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Slow Food

How do you interact with your food?

Where do you purchase your vegetables?

Do you turn on your oven or microwave?

Notice the colors on your plate?

Taste the food you chew before you swallow?

Share a meal with your family or turn on the TV?


I have struggled over the past few years with truly savoring my meals. Factors that contributed to my rushed food habits: I used to get home from work and be absolutely STARVING, so the quickest remedy was most frequently fried eggs or a PB & J sandwich. And I live alone, so it always felt silent, weird, and boring to eat without music or television to accompany my meal.

A dear friend who's dining ritual is punctuated with patience and care has suggested that I feed myself like I would feed a guest. She suggested lighting candles and spending more time cooking (finding a rhythm in the preparation and a meditation in the quietness). But I think the truth in my struggle has always been giving myself the permission to relax and enjoy. When I do take the time to carefully prepare my food and then elegantly serve it, I always photograph the meal, perhaps trying to capture the feelings it invoked inside me: the feelings of pleasure and self-care and respect for my body. I have a great respect for my dear friend and for the people who created the Slow Food Movement. I am so thankful for those treasured souls in my life who remind me to nurture myself with food and help me to slow down...

This summer I decided to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program in order to support my local economy. I have tasted new foods (including baby bok choy) and feel empowered by eating local, organic produce. There is something very romantic about picking up my basket of veggies and eggs every Sunday morning, and I am continually mesmerized by the bright colors: green lettuce and red strawberries to name a few.

The more happily and healthily you treat your body, the more fluid and strong your yoga practice will be, right? Just one more reason to slow down and enjoy good eats!

How can you slow down your experiences with food?


Choose love,
Grace

PS I love garlic! Anyone else love garlic?!

Clip, Rip, Glue, Recycle!

I will be leading a Journey Collage class in Cincinnati

at Park and Vine, my favorite green general store,

on May 30, 2009 at 11:00 am.

Please join me!

What you think you create.
What you feel you attract.
What you imagine you become.
-Adele Brasheer

I enthusiastically believe in the law of attraction: your thoughts create your reality. I have manifested my hopes and wishes over the past 10 years with the visual aid of journey collages recycled from old magazines. Seeing the images prompts my subconscious to stay focused on what I truly want. Oprah calls them vision boards, Sarah Van Brethnach calls them illustrated discovery journals, but I call them journey collages because everyone is on their own unique journey of self-discovery and exploration. This is a powerful tool to help you get what you want!

Savasana- a place to pause

A friend new to yoga recently attended a class with me. She commented afterwards that the most challenging part for her was the lying down at the end- savasana. She said the more she tried to relax her face, neck, arms, belly, legs, toes, the more tense and tight she became. The more she tried to trick her body into letting go, the more she became rigid and locked. So her mind analyzed why she was failing at simply lying down, and her thoughts raced around her body in circles, round and round.

I cherish savasana at the end of my yoga practice. But savasana wasn't always so simple for me. I remember when I first started practicing yoga, and I was super fidgety. I didn't feel comfortable on the hard wooden floor. My fingers twitched from all my muscles being pushed to their edge in ways they weren't accustomed to. I kept opening my eyes, afraid I would fall asleep. I remember being more afraid of being still than twisting my body into funny postures!

Why is savasana important? Savasana allows your body to soak up and absorb all the energy you have built and created through your flowing practice. Savasana is a literal place to pause. Savasana is the one time during my day where I can completely release and sink, dissolve, melt into the floor. It is the one time where I give myself permission to be peaceful and be totally present to the moment.

The rest of the time I find my mind buzzing and my body racing from one event to the next. I sometimes spend a portion of my day holding my breath (see? Even yoga teachers are tarnished...). So I crave those moments of silence during savasana, and I enjoy them to the maximum.

I invite you to find the SPACES in your day and savor them. Seek out those moments when time just stops. Allow yourself to be drenched in rest at the end of a yoga practice.

