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Archive for July, 2010

Stattvic life style

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Yoga isn’t just about exercise.  It is a way of life for many like myself.  Yoga is not only good for the body but also calms the mind and connects us with our soul.  Through yoga, you can achieve the senses of love, happiness and peace.  Yoga is connected to many other practices such as meditation and Pilates.  It is also connected to the practice of ayurveda, a form of holistic healing.  This practice has the traditional roots in India.

Ayurveda has three main qualities.  The first one is tamas, which is when the mind and body become overtired, unenergized and unmotivated.  This can cause chronic ailments, depression and overeating.  The middle quality is rajas, which is the over-stimulation of the mind and body, which can cause physical and mental stress.  The third type, sattva, is the goal sought by ayurveda, an equal balance of rajas and tamas.  Yogis believe that our bodies are temples that should be fueled with healthy foods, peaceful activities and acquiring the qualities to give us that healthy balance in life.  A person’s lifestyle and diet truly affects their state of mind.  To achieve the equal state between mind and body a yogi practices the traits of being kind, helpful, patient, tolerant, generous and selfless.  In the practice of sattvic the following activities are enjoyed: calming meditation, reading literature, playing games and listening to peaceful music.

In the ayurveda practice, what we eat truly affects us on the inside as well as the outside.  In order to keep an equal balance in our mind and body calming whole foods are eaten such as fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, beans and nuts.  Avoid processed and packaged foods and junk food because too much of it can clutter our minds and bodies.  The main goal is to find a healthy balance between all three qualities to lead us to be happy and healthy with ourselves.

In the end, we will have achieved peace of mind, health, strength and immunity from negative aspects of our lives.  Whenever I read and research any topic from yoga to health and spirituality, I take what I learned and apply it to my life to grow in many ways.  I do not believe in following everything to the letter; rather, I modify it to how I want to live my life.  Part of being a yogi is discovering and finding your own spiritual path to love and happiness in life because it is your own personal choice.

forgiveness

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

At some time in our lives we have experienced anger and hurt feelings.  It is not healthy to keep these emotions bottled up since it creates negative energy.  Being a firm believer that we can only flourish in a postive energy environment, I am always working on removing any negative aspects from my life.

In yoga, we practice and feel compassion in our daily lives.  Yoga also teaches us to forgive, to continue living in the present instead of the past.  Recognizing and feeling your emotions while moving into a compassionate state can accomplish this.  From this state, you can use your positive action to experience personal growth.

When we feel anger and hurt, we often don’t know what to do with these emotions.  We can use yoga and meditation to work through these emotions.  The first step is to tell the story on how the anger and hurt came to be.  Then we must recognize and acknowledge our feelings and accept that we may never be able to completely resolve these feelings.  The next step is to determine what price you are paying by holding onto the grudge and determine if it is worth it.  We must accept that we are the only ones that can change our attitude and feelings.  While breathing in and out, look inside yourself for guidance and forgiveness while paying attention to what your heart says.

Keeping a journal of the process is an excellent tool to gain positive insight on this experience.  I have always believed that once you write down a painful incident you can turn the page and move on.  This practice can give us the peace we need in order to move forward into a positive place.  Just like everything else in life, this process is challenging and requires a lot of practice, focus and drive to reach your goal of letting the negative energy go.

Bella Life

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

I will admit it I am web surfer addict I am always coming across interesting websites one being Bella life. It is a great website for women to add color to their life. The site covers a wide range of topics from health, beauty to self-improvement. I had an opportunity to speak with the creator Nitika Chopera about Bella Life. Her goal and passion is to inspire is to inspire people to embrace love and happiness in every moment. Niitika has experience life in many ways from writing, acting to being a life coach.  Bella life is a stepping stone in achieving her goal of hosting her own talk show to inspire women every where to live their best life. Check out the site at yourbellalife.com

Self Determination

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Self-determination is defined as having the skills and knowledgebase to look forward with plans in mind to attain their goals and make their dreams happen.  In order to have self-determination you must understand and know your strengths while accepting your limitations in life.  Once you have this understanding, you can start believing in yourself and believing that you can do anything that you put your mind to.

Self-determination is very important to an individual with disabilities for several reasons.  The first one is overcoming barriers because it takes a strong conviction to break through them.  Secondly, on an everyday basis people with disabilities have to deal with stigmas and misconceptions.  Due to that, they are always having to prove themselves and show that despite their disability, they have the same ability to reach goals as everyone else.

There are many ways to build self-determination.  The first one is to explore what your options and interests are.  After reflection you focus in on what you want out of life and plan a strategy on how to achieve it.  It is also important to have good advocacy skills to help you fight for and win what you want.

Having strong self-determination can help build a strong, positive self-esteem while giving oneself confidence in their abilities and help them see what they can achieve.  I believe all of my success from school to being a columnist to a disability advocate comes from having a strong determination that allows me to believe that you can do anything you put your mind to.  Every day is filled with exciting new possibilities waiting to be discovered.  That is what keeps my life exciting and fun.

Creative Expression

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

I have always been very creative exploring new activities.  Creativity is the ability or power to create through originality, expressiveness and imaginatively.  There are many benefits to practicing creativity.  I think the greatest benefit is to have fun and enjoy what you’re doing.  Doing a creative project can be very relaxing and great for releasing stress.  There also some other very positive aspects of being creative, such as improving problem solving skills, exploring new ideas and expressing yourself.  I always enjoy the challenge of finding new ways to do things and experimenting with new solutions.

Over the years I used my creativity and curiosity to explore and try a variety of activities.  Creativity can be expressed in many ways.  A good example is playing music since it expresses how we feel on the inside.  I have tried to play the piano, the clarinet and guitar.  Even though I found it difficult to read the sheet music and push the correct keys on the instruments I still enjoyed those experiences.  Dancing is another good way to express your creativity.  Whenever I hear music I always move to beat expressing the fun dancing has to offer.  Over the years I have taken ballet classes even with my poor balance and stiff joints. Since I enjoyed ballet so much I would just repeat the beginner class.  I also tried to be creative by doing needlepoint but had to give it up due to eye strain headaches.  Over the years I have taken art classes like stenciling and designing t-shirts to explore my creative ability.  Today I foster my creativity through photography, drawing and journaling. So my advice is to use your creativity to find a hidden talent, take up an exciting hobby and learn something new.  More importantly have fun in life.

Dealing with feelings

Monday, July 5th, 2010

All feelings are natural and should be allowed to flow through your mind and mind. I use meditation to sit and feel what isGoing through my mind and body. Then I move into my yoga practice where my feelings are released through my breath and yoga poses. I have also found journaling and sketching a great way to release and see my feelings. We all experience different emotions every day it is what we do with them that counts. For more on feelings visit

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