Pilates Challenge!

Hello!

Pilates Challenge

As many of you know I teach Pilates at Los Volcances Senior Center. It is a ton of fun to teach and I love growing and expanding my knowledge.

I have been teaching Pilates now for 8 years. I remember the first time I taught at Los Volcanes. I was so nervous. I rehearsed my class at least three times, and I was shaking when I taught it. Since starting teaching Pilates, I have become a certified Personal Trainer and taught at over 20 different studios all over Albuquerque.

I am so lucky that my journey has brought me here. Teaching Pilates is something I absolutely love. I love reading the room, and trying different things, I love the feedback from students. I love the joy when people get stronger, I love when students feel encouraged and healthier. I am so thankful for the friendships I have built.

I am an avid traveler and usually I take large chunks of the year visiting other places. This is hard to do when you teach a class and your income is tied to how often you teach, constantly missing means less students. I strive to always teach, regardless of my mood, or if I am having a bad day. Pilates always makes me feel better. So since I am going on a trip I have Pilates virtually for free for everyone!

If you have ever wanted to take my class or you’re interested in trying Pilates, I have you covered!

Here is a list of all the Videos!

If you want to learn more Pilates and support me, download my Pilates guide to engaging your core HERE

First class- gently get into it
How to modify and know when you need to!

Week Two

This class is actually on my birthday! Celebrate with me!

https://youtu.be/UfCa40j9ojs

Week Three

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc1nX3FOydY

Week Four

https://youtu.be/y1MsNyJ9-GE

https://youtu.be/LsF3pmsM7_Q

Week Five

https://youtu.be/vCoyQD9_1m0

Tarot Tuesday – Reading for 2022

I have been wanting to do a year reading but I have been putting it off 🙁 I am not sure why. Tarot always makes me feel better. I think I was just waiting until I felt more settled after the move but honestly. BLAH. I dont think i will ever feel settled. I was doing some googling for my Black Cat Tarot Guide. I was debating having a section in the book on different tarot spreads. So I was google different tarot spread just to see what information was already out there. I found this article on Biddy and I was like do a reading right now. 

I have been super anxious. I have a whole new living situation at home. My boyfriend and I moved into a house and got a roommate. I have not been very good at setting boundaries and my avoidant personality has lead me to be like well ignore this. But the situation hasnt gotten better by ignoring it and honestly I need to suck it up and set some firm boundries. But its hard. I feel a little crazy for standing up for myself. I feel like its bringing up a lot of past trauma for me. 

So I just got the Happy Halloween Tarot which just had a banging successful kickstarter! And I love this deck and I was thinking I cant wait to do readings with it. So why not do a reading right now!?

So here we go:

Card 1: 6 of swords (previous year in summary)

Card 2: Queen of wands (What I learned from last year)

Card 3: 2 of wands (Aspirations for the next 12 months)

Card 4: 8 of swords (what impowers me to achieve aspirations)

Card 5: king of swords ( what stands in the way)

Card 6: 7 of pentacles (emotions) 

Card 7: knight of swords (Career)

Card 8: king of cups (health)

Card 9: 9 of swords (spirit)

Card 10: death (focus)

Card 11: two of cups  (most important lesson)

Card 12: queen of cups (where this year is headed)

For Cards 1 & 2 These are the energies I carry from last year; These are the energies that are passing out of my life and what I can carry forward with me into the new year. I have realized lately that I really need to let go. Life is filled with moments when we are going to be forced into letting go of things that we have become attached to. Maybe for me it’s my boyfriend and I living together as a pair. We are not a pair now we are a tricycle. We share a house with another person our two person dynamic must change. This will be challenging. The Six of Swords shows the sadness that we may be feeling, but we have to remember that the pain will not last, so we should look instead to the future for strength. We will have to go thru hard things to become stronger. And tho I often feel strong enough I must keep a growth mindset.

