Mental Detox Day 7!

DREAM

Today you have permission to daydream about anything you want to! Today is a total release of the "real" world. You can wish for anything!!!

Start by writing down ten wishes or dreams. For instance:

• I want to sing with Madonna
• I want to fly to the moon
• I want to rule the world
• I want an IQ of 2000
• I want....

Once you have the list then just sit back and enjoy it. Imagine yourself ruling the world shortlly after winning TP. Tickets to the moon in your back pocket and the roar of the crowd still fresh in your mind from last nights concert with Madonna. In your mind you can be and do anything you want. So go ahead! Dream on and wish away.

Now that you have got into the swing of it you can get on with your normal day and transform it into the most amazing day you have ever had. Everything you do today will be the stuff dreams are made of.

wow, feels like Christmas, can hardly wait.....

ENJOY!

By the way, did you find your RISK? Please tell me, what is it?! I am having some trouble finding mine. HAve been thinking about it all day...hm...last night I dreamt of SNAKES, they were ALL OVER ME :( Perhaps thats my RISK. But I would much more like the rush of bungyjumping... so which one should I go with?!

LOVE Jo

What goes around, comes around (or "Stick your head up your arse")

Mo:

What do you do if you find out that someone has been back-talking one of your best friends?
To me it´s simple. I´d tell my friend about it.

Why?
Because that´s what I would want (and expect) my friends to do to me, if it was the other way around.

I´m extremely loyal and I want my friends to be of the same caliber. I would like my friends to stand up for me if I´m not there to defend myself.
If someone would be stupid enough to try and talk down a friend of mine to my face, I would bite his/her head off. Slowly (and as painfully as possible).
I can be severely revengeful and cruel if someone tries to hurt a person close to me.

What would I do if I found out that a person had been mouthing me off behind my back? Not neccessarly anything. Sometimes it´s just good to know where you have people. I have a very long memory span.

Why do we care so much about what other people think about us? Different reasons. We like to think that we are liked, that we are smart, that we are intelligent, etc etc.

I do seem to care less and less what other people say about me. Maybe you get more blasé the older you get, or maybe you just realize that it is impossible to be liked by everyone (so stop trying), sort of. Whatever the reason - life´s too short. Put the energy into the living & the loving people around you and let the others stick their heads up their arses. (That must be the saying of the week, mustn´t it?)

SHANTI :)

Mental Detox Day 6!

Okej Party People! We are back on track for the MENTAL DETOX and here is tomorrows TASK:

TAKE A PERCIVED RISK

Test your comfort zone and feel the thrill! If anything concentrates the mind it is a small dose of abject terror! Not only does it concentrate the mind but, as you go through the "my whole life flashed before me" bit, you also get to take a loong look at yourself and that is incredibly interesting! You find out so much about yourself and how you feel, how you react, in just a few small moments. This mental Detox is about looking at things differently in order to clear your mind of the rubbish and keep the important stuff.

The sorts of things I am talking about is:

• Parachute jumping
• Rock Climbing
• Flying
• White-river rafting
• Balloon Flight
• Going on a glider
• Holding an insect or reptile
• Mountain biking
• Cave diving
• Bidding at an auction
• Scuba diving
• Public Speaking

The list goes on... You need to find something that would truly be a massive thing for YOU to do! Don't listen to anyone else about what they think would be the most terrifying thing. Work it out for yourself and then do the necessary arrangements, the just book it! The task is to get the process started, not to DO the actuall thing today.

If you can do this - is there anything beyond your reach?

Good Luck with LOVE Jo

Mushy, mushy pea

Mo:

My head has been mush today. It feels like I was away for a week, not just a weekend. And I´m back in Norway this coming Thursday for about 20hrs.

Well, what made me feel better:

- meeting Mango this morning, gossiping about the weekend and planning stuff for the m&m functional tour 2009.

- my PT-session, which got me charged and ready for Spinning30 and kettlebell30.
2 fab classes where time just flew.

- deciding at the drop of a hat that we needed to book a holiday, P and I met for lunch and almost ran to Ticket.

The man behind the counter had probably not met many holiday shoppers like us before:

"Hello. We want to go away for a week in December and we need to be back by December 22. We want to go somewhere warm, somewhere sunny, where we can relax in a beautiful environment. We ABSOLUTELY do NOT want to go to Egypt, India or Morocco. We want minimum 4star accommodation and we would prefer a resort which is quiet and far away from mass tourism...?"

Man: "...ehhhh,hello....ok...Would you consider Thailand?"

Us: "Yes"

Man: "....anywhere in Thailand you definitely do NOT want to go to?"

We left the travel agents 15minutes later with 9 days of luxury at Andaman Princess Resort in Koh Kho Khao, Thailand, 11-20 december!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

Andaman Princess Resort, Koh Kho Khao:

Du e min man!

BOB!

Vem säljer slut sin bok på bokmässan?!!!!
Efter tre intensiva dagars jobb med att utbilda pur färksa BodyBalance Instruktörer masar jag iväg resterna av mitt jag ända till den kaotiska, ologiska, syresfattiga, ofengshuia bokmässan som äger rum i staden. Jag har ett MISSION: KÄRLEK!!!

