Hello world,
I'd like to introduce myself.
I'm Lady Yoga.
I've been coming into many homes, studios and gyms for almost a decade and certified by a whole bunch of organizations and alliances in many styles of fitness starting with the most important to me, YOGA, followed by general fitness training, weight and nutrition management and mat Pilates. Pretty much anything that's exercise and lifestyle related, I've tried or have a certificate and experience to back it up so I can bring you the best of the worlds I have visited and adapt those styles to the life that you live.
I work with busy mommies, athletes, executives, kids, injured, addicted, incarcerated, disabled, abused, handicapped, strong and healthy, scared and skeptical.
All of them, every single one of them, have been able to find the joy in fitness.
They are all different.
But the thread that links them together is the desire to move, be healthy and feel free in their bodies and minds.
Our bodies can be scary places.
When we are babies, we are just discovering the wonder of crawling on the floor then standing on our own two feet. WOW!
How exciting.
But we don't understand fear when we are young, because we don't know what that is until we see the fear from adults that hold on to things - situations, emotions, responsibilities, and life. It is not our fault. Life is challenging.
When we get to the point of adolescence, our bodies change in ways we don't understand.
It can be the hardest thing to 'like' what we are given, genetically and environmentally. It is important, as a people, that we support all bodies, shapes and sizes and promote health not as a look but as a feel within and outside of our given physical form.
I was not always a superhero. In fact, my mother didn't know she had given birth to a superhero, because she was unaware of her own superhero abilities. More on that later...

My mother is my great guru. She does not exercise in the traditional sense of the word, but she is very active.
What we, as a people don't understand is that activity, movement, done safely, is 'exercise and fitness', and it can be found anywhere and everywhere, not just the gym or studio.
It is on this note that I have found my mission - to bring yoga and fitness to everyone regardless of physical or schedule limitations.
My mother gardens, walks, plays with the dog and uses the supplies she has around her at her home office to lift, squat and engage the muscles in her body.
She feels alive while on the phone with a client, taking her stapler or tape dispenser and curling her arm up and down to make her joints limber and feel her muscles work for her while she is simply sitting at her desk, getting her work done.

I know that sometimes she imagines throwing that tape dispenser at a difficult client and for that, I applaud her. She works her frustration out physically and not on the person she is talking to. We are in charge of the responses we have to the people we interact with and it's better to use that energy in a form that generates strength and power within ourselves and not take it out in anger and negativity on another or ourselves... but that I'll save for another blog too!

You will often find me at the post office, waiting in line and doing squats. I hold the sweet packages I send to my loved ones or bills to the electric and gas Company, stand with my feet hip distance a part and align my toes, ankles, knees and hips and imagine that I am sitting back in a chair. I engage my feet, ankles, calves, hamstrings and quadriceps, belly and chest and extend the packages forward to engage my entire upper body from chest and back to biceps and triceps. I take in deep breaths while I wait for the patrons to pay for their postage and by the time I get up to the check out, I have a line of people copying my movements and we've burned calories, earned a latte, actually smiled and felt good inside and out. And, I've paid my bills on time!

When I enjoy watching the Oprah Winfrey show, clever woman, her commercial breaks are short and I will take those breaks to fake jump rope till she gets to her next interview where I will then sit down, learn something new about the world and use a filled water bottle to strengthen my shoulders by pushing the bottle up and over my head and back to the couch by my hips. It's not a heavy weight, but I engage and engaging and waking up the muscles of the body is key to engaging and waking up in life.

Ah ha!!

These are just a few examples of what I will share with you at my new home, LA Yoga Magazine, in print and online, at www.LAYogaMagazine.com

I have so many stories to share with you about me and my pal, 'lil Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god. We are always giggling and traveling around the city finding people who desperately want a little fitness and yoga and THINK they have to sign up or pay for a class or schlep to the gym, when all they have to do is wait for the light to change at a red light to get their core work in.

It's about thinking outside the mat that we find our fitness and joy and make it our everyday, not just a part of our day like a schedule or a commitment.

We are all so busy these days. Our minds are 'engaged' so much that we forget about the life engagement we can feel by being in our bodies, feeling the breath deep in our lungs, our hearts beating strong, sweat detoxifying our system and keeping us youthful, happy and sane!!

It's hard to find time for our loved ones and ourselves let alone adding one more thing to do...scheduling a work out or class.
If you break up the class or gym session, throughout the day, you will probably find you can 'work out' and feel the bliss of yoga and fitness more than you ever expected.

I'll always recommend that if you have the time to make it to the gym or studio, do it!!
But if you don't, there is always a way to find yoga and fitness in your everyday.

And I'll help you.
That's my mission and my super power.
And, my yoga mat doubles as my cape so I can get to you quicker than you can say 'the 405' or 'sig alert' and I'm there to get you the joy, flexibility, mobility and health that you deserve...one OM at a time.

I'm so happy to know you. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about how you can bring fitness and yoga in to your life. I will help you get there.

Light, love and laughter,
Lady
www.LadyYoga.org