Tuesday, October 19, 2010

How to successfully take a break -

I’m leaving today for a 2 week trip to Africa by way of Dubai. We’re going on Safari and are promised we’ll see the big five. My sense of adventure is high and I feel the need for a break from work. I’m quite well organized as I usually am with a few things to finish up before we board the plane this evening.


I am really looking forward to taking a break from work and from the normal daily grind. I love what I do and am very busy six out of seven days a week with teaching and launching my new book and video but there is a time when you feel tired and ready to let go. I am fortunate that I have the ability to travel around the world which is one of my life long passions.

To successfully take a break you need to let go at some point. There will always be things to do at the last minute and lose ends that don’t get tied as you wish they would be, but you need to surrender and just let it all go until you return. Take a break from it all. Otherwise the stress of getting ready to travel will overwhelm you. Pack early but not too early or you’ll forget what you packed and these days with the airlines you need to pay close attention to the number of bags and the weight.

Cancel the paper, leave the phone message, have the mail collected, call the family, shut down the computer, shut off the lights, turn off the heat, close the door and catch the cab to the airport – I’m off to see the BIG FIVE! That’s what it takes to take a successful break!

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Monday, October 18, 2010

What does it take to live a successful life?

To find the best in others. It is so easy to be critical and complain. It is quite another thing to seek out and focus on the best in other people. This is the path of compassion and understanding. We are all humans with the same human needs, wants, emotions and motivations. When we see each other as simply extensions of ourselves and learn to appreciate both the sameness and the differences, we have the opportunity to experience the best in others. Take a moment and focus on the best thing about a person close to you. What happens when you see this person in the best light? You may experience appreciation and this appreciation may in fact bring appreciation from others back to you. For when we appreciate the best in others it is a reflection that bounces back on us. Finding the best in others is the mark of a truly successful and well balanced soul living a successful life


Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Friday, October 15, 2010

What does it take to successfully wake up in the morning?

First it takes a good night’s sleep and second enthusiasm about the day ahead. There are many theories on what it takes to get a good night’s sleep. Most have to do with avoiding certain foods, alcohol, stress, light and other stimulants. Now I would agree to try and avoid all of the above before bedtime but I would add that sometimes sleep simply eludes us without direct cause.


Yoga has always been a source of relaxation and a good method to help with sleep. Here is an easy yoga technique to help you relax and unwind at the end of the day or when you can’t sleep.

Sit up in a cross leg position or relaxed in a chair but keep the back straight .Bring the heels of the hands together. Make a fist with your left hand leaving the thumb pointing straight up. Cover the left hand with the right hand and bring the thumbs together so they touch and rest against the index finger of the left hand. There will be a hole between your thumbs.

Bring your elbows up against your ribs and forearms are angled up so the hands are about eight inches in front of your mouth. Inhale through the nose and exhale out through puckered lips into the hole between your thumbs Do this for five to ten minutes just before bedtime or if you wake up in the night.

This meditation Chata Chya Kriya will help you to stay young and healthy. And being relaxed, vibrant and healthy makes waking up in the morning a success!

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Thursday, October 14, 2010

What does it take to turn a “bad” day into a success life?

Yesterday morning I taught my yoga class. Before I left I had a slight disagreement with my husband and was feeling a bit ungrounded. I always start the class with some kind of message because yoga is much more than simply the poses and postures. So the message was about how your feeling influences your thoughts and how your thoughts influence the outcome of your day. Get in touch with your feelings, bring quiet balance to your feelings, then balances your thought and those thoughts will bring balance to your life.


The student’s eyes always open wide when I hit a nerve. Everyone can relate to being unbalanced and chaotic feelings that quickly move into unbalanced thoughts. Everyone can understand how those thoughts affect their day. But it is another thing to take the time to quiet the feelings and balance the body-mind through the experience of yoga. Ask yourself; what am I feeling in this moment and how is it affecting my thoughts? What can I do to quiet my mind and bring balance to my life?

And just where do feeling come from anyway? With a little insight you might turn your day into a success.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

What does it take to successfully get rid of a headache?

Sitting at a computer screen intensely concentrating can be the cause of a tension head ache. Ever feel it in your neck creeping up behind your eyes? It’s your body communicating its need to stretch, release and let go. Headaches come and headaches go. We say someone gives us a headache which is a kinder term than saying they are a pain in the A--! Nobody gives you a headache. To successfully get rid of a headache, get up stretch, breathe and smile. Whatever the aggravation or the tension remember it will pass. Better than a pill or a drink five minutes of yoga will successfully get rid of a headache. For a simple tension headache try this; sit quietly and close your eyes, inhale as you raise your shoulders up towards your ears and exhale as you lower them. Do this for one minute to successfully get rid of your headache.


Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A successful Spotting

Last night I came out of a Beverly Hills restaurant and there standing at the valet service was the most interesting man in the world. He was handsome, sophisticated and every bit the part. My step daughter and my husband were as thrilled as me to spot him. After all he is the most interesting man in the world. Now what is it he drinks?


