The Power of Love

Yesterday was my daughter, Margo's 32nd birthday. As I was preparing for my morning yoga classes I ran across this letter from Albert Einstein to his daughter on the power of love. When I first read this I remember feeling somewhat angry and judgmental that Einstein wasn't there for his daughter, as my father was absent for nearly all of my young life.

This morning, I reread his letter in another, more human, light. We all make mistakes. To err is human. This is how we learn our biggest lessons. Margo is now a young Mother. She too will make mistakes, as I did. We can remain angry and bitter or we can choose to forgive ourselves and each other. 

In my case, I need to forgive both of us. I still grieve my father's death, because I never fully forgave him when he was alive. I missed precious time with him. I need to forgive him for my own heart health.

Here's Albert Einstein's letter:

“When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.

I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.

There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us. This universal force is LOVE.

When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die. Love is God and God is Love.

This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.

To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.

After the failure of humanity in the use and control of the other forces of the universe that have turned against us, it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with another kind of energy…

If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.

Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet.

However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.

When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life.

I deeply regret not having been able to express what is in my heart, which has quietly beaten for you all my life. Maybe it’s too late to apologize, but as time is relative, I need to tell you that I love you and thanks to you I have reached the ultimate answer! “.

Your father,

Albert Einstein

One thing I know for sure is the power of love. It wasn't until I gave birth to Margo and her siblings that I fully understood this. I agree with Einstein that it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with this powerful healing energy. What negativity do you need to release in order to be able to receive this love? To receive nourishment? Is there someone you need to forgive in order to do so? Perhaps even yourself for past mistakes? Please remember and know that no one comes into this life without baggage. We can continue to be weighed down by it, or we can choose to let it go. We can carry past generational burdens with us or we can choose to break the chain. 

How do you do this? As with everything, it starts with your willingness and commitment to do so. Begin the conversation with self and others. Make amends with important people in your life. Most of all, start exploring ways to feel and act in self loving ways. There are so many wonderful tools to help you. If you suffer from a disease, know that your body is self healing and self repairing. Do not fall into the "war on ....(cancer, diabetes, etc)" mentality. Instead ask what is the message your loving body is trying to tell you through the dis-ease? What needs to change for you in order to heal? How can you maximize what your unique body needs, minimize toxicity and inflammation, and prioritize self care? 

Wednesday mornings I teach at Rise Wellbeing Center in Reston, whose soul mission is to cultivate wholeness. I feel loved the minute I walk in the door. Six days a week there is a wonderful variety of classes and teachers. Please consider joining us! Here's my new schedule at Rise on Wednesday mornings:

7:30-8:30am: Carpe Diem Dance, a fun combination of movement to music that anyone can do. 

8:45-9:45am: Yin Yang Yoga, a practice for anyone to find flexibility and equilibrium (the calm within chaos) 

10:00-11:00am: Meditation for Beginners. I am a student, this is Rise's gift to me to practice self-care

11:15-11:45am: Street Clothes Stretch. Come on your lunch hour and then have lunch in the beautiful garden space or attend one of the monthly lunch and learns. 

May we all learn to give and receive this universal energy of love. 

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition, and functional medicine trained, health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to inspire, educate and empower individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing yoga and Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

Oscar Night Musings & Power of Play

I've been invited to a Red Carpet Oscar Night Party and pulled out an old green sequined evening gown to wear tonight. I've only seen one movie this year that's up for award, Victoria and Abdul. Turns out it was for makeup and hairstyling not even for best picture. No wonder I've been accused, "Oh Mom, you are soooo pop culture illiterate!"

 Nevertheless, in preparation for the party, I asked my husband to rent an Oscar nominated movie Friday night to watch. As usual, I found interesting musings.

