www.mybodyflow.com

Hi all!

Please visit http://www.mybodyflow.com/ -- My friend, AnChi Pho at http://www.phonomenalvideo.com/, shot the video...We have plans to produce and post a variety of mind-body exercises very soon, so stay tuned!

Take care,
Caroline

Sleep-FULL in Seattle!

My bright friend, Jessica, is moving to Seattle in August. While I'm sad to see her go, I'm happy for new beginnings. While I know she's only a plane ride away, or a quick message on facebook, or a private juicy email about our latest dates (or nightmare-ish dates, more like it lately), I hope to take a piece of her bright spirit, staunch determination and kind spirit along with me everyday.

All the best to you, Miss Jess. Keep up with T, keep seeking your truth, and as always: "no one's the boss of you". (wink) Much love.

Translate P to T and E

Wow, I'm about to take my own advice here, except it's not really my advice but from Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones. Instead of justifying or explaining my lapse in contributing to my own blog, I'll write some notes Goldberg gives:

Writing Ideas and Tips from Writing Down the Bones:
*Pick up the rhythms around you.
*Breathe deeply.
*Go for the jugular. If it's scary or naked, dive right into it; it probably has lots of energy.
*Capture the oddities of your mind.
*First thoughts have tremendous energy.
*Sit down with the least expectation of yourself. Say: "I am free to write the worst junk in the world." Give yourself the space to write a lot without destination.
*If the process is good, the end will be good. You will get good writing.

These tips correlate to your body/spirit energy, too. If you're like me, the P word haunts you. Perfectionism. So, whether you're writing or dancing or brainstorming or organizing, use these tips. Go with the flow. Allow some room for the T word. Trust. And, while you're at it, get to know the E word. Enough. You are enough. You can trust your work, your ideas, your being. Your flow is enough.

Oprah, we use our spirit wars to prey on our own flesh!

Good evening. Well, I'm in Chicago training for a new job, and well, if I'm in Chicago, guess who's on my mind? Oprah! If anyone knows how to get tickets to her show, please let me know! I'll drop everything and anything to go anytime! Recently, I even had a dream I went to Harpo, so maybe I'm getting closer!

In the meantime, I just sent the Oprah team my thoughts, and believe me, this isn't the first time. But, I'll keep trying. Wonder if they read them?


Dear Oprah team,

I'm writing to express my continuous gratitude for the messages you send and to propose and idea.

I'm a single 26-year-old woman who's just trying to "figure it out" along with everyone else. One of the greatest tools I use is journaling. When I was 11 or 12 years old, I remember watching Oprah on the floor of my family den; Oprah mentioned the best advice she could give was to keep a journal, and I've had one ever since.

Writing is like breathing to me, and I'm grateful to have this creative and therapeutic outlet to seek my own truth. Luckily, through my soul-searching-writing I've discovered my passion to raise awareness of the mind/body connection. I want more people, and especially women, to respect and listen to their bodies.

Sure, we can talk about celebs' eating disorders, but what about the millions of real women suffering from bad body image and disconnect? Let's seek the root of the matter: the truth, the appetites, the self. The living fully, or as you might say "living your best life".

Please consider my thoughts:

"I think seeking your truth can be scary because we are afraid to be the best we can be, we're afraid of blooming, we fear having happiness because we're so used to pain. But, I say maybe we're here to experience our own heavens on Earth. Everyday. In our own way.

It might be hard to believe or grasp when other messages have bombarded you for years. But, I love the simple, famous quote: 'If it is to be, it is up to me.'

We shouldn't be afraid of taking up our own true space. I think we either eat to fill up the space because we're afraid our 'being' or our self is too big, so we make our bodies big; and/or we're afraid of our appetites because they reflect our selves that feel too big, so we purge; and/or we are so afraid of taking up space, we starve. We use our spirit wars to prey on our own flesh.

Think about your self. Let that shine. Let your self take up space. Put all the dieting and food obsession into the *gentle* journey of your own truth. Not obsessive but *gentle* journey. Find the support you need to step out there, ask for what you want, and work for it."

While I think you all do a wonderful job on promoting strong senses of self, let's take the fear of our bodies (dieting, aging, growing, shrinking, etc.) and focus on embracing the possibility of going beyond the body wars and living colorful, fulfilling lives.

Best,
Caroline

Appetites: What are you hungry for?

Appetites. And, while Thanksgiving is around the corner, I'm not talking turkey. Think about it this way: Where are you stuck? A relationship, a job, lack of a hobby or passion, health?

What's stopping you from asking for more, for less, for something different, for something new? Fear, confusion, the not-good-enoughs? Instead of being overwhelmed or scared of having more good in your life, ease into it. Open yourself to recognizing things that would truly warm your spirit, then slowly open yourself to receiving those things.

