Archive for the ‘women and self care’ Category

This week, as I felt I was babying a virus that had come visiting, I chose to complete my week of yoga and soul-sisterhood at home, with my wonderful dog Teagan as my ‘soul-sister’.

I truly do find that when I do my home practice, our pets often accompany me with some stretches. Of course, they don’t wear their yoga pants and I am most often in my pj’s, however, we enjoy our practice together!

I usually do a slow flow sun salutation each morning and some restorative postures in the evening.

Teagan does a pretty great down doggie!

Here is a recent picture of my sweet dog!

InSpiriational Quote & Life Tip of the Day to help you live a life in balance!

Live fully
Create happiness
Imagine peace
Seek truth
Laugh often
Hope more
Inspire change!

From a wall poster !

Enjoy your glorious day dear friends and feel free to pass this on.

namaste

Zoey

We gathered extended family together yesterday for an Easter Sunday Brunch. We are at that tender stage of life where the transitions are many. There are elders passing on, new boyfriends, relationships changing and our generation preparing to move into retirement.

We all commented on the adorable babies and little ones dressed in their Easter finery.

We followed customs from my childhood and remarked on the passing of time. We mentioned those who couldn’t be with us; nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters in law and my mom, who passed away many years ago.

If you have seen “The Descendents”, which surprisingly I thought was very good, you will appreciate that we also experienced the vulnerable sweetness of an elder with Alzheimer’s and the wonderful good health of another elder in his 90′s.

Yesterday, we were missing the young babies but otherwise we experienced the full circle of life.

At the end, it’s all about our family isn’t it?  Whether a birth family or a global family, our relationships define and sustain us and support us to live a life in balance.

namaste,

Zoey

Easter Sunday Brunch with Grandpa and the Grandkids et al!

Week Five in the Year & Soul-Sisterhood of the Traveling Yoga Pants!

I’m inserting this yoga experience at Sky Temple as my week 5, even though I attended this yoga class in December while vacationing in Yelapa, Mexico. I’m taking some editorial license.

I actually attended my wonderful local Shanti Yoga this week for a gentle Hatha class but wanted to jump back and include Sky Temple in my travels.

Sky Temple Yoga is a breath-takingly beautiful studio, perched on the hillside in the tropical jungle around Yelapa.

Yelapa is a quaint and beautiful Mexican pueblo located south of Puerto Vallarta and only accessible by water taxi.

Judith Roth, a well known yoga teacher from the Pacific Northwest, relocated to Yelapa around 10 years ago. Over the years she held yoga classes in numerous locations in the village including little palapas, grand rooms in quaint estates and upper decks of homes.

Recently Judith organized the construction of Sky Temple, a yoga studio, home and retreat centre with a view of a sparkling bay and gorgeous beach. Accessible via a path winding through trees and jungle foliage Sky Temple offers beginner and advanced classes.

Karen, our next door neighbor and myself, attended a gentle Hatha class with about 10 other folks from Asheville Oregon, Northern California, England, the Gulf Islands of BC and Vancouver. The age range was about 25 – 65. Judith didn’t teach the class but I did have a chance to connect with her after class.

The yoga wear was very eclectic, funky, fun and functional, given the warm temperatures. There were brothers and sisters and lots of tats, piercings and long gray braids. I wore my cozy brown yoga pants (again) and Karen wore a pair of black leggings. I wore my tie-dyed t-shirt and mala beads in a gesture of a deep bow to the hippies and singers like Bob Dylan, who introduced Yelapa to us in the ’60s!

I credit Judith with awakening my love of yoga! She is a woman who embodies power and courage with gentleness and authenticity. Prior to attending a class with Judith, I had viewed yoga more as exercise but in Judith’s class, I experienced a deeper and more profound experience. Yoga with Judith made my body sing and she feels like a soul-sister for sure!

Sky Temple is available for other yoga instructors to use for retreats with their students as well as for those living in and traveling to Yelapa.

In addition to amazing yoga, a wonderful beach and very friendly people, Yelapa boasts outstanding restaurants with delectable food made from fresh ingredients.

You can also take Spanish classes, go birding, take a day trip to the Marietas Islands, go snorkeling, go hiking or fishing

A trip to Yelapa for rest, relaxation and yoga would significanty contribute to living a life in balance.

This picture below is a beautiful mosaic announcing the entrance to the path leading to Sky Temple.

Enjoy your glorious day.

namaste,

Zoey

A beautiful photo to share with you on a Good Friday Full Moon!

I found this photo on f/b and would live to know who the artist is!

namaste,

Zoey

The photo brings to mind a woman’s spirituality & loving kindness!

I seem to be reading about leadership everywhere these days, and I love it!

I had a wonderful surprise with starting Steve Farber’s new book, which I down loaded on my ipad and started reading yesterday.  I don’t want to say much more, other than ‘do the same’ as I may spoil your surprise.  What I resonated with, in addition to the words, was a sense of Steve’s presence and the personal touch that made the experience of reading the book exceptional for me.

