The law of attraction is the concept that “like attracts like,” and by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, one can bring about positive or negative results. Many of us have seen this theory come to life right before our eyes, either with great dismay or with great satisfaction. Over the years we have learned that what you focus on with feeling becomes real. So, we thought why not consciously put the law of attraction into action with focused intention by remembering to do one thing… Feel Good! In response to putting the law of attraction to the test we are reaping the rewards of feeling good more often than not and additionally finding it easier to return to feeling good when the SJ  hits the fan. We challenge you to find, create, and practice feeling good. Pay attention to those experiences when you feel content, happy, and good inside. Breathe into those moments, and let an appreciative smile wash across you face.

Louise Hay, a leader of positivity, says it’s important to have proper gratitude for every good feeling. This will keep positivity coming your way.  ”The more grateful you are, the more you get to be grateful about. It’s that simple.”  When should you show this gratitude? “Morning, noon and night,” Louise says. “Be grateful when you look in the mirror at your own face. ‘I love you. I’m so grateful.’” When you feel good you can’t help but share those good vibes with all those around you. Feeling Good is contagious. Spread those feel good vibrations and notice how quickly they are shared back with you.

“If you’re happy, if you’re feeling good, then nothing else matters.”-  Robin Wright Penn

“Willpower is having the strength or willingness to do what matters most to you.” 

A light went on inside me. I need to give myself more credit and go back to what matters to me most. The more I do, the better I feel.

Finding out what matters to you most is paramount. For some of us the road to clarity is a cleanse, a good sweat, spending time outside, meditation, or can be as simple as initiating something new and fresh in your everyday routine. Whatever your method we hope you listen to nature’s cues and allow the sun to shine in and melt away any mental, emotional, or physical tensions built up from winter that may be preventing you from doing what you really love.

We have freshened up our morning routine with smoothies, particularly these green smoothie recipes courtesy of friends and students.

A Green Smoothie Recipe:

Spinach (fresh), Pineapple (fresh or frozen), Strawberries (fresh or frozen), Coconut Juice, Chia Seeds, Flax Seeds

Ratios are based on taste, if you like something more specific try this recipe…

Green Machine Smoothie:

Serves 2

6 chopped romaine leaves, 4 chopped kale leaves, 1/2cup fresh parsley, 1/2cup chopped pineapple, 1/2cup chopped mango, 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and chopped, 1 1/2 cups of water and blend all together.

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe you would like to share with us??

For most my life, I’ve experienced intermittent neck pain that would reoccur every few weeks. I didn’t have a neck injury and yet I’d randomly move my head the wrong way or wake up on the wrong side of the bed and wouldn’t be able to look sideways without moving my shoulders for days at a time. I’m happy to say that for the past few years, all of that has changed.  I no longer suffer from neck pain! This video shows you what I did and what I continue to do to keep myself and my clients out of neck pain.

Many of our clients and students who have far worse neck pain resulting from traumas like whiplash have also experienced the benefits of this movement therapy. This exercise is designed to re-pattern the muscles around the neck, and re-educate the nervous system to provide optimal alignment of the cervical vertebrae. In fact, after a few weeks of practicing this neck exercise, I went in for a regular chiropractic tune-up to address a minor scoliosis curve in my mid-thoracic. Without mentioning this new exercise to my chiropractor, she questioned me when she began palpating my upper back. “Hm, this feels different. Your curve is straightening out! What have you been doing, Heath?” I told her about the neck re-patterning exercise and she was impressed that it also helped in realigning my thoracic vertebrae, as well.

I still practice this exercise daily, even if I only get a few reps while I’m sitting on the toilet:-) If you, or someone you care about, has neck pain, I hope you practice and share the benefits on this natural remedy.

Watch this video and learn an effective series to strengthen the hands, increase the flow of blood, synovial fluid, and energy to the hands to prevent injury and pain when practiced regularly. Enjoy!

