Toni Kuhn

It has been snowing up at our house for a couple of days now. It is so beautiful and peaceful. Today my hubby and I went for long hike in the snow. This was my second test drive with my new walking sticks. I absolutely love these walking sticks and they help me so much with stability. Walking and hiking have been difficult for me and I have missed it so much.  I feel connected to myself again and I feel like I am in control of my arthritis. Now I can walk or hike anywhere! We met up with our friend Sherry and her very excited dog. Her dog was just running and sliding and rolling in the snow! Sherry’s dog was having so much fun and we really enjoy watching her play in the snow.

My friend Sherry and her very happy dog

We hiked from our house up to the top of Woodland street which is a very long hill. As I looked around I felt like I was inside a picture. It was so breath taking that we stopped just to process the beauty around us. It felt so good to be in the fresh air enjoying nature. When we got home my husband turned to me and said ” how did we get here?” This seems to be a question we both have asked on numerous occasions. I find myself answering with words like “determination” and “hard work”(or because of our friend Cindy). But it was so much more than that. We held true to our goals and utilized the love we have for each other and our family. We wanted to live in a place that was calm, close to nature and a slower paced lifestyle. I am still unsure how it all came together, but I am extremely happy that it did! I feel so much gratitude as I enjoy my snow days at home.

As I just finished writing this it started to snow again!

Here are some pictures we took on our hike.

At the top of Woodland

A house at the bottom of our street

My Buddha statue on the side of my house

side view of our deck

hike up Woodland

Up the trail passed Woodland to the Fallen Tree

Woodland

Woodland

Woodland

This is behind my house. I got to wear my snow boots and winter jacket!

I experienced the most beautiful drive home yesterday.  It started out sunny and then when I got close enough to see the mountains I could see how low the snow fell. Then I could literally see the dark clouds ahead of me, it looked like a line had been drawn on the road. I saw a rainbow off to the right just over the hill that has the cross underneath it. ( I kid you not, it felt like a religious experience!) I looked ahead at the car in front of me and I could his car was lit up with colors. It took me a moment to realize the colors were coming from the rainbow. Then before I knew it, I was driving through the rainbow! My car was lit up in all the colors and I could see the rainbow on the road in front of me. I started to giggle and cry at the same time! It was so surreal to be driving through a rainbow. I hit some rain and hail and then it was clear by the time I  got off the freeway. As I am cruising along through the mountain roads I began to see how much snow actually fell. Everything was covered in white! It was a breathtaking drive and as I got higher up I saw more and more snow. Tears streamed down my face as I could not believe that I actually live here! When I pulled up to the house I was so excited to see our little winter wonderland. I opened the garage and my husband was waiting for me. I parked and flung open the door and ran to his arms. More tears ran down my face and I could barely speak. He asked what was wrong and all I could say was “It’s so beautiful”.

I am not sure why I had so an emotional response to this rainbow and the snow.  I was completely moved by it. I thought about my husband , my kids, my friends, my student’s and my mom. I felt so much gratitude for the life I have and my home. I guess I was so overwhelmed with joy that it consumed me. I definitely had an amazing experience and the one person I wanted to see right when I got home was standing there waiting for me with open arms. At that moment I knew how very blessed I was and I my heart swelled so much I thought it would burst!

There has been so much tragedy all around us. The news is filled with the horrible things happening all over the globe and right in our own neighborhoods. As we pause and send healing thoughts to those who have suffered, we must also pause to feel gratitude for all of the good things in our own lives. I hope that this season brings you moment like the one I had. A moment where time stands still , and you really see all the blessings around you.

The driveway

winter wonderland

The driveway leading to the steps

Today is day to pause and reflect on all of the blessings in our lives. To take a moment and give thanks for all of the good things in our lives. As we do this, we should be asking ourselves if we actually utilize these blessings.

I feel so blessed to be living in my dream home and to have the opportunity to spend more time with my husband. We are empty nesters and are in a position to have quality time together. So what have we done to utilize this opportunity? Here are some of things we are enjoying together for the first time in our 26 year marriage.

• Cooking
• Yoga
• Taking care of the house
• Working on my yoga business plan
• Visiting our kids more
• Eating lunch together

As we are discovering what it is like to actually have quality time together, we are finding more and more ways to utilize the blessings of our mountain home and the gift of time. So today when you are thinking about your blessings and expressing gratitude, remember to utilize your blessings. Honor the life you have by living it to its fullest.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Namaste.

Trees are strong and have their roots deeply planted into the ground. Yet, they also bend with the wind, shed their leaves for the winter, and adapt to their environments. If we can learn to bend and adapt more in our lives we will find that our lives flow much better. Below is an article from Daily Om that really gets to the root of how we can learn from trees.

Trees Shedding Their Bark
Peeling Away the Layers

by Madisyn Taylor 

Like a tree our growth depends upon our ability to soften, loosen, and shed boundaries and defenses we no longer need.

