Open Your Cakras-Cartoon Explains It Well!

This cartoon does an amazingly simply job that explains your cakras and how they open.



No kidding. This is really accurate and fun to watch.

Click HERE

Namaste

the Yoga of Learning

Becoming a Yoga student means becomming a student for life.

That doesn't change if you become a Yoga teacher. You still continue to learn.

The Yoga of Learning is quite simple.

 

In Yoga, as in life, you will always learn more in every day that you live.

Share what you’ve learned in a humble way.

This encourages others to share their own viewpoints in the same manner.

In doing so, we create a connected, positive environment.

 

 

The Eternal Positive-Find It Within You With Yoga...

This article by yours truly recently appeared on Yogasnc.tv 

Yogasync lets you take your Yoga class to your hotel room or anywhere else.

Just as going barefoot for part of everyday helps you get spiritually grounded, a daily yoga practice takes the next step to a much better life.

Click Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Enjoy!

Saturday Yoga class in Thornton

Class is being held at Lake Village Park in Thornton on Saturday, August 23 and Saturday, August 30 at 10:15.

Stay tuned for other possible classes during this time period-possibly Tuesday, August 26 at 7:00 pm (including sunset meditation!) and Wednesday, August 27 at 7:00 pm.

More to come......

Peace and Blessings........

Shanti Om

Your Yoga practice starts as soon as you wake....

You begin a new segment in the eternal journey-your prior journey never ended, it just evolved.

Step lightly upon the Earth as it will be needed by others who come after us, but don;t be too timid as to leave your mark in the form of footsteps. If you don,t make foot prints, you haven't yet traveled.

Use Yoga props when you need them....

Angie in Pinca Mayurasana, using strap

Any Yoga teacher who tells you that you shouldn't use props when you need them is wrong.

I always start every class by asking my students to grab straps and blocks. If you need a block to get properly aligned into a pose, then it is proper to use blocks! Never worry about it.


My cyber friend, a Yoga teacher named Angie Bee Hotz, better known as "Barefoot Angie Bee", said it best in a recent post that I encourage you to read. You'll get the exact same advice from me in any of my classes here in Colorado.

"Proper alignment and form is far more important than how far into a pose you can possibly get!   Make sure and get two blocks though.  For a lot of poses you need a block for each hand............  

"Modifications are brilliant and are for everyone!

-Angie Bee Hotz, a.k.a. Barefoot Angie Bee

Read all of Angie's post CLICK HERE

Learn more about Angie CLICK HERE

How Yoga Empowers Women-a Yogasynchtv Perspective

 Indeed Yoga empowers anyone who applies her or himself to a sincere, honest practice.

Yoga has become a very positive avenue for women to positively empower themselves

How does Yoga empower women?  CLICK HERE to read Yogasynchtv's perspective

Yoga and Sex-should serious Yogis be celibate?

This question is addressed by Yogasyinchtv,  by yours truly, the author of this blog....

Should serious Yogis be celibate? CLICK HERE to read more!

Horse Yoga....an odd perspective indeed

Yoga is perhaps the oldest athletic discipline, and is very adaptable. But Yoga, but done with horses? Odd.....

Yes.  Horse Yoga

We're not talking about doing Yoga by your horse, like this woman who appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine along with some other people who actually do Yoga poses on horses-we're not talking about that either. Of course, that is worth seeing in Cosmo, so feel free to

 click and see people doing Yoga by their horses or sitting on their horses. 

We're talking about a video of people doing Yoga with the horse that's gotten millions of hits and who knows why........

Just plain weird.   The video is rather popular via the Huffington Post, You Tube and beyond.

Click for video........    conclude as you wish.

I'll just stick to Yoga on my mat, in a regular studio or gym with people, and if the instructor's dog or cat is hanging out, well, no big deal!

Have a Nice Day!

Article in Cosmo is by Dara Adeeyo.  

Photos source:  
big-sky-people.com / stoweretreats.com / horsebackyoga.wordpress.com / flickr

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/health/yoga-horses

Will the real man please forward-onto the Yoga mat?

There are men who do practice Yoga, but why more don't is still an oddity.

It is true that the Yoga environment does provide women with a place where they can excel, but nowadays, women are excelling in nearly every environment-we'd like to see more women have those chances, and feel confident enough to take them-so why don't more men try to excel in this realm of Yoga?

A couple of articles in the Huffington Post tried to tackle the question last fall. There are a lot of variables.
As a Yoga teacher, I ponder the question daily. I have a number of dedicated male students and a few new ones have come of late.

Before I proceed to answer the "man question" I will say that I commend the strong interest in Yoga expressed by women, and that I am pleased to be able to contribute to the positive empowerment of women by being a Yoga teacher.

