monday moment of zen

"no one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. "
~ lin yutang

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bowenwork training

before i started massage therapy school i got myself a mentor. that was one of the best moves i have made. it's so wonderful having a mentor who has taken the path i have and can help lead me in the right direction.

and thanks to the wonderful advice my mentor gave me, this weekend i'm here in cincinnati, ohio doing modules 1 & 2 for bowenwork training.

today was my first day and i. am. loving. it!

i can't wait to share more with you as i learn.

hugs & namaste

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monday moment of zen

"when you practice contentment you can say to yourself, 'oh yes i already have everything that i really need'."
~ hh the dalai lama

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blissblissbliss open house

if you are local (or even semi-local) consider joining me tomorrow for our open house at blissblissbliss. here are the details of all of our free events:

A Day of FREE Bliss for ALL!

OPEN HOUSE CELEBRATION

Sunday, January 23, 9am - 5pm

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Free Informational Classes:

11:30am – 12:30pm Essential Oils and Mixology (Lela)

12 – 1pm Ayurveda 101 (Elizabeth)

1:30 – 2:30pm FYI: Ayurvedic Massage (Elizabeth & Melita)

3:30 – 4:30pm Essential Oils and Mixology (Lela)

Free Mind/Body Classes:

9 – 9:45am Hot Vinyasa (Melita)

10 – 10:45am Gentle Yoga (Laura)

11 – 11:45am Partner Yoga (Heidi & Mary Jo)

12 – 12:45pm Ashtanga Yoga (Mary Jo)

1 – 1:30pm Meditation (Lela)

1:45 – 2:15pm Belly Dancing Demo

2:30 – 3:15pm Restorative Yoga (Heidi)

4 – 5pm Shine On: Sun Salutations (Heidi) *active, flowing class

Free Body/Energy Work:

10 minute Chair Massages (9-10am, 10:30 – 11:30am, 12 – 2pm)

15 minute Thai Yoga Bodywork (9 – 10:30am)

20 minute Energywork & EFT for Pain Relief (9:30 - 11:30am, 3 - 5pm)

10 minute Reflexogy (10:30 – 11:30am)

20 minute Cranio Sacral Therapy (11am – 1pm)

20 minute Reiki Sessions (1 – 3pm)

friends sharing yoga

here is a video of my friend lela and i sharing yoga practice. we were each doing our own thing yet loving practicing together. we are in the namaste studio of blissblissbliss where i teach.

hugs & namaste

monday moment of zen

"peace can be reached through meditation on the knowledge which dreams give. peace can also be reached through concentration upon that which is dearest to the heart."
~ patanjali

"peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal."
~ martin luther king jr.

happy mlk day everyone!
hugs!!

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rest

yesterday i read from "meditations from the mat" about rest in yoga. all of the yoga teachers i know (including myself) urge students to take a rest whenever their body needs it. after all, we are not your best teacher, you the student are! you know your body better than anyone else!

sometimes, myself included in this, will push ourselves through postures only to do half as well as we would have if we would have taken a few resting breaths in child's pose or an equivalent resting pose.

as you become more familiar with yoga and the poses you can learn to take a quick rest during the posture. you do this by softening some muscles that aren't required to hold that pose. for instance, you don't need to clinch your jaw in order to get into your best virabhadrasana 1. clinching your jaw doesn't make you any stronger as a warrior so let it go and maybe smile a little. :)

so now that you've given yourself permission to let yourself rest when you need to during your yoga practice, let's look at how we can take that practice off the mat.

especially during this time of year when colds & flues are getting passed around like candy at halloween we should take care of ourselves so that hopefully we don't get sick. and if we do get sick then by resting properly will allow our bodies to heal more quickly thus getting you out there faster to do the things that you do best!

here are a few ways you can take your rest off the mat:

~ take a bed day, half a bed day, or even a few hours to rest in bed either before your day begins or after it ends

