10/27/2018 0 Comments Are you happy with who you are??![]() I am happy with who I am. For those of us who had traumatic births, were not wanted, or had trauma early in life, this can be a daunting phrase to believe and live. Everything in us can tell us differently. Yet that just isn’t true. You are worthy of love, first the love is from you! 3 This one took me years and years. Literally. Tons of counseling, step work, working with sponsors, sponsees, reading all the self-help stuff, taking classes, etc. The time when this lesson really came to me with an old friend. He taught me this phrase, “I like who I am when I’m with you” Wait, what? Is that a codependent phrase? Let me say it again… “I like who I am when I’m with you. “ For me that phrase has helped me to find my people. You see, when I am my most comfortable, most natural self, then that is a place or person I should be around. When my anxiety rises, I feel insecure and stumbling, that is not a situation that I need to be a part of. That easy. If I don’t like who I am being, then I can leave until I feel familiar to me again.
At first I used that phrase to help me to break my codependency and anxiety in social situations. Once I found “my people”, I used it to help me move through uncomfortable situations. I found my people, my place, my heart, I knew I could go anywhere and be authentic. Yes, today I have found a way to be happy with who I am. I am not perfect, still have anxiety, weird quirks and social anxiety. Yet the feeling that I need to run away and hide is gone, the feeling that I don’t measure up has left. Allow yourself to heal, the love you are seeking is within you. I promise, when you learn your value, when you see it, you will never again allow yourself to live a life less than what you deserve. And my darling, you deserve the best!
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![]() One of the most recognizable poses in yoga is Mountain Pose. This pose may appear to be simply standing , but there is so much more work going on in the pose. The Sanskrit name for Mountain is Tadasana. Tada means mountain and Asana means pose. I believe that Mountain is one of the most important poses in yoga because it is important to learn how to stand on your own two feet in peace and breath. ( Did you know there is a chair yoga version of Mountain? This pose is so important that every yogi can access it!) Many yoga instructors believe that mountain is a great pose because it ( and you have hear this before in classes) is grounding, creates stability, and you connect with the earth. What if it was more? A few of the physical benefits are improvement of posture, spine alignment and attention, strengthening of the abdominals, legs and buttocks, improves balance a ( and belief of balance) and may help relieve the symptoms of sciatica, flat feet and plantar fasciaitis. The qualities that are within to be gained consistency, harmony, endurance and insurmountability. We love mountains because they have long been seen as a place where the sacred is found. While mountains are well grounded to the center of the earth, the power of the mountain is the lightness and airiness of the top. Many have climbed mountains to “find themselves” or a spiritual path, a place of Divine Inspiration. To move deeper into the meaning of Mountain, we are to also be rising to the Divine. Other benefits of Tadasana that are not often taught are the spiritual aspects; easy breath, opening of the chest and standing lightly. We allow ourselves to become absorbed into the pose, we allow our every cell to be focused into the breath and rising higher than ourselves. Moving from the grounded ego and into being closer to God. The essence of yoga is to align our consciousness with God’s consciousness. An affirmation written by Swami Kriyananda is “ I stand ready to obey Thy command”. The standing is not as a soldier to attention, but a loving student to the lessons of the Master. I stand ready to move into the service that God would have me do. Another way to speak to this affirmation is “I stand ready to follow the inner voice of wisdom”. Many times in yoga classes , we will shy away from talking about the spiritual aspects of yoga for fear of offending a student. Yet when students move into the poses , they often talk about a feeling of peace that comes over them. That feeling is called being at one with God. This is where the practice of yoga differentiates from the “ yoga classes” that are often taught and are represented in the media. Allow yourself the joy of Mountain, allow your time to calm the mind and reach higher than you believe you can. Know that there is a wonderful place of peace, happiness and Divine inspiration waiting for you. First, we begin in Mountain
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10/20/2018 0 Comments A moment of Gratitude![]() The picture to the left is exactly why I love teaching yoga, this simple gift that said everything. Part of my practice is to bring yoga to those who normally can't afford it or have never been exposed to it. To take people who haven't been in touch with their bodies for years, accept them as they come to the mat with jeans and wool socks and they turn into yogis is the magic I get to witness. This picture comes from a student who was initially super resistant to yoga ( actually said "I Hate Yoga" to me). I heard and just stood for the healing awaiting. My job as a yoga instructor is not to help people perfect the poses. It is to help them stop the self imposed war on themselves and to find their "True Self" or " Bliss State". Whenever I see people needing to feed the ego by posting selfies of themselves in a yoga pose, I wonder, " where is their yoga?". ( now as a yoga business owner, I will eventually have a slew of pictures of me too..so feel free to ask me.......just sayin'!) I wonder do they know , or even teach , that there is so much more to yoga than whether you can achieve someone else's perception of perfect? What about the mind? The peace of the soul? As a curvy yoga teacher for many years, I have on more occasions that I can count, had students come into my class, snap their mat into place ( PS that is considered rude), and sigh the whole time I am teaching. Some will even say, " do you do anything more advanced?". Thank you for asking, yes I do! I teach you how to first stop judging yourself so harshly, encourage freedom by connecting people to the breath, to nature and to drop preconceived ideas and opinions of self. To identify that we are all one people and the idea of advanced is a perception of ego within self. I teach the "other poses", poses of the breath, mind and heart, a sense of belonging and community. That kind of teaching, the kind of teachers of old who were loved and respected by their students, is how I was trained. It is with great joy that I carry on that tradition,. It is with amazement and joy that people who "hate yoga" can turn to embrace it's very core. I am grateful that I also teach those who normally would not come to a yoga studio, It is at their feet that I learn humility , community and get to see the miracle of love in action. My students make me the yogi I am today. Thank you Thank you to our affiliates who allow their links on our site to support this work moving forward. Target ( Halloween Ad) Yoga International ( 14 day trial) Farm Fresh to You ( $10 off your first 4 boxes!) Hazelden Online Catalogs LolliCup ( 10% off Ghirardelli) Naked Zebra ( shop the outlet and free shipping) Full Circle Farms ( $15 off first order) SpaFinder Wellness (10% off giftcards $50 or more) SureTrader ( Online broker for Day Trading) Building Blocks of Recovery Store Enjoy the benefits of a salt light with a little color therapy! Click on the picture to order!10/18/2018 0 Comments GratitudeThank you to our affiliates, please consider clicking on these links before you shop. You will additionally be support a woman owned business.
