Would the girl/boy that you once were be proud of the girl/boy you are now?

In 2010 a 26 year old Elissa found a sealed manila envelope from her smaller self, Little Elissa.

From ages 9-12 this adorable hairy Jewish Sicilian wrote over 50 love notes to her adult self. On the cover she painted a bride, the classic kind that you draw using white-out, with the words, DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 24!, plastered all over. Inside she asked a sea of questions.

Are you happy? Have you gone to Africa? Are you a Missionary? What’s your husband’s name? Is he a doctor? Is life still this magical? Is the world full of love? Is Stephie still your best friend?

Her response: THIS IS AWWWWESOME! Then she did what any grown girl would do. She wrote her back. And then she wrote her again, and again, and again.

As a direct reflection of her questionable organizational skills this OPEN AT 50! YOU’RE FABULOUS envelope went missing. With her to-do list buried under a mountain of papers she put the project aside.

It wasn’t until she met Emi, the 7 year old kindness warrior, that she knew her time capsule letter project would soon be resurrected. Emi’s the type of kid that goes out of her way to fill buckets and it could be argued that one can actually see sunshine burst from her eyes when she giggles. Emi has a lot of young wisdom to share with the world. And even more to offer herself.

Elissa decided that she wanted to share one of her most celebrated adult experiences with Emi. Together these two ladies co-created their own Letter Time-Capsules, one for Big(ger) Elissa to re-discover at 45 and the other for Big Emi to open at 20.

And love letters they did write.

…………………….

Today this is the letter Elissa added.

                                                                                                                                                     April 20, 2014

Dear 45 year old Elissa,

I love you. Thank you for being brave. I love your dreams and I’m so excited to reflect on all of things you’ve accomplished in the past 15 years. Thank you for trying your best.

Wherever you are, please freeze, breathe, and listen. To the birds, your inner voice, your pain, to the neighbors having breakfast. Listen. Tell yourself you are extraordinary. And go.

Do you still drink coffee? I love coffee. The thought of coffee makes me excited. The smell is a whole other story. Despite years of various attempts of quitting, I always went back. Black, with soy milk or half/half, sometimes sugar, it don’t matter… I just love coffee. Well, I suppose it worth noting that I prefer shade grown, free-trade, organic, locally roasted coffee. I realize that this means I have an addiction and that I’m a snob. I’m curious to hear about your coffee habits at 45.

Today I want to remind you of three important things to know.

-It takes less than 1 second after a smile, forced or natural, to make your body feel lighter and happier.  

-It’s easy for people to fear their failures but when you spend time visualizing your successes they actually start to happen. Keep using your imagination to create your reality. It feels good and it’s fun.

-Life is fun. Seriously, don’t take it so seriously.

So much love.

Elissa Cirignotta

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Letter time-capsules are an opportunity to heal, laugh, grow, observe and to reflect. There is room for such great healing through the written word. Within each person lies a space of infinite wisdom. Celebrate your successes, mourn your losses, vent your anger and document your personal journey of evolution through a time-capsule. At age 7, 10, 15, 26, 30, 45, 63, 75, and 97.

Do it! With your kids, students, partner, or your own beautiful self!

Life on Belmont with Greg, Elissa, and Kitten.

I love love. Love inspires me, satiates, and fuels me. The ways in which we as humans are able to experience and feel love is in and of itself a reason to be thankful. Right now I'm at the part of the journey where I get to learn about love with someone I call love. (I also now call him my emergency contact.)

What fun it is, to so intimately share life with another person. Greg is my favorite person. I love his soul. I love his heart. I am completely head over heels for this redbearded Iowa boy. Now, don't get any crazy ideas that we are living this sappy fairy tale love story, because that simply doesn't exist, however what does and can exist is a life of love. And that dear reader, is the purpose of my journey.

On March 29th, Greg and I moved into a little green 1920s bungalow Portland home with 1 closet, a different color paint in every room, a queen size bed (workstation high) that takes up 5/7ths of our bedroom and yellow and red tulips lining the picket fence. It's fabulous! And it's home.

In anticipation of the move, I cried for about 3 days straight. Not out of sadness or out of fear, but mostly as a result of dealing with the emotions that come with change. The ever present constant that we can always count on; change will always change. (That and out of frustration that I had to pack boxes. I refused to fill boxes until the day before the move.)

Jesse and I lived together for 2 years and 8 beautiful months. We ate together, laughed together, listened to each others stories, shared struggles, and celebrations, and created a home of absolute love. He made me feel safe and I couldn't have asked for a better living arrangement. I feel extremely thankful and grateful that I had Jesse and that we were fortunate enough to build and share a home together. He has been present for almost every Portland chapter and has been a constant ear and support. The mourning of our home was inevitable. It was worthy of mourning.
After a few days of crying I decided to shift my focus and begin the practice of embracing the change while focusing on all of the positives. (Why do we sometimes wait so long to do that?)

