband still gets on her nerves, she doesn't know if her boyfriend is the "one" or not, her job is just a job but it pays the bills, her kids are driving her crazy and she's struggling post-40 to keep the pounds off. She's having trouble sleeping. She's drinking too much. I know I "preach" compassion, but geez o weez, I just wanted to thunk her on the head.

You see, she's a flirt. She flirts with Spirit. She likes yoga, but is too busy for a regular practice. She's divinely intuitive, yet won't sit down to meditate to harness it for her benefit. She loves a good workshop, but won't follow through on the exercises that will release her from her past and transform her life so that she can manifest the future she desires. She prays to God, but can't a hear a word God says back. She doesn't sleep because she's stressed and worried and she drinks to relax because its fast and easy. She's eventually going to get sick and this makes me so sad because she is dear to me. It's also completely within her power to prevent.

What she doesn't realize is that she is here on this planet for a reason. She is special and very unique. She has everything she needs right inside of her to live the life of her dreams which includes love, peace & unlimited happiness. She just needs to do her work.

Are you a flirt?

Flirting is fun. It doesn't lead to a fulfilling and lasting relationship unless it is taken to the next level. Make the commitment.


28 days. A total mind, body & spirit makeover. A whole new you. A whole new way to look at the world. A whole new life. Realize your purpose.

THE ELEMENTAL CLEANSE
SIGN UP NOW>>

(space is limited, Thursday is almost full!)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn

The subject of meditation has been coming up a lot in the studio. I think everyone is just really stressed right now, not to mention you can't turn on the TV or open a magazine without the subject of stress-reduction and meditation coming up. I do intend to do a meditation workshop in the fall, but I don't want you guys to have to wait to start de-stressing. I've included below a list of books I love that will start your journey as well as a video link to one of my favorite meditation workshops. You can't do better than Jon Kabat-Zinn for FREE!!

"The Book of Secrets" by Dr. Chopra.

I love this book because it introduces you to the fundamentals of metaphysics in a concrete way. I think the So Hum meditation is in here. Otherwise, go to www.elementalom.com for the practice.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Pantanjali

This is a tiny book. The intro and beginning of the book are very much about the practice of yoga. Keep in mind that yoga is founded in meditation and ends in meditation. Yoga is meditation. It is not the posturing, although in the West, we have made it about that.

Peace is in Every Step
The Miracle of Mindfulness
True Love

All the above are by Thich Nhat Hahn who is a Zen Buddhist Master. He writes beautifully and there is much overlap in his books. I threw True Love on there because it takes 1/2 hour to read and gives you the mantras for loving another. You can use the practice with friends, co-workers, strangers and lovers. It's about deep listening and understanding. I find that learning to practice mindfulness with the people around you is the easiest way to really feel the benefits of mindfulness and it will motivate you.

Full Catastrophe living - Jon Kabat Zin

When you need help:

Yoga Nidra - Dr. Richard Miller.....you don't have to read. Just throw the CD on and lie down for an hour.
The Secret Universal Mind Meditation - Kelly Howell.....again...throw the CD on and just lie down.


Do all of this alone. This is a singular journey.



Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Conversation with God

I few days ago some of my students and I were talking after class and the question of spirit and ultimately the question of faith came up. They wanted to understand how I could have such a certainty that there exists a spirit that is truly an interactive part of my life.

My realization of spirit really began around the age of 13 when my father moved away from the family home. My sister had also moved away which left my mother and I on our own. My mother suffered greatly through her divorce and although she meant well for me, I found myself alone a lot. I found solace in my school work and after school jobs, but I was a lonely kid. I had few friends. Something about having a sister, a father and finally an extended family leave you as a child makes you a little shy to reach out to others. There’s always a sense that they will leave you.

I remember going to bed one night very sad. I laid in my bed crying and wishing that everything would go back to normal. I also remember being grateful that my dad was gone and that made me feel guilty. He drank a lot and could be very dark. Feeling lonely, I pulled my blankets tight around me and pretended that the hands of God were wrapped around me. In the embrace of that blanket, I felt spirit. I just felt calm and certain that everything was just as it should be. I felt that I wasn’t alone. I felt comforted. I also felt that larger forces were at play and that my life was going to be friggin’ awesome.

