Samantha Eibling Yoga

Mindfulness, consciousness and awareness: Sam Eibling strives to embody these qualities in her daily activities. As the co-owner of Bloomington’s well-regarded cookware and foodstuff shop Goods for Cooks, and a practicing yoga instructor, Eibling has found a way to mesh her two occupations into a harmonious life.

As a yoga instructor, Eibling has been involved in various trainings since 2008. This March she took part in Yoga, Purpose and Action Leadership Intensive, a program developed by the organization Off the Mat Into the World. Participants reconnect, refine or define their utility in the world. The principles Eibling has cultivated are reflected in her business practices such as carefully choosing the items offered in her store; many are artisan pieces locally handmade from natural materials, suitable to be passed down to future generations.

I recently sat down with Eibling as she shared a few insights she has gained from this program. Read more. . .

August 6, 2020

Know Thyself Part 2: Enneagrams and Coping with Your Personality

woman taking photo through textured glass originally published in Limestone Post

These days, it seems everybody has advice on how to live better and be more successful. Much of this “help” seems centered on correcting something about ourselves or acquiring some book, drink, diet, or machine to “fix” our problems. But, in this series, we will explore accessible, thought-provoking ways to cultivate a deeper sense of ease and clarity of purpose by drawing from methods rooted in both scientific and spiritual traditions from East to West. Click here to learn more about goals, values, and intentions by reading Part 1.

How we cope with the world reveals as much about our personalities as it reveals about the things we value in our lives. Our personalities comprise a complicated mix of genetics, experiences, emotions, values, and the ways in which we perceive and process the world around us.

In this second installment of “Know Thyself,” we will use a personality test called the Enneagram (pronounced IN-ee-uh-gram) to explore the ways in which we filter our values through the lenses of our personalities. Variations of the test’s geometric symbol date back to Plato, and its arithmological influence is seen in medieval Judeo, Sufi, and Christian philosophies. Today, the Enneagram has a broader appeal as a tool for recognizing and understanding our personality type, interrupting conditioned patterns of behavior, and taking advantage of our inherent strengths. Read on. . .

March 2, 2017August 6, 2020

Know Thyself Part 3: Behavioral Patterns in Your Family Tree

originally published in The Limestone Post

We have explored in previous installments of Know Thyself the benefits of connecting with and continually realigning our values, intentions, and goals as well as discovering the strengths and pitfalls of our particular personality traits. By now, a sense of our inner lives and our view of the world is revealing itself. As our self-knowledge grows, so does our need to understand our interconnectedness and how relationships and familial patterns have influenced our lives. Here, in Part 3, we explore the genogram, a technique for mapping relationships and behaviors within our family trees and its potential to help us create more compassion, understanding, and ease in our own lives. Read more. . .