This week I’m taking my own advice and slowing down a {tiny} bit to restore, rest, and respect the seasonal shift from Winter to Spring.

Though the actual equinox since passed, the weather has finally shifted from cool to warm for us here in Central Florida, making this week the ideal time to hit the inner reset button.  

I draw my seasonal cleanses from the wisdom of Ayurveda, the ancient system of well-being from which yoga evolved. 

Like most common sense wisdom traditions, Ayurveda recommends cleansing {‘detoxing’} by eating light, seasonal foods, reducing  your intake of processed foods and animal products, and limiting your intake of other substances {caffeine, sugar, alchohol}.

Let me be clear, though, a cleanse is a designated time to let your body recharge. Think of it like a vacation rather than a punishment. Adjust the length of your cleanse to accommodate your life: try to work less and create more time for restive practices like meditation, conscious breathing,reflection, and yin yoga. 

Unlike harsh fasts or detox diets, during a seasonal cleanse, you eat a simple meal of Kitchari, a bean and grain dish cooked with spices and seasonal vegetables. And whenever possible, you cleanse at the change of the seasons, allowing your body to release any energetic excesses from the previous season. Although there are 4 seasons, Ayurveda frames these transitions in terms of the three doshas {similar to the Greek humors} that govern the seasons.

Kapha :: a combination of WATER + EARTH :: governs Winter + Spring

Pitta :: a combination of FIRE + WATER :: governs Summer

Vata :: a combination of AIR + ETHER :: governs Fall

As the human body is also a combination of the 5 elements, the 3 doshas are present in each of us in a unique ratio, called our prakriti {or constitution}. Regardless of our prakriti, however, we cleanse the dosha from the previous season during our seasonal cleanses.  As we are leaving Winter and coming into Spring, we will cleanse Kapha. What this means from a ‘food’ or dietary perspective is eating light meals with pungent, bitter, and astringent vegetables: broccoli, asparagus, ginger, garlic, onions, dark greens.  For the Springtime cleanse, you can prepare the Kitchari below, adding in warming spices such as cinnamon, clove, ginger, chili pepper, turmeric, and cardamom.

BASIC KITCHARI:

INGREDIENTS
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup mung dal {split mung beans} OR red lentils OR split peas
1/2 tbsp ghee or sesame oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds {increase Pitta but helps digestion}
1/4 tsp hing
1/2 inch ginger, finely chopped {good for calming Vata and Kapha but can aggravate Pitta: avoid this in the summer}
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chili powder {helpful for stimulating Kapha but can aggravate Pitta}
4-6 cups water*

*6 cups water makes a porridge-like consistency

DIRECTIONS
Combine rice and dal together in large mixing bowl and rinse several times under running water: drain. Alternately, rinse dal first then combine with rice.

Warm ghee over medium heat in a medium saucepan. When warmed, add your seeds and spices stirring continually until seeds pop. Then add chopped ginger, any other whole spices, and onion {if using}, sauté 30 seconds.

Add reserved rice and dal, turmeric, salt and chili powder. Mix in gently.

Add water and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover saucepan, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer undisturbed until tender, about 30 minutes {If you’re adding vegetables, add them at this step then cook for an additional 15 minutes}.

Remove from heat and fluff with a fork before serving.

Enjoy hot.

For a more specific WINTER/SPRING KICHARI, take liberties with the following options::

KICHARI FOR CLEARING KAPHA :: 

GRAIN: use quinoa or barley

BEAN: mung dal OR split peas OR red lentils

SPICES: turmeric, cinnamon, clove, cumin, fenugreek, burdock root, fresh garlic, fresh ginger root

OIL: sunflower oil.

VEGGIES: onion, parsnip, fresh grated radishes, beets, asparagus, beet greens, dandelion greens, fresh chili peppers, cabbage or broccoli.

If you’d like to join me in this Springtime Kapha Cleanse, please do! Reserve 1-3 days for your restive cleanse, drink plenty of herbal teas, cut out caffeine, processed foods, dairy, and other substances. 

The post Springtime Cleanse to Clear Toxins and Hit your Reset Button appeared first on Kellie Adkins.

