Category Archives: Yogaworks west Hollywood

BLANKET DRIVE

Happiness is a warm blanket. 

Charlie Brown

Today I had some extra time to myself when a friend cancelled on our morning coffee. It was extra time to do nothing but to snuggle with my two Siamese cats and a big fluffy blanket. As I lay there completely content to be idle, my mind started to reflect how lucky I am to have such a simple yet happy moment blanketed from all the woes found outside our front door. 

A blanket is one of those items you probably never think about, but think how attached you are to it. A blanket comforts your body and your soul. On a hot summer night do you still curl up with your blanket?  It is much more than an item that keeps you from getting cold, it is a security blanket. A blanket protects in the wee hours of the night. Even our beloved pets feel safe when there is a cozy blanket to curl up in. A blanket is warmth, and warmth is love.

For the homeless a blanket is all of these things and so much more. A blanket is a safety net from the elements of the street, a barrier against all the dangers that exist when you dwell without four walls to keep you safe. To a homeless person a blanket is shelter, a soothing hug in the middle of the night, a coat to keep you warm. A blanket is a veil of privacy, a sleeping bag, a layer between you and the mean streets. To a homeless person a simple item like a blanket is home.

This brings me to my next Charity Project. I will be doing a blanket drive to collect new blankets for the homeless for The Midnight Mission in Downtown Los Angeles.  http://www.midnightmission.org/

 

I will have more information about the event as I progress in planning, I am hoping to get all the blankets by mid December. This is the crucial time here in LA as the nights start to get cooler and the need for blankets to help keep our homeless friends warm is increased. I will be posting more about it and everyone involved in upcoming blog posts. I am very honored that I can do this and grateful to all the help I get along the way.

As I wrap it up my two Siamese cats Rascal and Spanky are in dreamland curled up with a blanket  and probably content to be there all day. Creature comforts are so important for both humans and animals. 

Much love and light.

Namaste’linus_blanket

Rose

 

 

 

 

 

LONG TERM GOALS


Sometimes you look at your goals and lament on the time it takes to make them happen. For me I am proud of my accomplishments so far but I admit I sometimes look at the time it has taken to get to where I am, and wonder if I should be farther along in my progress. It is not a wise thing to question time, it passes anyway and to be able to say you are better off then you were before is a gift. The old cliche’ is true, Rome was not built in a day. It takes time to make your goals a reality, and in my case taking longer to get to the destination is better than some short fix. It is a marathon and not a sprint. I am in for the duration of the run.

Yesterday I had a great workout with Mike, and I plan on getting a photo of him as well to post soon. I am so grateful to him and I am definitely improving since that awkward day of our first workout last July. We spoke about my idea to learn to surf, since it is on my fitness bucket list and I said it is something I would like to do when I get to my final goal weight of around 130-140 lbs. He said that works because the water temperature is warmer in Summer, so I hope to be at goal or close to goal by then. We are running every week now, and all of a sudden as we were running I had this aha moment when I felt like I can do this. Next week we will run farther so I have my work cut out for me but I am up for the challenge.

After my workout I ran to my 7:15 Yoga Class with Nicole at Pink Iron. It was a crowded class with awesome energy. I love Nicole, she is amazing and I got the chance to snap a few photos with her and I will post them this weekend. She is my first yoga teacher and I am very grateful to her. I love Yoga and tonight I am going to Yogaworks to either take an Iyengar class or a flow class. depending on the time I get there. My husband James told me this weekend I was a Yogi before I ever took a Yoga class or stepped on a mat. That was the best compliment.

Off for my day, coffee and some fuel is needed. I wish you a beautiful day, full of radiance and warmth. Love and Light to all.
Namaste’ 
Rose


IYENGAR YOGA AT YOGAWORKS WEST HOLLYWOOD


Good Morning and happy hump day. I cannot wait for the weekend to get here. This week Mike is busy so I am on my own with my workouts. I will resume working out with him next week. No worries, I will not sit on my laurels and be lazy. I went to another Iyengar Yoga class instead, and I always learn so much from Vladamir at Yogaworks. My Friday Vinyasa yoga teacher Tom was in the class, and I met some lovely yogi’s as well. This class is full of seasoned yogi’s but I hold my own pretty well except when we get to the inversions. That is where I am a beginner, and eventually I will get them as I get stronger in my arms but I am a long way off. Tom was next to me in class and he told me I am doing great, that I just need to continue to show up and everything will fall into place.

