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Yoga + Mindfulness

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August 2017

This Iconic Costume Designer Swears By This Meditation Practice

Meet the woman behind the looks of ‘Almost Famous,’ ‘Pulp Fiction,’ and more.
August 11, 2017

I *could have* spent today working on the 15-page

I *could have* spent today working on the 15-page paper I have due on Monday... translating 5 lines of Sanskrit due this weekend (which feels like the equivalent of a 15-page paper)... or responding to the never-ending emails sitting in my inbox. Instead, I let inspiration take the lead. That creative flow led me into concepting a big @lmuyogastudies event (that’s not until October), around something my teacher @kennygrahamyoga said during my YTT training: how each of us are unique expressions of the Divine, like the different colors of a rainbow reflecting the same sun. Before I had the chance to guilt myself over not managing my time better, I noticed this right outside my door. 🌈🌈

Take a peek inside our 𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝒸𝑜𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓇 ➡️

We’ve had the honor of welcoming:
✨ fiction writers
✨ poets
✨ watercolorers
✨ oil painters
✨ welders
✨ knitters
✨ statue makers
✨ pet portraitists
✨ vision boarders
✨ color-by-numberers

In short, creators of all kinds!

How it works:
1. Come with whatever supplies you have and/or projects you want to work on. Not sure? Amazing! You get to see what your soul wants to create and what comes through on the page.
2. Either @ilanaingber or I will guide you in a grounding activity: she typically goes for movement, while meditation is my jam. We switch off every week and will also share some creativity tips and tools.
3. Next, her or I will put on some tunes and start our dedicated work < 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎 time creating.
4. After, you can share what you’ve created or anything that’s coming up for you! We’ll witness and cheer you on (and know you don’t have share if you don’t want to).
5. PSA: I’ll most likely ask everyone to hold up their art at the end, so I can take a screenshot (proud mama bear 🐻 that I am - hence the photos you’ll see when you swipe - but you can always opt out).

Want in on the fun? 𝒟𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒞𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝑒 is every Friday at 7pm PT via zoom. Link to join is at the link in my bio.

Procrastinate much? I’m so guilty. 🙋🏼‍♀️

Naturally, when writing this piece for @teachable, I procrastinated (I mean, I had to, right? In the name of research...? 🤷🏼‍♀️😂).

Here’s a sneak peek at some of my tips (thank you, @teachable, for making me want to jump onboard the TikTok train 😍). Read the full article at the link in my bio to find out why (some forms of) procrastinating might be beneficial, plus what to do when it 𝒾𝓈 hindering you from sharing your gifts with the world.

𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹𝒽𝑜𝑔 𝒹𝒶𝓎 • I've always loved this holiday because it's my dad's birthday (not to mention the Bill Murray movie is one of my all-time faves).

While most people hope the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow (signifying an early spring), my new #GroundhogDay tradition is to face my own.

We’ll be doing some more #shadowwork in tonight’s virtual #writinggroup. Last week, we explored metaphors / archetypes that represent our dark sides, accepting them without judgement. Tonight, we’ll continue this exploration through meditation, along with new prompts and tips. Let’s go deep together - link to join is in my bio. 🖤

✌️ ϲɾҽɑԵíѵíԵվ ϲօ-աօɾƘíղց ϲ

✌️ ϲɾҽɑԵíѵíԵվ ϲօ-աօɾƘíղց ϲօղԵɑíղҽɾՏ ✌️ I'm committed to creating—and holding—space for creative endeavors, which often fall to the bottom of our to-do lists. You're invited to join me two nights a week (+ my pal @ilanaingber for the second one!) for support, accountability, community, mindfulness, and play. Links in bio! P.S. Note that tonight’s #writinggroup is at a new, later time ✍🏻

This is me in India last year, and, apparently, th

This is me in India last year, and, apparently, this is the face I make when I hear someone say they 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓁𝓎 don’t eat sugar. Now, here I am a little over a year later consciously making that same decision.