Chi Kung for Your Hands & Wrists

We can end the year with just as much promise, hope and possibility as we began it. Lets finish strong! I have definitely been inspired by the athletes of the Iron Man competition last week in Tempe, AZ to find my own internal strength.  Inspiration sparks on many different levels…and for me it was the combination of enthusiasm, strength and dedication to finish that impressed me. Perhaps for the final weeks, days and moments of 2011 we can rally our inner strength to end this year with a smile on our face and those around us. We know you’re busy and your time is valuable  so we have but one suggestion…See the way ahead is clear!

If you can see the way ahead is clear, the way ahead will be clear. Some say seeing is believing, but we like to play with the notion that believing is seeing. With your eyes closed, begin to see. See yourself at whatever, wherever, whenever and breathe into that moment with a smile on your face. Feel yourself smiling from the inside out, using as much of your imagination as you can. Hear, smell and engage as many of your senses to feel yourself in that future moment. You can re-imagine yourself there as many times as you like and the more you do, the stronger the reality of it becomes.

Here’s one way we exercise our smile to manifest the future:  whenever we travel we take a moment together to see ourselves on the plane smiling and then on the other side smiling with all our luggage. It hasn’t failed us yet and it continues to be a tool we use to help see ourselves through what may seem like stressful moments. Really, it’s that simple! You can use your smile, your happiness and enthusiasm to create the perfect ending to a perfect year. ..to yet another year.

Cheers, Heath and Nicole

“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”

One way to define grace is when we describe someone as having or not having grace, for now that someone is you. For some of us feeling graceful is the art of steering clear of sharp corners, not snorting in public, and perhaps breezing through nothing but green lights. Thomas Guthrie describes it “As in nature, as in art, so in grace; it is rough treatment that gives souls, as well as stones, their luster.” Take time to simply practice feeling. It is key to living in alignment with nature and to remember your grace.

The second definition of grace is best described as when we say grace or give thanks at a meal. So if you have something or someone to be grateful for, you can say thank-you, grātia, gracias, or grazie! Hearing a “thank you” can evoke a sense of acknowledgment and appreciation. Ongoing gratitude and appreciation strengthen any relationship which could offset times of tension and conflict. It does not take much to make someone feel valued, so share your grace!

“Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It’s a way to live.” Jackie Windspear

A third way to define grace is when we talk about giving or getting grace. When we take time to give to ourselves we practice getting grace so we can give it. When holiday preparations and happenings begin to overwhelm just let it all go to your head! Literally, try practicing a headstand, the King of all yoga asanas.  Headstands increase the blood flow to the brain, regenerate the nervous system, provide the feeling of equilibrium and well-being, and increase memory and concentration. In addition, a recent study by Loren M. Fishman, M.D, demonstrated that a 30-second headstand decreases pain associated with rotater cuff injuries by 82%!

To see an animated sequence to move into full headstand click here:

If a full headstand seems out of the question, consider a chair assisted headstand:

1.Place a chair on a non-slip surface and put your right knee on the seat of a chair as you bend forward placing open palms onto the floor fairly close to the chair

2.Raise up your left knee onto the chair balancing so you are kneeling on the chair

3.Bend your elbows to place the top of your head centered in between your hands

4.Now make an equilateral triangle on the floor with the pinkie side of your forearms by clasping your hands together.

5.Place the heels of your hands, not your palms, in contact with the back of your head

6. At this point with the weight chiefly on your head press down with your forearms to lift your shoulders away from your ears

7.Widen and raise your shoulders further from the floor as you hold for 30 seconds

“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your own life.” — Christiane Northrup, MD

On this note, we are so very thankful for you and for all your support.
It is because of you we can do what we love to do. Sending Grace and Thanks your way!!!