It was really that simple for me. Since then, I’ve had a dialogue with spirit that has deepened with my Yoga practice and my Meditation. I don’t see Angels or auras and God forbid I ever see a gnome or fairy because that’s going to freak me out. I do find that spirit speaks to me syncronistically through poetry, songs and books. I tend to meet the right people at the right time. I tend to know what other people are feeling and have a gift for saying the right things. All of this I attribute to spirit. It’s a simple quiet relationship.

My recommendation for starting your relationship with spirit would be to simply start talking. It will feel funny at first. Give God a personality and just start sharing. My God is old and wise and thinks it’s funny when I cuss him out. You will be surprised when you realize it’s a two way conversation.

The energy of Fall...take advantage!

Yogis,

It's that time of year again when the heated energy of the Fire (Pitta) summer starts to shift to the energy of the Wind as fall approaches. It is a natural time of change that may feel abrupt and chaotic just like the Wind. This season can come in as an opportunistic breeze or a full on hurricane if you don't plan well and take advantage of the shift. Depending on your choices, you will shift into Winter (Kapha/Earth) healthy and vibrant or not so healthy; still carrying a few extra pounds, feeling lethargic, sleeping poorly and perhaps a little down.

Plan for fall. It's time to clean your body, mind and soul of the debris you have accumulated over the summer, over the year (if you did it last year) or over a lifetime if you have never taken the time to clean yourself out.

What do we do? We establish a meditation practice. This program helps you to seal the deal on that practice. For 5 weeks, we will meet and discuss your meditation, your experiences and how you are advancing. You are held accountable by your group and by me. You will be highly motivated to force yourself to sit down in that chair each morning and do it. I don't have to go on and on about the benefits of meditation anymore. If you are watching Oprah, reading magazines or listening to the news, then you know that 90% of disease is caused by stress. Notice that I did not say by staying up late, eating cheeseburgers and sitting on your buddhi watching TV. Stress. It's so easy to manage and get rid of.

We establish a moving practice. You don't have to be able to bend yourself into a pretzel to do yoga. In fact, I highly encourage a more nourishing and gentle practice for the 5 week period. If you have been killing yourself in hot vinyasa flow for the last year, take a break! Your body (and especially your mind) can actually become quite imbalanced from hot yoga depending on your predominant element....think FIRE doesn't need more FIRE. We will walk, spend time and nature and heal our bodies without effort. That's how God intended.

We establish new nutritional habits. Some of what you are doing every single day is destroying your digestion, causing sleep disturbances and weight gain. You will learn some powerful tricks of the trade to get that Fire in your belly lit up. If you have hit that sweet spot of 40 and over and are a female, I've got some new tricks up my sleeve for you! (I had a busy summer studying, researching and being over 40 myself.)

Lastly, we do a ton of emotional work and goal setting. I've taken it to a whole new level bringing in teachings form other traditions that I am absolutely passionate about.

This series is going to be filmed. I'm in production on DVDs and a subdomain that is all educational. You will not be filmed if you choose not to be and honestly, the focus will be mostly on me anyway. I need your help to make this a huge success!!

Call me with questions. 513.315.5042 or email @ elementalom@mac.com. Visit to learn more CLICK HERE.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Open Letter

Yogis,

Everyone is asking me about what I am currently working on. Maybe its because I'm buzzing around excited out of my mind! So here goes.

The Learning Center is set to open in September. I am subleasing space from my dear friend and astrology teacher, Pam Gallagher. Many of you have been to her workshops. Her space is on Red Bank Road. If you take 71 south and get off at the Red Bank exit you will go straight through the light and it is on the right in a little building that houses Baker Chiropractor. It is across the street from the Plastic Surgery Group and Subway. THIS IS A CLASSROOM ONLY....NO YOGA THERE.

I leased the space because I want to get the Elemental Immersion (the 28 day Ayurvedic Cleanse) into Cincinnati. I find that folks in Cinci don't want to drive all the way to Lebanon once a week, so this makes sense. There are lots of other yoga studios in that area that they can practice the yoga piece out of.