Genom ett slögående, ofokuserat och oligiskt trögflytande folkvimmel pressar jag mig fram mot mitt mål.

DEN ÄR SLUT är svaret.

VA?! Ursäkta, slut? Ni e BONNIER, ni har för fan den största montern här med miljontals ex, va fan menar ni SLUT?

Innerst inne är jag Lycklig ändå. Bob Hanssons bok KÄRLEK är slutsåld på landets största bokmässa. Kvar finns tusentals ex om DETOX, Finn Lyckan, Coacha Dig Själv, Romaner, Veckotidningar, som alla REAS ut. Men boken om KÄRLEK har sålt slut. Jag tar det som ett vackert tecken. Heja BOB! En dag möts vi o då kommer det slå gnistor! Tills dess får vi nöja oss med dessa citat:



"Hur ofta ser vi inte bilden av oss själva i ett skyltfönster. Hur ofta fylls vi i det ögonblicket inte av en öronbedövande oro. LIGGER HÅRET OKEJ? TÄNK OM INTE!!! Och vi krafsar till skallen så diskret som möjligt. Om någon frågar vad vi håller på med skyller vi på vädret, svensktoppen eller kanske på den dåliga kvalitén på skorna.

Att erkänna att man är orolig nervös över att duga, just när man är det - går inte för sig. Möjligtvis senare, i en bakåtlutad generell pratstund åt det filosofiska hållet... Men mitt i detta skraja låtsas vi som NEJ DÅ och nöjer vi oss med att krympa ihop våra andetag dra in våra axlar och hålla tillbaks varje liten uns känsla som skulle kunna ställa till det...

Denna tillbakadragenhet är makaber.

Makaber med tanke på hur det började. Hur vi egentligen betedde oss när vi blommade ut ur våra mammors utploppsvidgade muttar. Den första tanken som slog oss var knappast undran om hur håret låg. Eller vad folk egentligen skulle tro om allt vårt klet och rödflammande axlar. Det var inte allt sådana saker vi tänkte på. Det var med ett stort himla vrål vi föddes. Ett vrål var det första vi placerade i världen och vi såg och vi vrålade och skrek och vi såg inte kloka ut och lagom var det inte tal om.

Sen någonstans på vägen tystnade vi




Varje gång du härmat perfektionen har du adderat ensamhet till den här världen - som så mycket hellre designar om sina skyddsrum än river ner dem.


Självcensuren är en omväg som mest leder till ett köpcenter när det i själva verket var stranden man var på väg till..."

Vart var du på väg? Kommer du ens ihåg?

Jo, man kan vara för frisk för att jobba, man kan ligga på sin säng och tänka ”här ligger jag och duger”. Imorgon är det MÅNDAG, då e jag LEDIG, det är min SÖNDAG. Jag ska gå upp sent, sitta o dricka kaffe på gatan o se människor stressa förbi. Men jag ska bara sitta kvar...

LOVE Jo

Put your ASS to it!

OMG!!!

The detox is back soon, I just thought that you might want to have a weekend of from it?!

(Or the truth, I am working and I just haven't got the time to do it myself, sorry)

So here's some candy for you! Perhaps this is what I'll teach at tomorrows Dance class?! Hmm?!

LOVE jo

SAFE convention 27 september

Mo:

Uuuuhhhhhmmm... I don´t actually feel too hot right now.
Larvik is way away from Oslo, I´ve just learned.
3h to be exact, by train and by bus.

It´s been a long day.
It was lovely seeing Cecilia, Maria, Oscar, Per, Camilla K, Annika and finally Matthew!

Also had a great chat with Anders Lindsjö at breakfast this morning. Anders is someone in the training industry that truly impresses me. Extremely knowledgeable and humble, he is the inspiration to my Olympic Weightlifting. At the moment he is involved with one of Sweden´s most interesting training companies at the moment, Elite training Sweden.

Anyway, back to the SAFE-convention...

My kettlebell class was interesting, since I found out about 5 minutes before the class that there weren´t enough kettlebells... I had to make a swift decision on how to deal with that challenge. Although far from optimal, I had to work the class in pairs, ie 2 people sharing 1 KB. People seemed happy, but I was not completely convinced.


The spinning class went well. Thanks to Terese Alvén who let me borrow the photograph below from her blog "Spark i baken" (since I had managed to leave my camera at home...)

Another déjà vu! This time from SuperSaturday! :)

I rushed away after my class to jump a plane to Oslo. Now it´s 22.34 and I´m tucked up in bed, HUNGRY. I will get better with my food planning, because when I´m traveling, it can hardly get any worse. Will probably have a VERY early breakfast tomorrow, not only because of an empty stomach, but also because my first class (yoga) is at 10am...

.

Back in the capital

Mo:

In Stockholm, staying at Scandic Anglais, which, as it turns out has managed to turn their lobby bar Anglais 101 to a hip "Stureplans hak", hence the thumping bass throughout the whole building. Not to be recommended for a goodnight´s sleep on Fridays.

What is to be recommended:

Déjà vu.... Back at Blueberry at NK, one week later. Seafood wrap and fresh smoothie. Yummy!

Ok. Just a liiiiittle bit of shopping... Bought this beautiful swagger and had to MMS sister from the fitting rooms to have a second opinion...

