Prenatal Training & More

This past weekend I took a prenatal yoga teacher certification in Boston at Back Bay Yoga.  This training surpassed any of my expectations!  We not only were taught how to teach prenatal, but also given the sensitivity and knowledge to know how to support that beautiful time in a woman's life as she prepares to bring another life onto this earth.  I have always been fascinated by the body's ability to carry and birth babies.  In the past I have considered becoming a midwife.  Through this class I have come back to that thought and realized that maybe my path is to become a doula.  A doula is a support person for a woman, but is not responsible for the medical side of things.  I'm inspired to explore this option and see if  it may be a fit for me.  I can just see a natural progression for me into it once I get more experience as a prenatal yoga teacher.  There is a world of endless opportunities out there!

As always with spring there comes a renewed sense of life & excitement!  I feel like I am in an especially transformational moment right now in my life.  So many great things are going on, just enjoying each moment!!!

India?!

To go to India or not?!  I am contemplating a trip to India at the end of this year to do my 500 hour teacher training.  My teacher from last year's 200 hour training in Costa Rica is doing an amazing trip at the end of this year to India.  The first 2 weeks in Northern India and the second 2 weeks in Southern India.  There is a strong desire in me to go see this country where yoga all started and also to share in another training while surrounded with like-minded people.  So much to think about!  Will this trip fit into my life?  Where is my life headed?  How will I afford this adventure?  But I feel like this is one of those once in a lifetime moments....

Springing Back to Action

I am in the mood for spring!  Currently on my 14 day spring cleanse, which I started this past Monday.  Cleanses are a great way to come back in tune with my body and pay attention to how I feed it.  I always find that it promotes more time in the kitchen making healthy meals, instead of ordering out or convenience foods.  I have to admit winter has been a slippery slope for me, and not the kind with skis attached to my feet.  I have been indulging and putting on a little extra layer of warmth....so time to get back to reality and healthy eating!  I haven't been on my mat enough lately too.  The salon has been very busy, so I still haven't figured out the best way to balance my life the way I want to.  Crossing my fingers that spring will be different for me.  Spent some time on my mat tonight, stretching-breathing-reflecting.  Definitely felt great!  Hoping that more yoga will find its way into my life soon. 

I have had the pleasure of sharing yoga with 3 wide-eyed 4 year olds.  It's wonderful to see them explore the poses and the laughter that they have with each move.  If only we could all capture that child inside us, see the world with such wonder & enjoyment.  To not be jaded, instead still be open.  It's such a beautiful thing to watch children that age just doing whatever strikes them at the moment, not a care in the world about what others will think.  It's a reminder to let go and just be free to experience life!



 Some exciting things coming up:

March 31st Ana Forest workshop at Back Bay Yoga with my Costa Rica YTT training buddy Aaron!

April 12-14 Prenatal Yoga Teacher certification weekend at Back Bay Yoga


Happy Spring!!!  Hope we are done with the white stuff and that sunny skies are upon us!  Be well!

Happy New Year

Welcome 2013!

Rang in the new year at a concert, what a fun experience!  They released balloons and confetti at the stroke of midnight.  Definitely an energetic way to say good bye to 2012 and hello to 2013.  I also had the opportunity to go back into Marblehead High School  to introduce students to yoga starting January 2nd.  I got to share some knowledge and practice with senior students in their health & wellness class.  This is always a very inspiring time for me.  Being able to share a little slice of yoga with young minds makes me happy!  So I would have to say that 2013 is starting off on the right foot.  I have a good feeling that this year will bring lots of joy to us!

One of my resolutions for this year is not to waste food.  We lead busy lives and sometimes get too wrapped up in things, resulting in ordering out or heading to a restaurant instead of cooking what we have.  So this year I will make an effort to buy what we are going to use and cook even when I feel like being lazy!  Of course always an ongoing resolution is to read more.  I finally started reading "The Accidental Buddhist" yesterday and it is very entertaining so far.  Always good to try and add more yoga to my life too!  Putting my best foot forward this year to be the person I strive to be. 

