“Feelings are like fluid waves of energy. Like the waves we see in the ocean, they come in, peak, and pass, come in, peak, and pass. They have a natural cyclical rhythm like the ebb and flow of tides, the waning and waxing of the moon. The flow of feeling is as natural as the flow of life itself.”
From “Eating In The Light Of The Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationship With Food Through Myths, Metaphors, And Storytelling” by Anita Johnson
Building an Altar is a great way“May we all find peace within andExtend that love to all that we encounter.”
Posted in Asanas, Gratitude, Heart-Based Healing, Life, Prayers, Reflections, Soul, Spirituality, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Altar, Jennifer Miller, Mala Beads, Mirrors, New Year, Pictures, Prayers, Spirituality
Food packages with “Global Grins” toothbrushes given to homeless over the 2012 Christmas holidays in Laguna Beach, CA.
“Love is not patronizing and charity isn’t about pity, it is about love. Charity and love are the same — with charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead.”
Mother Teresa, from “A Simple Path”
CLICK ON “GLOBAL GRINS” TO GO TO WEBSITE
By Jennifer Miller
Connecting with the homeless andThe biggest gift of all.
Posted in Gratitude, Hope, Life, Men, Reflections, Self, Spirituality, Women
Tagged Charity, Gratitude, Homeless, Homelessness, Men, Women
Possibilities are
Click on book to purchase and benefit Heart Based Healing Foundation.
.
I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy.Rabindranath Tagore, Indian Poet and Playwright, as quoted in “Be The Change”, by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Namaste, Jennifer
Posted in Forgiveness, Freedom, Gifts, Gratitude, Heart-Based Healing, Hope, Knowledge, Life, Love, Quotes, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Freedom, Gifts, Heart-Based Healing, Jennifer Miller, Life, Poems, Possiblities
Fire up the Pavoni.Breakfast at the local cafe; cool people, artist types.
Click on book to purchase and benefit the Heart Based Healing Foundation.
Life is constantly asking us to make adjustments,to give up our agenda.It is asking us to give up the conceit that we know the way things are supposed to be.Letting things be is a way of saying to God“I’m willing to dance with you.”From “Dancing With The Beloved”.
Contact Jennifer Miller at yogagoddesslaguna@yahoo.com
Posted in Balance, Family, Forgiveness, Freedom, Gratitude, Heart-Based Healing, Hope, Knowledge, Life, Light, Mothers, Pain, Poems, Quotes, Recovery, Reflections, Soul, Spirituality, Trust, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Candles, Dogs, Jennifer Miller, Life, Light, Lights, Paul Ferrini, Quotes, Yoga, Yoga Mat, Yoga Practice
By Jennifer Miller
My weekend morning walks with the babies (my two small dogs) have been so enjoyable and nurturing for my soul and spirit. As we walked into a small cafe in downtown Laguna and stood in line to order, two women, who appeared to be in their mid-50′s, walked in behind us. I could immediately sense that both of them were comfortable with who they were, and their confidence and grace added to the positive energy I usually feel when I come here.
And it gave me an opportunity to reflect on my life and the lives of so many women. Middle-age is a time to examine the health of our “inner selves” and honor the journey that has brought us to this point. For many of us, the proceeding 20-25 years required us to be “GIVERS”, sacrificing for our children and husbands. As our role changes, we must seek out relationships and activities that nourish our body and soul. So it is very important that our support group of family and friends be sources of positive energy, and not drain us of our vitality.
Who is on Team Jen? Who is there to support and root for me?
I have been cleaning my home recently in a way that is very healthy and life-enhancing. I believe this reflects my desire to “clean house” in my emotional life as well. I am present and in the moment, sorting through physical and mental “attachments”, seeing what are necessary and which should be discarded. As I sat in the crowded cafe patio, eating a wonderful breakfast, I am deeply connected with positive and calming sounds.
I hear birds chirping. Surrounded by people talking, I am one with birds chirping…and peace fills my body.
The day before while grocery shopping at “Trader Joes”, I sensed a woman looking at me and my daughter. She looked to be about 70 and I smiled and made room for her, thinking that she needed to get by. She came up to me and grabbed my hand and said:
“If I could come back in my next life and be you for 10 seconds I would be the happiest woman in the world. You and your daughter are so beautiful.”
Contact Jennifer Miller at yogagoddesslaguna@yahoo.com
This was one of kindest compliments I have ever received. I told her thank you and that true beauty lies within all of us. She responded by saying that she knew I would say that, and if she felt otherwise, she would never have said it.