No matter what he does he does it perfectly. Everyone is in awe of him. Everyone knows him and no one knows his name but it doesn’t matter because he is the most interesting man in the world. He’s so cool he even impresses himself. But it’s not his ego – he just is most interesting man in the world.

Aren’t we all interesting in our own right? And isn’t being interesting a matter of attitude? Yesterday someone I know cried to me that she was lonely and that no one would want to be with her. I reminded her that she had plenty to give and that a nice man would see her worth but first she had to believe it herself. We’ve all been in a place where we’ve felt uninteresting and unattractive; sometimes worthless and afraid. How do you account for value when it comes to a human being? Value is found in being and not in the accumulation of money or status.

What makes the most interesting man in the world interesting is that he is full of adventure. He is game for anything and confident that he can master it. Creating adventure in your life whether large or small makes you interesting. So open up and enjoy your life and become the most interesting person you know!

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Monday, October 11, 2010

What does it take to create a successful moment?

Just what is a moment anyway? Webster’s defines it as an indefinitely short amount of time. In Zen the moment is the present now. In my yoga classes every day we practice what is called a Zen moment. We stop close our eyes, locate ourselves on the mat and take in three deep long breathes. The experience teaches us to stop and connect in the present where the reality of life exists. Each moment leads to the next. What we create in a moment determines the next moment. And isn’t the success of life measured by the quality of the consecutive moment of our lives and not the quantitative accumulation of time?


Stop and really connect with the moment – be here right now. Relax and let the moment unfold pure and unadulterated. That’s a successful moment.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Friday, October 08, 2010

Success only in LA

Last night I had dinner with Harrison Ford. No really I did. I didn’t exactly dine with him but I did dine at a table across the room from him. He was there with Callista’s son at the corner table of one of our favorite restaurants. I looked across the room and said to my husband I think that’s Harrison Ford?” I asked the waitress and she said “he dines here about once a week.”


Harrison Ford is only one of many stars I’ve spotted in my neighborhood. I’ve stood next to them in line, said hello as I passed by on the street, seen then at the movies and of course various other restaurants.

I’ve often thought I should keep a log of whom, when and where I spotted a star. However when you live in LA, seeing a star is just an occurrence with a commonly understood sense of etiquette to leave them alone. My biggest regret however is the day I was in a book store standing right next to Dustin Hoffman and I did not say hi. I mean we were shoulder to shoulder!

So does spotting stars make for a successful life? No, but it’s a lot of fun and having fun sure makes for a successful life.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Thursday, October 07, 2010

A Success Life

Everything in life costs more and takes longer. That’s a fact so you always need to provide for a cushion. I’m good at that because I have had to manage my money and my time my whole life. It’s a good skill to learn. If things come too easy too soon you never learn how to manage in difficult times. So a good part of living a successful life is to learn how to endure life’s difficulties without falling apart.


Now as I am being tested through all the various aspects of launching a project I remind myself that this is all part of the process. Every endeavor has pitfalls, changes, problems to solve and decisions to make. Without problems and decisions we would not have much to do with our lives. Things would be quite boring without any challenges.

I realize that if you are struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over your head that you might desire a bit of boringness but if you tackle the problems and the decisions with a clear head and a clear understanding that the mark of success in life is; always provide for a fallback position and if you have your health you can solve any problem life hands you.

What does it take to live a successful life? Get up, put one foot in front of the other and keep on walking.

Doctor Lynn

http://doctorlynn.com

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

What does it take to live a successful life?

Last night I took my daughter and Grandson to dinner. Must say he makes me smile and when I spend time with him the world seems ok. I am very lucky to have two beautiful and very smart Grandsons. They are truly the joy of my life. And as I have written one of the successful things in my life has been to become a Grandmother. They say that is why you have children – to reap the benefits of being a Grandparent because children are a lot of work without a lot of appreciation but well worth the end result.


This morning I got up and receive the following email:

Dear Dr. Lynn,



I used to take your yoga classes at the Total Woman Gym in and at the 24 hour fitness in Sherman Oaks. Yoga has not been the same without you. Thus, unfortunately, I have been away from practicing yoga for some time now and would very much like to start doing yoga again and exercising more. I am writing to find out if you are still teaching yoga in the San Fernando Valley or Los Angeles area. Please let me know if you still are and where I can go. I deeply appreciate you taking the time to get back to me.



Namaste,



Tammy



I can tell you that it is the emails and notes like these that I have received over the years that have made everything I do worthwhile. Money has eluded me most of my life. I’ve always made a living and usually lived quite nice. But it is these notes and the thanks over the years that have truly touched my soul and made me realize that success is not measured in dollars. Truly when you do what you love with passion the money will follow. You will always be taken care of when you give from your heart and your soul.

