We are MOVING!

Hello Lovely Followers of the BloomLetter....

I am excited to say that we are moving! You can find all archives and new blog entries for the BloomLetter at:

WWW.BRITTBSTEELE.COM

Click on the Blog once you get there.

See you soon!


Namaste,
Britt

Just a Little Bit of Love

Just a little bit of Love.... that's my motto this morning. I am sitting at my kitchen counter, drinking a cup of jo. Yes, JO. Getting ready for an iconic, wild and spiritually rich "first moment of the rest of my life". After 10 years of teaching at an amazing facility on the outskirts of Portland, I am moving IN. Not moving ON. Moving IN... This is my last weekend at ClubSport, and the beginning of whatever JUICE is to move through me next....

Sometimes there is the greatest EXPANSION when we let go. I am feeling that in a big way!

I will continue to teach at YogaPearl in NW Portland, pearl district: M and F at 5 pm: Vinyasa Yoga. I am also expanding my offerings online and in retreats and events... there is some DELISH stuff coming your way.

Please stay tuned. Please stay in touch. Visit me in Vernonia often and frequently (seriously).... And be sure to email me if you want to be on my mailing list if you aren't sure if you are currently subscribed.

There is a party coming out in Vernonia for YOU as soon as we are at a place where our beautiful new home and retreat center is ready for guests.... So, be sure to be on my email list so you don't miss the invite.


And, so I will leave you / begin with this:
I came to my email this morning, with a BE-YOU-TIFTUL message from my lovely friend, Gordon... He shared this:

There is ONE great truth on this planet.
Whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do.
When you really want something.
It is because that desire originated in the Soul.
The SOUL of the universe.
It is your mission on Earth.

When you want something.
All the Universe conspires.
In helping you achieve IT.

~ Paulo Coelho


Namaste,
Britt

Taking it ALL In

Om.
Leela, one of the yoga retreat Devis, takes in the long lost sunshine during a break after lunch at the weekend yoga retreat.


Om....
I am just coming off a beautiful yoga retreat with 30+ Devatas (brilliant lights).... and I am reminded of all of the ways that we can "take it all in" even when we are NOT on retreat.

Each time I offer a retreat, we all arrive "buzzing" from the rajas of life. Running here and there, doing this, finishing this, getting that, and so on and so forth. We arrive, and slowly.... but surely.... the "buzz" starts to leave us... We meditate, walk and rest in nature, read, laugh, laugh, and laugh... cry, purge, release. We dance, spin, and gorgeously... we build up a NEW kind of buzz. One that is rich with prana, light, and the nectar of who we really are.

Curious, isn't it? We are searching.... seeking.... longing for "the buzz". But, oh, how we settle for less than the highest vibration. So, how DO we get back to the highest, richest, vibration?

Here are some thoughts:

1. Practice 9 complete rounds of Surya Namaskar every day
2. Eat LIVE, high vibrational foods... no need to overthink it: colorful, fresh, no can openers, no freezers, no additives
3. Sprawl your beautiful self out on the grass whenever possible
4. Average yourself "up"... spend as much time with people who bring your vibration UP UP and AWAY!
5. Love. Love. and when in doubt, Love some more

Take it ALL in.... bring it on, and TRUST that "this too shall pass" and that beneath all the hubbub.... there you shall find yourself... radiant, full of light and life and joy and eternal bliss.

I am light. I am eternal bliss and happiness. I am transformation itself. I am Shiva.

Om Namah....

Namaste,
Britt

April 2011 Events

Reclaiming Your Life

Life places so many responsibilities on us we sometimes go numb, unable to remember who we truly are and how important it is for us to take care of ourselves. If you've hit a plateau, or are hankering to amp u p the "juice" in your life, give yourself a gift and join Britt Bensen Steele for a seven week course designed specifically for women. Re-ignite your creativity, passion, and purpose for life. Gather your sisters, mother, friends, and neighbors... and join in a movement that is sweeping the soul: The journey to reclaim what is yours: your wholeness. It's in everyone of us!

Seven Week Course
Every Wednesday from 10am - 12n
April 27th through June 8th
ClubSport Oregon
$129 members
$139 non-members
Course materials included

Come explore these questions and more:
* How can awaken a more purposeful life?
* How can I increase my zest and pizazz for life??
* How can I live day-to-day with my best qualities in the driver seat?
* How can I hone in on my intuition?
* What is the next step for me to live my life from my most empowered place?

10% discount if purchased with Yoga: Walking the Ancient Path to Wholeness

Meet incredible, like-minded women seeking connection, meaning, support and friendship for living a life that we can all be proud of and thrilled to be living. Life is meant to be lived JUICY!


What people have said about the "Reclaiming Your Life" program:

"This class changed my life! I am amazed by how much I learned!!!"

"... life altering, safe place for meaningful deep growth!"

"We were all freaking out about the class ending.... never would've known what I was missing.... SOOOO glad I took this course!"

"... these women are all friends for life... people I have known for years, I now feel like I have known for lifetimes..."

"She says it ALL! Raw and uncensored--but with such lightness! I LOVE this class!!"

"Britt is a wonderful, kind, and amazing teacher. Her knowledge encompasses not only health, but also wisdom and healing. I am, literally, a different woman."



