Even Madonna Falls Sometimes

Human beings are judgmental. I do not mean to say this in a pessimistic manner, since there is such negativity associated with the word "judgmental," but in a factual manner. It is in human beings nature to judge.

This is right for me:

That is wrong for me:

These likes, dislikes, preferences are great things that make each person unique.

So why does being judgmental get a bad rap?

The word "judgmental" gets a negative connotation when people become hyper-critical and harshly impose their judgments on others and/or themselves. This kind of negative judgment can stem from insecurity, fear, even boredom at times.

I do not mean to look down upon anyone that exhibits this behavior nor do I condone it. Most people (including myself) have been judgmental in a negative way towards themselves and others at times. I don't think it's a characteristic that any of us would like to cultivate in ourselves or others. Not only do most of us have negative judgmental moments, but also fear judgment from others. It seems like a sick cycle...

So how do we stop it? How do we stop the voice that breeds insecurity in ourselves and others?

I think that Michael Jackson sings it wisely in his song Man in the Mirror.

Although with much jazzier lyrics and dance moves, Jackson gets at the heart of the point: be the change that you want to see. Look inside yourself and find your truth. It's pretty difficult to stop cruelly judging others, if you don't stop cruelly judging yourself.

Yoga is a great way to connect to others, by practicing together, and to connect to yourself, by looking towards your inner being. So, I offer this yoga exercise to hopefully help you connect to the deeper intention in your heart and rid yourself of negative judgment.
I suggest getting into this balancing tree pose after warming up your body with a few surya namaskars or sun salutations and/or however you feel best warming your body up. This instructional video from Expert Village shows a great demonstration for different levels of tree pose:

For the purpose of our exercise, try your tree pose on each side on two different days. On the first day connect to your inner being and ask yourself some or all of these questions: Do I feel balanced? Do I wabble? Am I angry or embarrassed if I shake in the pose? Is this hip opener uncomfortable for me? Can I lift my arms up? Do I enjoy staying in the pose for 5-7 breaths?
On the second day ask yourself the same questions. Take note of the differences in the answers to these questions from one day to the next. Perhaps one day you are more stable than another day. Do not judge. Simply be aware. This awareness of body and self is amazing and can deepen one's practice on and off the mat.

In yoga, as in life, feelings and poses differ day to day. The stability of balancing poses, like tree pose, can and do waver each day. Rather than judging oneself for these differences in a pose or in one's life, take the opportunity to be grateful for the awareness of these differences and for the malleability within the mind and body.

Remember even Madonna falls sometimes:

Elegant klutzes live on and get right back up, even after a fall on national TV. 

What does savasana mean to you?

Savasana or "corpse pose" is a final relaxation pose that is the typical end pose in a yoga class. The name savasana translates to "corpse pose" which is a metaphor for death as the poses within our yoga practice take us through the cycle of life. Personally, it is one of my favorite poses. It can also be referred to as "final relaxation pose" or "do-nothing pose" (a name more commonly used in kids' yoga classes).

So, why is savasana so important in a yoga practice?

Savasana gives the body time to digest the information just taught and practiced in the yoga class. Taking time out of your day for your body to digest information may seem dauntingly slow-paced. All of us have the next thing to get to and our own stresses in life: kids, jobs, who the bachelorette will choose this season (perhaps scratch that last one unless you're an avid fan).  In reality, taking the time for physical and mental self-reflection is sadly overlooked in western culture, which is just one of many reasons that yoga is so important and potent for westerners.
It appears that savasana or "corpse pose" should be easier than a pose like sirsasana or "headstand"

versus 

Yet through my yoga classes and teacher trainings, I have come to find that savasana is an extremely difficult pose for many people. The stress of staying still and focusing on one's own thoughts is too much and leaves people anxious to get to the next thing-to-do during the day. Perhaps these anxieties arise more commonly for my students as a yoga teacher in New York City? The Eagles did write a song about the rapid fire of a New York Minute. But I'm not convinced that it's just new yorkers who are anxious savasana-participators. 

