the luminous bridge between the ego & the heart

It's time for the realness to come through. It's time for an Energetic Breakdown!

Personally I've been feeling somewhat of an internal struggle for a little while now. It's a vulnerability I thought I'd successfully hidden beneath a thick layer of pretending everything is ok. I had been telling myself I don't deserve to be so bold, so bright, so open about my authentic self, probably for fear of what others might think, how I'd be judged & what kind of impact my personal growth may have on my closest relationships. But what you resists persists & by golly I cannot resist any longer! Now these conflicting feelings have reared their heads & are holding me accountable to live out my dharma & be my authentic self. I've got some fears about making big changes (huge lift shifting changes) & often plagued by self doubts of inadequacy, lack of self-worth, old programmings of poverty as more noble than wealth & abundance....they all seem to love the dark stormy dance between my Ego & my Heart.

I literally feel this area of my body, the diaphragm, pulsing like a heartbeat, begging to be acknowledged, breathed into, to be nurtured & awakened. Yes as a yogini I breathe consciously & yes I definitely know the correlation between the depth of our breath & the depth of our being. Still, I am a human, a person who is here on Earth to learn & figure shit out. There are times when it can be so hard to breathe into the uncomfortable places of complacency, to breathe into the uncertainty of change. It's feels even more intense especially since I'm teaching it other folks on the regular. 

With that being said, my personal practices of yoga & spirituality as well as my professional teachings & offerings tend to revolve around the connection to & awareness of Energy. Hence my intrigue & magnetism to diving into the Chakra System. Now if you are new to Chakras this might sound a bit "out there,"  but trust me everyone has Chakras...even you! Perhaps you're just not tuned into them yet or have not had the exposure or education to understand their significance. 
Consider Chakras as revolving doors of life force energy, running along your spine (Sushumna) which is your biggest energy channel (Nadi). From root to crown (and beyond!) each energetic center pulls energy in & sends it out. We absorb & emit frequencies, colors, sounds & more. The Chakra System is the inner journey of the Self, an internal blueprint of energy. I liken it to a navigational system for expanding our awareness of physical, emotional, psychological & spiritual growth & understanding. If one or more of these energetic centers is stagnant, blocked, excessive or deficient, the result is you guessed it.....dis-ease. Sound familiar?
So naturally I think to myself....I'm feeling a bit crazy lately, I'm so busy with all these projects yet I'm low on funds & feeling drained. I'm having a hard time deciphering for myself what's Ego-driven & Heart-centered, what's fair?.....fair to whom? Where's my place in this crazy world? 
What's going on with my Chakras? I have a hunch....

Let's take a snapshot of 2 specific Chakras: 
the 3rd Chakra / Manipura: Personal Power, Independence, Fire, Light, Charisma, Forging the Path, Purpose, the Ego, Autonomy, Digestion, Liver, Pancreas;  
& the 4th Chakra / Anahata: Unity, Balance, Love, Joy, Compassion, Air, the Breath, Thymus Gland & Heart.
But there is more....there is an energetic space between these two Chakras. It's an evolving Chakra center....the luminous bridge between the Ego & the Heart. This Chakra is known as the Diaphragmatic Chakra.

When the Diaphragmatic Chakra is in balance we're able to breathe deeply into our awareness of the Self, uniting how we feel with what we need to do. We then are able to liberate that energy upward into the space of the Heart. This way we don't get stuck in our passions or power, and learn to harmonize our personal wisdoms with the good of the whole. Our capacity to release self-doubt & the need to be validated by others for approval resides here. Deeply breathing into the space between the 3rd & 4th Chakras supports us in opening the tightness, the rigidity, the tension & stress which can accumulate into an unhealthy roadblock when one is not living authentically as one IZ. (did ya get that joke there?)

When this Chakra is blocked we cut off the intelligence of our emotional wisdom, unable to feel deeply who we are & what we stand for. And often times the Ego gets a bad rep because of the potentially extreme behaviors guided by arrogance, greed & self-centeredness. Yet the Ego is NOT BAD...it's a necessary component to recognizing the power of your being. Those potentially unhealthy qualities of the Ego are distinctly different than healthy expressions of authenticity, confidence, abundance & self-care. 

So how do you & how do I, cultivate the balanced qualities of a healthy Ego & open Heart?
We practice working with the breath. 

Check out my video (my first ever video!) titled, "4 square healing breath" to learn this technique.

