Love Your Body Month - Free Workshop

Resolve to Love Your Body in 2010:
Gain Strength, Power and Awareness
through Movement and Art!

Join Megan McSwain, MA LAPC, and Caroline Correll, fitness/movement trainer, at lululemon athletica in Buckhead on Thursday, February 18, 2010, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. for a free movement/art workshop.

Let your body and spirit do the talking. Experiment various types of movement, tune into your deep wisdom and voice, then express yourself on paper. Everyone welcome. No art/exercise/dance experience required.

Some supplies will be provided, but please bring
a yoga mat and any special art supplies.
All proceeds will be donated to EDIN.

http://www.myedin.org/

lululemon athletica Buckhead address:

3096 Roswell Road, Atlanta, GA 30305

Questions? Please contact:

Caroline Correll - caroline@mybodyflow.com - 404.210.6752

Megan McSwsain - meganmcswain@gmail.com - 404.368.6174

FYI: EDIN (Eating Disorders Information Network) is a nonprofit organization based in Atlanta dedicated to the prevention of eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeating, and other forms of disordered eating through education, outreach and action. EDIN celebrates Love Your Body Month each February as a way to encourage loving your body and to promote a healthy body/self image. Please visit http://www.myedin.org/ for a full calendar of events. Additionally, Megan McSwain, an Atlanta-based art therapist, and Caroline Correll, an Atlanta-based movement/fitness trainer, have led several workshops together with the intentions of helping participants to feel comfortable, listen to their wisdom, honor their creativity and shed light upon an important cause. Megan and Caroline thank you for your support and welcome everyone!

The January Diet - How's it Going?

Oh no, it's January. And, by now, even if you barely watch tv or flip through magazines, you've really gotten a heaping gulp of what January brings:

*a carefree celebrity advertising the latest diet program on tv and radio commercials

*more magazine articles showing before/after photos of speed-based diet pills

*gyms offering cheap "dream body" deals

*diets consisting solely of green tea, protein shakes and please-no-carbs-whatsoever

*conflicting diet rules [organic/nonorganic, meat/meatless, sugar/Splenda]

*models and other "beauties" airbrushed and polished to "perfection" selling whatever....

*...and yet more celebrity trainers quite literally torturing clients on television.

Instead of telling your body what it needs, let it tell you. Wait, wait. Read that again. Instead of telling your body what it needs, let it tell you.

I can understand if that statement scares the willies out of you. You might think your body has been screaming at you for years that you should be living off of Edy's Rocky Road and Snickers bars versus counting points, calories or carbs! But, if you gave into that temptation, wouldn't you lose total control?

(no, i am whispering you will not! just keep reading!)

Food doesn't have that much power. Again - Food doesn't have that much power. (Strict and superficial exercise regimes don't have that much power either, folks!) It's everything else in life that drives you batty when attempting to control it through diet and exercise. So, instead of diving into the Edy's ice cream tub or measuring your bicep to deltoid ratio (what does that really mean anyway???), consider what's really going on in your life.

How's your breath? Are you holding it? Is it okay to take a deep breath? Is your mind racing? Do you feel "good enough"? Do you feel too big, too small? When's the last time you got quiet with yourself, just to be, or to pray? How long is your "stress list"? If you had an hour to talk about yourself in private and total confidence, what would spill out? The little things, the big things, the medium things, the random things....think about it.

Then, imagine relaxing your body, your face, your jaw, your hips; then, imagine (just totally pretend here if necessary, okay??) - imagine, everything being okay. Imagine your body being okay exactly how it is today. Imagine your financial situation being okay. Imagine your list of unknowns being totally okay and on their way to working themselves out with time and patience.

If you can imagine an instance of peace on Earth (even when things are still the same!), do you still need to dive into the Edy's tub, run solely to burn off the calories, or compete with yourself to restrict more and more? If you can imagine all your heart's desires being met, and if you were to know that everything will ultimately be okay, can you imagine relaxing enough to listen to your body?

