Day 2 of 100

This morning I took Lesley’s 8:30am C2 at BW and it was fantastic!  Icing on the cake was running into Addy, my first official yoga trainer, whom I have not seen in years. I was definitely in the right place at the right time.

In celebration of the Bay Area heat wave Lesley offered a theme of “summer and fun” and cued with the beach, sand and waves in mind. It worked! And it felt like a great follow up from Em’s theme yesterday, and “day 2” for my challenge. Typical of Lesley’s style, the class was a-typical with regards to sequence and postures. She had really unique transitions, opened up our hips, and challenged our balance throughout.

The peak posture today was handstand with tree legs. It was really cool to feel more confidence in my inversions compared to 1 year ago. More than that, by having my legs to focus on while trying to go upside down I was distracted from the hesitation I normally feel during handstand, and I got closer to holding a handstand than ever before. Its funny how having one goal to focus on has a ripple effect and can help you accomplish other aspirations simultaneously.

My favorite song on her playlist (which was very summertime oriented) was Tom Tom Club, Genius of Love.

Thanks, Les!

 

Day 1 of 100

This morning at 8:30am I went to Berkeley West CPY and practiced for a 60 minute yoga class for the first time in 2.5 weeks and it felt great! What made it even better was that it was the start to my 100 day challenge where I am counting UP to 30, and it almost felt as if Em, my instructor, new it. She maintained a light yet consistent tone throughout the class. Her theme was to “be open, and get funky” and her peak posture was birds of paradise. Her offer was essentially seamless with my personal motivation for incorporating yoga into my hundred day challenge, which in essence is to show up and see what happens. 

When I go to my yoga mat I really never know what will come up, and over the past 5 years of practice I have learned to surrender to that unknown. For the next 100 days I want to be as open to each day and the collective outcomes of this challenge as I am to my yoga mat.

Yoga is my blank canvas for physical expression and mental concentration; whether I have a super open and “strong” practice that day or if I am feeling more gentle and restorative; whether my mind wanders or I hold a drishti; whether I gain something or let something go – I am open to whatever comes from being on my mat.

Interestingly, Em offered a sequence void of chaturangas, although I had to throw in a few). We worked towards opening our shoulders and hamstrings with lots of twists and extended folds. Her music was super calming and her pace was consistent and mellow, but she kept her spirits and cues light as she floated around the space. Essentially we flowed around the world and had a great time! (My favorite song from her playlist was

Later in the day I took the afternoon off and I met up with Lindsay. It was 93 degrees here in the Bay so all we really had energy to do was get fro-yo. After the past two weeks where I roamed the streets of Italy without a care and eat gelato every other day it felt really good not to take being back to seriously.

 

Namaste, Lindsay and Em.

#100moredays

#countUPto30

 

Day 0 of 100

There are exactly 101 days until my thirtieth birthday so I am starting a 100 day challenge to commence tomorrow, June 3rd. For my challenge I was planning to do yoga everyday. My boyfriend is going to ride his bike every day, my sister will meditate, and several other friends plan to join in. I am feeling really lucky and blessed to have so much support from such awesome dedicated people!

 

Today, I read this fortune cookie and was prompted to add a visualization component to my challenge. I believe that in order to get the most out of my efforts and discipline having a clear intention will help sustain my enthusiasm and ensure the outcome I am really after – gratitude.

Here are my steps and goals for my challenge, which I hope will result in gratitude:

1. To yoga everyday – to connect my mind and body through moving meditation
2. Blog about my yoga experience each day – to self reflect and express
3. Draw every day – to calm and create

So there you have it.

#100moredays

#countUPto30

PRIDE

Pride.

What a powerful word.

When you speak the word, your heart thumps.

Try it. Place your closed fist on your chest and say, “Pride.”

“PRIDE.”

Think Jerry McGuire, “Show me the money.” Think Cool Runnings, “I see Pride, I see Power, I see  . . . ”

It feels like an onomatopoeia.

P-r-i-d-e.

Pride is the sense Power. The power to decide. The power to be as you are.  Or as you want to be. The power to chose your path and endure your journey. The Power to define your life.

Pride is Righteous with just cause. It’s conviction. It’s confidence. It’s what’s in your gut, your minds eye. It’s the feeling that comes with following your moral
compass in a direction that feels Right, must be Right, and can’t be wrong.

Pride is Imagining that there is a better way. It’s knowing that the experience of freedom is awesome, even when all you have know is being caged. It’s Imagining no cages at all, not for anyone.

