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Posts tagged “Asheville”

My Aha Moment Experience: Mom Was Right, Sharing is Good.

The Mutual of Omaha airstream came to Asheville, NC this past June and I hopped right on to share my story.

If you are not familiar with Mutual of Omaha’s aha moment campaign and commercials, you can visit them online to see what I’m talking about. Basically, they travel the country and interview everyday people, some well known, others not so much, and provide them with a chance to share their story. In these commercials, people talk about a moment in their life that has had some impact or brought about clarity, you know, an “aha” moment. The cool thing is that everyone has a story and most everyone wants to share that story with others. I find this is true with the people I meet teaching yoga classes.

So, I shared my aha moment and you can view it here. To sum it up:

The best things in life are made even better when you share them, when you give them away.

I have the best job in the world – empowering people to transform their lives and to take responsibility for their health and well-being. Yoga practice is so very personal and brings about life-changing transformation through moment after moment of these “aha moments,” these moments of clarity and connection.

For me realizing that I wanted to teach and to share what I’ve learned came about through noticing what benefits I have received (for asthma, allergies, depression, injuries, self-esteem, purpose). I thought about the things in my life that I have suffered with and that I have seen transformed … by me. I realized that this is pretty incredible and very empowering. I immediately wanted to shout it out to the world: You can do and be anything you want to. We are FREE to create and invent ourselves in every moment! REALLY!

Perhaps you’ve had a moment like this. A moment when you realize the depth of your untapped potential. And what do you do with this kind of powerful information? Do you hoard it? Do you keep it to yourself? Nope. you want to share it, right? You want everyone to feel this way and to know this potential.

I have realized that the best things in my life have been made a kagillion times better by sharing them with others and that this is because it provides me with access to ultimate connection. By simply sharing and interacting with other people, I become part of what’s happening in the world. I am contributing. I am affecting change. And it is exciting.

I have also noticed that this is a very human characteristic. We all instinctively want to connect with each other. We want to be heard and understood. We want to contribute. In this realization, I found even more yummy connection. Aha! Aha! Aha!

So, whether or not I convey all of this in the short “aha moment” moment video with the Mutual of Omaha gang (I don’t think it is clear), I am glad to have this blog as an outlet for sharing. Now, of course I could pick apart the video until I drive myself bonkers (for example the way I say yogaaaaa in the beginning of the video makes me twitchy), but I am glad I did it. I’m glad I shared. I was really nervous, which surprised me, so that explains the lack of a coherent and clear message.

Anyway, let me know what you think and share your thoughts and aha’s below. And thanks for being a witness to my journey!

Lots of Love,

Lindsay


August 8, 2010 | Categories: Musings | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments »

Strike a Pose Saturday: I Like to Stand on My Hands

A new feature on my blog … sort of my Wordless Wednesday or Photogenic Friday … but, you know, on Saturday.

I will be sharing a yoga pose, with some tips and info every week. Mostly, I am just posting what I am doing these days, places I am visiting, my current favorite (or darn it – why can’t I freakin’ do this?!?!) yoga pose.

Here I am at the Main Street Nature Park in downtown Weaverville, NC

yoga in the park

Still a little timid when it comes to handstanding it away from the wall but thanks to my friend, the tree here, I ventured out of my safety nets and the handstand practice I am accustomed to.

One of the biggest challenges with handstands is overcoming you fear of falling. Best way to overcome that fear? Just do it. And know that you are going to fall at some point. I have – plenty of times. Learning to fall correctly and safely is an important part of the process … but you will probably learn the hard way. For example, I fell once and broke my left big toe. The good news? My fears were realized. What I dreaded has already happened and now I can move on. Oh, and the falling incorrectly thing? It hasn’t happened again.

In the beginning, the hard part will be to straighten your elbows and have your arms be solid and supportive like tree trunks. You can prep yourself for this pose, strengthen your upper body and arms with other poses such as downward facing dog, plank, forearm balance, etc.

Benefits:

  • Strengthens wrists, arms and shoulders
  • Improves  balance
  • A good pick me up when you are feeling sluggish or down. Nothing quite like shifting your perspective – literally!
  • Invites playfulness

Cautions:

  • Back, shoulder, or neck injury
  • Serious heart condition or high blood pressure
  • Ladies – core muscles are crucial in this pose so better not to do it when your lower belly area is busy doing other, monthly, female specific stuff … chances are, you won’t feel like doing it anyway.

Please check out my first ever giveaway …. you can win a yoga DVD!!

Thanks and love!

Lindsay

By the way, please practice safely, especially with inversions and when practicing outside of the yoga room. These articles express my opinion and while I have over a decade’s experience with hatha yoga practice, intensive teacher trainings and hundreds of hours of teaching, always consult your physician before beginning any exercise regimen and to find out what activities suit your uniqueness. Becuase you are special and doggonit … I like you.

July 3, 2010 | Categories: Postures and Benefits | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Because I Live in Asheville: Yoga and Craft Beer, Together at Last

I sometimes joke about being a yoga teacher in Asheville, NC. I like to say there is a yoga teacher per every 1 person. While not entirely accurate (okay, not even close), there is quite a population of us here in Beer City, USA. It’s great. We support each other and in the spirit of yoga and healthy competition we challenge, motivate and inspire each other.

In addition to the rockin’ yoga scene, Ashevillians are also passionate about their … you guessed it, beer.

And yes it’s true. After an intense online poll with some pretty heated blog posts and reader comments, the beautiful mountain city I call home, was named Beer City USA for 2010.

I have found the craft beer scene, that is the local breweries, the larger beer makin’ community and all of the beer bloggers out there, to be much the same as I described Asheville’s yoga community – supportive, encouraging and family-like.

Here is what led me to this comparison …

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales has a brew named Namaste. Namaste (the beer) is a “Belgian-style White made with dried organic orange slices, fresh cut lemongrass and a bit of coriander.” Sounds yummy.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. This is just another example of a trendy business capitalizing on the uber-hip yoga/yuppie/hipster market. But, just hold on … at least read the story behind the creation of this beer before you make any rash judgements.

When their friends and fellow brewers suffered a devastating loss to their production in 2009 (about 1/3 of their annual revenue – yikes!), did Dogfish feign sympathy, all the while scoffing to themselves and thinking Ha! That means more moolah for me!? Nope, they sure didn’t. Rather, they collaborated with another brewer friend the result of which was this Belgian-style brew that paid tribute (and a portion of the profits!) to the unfortunate brewery.

Read the full story here.

And I thought this was pretty darn cool. A little bit of good news and an example of how business doesn’t have to be an “Us vs. Them” thing. It is not required for someone to fail in order for you (and everyone) to succeed. Sweet.

Serious kudos to Dogfish Head Brewery.

Here is how Sam on the Dogfish blog described the choice of Namaste as the name of this beer:

“The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. In other words it is a show of mutual respect and admiration – a great single word summary of the inspiration behind this brew.”

Love it. Now, if I could just get my hands on some of that beer.  :)

Thanks for reading!

Lindsay

Many thanks to Bruisin’ Ales of Asheville for the tip on Dogfish Head Brewery’s Namaste beer and for inspiring this post with their beerlanthropic ways.

Click for photo credit.

Plan an Asheville Beer & Yoga Tour

Western North Carolina Breweries:

 

Asheville Yoga Studios:

 

 

 

June 24, 2010 | Categories: Musings | Tags: , , | 1 Comment »