First, I'm reminded of the power of personal connection, passion and play. The widowed Queen Victoria was "imprisoned" by pomp and circumstance. An Indian servant looks her in the eye (which was forbidden), then kisses her feet, which sparks a connection. His passion for everything from rugs to poetry and religion is contagious. Soon he is quoting Rumi and the Qu'ran and teaching her about India's rich culture. In spite of the cultural and political divide, they become friends. He encourages her to sing, dance and play. She feels happy and to her physician's delight, things begin to move (literally).

Second, "Isolation breeds Ignorance." She was "Empress of India, yet ignorant to the people, customs, rich history or politics." Through personal connection, she begins to cross this divide.

Third, I'm reminded of the power of play in my own life. When I was first studying integrative nutrition and health coaching, my coach asked me, "What do you do for fun?"

This question literally made me cry. The only thing I did for myself was to sweat for 90 minutes in a 110-degree room. This gave me discipline, helped me physically, and maybe increased some endorphins, but it wasn't what I call fun! 

This started my quest to find a workout for myself that was fun and good for my heart, mind, body and soul. The result is what I am now teaching at Rise Wellbeing Center on Wednesday mornings @ 7:30 am called Carpe Diem Dance. It's movement to music that allows you to sing, dance and play. We mix in a taste of yoga, dance, breathwork and meditation. Come join me to see what moves in your life.

May you also find personal connection and a fun, joyful, physical, practice in your life.

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

PS. Let me know what movie(s) you recommend watching?

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and function medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals to heal from within.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

Ready to Rise?

This Thursday is the ribbon cutting ceremony for a new unique concept, Rise Wellbeing Center in Reston, Virginia. The space is beautiful, relaxing, rejuvenating and welcoming.

I will be teaching Carpe Diem Dance this Saturday morning at 9am and Wednesday mornings @ 7:30am.  Carpe Diem Dance is a movement to music class that is fun, and is good for the heart, the brain and the soul. I will also teach yoga and breathwork this Friday evening and Wednesday mornings too.

You don't want to miss Saturday night's Sound Healing event with Woven Green 

Click Here for the Grand Opening Events.

nature. balance. peace.

Dedicated to cultivating wholeness through nature, mindful movement, and stillness

Come join us!

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and function medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals to heal from within.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, speaking or advocating reform, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

2017 Lessons Learned & New Year's Resolutions

This has been a year of intense grief and sorrow, and as my beautiful daughter so elegantly expressed, coexisting with periods of joy.

 https://www.facebook.com/existdetroit/videos/2083596808535202/ We started with the one year celebration of our grandson followed two weeks later by the passing of our son in law. I’ve struggled on how to support both my daughter and clients during times of loss. One client who lost her husband after 50 years together and another client in Houston during Hurricane Harvey. What do you do when you are at a loss for words? I read Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Option B but that didn’t resonate with me like Maria Sirois, PsyD book, A Short Course in Happiness After Loss (and other Dark, Difficult Times).  Here I am struggling on what to do to help my daughter, and she went and did it herself. Which by the way, is the only way for transformation, growth or change to occur. She took her grief and started the Forced Joy Project to find some joy, meaning and purpose amongst her immense sorrow. As a health coach I’ve learned this very valuable lesson. No one fixes you. You are not broken. You are a perfectly-imperfect, human being, with your own journey on this planet. We can share our experiences, we can be guides through difficult times, but the body, mind, spirit and soul are self-healing and self-repairing. You have the ability to heal from within. The practice of yoga can help release tension, pent up feelings and emotions, as well as help cultivate awareness and focus leading to physical, mental and emotional growth and peace. Dana again, beautifully shows us how. 

https://youtu.be/Tu9Opp6JfTU

I’ve written about the pancha maya model of yoga and how the body follows the mind and the mind follows the breath. I’ve had clients overcome anxiety and fear through dedicated breath work practice. The only thing we know for sure is that all of us will die. Some like Bradford Frost,

my son in law, far too soon. Others like Simba (who woke me up one morning bouncing up the stairs, took his normal one mile walk, in seemingly perfect shape) without any warning.