What are your tricks for letting go completely (in savasana or in life in general)?

Choose love,
Grace

Balance

I am fascinated with balance, especially in regards to balancing activities in my life. I am a social butterfly, and lately my life has overflowed with a variety of fun and fulfilling experiences: yoga classes (taught and taken), theater, indy films, art openings, ballet performances, kirtan chanting, massages, and dinners with friends. I choose to surround myself with creative and amazing people and events, but sometimes I get caught up in the swift current of busy-ness. It is a daily practice to live in the moment.

Yoga helps me find balance in my life. It gives me a place to pause and reflect on all the wonderful swirls of love and laughter that fill my life to the brim, or to just settle down and catch my breath. It is super important to focus your drishti (gaze) when standing in balancing postures. In life, having a purpose or guiding compass (a way to focus your inward gaze) will help you to find balance because it will guide your choices to support your values. When choosing to participate in one thing, I am choosing to not participate in something else. Life is all about finding the fine line between busy and bored, entertained and overwhelmed, elated and run down, calm and anxious.

Throughout your yoga practice, I encourage you to find a balance between lifting up and rooting down, inhaling and exhaling, eyes open and eyes closed, strengthening and stretching. There is always an opposite, there is always a choice, and there is always a balance. If you can find that PLACE, you will be immersed in what IS.

How can you use your life purpose to encourage a balanced lifestyle?

Choose LOVE!
Grace

An offering...

I wrote this love letter a few months ago to a kindred spirit, but I was bewildered to discover not long after writing it that I could have easily been writing to myself. And I re-read it from that perspective and was moved to soft tears. I decided to share it with all of you in hopes that you will compose your own letters of love to yourselves....what a beautiful gift...

Dear Love,
You spend a lot of time encouraging, congratulating, and writing love letters to others, and it's now time for someone else to honor you. The first thing that resonated with me is that your personal mantras are so positive and upbeat. You look for the simple things in life to bring you pleasure. You have an adventurous spirit, appreciating the discovery of new places and new cultures. You connect with others so effortlessly, always focusing on the inner beauty first, while suspending judgment. It's so refreshing to see that your family ties are so incredibly strong. You are selfless, always giving and rarely expecting anything in return. You are passionate about nature and remain respectful, knowing that there is much to learn from the wilderness. You practice yoga, which is just plain sexy. You are athletic and physically strong, and you take care of your body by eating organic foods as much as possible and supporting local farmers. You relish flavors and colors as you eat, not letting the art of good cooking escape your taste buds and tummy. The water is one of your best friends, and you soak, splash, float, plunge, and sink until your heart is content. You obviously adore snow because it's just another form of water: snow, snowstorms, flurries, ice, et al. You can't imagine living anywhere without a rainbow of seasons. You are musically talented, and you are kind enough to share this gift with the rest of us. You often find yourself in situations that give you the opportunity to laugh at yourself, and this goofy sense of humor reflects your confidence and charisma. You create work that brings you incredible freedom, self-expression and beauty. You are a healer in your core, making people whole again with a simple smile. You are grateful, always in tune with all the bountiful blessings in your life. But most importantly, you are real: you allow your inner light to shine for the entire world to see, and I find that to be the most attractive quality from this entire list. I would love to spend time with you and get to know you: push you high on a swing until your toes touch the sky, burn marshmallows at a campfire, water ski in a lake with happy alligators, grill corn muffins, road trip with no destination in mind, pick strawberries and stain our hands bright red, sing you a Grace original, explore the Children's Room at the library, take a walk and pick up pennies off the ground, dance outside in a thunderstorm, laugh hysterically until our bellies hurt…and just share in this thing called life. And even if this is the only moment we have: a moment where I am writing and thinking about you, and you are reading and thinking about me; then I am blessed. And I thank you from my heart center for the beautiful reflection.

