Welcome to the Launch of Balance & Grace!!!!

"This site is developed with the recognition that we are not alone. We are in this together. Who we are is more important than the titles we give ourselves or the labels we accept. Life is a journey to be shared, not a race to be won. Here we will develop balance and cultivate grace by celebrating, supporting, and challenging the spiritual, physical, and emotional growth of each other. We will teach each other and create a safe haven for discussion. Respond to a post, start a new topic, make a video request, or share a thought. It is here because of you and for you. So jump on in!!!!"
~Christine Grace Ivy,
Balance and Grace Pilates and Life Coaching~
www.wix.com/mamasladybug/christineivy

Sunday, November 25, 2012

ENJOY THE RIDE

I love my life. I could almost pinch myself when I think about how blessed my life is....beyond my basic needs I find myself blessed with opportunities to grow as a creative artist, I enjoy the benefits of a partner who challenges me as much as he supports me, and, although I sometimes forget, it is beyond description to convey how immense a blessing my parents and brother really are in my life. This life is so very short and time goes by oh so quickly. Our realities are based in perspective and reflection and so, for as much as I have still to learn this much I lay claim to know this through the testimony of experience... There is never so much pain or despair as to eradicate God's plan for a life. There is never a tragedy in which Love and Grace do not have a place in which we can rest our burden. And even when our grasp grows weak Gods mercy and compassion never let go. And so, though I am enjoying this season I know that another will soon come to take its place and there is no guarantee as to whether it will bring more laughter then tears. Seasons come and go and joy and disappointment are just flip sides of the same coin. You cant have one without the other. But, by recognizing that nothing in this life is really ours to which to lay claim to  and that all things are really just temporary gifts to be stewarded, we can discover freedom. And in this wonderful freedom we can enjoy the beauty we experience and yet also discover a new level of strength  to grow and thrive beyond each pain. Life goes on with or without our permission. I didn't create this adventure, and I don't always know what the next page turn will bring, but I do choose to enjoy the ride. Anyone else with me? Let's go.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Change your Perspective, Change this Life


There is very little in life that is within our control. Even the things that we think we govern such as jobs, relationships, careers, and status are elements over which we have flimsy control at best. Although I am an advocate for hard work, goal setting, organizing, and dedication, I recognize that most of my "achievements" were/are/will be heavily shaped by variables far out of my reach. If I have anything it is a stewardship to which i have been appointed governship and responsibility. I dont believe in ownership. I dont believe in the accumulation of stuff. I take comfort in knowing that my peace of mind is based in the faith that there is a greater force at work in life and that my Creator holds the strings, guides the wheel, and opens the doors that I need to walk through. I dont feel comfortable which the idea that this is "my" life. I prefer to think of it as "a" life and that my spirit is enjoying this mortal journey as just that, a journey that is finite and imperfect but which will teach me the things I need to learn, and which will serve to teach others the the things that they need to learn, in order to enter the next journey more completely. I relish this journey and i am grateful for all of the many blessings which favor me and comfort me physically but I recognize that it is but one small piece of a far greater picture. And that I am a part of that greater picture, that I am part of the masterpiece and plan of Love, brings me the most joy of all.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

LEMONS =TART FACE or LEMON CAKE?