 As adults, what we do have control over is how we choose to live our lives. One dear client of mine shared this analogy. We are like flower pots. We can decide what soil we put in the pot, what we want to plant, how we feed and nourish ourselves. What can we do to live awesome full lives NOW? What little changes can we make in 2018 to feel our best? According to one of the largest health studies, the Framingham nurses study, the number one factor for overall health and cancer prevention, is diversity in the diet. Yet most of us eat the same 4 foods day in and day out consisting of wheat, corn, soy and dairy. Foods that have been subsidized and adulterated. This monoculture that has led us to the current epidemic in chronic disease. With so much abundance of food, our choices are often lacking in essential phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. To fight fatigue, we resort to caffeine and succumb to sugar cravings that keep us on a mental, physical, and emotional roller coaster. My pledge this year is:

1.  To expand my Kick-Start recipes to add more diversity. The best way to add diversity is to eat seasonally. Here’s what I had for breakfast at the Detroit Parks & Rec Diner:

 

Fisherman’s Board of citrus smoked salmon, dill crème fraiche, local radish, soft boiled duck egg, picked vegetables that included garlic scape and cranberries. Delicious!

2. Follow my daughter’s lead and find more joy. I’m going to start teaching Carpe Diem Dance (my joyful movement to music incorporating breathwork, meditation and yoga) Wednesday mornings at Rise Wellbeing Center in Reston, Virginia Wednesday mornings in January. 
3. Continue to grow my business being mindful to include boundaries and schedule in time to celebrate a new Granddaughter, family vacation, and to prioritize self-care. 

To keep me on track and at my best, I've started My Life Plan and just renewed my contract with my own coach and mentors.

What are your plans for the New Year? How will you choose to live your best life? I would love to hear from you!

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, FDN-P, AFMC

Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker and coach, with a mission to inspire others to feel and look their best at any age. 

 

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think and Thrive outlines her seven step process towards optimal health that is fun and transformational. 

Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance.

Motivational Mondays: Join me Monday to Celebrate YOU!

Monday is back to school for Fairfax County Public Schools. For busy Mothers, it is often a time to celebrate time to refocus on yourself. I've had a wonderful rejuvenating summer with family and friends and am ready to offer a class in my home studio on Monday mornings.

Please RSVP to join me Monday at 8:30am in my home studio for a sample class and a celebratory green juice. Cost $25.00 InfraRed Sauna and showers available.

We will work on creating more joy and flexibility. The practice of yoga and movement to music provides the union of all of your layers: physical body, breath body, mental/emotional body, intuitive, and spiritual bodies. It helps you move out of your head and into your body to deepen your most important relationship, with you.

It is an excellent way to start off the week and to prioritize the most important person, YOU!

With Love & Gratitude,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson RN, CHC, RYT-500, FDN-P, AFMC

Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker and a functional medicine coach with a mission to inspire, educate, and empower, clients towards optimal wellbeing.


Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think and Thrive outlines her seven-step process towards optimal health that is fun and transformational.

Lisa is founder of the Wellness Inspired Network and Carpe Diem Wellness and part of the Functional Forum and Evolution of Medicine, and the New Self Health Movement. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance.

Love Your Body Day & PEMF Demo Events

Consider spending a day learning how to love your body next Sunday at Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia. I will be sharing a booth with Documenting Hope,  bringing treats and a raffle for my book, and giving a sample Carpe Diem Dance class at 3pm in the Bhakti Tent. There will be yoga classes in the pavilion from different studios all over the area, children's tents, multiple wellness vendor tents, and something for everyone. 

Jessica Claire Haney of MindfulHealthyLife.com is a new member of the Wellness Inspired Network. She wrote a blog post that provides a great overview of Love Your Body. She's got links in the post to her recaps of the past three years of Love Your Body. Share the post on social media and tag Carpe Diem Wellness & Wellness Inspired Network if you like! 

http://www.mindfulhealthylife.com/love-your-body-yoga-festival-june-11/

Also,

Next Saturday, there will be a demo on Swiss Bionic Solutions PEMF Seminar (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field) 3-5pm Sheraton Suites 801 N. Saint Asaph Street Old Town Alexandria.  