Perhaps these anxieties stem from a need for perfection? A yearning to be the best at meditating during savasana? Perhaps they stem from inability to stay present in the moment? 

Whatever the reason may be, it's time for all of us (and I include myself in this) to surrender. Surrender to our thoughts, our judgements, our physical body, to poses we love, to poses we hate, and to attempting to control everything. Yes, we have choices in life, but we're also along for the ride. So, let's try to stay true and present in our experiences.  

Whether you love savasana or hate it, I ask that you attempt the pose at some point today upon reading this blog. It takes 5-10 minutes to do, but, in my experience, the effects of the pose last all day. Savasana is NOT the same as sleeping. One should attempt to be present and aware in the body and mind during the final relaxation. 

Steps for savasana: 

1. Come to lie comfortably on your back with eyes closed.

2. Separate the feet (more than hip distance) and arms (wider than shoulders). Allow feet to splay open naturally and palms to face upward in a receptive position.

3. Allow breath to come naturally while staying present and aware in body and mind.

To get out of the pose:

1. Deepen your breath, wiggle your toes and fingers bringing the mind back to the physical body. 

2. Stretch arms above head and roll to the right side in a fetal position. Lay on side for a few breaths. 

3. Using your hands roll yourself up to a seated position allowing your head to be the last thing to come up. 

4. With hands in a prayer position in front of your heart (anjali mudra), bow your chin to your chest to thank yourself for your practice. 

Keep this presence of mind and body with you throughout your day :) 

Some of My Favorite Things Today

1. Recently I've been craving pancakes but sometimes can find them a little too heavy. This  pancake  recipe is healthy, delicious, and made with Applesauce and Bananas. Yummmmmm...

2. This funny tumblr which sadly depicts my version of cooking versus my mom's fine cuisine. Miss you, mom.

3. This article from the New York Times which questions the blurry line that can arise between politics and art. This new immigration piece "Immigrant Movement International" in Corona, Queens gives legal advice, reading lessons, and practical assistance to their neighbors who include many women from Ecuador and Mexico. So, the time-old question returns: is it art?

4. Tina Fey's book, Bossypants. I picked it up in an airport bookstore and read it in about 2-3 hours. There were moments where I was crying I laughed so hard.

Just in case you're not completely sold and have forgotten just how funny Tina Fey is:

5. This great video link from Yoga Journal preparing you for sitting meditation. 

6. This adorable and happy video to start your weekend dancing and singing:

Have a great weekend :) 

Facing Your Fears

Yesterday to celebrate the summer solstice, I went canoeing and cliff jumping with my boyfriend, his two sisters, three dogs, and two friends. To put it lightly, it was one of the most fun things that I've done for a while. It was also one of the SCARIEST things that I've done for a while. Although I like to thing of myself as adventurous, cliff jumping is not a daily Wednesday activity for me.

It took us about thirty minutes to canoe out to our 25-30 foot cliff that my boyfriend, Jasper, proudly announced we were going to jump off. I reacted with the tiniest of squeals emerging from my throat (not wanting to be referred to as a "sissy") and sunk a little deeper into the canoe. I simply focused all of my energy on keeping the elderly black lab, Emma, who was swimming next to us from drowning. Luckily this distraction proved to not only take my mind off the imminent cliff that we were to dive off but also was necessary for the old dog. After whistling and calling "Emmaaaaaa" as we paddled through the gorgeous landscape, we arrived at our destination cliff and the squeal that came out of my mouth upon viewing the cliff was quite a bit more audible than the one I muffled while first hearing about the cliff.

Doomsday had arrived and disguised itself as a rocky cliff on a gorgeous 90 degree day in Maine.

Looking down from the cliff was not the wisest of ideas and instead left me feeling even more panicked and ready to pee myself. Luckily I held myself and my bladder together as I enviously watched Jasper, his sister, and our two friends jumped in the water in a carefree manner. They made it look easy...perhaps even fun. 

