Friday Inspiration...

Long overdue on some Friday quotes to keep you believing in ☆magic☆ all weekend😉

Have a great weekend!

Connect with me:

On Facebook

On Instagram  

Through Email

On Youtube

Comment below

As always...thanks for reading!

Thy middle name is hope...

Welcome to Friday, folks....ahhhhh, sweet bliss❤  And thinking about how I was going to leave you some peace here today to kick off your weekend, I realized I would be remiss if I don't mention the latest (FREE) Deepak Chopra & Oprah mediation series that is happening now and it is just GLORIOUS.

I'm just wrapping up the first week and this one just speaks to MA SOUL.  If I'm nothing else in this life, I'm definitely HOPEFUL and I just FEEL every word of this wonderful series.  Give it a try, if that's your sort of thing😉

And now the rest of my little inspo for you...

And this one just resonated SO DEEP, realizing how much we take all these little wonderful, joyful moments for granted....

The more gratitude we have for these simple gifts, the more gifts we tend to receive.  

And the more gratitude and joy you radiate out to the world, the world pays you back with an abundance of those gifts.

Have a great weekend!

Connect with me:

On Facebook

On Instagram  

Through Email

On Youtube

Comment below

As always...thanks for reading!

From my class to you...

Morning, all!  Hope you had a great week and are ready for the weekend ahead...and a holiday one, at that.  Weeeeeeeeeeeee!  I'm typing up this post and then heading to the bakery to pick up some Hot Cross Buns to kick off the holiday.  
But before I head out, I thought I'd leave some little inspiration here for the new week ahead....

And one that came to me while I was teaching class this week:

It's only after you've mastered THIS moment, that you can begin to master the next.

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy and breath in that peace😉



Connect with me:

On Facebook

On Instagram  

Through Email

On Youtube

Comment below

As always...thanks for reading!

Life's too short...

Morning, all!  Sorry I didn't get a chance to hop on here on Friday...or any other times this weekend😉  And not only was the weekend a whirlwind, but so was this past week.  I had no consistency with meals last week since most nights I was running back out the door to teach and lunch turned into dinner.  Sooooo with that said, since I don't have a 'weekly wrap-up' to share with you, I figured I'd just share a few treats (healthy or otherwise😉) that I had this week.  And why not throw in a few quotes to make up for Friday, shall we??

Healthy bites this week:

Blueberry oat bars

These were such a hit from the 2015 Bikini Series that I have NO idea why it took me this long to make them again.  Ya just whirl all the ingredients in the food processor, press it into a pan, bake, done.  Plus they're soooo good, sweet from natural sweeteners of maple syrup & blueberries and filling from the added protein...which my body NEEEEEEDS for breakfast.  NEEDS.  Or I'm a crazy, ravished animal for the ENTIRE rest of the day😉

Greek Cucumber Noodle Salad

Another recipe that I was fascinated with trying...mostly because A.- I will eat anything with kalamata olives involved & B.- the hummus topper??  Genius.  This was delicious, light & healthy...with a little kiss of decadence from those kalamatas and the feta.  Swoon😍

Ham & Cheese quinoa cups

My love for quinoa cups is still rollin this week.  A batch of these cooked on Sunday = a healthy lunch in 60 seconds during the week.  Weeeeeeeeee!

Joyful Heart Muffins

I have made this recipe (sans the frosting from this old picture) a million and one times and once I bake them, I don't understand why I don't keep these stocked in my fridge at ALL times.  They are completely decadent and chocolate-y, perfect for that mid-afternoon sweet tooth...AND guilt-free.  Plus, I love, love, love any time you use oat flour (or ground oats) as a base.  It just FEELS good for the old bod.

And in the "Life is too short" Category...

Since March was coming to an end last week (whattttt???) I realized I only had a few more days to get my hands on the March-only delicacy known as St. Joseph's pastry.  And since we were near my VERYFAVORITE bakery on Monday, Nino's Pastry shop, we decided to stop in after Katie's gymnastics lesson.  Only problem?  As I was walking up, I realized a bakery probably wouldn't be open on Monday....as was stated on the door....as I was WALKING IN.  Yes, for some reason the door was open while the owner was in there getting a jump on his week's inventory.  As I was apologizing for disturbing him, he asked me what I wanted...and when I mentioned the St. Joseph's treats, he proceeded to MAKE THEM FOR ME.  Fresh & off the presses!

