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Peaceful, Present, and Prepared Birth

5 Things I Learned from Delivering Happiness

The new book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is clearly a marketing tool—I mean the book cover has the Zappos logo and URL all over it. But I got a lot out of it even though I found myself rolling my eyes some as I read Tony’s stories about taking short-cuts, but still reaping unheard of benefits. The man admitted to getting into Harvard, then sleeping and playing video games instead of going to class. When he graduated he looked for the highest paying job possible that required the least amount of work. Then he showed up late, took a nap during the 2-hour lunch break he’d take every day, did almost nothing, and still managed somehow not get fired. He quit five months into his first job to start a business. Of course, he became a millionaire right away so he devoted his time to more important things—like learning to play poker and buying a ginormous pent house loft apartment in San Francisco, which he turned into his own private rave club for all his friends before he even turned 26.

Whatever. I could’ve done that, too, if I had his resources, innovative spirit, and irrational fearlessness when it comes to financial ruin. (Have you even noticed that most rich people become rich when they’re young and reckless?)

As far as I can tell, Tony and I have one thing in common: We both recorded ourselves practicing the violin as children, and deceived our parents by playing the tape back while we read in our rooms. Of course, I got caught the first time I tried it. He apologized to his mom in the book he published 20 years later.

This was a fun read and it gave a lot of insights into the business world. It turns out business and yoga have more in common than I thought.

This is just a short sampling of some of the things I learned.

1. The most successful people in business, and in life, have just as many failures along the way. They just learn from those failures and never stop trying.

2. You can’t build a business (or really much of anything) by yourself. You need a strong support system you can rely on and trust—especially when things look bleak. Be generous. Give without expecting something in return. And if it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll still got your friends.

3. Even millionaires with access to the finest foods in all of the world still appreciate the simple taste of Taco Bell occasionally.

4. Working hard won’t get you anywhere if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing. When you follow your passions, you become consumed by the task. When this happens you’re not working overtime, you’re simply using your free time to do what you love, too.

5. When you start hitting the snooze button 10 times in the morning because you just REALLY don’t want to get up and go to work anymore. It just might be time for a radical change. Life is too short.

Yogins vs. Yoginis

Today I stumbled upon an interesting article on Forbes.com. In a nutshell, it says that both men and women prefer to be managed by a male in the workplace.

Maybe it’s just because most of my bosses over the years have been female, but I just don’t get it.

Regardless, it made me start to think about leadership in a yoga setting. It takes many of the same “masculine” leadership characteristics the Forbes article refers to to be a yoga teacher—confidence, assertiveness, decision-making skills. But I have an inkling if we were to conduct a survey, we’d find that people might prefer to be under the leadership of women in the yoga studio.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you prefer male or female yoga teachers? Why? Be sure to give a thorough explanation!

Interview: Les Leventhal Shares A Male Perspective on Yoga Fashion


One of my favorite yoga classes in San Francisco is led by the talented and inspiring Les Leventhal. His classes are filled with two of my favorite elements: fun music and sweaty arm balances that often cause me to fall face first into my slip-n-slide of a yoga mat. And when my readers (cough)Bob Weisenberg(cough) called me out for not including men in my posts about yoga fashion, Les was the first person that popped into my mind who I knew could offer a sound male point of view. After all, in this Yoga Journal article he admitted to having a bit of a shoe fetish a while back (a man after my own heart!). Be sure to learn more about Les and his amazing teachings at YogawithLes.com.

Tell me about your favorite yoga outfit. What do you love about it?
My favorite yoga outfit is a threefold answer. If I am teaching a morning class, there’s a 90% chance I am wearing Lululemon pants because they are thick and warm and sometimes the room is not as heated. They are also super comfortable. If I am teaching an afternoon/evening class where I know the room has been heated by classes before mine, then I am wearing Lululemon shorts. For me, they are stylish, comfortable and remind me of being at the beach which means I’m probably going to teach a very playful, ride the waves, class. I was fortunate to be a Lululemon ambassador a few years ago and have lots to choose from. Finally, if I am taking someone’s class, I am wearing Prana pants, mostly because for me, they are the best to work with my sweaty self and arm balancing.

