Make a Fresh New Start for the New Year

New Years is really a great time to take advantage of the fresh clean start. It's your chance to reinvent yourself, make some new healthy habits, and/or start a new routine. It's the perfect time to forget about all the things that have held you back in the past or all the reasons why you've been putting off doing the things you want to do. There's no better time like the present to take action and there's no better time than now to start something new.

This year I am taking full advantage of this new start. It just so happens that it coincides nicely with my recovery. I haven't blogged about the details of my recent neck surgery, but at the end of October I had a couple of vertebrae in my neck fused and a metal plate inserted. Oh yes, that was a fun experience! But it was worth all the pain and discomfort because the terrible chronic neck, shoulder, and back pains that have been plaguing me and preventing me from practicing yoga and working out are now gone. I have rid myself of that torture, hopefully for good, and I'm so ready to get back on the yoga mat.

The bad news is that this whole surgery and recovery process has completely erased the great shape that I was in - that I have always been in. Now I'm in a foreign place. I'm weak and fragile and I don't know what to do with that. Where do I even begin to get back to my normal strong and healthy self? This will be a challenge to say the least, but I'm excited to take this journey. I am going to experience an unusual perspective of just how hard it is to "get into shape." Every winter I started my training program with P90X and I fell into it quite easily. I guess it's easy to get into better shape when you're already in good shape, but what is it going to be like to get back into good shape when I've been reduced to weak and fragile? This should be interesting.

I am going to share my journey via this blog. I will document my work-out program and all the steps I'm going to take to gain my strength and endurance back. I would imagine that this won't be overly easy at 44 years old, but I hope that my experience will inspire somebody out there.

Please stay tuned. With any luck I will be slipping off the neck brace and into some workout clothes next week for my maiden voyage. Wish me luck!

New Yogi Book Hits the Streets

If you"re looking for a holiday gift for a yogi in your life (and you already got them all the adorable YogaDudes accessories) or maybe you"re shopping for a male yogi, or maybe you just want a little something to read for yourself over the holidays . . . There"s a new book out called Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi: My Humble Quest to Heal my Colitis, Calm my ADD, and Find the Key to Happiness, by Brian Leaf. In the book, the author shares how with no real understanding of the practice he signed up for a yoga class.  Little did he realize then how that one class would ultimately set the course for a lifetime of exploration into the healing powers of yoga and other holistic therapies.

Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi details Leaf"s triumphs, trials, and tribulations as he hilariously navigates his way through the world of yoga and holistic health. Along the way, he road trips to visit yoga studios around the country, has a spiritual experience at a Grateful Dead show, cures his chronic ulcerative colitis, and lives at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in his quest to become a certified instructor.“I explored, I traveled, I trained, and I experimented,” writes Leaf. “I searched for a way to feel comfortable and happy. I consulted psychics, scientists, yogis, swamis, Ayurvedic physicians, life coaches, and even (accidentally, I assure you) one prostitute. I tried meditation, herbs, flower essences, psychotherapy, and shouting out my angst…. And, I learned a lot.”

Twenty-one years later, Leaf teaches yoga and meditation, practices multifaceted healing, and is the beloved founder of a holistic tutoring center that helps students — whose ailments he once shared — manage ADD and overcome test and math phobias.

Through his adventures and misadventures, Leaf ultimately discovered eight Keys to Happiness, or rules to live by for health and vitality that he shares throughout the book’s 32 rollicking and wise chapters. Things like: Do yoga and if you already do yoga, do more yoga; cultivate and follow your intuition; apply Ayruvedic wisdom to your daily schedule; meditate; speak and act from your true self; and more.

I got my copy and I"m ready for some peaceful reading over the holidays! Well, one can hope for that anyway. Perhaps the book will help me get through the hectic holidays. You can check out and purchase the book .

It's Amazing What Yoga Can Do

Please watch this amazing and inspiring video about a disabled Gulf War paratrooper who lost 140 pounds and went from crutches to sprinting by practicing yoga. It's a lesson to never ever give up.

The Essence of Life . . .

Is being calm to the core.

Dare To Be Extraordinary

And retreat from reality . . .

Open to Grace

Expand your mind and nourish your soul . . .

Embrace Your Karma

And may the life within you be strong!

Take Time to Find Your OM

And create a life you love!

Come as You Are

Yoga has been known to cause health and happiness. Try it today!

Weekly Inspiration - Slow Down

Slow Down and Breathe Deeply

A Little Slice of Nirvana for Your Mind

Be mindful of where you put your attention. The shape of your life will follow!

Practice Happiness

Stretch into Spring and learn to love your yoga . . .

Mid-week Happiness

Sorry for the lapse in Happiness. I have a million reasons, but we won't get into that. This week's lesson is to "Choose a positive thought, renew, relax, and reflect."

Weekly Inspiration - Live Outrageously

And the lesson for this week is . . . Savor chocolate, live outrageously, and get fit.

Weekly Inspiration: Get Out of Bounds

This one seems fitting because I just came back from a spectacular biking/hiking vacation in Moab, Utah. Just a little reminder to play hard and follow your folly . . .

Finding Inspiration from Chocolate

This seems like a great reason to reach for a yummy treat. What's better than both chocolate and a great inspirational note? Thank you Dove.