Category: From the Blog

Three holiday happenings!

1. Win a Gift card to REI and LoveStrong swag… during October!

2. UnGrinching 2019. Get your GRINCH CARD!

3. My personal sabbatical starts right now… BRB. (Scroll down to see how this is gonna work!)

1. WHICH HOLIDAY CAMP ARE YOU IN? There are TWO.

I know first hand how tough the holidays can be with everything from split and blended families, loss of loved ones, money stress, gifting pressure, relatives and the holiday music that’s already making our ears bleed. The second camp, however is already shining their snowglobes. They deck the halls, bask in the baking, strategize their shopping and swoon over Bing’s Silver Bells.

If that’s YOU, I’m genuinely envious. 

So two years ago I tried to change my own mind about the holidays. (and chair pose). We celebrated all the holiday festivities and dubbed it the UNGRINCHING with LOVE project. And it worked! It was actually fun! It was the best holiday season I could remember in a long time and many of YOU said the same thing. Then last year, our UnGrinching project got cut short, so this year we’re back at it and we’re coming in hot with the Grinch cards so that YOU and all the Love Yoga teachers can encourage and uplift each other as we dive into the holidays this year!

2.  GRINCH CARDS.  Pick yours up at the studio so you have a constant reminder that practicing yoga makes you feel good. Drawing on Oct. 31st at 9pm.

TWO ways to fill your Grinch Card.
a.  Every time you come to class you get a stamp.
b.  If you see a teacher also taking that class, you get another!

This is how we stay connected, uplifted, supported and less Grinchy. And the lucky winners get a shot at the REI card plus LoveStrong swag! (Get your Grinch Card this week- Starts Oct. 1st.)

3.  My 1ST EVER SABBATICAL starts this week. Don’t worry, I’m not going to miss out on all the festivities. While y’all are gearing up with your Grinch cards I’m going to be at a couple of short trainings and then taking the rest of the time to ‘sabbat’ or whatever you call it? 

While I’m away . . .  You get to experience more of Yatsui, Hanawalt, Haley and Christina. You’ll see some new faces in the Karma classes and a brand new face with Evan stepping in for my Wednesday mornings! 

Evan:

I’ll fill you in as much as I can along the way… but from what I’ve learned about sabbaticals, I should have no real plan, zero expectations, infinite ideas and a heart full of joy.  I also have a tiny bit of angst but …  I’m going to practice what I teach: 

I’m going to embrace the unknown, breathe through the hesitations, ponder the possibilities and create as much flow as possible with the intention that this sabbatical time works it’s magic on my creativity. . . and my chair pose.  If all goes well, I should be back in time to trick or treat!

Much Love, 

: )

Suzanne 

p.s. If you’ve ever taken a sabbatical… I’m totally open to suggestions or ideas. 

I use to avoid cliches like the plague (see what I did there?) but lately – because there seems to be SO many in the wellness world, I’ve been curious to see where they came from and why they’re still around. I’m finding all kinds of reasons why their ‘actions speak louder than words’. lol. So if you’re interested to know what I’ve found, there’s no time like the present….

Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm. This is probably my ALL Time favorite one ever and I just learned about it last year. SO many of us are doing this! Right now! Putting yourself last. Letting everyone else decide. Going out of your way to help. Wearing yourself thin (lol) while taking care of others. It’s exhausting, overwhelming and NOT sustainable. What will you do about this? Read on . . . .

The answer is inside of you.  Uh huh. Great. Super helpful. So is road rage, insecurity, fear and doubt. Those are probably getting in the way of us finding the answers… which is why we meditate.  When we meditate, once we get the hang of it and stop dreaming about pizza… a lot of the noise falls away and then some ideas pop up out of seemingly … nowhere? (For some of you this might happen when you’re driving, showering, vacuuming, running…. external noise falls away and we can hear ourselves think). We might get a glimpse of brilliance, a momentary burst of excitement, a huge epiphany. Something in there leads us to the… answers.

Love is the answer.  Okay, I whole heartedly believe this one right? Duh. But even at a deeper level there is scientific proof that loving thoughts, feelings and actions lead to a release of all the natural feel good chemicals in our bodies and brains. Plus, even the effort of searching for something to feel appreciation for, also releases the same. So even if you’re not feeling super loving right this minute… if you try to think of something you CAN feel that way about… you’ll still get the reward. E for Effort! Find love everywhere.

Do what you Love, Love what you do. See above ; )
This also ties in with the research around flow states. (I’m sure some of you are tired of hearing me talk about flow… #notsorry). Because when you find something you simply love to do… and it mesmerizes you to the point that you lose track of time, forget to eat and it never gets old…. you’re in flow and your brain release even MORE feel good chemicals.  The Flow Genome guys call this the Flow Cocktail. When you get a blast of this flow cocktail… you’re unstoppable! Kind of like how I feel when writing these emails! ; )

Better safe than sorry. I actually could go on all day with these… there’s a ton! But I don’t want to risk losing you completely and I have places to go on this beautiful Sunday. But don’t worry, I’ll be back with more of these another time because so many of them really do find their way into our practices… and some of them are kind of helpful.

