Snow Days and Setting Intentions

Sometimes after a few vacation days off, you might feel ready to go back to work to mingle with colleagues, to get out of the house...I know the feeling.  After being sick and in bed for over 13 hours a day from Christmas through New Year's, I was pretty ready to get out of the house and start my daily routines. Then two more days of snow came. I would've been fine with getting into a warm car, then hanging out in a warm office, reconnect with folks, but because work was closed and i didn't want to really hang out too much outside after a long sickness, I hunkered down again. Instead of laying around and falling into a state of boredom, however, I tapped into my storage of yoga wisdom and decided to take advantage of this extended vacation. I set an intention for the day: To clean and disinfect my space, to study some of my yoga teacher training materials, and to write down all of my 2014 goals (since I usually do this on New Year's but was in bed by 10pm after winning a Michael Jackson karaoke contest!). Snow days, if you are lucky enough to experience one or two and not have to always shovel your way into work, are an amazing gift.  It is the perfect time to get centered and reconnect with the "self" that we tend to lose throughout our busy lives.  If  I don't have to rush out the door early in the morning, I make sure I wake up slowly, perform all my shoulder exercises (for an impingement injury), meditate with my favorite blanket over my shoulders, and do some light stretching (if not a whole asana practice!) Just to share a few 2014 goals with you, of course Giving is more or less the theme of my 2014 - giving of my time, giving my ear, my heart, etc.  Another is to dance my ass off for at least 20 minutes once a month.  I was going to make this once a week, but I have so many other monthly goals that I limited each goal to once a month and thought that would be more attainable.   Another one was to attend some kind of social networking event each month which I have already accomplished in January by attending a Worcester Local First event at The Perfect Game.  I have a bunch of big goals too but I like to write down these smaller goals too and immediately start looking for opportunities (new dance playlists, ways to volunteer my time or ideas of giving, social networking events) and jot them down in my calendar.  I literally wrote "Dance for 20 minutes" in the middle of January, February, etc.  THAT WAY I'LL ACTUALLY DO IT! If you haven't written down your 2014 goals, there's still time. Don't know where to start?  Write down maybe one thing you want to accomplish this year and then one thing you will do this month that will take you one step closer to attaining it.  If that was easy, add another thing for this month. I hope that this year you have enough snow days or can create enough snow-day-like days or even just little chunks of time where you can set goals to accomplish whatever it is you set out to accomplish.  I hope you feel and believe that you are perfect exactly the way that you are, but that if you want to learn something new or better yourself in some way, that all it takes is setting an intention, and taking small steps to achieve your goals. Happy 2014! Namaste.

A Year of Gratitude and Giving

I started a new twist on resolutions a couple years ago.  I was feeling "stuck" and wanted to be more expressive and adventurous.  My resolution that year was to "Express Myself Radically." I wrote an album-worth of songs and attended a four-day long yoga/music festival in VT alone - to name a couple acts of expression.  It was sort of a year to be selfish but I like to think of it as having been a self-restore kind of journey.

The next year I was feeling a little more settled.  I wanted to connect with more people and was also feeling creative.  My theme was to "Connect, Collaborate, Create."  I moved back home to central MA, attended tons of social networking events, recorded my album with incredibly talented musicians and put together a wedding singing video, and had a few pow-wows with some inspirational friends where we talked about our aspirations and goals for the future.  

By the end of 2013, however, a new feeling started to stir.  I know 2014 will still be a creative and collaborative year. I think I might even express myself some more with some new writing - but something is missing.  These last two years were "inward" years for healing that needed to take place.  This year will be in the shape of a heart - and giving will come first.   

"Gratitude feels so good because it is the state of mind closest to your natural state in which you were born to live."

-Abraham-Hicks

I start to see a pattern build near the end of each year that tells me what my next year's theme or goal will be.  I started to feel this overwhelming sense of gratitude - for friends I had spent the past decade with in the Seacoast, for old friends who I fell right back into a groove with in Massachusetts, for mentors, colleagues, family.  Then all of a sudden at work a colleague came around with a bag of "gratitude messages" where each tiny folded envelope had a quote of gratitude inside.  I taped it above my computer and read it every day.  I liked the idea so much and couldn't believe that what just happened to me was exactly what I had been thinking for my theme of 2014, that I went online to research right away where this idea came from.  Beth Gross-Santos is a store owner and an acquaintance of mine in the Seacoast of NH and I immediately sent her a note of thanks for spreading her great idea and putting it into action.  She, in turn, was grateful to hear from me and this is where the chain of gratitude begins!