For Card number two the lesson to remember is patience. the Queen of wands signifies that we are planning to accomplish a significant amount of achievement in just a small amount of time. Generally speaking, in terms of my career, things are looking pretty good. I just had a successful kickstarter and I am about to launch a bunch of projects. Including a online course and a podcast. The Queen of Wands meaning may pertain to a spiritual hunger, a quest, or a search for meaning. And all thru this process of growth recently, I feel most happy when I align with my purpose. I want to help people. And as a personal trainer I only have so many hours in the day. And designing a course allows more people to benefit from my knowledge and hopefully gain insights into their life to be healthier and happier!

Card 3 looks at my aspirations for the year ahead and what it is I truly want to achieve. A Minor Arcana card may indicate what actual endeavours you want to accomplish. The Two of Wands is a more mature version of the ace of wands, meaning that that this card is all about planning and moving forward – progression. That’s what I need to focus on is progress forward! I have already set out to achieve a particular task, which means I have turned an idea into a realistic plan. Such a plan will require fulfillment and therefore you have to progress from just having the plan to actually achieving what you set out for. I have to do the things now. It is not merely enough to simply have the plan now I must take action. For some reason this fills me with such hope. I feel really good about my career. I am back in school, I am finally making money with my art. It’s almost like the only issue in my life now is setting boundaries in relationships. Discovery is huge with this card and I definitely feel it within myself.  This is because it means that you are stepping out of your cocoon and exploring new experiences and worlds. While the beginning might seem tough and difficult, the Two of Wands card encourages us to strive on and push forward.

For Cards 4 & 5 we look at what will empower us and challenge us as we work towards our aspirations. What energy can you harness to make the most of the year ahead? What energy may potentially stand in your way? By understanding the challenges, you can plan ahead and deal with potential issues as they arise, rather than having them take you by surprise.

I guess my whole life I have strived in the struggle. I was kind of bummed when I drew the  Eight of Swords. This card to me, represents feeling trapped, confined, restricted or backed into a corner or having your hands tied. Not a good feeling at all. It signifies fear, terror, anxiety and psychological issues. It is a Minor Arcana card of hopelessness, helplessness, powerlessness, slavery, persecution and being silenced or censored. I think I often feel that way in my current living situation. I wasn’t totally on board moving and now it feels like a lot of change at once. And honestly it doesn’t feel like I have much options.  I have been feeling the pressure and I feel in crisis. I have to remember and believe in my own power to control my situation because the overall theme of this card is that you are the one keeping yourself in this situation through negative thinking and allowing yourself to be paralysed by fear. I have been trying to run and avoid rather than poking the bear and starting the path towards healing. The longer you run, the farther away healing is. The swords depicted in the card are surrounding you but you can take the blindfold off and walk away at any time! I must remember my own power… This card also represents consequences and judgment which may take the form of trial by jury, imprisonment and punishment.  I often judge myself and perhaps I need to remember more grace for myself. 

What energy can you harness to make the most of the year ahead? What energy may potentially stand in your way?When I am in a negative headspace not remember my power I need to have safe guards in place to prevent myself from spiraling. My panick attacks have been out of control. The King of Swords appearing suggests that I should remain objective in my current situation – I must establish truth by sticking to the facts. The King of Swords and his intellectual power implies that you will need to use your intellect to make your point known and attain your goals. Besides your experience and education, you should be sharp and observant, to see deeply into problems that come your way. I need to remember and believe in my own power!

Cards 6 to 9 focus on the key areas in my life and what I can expect in each. 

7 of pentacles (emotions) 

knight of swords (Career)

king of cups (health)

9 of swords (spirit)

I have yet to draw a major Arcana in this reading, but I feel the most powerful card in this  collection is the King of Cups. In a health context, the King of Cups can indicate healing and as such, is a positive card to get. I usually view this card as a positive.  It reminds us to treat ourselves with empathy and kindness. I do feel emotionally positive about your health. I have found real healing with movement and exercise and I am so thankful for what my body can do. I have been running more, although I have not run since sunday which is a bummer. But I had been running more and rock climbing and I feel like this has helped me focus more on myself. I am looking at doing a bikini competition and maybe this is my sign! 

