I absolutely hate it when people claim to know me better then I know myself. At times I have found it be offensive and insensitive. I remember being in school feeling very sheltered with everyone telling what my needs were. It wasn’t until after graduation I learned to take charge of my own life and needs.

Having self-awareness is the key to being independent. For me being my own person has always been my top priority. Over the years I have cultivated my self-awareness by being mindful of my mind, body and surroundings. I have also found that keeping a journal of lists of my strengths, weakness, interests, goals and my roles to remind of me what is important and focus is helpful.

My daily yoga practice has empowered me to advocate for my self and others with disabilities. Yoga is about unity and equality we are all beautiful individuals with talents and gifts. Yoga enlightens us to get off our mats inspired to share our love, truth and passion with world. Within yoga there are some key values to guide you through your adventure in life. One example is love and showing it to others and yourself. Another one is learning how to forgive yourself and others. The goal is to learn how to live and move on from the past with love and forgiveness. The third value is to always have faith in you, others and a higher power that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. The fourth one is to treat yourself and others equally and remember that we are all different and unique in our own ways. It is also important to always be honest with yourself and others.

With these values, self-awareness can be fulfilled with the following strategies, such as meditating to bring your mind to focus on what is important to you and what you want out of life. Another method is to be creative in how you want to achieve your purpose and goals. It is important to know your purpose, set your goals with an action plan and always dream beyond horizons.

As an individual with disabilities, one of the most important skills I learned was how to be an advocate. This means the ability to stand up for yourself and others to protect our equal rights. It is an important lesson to learn because we are the guardians of our own rights.

I consider my self a self-advocate, something I have done for years from school to adult life. It is second nature to me. Both the Americans With Disabilities Act and state law require public and private establishments to provide reasonable accommodations to a disabled individual so long as it does not pose an undue hardship. The first step is to know what the disability issues are and what accommodations are needed. These needs will vary widely based on each person’s disability and the degree to which it affects them.

The next step is to educate yourself on disability laws and protected rights such as the ADA. A good advocate has excellent communication and listening skills. It is also important to keep good records while becoming a master at negotiating. In order to promote positive change through activism we must work together while respecting one another.

Another point is to know what your recourse is if you are denied a reasonable accommodation. These options can range from informal discussions with the other party, mediation, filing charges with anti-discrimination agencies, or as a last resort, legal action.

Self-advocacy is learned through life experiences. It helps us understand ourselves while becoming aware of our needs. There is no better feeling than being able to speak up for yourself or others to make a positive impact.

As a writer, it is always a nice surprise to receive positive feedback from a reader. I received a letter written by a reader complimenting my columns. She included a quote from Guidepost magazine: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

One of my favorite books is “The Fifth Agreement” by Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz. The book talks about five rules we should follow in life. The first one is “Be impeccable with your words.” This means to always speak truthfully with love. The second rule is related to the above quote, “Don’t take everything personally.” The third rule, my favorite, is “Don’t make assumptions.” We need to remember that each individual has their own struggles and stories that should be respected and honored. The fourth agreement is to always do your best because that is all you can do. The fifth agreement is to listen with your heart. When we take time to observe and listen we can uncover many truths.

Nothing is more important than believing in something, from spirituality to non-spirituality because it will never fail you. I believe in the power of love stemming from the heart. Whenever I meet someone, and I feel their unhappiness, I always say a small prayer of love to them because the best thing to do for anyone is to love them.

This has been a whirlwind year for me with both good and bad things, such as dealing with a broken ankle to losing my beloved granny. It was also year of great accomplishments, with the first being that I am in good health after fully recovering from heart surgery. The biggest highlight of the year was fulfilling my goal to become a yoga teacher. Being a long time yogini I have always wanted to share my passion for yoga since it’s such a big part of my life. Over the past years I have shared my yoga experiences through my column and blog but now I have a new avenue to share my yoga experience with those with physical limitations like myself.

This is the time to recommit and make new goals to lead to new adventures. One of my commitments is to stay fit with eating healthy and my daily yoga and Pilates practice. I also vow to continue empowering people through my column and blog talking about disability issues and my life.

As for my goals I will be working to build my new venture of teaching chair yoga. I began this journey in October when I was a faculty assistant for teaching a seminar at Kripalu for the students to become certified to teach chair yoga. I very much look forward to helping others enjoy the benefits of yoga.

I have also decided its time to start writing a book about living with disabilities with the hopes of inspiring people with my experiences. I am excited to see what this New Year brings.

My Carrie Writes Column printed in the Republican 6/19/13

I’m very excited to announce that I’m officially a chair yoga teacher, one of my greatest accomplishments. I was certified by the Lakshmi Voelker chair yoga program. I took the certification class over Skype from my living room. It consisted of six video classes, along with self-study. I learned chair asanas such as salutations, warrior series, balance poses. I also learned breathing techniques, meditations and yoga philosophy.

Chair yoga is the adaption of yoga poses to be used in a chair to help minimize limitations and inflexibility for those facing physical challenges. Chair yoga also incorporates breathing techniques to calm and heal the mind and body. Chair yoga is perfect for those with disabilities and health challenges. The belief is that any pose any pose can be adapted to each individuals’ needs, bringing the full benefit of yoga practice while creating a safe haven for their minds and bodies.

Lakshmi created the chair yoga program in 1982. She is dedicated to creating a yoga practice for anyone to use with modifications. She has brought a way of exercise to those who are unable to do physical exercises. In 1999, she created a Sitting Mountain Series CD, and in 2007 she produced her own chair yoga DVD. Lakshmi has been studying, practicing and teaching yoga since 1969. She is a certified instructor at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge and is a member of the Yoga Alliance. She has certified many individuals across the United States and Canada.

