Sara Avant Stover, founder of The Way of the Happy Woman™, helps modern women reconcile their femininity with their worldly success to retrieve true and lasting personal happiness—beyond their body size, relationships, and careers --by connecting with their inner radiance through yoga, meditation, and balanced living. Sara took her first yoga class at age 18 and knew immediately that she would someday devote her life to teaching. By her early 20’s, yoga was such a big part of Sara’s life, that she moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand where she lived for 9 years and served as one of the pioneer yoga teachers in that part of the word. To date, Sara has taught some 3,000 student in over a dozen different countries. She is a prolific writer whose articles have been featured in half a dozen magazines including Yoga Journal, Yogi Time Business, Pilates Style, Natural Solutions, and Fit Yoga. Sara is now based in Boulder, Colorado.

Visit her website http://www.thewayofthehappywoman.com.

For a free audio download from Sara on how to live in your core feminine essence, visit: http://www.thewayofthehappywoman.com/feminine-essence-audio.

Blog Entries by Sara Avant Stover

Unplug and Recharge: How Yoga Can Open Your Heart (VIDEO)

Posted November 12, 2009 | 12:24 PM (EST)


Sometimes the circumstances in our lives--relationships, overwhelming emotions, or even the way that we habitually sit and stand--can shut down our hearts.

Here's a short yoga sequence to help you transform your armor into openness.

Enjoy!

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Unplug and Recharge: Need Energy? Try Yoga! (VIDEO)

8 Comments | Posted November 4, 2009 | 04:40 PM (EST)


Here's a short 'n sweet meditative yoga flow for you. It's a great way to start your day--or to fit in whenever you need a little pick- me- up.

Now that temperatures are dropping, it's a great way to increase your circulation and got toasty from the inside out. It's...

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Unplug and Recharge: Remember Who You Are

9 Comments | Posted October 27, 2009 | 02:34 PM (EST)


On these cold and dark mornings, as the days grow shorter and shorter, I find that I so appreciate the early morning hours.

Sure, it's hard to get out of bed--to trade the comfort of snuggling under warm blankets to touch feet down on the bare floor. But after a...

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Unplug and Recharge: 5 Steps to Overcoming Anxiety

8 Comments | Posted October 21, 2009 | 11:40 AM (EST)


The summer after I graduated from college I headed off to fulfill a dream -- I traveled solo through Europe for two months. Sauntering on Parisian streets; sipping vino in Italy; snuggling under down comforters in Switzerland and Austria; and noshing on pastries in Belgium, and Prague -- I was...

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Unplug and Recharge: 3 Key Ways to Be 100% Yourself

2 Comments | Posted October 14, 2009 | 01:20 PM (EST)


"I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is. I have a right to be this way...I can't apologize for that, nor can I change it, nor do I want to... We will never have to be other than who we are...
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Unplug And Recharge: How To Wake Up Happy

4 Comments | Posted October 7, 2009 | 05:44 PM (EST)


This morning I woke up at 4:00 a.m. Not by choice, mind you, but because the full moon was shining so brightly through the window above my bed.

Having been up too late the night before, I was a little miffed -- I really needed my Z's.... So before slipping...

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Unplug and Recharge: 5 Steps to a Colorful Meal

Posted August 25, 2009 | 06:11 PM (EST)


red-lentils

Grey clouds loom above the mountains outside; and last night it cooled off so much that I had to close some of the windows for the first time in months. We've officially entered into the stretch of late...

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Unplug and Recharge: How to Stay Cool with Yogic Breathing

1 Comments | Posted August 19, 2009 | 03:18 PM (EST)


During the dog days of summer we're familiar with the usual methods of cooling off: AC, dips in cool lakes, watermelon, and tall glasses of iced tea or lemonade often do the trick.
Yogis, however, use yet another way; and it's one that we doesn't require paying an electricity...

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Unplug and Recharge: A Refreshing Summer Elixir

Posted August 12, 2009 | 11:47 AM (EST)


Cucumber Water

cucumber-water

This is definitely my new favorite drink. While we all know we need to drink lots of water -- at least 64 oz/day, to be exact (especially when I'm living a mile above sea level), it's...

