“Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing.”― Leo Babauta
Viewing entries in
Uncategorized
“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.”- Henri Bergson
My son Phoenix, age 7, took my yoga class along with his sister Sage, age 10. After class I asked him for feedback. He said, "What does that mean?" I said, "how did you like my class?"
Phoenix: "It was great."
Taylor: "What would you do the same and what would you do differently?"
Phoenix: "I would do it the same."
Taylor: "How can I learn and grow?"
Phoenix: "Eat meat."
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Find what makes you happy and go for it with all your heart. It will be hard, but I promise it will be worth it.”― Charlotte Eriksson
Don't tell people your dreams.
Show them.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Be gentle first with yourself if you wish to be gentle with others.”-Lama Yeshe
I'm not a big "girlie girl." Never have been. Don't like to shop or go to malls, put on make up, primp, have a lot of clothes, and whatever other stereotypes there are out there for a "girly girl," I most likely don't fit 'em.
Not that there's anything wrong with being a girlie girl! Whatever floats your boat is the BEST EVER. I'm just sayin' that it's not my propensity (to give you the background for this blog).
So when Prettyology contacted me and asked me to come in for a treatment to check 'em out, I was like, "Uhhhhh, well .…"
But something about it. There was something that drew me to that place. Even though I get about 10 to 20 emails a day from people asking me to come in and check them out or try their product or read their book or whatever.
There was just something.
And I always follow my heart and my intuition, so in I went.
I chose to have a facial. I had never had a facial my whole life and man, I must say, it rocked.
Jen gave me my facial and I highly recommend her. She was amazing.
And the energy of this place. It's not all hoity-toity Newbury Street get me out of here before I scream. To the contrary, it has great energy. A high-vibe.
This comes directly from the owner/leader, Julie Michaud. Love her.
And as Jen and I chatted during my incredible facial experience, it became clear why the universe had brought me there. The synchronicities were amazing and fun. The woman from whom we bought our White castle five years ago is the resident dermatologist there.
Julie had been wanting to try yoga and I told her, "I am your divine intervention." She and her son now practice at Prana Power Yoga Winchester.
And there were many more but I'll spare you the details.
So even and especially if you're not a girlie girl and/or have never treated yourself to something as luxurious as a facial, get into Prettyology and experience it. It's not to be missed. You're gonna love it. And you deserve it.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“It's never too late to start over!”― Lynne Gentry
Years ago my friend, a kick a** caterer, made a comment I have always remembered. We were trying to work with someone at Prana who just wasn't working out for many reasons, and my friend was like, "Jesus, just let it/the person go. It's like bad soup. You keep adding stuff in to try to make it delish -- but it keeps getting worse. And then in the end you gotta throw it all away anyway, and you've wasted all those ingredients, time and energy."
Bad soup. Interesting.
Years later, my husband said something similar and also so wise, about a totally different thing. I don't even remember what it was -- some situation -- and he was like, "Let's just let it go. I mean, if you have a paper napkin and it gets dirty, do you try to rinse it out and dry it -- or do you just throw it away and get another new clean paper napkin?"
Today I was on the Acela to NYC to teach and take classes at Prana NYC, and my water bottle was filled with water and a water enhancer called MIO. I LOVE this stuff. Use it all the time.
This particular flavor, however, not so much. (I like to try 'em all).
So I added some more water to the bottle and a different flavor I do like.
Yuck.
More water. More of the flavor I like.
Ewwwww.
Then I remembered my friend the caterer, the bad soup, and the dirty paper napkin metaphor, and I dumped my water bottle out and began again-- started fresh with fresh water and a flavor I love.
Mmmmmmmm.
There's a difference between quiting and deciding you've had enough.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Negative thinking will not produce positive changes - ever.”― Taite Adams
If you can't be positive, then at least be quiet.
I don't mean any disrespect by the previous sentence. It's what I have learned on my path. And it really works.
Sometimes you just ain't feelin' it. Sometimes you just ain't having your best day ever. And that's okay. And to be expected sometimes. This is called contrast.
But don't draw everyone around you into your negativity and drama. Just stay quiet and let the storm pass. It will.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.”
- Shannon L. Alder
Have you ever tried Yerba Mate tea? I love love love it. It's delicious and also provides amazing clarity. If you haven't tried it definitely do so.
I ran out of my inventory and went to order some more online and Vitacost was out of it. I was annoyed for a second and then let it go and simply searched their website for other brands of the same tea.
As I did so I realized that I had been ordering that brand since I had first tried it and it has just become routine.
And so it is with so many things in life. We do something one time one way and then we just keep doing it that way without questioning it. And without an awareness that we are doing so mindlessly.
And then the universe pulls the rug out from under us. This is obviously an innocuous example of a tea brand not being in stock, but it is a metaphor for life.
How do you respond when something doesn't go the way that you planned or the way that you have been doing it for so long? Are you open to change? To a new way?