Love and hugs,
Grace

Inversions

I love being upside down. I've been known to randomly kick up into a handstand in the middle of the sidewalk on Main Street. When I'm upside down, the world looks different. One of my best friends and I used to tell each other "go stand on your head" when we were in a foul mood. When your head is below your heart, you allow oxygenated blood to cleanse and refresh your brain. Serotonin levels, which are your feel-good chemicals, also increase. And there's just something really thrilling about finding the exact spot of balance where you are floating in the air, stable and strong, toes reaching for the clouds.

But lots of beginners have a lot of fear of inversions, which is perfectly normal. The biggest fear is that you'll fall over and hurt yourself. I remember getting so frustrated each time I would topple to the ground. If I was lucky, I could roll out gracefully. But most of the time, I would just crash to the floor in an awkward sideways thud. I know that I'm not making inversions sound very appetizing here, but the reality is that you probably will fall the first few times you try them, and that's ok. I have some suggestions to help get past those awkward beginning moments...

Build your foundation. Get stronger. I recently learned that the key to a good handstand is not necessarily in your shoulders, but in your ABS (engaging uddiyana bandha, or navel lock) and lifting up OUT of your arms. So I have been working to strengthen my tummy, and I'm starting to feel much lighter when I kick up there. We always warm up for forearm balance (Pincha Mayurasana) with a couple dolphins first, to help strengthen our arms and shoulders.

Practice with a wall. Balancing against a wall is an extremely useful tool to help you build up the strength in the appropriate muscle groups to be able to balance comfortably in inversions. It also helps you eliminate some of the fear because you have something there supporting you. It's kind of like using training wheels when you first learned how to ride a bike. You used them initially to get the feeling and build your confidence, and then you eventually took them off and rode solo!

In my opinion, the more you practice, the less scary inversions will be! It's kind of like my philosophy about being a new yoga teacher...the more I teach, the more comfortable I will get! So pick an empty wall in your house, and every time you walk by that wall, lift yourself up into an inversion and breathe...

One last thing: Be sure to rest in child's pose after practicing inversions to help balance out the blood in your head. I don't want anyone passing out from standing up too quickly!

How do you turn your frown upside down when you're in a funk?

Choose love,
Grace

Firsts

Last week I taught my first "real" class at Yoga Ah. I say "real" because I had already taught one class there during my training, but at that time I was being observed by my teacher and hadn't received my certification yet. This time it felt official.

Just me and the students.

I was terrified.

Sweaty palms. Heart racing. Fight or flight response definitely kicking in.

Rather than focusing on my silly blunders here (I said reach for your big FEET instead of big toe and got some chuckles), I am choosing to share with you some important lessons from this first class experience. My very wise friends have steered the all-too-convincing negativity of the gremlin on my shoulder to a healthier and more self-compassionate direction. Here are their simple--but powerful-- suggestions:

*Be yourself!
*Teach what you know (and you know more than you think you know): it doesn't have to be complicated. Less is more. Creativity will come with time.
*It will become less robotic-feeling and more natural with time.
*Have FUN and enjoy yourself.
*Be kind to yourself.

What lessons have you learned from your "firsts"?

Choose to love yourself, even when it's hard...
...especially when it's hard.
Grace

Watch Me Grow

Watch Me Grow

by Mima (Guest Services Dept, Omega 2005)

There's something to be said about

Finding the natural in the uncomfortable

With interactions sparking revelations

In and around monotony

Of the everday

It can be said, life is painful

But here the reality painful or not

Remains--always--delightful.

Breathtaking. Soul-inspiring. Watch me grow.

If I could give in to my feelings of anger,

Jealousy, lust, love, repulsion. If that is

At all possible--it's here my home, my heart,

My mirror.

I can watch the fire die while in me

It burns alive, and smile, and say,

Watch me grow.

I can break a heart or two and have mine

Broken though find a friend in an

Enemy and hate them with only

Sacred intention. Watch me grow, watch me grow,

Watch me grow.