Presented by the President of Swiss Bionic Solutions, USA:

Dr. Greg Musser

Hosted by Janice Johnson, Polarity Therapy Practitioner and LifeStyle Consultant of Swiss Bionic Solutions

Learn how this resonating magnetic field application can assist you with: 

•    pain management

•    increased circulation

•    improved blood viscosity 

•    increased vitality by increasing ATP production

•    relaxed muscles

•    stimulates healthier cell production

•    reduces anxiety and depression for increased well being

•    assists to regenerate bone health

•    improve your sleep

Enter the raffle to win…..The Omnium 1 for a free 60 day trial in your home or office!

For more information contact Janice Johnson @ 302-265-8140 or email her at iamgr8ful4u@yahoo.com

Next week I'll be back with a regular blogpost on Important clues in your blood work that your doctor often misses. 

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

For the Mother Within

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there doing their best. 

Happy Mother's Day to the women without children 

who bring so much love and value to the women and men in their lives.

Happy Mother's Day to the Mother and Motherly Love 

that is hidden inside all of us.

Tomorrow, we are offering a fun seven day yoga challenge on Instagram with a couple of amazing women; one being my daughter Stephanie Jackson.  We would like to invite you to join us.  

I'd like to put out the intention that these seven days are a chance to practice mothering ourselves with self loving thoughts and feelings. 

I'd like to caution you that a couple of these postures are more advanced. Although, it feels good for the ego to do advanced poses like a headstand. It is not always good for the body. Especially, if you haven't had any training to work up to this.  So if standing on your head is not in your practice, I'd like to offer you modifications. Please email me on the headstand day and I'll give you an option to help you prepare for the day that you can do a headstand.  If a 57 year old can effortlessly do a headstand, then you can also work up to this. If you are interested in private or small group yoga classes, let me know as I will be offering more this summer. 

Tomorrow, I will be contributing to Love Your Baby Day at Beloved Yoga Studio in Great Falls, VA  in the afternoon Be Empowered session on infertility.

Also exciting news is my interview will be coming up later this week on the Get Real Masterclass and with comes a handout on cancer and chronic dis-ease prevention. The weekend is a great time to catch up if you haven't had time to listen to this week's interviews. I especially liked the one on MINDful weight release and the microbiome. 

My goal is inspire, educate and empower you to feel and look your best at any age. Today and every day.

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, FDN

Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker and a coach with a mission to inspire others to feel and look their best at any age.

She is the former Executive Director of the Integrative Wellness Program for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think and Thrive outlines her seven-step process towards optimal health that is fun and transformational.

Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance.

Magical Moments

Monday morning I received a text "Please call me." then another,  "It's important to me please, it was about yoga."

What was so urgent? She wanted me to explain why she felt sooooo good after coming to my class on Sunday. What did I do that made her feel like she was floating and then sleep so well Sunday night! She said it was magical. What was the spell?

For starters I had to tell her what she did, not me. She gave herself this gift of 90 minutes to get out of her head and into her body. We started by relaxing on her mat and just feeling and noticing the body, then the mental mind, then the breath.

We practiced first breathwork to stimulate the parasympathetic (rest and repair) nervous system, then we did some energizing breaths to prepare for the practice.

We did simple movements to music in order to open up stuck energy systems in the body. We opened up the spine in all directions. We played. We smiled. We laughed. We danced and we even sang without fear of feeling judged. We didn't worry about how we looked, we concentrated on how we wanted to feel. Some of the songs were aerobic, some worked on developing balance and concentration, some were meditative, some touched our hearts.

We finished our practice in savasana, lying on our mats for a guided meditation so we could really assimilate all of the good work and energy we gave ourselves. We had one final breath exercise and then shared some healthy juice. We wove in some positive psychology with ancient yogic wisdom.

