A good little bookworm

Ahhhh....the refreshing sigh that comes from a week of warmth, sun, community, ocean, and reading. Our trip to Puerto Rico was fabulous! We had beautiful sunshine everyday, yummy food, wonderful conversation, and loads of free time.

Unbelievably I finished almost all of my wish list books + 1 that I picked up (for my hubby) in the airport store. I know you all wait with baited breath for lengthy descriptions of my favorite t.v. shows but for once I relinquished my precious t.v. for chatting on the veranda between chapters of whatever book I was engrossed in at the time.

Here's my book report (in as few words as possible):

Day 1 (traveling day)- The Amazing adventures of Diet girl
Funny, witty, relatable , and a fast read. It was passed on to Sarah when I finished and then off to Stacey who was still mid-way through at the end of our trip.

Day 2- Buddha
Engrossing, beautifully written, and inspiring. I made a Buddha statue in the sand after reading and then contemplated the incredibility of how many grains of sand I could hold in my hand.

Day3/4- Life of Pi
Absolutely my favorite book of the week. A MUST read for everyone. The words danced off the page and I fell in love with Pi, his spirit, faith, and courage. I hope someday to believe so strongly in something that it becomes real to everyone around me too.

Day4-The Shack
This was not on my list but I saw it at the airport and got it for Matt. He didn't read it but I did. My sister Carrie declared it life changing. I thought it was a radical story, especially coming from a christian publisher. It was the perfect book to read after Life of Pi, because I believed every bit that happened (in the story) DID happen. We should all look for God-breathed experiences in our everyday life.

Day 5- In Defense of Foods(partially)
A great read, most of the information I was already clear on, but I like the different approach he took on sharing it. I found that I moved around chapters and didn't finish it because I wanted to be wrapped up in another beautiful story.

Day 5- The Greatest Secret in the World
This book is a ten month journey that I began on the trip. There are 12 scrolls to be read over the course of ten months. It is a great book to begin if you have first read The greatest Salesman in the World. I am excited to see where the scrolls take me.

Day 6-
I spent a little more time reading In Defense of Foods but spent most of the day in town, shopping and people watching.

Day 7 (travel home)- She's come Undone
This was my final book and I began it, but spent most of the travel time home reading Sarah's graduate paper and revising it with her. Though I am not sure if her paper will become an open publication when she completes it, she did a fabulous job and I have a deep understanding of usability testing in the health industry thanks to her breakdown and explanation. I am confident she will get high marks from her professors and peers.

OK.... that was my trip and to show it off best just ONE of the many pics taken of me with (of course) a book.
p.s. when my album is ready to share I will post the link here on my blog!

Ushering in Change

Tonight I had the privilege of attending my girlfriend Carrie's Inaugural Ball at the Ivy hotel. On this day in history I must say that I found myself caught in the wave of excitement. It has been a hard four years for many of us, and definitely as a nation we have felt the decline in our spirits. With our loved ones in Iraq, and many people living in fear, I am grateful to see a spark of hope among the masses. It is reflected in the incredible turnout at President Obama's (a sigh of awe as I refer to him for the first time as my president) swearing in and the anticipation of many where there had been resignation due to the economic crisis.

No matter what your political beliefs I believe everyone can sign on for Obama's message of service and change. This nation is in desperate need of change. We need to change valuing things for valuing experiences. We need to change our separation for oneness. We need to change our ego for spirit. We need to change our taking for service. And more than anything we, as a country, as a community, as individuals need to be the change. I know we are ready for it because as a collective we ushered in change today.

And if it is change that we dream of then we must know that it WILL manifest. For not many years ago Martin Luther King Jr. said "I have a dream", and today his dream came true. So will ours, so will ours!

The final countdown

Only three more days and I will be sunning myself on the beautiful beaches of Vieques, Puerto Rico. I am beside myself after the last week of sub zero temperatures and going to multiple hot yoga classes a day isn't quite as effective when I walk outside and am instantly transformed into a walking icicle as the sweat from class freezes on my body.

I am reading You are what you eat and despite the author's best efforts I don't want to eat green leafy vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. The only thing that soothes my soul and freezing tucus is mashed potatoes, hot cocoa, and warm oatmeal cookies. Hardly a colorful and vibrant food selection, but what is to be expected when the closest thing around me to vibrant is my glowing white legs??

I'm a ready for some sun, waves, and natural heat, bring it on...the final countdown 3 days....

Designing my 2009

Radio silence is over....come back red rover.....are you there????

I'd like to say my life is so filled with fascinating things that I have no time to blog about life's goings on. More truthfully stated it would be a break down of season finales of my favorite shows. Here's what you missed.

For the second season in a row a female won the biggest loser, a new season has also started with the largest contestants ever.

