For Mind, Body & Soul - A Beginners Guide to Yoga

Happy Monday!

I just completed another Midday Yoga class at my school. I LOVE this class and had been looking forward to it since Wednesday. I have been taking this class for about two weeks and can already tell that it is improving my back and stress level. I'm more aware of my breathing, muscles and posture. Doing yoga midday relaxes and prepares me for the rest of the day. 

Here is a list of the top 10 reasons YOU should start doing yoga!

1. STRESS relief

2. Inner peace

3. Increased strength

4. Weight loss & waste management

5. Increased overall energy

6. Improved sleep

7. Heightened mental and intuitive awareness 

8. Improved hormonal balance

9. Brain synchronization & brain fitness

10. Whole body detoxification

What's not to love? Yoga is for your mind, body and soul. It is a health plan that focuses on 3 very important aspects of YOU.

Mind, Body & Soul

Anyone can DO yoga!

I think the most important part of the learning process for learning how to do yoga is to do it with someone else who has experience with the positions and breathing styles. It can be daunting and stressful when searching the internet, checking out books or watching videos. There is a lot of information to dig through!

Plus, who doesn't like wearing yoga pants?

And don't forget to eat well, drink plenty of water and get enough sleep.

Here are some helpful links to get you started:

History of Yoga

Health Effects of Yoga

Effects of Yoga on the Mind

Effects of Yoga on the Soul

Blessings, peace and joy this week,

Miss Maully

My 5 Things - How to Restart those New Year's Resolutions

I know we all start the New Year with some really fantastic expectations of ourselves and by the end of the month they start to fade away into old habits. I decided to kick old habits to the curb and refocus on my main goal and a few side goals as well. Each month I will edit the list for changes or accomplishments and post my results. So here is the first set of My 5 Things that I'm throwing to the world. Enjoy.

Here is my list of 5 Things I'm trying to get into the habit of doing:

1. Drink more hot tea

2. Meditate at least 2 times a week

3. Workout 4 days a week

4. Keep up my healthy and clean eating

5. Always donating or giving away stuff I don't need or use anymore

I made 5 things to focus on at once rather than a ton of things. These are my 5 things for the month of February. 

I'm drinking some hot green tea right now with a little squirt of honey in it. I LOVE hot tea and there is this super delicious Indian restaurant that has the most AMAZING hot chai tea that I can't stop thinking about!

I've always really been into meditation, but can never put my eager desire into action. I love the benefits and mindfulness but somehow I pass over the opportunity. Do you meditate? It is such a beautiful form of relaxation and finding your inner truth. 

I've started working out at my school and already am hooked. I LOVE exercising and I'm trying to reach my goal weight of 130 (That's ~60 lbs to loose, hopefully by August =).

I started out eating super healthy and clean and then the brutal blow hit. It is very hard to eat healthy and at all when you can't afford to buy groceries for awhile. So that's the point I'm at right now. 

I'm always trying to de-clutter and organize. Just want to get rid of stuff that's not used anymore and that is taking up space and cluttering my mind!

So all you have to do to re-inspire yourself to follow through with your New Year's Resolutions is to:

Step 1: Take one really important goal.
Step 2: Surround it with a few smaller goals.
Step 3: Don't try to do everything at once and don't overload yourself with dozens of complex goals.
Step 4: Start simple. 
Step 5: Write your 5 Things on a few sticky notes and place them where you will see them everyday.
Step 6: Never give up!

For me, this month is all about Mindfulness (*hint for next post*} of soul, mind and body. 

Stay tuned! 

So what are your 5 things to focus on for February? 

Let me know in the comments below!

Peace, love and blessings,

Miss Maully

"The Most Eclectic Blog"

Kindness-- The Temple of Light - The Maulism Movement {My Spiritual Journey}

I'm sitting here with a couple margaritas in me thinking about what I should write about...

OK...that's what I started writing about last night. If you have a Jose Pepper's near you, I urge you to go and try one of their fresh margaritas made with all natural lime and lemon juices, 100% organic agave nectar and Jose Peppers' own tequila. I know I'm trying to sell them here, so here's the catch. They are $2 all day Monday and Tuesday!! At least where I live. 