Why don't more men do Yoga?  

You'll see popular answers based on recent publications, and my answers as well.

• Some men may be turned off by the idea that Yoga is "touchy/feely" and too new-age hippie-ish.

My answer: most Yoga classes will include some short meditations and some spiritual references, but the focus is more basic. Consider that classes taught at gyms and urban studios have to appeal to the general public. I've found that many devoted students do think that chanting and related parts of Yoga are rather odd.

• Men are intimidated by good looking women in tight pants

OK, this probably has some truth to it. But wouldn't it be just as intimidating to go play recreational hockey where, say, two or three of the guys used to play semi-pro or college hockey at the Division One level? Sure, it would be, but what guy who plays hockey would say no?  They'd either be all-too-happy to have the opportunity, or too afraid to be seen as cowardly. Maybe women who want their men to join them should taunt them with traditional male tactics of taunting....hmm......I'm not encouraging anything of the sort.....

• Yoga is too wimpy

I've encountered women who thought this as well. They had a different opinion after they finished their first class. So will any guy who is man enough to show up!

Men could consider the book Real Men Do Yoga-it's been out for 11 years. I've not yet read it myself, but it continued to get good reviews. Author John Capouya shows the Yoga routines of pro athletes who've benefited from a bit of breath and contortion. 

Plenty of male pro athletes do Yoga.  

Former NHL phenomenon Tim Thomas-goalie for the Boston Bruins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2011, credits Yoga for his success. OK, maybe Montrealers are sneering, but that's a hockey thing-and I doubt I'm getting smiles from the Vancouver hockey community.  But let's face it-the man was a stone wall. He stopped almost everything, and the Bruins had the lowest goals allowed numbers in the league-that statistic was what set the Bruins apart from other top teams-and the NHL was extremely competitive that year.

Nate Burleson of the Detroit Lions-who are incidentally, back from the dead was man enough to go to Yoga class, and gave CBS news a headline last November that Yoga isn't just for girls.

Want more info on male athletes doing Yoga, check out Men's Health magazine for a list.

YOU WON'T BE REQUIRED TO WEAR SPANDEX...........

Shanti Om!

Our Monday night class-thanks for a great night!

Our Monday night class at Heavenly Aroma Therapy in Westminster, CO was great! 

Some wonderful new yoginis joined us and are starting new yoga practices....you can join us, too!

Vincent Gerbino, Certified Yoga Teacher

Thank you to everyone who attended-I'm looking forward to next week's class. Thank you, Cindi, our host!


Practice Yoga in a friendly, comfortable environment with people who will welcome you like family.

When? 

Monday nights at 6:00 pm

Where? 

Heavenly Aromatherapy

12190 N. Zuni St.  Unit # 400

Westminster, CO 80234

Cost?

$10 per class

Or buy 4-class pass for $35 and save

SIGN UP!

Call 303-255-7115 

About our host:

Our host, Heavenly Aroma Therapy is a local, woman-owned business where you are treated right! Also, you can find all your candles, incense and other cool stuff like skirts and bags!

Vincent, your instructor.

Shanti Om!

Yoga of Forgiveness

Your Yoga Practice.......Forgiveness

Forgiveness is one of those tough tasks in life.  We often have trouble forgiving others, and part of the reason is that we have trouble forgiving ourselves for our own wrongdoings to others.

A Yoga practice includes the practice of compassion as a value. In Yoga, compassion is called karuna, the Sanskrit term in Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras where it is named as one of the four Brahma Viharas, or "divine emotions".

The Four Brahma Viharas

Friendliness (Metta)

Compassion (Karuna)

Gladness/Joy With others (Mudita)

Equanimity (Upekkha)

It's tough to open our hearts to forgive becasue we have a natural tendency to guard ourselves against the source of pain that hurt us before.

• Throughout life, we create karma by our actions and also by our inaction. Choosing not to act is still a choice, and every choice has consequences, good or bad, or both.
• We make our karma and we live with what the karma brings us. 
• Don't punish yourself for past wrongdoings-the karma created of those actions will, through living life, punish you enough.
• Forgive yourself and will sooner cease making more negative karma, and you'll also sooner be able to forgive others.

In your Yoga practice, seeing your whole self means accepting yourself in the present tense as you see your whole self. You accept your own flaws and forgive yourself for your own good, and you'll be able to express goodness and forgiveness more easily to others.

Shanti Om!

Sources:

http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=4_Brahma_Viharas

New Yoga Class in Westminster, CO starts tonight!

Gaia Yoga now has a new class in Westminster, CO!

Practice Yoga in a friendly, comfortable environment with people who will welcome you like family.

When? 

Monday nights at 6:00 pm

Where? 

