Monthly Goal Reflection: March 2010

Hello!

A new month has arrived which means it is time to review last month's goals and set new goals for March!

My February goals:

• Book family vacation for July: OUI! We are going to Paris! Yay!
• Weekly yoga class at local studio: Yes!
  
• Attend Spinning class every week: Ooops... only did this once. The classes do not fit in well with my schedule. May need a new plan for Spinning...
  
• Run at least once per week: 3 of 4 weeks
  
• Swim laps at least once per week: Did not do this at all...
  
• Weekly Artist Date: Yes, these really keep me in a sane state of mind
  
• Recommit to Morning Pages: Sort of. I have not been doing them everyday but I am writing more frequently
  
• Increase meditation practice to twice per week: Yes, I have done this, but I still have not created a set time for meditation in my weekly schedule. I know myself and I need a routine if I'm going to make it stick.
  
• Plan & facilitate Chakra 4 Workshop at studio: Postponed until March 2nd
  
• Have a blast while raising money for V-Day at the 1st Do Yoga. Do Good. Book Club: Yes, I had a fabulous time! We raised $30 for V-Day!
  
• Teach mother-daughter yoga at Shakti to raise money for the Priscilla Project: Yes! We had two lovely mom-daughter pairs join us & we raised $40 for the Priscilla Project, which provides medical care for pregnant refugee women in Buffalo.
  
• Clean out my closet: What is with me & my closet!?! Ugh...this goal has been around since I was like 13 years-old and more recently since December '09. Didn't even take a crack at it again this month...
  
• List goals for redecorating/reorganizing the house, room by room: Started, but I am still perusing books and magazines for inspiration.
  
• Spend time with my visual journal: A little bit, but not as much as I would have liked. Very excited that I signed up for Kimberly's Tranquilista e-course where we will be using our visual journals often!
  
• Research taking insurance for yoga classes: No. This is another one that has been on and off the to-do list for an entire year.
  
• Create new brochures for yoga studio & wellness center: No. I think I am in need of help in the marketing arena. Like a wise woman recently told me, I see myself as a 1-woman band and it does not have to be that way...
  
• Complete consultation project report: YES!!! So glad to have this done. Rewarded myself with a spa date with my sister.
  
• Network at a handful of community events this month: Yes! I stepped out of my comfort zone and attended these events armed with business cards and a smile.
  
• Really, truly 100% caught up on 2009 accounting in preparation for meeting with accountant in early March: YES!!! This feels huge. I also promised myself that I will never, ever get that far behind in the accounting ever again.

March goals:

• Brainstorm how to fit more exercise into my weekly routine.
• Decide on a set time for meditation.
• Purchase wallpaper for our upstairs bathroom.
  
• Sketch out a plan for a backyard garden.
• Outline new Stress Management course.
  
• Call two insurance companies and ask about taking insurance for yoga.
• Carve out some time to brainstorm about marketing plan, preferably with someone who knows something about marketing.
  
• Facilitate Introduction to Meditation Workshop at studio.
  
• Host Women's Wellness Retreat on March 13th from 10am-4pm.
• Teach mother-daughter yoga at Shakti Yoga to raise money for the Priscilla Project.
• Celebrate family birthdays at party complete with bounce house!
• Honor my brother's girlfriend and my nephew-to-be at a splendid baby shower.
• See Our Lady Peace at The Riviera Theatre!
• Host Do Yoga. Do Good. Book Club to raise funds for The Niagara County SPCA.
  
• Attend Megan's (possibly last) Elementary School Play.

J'adore listing my goals each month! Consider carving out some time for yourself to reflect on what you hope to accomplish today, this week, this month, or this year.

Take care,

Mindy

Photo by moi, the first flowers I spotted in my neighborhood last Spring

Bloom into your Best Self: A Bouquet of Spring Offerings

Bonjour! Please consider joining moi for one of our many Spring Offerings at Tree of Life Yoga Studio. Our focus this Spring is Blooming into your Best Self. Read on for the scoop!

Note: the special rate of $80 for the Women's Wellness Retreat ends Monday March 1st so be sure to reserve your space today!


Introduction to Meditation, Thursday March 4th, 7pm – 8:30pm

Are you curious about meditation? Not quite sure how to get started? Dip your toes into this ancient practice by joining life coach Kim David and moi for a relaxing evening full of practical information and techniques.

