Radiant Living Institute w/ Dr. Sheetal
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Reflections:  Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going…

9/27/2018

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Hi Friends!
 
I am back from my three-week trip! As many of you know, I was away the past three weeks. What you may not know is that I went to Fiji, got MARRIED, celebrated my honeymoon, and also attended Tony Robbins’ Life and Wealth Mastery Seminar.  I had quite a full past three weeks!  I just returned last weekend, and have been taking some time to slowly ease back into my daily life. As I transition from “Fiji time” to life back here in the States, I am taking this as an opportunity to recall where I have been and where I am going, both in my personal and professional lives including with Shakti Vidya Yoga. In this blog, I will share those reflections and my journey with you – how I came to create Shakti Vidya Yoga in the first place, our ups and downs, and where we are heading now.  Perhaps some parts of this journey will resonate with some aspect of your own life’s journey…
 
Some of you have been with me from the very start, from my first yoga teacher training in 2010 to when I taught at Atma Bodha Yoga Studio in Virginia Beach.  Some of you were with me when life threw me a curveball with moving to Northern Virginia, changing jobs, and major changes in my relationships.  And, through that transitional, transformative period of my life, I didn't teach.  Rather, that was a time for me to dive even deeper into my own practices. Deep within me, however, there was always this strong calling to teach and share yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda.  In 2014, when my transformation started to settle and I had done massive healing of my own soul, I started Shakti Vidya Yoga.  It was actually at the end of 2013 that I created our first website and wrote the first blog, which was released on New Year's Day of 2014.  We held our very first workshop that month, “Introduction to Yoga,” out of my parent’s basement.  That is how we got started!  I offered once a month workshops out my home studio at my parent’s home throughout 2014.
 
At the end of 2014, I felt led to give notice at my job and transition to part time with my day job so that I could really focus on learning more about yoga, Ayurveda, and all of the different ways to offer these tools to you. These tools played such a large role in my life, in my own deep healing; healing of emotional wounds, healing through difficult situations such as going to medical school and working in a hospital being faced with really critical decisions and situations everyday!  Yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda helped me through all of those experiences.  And so, it was my deepest desire and is still my deepest desire to share these tools with you as a way to empower you just as I have been empowered by integrating these tools into my life.
 
Our mission at Shakti Vidya Yoga goes even beyond learning yoga postures, even beyond learning an Ayurvedic diet. Our true mission is to empower you to lead a life that is truly aligned with your true nature. To teach you simple and sustainable tools for self-care, so that you may always come to know your true nature and what it feels like to live and create from that most authentic space.
 
The story continues…
In 2015, I went to Costa Rica for an immersive 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training. I came back ready to teach and with a hunger to learn even more!  I signed up for an Ayurvedic Consultant Certificate Program. I was so focused that I completed that 300-hour Ayurveda program within just a few months and was ready to start seeing clients one-on-one. The next 2 years, I bounced around teaching at lots of different yoga studios, still teaching monthly classes out of my parents basement, offering Ayurvedic consultations and I was having a blast!  I enjoyed every single moment and especially enjoyed all of the incredible people that I met and had the opportunity to share these tools with along the way.  I did this until about the end of 2016 - early 2017 when all sudden I developed really bad shoulder pain that would just not go away!
 
And, I had to take a break. I could barely do my own yoga practice. I did not know where this pain came from! But, I knew that I was being called to take even greater care of myself. That self-care and self-love is something that I have been focused on teaching and implementing more and more in my daily life. Now, this pain that arose in my body was a call to take my own self-care to a whole different level. I took some time off from teaching to focus on my healing.  As I started to heal, I honestly was unsure of whether or not I was meant to continue with Shakti Vidya Yoga.  I was feeling quite discouraged to tell you the truth.  
 
Then, I went to my first Tony Robbins seminar called “Unleash the Power Within” last summer.  In one of the exercises at the event, we were asked to consider a question that we have been struggling with. For me, that question was “Should I continue to focus on growing Shakti Vidya Yoga?”  We were led through a heart-centered practice to find the answer from within our heart and soul.  The answer that came up for me was a resounding loud YES! This is my Dharma,  my soul's mission, to share this with you to help you find that inner peace through sharing my journey with you, in all its light and dark, in true authenticity and vulnerability. And, it's a daily practice for me that I share with you; it is a joy, privilege, and an honor.  
 
