Betty & Carrie (1972)
To be mother/daughter and business partners is a tremendous gift. Our mission is to provide quality products and services, fun activities and special events in a friendly historic neighborhood setting to foster community relationships, self discovery, and personal growth. Our blog is a reflection of the community we are creating at Inside The Bungalow.ITB Newsletter Sign Up
Subscribe
Inside The Bungalow Blog
New Times Best of Phoenix Reader's Poll 2010: Best Yoga Studio, Please Vote!
PLEASE VOTE FOR US!!!! We made it into the top five finalists for the Best Yoga Studio category. Click here to vote. You must enter at least 10 categories for your vote to count. We are almost the last page #81
. Thank you for your support!!!
Speaking Our Truth
Our theme for this month's A Woman's Rite of Passage is Speaking Our Truth. Old proverbs such as "Children should be seen, not heard" and "Silence is a woman's best garment" set a precedent for generations to come. Many of us have learned through our conditioning (upbringing, culture, religious beliefs, etc.) to stifle our voice. For the people pleasers among us, there is a fine line between acceptance and rejection. Our goal is to be liked so much that we will tell you whatever you want to hear to achieve our objective. When this habit is cultivated over a lifetime, we don't know if we are coming or going, if we like chocolate or vanilla ice cream (although truth be told, I think I might like strawberry), green or blue. It's much easier, for all of us, if you just tell us what we like and we'll go along with it. For some of us, we were not allowed to voice our opinion or truth as children. The lesson we learned is that we are much more acceptable when we are invisible. And yet, for others of us keeping quiet became a vital survival skill. Many of the students I have worked with over the years that are children of an alcoholic parent, recount numerous occasions of being "put in their place" for speaking up during a drinking bout.
Techniques (such as invisibility and "agreeability") that once worked to protect us can, over time, stunt our growth process. According to Amika Wauters, in The Energy of the Chakras, "Not to express ourselves is to limit our participation and enjoyment of life." Speaking our truth is associated with the throat chakra. It is the center for communication, creativity, and will power. The throat chakra is the bridge between the mind and heart, between thoughts and emotions. When we are not able to speak our truth, we stuff our emotions internally. Over time, our inability to express ourselves truthfully, creates dis-connection between mind and body.
As we work to heal the throat chakra, yoga, chanting, painting or anything related to the arts will help exercise our ability to speak our truth. According to Wauters, "the more we allow ourselves a form of personal expression the more we have evidence of who we are and what our purpose is in being here."
6 Poses to help open the throat chakra:
1. Begin in a comfortable seated position; Right hand underneath Right sit bone
2. Fold Left ear to Left shoulder; Left hand on top of head; Hold for 5 breath to 10 breaths
3. Turn head 2 inches down; If eyes are open, look to Left knee; Hold for 5 to 10 breaths
4. Release Left arm; Tuck chin to chest; Hold for 5 to 10 breaths
5. Repeat on other side
1. Slide Right Hand to Right; Arm can be straight, bent, or elbow to ground; Make sure both sit bones are planted; Left arm over Left ear; Hold 5 to 10 breaths
2. Still folding to Right, take Left arm out to side; Hold 5 to 10 breaths
3. Repeat on other side
Explore the Lion's Breath (Simhasana) at Yoga Journal to help open the throat chakra and begin speaking your truth.
Namaste',
Carrie
), green or blue. It's much easier, for all of us, if you just tell us what we like and we'll go along with it. For some of us, we were not allowed to voice our opinion or truth as children. The lesson we learned is that we are much more acceptable when we are invisible. And yet, for others of us keeping quiet became a vital survival skill. Many of the students I have worked with over the years that are children of an alcoholic parent, recount numerous occasions of being "put in their place" for speaking up during a drinking bout. Techniques (such as invisibility and "agreeability") that once worked to protect us can, over time, stunt our growth process. According to Amika Wauters, in The Energy of the Chakras, "Not to express ourselves is to limit our participation and enjoyment of life." Speaking our truth is associated with the throat chakra. It is the center for communication, creativity, and will power. The throat chakra is the bridge between the mind and heart, between thoughts and emotions. When we are not able to speak our truth, we stuff our emotions internally. Over time, our inability to express ourselves truthfully, creates dis-connection between mind and body.
