Category Archives: Yoga

10 Yoga Tips from a Seasoned Yogini

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press Anastasia Abboud. Today, Anastasia shares yoga tips and her new release, Tremors Through Time.

Here’s Anastasia!

I know – I absolutely know – that everyone would expect me to talk about gardening. But I’ve had a yoga practice for at least as long as I’ve gardened and done it more regularly – since I was around eight years old, in fact. Over the years, my practiced has ebbed and flowed, but I have continued it. I feel more than comfortable sharing a few tips and will begin with the most obvious.

1. Practice daily. Yoga is meant to be an intrinsic part of one’s daily life. It’s good for mind, body, and soul.

2. By the same token, even if you have a yoga class later in the day or evening, try to begin each day with a morning flow and end with at least a few calming poses at bedtime.

3. Yoga will make you stronger inside and out.

4. You do not have to be “in shape” to practice yoga.

5. Most yoga is Hatha yoga. It is a balanced approach consisting of postures (asanas) and breathing exercises (pranayama).

6. Pranayama techniques can and will come to your rescue in various life situations.

7. I have to say, I can’t think of Power Yoga as yoga. But I do think it’s a great workout based on yoga poses and practices. Just be careful. Like other forms of exercise, it is easy to hurt yourself if you don’t do it correctly.

8. Hot yoga can actually be very relaxing.

9. You can keep your religion and practice yoga. Yoga is all about intention. It does not require you to worship a God other than your own.

10. Last but not least, fold your yoga mat in half before you roll it. Seriously, people!

Tagline

In the infinite vastness of time—past, present, future, past—love prevails.

Blurb

She’s made mistakes and paid the price, but Deidre Chisolm is no quitter. She’ll never again be a fool for a man, not even her gorgeous new neighbor with his haunted eyes and strange accent. She’ll be friendly, but nothing more.

Lachlann has to go back to fourteenth-century Scotland. He can’t forsake his family, his son. But when a beautiful, kind, funny lady buys the house next door, he’s never been so drawn to anyone in his life. Would she believe his story? After years of struggling through nightmares and flashbacks, headaches and illiteracy, dare he ask her to help him return?

Book Links

Amazon | Goodreads | Website | BookBub

Author Bio and Links

For me, playing is the best — playing outdoors in nature or in my garden, experimenting in the kitchen, spending time with those I love. I also enjoy disappearing into a good book, attempting crafts, learning, writing, exploring, discovering. I especially like to mix it up and have yet to perfect any of it; and I’ve come to realize that perfection’s not the point. It’s all wonderfully fun. That’s the point!

I prefer authentic and natural, be it food, lifestyle, people. I passionately enjoy both history and science, and certainly sociology to a degree, and I am most truly a romantic.

My husband and I have been married for over forty years. We reside near Houston, Texas, surrounded by loved ones. We have a blast with our little grandchildren.

I thank God for this wonderful life.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub | LinkedIn | Amazon

My Yoga Practice…Then and Now

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

In late June of 2009, the following newspaper advertisement caught my attention:

Unlimited yoga during the months of July and August for $160

I planned to attend three classes a week and see how I felt by the end of the summer.

I was hooked after the first week.

The classes were small, and the instructors were able to work with me on an individual basis. I test-drove all the instructors and then zeroed in on my favorites: Amy, the social worker from Newfoundland who had completed her training in India; Claudia, the young mother who offered a structured class that appealed to my left-brain tendencies; and Lisa, the quintessential willow.

Continue reading on the Soul Mate Authors blog.

Stepping Out of Time

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

A non-athlete, it took me a while to find a preferred physical activity, but once I discovered yoga, I was hooked.

That was ten years ago.

Since then, I’ve gone off the “yoga wagon” several times—interestingly enough right before prolonged writer’s blocks—but have now settled into a practice that both center and challenges me.

Continue reading on Brenda Whiteside’s post.

