Meditation – I am Soulful Yogi

Strength and Flexibility

Published on April 1, 2019 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

I used to have this thought process of how you have to get one or the other “Strength or Flexibility” and what I have learned is that we choose the concept of “OR”. We each have access to gaining strength and flexibility but it is all in the process of which we go by.

Why is it important to gain both?

Strength

Strength is important to have to help support our joints and support our tendons and ligaments. When we walk, run, bike or do any form of physical activity it produces stress and stress must go somewhere. If our muscles are not strong enough to withstand the stress that is being placed on the body then the stress goes to our joints. Stress to the joints produces injuries to those areas. So strength is very vital in helping to build stronger bones and also to help decrease the amount of stress going to our joints.

Flexibility

Flexibility is important because it allows our body to go through its full range of motion. Think about it this way…If I am using my quad muscles (thigh muscle) and it is really tight then technically when I walk, run or do any form of exercise I am only using a certain percentage of that muscle. I am not using that muscle at it’s full capacity (100%). Why is this important?

Two reasons

If the muscle is only functioning at a 50% capacity then technically we are not using the muscle at its full capacity. So therefore we are not working the entire muscle which means that are performance is not at 100%
The other concept is that if we are working at muscle at 50% capacity then we are earing down that muscle and never allowing that muscle to fully be stretched out therefore causing muscle strains and muscle pulls

So how do you incorporate strength and flexibility?

As much time as you spend lifting you should spend the same amount of time engaging into some stretching. Some tips on how to implement it into your daily routine

Create a stretching regime
Stretch before and after a workout
Allow one day a week as your restoration day (recovery day) and spend that time really focusing on doing some deep stretching
Implement Yoga into your workouts (Yoga not only helps increase flexibility but it also allows you to balance out your muscles)

You will come to realize that the more you implement flexibility into your workouts the more your body will be able to recover from your intense workouts. The more that you will be able to bounce back the next day. You will also notice a decrease in soreness as well. So start to change your mindset around strength and flexibility. Don’t think of the two as an “or” but think of it is as “And” Strength AND Flexibility!

Soulful Yogi

Trust the Process

Published on March 29, 2019 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

It’s crazy how you constantly hear the saying, “Trust the Process” but then when you are going through daily life and the ups and downs of life Trust the Process seems as if it is just a metaphor. However, what I have come to learn and understand that in trusting the process you have to be willing to learn and grow through life. Be willing to take the good and the bad not as just what it seems to be but take each opportunity, each lesson, each day as “What will I learn today?” because that is what life is all about.

Life is about lessons that we learn each and everyday. Now we do have a choice in this the same as a child in school has a choice to take in the lesson and learn from it. Therefore, we choose each and every day whether we will take in the lesson that was just taught to us and what we will do with it. Will we learn and grow from it or do the opposite?

I choose each day despite what the lesson may be to learn and grow from it. Now I will admit there are some days that may seem to be harder than other days and I quickly remind myself Felicia be willing to take in the lesson from today. So ask your self each day you are given lessons:

“What can you learn from this lesson today?”

“What can you take in that will allow you to grow on today?”

When I take a second and sit back and ask these questions then my perspective opens up to what I am learning and how I am growing. So when I say, “Trust the Process” also be willing to learn each and everyday. Be willing to grow each and everyday. What does that require? It requires you to “Trust the Process.”

40 Days to Personal Revolution

Published on March 18, 2019 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

So most of you who know me or follow me on Social Media know that I love meditation and YOGA. Well oddly enough over the past year I have been back and forth between crossfit, running, other fitness goals and focusing on Teacher Training. Well I really truly forgot the feeling of what I would get when I practice yoga until I went through Teacher Training. I also truly realize the rekindle love that I have with Yoga and all the benefits that it brings not only to my body but my mind and soul. So 4 years ago I did 40 days to personal revolution and I felt that it was time to rekindle the flame that is burning but begin to dim. So why 40 days?

So why Yoga and why 40 days?

Yoga for me is not about just the physical practice but the mental and spiritual practice. Yoga is about taking your body through various poses, breathing through those poses, expanding yourself, growing, powering your way into new opportunities. Well that pretty much describes life too. Going through ups and downs but it is through that journey that we grow into new opportunities and into a new POWER that lies within us.

