I watched the movie I AM and was struck by this comment: In Darwin’s The Decent of Man, he mentions “survival of the fittest” just twice but “love” almost 100 times. It’s time we shift our competitive thinking and move towards a life filled with love and compassion. I know that I could certainly love more and have more compassion. It’s time to build community and to spread love. I know that sounds hippy dippy – but love knows no labels.

My journey recently has been challenging which I will share in the coming weeks. I leave this with you now though: I love you. All of you. In your greatness and in your heartache. I love you. Thank you all for being there to support me and each other.

Love,
Jess

I don’t know if you all have seen Gaiam TV but you MUST check it out. A few months ago, I started hearing and seeing rumblings of the project through postcards, their catalog, and website. Over the years I’ve seen quite a few not-so-successful attempts at streaming sites with yoga and fitness videos so I didn’t think much about Gaiam TV until I saw the trends on their Twitter feed. I checked out the site and was completely impressed. They have everything from yoga instruction videos to metaphysical movies! You know the movie I blogged about last year, Titans of Yoga? Well, you can see it along with other yoga movies and videos, spiritual videos and other amazing health and wellness videos.

Yesterday I was presented with a beautiful piece of art from a very dear friend and amazing artist: Rashaan Cruze’ (that’s Ms. Cru-zay to you). The woman in the painting represents all of us in our journey to realize self-love and self-healing. She’s washed over with fiery emotion as she realizes her love for herself and strives for healing balance in her life. I’m truly at a loss for words other than to express my deepest gratitude for Rashaan and her amazing gift. You can check out more of her passionate art expression here.

This is Holistic Yogini’s first month for a newsletter drawing! The winner is Kathleen Troeller! The super cool prize this month is one of Positive Thought Brand’s popular tank tops. They have an amazing business full of positive change. Be sure to check them out and follow them on twitter.

Want to be entered each month? Sign up for my newsletter here.

Congratulations to Kathleen and thank you all for supporting your health and for supporting Holistic Yogini.

See you all in class!

Love and t-shirts,

Jess

As yoga teachers we are taught that self-care is an important part of keeping us grounded, taken care of and being a good teacher. That’s great in theory but many of us need a swift kick in the self-care ass. Self-care is mandatory. Let me repeat: care for SELF is mandatory. As healers, caretakers, mothers, sisters, wives, brothers, fathers, enablers (gulp) or whatever, we care for others but rarely take time for ourselves. If we don’t care for ourselves what results is less patience for others and eventually decreased health (spiritually and physically). Ever notice a grumpier, less willing side of you when your *insert responsibility* requires something and you are just simply too burned out? Too much of that and your body will rebel, I promise. Your body knows more about what’s going on than you do! If you want to continue being the teacher, leader, wife, husband or whatever, you MUST take care of the most important student…you.

“If I am not for myself, who will be?” Pirke Avoth

Art Credit: I love this painting and would credit it to the amazing artist if I knew who they were. If you know, send me a note and I’ll add it.

I’m thinking of adding this recipe to my book so if any of you make it, I’d love feedback!

1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup cooked peas
1/4 cup chopped roasted red pepper
1 cup densely packed fresh basil
1/4 tsp ground chipotle
1-2 tbsp vegan parmigiana
1/8 cup Udo’s Oil (any good EVOO would work too)
1 small pinch sea salt

Add 1 cup quinoa to 1.5 cups water, bring to boil then simmer for 15 min. Remove from heat then sit for 5 min. Toss with peas and roasted red pepper. For the pesto: Blend all remaining ingredients together in a food processor to make the “power pesto” and toss with quinoa veg mixture.

After my recent post on Ecomii’s Food & Health blogs, I realized that I always have a reason for writing about the topics I do, so why not share. Holistic Health Tips That Love Your Liver was inspired by my biological father. He died three years ago from liver cancer after having lived a fairly decent — though not necessarily healthy —life. He was a good weight, didn’t really overeat and didn’t drink much. It made me think about how many of us walk around with pretty “normal” habits and yet can still get afflicted with such a horrible disease. Could it have been prevented? Could he have been healthier? Did he have an underlying liver disordered that went undiagnosed? He loved hot dogs (read: fat) and coke (read: sugar) but would these two things really bring an active man to his knees at 57? Is there another aspect to consider? It’s hard to say. I wish I knew more about what was happening with him at the time. I didn’t find out about his death until two months had passed but it sure did get me thinking. What are the energetic implications? What meta-medicine theories can be tossed around?

The liver holds a lot of our emotions. If we are blocked, our livers become stagnant; without movement comes an opportunity for dis-ease.
It’s a regenerating organ and thusly is associated with transformation. What if we need to grow or transform and never do? What happens to the regenerative qualities of our livers?
There doesn’t seem to be one right answer in this case but I can tell you this: be kind to your body, address emotional concerns and always be open to growth and transformation.

Image credit

The holidays may be long gone but the drastically fluctuating weather puts us at risk for colds, flu and infection. This is time of year when the body’s immune system and metabolism may be a little sluggish from the long winter and a quick acting boost could be in order.

Astragalus is one of the most effective herbs for boosting the immune system and also benefits physical and emotional wellbeing. Disease occurs when the body is out of balance and this multifaceted and inexpensive herb works wonders to create balance year-round both in and out of flu season….

Read More: Astralagus, the potent immune boosting herb – from ecomii blogs.

I’m happy to announce a new meditation class! Every Thursday starting at 6:45pm I’ll be leading “Breath in Balance” at my new shared space located within Clear Mind Happy Heart.

Balance your breath, reduce stress and nourish your spirit through a guided meditation and pranayama class. This class is suitable for all levels. There will be some movement so be sure to wear something comfy!

See schedule and class descriptions. All hour classes are by donation-only.

4383 Tujunga Ave
Suite L
Studio City CA 91604

Photo credit: Holly Daniels, Clear Mind Happy Heart

I’m a part of an amazing community called iHanuman. Their four word theme inspired me to write this post last year so I thought I’d re-post it here to share with you all. You can read the original here.

Love: We have a Thought Board at my office. It’s a simple dry-erase board at the entry that everyone writes on. Some days there are random thoughts but most days there are questions. The other day the question was: Which is more powerful, love or hate? A seemingly simple question but, in reality, more thought provoking and discussion sparking than everyone was prepared for that day. It was amazing to witness. My answer: Love is infinitely more powerful than hate and love in numbers cannot be broken or challenged.

Service: Seva is the embodiment of all that yoga teaches us. It’s the walk to the talk. To serve is to receive. In this challenging economy, service doesn’t have to mean a monetary gift. It can be as simple as a smile or hug to someone who needs it. Volunteer, teach a free class, give someone a ride.

Devotion: We all feel the spark of central energy that yoga gives us but what is it and where does it come from? Adrenaline?  Our spirits? God/dess? Whatever the belief, yoga is the thing that takes us there and devotion is the thing that brings us back. Through yoga, we nurture our relationship with the divine.

Yoga: It’s why we are all here! Yoga is union with love, life, spirit, consciousness, each other and ourselves. Each time we teach or take a class, we perpetuate this union.