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Gratitude, Guest Posts, Manifestation Retreats, Manifestation Workshops

Why Every Mom Should Leave Home Sometimes – The Restorative Effect Of My First Yoga Retreat

February 26, 2013

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This blog post is taken from a great site called Do You Yoga. It is only an excerpt. To read the whole thing please click here or below. Nicole Markardt was at my Kripalu retreat. I will be back there again Feb 20-22, 2015!

By Nicole Markardt.

In many respects, I have travelled down the road of tradition in my life. I am a working mother that began creating my family at a fairly young age (by today’s standards). By age 31, I had two beautiful children and a wonderful husband.

While I feel incredibly blessed, the idea of going on a weekend retreat without my family seemed like an impossible feat. That was a far-off idea born in the land of the single woman.

Since discovering, and immersing myself in my Bikram yoga practice, I’ve uncovered a deep passion that resides in me to pursue this journey within. In the last year, I have managed to find the time in my schedule to consistently practice yoga. I began to read more about this ancient spiritual and physical discipline and soon began following other yogi’s that inspire me. I’d been following Jennifer Pastiloff on facebook for quite a while. After reading her amazing essays on manifestation, I was truly inspired.

I read about her -Manifestation Yoga retreat @Kripalu Center for Yoga and Wellness and was instantly intrigued. I discussed this idea with one of my dearest friends, whom I am also incredibly inspired by. Having been to Kripalu before, she was very enthusiastic. I knew that if she and I shared in this together it would surely be memorable. At first, I felt immense guilt. My inner dialogue was full of self-doubt, “can I really leave my children and go away for the weekend?” “Is that self indulgent?” “Am I a ‘bad mother’?”

After much contemplation and I went.

Read the rest here and make sure to leave Nicole a comment!

Why-Every-Mom-Should-Leave-Home-Sometimes-The-Restorative-Effect-Of-My-First-Yoga-Retreat

Join Jen Pastiloff, the founder of The Manifest-Station, in The Berkshires of Western Massachusetts in Feb of 2015 for a weekend on being human. It involves writing and some yoga. In a word: it's magical.

Join Jen Pastiloff, the founder of The Manifest-Station, in The Berkshires of Western Massachusetts in Feb of 2015 for a weekend on being human. It involves writing and some yoga. In a word: it’s magical.

Gratitude, Guest Posts, Manifestation Workshops

Moments by Kate Berlin.

January 29, 2013

So last weekend I led a sold out workshop in Atlanta. One of the girls in the workshop had driven from Tampa! That’s a 7 hour drive, folks. It blew my mind and what blew it even more was conencting with the girl. Her name is Kate Berlin and she is a phenomenal writer. Anyway, send her some love, will ya? Here is her link on Tumblr.

Here’s what she wrote about the experience:

(Moments)

That’s all we have with the people we love. I’m pretty sure I read that somewhere.

Moments are all we ever have. We no longer have the past. We will never hold onto the future. We can’t.

Last weekend was an out of body experience for me. I ran my first 5K and met Jennifer Pastiloff (writer/yoga inspiration) at a Manifestation Workshop led by her. HUGE stuff. Huge. Huge. HUGE. stuff. So incredibly universally huge that I am seriously left speechless by it all.

I am still speechless by it all.

There were tears, many tears, there was laughter, connection, letting go, forgiving, manifesting, conquering. You name it and it was there.

(There were moments)

And at one point during the workshop we had to sit across a partner and state what we were, no excuses, no explanation. Just straight. I am. This is hard for me, because usually ‘I am’ proceeds with, needy. [I am needy], insecure [I am insecure], not worthy [I am not worthy], you will never make it [I will never make it], but there was none of that allowed, so I really had to dig deep, or actually not really, because our magnificent truth is right there at the surface. It’s peeking, itching, anxious to jump out and proclaim who it is!