Vladamir showed me this amazing way to get into a shoulder stand using a chair as a prop, and you slide off the chair and bam you are in the pose. How cool is that. He really is an amazing teacher. A lot of the students in class go to the Iyengar Institute. It is an amazing way to break everything down and concentrate of the form of the poses.

Yogaworks gave me this punch card to use everytime I attend class, and it is almost filled. I get $25.00 coupon off merchandise. I really need a good yoga bag and there is one with room for all my work and workout gear plus a mat. To be a success one needs to be organized, and I have been lacking the right bag for this. 

Time to finish my coffee and get ready for my day. Tonight I am taking Nicole’s Vinyasa class at Pink Iron, and it is not until 7:15 so I have time to make my husband dinner and go for a run walk before. I wish everyone a beautiful and bright hump day. 
Namaste’
Love and Light
Rose

WEIGHT UPDATE 10-15-2013

Right now, this is home and I love it dearly


Good Morning and Happy Tuesday to all. Today is weigh in day, and I stayed the exact same 180 pounds. I am happy with it, 17 pounds since July when I started this at 197 pounds and I have never had a week of gaining. Staying the same is a tad bit disappointing, because we all like to see the scale go down, but I know I am making progress. In January I was 207 so where I am now makes me happy, but I will not be lingering at 180 for long. I am determined and I will continue and try even harder with my workouts. 

Tonight I am taking a yoga class at Yogaworks, I am probably either taking the Iyengar class or the Vinyasa class. I still have time to decide. I work, and I will make sure I get to eat something healthy in between. My husband will be at the Dodgers game tonight so I am on my own with food.

I wrote so many of my poems here at Bryant Park in Manhattan
The RFK Bridge and a view of Manhattan from Astoria Park



James and I have discussed moving back to NYC eventually. We love California and we are having a love affair with this state, but every love affair with time must end and it is time for us to be closer to family. Now, this can happen in a year or two or in a month so I have decided to prepare myself if we had to move suddenly. I want to be able to continue on with this project even if I have to deal with a crazy cross country move. In NYC there are so many opportunities. There is New York Cares, an amazing organization that places you in diverse volunteer opportunities. One week you can visit senior citizens and the next you are doing something completely different. There all also so many dance classes for adults. Broadway Dance Center is one of them, and there are tons of Ballroom Dance Studios. Dancesport is really popular. My Yogaworks membership would transfer so I am set there. Like I said, this may not happen but I will be ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple when it does although I am not ready to kiss goodbye my Mighty Pacific just yet. The love affair continues for now.

I wish everyone a beautiful Tuesday full of sunshine and smiles.
Love and Light
Namaste’
Rose

STRIVING FOR MY OWN PERFECT PRACTICE


PALINOIA  The obsessive repetition of an act until it is completely mastered. Interesting word I found on a page I follow on a Facebook called Word Porn. I am in love with words and this one struck me as being peculiar and interesting. I am in awe of this word, and I am the strive to be the epitome’ of this word in my yoga practice as I was and will be again in my dance.

This is what I am doing in my yoga class, and Matt the manager mapped me out a schedule so I can practice 7 days a week if I choose to do so. I am seeing such progress but there are so many areas in my practice that need improvement by repetitive actions. My quads need to be more flexible, I finally learned last night from Vladamir my Iyengar teacher the reason my leg does not bend far behind me. I am flexible forward but not backwards. I will work on this until I get it. I do not give up and I am so competitive with myself.

When I was 19 I set out to train to be a lifeguard, and I practiced over and over and it was not easy for me. I passed the lifeguard test with flying colors, because I put the time in to really perfect all of the dives. Some of those dives were extremely difficult for me but in the end I finally did them. I practiced over and over and did not give up. It is the same with pirouettes. Find your spot and turn, and practice, practice, and practice yet some more.

Tonight I am really excited about my class with Clara. She is absolutely fantastic and inspiring. After it is some much needed fun time with James my husband and then a three day weekend. Wishing everyone a Happy Friday. Love and light.
Namaste’ 
Rose

PIGEON POSE


Good Morning to all, it is really cool here this morning. It rained yesterday here in Los Angeles for the first time in months. It was refreshing and I love the rain, but this morning I was outside in the crisp air and I pondered if I could ever deal with winter again.

I went to yoga last night with Nicole at Pink Iron, and I realized if you do not eat enough your practice is completely off kilter. My balance was not up to par at all. I will remember that for tonight before my Iyengar class at Yogaworks with Vladamir. 