...and it looked great together with my new Raspberry red Wolford tights. Happy legs!

Dinner at "Il Covo" together with U was fab.
Back at the hotel now, winding down and getting ready for tomorrow. First class at 10am. A full report will follow...

Bring out the KALI inside...

Mo:

There is aggression in the air.
My day started off with irritation and didn´t get better by 9am when I was attacked by Cycle-parking-military outside the Book Fair. "You´re not allowed to park your bike here" Ehhhh, Where? You mean by the actual empty bike stand? Why?
"We advise people to park over there" points across the road half way to the World Cultural Museum.
"Well, try to stop me from parking here - at this empty bike stand. Call the police if you´re not happy."
Following STUPID rules that obviously doesn´t make any sense INFURIATES me. If the bike parking was full, overcrowded, I could have seen the point. But not when it´s built where it´s built and EMPTY.
So what´s a KALI-girl to do?
Park the bike anyway of course and walk inside.

Jens Lapidus, good looking and well dressed. Also a highly entertaining writer.

Erica Palmcrantz on the cover of HÄLSA. Gorgeous woman with a great business idea. Erica has just released her new book "RAW food". Way to go, girlfriend!

Leaving for Stockholm and the SAFE-convention in a few hours. Saturday I´m flying to Oslo to present at the SPENST-convention in Larvik on Sunday.

Peace.

.

Mental Detox Day 4!

Phuu, just got back from a LOOONG but smart day :) filled with school (do animals have THOUGHTS?), classes (BodyJam, BodyBalance and Yoga) some EKO shopping (tamari, almondbutter, italian pears, fresch rasberry smoothie etc jummy) and I just got out of the shower preparing for my Foundation Traning in BodyBalance that I will be leading fri-sun!

So the mental detox is a bit late, sorry about that but here's what tomorros' all about:

Mental Detox Day 4:

Inject some creativity into your life

Do something different, swap things around and see how it feels. Get a new perspective!

• I get up at the same time
• I have the same thing for breakfast
• I got to my office
• I have lunch
• I finish at the same time everyday
• I go home
• I watch TV
• I make supper
• I go to bed
• I get up at the same time...

Sounds familiar? Either way I think that we ALL have some patterns that could use a break every now and then!

Your day of change should be TOTAL. Everything you do should be done differently.

• Set the alarm earlier or later
• Get out of the bed in a diff way
• Have your shower before/after breakfast - which ever is not the norm
• Wear a completelly diff outfit
• If you normally wear make up - don't
• If you don't wear aftershave/perfume do!
• If you drive, take the bus
  
• Get tea insted of coffe
• Take the stairs, not the lift
• Leave work later or earlier
• Go a diff route home
• Eat out/in
• Watch TV if you normally read

Any of the above activities could make you look at your day completely differently. You may want to change things permanently, or you may go back to normal. It's up to you. BUT, for this day, be different, be refreshing and inspiring!

Time to get topsy Turvy :)

LOVE Jo

Mental DETOX Day 3

Mental Detox Day 3!

Good Evening!
How did you do today?

Let me tell you about my day:
Erhmmm, well, where to start?!

My technical task was to: Install my Iphone with my MobileMe account (which I also had to purchase).

In total this took me 5 hours – instead of the planned 1-hour (and I thought I was generous here!)! The other 4 hours of my evening were supposed to consist of yoga, pilates and SPA evening with sauna, delicious scrubs and deep moisturizing masks ☹



If it wouldn’t have been for this DETOX I must admit that I would still be living a life without a functioning e-mail account, a broken hands free (and that gives you cancer, ask my mother), no idea on how to use Å Ä Ö on my cell phone and 0 contacts in my cell phone (not very good since I don’t know a single phone number from the top of my head!)

In short: I went to the MAC store, humbly explaining that I SUCK at this pop server, smpt shit but would like to be able to sync my Iphone with my laptop, that’s kinda the idea of the Iphone!!!! At first they said: There, it’s working! But persistent as I am I double-checked and correct, it was still NOT working!!! ☹ Also they had NO idea how to take away the DAMN T9, how to find Å Ä Ö or why my hands free wasn’t working! Thanks MAC!!! They said that since TELIA have monopoly on selling the Iphone, they are the only ones who knows how to work it….. erhmm oki (normally I would have given up here, but since I was on Mission MENTAL DETOX I persisted). Went to TELIA, queued for 40min only to find out that the TELIA guy would say EXACTLY the same as the MAC person only vice versa… MAC should know this…

Well, 5 hours later here I am and I have synced my Iphone to my laptop, the contacts are in, I know where Å Ä Ö is. The hands free is soon to be replaced, the only thing left is the god damn T9 but I guess I can live with sending LÖK messages for now if you are ok with that ?!

TOMORROW:

CREATE SOME SPACE IN YOUR HEAD

We all have ghosts or skeletons in our minds. We are full of “what if”, “I wonder”, “should have” and “if only”.
If we used this time more effectively, doing something about our worries instead of just worrying, then we would clear a lot more space and create a lot more peace in our minds!

First step:

Write down all the things:

1 you truly believe you cannot do anything about, but want to, in order to clear them out of your thoughts.

2 you constantly think about and want to do something about.