This morning on LinkedIn, one of the articles (from Forbes) was entitled “New Leaders: To Make Your Mark, Do Nothing” and it spurred my thinking to the area of ‘mistakes’ or ‘do overs’.

As a leader, I have made tons of mistakes and experience many OS!Moments!  One of my main mistake and the biggest thing I would like to ‘do over’, is to “do nothing” in an organization for about 6 months or longer.  This would give me a chance to get a sense of the culture, the people, the informal rules, the energy of the system, so to speak.  It would also clearly say that my personality, my energy is only a small part of the whole system and would speak to a collaborative leadership style.

I wonder too, if due to the gender divide and the history of an imbalance in women, success and power relative to our male counterparts, women are more afraid than men to make mistakes in leadership and err on safety?  Does being safe as a leader mean being stagnant as an organization?

I would love to hear from women leader’s as to what your main ‘mistake’/'do over’ would be!  Please share!  From our sharing, we can learn, grow and support each other!

in peace & mindfulness

namaste,

Zoey

Topaz Lotus Life & Leadership Coaching for Women

wisdom coaching to set your heart on fire and soothe your soul

Women’s Leadership Tip

Continuing the discuss of the ‘being’ and ‘doing’ of women’s leadership…

Leadership can and should be crazy, magic, awful and wonderful, just like life!

‘What the double hockey sticks’ you may be thinking!

In life, coaches know that the messiness and hard parts are often the ‘gateways’ to amazing personal, spiritual and professional growth!

It is the same with leadership.

Steve Farber, extreme leadership guru and author of ‘Radical Leap: re-energized’ was a keynote speaker at the International Coach Federation Conference I attended in Las Vegas recently. Steve talks about the ‘OS!M’ and this does not refer to open source! He refers to the interplay of love and fear and encourages leaders to experience an ‘oh s#*t!moment’ frequently.

In my experience in coaching and in leadership, these moments are frequent and scary and authentic and real and edgy and if one stays mindful with the process, can catalyze transformation, personally and organizationally!

So, play around with OS!M this week in life and work.

Read more on Steve’s website, click on ‘Pursue the OS!M’

In peace & mindfulness

namaste,

Zoey

I feel satiated and not with food but with the blissed out body centered feeling that comes after a wonderful yoga class!

Returning from vacation, I felt like staying close to my home yoga studio of Shanti Yoga in  Tsawwassen and took in a ‘gentle hatha’ yoga class this morning with my friend Dori.   Heather led us in many hip opening asanas as collectively agreed on at the beginning of the class, gotta love the ‘soul-sisterhood’!  At Shanti Yoga, music plays during the active part of class and I LOVE this!  I wish more studios would do this.

I reconnected with another friend at class and really feel like the yoga folks are my tribe!  I miss the new friends I made at Shanti Yoga Los Cabos!  Maybe I’ll see some of the Mexico vacationing Vancouver folks who hang out at Moksha Yoga on West Broadway when I use my passport to prana.

Feeling energized and healthy after class I did a ‘power spring clean’ in our bedroom to the delight of my husband who is much tidier than I.

My daughters had given me a gift certificate to Shanti Yoga Tsawwassen as my birthday present and I used it today to purchase a pair of  tiny ‘OM’ disc drop earrings by Satya Jewelry.  I’m thrilled as I have been experiencing very sensitive ears, however, these earrings are so sweet and light that it doesn’t even feel like I have anything in my ear lobes!

I wore my fav comfy brown yoga pants with the leopard print detailing around the hips.  Dori wore her Lululemon Capri’s and the other women had some cool yoga pants too!  Lots of women were wearing the very wide legged yoga pants and one woman had these funky drop  waist champagne yoga pants that were rouched around the shin!  I really like some of the new tie dyed yoga pants, however, I don’t think that the style would suit my ‘womanly’ body.

Dori and I went for ‘tea’ after yoga and it was another great chat with one of my ‘soul-sisters’!  She had a chai latte and I splurged on a delish’ mocha with whip.

I plan to purchase my ‘passport to prana Vancouver’ soon and start exploring more wonderful local studios!

Enjoy this magnificent day!

in peace & mindfulness

namaste,

Zoey

Topaz Lotus Life & Leadership Coaching for Women

wisdom coaching to set your heart on fire and soothe your soul

Observe Earth Hour 2012 and help the Planet!

March 31, 2012

8:30 – 9:30 pm

Earth Hour 2012

In peace and mindfulness

namaste,

Zoey

Topaz Lotus Life & Leadership Coaching for Women

wisdom coaching to set your heart on fire and soothe your soul

Life & Leadership Quote of the Week!

‘If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just’

~ Anita Roddick – Founder of The Body Shop

Enjoy your wonderful day and life!

In peace and mindfulness

namaste,

Zoey

Topaz Lotus Life & Leadership Coaching for Women

wisdom coaching to set your heart on fire and soothe your soul