As we work to heal the throat chakra, yoga, chanting, painting or anything related to the arts will help exercise our ability to speak our truth. According to Wauters, "the more we allow ourselves a form of personal expression the more we have evidence of who we are and what our purpose is in being here."
6 Poses to help open the throat chakra:
1. Begin in a comfortable seated position; Right hand underneath Right sit bone
2. Fold Left ear to Left shoulder; Left hand on top of head; Hold for 5 breath to 10 breaths
3. Turn head 2 inches down; If eyes are open, look to Left knee; Hold for 5 to 10 breaths
4. Release Left arm; Tuck chin to chest; Hold for 5 to 10 breaths
5. Repeat on other side
1. Slide Right Hand to Right; Arm can be straight, bent, or elbow to ground; Make sure both sit bones are planted; Left arm over Left ear; Hold 5 to 10 breaths
2. Still folding to Right, take Left arm out to side; Hold 5 to 10 breaths
3. Repeat on other side
Explore the Lion's Breath (Simhasana) at Yoga Journal to help open the throat chakra and begin speaking your truth.
Namaste',
Carrie
Strawberry Hedgehog's Vegan Bake Sale
Our dear friend, Tracy from Strawberry Hedgehog is helping with a Vegan Bake sale tomorrow. All proceeds go the Raven House Animal Rescue. Raven House is run by Roberta Lee/Nightwing. She is hosting two upcoming workshops at Inside The Bungalow, Shamanic Chakra Work and Becoming The Woman You are Supposed To Be . Roberta cares for all of these animals out of her own pocketbook. The bakesale is an opportunity to say thank you. Thanks for sharing this with us Tracy!
More Fun W/Diana Rothery
Last month, a few of the yoga teachers got together for a photo shoot with the ever so TALENTED Diana Rothery . Thank you, again, Diana for capturing the essence of yoga so beautifully!
Montezuma's Well
We had an opportunity to visit Montezuma's Well, on our way to Flagstaff. It is a hidden treasure!
Where's your favorite nature spot in Arizona?
Where's your favorite nature spot in Arizona?
Freedom To Be
I didn't realize I needed to wax my eyebrows until my hairdresser let me know if I wasn't going to die my hair it is a must....Why...Who says...The International Eyebrow & Hair Color Association? Here's the best part of it...all of a sudden...I can't leave the house without my eyebrows waxed. What will the neighbors think? I might even have to call in sick to work. Before that conversation, I was completely content with the unmanicured bushels that lined my eyes. After that conversation, I was a bushel of fears. How long have I lived like this? Why hadn't anyone told me? How many other women can I save from this painful experience?! We are constantly bombarded by experiences like this.
We live in a culture that reminds us how lacking we truly are. Pick up any magazine at the newstand and you can lose 10 Ibs in three weeks. I didn't know that I needed to lose ten pounds but suddenly this is my ticket to happiness. What will my life be like when that ten pounds is gone? Since we are projecting into future (fantasty) let's make it big. I will never have to do another load of laundry, clean a toilet, make a latte, or fill up my car with gas. Clothes will hang just perfect on my frame and my makeup & eyebrows will always look flawless. Okay, thanks for coming with me on that one, now back to reality. We can substitute many things into this equation of searching for external happiness: a second degree, a bigger car, a bigger house.
Freedom to be comes from appreciating who and where we are right now in this moment. Pema Chodron, in The Wisdom of No Escape , reminds us that, "Being satisfied with what we already have is a magical key to being alive in a full, unrestricted, and inspired way." I have been 140 pounds, I have been 110 pounds. I still have the same neurosis'. I have had more money than I do now, I have had less money than I do now. I still have the same neurosis'. I have had a more challenging work environment. I have had an easier work environment. I still have the same neurosis'. (Do you see the pattern unfolding?)