New Year filled with new Dreams & Hopes....
                                                                           Keep Reaching for it!!!

Nine days and done!

I ended my cleanse early at nine days.  After battling my cold throughout this whole cleanse and having a social event, I decided that I was ready to come off my cleanse.  It didn't go exactly how I had planned, but that is life. Sometimes you have to just roll with it!  I do feel like it has been a reflective time for me.  I am more conscious of what I am feeding myself and feel a bit more calm & content.  It is a step by step journey to being healthy and living the life I want to.  I am reading Deepak Chopra's "Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga" right now.  I feel something swirling around inside me...my passion for yoga always growing...on the brink of something wonderful here!!!  In life we sometimes have to take a step back so that we can then take two steps forward.  Believe in yourself and trust where you are going!

Week One Down

Week one of my cleanse is complete!  I am still not over my cold, which has been a real drag.  So although I have been eating healthy, I still have not managed to do the early morning wake ups yet.  I am trying to be gentle with myself and realize that it is ok to just rest right now.  I have been drinking a lot of tea and enjoying soup quite a bit!  It is nice to reconnect with what you are eating.  The habit of starting my day with a hot bowl of oatmeal & fruit has been very comforting.  I can feel a shift in my thought process about what to eat and it makes me happy.  We are always evolving and growing...it is a beautiful thing! 

End of Day Two

I am wrapping up day two of my cleanse.  Unfortunately I have come down with a cold!  So now I am adding an herbal immunity blend to the mix.  Hopefully that will help, I don't usually get colds but this is now the second cold this fall for me!  I have been great with my food & drink for the cleanse...but the meditation not so much.  I have been trying to sleep in to fight this cold off, so cross my fingers the extra hour of sleep this weekend will do me good too.  I had a headache yesterday, but that may have been because of my cold.  Today I feel good (besides the cold part) and haven't even missed coffee.  Have been drinking a bunch of herbal tea and having one green tea at work during the day.  For breakfast I have been having either oat bran or oatmeal with some fruit, a dash of cinnamon and maybe a splash of coconut milk.  Soups are great! Tonight I made a veggie soup with sweet potato, red bliss potato, celery, onion, garlic, peas and spinach simmered in water with some curry powder and a slice on lemon to finish it off.  Warming and delightful!  Snacking on almonds, organic wild rice cakes, fresh fruit & veggies through out the day.  Went to Whole Foods tonight and splurged on these raw food snack bars that I like.  I also picked up some delicious coconut based "ice cream" for when I am finished on my cleanse and ready for a healthy sweet treat.   It's amazing how much energy you get from nourishing yourself with healthy food! 

Preparing to Cleanse

The time has come to do another cleanse!  Henry and I had attempted to do one together at the start of fall, but it wasn't very successful.  Cleansing is personal for me I guess and I do better if I focus on just my own cleanse instead of worrying about my husband too haha!

Why cleanse?  Many great reasons to cleanse!  Everyday we are constantly around toxins.  Cleansing gives the body a chance to get rid of toxins and re-energize itself.  Cleansing helps aid in liver and kidney function.  Eliminating processed foods and certain foods that are harder for your body to break down, your system has a chance to rest and feel nourished.  The skin also benefits from a cleanse as well, becoming more radiant.  The body can return to a balanced state.  After a cleanse it is easier to maintain healthy habits.

Creating a sense of ritual & relaxation through cleansing helps soothe the soul.  This time while cleansing I will focus on a whole mind body purification.  Starting the day with seated meditation, light yoga and warm water with lemon & honey.  Treating myself to dry skin brushing to help with circulation and detoxification.  Doing self massage after the shower with body oil.  Sometimes cleansing is not just about what we drink and eat, but also looking at our lives and realizing where else can we do a little clean up.  Maybe reading more, spending less time online.  I will of course update my blog, but I plan to try my best to limit my time sitting in front of the screen.