Take every thought that creeps into your mind and put it down on paper. Take the situations/people one at a time and write them a letter. You can then do whatever you want with these letters. All your thoughts have been faced, they won’t have gone away but they have now been managed and you should feel really positive that you have taken some action!

Good Luck and Sweet Dreams Jo

Give as good as you get - and get as good as you give?

Mo:

My new training schedule is slowly taking shape.

It goes something like this:

Monday 1hr PT-session, consisting of squats, cleans, deadlifts, chest presses, chins, etc
Teaching: 30min spinning+30min kettlebell

Tuesday Running 5-8k Yoga 30-60min
distance, time & intensity depends on how my body feels after the weekend.

Wednesday Yoga 60min
Teaching: 60min yoga+60min spinning+45min kettlebell

Thursday Weightlifting same as Monday, but without PT + 15min Kettlebell, 12-16kg, 4-6 reps.

Friday Running and/or yoga/or resting, depending on traveling schedule.

Saturday - Sunday "off" from my own training. Normally I teach 2-4 60min classes at the weekend.

Biggest dietary change in the last two years? I´ve probably doubled my intake of fats and I no longer buy into the bu**shit that "Livsmedelsverket"-we-are-sitting-in-the-lap-of-the-food-
industry-and-licking-their..) is trying to sell, (ie "saturated fat is bad for you, there is nothing wrong with artificial sweeteners or trans fats or margarines, or glutamate, fat burns in the fire of carbohydrates", etc etc etc. Hello?????????????????)

Biggest body change in the last 10 years?
I am better trained than ever before. My 38th birthday is coming up in 3months and I have never been in better shape, or had better health, strength+cardiovascular fitness.

How to stay motivated:
Always do things that you truly enjoy. Always be curious about new things and cross train, cross train, cross train... Train with people that are stronger, faster, harder (but humble) and learn from them.

Training goal in the next 12months:
To be able to do Olympic weightlifting with good technique. To reach this goal I will work on my ankle flexibility regularly. (After 13 years of cycling and not stretching my soleus(-one of two muscles that makes up the calf-) properly, my ankle flexibility is negligible.

Health goal in the next 12months:

To stay energized, healthy and well.

Gothenburg, oh no, sorry - GOTHAM CITY - the city of outlaws

Mo:

We come home at 21.45.

The phone rings. Someone has jumped, walked and skipped all over my car and a witness has found my number by checking my car registration. We live next to a church that shelters druggies. When I look out, the street corner hosts about 6 of them. They are high. They are loud. They are aggressive and they cause havoc.
P grabs my car key and runs out.
I call the police. NEVER ever trust an aggressive druggie.
I get through to the police. I explain the situation calmly. He says he will send someone.
At the same time I can watch P checking my car. (I´m kicking myself for parking it so close to the church!)
One of the loudest druggies walks up to P and starts shouting at the top of his voice. I´m two floors up behind glass and I can still hear every word.

P is so cool. He doesn´t move an inch and his body language is completely relaxed. P walks off and comes back with someone from the church (staff?) to check out any damage to the car.

During the minute or so that he´s away, the loudest mouth of the druggies shouts to a man in a white van across the road: "I´M GONNA ROB YOOOOOU!!!!" and walks towards him. Then he changes direction and walks back towards my car.

P drives off to park my dear Aygo in a VERY different spot.
About 7 minutes have passed since the phone call.

The police arrives! WHEEEEHEEEEYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! I will never complain again about the police not being around when you need them! And it´s a van! Full of butch guys! 4 of them in total.




AND they take the situation seriously. 10minutes later they have booked and transported the unruly people away. And although everything will be the same by tomorrow night; loud druggies shooting up heroin just outside my bedroom window, dealing drugs, threatening passersby, shouting xxx-words to each other and doing their toilet in the street corner, for a while it actually feels a tiny bit better.

By the way, did I mention that I live in one of the most so called fashionable areas of Gothenburg City? Yeah, right. More like GOTHAM CITY these days. The city of outlaws.

It´s time to move.

.

Day 2: Mental DETOX

So how did you do today?

I must admit that it wasn't to hard for me :) I love smiling, especially when I meet people on the street, in the gym, in my classes, I love the reaction I get!

BUT, it was a new dimension, a new sensasion to SMILE when I was alone, by myself, trying to manage my IPhone, reading a complicated piece about the brain, trying to find my keys. When I thought about todays task a SMILE flew over my lipps and i feelt so much lighter, happier and more relaxed :)

So, preparing for tomorrow, this is our task:

Day 2: Learn a Technical Function!

Choose an appliance that you have never really understood how to use. For instance:

• The dvd recorder
• The delicates wash on your machine
• A function on your mobile phone
• A function on your car
• Programing a padlock on your suitcase

Once you have chosen your appliance, choose a function that has always been pushed to the back of your mind or perhaps has always been labelled "someone else's job" - and quiet simply, teach yourself HOW TO DO IT!

TIP: Make sure you find something you WANT to solve. If you never use the dvd there will be little or no satisfaction in the learning process!

Lets ROCK Technology!

Have Fun Jo

Mental DETOX

10 days to detox your MIND!

This detox requires you to stop and take a really long look, not just at yourself but inside yourself and all around yourself.