So I was super tired last night and couldn't think of what to write. Tonight however, I am on a roll with the words. 

Coming Up: I am planning a Thankful Thanksgiving post over my Thanksgiving break. 

Rosetta's 1st birthday is Monday and her party is Sunday. <3

Christmas Theme Posts
Winter Posts

Tonight we are going to talk about Kindness.

Kindness- the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.

When I was in grade school  there was his giril who was younger than me by a few years. I'm going to change her name and call her Matilda for this story. She wasnt cute, bubbly, fashionable, rich and skinny like the rest of the girls that went to my grade school. She had shoulder length mousy brown hair, a pudgy face, her mouth was filled with quite a few silver fillers and fake teeth. She talked funny, wore baggy t-shirts and shorts and was on the rounder side. She also had this awkward walk where she threw her weight around as she took steps. Let's just say it was not graceful. She came from a lower class family, her mother was a larger woman who didn't wear makeup or try to dress nicely. She was shrill and drove an older model station wagon, one of the wooden ones. 

Everyone made fun of her, for everything I just mentioned above. She was in Y-CARE with me and lived in my neighborhood. I didn't talk to her much but I judged her and made fun of her as well. I talked behind her back, laughed at her and ignored her- just like everyone else. Then one day, a few years later at the pool I saw that her mom was wearing a handkerchief on her head. 

I can't remember if it was then that we realized she had cancer or when she passed away.

I think Matilda only lived with her mom and grandma. {Maybe mom's boyfriend?} However she didn't live with or even see her dad for all I know. It was then that I began to feel bad for how myself and everyone else had treated her. Not just because that something bad happened to her, but because all that time we were teasing her and ignoring her she was dealing with her mom dying at home. I never knew if she was close to her mom but it doesn't matter. It matteres that I still feel guilty for how we treated her becasue she was different and "weird" but she was dealing with some deep problems that none of us could fathom or even want to try imagining what it would be like. 

The moral of my story is to always be kind to everyone {yes, there are exceptions like murderers and rapists and child molesters}

You never know what their story is, what they come home to everyday, what hides behind closed doors. Maybe she just wanted us to say hey to her or include us in our games. Maybe that would have made her day and she could have a glimmer of hope. 

I've been to low points in my life, have you? We think there is no way out and people can judge us and be mean- at any age. 

Kindness is so much more than a definition, kindness is an act of truth that you bestow to the world to make it a better place to live in. 

Kindness is the key to happiness. Refrain from bullying {another sermon}, teasing, degrading and judging {another sermon} anybody. You do not know their story and therefore cannot judge them.

I think to myself when I catch myself judging, "How dare you jump to conclusions about the way they are living their life?" I try talking to people like random strangers, cashiers, servers...I want to know their story and find the soul in the body. I try to connect with people and just be kind to everyone I meet. That one simple "have a nice day" or "hello" or "how are you feeling/doing today? could be a chance for them to feel appreciated, hopeful and warm inside. 

Kindness is free and unfortunately we lack the most basic kindness to one another. There is more than once I have seen glares and sideways looks my way. More than once I have given those glares and looks.

Kindness is FREE. 
TREAT OTHER THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.
PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES.
TRY SEEING THINGS FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW.

It can be hard. You may not even realize that you are doing it. But every time you find yourself judging another person, saying hateful things to them, ignoring them because of how they act, speak, talk or dress, catch yourself. Keep a reminder on a sticky note or on your phone, Hell, tie a sting around your finger. 

Instead of bashing them, say something nice about how they look, about their children, car, purchase, friendliness, honesty... you can find the good and human/humble part inside the outer surface of first impressions and possibly make a new friend!

Try this for 30 days, a week, a year...a lifetime. 

You will start to notice that your attitude and outlook will change. 

Kindness is so important yet so easily forgotten. These holidays, make it a priority to keep Kindness at the top of your list and KEEP it there when the holidays are over. 

Peace, Love, Happiness and Blessings,

xoxo
MissMaully

{L.L. in the Temple of Light.}

Compassion-- The Maulism Movement {My Spiritual Journey}

Compassion

It is a word often used, overused and miss-practiced.

Compassion is the understanding or empathy for the suffering of others. This definition is very broad.