Back to work editing the book which I will have done this weekend. I need to do a video for Justin and the virtual gym as well s do a you tube Promo. I also need to get the video from Scott and then get it all to Eric for the website. And then the book and video off to Amazon for hard publishing…whew I’m exhausted just writing all this stuff.

The PR agency sent me a proposal for about $1000 more than I want to pay but said they would negotiate so I need to take care of that. There are a lot of last minute decision and pushes I need to make if all of this is going to happen. And of course there is no guarantee but I have the fulfillment from accomplishing this and seeing it through to completion.

Let me share with you a card that one of my students sent me many years ago. I still have it and read it from time to time

She let go, forging a hole through the air, as she screamed past her limitations. And she wrote – thank you for helping  me soar past my limitations. You are a great teacher and a peaceful spirit. I will remember you always and carry you in my heart. Blessings, Heather….and then Heather moved on never to be seen again.

These are the things I need to remember. Perhaps I am not here to make millions but rather to make a few people smile and touch their souls. That’s a successful life.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

What does it take to live a successful life?

Woke up exhausted from a couple of bad dreams and a restless night. My shoulder still hurts and my knee also is still giving a little pain. I’m trying to pace myself so I won’t burn out my body. Some days I feel the aches and pains and other days I just ignore them.


I have a friend who is in her 70’s. She teaches about 8 classes a week and is still going strong. She looks amazing for a woman her age. If she can do it I can certainly keep on going. However one thing I am sure of is that our genetic material determines in many cases the aging, ability and condition of our bodies. We can make things worse by not taking care of ourselves or we can make things better by taking care of ourselves. My friend has good genes. Her father lives to be 101 and was healthy until he died.

I have friends my age that are old women compare to my friend Judy. I admire her get up and go. So I feel a little sad about my aching body today. I want to be 35 and stay 35 for ever but that is not the way life works. The body ages and the mind hopefully gets a little wiser.

My class last night was fun even if I am going in the hole. It’s giving me an opportunity to practice it. I’m thinking about asking one of the gyms if I can teach it as a specialty 6 week class. This would give me an opportunity to get in front of a lot of people and test it out. I hope then to take it to the virtual gym although I know it will take time and be very slow. It sounds good but most people want to get away from the computer and be social in the gym.

I edited over 50 pages of the book yesterday and now have only about 99 to go. I will have it done and meet the deadline of Oct 1st. if I can get the video on line at the same time I’ll be ready to market. I’m not sure how to push it or if all the social media and PR money spent will be money well spent. But what good is something if nobody knows about it? And today there is so much out there. It takes a loud voice to be heard.

So today I’ll edit and then this weekend I’m going to try and do a YouTube video to promote the book and the class. There are days when I ask myself why I am working so hard. I could just be a housewife and shop. But there is something in me that needs to create and needs to work. I can’t imagine ever not doing something that is creative and productive.

Back to work… that’ what it take to live a successful life.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Monday, October 04, 2010

A successful Life - Oct 4th

To appreciate beauty. Beauty they say is in the eyes of the beholder. Beauty is subjective; however beauty can be found in everything depending upon your point of view. There is a saying in yoga that you and you alone bring the beauty to the sunrise and the sunset. It is seen through your eyes. It is not the sunset or the sunrise that is beautiful but your interpretation of it. To interpret life as a wonder of beauty and creativity is to live a successful life because life even in its darkest moments has an element of beauty. Realizing that beauty exist within you; you will see it everywhere. That’s a mark of a successful life.


Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/

Friday, October 01, 2010

What does it take to live a successful life?

It’s Wednesday again and my online class is still not moving but I don’t feel bad because nobody is bringing in the crowds. Its’ a great idea and will take time to take off. I need to focus on the book and the video and the website. After I get back from Africa I’m going to make a bigger push for the online classes because I’m not going to teach in the studio any more. It is too much money with no return. Yoga works, which I bigger than me and has an advertising budget is giving away classes at 10 classes for $10.00. Everyone is hurting and struggling.
Now even though the online classes cost money they are not intended for LA where there are a multitude of gyms, studios and great teachers. It’s for mid America where things are limited. So I need to reach that audience with my book and my exercise class. But I can only focus on one thing at a time.
So tonight I will teach in the studio and hope that I get at least five people which is unlikely. I’ll do it for three more weeks and then focus on the online classes. In the mean time I’ll keep trying.
I am finishing the last editing of the book. He did a great job even if I am now paying him to do it over again after the last editor did a lousy job. When you hire somebody it is so difficult to know if the job will get done on time and professionally. Her intentions were good but her focus was somewhere else and it shows in the work. I thought she may be going through some emotional stuff. Just sensed it. Emotional turmoil will certainly affect everything you do. Studies have shown that emotional maturity and stability is a barometer of success. More than intelligence.
Need to get back to editing and organizing and hope that in time all of my hard work will pay off. Today is just a work day. Lots to do and not a lot of action. The bills are piling up. I need to invest about $ 5,000 more into this project. It needs the final push to make it happen. I’ll just take a deep breath and let it go.
Doctor Lynn