I am so thankful. I'm thankful for all of the humans that I have crossed paths with. I'm thankful for those that have become my friends, my shamans, my teachers, my students, my family. I'm so thankful for those I've shared homes with and those that continue to be shining bright lights in my life. We are all here to help each other live life to the very fullest.

I'm so thankful for this new chapter to the journey. Bring it on Belmont!

Plus, Jesse still visits and brings me flowers. What more could a girl want?

Dreams, happiness, and other random thoughts.

Part 1:
Do you keep a dream journal? If so, please share your experience. Have you noticed dream patterns? Can/do the thoughts you think prior to sleeping impact your dreams?


Over the course of the last month my dreams have been filled with the journey of flying. At first as I was growing wings I would leap out of trees, feel the complete freedom of having the wind hold me and then gently land on green lush grass. Slowly I began soaring through trees and over tropical islands and snow capped mountains. It was all quite magical. I felt empowered and full of bright light. Many of my friends from afar came to visit in those dreams. There was nothing but love and light beaming from my unconscious.
Last night I dreamt of the zombie apocalypse. I wasn't scared but rather quite invigorated by my drive to live and shine. I crossed rivers, soared over hills, hid in corners, helped strangers, cried, and was always full of hope and adventure. This morning I woke up filled with so much joy and gratitude that I get to live another day! (And without Zombies)

Part 2:
What do you do to practice happiness? What makes you happy? How do you wake up in the morning?

My favorite mornings are those when I wake up smiling. Smiling through my heart and on my face. I stretch open my arms and legs feeling the expansion of my heart as I offer thank-yous! Thank you for another day! Thank you for the sunshine! Thank you for my breath! Thank you for a new opportunity to try again! Thank you for my community. Thank you for my friends, my sisters, my brothers, my garden of babies, my beautiful world. Thank you!

I've fallen so in love with the feeling of waking up happy that before I go to bed I try to settle all the day's challenges and make sure my mind is quiet and settled before I sleep. Obviously there are days when this in itself can feel like a challenge, but I do my best. Everything is better when I choose happiness. My early mornings, my challenging part-time job, my relationship with my amazing boyfriend, my eating choices, the flow of the day, my love of life, my everything.
I started doing something this year that has had a highly positive effect on my thoughts. I say the words "I am extraordinary" everyday. The key (at least for me) is to say it until I believe it. Sometimes it seems like I've said it 78 times and other days it may only be 5. I'm still not completely sure what it means to actually believe those words but I like how it makes me feel.

Part 3:
Also keep going upside down.

Every day is another opportunity to celebrate life. To breathe deeper. To align ourselves with our own truth and then speak it with honor.

Elissa Cirignotta, Writer, Entrepeneur, Kid Yoga Instructor, World Traveler.

For the past 12 years I have had what I thought was an unrequited love affair with Oprah. If I had to guess I'd say that I've written her about dozen, maybe even 18 love letters throughout the years. I have admired, and continue to admire, the message she shares, her charisma, the strength it takes to be such a powerfully influential role model, and the journey she has walked. She has inspired a collective shift in thinking; One that moves from hatred to love.
In Feb of 2011 a friend invited me to go to Chicago. We were going to see Oprah! She had won tickets to one of the final shows of the 25th season. It was spectacular and we were like giddy school girls. Liz wore sequins and I chose a rainbow poncho. We sat in the third row, winked at this idol, and each won a 2 night stay at Cesar's Palace in Vegas along with food and drink vouchers and tickets to Celine Dion. We would have left completely ecstatic, yet the interview for the national radio station following the show's filming was the most delicious icing a cake could have!

We loved our Cesar's Palace stay! Thanks for the love Oprah!

What's a girl to do but keep writing those love letters, right?

I didn't suffer too much of a loss with the end of the show as not owning a television and cable made it hard to keep up with it with any type of consistency. And life goes on.

Later that year I moved to Portland Oregon and I quickly began to make positive changes in my eating and exercise habits. My yoga practice started a few months before the move and I was jogging regularly. During one of my foggy morning jogs I stumbled across a free box full of old Oprah Magazine editions. I grabbed 5 and subsequently went home to start reading. Within a week I had submitted payment for a year subscription that was waiting to be read. I was surprised by how much I loved it. It was inspiring and talked about real life issues with solutions for positive improvements. It was spiritual and pragmatic while also providing an element of entertainment. For the past year I have diligently read every single word (minus the prescription ads) of every month's edition. I have wanted to understand the strategy behind the marketing, the article selections, and all the hows and whos and whys. I dream of being a contributing writer to the magazine and there's no reason for me to stop dreaming now.

