You know that moment you’ve been waiting for?

That pause in your day/month/life that if only you had one, you’d really get some things in order?

It’s not coming.

Sorry, I know, I’m supposed to be all positive happy shinny yoga lady.
But it’s true. It’s not coming (am I’m not that shinny).

There is no big day in the sky that when that day comes everything will miraculously work out just fine, exactly the way you always wished it would. Nope. Not gonna happen.

I waited for that moment many times but still the years just kept coming and going fast and furious. I hoped, I wished, I even meant to hit the proverbial pause button, even for just a day (ok an hour!) so I could breathe, reflect, organize my mind, let some stuff go of and take the time to think about the year/s to come. But still, that pause never came.
Imagine that, huh, actually taking a moment to think about how I might want my life to go. Crazy, right?.

But that is just the thing.
You actually have to TAKE the moment.
You have to grab it, seize it, make it, squeeze it…heck, hijack that sh#t, whatever it takes!
And give yourself (oh, and all the poor people around you) the gift of a pause to disengage the auto-pilot and be engaged, envisioning and enraptured by your life.

Luckily, I have some witches for best friends who made me  taught me a New Years Eve ritual of taking this pause and visually doing this kind of thinking. We ENVISION our intentions, promises and actions for the year all onto a Vision Board (ala Napoleon Hill). The board becomes a visceral expression of manifesting, seeing, feeling and knowing it all, already, shall be.  My vision for 2012 is shown here.  And then, in true tribal form, we set a flame the previous years intentions around huge bonfire to symbolically release of all the stuff that needs to go now. Love that voodoo.

I HIGHLY recommend getting some witches for friends who will make you help you take pause this year, however, your yoga teacher ( ♥ ) could be the next best thing, in which case…I implore you, insist, demand, get your butt too…

The New Years Radical Affirmation workshop with Me & Julie Dohrman.

As well as doing some rocking yoga on the mat , we will do some “yoga” off the mat; creating vision boards learning the magic of ENVISIONING.

Jai Hanuman in St. Lucia

Dear 2011,

No offense, but…Goodbye!
Don’t get me wrong, I mean, you had some fantastic moments of which I am truly grateful. However, first I want to thank you for all the other “blessings” you brought me this year.

Thank you for putting me in a position to HAVE TO find the guts to make hard decisions and tell scary truths so that I could better follow my heart.

Thank you for messing up my rental house so that I HAD TO find the guts to buy my first house and actually buy it!

Thank you for giving me a little (tiny) pink cottage to live in so I HAD to come to appreciate that less really is so much more.

Thank you for still not curing me of my issues with food so that I HAVE to look deeper and want to care for myself more (but feel free to cure me of that one any day now plz).

Oh, and thanks for the worst bronchitis EVER so that I would learn to ask for help and take time rest, no really, THANK YOU!

I love all the challenges, they grow me up fast, just the way I like it.

And yes, I thank you for the magic & miracles too like Mexico with The Witches, Wanderlust with Bern, St. Lucia with Nicholas, Workshops with John, Sarah & Kenny,  and all the magic moments. Those were delicious too.

I want you to know, your lessons were learned and you are free to go now.
And I am officially requesting the BEST YEAR EVER this year, OK?
I am going to design my year with a vision board, manifesto and all just like Lauren taught me
so it’s crystal clear for both of us. Deal? Deal.

Love you,
Linda

PS. If you want to make a vision board & manifesto this year too,

Come to the New Years Radical Affirmation workshop with Me & Julie Dohrman.

We will be making them there…Arts, Crafts & Yoga! Yay!

RYT 200

Nell’s thoughtful, gentle voice inspires her students to live and breathe fully on and off their mats. Nell enjoys fusing her passion for yoga with her calling as a teacher. Nell has taught children’s yoga since 2003 and is a full-time classroom teacher in Stamford. In 2010, Nell studied under Mitchel Bleier, Tracy Bleier and Donna Jackson in Norwalk, CT, to earn her adult teaching certificate. Whether working with children or adults, Nell infuses enthusiasm, patience and love into her radiant classes.