I had to go to work at 5:30 and had to give myself sufficient time to canoe back to land to make it in time. All together, I had twenty minutes left before I had to leave. Everyone began asking me, "Chauncey, are you actually going to jump?" It appears that the fear I thought I had so sneakily hidden was rather obvious to my braver-fellow-cliff-jumpers. Hooligans. This was a death trap, but I couldn't let them see my panic. "Yes, I'm going," I announced proudly in what I thought was a quite convincingly bold and nonchalant tone. 

My boyfriend agreed to go with me for moral support, which I needed desperately. I wound up to run off the cliff because I was already painstakingly aware of the fate that lay sharply below if I didn't jump out far enough. Jasper's counsel were pounding in my head: point your toes, jump far enough out, plug your nose, and know that you're going to feel like you're falling for quite a bit. He could not have emphasized that last point enough. 

SPLASH! We made it safely in the water although I heard Jasper grumbling about harming a certain area in his body because he was so concerned with not running into me while jumping. But I didn't care. The cool lake water never felt so good on my body. I was happy and refreshed. 

There is quite a bit of back-chatter in this video but it shows a panoramic view of the pond we were swimming in while Jasper and I are still in the water post-death-defying-jump. 

After another 10 minutes in the water, Jasper and I climbed back in our canoe and paddled away from our friends, dogs, and the thirty-foot-object of my fear. We were silent savoring the feeling of the pond water on our body being dried by the 90 degree sun and absorbing our incredible brave and exciting experience. 

That day was incredible and special not only because of our wild activities canoeing and cliff diving, but also because I faced my fears and did something that scared me. Facing your fears can be as drastic as jumping off a cliff and as seemingly minimal as attempting that upside-down-yoga-pose that you secretly believe was created solely for gymnasts. Facing your fears is about stretching yourself outside of the boundaries of your comfort to that unknown place. It's a unique experience for each person because each of us have different boundaries. I can confidently confirm that jumping off that cliff yesterday was not a boundary braking fear that Jasper overcame. Weirdly it was more in his comfort zone, but he's from Alaska and therefore I believe that makes him good and brave with all things associated with nature and the wild. I also hope that upon reading that descriptions, he does not pummel me with a pillow. But this blog entry is about taking chancing and facing fears, which I just did yet again by printing that description of my boyfriend.

What is your fear? How can you confront it?
To quote one of my high school teachers, Ms. Klotz: "Dare to fail gloriously." 

Summer Solstice

The summer solstice is today! Get your barbecue and bikinis out because today is the perfect today to be cooling off in the water or sizzling something yummy on the grill.

According to the Washington Post, at 7:09 p.m. (EDT) today the sun will be shining directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer while the North Pole reaches its maximum tilt toward the sun. For the Northern Hemisphere, this marks the longest day of the year and the official beginning to summer.

Here's a neat chart from the Washington Post that shows the relationship between latitude, sun angle, and day length:

Day length depends on latitude, so that cities like Washington and NYC have around 15 hours of daylight during the summer.

Across the world cities of similar latitude like Tokyo and Beijing have similar amounts of sunlight, while across the Atlantic cities like London have more than 16 hours of sunlight. This chart from the Washington Post shows the various international hours of sunlight:

For the full article from the Washington Post click here. 

The origin of the word "solstice" derives from the combination of Latin words "sol" meaning sun and "stice" to stand still.  

There are many celebrations and ceremonies associated with the summer solstice. This article  by the Shaman's Well explores quite a few. Here were my favorite three from the article:

2) Doing a Fire ceremony that honors the gift of Fire. Fire partakes of the Sun and is considered the Sun within the Earth.

4) Making a Prayer Stick or Prayer Tree upon which you place specific prayers for those who need healing, for the return to peace where there is no peace, for abundance in areas of the world where there is now poverty and scarcity.

6) Creating a Circle that sends healing love to others round the Earth. Circling together, find a way consciously to send your blessings and your love in such a way that you see "what you are sending" as encircling the globe of Earth.

