Author Archives: NAI-Adm

Thumbs up or thumbs down = balanced mood

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By Kali Jennifer Patrick with A Journey into Health

If you put yourself out there on social media, whether it’s in a blog, a video, or even a simple Facebook post, you’re likely to get, well…feedback.

Several months ago out of curiosity, I went to the “A Journey Into Health” YouTube Channel and sorted my video posts by “most popular”. The most popular video is (and continues to be) the Yoga for Mind-body Balance one. I remember being a bit surprised since this is a longer video than I usually publish. But what caught my attention next was the “thumbs up/down” indicator next to the video.

My mind went something like this: “three thumbs up! Awesome!” “Wait, what??! Two thumbs down? Why would anyone give this video a thumbs down? And TWO people!?” I could feel my smile turning upside down (you know, in alignment with the thumbs). Fortunately soon after noticing that sensation in my body, and those thoughts in my mind, I realized that I had a choice. And that in this moment, a simple image carried some potential to affect my mood.

In Erroneous Zones, Dr. Wayne Dyer suggests that we live in an “approval seeking” culture. He also suggests that it’s OK to want to please someone else; what’s not is when we need to please someone else in order to feel good about ourselves. If we have this need, it means that we need external validation as a way of masking a lack of internal trust.

Read more, here.

Approval of yourself

 

About A Journey into Health:

In 1998 Kali added power yoga into her fitness routine to increase her flexibility, and started exploring meditation to offset the stress of her high-tech corporate job. It wasn’t until many years later–after several significant challenges and deep internal work–that she started to see more clearly what it meant to be healthy.

In 2012 Kali took the full leap into mind-body wellness, forming A Journey Into Health. She became a 200-hour certified yoga instructor, found energy healing and holistic nutrition: she’s also an Usui Reiki Master and an Eating Psychology Coach. Kali also achieved the “experienced” yoga teaching designation along with her 500-hour certification in Yoga Therapy. She teaches group classes, offers private yoga, coaching, and Reiki sessions, as well as gives workshops in and around the Austin area.

Meet Sylvester Palacios, Jr., Senior Account Executive for one of Texas’ largest independent communications agencies

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Sylvester Palacios is a Senior Account Executive and Internship Coordinator for the Austin office of Pierpont Communications, one of Texas’ largest independent communications agencies.  Since joining Pierpont in 2010, Sylvester has provided public relations and marketing services for clients in a variety of sectors, including private equity, real estate, healthcare, finance, human resources, non-profits and more. Growing up in San Antonio, Sylvester is fluent in Spanish and co-leads Pierpont’s Latin communications practice, overseeing Hispanic media initiatives for several client accounts.  As internship coordinator, he’s charged with recruiting the best talent for account support from universities across the U.S. and internationally.

Since 2011, Sylvester has served as a public information officer for the American Red Cross of Central Texas, regularly appearing on Univision and Telemundo local affiliates to communicate the non-profit’s regional efforts. Sylvester has a bachelor’s degree in public relations and Business Foundations certificate from the University of Texas at Austin.

Sylvester Palacios

CASA Gift Card Drive, in time for the holidays

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Join members of Ellevate Austin Chapter and North Austin Influencers™ for our October Networking Mixer on the 29th and gift card drive for CASA of Travis County.  Gift cards from Walmart or Target are the most requested by teenagers for the holidays for whom the opportunity to pick out their own piece of clothing or just go shopping is a rare experience.

CASA of Travis County speaks up for children who have been abused or neglected by empowering our community to volunteer as advocates for them in the court system.

CASA’s Holiday Toy Drive is all about bringing a sense of normalcy to children in foster care who have very little of that.

Gift cards specifically help with a number of important things:

• They are most requested by teenagers, for whom the opportunity to pick out their own piece of clothing or just go shopping is a rare experience. This really helps them feel more like their peers in school and a little less out of place when they’re in foster care.

• CASA has many children placed far away from Austin (potentially even out of state). Sometimes shipping a gift costs most then the original gift itself, so gift cards allow the organization to ensure that every child served, no matter how far away they are, gets that gift from their CASA volunteer.

