Today, I am 35. This past year has truly been a journey. I am grateful for all the blessings and lessons that have come so far.

Although it’s my birthday, I have a present for YOU!

I am offering a 35-hour love offering. It is a lovely 35% off discount off my services + products. I’ll take that! The gift is available for 35 hours, meaning you have until 8:35pm on Wednesday, February 15th.

All you need is this lovely code: bday35 and you’re good to go!

Can you believe it? You get a chance to select your own gift!

You can use your gift for the following experiences:

Get Clean Guide | more info

Cleanse Navigation Session | more info

Lifestyle Breakthrough Session | more info

Private yoga sessions | more info

Click here to see what you’re hooked up with:

Feel free to share this with others. A gift that you can openly re-gift. No need for the awkward embarrassment around it. Go on…tell your friends about it!

Light,

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Takeyah A. Young, Speaker, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Certified Yoga Instructor, specializes in helping the busy, creative soul and the left-brained woman who excels in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) who wants to tap into her healthiest self and create a sense of equilibrium and attention toward a body that looks and feels genuinely well.

Tomorrow, I embrace the age of 35. Yup, February 14th is the day I was blessed to make a physical presence on this here earth. I am grateful.  When I was younger, every birthday was celebrated with cake and ice cream. YUM! Annnnndddd, I have a present for YOU!

As an invitation to my birthday celebration, I am offering a 35-hour love offering. Beginning at 7:35AM on February 14th, I will be sharing the love in the form of a 35% off discount off. The discount will apply to the Get Clean e-Guide, the Cleanse Navigation Session, your Lifestyle Breakthrough Session and private yoga sessions. So you have options. I mean how many times do you get a chance to select your own gift?!

I’m going to post/share the code tomorrow morning. So make sure you’re on my e-mail list, following me on Twitter or loving my Facebook page. The discount will work for 35 hours. So that means you have to claim your gifts by 8:35p on February 15th.

Good stuff, right?!? Don’t say I didn’t give you the heads up.

Tell your friends on twitter.

Light,

Want to jump start a new healthy eating plan? Want a 101 level experience with cleansing? Get your self-guided Get Clean Guide to understand detoxification and put a customized plan into place. Sign-up here.

Like what you read? Sign up for my monthly health and lifestyle tips for passionately motivated women who want clarity + confidence in their bodies + mind

Takeyah A. Young, Speaker, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Certified Yoga Instructor, specializes in helping the busy, creative soul and the left-brained woman who excels in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) who wants to tap into her healthiest self and create a sense of equilibrium and attention toward a body that looks and feels genuinely well.

Me: Tell me more about your menu. What vegetables do you eat?

Lovely Being: I eat salads. I eat broccoli.

Me: *still listening*

Lovely Being: Yeah, I eat a lot of broccoli. Broccoli tastes good.

…

I always say that even a baby step is a step forward. So why not make your baby step with something that’s familiar and simple?!?

This soup recipe came about when I was hungry at a friend’s house. A grocery store visit was not in the immediate future. What did my friend have on hand? A bag of frozen organic broccoli*. So this soup was born.

*Since that first time, I’ve only made the soup with fresh broccoli. Use what you have though. I know…I typically do not eat frozen veggies. However, I rather a client eat frozen organic veggies than no veggies at all.

I’ve never actually measured any ingredients when I’ve made this in the past. You’ll have to play around with you as you fine-tune this recipe and make it yours.

Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp olive oil

1 medium red onion, chopped

2 – 3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 cups vegetable broth, low-sodium

1 large head broccoli, chopped (depending on how tough it is, I often use most of the stalk too)

1/4 cup of coconut milk

2-3 sprigs tbsp fresh thyme

2 tsp fresh sage, finely chopped

 Guidance:

Put olive olive in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until clear. Add garlic to the pan and brown lightly. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the broccoli and let the pot simmer. It typically doesn’t take very long (about 5 minutes).

Remove pan from the heat. The broccoli will be a bright green color. Blend on high, while adding the coconut milk (I used my Vita-Mix, some use an immersion blender.) Return the soup to the pot, then add the thyme and sage. Remove from heat after another 5 – 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Options:

Add 2 tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids when adding the vegetable broth.

Use 12 oz bag of frozen organic broccoli.

Add chopped potatoes before you add the broccoli.

Add an all-purpose seasoning with the onions.

Add a pinch of salt at the end, to taste.

I ate this soup w/ Ezekial croutons + chopped parsley. Tell me how you made this soup yours? What ingredients did you add? Do you have your own vegan broccoli soup recipe? Please share  in the comments.