My cleanse will begin on November 1st and will be a 2 week long cleanse.  I will be using the Whole Foods 14 day cleanse kit again (same one I did in the spring) which has a fiber pill, laxative pill and liver detox pill.  I ordered some organic roasted dandelion root tea to enjoy along with some other teas I have on hand, as I will not be drinking coffee.  No processed food, sugar, dairy, alcohol...super clean eating here I come!!! 

Holiday Feasts and What to Eat

Ah the holiday time is quickly approaching!  I love getting together with family and friends to enjoy a wonderful meal and be thankful for all we have.  The past few years I have been making some side dishes to bring along.  I like to take a twist on fresh cranberry sauce adding in another fruit to lighten up the sugar needed.  Last year I decided we need a sweet potato dish, so I added caramelized sweet potatoes alongside our standard mashed squash.  I also put my adorable corn cob cast iron molds to good use making little corn bread sticks.  This year I am planning on adding some delicious vegetarian main dishes to the table.  I have been looking at stuffed squash recipes.  Leaning towards making a squash stuffed with wild rice and cranberries & pecans!  Martha Stewart.com has some good looking recipes on her Everything Thanksgiving: Meatless Thanksgiving Recipes.  People ask me all the time how can I be a vegetarian and what do I eat....well there's so much to eat!  I love fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, grains!  After being vegetarian during high school and even dabbling in being vegan when I lived in NYC, I then fell of the wagon in my mid twenties.  I battled with my need to control my weight from my high school days of dancing into my early twenties when I always felt the pressure to look a certain way.  NYC amplified that for me and it became a bit of a problem, but that could be a whole other blog...so anyway, after I moved away from the city I sort of gave all that up and it became a free for all!  Of course I gained weight and felt more sluggish.  Then came the time to realize things and come back to the person I wanted to be.  One filled with compassion for animals and focused on healthy living.  Personally I can no longer enjoy eating meat and feel better living my life as a vegetarian.  My journey deeper into yoga and deciding to train to be a yoga teacher guided me back to my veggie self.  Something just clicked, and while it is not easy to say no to some of the things I used to enjoy, it is harder to get over the thought of eating an animal.  This blog is by no means to be taken the wrong way, it is everyone's personal choice whether or not to eat meat.  I'm just sharing with you my choice of not eating animals and some insight of why I chose not to and what I enjoy eating instead.  Thanksgiving for me will be filled with stuffed squash, green beans, corn bread, potatoes & vegetarian mushroom gravy, cranberry sauce, and maybe a piping hot serving of leek bread pudding thanks to Martha Stewart!  And don't forget apple & pumpkin pie are vegetarian too!!!  With much love and gratitude to all beings, wishing everyone a joyful holiday season!!!

Glowing Practices

Why black light yoga you ask???  Isn't everything better when you glow?!  That's what I think!

Doing yoga with the soft glow from black lights is not only fun but also opens up your practice to a new dimension.  You can let go of judgement, instead all you see is the beautiful glow from everyone's white or neon clothes!  Something magical happens when you put music, movement and the "glow" all together during a yoga practice.  You can reach a more meditative feeling by flowing through some continuous Sun Salutations.  A black light practice can also create a fun atmosphere, wearing glow bracelets and tapping into our child-like spirits.  Finding laughter as we challenge our balance in the dark.  Maybe even bouncing a little in downward dog to the music!  Get your glow on!!!