What are some of the challenges you face as a male yoga teacher when you go to pick out something to wear to one of your classes?
I don’t want to be a distraction to the students. So I am generally wearing dark blues, greens, browns ,and blacks and nothing too flashy and loud. In addition, this question begs the question of some clothing that might be too revealing. I take care to choose clothing that does not distract students in any way from the journey I want them to go on or invite an energy that might be misleading, unwelcome, or inappropriate in the sacred environment of a class.

I remember reading that you used to be addicted to shopping—particularly Kenneth Cole shoes. How did yoga help you overcome this?

Yoga continues to slow me down and requires me to take a look at what I am doing and why I am doing it, and I like to ask a few questions before I buy something. Is it useful? Is it necessary? And if I don’t know its source in preparation or manufacturing, can I imagine how it got to the store and how much energy it took to get there. Most of the time, these days, I recognize that I have more than I need. Since I come from a banking background and was on the road in suits a lot, I prefer jeans and T-shirts and the shoeless lifestyle as much as possible. I realized while shopping back in the day, that I was just bored and filling time. Today I realize there are so many other ways I can pass time and help others, either through meditation, yoga practice, direct service or even taking my dogs for a run. I never go out to just shop anymore unless I need something.

How do you find the balance between healthy and unhealthy desire?

The only way to find balance in anything is to overstep those boundaries, whether I have placed those limitations on myself or have bought into something that society has told me that I should observe or ethically uphold. I have and continue to spend time in my own spiritual practice, unearthing my attachment to the teacher of desire. This can come in the form of clothing, food, and how I live in and around my relationships to other people. I at least feel good that I maintain my practice in this area when things go a little off the beam. When things are going well, I continue to practice letting go and share the abundance of good emotions or whatever the universe has sent my way.

Tell us what inspires you, so we can be inspired, too!

Bonfires on the beach at sunset with friends, yoga retreats, running with my dogs, sharing a home cooked meal with old friends and new ones when I’m on the road teaching. My relationship to my husband; after 10 years together he continues to teach and inspire me a lot. Watching people have one of those totally blissed out aha moments in yoga sends me over the edge of inspiration, which is what keeps me going back for more as a student and a teacher. And for this yogi, a source of inspiration is a deep, dark, rich and bold cup of coffee with half & half and honey (right now a strong flat white with honey in Melbourne is winning that race for me). Oh, and Chocolate Caramel Crackle ice cream from Mitchell’s.

Fun facts: 

Favorite pose? Anything arm balancing, really — floating to Crow, floating to Astavakrasana, Tripod Headstand to Astavakrasana, and Tripod Headstand to Koundinyasana A. Favorite color? Blue. Favorite Book? Anything Caroline Myss. Most influential yoga teacher? There are three—Ana Forrest, Tias Little, and everyone that has ever been a part of my life in any way, even the guy at the train station begging for money or food.

5 Poses You Can Do While You Drive

I’m not a huge fan of driving (see Namaste Jackass, 5 Steps to a Calmer Commute). I am both anxious and overly cautious nearly every time I get behind the wheel. I see my life flash before my eyes when cars pull out in front of me. I slam on the brakes way too much. I am meticulous to following traffic rules—I use my turn signal when there’s no one around for miles. Traffic is my enemy. My body stiffens and my shoulders tense and elevate toward my ears.

Last week, I drove 8-10 hours a day for 6 days. But my move from California to South Carolina was somewhat pleasant despite my anxiety about traffic because in my hours on the road I discovered a few new ways to apply my yoga to my driving… I guess you could say I faced my fear, breathed through it, and found new ways to cope with the physical and mental effects of my irrational fears. Score!

Here are a few helpful yoga stretches I discovered that you can do safely while driving (when there’s not a lot of heavy traffic and you are not exceeding the speed limit, of course).

1. Threading the Needle. Keep your left hand on the steering wheel at 10 o’clock. Bring your right arm underneath the left and walk your hand as far toward the back of the car as you can. Use the driver’s side door as a prop to give you leverage and spread your right shoulder blade away from your spine. Repeat on the other side using your passenger seat as your prop.