Living Well and Opting for Joy – A Centenarian’s Secrets

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Yoga teacher and competitive ballroom dancer Tao Porchon-Lynch turned 100 on August 13, 2018. Just before her birthday, she shared the following seven secrets for aging gracefully:

Secret No. 1: Wake up before the sun. “I wake up before the sun rises because I like to watch it rise,” says Tao Porchon-Lynch.“ By observing nature, I can feel a life force. I look outside my window to the sky and tell myself that this is going to be the best day of my life. Then I’ll often pick up my journal and write something that comes to my mind that’s in my heart.”

Secret No. 2: Be grateful—and optimistic. Tao Porchon-Lynchsays she learned the importance of embodying both of these traits from the time she was a child. “I was raised by my aunt and uncle, and my uncle started every day with, ‘It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?’ Now I do the same, and I do it with a smile. I believe the key to a long life is positive thinking.”

Secret No. 3: Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. When Tao Porchon-Lynch has something to do, she says she does it right away—she never procrastinates. “I don’t want to sit there hoping, wishing, and wasting time,” she says. “I always practice my yoga in the morning and my dancing in the afternoon. This commitment is likely why I’ve received the Guinness World Records for being the oldest yoga teacher and the oldest competitive ballroom dancer.”

Secret No. 4: Remember the true meaning of yoga. “Yoga can be the joy of life, and it’s not just about putting our bodies into specific postures,” she says. “It’s about expressing what comes from inside of you and showing up when you meet other people to create a oneness.”

Secret No. 5: If you see a barrier, try to push past it. Yoga has almost always been a part of Tao Porchon-Lynch’s life. “I was introduced to it when I was seven years old; I wandered to the beach near my childhood home in French India and saw some boys practicing yoga on the sand,” she says. “I followed their movements and I thought that I was learning a new game. That evening I told my aunt about the game, and she explained that it was called yoga and that it was only for boys. This was 1925. I told her that girls can do what boys can do, and by the time I was eight years old, I was on that beach joining the boys during my playtime.”

Secret No. 6: Do what you love. “I became a yoga teacher after friends saw me incorporating yoga into my everyday life and asked to join my practice. What I love most about teaching is seeing a smile come onto someone’s face when they realize that they can do things that they thought were impossible, physically and mentally.”

Secret No. 7: Don’t be afraid to age. “I don’t feel any different now that I’ve turned 100. I’m not even scared. And I’ll never stop practicing yoga—it’s the dance of life! The breath is the breath eternal, which makes all things possible.”

Source: Yoga Journal September 2018



A Love Affair with Yoga

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

A yoga enthusiast, protagonist Gilda Greco loves to share her experiences and extol the many benefits of the practice.

Here’s her story:

During the first forty-nine years of my life, I was content to be the non-athlete in my circle. Well, one of the non-athletes. Several ladies did play golf and one adventurous soul went white water rafting for a week each summer. For the most part, we were content to participate in book clubs, see movies and theater, and attend gallery openings and other cultural events.

All that changed after I won $19 million in Lotto 649 and embarked on a series of travel adventures.

Continue reading on A Holland Reads blog.


A Yoga Oxymoron

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

oxymoronI collect oxymorons—or to be more technically correct, oxymora—and like to pepper my conversations with same difference, random order, and open secret. When I use less common oxymora such as planned spontaneity, controlled chaos, clean dirt, and pontificatory salvos, I enjoy watching the puzzled expressions on the faces of listeners who wonder whether they should laugh or not.

But I was taken aback by the yoga oxymoron that appeared in the pages of my cozy mystery, A Season for Killing Blondes.

Continue reading on the Heroines with Hearts Blog.


A Yoga Oxymoron

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

15529900_sI collect oxymorons—or to be more technically correct, oxymora—and like to pepper my conversations with same difference, random order, and open secret. When I use less common oxymora such as planned spontaneity, controlled chaos, clean dirt, and pontificatory salvos, I enjoy watching the puzzled expressions on the faces of listeners who wonder whether they should laugh or not.

But I was taken aback by the yoga oxymoron that suddenly appeared in the pages of my cozy mystery, A Season for Killing Blondes. While creating a character sketch of Gilda Greco (protagonist), I decided to include her interest in yoga. I had originally intended for yoga instructor Jean Taylor to be a minor character, but she decided to misbehave, and in doing so, found herself embroiled in a murder investigation.

Continue reading on Tracy Weber’s blog.