Overflowing with Gratitude + 2 treats for you

I am overflowing with gratitude after yesterday's A-M-A-Z-I-N-G retreat!

I wanted to spread some of the love so today I have two fabulous (free) things to share with you.

1. The first video from my newest online offering, Reflect, Release, Renew. In it I guide you through a simple grounding meditation. It's a beautiful way to start your day with intention and it is only about 9 minutes long, making it easy to incorporate into your life! This is the first video I've ever recorded and I'm feeling a little sheepish about putting it out in the world. It is definitely moving me out of my comfort zone to post it here (as opposed to the private blog for the course) but in the spirit of growth I'm going for it! I hope you enjoy it!

2. I'm giving away a space in Reflect, Release, Renew! It starts May 1st and I am really looking forward to sharing it with the world! This class is all about simple but powerful practices to bring more mindfulness to your daily life. I craft my offerings around the seasons and for Spring I have included a focus on shedding what no longer serves us and making space for the new, a natural inclination this time of year. The course includes daily posts with videos, meditations, journal prompts, activities, and more - all designed to take 15 minutes or less. We will touch on a variety of topics - everything from noticing where our time goes to self-care at work to the power of unplugging. To read more about the course and sign up head over here. To enter the give away leave a comment on this post telling me what you wish to let go of this season. I'll randomly draw a winner on Thursday, April 26th at 9am (EST). You can enter anytime before then.

Here's the video and thank you so much for being here - I truly appreciate each and every one of my readers!

Joyful Abundance: Day 25 & 26

1. Getting home safely (and early) yesterday

2. A full night's sleep in my own bed last night

3. Homemade Lavender aromatherapy spray

4. Healthy & delicious soup

5. Field greens

6. A burst of creative energy this afternoon

7. Completing a project I have been pondering for several months

8. Midwives

9. Creating a visual representation of my "brand" (pics to come soon)

10. Honoring my body today, even when it is feeling a bit limited (darn sciatica)

Hello from Rochester!

Hello Lovely Readers!

I hope you are all doing well! I am in Rochester for a four-day yoga training. It has been a wonderful experience so far - tons of information, fabulous like-minded people topped with yoga!

However, I have been remiss in my daily Joyful Abundance posts...

It's funny because each day I do pause and think of things to post about, but I haven't seemed to make it to the computer...

Here are a few of the wonderful things I have encountered over the past 5 days...

1. Kind strangers! While getting my oil changed the gentleman asked me to turn on my bright lights and I accidentally hit the washer fluid subsequently giving him a surprising squirt in the face! He simply laughed and wiped his face off - so sweet and understanding!

2. Three days of hot baths in an enormous jacuzzi tub courtesy of a kind friend who is letting me stay at his house.

3. YogaFit and all the fabulous people associated with this organization!

4. Tapping into the ability to breathe through anything

5. Finding forgiveness for others

6. This great quote (don't know the source) that someone said in training yesterday: "In my life nothing ever goes wrong." A great reminder that everything happens for a reason!

7. Hot coffee

8. Dove dark chocolate

9. TV detox

10. The opportunity to study the Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad Gita

11. Field greens and spinach

12. The "off" button on cellphones

13. Tulips blooming everywhere!

14. Deva Premal

15. GPS

Joyful Abundance: Day 19

Happy Monday!

Today's Joyful Abundance:

1. A trip to the Botanical Gardens with Megan and my gramma

2. Watching a movie in the afternoon - such a luxury!

3. Options - it is nice to have options!

4. Waking up in time to make coffee and peruse this month's O Magazine

5. Soup, salad, and breadsticks at Olive Garden

Joyful Abundance: Days 17 & 18

I seem to be able to remember to post my Joyful Abundance list every other day...

10 fabulous things to be thankful for over the past two days:

1. An aromatherapy bath this evening

2. Artist Date at Wegman's - bought myself two new essential oils + Vogue

3. Going to the park & pushing my niece on the swings

4. The Planner Pad

5. My yoga practice

6. Sushi for dinner last night

7. Saturday night spent watching this cute movie with Meg & Michael

8. Email

9. A few hours spent lounging in bed

10. 10pm date with my hubby, a glass of vino, and Brothers & Sisters

Joyful Abundance: Days 15 & 16

my closet - before

I'm not sure if you can tell, but the stuff is literally stacked about 2 feet high in there. It's embarrassing... but true. If you read this blog regularly, you may recall that I have had "clean my closet" on the to-do list/ monthly goals since about December 2009... well one of the assignments for the Tranquilista e-course this week was to de-clutter and so I finally got around to that darn closet!

my closet - after

Yay! You can see the floor in there! I put together two big bags of stuff to give away and a bag of garbage as well. So glad to see it all go - au revoir clutter!!!

Today's (and yesterday's) Joyful Abundance:

1. A clean closet!!!

2. Pandora.com

3. Having dinner with my grandparents

4. Bookstore browsing with Meg & Michael

5. A day off!!!

6. Health insurance for my family

7. Tranquility du Jour Podcast

8. Going for mani/pedis with Meg

9. The debit card - how did we ever live without it!

10. Fresh purple tulips for my office

Joyful Abundance: Days 13 & 14

Missed yesterday... sorry! After 12 hours of work, I headed for the couch & some TV...

1. Blooming forsythia, buds on the trees -spring has arrived!

2. Magnolia trees (gorgeous!)

3. Homemade pizza

4. Inspiration

5. My fabulous husband

6. My amazing daughter

7. Cuddly furbabies

8. Brahmari Breathing

9. My laptop

10. Semi-vacation starts Sunday!

Image Credit

Joyful Abundance: Day 12

Today's Joyful Abundance:

1. Tim Horton's Coffee

2. Met some super sweet ladies doing great work with kids in need

3. El Coto Rioja

4. A beautiful salad with faux chicken + olive oil vinaigrette

5. Wore a suit that hasn't fit me in almost a year!

What are you thankful for today?