I also recently received a Facebook invitation for "Pay it Forward weekend", which will take place the weekend of January 17 - 19, 2014. The idea is to perform small acts of kindness to people who you think need it or to a perfect stranger - just because. As I read recently in one of my yoga teacher-training writings, in so many words: "When you give more, you will receive more and when you receive more, your heart will open to give more."

These acts can be as small as saying something polite, holding the door open for someone, or stopping your car for someone to cross the street.  Maybe you do these things already.  But sometimes we look behind us and say, "Oh, someone else will get that for her," or "he's already half-way through the door so he looks like he's got it."  Going out of your way to just share your intent on helping might warm that person's day who may have otherwise got started out on "the wrong side of the bed" (which I don't believe in, by the way! You can always turn it back to the "right side!).

The act can be a little more than that too if you're feeling especially generous.  You can go through the "cash only" toll and pay for someone behind you.  You can pay for someone's coffee - or throw some money in meters on the side of a busy parking street.  Leave money in a random place in a grocery or book store and make someone's day! 

If you're short on cash but not on time, maybe you volunteer in order to give.  Maybe you write a letter to someone you haven't seen in a while or bake something or make a meal and offer it to a neighbor, friend, or stranger. 

The possibilities of giving are endless. 

And why just limit them to that one weekend?  Too often we see thoughtful people near the holidays and near resolution-time but then it quickly fades into the hustle and bustle of our fast-paced society and egoistic daily lives.  Just stopping and recognizing this is step one. 

As a writer from MindBodyGreen suggests: 

"Give more hugs.  Physical affection is amazing for your health, your happiness, and even your waistline! It lowers blood pressure, stress, and cortisol levels. It prevents illness by supporting your immune system and prevents depression and anxiety. It boosts your oxytocin and serotonin levels, making you feel happier, calmer, and more secure. Basically, hugs are like free therapy. So get your hugging on! Shoot for at least 4 hugs a day, and make them count."

In 2014 I hope you realize that you are affluent.  You are rich in so many ways, non-monetarily speaking, which I hope you will come to see or I hope you know already.  These are things you can be proud of and happy with and which you can already use to give to others.  Doing good deeds is like skipping a stone across a pond - you make the first contact but this ripples out and creates hundreds of little waves all the way out to the edges of the pond and beyond that initial act. 

This is what I had in mind when I wrote some of the lyrics to my song, Short Little Lines: "The smile on your face - is sent in a million tiny waves - like the sun giving power through it's rays - to everyone."
When you give, let it feel like the sun's rays upon your face - knowing everyone around you can feel it too. 

Let me know what you are grateful for and what you intend to give - today, tomorrow, sometime soon. 

1. I am grateful for

Today I give

2. I am grateful for

Today I give

I'd love to hear your thoughts about random acts of kindness that you've done, that you've seen others do, or that you hope to do this year!

Happy 2014!
Om namah

Meditation is so Scary

I don't blame you for not trying.  I mean, really.... Sitting down in a comfortable spot to try and clear your mind from a stressful and noisy day just to gain a little peace and quiet - terrifying, I know.

People need noise. Rather, people seem to need outside noise to distract them.  To distract them from what, you ask?  The noise in their own head.

Why do you turn your TV on?  For entertainment, sure. To relax? To numb out the rest of the world and do something "mindless?"

Believe it or not, you are filling your mind with just as much "noise" as when you were thinking about work on your afternoon commute home.

Sit still just for a minute. I don't care where you are.  If you are at work, close your eyes and breathe in. Just notice how long your inhale is - but don't change it. Breathe out and just recognize that you are breathing.  Now take an intentional inhale in, and make it a bit more audible by slightly closing off the back of your throat to make it sound like a wave.  Same for the exhale.  Now feel your belly expand on your next inhale and pause for a second at the top of your breath. Exhale, making it audible, feeling your core tighten as you push all the air out.  Pause at the end of the out-breath.  Open your eyes.  You were just consciously aware of your breath for a few moments in time.  In this moment.  Wasn't that scary?!?!!?

This simple tool is something you can do ANY time of day, ANY day of the week, ANYtime, ANYwhere.

Are you ever home alone and find yourself getting fidgety?  If you don't turn the TV on, you grab your phone and if you're sick of playing with apps or checking in on social media, you just have to call someone - just to find out what they're doing - or - to hear yourself talk.  Sound familiar?

We find it so boring to be by ourselves sometimes, and even more than that - scary.  Not so much that something is going to happen to us or that someone will do something to us but what the mind is actually capable of thinking or leading us to believe.