Participants in this workshop will:

~ Discover the power of now

~ Learn simple techniques for staying present

~ Be presented with basic information on the brain science behind meditation and how the mind
works

~ Have the opportunity to practice mini-meditations in a peaceful, supportive environment

~ Leave with several meditation techniques to practice at home

Pre-registration is requested and space is limited
Investment: $20 if you pre-register, $25 at the door (space permitting)

Chakra 4 Workshop Tuesday, March 2nd, 6:30-8:30pm

The fourth chakra is located at the heart center and relates to our ability to love ourselves and others.

Participants in this workshop will:

~ practice yoga postures to activate the fourth chakra (located at the heart center)

~ enjoy a guided meditation to help you connect with your center of love and compassion

~ reconnect with your authentic self

~ cultivate unconditional love and acceptance of yourself

~ learn strategies to help you deepen your connection with your fourth chakra

Pre-registration is required. Investment is $20 and includes all materials.
You do not have to have attended the previous Chakra Workshops in order to participate in and fully enjoy this workshop!

Women’s Wellness Retreat, Saturday March 13th, 10am - 4pm

Join life coach Kim David and moi for a day focused on Blooming into your Best Self! Welcome in Spring and renew your mind, body, and spirit with vinyasa yoga, meditation, and self-care workshops.

Your $99 investment includes two vinyasa yoga sessions, meditation session, both workshops with Kim, lunch, and plenty of healthy snacks throughout the day! The discounted rate of $80 ends Monday March 1st. Be sure to call or email today to reserve your space at this special rate!

Meditation Circle with Reverend Ellen Bourn
Thursdays, March 18, 25, April 8, 15, 7:00 - 8:00 PM

Meditation has shown by medical science to reduce stress, hypertension, anxiety. The concepts of Dis-ease will be explored. The participants will have the opportunity to experience better coping strategies which have been shown by medical science to reduce hypertension, anxiety, and aid with weight management.

Meditation gives us the ability to remain empowered throughout our day. Meditation is a tool that offers us peace, relaxation and a deeper attunement with ones soul. Learn to focus on your inner-self, discover your divine power and transform your rough spots into Sacred spaces.

Are you not sure you are "Meditating properly"? Join us and find your answers.
This circle welcomes both those who have never experienced meditation and those with more experience.

Limited enrollment. Pre-registration is required. Commitment is required for the entire 4 week program.

$50.00 Energy Exchange.

Do Yoga. Do Good. Book Club, Tuesday March 30th, 6:30pm-8:30pm

I am so very excited to be combining two of my passions in order to raise awareness of and funds for issues dear to my heart. In February we raised $30 for V-day!

Our next book will be Marley & Me by John Grogan. Twenty percent of monies collected will be donated to the Niagara County SPCA.

$25 investment includes yoga class, book club discussion, & refreshments (20% of all monies collected will be donated to the Niagara County SPCA). Participants must provide their own copy of the book. Pre-registration is required.

To pre-register for any of our offerings, please contact me at 716-939-0892 or mscime710@roadrunner.com.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Mindy

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?

February Goals

Hello all!

I can't believe it is a week into February already! I am a bit overdue on reviewing last month's goals and setting new goals for this month, so here we go...

My January Goals:

• Celebrate Gramma's birthday: yes!
  
• Celebrate niece's 3rd birthday: yes!
  
• Celebrate Meg's 12th Birthday (OMG) by planning & executing two fabulous parties: sort of, one of the parties has been postponed
• Plan & facilitate Chakra 3 Workshop at studio: yup! and it was my best turn out yet!
  
• Prepare & deliver in-service on students with ADHD for staff at local high school: done
  
• Prepare syllabus for Introduction to Psychology at NCCC & meet new class: done
  
• Date night with the hubby to see It's Complicated: yes! loved this movie
  
• Enjoy yoga class at local studio at least once per week: yes indeed! every single week!
  
• Attend spinning class at YMCA at least once per week: 3 out of 4 weeks, so mostly
  
• Listen to the sweet sound of children singing at Meg's enrichment concert: yup!
  
• Savor a night away with bff's at the first ever Babyette (think sophisticated bachelorette party post-baby): this morphed into a couples night away and it was fabulous!
  
• Celebrate the baptism of beautiful daughter of one of bff's: yes, more fun with the girls!
  
• Travel for a 1-day consultation project: completed! despite lake effect snow :-)
  
• Teach yoga 4 times per week at studio: yup
  
• See at least 6 clients per week: yes
  
• Finally catch up on accounting for all 3 businesses: sort of, I definitely made an effort but then I got stuck on a QuickBooks question so I am waiting on the accountant before I can 100% catch up
  
• Step foot onto the treadmill at least once per week: 3 of 4 weeks
  
• Sit down to meditate at least once per week: I was able to do this every week! and I was reminded how much 5 minutes of meditation can really change your day
  
• Ponder family vacation for this spring/summer: yes, the hubby and I have a fabulous place in mind, but we have not booked it yet. as soon as we do I will share!
  
