What does it really mean to have happiness from within? Doesn’t happiness come from laughing with friends, having a family you love and enjoying your work?  Certainly there are many ways that you can find happiness outside yourself. But lasting, enduring happiness comes from within and isn’t so affected by whether you lose your job or a friend moves half way around the world. You can develop happiness from within in many ways. 

1.  Live in the moment. When you throw yourself into mindfully living each moment fully, you are living as your authentic self without censure or judgment. Living as your true self is an internal source of happiness.  

2.  Give up routinely pleasing others as the basis for your mood. As you go through your day, some people are going to be irritated, disappointed, or judgmental of you. Their reactions belong to them and likely have very little to do with you. Let them have their mood, their emotions, and don’t let their emotions change yours. You are not living your life to please others or if you are that will bring suffering. Be aware that they are having an emotion, label it as their emotion, and remind yourself that you are not responsible for the emotions of others and that taking on that responsibility does not make sense.

If you believe that you have some responsibility, in that you have done something unkind or hurtful, then make amends the best that you can and go forward.

3.  Know and live your value and purpose in life.  What do you value?  Contributing in some way? Building a sense of community? Living your values is a process, an experience. The happiness that comes from that doesn’t rely on outcome but knowing that you were true to yourself and lived for what mattered to you.  The person who goes to prison for the rights of others knows that he is living his values.

4.  Give up perfectionism. Perfection is an illusion; one that means you’ll never see yourself as good enough.  If you are a perfectionist, you may not acknowledge that you are trying to reach perfection. You may tell yourself you are far from perfection and that you are trying to be adequate. Embrace your flaws, celebrate your mistakes–these make you wonderfully human. If you look at nature, there is no perfection. 

Apples are not symmetrical, rocks have dents and chips, and trees have scars. Yet nature is beautiful and natural. 

Your flaws are part of you and having flaws and imperfections is reality.

I am taking a good guess that there are lots of men and women who need a class like this.  I will be teaching this class beginning in September.  Yep, me, Debra!

Here's how it has come about.  I have been teaching group fitness classes (cardio, weights, barre only), at least 5x a week for 27 years.  I am fit, but I am sore. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. I love yoga. I love and take Energy's yoga classes when I can. Our instructors are ridiculously amazing. Along with those classes, I want more. I do not want to disrupt others all the time when I am in yoga with my grunting into a position, laughing out loud at myself, sighing, or staring at my neighbor in compete awe that they can do the Eagle pose. 

If you need a class to learn more about the cross-training benefits of yoga, and your muscles are screaming for yoga, and if you are not interested in advanced circus soleil asanas, please join me for a super fun non-traditional yoga class.  If needed, you can wince, laugh or do anything you need to get into your pose to enjoy the undisputed facts of the physical and mental benefits of yoga.  

CLASS DESCRIPTION:
This class can only be taught by Debra.  Her mantra has always been “Oh my gosh, I need yoga so badly, but it hurts so bad, so good, and I want to yell.” This is a great addition to our yoga class schedule.  If your body feels the effects of “too any squats, too many barre classes, and/or you simply are “born this way” with tight and sore muscles, enjoy, no, not enjoy --  practice the poses of flexibility and strength with the understanding that it’s okay to wince, and just “get through this” to reap the amazing and undisputed benefits of yoga in a non-traditional yoga class. Disclaimer: Taught by a 27-year certified fitness instructor who cannot speak Sanskrit and will mostly like curse loudly under her breath.


Love to hear your comments, suggestions, needs, wants, best recipes...comment below.

What we are known for - no FADs, only science-based research for fitness, health and wellness.  
So, we talk about cross-training and you are doing great; now enjoy and learn more in 
our new ENERGY MIX class; a 45 or 60-minute class of cardio, weights, pilates and yoga!  

Thanks, Dr. England ... here are just a few benefits of cross-training:

• Reduces exercise boredom
• Allows you to be flexible about your training needs and plans 
• Produces a higher level of all-around conditioning 
• Conditions the entire body, not just specific muscle groups 
• Reduces the risk of injury 
• Work some muscles while others rest and recover 
• Can continue to train while injured 
• Improves your skill, agility and balance
• No fitness plateaus - we will constantly challenge your body in ways you never knew
• possible
• You can do one form of exercise each day, or more than one in a day. 
• If you do both on the same day, you can change the order in which you do them. 
• You can easily tailor cross-training to your needs and interests; mix and match you 
• sports and change your routine on a regular basis.

Exercise can strengthen the cardiovascular system, bones, muscles, joints, reduce body fat and improve flexibility, balance and coordination. But if you want to see all of these benefits, you'll need to start cross training. What better time to start than now?