There's something to be said--in this

World of chaos, dead, or dying, amongst

All the unknowns.

There's something to be said

about finding the natural,

finding the whole.

Standing in

It, living through it, and watching ourselves

Grow.

Zen

"The only zen you find on the tops of mountains is the zen you bring up there."
~Robert Pirsig

My Mum, sister Karen, and baby niece Melody flew from NH to OH to visit me this past weekend. It was a delightful whirlwind of baby baths in the kitchen sink, diaper changes, feedings with many, many spoons, and lots and lots of Graeter's ice cream for the grown-ups! It was my niece's first plane ride, and she's only six months old. My first flight was when I was 18, and I chose Paris, France as my destination (daring, yes?). I have loved everything about flying since that first jaunt to Paris: meeting random inspirational people in airports, trying to squeeze into a bathroom stall with a rolling suitcase, take-offs and landings, cocktail napkins with cheesy airline slogans, etc. But my absolute favorite thing is the window of time right after I breeze through security and arrive at my gate and right before my flight starts to board. Those are true moments of zen for me (please note: I always arrive 2 hours early, so this gives me plenty of time to just hang out). The only place I have to be is right where I am. I don't have any responsibilities to distract me like laundry or cleaning. I can just sit back and relax. I often people-watch, and I do a good deal of writing in these moments of presence. The announcements over the loud speaker serve as a lullaby to calm my nervous system. I am usually so jazzed up about flying to wherever I am going that it helps for me to have some down time to pause and reflect on the here and now. We have all experienced these moments at one time or another, and this peace that we discover can be tapped into at any time. The trick is knowing how to access it. I would recommend thinking back to a time when you felt centered and totally in the moment. Connect with your 5 senses to re-create the location, smells, colors, and energy of this moment in your mind. Any time you feel like you need a mini-vacation, you can tap into your inner zen moment without even having to get on a plane!

What are some of your favorite zen moments?

Choose love,
Grace

Savor the Flavor

For New Year's Eve 2009 I savored a scrumptious dinner at my favorite restaurant, Honey. Every time I dine there, the rich flavors of each dish merge together to create a lively party in my mouth. And I am reminded that I want to learn more about spices...

I remember back in my first days living in my first apartment away from home, reading a recipe that called for 1/4 tsp. of dill weed. I was pinching pennies to the max, so I just couldn't rationalize spending 5 bucks for a large jar of spice I might never use again. I brainstormed possible substitutions, but my eventual solution was to creep into my parents' kitchen with a zip lock baggie and capture a dash of dill from my mother's plastic tupperware spice organizer (I think that's as close as I ever came to stealing). But now I am a real grown up, and I have my very own lovely spice collection made of irregular shaped glass bottles and metal tins, alphabetically lined up on a miniature lazy susan in my cupboard.

Piled up next to this swirling spiceland are boxes and boxes of herbal tea. My most recent addition to my tea collection is Numi's Organic White Rose. I first experienced this tea at Honey: before, during, and after that flavorful New Year's Eve meal. I think our server might have tired from bringing me refills on hot water over and over again, but I just couldn't stop myself from drinking more and more. I relished the delicate floral scent, the blushing of the water as it turned slightly pink while steeping, and the genuine taste of love. I was so inspired by this particular flavor that I searched high and low at various grocery stores and gourmet shops to find it. But after much exploration with no success, I let the "buy local" ideal go, and I was prepared to order it online and pay exorbitant shipping costs. It was just then that I discovered the tea as I was casually browsing the grocery section at our brand new super-sized Target, of all places! I couldn't stop smiling as I went through the check out line. The law of attraction came through for me- again!


I also adore lavender-flavored delicacies...lavender lemonade and lavender ice cream are amongst my favorites! Perhaps because lavender has a natural calming effect? Or perhaps because it's so different...


How can you savor the flavor of life?