Heavenly Aromatherapy

12190 N. Zuni St.  Unit # 400

Westminster, CO 80234

Cost?

$10 per class

Or buy 4-class pass for $35 and save

SIGN UP!

Call 303-255-7115 

About our host:

Our host, Heavenly Aroma Therapy is a local, woman-owned business where you are treated right! Also, you can find all your candles, incense and other cool stuff like skirts and bags!

Vincent, your instructor.

Shanti Om!

Yoga busts stress-A reason among many

Yoga busts stress for many reasons. 

The first is the simplest: being barefoot

1. When we remove our shoes and touch the Earth, we reconnect with earth's electromagnetic pulse, which matches that of our bodies, and cut away the electronic imbalance created in our human world. 
2. Through our reflexology points in our feet, we re-establish calm balance in our vital organs that sensors in our feet are literally, physically connected to. 

Shanti Om!

Peaceful Empowerment

To be truly empowered is to have enough power over the self that you don't feel the need to have power over others.

When one is truly empowered in this way, she or he is truly ready to be a leader of others. 

Gaia Yoga of Colorado will be premiering a Yoga of Empowerment series this summer in the Westminster, CO area, featuring Certified Yoga Teacher Vincent Gerbino with Spiritual leader Cindi Watman Priest, owner of Heavenly Aroma Therapy.

The class will geared for women but be open to everyone and all are welcome.

We also hope to have a mother-and-child private workshop and an empowerment workshop for women and girls where girls can attend under the supervision of a participating adult female mentor.

We'll have more information this spring. 

To get on a mailing list, e-mail to yogarunner@earthlink.net and put "Empowerment" in the subject field.

Shanti Om!

Focus on Women in Yoga

Focusing on women when planning the content of a Yoga class isn't about being exclusionary. Every Yoga class should have some connection to positive empowerment. Every Yoga teacher, male and female  can consider how the class will be supportive of women when creating the class content. 

Yoga Teacher Sarah Lowenstein, Feminist and woman's advocate

Yoga has become a place of empowerment for women that has not excluded men from joining, just ask the devoted male students in any Yoga class. They wouldn't keep coming if they didn't feel welcome, even as the typical content of a Yoga class seems to appeal to women four times as often.

When planning a Yoga class, any Yoga teacher, male or female, needs to see to it that the content of the class does continue to support women. Why?

• To begin, women make up about 80 percent of Yoga students, so one must be mindful to support the needs of those who support the teacher by attending his or her class.

   

Yogini and professional Yoga Teacher Paula Val Alstine is a feminist who supports positive empowerment of all

• Teachers are empowering others, and at a time when women have been denied access to many avenues of empowerment, the Yoga studio is a place and an opportunity to support the positive, peaceful empowerment of women. 

• Women are becoming empowered in ever greater numbers, so continuing to keep this crucial avenue open for them, and among the many reasons, these specific ones:

1. Yoga is going to help older women who are less connected to the younger feminist and social feminism to find their place as women in empowered roles. 
2. Middle-age women who have empowered themselves can continue to develop themselves in an empowered female roles.
3. Young women can solidify their own roles as empowered women as they enter adulthood and become the female mentors of the future.
4. Girls can begin their transformation to being women who are fully empowered as females themselves and to be receptive to mentoring by empowered female adult role models who are practicing Yoga. 

We are at a point where we could easily have our first female president soon, and should plan accordingly for the idea of female empowerment to transform, exponentially, into a mainstream ideal that will allow us to embrace positive empowerment for all and will allow us to differentiate between the need for being strong and able to defend ourselves vs. domination to to deny our own weaknesses.

As a male feminist, I believe Yoga is the right path for everyone, female and male. I welcome everyone in my classes and see Yoga as an avenue of positive transformation. I am honored to support this important avenue of empowerment for women.

Shanti Om!

Shoes for the Yogi

I f you can't go barefoot, wear clogs. Kick them off under your desk and when you get to the Yoga studio.

Pictured here, my noisy favorites from Germany.

Namaste..................und gute Nacht!

Yoga helps women with breast cancer?

An excellent article for women and those who love them-it should not be missed.

Flicker photo-link was terminated. Photo appeared in College Fashion in article by Joy from Lawrence University

ABC News' Medical Channel reported three days ago on a medical study where 191 women who were fighting breast cancer participated and how Yoga helps women fight the disease.

• The study's lead author, oncology professor Lorenzo Cohen of at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said “The benefits of yoga are above and beyond stretching” as he began to establish just how yoga helped these women.
• Dr. Barrie Cassileth, chief of the integrative medicine service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said the new findings lend additional weight to the science behind mind-body approaches to cancer treatment, the article said.
• Yoga is shown to help women fight the disease.
• Yoga can likley help women from ever getting it in the first place by reducing stress, encouraging self respect and self empowerment that lead to healthier self-treatment and better health decisions.

