Ahh, what sounds more comfortable than to simply be still, quiet and breathe? Especially now! Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Yet in light of the holiday season being upon us, only adding to our already busy lives, this simple technique is rarely practiced. Many of us are running around trying to get everything done all while holding our breath… or at the very least, not breathing fully. Pause. Take a few deep breaths and renew. ” The practice of yoga is well-demonstrated to reduce the physical effects of stress on the body. The body responds to stress through a fight-or-flight response, which is a combination of the sympathetic nervous system and hormonal pathways activating, releasing cortisol (the stress hormone) from the adrenal glands. Cortisol is often used to measure the stress response. Yoga practice has been demonstrated to reduce the levels of cortisol. Most yoga classes end with savasana, a relaxation pose, which further reduces the experience of stress” (Yoga Alliance). My gift to you is the 5-Minute Deep Relaxation visualization below. Find a comfortable seated or lying position, close your eyes and enjoy! Recommended dosage: at least daily.

HaPPy HoLIdAy SeASoN!!!  Enjoy this 5-minute Relaxation Podcast – Refresh & Renew!



After Hatha Raja Sadhana at Dancing Dogs Yoga, enjoying continued studies of Sri Ramakrishna & Vivekenanda at the park on the bay

City Loft Hotel Coffee Shop on Bay Street

Sundries at City Loft H0tel

A ‘provencial’ (not ‘old’) church on every corner

Our Doorman

Enjoying The Help in the garden

Morning read on the porch

Our favorite spots to visit…

Assistant work – special thanks to Haley who typed up notes, RYT outlines and lesson plans for me during our 10 hours on the road this weekend!  VERY PRODUCTIVE!

If you ever visit Beaufort, S.C., be sure to checkout these wonderful finds & sites:

Yes, Thai Indeed (amazing Basil rice!)

Cuthbert House

Plums Restaurant

Provencial Churches and Cemeteries

City Loft Hotel – the cutest boutique hotel which looks to be a refurbished drive-in motel, including fully equipped gym, coffee shop & news stand with a modern twist

Spanish Moss

1. I don’t have all the answers—about yoga or anything else.

2. Clean your mat. When you sweat on it and then roll it up and then sweat on it again, it becomes a petri dish.

3. I love teaching yoga, but teaching is torture if I haven’t been able to do my own practice in a while.

4. Yoga is not a magic bullet or a pill you can take to solve your bad attitude if you’re not prepared to put in the work yourself.

5. Wear deodorant. Look up the Sanskrit word “saucha.” It means “cleanliness.” No one wants to smell you; it’s off-putting.

6. I may be smiling at you when you walk in late and loudly slam your mat on the floor next to your meditating classmates but that doesn’t mean I approve. We all have busy lives but if you arrive late please try to be respectful of me and your fellow students. Start thinking yoga BEFORE you come in.

7. I am not doing this for the money. I could barely make a living teaching you this class, as I receive little financial reward for the effort I am putting into this. So please respect that.

8. I have poses I dread and avoid practicing and teaching.

9. I hate yoga sometimes.

10. When people have matchy-matchy yoga outfits and every single prop, designer yoga mat and accessory on the market, I question what their practice is really about. People, seriously, all you need is a heartbeat, willingness and a little space.

11. It’s one thing to modify a posture if you’re having trouble with it. But don’t just ignore the teacher and freestyle your way through class. That’s rude.

12. I am not a doctor. I ask you about your injuries because they affect your practice. But I am not a qualified cardiologist, neurologist, psychiatrist or podiatrist. So don’t expect me to be able to solve your heart murmur, figure out the source of your mysterious neck pain, or provide counseling between down dog and savasana. You need a doctor.

13. Yoga is HARD. It’s meant to be. Didn’t you get the memo?!

I touch a pose I’ve been working on for a solid year – of my own accord without assist(!) – and my human mind that has been working so patiently, steadfastly, suddenly reaches out for the future…. A week, two weeks, it will be mine. But then I remember as I come back again. Nope, not how it works.

Two weeks later I am still only catching glimpses here and there. Two weeks later I am ever-so-slightly stronger, the tiniest bit more in control (and in awe) of strange and deep parts of my body I’d never spoken with (Hello ankles. Pleased to make your acquaintance). Two weeks later, I remember (again) that this is how it works. The only sure thing is that when (or if) I can ever “do” this one thing, it will change. It will be different each time. I will still be learning, growing, refining (always). I will still fall (and lick my wounds, and get back up). THIS is how LIFE works. THIS is why I do this.

My body is my teacher. Through this skin & muscle & bones, this heartbeat and lungs, I learn to be present in the beautiful moments all along the way. I learn to set my aim and work diligently, but I also learn patience, I learn to revel in the joy of the experience – in the pose – on the way there – or the loss of gravity on the way down. I learn to love (this moment, my fear, my SELF), I learn to let go and I learn to LIVE. This, is why I do this.

By Melinda Hunt

When Dharma first asked me if I’d like to be a guest blogger, I was honored and excited!  All these thoughts of what I’d like to share with you, what I’ve experienced over the past 8 months, and how in the world I got here, swirled in my head.  Then, I was tasked with introducing myself.  At first, this seemed like a simple enough task, but when I began to put pen to paper, it ended up being quite a bit more challenging than I had originally anticipated.

Why was I so stumped?  I love to write!  From the time I was little, journaling has been a natural outlet for me to express myself, work through feelings, and scrapbook my life.  I usually have quite a bit to say.

It was the looming question that got me.

“Who am I?”

Quite the existential question, no?  One that many a person has spent an entire lifetime trying to figure out.

It is one that I am still trying to figure out and the answer can be quite fluid.

So, with that disclaimer, today, here’s what I know so far.  J

I am (or try to be)….

• Brave, except when it comes to snakes and spiders.  Then, not so much brave as scared.  (Here is where that whole trying-to-be thing comes in.)
• Smitten with the ocean, sunshine, green tea, and the smell of coconut.
• Fearless in the kitchen.
• A student of yoga and a teacher-in-training.
• A documentary junkie, with an irrational love for reality dance shows.
• A newlywed, daughter, and friend.
• A bookworm.
• Honest, tempered with kindness.
• Open-hearted.
• A lover of dogs, cats, and a rescuer of strays.
• Not perfect.
• Realizing every day that the more I think I know, the less I actually do.
• On a path that is not always easy, but it is always worth it (even on days when my ego says it isn’t).
• A Yogini-In-Progress.

I hope you’ll join me as I share how in the world I got here, what I’ve experienced over the last 8 months during teacher training and other musings along my yogic journey.

Wishing you love and peace,

Heather