“Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with.”― Brodi Ashton
My heroes: listed from youngest to oldest.
These people inspire me daily.
Here's why:
~ They follow their heart. ~ They have a lot of fun. ~ They laugh a lot. ~ They laugh at themselves. ~ They don't take themselves too seriously. ~ They don't give a rip what the peanut gallery thinks. ~ They walk their talk.
* Montana Wells * Dakota Wells * Phoenix Wells * Sage Wells * Madison Griswold * Jennifer Wells * Philippe Wells * Frannie Hare * Steve Hare * Jerry Seinfeld * Elton John
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Yoga is essentially a practice for your soul, working through the medium of your body.”- Tara Fraser
You know how you see in the movies or TV or wherever that scene where someone is all groggy in the morning and they say, "Don't talk to me until I've had my morning coffee" ?
Yoga is my morning coffee.
(I do also like coffee, by the way.)
But if forced to choose -- which of course I won't have to do but let's just say -- I would choose my yoga practice.
Have you practiced today?
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
Live in rooms full of light.
- Cornelius Celsus
Follow the Light.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.”― Steve Maraboli
My BFF from my doctoral program gave me this kick ass face cream. She is wicked into creams and such and always has been. Me – not so much. Let me put it to you this way. After I had my baby twins I did not wash my face for a year straight. I was nursing them every two hours, raising all five of my kids, had a brand-new restaurant that was almost killing me, four yoga studios, and was homeschooling – so something had to give. Even just writing that sentence both baffles and exhausts me. It makes me smile to see how far my spirit has come since then.
But I digress. This cream is amazing and she got it at a super fancy store in NYC. My friend is so generous and so thoughtful and kind and gave me this amazing cream last October. It was so fancy and expensive that I used it sparingly.
And then one day, a few weeks ago, I was like, "WTF? I'm using this every day! If not now then when? And when it is gone, another cream will appear -- that is even better somehow."
And such it is with life. Sometimes we hoard, we hold back, we don't allow ourselves -- and the list goes on and on -- because we are waiting for "the right time."
The right time is NOW.
Do it. Try it. Use it. Burn it (as in that candle that you are waiting to light). Spend it. Utilize it. Give it (as in love, hugs, kisses, compassion, forgiveness).
And when you do, because of the ever present law of attraction, it will come back to you, multiplied.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
- Albert Einstein
Sage Wells, age 10, said to me this morning, "Halloween isn't my favorite holiday."
"Why honey?" I asked -- curious because hey, there's a lotta candy involved.
Sage replied, "Because there really isn't any reason for it."
"What do you mean?" I wondered.
"Well, other holidays there seem to be reasons for (she goes through all the religious holidays and explains what they're about) . . . but I mean what's Halloween for besides eating candy?"
I found this super cool and super refreshing not because of the (lack of obsession with the) candy thing, but because my girl is thinkin', she's aware, she's open to another thought--another way--she questioning.
It's good to be curious, to question, to wonder, to explore, to find, to lose, to be curious again, to question, to wonder, to explore, to find, to follow, to lead . . . . to begin again. It's all good and it's all the path.
Never stop questioning. Never stop asking. Always be open. And have fun doing it all. It's all about the fun -- in this lifetime. Your path is all about finding your joy, and living it.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”
- Douglas Adams
Sometimes you need to lose your way to find it. This can be painful, but if you have a solid spiritual practice, you will not only be fine, you will come out on the other side better than ever. When the Universe closes a door or has you lose your way for a bit, it always opens an even better door and gives you more clarity, focus and purpose.
Your spiritual practice is completely and totally personal. For me, a physical yoga practice does the trick. It is my rock, my roots, my grounding, and I therefore practice every single morning.
I have written about and I talk about how your "yoga" does not have to be a physical asana practice. It could be baking, gardening, reading, walking, swimming--you name it. You will know what it is because of how it makes you feel. And because in those times when you feel lost, it will ground you and bring you back to your center.
Sometimes you need to lose your way to find it. This can be painful, but if you have a solid spiritual practice, you will not only be fine, you will come out on the other side better than ever. And I am rootin' for ya.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Like attracts like. Whatever the conscious mind thinks and believes the subconscious identically creates.”
~ Brian Adams
My vibration is so clear, pure and clean that the world reflects this back to me.