As an advocate of female empowerment, feminism and in support of the health of all society, Gaia Yoga encourages readers to check out the article at this link.

As a Yoga teacher, I am honored to be able to be helping women and helping all of society.

Jai Ma....Shanti Om

How women get grounded and what they can teach everyone when they do

There are a few reasons for this post.

1) The vast majority of interest shown on this blog has been on women's topics, so the focus will be on women as I am a strong advocate of female empowerment to heal the world.

2) The story you're about to read, about a woman's journey of discovery, is amazing, as is she.

3) I never went barefoot before doing Yoga, and I immediately found a profound spiritual connection to the world that was much easier embraced and taken seriously by my female friends. When I see the discoveries that the woman in this story has made, it reminds me of my own discoveries.

I want to honor the women who helped me in my own spiritual discoveries just be being naturally who they are.

Barefoot and Powerful

Discovering Strength through Life - A Walk with DeAnne 

The nerves in the feet have direct connections to each of our organs and each sensory zone in the body. It’s no coincidence that our senses come alive when our shoes come off.

DeAnne joins us to tell how being barefoot helped her in her journey to discover and empower herself. She has a unique and wonderful occupation she has created for herself that helps women empower themselves and create positive energy with the goal of healing the world of the harsh, power-based focus that keeps cultures at odds.

DeAnne is a guide for Sacred Circle Retreats, a very unique business with this focus: By Healing Ourselves, We Heal the World. Truly empowered people empower others through leading by example, through supporting others to empower themselves and by acknowledging everyone’s positive contributions.

She is also the founder and facilitator of Conscious Connections Now, a unique organization that focuses on changing the world through the power of love, community and collaboration.

The interview questions:

1.      Your own spiritual path is a rich one. Was it this path that awakened your urge to go barefoot?

My path truly has led me to deep and expansive inner and outer journeys. In recent years, I’ve come to appreciate an awareness of the union between the sensual and the sacred, the playful and the prayerful. So therefore YES, my spiritual path led me to walk more and more of the time with naked feet. Not only is it sacred and sensual it is also playful. I believe we came into our earthly experience joyfully and playfully, ready for adventures. All of that is part of experiencing the life’s journey with bare feet and an open, naked, compassionate and playful heart.

My barefoot urge also arises from my very important need to ground myself regularly. As a very feeling creature, it is grounding, soothing and connecting for me to walk intentionally, placing my bare feet upon the earth when I can.

Becoming more attuned to my body’s messages and its innate wisdom is precious and important. I believe that is true for all of us. It is an ongoing process of awareness and discovery listening to our body’s messages.  Going barefoot more is a part of that sensual sacred connection with myself and with the home that we call our beautiful earth.

I have also recognized for myself personally that grounding and connecting my body with the earth are especially important. My intuitive and intellectual essences are stronger than I once knew, as is my empathic compassionate awareness. Given all of this, I can easily fly off or have my energy scattered out to many places and people if I don’t lovingly and intentionally tether myself. I find that my consciousness easily and openly connects with others in various ways; therefore if I do not nurture myself with quiet, calm and grounded earth connection, my own balance, center and harmony can get out of whack.

Walking barefoot allows me to own that sacred, sensual, prayerful, and playful connection in a grounded and present way.

2. You took a three-week spiritual journey in Europe. I recall your Facebook posts that came at the times when you had moments of realization-especially when you stood barefoot in the ancient Chartres Cathedral in France. Tell us why you decided to go barefoot at those moments and how it tied to your spiritual connections that you were making.


Before I even departed for what I realized would be a very life-changing journey, I recognized that I had already experienced many momentous synchronistic events and strong energies leading up it.  There was a timeless depth and guidance happening that I couldn’t begin to understand yet knew to trust.  It certainly had the stirrings of soul agreements and ancient promises.  I felt a call, and I said, “Yes.” It would be, for me, a powerful, personal Divine Feminine heroine’s journey though I came to it with a great open, curious innocence and playful adventurous essence.  I realize that sharing the stories of what led up to this sacred travel experience would be the beginning of a biographical spiritual adventure book in and of itself. (I may well write that in time.) Given what I recognized before I even left home and knowing all the energy I was feeling, I knew to be very aware and open to guidance. This inner guidance continually steered my steps and my choices before and during what became my Divine Feminine journey through Europe.

This trip May 18 – June 11, 2012 brought my life’s mission of Conscious Connections NOW alive in a myriad of ways. Help was continuously offered and exchanged before and during the journey. I am truly blessed with remarkable, generous and insightful people in my circle of friends and colleagues.