Whether you’re  a veteran practitioner or a newbie yogini, a home practice is the most effective way to cultivate the lifelong use of yoga as therapy. Even if you practice 5 times a week, it’s rare that each and every class will address your body’s particular needs. Each of us has yoga hOMework: poses or approaches to poses that suit our unique bodies by addressing our neuromusculular habits and restore balance to our asymmetries. Furthermore, our needs change as we pass through stages of life and changes of season.

Throughout the last 15 years of my practice, a home practice has played an starring role in my approach to yoga. With the exception of a few years in graduate school and the years I had my own studio, I haven’t had consistent access to convenient, safe yoga classes with qualified teachers. Even if you do have access to regular, convenient yoga classes where you live, eventually the need for a home practice will be made clear: whether from an injury, an illness that prevents you from making it to your favorite class, or a change of life situation {like becoming a new mommy!}, that puts new demands on your free time. Taking steps toward a nourishing solo home practice will bolster your studio practice tremendously, too. It’s only through dedicated attention to our own unique body, with it’s asymmetric movement patterns and habitual tendencies, that we can fully invite more balance into our daily lives and reduce the potential for injury in our practice.

As a veteran to the home practice and all it comes with –particulary excuses NOT to practice and the many distractions — I’ve come up with a few of my best tips to keep rolling out the mat.

1. the WHY :: Keep your motivation front and center to vanquish the inevitable distractions.

Everything about your home practice stems from this question. If you have a regular studio practice, you have a Big WHY for that practice; it might include access to a yoga community, support from and for your favorite teacher, the opportunity to be in a sacred space dedicated to the practice, and indulging in a little “you time.” Where most of us get hung up on the home practice is identifying our Home Practice Big WHY: chances are, this is a completely different Why than your studio practice. It takes a bit more thought to determine your Big Why for a home practice, but there are many reasons, some of which I name below, for developing a home practice: you just have to choose one that accurately identifies your personal motivation. My own Big Why for my home practice is #1 :: to be a better wife and mommy and #2 :: to address my own particular lifestyle imbalances, to reinforce my intentions for this life, and to cultivate more space and ease: both in my physical body and in my mind. Because of this, I choose to formally practice twice daily, and to close each day with a brief meditation. You see how this Why helps me determine everything else about my practice: the When, the How, the Where, and the What.

2. the WHERE :: Choose an area for your practice.

Take a critical eye to your home’s layout and investigate the most convenient, less time-intensive spot to clear for your regular practice. If you don’t have enough space to always keep your mat down {I certainly don’t!}, then try to keep the surrounding area as clutter-free as possible and to store your mat in plain sight nearby. In my home, this is a small area of my living room that is just large enough for my mat. It faces a window looking out to the lake and gets filtered light in the afternoon, the time I reserve for my postural practice. For my morning practice –a quiet blend of yin yoga and meditation– I chose a small area of my office facing east, that provides me with early morning light.

3. the WHEN :: Decide when you are going to practice.

And stick to it. Schedule it in on your calendar and STICK TO IT even if you have to stop in the middle of something, or turn your cell phone off, or hire a babysitter for that length of time. Dedication is one of the four D’s of yoga :: sticking to your schedule is part of this D and is imperative. The Yoga Sutras tell us that only after a dedicated practice, for a long time, will we begin to truly reap the rewards of yoga. And sticking to our practice –committing to it– is merely an expression, to ourself, that it is a priority in our lives. Many of us have unrealistic expectations for ourselves when it comes to a home practice and we shoot ourselves in the foot, so to speak, by setting up parameters for our home practice based on others’ expectations, recommendations, and dogmatic assertions. I’m an excellent example of this because for many years, like a good Ashtangi, I tried to wake up at 5:30 am, get on my mat for 90 minutes, and then begin my day. Although I love mornings, I prefer a softer awakening than 90 minutes of sweaty Vinyasa. My body resisted and I didn’t listen. I continued a vigorous practice –in fits and starts– first thing in the morning and right out of bed, even though I knew it didn’t fit my needs. I struggled against my own tendencies for YEARS until I realized that it’s OK for me to begin my day with meditation, Yin yoga, and a nature walk for cardio. My love for a vinyasa practice doesn’t diminish –nor does the efficacy of the practice–when that practice happens at 3 pm instead of 6 am.