(Give it a moment)

So I sat there, dismissing my negativity, dismissing the cliche and spoke the truth, the thing that has always lingered at the tip of my tongue, the brink of my heart, but that normally seems too much of an unattainable dream to be truth, yet it is, so I went for it and proclaimed, “I am a writer”

And I sat there, while this absolute stranger stared into my eyes, into me, her eyes probing, seeing what I just stated as it unfolded…

(in that moment nothing else could be more true).

She was looking, past my thinkings of what if; what if she thinks I am nothing I just proclaimed? And there I was, staring back, and the only thing I could think of was that I had to hold onto this moment. I had to never forget this face. This person who is touching every corner of my truth. Who saw me, as I was, and who I saw, as she is.

(hold onto this moment)

She turned out to be a writer also. She wants the same thing I want. She was a reflection of myself. And I could see her thinking the same thing, feeling the same fears. We both want it, badly, we do and as we stared at each other we were both fearful.

“I just proclaimed I am a writer, to a writer, she will see right through me and question my ability to write, like how I question my own ability to be a writer on a daily basis.”

We both write, but which one of us is the writer? As if there is only room for one, when there is room for many. There are moments for everyone.

(hold onto this moment.)

(hold onto this moment tight)

we lifted each other to such heights, there was nothing else there but the truth. Two writers, sharing a space, sharing energy, sharing a dream.

(sharing a moment)

She wants to be on the best-seller list and she will be. I know this. I never once doubted her ability to be a writer, and when the moment was over I hugged her and told her the only truth I knew of her; she is a writer. She is.

She is a writer. And I am a writer. And we both hold onto moments. We will both forever hold onto that one. Where we were nothing but two writers, wanting so bad to have our words be read.

And all I want is a book, a page, a sentence, read and understood. I want to reach out of these words and hold onto the person who reads this. Can you feel it? Do you see this? I understand. [I understand]. I want that.

I want to do, and see, and hear, and feel and I want to write about it.

I want moments, and I want to showcase them forever with the beauty only words know how to.

I want from point A to point B, I want heaven and hell, the ugliness truth holds and the beauty once it sets, I want all those moments and I want to write about it.

Moments make me a writer.

(Moments will forever proclaim me a writer)

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Jennifer Pastiloff, Beauty Hunter, is the founder of The Manifest-Station. Check out jenniferpastiloff.com for all retreat listings and workshops to attend one in a city near you. Next up: South Dakota, NYC, Dallas, Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health, Tuscany. She is also leading a Writing + The Body Retreat with Lidia Yuknavitch Jan 30-Feb 1 in Ojai (sold out) as well as Other Voices Querétaro with Gina Frangello, Emily Rapp, Stacy Berlein, and Rob Roberge. She tweets/instagrams at @jenpastiloff.

Manifestation Workshops, manifesting, Owning It!, Wayne Dyer

What’s Your Miami?

October 8, 2012

What’s Your Miami?

Somewhere between Albuquerque and Flagstaff, headed back to Los Angeles. That’s where I am right now. I get my best writing done on airplanes. Flying back after a weekend of workshops in Miami. It was my first time in Miami, which seems slightly unbelievable being that I am a Jew from Jersey, a fact I attribute our moving to California and then back again like gypsies in search of sustainable weather or a father. Nonetheless, it was my first time and I felt more like I was visiting from some distant country (or Kansas) than L.A. How in awe I was at the balmy weather, at the sky, the view from my friend’s condo, water on all sides. The sky seemed lower, close enough to me that I could reach up and grab a fistful of air if I wanted to. The clouds with their secrets stuffed inside of them and if we waited long enough with our iPhone cameras and Instagrams we could catch the secrets exploding into a million particles of light, raindrops, streaks of purple and pink, golden ambers, all the things that make people click “like” or “share” on a photo.

The moodiness of the place felt like home to me. I recognized how easy it was to one moment be bright and yellow and the next, a misty grey where you couldn’t see the gaudy cruise ships or the lights any longer, just a fine haze with all its edges lost.

