Hike Wildwood

Come hike Wildwood with me! Wildwood Nature Reserve, located at the end of Avenida de los Arboles, is a beautiful park with two waterfalls, dozens of trails and marvelous outlooks throughout the park. It is one of my favorite places in the Conjeo Valley. I am offering two classes during the Spring session through the Conejo Recreation and Park District.

I am excited to introduce the first Hiker's Bootcamp at Wildwood Park this session. This class meets on Thursday mornings at 9:30 AM or Saturday mornings at 9 AM and is for the more adventurous hiker. Hiker's Bootcamp will be a fast paced hike to get your heart rate up and then I'll throw in various exercises to help tone up your body. You will be in fantastic shape for the summer.

For the less adventurous type who just want to get out and about, the Tuesday morning class Beginning Fitness Walks is perfect for you. You will get a chance to explore the park, meet new friends and reconnect with nature. Most importantly, you will get a great workout while you are at it.

Registration is now open at www.crpd.org. Classes begin Tuesday, March 24th!

See you on the trails,

t

You Gotta Friend - The Janice M. Anderson Foundation

As a way to reach out to the community, honor the memory of my mother and meet with a great group of women, I am launching You Gotta Friend - The Janice M. Anderson Foundation this month. My objectives for You Gotta Friend are, first and foremost, to establish supportive and nurturing friendships and, secondly, to reach out to others within the community looking for access to alternative or complimentary therapies.

You can find out more at gottafriend.blogspot.com

Valentine's Day isn't just for couples

It is another one of those Valentine's Days that, although I am in a relationship, I am alone. For those of you who don't have a partner to share the most celebrated romantic day of the year, I want to remind you that it can be looked at as a day to celebrate love in any form. This includes loving yourself and the wonderful creature that you are.

Love is a powerful healer. During an energetic healing, I focus on the energy of love to cleanse and heal. The relationship during any energetic exchange is not exclusive. It is a dance between me, the client and the universe. By offering love and acceptance to my client, I am offering the same to myself. By focusing on healing my own wounds, I heal that of others. I change and the world changes. As Mahatma Ghandi said, "Be the change you'd like to see in the world." 

Today, on Saint Valentine's Day, I offer you a short meditation on love. Here is a gift that you can give to yourself today. So take a minute, find a quite spot and read through the following:

Sit up, let your shoulders relax and close your eyes.

Let your mind come to focus on love. Perhaps it is a memory of something that you love deeply or a time that you really felt and accepted love. Remember that feeling.

As you sit, imagine a soft rain landing on your head. As it gently lands on your body, it begins to wash away anything that is not light. The rain continues to wash your head, your throat, your chest and down your arms, through your trunk, your stomach and back, down your thighs, to your knees and all the way out your feet. This rain carries all those things that are not love and light to the earth where this energy is recycled. 

Your body is a radiating light now. 

Now go to your heart center, your heart chakra. The color for the heart chakra is green or pink. Choose the color that best suites you. Imagine pink or green light emanating from your heart chakra. This light is that feeling of love that you brought into focus at the beginning of this meditation. It extends through your body in all directions, through your throat and head, down through your shoulders and arms. This beautiful light travels through your chest and abdomen into your legs and feet. You now are radiating beautiful pink or green light.

Now imagine this light that is radiating from your heart center to expand out to the universe. Spend a few moments here with just the sound of your breathing. If you chose, you may repeat to yourself, "I am love. I love and I am loved." 

Here is the center of your being. Remember you can always return here, you can always be here. It is your place of centeredness and peace.

Continue to focus on your breath for a few more moments longer. 

Begin bringing awareness back to your body. Feel your entire body. Wiggle your toes and fingers. When you are ready, gently open your eyes.

If you are interested in finding out more on energetic healing, visit my website at www.thebodydefined.com.

May you have a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with love and light,

t

Beginnings

One of my favorite quotes is "Be good to yourself because nobody else has the power to make you happy" by George Michaels and it is the essence of what I hope this blog will be. This is the beginning of remembering. The beginning of remembering what makes us happy, what fills our spirit. Sometimes the smallest of gifts make the greatest impact. I feel one of the greatest gifts you can give is one to yourself. 

Our lives are ruled by our work, our family, and our obligations. We forget to take time for ourselves, to honor who we are. When we don't take time for ourselves, we become stressed out, short tempered, irritable. On a deeper level, we may recognize that we feel unappreciated, unrecognized or even violated which in turn leads to resentment and anger. 

If we are mindful of the actions we take to honor ourselves, the simplest of things give us pleasure, bring us happiness.  It may be reading a favorite book, taking a bath by candlelight, sitting in a garden when you drink your morning coffee or remembering to take 10 deep breaths before entering a difficult situation. We must become our best-friends, our greatest allies, and the source of our own love and happiness.

Becoming mindful of what we offer ourselves is essential. By taking time to love and honor our spirit, we offer this gift to the world. This gift impacts not only your relationship with yourself but it impacts everyone with whom you interact. You may have a little more patience, a little more love, a little more time to offer. By taking time for yourself, you just gave yourself and in turn, the world, a hug. If nothing else, I hope that this blog reminds you to take time out of your day to honor who you are.

So, take time for yourself, be good to yourself, and create your own happiness. 

I'll be talking to you soon.

t