Snowed In Again! February 10, 2010

This is getting out of hand! Snowed in three times in the same winter season? That’s unheard of here in central Jersey!

Let’s see…

Milk…CHECK!

Eggs…CHECK!

Bread…going to bake a loaf tomorrow…CHECK!

Snow Shovel…sorta (Jeff was supposed to get a better one today but every store in town was sold out)

We also have a copy of the roller girls movie “Whip It” with Ellen Page, directed by Drew Barrymore to watch tomorrow. Plus the Rangers are playing tomorrow night so I can watch that as well. Fun stuff!

I also have been reading “Creative Visualization” by Shakti Gawain and hope to finish it tomorrow. It’s a short, light read but gives some great tips about how to use the power of your own mind to create the life you want. I’m still a little skeptical for sure (that’s the Jersey boy in me) but its relaxation and meditation techniques are interesting. I also have to root for any technique that is based on a positive outlook and has the greater good as its goal. I’ve been working on visualizing myself as a yoga teacher with a busy class schedule and a massage therapist with a full appointment calendar. I’m going to keep working the techniques, because honestly they couldn’t hurt. And if they get me where I want to go – then thank you Shakti Gawain!

Check out the book on Amazon to read a synopsis and other reader comments.

Tonight was class picture night at yoga school! I’ll post some funky cool poses here soon. Good night and stay warm, y’all!

YOGA GRADUATION COUNTDOWN: 4 classes to go!

Snowed In / Snowed Out February 7, 2010

Today was the quietest, most relaxing day I can remember having in a long time. About a foot of snow fell here in central Jersey which caused my yoga teacher training program to be canceled today. For the first time in a long time I spent the day not doing much of anything at all. I took Dash out for a bit to play in the snow, cleaned the kitchen (it was gross!), did a load of laundry…but mostly I just practiced being bored. It’s funny to think about boredom being a virtue, but in a life where most of us practice “busy-ness” most of the time, boredom and taking it easy really can be a treat!

The storm came just on the heels of finishing my last teaching assignment as part of the yoga teacher training program. I guess this makes me a yoga teacher??? Well, officially I need to take a few more classes and a final written exam before I can call myself an RYT or Registered Yoga Teacher. Actually, as the class last night was winding to a close I felt like I was reaching a finish line of sorts. For the first time I really felt like I was a yoga teacher and felt confident that I could take on any teaching assignment and handle it well. Last night’s class was a tough one. The group was pretty tired after a long week – Friday evening classes are always challenging for that reason! I still think I was able to teach a good class and my instructor agreed.

Now that the end of this journey is near, I’m a little sad to think that I won’t be able to rely on my Tuesday and Friday night training every week. However, I know that the journey is truly just beginning!

YOGA TEACHER COUNTDOWN – 6 classes to go!

Encouraging Signs January 29, 2010

It’s been a busy week here at “Just Be Now”.

I taught my first yoga class at the studio where I’ve been training since September to be a yoga teacher. It went remarkably well. You know how when you’re doing something for the first time and you get that sick-to-your-stomach, butterflies-in-the-belly feeling? I didn’t really experience that at all. It felt really natural to be teaching yoga. I decided before the class started to make peace with any mistakes and just have fun with it. I thought, “You’ll never get another chance to teach your first class, so you might as well enjoy it!” Surely I made some mistakes here and there, but overall I was proud of the job that I did.

This week also capped off the best month yet for my massage business! I’m so grateful for all of my regular clients and excited about the new connections I made this month. I started my on-call massage gig at a nearby “55 and better” community, continued working with my partner giving couples massages, and even may have a teaching gig showing others how to share the many benefits of massage. I’d say that counts as a good month in my book!

With so much growth in the massage & yoga practices this month, it sometimes feels as though I’ve been going non-stop without a break since Christmas. After class on Tuesday night I was surprised to come home to find an impromptu celebration with my 2 favorite guys: my partner Jeff and our dachshund Dash. We cracked open a bottle of non-alcoholic bubbly and toasted the completion of my first yoga class. It was incredibly sweet (both the gesture and the bubbly) and made me remember that at the end of the day, despite all our aspirations and machinations, what matters most is love and family.

I came home on Tuesday night to a wonderful surprise celebration after completing my first yoga class at the studio

TODAY’S KARMA SCOREBOARD

I feel like I’m overflowing with gratitude for all of the great people in my life and for all of the personal and professional growth I’ve experienced this month: (+5)

Decided to donate my Doc Martens that have been at the bottom of my closet for nearly a decade to Haiti relief. It’s time to let go. I’m not “hardcore” anymore. I prefer my eco-friendly recycled “Terrasoles”: (+2)

I’ve begun using trickery to get Dash out of bed in the morning so I can walk him before I leave for work. He doesn’t want to get out of bed since it’s so cold outside. He definitely doesn’t budge when I mention “outside” but he’ll perk up at the mention of a “cookie”. Now I know what it must have been like to get me out of bed to go to high school when I was a teenager. Contributing to my dachshund’s hardcore cookie habit: (-3)

You Are What You Eat January 21, 2010

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the choices we make about food have a big impact on our lives. It seems odd to me now, since I’ve been vegetarian for several years, that when I was growing up I used to love to eat things like hot dogs, breaded fried SPAM, corned beef hash (looks like dog food), and BK Chicken Sandwiches. I didn’t really think about the fact that these things I was eating were once living animals.

