Krista Lee's mOMents

Holy cow!! I cannot believe 2014 is winding down. Honestly, I am grateful. This year has been challenging for me, both personally and professionally. As I sat in meditation the other day, it dawned on me that despite the uncomfortableness I am sitting with, I can CHOOSE to let it take over, or I can CHOOSE to keep my head up and look ahead at what is next. You all know me.... I am human, I realized that I not only let the pain and suffering sit with me, I was buying it drinks! Damn! So, what's my next step? I SHIFT my attitude. I still recognize the discomfort and it's existence, but I don't want to hang out with it anymore. I've paid my tab, moved off the stool, dusted off the negative soot and started walking toward the light. My divine light. Where I know there is love, peace, joy, safety and gratitude. I know it's there, because I built it. I've done the work, I've broke through layers of old yuck and discovered this bright, shiny, happy life that I D

The best way I know how to teach is through experience. Life has blessed me with my opportunities to learn and grow. Some may call them challenges. Others may call them tragedies. My mom calls them BS. She believes in me so much that she thinks I deserve a life of sunshine, butterflies, unicorns and fairies. I love her to the stars and back! Part of my Gratitude Practice is keeping my perspective on this BS (in honor of Mom, I will refer to it all as such), knowing that if I let myself look at the BS through a victim's eyes, I let the darkness in. I trust that I am only dealt a hand I can deal with. I believe in myself to know that I will survive, THRIVE actually! So, when the BS stacks up and makes my perspective waiver, it is this internal strength, and that of my family and friends, that keeps me on tract. This is the key to my Gratitude Practice. If there is a time where I'm a girl feeling fat, ugly, unsuccessful, or any of that other very human, normal behavior, I k

Almost overnight, the season has changed. Mother Nature is transforming here in the Pacific Northwest, into a wondrous display of vibrant oranges, gold, reds and browns. It truly is magical to be outside, along the Lewis River, watching the leaves fall, the squirrels scurry, and the trees evolve right before your eyes. I was enlightened at the power of transformation during an intense, sweaty run. I was so in tuned to my body, I could feel the muscles flex and relax, the beads of sweat form and release on my skin, my heart pound, and my lungs expand. I went from a good hair and makeup day to a dripping hot mess in less than 30 minutes! So the word transformation was stuck in my head. I thought of how many things in our world transform and evolve on a daily basis. Slightly mind-blowing, honestly. As big as the Universe is, evolving over billions of years, transforming dust into planets, gas into stars, particles to life.... to as small as the skin on our face transforming to new ski

As I lay in bed the other morning, I let my mind wander to all the challenges I have in life. I will be honest, there's a lot on my plate at this point in time. My emotions flooded with sadness, grief, suffering, hurt and defeat. I easily slipped into a "pity party" attitude. I got up, went about my day with a dark cloud lingering over my head. I found myself crying for seemingly no reason a couple times. I kept thinking, "Why is all this happening to me? and How can he do this to me/us?" I found myself back in bed, fully dressed in the late afternoon -- Which is TOTALLY unlike me. Derek came to check on me, just wiped my tears, kissed my forehead and told me he loved me. Then Justin, my 15 year old son, came in and laid right on top of me. I don't know if his 200+ pound body squished the negativity out of me, or what....but right then and there I made up my mind not to let my challenges get the better of me. Literally, sitting right in front of me was jus

There is something to be said for those rare moments when we feel complete balance and equanimity in life. These moments last literally just seconds at times, but they are beautiful. We all are constantly trying to keep the balance between work, family, home, friends, ourselves, etc. Some days it feels like we are being pulled in a hundred different directions, while others seem like there's no direction in life at all. Please know that you are never alone in the adventure. Every single one of us struggles with this challenge. It is a wonderful thing to be awake in life to see when you are "out of whack" or "feeling wonky". Tuning into your feelings about what is going on in your journey gives you direct feedback from your higher power, whoever/whatever that is. Taking just a couple seconds to notice your breathing, pulse, tingles, belly flops, etc. will tell you if you're on the right path. When you need clarification, just ask. It will come to you. Y

Happy Independence Day! Keep your head up and eyes open otherwise you might miss out on something magnificent.