Turn the station when a "HealthyTrim" ad dances across the radio waves. Throw away the magazine articles illustrating xxx calories for breakfast, xxx calories for lunch, xxx types of snacks. Fire a trainer who refuses to work with you if you don't follow "his" plan.

My wish for you is to practice tuning into your deepest wisdom. The deeper you look, you won't find a whole gallon of ice cream waiting to be devoured. You might see a bowl, so eat it with delight, but you'll find a much richer life when you can see beyond the surface. It's not easy, and it's not fast, and setbacks/mistakes are allowed. This isn't a Monday diet, and as long as you're true to yourself, you never fall off the wagon.

Look into your heart. Ask yourself what choices you can make that are healthier for your whole being; Ask yourself "what am I truly hungry for?"; What can truly nourish your mind, your body, your spirit?; What dreams have you buried?

You have your whole life to practice nourishing yourself from the inside out - what a gift! I also know that sometimes we all seek sound advice for our bodies (food and exercise-wise) that come from a self-care perspective and not a "diet" perspective. I encourage you to research and always know that balance, moderation and flexibility are three really comforting and wise factors when taking care of yourself and taking advice from others.

So, touch base with your heart, your deep wisdom, your physical/emotional hunger cues, then research, ask the questions, talk to the experts, and run for the right reasons.

Yoga in the Tub

I've learned that I don't need to drive half an hour to a studio, wait for class to start, stay for an hour and a half, and drive a half hour home to enjoy a yoga session for myself. Luckily, I have the luxury of doing yoga with clients on a regular basis, but I'm talking about Caroline Yoga. Me Yoga. Yoga for me. Yoga for moi. Mi Yoga.

You can guess my favorite place. I thought about this subject because a client of mine is in between homes - she's about to sell her place and move somewhere new. We were talking about finding a way to feel grounded among the packing, selling, moving and unpacking, and I asked her if she has a place of retreat. You know, it can be your bed, your screened-in porch, your backyard, your study, your workout room. I'm talking about that place where you can be alone and, hopefully, be present in your body, with your breath, with your heart.

I love my bathroom - in all the homes I've lived (except the horrible dorms!). I've always loved closing the door, cranking the shower as hot as I can stand it, turning up some lite tunes, maybe taking soothing reading material, then lounging in the shower or bathtub - just me, just my breath, and maybe some gentle stretches as the warm water soothes my muscles.

Yoga means union. Union of the breath, body and spirit. You don't need to commit to a whole hour (although that's still a good thing!). Just commit to finding peace, gentleness and truth within...wherever that might be.

A Wedding, A Funeral, A Cat & A Dog -

Last time I wrote, I mentioned it might be post-December until I wrote again, and yep, I was right. I'm ready to post more often, I'm ready to get back into my groove, and I'm ready for some normalcy again. Yet, as we all know, "normalcy" still brings its challenges and joys, and our decision to find peace and humility among the chaos and delight might be the whole point (at least that's what I think).

As you can see above, wedding bells are involved in the following blog post (!) along with a few other things. The engagement photo above is from mid-September, then the bridal portrait photo is from mid-November. Props to my fabulous photographer Frank Gibson and his lovely wife Wendy. What a solid team they make - http://www.frankgibsonphotography.com/ - I would recommend them a million times. (the following photos are from friends...)

(Our First Dance: "I Never Knew Love Like This Before" by Stephanie Mills - a little sparkle, a little disco, mucho romance and loads of fun!)

Our wedding on December 5 was magical. From the ceremony, to our loved ones supporting us, to the red velvet cake, and to all the dancing, Nick and I had a ball and felt the love surrounding us just as some special people told us it would happen. While I was a grateful bride for all the help and support from my family and friends, I was still an anxious bride. Not about Nick or our marriage...just about the rush of feelings and everything happening so fast. I had the heartburn to show for my not-so-lovely anxiety, and I have a new respect for brides, and my advice would be to try, try, try to take in everything. Savor every moment (and try not to worry yourself sick about everyone else!).

