As I sat in meditation this morning, I looked at my vision board and searched for the pain in my body and the answers to the questions I had been asking. What is the magical factor in yoga, and what do I want to share with my readers to help them realize that they can and should do yoga? The magical factor in yoga is the connection with the divine presence within you. So many people are afraid to connect with anything spiritual. Ask people to share their spiritual experiences, and you’ll find that not many want to share. I’m unsure how, but we have become a society void of connection with the spirit that drives us. Maybe we are so distracted with our busy lives, our lives of staring at the screen, that we have covered the light trying to shine through.
Most people think of the poses or physical movements as yoga. I admit that when I searched for answers to my physical pain back in 2012, I thought of the movement of yoga as the healing factor. When I had a healing experience with yoga in 2017, again, I thought it was the movement. After studying ancient yoga, I’ve realized that the movements may not have had anything to do with the healing. The pain was my awakening to my spirit that wanted to be seen, heard, and nurtured. Yoga was the path to awakening my body, breath, and consciousness to my divine presence.
As you read this blog, you will see the discovery unfold. When you read the real-life stories of how yoga impacted the people, I hope you will awaken that divine connection within you. You already have the spirit within you. It’s there waiting for you; it is you. You are the magical factor in yoga, the healing power and strength to go through daily life awake and present.
Namaste: The divine light in me sees the divine light in you.

Listen as Dr. Lisa Clow, and Dr. LindaJoy Rose share their spiritual wellness journey and the Certification Course through the Natural Wellness Academy. The Natural Wellness Academy has the latest generation of wellness coaching in Cannabis, Holistic Health, and Hypnotherapy, inspiring clients through practical know-how, dynamic strategies for Mind Mastery, powerful demonstration skills, and cutting-edge coaching techniques.

https://www.naturalwellnessacademy.org/

https://www.naturalwellnessacademy.org/downloads/a-year-of-positive-habits-the-21-day-secret-to-changing-your-life-e-book/
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​Listen to Dana and Shana Robinson as they share about their path to Shamanism. They describe Shamanic Journeying, power animals, and Michael Harner's Core Shamanic practices. The Robinsons share how Shamanism can help others develop spiritual practices that improve well-being, and Dr. Lisa Clow shares her experiences during Robinson's workshops.
Click the links below for more information:
https://www.shamantracks.com/
https://shamanism.org/
Their books:
Shamanism & the Spirit Mate: Shana Robinson, Dana Robinson: 9780983443872: Amazon.com: Books

Terra Signs: Robinson, Shana: 9780990350033: Amazon.com: Books

​A Shamanic Altar: Robinson, Philip Dana: 9780990350057: Amazon.com: Books

​Sky Tide: Robinson, Dana, Robinson, Shana, Redman, Matt: 9781676848615: Amazon.com: Books
 
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Listen as Dr. Lori shares her healing journey from childhood sexual abuse and other trauma in her life. She shares how physical and emotional pain led to opioid dependency and the steps she took to get back to a healthy and happy life.

Resources for Sexual Abuse Survivors and those looking for help with trauma and healing
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https://www.rainn.org/  for victims of sexual violence/abuse
 
https://www.musictherapy.org/  for folks to read more about music therapy
 
https://www.nacsw.net/  for those interested in the awesome sport of canine scent work and bonding with your dog
 
https://www.awakeningstreatment.com/blog/  this is a good blog from a treatment enter but deals with pain/trauma connections
 
https://www.talkspace.com/  talk space is an app that could be helpful for those people that are interested in finding help

Listen as Steve Lingo shares his journey of deciding to move to another country and how he learned to take calculated free falls to bring more joy to his life.
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Bacalar Boat and Board


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Dave Wirick shares his journey of rebirth when he stopped living a lie and started living real life. Listen about how he found the courage to come out as a gay man with support from God and his community of friends. 
For more information on how you can connect, get help, and grow a community that supports LGBTQ check out these resources