Whether it's a barbecue or a prayer stick, today is a beautiful day to celebrate and give thanks for where you are and the power that we receive from the sun. It is also a day of transformation as we move into the new luxurious season of summer. So, take a moment upon reading this blog and decide what transformation means to you for the summer solstice. While thinking I suggest you sit in a comfortable cross-legged position or sukasana with palms facing up in a receptive manner and connect the pointer and thumb finger in chin mudra. Sit here with your eyes close for about 5-10 minutes and meditate upon the transformation and personal significance of this 2012 summer solstice.

Happy Summer :) 

Yoga from East to West

Yoga is both a physical and mental practice that originated in India with Hindu and Buddhist foundations. As yoga evolves in the 21st century, one of the greatest challenges seems to be striking the balance between maintaining its roots and history while allowing it to grow and adapt. 

As a yoga teacher in the west, I can attest to this challenge. I am a householder in the USA rather than a buddhist monk in India, yet the spiritual and physical practices of yoga are integral to my every day life.    So how do we honor history and evolution?

The recent scandal this spring with the creator of Anusara yoga, John Friend, inspired me to reexamine this question. 

Friend is a westerner who was well-respected in the yogic community until allegations surfaced about sleeping and cheating with multiple students and smoking marijuana. Not that we do not all have our vices, but these allegations (which Friend admitted to) go directly against the ethical creations that he preached as part of Anusara yoga. The discovery of Friend's activity led many certified Anusara yoga teachers to revoke their license. In my opinion, Anusara yoga is a beautiful style of yoga that encompasses ethical, spiritual, and physical alignment-based strenuous asana (physical yoga practice) in a light-hearted manner. Many beautiful yoga teachers and students came out of the Anusara practice. The darkness now associated with Anusara is sad and my heart goes out to the whole yogic community because we were all profoundly affected by this incident. 

For more information on the whole incident, I would recommend this article by the Washington Post. I believe it is fact-oriented and not focused on the dramatic flare caused by many rumors which circled when the news was first released.  

Here is a quote from the article, which I believe gets at the root of the focus of this blog today: 

"Yoga is still undergoing enormous growing pains as it’s coming to the West,” said Bloom, the Washington-based instructor. “Yoga is still figuring itself out — as a modality, as an industry, as a profession."

Yogic texts and philosophy follows a circular idea: creation, preservation, destruction, and rebirth. All things must come to an end at one point, but there is opportunity found in rebirth. 

I hope as yoga teachers, yogis, and people of the 21st century, we all find a balance between history and evolution, which allows us to cultivate our talents to the highest potential. 

 

Juicing: Friend or Just Another Diet Craze?

Recently, juicing has gained a ton of popularity. It seems that everyone has become a "juicer" making green liquid concoctions.
So, as I sit here sipping on my apple-celery-ginger-cucumber-kale juice, I can't help wondering if this is a new health cure or simply another diet craze?

Research has shown the benefits of juicing are numerous:
-weight-loss
-helps you absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables
-allows you to consume many vegetables in a short period of time
-adds more vegetables to your diet through juices to disguise the taste
-gives more energy
And to many avid juicers the list goes on...this article from a holistic website explores the benefits of juicing in detail.
It seems like even the Mona Lisa is juicing:

That picture actually made me laugh out loud. 

Now-a-days, there are even different levels of juicers: beginner, the intermediate, and advanced. You can see the difference between the levels by the color of the juices. Red and yellow juices signify beginning juicers because they are more fruit-heavy to disguise the vegetable taste. Light green juices for intermediate juices who add a little more vegetable ingredients. And finally, dark green for the deep-green-heavy-vegetable-filled juices of the advanced juicers.  

Yet there are some articles like this Mayo Clinic article which show both positive and negative aspects of juicing. One negative aspect in particular is the lack of fiber found in the meat of vegetables and fruits that we miss while juicing. This fiber helps fill up our bellies and leaves us fully satiated for longer. 