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Target ( Halloween Ad) Yoga International ( 14 day trial) Farm Fresh to You ( $10 off your first 4 boxes!) Hazelden Online Catalogs LolliCup ( 10% off Ghirardelli) Naked Zebra ( shop the outlet and free shipping) Full Circle Farms ( $15 off first order) SpaFinder Wellness (10% off giftcards $50 or more) SureTrader ( Online broker for Day Trading) Building Blocks of Recovery Store ![]() Oh root vegetables, I love you so. You provide countless benefits to the body. And in season, you are simply divine! The amazing benefits of root vegetables are, -wait for it- they are grounding. Many vegetables of the root variety are packed with fiber, vitamins C, B and A plus antioxidants. (Please always consider buying local and organic!) These vitamins are known to reduce inflammation in the body that may be created from long term, high stress lifestyles. Food’s role in your life is a journey. What better way to begin this journey then starting it right with paying attention to what you feed your body. I am not talking about the act of going on a diet, but about diet. There is a monumental difference. Dieting is a temporary fix, and in my mind a continuation of the war on ourselves. Diet is a lifestyle. We can make decisions on how we want our lifestyle to be reflected, then shop accordingly. Many years ago, me and my firstborn son embarked on a food journey. He had terrible eczema, especially on the backs of his knees. It was so bad that he would bleed when he walked. So I began investigating the correlation between food and his skin condition. I learned so very much. I learned about the value of intention with food. (And every year I feel like I learn more) I learned about factory farming. As a result, I have not eaten beef or pork for over 30 years. I learned that farmers aren’t hugely subsidized, so I decided to shop at Farmer’s Markets as often as possible. As I have learned these things, I have discovered that the intention and love behind the food; from it’s growth to it’s harvest, creates a remarkable difference in the way my body processes it. I was hooked. (I would love to tell you that I have been a puritan through this process and I haven’t. Yet every little decision has made a big difference. Even in the way I cook. I cook with prayer of thanksgiving for the life given so I could eat, the hands that brought the food to my table and for the people who are about to eat it.) My every purchase is made with intention and I vote with my dollars. Some people say that my dollars alone won’t count, yet I believe I am making a small dent in an unsustainable system by teaching my family and telling you about the impact of food , dollars and intention. But, back to root vegetables. Allow for the weeks that you may be working on foundational issues (for those in a 12 step program….maybe when you are on your fourth step!). The proper nutrition, the intention behind the desire to heal will all play a part in the intention design of your life. Here is a fun recipe for beets. Let me know what you think! Beets Béchamel 1 pound of Beets ( I like using beets of various colors, it’s just so pretty!) Steam the beets over boiling salted water, until a fork comes out easily but they aren’t mushy Create a basic Rue 2 tbsp butter ( I always either use real butter or coconut oil, both work well.) Allow the butter to melt in your pan. While the butter is melting, heat 2 cups of milk to just warm . ( Again, you can substitute here) Add ½ cup of flour slowly to your butter, stirring to make a paste . Slowly add in the heated milk. Allow the sauce to thicken , keep stirring. ( Now here is where you can get creative, you can add any spices here you like. I add nutritional yeast, black pepper, a little nutmeg. Add what you think your family would love. This sauce lends itself nicely to all kinds of cheese too- just stir the cheese in about one minute before you take it off the heat!) Take the sauce once it is spiced to your liking off of the heat. Turn the oven onto 350 Take the now cooled beets and slice them ( slice with intention, thinking about the people you are making the food for, thanking the people who grew the food and brought it to you. In macrobotics, it is said that the energy that you put into the food goes into your loved ones. Make all of your cuts as uniformly as possible, increasing order and discipline in your meal!) in about one inch slices, layering them in a baking pan. Cover the beets with the ooey goodness of the sauce. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The smell is heavenly, the color is the prettiest pink that you have ever seen and the taste…out of this world! (And guess what, now that you have the basics, you can make any root vegetable a special dinner!!) Doing healing work, eating lovely food made with heart and intention. Does it get any better than that??? Building Blocks of Recovery store Thank you for clicking on the links and supporting this site and my woman-owned business. I will be compensated a small amount when you use the links, though you are not charged for that click to our advertisers. You are helping me to bring the message of hope to those who are hurting and to move closer to my opening a therapeutic yoga center! Thank you!
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September 2020
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Sandra Kozlowski,
Certified Recovery Coach, Certified Recovery Yoga Teacher SUDP, CAAR, AAS, RHY 200 Curvy Yoga Certified, Y12SR Certified, Yoga for All Certified Privacy Policy: We will never sell your information. The reason that I collect the information is to be able to send out newsletters regarding sales, events and classes.
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