One of these extraordinary friends, Melynnda Button, our Edgy Mystic at the Sacred Circle Retreats forum, had been intuitively guided to send me some beautiful Magdalene and Jesus posts and other messages before I set out to literally and physically walk in the steps of Mary Magdalene in sacred southern France. On one of those beautiful posts, she lovingly encouraged me to walk barefoot as often as possible. I could feel from her guidance that this was not only to soak in the ancient wisdom and energies that were present in these sacred places but also to help keep myself grounded and stable amidst these potent experiences.  It was important advice.


Bless your journey DeAnne, walk barefoot when you can. >♥<

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3445446487884&set=gm.10150905043189761&type=1&theater

Tags: Conscious Connections NOW

                         



DeAnne Wolfgram Thank you.... your message spawned a cascade of loving, grateful tears. xoxoxo
 May 15, 2012 at 5:17pm · Like · 2







                        





Melynnda Button I know your sacred heart will soar! Enjoy EVERY moment!

My first barefoot pilgrimage moment came in the crypt of Mary Magdalene in St. Maxim Basilica.  I had some precious time alone beneath the church gazing upon her skull held in the golden reliquary and surrounded by two sarcophagi. As I sat on the steps of the crypt gazing at her, I remembered Melynnda’s advice and removed my sandals. The cold stone awakened my senses and I felt awash in divine feminine devotion for this woman who had lived through so very much and yet carved such a path for others. Through my very soles, I felt this soulful moment of reverence and awareness. Like the Christina Perri song “Thousand Years” sings, She ‘has died every day waiting for’ us. I had the realization that we are the women and men of right now living in this extraordinary time on earth. We are the ones we have waited for and Love is the absolute guiding force for us all. Following my moment of communing with Mary Magdalene in her crypt, I quietly placed my shoes back on my feet.  Both in shoes and barefoot I would walk where her own steps had been along the Royal Road to her cavern cathedral in St. Baum, beside the Mediterranean Sea where she came ashore at Stes Maries-de-la-Mer and elsewhere.  I was not necessarily a Magdalene devotee though I did and still do feel deep reverence. The awakening of Divine Feminine truth had pulled me there. What called me to Sacred France was an awareness of the renewal of the Divine Feminine and the truth of the Sacred Union of Beloved Love. Each day of walking in Magdalene’s footsteps across southern France was a further awakening to my own Divine Feminine essence and to deep stirrings of knowings that I am only now beginning to be able to articulate.

Yes, the advice to walk barefoot when I could was important. It connected me to these ancient places in a very sensual, sacred personal way and grounded me in the present while simultaneously feeling a timeless connection experience as well.  Despite my best intentions, the immersion in all these new potent places and the energy of the people in our remarkable Sacred France tour group were wondrously overwhelming. I savored it all and yet of course felt myself stretched and off balance at times. I had one moment of stepping off a back porch and twisting my ankle with a sharp cracking sound as I came down wrong off of a step. I recognized in the moment that my own energy was too fast and imbalanced. I had an awareness just before it happened. I wasn’t barefoot then and my thick sandals hadn’t been a help. Thanks to immediate Reiki, energetic healing, Aleve and my determination, I was able to move through the piercing pain of the moment, calm the injury, heal quickly and continue my travels.  The very next day I hiked to the top of the ancient Cathar ruins in the mountains of Montsegur in flip flops with walking sticks. The day was an illuminated journey as the sunlight cascaded down lighting our path. In the center of the ruined fortress, I removed my shoes and felt the energies of this timeless place devoted to The Way of Love.  As my toes lifted the dirt and tickled the grass, I watched members of our travel family filled with the peaceful loving presence of this place and we marveled at its mysteries.  Strangely, I did not feel the heaviness of the hundreds of lives that where lost as the Cathar people had walked to their deaths in the fires at the base of this very mountain in 1244 for refusing to recant their faith. What I did feel through my heart and the soles of my feet was a sense of return and renewal. Many were gathered that felt a similar ancient stirring. It was the call to walk the path of life in Love.

From that day at Montsegur on and for the next two weeks as I walked through Europe, I had a wrapped ankle. I removed the wrapping to walk completely barefoot on the magnificent ancient labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, home of sacred mystery schools and a depth of beautiful and sometimes controversial history.

Invoking prayer and an open heart, I entered the labyrinth barefoot and trusting. I knew I would be guided just as I had been in extraordinary ways throughout this journey. The labyrinth is truly a metaphor for our walk of life with all its circuitous turns that weave us in wondrous ways.  This next passage is one that I wrote and shared on the first anniversary of my sacred walk.

"IT'S ALL SACRED......"