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Workshop
is sold out...ok one spot left in this minute, (for the 2nd time)! I'm so excited that there is so much interest. Honestly, it is the simplest daily practice and it will absolutely change the way you think and change your life. It is the one thing I have taken from all my studies at the Chopra center and use without exception. I will be doing it again in the fall if you missed it. Thank you thank you!!

I was looking for property to expand. It's on hold. I looked everywhere and was overwhelmed by all the options. The economy is shifting and there is a TON for sale and a TON for lease. It makes picking a location tough because you don't feel the energy of movement anywhere. I'm going to sit still until the Universe moves me. (be gentle).

NOW.....THIS IS WHAT I'M FLOATING WITH STARS ABOUT:

I am deep in the process of bumping out a super cool subdomain for elementaom.com that is going to be all education. You will be able to log on and sign up to do the Elemental Immersion online. (By the way....it needs a better name. Elemental Immersion is not "sticky". email me ideals...I'm begging elementalom@mac.com). It will have video and lots of cool programming that I cannot reveal because it is so cutting edge coooooooool. Needless to say, I can't wait. This will make the Elemental Immersion available on a national level. I want to touch as many people with this as I can. It works so well. People shift, they lose weight, they get grounded and connect with their souls!! I want the whole world to shift.

Also, I'm deep in the planning phase on my product line......


Thursday, August 12, 2010

A cynical yogi.

I watched TV tonight. I mean allllll night. A good 3 hours worth. This is what I learned:

Reese’s has the best ad campaign. I will never again argue against having a Reese cup in a moment of distress or despair. What can I say? They got to me. I swear to to the Universe almighty every other commercial was for those luscious little guys who know just how I feel and what I need. We really connected. I will name my next fish Reese.

Humans are obsessed with phones. Apparently Blackberry and intel or someone like that...was it AT&T...have a new agreement to make that Blackberry better. I enjoy my current Blackberry. It’s hard to use. I can’t text or talk and drive because the buttons are so small which keeps me and others safe. I’ve mostly given up on cell phone habits because my phone basically stinks. I don’t know what this union has in store for me, but I like the quiet of my phone. Don’t improve the cell phone. Make them more quiet.

Again, humans are obsessed with phones. I think what we really crave is that most amazing connection where you are completely lost in another. Life is so busy, I guess phones are substitutions for arms. I love the deep meaningful texting that accounts for true connection. Are you kidding me?

There’s lots of scary movies coming out. Why do people want to be scared? I’m scared of lots of things without having to worry about demonic possessions and aliens. Perhaps demonic possessions and aliens are better than our daily fears.

All we really want is love. Match.com and eharmony had almost as many commercials as those Reese cups. Isn’t it funny what we find love in? We can comfort ourselves with the sweet gooey sensation of peanut butter and chocolate or maybe we will truly fall in love with another human.

Everybody wants to be a hero. I don’t know why. They usually start out losing everything they love to push them to “hero” status. Then, regardless of their awareness, they end up working for someone else. In the end, they are cool and tough and save the world, but they walk off into the sunset alone. The only way they make the hero look totally good and totally worth losing everything is to make the guy who is in charge look like a dope and kill him in the end. I don’t want a be a hero or a total dope.

Black leather jackets are totally cool. I gotta find a vegan version.

Children are often smarter than adults. They see the obvious and the details. They read people better than grown ups. Listen to children. They are better connected.

TV is very violent. I promise that 1/2 of my time was spent eyes closed or squinting. Do we choose this to numb us? Perhaps if we see the most disgusting and violent things on TV every single night, then we don’t have to give a thought to the minor tragedies of the day. Compared to TV, the elderly living alone unable to afford medications and care seems like nothing. At least their blood hasn’t been sucked by vampires. Abused children? Who cares. Their soul could have easily been sold to the devil himself in slave trade. The homeless? Get a clue. They just need a Reese cup. duh.

Do I seem cynical. I apologize. Did I mention that I believe I watched 3 hours of TV tonight.........

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

I was driving in my car this morning listening to National Public Radio and was absolutely shocked to learn that the number of states where nearly one-third of the adults is obese has tripled. CLICK HERE FOR STORY. That's 1 in 3 adults! It's an epidemic of poor choice making and to be quite honest, lack of choice.