Light,

Want to jump start a new healthy eating plan? Want a 101 level experience with cleansing? Get your self-guided Get Clean Guide to understand detoxification and put a customized plan into place. Sign-up here.

Like what you read? Sign up for my monthly health and lifestyle tips for passionately motivated women who want clarity + confidence in their bodies + mind

Takeyah A. Young, Speaker, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Certified Yoga Instructor, specializes in helping the busy, creative soul and the left-brained woman who excels in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) who wants to tap into her healthiest self and create a sense of equilibrium and attention toward a body that looks and feels genuinely well.

Bob Marley was a yogi…if he was alive he would be here. — Sharon Feanny

I started my second day at the Caribbean Yoga Conference started with Sharon Feanny. The class, One Love, One Heart: Let’s Get Together and Feel Alright!, began with the Jamaican anthem. Love it! Sharon is Jamaican, LOVES it and lets others know about it. So it didn’t surprise me to see the Nayabinghi drummers and hear Bob Marley in the class playlist.

Her class was playful and we even did a “sun dance”-esque sequence to get him to shine a bit brighter. He declined our invitation. LOL. We were out doors and greeted the ocean in gratitude. but the rain decided t o join us later on the practice. Thankfully, we were covered, so we were able to stay with the practice.

Gaia Budhai shared some gems with her gentle practice, Romancing the Mat. She shared that it is easy to connect with your heart when you are moving slow. However, how do you make that connection when you are in the moment, in that meeting or going through the hustle and bustle of your day?

She invited participants to the thing that challenged  them in their lives. Tap into into. Then she invited us to shine our heart essence into that. Offer the gift of the heart opener to that challenge.

In life you’re either opening or closing. – Gaia Budhai

Ever since meeting Gaia a few years ago, she has always shared wise words with me (and truly, everyone around). Her words and intentions really resonated with me during this practice.

I am opening.
Light,

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Like what you read? Sign up for my monthly health and lifestyle tips for passionately motivated women who want clarity + confidence in their bodies + mind

Takeyah A. Young, Speaker, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Certified Yoga Instructor, specializes in helping the busy, creative soul and the left-brained woman who excels in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) who wants to tap into her healthiest self and create a sense of equilibrium and attention toward a body that looks and feels genuinely well.

I made my way to Jamaica for the Caribbean Yoga Conference (CYC), which is being held February 2 – 5, 2012 in Montego Bay. I was blessed to receive a pass from CYC Crew, so I made quick plans to be at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort + Spa to take in the sand, sun and sadhana.

The bonfire-filled evening started off with an opening keynote speech from Seane Corrne, Embodying Spiritual Activism: Living with Purpose and Action. From the  CYC site, Seane shared her

very candid, personal keynote where she speaks of her life as a yogi, from just discovering yoga, to where her heart has led her to today… as a seeker, student, teacher and ultimately, a servant.

I had heard Seane’s story when I took part in the Off the Mat, Into the World Intensive last year in DC. However, this time around, this is the reminder that stood out for me last night:

Sometimes you meet people that exhibit a shadow that shows up as an uncomfortable place for you. Typically that uncomfortable thing is the shadow part of yourSelf that you push behind. Instead of trying to get them/him/her to do something different, allow yourself to see what is under the anger, hurt, bitterness, pain, etc. That part that is underneath will reveal a lot about yourself.

I’ve never considered myself a resort person. I like being with the “people”, immersed in the culture. Typically the “people” are not spending nights at fancy beach front hotels. However, CYC brought the culture tonight.

As part of the opening ceremony, we received blessings from Toni Bergins of JourneyDance™, the Rastafarian Nayabinghi Drummers, Sezi (Sarah Silvera).

After opening with a prayer, here’s a snippet of what the Rastafarian Nayabinghi Drummers shared:

Here’s a snippet of Sezi, Jamaican songstress + dancer, sharing Gayatri Mantra with the crowd:

I’ll be posting more reflections, pics and videos over the next few days. Follow me on Twitter (@CoreConnection) and follow the hashtag #CaribYogaConf to stay up on the gems from the day.

Light,

Want to jump start a new healthy eating plan? Want a 101 level experience with cleansing? Get your self-guided Get Clean Guide to understand detoxification and put a customized plan into place. Sign-up here.

Like what you read? Sign up for my monthly health and lifestyle tips for passionately motivated women who want clarity + confidence in their bodies + mind

Takeyah A. Young, Speaker, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Certified Yoga Instructor, specializes in helping the busy, creative soul and the left-brained woman who excels in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) who wants to tap into her healthiest self and create a sense of equilibrium and attention toward a body that looks and feels genuinely well.