And so, I say “thank you.” Thank you for listening.  Thank you for tuning in each week as I share my journey with you through my blogs. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be able to do this.  So thank you for listening.  Thank you for receiving and allowing me to share my gifts, my journey, and experiences with you. I hope that in some way, small or big, the things that I share inspire and empower you to live your most authentic, aligned life, whatever that means for the unique and beautiful soul that you are!
 
So, where are we now and where are we going?
We have taken great strides since making that decision last summer to move forward with Shakti Vidya Yoga full swing!  We have redone our website, a couple different times!  As I continue to get more and more clear about the best ways to serve you and learn how to make these tools as accessible and practical for you to integrate right away.  We also started out this year with flying out to LA to participate in the Yoga Expo LA where I taught to a crowd of over a hundred people.  We distributed over 50 gratitude journals at that event, spreading gratitude practice on the west coast! At that time, I was already offering one-on-one sessions online with yoga and Ayurveda but it was really at that event that the insight came to me to create a live online yoga studio. Less than two months later we had our official launch of our live online weekly yoga classes!  Since then, we also had a very successful Summer Solstice Flow online class, where all proceeds of that class went to a charity called Shakti, which is based out of India focused on educating and empowering underprivileged girls.  This event is now available for purchase on our website with all proceeds from that purchase still going to that wonderful organization called Shakti.
 
Additionally, we have grown!  We recently added new teachers, new class times, and a monthly Master Class. I have been recording an Ayurveda online course for you. I started it before my trip and will be finishing it up over the next few weeks with the target launch by the end of October. So, this is going to be a really practical course in Ayurveda.  My intention is that, by the end of the Course, you will have a really simple, effective plan for integrating Ayurveda into your daily life to find greater balance, ease, and comfort within your body.
 
So, that's just a little bit of where we've been and where we are going. I know this blog is a little bit different from the blogs I have been posting and perhaps a little bit longer as well!  But, I hope you enjoyed hearing a little more about our journey! And, if you made it to the end of this blog, thank you!  Next week, I am going to share how during my trip to Fiji, I climbed a 50-foot telephone pole! I was hooked up to a harness, so I was completely safe. I do NOT recommend that you try this at home. But, I am going to explain why I did that and the incredible lessons I learned along the way. So stay tuned for next week.
 
Again thank you...
I love you...
I'll see you next week..
 
Keep Reading:
Surfing the Waves
Fill Your Cup First
New Year, New You

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Fall in Love with Ayurveda

9/20/2018

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Today’s blog is all about transitioning into the Fall season.  We started down this road last week when I showed you a couple of yoga poses that are perfect for balancing the energy of the season!  We dive deeper today as I share simple lifestyle practices from Ayurveda to ease into the season with greater love and alignment. 
 
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is a sister science to yoga.  It is a holistic system of well-being that traces its roots back to the Vedic era in India (thousands of years ago!).  Ayurveda sees all of Nature, including ourselves, as being composed of 5 basic elements – ether, air, fire, water, and earth.  These 5 elements govern our body (on the physical, mental, and emotional levels), the seasons, weather, time of day, foods that we eat, and more! 
 
What does this have to do with feeling good in the Fall?
For this, I will give an example.  My own body-mind constitution is Vata-Pitta; Autumn is the season governed by Vata (air and ether).  Since Vata is in my constitution and it also predominates this season, the Vata in Nature can exacerbate the qualities of Vata within my body and mind.  These qualities are dry, rough, cold, mobile, and light.  These qualities can give rise to dry skin, restless mind, constipation, feeling ungrounded, and anxious. I have always noticed that I feel a bit unsettled and ungrounded as I transitioned into the Fall season, but I never knew why until I discovered Ayurveda!  Now that I understand this dynamic of excess air/ether in the climate exacerbating those same qualities within myself, I have specific tools from Ayurveda that I can implement every Fall to help ease my transition into the season. 
 