4. the HOW LONG :: Decide how long you will practice.

Again, it’s important to consider your time constraints realistically when committing to a home practice. Set yourself up for success by starting small if you are just beginning: for example, a 10 minute meditation if you are just beginning is much easier to successfully complete than a full hour. And each successive success will reinforce your committment, thus making each practice goal easier to attain. Allocating 30 minutes for a posture practice is certainly a small period of time for a full practice, but it’s plenty of time to do your yoga hOMework. If you already have a thriving home practice in one area {yin, meditation, conscious breathing, vinyasa}, try adding a short practice of another type. In other words, if you are a dedicated Vinyasa practitioner but have never tried to cultivate a sitting meditation practice, consider adding a length of time before or after your postures to balance your current practice. Or, do what I do ~ a 30 minute sadhana of Yin yoga and meditation in the morning just upon waking and a 45 minute afternoon Vinyasa practice. The most important thing to remember when deciding how long your will practice is making it reasonable {and therefore, achievable} while keeping it long enough to be meaningful.

5. the WHAT :: Decide what you will do in your practice.

Some of you will be very comfortable rolling out your mat, stepping onto it, and beginning to flow. Others of you will prefer devising a systematic approach to what you need each day based on how your body feels. The best kind of home practice is the one you will do! So, do what feels most natural while resisting the temptation to make it a mindless, rote, and merely dutiful. Keep your practice lively, seasonal, and appropriate for your body type and stage of life. Ultimately, this is the kind of practice that yields the most obvious immediate and long-term benefits.

6. the BACK UP PLAN :: Set up a non-negotiable Back Up Plan Practice for those days when you’ve lost your motivation.

Using your yoga hOMework and your Big Why, develop a series of 5-6 poses or a mini-meditation that constitute your Back Up Plan Practice. Believe me, there will be a day in the near future when life will get the better of your best intentions. Instead of giving up and throwing your new-found home practice out the window, decide in advance what your non-negotiables are…then stick to it. Again, using myself as an example, my Back Up Plan Practice is 3 Sun Salutations plus 10 minutes of meditation. This takes me around 15 minutes, which means even if I’m cranky, over-scheduled, tired, or sans child care, I have no excuse for NOT completing it. I can give my toddler a 15 minute iPad break and mommy can get her practice in. And I usually find upon getting on the mat, the excuses I made to for why I couldn’t practice slip  away beneath the tidal wave of joyful movement.

Now it’s your turn:: Share your tips on a successful home yoga practice in the comments below!

The post {Practice} Tips for a Successful Home Yoga Practice appeared first on Kellie Adkins.

Yoga is a practice to restore balance. In our precious time on the mat, we aim to balance our weakness with strength, our tightness with openness, and our compressions with space. Yet studio classes, intensives, and even private classes will only give us so much :: our responsibility as dedicated practitioners is to bring our mindful awareness to each aspect of our daily lives. And to supplement our classes with yoga hOMework suited to address our own unique and ever-shifting needs.

What is yoga hOMework? Simply a set or series of poses we do with regularity to supplement our standard practice. It can be one or five that address our own asymmetries and help us find more balance in our practice and in our lives.

Each of us has unique neuromuscular patterns based on years and years of living in, using, and moving our bodies in unique ways. One of the first people to bring attention to these patterns, and posit they could be altered, was Moshe Feldenkrais. Using his innovative and eponymous method, he devised a system to subtly retrain the body to reduce injurious and imbalancing movements. Many other healers and practitioners now use similar wisdom to devise a therapeutic approach to movement. The Wisdom Method is founded on several of these methods.

A yoga practice also affords us more spacious expansion and freedom; particularly when that practice is focused on gentle, therapeutic, mindful attention to our own unique body.

So how do you discover what yoga poses are your hOMework?  The ideal scenario is to schedule a private consult with a qualified yoga therapist {this is provided FREE for all members in the Wisdom Method Virtual Studio who register by March 30}.