So, as many of you know, after three weeks of debilitating injury I am almost ready to jump back into the full swing of things. I'm not quite up to full capacity, but I'm getting there. And many of you also know that it was quite a challenge for me to go from being a physical hurricane of momentum to spending days on my back with my legs up on a couch. Quite frankly, it really sucked. And it took more than  a minute to re-determine how I was going to define productivity and personal assessment and goal orientations. But, as I look back on the last few weeks I can see that I was able to utilize the "down time" to do a plethora of things on that never-ending "to do" list that I had been keeping at procrastinations door for weeks! I did my taxes, addressed important files, did some re-organization, caught up on e-mails/research/etc., re-set some goals for the year....I actually accomplished many things that I had been desiring to place attention towards but had been up till then too busy to address. In some ways I've been the most productive since Ive had to slow down a little.  Isn't that funny? It hasn't been fun, but it has been eye-opening.  And here's one of the things I learned from this abrupt lesson: Habits follow you wherever you go. If you are in the habit of gratitude, it will find you, even in your darkest hours. If you are in the practice of productivity, it will lure you out from being trapped in the pool of  self-pity. And if you are in the diligent mindset that every day is a fresh start with fresh opportunities just waiting to be tapped, then those opportunities will find you. Life will bring to you those things that you expect you will find. If you expect love and community and blessings and harmony, then you will dedicate yourself to living in such a way till those things begin to naturally weave themselves into the fabric of your habits and relationships. If you expect failures, sadness, disappointment, rejection, and negative outcomes, those too will find you.  Expectancy = Outcome. As the Bible defines it, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen. Our expectancy determines our actions which become habits which become our lifestyle which ultimately determines our destiny. Don't you see?, You already have all the tools you need to determine the kind of life that you want to be living. It definitely isn't always easy, but its really not that hard.  And although I am still learning how to incorporate this philosophy more fully  the truth of it rings clear and I am ever more encouraged to bring all the things that I truly desire out of life, like real relationship, love, acceptance, passion and purpose, to the table every day. I'm still a work in progress, we all are, but I hope that you will be encouraged to do the same.

Here's an example of acting in expectancy of a positive outcome. This little dog teaches us all what we can do when we believe in something bigger then our current situation.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Falling Down and Choosing to Look Back Up

Its not hard to feel grateful when life is on the upswing. The challenge to choose gratitude in the face of pain, injury, disappointment, and tragedy is a true test to one's inner rudder. When life steers you down and you obstinately choose to continue to look up; well, THAT, my friends, is a sign of the inner practice of Gratitude manifesting itself in its truest sense and at its greatest hour.  I can attest that in the last 48 hours I have experienced a small measure of this test myself.  As a member of Lucent Dossier Experience, an internationally known cirque troupe based in  Los Angeles, I had been preparing for our recent show at the Palace Theatre all month. Fast forward to the dress rehearsal the night before and, because even the best plans can not plan for everything, I slipped on an oil spill onstage and severely sprained my right ankle. With the love of family, plenty of R.I.C.E. and a heavy dose of prayer mixed with ibprofin, I was able to perform the following night. But  despite my resolution to continue to defy the physical limitations of a sprained right ankle, another physical injury beset me in the middle of the same show the following night. If you can imagine, it was the second to last number in the last night of the show and, while being onstage, with the lights shining, the audience mesmerized, the music pounding, the other dancers throwing down their souls with fervor all around me, my own heart racing with the pulsing frequency of the passion that only develops through the fusion of multiple souls on a rollarcoaster of shared humanity...it was in the middle of one of these final magical moments that I felt a gripping pain envelop my left leg and, were it not for the power of the love of my family onstage and off of it, along with a fierce pride in finishing any given task, I would have crumpled on stage that very second. Instead of  assuming that logical response I quickly tried to assess whether or not I had torn my achilles tendon, decided I hadn't, determined that quitting at the moment was not an option on the table,  gritted my teeth into an even wider smile, and forced myself to finish the dance number.  As soon as I was off the stage and safely in the wings I fell to the ground....hours later I made it to my couch and have been there for the last two days (and am still there now as I write this).

 Now I've shared with you my sob story, not because I'm looking for more sympathy but because it is my own response to my own injury by which I have been fascinated.  The night of the injury I was in complete denial. I didn't want to accept that I'd injured myself even more intensely then I had two nights previously, so I joked about it, did not follow R.I.C.E protocal, and continued to hobble around the afterparty with my friends when I should have been laying down at home.  The next morning, as I realized my true state, I was struck with frustration and anger at my situation, which quickly emerged as an awful irritated demeanor of which my sweet Cuban felt the brunt. The irritated frustration then melted into a pathetic pity party of tears and sadness as the realization sunk in that my daily goals of world domination would have to be pushed back to the following week or weeks or possibly even month ahead. And then sadness became resigned acceptance, as I determined that crying wouldn't solve anything and that the only thing left to do was to pro-actively speed along my recovery with mindful attention, patience, and a positive outlook.  I turned down a gig, canceled clients, gathered every balm, and bandage, and ice pack i could gather, and settled in for a long engagement on the couch for an extended stay. 