Say this, feel it, be it, and watch it happen.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same. ~Francesca Reigler
I'm a counter wiper. I love love love a clean counter. Sparkling! It makes me super happy.
My husband smiled when we were visiting my brother in Seattle – whom we adore – as he observed him take counter wiping to a whole new level. He has a spray bottle just for this purpose! Clearly it runs in the family.
After practicing Prana Power Yoga this morning before my five kiddos woke up, I was heading downstairs to hop on cardio and write when I noticed crumbs all over our kitchen countertops. I decided to take a moment to wipe 'em down and as I did so, instead of getting annoyed at the person who had left the counters disgusting and/or my partner who doesn't share my love of sparkling countertops (or perhaps he does, but it ain't reflected in his actions ha ha), I turned my focus inward, and found the joy in doing so. Because I really kinda like it! I'm a Virgo after all.
Then I took it to an even higher spiritual level and said to the Universe as I wiped down them counters, "I am cleaning out the cobwebs of old stuck energy in the recesses of my mind."
You can turn anything into a spiritual practice. You can use each moment and experience to create your BEST LIFE EVER, using the law of attraction, by focusing on what you want.
The Universe loves loves loves metaphors and stuff like this. Trust me, it works.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Organize, don't agonize.”― Nancy Pelosi
Simplest and best advice I can give anyone (as always, take what you want and leave the rest):
1. Be kind.
2. Say thank you.
3. Be grateful.
4. Say thank you.
5. Look for the positives.
6. Ignore what ain't great.
7. Focus on what you want.
8. Talk about the positives.
9. Hug a lot.
10. Smile a lot.
11. Say thank you.
12. Say please.
13. Visualize what you want.
14. Feel the essence of what you want.
15. Get outside.
16. Practice yoga.
17. Get organized.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Life wants you to live in total alignment with true love, passion and integrity.”― Bryant McGill
The path is always changing and shifting. Your job is to be in alignment so you can intuitively feel the subtle shifts -- and surrender to them and the higher flow.
How do you know if you're in alignment? You feel happy. And calm. Don't feel happy and calm? Get on yo' yoga mat. Breathe in and breathe out. Breathe and believe. Yeah, it's really that simple.
Don't love yoga? Then do your "yoga" -- anything that makes your heart sing. And do it daily.
Don't start with the excuses. We all make time to do what we really wanna do.
Have the BEST DAY EVER! Namaste! Taylor plus 5
“In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”― Gordon B. Hinckley
Getting your period sucks. Or, let me rephrase that, for most people -- errrr women -- on the planet, getting your period sucks.
I actually feel super blessed to have a regular cycle now because for most of my life I was amenorrheac because I was a competitive tennis player and an intense athlete.
So yeah, I feel blessed; however, now I understand why women say it sucks.
So. I decided I was going to reframe the whole thing. I learned that years ago women's menstrual cycles were synced around the moon cycle. In fact they were not called "periods," but "moon cycles." So I made the decision to sync my cycle around the full moon. Why not get all the craziness over with at one time?
It worked the first month. The incredible power of intention and focus.
Then, it came to me – I don't know how most of these things come to me but they just do – to put all of my tampons in a cute basket. Think Halloween and trick-or-treating. Associations are real and so important.
So instead of grabbing for that ugly tampon box on the full moon I would grab for a cute basket, which by the way makes me feel super organized which makes me happy. And remember, it's all about being happy.
So on Wednesday (the full moon) when I grabbed in the cabinet for that basket, I smiled. It reminded me of trick-or-treating, which ain't too far off.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
- Marianne Williamson
Dear haters,
Thank you. (More on this later.)
I know, I teach, and I live that from the darkness comes the light – always.
I know, I teach, and I live that the light always wins. Always prevails.
I know, I teach, and I live that there is no dark switch, only the light, and when you shine the light on the darkness, it is gone.
I know, I teach, and I live that there is nothing more powerful than the light.
But I am human. And although I walk my talk and walk this planet coming from a spiritual place and see the light and spirit everywhere I turn, I am human and as such, have my vulnerable moments, like everyone else.
Discipline, focus, and relentlessness are three of my superpowers. (I have more. So do you.) I have therefore been able to successfully distract myself and my attention from the darkness the haters spew as their full-time job.
Until yesterday.