On Friday afternoon (January 17, 2014) I was going through my O ritual; I drew a hot bath, poured a cup of tea, lit my candles, saged the bathroom, and relaxed with my magazine and journal. 21 pages in and almost finished with the "We Hear You" section, I completely lost it when I saw MY name. I was in Oprah Magazine! After falling out of the tub and running naked around the house for 30 minutes I cleared space on my phone for a new picture and sent the image to practically everyone I knew! I don't care what anyone says, I'm going to keep on dreaming, because for this Sicilian Jew, the sky is the limit! Thanks for the love Oprah.

 

 

 

 

I am open to all the good and abundance in the Universe. Thank-you life!

365 days Upside Down

I was inspired today to challenge myself in new ways. For the last half a year or so I've been following a handful of incredible internationally known yogis. I watch them practice a variety of beautifully balanced handstands, headstands, and forearm-stands every day. I imagine what it would feel like to be able to put my body in such creative and strong poses. And then all of a sudden it hit me: The only thing stopping me from doing the same is not doing it. This means that today marks the beginning of 365 days Upside down.


Day 1: I'm still needing some support (Thanks Greg) to get both feet up and I need to use the wall. My core must get stronger. We all start somewhere!
Please join me in the evolution of my inversion practice!
#365daysupsidedown

 

 

Day 2: I decided to do some upside down arm strengthening. Jesse and Greg joined in on the fun. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 3: Jesse helped me with my right leg. It just doesn't want to go upside down on its own! I spent 2 seconds without wall support. Getting better! Also I look headless. 

 

 

 

 

Day 4: I first tried to handstand in the grass. I fell. Here's me with my crutch, the wall. Greg helped catch my legs again. I'm looking forward to independent handstands.

 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (Lao Tzu).

 

 

 

Day 5: Greg helped get my legs up the wall. Left leg bends when I kick up which pushes me back down. I'm not over the fear yet. I spent 3ish seconds without wall support. 

 

 

Day 6: I did it! Today marks the day I did my very first solo handstand! January 6, 2014. No help. Still using wall support, but that's ok...it's only day 6! 

Retraction: I did have help. My dear friend Katy Mac gave me some great pointers. She suggested I walk my feet closer to my body, inhale fully, kick up after the next exhale while tightening the core and holding the uddiyana bundha. WaLa! 

Here's a glimpse at Katy's day 6 inversion. I love having a friend join me on this year long challenge!

 

 

Day 7: In one week's time I have become an independent handstander! I can get my body up and hold it away from the wall for up to 4 seconds. How did this happen? I can't wait to see what I can do in the next 358 days. It's more than just an inversion. I'm finding that I'm learning life lessons through this challenge. Keep Practicing guys! 

 #365daysupsidedown #365handstands #iwillhandstand2014 #ilpiantatore #imaginationyoga #happyhandstandprogress 

 

 

 

 

Day 8: Reality check. Couldn't get up. Maybe it was a mental block? The pasta I just devoured? The gloomy day? I tried 3 times before I asked Jesse for help. I resisted every inch of the way up. So I stopped and went into my handstand prep pose. Maybe tomorrow...

 

 

 

 

Day 9: Sometimes it's easy to get up and stay comfortable, secure, and strong. I like being upside. I look for it everyday. 

 

 

 

Day 10: I stopped to have coffee and conversation with Becky and showed her my new skillz. ;) 

 

 

 

Day 11: Greg and I grabbed our coats at the first sign of sunshine and took a quick walk to the park! This was my attempt to transition away from using a wall. Why was this so scary to me???

 

 

Day 15: I can handstand in a skirt! 

Day 18: Today I moved a few inches farther from the wall. I kicked up into a handstand approximately 15 times today. I was feeling pretty bold so I decided to also try my very first tri-pod  headstand. Without any resistance I went straight up and held the pose for a solid 10 seconds. I love this challenge!

 

 

 

Day 21: I'm really enjoying my inversions.  Here's the newest addition to my inversion repertoire. Everyday is brighter and better! 

 

 

 

Day 22: Today I took my biggest step away from the wall. I like knowing its there for support but its becoming less and less scary. Keep practicing. Part of the practice is learning how to fall with grace and ease. #yoga #yogi #yogalife #yogalove ##365daysupsidedown #365handstands #inversion #perseverance #namaste #upsidedown #practicedaily #yogaeverdamday 

Day 24: I tried to work on core strengthening for my daily yoga practice. This is a good prep to help hold the pose longer. 

