Stop, Breathe & Think app

I'm LOVING the Stop Breathe & Think app for my iPhone. 

It's free. 

They're quick guided meditations.  

It's easy. 

Give it a whirl!

Watch More Sunsets

When I was living in New Paltz going to college, a friend and I used to "chase the sunset." When our schedule permitted, we hopped into the car and drove up into the mountains to watch and watch the sunset. We made this a regular habit for a while and there were nights where we'd literally have to chase the sunset, and just find any nook to catch it's last light. 

This was a BEAUTIFUL habit. 

Now, lets be honest here. That time of my life was not a healthy time. At all. However, I still remember a shift in myself during that time where we were on this kick. It made me slow down and reflect on the day that was just about to pass. It made me feel more gratitude for what I had. It also was just so relaxing. 

I miss my irresponsible college days where I actually had the time to do this practice. However, I do make it a point to enjoy sunsets during my commute home. Or if I'm at home and notice the sky is a gorgeous color, I'll take a moment to walk outside to check it out. I especially make sure to watch a few sunsets while I'm away on vacation. So good for our souls!!!

Relax, NOW.

This past weekend I was away in beautiful Key West with my bridal party for my bachelorette weekend. The week leading up to it, I was uber stressed, overwhelmed and ready for vacation. I kept saying, "Soon I'll be on a beach, under the sun and I'll be totally relaxed." The morning I left for the trip I was up at 4am to leave for a stressful drive to JFK...parked the car, checked in, you know, all the annoying things you have to go through at an airport. I was sitting there at the gate with a cup of tea and my magazine, surrounded by my awesome little bridal party and I caught myself saying it again, "Soon I'll be on a beach, under the sun and I'll be totally relaxed."  

Then I realized how silly I sounded. 

What was holding me back at that very moment to feel relaxed?  I was under no stress what-so-ever. Although going through the motions at an airport aren't the ideal situation of relaxation, I still could have made that moment a one of ease. All I needed to do was change my mind set. 

As soon as I realized this, my attitude changed. I was able to go into my weekend with a totally new outlook. I did end up enjoying the weekend even more than I had hoped because I was able to incorporate relaxation into moments where it normally wouldn't be associated with. It gave me a whole new perspective!

Relax, NOW.

Earthing

How often do you get your earthing on?

Earthing is exactly what you probably think it is. It's your body making direct contact with the earth. Either your hands in the dirt, your feet on the grass/sand, your body lying on the earth, etc. The earth nourishes us in ways we'll never be able to understand - but we're so disconnected to it from the floors beneath our feet, concrete, cars, to the shoes that we wear. 

I encourage you to get outside and make that direct contact with our beautiful earth, in any way that you can, for as long or as little as you can. It will make a difference in your life. Google earthing for more information, or check out the documentary Grounded. 

This is an earthing bracelet. I use it while I work, or sometimes while I sleep. It's so neat! 

Lavender Foot Soak

 Finding time to take a nice bath seems impossible...but running some hot water in the tub while I carry out my nighttime routine in the bathroom has been easy. I drop about 3-5 drops of lavender into the water and throw my feet in after I brush my teeth. Sometimes I'll even sprinkle in some Epsom's salts. I'm forced to take a few deep breaths and relax...it's amazing. The water warms my cold, tired feet along with the rest of my body. After a few minutes I drain the water, dry my feet, rub them with lotion and put some cozy socks on. Sleeping is a whole other story when I do this at night, it's so lovely!  I highly recommend for a quick and simple stress reliever and/or if you're in need of some good nights rest. 

What Makes Me Happy Right Now: Random acts of kindness, Hanumen album & mushroom risotto.

Today, my lovely wellness coordinator, Jamilia, hosted her own seminar, Random Acts of Kindness.  I am SO proud of her and her amazing efforts.  The seminar has me bursting with gratitude and anxious to spread kindness throughout my life.

1.  Random Acts of Kindness.  Jamilia's presentation made me want to practice kindness a heck of a lot more than I already am.  Not only to others, but also to myself.  I am excited to think of different ways that I can practice more kindness in my everyday routine.

2.  The last two tracks on The Hanumen album.  The last two tracks on the Hanumen album have been on repeat on my phone for the past 3 days...and I'm still not sick of it.  It's so gosh darn beautiful.  Going to see Jai Uttal & Gaura Vani tonight for a kirtan, eeeeee!!!