I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear
Of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
To allow my living to open me,
To make me less afraid,
More accessible.
To loosen my heart
Until it becomes a wing,
A Torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance,
To live so that which came to me as seed
Goes to the next as blossom,
And that which came to me as blossom,
Goes on as fruit

~Dawna Markova

****************************


Yoga: Walking the Ancient Path to Wholeness

Join Britt Bensen Steele for a seven-week, mat practice, exploring the depths of ancient tantric techniques of Yoga and Kriya as taught by Satyananda Saraswati. Go deep in a small group setting, with personalized attention and instruction. Focus on awakening and directing the energy body, relaxation as a key tool for enhancing health, pranayama, and tapping into the richness of the ancient, and often hidden, practices of yoga.

Seven Week Course
All levels welcome
Every Wednesday from 8:30am - 9:45am
April 27th through June 8th
ClubSport
$79 members
$89 non-members

10% discount if purchased with Reclaiming Your Life

Namaste,
Britt

Planting Seeds of Wonder

This photo was taken almost 1 year ago at my annual June Yoga Retreat at Cedar Ridge. Hope to see you there! June 9-12th, 2011. Early Registration is open... a great way to plant seeds of intention that will help you bloom into your fullness this spring.

I remember driving out to have a picnic last summer, on the twisty-turny, sun-kissed road to our property. My friend Heather was in the passenger seat.

She said something that day that stuck with me. She said, "sometimes you plant seeds that are annuals and they come up just once. Sometimes you plant seeds that are perennials and they come up again and again, year after year. But other times, you plant seeds that are bi-annual.. and even though the seeds are planted, and the gestation has begun, you don't get to see the flowers grow for a couple of years. In fact, you have no way of knowing whether they will ever break ground." This stuck with me. Just because I can't observe the fruits of my labor doesn't mean the seeds didn't take... it just means the latency period is longer than... in my case... the season of my patience.

Every seed matters. Every breath. Every thought. Every intentional act of kindness or otherwise. And when we see a little sign along the way reminding us that what we planted is coming to fruition, we best pay attention. This goes for both the beautiful gardens of delight that we plant, if that is the case... and for the weeds of poor lifestyle choices, negativity or complacency that sprout so vigorously that it seems their roots are bound to the belly of the earth.

Look closely at what is evolving in your life. Notice what aligns with who you KNOW yourself to be in the truth of your existence... and look for the little signs along the way, and follow them home. Home to your heart. Home to the vision of what you choose to leave as your mark on this journey. And home to your true nature....


Namaste,
Britt

Retreat Yourself to a Yoga Weekend with Britt

It's that time again! Spring is in the air, and registration is open for the June Yoga Retreat with Britt.

Hope to see you there!

I Feel the Earth Move....

Here's my lovely hunk-a-hunk-a-horse! WHO is your mirror? Or maybe more accurately, who isn't?





So, this morning I had the lyrics "I feel the earth move under my feet... I feel the sky tumblin' down... a tumblin' down" running through my head. Makes sense--considering it is officially springtime. Officially. Not literally, however. But, cellularly? It's true.

My practice this morning undeniably brought with it the "vata" of the season... dry, windy joints. Stiffness and a sense impending change. I love the spring. I love the seasons, actually. They remind me of who I am... part and parcel of nature. Connected to the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space... and the ways in which these elements manifest in my body, and in my life.

Example:
Like most days, I went to the barn yesterday, to clean stalls and groom my most handsome, and only, horse, Indio. He is one hot hunk, that horse. And he feels me... and I love that.

He feels you?

Yep. He feels me.

When I am in a hurry... rushing to get in and get out, take him for a spin, and then launch him back out in to the pasture with the other horses, HIS breath shortens. HE appears agitated. HE even worries more (albeit about whether or not he's on the menu).

So, what does that have to do with the tattvas? The elements of nature?

Well, it's like this: my "wind"... throws him off course. My "air" leads him to feel unsafe, ungrounded, and nervous. My "fire", if I get impatient, awakens his rigidity, and his feet are rigid as if cemented to the ground beneath.

BUT if I am relaxed, breathing deeply and taking grounded, "earthy" steps, he does the same. If I am walking slowly--giving him "space" to breath... Loving on him and just being present, he breathes long and deep and his big, brown eyes open and close soooo sllllowwwwly. He relaxes, softens, and loves me back. Just like that.

I LOVE this! He literally is a mirror. All animals are. In fact, all BEINGS are... reflecting... shining back at us, what we are illuminating, and radiating forth, and whatever we are gripping and holding, we see in those closest to us. Truth is, it is never about them.

So, I like what I learn when he is not relaxed, bent out of shape, and all stiff-throated. I like that he is telling me that I need to relax each time I think he needs to relax.

And the best part of all?

I find myself take pause. And I realize that it isn't an isolated phenomena I experience with my horse. I also experience it with my loved ones. ALL of them.

Example:
When I am with my husband, I'll be darned if the same thing doesn't happens... If he is "stuck", tense, agitated, and stiff? I just better look to myself. Maybe he needs more space and room to breathe... If he is uncertain or weary, I just better look to myself. Maybe he needs to feel my solidity, my "earthiness".

Ahhh, but if he is relaxed, and present, and his big brown eyes open and close slowly... I, too, can look to myself. And HERE is where we become ONE... All of us. Where we connect... breathe... soften... and feel the balance of earth, water, fire, air and space. It is just that simple.

So try this...
Inhale: I am the world.
Exhale: And the world is me.
Inhale: I am the world.
Exhale: And the world is me.

Who's your mirror, Baby? Or more accurately, who isn't?

Happy Springtime!

Namaste,
Britt