Category Archives: Uncategorized

Facebook is great for keeping up with old pals but Instagram is where I can find a little visual inspiration – cool yoga poses, delicious food, pretty rooms.  As they say, “a picture is worth a 1000 words” so save some time and check out some of my faves.

Food

@nutritionstripped A presentataion of meals that are both nourishing and enjoyable; perfect for weekly meal planning ideas or at least for staring and imagining cooking them.

@DeliciouslyElla Healthy, yummy, pretty…I love food glamour shots and there’s plenty to ogle here.

@hemsleyhemsley From the authors of The Art of Living Well, these sisters present a visual degustation of healthy, wholesome food.

Yoga

@KathrynBudig Inspiring poses and thoughtful words with a healthy dose of fun, kathyrn doesn’t seem to take herself too seriously. I kind of want to meet her for a cup of matcha.

@AmyIpplotti  Yogi, conservationist, and outdoor enthusiast, Amy makes me want to grab a pair of snowshoes and do yoga in the Rockies.

Check out their classes on yogaglo.

Lifestyle

@mindbodygreen An overall guide to healthy living

@Goop Come on…it’s Gwyneth!

@smpliving Style, recipes, decor…a little bit of everything that’s pretty.

Decor

@laurenliess Combine an Aspen mountain lodge with a Parisian apartment and that’s the vibe that lauren liess brings to her homes.  comfortable and casual with natural elements, neutral tones, and a modern edge.

@domainehome  An expertly curated collection of home tours and design ideas.

One of my favorite aspects of yoga is the flexibility that it allows….pun very much intended. Yoga can be practiced anywhere, anytime.

The value of a teacher’s guidance cannot be replaced, but it’s not always possible for a daily practice. The expense of yoga classes, lack of childcare, and limited schedules can impede that flexibility.

Take advantage of yoga’s versatility and integrate a home practice with a studio one (we all need professional tune-ups periodically).  It is easier to establish than you think!

First let’s discuss the many advantages.

1. Time:  You choose the best time that fits your schedule and the length of time you can dedicate to a session; plus no commute.

2. Money: A home practice is free!

3. Personalization:  You dictate the parameters and create a sequence customized to your needs; restorative poses, hip openers, twists – it’s up to you!

4. Privacy: If the image of collapsing onto your neighbor while working on inversions  haunts you, then practice them at home first.   You may fall on our face while working on your crow pose, but  you can have as many do-overs as you want and can recover as long as you need.  One caveat: be wise, practice safely. Challenging poses often carry more risks so do the appropriate preparatory poses, and when your body says no, please listen.

With the marvelous advantages come some obstacles.  Here are tips to jump over these hurdles and cultivate your home practice.

1. Independence Freedom to create your own class may sound daunting away from the nurturing tutelage of an instructor.  If an educated, guiding voice is comforting to you, try the many online options.  Yogaglo and Gaiam offer an extensive selection of yoga classes with top notch teachers.  For less than $20/month (the price for a drop-in class at a studio) you have unlimited access to hundreds of classes. You can also mimic a class sequence that you recently experienced or stick to your foundation poses and sun salutations. Don’t forget to include savasana!

2. Space:  Find a scrap of floor as long as your mat and as wide as your arm span.   If you enjoy a little ambiance, include candles and music.  Ideally invest in a mat, 2 blocks and a strap. That’s all you need!

3. Motivation:  Choose the best time of day for you and allot a reasonable amount of time.  It doesn’t have to be 90 minutes to be considered a legit session.  The key to a solid yoga practice is consistency. A shorter daily practice is better than a monthly 90 minute class.  This has been the biggest challenge for myself so i will say it again, an abbreviated practice is better than no practice.  If you need a little social pressure to stay committed, get a friend to join you.  Just like a running buddy, a yoga buddy provides mutual motivation.

4. Distractions: The ultimate obstacle is the home distractions. In a class you’re not tempted to answer a text or straighten up the living room mid-session.  Thus, it takes a greater discipline to focus.  Ignore the laundry basket and silence the phone.  Make a commitment.to yourself that this is your yoga time.

At the end of each session, express gratitude to yourself for showing up to your mat.  A home practice takes discipline, dedication, and courage.

image taken by my 5 year old. i think she has a good eye. side note: this is the widest area of hardwood in my house. you don’t need a lot of room to practice.

Historically I have incorporated many forms of exercise into my routine: running, hiking, gymming, skiing, swimming, and of course yogaing.

For the last couple of years, I primarily run and practice yoga.  In the last few months, I have only been doing yoga.   In fact, I was unaware how focused on yoga I have been until I went to the gym a couple of weeks ago.  My motivation was to score some free babysitting on the 30th snow day from school.  When I checked in the receptionist said I’ve been to the gym once in the last 8 months.  What?!  I couldn’t believe it.  Between the little one’s morning naps and pleasant summer/fall running weather, there was no need for it.  As the weather got colder, I dropped the running and spent naptime on the mat.  Ergo, yoga is currently my sole form of exercise. Well, until today!