My daughter and I smiled at each other and thought that this lady was a truly beautiful person. I asked her If I could take her home with me. She represented to me the beauty of aging with grace.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Gratitude, Knowledge, Life, Love, Mindfulness, Reflections, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Aging, Beauty, Inner Beauty, Jennifer Miller, Positive, Reflections, Self-Reflection, Soul, Spirituality
October 8, 2012 in Balance, Gratitude, Heart-Based Healing, Knowledge, Life, Love, Quotes, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Buddha, Buddhism, Jennifer Miller, Love, Pictures, Wisdom
By Jennifer Miller
Jennifer Miller with gift of 20 yoga mats from the “lululemon athletica” store in Newport Beach, CA.
I had exciting news to share with “The Girls” at the Recovery House this week. Mats are a very important part of a yoga practice and I have been working hard to find a store or company to donate new mats to the program.
Several weeks ago I approached the “lululemon athletica” store in Newport Beach and spoke with the lady in charge of their “Giving Program”. I shared with her my vision of bringing young women at risk the beautiful and healthy benefits of yoga and she was quickly in agreement with the importance of a quality mat.
After numerous emails, the store agreed to donate 20 MATS! I was so grateful and I made the announcement Monday that I would be bringing them to the Recovery Home next week.
My new goal is to get the girls their own personal yoga mat. I will be seeking a store or supplier to share the vision of health and transformation that yoga has brought these amazing young women and mothers.
Thank you again lululemon for your very generous gift. You have made a difference in women’s lives.
We at lululemon have a vision of elevating the world and we do this through the relationships we establish, support and grow in all of our global communities. These relationships are currently grown through our store events, our supplier partnerships and other outreach. The Giving program acts as one of our tools for outreach and for elevating our communities.
Posted in Donations, Gifts, Gratitude, Heart-Based Healing, Hope, Life, Recovery, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Donations, Gifts, Jennifer Miller, lululemon athletica, Recovery, Recovery House, Yoga Mats
By Jennifer Miller
Urdhva Kukkutasana
I can feel the positive and upbeat energy as I enter the Recovery House to be with ’The Girls”. The veterans, who have improved greatly during our sessions, along with three new girls, are excited and ready to go.One of the ladies, a recovering heroin addict who joined us for the first time last week, was all smiles. I looked at her as she stretched and said:
“Yes! How good does that feel?”
I have observed, in my own practice and now with these women in recovery, that the ancient art of yoga has a primal, and even mystical effect on people.
There are many different yoga schools and philosophies today, but they all are based on the discipline of quieting the mind in order to first accomplish and then perfect the movements and postures of the yoga practice.
I shared with the ladies the asana that I was currently working on in my ashtanga third series practice. I have spent several months trying to perfect Urdvha Kukkutasana (translated as “upward rooster”), which is a series of three postures requiring a great deal of “bandha” (interior body lock) strength.
After finishing the third pose, one of the girls says ”you could probably take us all out”. I am continually amazed by the honesty of the comments by these women in transition in their lives. She had observed the power that is generated in yoga, strength that does not come from bulging muscles but from focus and form.
I explained that if we can get past our ego, and observe through “witness consciousness” what the asana teaches us about our physical selves, we will succeed in connecting mind-body-spirit. Several of the girls have an “aha! moment” and compare the yoga asanas to the 12 Steps of Recovery.
One of the pregnant women came up to me and stated that she really wants to stop smoking. She looks up at me and asks: “What can I do?”. I tell her that she must get herself centered right before she starts to smoke. Then say to yourself:
No Guilt, No Judgment, No Shame.
I told her to light a candle in a ceremonial ritual and breathe in. Then, when she lights the cigarette, to be present as the smoke is inhaled into her lungs and be aware of the sensations as it moves through her body. Without distraction, be one with the smoke as she inhales and exhales again.
No Guilt, No Judgment, No Shame.
Tears were streaming down her face. She understands that there is a beautiful baby growing and developing inside her. To honor herself and her child, she must honor her body. She knows that I am not judging her actions, just wanting her to focus on what is best for her health and future.
I have everyone working on Bakasana, the “crow pose”. It requires balance, and builds confidence and self-esteem as you master it. One of the girls who has struggled and resisted it for months has just nailed it and the group cheers. I am so excited that I am jumping up and down and clapping. I run to my car so I can take a picture of her and how incredible she looks. She can barely speak because of her emotions at the moment. I want her to truly feel the success that she has worked for.
As we near the end, I demonstrate the importance of the alignment of the “hasta” (hands) and ”pada” (feet). I stand on my mat and recite the Sanscrit prayers that begin and end my practice. They have become very interested in the spiritual side of yoga, which again connects them with the primal and mystical aspects of yoga.