Choose yummy love,
Grace

Yoga Retreat

Thought I'd spread some yoga luv this weekend with a link to Eric Laurtis' (talented photographer and storyteller) blog entry about his recent yoga adventures in Mexico. He shared a gorgeous slideshow, documenting the glory of sunsets and the beauty of everybody (every-BODY).

What past experience made your heart unexpectedly, blissfully sing?

Remember that experience with all your senses, and feel the bliss again- right now.

Rediscover love,
Grace

Food

Last night was Game Night- a monthly event that I initiated in January to encourage socializing and sharing amongst all my friends. It's a potluck and BYOB scenario, and there are always brownies that get devoured pretty much instantly. I munched on carrot sticks and a delicious vegan cheese dip as my friends eyed me with scrutiny and wonder (probably more of the latter since they ARE my friends!). I sighed and reminded them that I love food just as much as they do. But over the past few years, as I've practiced more and more yoga, I've become incredibly fine-tuned to my body's responses to foods. I prefer to nurture my body with foods that fuel rather than depress. I eat almost totally gluten free (which basically means no wheat products), as little sugar as possible (NO high fructose corn syrup!), and as minimally processed foods as I can. I try to eat organic, too, since I'd rather not eat nasty pesticides. I want to encourage you to think about the food that you ingest and how your body feels after you eat it. Personally, I want to feel alive and energized after eating: not depleted, tired, and irritable (sound familiar?!). My friends tend to take the defensive and insist that they are honest to goodness happier when eating an extra large ice cream sunday. I think the happiness from sweets is only temporary, and in the long run will probably make them gain weight and just have them craving more and more. As I always remind them, life is all about choices. Yes, sometimes it's more expensive or more "work" to eat the way that I choose to. But it's worth it for how amazing I feel!

How do your food choices make you feel?

Choose love!
Grace

PS Two foodie books that I recently borrowed from the library:
"Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes from and Why We Need to Get It Back" and "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto". I'm still reading them, so I can't quite give you a thumbs up or down, but I'm definitely intrigued...

Instant

Starbucks is introducing instant coffee. Phooey. I had a very strong negative reaction to this announcement, even though I am not a coffee drinker. My immediate reaction was frustration with everything in this day and age needing to be fast, convenient, quick, and instantly gratifying.

It's true that companies are catering to a demand for these kinds of products...a demand from the consumer. Our freezer at the office is crammed full of instant lunches that take only a few mintues to heat up in the microwave. Here in Cincinnati they have drive-thrus to purchase beer on-the-go. Fast food joints litter the main streets of our downtowns. My resume proudly boasts that I am an excellent "multi-tasker". Time has been squished into a tiny box, and we feel there is never enough of it.

But doesn't rushing take the joy out of the moment? What are we rushing toward? You can't focus on the present moment when you are constantly hurrying toward the next one. I fondly recall sitting down to dinner with my family every night when I was a child, discussing what we experienced during the day and just SHARING. One of my wishes is that we start to regard time as a friend, instead of an enemy.

When was the last time you ate dinner with your loved ones at the dining room table?

Choose love,

Grace

Joyful Abundance

My sister recently commented on my blog posting and asked me to write about "finding a balance between saving money and enjoying/living life to the fullest!" Here you go, Karen!

The consciousness and self-awareness books and information that I've read lately reiterate the same idea over and over again: You can have anything your heart desires! It is only your belief that you can't have it that holds you back from getting what you want. In simple terms, it's all in your head. I'm in no way implying that you are crazy for thinking you need to save money. Obviously, it's hard to live from a place of abundance if you are living "paycheck to paycheck" or just scraping by financially, but the fact of the matter is, the more you think about being poor, the more poor you will become. It's a simple cycle governed by the natural laws of the universe.

So I would rephrase Karen's question about finding balance between frugality and joy to be: "How can I change how I think about money in order to support the lifestyle that I desire?" I have a few ideas for you.