• Finally, gift cards continue to support children’s needs throughout the year. CASA aims to bring in more gift cards than necessarily needed just in the holidays, so that throughout the coming year when a baby needs diapers and formula, a child does not have a winter coat, a kid needs school supplies or a teen needs a bike to get to and from work, they can be helped with that important item.

For more details, visit:  https://casagiftcarddrive.eventbrite.com

 

Giftcard Drive  CASA of Travis County

 

Meet Susan Savkov, using her expertise in marketing to help the community

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Susan Savkov is Communications & Marketing Manager at Easter Seals Central Texas, a local nonprofit which promotes independence and creates opportunities for children and adults with disabilities in Central Texas. 

Before joining Easter Seals Central Texas, Susan was involved in online marketing and social media for an Austin digital marketing firm which helped best-selling authors and brands like Chicken Soup for the Soul with their online strategy and branding. Susan has spent more than twenty-five years in marketing including brand development, social media strategy, and public relations to support positioning and marketing communications efforts. She also spent time in Sydney, Australia working for a national advertising agency. From volunteering as Branding Manager for Austin Pets Alive!, Susan Savkov took her love of marketing to the nonprofit sector and enjoys telling the stories of the clients of Easter Seals Central Texas.

Easter Seals Central Texas provides an array of programs to support the health and vitality of children, families and adults living with disabilities in our community. The organization is a locally funded and governed non-profit based in Austin and serving over 8,500 clients in 22 Central Texas counties that promotes independence and creates opportunities for people with disabilities to pursue their hopes and dreams.

The Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) program serves families with children from birth to three years of age. ECI services include, but are not limited to: family education and support; audiology and vision services; nursing and nutrition services; physical, occupational and speech-language therapies; and developmental services for children with a variety of diagnoses, such as Autism. The Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Program provides medically prescribed physical therapy, aquatic therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and audiology for children and adults ages three and up. Easter Seals Camps for both children and adults with disabilities provide inclusionary, fun and safe activities for clients, while providing affordable respite for caregivers. The Workforce Development Program provides specialized training, job placement and support to adults with barriers to employment. The Independent Living program enables adults with disabilities to live with maximum independence. The Liberation Station computer lab provides open Internet Cafe hours, as well as job readiness and computer literacy classes for High School students and adults with disabilities.  The Community and Housing Services Program provides advocacy, assistive technology, financial literacy training and accessible, affordable housing for people with disabilities. 

Susan Savkov has been instrumental in organizing Easter Seals Central Texas’  annual Dia de los Muertos (‘Day of the Dead’) Festival which features celebrity line-up of live music. Proceeds will benefit Easter Seals Central Texas’ mission of promoting independence and creating opportunities for people with disabilities. The festival is an exciting whirlwind of Dia de los Muertos activities including live music, cultural performances, vendors, food and drink.

For more information about Easter Seals Central Texas visit: www.easterseals.com/centraltx

For more information about their Dia de los Muertos Festival visit. http://www.austindiadelosmuertos.com/

Susan   Easter Seals

The 7 Habits Of Great Improvisers Every Leader Should Practice

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By Shawn Utterback, CEO of The PlayStorming Group

Say Yes, and…

The first lesson that an improviser learns is to accept every offer that is made. This basic rule is known as ‘Yes, anding.’ This principle allows improvisers to be positive and always look for new directions and opportunities. By saying ‘yes,’ you accept an idea ‘and’ you develop the idea further, making it better. An idea will quickly grow if you’re positive. You also validate the person making the offer, which opens the door to communication and collaboration.

Be Flexible…

An improviser never really knows what he will be confronted with, so he should not be too fixated on following his own plan. He has to be willing to abandon his own ideas and go along with other people’s. Flexibility also helps to create new associations and connections.

Listen to Understand…

Many leaders listen just enough to respond. Cue sound bites from any political debate or town hall meeting. How many of us listen to understand. When having a conversation, do you think about what you are going to say next? Is your response run through the filter of ‘agenda’? Active listening facilitates understanding and authentic connection. This requires one to be “in the moment”. Which leads us to…

Be In The Moment…

A great improviser lives in the here and now, in the present. He is alert and is able to respond instantly and sharply to changes or sudden twists and turns. This means that all sorts of other thoughts do not distract him, but that he is totally focused on things that are happening around him at that particular moment in time. By being in the present, and not judging the situation, all options are open and everything is possible.

