Earth Day

On April 22, 1970 Earth Day officially began. Although I know we should be honoring the earth everyday, and I think a lot of people do. It is like Valentine’s Day — we all know we should be showing love and compssion everyday but sometimes we need a little nudge and reminder.  And I love that our Mother Earth has at least one day for her — we got mother’s day for our biological mom. My mother has a background in Biology, the step-father who raised me was a marine biologist. Together they instilled in me a reverence for nature and an awareness of our natural environment. Because of my extreme fondness of Earth and nature it surprises me that my earliest memory of Earth Day is when I was a teenager.   I grew up in Los Angeles, an urban environment surrounded by lush nature — the National Angeles Forest, the San Gabriel Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Monica Mountains, various canyons and in-between pockets of natural habitat. On this particular Earth Day, there were booths set up in the arroyo and there I was in my youth, blue tie-dye shirt, Birkenstock sandles, and my highschool sweetheart by my side — it was a blissful day to see so many people gathered to honor our mother.

Today as the awareness of our Earth, the depletion of resources, and the pollution of water, becomes more widespread, the need for Earth Day, the nudge towards preservation, becomes more apparent. All year long we all contribute in our way: recycling, buying local, bringing bags to the store, not buying plastic but using bulk, etc. And like other “holidays” we go out out of our way to do something to celebrate and I ask, what are you going to do different today to honor the planet you live on? This Earth that gives you food, shelter, clothes and life. One of the best things you can do is rest and in that process allow mother nature to rest and regenerate.  Restore energy back to you and to nature by unplugging from technology for a few hours, take a long walk and breath in the spring blossoms, clean your home and donate unwanted items, garden — even if that means planting one bulb in one pot, read from natural light near the window. There are many things that can be done from donating hours to planting a tree or drawing in the sand with your kids.  What will you choose to do? Whatever you do, enjoy it and smile radiantly at everyone around you.

Would you cross a bridge if someone said there was a troll underneath?

Budda said “The mind is everything; what you think, you become.”  I moved to Portland, Oregon in August and was well-prepared for all the rain that was sure to come…and it has. Yet, all the gloominess isn’t here. Actually, except for a couple of stormy days, the sun has made an appearance at least once a day. I am aware of this because I expected to live in darkness lit up by super impressive vitamin-D shinning light bulbs for 6 months. Now don’t get me wrong it is not Colorado with 300 days of sun, I do have to take a vitamin D capsule everyday. Yet, when I talk with people it seems they begin to talk about all the rain (which often creates a beautiful mist over the river that is contrasted against the all the green) and I always mention that the sun comes out at least once a day, even if only for a few minutes, and after a pause they slowly begin to nod in agreement recognizing that this is something they have never really noticed. Often so busy looking at the rain and gray they miss where the sky opens up and shines on them. I think we go through much of our day with selective viewing — failing to see some of the bountiful beauty that surrounds us. When we become set on one way of thinking (“Portland is always gray and rainy”) that becomes our reality. How many of life’s gifts do we miss by not allowing each day to be different from the one before? So, if what we think is what we become, ask yourself, how are your habitual thought patterns limiting your scope, your vision, and who you are?

Prana Yoga Fit

The newest episode of Prana Yoga Fit is up on the Earth2World Network! Prana Yoga Fit is a 30-minute total body workout that helps to build strength and balance in your body, helps to lose weight and increase mental focus and clarity.

This recent episode is about finding balance in your life. How many things are you juggling? How many things on your “to-do” list are part of your multi-tasking act. Without a strong foundation we become easily distracted. In this episode, we work to build a strong foundation in order to create focus, stability and balance both on and off your mat.

Enjoy!

Are We Missing Focus?

I am naturally a fast eater. I am the person who has finished their salad, fries and sandwich while everyone else at the table has only touched half their sandwich. And, lately, I am eating faster. I realize that I am eating faster so I can rush to the next thing I have to do…if I am not already eating and talking, eating and typing, eating and logging in. Not only does my digestive health suffer, but so does all the other tasks that I am doing with my minimal attention. Bottom line, I have no focus…and I am not alone. Society on a whole seems to have adopted a fast-paced multi-tasking way of life that affects our ability to center on one task without distraction.  How are we supposed to accomplish anything if we don’t focus?

How many things are on your “to-do” list? How often do you tell yourself that you will call a friend or email a co-worker and then get distracted with something else equally important? Do you spend your day feeling rushed and “out of sorts”? It seems as if people are moving so fast, multi-tasking at rapid rates, yet they are not taking care of anything. Things are not accomplished with pride of a dedicated job well-done, but rather a job crossed off their list. How often have you thought “okay, I did that, now I can do this” with no stopping in between? Our lives have become unbalanced. Without focus, the ability to direct our mind upon one thing without distraction, we have no balance. Without balance we have no foundation. Without foundation we have no stability. Without stability we are easily distracted, easily winded, easily knocked over, unable to withstand confrontation, hardship, and unexpected events.

Focus is not easy. What can you do to settle down and engage completely in one activity. Pick one thing today that you will give yourself over to…whether it is washing the dishes, helping with homework, or shopping for a new pair of pants. Work to focus on the moment. Try not get on the phone, respond to a Facebook update, or change your status. When something else pops in your head that you must do, let it go, knowing that task will get your attention later. See what happens when begin to find your balance in your life. One step, one task, one breath at a time.

Enjoy Your Day!