Tag Archives: fitness

Spotlight: Michelle Cagan

9 Jan

Hi my blog lovelies- I hope you’re having a great week.  I know the year just started but I feel like my weeks and weekends are getting filled up already.  This weekend is going to be jam packed.  Ravens game, birthday dinner for a friend, hiking (because it’s supposed to be almost 70 degrees!).  Life is good.

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I want to introduce to you my dear friend and fellow yoga teacher Michelle Cagan.  She is not only one of the sweetest and kindest people I know, but she is also a fantastic yoga teacher, spin and Pilates instructor, and a Lululemon Ambassador here in Baltimore.  Here’s my spotlight post on Michelle!

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1.  How does yoga help you to express who you are and who you want to be?

Living a yogic lifestyle has allowed me a greater understanding of how to reach my potential. I simply aspire to live a spiritual life and be the best person that I can be. My biggest inspiration is my family, and I want to be a good example for my children.

michelle32. What important lessons have you learned about yourself through your yoga practice?

Through yoga, I have learned first and foremost that it is ok not to be perfect, and that I NEVER will be. Being awake in the present moment, on and off my mat, is essential to living a most gratifying life.

3. What’s your favorite pose? Why?

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana- One Legged King Pigeon

I enjoy the surrender, stretch and openings of the pose. It typically comes toward the end of the asana practice, and marries the balance of effort and non-effort. Also, the variations are challenging and fun.

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4. What inspires you?

Honesty, kindness, and generosity of spirit are important, but mostly my children inspire me!

5. How did you get into yoga and what made you want to become a yoga teacher?

After practicing on and off for several years, a vigorous power vinyasa flow brought me to a regular practice. My Mother had passed away very suddenly leaving me feeling lost, depressed and extremely confused. After such a huge wake up call that life is precious and fleeting, yoga channeled my energy and feelings toward making my life and my family life better. Yoga improved my life in more ways than words can express and I wanted to share my passion with others through teaching. Being a part of the yoga community allows us to feel that we are not alone and can be there for each other. That is what drew me to teach.

michelle46. How will you incorporate your yoga teaching into your career?

I taught Pilates and Spinning prior to teaching yoga. I believe that teaching yoga is my calling, and now incorporate its teaching in all of my classes.

 

Here’s the list of Michelle’s public classes- She teaches at The MAC and at Charm City Yoga 

Monday

MAC Timonium 930am Spin 60 and 10:45am Pilates

Charm City Yoga Midtown 12:30pm-1:30pm $6 Community Hot Vinyasa

michelle1Tuesday

MAC Timonium 10:30am Vinyasa Flow

Wednesday

9:30am-10:45am Charm City Yoga Pikesville Hot Vinyasa

12:30pm-1:30pm $6 Charm City Yoga Midtown Hot Vinyasa

Thursday

MAC Harbor East 9:30am Spin 45

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Friday

MAC Harbor East 12:15pm-1:15pm Power Vinyasa

Make sure you Like Michelle on Facebook

And she’s also teaching a wonderful heart opening workshop at Charm City on Sunday Februrary 10th.  Click here to register (it’s towards the bottom).

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I hope you enjoyed my interview with Michelle!  I will have one next week for you as I have a few lined up.  If you want to contribute your yoga story or experience please feel free to send me an email at camiekarma@gmail.com.  I’m hoping to have one more post for you this week.  Happy Wednesday!

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Weekend Roundup

21 May Baltimore

HI there- how was your weekend?  I have been going, going going, for about two months now and a break is finally on the horizon!  I’m already thinking about the holiday weekend! My past week has been a whirlwind.  But- this week will be promising with and O’s game, time with friends, yoga teaching and taking, and a few days off!  Woohoo!

I’ve been sipping some juice again.

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The one on the left is kale, cucumber, apple, and carrot.  Pretty tasty.  On the right- courtesy of Trader Joe’s.  Love that place.

I’ve haven’t been juicing a ton because in all honesty- it’s a mess and pain to clean the juicer.  But I am hoping to get some fresh greens this week and make more.  When my work schedule is crazy I tend to ride the caffeine train hard and I have been steadily slowing that down.  Homemade iced half caf with coconut milk is currently my best friend.  So good.

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I’ve also been getting my sweat on.

I wanted to take more gym pics- but I also didn’t want to be one of those people. Lol.

I spent my weekend with my 500 hour ytt’s at Charm City Yoga and as always- it was a great time.  I am teaching in as well as participating in the training and I absolutely love every single person in the group.

And even though I am one of the teachers; it is really helping me figure out what my crutches are as a teacher and what I do as a human being when something is uncomfortable in life (don’t worry this will be another future post!)

(photo source)

picstitch (10)My weekend was topped off with some family time and sadly I didn’t take too many pictures.

This is my dad’s brother and I.  I’ve showed pics of us before and we totally look alike.  Same nose.  Same mouth.  Lol.  My aunt and uncle live in Indianapolis so we don’t seen them often and unfortunately my aunt is dealing with my stressful health issues so it was really fun seeing them.

