Each day is precious ~ each moment is sacred ~ yet sometimes an extra  celebration is in divine order.  And so we will celebrate winter solstice  ~ and the holiday season yoga style.  Join me in Battle Lake Monday Dec 23rd for a lovely candlelit yoga class ~ and then be lulled into a connected state of bliss with the sounds of singing bowls during shavasana with the gifted musician Crystal Clear.

​I love soulful adventuring.  Throwing my hikers and water bottle in the mini cooper, with my trusty furry co-explorer riding shotgun.  And, the mini comes equipped with a journal and yoga mat at my disposal.   So when a dear artist friend said, “lets rent a bus and take people to some of your favorite spiritual places”...the heart fluttered with excitement and I knew it would happen.  ​

I am dating a recovering adrenaline junky.  Well, maybe he isn’t in full recovery as he screams down the street in any fast car he can get his hands on but he has stopped shirtless motorcycle wheelies. Baby steps.

Is driving fast a big deal?  Heck no as my mini cooper corners like she is on rails.  But when we surround ourselves with incessant intensity (& noise) that is what we are nurturing inside as well.  Because…

Everything is energy.

Our precious aura’s pick up on everything.  And then we wonder why we can’t slow down the monkey mind or get rid of the anxiety.  Re-insert the boyfriend who says he would never be able to meditate because his mind goes non-stop.   Ahh…the immediate gratification & instant results society we live in.  Meditation takes a slow dedicated practice (probably the same as he needed to learn to hold a motorcycle wheelie for 2 city blocks).  If he only knew how I was picking on him…sshhhh.
Let’s take this one step deeper and hop off the pavement onto a different path; a spiritual path.  If you are on one, do you wonder why you aren’t receiving the intuitive wisdom to help you make decisions everyday that are in your highest and best purpose?

Your inner knowing and your spiritual posey are ALWAYS there waiting for you to slow down and listen.

​Slowing down for you may mean sipping a cup of tea as you silently watch the lake freeze over, or cultivating inner stillness on your meditation cushion, or melting onto your mat in a yoga class…whatever speaks to you…just be sure to…give it a second.
Enjoy my all time favorite Louis CK interviews as he hilariously brings the point home.

Until our paths cross again…wrapping you in love & light,
Wendy

I caught myself in a little white lie (again).  It was super small.  Insignificant really.  But, the words just found their way out of my mouth.

Do you do it?  Of course you do!  Well maybe if you have reached a state of pure self love & unwavering acceptance of your authentic soul all the time…maybe then you don’t ever speak them.  But, I know I am talking to a human on the other side of this technology device and we all have a tendency to fall into our shadow selves. We see ourselves as somehow less than and not enough.  We are conflict avoiders.  We are afraid to let our true colors be known. We are out to prove something.  And the fib reasons can go on.  I am here to confess the ones I occasionally fall victim to:

3 little white lies:

1. I have exaggerated a story to ensure I am validated & accepted.
2. I have played down my true beliefs so as not to make another person uncomfortable.
3. I have agreed with someone’s comment when I don’t truly agree.

I know. I know. I should know better since I know where all those little white lies go. They are sent out into the universal wave lengths which means I will be given more life situations where I am tempted to hide behind my shadow side through tiny lies.  Oh great.  And if that wasn’t enough, as soon as those false words are spoken, guess where all those falsities get shoved down into?  You guessed it — into the body!

​Yet just another reason I love my yoga practice.  Since the body never lies, yoga helps to uncover the truth and shed the old lies that have unconsciously been shoved deep into the fascia, cells, nerves, etc.  When you harness the breath & melt into yoga postures, you get the old inauthentic energetic kinks out and you shed light onto your true self.  You will know what it feels like to truly heal from the inside out.

If you can feel it, you can heal it.

As you feel the tensions release, know that you are tapping into your spiritual self where you have the realization that truth will always set you free.  And insert one of my favorite Dr Wayne Dyer messages:

First remember that you are a spirit in a human body rather than a body with a spirit.

We are here to spiritually grow, love, co-create, and above all else to forgive ourselves and others (from all those lies).  So embrace this human experience and live it from a point of truth; your growth will accelerate and others will want to join your party since true authenticity is contagiously sexy. Before I close today’s chat, try on this cool mantra outfit (one size fits all):

I am real.  I am honest with compassion.  I am a truth vibe trend setter.