And it was hot. It was a whole new world for me, only having been to Florida one other time, last summer, on a road trip with my sister, her husband, their new puppy Timber, and my two nephews. My oldest nephew Blaise has a rare genetic disorder called Prader Will Syndrome and his doctor is in Gainesville at the Univeristy (people drive and fly from all over the world to see her.) We were taking a weekend mini-holiday at a small coastal town a couple hours away from the University called Flagler Beach before heading to Dr. Miller on the way back to Georgia where they live. I sat wedged in the back between Maddock (who hit me almost the whole time) and Blaise and Timber.

It was a long long ride.

The beach town had been cute. It was so different than California and I spent most of the weekend tickled by this difference. The water is so warm! So different than California! It’s so calm! It’s so humid! As if I hadn’t grown up in New Jersey and spent summers down the shore. As if I had never experienced this type of weather or the Atlantic Ocean.

Its easy to forget that our lives are not it. That it doesn’t stop and end with our town, our street, our weather, our children, our problems. I forgot that there was weather outside of California. I forgot that there was another ocean besides the Pacific. I forgot that palm trees actually grew places and weren’t simply placed there as an aesthetic gem. Miami is very different from that sleepy town last summer although I adored that sleepy town and the little local fish restaurant we went to where we ate off paper plates and drank beer. I was also with my nephews and I wouldn’t trade anything for Blaise saying Ocean, Jenny, ocean? And then sitting at the shoreline with him on my lap as he grips me for dear life with that combination of terror and delight children love to feel.

My Miami workshops at Green Monkey went really well.

It was a big step for me. Being flown to a place where I have no “following” per se, to do my thing.

What if no one came? and all the other usual fear based thoughts fought their way to the top of the food chain of my mind.

They came. They loved it.

The biggest deal for me really was the fact that Skye and Sommer Dyer came to my Friday night Karaoke Yoga workshop. They are 2 of the daughters of my beloved teacher, Dr. Wayne Dyer. (Sommer is the one who will be assisting me at my Maui retreat in February and if I can manifest Wayne coming over to talk to my group then I will have accomplished one of my greatest dreams.) Wayne truly changed my life and anyone who has spent any time with me, especially in my classes or workshops, knows how often I quote him and speak of him. I have become friends with his daughters and they drove 1.5 hours to come. It was a little unnerving at first because I quote him all the time so I felt nervous and self-conscious.

That lasted a few moments. Once I start, I get channeled in a way that I don’t pretend to understand and I forget all about who is in the room. My intention becomes clear. Skye is a beautiful singer (if you have ever heard Wayne speak or seen his PBS specials, you have heard her sing.) She sang for us in savasana and it was like one of those moments when you are at once outside of yourself and yet so utterly present at that it is almost unbearable, the surge of emotion a reminder that you are very much alive despite moments of depression or feeling lost or confused or any of the other ways in which we go slack. Its like the feeling you have when you get married, and, I am guessing, when you give birth. Is this my life? and Yes, this is my life! joining in such a way that time stops, your breath catches and you feel solid and essential to the world like soil air.

The workshop on Saturday was lovely as well. I felt really proud of myself. I have taught in Philly and NYC and NJ and sold the workshops out, but Miami? I had one friend there and no students or tribe. Yet, I did it.

I. Did. It.

And they showed up.

One woman, the beautiful Sue, flew from Michigan to take my workshops in Miami. That was a huge moment for me, to acknowledge that. She follows me on Facebook and reads my blog and from that she flew all the way to another state to attend my workshop. I am owning that. I think it can be too easy (for me at least) to own the things about me I don’t like or what I have done “wrong” but when it comes to just being with the fact that someone is moved by me, or thanking me, well, that is as difficult as telling someone just who you are and having them look in your eyes for 3 minutes without speaking or moving. And yes, we do that in my workshops.

So I am looking in the proverbial eye of it all and accepting it. Owning it. Taking responsibility for what I did. This is not a random thing. There is a cause and effect.

I manifested this. By imagining it first and then working toward it, all the while staying true to myself and being authentic.

I wonder how often we don’t realize our own gifts? Or else we do, and we feel we somehow don’t deserve to own them?