I’m in my second semester of @lmuyogastudies’ master program, and one of my assignments is to give up and commit to something all semester long in the name of #tapas, which can be translated as "austerity" or "discipline." Why sugar? Well, partly to detox from my excessive intake of peppermint hot chocolates over the holidays (I was averaging 2/day 😆), but mostly because of how addictive it is – and my commitment to liberating myself from addictive, numbing substances (case in point: coffee, which I used to 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 to get through the day and haven’t had in years).

I’ve given up sugar in the past, while doing elimination diets like #Whole30 and #CrazySexyYou, and felt great. So I know it’s possible. During those month-long cleanses, I learned just how pervasive sugar is in the foods we consume (does sugar 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 need to be in store-bought, sliced turkey?), so often we’re not even aware that we’re feeding this addiction.

I’ve been slowly weaning myself off sugar for the past couple days (to get rid of any lingering temptations in my kitchen + take stock of which grocery items have the insidious ingredient), and my body’s already kicking and screaming. Yesterday, I caught myself reaching for a beer – totally cool if that’s your thing (+ in moderation, of course) but uncharacteristic for me these days, as I hardly drink anymore (alcohol being another one of those addictive, numbing substances I’ve chosen to liberate myself from).

In my newsletter tomorrow, I’ll be sharing what happened when I stayed present and curious, rather than reactively replaced one numbing substance with another (sign up at #linkinbio to receive! In addition to my mindful musings, I occasionally share writing prompts + tips). I’ll also continue sharing more about my #tapas journey here - wish me luck! 🤞 {📸: @iamrubyray 🥰}

I share some thoughts about shifting from lack to

I share some thoughts about shifting from lack to #abundance over on @teachable’s blog. ✨ #linkinbio {Shoutout to my rockstar editor @caitlinsmiller - thank you for the opportunity!}

Last week, I treated myself to a personal writing

Last week, I treated myself to a personal writing retreat on a whim. With less than a week before my second semester of grad school started, I dropped everything, cleared my schedule, and headed to the ocean. I didn’t even really tell anyone. I stayed up most of the night listening to waves crashing, pouring my heart out onto the page. I waited for fear, loneliness, codependency to creep in, but for the most part, I held myself in wholeness - no television or social media to numb or distract me from truly being alone with myself. In the morning, I ran along the coast and did a ritual of release; I wrote these words, the Ho’oponopopo prayer, in the sand as a gesture to those that had hurt me, those I had hurt, as well as to myself. I let forgiveness wash over me, then I let the icy, Pacific waves do the same.

Then, I came home to all the news I had missed while retreating inward, the terror of the Capitol Hill insurrection last Wednesday. Forgiveness, which I had cultivated and offered freely, suddenly seemed out of reach. I’m still working on it, while processing rage, heartache, and more grief. While last week was about releasing, clearing out lingering bits of 2020, the new moon in Capricorn is all about rebirth. Hope you’ll join me at my weekly mindful writing group tomorrow 5:30pm pst, as we take a closer look at this theme - and perhaps dip our toes into the waters of forgiveness. 🌚🌊 #linkinbio

I’m coming out of my creativity cave, poking my

I’m coming out of my creativity cave, poking my head out of my social media hibernation, to say writing group is on tonight – and it will be a special, Saraswati-themed class! Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of creativity, communication, intuition, and so much more that I cannot wait to dive into. She is seen here carved in an ancient cave in India, behind my amazing teacher @hannah__muse, who first introduced me to this form of Goddess in Bali on a retreat exploring the Divine Feminine, and me. I can’t wait to share some of her story with you – we’ll meet at our regular time, 5:30pm PST, and the link to register is in my bio. 🦚

I also want to express deep bows of gratitude to the incredible womxn that joined @ilanaingber and I for our exploration of #TheArtistsWay. We connected with our inner Saraswatis for 12 weeks, and I’m so inspired by not only the beauty and art they created but their courage and vulnerability as well. I’ll share more on that journey soon, but in the meantime: Ilana and I want to continue this journey and open up our creativity container! Starting in January, we’ll be offering “Date to Create,” an art-making (in any form) support group on Fridays! This will be a 6-week series for $60. You can also find the details for that at my #linkinbio.

What's inspiring you today?

#omaimsaraswatinamaha

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