Some avid juicers go on juice cleanses lasting from one to five days. I dabbled in the idea of detoxifying my body with a three-day juice cleanse. Upon nearly clawing my boyfriend to death because he purchased a Subway chicken sandwich in front me, I realized it was time for me to eat some solid food. My "three-day juice cleanse" lasted 3/4 of one day until around 6 p.m. 

yummmm...

The next day my acupuncturist confirmed my suspicion that juice cleanses were not the right kind of cleanse for my particular body-type. 

That does not mean that the juice cleanse is not a great and healthy detox for certain people! It appears that the juice-craze is not just another diet craze and does have great health benefits. But a balance must be found for each person. 

Personally, I do think that these green juices are a healthy snack. They're especially the perfect thing to fill your body with post yoga or any workout. I think that there are incredible health benefits to these juices because we can fill them with many vegetables which we may not usually find time to eat. So, try a juice, here are 23 of the most popular juicing recipes. 

But don't forget about eating vegetables and fruits during the day, even if you're great with drinking these green juices. The fibers in whole fruits and vegetables are necessities in a balance diet. And who knows? A balance between solid and liquid nutrition just might save you from manslaughter upon watching your significant other eat a delectable treat :) 

Some of My Favorite Things Today

1. This is just one of my favorite videos in general...not just today:

2. If that version of LMFAO's Sexy and I Know It doesn't get you, then this one with our president Obama hopefully will: 

3. This new Lululemon bra called "Some Like It Hot." I think Marilyn Monroe would agree that this bra is hot and great for when you get hot doing yoga, running, or whatever your workout may be this summer.

4. A healthy and delicious recipe for chocolate espresso cupcakes. For more delicious and healthy recipes visit www.cancerproject.com:

5. This liberation dance with Shiva Rea which is also a part of Shiva's trance dance DVD. It's a great meditation and energetic release that actually leaves you feeling more energized. 

6. A patron mojito. This drink recipe is simple and looks like a yummy special treat for summer. 

Click here for the recipe.

7. This beautiful and spot-on dance tumblr:

8. This historical-fiction The Heretic Queen about the misunderstood Egyptian Queen Nefertari, the daughter of Queen Nefertiti.  It's a romantic book that brings you back to ancient Egypt through informative and fun writing by Michelle Moran. 

9. This picture of my dad and I dancing at our friend's 30th birthday party. The actual moment that the picture was taken is one of my favorite things. 

10. And finally a song to leave you dancing (hopefully in a klutzy manner) for the rest of the weekend: 

Have a good weekend and happy father's day!!! 

Sunny Day Activities!

Today it is finally a gorgeous day in Maine. After a long bought of rain, I realize how emotionally affected I am by the weather. As many saw on my Rainy Day Blues post, I feel a bit like this sullen creature on rainy days:

versus this slightly more zealous creature on sunny days:

Okay, I realize that I'm a cat in both pictures. But somehow the cats best represented my wavering moods with the change of weather. 

So, as a hypochondriac, instead of taking these signs to mean a lack of Vitamin D or simple reaction to the weather. I convinced myself that I had Seasonal Affective Disorder. 

Obsessing over the SAD definition with multiple readings and trying to determine whether there was a season where I was a bit more glum than others led me to a discovery: no one should be allowed to self-diagnosis from something that we read online, especially not hypochondriacs. 

Instead I leave you with a list of fun things to do on a sunny day:

1. Do Sun Salutations or Surya Namaskars outside. Find a nice grassy area with a view that gives you some peace and happiness, lay out your yoga mat, and do this movement dedicated to the sun in or facing the sun. Grab your itunes if you prefer music or just let the sounds outside guide you. If you've never done sun salutations, here are the steps to Sun Salutation A. Do as many as feel good to your body, but I suggest to do at least 5 if you can.

Even if you are already familiar with Surya Namaskar A, you may find that doing the movements outside sheds some new light of meaning and different mental and physical feelings. 