Here is the checklist I use with my clients before we meet and during our session ::

1. Look at your chronic aches and pains

Your chronic aches and pains are effective indicators of your movement habits and can be indicative of past or present injuries, destabilizations or weaknesses, or muscular patterns that need balancing. Aching lower back? You could need more deep core strength. Aching neck and shoulders? That could point toward your need for more hip opening. Right shoulder always bugging you? You may need to give your left outer hip more TLC.

2. Take note of your habits off the mat

How and in what position you sleep affects your postural habits and chronic aches and pains, too. If you’re chronically tight on one side of your lower back and it’s corresponding hip, its probably due to a side-sleeping habit. Your yoga hOMework can help you even out that postural imbalance. If  you always sit with one leg crossed over the other, you’re affecting the tilt of your pelvis and the integrity of your sacrolumbar region. Bringing more mindfulness to your daily habits OFF the mat helps you use your time ON the mat to address your own asymmetries and imbalances with insight and discernment.

3. Consider the dual issues of compression and tension.

Paul Grilley does an excellent job of explaining these differences in his instructive DVDs and trainings. Compression issues are those caused by bone against bone or uncompressable soft tissue impinging any additional range of motion, as is the case with some large muscle groups. In most cases, compression issues the result of your skeleton’s natural range of motion which does not change {noticeably} over the life of your practice.

Many yoga practitioners focus exclusively on tensile issues: those caused by tightness, genetics or injuries, in certain muscles groups, tendons, and ligaments. Indeed, most yoga classes focus on systematically reducing tensile issues. However, as lifelong practitioners, we need to consider our unique skeleton and its inherent limitations in range of motion. For example, the shape of your hips may preclude you from ever practicing Lotus Pose safely. Similarly, the size, shape, and closeness of your lumbar vertebrae may prevent you from ever practicing Urdhva Dhanurasana {Wheel pose} or Dhanurasana {Bow pose} safely. The shape of your ilium {one of the bones that comprises your pelvis} may prevent you from ever achieving what many styles of yoga presume to be a ‘perfect’ Triangle pose. These are simply some of more obvious places where compression issues remain even after our practice eliminates tensile issues.

While many practitioners have been told to “practice, practice, practice, and eventually you’ll get there,” that sentiment is naive when it doesn’t include an investigative look at the body you are inhabiting. Your muscles, tendons, and ligaments can move, stretch, and mold themselves around your movement patterns, but your skeleton –while certainly capable of growth, change, and degeneration –has much less capacity for remodeling itself around your practice.

Instead, we need to learn how to fit our practice to the body we are inhabiting. Using mindful awareness, deep sensitivity, and an attention to the inner experience of yoga, to both protect and preserve the precious vehicle that is our body.

Once you take into consideration these basic factors, it becomes a much simpler process to determine which poses are your hOMework.

I’ll use myself as an example to illustrate this process ~

Chronic aches and pains = right shoulder/upper back and left lower back and hip

Habits off the mat = hunched over my computer a good portion of the day!

Compression/Tension issues = lots of lateral movement in the knees, hypermobile joints; hamstring injury which caused extra tightness in the left hip

hOMework =

Side bends which emphasize shoulder opening plus the opposite hip stretch

~Example: Seated Wide Leg Side stretch {Lateral Dragonfly, Parsva Upavista Konasana} and Compass Pose {Surya Yantrasana}

Upper chest openers and strengthening backbends

~Example: Supported Fish Pose {Modified Matsyasana} and Bridge Pose {Setu Bandhasana}

Stabilization and Quad strengthening to support hypermobility in the knees

~Example: Warrior II {Virabhadrasana} and Chair Pose {Utkatasana}

Hip openers that emphasize the external rotators and gluteals WITHOUT exacerbating the hypermobility in my knees

~Example: Square Pose {Agnistambasana} and Half Shoelace {Modified Gomukhasana}

Ok, now it’s your turn! What’s your yoga hOMework? Share in the comments below!

Be sure to register here to receive a complementary therapeutic consult via Skype with your annual membership to the Wisdom Method Virtual Studio {by March 30}.