June 1, 2013 marked the one-year anniversary of this beautiful blessed moment. The expansive realization I received here ~~ as light from the cathedral's window cascaded upon me. ~~~ The simple serene revelation was… "IT'S ALL SACRED......"

I had traveled across the world to walk ancient paths and experience sacred sites on a Divine Feminine, spirit connecting, heart expanding and soul-deepening journey....

It was a complete and extraordinary experience in so many vast, indescribable ways... A year has still not been enough time for me to understand and assimilate it all... And yet, the sweetness of this moment stands above and apart from it all...... as it was purely my own inner knowing and guidance from beyond the veil of this world. My soul spoke to me.

I heard within me the stirrings of a light, amused, wise voice saying.... "Yes, all these places are wondrous ~ cathedrals, grottos, pilgrims paths.... Now you know they are all within you. This beauty, this grace, this connection to oneness.... is always there, and it is everywhere you will ever be. You needn't seek out marvelous cathedrals of stained glass windows... You can and you will relish the beauty; but know this..... YOU KNOW THIS NOW.....

IT'S ALL SACRED."

This moment came after arriving at the center of the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral walking its twists and turns with bare feet and a naked heart. I was filled with reassurance and a deeper sweeter confidence in my own inner guidance. Indeed I had walked into my own center within. Upon walking out of the labyrinth, a light had genuinely and physically infused me as the sunlight shining through the magnificent stained glass window at the front of the cathedral beamed down upon me, directly on my forehead.

It remains a deeply sacred experience.

My final remarkable barefoot moment of this European journey took place in Compton Dundon at the Earth Spirit Center. We had gathered there in the ancient Isle of Avalon near Glastonbury for a Reiki and Creative Movement Retreat. I shared this part of the journey with one of my dearest friends of nearly twenty years and my Reiki Master, Maureen. Before gathering with others at the retreat, we savored an afternoon in Glastonbury walking among the ruins of the ancient Glastonbury Abbey. The feeling of homecoming for me was profound. The deep energies were potent and at one point I felt my body spiraling. I was pleased to begin our retreat hours later yet saddened to leave Glastonbury after such a brief stay. Due to the time constraints and rains I wasn’t able to walk up to the Tor or see Glastonbury’s famous Chalice Well. Those are saved for another time.

What did transpire at the retreat was another poignant barefoot moment. We began with a group walk-about experience outdoors. Each of us took a turn as a silent leader having other adventurous Reiki practitioners wander under trees and dance on the grass, simply following on impulse. When my turn came, I was so filled with gratitude and exuberance that I began skipping, completely forgetting my weakened ankle. I was reminded immediately as it gave way in a crack of pain once more. I collapsed on the wet grass and held it. Others mimicked me thinking it was part of our charade but as tears escaped my eyes, these healers rushed forward in recognition and gathered around me. I will say that if ever you find yourself hurt there is no better place than in the company of sixteen longtime Reiki practitioners on an ancient site. I was immediately surrounded in love and healing. It appears the divine had a plan and my barefoot self had helped to catalyze it. The retreat leader guided me gently to the center of a grove of intentionally planted trees, each one placed to form a Celtic-healing circle. We would all discover that significance later. We all gathered in a circle with me at the center gently standing barefoot and tears flowing. Mel, the retreat leader, spontaneously began singing a song about finding our way home.

“I’ve traveled all day. I’ve traveled all night. I’ve traveled a lifetime to find my way home…. Home…. To where the heart is…. Home to where the heart is…. Home to where the heart is… I’ve found my way Home.”

Witnessing my brave, open vulnerability and pain while we all gathered in this circle of love, everyone was initiated  spontaneously in an immense healing experience. Each person in turn to their place at the center of the circle standing within this healing circle of trees in the once ancient Isle of Avalon. I and many others where there with bare feet. Beautiful, potent and powerful it was for each of us. My friend Maureen pointed out to me later, “Look what you created.” Opening up to my own painful moment allowed each person to vulnerably do the same and a gorgeous unforgettable healing experience ensued for each of us.

From the Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth to the grove of trees in the Isle of Avalon, going barefoot had proved powerful and important for me. I would stand barefoot one final time on that trip atop a grassy hillside gazing at the Glastonbury Tor and surrounded by new sacred friends.  It was all such a magical experience.

3.      You said later that you ended up going barefoot for several days. Tell us why it felt so empowering.

Much of the answer to this is part of what I have already shared yet here is a bit more.