I've been practicing this technique & it really works! You can feel everything slow down & come back into balance, calming the wasteful worries of the mind & truly focusing on the present moment & the fluidity of the breath.

Funny the other day one of my students said, "You probably never need to take a yoga class since you are such an amazing yoga teacher!"
I couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Au contrare!" I replied. "That's like saying once you are a chef you never need to eat food again!" We both cracked up at the realization ....
We are never done learning.

Keep on breathing & keepin' on growing my friends!
love, IZ WORD

Sweet & Spicy Holy Moly Guacamole!

Sweet & Spicy Guacamole Recipe

2 large ripe avocados, peeled & deseeded
Juice of 1 medium sized lemon
2 shallots, finely minced
1 ripe yellow or white peach, finely chopped
2 tsp Chipotle sauce (adjust for heat preference)
4 turns of the pepper grinder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp sea salt (adjust to taste)
1-2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 c chopped cilantro (I do 1/4 c because its my fave!)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl & mix well. Enjoy with tortilla chips, fresh veggies, on fish tacos....get creative!

As with any of my recipes, make room for creativity, experimentation & innovation!
This is a general guide but make adjustments as you see fit. Perhaps you substitute mangos, nectarines or oranges for the peaches. Play around & have fun!
cheers 

hangin with the super stoners

This is a post I wrote back in April but never published but felt compelled to pull it out of the archives for your reading pleasure. ENJOY!

Dang y'all....I had such an awesome weekend at Cannabis Cup, presented by High Times in Denver.
It was the first legal & open to the public Cannabis Cup in the US!
WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP!

We took the trip because my man & his business partner were launching their hilarious new comic book, The Adventures of Super Stoner. It's a series of stories about a regular ole dude who loves & grows weed. He has a magical bong that he uses to fight off evil vilans such as "Meth Man" (a nasty meth cooker) & "Kandy Kane" (a cocaine-addicted stripper). Super Stoner wants to keep the streets clean so he always comes in to save the day from the poisonous, toxic chemicals of horrible man-made drugs which are destroying our world! Its full of fun, campy humor & educational information about the benefits of Cannabis. What a hit!  (har har har)

The event was an intense experience of meandering through a crowd of some 30,000 people...all hazy, smily & friendly folks excited about the green!
This was the most calm event I've ever been to...
No one fought.
No one got out of control.
No problems, no issues.
No EGO.
Just really chill people.

This is what happens when you invite the green goodness of Mother Nature's magical bounty into your life. If you still believe in the propaganda of Reefer Madness, well it's "high time" you cross over the rainbow bridge of happiness! I won't even begin my endless list of why good ole Mary Jane should be your homegirl, but I will say that everyone at Cannabis Cup was so damn kind.

Yes it was pretty wild to explore the 1,000 vendors & hop in & out of circles of really awesome people only to turn a corner & see something totally spectacular like a Cheech & Chong sized joint. The novelty was on-point. It was like a hanging out in weed city within a city. Needless to say, the people-watching was incredible!

It was interesting to witness the multitude of various approaches for communing with Marijuana. It seemed there was less focus on the flowers, the classic plant part which you may or may not have smoked at some point in your life, and there was much more attention on wax (aka DABBS), which is a butane-based extraction process which, if prepared by professionals with appropriate machinery, is purged of as much butane as possible to create a very high in THC/low CBD content material. For you herbalists out there, I equate it with a type of solid extract with certain chemical constituents still held in place, in this case a very concentrated amount of THC. Apparently the high is 10 times more potent than your typical hit of flowers. That kinda freaks me out. Does anyone need to get "that high"?
I don't feel there is as much safe, consistent, holistic medicinal value in this delivery system, although many will disagree. To me it seems to attract more of those who just wanna get out there....numb out of reality for awhile.....ehh....that's another topic all together!

I don't dabble in the dabb for many reasons, one being it's such a recent fad with not a lot of long-standing support behind it. I will continue to research this preparation method out of shear curiosity & for it's viable application in a healing setting with disease & chronic pain. Granted, the wax has been around for years. However, I prefer old fashioned raw plant medicine in its natural state in general. For instance, do I take supplements of Beta-carotene or do I eat the whole carrot? I eat the carrot!
I love the adage, The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.....