First, be grateful for what you already have. This helps you to experience life from a place of abundance, rather than a place of lack. Next, trust that there is plenty of abundance for everyone (more than enough to go around!), so there is no need to hoard what you do have (which links back to my blog about giving). Another important piece of this equation is defining the word "expensive". People often place different definitions on the same word. Perhaps you can change the word "expensive" to something like "valuable". This slight change in adjective shifts the meaning from "financially unreachable" to "something important to me that would be worthwhile to invest in." Then you could do a visualization or meditation on how it would feel to actually HAVE the thing that you want. The energy that you bring to the surface when you do this will create more abundance in this area. I also love creating discovery collages to help guide my subconscious thoughts toward my desired outcome. I have found them to be incredibly effective ways of manifesting my dreams. I created a collage before my yoga teacher training that has truly inspired me along the way. So cut out images of the things you want, glue them to a piece of paper, and hang it in a place where you can look at it all the time. Feel like those things are ALREADY YOURS. Say thank you. And let the magic unfold...

What language can you change to bring you closer to abundance?

Choose love,
Grace

Happy Baby!

My sister snapped these photos of my darling 5 mo. old niece, Melody, almost practicing her first yoga pose...awww...

Sole Searching

I was waiting in line at Panera bread, and I noticed the guy in front of me was wearing Dansko crocs. I asked him how he liked the them, and he replied that he can't live without them. He's on his feet all day, he told me. I modeled my Earth shoes (which use negative heel technology to straighten your spine & strengthen your leg and core muscles) for him and told him how much I love their support and comfort.

Many years ago I had a chiropractor warn me to stay away from high heels because they lead to knee and back problems. Honestly, I couldn't walk in heels anyway, so it wasn't much of a sacrifice to give them up. But I remember my first job in a corporate office, where our dress code was "business attire", and my fellow female co-workers donned power suits, thick make-up, and...you guessed it...pointy high heels. I remember agonizing over the fact that I wanted to fit in so badly, but couldn't find any heels that were comfortable (which in my vocabulary means they simulate what it would feel like to walk on a cloud). I thought that if I didn't find some snazzy, feminine footwear, I would stand out like I sore thumb. I endured many self-inflicted frustrating excursions to shoe stores like Parade of Shoes and The Shoe Factory, where I always left empty handed.

In the midst of my searching, I came across an article about being true to yourself- and the fact of the matter hit me like a ton of bricks. The article delicately reminded me that being yourself is supposed to be easy, so if what you're doing doesn't feel comfortable and good, it's probably not a reflection of who you are. I do not feel good when my toes are squished together and start to go numb after 2 minutes from loss of circulation. This neverending struggle/battle to squeeze myself into this mental image of a corporate businesswoman was leaving me feeling miserable and depleted. When I made this discovery, I decided to let the mental image go. So I went out and bought myself a pair of cute black flats and couldn't stop beeming all day long from the relief I felt at embracing my inner truth.

This shoe lesson brought me one step closer to achieving santosa, or mental ease. Santosa is contentment with your self, a part of the 2nd limb (niyamas- self observations) of Ashtanga Yoga. You know how people offer up "Cheers!" when raising glasses high for a toast? I want to recommend a new word to say when toasting: "Santosa!" May you find comfort within yourself and be grateful for all the bountiful blessings in your life.

What healthy change can you make today to bring you more inner peace?

And on a slightly comic (but serious) note: What are your favorite brands of comfy shoes?!

Choose love,
Grace

Gumby

There are two common responses I get from people that have never practiced yoga when I suggest that they try it:

1- I'm not flexible.
2- It looks boring.

Please allow me to try to dispell these false ideas...