Experiment…

Before they start doing anything, great improvisers focus on the big picture. The details will follow spontaneously once they start improvising and experimenting. If you want to plan all the details in advance, you will spend a lot of time only to discover that reality is more resilient than you thought. It is only through experimentation that you will find out what does and doesn’t work. Practice exploration and discovery.

Make Others Look Good…

A good improviser is very altruistic by nature. One of the ground rules of improv is: make sure the other person looks good. When you watch two improvisers on stage, you can easily see this habit at work. They do not try to outshine the other person. Instead, they make strong choices that set others up for success. What choices do you make as a leader that sets other up for success?

Dare To Fail…

It’s very important that a great improviser dares to fail. It is the opposite of trying to prevent every mistake. If you try to control the whole situation, you end up spending more time and money instead of making the mistake and learning from it. And learning from mistakes is a vital part of improvisation (and leadership). So go for it, fail fast and learn fast.

 
About the Play Storming Group:

PLAY STORMING is a collision between work and play, a consulting network that uses experiential learning methods – including techniques from Improvisational Theatre – to help people with COMMUNICATION, CREATIVITY and CHANGE.

ShawnHeadshots-7

Easter Seals Central Texas Presents Third Annual Dia de los Muertos

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Easter Seals Central Texas will present their third annual Dia de los Muertos (‘Day of the Dead’) Festival, Saturday, October 17, 2015 from Noon – 10:00 pm at Fiesta Gardens.  Following the festival’s stellar success last year, the celebration returns with a full day of Dia de los Muertos activities for the entire family, featuring a celebrity line-up of live music. Proceeds will benefit Easter Seals Central Texas’ mission of promoting independence and creating opportunities for people with disabilities. Easter Seals Central Texas currently serves more than 8,500 individuals with disabilities and has a goal by the year 2020 is to help 20,000 people in the community. The festival is an exciting whirlwind of Dia de los Muertos activities including live music, cultural performances, vendors, food and drink.

Día de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead is a special holiday celebrated on November 2 in Mexico, Spain, South and Central America and areas of the United States. Día de los Muertos is a joyous celebration of life and honoring family members departed.  Families observe the holiday with vibrant traditions including decorating sugar skulls, making altars for loved ones, and hanging papel picado (colorful cut paper banners). There is also music, dance and stories to commemorate those who have passed on.

For more information about Easter Seals Central Texas, visit: www.easterseals.com/centraltx

For more information about their Dia de los Muertos Festival visit: http://www.austindiadelosmuertos.com/

Dia de los Muertos

Meet Juan Escobar, His Work is his Signature

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Helping building homes from the ground up since high school, Juan knew he had a passion for different structure styles and improving existing ones. His journey led him to study architecture, testing soil for building structures in Florida, work for an architect when he moved back to Austin, and manage projects for a builder.

After working on home projects for close family and friends, overwhelming response from observers needing home upgrades had Juan working every weekend. The enormous demand for his work led him to start Escobar Construction, LLC full time on word of mouth referrals only. Juan Escobar enjoys hearing feedback from satisfied customers and watching ideas for improvements or new structures become a reality. Juan has worked closely with designers and custom home builders with various layout enhancements and modifications in effort to create more functional use of space.

Escobar Construction  kitchen remodel

Casa Superhero Run: Every child needs a hero but abused children need superheroes!

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CASA speaks up for children who have been abused or neglected by empowering our community to volunteer as advocates for them in the court system. When the state steps in to protect a child’s safety because the people responsible for protecting them have not, a judge appoints a trained CASA volunteer to make independent and informed recommendations and help the judge decide what’s best for the child.

The CASA programs of the Greater Austin Area (serving Travis, Williamson, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe & Hays Counties) have united to gather all superheroes for children for the 2015 CASA Superhero Run. This year’s fundraiser will be on Sunday, September 13th, 2015, starting at 7:00 AM, at The Domain Central Park, 11100 Alterra Pkwy, Austin, TX 78758.

For children who’ve been abused or neglected, CASA means having a home instead of feeling lost, and being a priority instead of feeling invisible. For volunteers, CASA is a life-changing experience that makes our community a better place.