You don't need to pull out last week's Halloween mask and scare yourself into changing. Make small changes, realize you're good enough to step out of the stuck-keep-it-small-and-safe box. Step into the open-bring-it-on-because-it's-time world.

Think Strong and Happy, not Sculpted and Stressed

Good morning.

I received an enlightening reminder today from yogajournal.com. Since I teach fitness classes, I try to constantly remind my participants to listen to their bodies. It's so easy to join a class and try to compete with a neighbor, or the instructor, or one's self! And, there's nothing wrong with wanting to improve yourself or sweat hard during your workout session. Yet, aiming for cutthroat standards can #1) get old and boring, and #2) be harmful to your inner peace and physical strength.

Since the message I received arrives via email in newsletter format, I searched for a link of archives on the yogajournal website but no such luck. Therefore, I am sourcing this next passage in pink as yogajournal.com material, not mine:

"Seek Strong, Not Sculpted, Abs"
In the American way of thinking, hard, flat abdomnal muscles are the embodiment of a healthy physique. But while strong, toned core muscles support good health, they may not be as important as Western culture would lead us to believe.

Too much belly fat is unhealthy. However, working too hard to eliminate fat can also cause serious problems. For the 10 percent of us who are actually capable of acquiring them, six-pack abs come at a price: reduced flexibility and freedom of movement. Women who work the abs too much can suffer estrogen depletion, bone weakness, and fractures. Overdoing abs exercises can also lead to a flattening of the lumbar curve, creating a weakened spinal structure.

So if you've been striving to tone your abs so you look like an underwear model, maybe now is a good time to shift your focus. The next time you practice Navasana (Boat Pose) think about how much better you'll feel when you've gained core strength, not how much better you'll look the next time swimsuit season rolls around.

You can relate this idea to any sort of exercise -- matter of fact, you can relate it to life. Try not to overextend yourself. There's always a middle road to walk on -- to balance, to breathe, to trust, to go with the flow in the mind and heart -- it doesn't always have to be the edge.

Saturday morning

Hello ~ Saturday morning, and I'm finally posting again. A glitch has blocked me from writing, so I hope it works this time. So many ideas flicker through my mind lately, and people and circumstances seem to be backing me. Thank goodness.

For example, I'm starting my own "gentle" on-site personal training business catered toward those with eating/image/exercise challenges -- Thursday I received a passing score for another certification, and just this morning a yoga instructor called me to discuss business and ideas! I meant to get settled in for a nap because I woke up so early, but now I'm thinking of going to the park to let the sunshine settle some of my excitement and flowing brainstorming!

In case you're wondering, things do happen, things do turn around. Last summer, my favorite high school English teacher Betty Fleming sent me Naomi Wolf's The Treehouse, and I got stuck on the first lesson: "Be still and listen." It took a few months (yes, several months) to become un-stuck, to combine my loves and passions, to know those things were true and possible, and to continue reading the book!

Since I started listening to my gut, listening to what really feels good and not just "right", I've met amazing, encouraging, genuine people. So, if you're struggling to find peace and "okayness" in the world and those alarm signals show up in exercise or diet obsession (or any obsession: men, shopping, that job, that grade, that acceptance letter, etc.), again things do turn around. If you're passionate and want to make every day count in its own special way, or if you want to experience that passion and zest for life, then listen. Get still and listen. Try to ease into the okayness of today instead of constantly yearning for the future, but acknowledge the goodness of today. Take the details and the warmth, and put them together on your journey toward your best self.

.....20 minutes later. Okay, here's the deal. I just lost 20 minutes worth of writing. Something's up with this posting section, so I want to jet before I lose anymore work. (My sister will love that I just used "jet". Now, I will know when she's read this.) I have a few more thoughts re: A) a Renoir painting Caroline Knapp highlights in Appetites: Why Women Want. B) Lisa Sarasohn's The Woman's Belly Book, and C) a story about a man striving for nirvana....

Perhaps those thoughts will come later this evening. Take care.

The Curl of a Leaf

The Curl of a Leaf

My favorite walking meditation takes place in a historic community just a few bounds away from my midtown apartment. The kind of neighborhood where roads roll quietly over humble hills and snake around elegant dollhouse homes. Something about this wide, winding pavement and dainty nook of homes grounds me, lets me come home – I crave the grounding of Magnolia and Oak tree roots, solidity of the stone-encrusted brick, and hope of the century-old address posts stuck haphazardly in thick green lawns.

