allison keli ~ books & blogs

Month One, Year 2022–That’s a Wrap!

Edit: This post was supposed to go out over the weekend after a successful completion of YWA’s Move. Well, the Universe had other plans for me… Thursday night I came down with a flu of some sort. I didn’t do yoga for Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights! Sunday I did a previous night’s one to try and just..MOVE..a bit. It felt good. I did the final session last night–so I could control what poses to put my body into–and I plan on doing the rest of the sessions starting tonight. Point to take home: be kind to yourself, always. I didn’t beat myself up at all, and I feel like that’s major progress. That’s yoga, baby!
______________________________________________________________

About a week ago, I finished Schuyler Grant’s 10-Day Grounding into Grace program. I fell in love with this program so much, I’m looking into doing some actual online training with her through Commune. I loved how she used time to get into good form before focusing on the flowing. It was very challenging to do (I am not particularly skilled at achieving great form with asanas–I’m not inherently flexible and I have a tendency of freezing when someone is leading me into something I’m unfamiliar with) but I was able to follow along because of the repetition and really feeling the form in my body. Grant’s new program is called Form & Flow, and it focuses on Iyengar-type alignment; but also the flow within the form. This is my favorite space to be. I hope I can do it!

I would start my evenings with the harder program, and end it, happily so, with Adriene’s sessions. It seemed like the first half of her program this year was more aerobic-based; holding poses; building strength (specifically core); but the second part was much more focused on breath and relaxing. And after my Grant sessions, I welcomed these Adriene sessions.

I am happy to be near the end of this last January program–just because I’m tired of feeling like I “have” to do something. However, I am also proud of myself for sticking with it!

If I take Grant’s program, I’m sure I’ll blog about it. And no doubt I’ll be signing up for YWA’s 30-day program next year. I think you should, too. ❤

Mid-Month Update on Becoming Fabulous

And that’s a half-way wrap!

Kudos to me for sticking with not only YWA’s January Challenge, but also finishing Donna Eden’s 10-Day Joy Challenge and starting Commune’s 10-Day Grounding into Grace.

It hasn’t always been easy, but since I was dedicated in advance, and this isn’t my first time subjecting myself to these challenges, I’ve been able to keep up. (Note: I said subjecting myself!)

I’ll start with Donna Eden’s challenge, because last year I bombed it! 2021’s was actually a 28-day challenge, and, like everyone else, commitment is a daunting task to achieve. This year’s 10-day challenge made it seem much more attainable. I tended to do it before I started with my nightly yoga, or after my yoga. I even suckered my husband into doing it–which trust me, it’s a big deal, because not only has he started-stopped so many of his own challenges (planks, anyone?), he’s never even pretended to join in with me before for my challenges.

But this one was appealing to him–and maybe because it has been such a stressful time at work–but he jumped in a couple of times when I was doing it, he did it on his on at work, and he doubled up on the days he missed. I asked him if he felt like it kept with him throughout his day, and he said yes.

As I mostly did mine at night, I can’t say it kept me joyful during the day, but it certainly settled me down in the evening. I even did it on my own tonight, even though the challenge ended. My husband and I both really enjoyed the different perspectives from the different teachers. He asked if it was something I’d like to be certified in (the Eden Method, that is), and I just laughed–I’m done getting certified in new things! (Right? Right???)

Onward to Adriene’s annual yoga challenge, this year called MOVE. So far I’ve been able to depend on Adriene’s gentle, soothing voice to guide me into whatever yoga position she’s cueing, but this year it seems like she’s pushing our asanas (heh heh) harder! I wouldn’t necessarily say the moves are more aerobic, but it seems to be a little less traditional posing with a little more side-stretchy. I don’t typically ache after her sessions, but I’ve been sore since day one this go around. (This could also be because I got so out of routine in December. Maybe I’m just that out of shape again!) I’m enjoying this newer, other-side to Adriene approach. (Side note: I’m only comparing this to the other free yearly challenges I’ve done fo Adriene’s. The other one, my all-time favorite, Revolution, also seemed to kick my butt a bit more than the others.)