I bring my hands to namaste, center myself, and after several deep breaths, close my eyes and chant the prayers. ”Om…” (or “aum”), which is comes from “aumkara” (om syllable), translated from Sanskrit to mean “that which is sounded out loudly”. I open my eyes and can feel their energy, as if they have been enlightened from within.
“How did you learn that?”, they asked. I explain the meaning behind the words in the prayers and invite them to learn and memorize it. I close with meditation and we end a beautiful session with insight and connection. I know in my heart that yoga is changing these young women’s lives.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Asanas, Balance, Gratitude, Heart-Based Healing, Knowledge, Life, Love, Meditation, Mindfulness, Prayers, Recovery, Self, Spirituality, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Asanas, Balance, Drug Addiction, Focus, Honoring The Body, Jennifer Miller, Mind, Postures, Quieting the Mind, Recovery, Recovery House, Women, Yoga
“There is never an easy way to escape pain and trauma in life. You have to feel to heal…” Jennifer Miller
“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.”
There is never an easy way to escape pain and trauma in life. You have to feel to heal…
Posted in Balance, Gratitude, Heart-Based Healing, Life, Mindfulness, Pain, Quotes, Reflections, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Beauty, Connection, Heart, Heart-Based Healing, Helen Keller, Inner Beauty, Inner Wisdom, Life, Mind, Quotes, Wisdom
By Jennifer Miller
I am greeted by the Director of the Recovery House as I walk in. She
gives me the “heads up” that a new girl will be joining the class and might be a challenge. I thank her and am soon swept up in the activity of children, babies and moms all bustling about.
I brought some props to help the pregnant women with some of the poses. The group has been difficult to mentor and teach because the girls are in such varied conditions and states: pregnant, postpartum and mothers with newborn and very young babies. As usual the returnees are chatty and excited to see me.
The “new girl” is sitting on the couch and does not join the other girls whose mats are set up and ready to start. She looks emaciated, with bad and rotted teeth, acne, and sickly. I look into her eyes, which are the windows to her soul, and when I smile I see her respond.
I ask gently: ”Would like to join us?” She gets up slowly, and with a startlingly sunken chest, drags herself to her mat.
We start off with Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation), where I demonstrate what the movement and breathing look like. The other girls are very accepting of her, and the group’s collective excitement and humor once again unfolds. I feel grateful to know that I might make a difference in there lives.
The ladies always have medical questions during the class. One pregnant girl has placenta previa, which, I tell her, I had with the birth of my second son. I reassure her that her baby has every chance to be born healthy. She is very heart-centered and I tell her to think thoughts of love and have confidence that all will be well.
I am quickly asked if flax-seed will make a recently pregnant woman’s stomach flat. “I wish it was that easy…”. I share with everyone the benefits of my health shake, and will bring copies of the recipe next week.
Moving through more poses, I can see the new girl is a natural yogini, with good flexibility and form. She tells me that her mom is a yoga teacher and was constantly telling her that yoga would help her get off her heroin habit. I am stunned as she opens up about her drug addictions but must refocus the group on the yoga practice.
The topic of mindfulness comes up as one of the girls tells the group that she often feels dizzy and sick during yoga. I explain to everyone the importance of a mind-body connection, where we must listen to and nurture our bodies. She reflects briefly and then states that she smokes, eats poorly and has been abusing her body for years.
This is so often the case with not only addicts, but many of us who do not nourish and take care of our bodies. The topic of the moon and a woman’s cycle comes up. I tell them that ideally we would want to menstruate during a “new moon”, as it is a time to go inward and truly nurture ourselves. We need to listen to our souls and ask: ”What do I need right now?”. By listening, we will have fewer hormonal difficulties.
In centuries past, the new moon was a time when women connected, helping to “lift the burdens of life” off one another’s shoulders. This communal gathering allowed for a replenishment and revitalization of souls and spirits.
Today, we still must listen and slow down in order to honor ourselves. The full moon is a time to celebrate and rejoice our womanhood. I told them the first step is to recognize when there are moon days. I will bring them a moon calendar so they have awareness, which is always the first step of our journey. .
At the end of the class, while preparing for meditation, the new girl says she feels so much better and really liked it. I feel so grateful that my own journey has brought me to a place that I can be with women who have been in jail, on the streets, and are in the depths of heavy drug abuse and feel completely connected! Life has given me a great gift, and although it has been a tough journey that has involved addictions with my sons, I have grown as a woman and can now share the gift.