I also realized I need to do back openers to get my back and shoulders to open up more. I also think I cannot reach my feet behind me in pigeon pose because of my short arms, but I learned I need to open up my back more. I am still convinced taller people have it easier though. I think pigeon pose is so beautiful and I will be able to do it soon, I just need to work on my back and shoulders.

Coffee time, and work time. Wishing everyone a beautiful day.
Love and light.
Namaste’
Rose

YOGA PRACTICE


Good Morning to all. It is Friday, I am am so happy about that. Yesterday I went to my Iyengar Yoga class, which I absolutely love. My body is really beginning to open up in the poses, it is such a wonderful class to add if you mostly take Vinyaya. Tonight is Vinyasa class at Yogaworks. I am really becoming flexible but I must say I am a little afraid to do a headstand, I guess inversions will come with time. I love seeing my practice expand. I am able to do a split up against the wall with no props for my hands.

I am off for now, I went out with my wonderful friend Francie last night, and we sat at an outdoor cafe for a couple hours, and when I got home the cats kept us up half the night so I am really sleepy. One more day of work then it is the weekend. Happy Weekend to all.
Namaste’
Rose

BE CURIOUS



Good Morning to all today. I am on my second cup of coffee, I could not sleep last night. My mind was racing about The Monday Night Mission. My volunteer date is coming up fast, and all I could think about was the little things I want to get done on Sunday, bake some cookies and bag them up and make ham and cheese sandwiches for the hungry. 

I missed yoga yesterday, we are having some minor issues on the home front, but tonight I will be back at it at Yogaworks. I have to lock my cats in the bedroom for the duration of the afternoon, the mortgage inspector is coming again and they have to come in and neither of us will be home. The building manager said they will not enter the bedroom so the cats do not flee out the front door. I hate to lock them up, but I would rather go to work and know they are safe, and hopefully the people coming in will not open the door. They said this is the last time, so I am relieved. With cats it is difficult, because every time you open the door they want to bolt. Curiosity and all, you know what they say about curiosity. I think it is imperative for humans to stay curious, but for cats not so much. I am completely curious about everything, so hopefully my curiosity will not get me into too much trouble. 

I am off for now. Long day and I may meet my friend Francie for coffee after yoga. She is my wonderful friend I met when I did the Richard Simmons video. I am so thankful, I started this project and I am making things happen and meeting some amazing friends along the way. I feel very blessed as I drink my morning coffee. Love and Light to all. 
Namaste’
Rose




SORE BODY, HEAVY HEART

Stormy loved to travel, here she is in Delaware at the Bailey Home.


Good Morning to all. It is Thursday and I am so happy it is almost the weekend. I am really sore today. Tuesday I worked out with Mike, my trainer and friend and the new workout left me  really sore. I had a Vinyasa Yoga class last night with Nicole, and I am even more sore this morning. Sore in a good way mind you, but I may need to purchase some Epsom salts to soothe. Tonight I am taking either a Vinyasa class at Yogaworks, or a Inyegar class. It depends when I get there and how I feel. The Inyegar class is very challenging but slower, and may be a good fit since my muscles feel fatigued.

Off for today, this post is short and sweet. I am sleepy this week and a bit over emotional for some reason. My cat Stormy that passed away last January has been on my mind a lot. I was in the pet store and all of a sudden I was reminded of that horrid week, and other reminders hit me as the day progressed. It is strange how you go through your daily life and all of a sudden something from the past hits you and you are transported to that time and place immediately. I am a very emotional creature, so I choose to feel whatever comes my way, but then I find it necessary to block it out a bit so I can get on with everything I need to accomplish. I cannot believe it has already been eight months since we lost her. She was family and will forever be missed yet remembered.

Wishing you a beautiful Thursday
Love and Light
Namaste’
Rose

DAILY YOGA PRACTICE


Good Morning and a Happy Friday to all. I love Friday’s, since moving to Los Angeles both my husband James and I do not work weekends. On Saturday’s we go on mini adventures. California is an amazing place to explore and discover. Today it is completely overcast, which feels totally like Autumn, without the cold temperatures you get back east.

Yesterday I took my second Iyengar Yoga class, which is slow and you hold the poses much longer than a Vinyasa class. It helps you work on your poses and correct alignment. It is not an easy class, and you must engage your mind body connection. Tonight I am taking a Vinyasa class. I am practicing yoga five times a week now, and I can already feel my practice opening up. It is a fantastic feeling to work hard and feel the results. Daily yoga is my new lifestyle.

I am off for now. I think I need a second cup of coffee before I get moving and begin my day. I wish everyone a beautiful day and weekend.

Namaste’
Love and Light
Rose