The post {Practice} Your Yoga hOMework: Using your yoga practice to reduce injury + restore balance appeared first on Kellie Adkins.

As a yoga teacher + yoga school owner in a small town, I know how hard it is to make it to studio classes, get your own need for continuing education filled, + still have time for your family, your business, + your own self-care. Which is exactly why I created the Wisdom Method Virtual Studio.

I love teaching + sharing yoga –especially with other yoga teachers– but I’ve felt limited by geography + my own desire to be more available to my family + my beautiful 2 1/2 year old daughter. Sure, I could travel every weekend to other studios + share my continuing education workshops + teacher trainings all around the nation {+ I do travel some!}, but I want to be there for my family + I need to prioritize my own self-care.

Which is why I created the Wisdom Method Virtual studio:: a haven for the method of practicing that has supported me physically, emotionally, + energetically over the last 5 years of my practice. As an intuitive blend of Ayurveda, Vinyasa principles, alignment, healthy movement patterns, Tai chi, Yin yoga, + mindfulness, the Wisdom Method is less a STYLE of yoga than an APPROACH to moving within your practice in a way that suits your unique body.

Body-lovin’ mindfulness in motion, you could say.

And I’m opening the doors to the Virtual studio on March 22…with some major differences between this studio + other on demand yoga sites:

First, I’m providing a complementary private yoga therapy consult with me over Skype {valued at $500} to the first 50 members.*

Because I believe all yoga is therapy when applied with wisdom. And when we can learn about our body’s unique movement patterns, our Ayurvedic type + what that means to practice, + our own compensations, we transform our practice on + off the mat. Yoga teachers, especially, are prone to injurious patterns from habits like teaching from the mat or demo-ing poses without appropriate kramas {stages}. Bring your questions, your past injuries, your current stuckness in your practice :: we will grow your practice together. *only  50 40 sessions remain for annual members who register by March 30

Second, each month, you’ll receive 3 hours of high-quality video yoga practices, in a variety of forms:

*Some classes will be 20 minute, focused sequences that target a specific area or therapeutic need.

*Other classes will be 90 minutes + will include pranayama {conscious breathing}, guided meditation, + Wisdom Method flow.

*Many classes are 60-minute practices + represent the variety of the Wisdom Method approach: Yin Yoga sequences, therapeutic alignment-based Vinyasa practices, + Restorative yoga

*Each month you’ll have 3 hours of NEW content added to the previous month’s content so you can learn, relearn, + re-explore

Third, because I’m passionate about sharing the wisdom of therapeutic yoga with others, I’m also including these bonuses for annual members:

*60-minute therapeutic practices for pregnant women + senior adults, with prop usage explained + precise directions articulated clearly

*Mini-workshops breaking down the components of a safe, strong practice :: including the building blocks of a vinyasa practice, essential safety tips for Yin + Restorative yogas, mastering advanced transitions, inversions + arm balancing for strength, essential pranayama techniques, + much much more

*video lectures on the other limbs of yoga {not just the poses} including yoga philosophy + ethics, the historical foundations of the yoga practices, Ayurveda + holistic health, living yoga, meditation, anatomy lectures, + assists/adjustments

*access to my e-course entitled Growing the Lotus: Building a Lifelong Practice that includes how to discover your body type using Ayurveda, seasonal practices to suit your body type, introduction to the three main types of meditation + how to use Ayurvedic seasonal rituals to support vibrant health {valued at $99}

*access to my e-course Eat Like a Yogi which includes an e-book of seasonal recipes, healthy cooking tips, + a primer on Ayurvedic cooking :: all of which blend the best from Ayurveda + from Kellie’s experience as a graduate-trained holistic nutritionist {valued at $49}

And, unlike other virtual studios, each annual member receives a complementary private yoga consult with Kellie via Skype upon registration {valued at $500} when you register by March 30, 2013.

*only 40 sessions remain, register now!

Who this is for:

yoga teachers who want to grow their understanding + deepen their understanding of the rich tapestry of the yoga traditions, including its roots in Ayurveda + classical Buddhist thought

yoga enthusiasts who are longing for a practice that respects their unique body, dismisses dogmatic rules, + allows them the freedom to move safely + joyfully through their practice, respecting their body + their stage in life

new yoga practitioners who want to build a practice from the foundation of intelligent + safe movement patterns

How the studio works:

The videos are secured in a private, members-only site. You will receive a log-in password.