Carolyn is an Anusara Inspired teacher who teaches with a sincere, loving presence to encourage all students to discover the intrinsic goodness and creativity within themselves. Her dynamic classes weave clear, precise instructions with a heart oriented theme to inspire students to feel empowered and filled with self love. Carolyn creatively blends her interpersonal qualities, life experiences and technical knowledge to guide students towards greater happiness, peace, and well being. Inspired by her desire to live a happy, healthy, meaningful life, she skillfully challenges each student to advance in their own practice, build self esteem, and ultimately unveil their innate worthiness. Her dedication to the study and practice of yoga and meditation supports her intention to uphold the life affirming principals of Anusara Yoga, while encouraging and celebrating the individuality and creative self expression of each student. With deep respect, she warmly invites all students to participate in the kula; the community of the heart, to experience diversity, difference and inclusiveness.

RYT 200

Charlie Berman began practicing yoga in January of 2010. Shortly after she started to attend yoga classes, she was practicing several times a week. Within a few months, her passion for the practice inspired her to pursue a yoga teacher training program, and she earned her 200 hour yoga teacher certification through Lotus Gardens in May 2011. Charlie practices mainly Anusara yoga and AcroYoga; she has also practiced several other styles and taken classes with a variety of instructors. Currently, she is pursuing both the Anusara Immersion series and the AcroYoga Immersion series and is planning to continue on to teacher training for both Anusara yoga and AcroYoga. She brings yoga into her everyday life as she aims to breathe through life experiences and apply principles from yoga to life off the mat. Her personal yoga philosophy applies to both her yoga practice and the way in which she aims to bring yoga into her everyday life. Her philosophy includes connecting and aligning with something larger than the self, grounding and maintaining a sense of inner peace, living from the heart, and finding balance in various forms, one of them being the balance between effort and ease. She also believes that yoga can help us to access, realize, and embody the greatest versions of ourselves.

Photo by Robert Sturman

RYT 200

Laura Young Kilkenny brings inspiration and purpose to her study, practice and teaching of yoga. A graduate of the 200 hour Anusara teacher training program, she has been exuberantly practicing yoga since first finding her teacher Bernadette Birney in 2005. Anusara yoga, and its’ Connecticut community has inspired, complemented and supported the many changes in her life, and she is passionate about sharing this philosophy and practice with her students. She continues her study towards full certification, and is thankful to her many teachers including John Friend, Desiree Rumbaugh, Amy Ippoliti, Ross Rayburn and many others.

Photo by Gail Buggy

RYT 200

Cherie Zavitz began her yoga practice in San Francisco years ago and is honored to now be teaching in Connecticut with such an amazing group of yogis. In her classes, she seeks to combine a sense of playfulness while weaving movement and yogic philosophy. Cherie strives to incorporate a heartfelt asana practice infused with creativity and a sense of humor. She has completed her Level I Anusara Teacher Training, Immersions I, II, and III. She is grateful to all the teachers who have guided her on her journey and is always striving to find different ways to approach her classes and to open up new possibilities for her students, as her teachers have done with her.

Photo by Robert Sturman

RYT 200

Izabela fell in love with yoga the first time she touched the mat and has since dedicated her life to being a great yoga teacher. She first got certified in 2006 and since then has studied and practiced many different styles of yoga including Vinyasa Flow, Asthanga, Bikram, Jivamukti, and Iyengar Yoga. Most recently, she has fallen for Anusara Yoga and has completed two Anusara Teacher Trainings as well as several trainings in yoga therapeutics and prenatal yoga. The principles of Anusara yoga inspires her on and off the mat, she is a devoted student of life and yoga. She looks forward to sharing all her knowledge with her students and friends, growing together every day and keeping the practice full and fun.

Photo by Photo by Gail Buggy

Certified Anusara® Instructor

Wendy is a Certified Anusara® Yoga Instructor. Her classes are known for being light in atmosphere and challenging in practice. Her classes deeply honor her teachers John Friend and Dr. Douglas Brooks. She is currently earning a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Mercy College in Dobb’s Ferry, NY and she looks forward to sharing the fruition of this body of knowledge with you.

Photo by Robert Sturman

Anusara® Inspired

Jeanine is an Anusara-Inspired teacher and a certified Thai Yoga Bodyworker. Jeanine’s yoga classes are filled with laughter, as she instills in her students a nurturing playfulness that allows every practitioner – from beginner to seasoned yogi – to practice freely, in a safe, loving, supportive, yet challenging environment. Jeanine emphasizes the Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment that allow each student to align with his or her optimal blueprint in order to progress in a way that helps to avoid injury and heal the body.