Yesterday (Sunday) morning was probably my favorite morning ever. I woke up, motivated myself to do the dishes, and then I proceeded to make the most amazing breakfast. I'm currently trying to minimize the amount of food in our refrigerator so I decided to throw some random ingredients into what turned out to be a lovely breakfast. Eggs, spinach, tomatoes, and a little bit of goat cheese and I was in Sunday breakfast heaven. The boyfriend and I enjoyed the meal along with a hot cup of milk oolong and JD McPherson (currently my favorite musician) and eventually the Beach Boys on the record player.
It's incredible how happy I was for the rest of my Sunday. Start your day out with something enjoyable and you're bound to have a great day! Hell, I think I'm going to have a great week since yesterday was so great!
Monday, November 19, 2012
LIfe Lesson from Yoga #2: I Now Know How to Breathe
Now I know this sounds kind of crazy, but yoga has taught me how to breathe. Breathing is one the many involuntary things our body naturally does. I don't have to tell my lungs to fill when I inhale or to release when I exhale. The body just does these actions to bring in oxygen.
Not that I needed to learn how to breathe, but yoga has taught me how to use my breath effectively. In my yoga practice I try to keep my breath steady in even the most challenging of postures. When the breath becomes inconsistent, that's my signal to hit child's pose and come back to my breath. Breath works the same way in your everyday life. The moment things get rough and your breath becomes rapid or uneven, it's time for a break. Stuck in traffic and already freaking out because you're late for an appointment? Take a few deep breaths. Significant other left a sink full of dishes for you to take care (again)? Close your eyes and take five deep breaths. When one of those challenges from life is thrown your way, the challenge becomes a whole lot easier if you're able to just breathe.
Not that I needed to learn how to breathe, but yoga has taught me how to use my breath effectively. In my yoga practice I try to keep my breath steady in even the most challenging of postures. When the breath becomes inconsistent, that's my signal to hit child's pose and come back to my breath. Breath works the same way in your everyday life. The moment things get rough and your breath becomes rapid or uneven, it's time for a break. Stuck in traffic and already freaking out because you're late for an appointment? Take a few deep breaths. Significant other left a sink full of dishes for you to take care (again)? Close your eyes and take five deep breaths. When one of those challenges from life is thrown your way, the challenge becomes a whole lot easier if you're able to just breathe.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Bodhi the Lionfish Slayer
Back in June I had the amazing opportunity to vacation in Vieques, Puerto Rico. In preparation for the trip I decided to get scuba certified (eventually more posts on my personal experiences while diving will follow). Never in a million years did I think I would be scuba diving in Puerto Rico, but I did it and it was incredible! My first dive experience has left me with a very good story...
He was the stereotypical scuba diver, adrenaline junkie, extremist. He had unkempt blonde locks that he assumed sea life had been growing in. Not only was he a scuba diver, but he was a sky diver and surfer and had been known to stay in hammocks on the beach. This was Bodhi, my scuba instructor in Vieques.
I had been anxiously awaiting my scheduled open-water dive to finalize my scuba certification and here I was paired with Bodhi. A man probably no older than 32, but with the energy and spirit of an adventurous 12 year old boy. Of course he was an outstanding instructor and had plenty of patience with me when I had a minor panic attack during one of our dives. But I was mainly intrigued by Bodhi's story.
Turns out Bodhi had been living and working as a dive instructor on the Puerto Rican island for a year and a half. Originally from Michigan, he left his position at a company he started. He believed the job would give him a heart attack before the age of 38 and figured it just wasn't worth it. He was drawn to Puerto Rico to complete his scuba training to become an instructor and the rest is history.
He enjoyed his time in Vieques, but was ready to move on to something else. At this point in time, there was a one way ticket to Thailand with Bodhi's name on it. I've known a few people who have bought one way tickets across the country, but they usually plan on backpacking through Europe and when the money runs out or they catch some weird disease from a hostel they just come back home. But there was something about the idea of Bodhi leaving paradise to head off to Thailand to see what Southeast Asia had in store for him. He was literally following the ocean seeking out his place in this world.
Inspired just doesn't fully cover how I felt about Bodhi's next adventure in life. I just kept thinking to myself, "I want to do that!" Of course I couldn't shut up about it all to my boyfriend. My boyfriend, the dreamer of our duo, just reminded me that I can do that. Whether I want to travel and teach yoga or simply pick up and see what else is out there for me in this world, I CAN do that! I too can follow the ocean and see what's in store for me and my life. However, I just kept telling myself, "You currently don't have the money to do something crazy like this. And once you actually do have the money to travel, you'll be too old." More on this later...