~ sit by the fireplace and let the warmth and magic surround you


~ sit down with a mug of hot tea (or coffee) in hand, feel the warmth against your hands, and sip slowly

~ take time to snuggle with pets or loved ones - this is welcomed and enjoyed by everyone

~ call up a friend that you haven't talked to in a while and reminisce about something silly that you did or happened in the past - laughter is medicine for the soul!


i am taking my own advice today. i am writing this post from bed with a mug of honey lemon ginseng green tea on one side of me, my kitty (pictured above) on the other side and my pup in between my feet. :)

may you find your rest on and off the mat!

hugs & namaste

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"the sunflowers"

come with me
into the field of sunflowers.
their faces are burnished disks,
their dry spines

creak like ship masts,
their green leaves,
so heavy and many,
fill all day with the sticky

sugars of the sun.
come with me
to visit the sunflowers,
they are shy

but want to be friends;
they have wonderful stories
of when they were young -
the important weather,

the wandering crows.
don't be afraid
to ask them questions!
their bright faces,

which follow the sun,
will listen, and all
those rows of seeds -
each one a new life!

hope for a deeper acquaintance;
each of them, though it stands
in a crowd of many,
like a separate universe,

is lonely, the long work
of turning their lives
into a celebration
is not easy. come

and let us talk with those modest faces,
the simple garments of leaves,
the coarse roots in the earth
so uprightly burning.

~ mary oliver

when my friend, jill, owner of sunflower yoga studio in indiana, pa posted this beautiful photo on her facebook page, i was instantly smitten. you see, sunflowers have been coming up a lot for me recently. i have been eating sunbutter like it's going out of style. love it!! such a perfect in between massage or yoga snack for me. i've also recently switched over to using sunflower oil while giving massages as it doesn't dry my skin out like some other massage oil i've used in the past. i think i'm going to have a sunflower grow out of the top of my head soon. :)

i asked jill to enlighten me to the significance of sunflowers. her response was "this time of year, we all need a little bit of solar plexus chakra energy, and sunflowers are the best symbol i know of...inner strength, warmth, radiance...let it shine!"

i am letting my inner sunflower shine, are you?

hugs!!

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nightly routine

since the beginning of the year i have fallen into a nightly routine. my pre slumber time consists of reading from each of these books, sipping hot tea, reflecting on my day and be grateful.

do you have a highly routine?

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monday moment of zen

"the best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart."
~ hellen keller

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FREE vinyasa class

i am teaching a FREE all levels vinyasa yoga class this sunday, january 9th at blissblissbliss 11am-12pm. i hope you join me!

in case you weren't aware, blissblissbliss has moved to greenbag rd in morgantown. unfortunately for those of you who are a fan of gps you are going to have to do this one the old school way as gps doesn't recognize our address :)

if you are on greenbag rd at the 4 way stop where the kingwood pike crosses it then drive toward sabraton. here is what you will see on the left in this order:

wonder bread store
mountainview elementary school
richard drive
a house
clinton water association building

and we are the next left - there is a business plaza that has beautiful buildings that look like houses. up front you'll see an insurance company and about town realty. we are in the back building, on the left. there aren't many visible signs but i assure you, if you follow these directions it will lead you right into blissville. :)

if you have any questions or concerns about the class or how to find us, please don't hesitate to email me: melitamollohan@gmail.com.

image credit me

monday moment of zen

"we will open the book.its pages are blank. we are going to put words on them ourselves. the book is called opportunity and its first chapter is new year's day. "

~ edith lovejoy pierce

may 2011 be your best year yet!

hugs & namaste

2011

happy new year!!

it's that time of year for reflection about the past and dreaming about the future. like a lot of the fabulous bloggers i know, i too have picked a word to focus on for 2011.