Yoga is a philosophy and a framework for optimal health.  Music touches part of the brain, the soul and our emotions. Coming together in a community is also comforting and healing.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share my practice with you! Next class will be Sunday April 9th @ 4pm  Please RSVP HERE

With Love & Gratitude,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, FDN

Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker and a coach with a mission to inspire others to feel and look their best at any age.

She is the former Executive Director of the Integrative Wellness Program for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think and Thrive outlines her seven-step process towards optimal health that is fun and transformational.

Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance.

My Favorite Things! Black Friday Shopping

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so very grateful for all of you interested in optimal health and healing from within. Here's a secret... I really hate to shop, unless it's Black Friday with my daughters. We were crazy enough to get up at and drive from Virginia to New York City and back.

This year I want calm. This year I want peace. There is no need to drive our adrenals to the ground over the holiday season. After all, we now have Cyber Monday!

So here are my favorite things that I can offer you from my website:

PRODUCTS:

How to look and feel your best at any age?
Use non-toxic skin care and deodorant that really works
Health Food for the Skin :

Free Shipping on orders over $50.00

Here's my custom Chakra Mala Beads that I had designed and handmade for you by a beautiful custom jeweler in Laguna Beach, CA:

Amethyst is a quartz crystal said to increase spirituality, enhance intuition, promote peacefulness, happiness and contentment. It is also said to bring emotional stability and inner strength. 

Lapis is said to open up and calm the mind, clear the chakras and stimulate dreams. It’s a universal symbol for wisdom and truth.  

Adventurine is associated  with the heart chakra, said to bring wealth and abundance, to relieve anxiety and to help with sleep. Good for entrepreneurs and leaders.

How about an Eco Friendly Custom Yoga Mat? I can't tell you how many times I've left and lost yoga mats at studios. This one can't be confused with someone else's and it has great lines to use in your yoga practice:

Or consider essential oil from my Daughters website: https://www.mydoterra.com/margobracken/#/

SERVICES: 

GIVE THE GIFT OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS TO YOURSELF AND OTHERS

Health & Wellness Assessment

Savvy Secrets Book

Workbook & Recipes

$300

Private CarpeDiem Dance or Vinyasa Yoga class  $150 90 -min

Book Now your January Kick Start to Wellness Program

21 Day online group program  $227

Winter VIP Day

Play Dance Dream Feel

Juice & Smoothies, Gourmet Lunch, Yoga Dance, Vision Board, 

Customized Weekend Warrior Wellness Discussion $495

Happy Shopping!

With Love & Gratitude,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500

Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker and coach with a mission to inspire others to feel and look their best at any age. 

She is also the Executive Director of the Integrative Wellness Program for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think and Thrive outlines her seven step process towards optimal health that is fun and transformational. 

Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance.

The Fifth Yama (or external discipline towards optimal health) is called Aparighara- Nonpossessiveness

I once read a book by Gary Zukov titled, Spiritual Partnernship. The message was that having a spiritual partnership means to be so committed to being authentic to who you are, to be so honest with yourself and your partner, that you will risk losing the relationship.

In other words, to be willing to risk disappointing another, by being true to yourself. It’s having faith and trust in the relationship that there is enough respect, unconditional love and acceptance to support one another for who each one of you are, and where each one is in this journey called life.

Yes, this takes courage and a commitment to self.

I’m reminded of the movie, “City Slickers” where Billy Crystal is having a midlife crisis and his wife supports his trip to a dude ranch to find himself.

How do we reduce suffering? We learn to let go of our attachments, to greed, clinging, coveting. In doing so, we find freedom within our self and within our relationships.

When we practice Bramacharya and Aparighara, we discover how to live in the present moment where we nourish our relationships and ourselves. It is learning to accept things the way they are in each moment; to let go of our expectations and criticisms so that we can fully absorb each experience without fear, without judgments.

It is the first part of the serenity prayer: 
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 
Courage to change the things I can, 
And wisdom to know the difference.” 