According to Chinese medicine, autumn is the time of year most associated with the element of Metal and it’s “the forces of fall that create dryness in the heaven and metal on the earth; they create the lung organ and the skin on the body…and the nose, the white color, and pungent flavor…the emotion grief, and the ability to make a weeping sound.” -Inner Classic

When the air turns dry and the leaves begin to change and fall, we may also feel the effects of dry air; chapped lips, scratchy throat, and/or an itchy nose. To counter dryness consider including more foods in your diet that moisten and rehydrate; like apples, pears, tempeh, barley and honey. Try adding garlic–the “poor man’s medicine”–to your dishes to prevent colds, flu, and infection.

Turbulent emotions like grief and sadness may be stored in the lungs and may cause contraction and congestion. However, when we recognize and acknowledge such feelings we can help them evaporate like a gray vapor mist leaving our bodies with every breath. Keep the energy flowing by practicing deep breathing this fall; emphasize your exhales by using the ancient healing sound of the lungs and large intestines: “SSSSSSsssss” (like air leaving a tire) and repeat several times daily.

Instead of resisting or numbing out from stress, “Have tea with your tension” this season. Allow pungent flavors to fill your nose, coat your palette, and warm your belly. Ginger is a healing tea used to counter phlegm and clear the lungs. It is a great daily stimulant to boost internal warmth and aid digestion. Licorice tea may also aid and tone digestion by giving the large intestines a little nudge in the right direction…out and down the poop shoot!

“Let go of the old world and the new one will grow around you like a new skin”- Paul Williams

Finish projects and make room to go inward and “yin”ward. Align the spine to feel and reflect  your alignment with this new season. Pay attention to how your body is responding to the new temperatures and give yourself the warmth, the rest and the room you need to take full breaths in and out.  May your Fall be filled with loving kindness.

Recently Heath and I attended a workshop, and a question was raised that I haven’t answered in a while: How do I define success? In asking this question we found a bit of light shine through the mire of doubt and worry. We re-centered. We remembered why we do what we do , and have become recharged because of it!

What is success to me…? I began to journal and a list of other questions showed up: Is it the nice car?, the nice house?, a nice neighborhood?. Is it having money in the bank?, paying our bills and having enough to share?. Do I have enough to share??  Do I have enough money, enough time?, etc. Then it shifted to  affirmations:  I have plenty to share. I have energy, love, laughter to share with all who I know. “I have enough to share” has now become my mantra since asking and contemplating the very poignant question, what is success to me?

It’s not important what your answer to the question is. Rather, it’s important that you take time to find clarity when things become overwhelming, dark, or negative. When I began contemplating, I felt something inside like a bell ringing,  a calm wash over me, a smile on my face …this kind of internal knowing and feeling that this is right. Since this initial aha…my definition has been expanding , far reaching, shared and supported. A light has filtered through the fog revealing new opportunities and potential. I share my meanderings with you hoping that when you feel impending doom just outside the door, that you will have the power to redefine and refocus your attention to change what and how you feel. Perhaps the question for you to ask is not what is success but rather, What does my heart long for? What is my soul’s desire? What makes me happy? It is through contemplation we create the opportunity to redirect and refocus our attention.

Contemplation is one of many tools we can use to gain new insight. By definition, contemplation is the act of considering with attention. Studies in cognitive neuroscience have demonstrated that contemplation fosters flexibility, empathy, awareness, and intuition. These qualities lead to positive changes in mindset, and in turn positively impact the choices we make.

“We concentrate because we want to reach the Goal. We meditate because we want to live in the heart of the Goal. We contemplate because we want to become the Goal.”

-Sri Chinmoy

Journaling is one way to contemplate. Write a question down and allow time to free associate, to write down whatever ideas, thoughts, images, feelings that arise. Review and revisit your question several times.

Another way to contemplate is to settle your mind, let go of expectations and judgments and ask yourself a question. Relax and be patient as you wait for the answer to come from deep within. As you practice this, your ability to distinguish between your own habits of the past and your internal wisdom will become more apparent and reliable. You’ll building and toning your intuition.