The program is all online {no DVDs} so you must have internet access; however, you may download the video to your device for your own convenience

Each month, you’ll receive an email letting you know when the content for that month is up + ready for your viewing

When the doors open on March 22, 2013, you’ll receive the first of the monthly content; however, as soon as you register, you’ll be contacted to schedule your complementary Skype consult with Kellie {annual members only} + will also receive 2+ hours of bonus content to get you going {a $50 value, all members}!

Each 2013 module will be taught by Kellie Adkins, ERYT500, CYT750, RPYT, RCYT. As the community of Wisdom Method trained + affiliated teachers + yoga therapists grows, however, you will have the opportunity to practice with other gifted teachers.

My promise to you:

I promise to always over-deliver high quality content that will enliven your yogic journey with wisdom, insight, + inspiration

Ready to join us?

Registration is open!

Just to recap, annual members receive:

*a complementary private consult with Kellie via Skype : bring your questions! {valued at $500}

*3+ hours of high quality video content each month for 1 year {valued at $900}

*2+ hours of bonus content delivered within 48 hours of registering {valued at $50}

*over $700 in bonus content including access to workshop content, Ayurvedic recipes, + seasonal practices to support whole health 

You will have the opportunity to practice Beginner, Foundation, Therapeutic, Intermediate, + Advanced sequences in the virtual studio.

Here’s a sample of what a short Foundation Sequence in the virtual studio will look like:

REGISTER NOW

The post Wisdom Method e-Studio appeared first on Kellie Adkins.

Strengths-based psychology holds a special place in my heart + in my coaching practice.

I remember learning about spiritual gifts back in Sunday School {so, a LONG time ago} but the prevailing wisdom for much of my childhood + schooling emphasized ‘leveling the playing field’ by becoming a generalist. Like a good student, I worked doubly hard at physics + math even though I longed for ceramics + creative writing.

Yet with the upswing of positive psychology, happiness research, + strengths-based coaching rewiring the collective cognitive paradigm, we’re all given the opportunity to shine, to discover our gifts, + to create more meaning in our lives. So now instead of forcing myself to think in abstract analytics, I’m unapologetically creative.

Click to tweet: “Bring more meaning into your daily life with a daily ritual celebrating your strengths”

Today’s Love Note features my solution for celebrating your strengths in a way that brings more meaning into your daily life ~whatever your day-to-day looks like.

If you don’t know what your strengths + natural gifts are, take this free quiz to find out {Questionnaires –> Brief Strengths Test}

Do share your strengths + your daily ritual after you create it. I can’t wait to hear all about it!

The post {Love Notes} Creating a Daily Ritual that Celebrates Your Strengths appeared first on Kellie Adkins.

Hey, any recovering perfectionists out there {yes, I’m talking to you!}? Today’s practice is going to confront you …which is exactly why it’s so valuable!

I hope you learn to embrace this practice as I have. It isn’t easy getting started but it’s so worth it. Watch the short video then be sure to share in the comments below:

As promised, here’s my latest + greatest teacher {AKA, mistake!}:

My biggest mistake is also one of those continuing threads in my life: undervaluing my knowledge + experience + grasping outside of myself for the answers. And this year, I fell on my face even harder! I began an intensive Ayurvedic practitioner course, only to realize 3 months into it that 1} I don’t want to be a healer, 2} because my strengths lie in teaching + synthesizing, not in healing and 3} that grasping for external validation in the form of yet another degree was just another way for me to avoid accepting myself as I am.

So what’d I do?

I quit {*gasp*}!

Yep, and I am NOT a quitter! But staying true to myself was itself the biggest lesson –because as soon as I realized that path was NOT for me, every minute I spent heading down that path took me away from my family, my true calling, + my greater purpose.

In years past, I would have stuck it out despite my certainty that it wasn’t a good fit.

