Some of My Favorite Things Today

In the list below, you will find a personal advertisements for my dad because it belongs on the list of my favorite things to send you off for the weekend:

1. For some reason this tumblr made me think of my mom: 

2. This video never ceases to make me laugh. I re-watched it last night and have decided it is a personal goal that I will learn all the lyrics. It's the little things in life. 

3. Although the little kid inside of us squirms at the word, this recipe for Sauteed Brussel Sprouts looks delicious and nutritious. Add garlic and parmesan for flavor and you can't go wrong.  

4. This yoga tumblr which I believe has a good message about the healing aspects of yoga. Please take note, JB and Jasper. 

5. A beautiful translation from Spanish to English, the book The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. This book has romance, adventure, and is set in Barcelona in the 1945. The pages fly by like shadows of the wind underneath your fingertips. 

6. My beloved and deeply annoying dad, JB Harrison, is playing guitar and singing at Cap'N Nemos on Friday, July 27th starting at 8 p.m. Come enjoy Nemos drinks and delicious food (including the all time favorite juicy lucy burger) and JB and friends musical entertainment :) 

7. Continuing with advertisements I will be hosting a Mala Meditation Workshop on July 30th from 5-6:30 p.m. at Bella Spa in Northeast Harbor, Maine. The workshop includes a set of your own mala beads, a history & deeper understanding of mala beads, and a meditative practice using the beads. Any and all are welcome :) 

8. Fun Zumba! sneakers which are perfect for allowing maximum dance movement during your Zumba classes. I love the design of these ones but they also come in yellow or pink and have a variety of other styles. Check it out at Zumba's website. 

9. This New York Times article called "The Couch Potato Goes Global" discusses the dibilitating disease of being too sedentary. Not surprisingly, statistics show that the largest offenders of this disease are in North America and Europe. You may be surprised to find which country is the least active...to read the full article click here. 

10. Finally, a song to jump start your weekend. This classic Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money always makes me think of my freshman year at Kenyon college. For some reason it was one of the most popular songs to play at parties. It still has a warm place in my heart, plus the video is hysterical:

Have a great weekend :) 

When Being a Klutz Becomes Painful

As a yoga, zumba, and boot camp teacher, safety and injury prevention are incredibly prevalent. But what do you do when the injury occurs before you've entered the class?

                                                         From upright: 

To down on the ground: 

In the beginning of May, I severely sprained my ankle while passionately telling my friends a story. Yes, some spirits were involved in the situation. As the elegant klutz that I am, I zealously jumped up and landed in an extremely supinated position on my right ankle. Ouch.

I'm not a huge fan of feet photos, but this one demonstrates how swollen my right foot was compared to my left. 

I knew that I had sprained my ankle immediately when it happened. Of course the lubricants I had ingested with my friends helped distract from my pain. Needless to say, I was devastated that I could not teach yoga for a month. I could barely walk for a week. I was left to follow injury protocol of RICE.

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation

The first week and a half of my twist was depressing. On the severity level of ankle sprains, I was definitely on the high end. Injury and sickness are often a reminder to me about how much I take my body for granted when it functions in a healthy manner. So for the record, thank you body. We should all thank and appreciate our bodies more often.

After my week and a half pity party, a fire of determination grew inside of me. I was not going to let my ankle sprain beat me, no matter how severe. I even started to hear Eye of the Tiger playing in the background of the movie montage of my life. So, I used my injury as a learning experience for myself as a yoga teacher. I worked with many young and elder students who were injured in my classes. It was now my turn to experience my own teachings with my own injury. I couldn't run or elliptical, so I began to modify my yoga practices creating sequences with more supine positions with an emphasis on movements that could strengthen the muscles of my leg and around my ankle. Although I missed many of my favorite standing poses, I had a lot of fun creating these sequences with the limits of my ankle around them. These new structures incited my creative juices for sequences and new movements.

Yoga is amazing because it can help strengthen the muscles around previously injured areas to prevent further damage and help in the rehabilitation process of an injury. I state this fact about yoga related to injuries not only to advertise the benefits of yoga but also to share my experiences of rehabilitation with others. Human bodies are made to move NOT to be static. My body ached for movements that it could not perform during my injury. The result was my creation of new modified movements in my yoga practice which helped nourish and restore my ankle back to health.

I hope this story gives hope to any of you who have injuries. Find your movement therapy. Whether it's yoga, pilates, or any unique form of movement that restores your body. Don't let an injury take over your life. As the saying goes: where there is a will, there is a way. Find your way. Hopefully no one reading this blog is injured, but klutzy moments happen. Be in tune with your body in order to prevent pushing your limits or causing an injury. Watch out for liquids with high alcohol content, they do not help make the wisest choice. Wishing safety, happiness, and health to all elegant klutzy beings :) 

Some of My Favorite Things Today

I realize it has been quite some time since my last post. I'm so sorry to all my blog readers and must attempt to defend myself: internet problems and teaching summer schedule.

Now on to the important stuff: the weekend!!! What are you up to for the weekend? I'm very excited because my sister and brother-in-law are coming to Maine to stay with us this weekend. My family and I are also in crazy prep mode for my mom's exciting acting benefit to support National New Play Network (NNPN). This benefit will be exciting but the prep will also make my family go from this image:

To this image:

Minus the whole us turning into cartoons. 

I'm also missing an amazing gathering in NYC with some of my best friends who I miss and love. Have so much fun, bunnies! I'm thinking of you.  

So here is the hit list of favorite things to kick off your weekend:

1. One of the best scenes from a movie found in Finding Nemo 

I've been practicing and upon watching this scene more times than I wish to admit, I believe that I too can speak whale. 

2. This hysterical website called Fuck Yeah Yoga which shows some awesome yogis in various gorgeous poses. Very inspiring and amazing name for a website. 

3. This quote about modern dance by contemporary modern choreographer and dancer, Twyla Tharp: 

"Modern dance is not less. Modern is more, modern is everything that has been PLUS." 

4. This scene from the movie Bridesmaids about boot camp. I teach boot camp twice a week and cannot help but laugh thinking about this scene:

5. This arm & core strengthening pose, titibasana, has recently been one of my favorite arm balances that I look forward to in class. Here my teacher, Shiva Rea, demonstrates a very strong version of the pose:

6. This book called The Complete Illustrated Guide to Ayurveda. It is a great guide for anyone interested in the science/philosophy of ayurveda:

7. This beautiful pullover made by Beyond Yoga. I loved the way it hangs down in the front. It's the perfect après yoga sweater. 

8. For all those interested in dance history: this article on American Ballet Theater (ABT) in New York City and how there shows are continuing to grow. 

9. This yummy vegan recipe for a Hot Mexican Dip. It's not only delicious but also good for you. Yummmmmm....

10. And finally this song by Adele. This song has been stuck in my head for days but I'm not complaining. Instead I find myself constantly bopping and dancing to the beat in my head (which for those of you who know me know that is not out of the ordinary). 

Have a great weekend :)