I cannot begin to tell you how awesome this summer has been! I've moved into a freshly renovated home, created flower beds, decorated and organized like a mad woman, and took time to enjoy my friends and family. I am sorry I missed June's newsletter, but I have loved every moment of all my creating! I'm still teaching on Monday evenings at 5:30pm at Yoga Garden, Inc. in Battle Ground. I absolutely love seeing you all there! If you haven't made it to Yoga Garden yet, they have a fantastic special for new students, just $20 for 2 weeks of unlimited yoga! See ya on the mat! There are some of my friends and family who don't truly understand the meaning of manifestation. Rest assured, it's not complicated at all. It's not a yoga, hippy mom thing either. Everyone can practice the magic of manifestation. Some simple tips are: 1. Visualize exactly what you'd like to FEEL like when you achieve your goal of job, car, money, relationship or whatever! 2. Affir

Have you or are you currently waiting for someone or something in your life? Then you will totally relate to this... Inspired by a silly dream I had last night, I write this to remind you all, and myself, that practicing patience is one of the hardest virtues out there. I love that it's called "practicing" patience. It give me permission to mess up and start over again. After all, that's what a practice is about....making mistakes, learning from them and then moving forward with mindfulness. Waiting for someone to do something is like watching the weather. No matter how hard you will the clouds to pass, only Mother Nature has a say in when they will move. The more we focus our energy on the frustration we feel that the clouds aren't moving, that he/she isn't doing what we want, we allow ourselves to be consumed by negativity. And we all know that the Law of Attraction states....like attracts like. So, how do we wait? How do we sit on the sidelines and wa

We all know that life is not always sunshine, butterflies, rainbows and unicorns. Although you can live in that lovely world often, there will be individuals and circumstances which will come into your path and try to rain on your parade. Guess what....? You can't have rainbows without a little rain! So, all those challenging people in your life are a blessing. "How can you say that?", you may ask. I can say it because I have lived it. I am living it right at this moment. Difficult situations and people will forever come and go. With them, they bring an opportunity to GROW!!! I can look at my challenges with trust in myself, faith in the Universe, and love and support from my friends and family and know that everything will be ok. Every hardship has delivered a beautiful gift of a lesson well learned. In the middle of it all, it is quite challenging to remember this positive outlook. I'll be the first to admit that one. But, once you learn this valuable tool and ho

Announcing I am teaching again. Without teachers, the world would have no class!

Oh my.... Where do we start? You know love the moment you are born. Love is trust. Love is contentment. Love is peace. Love is joy. Love is looking into another living things' eyes and connecting on a level that words cannot describe. Ever looked into a baby's eyes? Or a dog? Or really looked into your lover's eyes? That tingly feeling that makes your heart flutter, your belly tighten, your lips smile... That is love. I love my family, my friends, and my boyfriend this way. I love my boys even when they forget to do their chores. I love my friends even when I haven't heard from them in days. I love Derek even when he farts in bed! The love I have for my parents is an amazingly strong bond...words just don't describe it. There is no limit to love when you do so completely. At times Love can be scary. Especially if we've loved and gotten hurt. Never let go of the love you had for those in the past. Remember why you loved them in the first place. Forgive them. An

Wow...It's been an amazing journey to this point. I look back to all the memories, all the inspiring souls that have crossed my path and shake my head in disbelief. I am so very grateful. Life isn't about the things we obtain along our journey, it's about the experiences, connections, feelings and LOVE we share along the way that makes it awesome. I went from having lots of "stuff" to living very simply, and I have never felt more loved, supported or free in my life. Why? you ask... It all starts in the mind. Our thoughts create our reality. When we think positively, we live positively. When we focus our minds on the abundance we desire, we manifest it through the process called Law of Attraction. I will admit that I have struggled with keeping my mind focused. Due to negative experiences, I fell back into old ways of thinking that spiraled downward into a dark hole of despair, victimization, lack of self worth and more ugly than I care to mention. It was a