It always humbles me when people in the community come together for a greater cause. This past Sunday we had our First Annual Yoga Day at the Vancouver Yoga Center. All proceeds went to Evergreen4kids and what a fabulous time we had.

I had a friend from Estacada, Oregon come out and teach a class. Another friend from Ridgefield teach another class. All for what - to remind ourselves that we are One. That when we work together we really can make change!

The best time, by far, was the kids yoga class. WOW - what a hoot kids are! They just move, breathe and roar like lions without inhibition! In fact, one little 3 year old decided she was hot and took her pants off during class and finished yoga in her undies! It was a crack up!

I want to thank all the staff from Dentus for coming out to support our cause. You ALL are such an amazing bunch. If I am ever looking for a job, I will come knocking on your door!

And to Melonie at the Vancouver Yoga Center. Thank you for your graciousness by allowing us to use your space. It was perfect and so incredibly delightful.

To Brenda - what an inspiration you are to me. You passion and love for those kids just inspires me to alwasy be my best. And your presence with everyone you meet is something to emulate. Thank you for allowing me into your world.

You can see all of our photos on Facebook - I had to take photos of those kids! They are just incredible, natural yogis!

If you didn't get a chance to attend and you want to help Brenda and I with her school and her "kids" in the Dominican you can choose from one of the following:

Bring items such as large, chubby crayons, construction paper, educational color books in Spanish and copy paper to the Vancouver Yoga Center. Dana will get it to Brenda immediately! Or you could send a check, made out to Evergreen4kids, to 7102 NE 157th Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98682.

Thanks everyon for all that you are and all that you are becoming. Thank you for being a part of my world.

Peace,

Motherhood = Yoga

Motherhood certainly brings out the yogi in me! How conscious can one person be! I awoke this morning to two little angels sleeping in my bed. They must have fallen from the sky because I know I told my children that they were old enough to stay in their own bed.

Nevertheless I laid there for quite some time thinking, "They really should be in their own beds." And "I should get up and put them in their beds." And then wondering, why are they in here anyway? What's going on in their little minds and hearts that all of a sudden, they want to sleep with me. And I'm not talking about them laying in their own spots on my bed. No, they were both basically on top of me. And when I moved, even an inch, one of them would throw their arms around me and continue to snore; deep in sleep.

And then I realized that my only intention at that moment was to seize that moment. I heard the "shoulds" loud and clear and realized the only thing I was meant to do was love this moment. One day they won't come waddling in my room at 3:00am - instead they will be coming home at 3:00am. And they won't want to come and cuddle with me that's for sure.

The sound of their little "snoring" and methodical breath lulled me back to sleep.

I guess the point of the story is to again, and as always, be present. Notice when you hear the word should pop into your mind. That's not the voice of your heart - your heart never says should. It just says do.

Peace,

Halloween Treats

I am so in love with my kids I swear! I would still be asleep in this crazy world if it wasn't for them! We went trick or treating this weekend like most parents did I would imagine. What a flash back for us all isn't it?

This Halloween offered me so many lessons....where to begin.....

It was so iupsetting for my little Ava (who has a nut allergy) to not get as much candy as all the other kids. It seemed like everyone was passing out candy with nuts this year! I was so sad for her I wanted to run out and buy her a bag of licorice! Knowing full well that I would have her give most of it away this week anyway. (We send our candy to http://www.operationgratitude.com/ with the help of http://dentus.com/.)

Anyway - after our evening of trick-or-treating - "no nuts please" - we woke up to seeing our lovely carved pumpkins smashed out in the street. I was devastated. My first instinct - to hurry and clean them up before the kids woke up. Why? To protect them of course. :)

And then this morning - getting ready for school. Trying to explain to them why they don't need 3 pieces of candy a day and how nice it would be to send some of their candy to our troops overseas. Not all of their candy - just some.

So I'm not sure if I am doing it right - I am just trying to go with the flow. But one lesson I have learned this week is that disappointment plays a huge part in our lives. More specifically, how we handle disappointment is really what matters most.

I have finally realized after being a mom for only 7 years, that I can't shield them from everything. Not a nut allergy, a pumpkin bandit or war. The only thing I can do is lead by example - showing love, gratitude and compassion for all lving beings on this planet.

Funny how the little things offer us such amazing lessons eh?

Have a stellar day!

Spiritual Warrior Retreat

There is power in numbers. Especially when you are talking about women who come together and collaborate on how to change the world. Our 1st Spiritual Warrior Retreat was an amazing success. It's really phenomenal what happens when we become still and are surrounded by amazing, courageous, connected women.

Starting off the weekend with stillness and silence was really a key factor in all of the amazing things that happened. Doing something simple like walking to the beach in silence changes the energy around you. Thoughts jump around your head - you notice them and notice yourself wanting to talk and then just sit with that thought. Doing that three or four times connects you to what is around you - for real. Not the illusion in your mind but the energy force that surrounds you without you having to do anything at all.

We discussed Ayurveda and how it plays such a huge role in our lifestyle and daily habits. We took the Passion Test (Fulfilling Your Souls Purpose) and had some incredible "aha" moments. We talked about the Chakras and how these systems in our body run programs for us every day that may or may not be working for us. All these things combined really changed perspectives for many of us.

I feel blessed to have been able to spend this kind of time with these women. Not only because each individual has such an apparent gift and I was able to share it with them. But also because each one of them coming together reminded me how fortunate we are right now to be alive. How truly powerful we are when we stop and breathe.

Most of these women didn't know anyone at the retreat but by the end, they were all planning a reunion. The force of our inner-connectedness can move mountains and I have no doubt that we will.

Thank you ladies for opening your life to all of us. I feel so very, very fortunate to know you, to be around you and to have been able to share such a magical weekend with each of you.

For those of you interested - there are photos posted on Facebook of our retreat. You can also get more information about upcoming retreat by signing up for our Weekly Om at http://www.zenflowyoga.com/retreats.aspx.