Real and Chance did not both find love. Chance turned down his two lovely suitettes (female suitors) and Real said yes to Cornfed (we'll see how that turns out)

Heroes is really just too confusing to explain, even I don't know what is going on.

Top Chef is down to 8 and so far I have correctly called the chef that must "pack up your knives and go" all but one time.

Angela and Dwight have finally been outed to Andy on the Office.

Monk and Psych have officially started up again and Burn Notice starts next week...this of course means I will be beside myself with scheduling TV watching!

Honestly though it is January and the apple doesn't fall far from the collective tree so I find myself thinking of resolutions as much as the next person. I like to take a different look at it though.

The process of recollection over the year 2008 and thinking of the year to come is what I like to refer to as Designing my 2009. Rather than make resolutions I am sure to break within weeks, I designed for myself my dreams/goals for the coming year. I took all of these dreams with me into a workshop that my teacher Pauline leads each January called Envisioning your Life. For one day the focus is opening to your intentions and dreams for the coming year. The piece de resistance (french meaning climax, english meaning "I don't want to!")of the day is creating a vision board.

My resistance was not actually in the creation of my board. In fact they are not new to me, I've done one every year for the last three years. However this year I didn't have 2 weeks to make my board. I had ONE HOUR!!!

Panic and desperation set in as my perfectionist mind took hold chattering about the impossibility of getting it right in "What 30 minutes now??" How does 30 minutes go by so quickly paging through magazine pictures and panicking to yourself "No WAY 15 minutes left?!?" This is killing me. I'm cutting and muttering, pasting, and muttering. And yet I did it. It was definitely a challenge but so valuable for me to get out of my head and be forced to design my vision within this time constraint. It ensured a heartfelt expression of what I really want for my 2009 rather than what I think looks pretty.

Pretty or not here it is!


So it possibly bears a bit of explaining and that I will do.

A picture of myself (and Matt) is in the center. Surrounding the picture of us (above/below) is beautiful sky and clouds. This is my representation of God. Above and below is written "I, Lisa, manifest mindfully and joyfully for my good and the good of all". The board is then split in two by the sky, the right side is my career and the left side is my personal life.

Here are some things I desire to manifest in my career and are represented on my board....mindful movement for everybody (this in the form of expanding and teaching more IntenSati classes), inspired workouts, creating new and exciting programs, many students in my classes, body + soul in my training, playfulness, more writing (hence a new post), writing from my heart the things I know and things that have changed me, financial freedom, sharing joy with humanity, teaching open heartedly and without judgement.

Here are some things I desire to manifest in my personal life that are on the board....time spent with Matt biking, hiking, loving, less TV watching, traveling, finding the delicate space that I can hold myself in balance, more prayer, meditation, a deeper yoga practice, eating whole foods, enjoying my indulgences, loving and accepting myself as I am, more forgiveness less perfectionism.

Wow! You can get a lot on a board in one hour. I know one thing. Every year I've made a board has been better than the last so I can't wait to see what this one brings. I'm shooting for the sky, but you can't reach the sky if you don't aim high and give it your best go.

Blessings to all of you in designing your best life in 2009! If you are interested Pauline had such high demand for her first workshop she is leading another one January 31st. If you would like the information e-mail me and I will forward it on to you.

Love, Love L-

The Biggest Loser, loses

I am not unlike most of the world in that I find myself sucked into the vortex known as reality t.v. each fall. To make matters worse I am a TIVO owner. This means that I am able to easily record an infinite number of shows with the touch of a button (boop-de-boop).

One of my favorites has always been The Biggest Loser. This season I have found myself disappointed each week with the contestants inability to pull big numbers (in reference to their weekly weight loss). It is fairly ridiculous for me in the profession of wellness to expect this and yet I sit in front of the t.v. screen on Tuesdays wondering "what is wrong with this batch?" Last year I was always impressed with the weekly weight loss drop in double digits and the '08 group has been putting up 3's, 5's and even some 0's.

And then I remembered the inexplicable truth that is reality t.v. Epiphany here folks pay attention. It is not reality! When placed in controlled situations while cameras roll there are many things that can be forced, but the body is not one of them. It will ebb and flow as we do, moving in and out of weight fluctuations without regard to what we think about it.

Reality is, weight loss is a long road. It is a journey that only the brave will undertake and the most courageous succeed in. Even with hours of workout time under their belt and nothing to think of other then how to prepare their next healthy meal the contestants still experience a stand still.

So what for the many masses that don't have personal chefs, 6 hours a day to spend in the gym, and Jillian or Bob pushing the body beyond what was believed capable? How can success be realized?

