by Brianna | Feb 10, 2016 | Chanting, Yoga Davidson
When love first tasted the lips of being human it started singing. ~ Rumi If you have come in contact with me in the last three months chances are I have talked to you about my Harmonium. I have a knack for working it into most conversations. It is entirely plausible that I have even bored you with a picture or two. Last fall, I was feeling very uninspired by my practice. For several months it was as though my practice was completely void of joy. I was literally slogging through it. Forcing myself daily to make it to my mat. In November, when I taught my annual retreat I decided to shift its normal curriculum to include a workshop at a local studio. I really enjoy Rachel Nixon’s classes and I knew her focus on Bhakti (the yoga of devotion) would be right up my students alley – especially as they all love to chant. At the workshop, Rachel played a harmonium that she had recently purchased. She was a novice but she accompanied us during multiple chanting practices and she did it well. I left that workshop so inspired. I left WANTING A HARMONIUM. I can now play the scales. Chords are coming. Songs will soon follow. Adding the harmonium into my practice – and broadening my practice to accommodate it – has been so rewarding. I now undertake to do my practice joyfully! How are you feeling about your practice? Are you inspired? Or are you in a rut?...
by Brianna | Jan 5, 2016 | Cooking with Intention, Healing, Yoga Davidson
I love tea. All kinds – even the medicinal ones that taste like dirt. There is something so comforting to me about holding a warm cuppa. Although I drink hot tea in the summer it becomes my default beverage in the winter months. Over the past few years I have become more and more interested in making and blending medicinal teas syrups and tinctures. One of my dear friends, Jenny Erhardt of Zensations by Jen, demystified making herbal blends for me several years back. That brief – 2 minute conversation (she did cuss a few times) – freed me to practice through play. Now, when I start to feel blue or rundown I do a little research of what herb, root, or berry would be helpful and then concoct something in my kitchen to make myself feel better. Fill your cup with something kind. ~Carrie Newcomer from Betty’s Diner Recently I hung out with two children under the age of six – three days later my belly decided to revolt. Instead of reaching for ginger ale I started making myself the most delicious ginger tea. Simple Ginger Tea: 1 inch ginger sliced (this can be imperfect – you don’t even have to peel it – your choice) 12 ounces of filtered water Black pepper Local Honey Lime Bring the ginger and water to a boil, reduce heat and allow it to gently simmer for 10 minutes. In a mug: add a teaspoon of honey (more to taste) the juice of half a lime a crack or two of black pepper Pour the hot ginger tea over this mixture....
by Brianna | Dec 31, 2015 | Affirmations, Healing, Transformation, Willingness, Yoga, Yoga Davidson
Miracles do happen. Grace does occur. But more often than not, change, transformation and growth require baby steps – many, many, baby steps. I love the turning of the New Year. It always seems that there has been a reset on a grand scale. The coming months somehow spread out and seem fresh. Time seems abundant and hope is high. New Years resolutions stream through the world, and the people run forth to the new dawn resolved to: read more books, exercise, eat better, loose weight, volunteer more, etc. For a while gyms become packed, yoga classes cram mat to mat, volunteer organizations field numerous requests, 52 new books are bought and then mid-February hits. The newness begins to wane, and for the majority, there is complete fallout. Over the years I have had a lot of resolutions blow-up, how about you? Rather than setting resolutions, I now think more about setting an intention. These words are often used interchangeably, they seem so similar, but there meanings are meaningfully different. After so many years of failed resolutions I now choose to start my New Year not by what I am resolved to do but what I intend to do. To feel the energetic difference between resolution versus intention, say the following two statements out loud with your eyes closed: I resolve to practice yoga regularly. I intend to practice yoga regularly. They create a different feeling, right? Just like wanting change and choosing change: I want to change. I choose to change. Here are my intentions for the coming year: Be better in all areas of my life and...