3.  Mushroom risotto.  Growing up Italian, you'd think I would have eaten loads of risotto.  Nope.  Not in my family.  Weird, ey?  I've been recently experimenting with this creamy goodness in my kitchen and came up with a yummy shiitake risotto.  I think it still has some work but in the meantime I'm totally enjoying every delicious bite.

4.  This inspiring thought:  Breathe deeply and appreciate the moment. Living in the moment could be the meaning of life. 

5.  The leaves changing.  The fall foliage is as it's best like, right now at this very moment. As an artist I can't get enough of some of the brilliant colors that are all around!  Such a treat to the eyes!

Back in March of 2012 I decided to do these posts because it's really easy to be suckered into negative thoughts when we're surrounded by stressful media, unhappy people and whining Facebook status updates. My guru, Swami Vishnudevananda says that for every negative thought you have, replace it with 2-3 positive ones. I love this concept and practice it regularly. I usually find the most effective way of climbing out of a negative attitude is to think about something that I'm grateful for. Feelings of gratitude really lift you up. In honor of this concept, I'm starting a post with this same theme and will blog it regularly. I'll list a few things that make me happy, lift me up and keep me smiling! Let's face it, world peace is something that will never happen. However, I can create my own little world of peace and happiness in my mind through my thoughts! Please give it a try as well and share how it affects you.

Feel Gratitude, Laugh it Off

Yesterday was one of those days where one thing went wrong early in the morning and it just set the tone for the day.  One after the other things just kept going wrong, I kept stumbling upon frustration after frustration.  By mid-day I was ready to explode.  I didn't know if I was going to break down and cry my eyes out or scream and tell someone off.  All I wanted to do was cross my arms, make a puss and stomp my feet around!  But...I didn't.  In fact, as one unfortunate thing happened after another, I kept my cool.  I kept thinking of all I have to be grateful for, even in the frustrating circumstances I was facing.  By late day all I could do was just laugh at how things were still coming up, going wrong!  Being a laughter yoga teacher, I constantly remind my students to laugh at themselves and things that happen in their life.  It really does work and it certainly worked for me!  

I got into bed last night and instead of mulling over every crappy thing that happened (like the $25 parking ticket, or the tiff I got into with a coworker, etc.) I thought about all of the blessings that I have instead.  Yea, it was super annoying that I had to drive over the Tappen Zee bridge 3 times because my GPS took me the wrong direction somewhere but hey, at least I have a fully functioning car!  I laughed at everything the day was throwing at me and ended up sleeping it off, waking up to a new fresh start.  Take that crappy-day!  

Don't get me wrong, this takes work and lots of patience.  But if I can do it, so can you! 

Gratitude...it works!  Laughing things off...that works too!!!  

I wrote this because this was the words of wisdom on my tea bag this morning.  How fitting!

Don't forget to savasana

If you're a regular in my yoga classes, you've heard me say this time and time again...savasana is THE MOST important pose in your yoga practice!  It's also the hardest because most of us (if not all of us) have such a hard time letting go.  

Here in the West we've taken yoga to a very different place.  There's loads of "power" yoga classes, challenging yoga in gyms (with little to no spiritual aspect), and way to much ego-driven desires to get into certain poses.  It's a shame, because that is SO far from what yoga is.  

The relaxation aspect of yoga is crucial.  It's a major part of such a beautiful practice.  It's important to rest and relax throughout your yoga practice, in between poses so that your body can soak up all of the benefits.  Savasana is the climax to your yoga practice!  

It warms my heart to see my students melt into their mats at the end of class.  It's also a great reminder for me, as a teacher, to practice more savasana!  

Savor Your Savasana

Who doesn't love a nice long savasana?  It feels so delicious!!!  Savasana (the corpse pose, or better known as the relaxation pose - pronounced SHA-va-sana), is a crucial pose in any yoga practice.  It's so important to let go and completely relax at the end of your practice so that you can really reap the benefits of all of the other yoga poses you practiced!  Try not to skip it or skimp on it.  Use those few minutes to melt into your mat and drift off to another place.  REST and savor your savasana!

These were my students resting in their savasana one Wednesday night at the Power Yoga Center.  Stop in for my class Wednesday nights at 7pm!

Sing a Happy Tune

Sing a happy tune, or any tune— not only does singing decrease cortisol levels, but belting out a ballad is a more effective stress reliever than just listening to one. Why? We’re creatures of rhythm, so anything that introduces rhythm to our lives calms us down. We have comforting memories associated with songs, and singing distracts you and breaks you out of your worry loop. 

