girl crush

Sickness=Day 5 (Yes, your read that correctly, day five and still feeling like rubish). I've literally been alternating laying on the bed and on the sofa for five full days now. When I am feeling back to my normal, healthy self, I am going to go out and celebrate my life and my health--that is for sure! Until then, I will continue to fill my days with resting and internet surfing.

In the midst of my surfing, I have come across the fabulously inspirational Gabrielle Bernstein. Are you familiar with her? Well, if not, definitely check her out! She is my newest girl crush. I love finding fabulous women who are doing great things! I will be ordering her book soon, and I'm looking forward being continually inspired!

You can check Gabrielle out here.

Much love, health, & happiness to you all!

Peace, Love, Lipstick,
Namaste'
Leslie

a word on chakras

As I've mentioned multiple times recently, I've been reading Judith Anodea's Eastern Body Western Mind and LOVING it. I actually finished the book yesterday--it's a whopping 458 pages and I finished it in less than a month (which is fast for me, since I am always reading at least three books at one time). Today, I started going back through the book and rereading all the quotes I highlighted. For those who aren't familiar with the chakra system, or why it matters, here is a short explanation from the book:

"Chakras are not physical entities in and of themselves. Like feelings or ideas, they cannot be held like a physical object, yet they have a strong effect upon the body as they express the enbodiment of spiritual energy on the physical plane. Chakra patterns are programmed deep in the core of the mind-body interface and have a strong relationship with our physical functioning. Just as the emotions can and do affect our breathing, heart rate, and metabolism, the activities in the various chakras influence our grandular process, body shape, chronic physical ailments, thoughts, and behavior. By using techniques such as yoga, breathing, bioenergetics, physical exercises, meditation, and visualization, we can, in turn, influence our chakras, our health, and our lives. This is one of the essential values of this system--that it maps onto both the body and the mind, and can be accessed through either."

(*photo from http://www.besteasternhealthtips.com/)

I will be sharing more from this book throughout the next month. It really has opened my eyes to the connection between our chakras and our personality, health, and well-being. Creating a balance of energy flow is the ultimate goal, and once again, I am reminded why yoga is such a healing practice.

Peace, Love, Lipstick,
& Namaste'
Leslie

eastern body western mind & seane corn

Seane Corn is one of my all time favorite women and role-models. I adore her authenticity & inner and outer beauty. She radiates light and love--truly. One of my goals is to attend a yoga workshop with her some day--hopefully soon! I would love to have the opportunity to be in the same space with her and learn from her. I recently listened to a podcast of her being interviewed which I found fascinating. It was a part of the Sounds True podcast that I downloaded from itunes. I highly recommend it, if you get the chance. In this interview Seane mentioned a book called Eastern Body, Western Mind. I immediately looked it up on Amazon, and I knew this was going to be my next read. It's a book after my own heart combining yogic philosophy, spirituality, and psychology. I got the book in the mail today and immediately started reading it. For those of you interested, here's the description of the book from the back cover:

"In this groundbreaking book, Anodea Judith brings a fresh approach to the yoga-based Eastern chakra system, placing it within the framework of Western thought. Exploring the chakras through Jungian psychology, somatic therapy, childhood developmental theory, and metaphysics, she creates an elegant and practical system for healing energy imablances and taking control of your mental and physical health.

Each chapter focuses on a single chakra, starting with a description of its characteristics and identity issues. Judith then examine that chakra's particular developmental patterns, its traumas and abuses, and how to keep it in balance. The unique combination of Eastern and Western theories elucidates the spiritual nature of personality development and how it fits within the structural logic of the body.

Seamlessly blending psychology and spirituality, Eastern Body, Western Mind creates a compelling interpretation of the chakra system and its relevance for Westerners today."

Love this! I look forward to sharing many insights from this book with you!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I'm off to a night of knitting with the girls.

Namaste'
Leslie

lions in your home

Wired for Joy is one of the books I'm currently reading. It's written by Laurel Mellin, and while interesting, quite honestly, it has a bit too much of a text-book type feel for my personal preference. With this being said, I continue to read it because the topic is fascinating, and I'm learning. Essentially it's about rewiring the circuits in our brain to be joyful rather than stressful.

I do believe that being "stressed out" is almost celebrated in our culture today. Even as I write this I am thinking of how ludicrous that statement sounds, but I personally believe it. Seriously, if a person isn't busy and stressed there must be something wrong with them or missing in their life, right? We can become completely identified with our "stressed out" selves and our brain can become wired to be habitually stressed. Being stressed is a bad habit--period.

So, I'm working on this...it's a process, that's for sure. While Laurel Mellin wrote an entire book on the topic, so far I think there are two poignant statements that sum it all up quite simply:

"'Stress is optional. There are no lions in your home.'"

I'm going to try to remember this next time I'm feeling like there are!

Namaste'
Leslie

love me some books

Have I mentioned I love, love, love to read? Seriously, there is nothing like having a good book in hand. I also love learning and find because of this, I often read non-fiction. I pretty much always have a yoga book, personal-growth/self-help book, and most recently a business book with me.

My newest yoga read is A Woman's Book of Yoga: Embracing Our Natural Life Cycles by Machelle M. Seibel, MD and Hari Kaur Khalsa. So far, I am really enjoying it. I find it very beneficial to read yoga books about all different styles--I figure it can only enhance my current practice and teaching!

I am also reading The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your life One Month at a Time by Cheryl Richardson. Cheryl is on of my all-time favorite personal growth authors. Every thing she writes resonates with me!

Would love to hear if you have any recommended reads!

Namaste'

Leslie

i heart books

I have always loved, loved, loved reading. There is something heavenly about having a good book in one hand and a cup of hot coffee in the other. You can usually find me reading about 3 books at any one time: 1 fun fiction read, 1 yoga book, & 1 self-help/personal growth/spiritual book. Currently, however, I am in the process of reading these 5 fabulous books (all of which I highly recommend):

What are some of your favorite reads?

Namaste'

Leslie