I am on a plane heading back and feeling good. I will be back. I feel calmer than I have in a while, less anxiety, more present. Perhaps it has to do with all the travel I had over the last few months and I can sit here and say Wow from 30,000 feet at all I have accomplished. Perhaps because there is no wi-fi in flight. Perhaps its hormones? Who knows? Who cares.

It is terrifying going into the unknown. It really is. I get it.

I was told before going how Miami loved its physical practice, its handstands, its power yoga. Its not that I don’t do that stuff, I do. I slip it in, I use it as a causeway. But it is not what you think of when you think of a Jen Pastiloff class or workshop.

I went anyway and I stayed true to who I was and what I do and they came and they loved it. If I had let my fear sway me I would have cancelled, I would have shirked, I would have changed myself to fit in with the status quo.

I leave you with this as we are about to land and I have to shut my computer:

Where are you playing small?

What is your “Miami?”

What are you scared of?

What are you willing to do anyway?

Where can you go that you have never been before, both literally and in your imagination?

Simplereminders.com are incredible. Check them out. Thanks for this poster of me in Miami!

Looking into someone’s eyes is powerful business. I am ______.

Here are 3 emails I got today from 3 people who attended my Miami workshops: 

Dear Jen, I don’t think I can thank you enough Jen. I would have never thought taking a karaoke yoga workshop could have changed my life that way that it is. I was very hesitant to sign up for the workshop. It was something that initially I didn’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did. I have so many things to be proud of but always searched for the approval of the people that wronged me and never believed in me. I always belittled my accomplishments. I always made excuses. Now I am finally starting to feel free from them. I value myself so much more than I did before I walked into that workshop on Friday. I put on my post-it: LOVE. When I first put it on my post-it I was thinking of manifesting an awesome man to love and love me back. I had it all wrong though. I want to manifest love for myself. Thank you for inspiring me to be my true self without the fear. I wish you nothing but the best! You are a God send and it has been such a blessing for me to have had the chance to meet such an amazing person!

~~~~~~~

Hey Jen ~THANK YOU for yesterday. It was beyond what I thought it would be and it was life transforming, truly. I feel like I woke up today with fresh eyes and a better outlook. It was astonishing to me how much you and the workshop resonated with me. I too have battled depression, its always nice to know I’m not alone. I too ALWAYS say “i’m tired.” Not today! I have literally talked myself out of it, manifesting an abundance of energy 🙂 Yesterday, I posted on the Green Monkey wall ‘happiness.’ Thats what I am manifesting. And our ‘HI-YA!!!’ bit, I was kicking the shit out of fear! Ha! Thank you!

~~

Hi Jennifer, I cannot stop thinking about the workshop you did on Saturday at Green Monkey. It’s amazing how we weren’t supposed to participate but by a twist of fate were able to. There are no coincidences in life. I loved every minute of it. When we were doing the forgiveness/breathing exercise you came up to me and gently placed your hand on my back as if to say “it’s ok to let go”.

I was in the process of forgiving myself for not being the person who I thought I would be in my life right now.

 

Manifestation Workshops, Yoga

Origin Magazine & The Huffington Post.

September 5, 2012

A big day as I get ready to leave for the East Coast for my 3 workshops!

Excited to say that DJ Gina Mooring and my Karaoke Yoga® was featured in the Huffington Post today! Click here to read article. 

I also picked up Origin Magazine for September where I have a whole layout on manifesting on page 50. It is a beautiful magazine. Please check it out. You can get it at Whole Foods, among other places!

 

***Philly Fri. Sep 7th workshop at Dhyana Yoga Old City has 2 spots left

Saturday Sep 8th Karaoke Yoga NYC Pure Yoga East has room. Click here

Sunday Manifestation Workshop at Pure Yoga East has only 2 spots left so act fast! Click here.

Saturday Sep 15th in Los Angeles has 10 spots left.

Here is link with all workshops where you can sign up

To book me for a workshop or Karaoke Yoga please email Barbara@jenniferpastiloff.com

 

Manifestation Workshops

Positively Positive & Other Positive & Holiday Weekend Vibrations.

May 25, 2012

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Dear Manifesters!