Finding My Way

Been home now for about 3 months, but feels like longer!  Came back to a busy schedule at the salon.  Then my husband and I moved into a new place.  Through all that it became hard to keep that yoga high going!  I came home from Costa Rica in March so pumped up and then felt like I deflated by April.  It hasn't been easy "breaking" into the yoga world here.  I started teaching Monday nights this month and am slowly trying to build that up.  I think when I got home I just assumed the transition would just happen, and I would just gracefully begin teaching yoga.  But it's funny how things happen for a reason.  A client at the salon asked me if I would be interested in teaching yoga at the high school.  Figuring that I had nothing to lose, we swapped emails and she got me emailing with the high school gym/wellness teacher.  I thought it would be fun to go in and teach the tenth grade students some yoga, and the teacher was thrilled to have me come in!  But as the end of May came around and it was time for me to teach my three days in school, I grew more and more nervous.  What were the kids going to be like?  Were they going to listen to me?  Would they ask silly questions?  The day arrived and as my husband pulled up to the high school to drop me off I had to remind myself to "just breathe" and that this would be ok!  Once I got in there and began my first class I felt energized and happy to share yoga with these young minds.  Over those three days I felt my passion being reignited and I remembered why I was doing what I was doing. Teaching these bright eyed, somewhat skeptical even, teens was such an experience for me!  They infused me with energy again.  Hopefully next year I will be invited in to teach again, and maybe even all grades too!  Finding my inner teacher with the help of these high school students will be something I will forever be grateful for.  I hope that they got as much as I got out of that time on the yoga mat! 

Springing into Change

Back home and beginning to make some changes.  I have decided to do a cleanse kit for the first time.  I have done juice fasts and a week of all raw fruits/veggies, but this is the first time doing a proper cleanse.  No sugar, caffeine, alcohol, dairy, processed foods plus a cleanse kit of supplements for 14 days.  This is something very exciting for me as weird as that might sound, I enjoy the challenge and look forward to feeling fresh for the spring!  Now that I'm home it's time to figure out my next steps with yoga teaching too.  Need to organize my thoughts, start planning out some classes and start teaching!  Have some goals to set for myself and my own yoga practice too.  I want to continue working on my inversions.  At training it was emphasized that as a teacher we should be able to do inversions at least at the wall...handstand, forearm balance and headstands.  I struggled with handstand for the first week, for some reason I felt afraid of kicking the wall even though that was what it was there for.  Then it just clicked one day.  Forearm balance is easy to get up to with the wall, but I want to start working on not needing the wall there.  Before leaving for training I was already working on my headstands, so no worries on that!  My goal for this year is to get my arm balances.  Before training I usually just bailed out and assumed I wasn't strong enough.  Training built up my strength and confidence, now I need to keep going and by the end of the year I will be strong on my hands.  This is a big year of changes for me.  Good changes, strong changes and of course healthy changes!  I will keep things posted on all these beautiful changes going on.  I always find that making changes at certain moments can make all the difference, so welcoming in the spring and new opportunities!

Airport Reflection

Sitting at San Juan International Airport reflecting on this journey in Costa Rica.  I have learned so many things over this month long adventure!  A wealth of yoga and teaching knowledge with some personal growth thrown in there too.  I now know how to pack for such a trip too, not that I did am awful job but I could have packed less of course!  My yoga practice got challenged.  Going to yoga teacher training I expected to study the history of yoga and how to properly teach classes, but I didn't think my personal practice would become so much deeper.  This experience has tied everything together for me.  It has truly joined both my physical asana practice with the spiritual practice as well.  I'm already plotting and planning my next big adventure to do my advanced training.  This trip was also the first time I have left the country by myself and stayed out of the country for such a length of time.  It was a thrilling experience that has opened the door for more travel hopefully.  For now I will head home and work my you know what off so I can save for another journey.  Advanced training in Thailand & Spain...hmmm which one first?! 