 I'm about to venture out today but this is the whole point of this whole blog entry.....Gratitude and a focus on the positive assessment of the situation are key ingredients to any recovery and although I went through my own series of negative emotions and responses, I wound up back at gratitude because I've been practicing it long enough that any other response no longer fits well for very long. Negative thinking is like a dress that is two sizes too small and is too tight, too limiting, too restrictive. Negative thinking terminates the opportunities to experience community, love within and beyond yourself, and it imprisons true potentials from reaching in or out of your own spirit and soul. It was perfectly normal and natural to feel anger and sadness to the physical pain I was enduring but, because living in a mindset of gratitude has become a daily practice, I was not, and am not, able to stay negative for long before gratitude reaches back out and pulls me back up into a place of greater perspective and vision.  The idea that our belief systems will control our destinies is very eloquently and concisely voiced in one of the movies I watched during my couch stay. In The Iron Lady, based on the stalwart life of Margaret Thatcher, the stubborn determined grit of  Thatcher relays a philosophy about the importance of thinking over feeling. She conveys  that what we think becomes the words we speak. The words we speak become the actions we do.  The actions we do become the constitution of our character. And our character ultimately creates our individual and collective destiny.

So well spoken....choose to believe in the greater picture and the greater picture will one day save you from yourself.  For me that greater picture is Love. And Love never fails. Despite injury or pain or chaos Love always comes through with a greater plan.  There are people all around me, and all around you, who are presently in the throws of heartaches and rough roads. They may not tell you how broken they are but if you listen long enough they will show you.  Perhaps your ability to live within the greater vision and the broader strokes of a life of Gratitude will woo them towards daring to lift their heads up as well. There's a universe above us, what lies below only goes so far.  It is a fact that life will throw you down but when it does, my friends, even if it takes a minute to get your bearings, don't get stuck mulling at the mess you are in. Take a second, even take a minute, but then dare to look up. You will be amazed at quickly you then rise. 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Love beyond the Script

So....Valentines Day, hmmmmm.....I have to say, today is NOT what I would consider a REAL holiday. I agree with the slightly jaded sentiment that Valentine's Day often feels like a marketing campaign to separate you from your hard earned dollar in exchange for paper goods and corn syrup products. HOWEVER, any reason to evaluate love in your life is a good thing and today's slightly fabricated hoopla shouldn't get in the way of a very real opportunity to evaluate the love that is or isn't in your life. First of all, the very fact that you are here and alive is a sign that Love is invested in you. If you are reading this, its another sign that Love has blessed you with time and resources and education. If you just finished a conversation with someone or are about to speak with a friend then you are the beneficiary of Love's gift of community and sharing. The next time you feel the sun shine on your shoulder or feel the whisper of wind on your neck know you might notice that nature is another avenue of Love's revelation.  Love reveals itself in many different ways and it is constantly trying to show you that it is present, it is available, it is waiting for you to recognize it and embrace its power in your life.  Love aches for you to know that you are worthy, you are important, you are enough, in you lies the gift of which the world is in need. The presence of a boyfriend, girlfriend, or lover in your life is a rather short barometer by which to measure Love's presence or affirmation.  The middle school love script that we play in our heads about what love looks like is a detrimental habit. That "one boy + one girl = love" is a rather outdated and pubescent equation and one that ought to be re-evaluated. Because love is everywhere. It is in everyone. It is in everything. It defines every decision we make and the need for it is at the heart of every intention that rings true. Don't sell yourself short. Love is calling out your name and every day you awaken you have the opportunity to recognize how blessed you really are.  Every day is full of Love...and regardless of whether or not you are aware of its power doesn't change the reality that Love is available to you. And here is the amazing thing about Love...when you are ready to receive its transformational energy into your life it will be there to revolutionize your trajectory forever. Every day of your life can be full of Love if you only let it be. So, Hallmark cards aside, I wish you all the very sweetest day of Love today and forever after. Its yours for the taking.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

