Category Archives: Wellness

Life in OM: There’s No Crying in Yoga!

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Crying buddha

Actually, there is.

Sometimes there are ton's of tears and it is so very important for you to know that it's ok.

In fact, it's one of the best things that can happen to you.

Years ago I was attending my weekly yoga class when I went back into child's pose and started to cry. A few tears turned into a torrent and I rolled up my mat and raced to my car where I continued to sob like a baby.

I got so freaked out at my weakness that I stopped going.

Then the whole world came crashing in.

At the time, I had just experienced an awful break-up, was having extreme self-esteem issues and was punishing my body in every way possible.  My unhappiness with myself and everything in my world had reached new heights.

All of those emotions were pent up in my physical body as well as my mind and yoga was helping me release them, helping me heal.

Instead of giving myself that chance, I got scared and left.

Things went from bad to worse and everything just seemed to spiral out of control. Modern medicine was trying to "fix" me and I had zero interest in doing anything beneficial for myself.  

Nothing was helping and I was sick of everything.

Then, in a rare moment of clarity a thought popped into my head: life was better with yoga.  

Through the ups and downs of my time on this planet, life was always better with yoga.

I went back to my class with an open heart and again I cried. It was amazing, cathartic, healing…it was everything I couldn't give to myself. 

Getting my act together did not happen overnight and there are still rare moments when I feel less than 100% content with myself. But 7 years later I know I am a complete, whole person who isn't missing anything. 

My practice gave me this.

Don't be afraid if you turn on the waterworks during your vinyasas. Yoga helps us realize and release those emotions that begin to eat away at us in unhealthy ways.

Any good yoga teacher knows this and will make it as comfortable as possible for you to let go.

Yoga can do incredible things if you let it, including healing a person from the inside out, so rest assured that tears in your yoga class are excellent and nothing to be ashamed of.

Life in OM: Weekly Wellness

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Grapes

Transforming an unhealthy way of eating into a healthy one can be very daunting. Especially if you are used to eating a lot of processed foods on the go.

Instead of making sweeping changes that will end up being too difficult and frustrate you to the point of diving head first into a bag of potato chips, try to make small adjustments.

Try to eat one piece of fruit with your lunch 3 times a week for one month. Forgo the 100 calorie snack pack of chips or an energy bar or some other processed snack.

Pick your favorite fruit or try something new. If you're on a budget, look for what's on sale that week at your grocery and try it. Experiment and find out what you like.

Although those 100 calorie snack packs are convenient and low in calories (if you can eat just one),  not all calories are created equal.

An apple or a cup of grapes provides tons of nutrients not found in baked cheetos! Your body will thank you for it.

Remember to take small steps and take the change one day at a time. Enjoy!!

Life in OM: Happy? Miserable? It’s Your Choice

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Life is unfair.

Really, it is.

The thought might leave you feeling powerless, deflated, defeated.

Never fear though, you have a power mightier than anything life can throw at you: the power of choice.

You can choose to react without thinking, you can choose to let something eat at you,  you can choose to become angry, you can choose to be miserable.

Or you can choose to stay calm, you can choose to take a breath and think before reacting, you can choose to walk away, you can choose to look at things positively, you can choose to find joy whenever you can.

Take a moment to think about all the things that weigh you down. Ultimately, you have a choice whether you are going to let them affect you negatively or positively.

Example #1, you're driving to work when someone cuts you off. They pull up next to you, screaming that you were driving too slow and call you a terrible name before driving off. 

You have the choice to scream right back, get completely stressed out, let it put you in a foul mood, and ruin your morning as you spend hours ruminating over the incident.  Meanwhile the guy calling you names has forgotten all about it.

Or you can take a deep breath, choose not to react, let him scream and yell as you drive off. You have chosen to remain calm, you have chosen not to let something so trivial effect your entire mind and body, you have chosen to walk (or drive) away.

Example #2- something a bit more tragic. You get dumped. You have every right to feel sadness, anger, betrayal…the list goes on and on. There are countless emotions you will go through and you need to feel every one of them. Remember that choice is not denial. We have feelings and we need to let ourselves sit with them.

But that doesn't mean we want to wallow in them. There will come a point where you will choose to become negative, choose to feel sorry for yourself, choose to mope around being miserable.

Or you can choose to move on, choose to look at the break-up as a positive force for change in your life, choose to let you inner happiness and self love shine through, choose to find someone else or not. 

Choosing to be your own source of happiness and contentment is not easy. You need to learn to not react to every conflict and that takes practice. It also takes some getting to know yourself. You need to be able to step outside your current situation and try to look at it from a different perspective.

The best way to start to do this is through spending some time just sitting alone, quietly, doing nothing but breathing, otherwise known as Meditation. I'll save Meditation basics for another post but for now just try to take 5 minutes in the morning to sit and breath without distraction.

Then start to pay attention. There are countless moments during the course of our lives where we can choose to make ourselves miserable or choose to protect our contentment.

You create and take away your own happiness, no person or thing can do that to you unless you let it.

It's your choice.

Life in OM: Weekly Wellness

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Water

Water…drink it!

It doesn't get much simpler than that. I won't bore you with all of the wonderful benefits water has but you should drink enough that your urine runs clear.(that means you're hydrated)

Try to replace your diet soda with water (much healthier) or if you're trying to lose weight replace juice with water (0 calories!).

You can drink still or sparkling. If you can't deal with the taste add some lemon or a bit of honey.  You can even add a shot of juice to boost the flavor.

Cheers!!

Life in OM: The Secret to Losing Weight

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As I was shopping in the grocery store last week I passed by the magazine stand and the cover of Time caught my eye. "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin" 

I was astonished that mainstream media had finally picked up on a concept that I had learned about the hard way: vigorous exercise does not aid in weight loss, eating healthy and unfortunately less food is the key.

Now for all of you exercise haters out there, this is not permission to lay on the couch all day. What it means is that running 5 miles every day or going to the gym and killing yourself for an hour every day does not automatically mean the pounds will come off.

One of three problems usually arises when you do strenuous exercise:

  • If you are restricting calories your energy begins to dwindle and you feel awful.
  • Exercise makes you hungry (usually for sweet foods) which can lead to binge eating.
  • You’ve exercised therefore you can eat whatever you want or reward eating.

Pick up any marathon training book and it will tell you that it's not a great idea to try and lose weight and train for a marathon at the same time. These experts know that running 30+ miles a week and restricting calories won't work.

I hated to restrict my eating so for years I exercised, sometimes twice a day, just so I could know that I had the freedom to eat what I wanted. I wasn't a bad eater. In fact, being a vegetarian and health nut, I was very conscious of what I ate. My problem was that I indulged when I wanted to by eating sweets and my portions, though healthy, were just too big.

 I once had someone ask me how much I exercised in a week and when I told them they asked me why I wasn't stick thin?  I was dumbfounded. Why the hell wasn't I stick thin!!

I had to admit defeat. I needed to reduce the amount of food I was eating, even if most of it was considered healthy. 

Running three times a week 3-5 miles and yoga were just enough for me. I was eating around 1500 calories, I had tons of energy and the extra weight was falling off.  I even had one day where I could indulge in whatever I wanted and still I lost weight.

Then I started training for my second marathon and once I started running over 25 miles per week, goodbye carrots hello vegan brownies (they may be vegan but they still have calories).

Luckily for me I saw it coming. It's been challenging but I have adjusted my diet to keep myself fueledand have put the remaining weight loss to the side until after the event. Even now it’s hard to swear off that pint of soy ice cream after a 16 mile run. I don't always succeed but I do try to be more conscious of what is happening.

So what does that mean for those of us trying to live healthy?  I wish there was another way but sadly if you want to get to a healthy weight (healthy not skinny!) less food is key.  However, we still need to move. Exercise might not be the solution to weight loss but it is beneficial to us in many other ways.

You need to find your balance. Pay attention to what and how much you are eating. Instead of running those five miles every day and having that muffin or cupcake afterward, reduce running to every other day and skip the sweets. 

Try more moderate and mindful exercise like yoga or walking. Take the stairs, walk or bike instead of driving and cook more often (just say no to take-out!). If you like to do the occasional race, go for it but just be aware of the changes your body goes through when exercise is increased.

You want the changes you make to your eating and fitness to be for life. Do what you can maintain and remember that moderation lasts. 

Life in OM: Weekly Wellness

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Make sure you get enough sleep. It may seem trivial but sleep effects not only your energy levels but you ability to lose weight, cope with stress and fight off disease.

Seven to nine hours per night is ideal. We tend to sleep less in the summer and more in the winter so listen to your body.

Sweet dreams!!

Life in OM: One Thing at a Time

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987456_bloco_de_notas_1Sometimes I feel as though my life is like going to the grocery store for a major shopping trip with no list.

I end up getting or doing things that I don't really need and I completely forget the important items.

Having a list doesn't mean I'm organized either. It just means I have a very long list of a hundred things to do and no idea what to start with first. Basically an out of control shopping list that's ten pages long!

To-do lists are extremely useful but I am finding that you really need two different types. First, you need to have one where you just write down things as they come into your head. If you want to break them up into categories fine, if it's more of a stream of consciousness that's fine too.  

I keep small notebook for this. I use it for to-do's and for anything else I come across that I want to remember later on. For example, if I see something useful I want to add to my website, I write it down. If I see a yoga article I want to share I write down the web address. It's a multifunction notebook.

The second list you need are the things you are going to accomplish today and just today. You can pull them off your big list or they can be totally new. My Smartphone has a great Notes feature where I can use my stylus as a pen and scribble away.

At night I write down 3-6 things I will accomplish the next day. I do this at night otherwise my sleep will be interrupted by intermittent bursts of trying to remember what I have to do the next morning. So I get it out of my head and onto my phone.

The key for this to be successful is focusing on one thing and finishing those particular tasks that you have assigned to yourself for that day. Don't bounce back and forth between them and DO NOT MULTITASK.

Yoga and Meditation teach us to focus on the present moment with clarity and balance. Moving from one task to another and back again is distracting and scatters our energy. Decide what you are going to work on, pour your attention and energy into that task, complete it successfully and then move on to the next. 

Don't fret if this doesn't come easy to you at first. We are a culture that is in a constant state of stimulation and shifting our minds to just one thing can be very challenging.

Just as it's impossible to have a perfect yoga practice or meditation session, this process won't be flawless but you do the best you can. If you get interrupted or distracted  or things just get a little out of your control - sit back, take a few deep breaths and get right back to it.

So recap:

1. Have one device (manual or computerized) to write down all to-do's, ideas or basically anything that pop's into your head that's worth remembering. (You'll sleep better at night!)

2. Have another device (manual or computerized) to write down a few tasks that you can complete in one day.

3. Choose one task and begin.

4. Try to focus yourself and continue to stick with the one task.

5. Complete Task

6. Rinse and Repeat  (Take a few deep breaths and start on task #2)

7. New day, new tasks ( If you didn't finish all your tasks from the previous day, carry them over)

Life in OM: No One Is Coming

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A few years ago I picked up A Year of Living Your Yoga: Daily Practices to Shape Your Life by Judith Hanson Lasater. I opened the book to June 26 and read "No one is coming". 

It took my breath away and made my stomach churn at the same time. Although I had always been content living on my own it wasn't until that moment that I realized in some ways I had been waiting rather than living.  Lasater let me off the hook and scared the hell out of me  with four words.

Women have it a bit rough. We're constantly bombarded by stories and images that lead us to believe we are not complete until we have another person in our lives. Even if we overcome that and are content with being alone, part of us might still be holding out for what we think is a requirement.

Once I realized no one was coming, I was empowered. I felt that my life was wholly my own and I needed to enjoy every moment of it. I decided to finally take that trip to England that I had been putting off for years. Two weeks in London all alone and it was one of the best vacations I have ever had.