Ooops... AGAIN!!!

Oops... I forgot to post again yesterday... I guess I'm still not in the habit of posting everyday. Usually I am reminded when I look at my to-do list, but yesterday was a to-do-list-free kind of day!

Yesterday's Joyful Abundance:

1. Sunshine :-)

2. Checked out the Earth-Spirit Expo

3. Returned to fave yoga class after a week off

4. Not working after 12pm

5. Going to bed early

Joyful Abundance: Day 10

Today's Joyful Abundance:

1. Finalized Yoga for Living Wellness CD!

2. Yummy sushi with BFF & her beau at Wasabi

3. Found time to enjoy a latte and wander Elmwood Village with my hubby

4. Videos of my niece dancing

5. Peppermint Tea + Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookie = delightful snack combination

Image Credit

Ooops.. Joyful Abundance: Day 9

Ooops... I forgot to post yesterday! Well I am only about 11 hours late, but here goes...

Yesterday's Joyful Abundance:

1. Trip to the craft store for art journal supplies

2. 1 blissful uninterrupted hour with my art journal (pics to come soon)

3. Indian food for dinner

4. Completed & turned in final grant application (yay!)

5. 45 tranquil minutes of yoga a la Tranquility To Go CD

Joyful Abundance: Day 8

1. Water with organic lemon
2. All the eye candy via the Tranquilista e-course ladies' inspirations boards (A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!)
3. 30 minutes on the treadmill that totally turned around my day
4. Bookstores
5. Where Women Create (so inspiring!)

PS I now have a Flickr click here if you want to check out my visual journal pics

Joyful Abundance: Day 7

1. Visual journals, notebooks, art journals - love them all!
2. Mandarin salad complete with carmelized almonds
3. Magazines!
4. An office full of plants
5. Supta Baddha Konasana

Joyful Abundance: Day 6

1. Taking 5 minutes with my eyes closed when I really needed it this afternoon
2. Easily finding what I was looking for in my ridiculously messy closet (this is sort of a miracle - seriously my husband recently remarked, "the piles in there are like two feet high")
3. Tranquility Essential Oil (aahhhh...)
4. Text Messaging
5. Parenthood is on tonight! (love this show)

Joyful Abundance: Day 5

1. Discovered this lovely lady & signed up for her fabulous workshop
2. Started my week off with an energizing run on the treadmill
3. Got some clarity on my next big goals and action steps via le visual journal
4. New clients! Yay!
5. Faux chicken finger wrap for lunch (hot sauce & blue cheese is one of the best food pairings EVER)

Wishing you heaps of Joyful Abundance,

Mindy

Joyful Abundance: Day 4

Happy Easter!

We enjoyed a fun-filled day of family, peeps, peanut butter eggs, darling toddler girls in dresses, sunshine and daffodils, deviled eggs, and all things Easter-y!

Today's Joyful Abundance:

1. Spending time with the whole extended family
2. Slept in until 10am (awesome!)
3. Lilies
4. Sleeping with the windows open
5. My TranquiliT all-in-one wrap

Joyful Abundance: Day 3

Today's Joyful Abundance:

1. A day spent soaking up the sun & walking around Goat Island with Megan
2. California Red Wine
3. First Saturday off in months
4. First time opening the windows and enjoying the breeze (it was like summer here in Niagara Falls today)
5. I don't have to set my alarm for tomorrow!!!

Day 2: Joyful Abundance

Today's Joyful Abundance:

1. Black patent leather peep-toe flats
2. Grilled veggies (yum!)
3. Spending time with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece
4. Polite & helpful customer service
5. Lemonade sorbet

Joyful Abundace: Day 1

Today's Joyful Abundance:

1. Running outside in the sunshine

2. An iPod loaded with good music

3. Hot coffee + 30 minutes with my visual journal in the morning

4. Homemade pizza

5. My little brother (it's his birthday!)

Image Credit

Gratitude: The Master List

Last week I treated myself to a copy of Sarah Ban Breathnach's The Simple Abundance Companion. I dove into it this morning over a steaming soy chai latte at Starbucks!

One of the first things Sarah asks us to do is to make a Master List of 50 things we are grateful for. She says, "...making a master list of your blessings is a reassuring reminder that all you have is all you need."

My Master List (in no particular order):

1. My health

2. My family

3. My two adorable fur babies, Milo and Monty

4. Our beautiful home in a great neighborhood

5. Being my own boss

6. Yoga

7. The Internet

8. Books, books, books

9. My body & all that it does for me

10. My businesses

11. Scented candles

12. Magazines

13. Down pillows

14. My girlfriends of 20+ years (aka The YaYa's)

15. Pandora.com

16. Burt's Bees chapstick

17. Hot showers

18. Clean water to drink

19. Flowers

20. Babies

21. Courage

22. HGTV

23. The Planner Pad

24. Dark chocolate

25. Wine

26. Digital cameras

27. Blogs

28. Silence

29. Surprises

30. Peppermint Tea

31. Bubble Baths

32. Perseverance

33. My Ph.D.

34. Dreams come true

35. DVR

36. Memories

37. Photographs

38. Board Games

39. Tranquility du Jour podcasts

40. Meditation

41. Pranayama Practices

42. Sitcoms, especially Modern Family and Community

43. Movies

44. HBO on Demand (such a luxury)

45. Journals

46. Colored pens & pencils

47. Glitter Glue

48. Opportunity

49. Doing what I love for a living (priceless)

50. Possibility

What are you grateful for today?