Each day I will carry out a task that makes me look at myself, my life/thoughts differently. Do you want to join me?!

I will post a new task every day here on MOJO for 10 days! Starting today! I will also let you know how I am doing and if you are with me I would love to hear how you are doing in your comments!

So, are you ready to get your mind blown away… ☺

This 10-day detox requires:

• A notebook + pen
• Something technical that you never truly mastered
• Relaxing music
• Your imagination
• Your open mind

DAY 1: SMILE

It is said that children smile an average of 400 times a day, whilst adults only manage to crack a grin 15 times a day!

It’s a shame that something so simple sometimes seems so hard. We get out of the habit of smiling because there is so much else to think about, which is serious and doesn’t warrant a smile! But, if you look at it the other way, it would be so much better to do the serious stuff with a smile!

Today, think about your smile:

• Smile at your neighbor
• The first person you meet in the street, say hello with a smile
• When you answer the phone, say hello with a smile
• If anyone opens a door for you, say thank you with a smile
• If you read anything or go through a document, make sure you change the serious look for a smile
• Write in your diary at the end of the day with a smile. Think of all the fabulous things you have done and the people you have met.

TIPS! The smile must be genuine! Write in your diary about how you felt about smiling all day. Was it exhausting or uplifting? Did it feel strange at first or did it feel natural? Did you enjoy it? Did it make you smile?

OM SHANTI and Good Luck Smiling today


Jo

109?!

Wow!

Thank you EVERYBODY who showed up at the GLOBAL MALA in Gothenburg, uniting and performing 108 Sun salutations for PEACE/SHANTI!

And thanks to those of you who couldn't make it but contributed in your own unique way: Mo in Sthlm, Mango playing 108 games :) Mom, Grandma and Bro in Skåne picking at least 108 apples and making home made organic "ÄPPLEMOS" that will nourish me in the cold winter mornings :)!!

THANK YOU

The donations we collected for www.kvinnatillkvinna.org will be sent direct to the org, I will let you know the amount ASAP!

So enough SHANTI

How are you 108 sun salutation HEROES feeling?
I admit that whilst performing the rounds I felt very much at ease, perhaps due to the strong dedications made BUT this morning... is a entirely diff story!

My HAMSTRINGS and TRICEPS are still not talking to me....

What about yours?



The wonderful Mr. T who is always up for a challenge sent me this graph today, displaying his heart beat during the full mandala, wow, interesting! You can see each sun salutation!
Mr. T then kindly asked me to take a closer look at the 4th and last round of 27 salutations, and erhmmm perhaps we did ONE to many?! My apologize!

My reply - Next time, why don't you do the counting :)

SHANTI LOVE and BHAKTI to you my gorgeous TRIBE! I am soo grateful to have you all in my life!

Jo

ROLE MODEL, anyone???

Mo:

Back at work after a lovely weekend in Stockholm.

Spent some time with friends after the concert on Friday night and had a BEAUTIFUL dinner around J & D´s on Saturday night. Great food, fabulous company and lots of laughter, what more can one ask for?

The yoga workshop on Saturday and Sunday with Larry Schultz at "Its yoga" was average. I don´t buy into that American "I´m so spiritual"-crap. Especially from someone who first tells us about the importance of yoga being something else than just physical exertion (yes, yes, yes, nice thought and all that) and then 1hour later cannot shut up about the Rocket-workout being "so hard, so tough and so physically challenging - don´t you think?".

What´s with these (most of the time, American) "Gurus" that have to fish for compliments high and low?

Another thing, I always get suspicious when someone tells me about the physical and mental benefits of yoga and then looks like an unfit, not so healthy individual themselves. Come on, you don´t have to look like a magazine model, but at least have the decency not to carry a huge pot belly around! Role model, anyone?

Just like I (personally) would NEVER go to an overweight nutritionist or an unfit personal trainer, I don´t want my yoga inspiration to come from someone who needs constant self-esteem boosts, (or someone who pulls a muscle whilst doing pigeon, because his hips are too tight!).

Talking of which, I have my first session tonight with my new personal trainer. I must be the first client who has actually told him what the training should be like (olympic weight lifting and heavy weights progressing over the weeks to plyometrics work) and how much I expect him to push me and challenge me....
I´ll be his easiest client....ehrr, or not, time will tell....

Things I would like to learn (if I didn´t prioritize other stuff more):

1). How to build a gorgeous web page. In html AND flash.

2). How to crawl. (...so that I could finally do "Vansbrosimmet" and stop swimming like a sea horse. Vertically.)

3). How to cook.

4). How to speak fluent Italian (...and Spanish...and French).

5). How to sing (without scaring off birds and little children).

Thank you, Mr WONDER

Mo:





I had huge tears in my eyes for the first 15minutes of the show. The lump in my throat just grew bigger and I remember thinking to myself: "Is this really happening? I´ve never been to a concert where the artist got me crying after the first song!...."
When song nr 2 turned out to be "Jammin´(MasterBlaster)" - my all time Stevie favourite, I thought "Ok, I´m gonna do a teenage fainting scene now!".
For 2hours and 30minutes without a break, Stevie Wonder gave 100%.
Thank you.