It's hard to eat healthy in America. We don't even know how to do it. Let's not even mention how stressed we are and pressed for time. It's easy to grab fast food for lunch, a candy bar from the vending machine at 2pm when we crash and processed food for dinner. Manufacturers are very convincing that we are making good healthy choices buying their packaged crud fortified with vitamins, minerals and "fiber". It makes me so mad.

It's outrageous. Fast food is not food. I don't care if you choose the salad or the baked potato. I was an auditor with a major accounting firm for 9 years before I was a mom and a yogi. I've been through the manufacturing facilities of major fast food chains. The lettuce is shipped in on a truck, shredded in a factory, packaged in an enormous plastic bag, stuck on a shelf and finally shipped to your local fast food chain. When that lettuce hits your mouth, it's dead or what we call "tamasic" in Ayurveda. You don't even want to know about the hard boiled eggs or the juice that the cheeseburger patties float around in until they get to you.

There is no love in that food and let's be honest, we eat to feel a sense of love. We eat to feel love especially when we are stressed. The reason a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake taste so good and we crave them is because they are considered a "sweet" taste in Ayurveda. They ground you. They make you feel loved. It's a temporary fix for whatever it is you are going through in the moment.

I would like to teach you a different way to manage your stress levels. I would like to teach you a different way to ground yourself and to realize love. Join me this fall for the Elemental Immersion. I will take you on a 28 day journey that will radically change your view of yourself, your world and food. You will lose weight, connect with your soul and fell absolutely vibrant at month's end. It is one month of your life that will change your entire life. You will never be able to look at things the same again. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

If you have a friend or loved one in need of stress management, weight management or simply "life management", forward this blog to them. Give them the opportunity to learn how to make better choices.

Monday, August 2, 2010

The toxicity of Summer.....

Oh my....what a super fun summer!

My kids were home from school. I couldn't effectively get to my yoga practice and puke on the Roller Coasters at Kings Island at the same time.

I intended to work out of my home to be flexible for my kiddies. I couldn't effectively WORK, meditate, spend time in silence or enjoy nature because those little guys clearly DON'T GET IT!!

I intended to eat really really healthy, but who can resist a hot dog at a Reds game, a barbecue of chicken and ribs in the back yard or a gorgeous Turtle Sunday full of chocolate and pecans.

I intended to drink lots of mint waters and teas, but have I mentioned how good a cold crisp Chardonnay tastes on a summer evening? Not to mention a minty mohito or a salty margie....mmmmm.

Anyhooooo, I've gained 5 pounds, my skin looks rough and sallow, I'm irritable, grumpy, moody...think road rage. My thoughts have become human again. Worried about the future; regretting the past; I have lost myself.

Time to clean up this toxic mess. I started the Ayurvedic Cleanse that I administer (the Elemental Immersion) on Friday. I'm sitting in Monday and have already lost 2 pounds. I woke up this morning bright eyed and bushy tail and ready to kick some yogi buddhi! I went cold turkey on alcohol, meat and processed foods. I did have some cheese and have done this enough to know that I must wean from coffee or I will get headaches. I went back to my meditation chair, turned off all the noise and distraction, started journaling and created Mantras for use throughout my day. I'm intensely working on my intentions and desires to manifest my future. It's magic. It works.

I will be offering the Elemental Immersion to you this fall beginning the week of September 13th. I'm very excited because it will be offered in three different sessions in Cincinnati on Red Bank Road as well as in Lebanon. CLICK HERE to learn more and to sign up. I've tweaked the program even more over the summer to incorporate additional relevant nutritional studies and will be offering each participants two paths....do you want to really lose weight and get all the other stuff or do you just want all the other stuff because you don't really need to lose that much weight?

Have fun the rest of your summer. Clean it up this fall!

The Elemental Immersion is a 28 day course that teaches the ancient science of Ayurveda in simple & elegant step-by-step process. The 5 week course empowers individuals to replace limiting thoughts, beliefs & addictions with habits & practices that support their holistic well being. As a result participants experience greater health, energy and vitality in their ̢۬everyday lives. Other benefits of this transformational program include, natural weight̢۬loss, a deep sense of groundedness, spiritual connection & mental clarity.

FALL SESSIONS FORMING!

The Elemental Immersion,