Month of Lessons in Non-Attachment

A month away from home in a foreign country is sure to be filled with lessons in non-attachment.  Packing enough but hopefully not too much as I would be carrying a travel backpack.  I originally planned on carrying on my pack, but the airport said otherwise.  Ah the stress of trying to cram it all into that pack meant no make up, just a basic face/body soap bar and a simple face lotion.  Mainly yoga clothes seeing as three weeks of my time would be at yoga teacher training.  It always feels liberating to me not to be weighed down by lots of unnecessary things.  However, standing at the airport I learned my first lesson of non-attachment as I had to release the pack into the hands of check in.  It was a disappointing feeling and then there's the thought of what if it doesn't arrive in Costa Rica?!  Then I let go and accepted that this was great, now I didn't have to lug this heavy thing around!  Arriving at the Goddess Garden I had some more lessons in non-attachment.  At home I have a soft, comfy bed and an ergonomic memory foam pillow...ah good 'ol Goddess Garden's twin bunk beds were "firm" and the pillow was maybe and inch thick.  But I adapted to this by folding my little pillow in half to make it a bit more comfortable.  I actually ended up getting some of my best sleep there in the rainforest.  There are so many things we become attached too in life.  The way we look or watching tv, wearing make up and doing out hair, the sound of people's voices.  While away for my three weeks of yoga training I didn't call home.  I wanted to live in the moment and enjoy the time away learning.  Now here at Samara beach my husband and I learn another lesson in attachment...the ocean took both of our sunglasses!  I had just said earlier today how it was no biggie that I squished them a little yesterday when playing on the beach.  There was a little crack in the lens, but eh I only needed them for a couple more days.  Then as I body surfed a wave this afternoon, the wave rode off with my super cool white shades!  All I could do was laugh, hey I had the choice of grabbing the sunglasses or my bikini top, figured the bikini top was higher on the priority list.  But nothing is forever, even my $4 shades left me before my time in Costa Rica was up.  Even funnier was that a couple waves later and my husband was also dealing with non-attachment to his shades too!  It has been a fun month here and I have learned a lot about what I really need.  There are always wants and wishes, but I made it through without a lot of those comforts of home.  Never take things for granted and never think you will always have something, cause in the end we leave this world without our "things". 

Farewell sunglasses...

Yogic Diet

Yogis are very interesting, their spiritual path not only includes meditation and scripture but also eating in a certain way and purification rituals.  It's all about leading a clean life.  Traditionally they would of course be vegetarian, after all Ahimsa (non-violence) is strictly followed.  As a high school student I went veggie, but although I loved animals it was more of a health/diet thing at that time.  Then in my early adulthood I dabbled with being vegan, again more of a food control thing.  In my mid 20's I came to terms with the fact that I had major issues with my need to control food and it was beginning to become an unhealthy obsession.  So I fell off the wagon and started eating meat again, along with all sorts of junk! I became chubbier and less healthy, less happy with myself.  When I decided to enroll in yoga teacher training I also decided it was time to get back to a healthier me.  Over the next few months of getting ready for training I made the decision to go back to being vegetarian, however I would have the occasional seafood dish not really thinking too much about it.  I felt like I was getting back to my roots.  I have always felt very passionate about healthy eating and lifestyle.  Eating light, nourishing foods always leave me feeling good...after heavier meals like the Mexican feast I had last night with a couple beers, I feel bogged down today.  During training we talked extensively about yogic diet, being vegetarian and about how yogis believe food has different energies.  Sattvic foods are considered the purist form of energy....fresh fruits & veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains.  Rajasic foods are foods of change, passion, and restlessness...anything hot, spicy, stimulating.  Tamasic food makes you sluggish, think processed food, meat, fish, and alcohol.  It is interesting to take notice of what you eat and how it makes you feel.  Yogis would try to eat a Sattvic based diet.  I most definitely notice how I feel and seem to be quite sensitive to the foods that I eat.  With all the talk about food, I realized that allowing myself to have seafood has been a crutch for me.  It makes going out to restaurants easier.  But it also means that I am not really a vegetarian if I want to still eat seafood.  So I have made the hard decision to adhere to being a vegetarian fully because that is truly what is important to me.  This has been very challenging so far in Samara.  This area is full of fish and meat based dishes.  But I have figured it out...life isn't always about being easy!  Challenge yourself to look into what you are eating and nourish yourself the best way possible =)

Two Hour Practice

During yoga teacher training I had the pleasure of doing a two hour practice every morning, after a 30 minutes meditation.  Now that training is over and I'm on vacation, I feel kind of lost without that practice!  It was very challenging to do such a long practice, but I honestly loved it!  Growing up going to dance classes, usually class was two or more hours long.  That intensity has carried over into my love of yoga.  Some days at home I like to enjoy a morning yoga class and then head back to the studio for an evening class too.  Flowing vinyasa just speaks to me...makes me so joyful!  I definitely can't wait to share that with people when I get back and can start teaching.  For now here in sunny Samara, it's time to get the swimsuit on and head to the beach.  I believe a beach yoga session is in the works for me today!  Namaste <3  