Back to diving with Bodhi, during my open-water dive sessions Bodhi would go over hand signals with me that we'd use underwater for communication. Signals include things like "out of air", "I'm okay", "my ears aren't equalizing", "danger", etc. During our hand signal refresher course, my boyfriend had pointed out to Bodhi that the signals for "check your pressure gauge" and "lionfish" were visually very similar. One is to make sure your tank isn't low on air and the other is to communicate that there's a lionfish nearby (a sting from a lionfish can be extremely dangerous to humans). Bodhi just kind of laughed off my boyfriend's observation.
While swimming around Bodhi made a signal which I read as "check your pressure gauge". As I was about to signal to him how much pressure was left in my tank I realized he wasn't even looking at me for my response. Instead he had pulled out his dive knife and proceeded to stab a lionfish. As an invasive species in the Carribean, divers are welcome to kill lionfish and I was witnessing just that. Unfortunately Bodhi missed, but I was left both amused and totally freaked out by the image of Bodhi pulling out his knife underwater. Of course his killing a lionfish with a beginner diver at his side would only add to his level of extreme.
Now his name wasn't actually Bodhi, but his adventure seeking nature reminded me of a certain character played by Patrick Swayze (rest in peace) in the film Point Break. By the end of our two days diving together I told him I could no longer call him by his actual name and I would call him Bodhi moving forward. He thought it was fitting, but swore he hadn't robbed any banks as of recently.
"If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It's not tragic to die doing what you love."
Bodhi in Point Break
Life Lesson From Yoga #1: Yoga keeps "Karen" at bay
*Just about everyday I'm reminded as to why I love yoga. The addition of yoga to my life has completely transformed just about every aspect of my being. I figured it's time to create a list of all of those wonderful life lessons I have learned from yoga.*
Let's start will one of the most important lessons I have learned from yoga: Yoga keeps "Karen" at bay. Now you might be wondering, "Who is Karen?" Well Karen is my alter ego. Lovingly named by my boyfriend, Karen is crabby, short tempered, bratty, and is known to throw a child-like temper tantrum when things don't go her way. When I'm sleepy or tired (or even worse, both!), my boyfriend simply says, "Go away, Karen!".
Karen comes out with more frequency if I haven't been on my yoga mat in the last day or two. When I am committed to my asana practice, it's wonderful to know that Karen will not show her unreasonable face.
In the last couple years I've noticed that Karen is kept at bay a lot longer than she was say five years ago. The more I delve into my yoga practice I'm able to control my/her outbursts. I'm excited to see what happens in the coming years when I can just let Karen retire.
Let's start will one of the most important lessons I have learned from yoga: Yoga keeps "Karen" at bay. Now you might be wondering, "Who is Karen?" Well Karen is my alter ego. Lovingly named by my boyfriend, Karen is crabby, short tempered, bratty, and is known to throw a child-like temper tantrum when things don't go her way. When I'm sleepy or tired (or even worse, both!), my boyfriend simply says, "Go away, Karen!".
Karen comes out with more frequency if I haven't been on my yoga mat in the last day or two. When I am committed to my asana practice, it's wonderful to know that Karen will not show her unreasonable face.
In the last couple years I've noticed that Karen is kept at bay a lot longer than she was say five years ago. The more I delve into my yoga practice I'm able to control my/her outbursts. I'm excited to see what happens in the coming years when I can just let Karen retire.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Pride in Politics
I'll never forget the first time I voted eight years ago. I felt overwhelmed with pride that I was able to cast my ballot for the next American president! Today I felt the same sense of pride. Although I had to wait in line for 35 minutes to cast my ballot, I'm thankful that I was able to wait in line for 35 minutes.
To my fellow Americans, get out and vote. Even though you might not want to get mixed up in dirty politics, it's still a right you should exercise.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Vairagya
In Chapter 1, Verse 12 of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras the concept of Vairagya is mentioned. Broken down the word means "Drying up of the passions and desires". Often times it is simply referred to as "non-attachment".
I mention the idea of non-attachment in probably every one of my yoga classes. I just love the idea of completely releasing all expectations, judgments, fears, anxieties, etc. to fully ease the mind. Most students come into class with an idea of what a specific posture looks like, but I encourage them to let that image go. Allow yourself to practice non-attachment, quiet down your judgments, and fulfill the posture as it is meant to be lived through your own body.
In order for students to stay completely present in their practice, I encourage them to release attachments from events from the past and attachments to expectations for the future. All we have is the present moment. As cheesy as it may be, I just adore the quote, "Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present." It's the ultimate in cheese, but it is so true. Why live in the past? Or have your head in the future? All you have is what is right in front of you. Why not embrace it??