I have a friend who spends much of his time thinking about how he wants a different job opportunity to pop up so he can feel happy.  I have another friend who is always trying to fill up every minute of her calendar so she doesn't have to stay home alone.  I see people who worry about what might happen in a job situation or who are looking outside of themselves for some kind of fulfillment - and they look for distraction, a hobby, someone to hang out with to try and get their mind off of the stresses in their lives and on to something else - ANYthing - other than being by themselves.

I crave solitude.  I love when I have that rare opportunity when all is quiet around me when I wake up, or moments before I lay my head on my pillow.  Not that I don't love being around people - it's one of my favorite things.  I also don't mind watching TV once in a while if I think I will learn something from it or be entertained.  But to get an opportunity in the busyness of life to sit and be aware of your breath - which allows you to cultivate awareness - is something to value and to take advantage of.  Even if you are watching TV - try to be aware of why you are watching it.  Are you watching it to be entertained or to run from something in your mind?  If you're running, it's going to be right there again when the show or movie ends.

I was recently in a meditation class and the teacher invited us to talk about our experience with meditation at home.  I commented at how lucky I feel when I stop at a red light!  I invite you to try the above exercise on breathing the next time you are stopped at a red light or in a traffic jam...except...uhhh...don't close your eyes.  You will realize that you can use and come back to this tool at every moment during the day when your mind starts wandering and creating stories.

Meditation is a scary word.  But you can change the word if you want.  Just call it "Being aware of why you are doing something in this moment." Just call it "Being."

Jon Kabat-Zinn points it out clearly: "We tend to be particularly unaware that we are thinking virtually all the time."  Now liken this to an athlete or, if you are one, think about running for 3 days without stopping.  Think about swimming for a week without a break.  Your body needs rest.  In order for muscles to grow and be healthy, they need rest and nutrition.  Your mind needs rest.  Some people might think, "Well, yea, that's what sleeping is for!" But have you ever gone to bed thinking about something that is stressing you out, and then woken up thinking about that same thing?  Your mind didn't rest.

Kabat-Zinn likens this "mindstream" that is constantly flowing to a river.  Imagine you are caught up in this fast-flowing river that takes you places (in your mind) that are scary, fast-moving, dangerous. "Meditation means learning how to get out of this current, sit by its bank and listen to it, and then use its energies to guide us rather than to tyrannize us." Jon Kabat-Zinn

Next time you are not in traffic, try the above exercise again and if you notice a thought come up, just be aware of it - notice that it is a thought flowing in this noisy river - and just let it float by.  Tomorrow, try it again.  You'll notice that you'll start to be aware of the present moment in the strangest places - in traffic when someone cuts you off, at work when you're feeling stressed, when the kids are crying and you can't seem to get anything done.  Or, you might want to try a little of the Bad Boys Woosah technique - whatever works.  Just start to be aware of when you've disappeared to your own mind (Hello in there!) and that your breath is always there to bring you into the now.

Om Namah

Gee - you, are You.

Remember when you were little and your mom or dad or caretaker said you have to brush your teeth?  At first you probably stuck the toothbrush in your mouth, moved it around a little, and yelled, "I brushed!"  There's nothing really exotic or entertaining about brushing your teeth, but then when you were forced to go to the dentist every year, and someone started poking at your mouth and telling you that "you have to brush your teeth" and "you will get cavities if you don't brush your teeth," at some point you started to listen.  You started to feel your teeth were cleaner.  You started to notice that your breath actually smells better when you consistently brush.  Believe it or not your immune system is healthier when you brush your teeth daily.

This metaphor is just one of the ways that David Ji explained how a daily routine of...let's call it...clarity...is as beneficial to your body and mind, and as important, as brushing your teeth.

We could all use a daily dose of clarity, don't you think? You know that feeling you get sometimes when you wake up in the morning - that you never really got to relax after work - that you never really left work, at least in your head?  It would be so nice to feel a sense of ease and serenity in the morning as we open our eyes, and in the evening right before putting our heads on the pillow again.

David Ji taught me how to find 16 seconds of clarity. Think of something that's bothering you right now.  What is causing your tension? A project? A person?  Picture that thing or person in your mind.  Now close your eyes. Breathe in for four seconds.  Notice the empty space when you breathe in for four, just before you exhale for four seconds.  Now fill up your belly on an inhale for four seconds and pay attention to this breath. Again, notice the space at the top of your inhale. And now exhale for a final four.  For that 16 seconds, did you forget about that thing or person that was causing you tension? Exactly. (If you didn't, try that practice again.)