My latest just went up on Positively Positive and I would love to hear your comments. Please comment on actual Positively Positive post and not here. I will pick a commenter at random and give away a spot at my Manifestation Workshop June 2 in Santa Monica, too. Here is link. It is a very personal one to me and your support and love mean a tremendous amount to me. I read each and every one of your comments and take them to heart. I love hearing how you all define success. Also, feel free to share if inspired.

Click icon to read and/or comment on article.

https://www.positivelypositive.com/2012/05/24/to-me-success-means-blank/

On a side note, I am teaching a very special candle-lit class this Sunday night at Yogis Anonymous in Santa Monica on 2nd St. I have never taught there and would appreciate the love if you are in town. 8 pm! Candles and deliciousness. If I continue on there, you will be able to see my classes live streamed.

Love you all. Keep manifesting your life, one laugh at a time, and as always, keep me posted on YOU!

Love, Jen

PS, a spot just opened for my Italy retreat July 2-9. Email me if you want to come. One word: MAGIC.

 

Manifestation Workshops

Manifestation Workshop: Remember Who You REALLY Are.

May 17, 2012

“Thank you, Jennifer, for shining your light on mine.” ~Christy Turlington

Just a quick post to let you all know that due to popular demand (ok, a few tweets and Facebook messages) I am doing another Manifestation Yoga® Workshop in Santa Monica on June 2nd at Pop Physique. The last one oversold and sold out fast. You must pre-register here via my paypal https://www.jenniferpastiloff.com/PayPal.html

Here is the event on Facebook.

Click on photo to sign up for workshop.
**Photo by Jimmy Knowles

Join Jen Pastiloff as she brings her signature Manifestation Workshop® to the brand new Pop Physique in Santa Monica! https://popphysique.com/.

The cost is $45 and can be paid via paypal here https://www.jenniferpastiloff.com/PayPal.html or directly to Jennifer. Email Jen jennifer@jenniferpastiloff.com

This will be Jen’s last workshop in LA for until next fall. The last one we did here was a jam packed sold out success so by demand we are back!

Space is limited to 26 people. You must pre-register (we will have a wait list after number 26.)

Prepare to sweat, laugh, twist, open your heart, go upside down, write, sing, dance and manifest your dreams! We will have dance parties on the mat and in the soul!

There will be wine and treats after of course. Please rsvp asap to jennifer@jenniferpastiloff.com.

*****You will also get a Manifestation bracelet and Manifestation tattoo by Conscious Ink when you attend and Manifestation tank tops and tees will be for sale where all $$ goes to Prader Willi Research.

* About Pop Physique: PopPhysique incorporates a ballet barre inspired exercise system into an efficient one hour class set to excellent music that blends ballet, pilates and light weight work into a methodical series of strengthening, isometrics, core shaping and luxuriating stretches. ( there is street parking and a public lot directly across street.)

Click on photo to sign up for workshop. Cost is $45. bring a pen, journal, towel and water. And a big open heart!

Inspiration, Manifestation Workshops

Philadelphia.

April 5, 2012

I was born in Philly.

I spent the first few years of my life there then moved over the bridge to Pennsauken, NJ. Then a lot of stuff happened and my dad died and my mom moved my sister Rachel and I to California to start our lives over. Then a lot of stuff happened and after about 4 years my mom decided she wanted to move back to NJ. Then a lot of stuff happened and when I was 20 my mom and sister moved back to California. I came out a year or so later. The end.

Oh, and my mom dates Neil Diamond after she moves back to California when I am around 21.

A brief history of the Pastiloff family as told by me.

I go back to Philly quite often now and teach at my home studio there: Dhyana Yoga.

It’s a deep connection I have with this city. One filled with sadness and nostalgia and  memories both real and made up. One filled with ghosts and places my father visited and streets he stood on corners of.

In South Philly, back in the day, everyone had a nickname. My dad’s was: Mel the Jew.

Yes, you read right.

My uncle, who isn’t really my uncle at all, was Johnny Boy. He is still called that by many.

I walk around the city and imagine Mel the Jew with a cigarette hanging from his lips and wonder what he would think about what I am doing now.

Tonight in L.A., as my whole class laughed at something I said, something corny, a small part of me high-fived my dad in Heaven because he would be so proud. He would be most proud of my sense of humor and my ability to connect with others. He wouldn’t care about much else.

He might care that I married a Jew, which I didn’t.

No harm no foul, right?

Part of my reason for going back to Philly is to stay connected to my father.

