Archives: Yoga

As the month of March progresses I am optimistic that Spring is slowly inching closer with each day. The best part about Spring is the cleanse that we all know we need after hibernating all Winter long. Well, for me, after a week of my stomach feeling a bit off with the usual bloating, pains and mucus I decided to take my cleanse now.

Why is it that after all I do for myself, I still have these flare-ups? I am constantly asking myself this question, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it is and always will be a work in progress. Today I feel better, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. I won’t worry about tomorrow today though – staying present and in the moment only helps my tummy feel better. Luckily I know the tools to get myself out of the funk and am grateful for that everyday.

As a yoga teacher, I have really stressed this topic of staying in the moment with all of my students. Snap into the now and focus on how your body is feeling right this second. Whatever you’re feeling, just notice it, breathe into it and live it.

I find that when my stomach bothers me, instead of obsessing constantly about why it’s like this, what I ate or stressed about to bring myself into this state – I close my eyes and take at least 2 rounds of a breathing exercise. Here’s the one I love, which always calms my mind/thoughts without fail every time.

It’s a 4-7-8 ratio breath. Breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 7 counts and exhale for 8 counts. Do between 1-5 rounds of this and wow will you feel lighter, more clear and alive all at the same time.

Try it! It can’t hurt.

Happy breathing 🙂

I just went for my annual physical checkup today and was so pleasantly surprised when Dr. Lee took a look at my latest colonoscopy results and stated “it looks like your colitis is getting smaller and smaller.” I’ve been having a flare up for 3 years and the time is finally here when not only are my flares getting less and less but also, the colitis is diminishing all together!

You might be asking how in the world did I do this?!

Let me explain – over the past year and a half I’ve taken the time to read many books and educate myself on how to cure myself of this belly bloating, gas producing, uncomfortable, colitis.

I know that there are lots of sufferers out there and I totally get what your going through – I promise I was right there with you not too long ago.

Instead of only listening to my GI doc, I decided to educate myself even further on the topic. I wasn’t happy about taking steroids for the rest of my life so I made a decision not to do it. Yes I did take the suppositories when needed but I coupled them with the eastern side of medicine.

I do yoga, acupuncture and see a chiropractor on a regular basis, which are all part of eastern medicine. I believe that these forms of medicine have helped calm belly.

I’ve made the conscious choice to change my diet and I haven’t looked back since. Well… maybe I’ve looked back when everyone is enjoying their glutinous filled pizza and all I want is that NY slice… I have found other options for pizza and they are pretty delicious, but when it’s right in your face it’s very hard to say no – the only way to really say no is to remember how you feel when your belly hurts and for me that’s plenty. I’m so happy to have my gluten free, dairy free Amy’s Pizza readily available when I need my pizza fill. It takes strength and a good support system but you will overcome it.

If you have specific questions on what books I’ve read or what I’ve done to help cure myself please feel free to message me. I want to keep an open communication with you and anyone you know who suffers from a hurting gut.

Please take care of yourself.

Today I officially became a yoga instructor! Sure I was a teacher on Feb 12^th but today I received my certificate! WOOHOO!!

For those of you out there who would like to learn yoga I’m your lady! I’ve learned lots of skills to be able to work with beginner students as well as advanced.

If you have any interest in picking up this wonderful, feel good practice then please contact me and we can set up a time to work together.

I will be sure to let you know when I will be holding yoga classes – it will be in the very near future.

There has been a lot going on in my life at the present time… I just finished an intensive yoga teacher training course on February 12^th and the week after I began attending courses at the Integrative Institute of Nutrition (IIN). I’m planning a wedding, figuring out a business for myself and am all around tired!

I’m sure you have all experienced busy lives but personally, I’m not used to such chaos! My belly has taken a toll because of all the running around that I’ve been doing. I am currently working on bringing myself back to health – today I took my first steps.

I went on a one-day liquid and soft foods detox. I drank smoothies, juices and water. I steamed sweet potatoes and beets. Drank more smoothies with greens, I made a green soup and ate a squash for dinner.

I wanted to eat as clean and simple as possible and I think I succeeded in doing so. I still have a bit of a tummy ache but I think it’s getting better! Tomorrow I will pump up the protein and eat lots of nutrients.

It’s always hard the day after a detox to jump back into eating “normal” again… It’s really important to not overload the body. I will eat small portions, clean food and make sure to exercise.