I had the opportunity to attend a Lululemon event where David Ji was the feature teacher.  He had a very simple way of telling us that you can find this clarity whenever you want, throughout each day, in every situation - as long as you include it in your daily routine, just like brushing your teeth.  Another exercise you can do, if you get bored with the above 16-second exercise in clarity, is to breathe in and fill your heart with love.  Fill it until it's brimming over with the energy of love.  Now exhale and send it to everyone in your family.  Fill it up again on an inhale and then exhale, sending it to all your friends.  Now breathe in, fill your heart up again and on the exhale, send it out to all your teachers - past, present, future, traditional teachers and everyone you've ever learned from.  Again, inhale, fill your heart, and send it to those with whom you have a grievance. Now fill it up again and send your exhale of love to every sentient being on this planet. Open your eyes.

Don't you feel better?

We tend to try and find happiness outside of ourselves.  The truth is - we have all the clarity and happiness we need, right there inside of us.  We just felt it, concentrating on our breath! The guru (our spiritual teacher, mentor) is already inside of us.  "After all," David Ji explains, "how do you spell guru? Gee - you are You!"

Try to schedule in 16 seconds of clarity into your routine - maybe in the seconds before you brush your teeth in the morning.  Try to schedule another 16 seconds before bed - and continue this while you lay in bed until you fall asleep.  Maybe these seconds will extend into minutes and you'll be amazed at the physical (and mental, and all-over) benefits you'll feel from adding this healthy practice to your day. 

Namaste.
 

A Yogini in Miami

My main squeeze, "El," and I have been talking about going on a "real" vacation.  A couple weeks ago we finally made that happen by taking a trip to Miami.  We mixed it in with a little bit of work, because we're both too ancy to just sit around for a whole week on the beach!

Palm Trees on South Beach.

After a VERY eventful morning at the airport (that's a whole other blog post) we finally made it to his friend's house where we met he and his wife and their lovely little girl, Victoria.

I could tell right away that Victoria was set in her ways.  She was also someone whose trust you had to win over first before she'd be your friend.  Victoria is 2 years old.

I quickly gained that trust when I very enthusiastically began reading some of her books to her, played "tea party" with her dolls and stuffed animals and kicked the soccer ball around.  She always wanted to play.  At one point, she jumped up on the ball for some reason, and before I could reach her, crashed to the ground.  She looked at me, my eyes wide, and just got up and brushed off.  I would have cried my eyes out.

One parent is very calm and quiet while the other is more animated.  However, during our entire stay, I never heard a voice raised once.  Victoria seemed to listen very intently and knew how to use her manners - and, spoke very eloquently - for a 2-year-old.

Later in the evening Victoria's mom (who was 4 months pregnant) and I wanted to escape the Miami heat while the boys caught up outside by the grill.  Victoria, naturally, came with us, and we began playing "ball" again, but this time, as it was late, I was trying to give mom a rest and encouraged Victoria to just sit and roll the ball with me, back and forth.  All of a sudden, she seemed to do this stretchy yoga pose, so of course I took the opportunity to show her a few more.

We stretched our legs out wide, straightened our hips, and leaned forward with our elbows on the ground: Upavistha Konasana.  We crossed our legs for a little Lotus pose.  We went on our bellies and stretched like a bow: Dhanurasana. We even did a twisted bow pose that I think we made up!  She wanted more.  I've tried to teach kids yoga before and a 10-minute attention span was all I got.  When I stopped for just a second, she was creating her own poses right before my eyes!

For the standing sequence we started with Vrksasana, the King of all standing poses, but quickly moved into lunges, revolved triangle and I think we even through in a Wild Thing!  I was thrilled.  Her momma was, too and we even practiced long enough for her proud Papa to see.

I didn't get to practice too much on this trip, but teaching a 2-year old who was psyched to learn some poses? That made it all worth it!  I'm sure she went right back to playing tea party with her Muppet, Bear and Ariel (yes, I believe those were the names) but just the thought of her retaining one little pose to practice when she's rolling around on the ground left me smiling the whole week.

It would've been too weird to ask to take a picture of a little girl I had just met doing yoga poses so you'll have to settle for this instead:

Our morning hotel view.

Namaste.

Love What You Do

I am never bored. I don't remember the last time I was bored, but I'm sure it was probably sometime in high school...and back then it probably wasn't really boredom whatsoever, but more so my mental chatter telling me that whatever I was doing at the moment (homework, chores, being home instead of out getting in trouble) was useless and I should be out discovering the world.