Through yoga and mindfulness, I have learned to challenge myself. I have learned to challenge my thoughts of unworthiness (some days are much easier than others). I have learned to challenge myself physically and mentally, in a room of other yogis & yoginis, sweating, contorting, holding on, letting go, giving up, taking back, together. I have learned to challenge my labels of woman, wife, mother, yoga teacher, business owner, etc. These labels, as much as I love each and every one, do not define me. As I gain freedom to surrender my labels, I learn to let go of who I think I should be and begin to embrace and share who I truly am. As we do this for ourselves, we give everyone around us the freedom to do the same.
Wishing you a Happy Independence & Freedom Day!
Carrie
We live in a culture that reminds us how lacking we truly are. Pick up any magazine at the newstand and you can lose 10 Ibs in three weeks. I didn't know that I needed to lose ten pounds but suddenly this is my ticket to happiness. What will my life be like when that ten pounds is gone? Since we are projecting into future (fantasty) let's make it big. I will never have to do another load of laundry, clean a toilet, make a latte, or fill up my car with gas. Clothes will hang just perfect on my frame and my makeup & eyebrows will always look flawless. Okay, thanks for coming with me on that one, now back to reality. We can substitute many things into this equation of searching for external happiness: a second degree, a bigger car, a bigger house.
Freedom to be comes from appreciating who and where we are right now in this moment. Pema Chodron, in The Wisdom of No Escape , reminds us that, "Being satisfied with what we already have is a magical key to being alive in a full, unrestricted, and inspired way." I have been 140 pounds, I have been 110 pounds. I still have the same neurosis'. I have had more money than I do now, I have had less money than I do now. I still have the same neurosis'. I have had a more challenging work environment. I have had an easier work environment. I still have the same neurosis'. (Do you see the pattern unfolding?)
Through yoga and mindfulness, I have learned to challenge myself. I have learned to challenge my thoughts of unworthiness (some days are much easier than others). I have learned to challenge myself physically and mentally, in a room of other yogis & yoginis, sweating, contorting, holding on, letting go, giving up, taking back, together. I have learned to challenge my labels of woman, wife, mother, yoga teacher, business owner, etc. These labels, as much as I love each and every one, do not define me. As I gain freedom to surrender my labels, I learn to let go of who I think I should be and begin to embrace and share who I truly am. As we do this for ourselves, we give everyone around us the freedom to do the same.
Wishing you a Happy Independence & Freedom Day!
Carrie
The Great Escape
It never seems to fail. The week before I present at a workshop, I am given unlimited personal examples to share on the subject at hand. Perhaps I am more conscious of my own behavior or perhaps the "threat" of exposing myself to people I don't know brings my "humanness" to the surface, either way it has become quite comical to me over the years to witness. The themes and lessons that have woven themselves into my life, into many of our lives, are courage, contentment, fear, and escape. They have always been there, waiting, like an old friend, like an old enemy, keeping me up for days, making me long to sleep for days, sometimes whispering, sometimes shouting, bringing me to the brink of ecstasy, bringing me to the brink of insanity. In her book, The Wisdom of No Escape, Pema Chodron reminds us that it's our emotions that prevent us from viewing life from a bigger perspective. "The more sensitive we become to this, the more we realize that when we start getting angry or denigrating ourselves or craving things in a way that makes us feel miserable, we begin to shut down, shut out."
It is our nature to seek pleasure and avoid pain, at all costs. Why else would we eat an entire gallon of rocky road ice cream or a whole bag of double stuffed oreo cookies over a soured relationship? What do we do when we have a bad day at work? Do we look to explore the source of angst or do we look to medicate, whether by the local pub, television show, or any other method of escape? When life doesn't go the way we think it should, do we embrace the life we have or do we fantasize about the life we are supposed to have? Ooohhhh, didn't you know that I'm supposed to be 5'7 with thick curly blonde hair that nestles around my shoulders...my build is that of a warrior yoginini princess (this is my fantasy after all) who is able to practice for six hours every day...when I'm not practicing, teaching, or holding my workshops around the world, my husband, son, & I are off on wild exotic rock climbing adventures...my level of climbing 5.14...I might make a magazine cover next month...right after I publish my first book...and own my own yoga studio (voted the best of the valley, by the way)...the reality of it all? my six hours of yoga daily is replaced with making coffee & sandwiches, other hours are filled with teaching yoga, helping brides plan weddings, quick books, godaddy, washing toilets, fixing exploding espresso machines....You get the point.