This past workshop in Philly at Dhyana was oversold. It was mat to mat to mat.

I really felt like I had come home.

I booked a photo shoot with my talented friend Joe Longo. We drove to Philly from NJ before my workshop and landed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

I used to watch Rocky with my dad. The same dad, Mel the Jew dad who made me memorize each city’s hockey team. The same dad who mooned people at holiday parties.

I stood on the steps of the museum with Joe and I looked out at this city of my father’s and felt a deep ache for him, for all the years I missed with him, for how different I think my life would be. I realized how far I have come as I looked out at at this city with different eyes.

My eyes are the same, come on now.

It’s a metaphor.

I see the world through different eyes now, through a different lens than I used to when I actually lived here. I used to be scared, sad and depressed. I looked down from the steps of the Museum and felt good, I felt happy in my skin and my body and although I missed my dad and what may have been, I felt confident that I was actually where I was meant to be.

A feeling I had never had before.

I did this shoot for my dad.

I wanted to lay in the grass he walked in. I wanted to stand on the sidewalks he knew. The buildings he leaned against I wanted to touch.

Here I am in Philadelphia, the city of my birth, the city of my father (and mother’s) birth.

I have come home.

Does that mean I will stay?

No. It means I can always come back and feel this connection.

Joe immortalized it for me.

There are well over 120 shots so I will just add a few.

We had a blast!

Of course I am wearing my favorite Tanya-b clothes in the pics. I am an Urban Legend for Tanya-b and I live in her clothes. Check the site out here.

And of course the tattoos I wear are from Conscious Ink where I am “Ambassador of The Ink.”

To book a shoot with Joe Longo please contact him here.

joelongophotography.photoshelter.com

I will be back at Dhyana Yoga in a few months so stay tuned to my blog.

Guest Posts, Manifestation Workshops

What My Manifestation Workshop Is Like.

April 3, 2012

It’s very hard for me to describe my workshop.

It’s NOT a “yoga” workshop.

Someone just wrote this blog about my workshop on Sunday in NYC at PURE YOGA WEST so I thought I’d share to give you a glimpse of what it is and the effect it had on someone. To say I am touched would be an understatement.

This week’s theme is ” I take responsibility for ______” especially your own awesomeness.

I take responsibility for being me, sure. Yea. I take responsibility for that part.

But beyond that, the lovely gal who wrote this, Dana Jacoviello, must take responsibility for all she is and all she has done. I didn’t do anything.

I just showed up.

It’s all her.

Here’s the post:

My Manifestation Workshop with Jennifer Pastiloff!

 
Lets Talk About It – From NYC w/Dana J.

I can’t begin to express what Jennifer Pastiloff’s Manifestation workshop did for me right at a time when I needed it, but I will because I am a writer and that is what I do. If you would have asked me the other day if I was writing or doing much of anything, I would have to say that was a big NADA! The past month and a half for me has been nothing but one thing after the other. So much sad news on top of other stress factors is just too much in a very short period of a time. I was feeling extremely lost, stressed, and overwhelmed with so much anxiety, anger, and frustration. There were times I felt like a volcano about to erupt at any given moment. I knew there would be that one thing that just set me off and that would be it.

Suffering one loss and than another MAJOR loss changed me for a moment in time. The most heart breaking of all was losing one of my most favorite people in the world. My grandmother was a big piece of me as I was her. Talking to her always made everything seem ok. When she got sick that is when I knew that our time would be over soon. It was something I had to come to terms with quickly as it happened faster than I expected. It was as if something punched me in my heart and made a hole.

Anyway, this was all happening after a friend and I had made plans to go to Jennifer Pastiloff’s Manifestation Workshop in NYC at Pure Yoga. This was something I was greatly looking forward to as Jennifer and I connected awhile back through social media. She was a friend I couldn’t wait to meet and also experience her amazing workshops and classes I heard so much about. She was coming to New York, and I did not want to miss seeing her again as I did the last time. I knew by the time I got out to LA it would be awhile, but was I up to it being in the place that I was? The answer was at first no! I wrestled with the fact should I go or wait until next time. At that moment I realized how often we say those words and later possibly regret the decision. This is much like saying your going to go visit someone and never do until it is too late. Yes, these are two different arenas but with the same principle in mind.