Physical Practice

I look at this through life itself. There will be times where life will seem and feel tough, physically draining and it will require you to use strength to battle your way through those tough times and you will want to quit, you will want to get out of that position, that pose, that time in your life. It will require inner strength and physical strength to get you through. The physical practice teaches you how to use your breath to allow sthira (strength) and suka (ease). It allows you to combine the two together not only in your physical practice but also in your daily life.

Mental and Spiritual Practice

So when I first heard of meditation I was like ummmm yeah I can’t sit here for this amount of time being still and not doing anything. I had to train myself to be still. I soon learn that as I was practicing meditation it was helping with not only to sit still for a certain amount of time but it was teaching me how to breathe through yoga poses, how to breathe through life situations, how to simply just BE. It help me learn that sometimes you simply have to just BE STILL and breathe through certain situations. The more I began to be still and simply breathe the easier the pose or the craziness of my life became. The more I realize that whatever that challenge was in my life it didn’t have control over me, I actually had control over it. The state of consciousness allows me to not let the challenge take over my sense of being.

40 Days of YOGA

So follow me on this journey of Personal Revolutions

What will my 40 days look like:

I have devoted to:

Practicing yoga everyday through various forms (slow flow, power flow, deep stretch, power beats)
At least a minimum of 2 Home practices (really trying to build my home practice up)
Meditation twice daily
1 day of deep stretch YOGA (home or at studio)
Have fun, be playful, try on new poses

Follow and Feel free to JOIN me on this journey

IG: @iamsoulfulyogi

Soulful Yogi

New Week, New Goals, New Mindset

Published on March 11, 2019March 10, 2019 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you were like when will this week every end? I think we have all experience weeks like this; you feel like everything that could possibly go wrong in your life it seems as if it is being thrown at you and you feel like I have no energy or time for this. Some of us takes situations like this and just deal with it, while others take situations like this such and completely shut down and let it ruin weeks to come. So how do I deal with weeks like this? Believe or not I used to completely shut down from the world and just sit in my sorrow. But what good does that do……..do we really accomplish anything from doing that? Do we get closer to our goals by sobbing? Do we conquer our fears and challenges by wallowing in our disappointment or sadness? NO, NO and NO. We don’t accomplish anything when we just completely shut down. We don’t conquer our fears and challenges by just sitting in our safe box (complacency), our comfort area. We don’t solve problems by eating our way out of them. What do we do? We get out of our complacency box, our comfort zone, our fearful box and we tackle it.

So this is how I deal with days, weeks, months or even a year of disappointments or struggles:

I have learned from friends and acquaintances that life happens but how you approach it or deal with these situations is what really matters (did you catch that) How do you overcome battles? You SHAKE IT OFF and you stand straight up and tackle that battle.

You have gone through that struggle or that bad week so what do you do now? You REFOCUS yourself, your goals and your life. I purposely have my manifestation board where I meditate every morning so that I can visually see it each morning. I also place affirmations around my house and it my workplace them so that I can purposely see them each day to allow myself to REFOCUS to remember my goals, aspirations and my WHY (why do I do what I do each and everyday) Nothing will get accomplish if we always stay in the same mindset.

You learn from that struggle, battle or disappointment. What makes you stronger is not always how you deal with situations but how you learn from them so that the next time you are face with a similar situation you know how to handle it. So MAKE A PLAN OF ATTACk of how you can refrain from that situation or how you can handle it if it ever happens again.

Now that you took time to SHAKE IT OFF, you REFOCUS yourself, MADE A PLAN now it is time to ATTACK. Attack your day with the attitude that whatever may come your way today YOU are ready to take it own full force. Attack your day with the attitude of gratitude of being PRESENT, a mindset of STRENGTH, a mindset of fearlessness.

So if you ask me today how do I get through a bad week? I will tell you this……I shake it off, refocus myself, make a plan of attack and then I simply just ATTACK. Always remember each day is a new day, new goal, new mindset and A BETTER YOU!

With love and A BETTER YOU!

Soulful Yogi

“I AM”

Published on March 4, 2019March 1, 2019 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

Wow those two words are so BOLD and mean so much. What you put behind these two words can shape and mold you into whoever you want or desire to be. As I sit here and ponder about what these two words meant to me in 2015 it quickly reminds me of how far I have come as a woman. There are three words or phrases that come to my mind of what I felt like on last year that started with these bold two words. I AM alone, I AM unhappy, I AM Hurt then I realized that when I changed my mindset and the way I was wording things I began to realize that my new space was…I AM LOVED, I AM JOY, I AM OF STRENGTH.