Thank you for all the goosebumps, the shivers and all the unbelievable emotions you had me feeling throughout your concert.
What a privilege to have experienced something like this, true beautiful talent in all its wonderful awesomeness...


Reviews in DN and SvD.

.

Stevie Wonder Day

Mo:

Chillin´ at the hotel.

Waiting for 19.30 and Stevie Wonder at Globen. Arrived in Stockholm around 4pm. Had a walk around. Bought a bottle of wine for the dinner party we´re invited to tomorrow night.

Had a snack at "Bluberry" - a great little snack bar in NK, with organic wraps, soups and smoothies. Highly recommended.

Having a shower now and getting ready for Stevie...

To Russia with love

Mo:

I´m going to Russia in October. 1 week first in Moscow then in Novosibirsk. Yes, SIBERIA. Anyone who knows me, know that I don´t handle the cold very well. Let´s just say that Siberia is not the ideal place to go to if you don´t handle the cold very well.

Why I go?
Because it´s one of the few places I´ve never been to with my work. I try to travel internationally more rarely these days, unless I go for leisure, since the stress that travel brings is less and less worth it, but I still find it hard to turn down new places.

What will I be doing in Siberia?
Teaching spinning and yoga (+ a yoga & pregnancy workshop).

Anyway, the reason I tell you this, is the fact that you need a Visa to go to Russia. Off I go to the Russian Consulate here in Gothenburg. (Luckily, I´ve been once before so the strange procedure doesn´t surprise me.)

Here is a quick 10-step guide on how to get a Russian Visa:

1. You queue.
2. You get served by a Russian man who probably hasn´t smiled for the last century or so. (Actually I believe he had fangs...). He looks at your papers. He then repeats what date you are to arrive and leave Russia and says (in a very scary, robotic way): "Visa will be ready September 23. Next Wednesday. Now you go to cashier, give note, go to bank across the road, come back to show reciept of payment."
3. You take two steps to the left to another hole in the wall.
4. Inside the black bunker of a room, a woman (at least I think it´s a woman, the room is so dark and so badly lit) pulls your papers through one of these bank teller´s "draw boxes", which seems odd since there is no cash involved. Maybe they´re just afraid of germs?
5. Woman person gives back a pay slip.
6. You take the pay slip, leave the consulate to walk across the road to the bank.
7. You queue in the bank.
8. You pay the Visa fee + the banks extortionate fee of 65SEK (it´s "MY" bloody bank and I STILL have to pay!)
9. You walk back to the Russian Consulate.
10. You hand in the receipt from the bank to the Woman Person in the dark, little room.

Excuse me? It is 2008. That´s all I´m saying.

.

Not What you do, but How you do it

108

The spirit of the Global Mala is to encourage as many people to participate in a collective ritual by bringing hatha, bhakti, jnana and karma yoga together!

It is not WHAT you do, it is HOW you do it!
-Echart Tolle

108 Sunsalutations might sound lika A LOT to many people. But trust me, having done it several times before, it is so much more than just a "workout". Instead of taking energy away from you like some other physical exercise, these 2 hours will load you up with energy enough for the rest of 2008!

WHY?

Well, like Tolle says, it is HOW we perform the Salutations. Consider it a detox, autom cleaning, a fine tuning of where you are heading in life and a good 2 hour session where YOU are given time to actually face and resolve some of those deep old issues that still drain you from energy every day. So come, break old habits, creat new more PRANIC ones and feel what it feels like to be in union, YOGA!

There are four rounds, each made up of 27 SunSalutations

Round One – Dedications for Personal Transformation and Realization. This round is for all of one's prayer for your personal activation, healing, fertilization and manifestation of the potency of one's life. Self-realization and actualization. No prayer is to earthy or heavenly. If your car is broken down and unsafe or a gas guzzler, you may need a round in dedication to a hybrid car. Typically, the prayers are for healing qualities: compassion, love, creativity and the specific areas and projects that are part of the transformative fabric of one's life.

Round Two - Dedications for Family, Friends and Precious Jewels (anyone you have unresolved conflict with)

Round Three - Dedications for the World – The Bodhisattva round where we pray for what we care about and are active in transforming from war, global warming, AIDS, to your local needs.

Round Four - Dedications to the Source – The conversation between you and the universe, the praise, gratitude and joy.

If you have any questions e-mail me, otherwise I hope to see you there, even if you've never done a singel sunsalutation in your life before! Everybody can join this MALA!!

Sunday 21 Sep
3pm-5pm
The World Cultural Museeum


OM SHANTI Jo

Little Brother....

My Brother sent me a picture of ROBBIE WILLIAMS this morning on SKYPE.

I asked him why?

His reply was:

I think it is funny that he is that FAT....or not.....

I Love my brother, he can really make me SMILE, no matter how grey the sky is. And what I love about him most is that he doesn't even try to make me laugh!

For example:

I am going to LONDON in October to manage www.appleyoga.com. My gorgeous friend and Supa Yogini, Katy is hosting a retreat so I am staying in her fab flat and taking care of her studio. More about that later, anyway....

I wanted to visit my mother and brother in Skåne before so I arranged for me to take the train down to skåne on the friday and fly from Copenhagen to London on the following Monday.

Talking to my mom, she said that she was working all monday so she could not drive me to the airport, but perhaps my brother could?!

