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Have you ever felt that all the self-care practices you knew were too time-consuming to stick to? I have. If you’ve worked with me you know I’ll find you shortcuts for everything: self-massage, meditation, breathing, detox, relaxation. Consistency is key if your self-care is to yield the biggest return on investment over the long-run. That’s why I’m a big believer in…
“This is crazy.”
Perhaps like me you find yourself saying those words daily. Upon reading the latest shenanigans from DT, or that any civilian in the U.S could buy 33 guns in twelve months, or again that an iceberg twice the size of Luxembourg broke loose from Antarctica. Our capacity to keep it together is being challenged each and every day. I’ve been saying “this is crazy” so much for months that truth be told “crazy” is starting to sound a little un-crazy, a little too “same old, same old”. Alongside the words appalling, absurd or scary. So much in our world is figuratively and literally beyond words. But the fact that “crazy” has lost its mojo doesn’t mean that we could not really be going crazy if we don’t take precautionary measures.
I just came back from a Shake Your Soul® teacher training at Kripalu, in Lenox, MA. and what can I say.... #bestweekever ! Was it the beautiful souls I danced with? The joy of moving our bodies freely and fluidly? The outstanding music we danced to? The most inspiring teachers? The safe and loving space that allowed for authentic connections to happen effortlessly? The fact we conversed more with our feeling-fueled bodies than ego-fueled words? Yes, yes and yes!
Happy 5th everyone!
If you live in the United States I hope your holiday week-end was light and playful. I've got kids, well young adults, visiting from overseas so I'm officially 19 again. I love it! I love it because in typical scorpio fashion my tendency is to be serious. I've always found immense satisfaction in studying, contemplative practices and digging deep into the esoteric side of life. But it ain't light stuff! Too much introspection and meditation can get a tad heavy let me tell you.
I'd like to introduce you to a concept central to Ayurveda, the natural system of medicine that informs my coaching practice. It's called dinacharya. Dina means daily, and charya means routines. So dinacharya refers to our daily routines. Now, we all have habits for sure. We are creatures of habits! But those habits are not always supportive of our health. They can even be downright detrimental.
Do you know how to efficiently handle the events in your life? In a way that leaves no toxic residue behind? If not, you must be familiar with some level of stress. Generally the energy of stress is tight. Stress makes us clench. It cuts off blood and energy flow to all body cells. Yet, according to Eastern medicine principles (Chinese or Ayurvedic for example), a pre-requisite for good health is good circulation, precisely! So stress is definitely bad news for your health. But some say stress has a purpose....Let me explain.
Do you go to sleep easily? Sleep through the night? Wake up feeling rested? Sleep is a vital component of life. It directly affects our capacity to engage, enjoy and thrive on a daily basis. If your sleep is light, interrupted or you don't get enough of it you will find it very difficult to stay sharp, vital and creative when awake. Without adequate sleep you may suffer from fatigue, trouble concentrating and mood disturbance.
Stress wreaks havoc on our health. If not addressed, it will affect your body’s ability to regulate inflammation, promoting the development of heart disease, asthma, digestive and skin disorders, among others. Prolonged stress has also been shown to lower our immunity, and makes us vulnerable to frequent infections, allergies, and fatigue, to name a few.
I'm back from my silent retreat and still feeling its calming effects a few weeks later. I loved Costa Rica! Once I got used to the lizards in my bedroom and driving 20 miles an hour on dirt roads, without seeing a soul or sign for miles! It was so refreshingly rugged. Wild nature, fresh organic food, the ocean and of course much silence...a deeply nourishing experience.
If you live in New York or any other big city you know silence is a rare commodity there. Non-stop sirens, alarms and honking, buses, trucks loading and unloading, the screeching hellish sound of subway trains pulling into the station, all conspire to create a maddening environment. Even restaurants! You'd think respite could be found there, but no. They're as noisy as ever.
"Relax, recharge, and rekindle your joy for life.”
Integrative Wellness - Yoga | Ayurveda | Meditation | Massage therapy