I happened to be running an errand without kids, which was magnificent, and I drove past Soul Cycle.  I had exactly 75 minutes before I picked up my daughter from preschool so I popped in and asked if I could try a class.  Fortuitously, there was one starting in 10 minutes and it was 45 minutes long.  Perfect!  The people were lovely and helpful.  The teacher set up my bike because I’m a newbie to Soul Cycle and haven’t been in a spinning class for almost a decade.

The class was a blast.  The dark room and loud music (they do offer ear plugs) was reminiscent of my colleges days in a discoteque. The instructor had more energy than any person has ever had. Thankfully, dancing on the bike is encouraged because I could not stop myself from tossing my head around and jamming out to club music (the darkness really helps alleviate any inhibitions).

The 45 minutes flew by and the instructor incorporated the spinning version of savasana – eyes closed, Beyonce ballads, and some light stretching.  Soul Cycle liberated me from my bridled energy as I promise it will do for you.

As a bonus, first timers get a discount and rent-free shoes.  As a super bonus Gisele was there (this I can’t promise).

P.S. You can read more about my evolution as a yogi.

P.P.S. You can read about starting a home yoga practice.

P.P.P.S. Can we make yoga a verb?

Looking to mix it up with the outdoor snow activities?
Try Snowga!
Kids can enjoy  the same benefits that yoga offers adults; physical control, relaxation techniques, personal respect…Introduce them to a few key poses and build from there.

tadasana (mountain)

virabhadrasana ii (warrior 2)

urdhva mukha svanasana (upward facing dog)

savasana (snow angel)

5 things I am loving for Friday…

1.  Citrus Season:  This gorgeous photo of citrus makes me so darn happy (from the lovely instagram account of @wrightkitchen).  Try this culinary mood-enhancing citrus salad, and visions of spring will dance in your head

2. Mary Beth Albright’s erudite and witty articles on National Geographic’s food blog, The Plate:  Her sharp and saavy style of writing offers insight into everything from food technology (robobees) to cooking with kids.

3. Sledding!!!!! Well, maybe a different kind of sledding.  Must embrace the snow.

4. A cozy and peaceful breakfast nook.

5. Hot yoga class at HYP.  90° inside + 10° outside = Steaming yoga clothes.

After watching yesterday’s nail biter – Go Pats! – not only is Arizona looking pretty awesome right now, but I’m also feeling motivated to fuel up like those athletes.

Since there’s an ongoing Arendelle-style blizzard here in New England, we’re doing some baking and stocking up on goodies using this great cookbook, Power Hungry: The Ultimate Energy Bar Cookbook by Camilla Saulsbury.  It’s full of recipes for DIY granola bars, protein cookies, and raw bars that avoid the additives found in many of the store-bought options.

I have only tried a few recipes, mainly sticking to the chocolate ones.  My chocaholic 7 year old loves the chocolate chip protein bars and the must-have chocolate raw bars (also my favorite thus far) and  and will happily eat them in lieu of standard cookies. I leave out the protein powder and sugar substitutes and just reduce the amount of real sugar I include.  These are a welcome addition to his lunchbox.

Having a little cabin fever?  Feeling a tad under the weather?  Relieve those winter blahs with the following poses.

Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation)

A few series of Sun A will stimulate blood circulation, warm up the body, and calm the nervous system.

Padangusthasana  (Big Toe Pose)

Padangusthasana is an energizing, stress-reducing pose. It also improves concentration and boosts moods.

Sirsasana (Headstand)

Like uttanasana and other inversions, Sirsasana calms the mind, induces happiness, and gives the cheeks a pleasant glow.

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog)

Heart opening poses will bring space to the chest and throat area to help beat a winter cold. Strengthen your respiratory system and clear congestion with other chest openers such as locust, bridge, and cobra.

Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose)

Baddha Konasana gently opens the hips that can get tight in the winter cold.  It also improves circulation, digestion, and it too relaxes the body and brain.

Now for a bonus and rather important pose:

Sit comfortably with eyes closed

Slowly curl up edges of your mouth.  Hold that for the rest of the day.

Yoga translated from Sanskrit means “to yoke” or “to join” – simply said, a union.   Yoga is an aid in our life to help us be our best selves; to unite the mind, body, and spirit.  It’s not all juice fasts and lotus meditations, and it’s certainly not a sanctimonious attitude.   The following are some simple and some more challenging suggestions to live like a yogi in 2015.