That is the hard part. There isn't an easy diet, workout, program, or pill to create immediate results. It has to be done as one learns to walk, crawling first, then standing, falling down, standing again, one tentative foot in front of the other. There must be a deep desire for a different experience in the body, a commitment to living the life that will bring it about, and a willingness to push forward even when it seems to be fruitless.

Ultimately the reward of this challenging road is a body to stand proud in, but it can only be achieved if the individual is willing to commit to the journey.

A passion for life

It might seem funny to follow a Ho-hum post with a passion post but such is the ebb and flow of life. Two rather large occurrences have brought me to this topic. Here's my run down...

1. My monthly IntenSati training call highlighted a discussion on Integrity. The official sati definition of Integrity? An absence of contradiction between what you say and what you do. The essence of life is to live it fully, wildly, and lovingly. When the call finished I was stirred up a bit and when I thought about living my life wildy the word passion came to mind, and then the word obsession. So I checked out the official Webster definitions.
-Passion: any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling as love and hate
-Obsession: the domination of one's thoughts by a persistent idea, image, desire, or feeling.

I decided I need to be obsessed, consumed, diligent, laser-focused on creating thoughts that are positive, uplifting, affirming, strong, loving, peaceful, and joyful. If I let my guard down for one moment, negativity will seep into me infesting my mind, heart, and body. Then my passion will be snuffed out.

Interesting that another of the definitions in Webster for passion was in reference to the life of Christ (The passion of The Christ). He is the best example available of an individual being obsessed, consumed, diligent, laser-focused. He said himself that he needed to be 'about my father's business' when questioned about the object of his obsession. Thoughts of God kept him safe for 40 days in the desert and even in complete agony on the cross his thoughts were on God. Of course his life endeavor would be the definition of passion.

My conclusion? Obsession and passion go hand in hand. They are soul mates, best friends, peanut butter and jelly, what have you.

2.Michael Kaplan has a passion for life that is untouchable to any I have ever seen before. First let me give you some background...He is a dear friend that went in for a routine root canal last week. The area became infected and by Saturday he was rushed into surgery. They put him in ICU and since that first surgery he has had 3 more. The doctors continue to find abscesses that need to be drained and today they performed three separate procedures. In the midst of this he is lucid and aware, writing notes, asking not to be given pain medication (he wants to be able to participate in his recovery), and holding stronger that anything I've witnessed.

Over the last 4 days there have been countless people coming in to support and care for his wife, Pauline and offer their love, unconditionally, for a man that has played a large role in transforming many of their lives. Michael is a holistic health practitioner and healer.

Even I find my ho-hums transmuted into passionate sighs tonight. I elected to stay at the hospital on watch tonight so Pauline could rest some. On one of my visits to look in on Michael he motioned to me that he wanted to write. He asked how the surgery went, and then opened his right eye a bit (his face is quite swollen from all the invasive surgery and bacteria) and waved at me. He waved at me! Now be clear this man is on almost no pain medication (the nurse informed me she'd "die" if she was in his place) and has been through a horrendous ordeal this week, and he waved at me.

I can't help but feel a bit reticent while I type this and recall last week writing of my overwhelming doldrums and boredom. I am grateful to be here now, grateful, grateful, grateful.

Today I will look for opportunities to be obsessed and passionate in my life, my thoughts, and my dreams. Those opportunities may be hiding someplace I didn't think to look because I am sleeping. Today I will open my eyes, even if it is just one eye. Today I will wave at the world.

With passion, L-

HI- HO, HI- HO......

it's off to work I go. The last two weeks have felt more like ho-hum. The shorter days and cooler weather have had an expected effect that I experience around this time each year. It seems the farther the sun is from us the farther my inspiration and excitement seem from me.

I look forward to the impending cold about as much as going to the dentist or doctor but I also understand the need for this time of reflection, and going under to refresh and renew. I have had enough examples in my life living as a tired, shriveled flower waiting for spring, believing the light would never come, only to find that my blossom had doubled in size once it appeared again. As I gain a deeper understanding of the cycles of life I feel as though I could, this time, possibly align myself with the ho-hums. After all without them I would never have my oohs and ahhs.

So I've decided to make a truce with the dark, cold winter that is on it's way. I know it will come, and I know it will go and perhaps if I can welcome it washing over me, I will gain my insights without struggle and needless sabotage.

So in regards to this alliance, I have agreed with my ho- hums to do the following; nap when I feel tired, cap out my to-do list at 5 items per day, not berate myself when I don't "get anything done", reuse workouts with clients if creativity fails me, and eat as many desserts as I need to.

In return the ho-hums have promised to stay only as long as absolutely necessary not lingering for even one extra minute, give me the much needed rest I deserve after my busy summer of growth, expansion, and love, and leave me with a new and refreshed excitement for my life.

So here's to looking at things a little differently, I already feel a little Hi-Ho coming on!