All smiles and fun!

Jennifer’s blog is very inspiring and real. She does not hold back much like myself :0). I love that about her. I am always pulled into people I feel that type of connection with. Of course we want to have people in our life we can relate to or have things in common with, but what it is really about is just a simple connection! Seriously look up her many accomplishments and sites. She also is a contributor on other sites such as Positively Positive, which is just positively fabulous. Jennifer also has shirts and bracelets she sells, which you can find information on through her sites. All proceeds go towards a charity very close to Jennifer’s heart, which is called Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Look it up, get involved, donate, and do what you can. Anything is always something.

Anyway, as I was saying, this workshop blew my mind. It was so much more. I did not go there for yoga, but a connection. I felt I NEEDED to go for that purpose alone. I am so glad that I made the decision to go. It was one of the most enlightening experiences I have had in my life in a long time. My faith gets me through everything in life; however, I think it is important to have several outlets. The more positive you can put into your life the better. Jennifer’s workshop certainly put that into perspective for me. I sat there in awe of her. I might have a similar calling, but it is often hard to do it for yourself. It is much like a therapist going to see a therapist. We all need people in our lives like this, because we can’t do it alone.

One of the many inspirational moments during this class!

I laughed so hard for the first time since my life became a whirlwind of mixed emotions. I can’t fully convey what it was like to be in her workshop. All I can say is look her up and experience it for yourself when you get the chance. She travels all over, so it’s not like you necessarily have to fly to LA. Two hours of pure thought, feeling, emotions, meditation, and yoga. She posed several questions and thoughts to me that I could have written a novel about at the time. See below:

1. I AM…(As in finish this sentence)
2. Who would I be if nobody told me? (This was a question I never asked myself. Why? Well, because I was always concerned of what others wanted to be or what I was expected to be)
3. Things that bring me joy…(List what makes you jump for joy)
4. If I wasn’t afraid I would…(How many of us really think about this question that would REALLY makes us think about our lives)
5. Dear sixteen year old me…(Oh how some of us could answer this question. I am sure all of us would have plenty to say to our teenage selves. Very deep question)
6. I feel fear when…(Here is another most of never really think about. How often do we analyze our fears without just moving past them rather than dealing with them?)
7. Where does fear stop me in my life…(How often do we not do something because we are afraid of the what, why, where, when, and how?)
8. I take responsibility for…(Exactly what it say. How often do we make excuses?)
9. My calling is…(What do you feel you are meant to be or do?)
10. I forgive blank for blank…(Who do you forgive and for what? Often we believe we have forgiven and in reality we have not)
11. I forgive myself for…(This is GOOD one because we are so busy forgiving others we forget about ourselves. We deserve forgiveness just as much as the next person)

Now, really marinate on these questions. They are not just for people who participate in yoga. These are life changing questions that most of us probably never think about. I know I haven’t, but it was not until her class that I focused on them in detail. I usually just sweep it under the rug until it would creep back up. When we were in complete darkness at one point, which is where I feel I have been lately, she came to me and laid her hands on me. I felt the love she exudes, her big heart, and her compassion. At that very moment I knew I was supposed to be there. Everything happens for a reason. We connect to people we are meant to connect with and have in our lives.