• Prepare for Do Yoga. Do Good. Book Club in February: yes! I also chose books & causes for the next two meetings.
  
• Clean out my closet (carried over from my Solstice plans): Darn my closet! I STILL have not taken a stab at this project....
  
• Choose dates to run Women's Wellness Circle again: Yes! It will begin in June after Chakra Workshops have been completed

All in all I'd say I did pretty well with my January goals. Something different I did this month is that I printed out the monthly goals and stuck them inside my planner pad. I enjoy having my goals close by and found this helped to keep me on track.

Although I feel good about my accomplishments for the month, I also felt pretty overwhelmed these past few weeks. I think the overwhelm is not so much about what has to be done, but more about the stress I place around it. I had a few days where I felt like I was back to the days of going through the motions as quickly as possible in order to accomplish as much as possible. And while I love to get a lot done, I do not like to feel disconnected from the moment and constantly focused on the next thing. So I'd like to make my first goal for February to stay present with whatever I am doing. With that in mind, here are my February goals:

• Book family vacation for July
  
• Weekly yoga class at local studio
• Attend Spinning class every week
• Run at least once per week
• Swim laps at least once per week
  
• Weekly Artist Date
• Recommit to Morning Pages
  
• Increase meditation practice to twice per week
  
• Plan & facilitate Chakra 4 Workshop at studio
• Have a blast while raising money for V-Day at the 1st Do Yoga. Do Good. Book Club
• Teach mother-daughter yoga at Shakti to raise money for the Priscilla Project
• Clean out my closet
• List goals for redecorating/reorganizing the house, room by room
• Spend time with my visual journal
• Research taking insurance for yoga classes
• Create new brochures for yoga studio & wellness center
• Complete consultation project report
• Network at a handful of community events this month
• Really, truly 100% caught up on 2009 accounting in preparation for meeting with accountant in early March

Have a great weekend,

Mindy

Discipline (even on the crappy days)

Hello Dear Readers!

It has been too long since my last blog post... I have been working on some special projects these past few weeks, but they are wrapping up now and I am looking forward to getting back to my "regular" schedule.

I began drafting this blog post in my mind last Saturday during Spinning class...

It all started when I woke up last Saturday feeling not so hot and discovered a giant cold sore on my lip. I feel like everyone has their own unique physical manifestation of stress and this is mine for sure. Lovely, eh? Needless to say, I wanted to crawl right back into my comfy bed and whine to my husband about my stressful life. But I didn't. I got ready and went to the studio to teach.

After class I was still feeling pretty crappy and I spotted some leftover cupcakes just calling to me to chug them down along with my cup of decaf. But I didn't. I had organic yogurt and a banana instead.

Then I really wanted to crawl back into bed and feel sorry for myself. But I didn't. I hauled myself over to the YMCA for a 75 minute Spinning class.

As the instructor was yelling at us, "Push it, push it, push it. I said PUSH IT," I started thinking about discipline or what we yogis call tapas.

Discipline for me is about returning to my practices - whether they be eating healthy foods, meditating, practicing yoga on the mat or off, or exercising - not just when I feel like it, but even when I don't.

However, I also think it is hugely important to be responsive to our needs and gentle with ourselves. To balance effort and surrender. For example, I'm writing this post from my bed on a Friday afternoon when I had intended to go for a run, pick up my new contacts, stop at the bank, etc.

So how does one decide whether to stay in bed or cajole yourself up and out? To indulge in the cupcake or eat the banana? To run or to nap? There is no easy answer.

This is something I continue to struggle with myself, but I have found that taking the time to really tap into myself before deciding helps me to know what I really need in that given moment. For me this a two-fold process. First, I aim to regularly engage in activities that help me reconnect within, such as practicing yoga, journaling, and taking Artist Dates. Second, when I find myself having a crappy day I try to carve out a few quiet moments to decipher what I really need.

Yesterday as I driving 100+ miles at 6am in the midst of lake-effect snow and white-out conditions I started to whine to myself about the situation I found myself in. "This sucks. The weather has been great all week and now it is awful on the day I have to drive for work. I'm scared. I can't see anything. I don't want to do this. I'm tired." You get the point...