After double-knotting my shoes, tuning into soulful rock, and securing my earphones, I find a hill to climb to stretch my legs and feel my pipes warm with steady whiffs of air. It’s not long before my sunglasses slide off my face, sweat dangles on my nose, and I’m going too fast. I need to stretch my hip flexors and calves, ground myself. I need to stop and pay attention to the emerald green curl of the magnolia leaf. Just a leaf, but what presence and girth and aliveness, such a staunch yet relaxed sense of self.

As I stop to stretch and gaze at more surroundings, what safety comes from standing underneath a crowd of oak trees. Like a bunch of old souls saying, “be, just be, you’re okay.” Then, as I stand straight and end my private pep talk among the oaks, I lift my chest, hold my head high and start tick-tocking down the sidewalk again. Tick, tock, squish, stomp, pat, pat, pat….

But, wait, no more smooth sidewalk. Tree roots take over my path but more like a dinosaur has just crunched over the cement leaving crumbles of once-hexagonal stepping stones. More roots. More cracks. I wonder what little worlds live between the roots and beneath the pavement. Maybe little chipmunk hideouts, maybe magical kingdoms for bugs and worms. I waiver and balance myself over the threatening shapes jutting up in the air, daring me to look up and away. I sort of like the challenge, the swaying. Then, I pause.

Stop going so fast. Check out the original glass in the oversized front window – puddles of color etched in the glass sway together like curvy bodies grooving. Move an inch, and new shapes form nearly blinding your view of the foyer. You see a mirror though, a long hallway, the rest is left to your imagination. Did a gardener arrange the geraniums spilling over the terra cotta pots, or did the man just cruising in on his road bike? Maybe the banker got his hands dirty, or maybe the woman with her little white dog?

Moving on again. Smooth sidewalks ahead. This time, I keep my head raised high, and I slow down. There’s a certain healing to slowing down, a magic in stillness. Kind of like the first time you learn about stretching, meditation and yoga – maybe thinking it’s for people who are naturally laid back, who are naturally still. For people who can’t run marathons or turn cartwheels in step class. Then, the marathon runners hear yoga helps breathing and concentration, and the step maniacs try purple mats for a day instead of purple risers – both experiencing a miracle.

They still walk away from their workouts floating on a cloud, it’s just a different kind. Maybe instead of a choppy cumulus, a free-flowing cirrus hovers over them like a blanket of “okay” protection. Think presence in lieu of competition: The runners learn it’s not all about beating the clock but more about appreciating their toes for gentle balance, heels for plunging forward, quadriceps for power, hips for stabilization, shoulders for confidence, and eyes for absorbing the ride. The step enthusiasts slow down enough to pay attention to the placement of the heel on the step, the chance to let out the inner dance child, the awareness of moving for feelings not for exhaustion, and the lightness of floating through class with the surrounding buzz of people.

Again, there’s a certain healing to slowing down, a safety in roots, a magical healing in the details. What’s the rush for anyway? Be thankful for the crumbles in the sidewalk; you slow down to embrace the smell of honeysuckle, and the little critters in the cracks below take comfort in the protection of their own little cities. Be thankful for the Saturday road race that makes you take the detour – you discover a new path, and the runners might just be enjoying the experience of running unabashedly through the city, no pressure for once, just presence.

These simple things – the curl of a leaf, a crumbled sidewalk, sweat dripping, freshly planted flowers – contain an “okayness”, a security of the innocence yet strength of nature. Forget the constant drama – the winner, the loser, the phone call, the red lights, the conforming, the competition – because they’re little trinkets, little ornaments that slightly define you, your life, your being. The real stuff doesn’t have to be so hard, so taxing, so nail-biting. Trust where you are right now in your natural-already-okay-good-enough self. Pay attention. Be grounded in the root of your self.

Caroline Correll’s vision is for people to respect body wisdom and uniqueness. She encourages presence and the “listen to your body” approach toward herself and others in fitness classes throughout Atlanta.

Welcome

Thanks again for visiting my blog -- I decided to create a blog because of my own experiences not trusting my body's signals. After finally reaching out and listening with the help of a local nonprofit EDIN, http://www.edin-ga.org, I feel so much more peace and excitement for life.

About me: I'm 25, grew up in South Carolina and currently work in television news production. While my tv experience has been beneficial, I'm moving toward educating and healing others in trusting their own body wisdom. I plan to use my idea of "FLOW" personal training -- Functional, Light, One-on-One Workout. (if you're interested, please email carolineflow@gmail.com for more information)

I love: interviewing people, teaching and taking fitness classes, tv bloopers, game night with funny friends so we can act like total goofs, entertaining friends, going to sleep early.

I hope my stories, writing, favorite quotes and encouragement help you to stay in tune with your body and spirit. Take good care of yourself.

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” Seneca, Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD