Friday Gratitudes

It's been another wacky week and I am just trying to keep up. I did have a stellar day yesterday. Teaching for Spoons in the early morning followed by a cabaret rehearsal and then a wedding rehearsal in the afternoon followed by yummy Mexican food and sangria!

Life is not half bad.

Here are things that I'm thankful for this week.

1. lovely weather
2. a great wedding couple that appreciates all of the personal touches
3. supportive musicians that are ready to rock out on Sunday
4. some great catering friends who make the daily grind easier
5. my father for driving me to my first wedding of the year and sharing his enthusiasm with all around him.

Super sleepy gratitudes

I worked like crazy this week and it's been difficult to take a moment and be thankful running from place to place. I did breathe and release my shoulders a few times, I've tried to keep drinking water and I did splurge on a beer.

Here's what makes me say 'thank you.'
1. warmer weather - a nice rain and a chance to wear my galoshes!
2. Kyla for being game to grab a well deserved beer when it may not have been the wisest decision.
3. Maria and Gina for suggesting getting together for my birthday.
4. My friend Jennifer for satisfying my huge love for live a capella music at her lovely workshop last Sunday.
5. 2 students today in the dinner party class who answered questions in a wise and concise way. almost made me cry.

Have gratitudes? You should. Take a moment to consider the people and things that make your day less sucky. Please share them below.

A Little Gratitude for Friday

I started another round of The Dinner Party Project with Spoons Across America this morning. It's been challenging on many levels, but I am excited to see the growth in the students. This was a busy week and the next few are busy as well. Here's to good time management and time to take care of myself. In the meantime, here's where I say, Thank you.

1. to the engaged students I saw this week and the educators who work tirelessly to teach them

2. sunshine and breezes

3. cool locations in this amazing city - specifically a rooftop bar where I attended a networking event and a garden across the street from my friend Jennifer's house

4. The Zen Bride photo shoot taking shape

5. a great first rehearsal and a completed set list for my Facebook Songbook cabaret.

If you'd like to share, feel free in the comment section below.

Sunny Friday Gratitudes!

Today was a sunny, lazy day. Those two are enough to be grateful, but let's try for a full list.

1. sunshine in the Big Apple. I'm still wearing my winter jacket and it's almost May, but heck, it's at least sunny.

2. a day off to go to the movies! I really don't remember the last time I went. So, I made it a double header.

3. more catering work in the kitchen vs. being on the floor - so less heavy lifting

4. keeping my apartment tidy

5. fresh beets, ginger and apples. A yummy, fresh combination.

And you? What  do you appreciate? Please share your list below.

The Benefits of Barefoot

Today is Tommy Housworth's birthday. For those of you who do not know, Tommy suggested a number of really great blog posts over the past few months. He has a blog called Barefoot Zen and is an avid barefoot runner. Therefore it's no surprise that he wants to spread the gospel of the naked foot. So, Happy Birthday, Tommy and this post is for you!

The Benefits of Barefoot

While it's difficult to be out and about without shoes in New York City, they're the first thing that I remove when I walk through my apartment door. First, I don't want to track the dirt and grime from the street in my home, but without shoes I am more comfortable. It's less formal and I can stretch my feet out from long days standing or walking on unforgiving pavement.

While I love a nice shoe, I cannot wait for the warmer months so I can be barefoot more often. Luckily there are a plethora of parks close by so I can doff the shoes and walk in the grass. I also had the opportunity to visit Coney Island twice last year and dig my toes in the sand and allow the tide to come up over my feet. As a yoga teacher I talk lots about the connection of the feet to the floor, but it's truly a connection with the Earth. Finding the groundedness and stability from the Earth and bringing it in to the body. Pushing into the Earth to find length upwards as we stand or balance on one leg in vrksasana or garudasana. And I firmly believe we cannot find this connection with our shoes on.

I've had major foot and ankle injuries over the years. I first sprained my ankle in these cute red clogs when I was 5, but I broke my foot twice and sprained the ankle at least 6 times. It wasn't until I was in physical therapy from the last injury in 2009 that I was told I don't walk evenly. In fact, I put little weight on my left foot and my right foot had to make up the difference. I finally knew why people kept asking me if I was limping! It's no surprise that I kept re-injuring since I did not use my feet efficiently. You can tell how you do by the way your shoes wear. Mine tended to wear out on the lateral or outside first, because I used to put my weight there. Due to physical therapy and my yoga practice, I'm more conscious when i walk, and make sure I'm giving each full foot it's due. My balance is certainly better and I know it's because of my barefoot focus.

Last year I did work study at the Yoga Journal Conference here in NY. During the 3-day conference, I had the good fortune to take 2 of Leslie Kaminoff's classes. With my years of foot and ankle injuries, I was excited to focus on the feet from a yoga standpoint. The feet and ankles have an amazing amount of bones, muscles and ligaments holding them all together. This gives us an unbelievable range of motion in the foot. Much of it we don't use because our feet are always in shoes. 

I could say a lot more, but I do think that Yoga Anatomy guru, Leslie says it better. Take off your shoes, roll your feet around on a tennis ball or ask your partner for a foot massage and watch these two videos. You can also check out one of his websites here.

Go.


I suggest starting with this one. And then go here.

Have questions, comments or suggestions? Please add them in the comment section below!

Friday Gratitudes

I feel like I'm grateful for much of the same week to week. Not that that's bad, but I'd love something new. Perhaps I'll change something up this coming week.

Here's what I'm thankful for:
1. starting to work with a new couple in counseling - and they are delightful
2. catering leftovers
3. Spring in NY! And yes, it will kick your city's Spring in the tootie!
4. connecting with some friends this evening
5. a bit of catering this week, but a full schedule next week.

And you? Care to share your gratitudes? Please do below.

The Chakras Explained - THIRD EYE

I don't believe any of you have been waiting with bated breath for the next installment of The Chakras Explained. But it does surprise me that I have not explained any chakras since January. Apologies. We're almost done as we hit #6 of 7.

When I teach yoga I tend to use the heart chakra more than any other. I summarize anahata as the center of love, compassion, forgiveness and acceptance. However, only recently when creating a meditation for a workshop did I create summaries for all seven. The Third Eye (or Ajna in sanskrit) is the center of our intuition, imagination, intellect and faith. It's located in the center of the forehead, but since our energy radiates 360 degrees, it's also in the back and sides of our head.

This chakra for me has always been very open. It allowed me to intuitively teach over the years and as a child I had a very vivid imagination. I guess I still do. Other ways to tell that ajna is active and healthy are empathetic connections, open mindedness, powerful dreams, mental stamina and easy meditative states.

If the 6th Energy Center is under-active, you may not be very good at thinking for yourself, and tend to rely on authority figures. You may be rigid in your thinking, relying heavily on your beliefs and not open to new ideas. You might even get easily confused, have poor memory, experience eye issues and have difficulty recognizing patterns. When the 3rd Eye is over-active, we may experience nightmares, headaches, have difficulty concentrating and even hallucinate.

Don't fret. If your Third Eye is not in balance, there are a number of things you can do to heal and cleanse ajna. Try these.

1. Eat purple foods. Grapes, blueberries, purple carrots, plums, purple cabbage and eggplant, for starters.
2. Play with lavender. Dab some essential oil on your wrists, lather on some yummy lavender lotion or steep some lavender with your favorite tea!
3. Have an herbal oil treatment (Shirodhara). Some spas offer this treatment where warm oil is poured on the center of your forehead. Trust me, it's a pretty remarkable experience.
4. Do yoga. When I teach a class that focuses on Ajna, I take time in child's pose with the forehead touching the floor. I also make sure to do our surya namaskar or sun salutations with our eyes closed. 

What's going on in your 3rd Eye? Did any of the cleansing suggestions work for you? Anything you want to share? Please add your comments and questions to the comment section below.