Thank you Eight year old Marlie for presenting me with this yoga book you wrote and taught to classes in your school. I appreciate your interesting chapters~ Yoga that keeps me calm Yoga that keeps me Grounded Yoga with more than two people Yoga with two people Yoga that keeps me happy and your very helpful notes~ Remember you will not get it the first time Breathe slowly Remember to lean your beautifully detailed art~ and your permission to share your work on our blog~ I am grateful that you have been a grounded student for three years and you continue to serve your school with yoga. With love, Cheryl Crawford
For many of us, a new year represents a blank slate, a Tabula Rasa. Imagine being able to “refresh” any or all areas of your life. Now visualize this table with two columns, Yes and No. You create your truest life by thoughtfully choosing what goes in the No column and what is a Yes. Everything you say YES to and everything you say NO to matters. What if your yes’s and no’s were tabulated and at the end of a day, week, year, lifetime, you could see how the data, otherwise known as your life, balanced out?
There is a huge difference between going deep and going in. Deeply understanding and knowing something is not the same level of experience as ingesting or taking something in and transforming because of it.
Yesterday, I was with my friend Autumn, and she wanted to go to Taco Bell, which is her favorite restaurant. The only way my mom was willing to take us is if we went to a place called “Kale Me Crazy”. Basically, we were bribed. I’m not a huge kale person, so I never even though about going there.
A couple months ago, my mom had gone in there and gave the owner her recipe for almond milk. He turned it into a smoothie, naming it Grounded after my mom’s company. Of course, my mom ordered that one for us. It resembled the concoctions that my mom normally would make. It was a brown, grainy, mixture that literally looked like it came from the ground. I guess it lived up to its name.
Unenthusiastically, Autumn and I tried it. And we were surprised. It tasted like a healthy version of a chocolate milkshake. We couldn’t stop drinking it. Being the nice person that I am, I let Autumn have it so I could “enjoy” my kale smoothie, which was really disappointing compared to Grounded. I guess you never know what to expect.
To try this smoothie, I would recommend going to Kale Me Crazy or, you can even make the smoothie at home by blending these ingredients.
Recipe:
Handful of raw almonds (soaked) 3 tablespoons of raw cacao 1 banana 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds 1 teaspoon of hemp protein Handful of raw Brazil nuts (soaked) 3 dates 11/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 2 tablespoons of raw honey 2 scoops of ice 2 cups of water
The week before college life officially started at Belmont Abbey College, the Student Life department held one of its biggest and most important trainings of the year for its Resident Assistants. “RA’s” are some of the most influential student employees on campus. They represent the college in helping new students settle into resident hall life, assist in planning social events, lead discussions, report maintenance concerns, serve as a resource to campus information, lend a listening ear and comforting shoulder to cry on, perform room checks, work in the hall office and much more.
Needless to say, the RA position entails a great deal of responsibility, but these students are ready and capable of giving even more light and love back to those they serve. With all of the trainings, seminars and long check-lists to prepare the resident halls for new student orientation, the RA’s wanted one more important thing to prepare them for this celebratory new year of college. . . to get GROUNDED!
So you finish your practice~ You feel loving and calm. There is nothing you dismiss~ You are full of BLISS bombs.
You rejoin your family~’ And what do you hear? Shouts of anxieties~ Blames, Shames, doubts and fears!
Does loving-kindness deflate As you join the contention? Or will your blissed state Transmit without tension?
Each time you experience The delight of {I AM} Your bliss will flow forth~ Like a hydraulic ram.
Embody the KNOWING~ Of your inner LOVE state. So you can keep it safe~ And INTERRELATE.
YOGA says your relationship between you and your SELF~ can not be diminished, or put upon a shelf.
You take your SELF everywhere you GO! Then everything is spiritual from Grumps to Sloppy Joes!
Lokanandah Samadhi-Sukham Shiva Sutra One.Eighteen~ Your inner bliss continues Like you won the slot machines.
So how do we GROW In our capacity for such LOVE? Without mermaids and unicorns~ Blue moons and white doves?
We create an INNER space Direct love toward KNOWERSHIP~ Call forth our virtues, Our patience, our grit.
We bridge the gap of difference SERVE in a profound way~ Not cold duty or bargain~ LOVE is the order of each day.
Become capable with powers Of WILL, KNOWING, and ACTING By practicing {I AM} Without useless distracting.
Place your hand over your HEART~ Feel right beneath your palm~ Towards your back body~ Where this is endless peace and calm.
Allow your attention To be with your BREATH~ To flow in and flow out Softly in your chest.
Welcome the BREATH~ Right into your HEART. Feel a soft golden sun That is bright, warm and smart.
With each breath IN~ make that SUN glow. With Each breath OUT~ Expand the warmth to and fro.
As you welcome the breath in To the vast INNER world~ Invite the HEART to reveal It’s largeness, depth, and swirl.
Flow in with the thought {I AM} The mantra of the inner self~ (Not I am Sam~ Or I am a silly elf)
The heart receives the breath With the recognition {I AM} The exhalation feels space, The experience of BLISS BAM.
Practice with eyes open Practice with eyes closed Practice often And LOVE will be exposed.
As you greet those outside~ Amongst the chaotic and mundane~ Stay tuned into your heart And send LOVE to their pain.
You’ll get glimpses of KNOWING Your yoga is working~ When outer frustrations Are shirking, not lurking.
Grounded Kids Yoga 115 Milton Park Court, Alpharetta, GA 30022
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Grounded Kids Yoga provides in-person and online training, professional development workshops, and ongoing support for educators, parents, and clinicians. We specialize in kids yoga, mindfulness, social-emotional learning (SEL), trauma and pain management, emotional regulation, and impulse control for preschool through high school students. Each year, we serve thousands of children and teens through school programs, after-school enrichment yoga clubs, summer camps, Girl Scouts, 4-H conferences, and yoga studios across Atlanta, the Southeast, and nationwide.
Thank you Eight year old Marlie for presenting me with this yoga book you wrote and taught to classes in your school. I appreciate your interesting chapters~ Yoga that keeps me calm Yoga that keeps me Grounded Yoga with more than two people Yoga with two people Yoga that keeps me happy and your very helpful notes~ Remember you will not get it the first time Breathe slowly Remember to lean your beautifully detailed art~ and your permission to share your work on our blog~ I am grateful that you have been a grounded student for three years and you continue to serve your school with yoga. With love, Cheryl Crawford
For many of us, a new year represents a blank slate, a Tabula Rasa. Imagine being able to “refresh” any or all areas of your life. Now visualize this table with two columns, Yes and No. You create your truest life by thoughtfully choosing what goes in the No column and what is a Yes. Everything you say YES to and everything you say NO to matters. What if your yes’s and no’s were tabulated and at the end of a day, week, year, lifetime, you could see how the data, otherwise known as your life, balanced out?
The week before college life officially started at Belmont Abbey College, the Student Life department held one of its biggest and most important trainings of the year for its Resident Assistants. “RA’s” are some of the most influential student employees on campus. They represent the college in helping new students settle into resident hall life, assist in planning social events, lead discussions, report maintenance concerns, serve as a resource to campus information, lend a listening ear and comforting shoulder to cry on, perform room checks, work in the hall office and much more.
So you finish your practice~
Your inner bliss continues