Enough said. I'm obviously a big fan of Vairagya, non-attachment. However, it's not the easiest concept to embrace in our society. We look in the mirror every morning and point out flaws in our appearance. There's always something we feel can be or should be fixed in our personal presentation. We dwell on events from the past and wish we could have said or done something differently. The future is something we're constantly dreaming about and planning for.
I'm guilty of all of the above. If I'm having a "bad hair day" before I go to work, I have a small panic attack. (Just remember that I sweat for a living!) On a regular basis I dwell on past conversations I had with people. Should I have said this rather than that? And worst of all, I'm a planner. I'm constantly wondering where I'll be in a year, 5 years, 10 years.
But what happens when we release our inner critic, let go of unchangeable events from the past, and dive head first into the future without expectations? Nothing. At least nothing bad. The world will not collapse and crumble. Instead, you might notice the opposite. You world might open up to bigger and better things. You just open up the opportunity to live a fuller life.
"Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be attained only by someone who is detached"
-Philosopher, Simone Weil
I mention the idea of non-attachment in probably every one of my yoga classes. I just love the idea of completely releasing all expectations, judgments, fears, anxieties, etc. to fully ease the mind. Most students come into class with an idea of what a specific posture looks like, but I encourage them to let that image go. Allow yourself to practice non-attachment, quiet down your judgments, and fulfill the posture as it is meant to be lived through your own body.
In order for students to stay completely present in their practice, I encourage them to release attachments from events from the past and attachments to expectations for the future. All we have is the present moment. As cheesy as it may be, I just adore the quote, "Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present." It's the ultimate in cheese, but it is so true. Why live in the past? Or have your head in the future? All you have is what is right in front of you. Why not embrace it??
Enough said. I'm obviously a big fan of Vairagya, non-attachment. However, it's not the easiest concept to embrace in our society. We look in the mirror every morning and point out flaws in our appearance. There's always something we feel can be or should be fixed in our personal presentation. We dwell on events from the past and wish we could have said or done something differently. The future is something we're constantly dreaming about and planning for.
I'm guilty of all of the above. If I'm having a "bad hair day" before I go to work, I have a small panic attack. (Just remember that I sweat for a living!) On a regular basis I dwell on past conversations I had with people. Should I have said this rather than that? And worst of all, I'm a planner. I'm constantly wondering where I'll be in a year, 5 years, 10 years.
But what happens when we release our inner critic, let go of unchangeable events from the past, and dive head first into the future without expectations? Nothing. At least nothing bad. The world will not collapse and crumble. Instead, you might notice the opposite. You world might open up to bigger and better things. You just open up the opportunity to live a fuller life.
"Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be attained only by someone who is detached"
-Philosopher, Simone Weil
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Lost Memories
When asked in job interviews to list my strengthens, my first response is always that I have a pretty good memory. I pride myself in remembering names and even tiny details about someone's personality or appearance. I can even remember snapshot moments of when I was a young child. My mom will often say, "Oh you probably don't remember when this happened. You were too young". More times than not I can almost always recall the event. I can usually remember some random, unimportant detail about the event as well. My childhood memories are vivid and clear. However, as I get older, I've noticed a shift in my ability to remember things from even just ten years ago. This could potentially be a side effect of getting older, however, I think it is due to something much bigger and problematic.
When I was a kid my greatest concern was if I was going to get the "good" swing on the playground at recess. Life as a child is so simple and pure. Sure I spent a large amount of time watching Full House and The Simpsons, but for the most part I spent my days playing at the neighborhood park, building tree forts in my friend's backyard, and playing with my Barbies. I can distinctly recall the heart to heart conversations my friend Chris and I would have in front of his house late at night when we were 11. I can remember when Whitney's mom was at work and we spent the entire day singing and dancing around the house to the entire Spice Girls' album when we were about 10. I can still feel the sting of the metal seat belt in my dad's forest green Ford Taurus when it was 102 degrees and my parents took me to Valley Fair to cool off when I was 7. And I can vividly remember throwing an enormous temper tantrum on the beach in New Jersey when I was about 3 and falling asleep in the shade of my mom's beach chair shortly afterwards. These memories are so sharp that it's almost as if I am watching a film of my childhood. Currently I am only 25 and have a hard time remembering events from five years ago, last week, or even yesterday.
Of course, as you get older, life is not so simple and there's many things to juggle and remember, so it shouldn't be a surprise when I can't recall if I sent my rent check out or not. However, there's one huge, glaring difference between my childhood and adulthood. I grew up in a time when technology exploded. When I was a kid my mom had a car phone. The thing blew my mind! Now everyone has not just a cellular phone, but a small computer that is carried around in their back pockets. I remember when my sisters got one of those sample CDs of America Online. I couldn't even wrap my mind around the concept of the internet. Now here we are in 2012 and i am publishing my journal entries on the internet where anyone in the world who has access to the internet can read my entries.