You can combine both methods in conjunction with each other. Using them together creates a synergy that often unlocks something from deep within. When this happens, it can have a profound impact on your life. Journal about your experience, and the feelings you have about it. Then connect with your presence, with Spirit, with a stillness, whatever you want to call it; connect with something greater than yourself and wait for a response. Then journal about what has been revealed to since you changed your awareness. If you continue to have difficulty with the experience, you can return to this practice multiple times. Sometimes, it may take days, weeks, months or even years to fully contemplate an experience. It’s a practice and the more we practice anything the better we become at it. Acknowledge your progress and expand your viewpoint. Celebrate your inner power, self mastery, and success.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of their dreams, and endeavors to live a life which they have imagined, they will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

- Henry David Thoreau

What I’m feeling is nothing new. Our ancestors have walked this earth barefoot for eons knowing the ground held some special healing energy as they were tuned into the cycles of nature for survival and wellbeing. When we walk barefoot we absorb the benefits of Earth energy without realizing it, which may explain why it’s so relaxing to walk without shoes and why exercise meant to relax the mind and strengthen the body are sometimes practiced without shoes i.e., yoga, tai chi, qi gong. According to the book Earthing “Just like the earth our body is made mostly up of water and minerals both excellent conductors of electrons. The free electrons pulsating perpetually on the surface of the conductive earth, fed by natural phenomena- solar radiation, thousands of lightning strikes per minute, and energy generated from the inner core of the planet are easily transferred up, into, and throughout your body as long as there is direct skin contact with the ground.”

As summer continues we encourage you to bare your soles giving thanks for what may be the most overworked and over-looked part of the body: your feet. Its believed just by making direct contact with the earth we may sleep better, increase our energy, and may even reduce inflammation and stress. Take pause to feel the warm tingling benefits of ease and well being that lifts our mood as we allow the rich network of nerve endings found at the bottoms of our feet to sink in… “and forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet” ~Kahlil Gilbran~

Every road trip needs supplies to improve survival rates. The following  equipment is highly recommended:

• Cooler stocked with healthy snacks and drinks: apples and almond butter, or carrots and humus are some of our favs
• Big water container: we reuse a 2 liter or gallon to refill with purified water from the hotel gym
• Trusty cup: I use a travel cup with a lid for my morning tea and then refill with ice from almost every gas station stop in order to cool iced tea or water jug we brought along
• Hand sanitizer/Windex/handiwhips (I tell my close friends a story of why this is soooo essential)
• Trusty tennis ball: A must!!! as we use this to sit on or lean on to release tight muscles around our seat, and upper or lower back
• Good company: you’re lucky if you have a companion to travel with, though, good music, audio books, and podcasts help to time travel
• Paper towels, and spork (don’t forget your corkscrew if necessary for the evening wind down:-)
• Comfy pants: enough said.

Pit Stop Stretch:

Bench-Break Lunge

To help counter-balance sitting for hours on end in a seat, try this modified stretch. Bring one foot up to a platform of some sort (car bumper, rest stop bench, big rock…) and lunge forward with your back leg extended straight behind you. Rest your hands on your front bent knee and draw your shoulder blades down and back. Hold for a half minute or so and repeat on the opposite side. This provides nice a back extension with a psoas stretch.

Rest and Recoup:

Legs up the Wall

Its tiring sitting in a car hours on end. One of our favorite ways to reset the nervous system is with this passive inversion. Lay on the bed upside down with legs and feet up along the headboard. If it’s too intense to have your legs directly perpendicular up the wall, you can scoot your seat several inches away  from the wall and/or add a pillow under your bum. Hold your legs here for 10-15 minutes or until you fall asleep ( I may have done this a night or two.) Legs up the wall helps recirculate the blood and lymph; this is especially important to counteract potential lower body aches and pains due to sitting in one spot for indeterminate amounts of time.

We wish you well this summer wherever and however you decide to get there. Happy Travels!