Here are some of those tools that you can also use today:
1. Oil Massage
To counter the dryness of the season, Ayurveda offers us Abhyanga, a daily self-massage with oil.  Sesame oil is generally a great option this season! 

2. Eat Root Vegetables
Eat food that grows close to the Earth.  These foods naturally carry grounding qualities of heaviness and moisture that help counter the qualities of excess Vata (light and dry).  Examples of such foods are carrots,beets, potatoes, and pumpkin.  Cook these vegetables in soups for added moisture and easy digestion.

3. Grounding Activities
Examples of grounding activities include restorative yoga asanas gentle walks in nature, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Leave a comment to let me know how these practices work out for you!  Need further guidance specific to your constitution?  Schedule your complimentary coaching call here
Keep Reading:
What is Ayurveda?
Yoga Poses for the Fall Season
Letting Go
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Yoga Poses for the Fall Season

9/13/2018

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Nature has begun Her transition to Fall.  At this pivotal time when Nature begins to shift Her seasons, Ayurveda says it is important for us to pay attention and adjust our routines likewise.  Yoga can help us with this transition by moving from our more vibrant physical practices of the summer to more energetically grounding practices.  Today, I will show you two poses that are really great for grounding the cool, dry, and mobile energy of the Fall season, which Ayurveda characterizes as the Vata dosha.
 
  1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
This pose is the foundation for all of the other standing yoga postures.  When I think of a mountain, I think of Earth, stability, strength, and unshakeability. I also think of beauty, of the beautiful high peak of a mountaintop that can only arise from a firmly grounded base.  You can practice this pose anywhere, although I highly encourage you to try practicing this posture outdoors, barefoot on the grass. Allowing our feet to be in direct contact with the Earth is a grounding practice within itself, and so practicing Mountain pose in this way gives rise to added benefit.  Learn Mountain Pose here
 
  1. Bound Angle (Baddha Konasana)
This pose is both cooling and grounding. We will do a restorative version of this pose today, which emphasizes the grounding element.  Some props will come in handy for this version.  If you don't have yoga props at home, no worries!  You can still do this practice using a rolled up blanket as a bolster and also having a few cushions handy. We are all about making this super simple for you to practice at home!  Learn Bound Angle Pose here
 
Leave a comment below letting me know how you enjoyed these poses!  Did you run into any challenges or have any questions?  Were you able to tap into that feeling of grounding? 
 
Sending you so much love!
 
Keep Reading:
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3 Poses to Wake Up the Spine
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Wake Up with Energy!

9/6/2018

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Imagine waking up every morning with a sense of excitement and a smile on your face.  Imagine waking up before your alarm goes off and jumping out of bed because you just can’t wait to get your day started!  Okay, okay, I know this can seem a little far-fetched, but let me explain.  A morning practice is anything that you do in the morning to uplift and inspire you for the rest of the day.  It could be as simple as expressing gratitude for the day, setting an intention, breathing with awareness, going for a walk, sipping on tea, reading a book, or listening to the birds chirping outside.  Having a morning practice gives you time just for yourself to do something that you enjoy before jumping into the demands of your day.  Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? 
 
My own morning practice started when I was only 12 years old.  I was inspired by my father who would go running at 4:30 every morning, and I decided that I wanted to join him!  I set my alarm clock the night before, would climb out of bed in the morning, get changed and meet my dad at the bottom of the stairs to run with him.  I loved it!  Since then, my morning practice has evolved and now includes a combination of movement, breathwork, meditation, and reading.  You can read more about the evolution of my morning practice here

Now that you know my journey with a morning routine, including the excitement and challenges along the way, learn my top 3 reasons for starting a morning practice
 
Are you ready to give it a try?  If so, check out these 3 simple tips for getting your morning routine started as early as tomorrow!!***
 
Leave a comment below to let me know how it goes for you!!  What was the most helpful tip for you in this blog?  What are your greatest challenges towards starting a morning routine? 
 
Sending you so much love!
 
***Need an extra boost to get started on Monday mornings?  Join Holly for Sunrise Yoga every Monday at 6am EST live-streamed to your living room!  Reserve your spot here
 
Keep Reading:
Live with  Intention
New Year, New You
3 Poses to Wake Up the Spine
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