I ordered a new brand of Yerba mate tea and guess what? I like it better.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“The only true thing is what's in front of you right now.”
- Ramona Ausubel
I love love love the concept of a "game time call." It's yoga and football coming together, which rocks. It's worlds coming together and I'm all about connection.
I also love it because it's about the reality (or, er, my reality, that is) that it's all about the NOW. We can plan and that's cool, but in the end, often times we're pulling things out of thin air in the moment.
So it's a great idea if you can be calm in the moment and operate from a centered place. And in my humble opinion, the best way to be able to do so is to commit to a regular yoga practice. But hey, that's me. Find your "yoga," and do it, a lot.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.”– Buddha
Say the words -- or better yet, write out the words, "I am so proud of…."
Then without thinking about what you SHOULD say or write, fill in the blank.
If done "correctly" – i.e. with an open heart – this simple exercise will give you loads of information.
About yourself. About your intention. About what means most to you. About what your true goals are on this planet.
I just saved you a lot of time, energy and money because you don't have to go to a shrink and do a personality test to see what you really want.
Wasn't that easy?
Most things are.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
Be somebody who makes everybody feel like somebody. How others feel about themselves after being with you says a lot about … You.
If you are grounded and happy and connected and confident about yourself, you will make those around you feel like they are fabulous. Because they are!
If you feel you are fabulous and you feel others are too -- and they are pure potential -- then that light will spread to the world.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will.
~Vernon Howard
My family is a big fan of Wegmans. We feel so blessed that they opened one in Newton, Massachusetts.
The thing I love most about Wegmans is the energy. It has great energy and the people who work there are so happy and really want to be there.
This sign, "We listen. We learn," sort of says it all. Wise words. If you can listen well and learn from your adventures, you're all set. You will create your BEST LIFE EVER in no time.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.”
~Eckhart Tolle
People wait:
- All day for 5 pm - All week for Friday - All year for summer - All life for happiness
Stop waiting and start living. Start NOW. You've got this, and I'm rootin' for ya!
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
― Roald Dahl
We don't heal the past by dwelling there. We heal the past by being totally present in the NOW and shining our light.
People sometimes ask me if I teach denial. Absolutely not. I'm trained as a Clinical Psychologist and healed from my own painful past by facing it.
What I teach is to not dwell in the past if it don't feel good to do so (i.e. ok and great to dwell if it's a happy memory, because that happy memory be creating more happy memories in the NOW). It's ok to revisit it to heal it, but then move on.
Here's a simple BEST LIFE EVER "rule of thumb": If it feels good, by all means, dwell in it! If it feels bad, don't.
Pretty simple, eh? Most things of value are.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Yoga is the study of balance, and balance is the aim of all living creatures: it is our home.”~Rolf Gates
I took the 5 AM Acela to New York last Thursday and had the day from hell.
I should have known. I felt sick to my stomach when anticipating going, and so I know better. I know to listen to that feeling. I – almost always – listen to my intuition.
I usually love love love teaching in New York but something told me that that day was going to be off.
Nothing flowed. My train was pulling into Penn at 8:44 and lost power -- all the lights went out –- and we sat for 30 minutes in the dark, one minute from Penn station.
So I missed taking our Brooklyn Studio Coordinator's class at 9 AM -- and also missed my practice.
It was about 10° so my walk -- or jog rather -- from Penn to Prana NYC was painful. I have chilblains so my hands felt like knives were stabbing them – and when I arrived at the studio I knew I couldn't interrupt Craig's class that late. I walked directly to the Sixth Avenue F train to scoot to Prana Brooklyn to teach.
I never teach without practicing beforehand. I walk my talk.
My energy was off so I was attracting off things to me. I won't get into details but man it was the day from hell.
After teaching at Prana Brooklyn I took the F train to Union Square to meet with our Studio Coordinator at Prana NYC, but I got caught up talking to students and never got to talk to him.
When I got on the Acela to scoot back to Newton for dinner time with my kids, the train was packed and I sat down next to a woman who glared at me as if she wanted the seat to stay vacant. The conductor had announced many times that the train was oversold.
About 30 minutes into the 3 1/2 hour ride I laid my gloves on my seat -- left my backpack in the overhead bin – and went to get a snack at the café car.
Walking back through the quiet car – my favorite place to sit – I couldn't find my seat. My third walk-through I realized that a dude was sitting in my seat. I smiled and said, "Oops that's my seat." He said, "Oh, she said it was empty," pointing to the woman seated next to my seat.
I looked at her like, "WTF?" And she said, "I didn't know if you were coming back."
Nice.
Then while catching up on emails our beloved babysitter told me she was out of town over the weekend when we were teaching teacher training. I incorrectly assumed that she was booked to babysit.
*Sigh.*
I could go on but I won't because Law Of Attraction is real and working every moment.
I got home and said to Philippe, "I gotta get this practice to more people. I don't know how they're walking around like that (having not practiced)."
Have you practiced today?
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5