​www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth-resources.htm?fbclid=IwAR1lIpFuq98ka2UjvX3xu1Ia1RMz10GSRqY5B-hiLm_e5GSZrUIwvrkPRpU 
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https://www.familyequality.org/resources/facts-about-lgbtq-families/?gclid=CjwKCAjwtIaVBhBkEiwAsr7-c8BiO9KlXHuuOPKQs9ak1zVuX8ZXCMBuD3_uY8BtoKNEAT1nhQh_URoCiz4QAvD_BwE&fbclid=IwAR1ctH3G6rOCvgFlKOtKSiVkUMr5kLSrt9W_rnQkjvMJPGEXULE7PhFFJno​

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/tips-for-parents-of-lgbtq-youth?fbclid=IwAR1nrDJ-VOZbo8WcJcY96U0IG7b_aj-Ec1lPhCF0yjn1W6uMBlcmS2nmAP4
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​https://www.paparentandfamilyalliance.org/lgbtqia-family-resources?gclid=CjwKCAjwtIaVBhBkEiwAsr7-c_AFFptpnVo_xh6lvhuYrhPBLuxw3aMavWlh7i52XbOdJevNikv6PBoCnagQAvD_BwE&fbclid=IwAR1qmJs7L5b7IS4Nb2gr2Ndhwlt61wMkb1-eGOAZNfuECFa1ngel48PbZVI​

Have you ever had an injury to one of your joints? Let's say you have a knee injury, and your knee swells up.  You may have a hard time walking up and down the steps because your knee doesn't bend as it should; you're not as agile or as flexible. Another example of physical inflammation could be a time when you ate a lot of salty food, and the next day you feel it in your hands and feet. Physical inflammation keeps us from doing things we usually do, makes us inflexible, and is the root cause of many chronic diseases.

Emotional inflammation is similar in that we are unable to be emotionally agile or move from a negative emotion to the positive. As an example, if you see a group of friends walking down the street together laughing, instead of feeling joy, you might think dark thoughts about them spreading COVID 19 to each other. If you are at the ocean, and instead of feeling the pleasure of being in nature, you feel dread due to the threat of climate change and the rising seas, you might have emotional inflammation.

Other symptoms of emotional inflammation can include being unable to sleep, unable to wake up from sleep, scrambling from one thing to another, anxiety, and depression. Many times, we can't pinpoint what got us to that space, but we know that the pace of our world today has changed from the past. TV and media are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our cell phones ping, ding, and buzz at any moment to get our attention. We have guidelines for how quickly we should respond to an email or text message fueled by our culture's "right now" demands. We are continuously bombarded with news about the pandemic, climate change, violence in our society, political issues, racial discrimination, and our lack of freedom these days. Our inability to think positively about our world and the future of our community is another example of emotional inflammation.
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So what can we do if we have emotional inflammation? The first thing is to practice self-compassion. As restrictions lift and businesses open, we are trying to find our new normal; let's try not to expect so much from ourselves. Maybe we shouldn't try and re-invent the wheel with a hard stop deadline. Instead, adopt more manageable expectations that you feel comfortable with, taking baby steps. We can also acknowledge that we're beings that live within nature. Instead of staying up late at night, staring at screens all day, eating junk food, and filling our minds with junk media, we could start reconnecting with the patterns of behavior that our body and mind crave. Below is a shortlist of ways to respond to emotional inflammation. Pick what works for you. The important part is recognizing the triggers, adjusting to the new normal with some old ways of living and thinking, and living in self-compassion.

1. Practice umbrella breathing
2. Think of 3 to 5 things you are grateful for each day
3. Reconnect with the circadian rhythms of the earth
4. Talk with a trusted friend about your feelings
5. Reduce the amount of processed food and drinks in your diet, or eliminate them.
6. Move more, even if it is to get up and walk around a few minutes each hour
7. Recognize shifts in your mood and think about what triggered the change to increase rational thinking

Reference:
Emotional Inflammation: Discover Your Triggers and Reclaim Your Equilibrium During Anxious Times by Lise Van Susteren and Stacey Colino