We laugh, eat food, talk about anything and everything. But I will note that we had horrendous service at Middleton Tavern. I will spare the details, but let’s just say we (the family) might be putting a posting on yelp.

Regardless- wonderful times as always and I miss them already!!!  I definitely am feeling like there is not enough time to spend being with all the people I love.

There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love.  When we are afraid, we pull back from life.  When we are in love, we open to all that life had to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance.  We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all out glory and imperfections.  If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create.  Evolution and all hopes for a better worlds rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.   ~John Lennon

picstitch (13)What are you plans for the week? Here are some tips: drink more water and add some lemon or lime, go to bed early, leave your cell phone in the car when having dinner with a friend, do some yoga on your own at home, put cucumbers on your eyes and lay down with your legs up the wall, call your parents, eat kale, smile, be in the moment, listen.

xox, C

**Don’t forget to check my Events/Trainings/Workshops Page for my 2013 Nicaragua Yoga Retreat, find me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Gmail**

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Hollydaze

15 Nov

006Hey hey- Happy Tuesday! This dreary grey day here pretty much gave me a late start today.  Did that happen to anyone else?  I think my body was not so thrilled with me from the intense zumba bootyshaking that I did last night.  I soo needed it! 

If you belong to the Merritt Athletic Club(downtown location) and are free on Monday’s at 7pm- you should come!  Cynthia is an amazing teacher and you will have fun while working it out!  Great way to start the week!

 

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Yeah…we sweat a lot.  Anyways!

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So I wanted to talk about how to stay sane during the holidays.  As we all know from the millions of holiday commercials on tv, that they are vastly approaching and I don’t even know what I’m contributing to Thanksgiving dinner!

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024I mean look at this- this is Santa’s house that’s already been up in the Inner Harbor for weeks! As exciting as it is- I think that the holidays become more about spending money, buying gifts, and living in a frazzled state until it’s all over.

I already had the panic today when I realized that almost all my weekends leading up to Christmas are full and wanted to find time to have my annual holiday gathering!  And then when I think of the list of gifts I have to get and making the time to do it all always brings on the panic!

During holidays, leisure replaces work as a priority. You are filled with the enthusiasm to explore, travel and learn. So indulge in laziness. Spend time with your loved ones and let your heart dance. ~Roger Bannister

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I know I am not the only one who feels like this.  And after reading Dorry and Tina’s latest blog posts about the holidays- I think it’s important to think about quality instead of quantity.  Every year when we ask my granny what she wants for Christmas it’s always the same response: I don’t need anything.  Just that I get to spend time with my girls (meaning me and M).

treeSo when you’re in the panic of the gifts and the presents and what to make and the traveling, think about what it is that you really love about the holidays.  I love them because it brings people together.  You feel thankful and happy for what you have instead of focusing on what you don’t.

And we all feel the stress of spending money so you can always be creative and print out a picture of you and a friend and give it to them in a frame, hand make a card, bake them something,  knit, sew, make bath salt or sugar scrub (all of these how to’s are all online- just go to Google!)

Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living! ~Amanda Bradley

I think that pretty much sums it up!

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**So how to you stay sane during the holiday season? Are you traveling, cooking, and buying lots of gifts this year?**

Ps- I know all 150+ of you read my blog so I’d love for you to leave a comment!!!  I also wanted to put up more of my old Christmas am pics- but they are of me and the fam in our pjs- lol.  Plus I know my sister wouldn’t like that.

Happy Tuesday!!

Love, C

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All you need

20 Sep

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Hi there- How was your Monday??  Things were pretty good here for a Monday! I taught two classes and took zumba with my sister.  I’m in pain already!!! It’s been months since I booty shaked it and omg- huts so good!! And surprisingly, my foot, knee, and whatever aliments I’ve had feel ok!

cynthia

Speaking of zumba- this is my instructor and she is amazing!!!! No lie.  If you want to dance and shake it and don’t care about the sweat flying in every direction- you must meet Cynthia!!! I take her class at The Merritt’s Downtown Athletic club on Monday’s.  She also teaches at the Canton location as well as other dance studios in the area as she’s a hip hop teacher.  She’s awesome I tell you!

 

 

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There’s the zumba gang!

Here’s a recipe for you!

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I don’t really know what to call this…let’s go with Greek Tuna chickpea salad.

 

 

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Ingredients:

1/2 can tuna drained

Greens of your choice

1/2 cup of chickpeas drained and rinsed (maybe a little less)

Cucumber, tomato, and onion to your liking- chopped

Salt and pepper to taste002

Greek dressing (olive oil, oregano, apple cider vinegar/vinegar, salt, pepper, and you can add a bit of feta cheese)

Mix it all together!! Enjoy!

 

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**Something to think about**

When I was pulling up to the gym tonight- the song All you need is love by the Beatles came on the radio.  I immediately started smiling and of course singing a long.  That song has sentimental meaning to me and one of those is that I grew up listening to the Beatles.  Another is that I got to see LOVE in Las Vegas a few years and that was an experience I will never forget.

love

But it’s really the lyrics that made me think- even after all the hundreds of times I’ve heard the song.