I don't know if it was the chronicity (years of cyber stalking by one hater), PMS, or the full moon coming on Wednesday – most likely, a combination of the three – but I lost it, Super-mom style.
Philippe and I were honored by Boston Magazine in the October issue, in which they called us "Boston's Power Fitness couple" in an awesome fun article which chronicled our love story – how we met, etc.
My haters were tearing even this down. Saying that we were lying about how we met (??). Clearly, they're running out of material.
"Ohhhhh! You can't respond to the haters! No no no. That's not allowed. That will just fuel the fire. Make it worse...." I said to Philippe sarcastically.
"What could be worse?" I asked. "These douche bags have relentlessly stalked me on the Internet for years with lies, judgment, and jealousy – and don't have the courage to come up to me live. They contact every organization with whom I am connected. One hater can and has written the same (misspelled) slander from over 25 different email addresses. Sometimes that particular hater writes me seven times a day. How can that get worse?"
My husband, calm as ever (but notably pissed at the relentlessness and chronicity of it all), explained real time how it actually could get worse.
"I don't care! I want to speak my truth!" I continued.
As some of you know, I had a rough ride as a kid. And nothing was talked about. Nothing was allowed to be talked about. It was all a big secret. So speaking my truth is important to me.
"Everyone in the public eye is dealing with this." I continued. "Taylor Swift's latest song is just one of so many examples. Will Smith has written songs about 'em. So has Elton John, Queen, Joe Walsh...."
Philippe continued to talk me down.
And you know what happened? Are you listening haters? From the darkness came the light. As always. And remarkably quickly.
It was not so much my husband talking me down, although he is a master at that. It was that combined with the outpouring of love and light sent my way because of the haters comments.
Oh M Gee.
It was incredible. The love, support, and light I received is indescribable.
And all because my haters said that my husband and I were lying about how we met (still bizarre and baffling to me).
So thank you haters.
But I'm not done.
I had total and complete clarity on my mat this morning -- WooHoo! I am now 100% completely totally committed and down with the theory which before made sense to me intellectually but energetically, not so much. You've heard the theory before whether you are in the limelight or are dealing with your own flavor of haters in your life in the form of mean girls, mean boys, mean family members, mean coworkers mean bosses, mean neighbors, etc. They come in many shapes, sizes and forms but it's all the same thing people -- it's darkness, and you are the light.
It's the theory to which Philippe was referring, "Don't give any attention or energy to the haters. It only fuels the fire and makes it worse. It distracts you from spreading the light. Ignore them. They're nothing. They are less than nothing."
I now 100% fully understand the verity and wisdom of this theory. Although I received countless emails from readers, students, fans, friends, and family, offering ways to bring the haters down by finally exposing their identities (some super fun James Bond-ish stuff because one of my fans knows someone in Secret Service, one of my readers is a police Lieut., and the list goes on), I realized on my yoga mat that there will always be darkness. Just by virtue of being shiny and sparkling and light, you will trigger the dark ones to attack. So even if I expose a hater, another will pop up. And then if I expose that one, another one will come. It's just the reality of living on a dualistic planet. Very Star Wars. Good versus evil. Light versus dark. But remember, the light always wins. Always.
So three of my superpowers are now in full force. I am relentlessly focused on (in a disciplined way) completely and totally ignoring the (misspelled and grammatically incorrect) spewings of the Dark side.
And actually, every time I see a comment that is dark, it fuels me EVEN MORE to spread the Light. Because it is a real-time reminder of all the love, support and light I (and you!) receive every minute of every day -- when we are in sync with and connected with the Universe. And of how much this planet needs our light.
So if the darkness -- or the haters if that is the form in which it materializes for you -- is getting you down, take a deep breath in, a deep breath out, and let it go. Tune into:
~ my strength, light and support ~your strength, light and support And ~the light, support and strength of the Universe.
Feel it. It's all there for you. Can you feel it?
Don't let someone else stop you from shining your light. You came to shine and your light inspires, fuels and strengthens so many others. And besides, it's fun to be light and sparkly and it sucks to be dark and cruel.
The light is winning haters.
The end.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
Stop searching for the light.
And become it instead.
Have the BEST DAY EVER! Namaste! Taylor plus 5
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
~Les Brown
What's Your Goal?
Have the BEST DAY EVER! Namaste! Taylor plus 5