It’s getting hard to ignore the chill in the air; fall is undeniably around the corner. With the changing season comes the desire for change in other areas of life. One really easy (and fun) way to acknowledge the seasons in your home is to switch your summery throw cushions with something more of-the-season. Enter Freddy&Ma. Offering 3 pillow sizes and hundreds of fun and fabulous fabrics to choose from (hundreds!), their fast and easy pillow service lets you create the perfect palette of accessories to cozy up your nest for the winter.

Pillows start at $45.

What are some ways you prepare your home for the colder months?

“Do I contradict myself?
Very well, then I contradict myself.
I am large.
I contain multitudes.”
– Walt Whitman

In order to thrive, wholeness has to be the priority – not political correctness, or likeability, or protecting your mother’s feelings. But… What if your preferences and the various parts of yourself are seemingly in conflict? Like the MBA who wants to be a stay-at-home mom, or the eco-friendly yoga teacher who wants to be a millionaire?

It’s good – it’s all good if it’s all real. It is infinitely more empowering, not to mention more interesting, to be full of contradictions than to accommodate the status quo.

THIS WEEK: make a short list of your own contradictions. Leave it out where you can see it for a while. Smile when you read it. Learn to love it.

The basis of authenticity is acceptance of your whole self. Like the MBA who wants to be a stay-at-home mom or, the sexy dresser with old-fashioned morals, or the yoga teacher who wants to be a millionaire…self-expression is not an either- or formula. It is infinitely better to be fully yourself with myriad contradictions than to be an indirect, inauthentic version of yourself.

Wholeness demands that we expand – our perspective, our definition of success, and our belief in what’s possible.

My shoulder and neck have been killing me,  you would often find me at the computer with a hot buckwheat pillow wrapped around my neck. My healthy and helpful friend, Ingrid said “Go to Bikram Yoga!”

I did and wow, I feel exceedingly better.

Why I’m going back!

1. Heat: A series of yoga poses done in a heated room, a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).  This temperature promotes serious sweating, which rids the body of toxins and  relieves stress. It also makes your  body very warm which gives you more flexiblilty. Ahhh, I felt my shoulder muscles relax and release.
2. Repeation: Every class guides you through the same 26 poses, each one warms up your muscles and joints for the next pose. For me, its comforting knowing what’s next.
3. Workout: The postures are intense and challenging. After 90 minutes I felt spent and lighter, works for me.
4. Breath: Attention to deep healthy breathes combined with moments of stillness to quieten your breath.
5. Feel:  Most importantly my body feels better. I am working with ease and sleeping like a baby!

I am buying a Bikram pass! Thanks Ingrid!