(Take into consideration that I haven't meet my brother in months) Asking him if he could drive me to the train station monday morning he replies:

Him: -I don't know
Me: - Why don't you know, what r u doing. Aren't you in school on mondays?
Him: - Well, yes
Me: - And doesn't school start at 10am?
Him: - Yes
Me: - So why don't you know then?
Him:- Well, I excercise in the morning as well

(NOTE: He used to be a mean machine in the gym, couldn't miss a singel session, then he moved to England and stoppe working out completelly! Now he started again a couple of days ago. Conclusion: He didn't exercise AT ALL for over a year, and now he can't skipp a singel session to be with his sister?!)

Me: - But not everyday right?!
Him: - Mondays, Wed, Fri at 8:30
Me: - Couldn't you go to the GYM after school (that lasts from 10-12)?
Him: - No, everything becomes so late then... I have homework that I have to do

(NOTE: Yes, he has got homework to do, BUT I also know that he plays WoW.... no more comments!)

Me: - So you could dropp me of at the train before that?
Him: - Maybe

I LOVE my brother but the funny thing here is that we are talking about the 20th of OCTOBER!
And my brother is NOT known for PLANNING AHEAD!!!

At least we have one thing in common:

AMBITION!!!

LOVE jo

Insane in the... BRAIN?!

I am back to school and I am about to get to know EVERYTHING about one of our most vital organs, and YES, it is an ORGAN - THE BRAIN!

Have read several articles on the subject today and it is FASCINATING!!!

Did you know that the more preassure you add, the faster the brain developes. BUT, there is always a but, you need to add right "preassure" in right amount, in right time. As soon as I find the formula for this I will let you know. For now me theme is:

THE PREASSURE IS ON

THE BRAIN
THE BRAIN
THE BRAIN

Jo

The Man, The Myth, The Legend...the 9th Wonder...

Mo:

...FINALLY I understand...

Because I thought we would be somewhere else, I had not remembered. But faith wanted differently...

So, on Friday 19.30 we will join a sold out Globen to embrace the Man, the Myth, the Legend, the World´s 9th Wonder:

Stevie...

Copenhagen - Glasgow - Stockholm RETURN

Mo:

Yesterday was a weird day.

When I was about to leave the house someone had parked their car ON TOP of my car...

I´m sorry, but how can you NOT notice that you have parked your car like this?:




I called around, found the owner eventually and he was very apologetic, which made me go from raging, pre-historic Amazon, back to being a sweetie... (I have a tendency to do that when people apologize sincerely.)
I just asked him kindly to double check his parking next time...



Since P and I have taken the weekend off (this was decided in the beginning of August), we thought we would head to Copenhagen for a couple of days... I envisioned a 5-star hotel, sleeping in, a huge breakfast, luxury and comfort. Actually, I envisioned SAS Radisson Royal Hotel, one of my favourite hotels in Scandinavia. (I enjoy boutique and designer hotels too, but most of the time I find them a bit too colourful, a bit too arty-farty and just about 20sqm too small in real life...)

Let´s just say, P couldn´t care less where we would be staying, he is sooo easy going. When I started going on about 5-star luxury this and wonderful design that, he just gave me a sort of blank look, saying: "Remember who you are talking to... As long as you are happy with the place....".

Which made me feel that the pressure was on. (Weird how that works, eh? Someone gives you total freedom of choice and you feel like: oh, shit, I hope I make a GOOD decision!)


Only problem, SAS Radisson only had Junior Suites left for the weekend....and although I REALLY wanted 5-star quality, suddenly the budget for the weekend went CRAZY, the hotel alone would come to more than 6.000SEK....for 2 nights....(and we hadn´t even started our dinner yet at the Michelin-star restaurant....).

Problem was, once I had decided that comfort and great service was what I wanted, I couldn´t focus on finding one single other option... (In some other context this is called imagining a clear goal - but now it felt more like tunnel vision....) Well I did actually look at First Hotel Skt Petri, but it was fully booked Sat-Sun....



So then we thought, well, if we´re going to blow the budget anyway, we might as well fly somewhere.... P found some Ryan Air flights to Glasgow. I used to live there for 3 years and I know the city well. It´s actually a great place to go for a weekend. Some really good restaurants, fantastic shopping and even a couple of nice museums/art galleries if you are so inclined....

We would fly out Friday - back Sunday and stay at the Hilton right in the city center. YES!

It´s just that when we hit the "Send" button to pay for our flights, the Ryan air site went down. And it happened twice. Get the message, sort of.... We decided to give it up and try again tomorrow (read today). Just before heading off for bed, I had a totally different idea. I quickly surfed a few web sites and...


that´s why, on Friday we´re driving up to Stockholm, staying at the new Clarion Sign hotel. Shopping, fika and lounging Friday, maybe even a Bikram Class and then we´re joining the "Its yoga" 2-day-workshop at Its yoga Stockholm with the founder of Its yoga San Fransisco, Larry Schultz!

Maybe (Not) exactly what bargained for, but JEZ, it will be a fun weekend!

I will Get YOU

I am sick, I am not often sick! I do not like being sick!

I already have a hard time relaxing and doing nothing, being sick strangelly makes it even harder!