Only time will tell
Nerves of steel
Laughter is the best medicine
Every cloud has a silver lining

From the bottom of my heart . . . (I can’t stop….)
Much Love,

; )
Suzanne

p.s.  August is Bring a Friend for FREE… all month long! No obligations, just hanging out with friends who like flow. Thank you so much for being part of LOVE!

I shared some embarrassing things in class yesterday… BECAUSE my embarrassing stories became empowering when I realized that I survived them. Think of an embarrassing moment… or an awful experience you’ve had. Could be something traumatic or something trivial, it doesn’t matter. Remember how it felt like it was a life changer? Well, it was – if you realize that you survived it. (savor that for a moment). The trick now is to not continually ‘re-live’ it.

And KNOWING you survived something does two things:

1. It gives you a story you can share to help others see that it’s survivable.

2. It empowers you to know that if you survived that, you can survive this. Or whatever comes next.
Because the reality is … you will survive everything that comes your way until the one time you don’t, right? (I warned you not to take my advice today, I’m in deep water here).

My advice yesterday was on fire: Learn about your nervous system. Use your breath to retrain it. Create more flow. Do more things you love so you’ll feel more loving more of the time, then there will be less room in your life for fear and worry. That’s great f#@%ing advice and it’s helped me a ton!

My advice today is still simmering: Run as far from everything as you can and only listen to yourself. Solitude matters! Nobody else’s advice will suffice because we are designed to save ourselves first. (it’s not selfish, it’s human nature). So when someone offers you their advice, recognize that it’s most likely something that works great for them. Swell. They can share it with you and you can try it but first run away and feel it for yourself. Then decide for yourself.

Ask yourself…what works for ME?
WHAT does MY heart want?
(Thanks, Sabrina ; )
(Soul Compass Workshop v.2 coming in August)

The moral of this message is… I’ve been completely embarrassed and humiliated at times and completely on fire at times. I’ve consulted everyone I know and I’ve run away to consult myself. And I get the very best advice from ME every single time. Try it. Especially while practicing yoga. (Crow pose for example, see below)

Take our instruction, take suggestions, take the opportunity to explore. But please, please, please, decide for yourself. Once you learn the ins and outs of the yoga practice… you’ll start to feel what’s for you and what’s not. This is where the magic happens! Where you start deciding more often what’s best for you, on and off the mat.

Much Love,
: )
Suzanne

p.p.s. Crow Pose is a perfect example of embarrassing vs. empowering. I can’t tell you how many people have beamed for days after they hold their first crow pose. I also can’t count the number of times we’ve watched you all fall out of crow and feel a little embarrassed. But when you fall out, it inspires someone else to try. (isn’t that strange human behavior also? Your ‘failure’ inspires someone else) LOL.  Crow Workshop. This Saturday. 10:30am. Sign up here now! Come check it out. It might be your greatest embarrassment, your greatest inspiration or just an all around great time.

Hi, it’s me, Suzanne.

Long Story Short. We’re starting over… again. It’s part of running a business.
(continue reading or watch video here: https://youtu.be/UqG47w2SKdE )

We have a NEW Email system for the studio. We’ve tried 5 email providers in the past 9 years. I’ve spent the past 6 days searching, sorting and importing to get us all here. We’re hoping this one is the best. (Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/2Y2GQMY )

If it’s been a while since you’ve been here you should know… we now have 2 studio rooms, softer floors, a/c, 15 + teachers, 2 massage therapist and an acupressurist. We offer yoga, meditation, teacher training, retreats, mindful health coaching and employee wellness programs.

Our Yoga for Anxiety class and other video courses will be available online for you to practice in the comfort of your own home very soon.

And our Summer Solstice celebration is this Friday night, 5:30-7:30pm, if you’d like to check any of that out. (For the Solstice, sign up ahead of time to be entered to win one of our 3 LoveStrong Packs, or just drop in and say hello!)

Have a great week!

: )

Suzanne
love@loveyogastudios.com
541-971-8244

p.s. You can always unsubscribe at the bottom of the emails.

p.p.s. You can always subscribe here https://bit.ly/2Y2GQMY

Someone said to me recently, ‘you’ve had a hell of a year and yet you seem to be doing better than okay’.

I hadn’t really thought that much about it. But now looking back… I guess I’ve done some things in the past 12 months. I bought the Subaru, turned 50, launched LoveStrong Adventures, brought on 5 new teachers, retreated to Maui, came back to face losing my Dad, started off the New Year saying goodbye and then shortly after, said hello to a whole new cool clan from the York side of our family thanks to a little spit kit. And now we’re back in teacher training creating brand new yoga teachers for the fall. The world keeps spinning.

Sounds like a lot when ya put it that way. I’m sure if you went back over your last 12 months many of you would gather similar activities because… life.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here to say that I think there are two kinds of people in the world. Yep just two. That’s it.

There are people who enjoy most of life and people who don’t.