Rain & More Rain

My time on the east coast in Cahuita was less sunny beach time than I thought.  We were quite busy with our yoga practice and studying, not leaving a lot of time for fun in the sun.  Then on our two days a week when we had the afternoon off it often times rained on our parade!  So the amazing tan I expected to get didn't happen.  I hadn't given much thought to what a retreat center in the rainforest would be like.  When I read there was a beach I just assumed I would be out getting a lot of sun.  Not so much when you are surrounded my heavy vegetation and have a ton of "school" work to do.  But that is ok cause now it's vacation time on the west coast at beautiful Samara Beach.

The rain was pretty in the jungle area during yoga training.  One night we got hit with some pretty intense thunder & lightening.  It woke me up and I will admit I really missed my husband!  I'm a bit of a baby during storms and usually he keeps me safe.  The next morning I joked with one of my room mates that I almost climbed in her bed haha!  The other thing about having rainy days was that it allowed me to have some relaxing time.  I took a nice nap during afternoon off with rain.  There is also something so invigorating about rain drops falling on your face, especially when they are warm rain drops and not bitter cold ones in New England.  Rain or shine I was a happy girl on my yoga retreat =)

Dancing Yoga Fun!

Last night was a yogi dance party!  Our wonderful anatomy teacher was finishing up our training with a fun yoga, movement and love fest!  We got to just move how ever we wanted to, then we danced around the room.  I love having the chance to do these things...just letting go of any and all judgement as we find joy.  Everyone had a smile from ear to ear.  We have all been working so hard on our yoga classes we had to teach to each other and be critiqued on.  We finished our teaching yesterday afternoon, so we could finally let go of all that stress.  Ending it with sweaty hugs to remind us all that we're a family now and to always love & support each other.  And of course a party ain't a party without dessert!  We feasted on yummy warm brownies after all that dancing.  Jumping in the pool after to cool ourselves off after.  It started raining on us while we were swimming.  I love the feeling of raindrops when swimming...and walking back to the rooms just holding my towel cause it doesn't matter when you're already wet.  Feeling alive as every drop of water splashes onto me!!!  I have loved this experience here...even the hard moments cause those are the moments that make you a stronger person.

Mama Sloth & Baby!

My heart melted a little today as I stood only a few feet away from a mama sloth and her baby. What a creature!  Poor mama fell out of a tree here at Goddess Garden, scaring a classmate.  She actually thought it was a dead monkey at first, but then realized it was an adorable sloth mama.  I have never been so close to a wild sloth...it was amazing!  It very slowly started to climb back up into the tree, giving us a grand show.  The baby was so tiny but yet so strong, just clinging to its mama.  It was one of the most moving moments for me when it comes to my experience with wildlife.  The way it cocked its head at us, probably trying to figure out what on earth just happened to it.  Falling out of a tree and then landing right on the edge of our path way.  I will share photos when I snag some from my classmates, don't you know my camera battery wasn't charged at this most magical moment!  As mama carefully climbed up, at one point her back was to us and I caught a glimpse of the baby's little arm tightening its grip on mama's back.  It was such a precious thing to see.  Sloths aren't typically considered to be beautiful, but this sloth was absolutely adorable!  My heart expanded a little today as I looked into the eyes of the sloth mama <3 

Feeling relieved!

This morning I taught my second vinyasa flow class to my peers.  It went so much better than Friday!!!  I got the timing right, a full 75 minutes, and I had fun teaching.  Nervous to start of course, relaxing as I went on to smile and have fun with it.  Last time I felt like I choked and became a ball of nerves, never letting my true self shine through.  It felt so good to enjoy it this time around and feel more natural talking the class through the flow.  It's fun putting together flows and being creative.  Ahhh...I can truly let go and just be happy again to be here learning and growing =)