2. Car Cow Face Pose. Bring one arm up overhead and bend it at the elbow so your hand comes toward the same-side shoulder blade. (Keep the other hand on the steering wheel). Use the back of your seat as a prop to get a deeper stretch. Breathe a lot. Then, do the other side.

3. Shoulder rolls. Roll your shoulders.

4. Check Your Blind Spot. Whenever you need to check your blind spot, turn your head a little more slowly than you normally would and take a deep breath. You’ll get a little neck stretch AND you’ll remember to breathe more often.

5. Half Lotus and Upright Hip Opener. I didn’t find a good way to stretch my right leg while I drove. Even with cruise control on, it just doesn’t seem safe to take your right leg into Lotus while driving (you never know when you might need to slam on your brakes), so I recommend these poses only for your left leg. Do the right when you stop for gas.

Off into the Sunset!

Tomorrow we finally leave for Charleston, South Carolina!! I might not have much time to blog because I’ll be driving 9 hours a day or so.. but I’ll try to take pictures at all the most exciting spots and post them here!

If I could wear pink (the color of a particularly beautiful sunset) from head-to-toe tomorrow, I think I would. As the sun sets on my time as a Californian I am so grateful for all I’ve learned in the last five years but I can’t wait for my new adventure to begin.

Just for fun, here are a few of the things I’ve learned in California:

1. I learned how to be a yoga teacher. This was one of my biggest goals when I moved here for an internship I thought was going to last for 9 months. 🙂

2. An appreciation for Mexican food, and a new favorite fruit—the smooth, mushy, marvelous avocado

3. I can now have an intelligent conversation with successful people. I used to get nervous and say dumb things, but now I know people are just people and we’re all just doing our best.

4. I can now stand on my head, balance my whole weight on my hands, and defy gravity. That’s pretty awesome.

5. Most important of all, I think I’ve learned how to be more compassionate, more patient, and more understanding. (Anyone who’s ever stood in line in one of those Oakland grocery stores on a Sunday knows exactly what I’m talking about!)

Ah-Ha Moment

I used to look at yogis in amazing poses and think to myself, “Wow! I could NEVER do that!” Then, I’d go home later, and try it just to be sure. In the very beginning of my practice, I would feel bad about myself for falling so short. Then, as I learned more about yoga, I learned the art of laughing at myself.

This past weekend, however, I think I reached a new level of understanding when it comes to advanced yoga poses. For the first time I was able to bend over in Prasarita Padottonasana, interlace my fingers, bring them over over my head, and actually touch the floor—all by myself!

This is one of those poses I’d seen pictures of, tried, and failed miserably at many times in the past. And I don’t think my shoulders or hamstrings have opened anymore since a few months ago… I was just lucky enough to work with a teacher who showed me (through a few very awesome physical and verbal adjustments) the trick to getting my hands to the floor. You have to round your spine just a little. This is something I NEVER would’ve figured out on my own without the guidance of my teacher several months ago.

And that, my friends, is why we need yoga teachers. Sure, I learned how to get deeper into a pose. But, more important, was the lesson I learned about the practice months later. The advanced poses are more about developing the know-how and awareness than they are about your body’s abilities. (And they really are within reach if you just have a teacher who will show you.)

I am humbled to have been able to work with such amazing teachers in my years as a yogi… My practice is a testament to their talents, not my own.

Image Source: AshtangaNews.com

Committed to Elizabeth Gilbert

When I was little, I wanted to be just like Lois Lane from The New Adventures of Superman when I grew up, so I studied journalism and became a newspaper reporter. Well, being a newspaper reporter isn’t really so much fun in real life. Teri Hatcher moved on to be a character I don’t have any interest in mimicking on Desperate Housewives. And I needed a new strong, funny writer to look up to. Enter Elizabeth Gilbert.

I want to be Elizabeth Gilbert. Who doesn’t? She’s smart, witty, funny, wrote a wildly successful memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, and she even got to meet Oprah! (I don’t know much about her fashion sense and I’m annoyed as heck that I can’t seem to find her active Twitter account. But that doesn’t change the fact that if I could have dinner with any person alive I’d choose her.)