On my Divine Feminine pilgrimage through Sacred Southern France, Paris, London and finally Glastonbury, I recognized that I was blessed to be walking on very ancient and sacred ground in many places. Given this heightened awareness and all the enormous experiences and energies, it was very balancing and empowering to go barefoot as often as I could. My bare feet upon the ground allowed me to keep some semblance of balance while I was literally taking an enormous personal leap on my life’s path. Amidst an incredible array of new adventures and beautiful barrage of continuously new sensory stimulation, it was calming and harmonizing to focus upon my naked feet and take intentional steps. Even more profound was the awareness of all the earth energies, history and timeless experiences still alive and infused in the ancient soil of places like the Isle of Avalon in Glastonbury and the stones paths of the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral or the ground of Mary Magdalene’s crypt. I knew that I wanted to allow my body and my entire being to soak up all that it could of the Divine Feminine, the ancient, the mystical, the heritage and the Sacred Union Presence that lives on in the ground of these magnificent places. Knowing that I had invoked that and felt it often was so empowering. Furthermore, I felt such a heroic sense of adventure through the entire experience. I was aware of continuous synchronicity and near instantaneous guidance at moments as I navigated new places and experiences some of it where English wasn’t being spoken. Again and again, I found that the information or guidance I needed appeared fluidly for me. I lived a mix of planned travel and synchronously guided adventure. Trusting that process of inner guidance and myself nearly the entire time was one of the most empowering experiences of my life.

4.       Did you often go barefoot as a child, or was it a new thing as an adult?

Being born in New Mexico “The Land of Enchantment” and being raised in the Mojave Desert of Las Vegas, NV, I have been a woman of the southwestern desert all my life.  Therefore, I didn’t often go barefoot as I explored around yucca plants and hot rocky soils; however, around home, playing in the backyard and splashing in the pool I always enjoyed being barefoot. Simply taking the time to share here with you has given me the gift of remembering how wondrous it is and has always been to place my bare feet upon the earth.

Almost Barefoot is especially devoted to supporting women, female empowerment and feminism as a way to support positive empowerment of beings for the sake of a better world, and so we ask you questions about being a powerful woman who has made connections to sincere empowerment through going barefoot.

5.      As a spiritual guide and leader, you’re a woman who not only has the power of authority also the ability to empower others. What’s one way you encourage those who seek your guidance to empower themselves?

Truly we all have the power of authority. We have authority over ourselves. Since genuine empowerment arises from within ourselves all true power is inner power.  One way to recognize and embolden our own power is to realize that we have the ultimate power over ourselves through our choices. I’m not simply referring to our career or relational choices. I mean ever choice we make in every moment. CHOICE IS OUR POWER. Since we are all made up of energy and attract through our actions and choices, we can begin to realize the power we have through every word we speak, thought we think and action we take.  Sit with this realization. No matter what our circumstances are in this moment, we have the power of choice. One small choice can create a cascade of empowering changes in our lives. As we accept responsibility for our lives and recognize the power we have in choice, we can feel genuine empowerment. Also, we are never alone. The universe, the invisible world, angels, friends ~ they are all truly there. They are all conspiring on our behalf if we will only CHOOSE TO BELIEVE it. We do live in a friendly Universe. I believe that.

6.      The world is slowly rediscovering the Divine Feminine, the idea that God could be a woman, that God could be half-woman or that God could have a Goddess wife. What message do you have for women who find their own self-empowering connection through this idea?

First and foremost, Honor the divine connection you feel however you personally feel it.  There are no limits. Labels aren’t needed. If you feel genuine love-infused truth in it, allow it to empower your life.

Many of us are finding empowerment in a connection to Goddess energies, to the Divine Mother essence and to a Higher Loving Feminine Presence that can be in tandem to our other belief systems. The work of my dear friend and Sacred Circle Retreats partner, Joceline Burnel, is something I would recommend very highly to all who are finding empowerment through HER, the Divine Feminine. Joceline is writing a book and audio compilation entitled “If God Was a Woman.” You can find many of her soothing, loving, empowering poetic verses on the Sacred Circle Retreats Facebook page and Joceline’s own Crowing Crone Woman of Wisdom page. Her Voice is resonant. As you listen, you will truly feel God as a Woman speaking to you.

In a time where imbalanced patriarchy has ruled for so long diminishing and devaluing the feminine essence in our world, it is only fitting that so many of us are drawn to embody and embolden the Divine Feminine Presence. We crave that sense of unconditional love that feels closest to a mother’s love.

And yet, as I personally and deeply cherish this divine feminine connection, I have a pure belief in the importance of the Divine Sacred Union. For me, The Divine is the harmony of All That Is. It is genderless. To even begin to describe what IT IS diminishes it. We haven’t words to convey what the harmonized Totality of God/Goddess truly IS. The closest word is LOVE, pure unconditional absolute creative Love.

So as we each travel upon our own beautiful unique spiraling spiritual paths, we must connect with what resonates as truth for us. For me, the truth will always be the empowering resonant creative force of Love.