When I think of The King of Cups, for me it is a card all about emotional maturity and signifies growing into a more balanced and responsible person. It’s like being the adult in the room. If this cards shows up, you are entering an era where you will be more aware of how your actions affect you and those around you. This awareness helps you to see a situation with compassion and nuance and act accordingly. I have let others needs always come before my own but that isnt good. I have to take care of myself. I much make sure I am giving from a cup that is full. When you are faced with difficult situation, this card encourages you to act like the King. Rather than giving in to your first hot-tempered instinct, pause, observe, and then react more carefully and productively. I am trying to do that currently. I was very upset by an interaction with my roommate, and i felt like I just snapped. So I just left the situation. I knew I couldn’t react with her in a reasonable way so i essentially left the room. I really miss my cat tho and do want to go home. I just wasnt comfortable or calm enough to set boundaries in that moment. Although I should have set boundaries sooner so we wouldnt have gotten here, but at least I am learning. 

On to emotions! I have always felt not in control of my emotions until recently I have realized I am such an empath that when other people dont have control over their emotions I really really feel them I drew the Seven of Pentacles. Which is probably my favorite card in this deck! Black cats!!! Yay! Anyway this card relates to investment and effort. It follows the Six of Pentacles which refers to the end of financial or material hardship. If you have been putting in time and effort in your work, it signifies that your efforts are paying off and they are going to pay off in the future as well. For relationships to work you have to invest time an energy into them. If you are looking to invest, the Seven of Pentacles suggests that you are ready to put in a lot of effort, time and work into whatever you want to achieve. It means hard work ahead.  It reaffirms you of your long-term vision and helps to show that you are not confined to seeing results in the short term only. It shows how much you value the investment because of the effort that you are willing to put in.

For career which I feel like I am doing the best at currently I drew  The Knight of Swords…. This suggests that I have been quick to take action and tend not to plan ahead, instead preferring to dive right in. I am a diver for sure. Should I go back to school? I immediately signed up for 3 STEM classes. What?! I am crazy. I thrive on high levels of energy that propel you forward and inspire me  to take action to manifest your goals. I am such a doer. If I write something on my todo list I do it. I have achieved everything I have tried to do. Somethings I am still failing at but I havent stopped trying and you cant fail until you stop trying. The Knight of Swords reminds us  to be assertive in getting what we want. He doesn’t hang back and wait for something to happen. He is always making the first move and actively pursuing his goals. You can harness this energy in your life too by being proactive and forward-thinking. See yourself as the creator of your future and be ready to take the necessary steps to make it happen.

Finally In a spiritual context, the Nine of Swords indicates that the anxiety and stress I am experiencing at the moment has left me feeling overwhelmed, ungrounded and out of touch with your spiritual side. Reiki, grounding exercises or meditation would be beneficial to me right now to help me to get back in touch with your spirituality and bring me back into balance. I honestly have a bunch of wiccan books in my amazon shopping cart and I was thinking about getting all the supplies I need to get back in touch with my spirituality. This honestly has felt off to me. I need to get back to my daily card pulls and maybe doing some magic would help me or getting back out my runes! I really love Tarot and it feels so good to be doing this deep dive. I always feel better when I do a Tarot reading.

Card 10 provides a focus point for the year ahead. So often, we get caught up with day-to-day dramas that we lose sight of the bigger picture. Use this focus card to keep you on track and pinpoint what energy you most need to tap into throughout the next twelve months….

Ok so I drew the Death card…. I was a little bummed drawing this card. I havent drawn any of my “favorite” or happy cards. Death usually signifies spiritual transformation and a time of change and new beginnings, not actual death! The transformation or change that Death can bring can be difficult, unexpected, sudden or even traumatic but it will bring with it a new lease of life. I definitely feel like I am in a state of transition and back tot he start of this reading, I need to LET GO. Its best to try not to resist the change the Death Tarot card brings as resisting it will only make the transition difficult and painful. Instead try to embrace the change as a fresh start. This Major Arcana card can also signify the need to let go of old issues or beliefs when it appears in a Tarot spread. It may be telling you that you need to draw a line under the past in order to move forward in a positive direction. A Death card transformation can be a bit of a shock to the system but ultimately it’s a positive one. I think there are alot of parts of my past I can put down. 