Many years later I’ve decided to enjoy a kinder vegetarian diet. I started being veg about 4 years ago while on a weekend getaway to Ithaca, NY. I discovered the unbelievably delicious cuisine at the Moosewood and ate veg for the entire 3 day trip. I found that I felt lighter, more awake, less mentally fuzzy, and just generally healthier. Now that I’ve started practicing yoga I understand that it isn’t just physically healthier to go veg, but it also makes us spiritually healthier, too. One of the few “rules” to yoga is the principle of ahimsa or non-violence. It encourages us to not be harmful to ourselves or others as we live our day-to-day lives. There’s no doubt in my mind that eating meat is a violent act and by going veg I’m making a choice to not participate in that violence.

Not convinced that eating meat is violent? Check out this story from my local newspaper about a 1,000 pound bull that escaped from a slaughter house in a residential neighborhood in Trenton. It bolted from the facility and ran through backyards before being brought down by several tranquilizer darts and returned to the slaughter house. I can’t believe that they call the bull “crazy” in the headline. As if running for your life is crazy! It really saddens me that we take this violence for granted and expect that animals exist solely to be eaten by us. Every world religion I’ve ever studied has some sort of rule against killing, yet we don’t seem to apply that to species other than our own. As I write this I just witnessed someone kill a beetle that got trapped inside the pane of glass in our building. It’s amazing how desensitized we are to our actions sometimes.

Now I wouldn’t classify myself as a militant vegetarian. I’m not a vegan and I do eat dairy products and honey. Some would say that this is also violent to the animals involved. I’m not sure where I stand on that and may someday decide to give up dairy too. (Sidebar: Jeff just read a book by Alicia Silverstone called The Kind Diet that has some interesting views on being vegan and tons of delicious vegan recipes. Did you know Cher from Clueless was vegan? I didn’t! Good for her!) For now I’m totally sure that I don’t want to eat death. I also know that it’s other people’s choice as to whether or not they want to eat death … I mean meat. Until you’re ready to give it up and go veg, there’s not much I can say (or write) to change anyone’s mind. However, I can offer some awesome vegan recipes that I made this past weekend that may just persuade your palette to practice ahimsa…Enjoy!

Tempeh Paprikas

serves 6

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 lg onions, chopped
2 tbsp. paprika
2 cups vegetable stock or water
2 tbsp. dark miso
1 pound tempeh, cut into 32 triangles
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
Chopped scallions or parsley, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the onions and paprika, stirring, until the onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Bring 1 1/2 cups stock or water and the miso to a boil and then add to skillet. Add the tempeh, lower the heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.

Blend the soy sauce, vinegar, and tahini with the remaining 1/2 cup stock or water. Add this mixture to the skillet, stirring as it thickens. Do not let it boil. Garnish with scallions or parsley. I served this over couscous, but you could easily accompany with brown rice, quinoa, or any other grain you love and have on hand.

Grilled Balsamic Vegetables

8-10 garlic cloves
2 red bell peppers
1 zucchini & 1 yellow squash
1 medium eggplant
12 oz. white button mushrooms (or use another kind you like)

Preheat the oven to around 400 F. Cut the vegetables in large chunks and put them in a sprayed 9X13 Pyrex baking dish. Smash the garlic cloves with the side of your knife and sprinkle over the top, along with about 1 tsp. fresh or dried rosemary and some balsamic vinegar & olive oil. Put it in the oven.  Stir the contents after about 15 minutes, and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender but not mushy (about 30 minutes more). Remove from the oven, pour into a large bowl, and season with more balsamic vinegar and freshly ground pepper.

Chocolate Pudding

One brick of silk tofu
1/4 tsp soy milk (vanilla, plain or chocolate)
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put all ingredients into a blender and whip together until well blended. Pour into a large bowl and let stand in the refrigerator for at least a half-hour. (If you can wait that long, and don’t just eat it straight from the blender)

Yoga Shown to Reduce Inflammation Risk January 13, 2010

Good news! I already knew that yoga had various health benefits from my own experience. It’s definitely helped me recover from chronic low back pain, build lean muscle, and feel less stressed. According to research released this week, yoga also can play a role in reducing a chemical in the blood that contributes to inflammatory responses. Inflammation is a health no-no and is the reason many adults out there are taking tiny baby aspirins every day to decrease their risk of heart attack. By decreasing inflammation in the body, we keep our bodies feeling younger longer and lessen the likelihood of suffering from inflammation-linked maladies like heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, arthritis and a host of other age-related debilitating diseases.