How do we create more peace in our lives? We let go of our need to control the outcome. We learn to trust our self and others.

Like the song we sang at my high school graduation:

“Rivers belong where they can ramble, Eagles belong where they can fly. I’ve got to be where my spirit can run, free, Gotta find my corner of the Sky!”

Can you practice letting go of unhealthy attachments and expectations? 

This does not mean not caring; it is just the opposite. This means trusting and loving enough to allow for individual freedom and respect. To seize the day so you can truly be present for any situation.

In both my personal life and in my practice, I’ve learned that I have to let go of my need to “fix others”. First this denotes that they are somehow broken (and this is inaccurate), and second it creates stress for both my family, patients, clients and myself.

Often the more material things we accumulate, the more stress we have in maintaining them. How can we find more peace and balance? We can let go of our attachments to things and practice non-excess and non possessiveness. This is Aparighara.

Notice what gives you pleasure and what feels like bondage. How can you lighten your load to experience the freedom to fly like an eagle?

The Yamas are referred to as external disciplines, giving us guidance on how to communicate with the world around us. The Niyamas are referred to as internal disciplines. Stay tuned for next week when I start to share the 5 Niyamas with you.

Carpe Diem & Namaste,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500

Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker, and coach with a mission to inspire and empower others to feel their best at any age. She is also Executive Director of the Integrative Wellness Program for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.  

Her book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive outlines seven steps that are fun and transforming. Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement, the International Health Coach Association and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance at every opportunity.

The Fourth Yama (Yoga rules to live by for Optimal Health) is Bramacharya: Non-Excess

The fourth Yama is Bramacharya and translations include "non-excess" and walking with God or the Divine; finding the sacredness in life and everything we do. In other words, Carpe Diem.

This Yama teaches us how to walk with and experience the Divine within. It shows us how to trust that you are enough. It helps us to find the middle way. Like goldilocks...not to hot and not too cold, not too soft and not too hard.  All of the Yamas and Niyamas are a path designed to eliminate personal suffering.

To help you contemplate this, here are some thought provoking questions to ask:

Do you create personal time and space to dream and manifest your own intentions? Time for you own personal spiritual growth?

Do you have a hard time prioritizing self with all your roles and responsibilities?  Do you give so much to others that you find there is little time and energy left for self?

Do you sometimes say yes when you really want to say no?  Do you find yourself overworking or overeating versus doing what you really want to do?  Do you even KNOW what you really want to do?

Or do you sometimes over indulge in self-health and self-care trying to “fix” parts of eindulgence when you are working on changing habits.

Can you develop compassion for yourself in the process? Can you delete the need to beat yourself up?

Can you have faith that your self-care will yield positive energy that will fuel yourself and others?

I recently did a two hour workshop for fellow yoga teachers titled, “Healing the Healer” emphasizing the experience of Bramacharya. I thought I would share my introductory notes with you to see if this resonates with you.

The Experience:                                                                 

1. Experience the Divine within; Trust that you are enough. “Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are… It’s a matter of listening inwardly for guidance all the time, and then daring enough and trusting enough to do as you are prompted to do...” Eric Schiffman
2. Experience the practice of accepting, forgiving and loving all parts of us including our aches, pains, ANTs & SLBs Ask not what’s wrong with me, but what is right with me? What is my loving body trying to tell me? 
3. Cherish yourself as sacred. Use the beginners mind to open yourself up to the wonder that you are. Seeing everything as sacred “roots us and balances us”

The Messages:

1. Movement to music is powerfully healing
2. Emotions are merely energy in motion, it is safe to feel them and let them go.
3. Trust in your body’s innate ability to heal from within and become a witness to your own personal transformation

I mentioned in the last post how several years ago when I was studying integrative nutrition to become a certified health coach, my coach asked me what I did for fun.  The only thing I did for myself was get up at 5:30am to practice Bikram Yoga in a 110 degree room.  It made me cry. What started out as a healthy discipline, suddenly felt automatic and abusive.  I realized that this yoga no longer served me and that I needed something more, something that would stoke my passion.