Trees grow up through their branches and down through their roots into the earth. They also grow wider with each passing year. As they do, they shed the bark that served to protect them but now is no longer big enough to contain them. In the same way, we create boundaries and develop defenses to protect ourselves and then, at a certain point, we outgrow them. If we don’t allow ourselves to shed our protective layer, we can’t expand to our full potential. 

Trees need their protective bark to enable the delicate process of growth and renewal to unfold without threat. Likewise, we need our boundaries and defenses so that the more vulnerable parts of ourselves can safely heal and unfold. But our growth also depends upon our ability to soften, loosen, and shed boundaries and defenses we no longer need. It is often the case in life that structures we put in place to help us grow eventually become constricting. 

Unlike a tree, we must consciously decide when it’s time to shed our bark and expand our boundaries, so we can move into our next ring of growth. Many spiritual teachers have suggested that our egos don’t disappear so much as they become large enough to hold more than just our small sense of self—the boundary of self widens to contain people and beings other than just “me.” Each time we shed a layer of defensiveness or ease up on a boundary that we no longer need, we metaphorically become bigger people. With this in mind, it is important that we take time to question our boundaries and defenses. While it is essential to set and honor the protective barriers we have put in place, it is equally important that we soften and release them when the time comes. In doing so, we create the space for our next phase of growth. 

For more information visit dailyom.com

I have a few spots open for my November 7 yoga retreat. This will be the last retreat I will be hosting until spring 2016. We will be focusing on how to stay grounded during the holidays. Click on the link below for more information.

Namaste.

Staying Grounded Nov 2015

Today my heart is heavy as I am remembering my mother on her birthday. It has been 11 years since she passed away. Sometimes it feels like she was here just yesterday and other times it feels like a life time ago. So much has changed in my life since she passed away, especially this last year. I feel like I have grown in so many ways, from the way I see the world and the way I see myself, to my deep roots of being a teacher. As a child I always knew I would be a teacher. I started teaching fitness classes as a teenager and I am still doing it to this day. In my life I have taught medical billing and office procedures, Physical Education, all types of fitness classes, and yoga. Teaching is so much a part of me that I would be lost without it. It is deeply rooted in me. Today, I find myself reflecting on my mom and what she meant to me. She always inspired me to teach and often told me how proud she was of me. She was such a compassionate, giving, and funny person. She loved a good joke and would laugh until she cried. Her love is deeply rooted in me and she continues to inspire me to teach. I know in my heart that I am doing what I meant to do and that through teaching I am helping others to find their roots and cherish them.

Happy Birthday Mom. Thank you for always loving me and inspiring me.

As you can see my webpage is back up. I have straightened out the problem with my domain name! It has been an interesting week for me with utilizing all the technology around me.  The company that I purchased my domain from name never sent me a bill for my annual domain name fee. What I find strange is that why didn’t they call me or send me a message through my webpage? Instead, because my email has changed, they just shut down my domain name! This is so strange to me. A phone call to remind me that I it was time to renew would have been so helpful.

Another strange tech thing that has happened is that I have experienced my cell phone struggling to process many texts and then having what appears to be scam coming through on my phone. My husband and daughter have been getting these weird text messages too. When I tried to see where this text came from it said I would be charged a data fee to read it. Needless to say, I did not read it and I am not responding to it. The scary thing is, is that they mentioned my daughter’s name in the original text!

Then, I woke to a hurtful  Facebook note from someone I do not know and who appears to live out of the State.  The message came to me in an email notification from Facebook. I am not friends with this person on Facebook, nor do I have a friend request from her.  I cannot look at the post because we are not FB friends. So weird…..

I am finding that it gets increasingly harder to communicate through technology and that there are many misunderstandings that result from this kind of communication. I miss the old days when you would pick up a phone and actually speak to someone! I will say that being able to communicate via text, email and Facebook does indeed help us talk to a lot of people at once and very convenient to communicate with people. However, I have recently had many miscommunications, misconceptions, bad costumer service, through this technology. I think a phone call would have definitely helped in these situations.

I actually find myself hesitating to call someone because I feel like I am bothering them. Why is a text less intrusive?

I have also found it difficult to call customer service and that most companies only respond to email request now. Crazy! Why is calling a company so draining and difficult? Yesterday, I had a phone message from a company that I was ordering continuing education material from. The phone message was completely unintelligible! The person actually mumbled and spoke fast on the message. However, when I checked my email I found a very clear message explaining the problem with my order!  Ironically, I had to call them back in order to straighten it out because it could not be fixed via email!

Technology does make our lives easier and I am very grateful for it. Right now I am using it to blog about my troubles with it. I just find that sometimes it can interfere with actual human contact and conversations. Thus,  resulting in misunderstandings, frustrations, and sometimes even pain.  Perhaps the answer is to utilize both technology and actual human communication. Especially, when something appears to spiraling in a bad direction.

So if you ever want to have a conversation, I welcome your phone call!

I feel better getting this off my chest. Now for some yoga and interaction with people! Here are some pictures from last Saturday’s yoga retreat. We had such  a beautiful day filled with yoga and human interaction.

Namaste.