The lesson for me was learning to accept myself without the external validation of being an ‘expert’ in one of my passions. It’s OK to know what I know about Ayurveda {quite a bit, after 15 years of study + self-observation} without being an Ayurvedic practitioner {I’m not good in the ‘healer’ role, my strengths lie in the ‘teacher’ role}.

So what is your most recent mistake? And how did that become a teacher for you?

Share below!

The post {Love Notes} Being Perfectly Imperfect + Embracing Our Biggest Mistakes as Our Best Teachers appeared first on Kellie Adkins.

If you were a super hero, what would your super power be?

Yeah, go ahead + give that some serious thought.

Now what if this super power is simply an amped up version of what you’re already good at: like seeing the big picture, throwing an amazing party, organizing people’s closets, or making the perfect souffle.

In today’s Love Notes video, I challenge you to take some journaling time to make 2 lists. Then, I challenge you to go the extra mile + ask someone you trust to share what THEY think you’re secret super power is.

OK, making a kick-ass 5-year plan might not seem like a super power to you {because you’re so friggin’ amazing at it, it just comes naturally!}, but if all your friends agree that you’re the go-to gal for long term goals, well….we might just need to design your cape. :)

Enjoy the video + please do share the love! I can’t wait to hear what your super powers are ~please let me know in the comments below.

xo,

The post {Love Notes} Finding Your SuperPowers appeared first on Kellie Adkins.

Welcome to the first of the Love Notes series, a Valentine’s Day Vlog series. In this video, I share my favorite {simple} mantra meditation for cultivating a sense of friendliness, inherent worth, + warm fuzzies.

Be sure to comment on + share the video below with someone who may benefit.

Remember, the top commenter/sharer will receive a box of my favorite chocolates from Vosges Haut-Chocolate.

{winners announced Friday, February 15}

The post {Love Notes} A Super Powered Mantra to Share the Love appeared first on Kellie Adkins.

Valentine’s day affords us an opportunity to celebrate our loved ones with sacred connections, sweet tokens of affection, + special times together.

What if we afforded our bodies, our hearts, and our minds the same tokens of deep connection?

Beginning Monday on the blog, I invite you join me for a video series called Love Notes. Each day, I’ll share a sweet tip that has helped me bolster my own inner strength, enhance my reverence for self + others, +  show greater compassion toward myself.

Drawing from my toolkit of yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, + the wisdom traditions, I’ll share simple tips for living a purpose-driven, passion-filled life.

And, because I think these Love Notes are such gems, I’m inviting you to share them with your friends + comment below each video so we can spread the Valentines’ love. As a thank you, one winner will be selected at random to  receive a box of Vosges Haut Chocolates {see lovely, tasty image below}

Bookmark the blog + check back every day for the new Love Notes post!

Can’t wait to share this series {+ some lovely chocolates} with you!

Here are some ‘gettin’ social’ links to share {or use the buttons below}::

Empower others to shine their light this Valentine’s Day: http://bit.ly/X9Xg1U

Share the love –get F*REE Haut-Chocolate at http://bit.ly/X9Xg1U

Love notes + #wellness wisdom all week long at http://bit.ly/X9Xg1U

For sacred rituals, self-care, + Love notes, head over here–> http://bit.ly/X9Xg1U

xo,

Kellie

The post {Love Notes} Share the Love, Win Vosges Haut Chocolate Truffles appeared first on Kellie Adkins.

Over the last year as I’ve built this amazing business doing what I love -helping and inspiring others- I’ve also experienced a tremendous amount of inner turmoil. While this past year brought me closer to my vision of supporting my family with a mindful, conscious career choice, it also brought me much closer to my childhood and the deep dark stories still buried there as we moved just across the lake from my childhood home. The view out my windows {though beautiful} was a constant reminder of a past I’d rather forget.

In general, I try to resist dwelling on the past, though when the past continues to haunt you, the reasonable thing to do is investigate. So I did…but only after my personal challenges this year resulted in a relapse of several behaviors I thought I was ‘over’ or had ‘outgrown’ like body-centered self-loathing {which affected my ability to feel comfortable in my skin}, restrictive/disordered eating practices {extreme cleansing or fasting that was really a punishment rather than a desire to be healthy}, and taking on too much in an effort to strive for others’ acceptance {including saying ‘yes’ to things that didn’t fit my purpose or facilitate my growth}.