Do this: Turn up your favorite tunes and sing along in your car or while cleaning the house. With any luck, the traffic—and maybe even the mess—will soon feel less like a big problem and more like just another little bump in your daily road.  Need some suggestions on tunes?  Turn on some Bob Marley. Reggae music mellows out even the most stressed person and singing along to Marley's positive lyrics is a sure way to brighten your day.  Or, create a Soul II Soul playlist in Pandora...trust me, you'll totally start to groove wherever you are and should be able to happily sing along!  

Finding Harmony

Balance is a tricky subject for many people. We have careers, partners, kids, family commitments, charity work, classes, hobbies, worship time – plus, big desires to improve our health (at least I hope you do if you're reading my blog!). How can one person possibly balance so many things?

I’m going to let you in on a little secret here…you can’t!

“Harmony” is an easier goal than balance. Harmony means everything is co-existing in a spirit of cooperation. But whatever you want to call it – harmony, balance, or “fitting it all in” – there is a secret to doing more of what you want and less of what you don’t want. I just need to warn you that although the equation sounds simple, it actually takes massive willpower to execute. It also requires that you get absolutely clear on what you want your life to look like, and what you do not want in your life.

Okay, take a moment to ponder these thoughts (FYI: they contain the secret to a harmonious life):

First ask yourself what isn’t serving you:  What doesn’t need to be in your life? 

What is dragging you down? Keeping you awake at night?

Have you identified a few things? Now get rid of them (or fix them - now). 

Next, ask yourself what you want in your life – or in this week or day? 

What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to do? Who do you want to be with? 

Focus your energy on these things. 

Anything that doesn’t fit into this larger scheme… let it go (or learn how to say “no”).

Now that you have the awareness from thinking about those questions above, changes can happen.  Give these tips a try and see how much more harmonious your life can be. 

No balance required.  

Remember to be patient with yourself and focus on one tiny step at a time.  

I bet you didn't know...

Being "bad" in Nicaragua and enjoying an amazing Tona beer
even though beer now tears my stomach apart
(damn you gluten!).  As you can see,  I really
enjoyed it...it was worth it!

...that as a Health Coach I struggle with the same issues when it comes to taking care of my body that everyone else does:

I find it challenging to squeeze in my morning yoga/meditation practice on most days. 

Many times I run to the store (or order in) for a meal instead of cooking up something truly nourishing.

I eat a few too many bites of bread while out to eat when I know for sure it will make my stomach hurt and make me sleepy.  

I ignore signs that my body is clearly giving me (like when I'm tired and just want to rest, but keep going because I feel I have too much to do, or when my nails become brittle and flaky because of how poorly I've been feeding myself...etc.).

I eat a few too many cookies and sometimes not even just after a meal, but in place of a meal!

I can go on about this, because we all have our quirks and struggles when it comes to our health.  It's not easy to be 100%, 100% of the time.  Sometimes it feels good to be bad and skip a workout, not respond to an email or eat something we know will make us sick.  But, we cannot go on like this.  I adapted the 90/10 rule to my life back when I was in nutrition school and since then my life has been much less stressful because I allow myself some room for imperfections.  90% of the time I'm on point with taking care of my body/mind while the other 10% is left to goof off.  I highly recommend this to everyone.  Most of the time take good care of your body:  Feed it right, unwind at some point of each day, take deep breaths whenever you think of it, laugh a lot, smile and say hello to everyone you encounter, treat yourself, chew your food, enjoy your workouts, celebrate the blessings in your life!  And then, a few times a week give yourself some room to just say, "F-it."  HAHA!  I'm serious though.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.  We all have our struggles, it's a part of being human.  Lighten your attitude, know that you can't be perfect and just do the best you can each & every day!

Cleaning & Clearing Out

Many of you already know, I have a thing for
scarves.  But I don't need 100 gazillion scarves,
that's for sure!  I got rid of plenty (still not enough,
but a start!) along with lots more clothes.