That trip prompted me to leave a job I was unhappy with and slowly I started moving forward in all the areas of my life where I had been subconsciously waiting.

You don't have to be single to appreciate "No One is Coming". Even if you're with someone, they are not there to make you happy. You need to seek out the things you love whether you share your life with someone or not. Don't put yourself on hold. As Ms Lasater stated so wisely "Salvation comes from no one else…it comes from within."  So stop waiting..Go Now…Live! 

My Love-Hate Relationship with Bikram Yoga

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I dislike Bikram Yoga. Perhaps that's a bit harsh. My relationship with Bikram yoga is severely challenged. 

Let me back up for those who are not yoga inclined. Bikram Yoga is done in 105˚ F/ 40.5˚C and 40% humidity. It's 26 set poses and 2 breathing exercises. There are no vinyasas, no downward dogs and no flow- in all honesty you really can't move around that much in this heat without passing out. So you just do one pose, stay still and repeat.

If you have ever been in 105 degree weather you will understand when I say that this is not just hot, its oppressive. The kind of hot when you inhale you feel like your lungs are disintegrating from the inside out.  

Have I mentioned the sweat?  I have been running and cycling for over 10 years, played sports and enjoy tropical beaches – I have never seen sweat like this.  I knew I was in trouble when, after the first forward bend, I noticed my shins were actually sweating.  I also must mention that every time my head went below my waist a deluge of sweat would shoot up my nose. Remember when you were a kid and you tried to do a back flip in the pool only to make it half way and come right back up?  Yeah, that kind feeling.

Then there is the smell. I have been lucky enough in this life to never smell a rotting corpse but I am going to guess that the odor in this yoga class comes pretty close. Luckily, you're so intent on trying to suck in oxygen through the heat and the sweat that the smell takes a back seat.  

Why then do I go?  As annoying and frustrating as it is for me to admit this, I actually feel amazing afterwards. Well, not directly afterwards because my body usually spends the rest of the day reacclimating itself to air conditioning but by the next morning the wear and tear of everyday life is just gone.

It has been almost magical for my marathon training. Time permitting I sometimes get to go once a week on Saturday. I try to schedule it before my long weekend run. Oddly enough, I run faster and without the usual back, knee and hamstring discomfort I usually contend with.

Now I need to put in a disclaimer here: I am a vinyasa teacher and I absolutely love the style and more importantly the philosophy of the yoga I teach. It is so much more than just poses for me so I'm not comparing the two. 

However, as much as I hate to admit it, heating up my muscles once a week with Bikram really does seem to be beneficial for me, even if it does feel like medieval torture when I'm practicing.

The bottom line here is don't be afraid to try anything; you never know when something you dislike might actually be good for you.

Muesli: Breakfast Nirvana

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Breakfast can get boring. Especially when you don't want to subject yourself to the many sugar laden options in the cereal aisle.

I think I ate oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter in it for years, until I ordered a bowl of Muesli at Bread and Chocolate (now closed) in Capitol Hill. I never looked at boring oatmeal the same way again.

The main ingredient in muesli is oatmeal but instead of cooking it, you soak it overnight in water, soy milk, rice milk or whatever you like really- some people even use orange juice.  Usually 1/2 cup of oats to a 1/2 cup of liquid does the trick.

Then, what you put in it is completely up to you. Bread and Chocolate served it with walnuts, strawberries, bananas, and apples. The Wynn in Las Vegas serves it with almonds, green apples and blackberries. Teasim in D.C. serves it with honey, fresh strawberries, walnuts, and dried apricots and raisins that have been soaked with the oats so they are plump and juicy. They top it off with fresh yogurt. The options are really endless.

So soak your oats. Add your fresh or dried fruit, sprinkle with nuts or seeds and top with yogurt, honey, or anything else that you desire. If honey isn't your thing and you need to sweeten it up a bit, mashing half a banana into the oat mixture works, as well as agave nectar or a tablespoon of turbinado sugar .

Muesli
photo courtesy of BBC Good Food 

Questions? Please leave a comment. Enjoy!