Death in a career context is a warning not to get too dependent on anything that is not working for you. I want change right now, I am embracing change. I feel like I have spent the last several months dealing with emotional trauma from my past. My life has changed so much recently.  The only thing in life that is guaranteed is that things change. It will change some more.I have learned this year that any financial issues will be fine in the long run if you make the changes necessary. I have decided to change my motivation and focus and move away from previous patterns that spiraled me before. I am living in the mindset of abundance and I really feel it. 

Physical death is a form of transformation when our spirits leave the physical body behind and transform back to the spiritual beings we all are intrinsically. The Death card represents spiritual transformation. In a spiritual Tarot reading, it indicates a time where you can deeply connect to your higher self and discover a depth of spirituality that you may not have even known you possessed. This spiritual transformation may be brought about by grief or loss or heartbreak that you have experienced. It can represent a difficult transition from an old situation to a new beginning. Try to embrace the change even if it is difficult, it’s leading you to your higher path. 

I am going to trust myself and the universe in this next step for me. MY world is taking care of me. 

Card 11 shows you the lesson you will learn over the coming year. Just like the previous year’s lesson, a Major Arcana shows a life-changing lesson, a reversed card shows a lesson that you’re not quite ‘getting’ and a Minor Arcana card shows a challenge or an actual endeavour that you’re working on.

This lesson is one of love. I think of the two of cups card as being the love card. It represents commitment, a balanced relationship, and love. But this does not simply mean that you will no longer need to nurture your love to make it last. The card only signifies that true love and affection is present. the Two of Cups is associated with fairness and balance. This means that you are currently financially capable and you have the right amount of money to deal with your obligations. In relation with your health, people who are currently facing some health issues need to look for a practitioner that they will be comfortable working with and whom they can trust. In spirituality, it is a call for you to be more endearing and loving towards the others. You are receiving positive energy from the universe, and you need to share that energy.

And finally, Card 12 highlights what to expect for the whole year. This is like the Outcome card in a Celtic Cross reading. Look back at the aspiration for the year (Card 3) and compare this with the outcome – will you achieve your aspiration(  two of wands)? Will you overcome the challenges along the way (Card 5) ( king of swords) ? Will you harness the energy that will help you to get where you need to be (Card 4) (8 of Swords) ?

I love the card I ended with! Queen of cups! What an enlightening reading!

Now that I have shifted my work focus from making ends meet to reaffirming my purpose and sharing my knowledge and helping as many people as possible I have started to notice that my people appreciate me more. I have been asked to create MORE and share MORE. Everything new I create and give out to the universe I get back times 10! Queen of cups is seen as compassionate, caring, sensitive, and nurturing. She connects with people on the emotional level, so people enjoy her honesty and fairness. The appearance of the Queen of Cups in a reading can be guiding you to find help from others. Most times, like the other queens, this is a female figure that will come into your life. I feel so blessed to have so many amazing and inspirational women in my life right now. I feel so lucky to have the love and support from this dope girl group I have cultivated. 

The Queen of Cups has an intuition which is very powerful, and is only rivaled by the one of the High Priestess. The Queen of Cups acts as a mirror and reflects the depths present in others, so they see themselves in a new light. Most times, the Queen of Cups can also represent the trusted inner voice you have within you. She seems to say that you should take the time to focus on your emotional health before trying to help others. Self-love creates compassion. I am really starting to believe in my own powerful intuition. Every time I do a tarot reading and feel this connection and understanding with the cards. Or I feel energy and feelings before things occur. This year I endeavor to tap into the hidden knowledge and sees where it takes me. The Queen of Cups normally thinks with her heart, instead of her mind. She can lack rationality and common sense, but she can also be intuitive, dreamy and almost psychic at times. The Queen of Cups could be the answer to your problems when a logical approach is not working.

So much food for thought, but I do feel lighter after this reading. Wow. I still want to do a month by month reading but I think I am going to wait until this weekend after I have finished some homework…

Thank you so much for reading this, what did the cards tell you? What are your lessons for 2022?