It says others, but I feel that you must first love yourself to have compassion for yourself AND everyone else. You must understand your suffering, mistakes, bad days and problems. Feel compassion for yourself and embrace this change. Don't harm yourself or beat yourself up. Love yourself, learn, grow and adapt to practice compassion with yourself. They say you cannot love until you love yourself. 

To have compassion for someone else comes naturally for me. Growing up I always asked my parents, "why can't they see it the other way, why can't they put themselves in that person's shoes and change their opinion?" I guess having compassion for other people is not everyone's cup of tea, especially those greedy CEO's and people in power. It seems that they forget to put themselves in other people's shoes and they surrender to not caring about what happens to people less fortunate. 

One of the Pillars of Living is having compassion for ALL living beings. Humans, animals, plants...even your boss, the person you dislike the most and all the beings living in terrible conditions. If you do not understand what someone is going through then put yourself in that person's shoes and think and reflect. An important thing to remember is to count your blessings everyday and realize that not everyone has even the most basic needs. You may complain about frivolous  consumerism ideals while whole families go without dinner tonight, tomorrow, and the next night. Thousands of people live off pennies a day in other countries. Here in the United States, children go hungry as well and do not have health insurance. 

Everyone has a story and everyone is on a journey. We all have our own struggles. Someone's struggle may seem unimportant to you, but it is the biggest challenge of their life. Your struggle may seem this way to someone else. And I'm talking about real struggles here. Not things like you you really want an expensive fur coat or that your having a bad hair day or you messed up a manicure. I'm talking life struggles like living in a landfill, being sold into the sex trade and not having clean water or food to eat every day.

I'm also talking animals. Not I'm not one to preach my beliefs, and I don't preach my Meat is Murder stance, but maybe I should. Maybe I should start opening discussions about my beliefs to get other people to talk to me. We need compassion for animals. You need compassion for animals. They are bread, raised and murdered for your consumption. They have feelings, emotions and attachments just like we do but yet that is all pushed aside for your benefit. No one cares how the animals feel because they can't talk...right? They are second class citizens. I'm talking about the BRUTAL MURDER of the meat industry and the pain and suffering these animals go through. They have a heartbeat but we kill them and they can't even fight back. We don't even THANK THEM for loosing their life to feed us, we just act like it is GIVEN to us. Have compassion for the animals, for all living creatures big and small. Put yourself in the animals shoes and then watch some videos on the meat industry. Have compassion for ALL LIVING CREATURES. I'm not going to tell you to stop eating meat. I'm telling you to do some research and learn why you must have compassion for the animals. Have compassion for the animals in the circus, the animals shot for fun and the animals murdered for your consumption. 

You must have compassion for the plants and nature. They are living beings too. Plants and nature get overlooked because we take them for granted. Do you remember science class? Everything on this planet works together to survive. Plants may be at the bottom of the chain, but they are the most important aspect of the cycle. Trees provide us with clean air, water provides us with nourishment, animals eat the plants to survive, and they do all this with no force from us. We on the other hand, destroy thousands and thousands of rain forest  pollute the skies with toxins, and dump waste in the ocean. This is our only planet, please, please, please, show some compassion for it and stand up for your Earth! Don't let a useless pipeline be placed where it will cause endless amounts of damage, don't support dumping, pollution, deforestation, or ANYTHING that will destroy the precious gift of nature. 

Have compassion for ALL living beings. Catch and release fish, trap mice humanely and let them go. Know where your meat comes from, know what environmental threats pose and always know what the other side is feeling, experiencing and loosing. You can help. You don't have to donate a dollar a day. You have to love all beings equally and help out those that need it. The Dali Lama said,  "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." It may not lead to world peace and there will be those that cannot and will not be phased by practicing compassion  I hope there are only a few of these people because I believe that is it human nature to practice compassion  I think that some of us have forgotten it or have pushed it aside in pursuit of attaining personal goals. Spread the word of compassion, practice it yourself and never forget that the Spirit will reward you for your humanity. Be humble, be kind, be generous, be understanding. This is the greatest gift you can give yourself. 

~This is the end of the Compassion Lecture~

~I would love to hear your thoughts, experiences or questions~

xoxo Miss Maully