My first love was dance. By the time I was 10, I had been on toe for 3 years and danced every dance in the nutcracker suite.  At 12, I was asked to audition for the Washington School of Ballet. When my parents said no, I quit dancing and even sold my hand-autographed photos from the beatles. I literally deprived myself of music for over 40 years!

I went on to live the life my parents thought I “should lead” I was the good girl. I rejoined my friends who had quit dance long before I did. I became a cheerleader, was the social butterfly, got married and had children.  Every time I shared a career goal, I was told why it was not a good idea. When I told my father I was going to be a writer, he said I was too undisciplined. When I told him I wanted to become a therapist he laughed and said I was too emotional, the same response when I announced I was going to be a nurse.

Even in school, my HS Math teacher said to me, “Lisa, I know that you get this and find this all too easy, but you are keeping the boys from learning, so if you don’t stop talking, I’m going to have to move you to the front of the room.”  Could she not have moved me to a more challenging math class instead? That was the last math class I ever took.

Many of us have felt disempowered by our culture and our well-meaning parents and teachers.  Not following our passions can be disempowering and energetically draining.  Not recognizing your inner light, your inner passions, can make life feel dull and automatic.

So who would like more joy? More peace? More Energy? Who would like to feel empowered? 

Today we will explore ways to find balance and self-nourishment through the wisdom of the Yama, Bramacharya: to live and walk with the divine. Finding contentment in having and being enough. I often over-function and struggle with the notion that I don’t have enough, enough food for everyone, have not accomplished enough at the end of the day, or basically not being enough.

How do we experience the divine with in us?

We practice accepting, loving and forgiving all parts of us. We look at our aches and pains, our ANTs (automatic negative thoughts) and SLBs (self limiting beliefs), and we learn to reframe them.  Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” Ask, “What’s my loving body trying to tell me?”  As a health coach, I share the first step in my seven steps to optimal health, which is to take an honest personal assessment. We practice with a beginners mind.

So close your eyes, take some deep breaths and spend a few minutes in silence thinking of some part of you that you would like to accept, forgive, or let go of. Whether it’s procrastination, a bad habit, an addiction, a feeling of anxiety, or the belief that you are just “not good enough.” What no longer serves you?  What keeps you on the hamster wheel or from giving yourself the gift of time and space?

The next hour and 15 minutes, I’m going to share what I’ve got, my own struggles and vulnerability to hopefully inspire you to do the same, to recognize that we are all one, all the same with the same self-doubts, struggles and aspirations. 

We will demonstrate that we all also have the innate ability to heal from within.  My gift to you is my book, which is a love story. “It is written and given with love to those I love, in hopes all of us will learn to have the biggest, most passionate and life-affirming love affair of our lives with…ourselves (and the divine within each of us). 

I hope to demonstrate that the most important person in your life must first be you. When you are operating on all cylinders, you feel whole, balanced and happy, more joyful and at peace. My hope is this book will be your guidebook and together through love, we can change the world; one healthy, happy individual at a time..”

I’d like to share with you now part of my own sadhana, my practice to create more joy and peace, energy and empowerment in my life.  It’s my way of using movement to music to connect to the Divine within me and above.  Let’s begin the practice with a feeling of sacredness.

We then combined yoga, breathwork and meditation with joyful movement to music.

Here’s a taste of what fun we had!

                                            

Let me know if you would like to sign up for our next Carpe Diem Dance workshop and re-discover the Divine within you!

Tomorrow morning 7:30am I will be teaching yoga for the morning community class @ Beloved Yoga Studio in Reston, VA

ABOUT LISA JACKSON, RN, CHC, RYT

Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker, and coach with a mission to inspire and empower others to feel their best at any age. Her book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive outlines seven steps that are fun and transforming. Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement, the International Health Coach Association and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance at every opportunity.