For the past several years I have picked a word (or two when I can’t decide) to focus on for that year. My word for 2009 was “focus” since I was laid off from my accounting job and I needed to focus on what direction I wanted to pursue. My words for 2010 were “positivity” and “abundance” because I was letting go of things that no longer served me and replacing them with positive things.

I have decided that my word for 2011 is “manifest” since I am now in the processing of manifesting a joyful and fulfilling life.

how about you loves? what is your word(s) or mantra for 2011?

may 2011 be the best year yet!!

hugs & namaste

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end with a bang

this past wednesday was the perfect day off.

one of my good friends lela & i started the day with breakfast at one of my favorite local cafes, the blue moose cafe. we then headed to pittsburgh to do a yin yoga workshop with richard gartner.


we then headed back to motown and met up with ryan at our favorite place to eat, mother india before dashing off to watch true grit.

while i'm not a western loving girl i have to admit this was a pretty good movie. good enough in fact that i asked ryan to watch the original this evening. i definitely enjoyed the newer edition. no offense to "duke." :)

i'm enjoying my new year's eve at home with ryan & the pets. i wish you a safe and happy new year!

if you are local (and not too hung over) consider joining me tomorrow for a new year's day yoga practice. details here.

hugs & namaste

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monday moment of zen

"it's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time."
~barbara kingsolver

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what if...

what if...
today you look at the world from another person's point of view?

what if...
today you say thank you and really mean it?

what if...
today you give someone a compliment?

what if...
today you say hello to a complete stranger?

what if...
today you give your seat on the metro to someone else?

what if...
today you give a stray dog some food or a home?

all of these are small ways you can show someone you care. so why not use today to make a difference in someone else's life?

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monday moment of zen

"it is you that pervades this universe, and this universe exists in you. your true nature is pure consciousness."

--ashtavakra gita (800-400bce), india

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laying low

i know you're probably wondering where i've been lately. during my 40 day yoga challenge i was posting pretty frequently and while i enjoyed that i've decided to take a wee brake. a bit of breathing room perhaps.

i just recently finished "168 hours: you have more time than you think" by laura vanderkam. fabulous book! this week i am keeping a time log. i started it on sunday and will wrap it up tomorrow night. i'm not exactly the best at doing "billable hours" or keeping excellent track of my time but i'm trying to stay ahead of it. or at least the best i can. this will give me a decent idea as to where exactly my time is going.

interested in where your time is going or seeing how you can create a little more time here and there? check out laura's website and print or download a copy of her time management spreadsheet. if you've read this book or kept track of where your time is going i'd love to hear from you.

have a lovely weekend!

hugs & namaste

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monday moment of zen

“when you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. we all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation — it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams.”
~ les brown

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40 days of yoga - day 40

i must say 40 days went by rather quickly! i enjoyed my 40 day yoga challenge immensely.

on my last day, i did a 30 minute practice in our beautiful 'shanti' yoga room at blissblissbliss. it was very apropos that i totally rocked a headstand on my 40th day!! this headstand was better than any of my previous ones. i was able to go up without using the wall and stay up for about 10 breaths. i was super psyched! i also rocked my wheel pose for about 5 breaths and stayed in crow for about 1... still working on that one ;)

what i've learned during my 40 days:

~ i'm a lot stronger than i give myself credit for
~ it takes time & persistence to achieve harder poses
~ it's good to challenge myself - keeps my pitta happy :)
~ having you cheering me on has helped tremendously!! seriously, more than you know!!
~ finding even a 15 minute window of time can sometimes be hard so just do what you can, when you can.
~ your body starts craving yoga the more you do it!
~ it's good for my body, mind & spirit
~ even a few minutes of yoga per day can make a huge difference on your mood & outlook

if you would like to participate in a yoga challenge but haven't the slightest idea where to start, consider joining yoga journal's 21 day yoga challenge that starts january 10th. i'll be joining the challenge as well, we can do it together!

thank you SO much for following along with my yoga challenge & for cheering me on!!

hugs & namaste

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