I just happened to be listening to a Tranquility du Jour podcast on "Being Buddha-ful" and Kimberly was talking about how the crappy days are our teachers, even if we are not in the mood for the lesson. So I decided to transform the story I was telling myself (a SARK-ism). To return to the practice of mindfulness and simply observe what was happening without judgment. I reminded myself that I was in a tough situation, but that suffering was optional. I loosened my grip on the steering wheel a bit, stop trying to rush (a futile effort), and conceded I would arrive when I arrived. I began to feel more relaxed. I was thankful to have the opportunity to listen to a podcast. I sipped my hot coffee. I noticed the sun rising. And it made the difference in terms of how the rest of my day went. Just like last week when I dragged myself to Spinning. I felt better afterwards. And just like today when I am feeling better after an hour spent doing nothing.

Again I think of discipline as returning to the practices I am committed to for growth. And I am practicing tuning into what I need to be my best self and doing my best to respond to that, whether it be cupcakes or bananas.

Yummy (Quick & Easy) Eats

I do not consider myself much of a domestic diva, but sometimes when the mood is right I will attempt to concoct a meal!

Tonight was such a night! After venturing out for my weekly yoga class, I arrived home tres hungry. Together the hubby and I cooked up some salmon cakes with lemon dill yogurt sauce and a lovely spinach salad. I'm certainly no dietitian, but I think this was a pretty healthy meal! We didn't use a recipe. We just made it up as we went, but it turned out pretty good!

Salmon Cakes

1 can of wild caught salmon (the farmed stuff is not so good for you, more here)
a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1 organic egg
some breadcrumbs
garlic, minced (preferably fresh)
about 1/4 of a white onion, minced
about 1/4 of a green pepper, minced

Over medium heat, saute the EVOO, garlic, onion, and green pepper for a few minutes. Just enough to bring out the flavors and soften the veggies a bit. In a medium-sized bowl, combine salmon, sauteed mixture, egg, and breadcrumbs. Stir until well mixed. It should be a good consistency so that you can form the patties. Sorry... I'm sure there is a specific cooking word, but I have no idea. Now add some EVOO to your pan and cook the patties for about 10 minutes or until cooked through, flipping halfway through the cooking time.

Wow I feel like I am really butchering these instructions. I guess I don't need to point out that I have never before attempted to convey cooking instructions through the written word...

Lemon Dill Yogurt Sauce

1 cup organic nonfat plain yogurt
zest of 1/2 lemon
parsley to taste
dill to taste

Combine ingredients and stir. That was easy, huh!?!

Spinach Salad

organic baby spinach
craisins
crumbled blue cheese
sunflowers seeds

Combine ingredients & dress with Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing.

Enjoy!

I wish I would have taken a picture before we ate! Everything looked so pretty and tasted so good! Who knows maybe I will try cooking again sooner rather than later!

Photo credit

Settling into January

I am slowing settling into January.

I've decided that my focus for the year will be Joyful Abundance. To me this means being present with all of the wonderful things in my life. As I've written about before, abundance is so much more than money. Already this week I have noted heaps of joyful abundance in my life: an attached garage when there is two feet of snow outside, my 1.5 mile commute to the office, a hot cup of peppermint tea, the freedom to spend Monday morning at the gym, a long hot shower on a cold day, two strangers pushing my car out of a snowbank, a warm sweater from Anthropologie gifted to me by the hubby, a hot lunch of homemade vegetable soup, a snowblower fairy that cleared the driveway and sidewalks at my office before I arrived. There is so much to be thankful for once we started truly observing our world and all the little fabulous things in it!

With joyful abundance in mind, here are my January Goals:

• Celebrate Gramma's birthday
  
• Celebrate niece's 3rd birthday
  
• Celebrate Meg's 12th Birthday (OMG) by planning & executing two fabulous parties
• Plan & facilitate Chakra 3 Workshop at studio
• Prepare & deliver in-service on students with ADHD for staff at local high school
• Prepare syllabus for Introduction to Psychology at NCCC & meet new class
  
• Date night with the hubby to see It's Complicated
  
• Enjoy yoga class at local studio at least once per week
• Attend spinning class at YMCA at least once per week
• Listen to the sweet sound of children singing at Meg's enrichment concert
  
• Savor a night away with bff's at the first ever Babyette (think sophisticated bachelorette party post-baby)
  
• Celebrate the baptism of beautiful daughter of one of bff's
  
• Travel for a 1-day consultation project
• Teach yoga 4 times per week at studio
• See at least 6 clients per week
• Finally catch up on accounting for all 3 businesses
• Step foot onto the treadmill at least once per week
• Sit down to meditate at least once per week
• Ponder family vacation for this spring/summer
• Prepare for Do Yoga. Do Good. Book Club in February
• Clean out my closet (carried over from my Solstice plans)
• Choose dates to run Women's Wellness Circle again