Trust me when I say; when you wear that outfit it will feel like you are giving yourself a big hug (and I’m not exaggerating). Plus, you will get the most compliments EVER when you wear that outfit!

​Until our paths cross again.
In love & light,
Wendy

It is Wednesday, September 23rd and the Fall Equinox is upon us.  The sun revved up his power to shine directly on the equator making the length of day & night equal…or almost equal.
The importance of both light & dark is brought into our awareness this time of year.   But who likes to go into the dark?
I do!
As a kid, my parents often found me sleeping in my closet with a blankie over my head as I had snuck into the sweet darkness of quiet alone time.  Fast forward into my adulthood, and I still curl up with a blankie (uh hum; I mean blanket) in the dark as I watch a drama filled movie on Netflix.  And sans blanket, I cruise around the halls of my home navigating the darkness…driving my boyfriend a wee bit crazy as he would prefer lights a blazing.
As a yoga teacher & spiritual guide, I use my gifts naturally to help people realize the beauty of their light.
To truly know your light of truth; it helps to embrace your dark side.  For when we go into the darkness, we are not blinded by the light and rather we sit in our own truth of what needs to be cleansed and balanced so we can heal and evolve.
We must bring our light to the darkness.
And just because nature likes to help out when she can, after today the days get shorter so you have plenty of opportunities to embrace the darkness.  Feel free to turn off the lights in your home or sneak out into the cool nights and soak up the stars and moon.  Don’t they shine so much brighter when the sky is pitch black or is it because you are bringing your light to the darkness?
As you take on a new appreciation of darkness, you may just find the images of Fall’s colorful trees, pumpkins, & the taste of apple cider to be that much brighter & sweeter this year.
Until our paths cross again ~
Wendy Billie

Do you know how to relax? I mean really relax. Shutting it ALL off and letting the worries, fears, and doubts completely leave the building.
If you are reading this, I am sure you are on the path (or are very interested) in bringing the path of relaxation into your life. And kudos to you because it is a really BIG deal to bring utter serenity into moments of your day because if you don’t … well let’s just say the brain takes major ‘blows’ when we keep it in perpetual analyze & do mode.
A quick overview of the brain:
Left side is the control master of analytical reasoning & is very reality based.
Right side of the brain is master of creativity ~ the place of imagination, dreams, & intuition.


Ok, I said quick overview so now onto how easily we can destroy our precious brain with only our thoughts.
When we dive into the old song and dance of negative thoughts perpetuated by imagining the worst case scenarios happening in our life; worries, fears, and doubts shut down part of our brain. In essence, we lose our awareness or consciousness. Hmmm–do you ever find yourself saying “I can’t remember this or that?” Well, maybe you are shutting down the old thinker by worrying too much. Just a thought – pun intended.
Well, I wish a poor memory was the only brainy thing that could go wrong. But, because our body steps up and produces oober amounts of cortisol with all our negative thoughts we can actually ‘blow up’ neurons. Yes, our sweet body thinks we are in distress and thus steps up to the plate and makes cortisol to combat the stress. Excess cortisol is the killer.
Your Brain on Stress.
I watched a video demonstrating the destruction of our precious brain cells due to high levels of cortisol (sorry video wasn’t available for upload) but let me describe what went down. Envision a mass of neurons and their dangling arms of synapses lit up like Christmas trees (similar to our cool braintree picture above). Looks all pretty and then…bam…or kaboom is better to capture the moment. A neuron exploded. Gone forever!
Maybe you remember the old commercial scaring us away from using drugs “this is your brain on drugs”.


This may need a little edit to include ” this is your brain on stress”.
Never fear.  Put the frying pan away.
Yoga Brain to the rescue!
Go ahead and insert a new visual. It is the end of yoga class and you feel completely relaxed. You slide into the bliss of savasana (the pose of complete relaxation) and your happy brain takes over. It starts to activate parts of your brain ~ igniting creativity & dreams, & fantasies; igniting our intuitive nature.   This happens because instead of stress protecting cortisol being produced our bodies begin to release dopamine; our pleasure neurochemicals. ahhh….
You may think that based on your busy life that you need to have the left analytical side of your brain on high 24/7. But, introducing relaxation will activate the “right” and help you make decisions using the wisdom of your intuition.  And this is why I highly recommend that you wait to balance the checkbook for at least 20 minutes after yoga class. Let the fantasies and daydreams guide you and enjoy the sweet bliss of Yoga Brain.
Until our paths cross again,
Wendy Billie