As soon as the Eden Challenge wrapped up, I jumped onto the Commune program. So far, this has been harder to commit to, just because of the duration of the yoga. (Adriene’s is also about 30 minutes). However, especially as a yoga instructor, it’s so entirely relevant to get different perspectives on how to share any aspect of yoga–pranayama, meditation, asanas. So far Schuyler Grant has really been whipping my mind into shape about how to approach asanas from the ground up. Yoga for my feet = yoga for my brain.

Comment on any of these you’re doing with me, or perhaps some other 2022 challenge that we here at Swellness Vibes haven’t heard about!

I’ll be sure to check in at the end of the month about my progress into the new year.

Color Therapy 101: Indigo

Indigo is the color of the sacred third eye chakra, chakra number 6. Indigo is a deep bluish-purple, a mixture of blue and red, so anything that blue light therapy may treat, or anything red light therapy may treat, indigo light therapy could treat, too.

According to two different businesses in California that offer indigo light therapy, it specifically treats eye issues–glaucoma, cataracts, general eye inflammation. One place is in Lancaster, but the other place is in Santa Clarita and offers a much more in-depth explanation of the benefits of indigo light therapy.

This company specifically states that the indigo chromotherapy could also help with psoriasis and headaches. The company says that indigo is a mentally-stimulating color, and therefore increases imagination and greater dream activity. It can increase white blood cell production which can help stave off disease.

As the color of the third eye, it’s no wonder that when I personally close my eyes, indigo is the color I see. It’s the first color I see as I start to meditate, or do Reiki. One of my clients who saw color for the first time (with her eyes closed) saw this beautiful indigo—it was during a Reiki attunement.

I love blue, and I love purple!

According to Deepak Chopra and Oprah’s combined knowledge and detailed booklet during one of their 21-day meditations, if your third eye is imbalanced, you may be experiencing “indecision, poor intuition, lack of concentration, impaired judgment, confusion, or depression. Physical imbalances may manifest as headaches, trouble sleeping, or nightmares”.

I suggest surrounding yourself with all things bluish purple. Clothes, lapis lazuli stones, blueberries! Paint your fingernails indigo! Stare into a painting and ponder the meaning of the universe! Talk a walk at night and look UP.

If you think your third eye is overstimulated and you’re a little too woo-woo, try to ground yourself back to the planet. Give yourself a foot rub or get a pedicure. Walk barefoot outside. Hang out with some animals. Meditate—you may think that would have the opposite effect, but it can be very grounding. Stimulate your root chakra, as that’s the chakra that binds you to this earth, like roots sinking into dirt.

I have decided to finish up this post wearing indigo-colored glasses which are supposed to help with achieving “serenity, stillness, understanding and imagination”. As I’m typing into this computer screen, I’m finding it a little daunting looking at the screen as this beautiful, rich color, instead of its usual white. But I was instantly calmed when I put them on. My husband is going through some issues at work–guess what I’ll be placing on him later on today.

(Side note: If you were to wear glasses this dark, you’d have to be careful. It does cancel some things and makes it extremely hard to see!)

Anyone have any experiences with Indigo they’d like to discuss???

Happy New Year!

With an onslaught of free *and* purchased new year’s series to try, you can find it overwhelming… which defeats the purpose for a new and improved you.

I personally have signed up for Yoga With Adriene’s MOVE… this starts January 1st with an introduction. Movement doesn’t officially begin until the 2nd. I’ve been looking forward to this one, because the past two months my home practice has taken a hit due to all of the holiday shenanigans. Which, again, defeats the purpose… yoga is a tool to keep you sane! You need it most during holiday shenanigans. Maybe I’ll figure out that particular balance in 2022.

I’ve also signed up for Donna Eden’s 10 Days of Joy, which also starts on the first day of January. These will be little videos of tapping the happy spots. I bombed it last year; I have the gusto to do it this upcoming year, though… I’ll keep you posted.