Throughout the last 15 years of my life, my yoga and mindfulness practice has provided an anchor of support; yet over the last year, I had several conflicted months where it wasn’t helping me in the way I needed. And, truth be told, I harbored a lot of anger toward the practices to which I’ve devoted my life and livelihood yet still haven’t resulted in a foundation of financial support for me or my family. While I didn’t stop practicing altogether, each time I did, it felt too much like ‘going through the motions’ and following all the rules only to fail. That ‘failure’ manifested as chronic tightness in my left hip {a leftover injury from a well-meaning teachers’ adjustment}, corresponding pain and weakness in my knees, chronic allergies that continued to sap my energy, debilitating depression that escalated to a critical point, and the frustration that even though I’m doing what I love, the money isn’t following. And though I tried every tool in my substantial arsenal –including outside help –all of these struggles conspired together to create a perfect storm of circumstances which left me feeling like a failure and a fraud.

And there’s nothing more frustrating to a recovering perfectionist than failure.

So I floundered a bit {a long while, in fact} turning over my circumstances, my anger, and my particular past. All while playing the victim and stewing in my own self-loathing, misery, and a “Why me?” attitude.  Until I realized that the perfect storm of challenging circumstances — my own anger and my chronic resistance to IMPERFECTION — was itself the message

The crucial piece was finally recognizing that I was using my practice to try to be perfect.

And, to paraphrase the common proverb, I was allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good. You see, I came to yoga broken. Too many pains to name. Hurting so much I wanted everything to end {and I nearly succeeded in ending it at age 15}. I couldn’t see the point of so much sorrow and betrayal in one short life and I certainly couldn’t see any good end in sight. Yoga was –quite literally– my lifeline. And though I told myself that I used my yoga practice to heal, for many years, I simply recreated my own negative patterns: striving for perfection, seeking external forms of support, trying to restore my broken spirit by putting my faith elsewhere, and neglecting to listen to my own intuition. I put the blinders on my own vibrance and forgot to practice lovingkindness; instead I berated myself for not being witty enough, enlightened enough, smart enough, good enough, expert enough.

I used my practice to {try to} become a better version of myself, the stereotype of the untroubled, blissed out yogini.

The problem with that myth is that –like most myths– it wasn’t true. I unknowingly used my yoga and mindfulness practice as a way to perpetuate my own fear-based mythology: that if I’m good/talented/enlightened/calm enough, then I won’t have to suffer. In turn, these ontological habits created my own particular brand of suffering {shocking, I know} leaving me more stressed out than blissed out most of the time: because while the spiritual is of crucial importance, so is paying your bills on time. And yes yoga is about love, union, and peace, but the yoga business also includes a hefty dose of in-fighting, back-biting, and betrayal: just like any business.

I’ve kept {mostly} quiet this year about what’s really going on in my life because no one likes to feel weak. No one likes to be vulnerable ~despite it’s secret power and potential for life-changing insights. And while my own experience with vulnerability brings up deeply rooted patterns of betrayal, I also know that the only way to break that particular samskara is to be vulnerable again…and trust that I’ll be well cared for.

And I’m offering my vulnerability, too, because I realize that our diamond insights are  borne from the pressure of our darkest struggles and deepest wounds. And in sharing my wounds and fears –expressed as precious jewels– I give you permission to share yours.

So more than a year into my {second} yoga-based business, I’m now realizing my struggles behind the scenes need to become the scene. Because as on the mat, so off the mat. As in yoga, so in life. In our yoga practice, we arrive with our baggage, our particular bodies, our past injuries, and we start there: fitting the practice to accommodate our unique bodies. In our yoga-based business, we arrive with our past business samskaras, our relationship to money, our relationship to our own vulnerability and we start there: fitting the business of yoga around our unique set of circumstances. 

So, vibrant one, what are your personal struggles trying to tell you? And has looking back helped you move forward and reshape your tomorrows? Please do share in the comments below.

Namaste,

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