You might find a completely new and different path. You have no idea how simple questions we put on paper can change our direction in life. It can open your heart. Many think it might be silly or yoga is for stereotypes, but it is not. Jennifer is unorthodox, but in a AWESOME way. It is not just an hour or two of this pose and that pose. She really delves into each of her students and the class as a whole. It is about dancing, laughing, crying, and whatever other emotion you want to show. She plays incredible music that just magically goes along with each moment. Each song she played meant something to me as I use music an outlet at times. It was so incredible for me. I felt as if I was dreaming what was happening to me. She lets you go with whatever you are feeling. If you can’t do something, than do whatever it is you need to do. You can write, take a break, or choose to do your ow thing. Nothing is forced on you.

Again, I can’t stress enough how it is more than yoga for her. It is about connecting. She wants to connect with each person she comes into contact with or leave a mark. She is and represents what she wants and who she wants to be, which is love, inspiration, compassion, joy, and so much more. She stands for many things. She says what she believes in, and she makes you laugh as well, which is the best medicine anybody could give. You might think you go in just for yoga, but you walk away with a gift.

More Yoga fun! 😀
Don’t laugh because that is what I was doing when I fell from my pose! *giggles*

Everything I participated in was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! As I said already, it is hard to put into exact words. I fully opened my heart for the first time in awhile. I felt it open, because the pain I felt while it was closed was at times unbearable. The smile on my face that I walked out with was big and bright.

LOVE IT!
From pain to healing. From start to finish. Life goes on if you allow it!

Later in the class Jennifer said something to me that caught me off guard in a good way. It doesn’t matter what she said because she knows, but for me it meant something. It is truly amazing when certain moments like those happen in our life. It just reaffirms the connection.

I felt so free and and relaxed during and after the class. I still feel her words, and I embrace everything I learned. The light I needed I found along with myself. I walked out with so much more than I expected. Not that I expected anything less, because I  already knew what she was capable of. It is almost like flying when you walk out of her class. I only wish I could be a full time student. Maybe one day? You never know what life brings you. Her manifestation is all about that. Put it on a board, create it in your mind, or say it in the mirror everyday. She creates her goals and her life. There are no hand outs. Manifest what you want, pray, and you shall receive all in good time when it is right. That is what it is all about. In her class she reveals things about herself and her own life as well. She teaches and learns at the same time. You will find some just teach. Jennifer is adorable is so many ways. I thought I adored her before, but she more than confirmed those feelings.

I can write a short story on this experience and life her up in so many ways; however, it would not do her justice. She builds relationships with amazing people and just reaches out. Though, she is not one to reach out without telling you to reach out as well. It is a two way street with her. I know if I needed a friend she is one of those friends and people out there that would reach right back in an instant. There are no excuses…just action!

I asked her before I went to her workshop to rock my world. I needed her to do something for me that most would consider a heavy responsibility. She never said I can’t or I don’t want to. She said I WILL! I felt like I put a bit of pressure on her, but of course she knows I was playing around with her. Well, you know what I have to say about that? She took it completely serious and did it.

Ahhhhhhhh…I can’t stop writing. This is what she did. My writing was completely blocked before her class. I barely opened my computer. Now, I am back to work on my script, my book, and my blog. I am ready and willing to go for my dreams. I am ready for anything! We all are in negatives places at times. She does stress that about us and herself, but we have to find a way out of that tunnel. She does not preach happy happy joy joy every moment in our lives, but she does preach that something good comes out of things we feel are bad. I do the same.

Take note: She blogs about and discusses her being hearing impaired, but she does not let that stop her from living life to the fullest. Don’t let an ailment control you or your life. Find a way to CONTROL IT, ACCEPT IT, MAKE IT A PART OF YOU, EMBRACE IT, AND RELEASE IT.I AM FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE….FREEEEEEEEEEE FALLINNNNNNG! 😀

Look her up, follow her on Twitter, look her up on Facebook, check her sites out because she is one to keep an eye on. She is going to blow the scene up!

So much love for Jennifer Pastiloff aka ManifestYogaJen!

Be grateful! Everyday is a blessing!

“Own your awesomeness” – Jennifer Pastiloff