​So, you're an online teacher now…
Has this statement been messing with your head? Did the transition from "classroom guru" to "online who" give you whiplash? If lately, you've been wondering who you are, you're not alone. When you meet someone new and introduce yourself, what do you say? Many times, we lead with our profession, and that gives us a sense of stability. But is that what we should do? Are we most importantly a teacher, a mother, a father, a Ph.D., or is there something else we could say that is better for our well-being?
What will happen when you retire? Hi, I'm (insert name here), I'm a retired teacher. In the book, The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself, Michael Singer explores our source of self and who we believe we are. In a word, he defines the self as consciousness. But since most of us aren't best buddies with Deepak Chopra or have spent time in a Tibetan monastery, lets paddle back from the deep into the shallows just a bit.
Maybe when you introduce yourself, you lead with your belief system, I'm a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew. That is a description of your faith and may explain some of your actions, but not all of them. The Center for American Progress stated that your zip code is the number one predictor of your success in achieving the American Dream. Public health scholars say your zip code is more relevant to your health than your genetics. So, are we where we live? We can all think of examples of people that grew up in less than ideal circumstances and achieved greatness. They didn't let the environment define them.
So how do you define you? Maybe instead of saying, I am my consciousness (and blow everyone's mind); we can use mindset to identify us. According to Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck having a growth mindset can get you past any hurdle. A growth mindset is a continuous learning process. An example could be someone that is facing challenges and continues to pursue the goal despite the difficulty and effort required. Those with a growth mindset have higher levels of achievement because they learn from criticism and are motivated by others' success.
Right now, say to yourself, "I'm a continuous learner." How did that make you feel? What thoughts bubble up? Did you get a glimmer of self-compassion and feel a bit kinder to yourself? Feel free to leave comments below.

My childhood home in the city of Pittsburgh. The arrow points to my bedroom window where I watched the world go by.

When one talks about financial wellbeing many times, we think about money. But according to Dr. Suzie Carmack, we can think about financial wellbeing in the categories of time, talents, and treasures. When we think about how we spend our time, we should consider all of the dimensions of wellbeing:  emotional, purpose, mental, financial, and physical. Our talents could be hobbies that we've developed work skills and life skills. Treasures don't necessarily mean money; they could be what you hold close to your heart or what's important to you. 
If we consider the past five weeks and the time that we've spent, how much time have you spent on things that are important to you? Although we are working from home and we have office hours, are we investing in ourselves? Is there a balance between what we need to do today and the priorities in the future?
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CSFP), no matter how much income you make, you can experience Financial wellbeing. CFPS said Financial Wellness is a highly personal state of being where there's a balance between the freedom of doing what you enjoy and being able to pay the bills as well as handle Financial crises.  So when you consider financial wellness, you can ask yourself the question, "Have I felt financially secure?". We can ask ourselves, "Am I investing in myself, spending time doing things that are important to me, and balancing that with giving back to the community?
Being a permaculturalist, I think about the cycles of the Earth, including the hourly, weekly, monthly, and yearly cycles of the seasons.  I consider the Earth's trip around the Sun and how that affects daylight, the temperature, how I grow food, and how I take care of my flock. In my schedule, I also consider the season of life. When I was younger, I spent my time differently than now.
So what's your vision for your financial wellness? If you made a chart listing time spent, talents, and treasures, is there a balance? Are you spending more time on things that don't make you happy? Or maybe you're spending time doing those things so that later on in life you'll have financial security. 
Time-space bridging is a three breath meditation that's easy to do and might help you set your vision for your financial wellness. On the first breath, feel the breath going in through the nose and out through the nose. On the second breath, focus your eyes on a single point in the room. On the third breath, expand your vision to a panoramic view.  In yoga, we say to soften the gaze. In your panoramic view, envision what you want in your future.
Interestingly, sometimes we see different things than what we thought. As an example, a woman in my yoga class thought her career was most important, a treasure that would take her to a different area of the country. But when she did the time-space bridging, what she saw was being close to family. Time-space bridging can help you develop your vision or what you want in your future. From that point, you can make a plan for how to increase your treasures by investing time in yourself and developing your talents.


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