YogaTwist hits New york City

My most favorite picture from our NYC adventure...from our walk in Central Park

I have been wanting to go to New York City for the last 2 years that we've lived in DC, and this past weekend it finally came to fruition! I've been to New York before over 10 years ago (wow...can't believe I used that in a sentence!), and it was in my pre-yoga-discovery life. So, I've been super excited to practice yoga in the big apple.
Living in DC, I sometimes feel that we are the step child to NYC in relation to Yoga, so I felt going to NYC would broaden my horizons a bit on yoga. Somehow I thought I was going to have this amazing, fabulous, grandiose, magical experience. Why do I build things up so much in my head anyway...just leads to disappointment.

So...my initial thoughts of yoga every morning...well, they didn't come true as much as I had hoped....as I tend to OVERplan. In our 4 day trip I had wanted to wake up every morning for yoga, meet up with friends, walk central park, go to an art museum, eat wonderful food, see a show, go shopping in soho, experience the city night life......hmmmm we did just about all of it, but somehow my idea of trying a different yoga studio every morning didn't quite make the list.

BUT....the first day we arrived, we dropped off our luggage at the hotel and headed straight to Jivamukti yoga school near Union Square. Being in teacher training, I've read the Jivamukti book and have practiced with several Jiva~trained teachers in DC, so I thought if I went to the source of their training, the actual studio, I would somehow be WOWed beyond yogabliss.


Lesson learned = Setting crazy expectations = bit of disappointment --> Don't do this in the future

Class was really wonderful actually, I do enjoy a well rounded class, especially because it is a treat to experience kirtan chanting (for the 1st 5 minutes) and a few minutes of meditation at the end. The class itself was as many vinyasa inspired classes I've taken, at a quick pace with unique cues, and surprisingly a relatively simple flow with no super crazy poses (which was pleasant). Overall, I liked the class. (Can't say it was yogabliss though) :)

What I loved most about Jivamukti was the Vegan cafe that is connected to the yoga studio. I can't say that I would absolutely go back to the studio to practice yoga (I think first I'd like to try a few of the other studios in the city)...but I'd definitely go back to the Vegan Cafe! DELISH!!

My most favorite part of the trip to NYC (other than seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway...can you say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!) was actually our hour(s) long Saturday afternoon walk around Central Park with @bigblueyogamat (aka my hubby's alter-ego). I couldn't resist taking the opportunity for few shots of Yoga in the big apple...and of course in heels, can't do NYC any other way right?!?!

The remainder of my trip, I did practice yoga every morning, but not in a studio as I had hoped...instead just for a few minutes in our hotel room. A few stretches before our sightseeing, and some legs up the wall after each evening absolutely helped the low back and feet/ankles recover.

I'd love to hear about your New York City yoga recommendations and experiences....because I definitely plan to go back again and hopefully live up to my initial plan of visiting a different studio each day.

But in the meantime I've learned....DC is not the yogi stepchild to NYC...we have absolutely amazing teachers here (check out this recent Washingtonian article featuring great DC yoga teachers (& moi)), and so many great opportunities for yogabliss.

Grandma Love

Today would have been my Grandma Margot's 67th birthday. I want to wish her a Herzlichen Geburtstag (Happy Birthday in German). She lives on forever in my heart and she deserves birthday wishes shout out across the whole universe (so I thought the best I could do was share it at least via the web-iverse).

Right: Grandma Margot
Middle: Me
Left: Grandma B

Last year when she passed away, we did not have an official funeral, so the best way i was able to work through my emotions was to write about her and all of the things I loved about her, below is just a brief snippet from my raw emotions a year ago. Today, although I'm sad she is not here, my heart is uplifting knowing she was a wonderful grandma to me and we shared so many special moments together.

This February, and Februay's of the past have been a month of love, but also for myself and for many of my friends and family members a month of sadness, loss and illness. My grandfather recently was in the hospital for a week, happily he successfully made it home yesterday. I know it has been a tough few weeks for him and my Grandma B and our family. Especially as I live so far away, it's been a test of showing that you love someone and care and yet can't hold their hand. Intense emotions!

My heart goes out to anyone who has a friend or family member whom you recently lost or continue to hold in your heart. I hope that you are able to begin to celebrate the life you shared with them and in your own special ways honor them.