Technology is amazing! However, it causes us to become completely disconnected from what is actually going on around us. During my heartfelt conversations with my neighbor, Chris, I wasn't distracted by incoming text messages or placing a bid on a pair of yoga pants on Ebay. I can recall the exact words we exchanged because I was absolutely present. How present can you be when you're more interested in the email you're receiving than the beautiful view in front of you? In no way am I saying I'm not guilty of these actions. I was on vacation on the breathtaking island of Vieques and i was most definitely checking Facebook while sitting on the beach. There's so many things wrong with that situation!
Lately the only time I'm completely disconnected from technology is when I'm on my yoga mat. It's pretty amazing what I can remember from my practices. I can literally feel the sweat dripping into my ear while holding Extended Side Angle in Colleen's class. I can see the distribution of weight in my hands teetering back and forth between my fingers and the heels of my hands while holding handstand in Lauren's class. Classes are typically only 60 minutes, but I can recall even the tiniest moments throughout those 60 minutes of completely focused bliss.
Of course I shouldn't need my yoga mat to be disconnected from technology. Every moment should be sacred and uninterrupted. Give yourself permission to disconnect so that you can reconnect with yourself. Maybe it's just for 30 minutes each day. Sit outside and watch the cars drive by. Lay in the grass and watch the clouds float along. Sit at your kitchen table and become entranced by the hum of your refrigerator. Even the most mundane moments have significance and can form an everlasting memory as long as you allow yourself to be present.
"Memory is the diary we all carry with us"
-Oscar Wilde
When I was a kid my greatest concern was if I was going to get the "good" swing on the playground at recess. Life as a child is so simple and pure. Sure I spent a large amount of time watching Full House and The Simpsons, but for the most part I spent my days playing at the neighborhood park, building tree forts in my friend's backyard, and playing with my Barbies. I can distinctly recall the heart to heart conversations my friend Chris and I would have in front of his house late at night when we were 11. I can remember when Whitney's mom was at work and we spent the entire day singing and dancing around the house to the entire Spice Girls' album when we were about 10. I can still feel the sting of the metal seat belt in my dad's forest green Ford Taurus when it was 102 degrees and my parents took me to Valley Fair to cool off when I was 7. And I can vividly remember throwing an enormous temper tantrum on the beach in New Jersey when I was about 3 and falling asleep in the shade of my mom's beach chair shortly afterwards. These memories are so sharp that it's almost as if I am watching a film of my childhood. Currently I am only 25 and have a hard time remembering events from five years ago, last week, or even yesterday.
Of course, as you get older, life is not so simple and there's many things to juggle and remember, so it shouldn't be a surprise when I can't recall if I sent my rent check out or not. However, there's one huge, glaring difference between my childhood and adulthood. I grew up in a time when technology exploded. When I was a kid my mom had a car phone. The thing blew my mind! Now everyone has not just a cellular phone, but a small computer that is carried around in their back pockets. I remember when my sisters got one of those sample CDs of America Online. I couldn't even wrap my mind around the concept of the internet. Now here we are in 2012 and i am publishing my journal entries on the internet where anyone in the world who has access to the internet can read my entries.
Technology is amazing! However, it causes us to become completely disconnected from what is actually going on around us. During my heartfelt conversations with my neighbor, Chris, I wasn't distracted by incoming text messages or placing a bid on a pair of yoga pants on Ebay. I can recall the exact words we exchanged because I was absolutely present. How present can you be when you're more interested in the email you're receiving than the beautiful view in front of you? In no way am I saying I'm not guilty of these actions. I was on vacation on the breathtaking island of Vieques and i was most definitely checking Facebook while sitting on the beach. There's so many things wrong with that situation!
Lately the only time I'm completely disconnected from technology is when I'm on my yoga mat. It's pretty amazing what I can remember from my practices. I can literally feel the sweat dripping into my ear while holding Extended Side Angle in Colleen's class. I can see the distribution of weight in my hands teetering back and forth between my fingers and the heels of my hands while holding handstand in Lauren's class. Classes are typically only 60 minutes, but I can recall even the tiniest moments throughout those 60 minutes of completely focused bliss.
Of course I shouldn't need my yoga mat to be disconnected from technology. Every moment should be sacred and uninterrupted. Give yourself permission to disconnect so that you can reconnect with yourself. Maybe it's just for 30 minutes each day. Sit outside and watch the cars drive by. Lay in the grass and watch the clouds float along. Sit at your kitchen table and become entranced by the hum of your refrigerator. Even the most mundane moments have significance and can form an everlasting memory as long as you allow yourself to be present.
"Memory is the diary we all carry with us"
-Oscar Wilde
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