1. Drink Hot Water & Lemon              

Daily Beauty Blotter

Everyone is talking about it…and we can all do it!  This little addition to my morning routine is an easy, breezy contribution to the “yogic” life with lots of advantages; chockablock full of vitamin C to boost immunity and improve skin, detoxifying and hydrating for the body, breath freshening, etc, etc….  Even if the magical qualities of lemon and water is overhyped, the conscious decision to start my day on the right foot contributes to overall virtuous choices throughout the remainder of the day.
Quite simply, if Gisele is doing it, count me in.

Snowga

2. Practice Yoga 

This one seems fairly obvious, but a daily 90 minute yoga session is not always feasible.   On the other hand, a 5 min sun salutation to start the day or few nighttime asanas can offer the same valuable quiet moments of breath work for harmony and rejuvenation.

3. Maintain a clean & uncluttered home                                 

A peaceful space leads to a peaceful mind.  Check out my previous post for suggestions.

4. Be Kind

One of the five yamas, or virtues of yoga, is ahimsa; translated from Sanskrit as “not to injure”.  Show compassion for all living things, including oneself.  To practice ahimsa we embrace non-violence to ourselves and to others in our thoughts, our actions, and in our words.  Each time we say namaste we are recognizing the beauty in other people.  Keep that sentiment with you in your daily interactions.

5. Eat Whole Foods                                                  

pinch of yum

It is hard these days to always eat whole foods.  We are so busy and there are so many easier alternatives in the world of cooking.  If cooking isn’t your thing, try integrating this one slowly or make very simple meals – salads, 3 ingredient soups.  for those who like to cook, organization is very helpful.  plan out meals for the week, make some ahead, and freeze for really busy weeks.  Try some of these recipes to kickstart healthy eating.
6. Indulge…occassionally.

spoonforkbacon

Life is short. ‘nough said

Resolutions are getting a bad rap lately, but setting goals for the new year is not a bad thing.  It’s a great thing.  The downside of resolutions is the self-shaming from the potential consequence of unmet goals, which leads to discouragement and then abandonment of the original resolution. Some serious drama.

However! If we set more realistic goals or at least footnote the broad, far-reaching goals then we have a greater chance of sticking with our program.  For example, our resolution is to become the most organized person in the world and produce a home that rivals Martha’s.  Ok, that’s fine.  We will either have to staff up Downton style or annotate that goal , “yes, I want to have a home that rivals Martha’s, but I’ll be happy if I organize my mudroom this month” (I don’t have a mudroom but that’s probably the first place I’d tackle if I did).

In my pre-yoga teacher life, I was an organizer/space planner/life coach.  I loved helping people release the stagnant energy of their home by eradicating the stuff.  A resolution to clear out the clutter in our homes is such a symbolic and cleansing way to start a new year.  Strike while the iron is hot and we can tackle a few areas of the home.  If motivation starts to wane come february, who cares…we made some major headway.  Removing the rummage is a healing action and a motivational tool.  It can trigger a sequence of responses such as happiness and healthiness; we all want that!

This is our home detox.

Here are my tips for decluttering homes:

1.  Choose a project

Establish how much time you have and how overwhelmed you are feeling.  If you have a lot to tackle start small and work up to bigger projects.  Allot the appropriate amount of time.  If you have 30 minutes, clean out a junk drawer.  A few hours in the evening, clear out a closet (you may need the next evening to put it back together), a couple of weekends go for the garage or basement. It’s not uncommon to get so fed up with something and tear it apart then get an hour through and realize it’s time to run to the bus stop and not return to the project for days or weeks. Be realistic about how much time you can dedicate.

2. Prepare

This is especially important for the bigger jobs. Make arrangements in advance so you are ready to get started. Get a sitter, clear the calendar, schedule a donation pick-up and dumpster…whatever you need to do to reserve that time.

 3. Purge before Purchasing 

Before you organize, you must eliminate.  In fact, don’t even allow organizing to cross your mind until everything has been cleared out.  It’s tempting to dash out to the Container Store when you are excited about the promising results, but be patient. Get a trash bag, recycling bag, and donation bag and start getting rid of stuff: erasers, ratty shoes, goody bag swag, random mementos.  Be harsh.

4. Stay Calm      

As the saying goes, things get worse before they get better.  As you are in the midst of your project, your world may seem to be crumbling.  This is a great sign!  It means you are making progress.  Things truly look chaotic about halfway through because you are taking something apart only to rebuild something much better.

5. Measure & Plan  

Once you have cleared out, decide what products you may need to keep the space working well.  You may not need anything since you’ve done such a good job with purging or you may have storage items already laying around.  Get creative organizing ideas online.  If you need to purchase something, measure the space, even if it’s just for a drawer, and head to the store. Avoid making any extra work or using valuable time buying and returning.

6.  Install & Enjoy Your New Efficient System

Clearing the clutter eliminates the stale energy  in your home and allows room for new vitality. Liberate yourself from stuff.