welcome to the design yogi :)
Click here to follow The Design Yogi on FB
  • Home
  • Interior Design
  • Yoga
  • design.yogi.blog
  • Yoga Dog

Beautiful and Useful...

5/6/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Home Office Storage Idea: Vintage bread box with roll top to hide small desktop supplies, and old metal lockbox for  current files, and painted antique suitcases for older files and miscellaneous items not needed within reach.

"Have nothing in your home you do not believe to be beautiful, or know to be useful." - William Morris, Father of the Arts & Crafts Movement

0 Comments

Look, Worms!

4/29/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
look, worms!
Forgive everyone for everything. Forgiveness is for you. It is what allows you to stay sweet and open in the world. 

Practice forgiveness of yourself too. the yoga mat is a perfect place to explore this. don't be afraid to go inside. 

inside is only good, as Russell Simmons once said. love...



0 Comments

ah ha! I love a little zinger like this! :) xoxo

3/26/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
"...and the fear will fade once you understand that the only thing there is to get from life is the growth that comes from experiencing it." - Michael A. Singer, "The Untethered Soul"







0 Comments

"NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST."                  - J.R.R TOLKIEN

2/26/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Clouds, sea and land somewhere over the Caribbean Sea.
There's Something profoundly Exhilarating and profoundly humbling about travel....to EMBARK ON A JOURNEY. 

THe excitement of an adventure unfolding, or the sparkle of awareness that wafts over you when you realize you are experiencing something you may have never expected, and may never experience again. 

...to allow people, cultures, languages and the beautiful land, sea and sky called earth into our hearts, is a blessing beyond measure...


0 Comments

...and now i shall scatter wildflower seeds

2/11/2013

3 Comments

 
Picture
...flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity. - Edvard Munch

it has been a while since i've had the inspiration to write. i've been tending to my sweetest friend, tucker, in his last days. 

it's interesting to be with a being so evolved, and yet so completely oblivious to technology and gadgetry. 

as usual, he helped teach me something nearly every moment of every day. 

forever in my heart, and all of those hearts he touched. tucker thomas "Bootsie" Bowden...yoga dog.


3 Comments

how do you begin a yoga practice? just begin exactly where you are...sometimes the most difficult part is simply getting on the mat.

1/25/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
My North Florida yoga porch beckons...namaste'
0 Comments

congratulations to my alma mater!

1/13/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
I am honored to have have been a graduate student, and later an adjunct professor, in the department of interior design at florida state university (recently ranked first in the nation by deans and department chairs of 122 colleges across the country). a grand achievement! 

in my time there, the one thing i learned that stays with me more than any other thing is a guideline i use daily in my home and the homes of my clients. a quote by william morris, considered the father of the arts and crafts movement. 

"...have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." 

0 Comments

creativity is contagious, pass it on. - einstein

1/6/2013

2 Comments

 
Picture
"Our House" with printer paper, crayons, tape and holiday lights.
"imagination is the beginning of creation.

You imagine what you desire,
you will what you imagine,
and at last,
you create what you will."
                                       
               -- george bernard shaw



2 Comments

it's all about balance, baby!

12/28/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
ok, feeling overwhelmed by expectations in the new year yet? holy moly, I sure have been! 

I really reveled in it for a few days -- had two (or was it three?) magnificent naps, some dazzling hot baths, then got up, kicked my own butt a little...then rolled up my sleeves and tackled about 20 little tasks that have been stacking up. 

some were as menial as organizing a drawer, others more arty like framing and hanging up these lovely southern landscapes in my new office (gifts from a dear friend several years ago). all of it made me feel happier, more optimistic. step by baby step...

it is true that "motion creates emotion," to paraphrase tony robbins. that said, allowing myself (with the loving support of my husband) to take these days and simply feel sad and overwhelmed, and take naps and hot baths -- without beating myself up for not "accomplishing" something...that was pretty key.

so back in motion i go for now, outside to gather sticks for the fire. then to sit, and rest, and nap again...

0 Comments

moving mindfully, aging gracefully

12/8/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
as a yoga teacher, i see a lot of bodies. we really do come in all shapes and sizes! just this morning, i gratefully instructed fifteen beautiful, imperfect, amazing bodies through an hour long yoga class. they moved mindfully, with grace and determination, finding more strength and weakness than they expected, as it always is with a good yoga practice.

lately, many of these lovely bodies have injured themselves (although not in yoga class), and so collaboratively we work to open and mend the bound or torn bits of ourselves. i especially like to talk with students about what they are discovering about their bodies, and their more subtle habits that may underly their injuries. 

i wonder, are these issues really "age related" as we are often led to believe? although there's something to that, it seems that "old age" (limited strength, mobility, general physical decline) begins to set in most acutely after we are forced to suspend "youthful" activities because we have injured ourselves. and then once we are forced to slow down to recover, we often are unable to get back to the pre-injury health or fitness level. add another injury, and it's nearly impossible for many to make a full recovery.

is it possible that if we moved as mindfully off our yoga mats as we do on them, that many of these injuries could be avoided? i know this is true for me. the last time i injured myself, i was so wrapped up in some inner dialog in  my head, i was completely disconnected from my physical body. i don't believe injuries or accidents are strictly random. if we live out of balance long enough, something's bound to happen. we are given "a wake up call."

using injuries (and even illnesses) as opportunities to remember how to listen to our bodies and reconnect with our deepest, most centered, present selves is the very best we can do...to lessen the chance that we will need another "wake up call."

to move mindfully on the mat and in the world is to honor these marvelous vehicles we call bodies. and the more we can honor and care for them, the better they will serve us and allow us to serve our purpose in the world.

1 Comment
<<Previous
Forward>>

    whoOOO?

    rachel bowden  is a freelance interior designer, using yogic principles to create beautiful, health-promoting, inspiring spaces. click top for more info :) namaste'

    Archives

    September 2014
    June 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All
    2014
    Happiness
    Health
    Homemaking
    Inspiration
    Interior Design
    Meditation
    Nature
    Peace Of Mind
    Save The Planet
    Top Ten
    Wellness
    Yoga

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.