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Unplug and Recharge: Sky Meditation

20 Comments | Posted August 4, 2009 | 01:08 PM (EST)


Yesterday morning I got up early and went for a walk. There's a beautiful hiking trail close to my house here in Boulder. It wraps up the back of a mountain, and as you ascend up the trail you get a fuller and fuller view of the city below and...

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Unplug And Recharge: Get Out Of Your Head!

5 Comments | Posted July 23, 2009 | 07:29 AM (EST)


Making plans for summer vacation, e-mailing a friend, and editing a Word document: these are a few of the countless ways that we dwell in the realm of our thoughts.

The truth is, most of us, most of the time, live from the neck up. Sure this has its benefits....

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Unplug and Recharge: If You're Feeling Tired, Try This

3 Comments | Posted May 24, 2009 | 09:49 PM (EST)


I'm tired today. Really tired. The kind of tired that green tea (I'm not a coffee drinker) and eight hours of sleep can't remedy.

This week I had a cold, launched a new website, and am preparing to fly for over 24 hours today to teach in Thailand for...

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Unplug and Recharge:How To Age Gracefully

16 Comments | Posted May 13, 2009 | 07:59 AM (EST)


The simple act of moving your spine regularly can dramatically shift your experience of being alive. All too often we hold a rigid, upright posture, without allowing our spines to dance and undulate in the ways that they crave and are designed to.

One of my yoga teachers says that...

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Unplug and Recharge: 5 Minutes To Whole-Body Rejuvenation (Video)

Posted May 7, 2009 | 11:21 AM (EST)


Here's one of my favorite stretches. It targets the hips, which, in turn increases circulation and vibrancy through your whole body.

You can participate by sitting in a chair, wearing whatever you happen to be wearing (although if that includes a belt, loosen it slightly first to breathe and move...

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Unplug And Recharge: TLC For Your Lower Back, Part 3 (VIDEO)

5 Comments | Posted April 29, 2009 | 09:49 AM (EST)


Find lower back relief through:

1. Stretching the fronts of your hips and thighs.
2. Strengthening your core.
3. Alternately stretching and strengthening the muscles of your lower back (today's focus).

One of my favorite additions to any yoga practice, "Waterless Swimming" (You'll see what...

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Unplug and Recharge: Loving Your Lower Back, Part II (VIDEO)

Posted April 28, 2009 | 02:01 PM (EST)


Last week , in the first part of our series on lower back health, we focused on stretching the fronts of your thighs.

This week we'll target your core. By strengthening your abdominal muscles you will achieve such benefits as: greater core stability, a stronger digestive fire, and, at...

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Unplug and Recharge: Loving Your Lower Back, Part I (VIDEO)

Posted April 15, 2009 | 08:31 AM (EST)


Last week we focused on giving your shoulders some TLC; and many of you voiced that your lower backs need some loving as well. Know that you are not alone, for low back pain is one of the most common structural ailments worldwide.

The reasons behind this are many: poor...

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Unplug and Recharge: Shoulder SOS For Computer Lovers

Posted April 8, 2009 | 10:14 AM (EST)


Are you spending so much time at the computer that you are feeling like more of a head than a body?

If so, come back to Earth with this quick and easy yoga move, "Eagle Arms."

Doing this 1-3 times a day can help to open the shoulder joints...

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Unplug and Recharge: Lighten Up In 6 Easy Steps

Posted April 1, 2009 | 01:06 PM (EST)


I have fond memories of April Fool's Day. Filling the sugar jar with salt and sewing the feet of my father's pajamas shut were two of my favorite ways to celebrate as a child. No doubt, hiccup-inducing laughter (an endearing quality that I inherited from my grandmother) always ensued.

As...

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Unplug and Recharge: Everyday Yoga -- 5 Steps to Better Breathing

Posted March 25, 2009 | 05:05 PM (EST)


Sitting down for long periods of time, thinking too much, overeating, under-exercising, and resisting feeling your emotions can all contribute to shallow breathing. Shallow breathings can, in turn, play a part in depression, anxiety, constipation, digestive disturbances, fatigue, low libido, and more.

In school we learn skills like how to...

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