So today I have been doing A LOT of research on the internet and I have come to the conclusion that I will take in some expert help:

WELCOME SEN!!!

Qi is a concept which underpins all of Chinese medicine. It is commonly translated as energy but it is actually much more than this: Qi can exist in numerous states and forms. We all know that the body contains energy, providing heat and fuel to different parts of the body. This energy flows though the body and links the organ networks. In simple conventional medicine terms energy is the metabolisation of proteins in the body and that without a clear flow of this energy to the organs of the body they will deteriorate and lead to illness.



Sen aims to ensure a smooth circulation and balance of Qi throughout your body and organ networks with the help of herbs. There are three main ways to describe the effect that herbs can have on Qi and the energy flow within the human body.

The first is temperature. Each herb is said to be either hot, warm, neutral cool or cold. Typically, hot herbs are used to alleviate cold conditions such as certain types of arthritis, coughs or uterine pains. Conversely cold herbs are used for hot conditions like high fevers, excessive thirst and constipation.

The second is taste. There are five tastes, each of which indicates the active nature of the herb. A pungent taste tends to be dispersing; bitter is cooling and draining; sweet is tonifying; salty softens; sour substances are astringent; and bland herbs tend to drain dampness.

Finally, each herb is also linked with specific organ networks. For example menthe (or peppermint) is pungent, cool and is linked with the lungs and the liver. In terms of the lungs therefore, menthe would be used as part of a prescription to disperse externally invading toxins causing flu and the hot type of cold.

What do you think? Do these Chinees dudes know what they talk about?

I will let you know how this exciting Herbal story ends....

to be continued...

Jo

I HATE THEM!!!

What the f..ck are they doing in EVERY MEAL you eat out?

Perfectly ripe tomatoes with nice olive oile and mozarella chees and basil can be a gift sent from above but what about these watery, pale as mother f..ckers who are cut in lite boats and just taste like bad water! Get them out of my sight, i am sick of having to throw away tons of tomatoes every time I eat a sallad out!!! Stop wasting my time, money and mother earth!

Thanks!

Soo nice to be back home and cook my own food :)

Jo

Howling at the moon

Mo:

Although it was just as beautiful driving home - took a shortcut between Arvika and Åmål - I shiver when I think about living in the countryside... I mean, not just going there for a few days or a long weekend, REALLY living in the REAL countryside. The thought of having the car braking down in the middle of nowhere, immediately spins my imagination off to "Deliverance"-land.
Anyone who has seen that movie will definitely remember the infamous lines:

"...you aaain´t from around here, are you booooy?...."
or even worse
"...I bet you can squeal like a pig!...


I remember when I was younger (late teens), coming home from a visit in the deep forrest or such alike, I always felt as if I needed to get out and be amongst people. Preferably in a dress with high heels. Yet, I also adore being surronded by nature/forrests/mountains/lakes/fields when I haven´t been for a long time. Weird, eh?

Maybe it´s just the fact that Monday is full moon-day that´s screwing with my head.
Do you feel it?
I sort of do.
Let´s just say that I´m glad that I´m not living in the dark Ages... At least I don´t grow facial hair or fangs...





.

If you are what you say you are, a SUPERSTAR...

Mo:

I know I´ve said it before, but if you want to see a beautiful piece of Sweden, drive Säffle-Arvika. Stunning. Especially in the early autumn sun.
Driving here I managed to dodge most of the speed cameras. I bloody hate them. They make people drive like imbeciles, speeding in between cameras and then standing on the brake when spotting one.

I, on the other hand, pull down my Ed Hardy-cap low and stand on the gas whilst imagining I´m driving my Mercedes SL 65 AMG Black Series and singing loudly to George Michael, Cyndi Lauper, Lupe Fiasco (album of the year: "The Cool") NAS & Kanye West...

Staying at Hotel Oscar in the city center. Nice.

Had "Wallenbergare" made from Elk for dinner. Yummy!

Tomorrow I´m teaching day 2 of a continuing education package that Hälsokompaniet has bought.

Should be back at home around 21.00 tomorrow night...






.

Unleash your FULL potential

Mo:

Do you want to find new ways of improving your life quality?

Do you want tools on how to set goals and how to achieve them?

Do you want to feel more happy?

Do you sometimes feel lost when it comes to big decisions?

Do you strive for excellence in what you do?

Do you want success and prosperity in your career?

Do you want the power to unleash your full potential in all areas of your life?

If the answer is YES to any of the above questions, you would benefit from hiring a coach.

You carry ALL the answers.

I will help you find them and together we will unleash your full potential.

Come prepared: Coaching is a life changing experience and you will never be the same again.

Enquiries: info@in-cycle.com

A student a teacher and a leader

On my way out, to school, to study HUMAN COMMUNICATION, then teaching classes at SPOTLIFE and then jumping on the train to Stockholm where I am teaching a Foundation Training in BodyJam. I’ll be back on Sunday night.

But this time I am not traveling alone, I have SHAKTI with me ☺ He is pitch black, he plays me music, he communicates like none of my previous boyfriends, verbally and visually. We are only at the start but I do think that He’s got it ALL!!!

Have a great weekend; hope to see you all next weekend in Gothenburg!

Oh, he’s calling, gotta go….

BHAKTI Jo