 

 

 

Day 27: I'm feeling comfortable enough to get playful and try different things upsidedown. I'm excited about this discovery. 

 

 

 

Day 28: Crista, Katy, Jamie, and I took a moment out of our lunch break to handstand together. This week Imagination Yoga is having their annual teacher training. This year it's hosted at Nike! 

Day 31: One month in and I can independently handstand with wall support and forearm headstand away from the wall! This is craziness! Handstanding without the wall is up next! 

Life is beautiful

Learning Gratitude

             

This story has been reposted from http://imaginationyoga.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/learning-gratitude/

 

 

 

 

 

12 years ago, at the age of 18, my family went through a series of painful and life shifting events. Everything in my life felt dark and challenging. My coping strategy became gratitude. It was the only thing that gave me hope. My practice became one that propelled me to continue to move forward.  As I now understand it, gratitude offers us a glimpse of hope and hope inspires optimism.  Combined with other healthy qualities like: physical exercise, eating fresh food and deep breathing, gratitude contributes to a healthy mental atmosphere. And a healthy mental atmosphere is the birthplace of all things bright and beautiful, right? Right!

I began my practice by recording gratitude through photographs. I took and collected photographs of simply anything and everything that made my life seem brighter. Sometimes this was a rock and other days it was a stray cat or sunset. Years later when I was gifted a gratitude journal my practice evolved and grew to cataloging 5 positive experiences a day. This concerted and focused effort lead to more frequent and extended periods of happiness.

Even though I may not have understood exactly how or why it worked, the practice of offering gratitude created a shift within me. Gratitude connects us to each other and to nature. It taps into our creativity and makes us kinder and more compassionate humans. It inevitably transforms us into happier, more positive people. It helps us focus on being present in each moment and notice the small things like: the sound of raindrops, a stranger’s smile, the sun shining through a grove of trees, a thoughtful email, a home cooked meal, a soft pillow and warm bed, and the smell of creosote after a desert rain. It develops within you an appreciation for life.

Science tells us that gratitude has a profound and transformative impact on our health, happiness, energy levels, and longevity. Fortunately there is no age too young to begin this practice. Not only am I ridiculously thankful that I get to be an Imagination Yoga Instructor, I’m equally thankful that Imagination Yoga is a brilliant platform that teaches children how to experience happiness through gratitude, movement, and kindness. 

Each of my yoga classes begins by offering gratitude and ends by practicing self-love. It is my personal belief that gratitude and self-love are closely linked and as we practice one, our understanding of the other grows.  Shakespeare was onto something when it was memorably stated in Hamlet, “To thine own self be true.” At the beginning of class we take time to reflect on one event or person in their day that they are grateful for. After a few weeks of this activity we deepen the practice by adding a why. For example, someone might share, “I’m thankful for Penny because she played with me during recess.” or “I’m thankful that it rained and we had indoor recess because I forgot my coat, and was sad when I thought about missing playing with my friends outside.” The class concludes with each student stating an affirmation such as, “I am creative and a kind friend”.  By practicing both gratitude and self-love in my yoga classes my hope is for each student to intrinsically experience their abundant benefits.  

Some of my sessions are 10 weeks long while others are sporadic, making it difficult to know how this routine can impact each individual, but last week when a 16 year old girl with an Intellectual Disability walked up to me after class and said, “I am beautiful and smart! Thank-you!” my heart overfloweth!

Walk with courage, self-confidence, and faith! Oh, and by the way, the glass is half full.

Story by Elissa Cirignotta

Elissa teaches Imagination Yoga in and around the Portland area.  To find out more about her and her class offerings please check our website www.imaginationyoga.com or e-mail her directly at elissa.cirignotta@imaginationyoga.com   

 

*Ideas for strengthening your child’s gratitude ‘muscle’, in your classroom or home:

• Begin meals and family meetings with a gratitude circle where everyone shares a triumph.
• Teach your kids to savor positive experiences. Have them describe, act out, or share how that experience made them feel.
• Before bed have your children recall three ‘good’ things that happened during the day.
• Model the language! Freely and openly expand your own practice.
• Stop to smell the roses. Literally, stop and smell flowers with your children.
• Write a gratitude letter every month (11 for other people and the last one for themselves), not connected to receiving a gift, but rather for acknowledging and thanking someone for something they did.
• Start a gratitude journal and catalogue daily/weekly experiences.
• Have a gratitude jar in your home or classroom. Let children and adults freely add to the jar, read them aloud at the end of the day/week/month.
• Make a gratitude sunshine (see image) that can be hung in your home or classroom