2. Go for a hike.

Or a walk

Just get outside and move :) 

3. Grab this cute J Crew bathing suit and go to the beach. Also make sure to bring sunscreen. 

4. Play with your dog. It doesn't have to be in the same way that Jasper is playing with my dog Melvin, but we found making this video a hysterical and super cute experience:

5. If available to you, I suggest to end your sunny day with a boat ride at sunset. 

Just make sure that you don't end up in the water upon exiting the boat like might happen to someone who has my ailment of being an elegant klutz

Obviously Pamela Anderson feels my pain. 

Have a good day! Enjoy the sun. 

Chakras: Energetic Spirals

In the yogic tradition, chakras are spirals of energy in the body. Each chakra of the body relates to one another energetically. There are 7 main chakras of the body:

1. Red or Base-ground spirit forces in the body and to cultivate the ability to lovingly work on the physical plane
2. Orange or Sacral-Creativity, soul procreation, and directs the self toward devotion
3. Yellow or Solar Plexus-ability to assimilate experience, digestion, positive use of personal power, and the ability to manifest goals
4. Green or Heart-the release of emotionally suppressed trauma, soul/heart consciousness, and expressing love in action
5. Blue or Throat-verbal capability and expression of truth through power of spoken word
6. Indigo or Third Eye-the indigo in this chakra helps to clear the subconscious to channel intuition, the purple helps to balance the state in one's mind. Overall, the openness of this chakra sees the divine perfection in all things and channels one's devotion.
7. Violet or Crown-Wisdom, peace, oneness with God, and personal identification with the infinite.

Through the various colors of the chakras, color therapy has been used to help on not only a physical level but also a mental and spiritual level within oneself. Chakra meditation is also a great tool for looking within oneself and seeing where there is an "energetic back-up" or closure within one of one's chakras. Chakra meditation is one of my favorite meditations. I always find something new. If it interests you, here is how you can try this meditation. Get into a comfortable position-seated (sukasana) or on your back (constructive rest pose or sivasana) and go through a focused visualization on the color and shape of each individual chakra. Spend a 5-7 minutes meditating on each chakra. I suggest taking a break between each chakra to write a few words (flow of consciousness) on what you felt while meditating each chakra.
Here is an online chakra test to help shed some light on the energetic balance of your chakras.

There are also certain yoga poses which focus specifically on certain chakras (i.e. fish pose-throat chakra or bridge pose-heart chakra).

One of my favorite poses is full wheel or in Sanskrit  urdhva dhanurasana. This pose is also referred to as chakrasana because it equally targets each chakra within the body. Here is a picture of me on a yoga retreat in Mexico in my full wheel pose:

It's a powerful pose, which at any level (or krama) of your practice can energetically ignite one's inner fire. Try starting your morning off with three rounds of your backbend practice. For yogis newer to the practice, bridge pose is an equally powerful pose to work up to your full wheel. I suggest not doing full wheel late at night because it energizes the body and might keep you up. 

Here's a nice video demonstration for visual learners. Make sure that you listen to your body and go at your own pace. If you lift all the way up into full wheel, focus on the internal rotation of the arms and pulsing your heart through your arms. Do not go far enough to hurt your lower back. Also, tuck your chin coming out of the pose:

And finally a song to start your day off with. Hey Yoga Girls: 

Have a good hump day :) 

Father's Day

June 17th is the big day! What will you get for your dad this father's day? I'm very close to my dad and want to get him a gift to remind him how special he is to me. In the Harrison family Mother's Day and Father's Day are viewed as Hallmark holidays, but I also find it nice that we have a day dedicated to moms and dads. A little appreciation can go a long way. 

As the elegant klutz, this tumblr of two mice driving a car portrays my relationship with my dad, hot coffee, and driving rather well: 

OUCH. 

Here are some cute gift ideas for Father's Day 2012 that I found while exploring online: 

1. These yummy cake pops that you can design specifically for your dad. I am always tempted to buy one at Starbucks but have yet to try them. This design example is super cute: 

2. Any jersey that has to do with sports, especially hockey for my dad. Jerseys are pretty pricey but e-bay has some good deals on them. My dad is also from Canada, so Maple Leafs jersey is a must. 