In Loving What is , Byron Katie teases, "If you want reality to be different than it is, you might as well teach a cat to bark." My goodness, how many cats have I tried to convert???!!! Each time we experience loss, sadness, fear, or anger, we can use it as a tool to access the unlimited supply of courage, inner strength, compassion or we can use it to shut down, shut out, or escape. Each is just as critical for personal growth. As we begin to witness pain and pleasure as opportunities for growth we learn to become content with all lessons and obstacles placed on our path. Yoga has taught me, by remaining neutral, how to embrace every life experience as an opportunity to transcend attachment and aversion, pleasure and pain. Through both pain and pleasure, suffering and contentment we learn to live our lives with an open heart. We learn to live with what is, not with what is supposed to be or should be. We come to understand that every life experience, in and of itself, is neutral. It is our resistance or attachment to that experience that creates suffering.
It is our nature to seek pleasure and avoid pain, at all costs. Why else would we eat an entire gallon of rocky road ice cream or a whole bag of double stuffed oreo cookies over a soured relationship? What do we do when we have a bad day at work? Do we look to explore the source of angst or do we look to medicate, whether by the local pub, television show, or any other method of escape? When life doesn't go the way we think it should, do we embrace the life we have or do we fantasize about the life we are supposed to have? Ooohhhh, didn't you know that I'm supposed to be 5'7 with thick curly blonde hair that nestles around my shoulders...my build is that of a warrior yoginini princess (this is my fantasy after all) who is able to practice for six hours every day...when I'm not practicing, teaching, or holding my workshops around the world, my husband, son, & I are off on wild exotic rock climbing adventures...my level of climbing 5.14...I might make a magazine cover next month...right after I publish my first book...and own my own yoga studio (voted the best of the valley, by the way)...the reality of it all? my six hours of yoga daily is replaced with making coffee & sandwiches, other hours are filled with teaching yoga, helping brides plan weddings, quick books, godaddy, washing toilets, fixing exploding espresso machines....You get the point.
In Loving What is , Byron Katie teases, "If you want reality to be different than it is, you might as well teach a cat to bark." My goodness, how many cats have I tried to convert???!!! Each time we experience loss, sadness, fear, or anger, we can use it as a tool to access the unlimited supply of courage, inner strength, compassion or we can use it to shut down, shut out, or escape. Each is just as critical for personal growth. As we begin to witness pain and pleasure as opportunities for growth we learn to become content with all lessons and obstacles placed on our path. Yoga has taught me, by remaining neutral, how to embrace every life experience as an opportunity to transcend attachment and aversion, pleasure and pain. Through both pain and pleasure, suffering and contentment we learn to live our lives with an open heart. We learn to live with what is, not with what is supposed to be or should be. We come to understand that every life experience, in and of itself, is neutral. It is our resistance or attachment to that experience that creates suffering.
July Staycation at Inside The Bungalow
4 Great Reasons to stay home this July. Click the here for more information or to register for one of our upcoming workshops.
June at Inside The Bungalow
We are excited to launch into June with a new yoga schedule: All you early risers... How about a 5:30am Power class? Need to relax? Try our 7:00pm Gentle Restorative offered Thursdays. Click here for more details: yoga schedule
We are also excited to welcome Audrey Parets and her company Spiritude to Inside The Bungalow. Spiritude is moving into the massage room within the yoga studio. Audrey voted "Best Massage" by the readers of Today's Arizona Woman magazine, will offer massage, facials, and Ayurvedic treatments. To learn more about Spirit & Audrey or schedule an appointment, visit www.spiritude.com . I'm thinking girls night out is coming soon to ITB What do you think?
We are also excited to welcome Audrey Parets and her company Spiritude to Inside The Bungalow. Spiritude is moving into the massage room within the yoga studio. Audrey voted "Best Massage" by the readers of Today's Arizona Woman magazine, will offer massage, facials, and Ayurvedic treatments. To learn more about Spirit & Audrey or schedule an appointment, visit www.spiritude.com . I'm thinking girls night out is coming soon to ITB
What do you think?