7.      We see more than a few men also connecting with the Divine Feminine. Is there a message you have for them?

Absolutely!!  Yes, keep opening your hearts. Keep recognizing that being vulnerable is a sign of great strength and authenticity. Harmonize the power of the masculine with the heart wisdom of the feminine. Continue honoring this balance of the masculine and feminine aspects within yourself. A full whole and Holy man understands that he holds a Sacred Union within him. A whole and Holy woman appreciates the same.

Men, Honor your selves. Honor all that you have carried for so long. Reach out and honor the women in your life. Validate, appreciate, honor and empower your wife, your daughters, your nieces, your friends, your co-workers, your aunts, your cousins and your mothers. See how important and valuable they are to this world.  We all arrive here because of a woman, from the creative womb of the feminine. It is time to truly honor that once again.

Men, embody the feminine values of compassion, love, creation, community, cooperation and collaboration in the world. This is the change the world needs.

Remember that as we each honor and heal ourselves, this world will experience a harmony it has not known in thousands of years. This all happens one person at a time. It is happening with a loving momentum now. We cannot begin to fathom how powerful this process is and how lovingly powerful we truly are. Allow yourself to be the change you wish to see in the world.  What the world once was it does not have to continue being. We are the change, each of us. BE IT!

Personally, I really like so much of what author Jeff Brown (“Ascending with Both Feet on the Ground” ) has to say about men honoring their feelings and connecting with the Divine Feminine. There was one particular quote of his that I shared months ago that really encouraged men to be this presence in women’s lives. I’ve looked for it and didn’t find it just yet. It will certainly be on my radar. Explore what he has to say also.

Explore whatever calls to you.
Your soul knows.
You can trust it.

8. What is a message you have for women and girls to empower themselves?

SHE, the Divine Feminine ONE, is weaving gorgeous luminous threads through all our lives right now. She is not separate from you. You are Her. You are an important part of this Great Awakening that is happening upon our beautiful planet. The time has truly come. The time is now. We are the ones we have waited for and we are so ready, more than we have known. WE ARE THE CREATORS. This is our gift and our power in this world.

Savor the Divine Human you are. Savor HER touch upon you. You are HER artistic masterpiece, and She is so very thrilled with the tapestry we all are.

All the power you will ever need comes through you. Trust this. It is so very true. You are always empowered from withIN yourself. You are all you every truly need. In loving and empowering yourself, you create the magic of your life. From there, all that you could ever wish flows to you and You are magic for others in ways we are only beginning to imagine and recognize. It truly IS a wonderful life. Now, go live it FULLY!

9.      Add another idea or comment you think should be sharedJ

Some insights on the vision and mission of Conscious Connections NOW:

~ So many of us are connecting with others in a deep and powerful way now... Our tribe is uniting. Humanity is rediscovering human unity.

As we each own more of our authentic selves, taking responsibility for our energy and choices, and being aware of all that happens in our lives, we are walking through the world living from our higher truth. As each of us strikes our own tuning fork within, we are deepening our relationships not just with ourselves but with all those in our lives and all whom we encounter each day. We radiate that inner conscious connection outward and then consciously connect with others in a truer, more genuine and more equally empowering and collaborative way.  These ripples of conscious connection move out into our world creating a more loving experience for everyONE.

I believe so many more of us are truly making Conscious Connections NOW with others. We find we KNOW people we have just met as if we have kNOWn them our entire lives. It is as if we are reUNITING WITH OUR TRIBE. We are connecting to those people, those souls, with whom we have a sacred bond.

Messages filled with meaning are exchanged. Hearts are touched. Lives are transformed. Synchronicity and serendipity begin to rule the day. NOW they are routine rather than novelty. Truth chills run through us and our hearts swell open. We truly are the ones we have been waiting for.

WELCOME HOME TRIBE. It’s our time to LIVE NOW

Yoga-How It Changed A Woman's Image in Society!

There is something about a barefoot woman that captivates everyone.

We can theorize and come up with intelligible answers, but we really can't boil them down to one single one that's right.

The fact is, that the barefoot woman, as an image, is more enduring than any other social image.

When Taylor Swift (left) appeared in her video for her song "15", she was barefoot-the song was a huge hit and it made no difference that the audience of focus, when we specifically refer to lyrics, was teenage girls. 

Today, an ever-more-popular image of the empowered woman is a woman doing Yoga. Yoga, of course, is always practiced barefoot. 

Yogi and professional Yoga Teacher Paula Van Alstine poses in Uthitta Hasta Padangusthasana (left) and Astravakrasana (right)

Yoga is a force of positive empowerment becasue it helps a person, female or male, find a sense of self and true inner strength, so no matter how others see us, we like how we see ourselves.