How often does THAT happened in life??  I left feeling soooooo incredibly grateful (because HOW NICE IS THAT???) ANDDDD really excited to tear into these little jewels.  I wasn't even planning on eating them that day when I purchased them...but life is too short for denying THAT kinda TOTALLY FRESH goodness.  And OF COURSE not only were they sooooooo delicious, but those pastry edges still had a bit of a crispy edge, which sends me into stratospheric levels of joy😉   If you're in the Hamilton area, you MUST MUST MUST go to Nino's.  + best cannoli's I've EVER had...and I've been to Italy.  So there's that😉  And an owner who was gracious enough to make a customer a pastry ONTHESPOT WHEN they were closed!  Terribly impressive.

And a few food for thoughts moments to kick off your Monday...

I could barely get through that one without my voice cracking😉  Typical😉

Have a great kick-off to the week!

Connect with me:

On Facebook

On Instagram  

Through Email

On Youtube

Comment below

As always...thanks for reading!

Food for the Soul...

Hi, everyone!  Ya made it to Friday...yipeee!  So I thought I'd leave you with a few thoughts to take with you through the weekend.  Hopefully bring a little perspective and maybe some calm to your day.  And I'll start off with a little wisdom that came to me when I was talking to one of my students this week:

"It's easy to move.  It's HARD to be still."

I always say my journey through yoga has been completely backwards, where the 1st yoga I tried was Power yoga.  And don't get me wrong, I STILL love power & vinyasa to this day.  BUT, it took me yearssssssssss to understand the importance of stillness and I ALWAYS try to stress this in my classes.  You can do a handstand on one hand and hold it for an hour while ya knit a sweater?  Great.  But ya know what's more difficult?  Just breathing, being and surrendering to stillness.  We (myself included) often confuse the importance of the two, but make no mistake that trying to be still in a world that is pulling you with a million distractions every moment?  D.I.F.F.I.C.U.L.T to say the least!  Being still is the REAL work.

I JUST came across THIS one and it's perfect😊

Here's a few more I've shared with my classes...

...and when I read this for the 1st time, BTW, I read 'wisened' as 'WIZZ-end.'

Words are hard.

😉

And one I read to my class today that I JUST LOVED😍

Namaste😊

Connect with me:

On Facebook

On Instagram  

Through Email

On Youtube

Comment below

As always...thanks for reading!

Food for the soul...

So I've been wanting to do this for MONTHS.  MONTHS, I tell ya!

One of my favorite parts of teaching my yoga classes is wrapping up the class with a quote.  It feels like it seals up the class with a collective recogition to take our practice "OFF THE MAT," hopefully leaving them with something to ponder or a little bit of extra confidence as we walk out the door.  Now, I either have a running collection of ones I've found in books or scrolling social media (ironic...I know)...OR...I'll wait till the end of my class, give a quick check to my phone and see what is the 1st appropriate quote that pops up.  TO ME, that means that SOMEONE in the room must need to hear it (and 9 out of 10 times, they'll strike me to heart as well.)  So since some of my LOVELY students have started to check out my blog (hi Eileen & Diane!), I thought I'd start posting some on here that I've read through the week.  See which ones resonate with you!

So, without further ado, here's some soul food for you this Friday!

(cause Ops knows what's up!)

I've been teaching a 'prayerful yoga class' the last 2 weeks and here was one I found for class yesterday.  Thought it was great perspective of Lent.

And one interesting moment where I was walking into class, 'something' said to 'scan my quote folder, snap a photo and don't look at it till the end of class.'  Here's the trio of quotes that popped up at the end❤

And here's one of my ALLLLLLLLL-TIME FAVORITES!!!!!!!  My voice cracks nearly EVERY single time I read this out loud.  Every word is SO. TRUE.

And nearly EVERY time I read it, someone inevitably asks me where it's from.  And it's hilarious when I have to tell them it's not from some great old tome, but rather a great old WB TV show😉  (EVERWOOD, FOREVER & EVER & EVER❤)

I already have a great one to share with you next week...but not till I share it with my classes THIS week😉  Have a great weekend!

Connect with me:

On Facebook

On Instagram  

Through Email

On Youtube

Comment below

As always...thanks for reading!