Thoughts from one year ago:
" So, as I look around my home….I think what makes a place home: family, love, memories, traditions, warmth…even though I am miles away from family now and from where my grandmother passed away….I see her everywhere in my home. I wanted to make a little tribute to all of the wonderful gifts she gave me along the way that spoke to her and that I will forever cherish. What is amazing…is how much more valuable these items are now, knowing they are the last piece of her love she will share with me.

Also, I wanted to write down everything I could remember about her…so here goes, this may be a bit jumbled up and maybe even a little corny…but I know my own memory and it will fail in time, and I do not want to forget:

·         Red curly hair

·         Big Yellow Van - every time I see a moving truck that is yellow, I will always think of her

·         Birkenstocks – her favorite shoe brand

·         Strawberries – When she knew I was coming over in the summer, she would always buy strawberries for us to nibble on together

·         One of her favorite sayings: “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it”

·         Chili Pot experience – YIKES…that’s a story, I’m lucky I don’t have any scars

·         Wrapping up tables of glassware, and packing  the van – she always said I was her ‘little boss’

·         Cigarettes burning in many rooms because she forgot she had already started one in another room

·         Not sure what year exactly, but I must have been around 15years old, She went into the hospital for removal of a ‘tumor’, which at the time it was unknown if it was cancerous or not. She promised that if she woke up from surgery and everything was ok, she’d quit smoking. She did cold turkey. I was so proud of her for that, at least I had 15 years of a smoke free grandma…it’s unfortunate that lung cancer had to take her away still – but I think she smoked for 30 years – that’s what will happen (it is what it is)

·         The 2^nd kitchen drawer down in Hammond, In, that always had chocolate snacks waiting for me sneak! (I’m sure she knew I was sneaking them though)

·         LAMPS!!!! There were definitely hundreds of lamps that I was ‘forced’ to paint…but I must admit at $3 a lamp…I made pretty good money for a teenager.

·         Shipshewana, Sandwich, St. John, Alsip, I-80 flea markets and Antique Shows

·         The urge to want to stop at every yard sale that I drive by

·         ‘Whatyousay’ – Yes that is all one word, she had a hard time hearing for OH..a long time, at least 10 years….and when she couldn’t hear you, she would say ‘Whatyousay’?

·         Grandma always found her way, she was an independent woman, with a BIT of German stubbornness who did what she wanted, when she wanted and always had a purpose in her agenda (even though, sometimes it didn’t always make the most ‘logical’ sense to me).

·         Her German Potato Salad …yes, I was lucky enough to get the recipe

·          Her love for Christmas – She always had the most beautiful tree, there was always something unique about it (the ornaments or the lights or the tree itself)

·         She was always running late (I suppose that is hereditary) J

·         Her spunky personality, she was not the type of grandma to bake cookies…I don’t think I ever saw her do that actually, but she would definitely swear at someone if they doing something wrong and she would protect her family by all means necessary

·         I’d love to be able to find a comparable word for Spanglish, but with German and English

·         Schweinerei…a german pig game we would play when it was slow with customers

·         Old maid – playing old maid late at night in Sandwich her antique-buddies and a little glass of wine

·         Stories about how I slept underneath the tables at her ‘shows’ when I was little (3yrs-ish)

·         Her smile and her love"

I AM an ARTist ~ Art Journal Workshop

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to attend an Art Journal Playshop at Tranquil Space with Kimberly Wilson. I had heard so many wonderful things about this workshop from many others (including Lisa and Valerie) in the DC area who have attended, that I couldn't resist signing up for it.

The idea is to connect with visual images and create an artistic representation of one's emotions, thoughts at any given moment. You can continue to art journal solely via images, or you can also begin to write over your images for different themes. For example yesterday we worked with our 2012 bucket list, things we are most grateful for and also a self care reflection.

I started with a blank journal

Kimberly mentioned the hardest thing is to just put color on paper. We can be paralyzed by blank paper. So.... her 1st instruction was to just put color on paper, whether you color, pastel or paste pictures on it....you just can't mess up.....just do it. Plus, you never know...your mistake may become a masterpiece. (Isn't that how most discoveries are made after all....from so call mistakes and accidents) :)

Look closely: left side is pink pastel and right side is orange & yellow pastel

By the way....Kimberly also encouraged us to open the book in the middle and begin anywhere. As an accountant (not to give accountants a bad name or anything), this was a difficult thing to do with my linear/left brain processing. I sat and looked at the opened, in the middle, blank books many moments before deciding to GO FOR IT!