5 senses for a Forever Love

I was having a moment yesterday, driving from one job to another job, sitting in traffic as so many of us Angelenos do, and I noticed a wonderful warmth caressing the side of my face and neck. The sun was covering me with a thousand sweet sparkling kisses as the horizons were shifting and I had not only a sense of gratitude but  was also overcome with a tear-inducing epiphany that I was being embraced by the Loving arms of God. I became suddenly aware that I had been given five incredibly different physical senses in order to experience the multi-dimensional  and incomprehensibly deep Love of my Creator. My thoughts progressed to the the state of the Earth and that although we as a human race have become so often distracted and disconnected to its heartbeat through industry, ego, self-preservaton, and sel-exultation that the call of Love still waves its banner and calls our names with deeply personal messages in a million moments of divine intervention, interception, and unique perception.  Gods Love reaches out to all of us all of the time and its colorful language, although expansive beyond  physical boundaries, is as diverse and intricate and detailed as our physical experiences through touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. What a gift and a what a love!!!! So many times we find ourselves searching for God with demands that He reveal Himself with jaw dropping miracles based upon our own determination of what or who we think He is. But what if He is really there all the time and its us who have lost touch with what the hand of God feels like? What if the next time you feel a cool breeze on a hot sweltering day or observe the delicate collection of a dewdrop on a petal you pause to say thank you and to tell your Maker that you love Him too? I wonder what miracles of the heart such a response might incline? I'll tell you what my ephiphany did for me...it granted me an internal harbor of peace in which no external storm could touch me last night. Because when you know that you are loved, when you feel that you are safe, the only response to life that you can instinctually give is love in return.  Love is all around. In fact, I bet its calling your name right now. I dare you to answer.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Embracing Fear

We've all felt it....that tingling tight sensation in the pit of your stomach, the twisting knot in your throat, the clammy sweat in your palms, that uncomfortable restriction that pains the senses, that makes clothes feel too tight, the air feel too thin, the internal red siren that demands immediate escape,...and although that sensation is often associated with  negative connotations I have become increasingly certain that the symptoms of fear are quite often more deserving the distinction of being considered growing pains then the usual dismissal with which we label them.  The birth of any new development into which time is worth delving is almost always announced by the painful passage of the awkward, the uncomfortable, the confusing, the scary, the ugly, and the unclear. Greatness is reserved for the courageous who dare to brave its painful arrival. I speak confidently of this because I am in the thick of such a transition...

Opportunity presented itself to me recently and my first reaction was to say no as I felt my throat tightening and the backs of my knees getting sweaty. I was presented with an opportunity to step into an arena of new responsibility, creativity, leadership, and administration and my first inclination was to run the other way. I looked for all the reasons why I should say no, why I should maintain my current status as a follower and not a leader in this part of my life and then a very wise friend spoke to me some jewels of truth. They reminded me that I would never regret trying something new but I might regret not giving the situation a chance. I knew they were right and when I allowed myself to reposition my minds perspective I realized a glaringly obvious truth. By allowing myself to consider the possibility of saying yes I recognized that all of my fears and reasons for wanting to retreat were really the excuses of someone who was just nervous about how it would feel to have to experience the gangly awkward developmental stages of growing into success. All my reservations were really just the excited marks of a recognition that I was about to jump into another level of awareness, success, influence, and persuasion and that I was going to have to raise my personal bar and accountability to myself and to others. A scary and exciting and inspiring crossroads, indeed! Because once you have become the biggest fish in your pond it is quite easy to want to maintain the status quo and to resist swimming upstream to join the bigger schools of life. But who is going to finish their journey here and be grateful that they played it safe? Who is going to be glad that they didn't risk big, didn't reach for their dreams, didn't give every opportunity its fair shake?

One of my favorite mantras is to, "Take no prisoner, Leave no regrets, Take everyone along for the ride" and I am confidently living with integrity in that philosophy because I said yes to that opportunity a few weeks ago. I can honestly say I am reaching another level of living within my passions and hence my purpose. I find myself exhausted and yet constantly re-energized by what I am doing. My days are long but my mind is constantly racing towards the next challenge facing me in this new chapter of my adventure here and I am so grateful for every day, every obstacle, every moment. I am blessed because I am doing what I was designed to do and I am confident that beyond the initial fears I held I am in the process of spreading new wings capable of carrying me and so many others to greater heights. I am grateful for the fear that let me know that I was, I am, and I will do a great many things through the power of He who is my strength. Because what is interpreted as fear is very often just the telling symptoms of a life of courage that is in the process of doing the very thing at which lesser men scoff.


