Take Care of Yourself Like a Nice Car

 Lately my 2006 Subaru outback has been having some problems and it hit me. If you asked someone if they get maintenance on their car, most likely they will respond with a "heck yes" and even an eye roll. Everyone know how important it is to get your car worked on so that it stays running smoothly. Unfortunately people don't hold this same view for themselves and their body. If we are to compare the body to the car, we only get one body and we want it to run smooth and be happy for a long time so we need to get regular work on ourself so things dont burn out, over heat, mutate. A good way to work on ourself I have found is through the practice of yoga, meditaiton, massage, chiropractor, acupuncture...

I took my 2006 Subaru Outback into the dealership today and just got the call for the estimate $3,000. Gasp. I hate to admit it but truthfully I have been slacking on the maintenance for my car. I am lucky it is my car and I can pay some money to get it fixed, or worse case I would sell it. That is not the same situation with our body, we cant get a new one.

(me sweet car)

It makes me happy when I pause and remember how awesome life is and that I should take good care of myself and treat with LOVE.

Love

Today I went up to Millcreek canyon with some friends and we went on a hike and barbequed. We went on a hike that overlooked that Wasatch mountains it was stunning. The hillsides were so green due to all the water we have gotten this year. I felt embraced by this greenness. I love the color green because that is the color of your heart energy center. Being in the mountains made me feel like I was dwelling in the heart.

Love has also been on my mind lately because I have been reading Sally Kempton’s phenomenal book, Meditation for the Love of it, enjoying your own deepest experiences. There is a wonderful exercise in the book called “Focus on an Experience of Love”.  Close your eyes and focus on your threat and ground and center yourself. Start visualizing someone you feel love for or have loved in the past. To make this experience more real add some details into this image. What are they wearing? Where are you? Let yourself feel love for this. Don’t be specific about the love like why you love them just simply feel that love energy you have for that person. Continue to do this for a few minutes until you can really feel the love and then let go of the person and shift your awareness to the love energy itself. Bath in this loving energy.

I love me some heart space awareness.

Here is a link to Sallys book: http://www.sallykempton.com/products/

Thanks for reading, Om shanty. Be Love
Kim

A Gaelic Blessing

My grandmother whom I called Spoof was a beset friend, adventure leader and teacher of mine. Spoof past away almost two years ago but I feel her Spoof spirit within my heart. Spoof was very intersted in meditation and yoga and I was very lucky to get some of her books. When I opened her copy of The Bhagavad Gita a bookmark feel out that had this Gaelic Blessing on it:

Deep peace of the

running wave to you.

Deep peace of the

flowing air to you.

Deep peace of the

quite earth to you.

Deep peace of the

gentle night to you.

Moon and stars pour

their healing light

on you.

Deep peace of the

Light of the Word

to you.

many blessing xo

Kim

Courageous

I just stumbled upon this flyer of a workshop I taught last year at Lifted Life Yoga Center in Alpine, Utah. I love finding something that reminds me of a past moment. Looking at this flyer, remembering the theme of the class reminds me where I was last year. I was so trying to life from the center of my heart, to cultivate qualities of strength, openness, joy and love while letting go of all the “stuff” that prevents me from being heart centered. It took me 5 years to get to that place last year where I could say intellectually understand the qualities I needed to cultivate and the qualities that got in my way. But now through hard work, pain and a lot of growth I now feel more deeply rooted in myself and in the flow of Shakti staying open, courageous and aware.

This flyer also reminded me of the studio owners of Lifted Life where I taught this courageous flow work. Linda is taking the immersion with me. How awesome! One of my favorite things about yoga trainings is that I always make the most wonderful bonds with my fellow students. I am very excited to get to know Linda more and the other wonderful yogi’s and yogini’s in the Anusara immersion.

Courageous Workshop
led by Kimberly Achelis Hoggan

Date: Saturday, March 6 2010
Price: 15$ in advance 20$ drop in
Time: 10:30am-12:30pm
Location: Lifted Life Yoga Center
60 W main street court Alpine, UT 84004
Register: in person, or call 801-492-3689
Level: all level welcome with modifications for the beginner or advanced practitioner

Courage comes from the French word that translates to: live in your heart. In this workshop we will cultivate qualities to help us better live from the center of our heart (strength, openness, joy, love..) as we let go of the qualities that prevent us from being heart centered (fear, anger, tension, stress..) We will explore opening our hips, shoulder, and heart as we flow dynamically while focusing on alignment, as if we were a child playing on a playground. This workshop will be lighthearted, and filled with smiles.

Thank You

I have been reflecting on my experience in yoga. I have been practicing for 7ish years, I have been teaching for 6ish year (I started my teacher training so quickly after finding the practice and I always used to be embarrassed about that but I am learning to embrace my shame).

6 months ago I decided to take a break from all my teaching jobs because I felt like I wasn't in an appropriate space to serve my students. I had a "breakdown" and admitted the truth to my self and my loved ones that i had an eating disorder and started working with a treatment team. Since all that I have been really resistant to my blog. I wasn't ready to tell the truth about the situation thinking maybe I would tell "the world" in a few years down recover.

This disorder which I was so angry about and disappointed in myself actually has become a blessing. Fir the past 6 years I have been really studying yoga and trying to understand the teaching, but through this recovery process I have learned so much about myself, life, and God. Before I could just barely comprehend some of the teachings of yoga and through this weird invitation I am learning to feel the teaching of yoga through my body and heart.

In a few posts ago I was so scared to do my "quick summary" of some of these big events in my life and I haven't received much feedback, but all of the feedback has been supportive and I am so thankful to all of you.

I am learning we all have shame and things we arnt proud of but the more we are secretive about our shame the more it can grow and stop some of the wonderful invitations life has to offer.  I am thankful for me (few :)) readers and my loving and supirotive family and treatment team

why practice yoga? a section I love from Anusara Teacher Training Manual

I am teaching a class at Avenues Yoga tomorrow! 8:30-10:00am I am very excited I have been wanting to teach at this beautiful studio for so long but told myself when the time is right it will happen. And it did my good friend and teacher Jen Hech suggested me to take over her class and I am so grateful for this :). I was looking through the Anusara manual as I gather my ideas for the class and I was reading this and it made me smile so I thought I would share it.

"there are two central spiritual purposes of hatha yoga:

1. Co-participating with God in making a spiritual art with the body.
2. Realizing our divine nature through the temple of the body.

The main intention of class is derived from these purposes. For example:

• Experiencing our innate goodness, joy, love, worthiness, or divine power through the poses.
• Doing the poses as artistic expressions or celebrations of one's spirit.
• Purifying the body/mind through hatha yoga in order to create a better vessel for god's love and grace.
• Preparing the body to sit more easily for meditation.
• Practicing hatha yoga just for the fun and enjoyment of it"

(Anusara Yoga Teacher Training Manual By John Friend pg60)