Since I'm still in the process of moving into my new place, my life at home involves stepping over bags, boxes, cleaning supplies, things everywhere and empty walls.  It's VERY unsettling to me.  However, the great thing about moving is that it has forced me to uproot my life and start fresh.  Throughout the past month (pre and post move) I've filled up at least 5 HUGE boxes of clothes, kitchen supplies, crafts, nick-nacks and tons of other things to give away.  I've also thrown out SO much.  I can't even tell you how great this feels.  I always had the attitude, out with the old & in with the new, but now that I've gotten older and continue to just accumulate more stuff I don't want to bring in that much new stuff!  It feels better to live with less and to enjoy and use what you already have.  I have been keeping this mindset with each box I unpack and I'm floored by how much I've been able to either give away or get rid of.  It's so true that our outer order creates inner harmony.

I look forward to unpacking my life and simply settling into my new place.

A health moment I regret...

We all have health moments that we regret.  Maybe some of us have more than we'd like to remember.  I can think of many times in my life where I'm embarrassed to say what I'm regretful for.  However, this one part of my life stands out:

One of these cans were in my purse each day!

I had just graduated college and began working as a receptionist for a hair, nail and spa salon while applying for design jobs around NJ & NY.  This job was BUSY and stressful on so many levels.  From the moment I walked in the door in the morning the phones were ringing non-stop with clients scheduling appointments.  Clients were pouring in every few minutes to check in at the desk, pay, and be escorted to where they needed to go.  There was barely time to get up and leave the desk and when I did have a moment to I would have to check the bathrooms, tidy up the waiting rooms, stack the shelves, etc.  We had a half hour for lunch and if I was lucky enough to have someone cover the desk for that time, I'd hurry to the back to quickly throw something down my throat.  Except, working at a salon with 30 other women was super-intimidating.  There would be a handful of girls in the back all staring at one another head to toe.  Why would I want to eat something when I had a bunch of girls judging my figure, or when so-and-so was standing next to me with a tiny belly while mine was bloated and a few pounds too many?  So I got hooked on skipping meals or substituting them with Slim Fast shakes or Boost shakes.

Umm, EWW!

Or a bottle of one of these.  Yuck!!!

I worked at the salon for a little over a year with this behavior.  I'd leave work so wound up with stress that I would go directly to the gym to work it all out.  It was the only way I could bring myself down for the night...only to wake up to it all over again the next morning.  Very stressful.  Looking back I now realize that by skipping meals and replacing them with those processed, sugar-filled garbage shakes, I was doing major damage to my body.  I wasn't nourishing my body with the fuel and nutrients it needed.  Meanwhile, the stress of that job was worse than any of the other stuff!

Eventually my body started speaking to me.  I broke out in hives for 15-weeks.  15-weeks!  Every morning my body was covered in bright red bumps to the point where I would have to wear long sleeves and pants to cover them up.  I began losing patches of my hair (alopecia) which was a direct result of way too much stress.  The other receptionist and I started keeping a bottle of vodka in the back bathroom so that we could make a drink for ourselves in the afternoon to cope with the stress of the front desk.  That's when it hit me.  All of my health problems didn't process as stress related until I started noticing my behavior on the job.  The stress was so bad that my body was literally screaming to "STOP! Slow down! Change what you're doing before I combust!"

So, looking back on that whole stressful time, I'd clearly do some things differently to have taken care of myself, my body and certainly how I managed stress.  Slim Fast, Boost, skipping meals and working in a way-too stressful environment with many toxic, judgmental people is NOT a recipe for health. (Please note, I made tons of really great friends from this job who I'm still very close with and who may be reading this post.  Not all were toxic!)  But, this whole experience made me realize how we all have times in our lives where our health isn't our top priority and we do some silly, not-so-smart things to get by only driving us closer to that ditch where we'll surely end up.  Since we've all had them, we can learn from them and prepare better for the times ahead of us so that our health doesn't have to be so compromised.

Can you think of a health moment that you regret in your life?  

Stiff Neck Frustration

This is what my neck has felt like all day, heavy!
Go away negative thoughts zebra!

As I type here right now, I may as well have one of those huge white neck braces on because I can barely turn my head.  I woke up with a MAJOR stiff neck.  I can easily turn to the left, but forget about turning to the right.  I have to move with my whole body or only turn my eyes towards the right.

Yea, you're reading this right - the limber yoga teacher who stretches, does pranayama and works out each day has a stiff neck.  But, how the heck could that be?  Let me enlighten you...