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Wanting what you Have to Get what you Want

"You have to want what you have before you get what you want"...do you believe that? The more I marinate in that idea the more I am convinced that it is true. When you learn to be grateful for the blessings already present in your life you treat them, and yourself, with greater levels of respect and accountability. And the respect and good stewardship that you invest in your life will naturally begin to be matched by the people around you. Treat yourself with respect and you will garner respect. Take pride in your work and more work will be given to you. Bless yourself with love and gratitude and you will receive the same measure multiplied back into your life. Its the principle of seedtime and harvest. You reap what you sow. As simple a thought as that is, it is a stark truth that somehow continues to be dismissed.  Whatever energy, positive or negative, that you are putting into your life, your relationships, your work, your talents, and your own dreams will be returned to you. So if you are spending time complaining, comparing, despairing, and wallowing in self-pity and the morose contemplatation of lack then that is the same place in which you will remain. But if you take stock of your situation, realize your blessings, assess your growth opportunities, and take steps big and small to show respect and love for the beauty that is already in your sphere of control then you will be amazed at the changes that begin to occur. Your life is a direct product of your investments and awareness. Today I aim to be aware of the blessings in and around my life and i aim to invest love, respect, passion, and gratitude into my every moment. I hope you will join me because your life is a miracle and the gifts of Love are bursting at the seams to be embraced by you. Lets really live, my friends. Lets really enjoy, participate, and discover the power of living within gratitude. Every day can start with a "Thank you" to the Creator because you are a masterpiece of a creation.

Monday, January 2, 2012

2012 is here, are you?

It is a new year, my friends, and I'm sure that with all of the new years resolutions we have made or have thought about making or have contemplated and then decided to not risk failing and so have not made that we can agree that with every new years mark we are hopeful for a better year in the future. But along with that hope and excitement we all have some decisions to make. First of all, and I'm sure many of you have heard a version of this before, but the only way to see  change happen in our world is to start by changing ourselves. A little less global version of that idea reminds us that it is the crazy person who would repeat the same action and hope for a different result. I would like to think that I'm not crazy but I have to ask myself....how many times, seasons, periods of my life have I been miserable or discontent with my situation but have allowed myself to keep wallowing in the vacillation of depression and blame? More simply put, why have I allowed myself to ever blame other people for my current state of affairs? If when I look at my life I don't like what I see I really have no right to accuse other people for putting me there. I am so blessed at this point in my life and am truly able to say that I am in a state of abundance but you know what?, I don't know how long this season will last. It may last a year, ten years, ten days, ten more minutes, but I had better be ready for the winds to change (because they will) and I had better be ready to approach life,myself, and others with the same gratitude and compassion and energy that comes so easily today. Because in a new year we start out with high hopes. But those high hopes are only valuable if they are accompanied with a high output of directed energy and passion as well. Don't just hope for change. That's what victims do. Make the changes in your life, however small or big, that you know are necessary for you to experience the changes and growth that you are desperate and eager for. Take the time. Look within. Then look around. And take a chance. Risk big. We are never promised more than today. So give this day everything within you. And don't hold back from seizing opportunities, challenging yourself, putting yourself in awkward situations that demand that you expand and redefine the lines that confine you. Life is short and we all will come to our own finish line. When you look back, its not about how long it took you get there but its how you ran the race that will bring you peace or discontent. And here's the thing, we get a new chance ever 24 hours, every 7 days, every month, every year, even every minute and second to make another decision about how we will approach our lives. Passion. Love. Compassion. Grace. Kindness. Patience. Diligence. Vision. Lets open our eyes to the areas in our lives in which we desire change and growth and lets attack 2012 with action and passion together. Happy New Year, everyone. Lets do this.