I know this plan will make me feel better and I can’t wait to cross back over into the wonderful world of feeling healthy.

Staying positive is essential to heal. So here I am, Ms. Positivity!

I will feel better tomorrow and so will you if you have any pains.

“Digest your life, food wise AND mind wise” – William Duprey, my wonderful yoga teacher. There was a whole discussion this week about food, diets and scheduling in my yoga training course this week. This obviously struck my attention and made me realize that most people in my class do not have a proper eating schedule.

To me, this is not a way to live. Carving out 3 time slots per day to sit down and digest a meal is more important then any other obligation you may have. If you don’t eat breakfast in the morning, I suggest you wake up a few minutes earlier to make sure you can squeeze in that bowl of cereal, toast or any other nutritious meal.

Sit down and pay attention to your eating habits. You may realize that the reason you’re feeling sluggish throughout the day is because your body isn’t getting the proper nourishment. Digest your life and feed your body and soul – you deserve it!

It’s also important to digest your mind but that’s a whole other blog post! Stay tuned…

With the closing of my first week in yoga school I’ve taken away many thoughts and ideas. I’ve been intrigued by one in particular – the act of practicing ahimsa, meaning non-violence in Sanskrit.

Since I live in New York City, only one of the most hustling and bustling cities in the world, it’s quite difficult to practice this act of non-violence on a day-to-day basis let alone a minute-to-minute basis. While walking on the street it’s not uncommon for me to experience numerous people bumping into me without apologizing, or someone being completely rude on the subway – I must say, it’s usually quite impossible for me to block these situations out but I’ve begun to ask myself how in the world can I practice this non-violence?!

I’ve learned that the only way this seems to work for me is to constantly repeat the actual word ‘ahimsa’ in my mind when these situations arise. Sometimes I even say it quietly to myself out loud. What a relief to look back at these situations where I would normally get flustered, upset and even angry and say WOW! I actually kept to myself and didn’t let the other person effect me.

Try it!

You will definitely feel a sense of relief once you’ve looked back at the situation later on and realize what amazing progress you’ve made. Try it at least once in your day and see how it feels. I DARE you!

Namaste.

Today is my first day of yoga teacher training school and I’m pretty excited about it. Of course with my history last night I was all anxious/excited and barely slept a wink. In fact, I think I saw every hour hit the clock throughout the night. What an awful way to begin this incredible journey.

I figured that by writing a blog post I could make it up to myself and share my experiences with you all. This yoga-training course is supposed to be about healing, breath and new experiences. So why do I feel nervous, anxious and my stomach in knots?!

Well this is just my nature… I’ve come to accept myself just the way that I am. It’s just like starting my first day of school – I picked out my clothes, packed some snacks and I’m all set for my early morning wake up. If you’ve ever experienced these types of feelings before the start of something big, don’t try to ask lots of questions on how NOT to feel this way… just try to breathe through it and take it one step at a time.

So what if I didn’t sleep much, eh… no biggie, I’ll catch up tonight.

I wish you all a wonderful day. Remember to accept yourself for who you are – you may even feel better by doing that.

This morning I woke up all anxious – what a terrible way to start my day… As soon as I opened my eyes and even before, I had all these thoughts rolling through my head – I was obsessing about ridiculous things. These are the types of thoughts that kick my stomach down and make it super hard to pick myself back up. Well, I decided that I wasn’t going to start yet another day this way and I put an end to it. I walked up the stairs, took out my yoga mat and started practicing yoga, which I’ve learned from numerous teachers around NYC.

I figure you don’t need to be a yoga teacher to practice yoga in your own home.

You wouldn’t believe how much this helped me. For the 10 minutes that I was practicing, my breath began to get heavy and all of a sudden my muscles loosened up, my back felt great, and I was simply amazed.

It took 10 minutes from my morning routine and I made it work so that I wasn’t late for work. I’ve decided that this will become part of my daily routine and I recommend this for everyone.

If you’ve been to a few yoga classes then your all set, just try to remember at least 1-5 poses and you will be ready to practice on your own. If you’re not into doing the poses on your own, sit cross-legged with your hands resting on your legs and palms facing up – begin to focus on your breath – hear it, feel it, be it, live it, enjoy it.

Have a wonderful day,
Namaste