Cannabis Cup wasn't just faded out stoner kids & smoke & mirrors though. A wide variety of celebrities, health specialists, medical professionals, growers, advocacy groups & big time people showed up! There were classes, lectures & seminars each day, sharing the medicinal research, health benefits & political awareness for the attendees. Hot topics were: support for veterans & PTSD, children, trauma, cannabis & yoga, edibles & more.

Twas a wonderful & interesting experience to say the least & I'd definitely go back again.
And how interesting to consider the amount of money Colorado has made already since legalization. I wonder which state will be next?!

what do you do when the wolves come for you?

what do you do when the wolves come for you?
...in your sleep...
what do you do when the willows sway for you?
...in your dreams...
what do you do when the wolves come for you in your dreams?
...in your deepest sleep...


what do you do when the eyes of the beloved,
whom will never care to see they are the object of a willow's desire,
....look into you.  
dark.   mysterious.    unmoving.      unnerving.   unswayed by the breeze.

I bet you think this song is only about you. don't you?
are you even listening to your dreams?

those eyes...they're full of a secret life & perhaps the most honest life.
I contemplate the depths of those eyes,
of the beloved being
& wonder of their dreams...
...of the wolves in their sleep...
...of their willows swaying in the breeze.

Can you pierce the night sky with the vision of a wolf?
Can you feel the wonder of the wind?
...swirling, spinning, dancing laughs around you,
propelling your iron-fist
& knocking on the door of your stone-cold heart?

what would you do if a lemon tree whispered to you,
"pick my flower sweet child & let me enchant your deepest desires..."

do you pick her or leave her be?

what do you do when the willows sway for you?
do you feel it or leave it be?

Quick Gluten-Free Apple Crisp

Here's a tasty recipe for y'all, and ya don't even need to be "gluten-free" to enjoy. Trust me, what came outta my oven was delish. Top her off with a glass of almond milk, coconut milk ice cream &/or some fresh raspberries or blueberries. I ate this alongside some fresh ginger root tea, (which I started brewing before I made this yummy dessert)....and dang! So good! Plus my digestion was on par too!
(see Ginger Root Tea recipe below)

Measurements are rough since I let the Powers-that-Be take over and I forget to document exactly.
I feel it's one of those recipes that forgives and then gives some more, in terms of flavor and texture.
It's easy, simple and you can make this in a pinch with an array of ingredients. I've been running low in the cupboards and fridge so this was drawn from my imagination, limited ingredients and resourcefulness. There's plenty of room to expand, vary and experiment. Try fresh peaches, plums or pears instead of apples. See what comes about!
Check it out...

Quick & Easy Gluten-Free Apple Crisp

2 medium-sized Apples  (granny smith, fuji, honey crisp, pink lady)
3-6 dashes of Cinnamon Powder
2 Tbsp. Coconut Oil (stick with coconut here...it offers the perfect sweetness like other oils cannot; plus coconut oil is anti-viral & full of perfect fat )
1-3 Tbsp. Raw Honey, Agave Nectar, or Organic Raw Cane Sugar
1/2 - 1 1/2 c. Rolled Oats (more the thicker & crunchier; less more of the apple-ness goin' on)
1/3c. chopped walnuts, pecans, toasted almonds, GF cereal or hemp hearts *optional but really good
dash sea salt
dash nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Swirl 1 Tbsp. of the Coconut Oil over the bottom of a medium-sized baking dish. Wash, core & slice Apples 1/4" thick. (you may want to peel; I like them so I keep 'em on). Combine Apples, Cinnamon Powder, Nutmeg, Sweetener & Sea Salt with remaining Coconut Oil in a mixing bowl & toss until coated. Transfer to Oiled baking dish & evenly spread Rolled Oats & Nuts over the top. Cover with foil & bake 15 min. Remove foil & bake another 20 min. Serve warm with desired toppings or accouterment, ideally Fresh Ginger Root Tea. 

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Fresh Ginger Root Tea

The key to an effective herbal tea is 1) the amount & quality of raw materials & 2) how you prepare it.
This particular herbal preparation is called a "decoction". That basically means you are simmering a course, fibrous, thick or dense herbal material for quite some time. This process is what draws out the medicinal constituents we seek from herbs. Light fluffy herbs such as Peppermint or Lavender, only need to infuse or steep in water. Tough fibrous plant parts such as Ginger or Dandelion Root require simmering. A-Ha!.....you have become an educated herbalist!

