The golden age of yoga mats

We live in the golden age of yoga mats. When I began practicing asanas almost 28 years ago, sticky mats came in only a few colors: pea green, turquoise blue and violet. Today, yoga mats are available in every color of the rainbow, as well as wild patterns. Sticky mats are made from different materials, some of them much more eco-friendly than petrol-chemical-based mats of old. A yoga mat is a highly personal item, once a practitioner gets past using the communal mats provided by a studio. For Yoga Digest, I wrote this essay titled “My yoga mat, my bridge to myself” about yoga mats I haveknown: https://yogadigest.com/my-yoga-mat-my-bridge-to-myself/

#ByColleenSmith #YogaDigest #YogaMat #YogaMats #Yoga #Ecofriendly #Asanas

 

Beach warrior: no mat required

An executive VP and attorney offers her tips from the top

Anne Lee Benedict has a little boy and a big job. A single parent, she’s executive vice president and chief legal officer of Summit Materials, a construction company. Consequently, she’s something of an efficiency expert, and she shared some of her success strategies in this article I wrote
for Denver Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2019/12/24/life-in-balance-anne-lee-benedict.html
#ByColleenSmith #DenverBusinessJournal #DBJ #AnneLeeBenedict #SummitMaterials #Starbucks #LifeInBalance #Business #Construction #DenverBusiness

“I try to take a more holistic view of the different areas of my life.”

Coors exhibit corrals best contemporary western artists

For the past 27 years at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale has rounded up some of the best contemporary artists. Featuring paintings, prints, sculptures and more, the exhibition is free with stock show admission.

For Denver Business Journal, I interviewed Rose Franklin, curator of the show for the past 24 years, as well as two of my favorite Denver-based artists: painter Karen Roehl and printmaker/watercolorist Leon Loughridge.

Dive into the full article here: https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2019/12/20/arts-culture-coors-western-art-exhibit-preview.html?fbclid=IwAR3BJ9dA_0KshF7WJZtVU3M0T-dTEy9KrzjrDpaxb6ne5gLpSz9OxH3otso

#KarenRoehl #LeonLoughridge #CoorsWesternArtShow #NationalWesternStockShow #contemporaryWesternartists #stockshow #DenverStockShow #DenverColorado #contemporaryart #horsepaintings #stockshowart #Denverartists #Denverart

Details of horse paintings by Karen Roehl, a Denver-based artist in her sixth Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale.

Details of horse paintings by Karen Roehl, a Denver-based artist in her sixth Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale. Photos courtesy of Karen Roehl

Oil painter Karen Roehl portrays horses using her process of layering strokes of realism rendered in neutrals over colorful abstract mark-making. Photo by Kathleen Levine, Denver Business Journal

Ninja Nation CEO stretches physical and mental limits

Wayne Cavanaugh is Type A+. Driven and disciplined, the founder and CEO of Ninja Nation creates obstacle courses and knows how to overcome his own obstacles.

“Nobody is born good at anything,” he said. “You learn through repetitive hard work.”

Interviewing Cavanaugh for Denver Business Journal, I asked him, “What is your superpower?”

He responded, without missing a beat, “To authentically communicate and connect with people around me positive motivation to help kids and adults to find the hero version of themselves they never thought possible.”

For Cavanaugh, his company aligns with his life purpose.

“Ninja Nation is not just a business with a fun brand, but the culmination of my soul-searching to find a way to combine career and make a tremendously positive impact on the people around me.”

More details in my article published by Denver Business Journal:

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2019/10/25/life-in-balance-ninja-nation-wayne-cavanaugh.html

#DBJ #DenverBusinessJournal #LifeinBalance #NinjaNation #WayneCavanaugh #Obstacles #ObstacleCourses #CEO

Wayne Cavanaugh cited his meditation practice using Coherence HeartRate+ and “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle as two of his favorite inspirational tools. 

Zachary Zorn Designs: An emerging artist creates sculptural furnishings

Zachary Zorn’s designs mingle unexpected materials including reclaimed walnut trees, vintage airplane wings and piano parts. An emerging artist, Zorn brings an element of Zen to his simple yet captivating works, many of which are functional furnishings such as tables. My feature for the December-January issue of Colorado Expression magazine offers more details, along with photographs of the art and the artist.

Read the full story here: https://www.coloradoexpression.com/featured-stories/zachary-zorn-designs

Visit Zachary Zorn’s website: http://www.zacharyzorndesigns.com/

#ZacharyZorn #ZacharyZornDesigns #RecycledMaterials #Recycle #ReclaimedWood #Furnishings #Sculpture #Steampunk #CustomFurniture

“I always pick things that aren’t supposed to go together and make them go together.”