My oldest son is coming up on 3 years of sobriety on Oct. 1 and I am so PROUD! It was difficult to see anything positive coming from the pain I had for him, but I can now see how special this experience has been. He has become an incredible young man. Thank you, son, for this journey, and for the fact that I can be here for these women.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Asanas, Breathing, Gratitude, Heart-Based Healing, Life, Meditation, Mindfulness, Moon Day, Recovery, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Addicts, Asanas, Drug Addiction, Jennifer Miller, Life, Moon Day, Poses, Pregnant Women, Recovery, Recovery House, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Photograph of Whooper Swans from the National Geographic (February, 2011)
Posted in Gratitude, Knowledge, Life, Love, Quotes, Self, Spirituality, Wisdom
Tagged Dalai Lama, Happiness, Inner Peace, Kindness, Love, Pictures, Quotes
Photograph from National Geographic
Baizhang Huaihai (720-814 AD)
Posted in Detachment, Gratitude, Life, Mind, Mindfulness, Poems, Quotes, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Wisdom
Tagged Baizhang, Being As Is, In The Moment, Life, Living in the Moment, Mind, Mindfulness, Pictures, Quotes
I am looking forward to my yoga practice today…what will it reveal to me when I am in the moment, connecting mind, body and spirit? .
I will be putting out the intention of peace. Is it possible to find inner peace when our world is rocked, disrupted daily by distractions and negative energy? I look forward to these special moments where I can achieve a deep connection with my soul.
As a single mom of four independent children, life’s challenges can seem insurmountable. Many mothers experience the revolving door of the teen years as attention is force to shift hour to hour. Maybe this is the spirit’s way.
It has been said that some children can be taught life’s lessons by the parent’s example, while only the world can teach others. I clearly have four independent soul’s who are experiencing the latter. My free spirits are chosing to learn many important lessons through actions and interactions with others.
The irony is that other children and young adults gravitate to me and seek out my wisdom and truth. So, as I move trough my practice this morning, I will experience healing. And as we are all connected, those around me will experience this healing as well. I will offer prayers of gratitude and receive nourishment and strength. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti….Peace, Peace, Peace.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
“See if you can give yourself gifts that may be true blessings, such as self-acceptance, or some time each day with no purpose.”“Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life” By Jon Kabat-Zinn
Posted in Book Reviews, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Hope, Knowledge, Life, Meditation, Quotes, Silence, Soul, Spirituality, Wisdom
Tagged Blessings, Books, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Quiet, Quotes, Self, Self Acceptance
You were born with potential
You were born with goodness and trust
You were born with ideals and dreams
You were born with greatness
You were born with wings
You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.
You have wings
Learn to use them, and fly.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207-1273)
By Jennifer Miller
Oh, to be sixteen, now that summer’s here. And so I hop into the passenger’s seat of my daughter’s car to go bathing suit shopping. She is wearing bright pink lipstick and shorts to show off legs that are long and tan. Clearly, she is in the prime of teenhood, with her mood brightened in these final sophomore days of high school.
“If ya dont know by know, doggy-dog is a freak,freak,freak!”
Rapper Snoop Dogg’s latest song blasts out from the speakers as the she starts the car. The lyrics are offensive and crude, but her car is her domain.
“I keep a bad bitch with me seven days of the week, week, week!”
Welcome to a modern mother’s world. I take a deep breath as she glances at me with a huge grin, looking me over to see my reaction. But the windows are down, and our hair is ”blowin in the wind” (a little Peter, Paul and Mary to balance Snoop). I smile with complete acceptance. The teen years are always trying, but they can also be fun.
She has always followed her soul and has now embraced her inner goddess. I am grateful that she doesn’t seem to care what others think. She has been through a lot in her young years, and has the gift of wisdom that only a full life can bring. I haven’t had to make too many demands of my youngest daughter recently, but getting a job this summer is a must.
The bikini and beachwear selection proves very enticing and she is pleased; so is mom. As we are checking out, she spots the store manager and without hesitating, asks her: “Are you hiring?” The answer is “Yes” and my daughter goes into action mode. With a huge smile, she holds out her hand and introduces herself and takes control of the interview.
The power of confidence is really the power of being in the moment. The woman saw an authentic display of enthusiasm and interest in being “at that store”. This is my independent free spirit, brimming with inner wisdom, openness, and a natural sense of being balanced and grounded.
With employment application in hand, we are back in her car and her domain. As we head home, the windows down, I imagine how appropriate Bob Dylan’s lyrics would be if we could change just two words:
“How many roads must a WOMAN walk down, before you call HER a WOMAN.
The answer, my friend,
is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.”
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Balance, Daughters, Freedom, Gratitude, Knowledge, Life, Mothers, Reflections, Soul, Teenagers, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Answers, Confidence, Daughters, Inner Wisdom, Jennifer Miller, Life, Mothers, Questions, Self, Self-Reflection, Soul, Wisdom