Lastly, through Commune, I’ve signed up for Grounding into Grace with Schulyer Grant. I was first introduced to her during another one of Commune’s challenges that I wrote about; luckily this one doesn’t start until mid-January which I think is brilliant marketing. However, it may be harder to continue since I’d be doubling up on my yoga practice and I do not want to injure myself!

So having said that, remember — take a little bit of time, daily, to breathe it all in, exhale it all out, see with your eyes, feel with your heart. You don’t need any of these external programs to inherit the wealth of joy — you just need your open heart and mind. Remember to be receptive to the gifts that are out there, even when things are grim. The darker it is in your life, the more these little bursts of sunshine will matter.

2022 will see the end of our color journey together — indigo and violet should be up in January. I finally got some citrine gems to infuse water — I’ll be reporting on that, too. By mid-year I hope to be publishing at least twice a month with the help of a friend or two (you know who you are!), but wherever this journey leads us, let’s be swell together on it, shall we?

Happy New Year!

Color Therapy 101: Blue

It was a cold and dreary week in the middle of January, and she was feeling terribly blue. According to this blog post, blue meaning ‘feeling sad’ stems from tears being attributed to blue, or the color approaching black on the spectrum, as darker colors are also attributed to depression. Or the fact that when we’re so cold, or lose oxygen, we turn blue. According to this study, our emotions themselves affect the color we see.

Yet, there’s an other website full of wonderful quotes about blue, and it’s broken down by topics like ‘sparking creativity’, ‘inspiring a new perspective’. There’s nothing sad in these quotes, but perhaps a paradox: “Blue is a cold and retiring colour, and its effect upon the mind is of a quiet, soothing nature. It is symbolical of divinity, intelligence, sincerity, and tenderness.” – W. J. & G. A. Audsley

So what exactly is blue? While our tears may be blue, it seems that blue is much more of a relaxing, soothing color than anything. It’s pervasive, even more so than green — the sky, the ocean, some flowers. And then you’ve got William Shatner, who just took off into the great unknown of outer space, only to come back with these words about blue:

“I mean, the little things, the weightlessness, and to see the blue color whip by and now you’re staring into blackness. That’s the thing. This covering of blue is this sheet, this blanket, this comforter of blue around that we have around us. We think ‘oh, that’s blue sky’ and suddenly you shoot through it all of a sudden, like you whip a sheet off you when you’re asleep, and you’re looking into blackness – into black ugliness. And you look down, there’s the blue down there, and the black up there, and there is Mother Earth and comfort and – is there death? Is that the way death is?”

And while what he continued to say after this has no bearing on the color blue so-to-speak, it’s profound: “I hope I never recover from this.”

Blue correlates with your throat chakra, the center of expressing yourself. If your throat chakra has issues, you may have a tendency for sore throats or laryngitis, or thyroid problems. You might be a little too outspoken, or critical. On the flip side, you may have problems standing up for yourself. A fully balanced, beautiful throat chakra gives you the ability to communicate effectively.

To help with dis-ease with the color blue, consider immersing yourself in blue light. Blue light therapy exists for skin conditions, or treating S.A.D. One of the places I offer services at has a room dedicated to salt panels — my favorite way to have the panels is to set them every-other-one in shades of blue. (I find all dark blue to be too dark and stimulating, much like all red or orange.)

Get some blue candles, or blue crystals like deep, lovely lapis lazuli, sodalite, turquoise. Surround yourself with blue flowers like asters, blue poppies, forget-me-nots, or flax. One of my favorite teas gives off a slight bluish-purple color.

Wear some blue clothes, or in this case, socks and shoes!

“The only footwear I need is an inexpensive pair of blue sneakers. They have soft fabric tops and soft rubber-like soles. I get them one size too large so I can wiggle my toes. I feel as free as though I were barefoot! And I can usually get 1,500 miles to a pair. I wear a pair of navy blue socks.There’s a reason why I chose navy blue for my wearing apparel – it’s a very practical color, doesn’t show dirt, and the color blue does represent peace and spirituality.” – Peace Pilgrim