Monday, June 1, 2015

Wrapping up May in sunflower style

Hey there, blog friends!
Ahhh...the last weekend in May was beautiful around here. Mother Nature treated us right the whole month of May with unseasonably cool temps for Arizona. And now comes June and we're bracing ourselves for summer. Doug even started working summer hours this morning - up at 4:00 a.m. and out the door before 5:00.




I can sum up my weekend with two words: yoga and sunflowers. Oh yeah, and a side of baking. I attended my monthly yoga teacher training so that occupied a whole bunch of time, and when I did land at home I was outside snapping a few photos of our sunflowers in bloom. I managed to fit in some baking too - chocolate chip banana muffins for an upcoming road trip, and red velvet cupcakes to take to work today. :o)
 

Saturday morning I taught my regular yoga class and then I lead my first private yoga session with a long-time friend of mine. I loved leading a private practice so much! My friend had been wanting to try yoga for a long time but was unsure of herself in a classroom setting - not sure what to expect or if she'd be able to follow along. I always feel so honored to introduce someone to yoga! I think my biggest challenge is dishing out yoga information in small bites - knowing what a student needs in that moment and what they are ready to grasp. There's so much information - SO much that I want to share - but I don't want to overwhelm with too much at a time.
 
Speaking of lots of information, my teacher training weekend was filled with all sorts of fantastic stuff to mull over and digest in the upcoming weeks. In a nutshell, we learned about planting the seed of affirmation when a student is in correct alignment on the premise that when the heart is open the mind is ripe for receiving. I loved that my teacher used the term "plant the seed" during this weekend's workshop. As a yoga teacher I plan to use this method with my students. And as a student, I plan to use this method myself whenever I find myself in a backbend/heart open pose. Good stuff!!!


I came home from the workshop on Saturday evening to catch some yummy sunlight in our backyard, capped off with a beautiful Arizona sunset. ~sigh~ If you follow me on Instagram you are probably in one of two categories: 1) loving all of my sunflowers posts or 2) slightly bored with them. #sorrynotsorry


And now it's June: Carrie's birth month and a time for celebration! Time to begin teaching a new yoga class for my local parks and recreation on Wednesday evenings. Time for Rinda's annual Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt! Yes - it's back for the fifth year in a row! Time for a road trip to California for my nephew's high school graduation, then a trek to Disneyland for Carrie's birthday.
 
Time to hit my yoga mat and get this party started.
Happy first week in June, my friends!

9 comments:

Ruth said...

I never tire of your sunflowers or glimpses of the Arizona sky!

Becky said...

Your sunflowers are beautiful and I love seeing them! Love the Arizona skies and sunsets too! Hope you have a wonderful June! x

scrappyjacky said...

You can never have too many sunflowers.....or photos of them!

debs14 said...

Is there such a thing as 'too many sunflowers'? I don't think so!
Love that Arizona sky - and whilst I envy you your glorious month of May, I know I couldn't cope with your Summers.
You are such a good advert for yoga - I think you need to find a way of teaching it online!

Sian said...

Sunflowers are exactly what we need round here. It's so cold and dark I have the heat and the lights on. Sunflowers are very welcome :)

Audrey said...

What I wouldn't give for a private yoga session with you!!! And, for the record, I adore your sunflowers IG posts (especially the slow, easy ones)! XOXO

Karen said...

Such gorgeous photos! We planted some sunflower seeds we were given in our garden and in a community garden. Sadly, none of the seeds came up. I think I'll try with commercial ones next year.

Maria Ontiveros said...

These are gorgeous! Thanks for the shout out

alexa said...

Not being on Instagram, I am not going to be bored of your sunny photos which just breathe 'sun' and 'heat' - both is short supply here :). Your bright enthusiasm for yoga and your lucky pupils is very uplifting.

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