Last night as I got into bed I was restless after a loooong day at the office.  At the office, even though I'm the wellness director, much of my day is spent behind a desk, staring lazily at my glowing computer screen, typing away while remaining sedentary.  I'm flooded with things to do (aren't we all) and hop from one thing to the next.  It can get pretty hectic, so sometimes my shoulders will shrug up towards my ears as I hunch over my keyboard while my leg shakes for minutes/hours out of nerves.  My commute is a little over an hour and a half (just one way) so I'm in the car for at least 3 hours each day driving on some of the most populated highways in the tri-state area.  Anyway, last night was a beautiful summer night and I'm lying in bed with both windows cracked open to the sound of the crickets.  On any normal night this would lull me right off to a wonderful night's sleep.  However, for some reason my mind was filled with NEGATIVE thoughts.  I was feeling stress in my chest area, couldn't seem to relax my body and certainly couldn't slow down my thoughts.  I try taking some deep breaths...not working.  I catch myself creating these stories in my head about the day...things I didn't do, things I shouldn't have said, blah blah blah.  Finally after tossing and turning, I fall asleep and have a long night of that kind of half-awake state but deep dreaming.  The content of my dreams were uncomfortable.  The alarm goes off at 4:45am and I awake feeling like I didn't sleep at all.  I sit up and immediately grab my neck/shoulders and feel the shooting pain.  I must have slept on it wrong, I thought.

Then I got to thinking.

I didn't sleep on it wrong...last night my mind was consumed by negativity which paraded through the rest of my body creating stiffness, inflammation and stress!!!!  This is the perfect example of what you think, you become.  Well while drifting off to sleep last night my thinking was off in a totally dark direction and my body became a nervous, tension-filled wreck!  

Moral of the story:  Your body hears your thoughts.  It hears exactly what you're saying to yourself and the tone you're saying it in.  Tonight I'll go to bed consciously changing the tone of my (inner) voice. I'll speak only sweet, soft thoughts, while inviting every muscle in my body to relax.
Now, doesn't that sound pleasant compared to last night's rest?!

This blog post was originally posted on Live. Breathe. Grow.'s blog. I'm an Inspiration Nation blogger for them, and so proud of it!

Pause during work and click this each day.

Whether you work in an office, at home, or just plain need a break...click on this link at least once per day to R E L A X and enjoy.  A few minutes away from your day to break, breathe and re-ground yourself will only add to your productivity and well-being.  Bookmark it in your computer now!

GAIAM Life Meditation Rooms

Health Supports Sex...Sex Supports Health!

Last week on Facebook, quite a few people posted an image with the message: "Describe your sex life with a movie title." I scrolled past it quite a few times down my newsfeed and it got me thinking...

...about how beneficial sex is to our health. I know, I'm such a nerd and always have to somehow tie wellness into every little aspect of my life and thoughts! But for real, sex is great for way much more than just burning some calories (actually sex burns about 5 calories per minute). Check out how a great sex life can:

Keep you healthy: Good sexual health may mean better physical health. Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A or IgA, which can protect you from getting colds and other infections.

Mellow you out: Life is stressful, and while there are many known ways to ease it like breathing deeply, practicing yoga, exercising, etc....a good ol' fashion roll in the hay helps it too! Though blood pressure levels spike during the act itself, maintaining a healthy sex life helps us keep blood pressure and stress levels low. Also, having an orgasm curbs irritability and releases tension. So, get busy!

Tone pelvic floor muscles: Unfortunately, when we age (especially women), our muscles "down there" tend to weaken resulting in some issues with pee pee control. Good thing is, sex tones the pelvic muscles that support your uterus, bladder, and bowel, meaning better control.

Give you a youthful glow: Ever notice that obvious glow exuding from you after a dance in the sheets (despite the messy sex bed-head!)? In addition to boosting self-esteem and confidence, sex increases the production of human growth hormone, which is known to improve muscle tone to help slow the aging process. Cool thing too, researchers are also finding that those who enjoy their sex lives tend to live a good 8-10 years longer!

Not only does being healthy support your sex life, but sex actually supports your health! Back to that cheesy Facebook question...what movie best describes your sex life (or desired one)? Mine is no better described than Baby & Johnny gettin' busy to Solomon Burke in the Dirty Dancing scene above!!!!

Looking for Calm? Spray Some Rescue Remedy!

Those of you who are close to me have probably had me offer you a spritz of Remedy Rescue when you seemed stressed around me. I swear by this stuff and never leave the house without it. If you are known to get anxious and need something natural to take the edge off and bring you back down, read up on Rescue Remedy and pick up a bottle (or pastilles) at your local health food store. Hopefully you'll find just as much relief as I do from it!