I AM LOVED

For some reason when I would say this to myself I would just cry. I would feel so alone and hurt. Why? I couldn’t understand why I was feeling that way, I was finally out of a situation that I didn’t want to be in but yet I still was sad. I realize that it was because I felt like a failure, I felt defeated, I felt as if I couldn’t do it on my own….. Fast-forward to today. I can replace this “I AM” with I AM Strong. Being a single mother truly has shown me how Strong I am and how blessed I am. I stop categorizing myself as a single mother and starting to say I am a mother who is strong, fierce, independent and well educated. I stop labeling myself as if it is negative thing. What I do know in this second and moment that I am a blessed mother of two beautiful girls who look up to me, cherish me and love me. And that is enough for me:)

I AM JOY

This was a big one I had to battle. Why was I unhappy? I was finally out of a situation that was making me unhappy but yet I was still unhappy. I figured out I was unhappy not of my situation but of the unknown. I didn’t how things were going to turn out. I had to stop looking back and looking too far ahead. I had to learn how to live in the moment. I had to learn that it is okay not to not be okay. I also learned that it is okay if it doesn’t happen the way it should happen. You regroup, detour or find a new path. Once I stop trying to control my life and the changes that I was going through I began to become happier not of the situation but of how I reacted and addressed my life each and everyday. I finally began LIVING.

I AM of STRENGTH

In 2016, I suffered from a bad injury to my left foot and I was physically hurt. Well if you have ever been injured before it is very mental. Why? because if you love to do something and one day you can’t do it anymore then it can become depressing. Running as I realized was my stress reliever, it was a way where I could escape from the world and just be. Well when I realized I couldn’t do that anymore I had to learn how to re-program my mind. I truly devoted my time to meditation. I really started to focus on changing my mindset. I realize in changing my mindset that it not only helped me to mentally recover from that injury but also mentally recover from LIFE.

So just because your I AM may not be uplifting at this point or moment in time. Think about it, why is that your I AM? Can anything be done to change that? If so what…. then change it. I can tell you one thing that can change it…is how you label it and put it. Realize that what you put behind those two words, I AM will come into reality. So speak positivity, speak life and speak happiness.

Love and Light,

Felicia

Embracing the Present YOU

Published on February 26, 2019 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

So I often speak about this but in our fitness journey we are often taunted with our past or with the notion of what we can not do. However, we never really take the time to embrace the moment that we are in, the accomplishments we have made thus far. We are our biggest critics and we often put so much pressure on ourselves that instead of it encouraging ourselves we provide discouragement.

As I glance at this photo that was taken this last year I begin to really be amazed at the sky and how beautiful it is. I also begin to really focus on the water and how peaceful it seems. I said to myself, “Wow this is simply beautiful”; just caught in the present moment of it’s beauty. So I really begin to equate this to our lives and thought to myself if I would just take a moment each day before I get started with my day and really embrace ME, LOVE ME and really begin to give compliments to myself. Do you know how motivating, invigorating and encouraging that would feel? Do you think I would have a positive outlook on what I have to do for that day? Of course I would, what people often fail to realize is that this healthy journey and lifestyle is not all about just how many workouts can you do; this journey is about mentally how do you feel about yourself. Do you tear yourself down each and everyday? Do you love yourself for who you are on THIS day?

So take time out each day and really sit back and Embrace the Present YOU! Be grateful, thankful and Love the NEW YOU.

Love the changes your body is going through even if it is not where it needs to be.
Love who you have become both inner and outer.
Love the fact that you cared so much about your health and your body that you chose to change your life.
Love the downfalls that you have gone through as it has only made you stronger.

So I ask you to really LOVE YOURSELF UNCONDITIONALLY but in order to do that you must first Embrace the Present YOU!

Love and Light,

Soulful Yogi

What are you WAITING For?

Published on February 4, 2019 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

Have you ever said I am going to do that tomorrow or I will get to it tomorrow? That was totally me not only with fitness but just with everyday life. Often times we don’t want to face the things that are challenging we want to do the things that are easy, comfortable, the norm. For example, I used to hate doing bills, especially if you know you have many bills to pay. I would procrastinate and procrastinate to the point where I would dread sitting down to do the bills. Well reality was that the bills were not going anywhere so why wait and prolong the process, the agony..lol. It is the same way with our fitness journeys. How many times have we made resolutions or said okay I am going to start this week? The week comes and goes and we are still in the same place, same situation, at the same point and still have not gone anywhere.

So what are we waiting for?