There's a myth that yoga is only for people with super flexible and bendy bodies- that's because the images of the great yoga masters (gurus) that brought yoga to the West are usually ones where they've twisted themselves into tight, frightening-looking pretzels. But you don't have to be GUMBY to practice yoga. The only thing you have to be when practicing yoga is YOURSELF. You have to be willing to work with your body exactly the way it is. I have tight hips, and I can't sit in lotus position comfortably, but I still do yoga! I trust in the process and know that over time, my hips will probably loosen up. And if they don't, that's ok, too. It doesn't matter. There is nowhere to "get to" in yoga. That's why we call it a "practice."

We live in a world of constant stimulation and activity where multi-tasking is an important skill and stress is an expectation of everday life. So when you put someone new to yoga in an empty room on a mat, ask them to focus on their breath, and start to stretch out all the tight places in their bodies, feelings of panic may rise to the surface. This space and silence is not familiar and certainly not comfortable! The urge to "DO something" bubbles up. But this process of finding your flow as you move and breathe is anything but boring. And the beauty of yoga is that you take it to whatever level you want to. There are many modifications for each pose, so you can uncover as much challenge as you desire!

So maybe now when you hear the word "yoga," you won't be so quick to write it off. Try it before you make a decision. Be open to the possiblities!

How flexible are your thoughts on trying new things?

Choose to love yourself,

Grace

Light

I taught my first yoga class on Tuesday night! It was both terrifying and exhilerating. I chose to weave a theme about light into my script for the evening. This was my introduction:

*************
Close your eyes, and visualize a small, glowing ball of light at the center of your being. It's about the size of a tennis ball, and it can be white or any color of your choosing. This light symbolizes love, space, comfort, peace and any other intention you may have for your practice. Now visualize the ball expanding to double its' size. As you move and breathe today, allow the ball of light to spread throughout your whole body. If you are struggling in a pose, breathe light into any areas of discomfort. Trust in your light. Be grateful for your light.

*************
Our inner energy, spirit, soul (whatever word you'd like to use to define the center of our being) is always accessible to guide and support us.

"...We do not need to bring our real Self, our higher Self, into existence. It has always been there, yearning to be out. An incomparable spark of divinity is to be found in the heart of each human being, waiting to radiate love and wisdom everywhere, because that is its nature. Amazing!" -- Eknath Easwaran (from "Timeless Wisdom")

We proclaim "Namaste" at the end of every class, which can be translated as: the divine light in me honors the divine light in you.

How can you share your radiant light with others today?

Generosity

With the sinking economy, I think it's the perfect time to discuss giving money away! Yes, you read that statement correctly. Give, give, give! My parents programmed the importance of giving into my psyche at a very young age. I remember having a special piggy bank for the money that I would drop into the collection basket every Sunday at church. I am very thankful that I learned the importance of this lesson early on, but I am also very aware that it's not always easy to give money away as an adult with "big" responsibilities. I will admit that financial stresses tend to be one of the biggest ongoing challenges that I face. How we deal with money is a huge topic with lots of emotional undertones, so today I just want to focus on the concept of sharing. If money troubles seem to follow you around everywhere, leaving you anxious and depleted, start to give a little away. I totally understand that it's hard to think about contributing money to someone else when you feel as if you don't have enough for yourself. And I'm not suggesting that you completely drain your bank account. But when you tithe (specifically defined as giving one tenth of your income away) voluntarily and with a happy heart, the abundance will boomerang back to you multiplied. It may not be in the form of cold, hard cash, but you will be showered with blessings in ways you may never expect. It helps to give money to an organization that supports your values. Taking care of the earth is important to me, so I often make donations to groups like the Sierra Club. Or you can start on a smaller scale (but still of great value) and buy lunch for a friend. Throw some loose change into the guitar case of the dude on the corner that sings his heart out every day downtown. There are countless ways to spread the green love around...

Who will you give to today?

Choose love,
Grace

PS I read somewhere recently that there is a yoga studio in California where there is no charge for classes! They work on a "give what you can" system. This can be quite a balancing act when your business is your livelihood, but this dude has made it work, and in my book, he's a rockstar!