In conclusion, it is my goal to bring Lakshmi’s teachings to individuals across Western Massachusetts to help spread the joy of yoga to individuals with physical limitations like myself. I am beyond overjoyed to be able to share my passion in a teaching manner. I will be combining my roles as a teacher, columnist and activist with the same purpose of helping and inspiring people with disabilities. Please visit my chair yoga page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/carriechairyoga , and Lakshmi’s web page is http://www.getfitwhereyousit.com .

This week I am giving a presentation on my favorite topics the self-advocacy age where people with disabilities are becoming independent participants in their communities. Having a disability doesn’t limit our understanding, but in fact empowers us to be involved in issues that affect us and make changes through voting. It is important for people with disabilities to be aware of issues that directly affect them while getting an opportunity to be part of the process and discussion. Nothing is more empowering then using your voice to advocate change. The first step is to know what the disability issues are and what is needed. The second one is to educate your self on disability laws and protected rights. A good advocate has excellent communication and listening skill. Also keeping good records while becoming a master at negotationing will also help. In order to promote positive change through activism we must work together while respecting one another. There is no better feeling than being able to speak up for your self or others to make a positive impact

On April 15th, just before the finish line at the Boston Marathon two explosions took place, causing widespread despair and destruction. The bombing claimed three lives including that of an innocent child and causing many injuries. In the aftermath many professionals, volunteers and bystanders rushed to help the victims. In one of the largest manhunts in history, law enforcement officials tirelessly worked around the clock to bring those responsible to justice. The manhunt brought the Boston area to a standstill, from events being cancelled, stopping transportation to putting several cities on lockdown.

In a short time victory was achieved in catching the responsible party, causing a collective sigh of relief. During through the whole ordeal Boston stayed strong and determined.

As a pacifist I have been opposed to violence and believe in finding peaceful resolutions to problems. Sadly there is much anger and hate in this world. We need more love, understanding and forgiveness. As individuals we need to think, feel and see with our hearts, the key to our true power. We are all equals and united through spirit. Patanjali is reffered to as the father of yoga, who wrote his thoughts and ideas on how a yogi should live in his book, The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. This book is considered a sacred text for the yoga practice. There are eight parts to the way of living the yoga lifestyle. The first one is yama, which refers to how you socially interact with others around you, such as practicing non-violence against any living creature.

As avid Red Sox fans my husband and I watched the game on April 20. During the opening ceremony the PA announcer reminded us in part to “never quit and persevere. We will always prevail. We are Boston Strong.”

In our vocabulary, there are many words that can be offensive when describing people with disabilities, such as retarded and handicapped. Even statements that are made can just as hurtful and damaging such as “deaf and dumb.” These types of statements can lead to stereotyping, misperceptions and discrimination. It can lead to feelings of anger and belittlement. These feelings can lead to low self-esteem, discouragement and in some cases, depression.
We as a society must remember how powerful the spoken word carries in our language. We must consider others’ feelings and not to judge them on the basis of their disability. The key lesson is to put the person first rather than their disability. Since the disability is a characteristic that is a part of them and that they have many more qualities that outweigh their disabilities.
Words can be very powerful and meaningful but they can also be hurtful and offensive to others. Yoga philosophy teaches us to speak the truth with love. The first thing to do is to be couscous about what we are saying. Then we must ask yourself what is making us say this and how will it affect others. Before speaking ask your self three questions
Such as is this the truth? Is this kind? And is it necessary? Most importantly always speak with your heart that symbolizes your loving self.
In one of my favorite books The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz . One agreement is to be impeccable with our words that have the power to affect others. They also reflect who we are. Yoga teaches us to be conscious of our words and actions while speaking from the heart with love and truth.

Two yogini bloggers Carol Horton of http://www.thinkbodyelectric.com/ and Roseanne Harvey
Of http://www.itsallyogababy.com/came together to compile, edit and publish a book of essays. The topics range from yoga, cultural, politics. It was a fascinating read personally I always enjoyed hearing about some one own yoga experience because each one is unique and beautiful like the person and practice. In fact my favorite question to ask a yogi I just met is how did you find yoga. I feel we often get so caught up in what is yoga and the right way to do it that we forget journey and what we can learn from each other. Yoga has influenced my life personally to professionally. It has help create me as a woman, soon to be teacher writer and activist. Yoga is plain and simple an everlasting amazing journey. Check out the book at http://www.amazon.com/21st-Century-Yoga-Politics-Practice/dp/0615617603/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359075678&sr=1-1&keywords=21st+century+yoga

I would define the year 2012 as a whirlwind – it just went by so fast. Many events took place in my life from turning forty, to attending a yoga retreat at Omega in New York to having heart surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Now that I have healed and recovered from the surgery it is time to look forward to the New Year with my resolutions in hand. As a devoted yogini, I have loved sharing my practice through writing about my experiences. I decided to find another way to share my yoga passion by becoming a chair yoga teacher. It is my goal to help people with physical limitations such as myself enjoy the many benefits of a yoga practice. I have enrolled in an online course conducted over Skype to receive my certification as a
Lakshmi Voelker Chair Yoga teacher. The course will teach me how to adapt yoga poses to be done in a chair. I will also be learning how teach meditation, and breathing techniques and exercises.
In my view, yoga is a very worthwhile practice for the mind and body, as it can truly enrich your life. My goal is to share this gift with everyone and help enjoy the benefits that I have received from my own yoga practice. I wish everyone a very Happy New Year filled with love, peace and happiness.