My Son argues this with me often but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t read my email, so I’m going to boldly and unapologetically state my opinion here.

There is Always a Silver Lining, Rose colored glasses help, my glass is always half full and Mary Poppins is my hero. (Can you imagine that?)

He doesn’t disagree with all of this. He just says it’s not that simple. Not everyone can hum a supercalifragilistic song and make all their troubles go away. I counter with yes…but it’s a start!

He’s a happy kid. I’m a happy Mom. But it wasn’t always this way. I dug my heels in early to figure out how to be calmer, happier & stronger. (Found yoga, practiced, let go of a bunch of s#it, nourished my mind, retrained my brain, love my life, became a super parent! Yada, yada, you’ve already heard it).

He knows how to find a silver lining. Even if he still rolls his eyes at me. Just yesterday… he was stressed about some things, so we went to dinner where he charmed the waitress for a special dessert like a 4 year old. And while we were there… someone keyed his car.

He modified the song a bit… Supercalifu#&alistic!

Looking back… It’s a combination of self awareness, self-care and self love that makes you the kind of person that can find their own silver lining. So yeah, it’s been a year… s#it happens, silver linings appear and I keep practicing.

FIND YOUR SILVER LININGS!  

Here’s a few of mine:

I stopped having hourly hot flashes. Brew Dr. has a new Power Flower Flavor. I’ve seen more of Oregon in the past 6 months with LoveStrong hikers, than I have my entire life. The peonies I planted a year ago are actually blooming this week! (see below). I feel closer to my family than I have in recent years. And strangely, I feel more connected to my Dad. We have the best group of Love Teachers that did everything for me throughout this past winter. Everything. I recently watched the latest Mary Poppins movie and I highly recommend it over GOT for the uplifting vibe and adorable animation. Aaaand….. best of all…

I now know with more conviction than ever that my practices have created a more resilient version of me. One that embraces change, challenge and the unexpected. Ship-Shape, Spit-Spot.

“Everything is possible, even the impossible”, Mary P.

Upcoming Opps to practice with Love!
(Signing up early really helps us out).

I’m not sad today. I just didn’t know what to do or say about my Dad’s birthday. And then I was working on a class around ‘letting go’ and I was reminded of a book he left me… and then this just came together. But I didn’t get it finished in time… I’m 74 minutes late…. (but who’s counting?)

………………………………………………………………..

Everything we practice comes down to letting go. Letting go of tension, letting go of expectations, letting go of an exhale, letting go of attachment, letting go of how things should be or could be. Letting go of someone. #loveyoudad 

When we practice letting go and keep looking forward, we start to feel what it’s like to just BE. It’s kinda freeing. To just BE. #beherenow 

But how?! How exactly do we let go?

Someone gave us an example of this today. They found themselves on a flight with a seat that didn’t recline and because of their yoga practice, they decided to find other ways to relax with their breathing. They let go of their seat expectations. #breathingmatters 

Another person gave us the example of being in a scary physical situation where they had no control. So they decided to practice savasana. They let go of control and surrendered to the moment. It helped. #gowiththeflow

I recently had the example of letting go of my Dad. I had to decide to stop looking back and focus on the future. I let go of what could have been so I could move toward what will be. #justkeepswimmimg #cancersucks 

You might think comparing uncomfortable flights and scary places with death is inappropriate. But they say…. how you do anything is how you do everything. If I can’t let go of my pet peeves or discomforts and move on, how will I ever survive letting go of a pet or a parent. #mombetterliveforever 

So the moral of lengthy email #5 for this year and what happened in each example above…  is:

You have to decide to Let Go. 

You have to stop hanging on or looking back. You gotta be enthusiastic about the future. And you’ll want to fill your heart and soul with every good feeling moment possible. Living fully. #gobigorgohome

Start with tree pose so that when the storm hits you’re able to sway. To let go of your leaves and look forward to spring.

Why this message? Why today? Cause it’s my Dad’s birthday. I felt like we had something to say. He left me a book with a poem flagged.  It’s called You Decide. I wrote him a sonnet in response. (also cause I prefer a little profanity and humor in some of my poetry).

You Decide by Dolores Dahl

Win some, lose some, you hear people say
Life is but a game of chance they utter in dismay
Tossed about by bitter winds, a victim of life’s storm
and in despair, they go nowhere, believing this the norm

Unaware that they decide, the course upon the sea knowing not,
that every thought, they send aloft decree
Is one day carried out, becoming their reality
Each request is granted for Life can but agree.

I Decide by me ; )

I’m telling you now I’ve got to let go
I’ve got to stop looking back cause I know
It fucks with my neck, it saddens my heart
It tightens me up and tears me apart

But how you might wonder, do I let go?
How do I simply forget all I know?
How do I unwind the stress in my mind?
What do I do with the space I might find?

I look straight ahead wherever I go
I keep moving forward, I exhale slow
I challenge myself to focus on fun
I saunter soulfully under the sun

I know I don’t have to keep it inside
Cause my Dad told me, he said, You Decide.

#HappyBirthdayDad