Pride is Daring to surpass your own definition of yourself. It’s brave. It’s ambitious and fearless. It’s risky. It’s adventure. Pride asks you, “How good can you stand it?” Pride takes you places you never Dared to dream about.

Pride is Everything. It is in your veins, in your bones, surrounding you. It courses through your veins. It radiates in your chakras, and is emulated in the energy surrounding you. Pride allows you to shine Everywhere you go, in Everything that you do.

On this July 4th, days after the annual Pride Festival in San Francisco, celebrate the power we have to choose our own destiny, the righteousness of our intentions to love, the progress we imagine in the worlds future, our daring nature in the face of adversity, and everything that in our community that represents Pride.

 

Theme Songs

On my way to work today I jammed to “Electricity” by The Avalanches.  My daily commute has recently changed, and as I grooved on and off BART I was reminded of the importance of having a daily theme song.

One of my favorite questions to ask people has always been,

“If you were a boxer, or Stephen Curry (#gowarriors), what would be your pre-game-pump song? The song you’d play when you enter the stadium, as you were being watered and pampered by your entourage, strutting down the runway to the ring, draped with a glitter covered Hugh Hefner robe, sounded by screaming fans.”

The first thing people do is change the scenario to match their favorite sport or activity.  It is pretty fascinating to learn what peoples’ dream about, and even more interesting to learn what song gets them ready to go!  Lately I have been hearing a lot of “Turn Down for What” (DJ Snake & Lil Jon), and another recent popular was “Happy” (Pharrell). I am never surprised when someone pulls out out a classics like “In The Air Tonight” (Phil Collins), or of course, “RESPECT” (Aretha Franklin).  People get so pumped up just thinking of songs, and it plagues me why people would not think of inspiring songs to get pumped up more often.

Music has been proven to ignite the release of all kinds of health and happiness related hormones (http://goo.gl/7ix4Pg).  Why wouldn’t we pick theme songs each day to reach our maximum excitement? Apps like SoundCloud and Spotify have made this a lot easier. But we searching for music that will allow us to reach our maximum potential in any given scenario? Something with a beat for your run. Something mellow for Sunday afternoons.  Something peppy, or with an inspirational message, the day of the board meeting.  Being strategic about the messages and tones we expose ourselves to is like quick-cheap therapy. Why be sad in silence, or even just complacent in silence, when you can be happy with some Reggae in the background?

When we pick a theme song and play it throughout the day it brings us back to our original intention when getting out of bed that morning.  Throughout the day, the song will take on new meaning depending on our current tasks and recent outcomes. No matter what the day brings, the song will always be there.

I pledge to harness the power of music to help motivate myself while brushing my teeth, on my way to work, at the gym, making dinner, and chill-laxing doing nothing.

Try it!

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
― Bob Marley

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
― Albert Einstein

“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.”
― Maya Angelou

“Play it fuckin’ loud!”
― Bob Dylan

 

Pool Yoga

A few days ago I tried to practice yoga in my pool. It totally worked!

It’s started with me floating on my back. I immediately found my Mula and Uddiyana Bandha incredibly helpful in raising my torso. I am sure that the last time I tried to float I locked and squeezed these same “bandhas” – the pelvic floor (“mula”) and the abdomen or core (“Uddiyana”) – instinctively. But today, yoga immediately came to mind the instant I began to float, and I was able to stabilize my float much faster.

Engaging my core by being mindful of my bandhas allowed me extend opposite but equal energy out through my legs and toes, and up through my arms and fingers. My body became a vibrant blank, and floating never felt easier! As I listened to my breath – ears under water, ujjayi pranayama breath (in through the nose out through the nose breath) above water – the back float became a horizontal tadasana (mountain pose) and savasana (corpse pose). The fun didn’t stop there, either.

After paddling around for a bit, experimenting with tree pose, and trying some slow motion underwater warrior series’, I decided to try a hand stand. This is when my pranayama really became helpful. Standing at the shallow end of the pool, I inhaled a giant gasp of air just before my body was fully under water, I tucked and roll my body forward, and planted my hands on the base of the pool with much more confidence and grace than I ever seem to achieve in my studio practice.  I immediately noticed my increased ability to hold my breath for longer periods of time; my lungs were warmed up already from all my pranayama training, today and from my twice weekly yoga practice.

Seeing as I was under water, I cannot attest to the straightness of my legs above water. But each time I came up for air, and then re-attempted the handstand, I was able to focus more precisely on securing my hand positioning, locking my core, and aligning my shoulders, hips, and knees. Without the typical concern for falling and injuring myself, I was able to more whimsically enjoy the inversion. I felt so much strength in my posture, as I firmed up my torso and legs, and indulged in the rush of my heart resting above head.

