Archive | January, 2010

poison into nectar

24 Jan

Great yoga class this morning.  My practice was very minimal this week (I have my usual excuses of being busy and traveling, but I’m ready to stop making excuses and get my act together – less talk, more action!).  But I love Sunday vinyasa at La Jolla Yoga Center with Josh Vincent and am so glad I made it today.

Josh is the newest of my favorite teachers and has an amazing presence and teaching style.  I always leave his class with new knowledge and inspiration – a sure sign of an awesome class.  Today after pushing us to perfect our full side plank, vasisthasana, he reminded us of a Hindu quote – that our practice may be poison at first, but it will soon become nectar.

(Me in vasisthasana. I’m getting there – I think I need to lift my hips more. And yes, I’m wearing my FT60 :) )

I found a reference to the Bhagavad Gita quote Josh was telling us about on the Atma Jyoti Ashram website.

“That which in the beginning is like poison but in the end like nectar; that happiness, born from the tranquillity of one’s own mind, is declared to be sattwic.” (Bhagavad Gita 18:37)

(Note: In Hinduism, sattva is one of the three qualities of nature (gunas); it manifests as balance, purity, calmness.)

In the beginning it is normal for spiritual practice to be boring or even annoying and upsetting. But at the end it will be all sukha: happiness and ease. For it never really is poison, but only seems so to the distorted mind-mirror of those bound in ignorance.

I’m already starting feel like my practice is a nectar, although some asanas and meditation still frustrate me. I’m searching hard for my sattvic happiness!  Happy Sunday :)

day 2 of vegan cleanse: fail!

19 Jan

I started my cleanse really well. Yesterday I had a green dream juice (spinach, parsley, ginger, lemon, apple), some almonds and a banana for breakfast.  I had whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce for lunch, followed by a colorful salad and vegan tamales from Whole Foods for dinner.  They’re soooo good, I highly recommend them – I got pumpkin raisin and vegetable.

Today, not so good! I started well with lots of fruit for breakfast.  We had lunch catered at work for winning the Halloween costume contest and I should have known the options would be limited.  But I kinda thought that since I work at a wellness company there would be some options.  Not so much, unless you call turkey, roast beef and ham options.  Rather than scraping off the meat and cheese and avoiding the cookies, I dug right in like the fatty I am. :P Minor setback!

Don’t worry, I’m not giving up.  What good is failing if we don’t learn from our mistakes?!  Lesson of the day: when you really want something, do everything you can to make it happen, don’t leave it in the hands of others.  Sometimes it’s as simple as packing your lunch :)

vegan cleanse

18 Jan

I’ve been inconsistent with my eating habits for the past couple of weeks (really healthy somedays, crap the others) and could use a cleanse, so I’ve decided to go vegan for the week.  I’ve done fruit diets before and haven’t lasted longer than 3 days, so I feel like it’s unrealistic to me to eat all raw or all one type of food.  Instead, I’ll focus on eating clean, simple foods free of animal products. The last time I went vegan for a week was to prep for my colonic, and I really like the way I felt, so why not stick to what works for me?

My goal is one week – starting today and ending Sunday, but I may extend it to two weeks depending on how I feel.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress and any new recipes I try!  I’m traveling to Texas this week, so it’ll be a bit of a challenge to stick with it, but it’ll be a good test of my will power and creativity!

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Polar FT60

17 Jan

I think I’ve become a little bit of a fitness nerd.  Ever since starting as a wellness consultant, I’ve gotten the chance to try out some really cool gadgets, the latest being the Polar FT60 heart rate monitor watch.  Two words: life changing.

No seriously, it’s pretty amazing. (more…)

mid-month update

16 Jan

It’s January 16 – wow, 2010 has been flying by so far!  It’s been a busy month for us, and I’ve been doing a great job on some of my goals (not taking work home, being more zen, getting lots of exercise) and not so great on others (100 days of yoga, cooking).  Time to refocus!

I have been good at eating healthily, mostly by making salads, sandwiches, soups, and stir fry and I’m hoping to be a little bit more adventurous in cooking some healthy and hearty meals.  I think I need to pick my recipes and make a list…!

I haven’t been very good about my yoga practice or goal of 100 days of yoga. I’m on day 32, so that’s awesome, but I should be somewhere in my 40s – I have work to do!  Weekends are great because there are tons of great classes, but weekdays are a little tough when I have to motivate myself after a long day.  I think I found a time that works, so this week I’m making it part of the routine.  Let’s hope it sticks!

But I have been walking a ton (I wear a smart pedometer that downloads steps to a website through my work’s wellness program, and I get about 8,000-10,000 steps a day – about 4- 5 miles). My schedule is busy: I’m up at 5:45, run with the dogs, feed them, get ready for work, take dogs out for a short walk, head to work, work work work, back home at 5:30, short walk, feed the dogs, yoga, long walk with the dogs, make dinner, eat, tv/work/sleep?  I thrive on lots of exercise (I’m like a puppy too!) so it’s been great for me.

I’m also taking lots of time to rest and enjoy life too! (as are Lincoln and Winston, they love chilling outside :) )  Hope you are too!

changes

9 Jan

It’s been a crazy few weeks for us!  Through the holidays, a move and a new career opportunity, we’ve been very busy with things that have made big changes on our lives.  I find it interesting to look back on busy and/or stressful moments in my life, and see what I did and how I reacted. I think it’s times like these that say a lot about who we are.  And so far, I feel good about 2010.

One of my goals for the year is to better handle the stress in my life and not let it get to me.  Our change of routine has forced me to pay attention, to live in the present (one of the best ways to live life!) and stress just doesn’t last.  Sure, there are trying moments, but you learn not to dwell in them and everything always works itself out one way or another.  It’s pretty awesome.

I hope you all have a wonderful year.  Stay healthy – you want to live your life to the fullest! Here’s to 2010!

only through stillness can we appreciate movement

1 Jan

We have a little less than two hours to go before 2010 here on the West Coast. We’re chilling at home to ring in the new year, after a busy day of packing and moving (we have so much stuff!  remind me to NEVER buy anything again!).  I’m happy to be able to take time to reflect on the year in peace with my love.

I just finished my daily yoga session – day 26, baby!!  – and am basking in the yoga glow. As I finished savasana शवासन, my podcast teacher reminded me that “only through stillness can we appreciate movement.”  Truer words couldn’t have been spoken to me today.  I’m appreciative for an amazing 2009 and definitely plan to take more time for stillness in 2010 (despite some big plans!).  It’s going to be a great year.  Peace and love to you and yours and many more blogs to come!

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