“Thanks for borning me, Mom!”

by Amanda on May 14, 2012

I loveloveLOVE this expression, coined on Mother’s Day by my then 5-year-old boy, the Amazing Cisco.

Of course that's me! Sheesh, you have to ask?

You moms out there know what it’s like to “born” a baby. But do you know how to “born” (or even “re-born”) your powerful, authentic warrior self? Warriors of all kinds (and make no mistake–every mom is a warrior!*) need strong, supple bodies. Workouts like these, particularly in combination with yoga, will get you there fast.

Cisco and I made a special video today for you moms (or anyone) who want to tone up those typical problem areas of the triceps (back of upper arm), tummy, and rear end. Like all of our workouts, this one is simple, fast, and fun!

In my yoga and fitness classes, you’ll hear me harp on the importance of having a strong “General.” In Chinese medicine, that refers to the midsection of the body, i.e., abdomen and low back. When you have a strong General, the troops (arms, legs, etc.) follow orders and life is good! A weak General leads to back problems, slouching, and often a defeated, victim-mindset attitude inside and out.

So Cisco and I hope you like this video (below) and that by Mother’s Day next year you feel and look stronger, healthier, and more like the warrior goddess you truly are!

*To clarify for anyone who gets a Thor-like image in their mind when I use the term “warrior,” here’s my favored definition of the word from Freedictionary.com: “warrior: One who is engaged energetically in an activity or cause.” Sounds like a mom to me.

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Blown Away

by Amanda on May 3, 2012

The wind this week has been crazy where we live! Check out our latest video for confirmation, in which Jim nearly gets knocked over by an oak tree. Way to power through, honey!

The wind is an apt metaphor for how tons of people are feeling these days: blown around and buffeted like a leaf ahead of a thunderstorm, with no end to the chaos in sight.

So this week I felt inspired to offer several ways to reduce your stress levels—methods that I use personally throughout the day. Each of them resets chronic hyperventilation patterns (shallow chest breathing) to deep, natural belly breaths, eliminating or reducing the confused, anxious, irritable feeling that so many of us have come to accept, tragically, as our normal state.

Remember: you don’t have to go to yoga class to experience the benefits of this ancient practice! While we’d all like an hour and a half to dive into a bamboo-floored, lotus-scented spa experience, if that’s not an option for you right now, you can get virtually the same stress-relieving effect from incorporating these few techniques into your daily life for a minute or two. Real magic can happen when you make these and other fitness and stress-relief techniques part of your daily existence!

Share these with your kids, your parents, your love, and watch as your inner and outer worlds transform into oases of calm. Find the eye of the hurricane and enjoy a rest, even as the storm swirls around you!

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Drilling down

April 24, 2012

These days, I’m really into simple. Simple makes me happy. Life seems to be getting faster and more complicated, and sometimes I feel like the greens I pack into my trusty blender after I hit “puree.” My solution to handling these stressful times? Simplify. Drill down to what really matters. When it comes to my [...]

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Bust Out of the Workout Box, Beautiful!

January 3, 2012

I just launched a new series of classes for 2012 based on the nutty workouts I’ve been doing on my own for the last two years.  Well, people say they’re nutty and that I’m nutty for doing them. But then they do them with me and (when they can put a sentence together again) go, [...]

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Leading-Edge Life: Stop Cooperating

December 21, 2011

Last night Jim and I finished watching David Icke’s masterful and inspiring 4-hour Radical Truth DVD, in which a sweat-soaked David speaks passionately about how we live in a time of “great opportunity.” (Yes, he believes in aliens, so what? Prove him wrong—see my note on “normalcy bias” below.) Beyond Boundaries In order to take [...]

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Leading-Edge Life: Ditch Your Medical Insurance

December 16, 2011

Yes, you heard me. Let it go. Dropping your medical insurance is one of the most potent things you can do to protest how the system is set up. It’s also a powerful step toward taking full responsibility for yourself as a human being, starting with your physical health. Here’s the Sitch This may be [...]

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To Infinity….and Beyond!

November 30, 2011

I follow a blog by Trig Bundgaard, who really knows his Bible and deciphers the original, true teachings of Jesus Christ through his understanding of ancient Greek. Plus, he leads a weekly discussion group called What Would Jesus Brew. That’s all I needed to hear to get on board. I’ve never thought very highly of [...]

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The Poison of Gossip

November 19, 2011

Do you subscribe to the radical idea that “sin” means forgetting your true nature as a Being of Light? Do you agree that each of us is connected because we are all made of the same energy, which is Infinite Love? Then perhaps you will agree with me that “evil” is anything that creates a [...]

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Why are you here?

November 8, 2011

I asked my yoga students that question tonight during Savasana (corpse pose), in which I encourage them to practice dying, or—in more acceptable terms in our death-phobic society—”releasing the physical self.” I sensed a silent “hrrrrr?” from many in the room (refer to photo). I remember when I first got asked that question a few [...]

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Give me liberty.

November 5, 2011

I’m reading a book that’s blowing my mind. Naomi Wolf’s Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries is a manifesto for the salvation of the idea that is America, and a treatise for the resurrection of the human soul. One cannot happen without the other. Last week Neale Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with [...]

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