I'm a curious kid.  I remember hearing someone say in my youth, "You can't learn everything there is to know in this world - there's just too much!" and being determined to prove them wrong.  Of course that notion is ridiculous and we all "know what we know and don't know what we don't know".  Learning is endless.

Some of my biggest curiosities (this month) are about the kitchen. Cuisine. What we put in our bodies.  I'm hosting a vegan party in a few weeks and the reason is threefold: 1) my friend found out she is allergic to milk 2) my dad is a heart attack patient and teaching him how to eat healthy is important to me 3) I'm obsessed with learning new recipes.  Okay, and I'm a social butterfly who loves to have parties AND my garden is growing by the second - gotta do something with these veggies.

I like to use the vegetables that I know will come from the garden, and then search on awesome websites like Epicurious.com and KrisCarr.com to see what others have come up with.  (Let me know your favorite summer recipes in the comments below!)

The other night I made squash-and-zucchini patties (omit the butter and make it healthier!) and stuffed mushrooms.  This morning I made a home-grown kale, avocado, date, banana, blueberry, coconut water, turmeric, cinnamon smoothie for breakfast and tonight I finished the day off with homemade tabbouleh and hummus. So yum!

All packed and ready to go!



Why is this post called "Love What You Do?"



For the past few weeks and months I have been working the day job, editing my CD, doing photo shoots, creating a wedding video (all coming soon to a computer near you), teaching yoga, and when I come home I read about doing all these things better and try to get my meditation and yoga practice on.  Oh yea....and visit my man, an hour away, once in a while...(sorry hunnie - I'll see you soon!).

But tonight I was so tired of the routine.  I didn't want to get on the computer again.  I didn't want to research or play my songs or edit videos or work on my taxes.  I just felt like creating in the kitchen.  So I chopped, I minced, I blended, I tasted, I blended some more, I added pinches and teaspoons...and in the end....S-A-T-I-S-F-A-C-T-I-O-N.  If you haven't noticed, or haven't tried yet, food tastes so much better when you pick fresh organic ingredients from your own garden and prepare everything yourself. Truth.

My meditation practice has also taught me to love doing dishes.  Why?  It's one of the only times throughout the day that I actually get a moment to myself...to practice.  In fact, everything you do or have to do should be an opportunity for you to practice.  The ancient yogis say that red lights can be a blessing! Okay, sure sometimes you have to get that text in (but PLEASE PLEASE reconsider and wait til you get home!) but it can be a great time for becoming self-aware.

I am honestly baffled when I hear people say, "I'm bored." I guess I understand....I mean, once, many moons ago, I remember having that sentiment.  But now you can plant a garden...or just one plant!  You can learn how to cook one new meal.  You can learn how to cook your first meal! Read that book you've been meaning to read. Or just the first chapter.  Go visit someone who might need your smile today.

This month it's all about the curiosity of healthy eating and sharing that learned knowledge with those I love and who need it.   What's your curiosity?

Om namah

Light, Energy, Heat

I love summer. I adore summer.  You will never hear me complaining of the heat. I love to have that sweaty glow. I love the excuse to walk out the door and eat fresh veggies from the garden. I love waking up and deciding right then and there to pack up and go to the beach. I love summer thunderstorms.

The other night, it was finally the end of a six-day heatwave.  There was a quick thunderstorm that came through in the early evening and the weather-folk predicted there would be more all night long.  I have a constant, unwavering energy inside that disallows me from resting very often after work so I decided to give myself the day off and I watched three movies in a row!

With the lights off and perched right next to our large picture window, a spark of light caught my eye.  It was the largest cloud of heat lightning I had ever seen. I turned off the TV and watched it for the next half hour until it disappeared over the treeline.

I watched the light energy bounce like a ping-pong ball in the upper right corner of this cloud mass. Then, like it was having a conversation and its partner took a minute to think it over before giving a thoughtful response, the bottom left corner responded with an equally charged answer.  The next a was bigger, more enthusiastic proclamation, followed yet again by a just-as-bright bright reaction.

I was impassioned.  That's what it felt like.  I was an ardent being, just filled with a feeling of awe, much like what I'm sure it feels like when you're five years old and see fireworks for the first time.

When something like this passes before your eyes, when you feel this sensation, your mind goes clear.  Your lips curl up.  Your face becomes serene and you feel complete happiness.  In this moment it's hard not to realize that you are part of something magnificent....that this world is something magnificent....that with the right mindset, you can do magnificent things.

I hope you reached for the stars on this magical Monday.  I had an amazing meditation this morning, started working on my wedding singing blog, helped my mom (with my bro) start her pen and ink drawing blog, and was inspired to do yoga in the garden.

Om namah.