2 thumb-sized pieces of Fresh Ginger Root (preferably Organic)
6 c. Filtered or Distilled Water (distilled water holds minerals & nutrients better because it's "empty")
a few Tbsps. Raw Honey

If not Organic, peel....if Organic, skip. Thinly slice the ginger root. Combine ginger & water in a cooking pot on the stove with matching lid. Cover & bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer. You are now making an herbal decoction! This is way different than steeping a tea bag in a cup of water for 3 min. You're actually making medicine! 

Set the timer for 1 hour. (15-20 min is minimum if you're short on time, or up to 2 hrs if you're home & free). Then turn off heat & strain the ginger tea away from the spent herbal material. Yes, you'l have reduced the amount of liquid. That's the point! We've concentrated Ginger's healing qualities....

Compost the ginger if you can. Return ginger tea to the pot & add a couple Tbsps of Raw Honey. Stir until melted, turning heat on low if needed. You've got yourself a fairly spicy tea, perhaps. If it's too much just dilute with some filtered hot water. Enjoy with the Apple Crisp!

Store leftovers in a jar in the fridge for no more than 3 days. After that time the herb has most likely lost it's medicinal quality. In the meantime, you can reheat the tea on the stovetop, always avoiding the microwave. 

Ginger Root is fantastic & does so much more than I can say here. But please know Ginger helps with efficient digestion (especially processing dairy), relieves cramps & bloating, supports metabolism & detoxification, engages the immune system, fights bacterias & unwanted foreign invaders, plus works on the whole body! Ginger is a staple in the kitchen.

XOXOXOX

PERSONAL RELFECTIONS IN REGARDS TO ART

"Talent is just an opinion. But creativity is a necessity."
- Chippewa Injin Byrd: my main squeeze, artist, creative genius

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I love this so much. Personally, I could care less how well you can reproduce an image or recreate someone else's muse.
What strikes my fancy is the realness of someone's style, their unique voice & the pure love & desire to create!
This definitely applies to, but travels well beyond the generalized assumption of ART as in reference to painting, drawing, shaping & forming. It trickles throughout our entire lives. SO WHAT if others do the same kinda thing that you do or also have some great ideas to share? Can we really put a patent or copyright or ownership law on the appreciation & expression of inspiration?
Are you the only one ever to have admired the beauty of a flower or pattern, the surge of emotion witnessing a tragedy or triumph, or felt the potency of the light cast upon a magnificent mountain? NO...but you are the only one who saw it, felt it & experienced it from your unique perspective. SO it's just a question of, "How do you share your expression? What does it mean TO YOU?"
This authentic expression of ART is what brings us together as human beings. We relate, we appreciate, we share in the beauty & wonder of the Universe.

HOW DO YOU SHARE YOUR CREATIVITY? HOW ARE YOU EXPRESSING THE ARTISTIC ELEMENTS OF YOUR LIFE? WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEDIUM?
Original ideas are frankly quite few & far between, as we are always recycling, remembering, rediscovering, rethinking, reshaping, & revealing. Plus, ideas are inherently the property of NO ONE. Ideas are the creative light drawn from an All-Seeing/All-Knowing/All-Encompassing Force which ANYONE can access. It's simply tapping into it, feeling it, creating it & sharing that force. So, we find less attachment to ideas themselves & more inspired action toward sharing an authentic interpretation of how that force resonates within the interconnected matrix of life.
Be the authentic creator of your life & shine in the light of genuine expression. WORD!

I'm presenting at the Sedona Yoga Fest!! ...this weekend!

I am honored & excited to share two unique offerings at the Sedona Yoga Fest this year!

 Check out the amazing presenter schedule & purchase your weekend or day pass here!
http://sedonayogafestival.com/

Friday @ 7pm - YogaSTARology & ChakraSTARology
Jordan MacBeth & I come together to share a basic understanding of the Zodiac wheel & yoga postures to support the health of each Sun sign. We will focus on a connection of Zodiac & Chakras, utilizing sound healing from the gong to awaken those energetic spaces. We'll bring balance to all of the Zodiac signs through an all-levels asana practice followed by a gong meditation. 

Saturday @ 8pm - Restorative Gong Yoga - Vibrational Healing for the Chakras

Together we'll experience a journey through the Chakras, the wheels of life force energy which run along our spine. A discussion will cover the general concepts of the 7 major Chakras & how the gong's healing vibrational potency alters our cellular makeup, helps remove blockages & awaken the healing capacity within. We'll connect 7 restorative &/or yin postures with each of the 7 Chakras with gong immersion, & chant for happy health!