I recommend pool yoga!

What is yoga to you?

Yoga is something you can do for years, and still consider yourself a beginner.

 

Yoga can be defined many different ways; it has ancient roots that are culture based and spiritually oriented, and many other medical, practical, and contemporary interpretations. Yogas “asanas” are the poses, but there are seven other “Limbs of Yoga.” The asanas help influence your access to those other limbs, just as each limb is mutually influences the others.

Over all, Yoga helps me to be more patient – on and off my mat. Too often I find myself rushing – to get somewhere, to meet a deadline, to wrap up a conversation, to “grow up” – yoga reminds me to take my time. When I practice yoga I concentrate in order to find balance, and I slow down so that I can sustain balance. I find stillness and calmness, even when sweating or upside down. I can feel my body adjusting with each second, and with each breath I realize I am never fully “complete” any pose. There is always something to squeeze, or release, or I may have to start over to tweak my transition. I am able to appreciate the pursuit of my goal without focusing on my achievement of that goal.

Yoga calms.

Yoga helps me enjoy rhythm. When I practice yoga I not only motivated to concentrate, but I am simultaneously motivated to be open to guidance. While I enjoy practicing yoga by myself, I really appreciate when I have a yoga instructor and yoga mates that help me find a flow. Great yoga teachers lead by communicating clearly, using visual language and analogies, by showing examples, and by touch. Additionally, the music the yoga teacher selects (if present at all) adds another layer of instruction because students often use the music’s beat to uniformly find a flow and stay energized. The movement of the music transfers into my yoga mates’ bodies, and we then create a resonating effect on one another. In this sense, yoga helps me find a rhythm through breath, and rhythm through my body, as well as breath and rhythm with my teacher, my yogamates, and the music. I find a synergy with-in, and out.

Yoga moves.

Yoga and the asanas in particular mean different things to different people, and each person likely has several different intentions for their yoga practice.  Finding my personal center through yoga, as well as a center with my yoga community, aids in my mental and my physical health. Research shows this is to be true for yogis who are looking to overcome trauma and illness.

Yoga heals.

Yoga is my warmth in the cold, my light in the darkness.

Yoga is my beach away from water.

What’s better than this?

“Few things are worth having that aren’t worth sharing.”

5 (8) Great (Interview) Questions

I was recently asked these 5 (actually 8) questions during a particularly thought provoking discussion. I have continued to chew on these ideas all week, and have thrown them out there to folks that I am interviewing. I have decided it would be a good idea to keeping the answers to these items salient at all times, whether your looking for a new gig or not.

1. Whats your ideal work environment? (Think office culture as well as job function).
2. How would your co-workers describe you? (Keep in mind what you would say if the question were, “how would your closest friends describe you?” Maybe those answers fit, too.)
3. What are your 3-4 biggest strengths? (Consider: what are you good at that most people struggle with (what comes easy to you); what can be measured; what is true of you upon first meeting; what takes time to discover about you?)
4. What are your 3-4 greatest weaknesses? (Think less about what you are “bad” at, and more about areas where you may be OK and would like to grow.)
5. What do you see yourself doing in 5 years? Job description and title. (Get creative! Think of something that does not exist today, but should a decade from now.)

These last three questions felt pretty specific to the role I was applying for, but they may still be helpful for you on your next interview.

6. As you imagine leaving your current role (or reflecting on your last role), what is your biggest take-away about working for that organization? (Think of key challenges you faced in that organization, that industry, and that organization/industry as it is in present time and where it is heading in the next decade. What major skills will be needed in this org/industry as a result?)
7. Explain a time you managed projects that involved conflicting priorities. (I chose to discuss tasks several throughout my day that require me to balance and juggle the priorities of my role and the roles of my cross-functional peers, and thus displayed my ability to connect the dots, and think about the big picture concerns. However I think discussing broader competing interests would also be illustrative of how you prioritize and problem solve.)
8. Do you have experience creating community through the use of online spaces or virtual technology? (Here, I did speak of something specific, but later wished I had discussed how this is done on a daily basis in my current position in a virtual workforce.)

Good luck!

* Communication is made up of constant tension between intention & interpretation

 

FemmeFitCamp is finally here!

Come to our bootcamp and yoga classes every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at The Works in Berkeley!

http://www.femmefitcamp.com

#femmefitcamp