Playshop sponsored ephemera provided by Kimberly ...LOVE the sparkly glittery heart!

Glittered heart = perfect timing for Valentine's Day = LOVE

Our first writing cue: Either pictorially or in written form over a decorated page to document our....

....2012 bucket list. This was actually relatively easy for me to think of because I just recently documented my 2012 goals on this blog.

We learned how to LAYER!!! Who knew how many different techniques there were to art journaling, which can add complexity and design to your art and journaling by adding layering of various sources: tissue paper, envelopes to store ticket stubs, ads in magazines that open up like books or pamphlets can be glued into the journal and decorated with meaningful visuals

The next writing cue, was to either document what we are grateful for or our self care goals for the year. I chose a gratitude list.

Could you ever imagine how cute lists could be?!?!?!

So far...this is my FAVorite art journal page

Some other fun insights I gleaned from this workshop:

*Double Stick Tape is amazing

* Imperfection is beautiful

* Art Journaling can be ADDICTING, all I did today at work was want to come home and cut magazines and paste them in my art journal

* I don't need to feel inspired to write something profound today, I can always decorate pages today and write some other day

* Art Journaling is stress relieving and in that fun, corny, super great way makes me feel like a little kid again

* It's a great way to make like minded friends...I see a few artist dates in my future

and finally.....

....I AM an ARTIST

Some other great shots of the playshop festivities, pages to be decorated in the future:

Can't wait to journal about
my dreams of places to visit

A layering piece about self care

My absolute favorite actress...with a beautiful and my recently favorite quote

Looking forward to journal about 'care free' ideas

Top 10 take-a-ways from Art Journal workshop

Layering effect of my Self Care section ~ YUM  Veggies

My biggest take-a-way was just to have fun, let my right brain roam, be careful to not stay up to midnight playing...and just let the creative juices flow when they are ready to! Looking forward to Kimberly's next session sometime mid-summer!

 

What are you most visually attracted to...next time you are reading a magazine I encourage you to start clipping those favorite images...stick them in a folder...and when you are ready, return to some childhood playfullness!

The month of LOVE

February is a month that will always hold a special place in my heart. Reflecting back on the February’s of the last few years, they have been months of great change. Of course February has Valentine’s Day, which I have to admit, even though it is by many considered a ‘hallmark holiday’, I still HEART it. It is a great reminder to show your loved ones in a grand or small way that you LOVE them. (Chocolate is always appreciated J)

February is also a month of love and gratitude, as it is the month my husband and I were married (the 1^st time) 2 years ago. That same month 2 years ago in February we officially learned we would be moving to D.C. A whirlwind of change and excitement.

One year ago, my Grandma Margot passed away, two weeks before her birthday 66^th birthday. As I sit here today, my heart misses her very much, and at the same time I am so grateful I had a loving and wonderful relationship with her. She would be so happy to know I am igniting some creativity…she always had a project (or ten of them) going on, always creating something unique, fun and useful out of antiques or collectibles.

So with that…I "plan" on in her honor J … What do I hope this month of LOVE will bring me (besides chocolate)??? (of course with some dedication and effort on my part…)

·         Carve out some time to love myself! I started today with a spa morning (thanks to the hubby, it was my birthday gift)

·         28 day Meditation Challenge

·         Begin a weekly practice of Yoga Nidra (recently took a workshop with Gina Sager)

·         Trip to New York City for some yoga, visiting with friends and any excitement the big city has to offer

·         Partner Yoga!!! Taking 1 class with  hubby….and teaching 2 (yep, hubby will be my ‘prop’)

·         Art Journal Workshop with Kimberly Wilson @Tranquil Space

·         Finish Myths of Asana (just recently took a great workshop with one of the authors, Alanna)

·         Finish advanced teacher training (ATT) homework – Yoga Sutra Paper

·         Start ATT advanced asana assignment – YIKES, can you stick your leg behind your head?? I sure  can't...but I've got to figure a way out to teach it (or at least parts of it)

Hmm….I think that’s about it! Somewhere I’ll also fit in some yoga practices, my day job, sleeping, continue house hunting and last..but definitely not least, loving the hubby and our felines.

I hope your February is full of LOVE-ing excitement, projects, relaxation, whatever your heart desires!