Need more inspiration to do yoga? My studio is having an open house on Sunday, January 31. Free classes from 10am – 2pm. Click the link for more details.

Here’s a link to the bigger story on the inflammation study:

http://sportsmedupdates.blogspot.com/2010/01/yoga-reduces-cytokine-levels-known-to.html

The Excitement Builds January 12, 2010

So this past weekend at yoga teacher training I found out that I’m going to be teaching my first real class 2 weeks from tonight! I’ll be teaching my fellow teachers-to-be so I’m not quite ready to unleash my teaching style on the general public just yet…

After all of the hard work of the past few months it feels like this is really where the excitement builds. I’m loving the process of coming up with a lesson plan, picking music to accompany class, and refining how I’m going to teach. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m a little nervous about it, but I also feel confident that my teacher has taught me well and that I’m honestly on the right path. Undoubtedly there will be mistakes along the way, but I’m okay with that. For now, I count the days and practice, practice, practice…

Here are some pics from this past weekend’s yoga sessions. A pretty handsome looking group, eh?

Video: Agni Sara January 8, 2010

My teacher just shared this vid with us.  This is a great practice for increasing vitality. Yoga is so cool!

via Video: Agni Sara |.

Feeling Groovy January 8, 2010

I’m looking out the window watching the snowflakes falling and feeling pretty happy with this world and my place in it. Just wanted to share that with you all out there in Cyberland!

I was reading my latest copy of Yoga Journal yesterday and read an interview with MC Yogi. I’m not too familiar with his work, but he’s a yoga instructor/rapper/DJ who uses ancient Hindu gods and yoga themes in his work. Pretty cool stuff, actually. In any case he was quoted as saying something that really inspired me. He said that for him yoga was about living from the heart rather than his head. What a simple, but profound statement!

Who among us hasn’t been guilty of getting caught up in our own mental dramas? Sometimes that stuff between our ears can be juicier than what’s going on in prime time TV. It’s liberating to be reminded that this entire world we’ve created in our minds–that includes all of our grand plans, greatest fears, missed opportunities, and self image–is really just imaginary stuff. It’s this real world that we live in among others that’s important. And navigating that world with an open heart is an honest, healthy, almost holy way to live.

So, that’s why I’m feeling groovy. Even if the weather’s gloomy and the days are short. I feel lighter with an open heart and less weighed down by all the extraneous stuff in my head.

Yoga all weekend. Teacher training is nearly 3/4 finished. WOW!

Some things to look for in 2010:

I think I’m going to start offering free yoga classes to friends (and blog readers!) to raise money for charity and hone my skills

I’m going to finish the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali – yoga’s oldest written text. I’ll probably post my impressions here from time to time.

TODAY’S KARMA SCOREBOARD

Heart-centered living today (+5)

Smiled at someone who gave me the finger on I-95 this morning (+3)

Countdown to 2010 December 29, 2009

There are only about 55 more hours left in 2009 and I feel like I’ve been inundated with “top ten” lists everywhere I look. There are more end-of-year wrap up stories than usual, or at least since the dreaded Y2K countdown, since this New Year’s Eve marks the pseudo-end of a decade. I know, I know, there’s still officially one more year left of the “aughts” or “double zeroes” but most media outlets are trotting out their “top ten of the decade lists” now one year early. We’re all prematurely calling an end to the decade which most folks are probably happy to put behind them anyway – from 9/11 to the economic collapse.
While I don’t actually have my own top ten list for the year or decade, I can’t help but get reflective as we turn another page and start a fresh new year. I have to admit that for the past few weeks I’ve been hearing people talking about how glad they are to see 2009 end and how excited they are to see 2010 begin – full of possibility for a fresh new start. My day job is in the battered newspaper industry so as we said our goodbyes before this holiday break, most folks seemed ecstatic about putting the economic turmoil of 2009 behind us. With the steady stream of economic news this year being of the negative variety (not just for the newspaper industry but for most Americans…scratch that…human beings) it’s no wonder that the collective consciousness is cheering on the new year (or decade, if you choose to go that route!)
I, for one, would like to go on record as saying that I’ll be sad to see 2009 go. It’s been by far one of the best of the 32 years I’ve been given so far. I finally found a way to eat that works for me and have been able to reach my goal weight and stay there effortlessly for the first time in my life. I’ve fully recovered from a back injury that had me contemplating radical surgery just a year or two ago, without going under the knife. I’ve deepened my yoga practice and am about 2/3 of the way to completing my yoga teacher training program. I’ve overcome my fears of starting a business and have figured out a way to make money doing something I love – massage. I’ll remember 2009 as the year when things seemed to come together for me, when the path started to seem clearer than ever, when I made significant strides toward becoming the person I always wanted to be.