CASA volunteers come from every walk of life and share a commitment to improving children’s lives, a willingness to learn, and an open mind towards life experiences different from their own. Volunteers complete an interview, background checks and intensive training. After being sworn-in by a judge, volunteers are appointed to a child or family of children and spend an average of 15-20 hours a month advocating for these children for at least a year. They get to know the child while also gathering information from the child’s family, teachers, doctors, care-givers and anyone else involved in the child’s life. Judges highly value CASA’s recommendations which help them make informed decisions in the child’s best interest.

For more information and/or to register to the upcoming event, visit: casasuperherorun.com

CASA Superhero Run

Meet Diana and Melania with Expo Mujer, Premier Women’s Expo

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Originally from Monterrey Mexico, Diana Sanchez moved to Austin, Texas after being a pre-med student in Facultad de Medicina UANL to study in University of Texas. She later changed her focus to study marketing at Austin Community College. For Diana, it was important to stay in tune to her roots; Sanchez started Hispanosnet  to promote awareness of local events to a Spanish speaking audience so that the Latino community could be an active part for the community. She continues her journey with Ellas production to launch unique international concert events to the Austin area and marketing services Texas-Mexico. For Diana Sanchez, her most important occupation is mother. She spends many hours at her daughter’s school, Austin Diocese, and is certified EIM (ethics and integrity in ministry) to volunteer at the school since 2012.

Born in Monterrey Nuevo Leon Mexico, UR Graduate in International Business. Melania Hernández arrived in 2013 to the city of Austin Texas in order to succeed as a Mexican woman in a different country. She started Melania Couture, a collection of handmade elegant styles for boys’ baptism outfits, girls’ christening outfits, and first communion apparel based locally in the Austin area.

Both ladies collaborated to cover entertainment and social life with two other co-hosts on a radio show on Radio Mujer (Women’s Radio in Spanish) for the show Vive Austin and Vive Austin Nocturno.

For businesses interested in marketing their product/services into the increasing Latina audience, Diana and Melania went on to use their expertise to create Expo Mujer with more than 50 businesses that contributed to the success of the event benefitting SafePlace, an organization that is dedicated to the ending of sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing, prevention and social change. Last year’s event was a day full of surprises with personal enrichment seminars; fashion shows, beauty products, and other themes woman would be interested in learning about. In conjunction with the expo, the ladies published Publicate Austin so that businesses may bring their product/services to the hands and eyes of the consumer achieving secure your investment.

Diana Sanchez      Melania Hernández

Please don’t lose your love for food

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By Kali Jennifer Patrick with A Journey into Health

A few weeks ago I attended a Hatha yoga class, and as I was leaving, I heard half a parting conversation between two ladies. The woman closest to me (who I actually didn’t see as she was behind me), said:

“Get something delicious OK? I don’t want anything healthy!”

I’m pretty sure the other woman acknowledged her request. My heart went out to this woman, truly. I felt sad that was the choice she thought she had to make: between having food that’s healthy and food that’s delicious.

I hear/see this a lot. When an acquaintance’s mother had a scare with her heart, she was told to lose weight and go on a diet. I still recall her saying, “yeah, my food is terrible and bland now. I hate eating.” I have a close friend who’d rather take a pill than bother cooking for herself. A client once described a “miserable” dinner of cheese and crackers, after which a bag of dark chocolate covered almonds really was divine!

Read more: here. 

Healthy delicious food

About A Journey into Health:

In 1998 Kali added power yoga into her fitness routine to increase her flexibility, and started exploring meditation to offset the stress of her high-tech corporate job. It wasn’t until many years later–after several significant challenges and deep internal work–that she started to see more clearly what it meant to be healthy.

In 2012 Kali took the full leap into mind-body wellness, forming A Journey Into Health. She became a 200-hour certified yoga instructor, found energy healing and holistic nutrition: she’s also an Usui Reiki Master and an Eating Psychology Coach. Kali also achieved the “experienced” yoga teaching designation along with her 500-hour certification in Yoga Therapy. She teaches group classes, offers private yoga, coaching, and Reiki sessions, as well as gives workshops in and around the Austin area.

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