Happy Solstice Yoga!

Today started my kids yoga summer camp! Perfect timing and a perfect start to the summer! We danced, we created yoga poses and we made tshirts! So much joy and happiness filled the space as we initiated the beginning of the most playful time of year!
As the children entered the room, I encouraged them to place their mats in an angle, which would create a circle. I described how our circle represented the sun and how our sun represents summer.
We began by sitting in a circle and introducing ourselves by saying our name and what summer means to us. The children replied with answers like ‘Summer is going to the pool’ to ‘Summer is going to the beach.’
Next, I explained that seasons change and that this is the beginning of summer. I explained that when summer begins we have the summer solstice. I explained the solstice in the most simple language that I could. I told them summer brings more joy, happiness and play into the lives of everyone….
To get them moving I turned on some playful music and had them get up and dance around the room. Then once their fire was ignited, I sat them back on their mats.
Here is a quick run down of the poses we did to bring in the summer:
*Cooling breath
*Community Tree….here we gathered in a circle as we held hands while standing in tree. I explained to them how trees give us shade in the summer and how they also give us shade and flowers.
*Sunrise/Sunset
*Twisty flower with bee buzzing breath
*Rock pose

Next I wanted to encourage them to create their own poses. So I sent them to the window to gaze out and look for things that reminded them of summer.
They came back on their mats and each one told the circle what they saw and what it looked like. They demonstrated what it looked like by creating their own pose. For example, I had a boy say ‘grass’ and demonstrated the grass by standing tall with his arms over head. I asked him ‘what happens when we cut the grass?’ Each one of them replied by saying that it gets shorter. So I then showed them chair pose as a way to show ‘cut grass.’
After asana practice I handed out white tshirts and fabric markers for them to create their summer tshirts.

Once the shirts were done we laid in savasana and soaked up the solstice…

This was a joyful way to start the summer! Each of them brought home a new awareness of summer and of course a new shirt to play in!
I am looking forward to next weeks class!
Hooray!!!!

Kid yoga | WCNC.com Charlotte

Here is the link to the segment I did on Charlotte Today. Although I appear at first to be nervous, which I was, it was so fun to be there and spread my love for kids yoga. This message is so important to me because I believe in yoga and I believe in the positive impact that it will have on the future generations. http://www.wcnc.com/charlotte-today/Kid-yoga-158445905.html

The aroma of venus

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Wow! It’s been such a big week in the uni~verse. First the full moon and the eclipse, then venus on the sun. It’s werewerewere kinda time ya all! Our hearts are ready to love more and feel free from the old. We are ready to forget the past and step forward into the now zone. In fact, as I write this blog I am listening to Yo mama’s big fat booty band and my heart and booty wanna shake. My heart chakra at its finest, lol.
Ok, so seriously, the universe is vibing love and peace. Last week I was camping at pisgah national forest under the moonlight. The moon was close to full and lit up the camp site. I knew the universe was reaching me when angelic whispers mummered ‘Lord hear me’ as I would lay asleep under the BIG sky. Ripples of water made good background music as the campsite sat along the upper davidson river. Nature is magnificent, especially when healing is involved.
The universe has been healing us all this week. The venus transit this week connected each of us in our own way to our inner goddess. Your inner goddess and my inner goddess helped create the universal goddess of love. Whatever your religion is you may worship a goddess. Lakshmi is the goddess of love and beauty. She represents all aspects of that in nature. She is adorned with abundance and love. Where this last week did you feel her presence? Where did she heal you with her love? I know in my heart that you felt it somewhere.
I felt it in many places. Dreams were vivid and meaningful. Gold is symbolic of Lakshmi. I dreamt of Gold the night of the venus transit. The meaning was personal and symbolic.
It is the moments that I spend in nature that show me the whole picture of being alive. I bathed in the river, swam, hiked to large waterfalls, sat by the fire and more. Nature in itself is gold. It is also the groundedness that I love and learn from. This perception can be carried in by nature and seen in everyday life. After spending time in nature,aesthetics feel fine tuned and rippled with creativity. The feminine form of nature also follows and women stand tall on a mountain.
When I came home from the mountains, I received an online invitation to a free teleclass on women and menustration lead by best -selling author of ‘The Way of The Happy Woman.’ Sara Avant Stover created this class as a way to share and connect with other goddesses. This class allowed women to empower themselves and receive ancient wisdom on the subject. We learned Sara’s personal story and she shared tips for PMS and the Moontime Cycle.
There has been to much taboo with women and their cycle. Women are often stereotyped as bitchy without any respect for the fact that this is related to the moon and its cycles. A womens cycle or ‘moontime’ is sacred and cleansing, which is why we should create our own Red Tents.
Another nature and goddess related encounter I had was observing a prenatal class. Although I observed a number of classes in prenatal yoga, this one tonight was special. It was special because the goddess was alive and pregnant with love. The babies and their mamas connecting through each breath and pose. Each belly filled with a miracle. Miracles are born out of love.
The aroma of love exists all of the time. Not just every 100 plus years when venus crosses the sun for four hours and geometrically creates a 5 pointed star.

Attention Ladies! Check out “The Yoga Pose Every Woman Should Know for the 1st Day of Her Period” on YouTube

Attention Ladies,
Here’s a topic ALL women should embrace. This topic has spoken to me deeply within the last few years. It’s a gift to have a monthly cycle and to be given time to rest. I am working towards embracing this more on my yoga mat as well as allowing time to rest.
Watch this informative video on youtube by Sara Avant Stover, the author of The Way of The Happy Woman and you will see the truth.

Enjoy : )

Charlotte Today

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I am so excited!!! Last month on May 3rd, me and three of my students were filmed on News 36 Charlotte Today. We filmed a segment on kids yoga. We demo’d some poses and I discussed the benefits of kids yoga. Our segment will appear on June 11at 11:00am. Stay tuned for the link!!!

Glowing with excitement!

Offering Cookies…

Tonight in my kids yoga class I started them out in circle time and asked them to complete the sentence ‘I feel…’

As I went around the circle, I allowed each child a chance to hold ‘Guppy the finger puppet.’ They completed the sentence with answers like ‘I feel loved’ to ‘I feel happy.’ One child said ‘I feel sad…’
From a place of compassion and concern, I asked ‘why?’
She said ‘ My grandpa is in the hospital.’
In that moment, I remembered my phone conversation from earlier in the day. My mom had called to tell me that my 2 1/2 yr old nephew was in the hospital for an intense case of strep throat. I couldn’t help but mention my sorrow for both my students grandfather and my little nephew.
The class showed compassion too and in this moment we gathered in our circle with palms at the heart and dedicated the sound ‘OM’ to our sick friends and family. We opened our palms and offered peace. We took our offerings and placed them in the center of our circle. The children expressed offerings such as ‘cookies’ to ‘all things that are good for them.’

The power of compassion, love and prayer was shown in this circle. Children truly know how to channel deep spiritual love from the bottom of their BIG hearts. The power of Love and Compassion are easy places for them to access.

Namaste….