In case you’re reading this and wondering how the heck to make your own 2010 as fulfilling and rewarding, I wish I could hand you a road map. However, if I tried I’d probably just be leading you down the wrong path – or at least one that was meant for me and not you. I do know that in years past I’ve always started a new year with the same lame and vague resolutions to be better: lose weight, love myself more, make new friends, exercise, etc. Then after a week or two I felt the restlessness settle in and without proper direction I’d return to “normal” without achieving much of anything. This year I still made those similar resolutions, but each step of the way decided to listen to that small voice inside of me that guided me in the right direction: toward yoga practice, toward building a business, toward running a 5K for charity, toward mindful eating, etc. It seems that at every turn I was met by a guidepost that showed me the next right step this year. I don’t know what your guideposts might be telling you, but I know for sure that they’re telling you something for 2010. If you follow them, you can’t fail. You may not get what you thought you wanted, but you’ll certainly end up somewhere interesting.

So, where am I now? 363 days into this monumental year and I’m blogging on my new laptop that my dog got me for Christmas (long story) as I sit in my car outside the yoga studio I’ve called home for a better part of this year. I’m excited to work off the holiday feasts and spend some quiet time on the mat this evening. After all is said and done, I guess I’d like to amend my statement and say that I’m not altogether sad to see 2009 end. In the past when I’ve had significant progress in my life I’m usually sad to see that year end. 2000 was a significant year when I finished college, got my first job and apartment, and entered adulthood. It felt like I was growing in leaps and bounds. However I can remember feeling rather lost and directionless for the next year (or two) unable to sustain that growth with any consistency. I’m not sad to see 2009 go this time around because I have no fear of what 2010 brings. I know that there will be challenges. I know that there will be triumphs. I know that there will be growth. And laughter. And new experiences. And things I wish I didn’t have to face. The new person I’ve become isn’t afraid of what hasn’t happened yet. I want to embrace the possibility of it all. All I really need to do is love myself and follow the path.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say something about the past month and how distant I’ve been from the blog. I had a great holiday season filled with baking delicious meals, spending time with friends and family and getting snowed in one glorious weekend with some out of town guests. I’ve taken the time to enjoy the people in my life and be grateful for the blessings I’ve been given. I’m hoping that now that my dachshund has given me a laptop I’ll be more active on the blog.

What does 2010 hold for me? Well, I’m hoping to finish yoga training and find a regular teaching gig somewhere. I’d like to keep growing the massage business. I’ve applied to be a blogger for Yoga Journal which would be awesome! I also have a trip planned in May to see Snatam Kaur in Massachusetts which I’m looking forward to. Jeff and I will be staying at the Peace Abbey – a sanctuary devoted to peace and mindfulness. Should be an amazing weekend! I’m also hoping to make another trip to Sewall House in Maine (the place where this blog got started) back when the weather was warmer and the days were longer.

Speaking of which…my fingers are freezing so it’s time to sign off. Until next time…

TODAY’S KARMA SCOREBOARD

Took Dash for the shortest walk ever (even furry 4-legged folks get cold in this weather) (+1)

Slept late and then got back into bed to read the new Augusten Burroughs after breakfast (+3) – treating yourself is SO important!

Finding Insight at Wal-Mart December 12, 2009

So I just got back to the yoga studio after a quick trip to Wal-Mart during our lunch break. With less than 2 weeks before Christmas the place was packed with folks with that frantic look in their eyes – trying to finish checking off their “nice lists” before the big day.

I went to the register and was behind a gentleman who was just finishing up his transaction. The cashier, an older woman from India, asked if he wanted cash back. He replied in his best wise guy voice, “Sure, how much do you have?” The cashier not quite getting the joke said, “Well, how much do you need? It’s your money. It’s up to you.” He smiled and laughed saying, “Ah…I thought you were giving away some of YOURS for free.”

As he walked away and she started scanning my items she said to me, “I don’t understand this country sometimes. Where I’m from people only want for as much as they need to eat and have a roof over their heads. In this country where people have so much, everyone always wants more. It’s like people don’t know that they’re so wealthy.”

I was so struck by her observation as I packed my holographic premium gift wrap, tiny battery-operated Christmas village lamp posts, and cheesy Christmas cards into my bag and ironically said, “It’s not as though having more will really make us happier.”

She finished my transaction and we wished each other a good day. I picked up my frivolous purchases and somewhat apologetically left. While leaving the store, I felt compelled to ease my shopper’s guilt by donating a few bucks to the sidewalk Santa collecting money for the needy outside.

Now I’m totally convinced that Wal-Mart really does have everything…

“Paging all available associates to front end for a reality check…”