Peoples Yoga Recharge

A while back I wrote about this great online yoga site, Peoples Yoga. I wanted to update about how awesome this website is. I thought I was going to do this great detox and do yoga regularly... well, okay so I am not that motivated but I have been using their services every so often and it has been great. Anytime I just don't want to go out to the gym or yoga studio (like in the snow) or if I am having a specific challenge (like today... I threw my back out a few days ago), I just pop onto PeoplesYoga.com and find the perfect workout. I just finished a short (30 minutes) beginner level yoga class on their site. It was exactly what I needed. I needed to get my body moving, my back moving but not push myself too hard, which I tend to do when at the actual studio.With Peoples Yoga, I was able to move at my speed, modify as necessary, and spend some extra time in poses that helped my back. I highly recommend the site! Check it out!

There Once Was A Girl Named Talia

There once was a girl named Talia.She was born under a full moon,On a very special holiday called Purim,In a leap year, in a month called Adar II.Her early life was filled with laughter and whispers.Tea parties, costume parties, doll parties, and Purim parties.Nothing was ever quite normal for Talia,Always a slight detour just out of the mainstream.Talia embraced her unique life,Just as soon as she figured out how.Her journey was filled with pot holes and misleading signs.She learned the art of retracing her stepsAnd paying attention to details on her journeys.She met many characters along the way,Some so wonderful and some very much less wonderful.A king, a queen, a jester, 5 little princesses,A friend, a lover, a sneaky confidante,A car named CiCi, a ferret named Sammy Davis Jr,A tired, washed out blankie with sage advice to share.Along her journey, she laughed and cried copiously.Sometimes she cried when she laughed...More often, she laughed when she cried.She pierced things (and often threatened to pierce more).She tattooed things (and still threatens to tattoo more).She made people proud.She made people mad.She made people wonder...There once was a girl named Talia.She was born under a full moonOn a very special holiday called PurimIn a leap year, in a month called Adar II.

She now fills her life with laughter but few whispers.Yoga, photography, and writing replacedTea parties, costume parties, and doll parties.

Nothing will replace her Purim parties.

Nothing will ever be quite normal for Talia,She likes to speed and swerve,making a slight detour just out of the mainstream.

Happy 30th birthday to me.

13 Adar II, 5741

Me and My Yoga Mat

We have a very tumultuous relationship. It's on again, off again and can burn hot for a few months but then cools off again. Most recently, I had a 7 month period where we weren't speaking. Okay, so I did have to leave her in America while I went to Israel and please don't tell PYM (Purple Yoga Mat) that I cheated on her with a pink one that you buy off the roll just off King George St in Jerusalem. But hey, what was a girl to do? I wanted to yoga in Israel and I needed a mat. I promise it didn't mean anything... and it didn't last long. My friend Circus Ninja and I only managed one session before it got too cold to do it outside, we ran out of time and locations, and couldn't get the internet. What was really cool was that a friend in Denver started a new yoga website so I could do yoga anywhere in the world. It is a really awesome site and when I finally get an apartment (and thus space to practice) I plan on using PeoplesYoga to enhance my class practice.But here's the point, PYM didn't judge me for leaving her here in Colorado. She didn't judge me for being too busy when I got home to break her out or leaving her in my car for a month while I promised myself I would get back to class. And when I did finally pull her out of her purple bag, lay her on the studio floor, and gently cover her with my purple yogi toes (okay yes, I like purple and I like things to match... but seriously, it just happened this way) she supported me through the pain and challenges of delving into yoga again. She cushioned my head and back and hands and feet as I breathed through my flow, desperately trying to hold onto the poses. She didn't judge me when I had to slip into child's pose a few extra times and she cradled me as I took a long savasana (corpse pose) to let my body regenerate itself. My sweet PYM guided me back to my bliss.In this sense, my PYM reminds me of my faith and relationship to HaShem (G-d). G-d is always there for me. Sometimes G-d sits in the background and let's me do what I have to do but when I reach out for that ever loving counsel, it is always there. G-d cradles me in my need, fits under me to support my weight, and sits in my line of vision (even if it is ever so slightly) to remind me to plug back into my reality. No matter where I go or what missteps I might make, G-d is there for me. Even if I find myself pushing G-d away or just ignoring G-d, the way I ignored that yoga bag in my car, I still know that when it is time G-d will always be there for me to come back to.And I am so thankful that I found that. For years I didn't realize my connection was that strong, that I could tap into it at will without someone or something else's help... until I looked into myself. Until I realized that sometimes you may not realize your yoga clothes are sitting there just waiting to be put on or your mat is waiting to be unrolled just as G-d is waiting for you to notice G-d's self and the impact of G-d in your life.So my PYM and I have made up. We have reforged a relationship begun years ago. And I am sore... so sore from my head to my toes but it is that kind of good sore that as you twinge when you walk you smile because you know you did something good for yourself. And on the same note, I have plugged in with HaShem again and we are working through our connectivity issues.In my final savasana each night, G-d and I connect again. Through prayer... "I hereby forgive anyone who has angered or vexed me" "May no man be punished because of me" "Let us lay down in peace and rise up in good life and peace" and through the quiet peace of just knowing that we are together."Blessed are you, counselor of the universe, who causes the bonds of sleep to fall on my eyes and slumber on my eyelids and light to the apple of my eye. May it be your will that we ALL lay down in peace and rise up to a good life, renewed. Do not let bad dreams or thoughts plague me. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. Blessed are you, sacred counselor, who gives light to all the world."Namaste

It’s my first time, be gentle…

Okay so here's the deal. I blog for work, I tweet for work, I tweet for me, I facebook, I myspace, I link-in... but I have never blogged personally.

I thought it would be an interesting experiment to try to blog. I do well with the 140 characters of Twitter... how will I do with a full blog?

We will see. I have promised myself I won't resort to blogs full of quotes (okay, sometimes... I love quotes) or links or "I am brushing my teeth."

So here's some back story and expectations.

I am a 27 (nearly 28) year old Public Relations professional in Denver. I work in the non-profit arts sector and love my work. [So look for blogs about PR, social media, marketing, networking, arts, dance, theatre, film... etc.]

I am in grad school, working on my masters in PR & Marketing. [More PR & marketing stuff, plus school trials and tribs.]

My father is a rabbi (seriously, follow his blog - Rocky Mountain Hai. It rocks.) and so I do a lot of work in the Jewish community. [Yes folks, that means Judaism, Jewish holidays, Israel, and Israeli politics, etc.]

I volunteer for Goodwill in Denver and my sorority, Gamma Phi Beta. [You'll hear about that I am sure. GPhi, volunteering, working with needy kids.]

I love yoga and am a bit of an addict. [Yup, you will hear when I master hurdler and if I fall out of my flying crow. Did I mention that birds of paradise is one of my favs? I'll get ya a picture.]

Lastly, I think, I am obsessed with a few things.
A. Angela Lansbury is my hero (hence Talia, She Wrote).
B. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rodgers, Gene Kelly... most films made between 1930 and 1955.
C. Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (that means Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, people)
D. Old radio shows. I love the old commercials... Petri Wine, Clipper Craft Clothing...
E. Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me (on NPR)
[All of the above, free game for blogs.]

Okay, one more thing... I am going to try to not delve too deeply into my personal like (aka dating) because, well, it's personal and frankly, I know some people who would love to use that against me. But I have no doubt a few details will slip in. :-)

Alright, enough level setting. Nice comments appreciated.

I hope this blog works out. It's fun already!

-- Talia Davis