So when her new book, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, came out I bought the hard cover, which is something I NEVER do. After Eat, Pray, Love, the woman could’ve titled her book Big Pile of Poo and I still would’ve bought the hardcover–and I’d venture to guess thousands of other women yogis would have too. I digress.

So it pains me to say that while there are many things about Committed that I liked, it was missing some of the personality and charisma of Eat, Pray, Love. I learned much by the thorough discussion on marriage in the Western world, and it definitely left me thinking about my own ideas about marriage and my relationship. While there were a few funny personal narratives, most of the book I just kept feeling like I had been magically telleported back to my college days and was reading a text book from a Women’s Lit class.

My assessment: Gilbert found herself (and found love) while she was writing Eat, Pray, Love.. and that just happens to be loads more entertaining than a story about the happily ever after. But that just makes me want to invite her to be my dinner guest even more so I can learn her secrets.

Did you read it? What did you think?

100 People Who Need Yoga

1. Glen Beck
2. Ann Coulter
3. Sarah Palin
4. Bristol Palin
5. Levi… Definitely Levi
6. Barak Obama
7. Michelle Obama
8. Former Presidents of the United States
9. Terrorists
10. Husbands
11. Wives
12. Sisters
13. Brothers
14. Moms
15. Dads
16. Politicians
17. Businessmen
18. Circus Clowns
19. Executives
20. Executive Assistants
21. Yoga Teachers
22. Editors
23. Writers
24. Musicians
25. Body Builders
26. Football Players
27. Pregnant Women
28. Stay-at-Home Moms
29. Working Moms
30. Stay-at-Home Dads
31. Children
32. Dairy Farmers
33. Milk Maids
34. Dog Trainers
35. House Sitters
36. Mailmen
37. Aunts
38. Uncles
39. Nieces
40. Nephews
41. Prison Inmates
42. College Students
43. Nurses
44. Doctors
45. Lawyers
46. Meg Whitman
47. My boss
48. Surgeons
49. Actors
50. Donald Trump
51. Simon Cowell
52. Justin Bieber
53. Beyonce
54. Jay-Z
55. My husband
56. My former college roommate
57. TV producers
58. Cowboys
59. Indians
60. Native Americans
61. Jews
62. Christians
63. Buddhists
64. Hindus
65. Magicians
66. Seamstresses
63. Martha Stewart
64. Florists
65. Dentists
66. Cheerleaders
67. Athletes
68. Runners
69. Ballerinas
70. Makeup Artists
71. Teenage Girls
72. Teenage Boys
73. Parents of Teenagers
74. School Teachers
75. College Professors
76. Swimmers
77. Candle Makers
78. Bloggers
79. Computer Programmers
80. Bankers
81. Retired People
82. Anyone Who Has Ever Had an Injury
83. People with one leg longer than the other.
84. Fat People
85. Skinny People
86. Young People
87. Old People
88. Grumpy People
89. Nice People
90. Pretty People
91. Ugly People
92. Tired People
93. Energetic People
94. People who are moving.
95. Office Workers
96. People who work from home
97. Cyclists
98. Environmentalists
99. Spoiled People
100. YOU!

Who did I miss?

5 Reasons to Do Yoga (When You’re Packing to Move) … (Again)

1. It will help you to yell at your spouse less when he isn’t as careful with your delicate precious heirlooms as you think he should be.

2. No matter how busy you are, you’ll feel better and be more productive in your working hours if you’ve taken at least a few minutes to recenter and recharge.

3. It will help you to remember that nothing in life in permanent—soon all of these boxes will be unpacked and life will be normal again.

4. Doing one task at a time seems a lot more possible after spending a few minutes practicing one pose at a time.

5. The car is in the shop (getting ready for the move), all your dishes are packed away, even your books are out of reach… the normal things you waste your time on are not even a possibility. This is the perfect time for yoga!

About Spoiled Yogi

Erica Rodefer Winters is a yoga teacher who loves helping pregnant and new moms find more balance in life through yoga, meditation, self-care, and humor.

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