We headed to Puerto Rico for some R-E-S-T. We read scrumptious books, lounged by the pool, jumped in the waves, exercised at a nice little gym, ate authentic Puerto Rican food, walked to ancient ruins. My only wish was that we could have afforded another three weeks off the real world. Not to say real life is blah, but our bodies and hearts just needed a little more downtime to breathe and settle before it all started up again....

On the last night of our honeymoon, Nick received a phone call that his grandfather passed away. We headed to Los Angeles three days later for the funeral services, and while it was heartbreaking to see the pain and shock and how it's never easy, I saw a great BIG family (see the grandchildren above) supporting each other and loving each other. They definitely found some peace and joy in just being together, honoring their grandfather's spirit and legacy.

So, Nick and I returned from L.A. on Wednesday, December 16. On the 17th, I took my 4.5-year-old kitty "City the Kitty" to the vet for her routine vaccinations - She'd also lost quite a bit of weight while we were gone, so I was concerned. Shockingly, our vet found a mass in her belly. The next day, they did exploratory surgery, removed the tumor and her spleen. I cried, I hoped, I prayed it'd be benign. This cat is my baby - and if you're a pet owner/lover, I know you understand. I got her when I (hallelujah!) finally lived alone 4.5 years ago, and she was companion, my comfort, my little furball of love.

The night before Christmas Eve, our doctor called and gave me the sad news - lymphoma, a high grade form of cancer in my kitty's body. She has anywhere from one to four months to live. We're spending lots of time with her and keeping her comfortable until she's ready to move to greener pastures (or a higher kitty condo as I'm sure she'd love to define her heaven)....

So, once we [sort of] got over the stabbing shock of City the Kitty, Nick was feeling around on our 4.5-year-old black Lab. He's always wrestling her and kissing her and taunting her, which she loves every second. He found swollen lymph nodes. So, we said, "okay, why not let the vet check her out." The next day, Nick took Chloe to the vet where they found lymph nodes in her chest, neck and hind legs swollen. The took fluid and blood from her and sent it off for testing - just like the weekend before with City the Kitty, we held onto some Hope.

Yesterday morning, as I was making peach muffins our next door neighbor Michaela gave to us, the vet called. Chloe has lymphoma. Her life expectancy is about that of City's. We are to watch both of their appetites, weight loss and energy. We are to make them comfortable and let them know we love them with all our hearts.

No, the vet doesn't think it's environmental because the kitty has only lived in this house four months - her cancer/the tumor developed several months ago. We've just got some really crappy luck. A terrible coincidence. And, yes, we will probably have our water tested regardless for peace of mind. We joke and say we have a "control" specimen, our big-orange-bear-looking dog Bowden, who's the longest living animal in our household. His lymph nodes are fine, and he appears to be healthy - always outside in this 20 degree weather barking at anything and everything {much to our neighbors' chagrin, I am sure} and loving every minute of his simple life.

I share this to find meaning for myself and maybe give someone else an ounce of peace of mind and heart. With the good can come the bad. With the joy can come the sorrow. With the carefully planned and composed can come the shock, the loss, the uncontrollable.

We all have setbacks, we all have pain, we all have challenges. Yet, we also all have light and, hopefully, oodles of joy. Through it all, it's vital we take care of ourselves. It's vital we continue connecting our bodies, minds and spirits. Individually and together as a universe.

One of my favorite Rumi poems:

Dance, when you're broken open.

Dance, if you've torn the bandages off.

Dance in the middle of the fighting.

Dance in your blood.

Dance, when you're perfectly free.

Through it all, wherever you are, especially in this new year of 2010, I hope you can stay true to yourself, continue moving your body and your heart and your mind - Yes, that means move, hope, dream and fight for joy, grace, health, strength and peace. Stay consistent with moving your body through an exercise routine or class - let your emotions express themselves physically. Open your heart to your dreams and your hopes - use a journal or another art form to put your dreams to paper. Firmly trust that something deeper is happening beyond the bittersweet, and always rejoice in your blessings.

Peace [and dancing/moving] in 2010!