If we are waiting for that perfect time, perfect moment, perfect opportunity we may be waiting for a long time, The time is now, the time to evolve into true self is now, the time to explore and tap into your inner self is now. So stop waiting on the perfect opportunity or waiting for the next New Year to make another resolution. I don’t care if you have fallen off of this New Year resolution the year isn’t up…Start today. Don’t let the past pain, the past hurt, the past disappointments cause you to not start today. The true Art of Healing is understanding and accepting the past but not dwelling in the past. Learning of ways to not allow the egoic mindset to say you are your past. You are not your CIRCUMSTANCES or YOUR PAST. You are READY NOW, the time is NOW. No more excuses, no more I will wait, no more I just can’t right now. The TIME is NOW!!!

Stop Waiting…It’s time to HEAL, It’s time to start evolving in who we are.

Love and gratitude,

Felicia

Shed the OLD…Invite the NEW

Published on January 21, 2019 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

Most not all experience the Lunar Eclipse last night and today (the blood moon). I love the change and transformation of the moon because it allows me to equate that to my life. The change and the opportunity (transformation) of recreating who you choose to be. The shedding of the old egoic mindset/ways and inviting the newness, the inspiration, the optimism. Often times its important to take a moment and reflect on the past, reflect on the transformation process to truly determine where you want to go with the new season, new way of being.

What things do you want to get rid of?

What things or people do you want to invite in?

What aspirations are you seeking after?

What new goals are you wanting to accomplish?

In order to truly invite in the NEW you have to shed away the old (let go). Sometimes its hard but in order to grow you have to let go of whatever may be holding you down…that can be a person, it can be fear, it can be doubt. Whatever it may be remember that a flower can not bloom unless it sheds away the bad, the old, the not so good. So take time today and reflect on what you want to invite in on this MoonDAY and what you want to SHED away. Remember in order to invite NEWness you have to shed away the OLD.

Quiet Your Mind

Published on January 15, 2019 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

As I was sitting the other day it was crazy how just in sitting all the many stories, thoughts, conversations that go on in your head. I realized that often times we choose to not sit because we don’t want to face the thoughts that are going on in our head.

Monkey Mind

I have often referred to my thoughts in my head as the monkey mind or the tape recorder that just keeps playing over and over again. Honestly, that is all it is. It is the voices inside of our head that are from the past that just keep replaying in our head. However, when we finally choose to live in the present state we can begin to quiet the monkey mind, we begin to be able to stop that recording from playing in our heads.

Listen to your heart

Eckhart Tolle said it best, “You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge.” “But it can only emerge if something fundamental changes in your state of consciousness.” So therefore until we choose to live in the state of being present and release the monkey mind then we will continue to play that tape over and over again. But when we choose to live present, we choose to change our state of consciousness by being present and truly listen to our hearts…then we can proceed to greatness, we begin to live from within.

2 Lives

So therefore we have two lives that we can choose to live. We can choose to live the life we are living or live from within. In order to live from within we must first quiet our minds.

Breaking the Chains

Published on September 6, 2018 by runnergirl1106Leave a comment

When you think of breaking the chains I imagine being shackled together being in a rut, can’t release, can’t get away from. Breaking the chains can be something that is physically going on with you and also literally. So what do I mean when I say, “Breaking the Chains”? Breaking the Chains is all the expectations that we hold on ourselves. Often times we set such high bars and expectations for ourselves that we feel like we are in chains..we can’t seem to catch a break, we feel like we are less than because we didn’t complete that task. We feel as if we just will never break free from our past, from our mistakes, from our problems, from our current issues, from just life in general. We don’t have to continue to be shackled, we don’t have to continue to be chained….

BREAK THE CHAIN

Release the mindset that you have to be perfect

Release the mindset that everything has to work a certain way

Release the mindset that you have to do everything all on your own

Release the concept that you don’t need help or that asking for help will make you inferior.

These are the chains that we put on ourselves each and everyday that holds us back from achieving our goals and dreams. It’s these chains that we put on ourselves every morning before we walk out of the door.

We want to move forward

We want to move ahead

We want to fulfill that goal and dream but we feel we can not because we feel incapable of doing it

BUT

WE can but we must first break the chain that we have placed on our lives.

Stop feeling like life has to look a certain way, stop putting high expectations on yourself and start living. Start accepting each moment and each experience that comes in our lives as not a bad thing but as guide to help us achieve the goals that we are setting to achieve…but first you have to break the CHAINS!!!