3. Creating a homemade card. This card using candy is really creative and adorable. Plus, you not only get a lasting card but a sugary treat to snack on. 

4. The beer route is usually a safe bet. This basket of microbrew beers only goes for $39.99. 

5. Or there is this new gross beer-filled donut made by a place called Psycho Donuts. Psycho indeed...It's just gross enough to make your face cringe yet you can't help wondering what it tastes like. It is filled with Rogue Mocha Porter beer mixed with pastry cream and malt extract. Yuck or yum? 

I think even my dad (the king of junk food) would be a bit skeptical of this one. 

I leave you with one last funny video from Saturday Night Live. It shows a tumultuous relationship between father and son, but has a few laugh out loud moments. 

Happy Almost Father's Day! If your dad is anything like mine, he deserves a reminder of how important he is to you. Hope these gift ideas help you plan :) 

You Are What You Eat

Many people use the expression: "you are what you eat." But when it comes down to it, what exactly does that mean? I love sweets like hot tamales,

therefore I am sweet with a kick?

I ask anyone who reads this blog to examine what exactly it means to say you are what you eat. It's an expression that I personally believe in (although not in as literal a sense as my hot tamale example). But I think that when it comes down to it, we all take for granted the energetic transfer that occurs from our food into our bellies. Quite simply, food is energy. With such a curt statement, I do not mean to take away an hedonistic pleasure found in food. Food is a delicious and enjoyable energy source. Sadly, it has also become a troublesome source for most Americans today.

If this topic interests you, check out best-selling author Michael Pollan's work i.e. Food Rules, Omnivore's Dilemma, or In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. He is witty and funny in his explanations of why certain foods are better for you than others.

Also check out this article where Pollan gives readers "7 Rules for Eating." In this article Pollan curtly sums up all that he has learned about food and eating in 7 words and 7 rules: "'Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.'" 

As a yogi, I know that finding the correct foods to nourish my body is especially important. I try to stay in virbadrasana or warrior form, which includes feeding myself the correct fuel :) That is not to say that I don't occasionally enjoy some junk foods like my favorite hot tamales or cinnamon buns. But I try to make these things a treat rather than a constant. 

Aryuveda, the science that accompanies yoga, is an incredibly interesting and useful tool for finding a healthy balance for each individual. Aryuveda uses doshas of vata (air), pita (fire and water), and kapha (earth and water) to classify each persons energy. It is a science much more widely recognized in India, but has influenced many westerners especially concerning healthy nutrition. To find out which dosha or mix of doshas you are click here. This online quiz seems rather accurate in finding one's dosha since speaking to an aryuvedic doctor in India is much more difficult.  Discovering your dosha can help you find which foods best nourish you energetically.

Enjoy foods and be aware of which foods make you feel good in not just the moment but also down-the-road. 

Some of My Favorite Things Today

Thank God It's Friday!

Here's a hit list of some of my favorite things today:

1. This cute tumbler featuring Snow White: 

On the topic of Snow White, I'm dying to see the new movie Snow White and the Huntsmen. 

2. The view of Southwest Harbor on a sunny day: 

3. A fun song suggested to me by one of my best friends back in NYC:

4. My best friend's now three-year-old dog, Josie, happily rolling in the mud during our walk around little long pond in Seal Harbor. 

5. This new guilt free soda for yogis. Get your zen on...

6. Elizabeth Streb's choreography. She is one of my favorite choreographers who constantly makes you want to literally test the bounds of gravity:

 

7. The book My Body Is A Temple by Christian Sell, which I'm currently reading with a group of yogis in Maine. Somehow I feel that this book pertains more to my dad who is on a trying diet right now. Keep up the good work, papa :) 

8. More videos of funny falling montages for all the klutzes out there, especially one in Laguna Beach who I miss terribly. This is only little kids falling, which makes it especially cute:

9. This article about acoustic invaders which range from wildlife to your cell phone. An interesting view on one of the more subtle effects of technology. 

10. The fact that my parents and my puppy, Melvin, are coming to Maine this Sunday :) 

Have a great weekend!!!