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love. There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done. Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung. Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game It’s easy.

There’s nothing you can make that can’t be made. No one you can save that can’t be saved. Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time – It’s easy.

All you need is love, all you need is love, All you need is love, love, love is all you need. Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love. All you need is love, all you need is love, All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known. Nothing you can see that isn’t shown. Nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be. It’s easy.

All you need is love, all you need is love, All you need is love, love, love is all you need. All you need is love (all together now) All you need is love (everybody) All you need is love, love, love is all you need. ~Lennon and McCartney

I think when you surround yourself in a loving environment- with friends, family, the pets, food, and home(mine is with a lot of warm blankets, scented candles, healthy food, and a lint roller for the cat hair!) that comforts you- at the end of the day you can’t help but feel the LOVE yourself.  Right?  At least that’s how I feel.  Even when you have those bad days or dark moments, you can still take the time at the end of it all to realize that life is precious and that it is GOOD.  We are all given the opportunity to lead blissfully happy and full lives.  You just have to choose to jump in feet first and enjoy it! Because like the song says:

There’s nothing you can make that can’t be made. No one you can save that can’t be saved. Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time – It’s easy. ~John Lennon and Paul McCartney

You just have to be willing to choose love and realize that you don’t only need to give it, but you deserve to have it too. Chase your dreams, achieve your goals, figure out how you want to live your life- for you.  At least that’s what I think.  

Time for me to faceplant into bed!

Love love love, C

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Mishmash

28 Jul

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Hi there- how was your Wednesday?? Things have been way productive over here.  My body has been pleasantly sore from swimming and weight training.  My foot is still kind of swollen so I can’t really do weight bearing activity.  So I’ve gone back to swimming laps for 40 minutes 3 x a week and then I’m doing Gina’s intermediate iron pumping plan.  Let’s just say I feel the burn already. 

 

It was such a gorgeous day today.  The humidity has gone down so it’s been such a nice break. 

So this post is kind of a mishmash of things. 

Here I am post swimming.

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Not my best look- but better than with my bright green swim cap! lol

I’ve still been enjoying these:

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Green smoothie with 1 cup of almond milk, banana, 1 white nectarine, 2 handfuls of spinach, a few strawberries…delish!

 

 

 

After the gym I made Red Pepper and Onion Hummus

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Ingredients: One can of chickpeas drained and rinsed, handful of onion, 1 small red pepper (seeds removed), and I’d say about 1 tbsp (prob a bit less) of olive oil.  Put in the food processor and blend away! Salt and pepper to taste! Yummmmmmmm!

 

 

 

I taught yoga this afternoon and it was such an awesome group of students! It always makes me happy to see the same faces over and over again.  I love dedication!

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Hi ladies!

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Something to think about

I wasn’t really sure what to blog about as I feel like I have really been working on my own goals:

Stop drinking caffeine-I switched to decaf and now I don’t drink any!

Drink more water- CHECK

Start swimming and lifting- CHECK

Go to bed earlier-CHECK

Start networking more-CHECK (hoping to get a guest teaching gig in Philly!!)

Update resume- CHECK

Submit an article for a magazine or online publication- DONE and I will be in Inside Lacrosse Magazine in the next few weeks!

So things are going well and are exciting.  Life is good!

I already talked about swimming and yoga but when I was thinking about my swim session today and after I taught this afternoon, I thought more about awareness. 

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. ~M. Scott Peck

What does it really mean to be aware?  Yes, we are aware of working, working out, eating, drinking, spending time with family and friends etc, but these things become so habitual.  We move through our everyday life and motions without truly being aware of our actions.  Kimberly Wilson always talks about the art of sipping tea; all we do is rush out the door in the am, wet hair, with our to go cups.  When do you really sit down and savor the scent and taste of your tea or coffee? Probably not very often.

I’ve talked about being ok with doing nothing before but I think it’s equally important to be aware of not just our actions but out thoughts as well.  Are you thinking badly about yourself or creating self judgment all the time? How do you react when you get frustrated or have a stressful moment? When I spent some time studying with Baron Baptiste, he addressed the following:

  • Where do we go when we leave our bodies- when we’re upset, sad, etc? We go to the past or our future.
  • We don’t realize we’re checked out until we’re checking back in. And this happens on our yoga mat all the time.
  • When we’re on our own mat we can find energy and lightness and we we’re checked out, there’s monotony or a lacking of awareness.

To think and to be fully alive are the same. ~Hannah Arendt

The important thing to realize is that plateaus happen all the time. We get stuck in ruts and habits. But we need to continue practicing our yoga on and off our mats so that we can become fully aware. And that means to be  aware of our bodies and our minds too.  We always want to resist change, but really we just need to go with it.

So what do you think?

Just remember to be happy, loving, kind, to breathe, be aware and JUST BE YOU!!!

Have a great night and I PROMISE to have a am yoga sequence for you tomorrow (Marybeth I swear!! Smile )

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path. ~Siddhartha Gautama

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**Don’t forget to follow me on twitter and LIKE me on Facebook.**

Xoxo, C

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