Just wanted to tell you all about a contest we have going for any of you out there that might have a blog (or have friends that do). If you enter and your post wins, you and a friend will relax and revitalize during a weekend yoga retreat at the beautiful Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. You will enjoy two days and two nights of rest and renewal for your body, mind and spirit. This prize includes:
Transportation and accomodations at the Kripalu Center, a premier yoga retreat located in Lenox, MA
Accommodations at Kripalu in a Standard Plus Room with delicious all-natural meals
Daily experiential workshops and guided outdoor activities
Daily yoga and YogaDance™ classes
Evening events
How to Enter? It's easy - simply create a blog post on your blog about one of the following:
1. Share an original story about why you need to say “Ohm”
2. Post a photo of you doing yoga in a toga (Oikos is Greek yogurt after all!)
3. Share a recipe you created using Oikos yogurt as an ingredient
Then, let us know that you posted it. You can find full details of entry and contacting us here: http://www.stonyfield.com/Kripalu/. One winner from all eligible entries will be selected at random. Randomly selected entries will be posted on the Oikos Facebook wall throughout the contest.
All links to entry posts must be received by November 30, 2009, and the winner will be announced on Stonyfield.com on or before December 15, 2009.
Please visit here for more info: http://www.facebook.com/oikos
I've been drooling over my recent Kripalu catalog, so this contest comes at the perfect time! Not to mention the 31-Day Yoga Challenge.
Why I need to say "Ohm"...
In all honesty, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the word "Om." Whenever I attend a yoga class where they begin the practice with chanting, I always feel awkward. My judgmental mind kind of rolls it's eyes and thinks, "Okay, we're not monks," and I feel a bit like a...poser? As if I am trying to be someone or something I'm not. However, for the month of October, I've been completing a 31-Day Yoga Challenge. Everyday, for 31 days, I am practicing yoga and inviting all things positive into my life. During this time, I have come to a new conclusion on the "ommers" in the universe! And I now consider myself one, too. But in a different sense of the word...
As a critical care Registered Nurse, everyday at work I experience a wide array of emotions from myself, but even more so from my patients and families. Often times, patients do not live or the road to recovery is long and painful. We try to give them a death with dignity, but it can be difficult when one is literally hooked up to a breathing machine with tubes going into every orifice and even man-made holes through flesh for extra lines. Many times, it is the family who needs the most support as the patient is generally sedated or unconscious. In a position such as mine, I need to encompass as much compassion and empathy that one can muster up. During the dark early morning hours, I make my walk through the streets to the hospital entrance. The world is still. I am quiet. And my thoughts are racing..."what will happen today? will someone code? will we be able to save them? Will I know what to do?!" Even though I'm well-equiped with a brilliant team of nurses and doctors, as well as my own education and knowledge, I feel scared. It is during this walk that I remember to breathe and truly understand the meaning of "Om." Keeping my mind quiet and realizing I am part of the universe. I need this...I need OM to continue to provide great care to sick patients. I need to experience OM to experience deeper compassion for myself, others, and the universe!
So, even though the actual chanting of "Om" can sometimes make me cringe, I use OM in my everyday life; during those quiet times when no one is aware, and it is completely necessary.
...For the challenge today, I completed about 15 minutes of random video podcasts. I went on a good 30 minute walk this morning, so I skipped my 11:30 class and opted for "bedtime yoga." I did a "Couch yoga," "Yoga for stress," and "Yoga for Facebook addicts" by Tara Stiles. These are short, about 5 minute videos. They sounded amusing, anyway. I enjoyed them!
On my way this morning, I snapped this photo of another bunny:
And for dinner, I wanted something CLEAN. I think this meal is actually completely vegan. Pictured is an acorn squash (I bake it at 425 with lots of garlic, evoo, and brown sugar), seven whole grain pilaf blend from Seeds of Change, and whole hearts of romaine with evoo and red wine vinegar!
I work the next two days, so it's time to hit the sack!
3 comments:
I can relate to OM on the yoga mat and into the workfield. I used to work in the medical world. One of my bad habits was "taking my cases home" with me...I would think about certain people, cases, etc. My yoga mat served as an island of restoration, healing, and purging in MANY ways. One...was OM. Through the movement, the breath, the OM, tears often flowed. These were tears of release, of healing. In vinyasana practice, we link breath and movement. Often I also linked tears. At the end of practice, in my chanting of OM, I would feel a groundedness in Peace. I could go through my day now. Namaste, Amy
ouuu- fun competition and what a wonderful post!!! loved your take :)
perhaps I'll give it a go too? (probably not available to Canadians, I'll have to check the fine print lol).
I LOVE Ohming, but of course it also took quite a few times and a few different explanations for it to connect.
I've officiall started my Yoga Challenge, thanks for the idea!
Link if you'd like to follow:
http://joannaashleigh.blogspot.com/2009/10/joannas-yoga-challenge.html
Your dinner looked fantastic btw... I must try making that sometime!
Post a Comment