Time together.

During the week Simeon is either at school, driving to/from school, or studying for school, and I’m usually at one or the other job. This leaves very little overlapping free time so when miraculously we do have an hour or two together we do what we can to make the most of it.

As the weather has warmed we’ve been antsy to spend more time outside among the new blossoms, the extra people milling about town, and the beautiful vistas nearby.

Last week we took a pleasant stroll down Warren Street to one of my favorite places in Hudson–The Spotty Dog Books & Ale. Spotty Dog is a bar/bookstore that sells both really great books and really delicious micro-brews (as the name implies). You can sit at the bar and chat up a friend or lounge in a comfy chair by the window while you browse a book. Whoever came up with this place was a genius. Absolutely.

We stopped in for a late afternoon brew and a little QT. ‘Twas divine.

Square space

Hudson is a tragically beautiful town. The gritty gray streets are full of storied charm. I love taking walks around my neighborhood because every day there is a new detail to discover in someone’s doorway or an abandoned alley filled with lost treasure waiting patiently to be found (whether whimsical graffiti or modern art!). On a recent walk I couldn’t help but notice just how square Hudson is.

I mean it literally.

Federal style buildings, large windows, framed doorways… square, square, square.

Click any photo to view the full gallery.

Why I joined a local yoga studio

I did it. I bought yoga.

I mean, I bought a membership to a local studio. In the past few years of regular practice, this is the first time I’ve purchased a series of yoga classes (besides the ubiquitous intro deals of 10 for $10). Maybe you are like me and have wavered on forking over your cash for what is basically rolling around on the floor. Which, of course, you can do from the privacy of your home with only Toto (or Molly in my case) to watch you wriggle.

Why did I buy?

A friend recently recounted a delicious yoga class she took while visiting a friend in Philly. They both ended the class on their mats, weeping in release.  I remembered those kinds of classes. The kinds that stretch you. The kinds that break you. And the kinds that not-always-elegantly-crack open your closed encrusted heart revealing You. With a capital Y.

Instructors as Guides

I didn’t realize it until she told me the story, but my heart, my soul center, has been feeling a little encrusted lately. Not for any particular reason other than the common resistance that is natural to life. But it needs a little (or maybe a lot) of cracking open. And sometimes, having a guide is especially helpful in navigating the deeper or darker recesses of our hearts. I can take myself through a pose sequence just fine (as a trained yoga instructor I know how to go from tadasana to uttanasana without injury). But moving to my edge? Exploring the boundary between known and unknown? An instructor can help me focus, can speak louder than my gremlin voice who never fails to whisper that we would much rather be taking a nap thank you very much. 

Classmates as Motivators

A class environment is a powerful motivator. Though I don’t advocate yoga as performance or competition, being among classmates who are reaching, yearning, daring to become fuller more expressed humans (or just look like they are!) makes me want to too. Give me a classmate and I’ll go further than I would if I were acting alone. It’s just how I’m made.

Space as Sacred

When I practice at home it’s usually some combination of the following: rug, yoga mat, dust bunnies. While I’m hanging out in downdog I’m not just focusing on my breath, I’m also trying not to focus on how long it’s been since the last time I vacuumed.

Taking part in a deeply spiritual (for me) practice means it is nice (at least) and necessary (at most) to partake of said practice in an equally meaningful place. Yoga studios are renown for their soothing ambiance. Honestly, contemplative practice is so much easier when the hardwood floors are swept and mopped by someone else.

Membership as Community

My grandmother once explained to me that one of the many, many reasons she belongs to the Jewish Temple in town was because it was important to her to be counted among the greater community. To make her claim as a Jew among non-Jews. To be a member of a congregation was to stand with her people and together work for what mattered to them most. It didn’t matter as much which congregation in town they attended, she said, it as much as that they belonged to one, and made themselves known.

I thought about that in terms of Yoga. How do I make my claim as a yogi? How do I stand for what this practice which is so important to me? For now, I make my voice heard with my dollar vote. When I pay for yoga classes in my community, I vote for teachers who make their living as Guides and Mentors. When I pay for classes I vote for contemplative education everywhere. The more the community supports such activities, the more there will be. I want to belong to a community who believes in  and supports what I think is valuable and important.

◊◊◊

I can practice at home and will certainly continue to do so. But for all these reasons above I have made my choice to join a local establishment. I haven’t even talked yet about the benefit of supporting a local business! Needless to say, I’ve made the choice to dive deeper into my own experience, to unite with others of like mind, to support my community. To belong.

Snapshots from San Francisco

Oh dear. The forecast is pretty much gray for the weekend. I think the exact words were freezing sleet and rain. Though I’m terribly grateful for the water, I would like very much to climb into my time machine and re-visit sunny California.

Here are some of my favorite snapshots from that weekend. While you check these out, I’ll be basking in the warm glow of my computer screen. Ahem.

Click any picture to view the full gallery.

Best Practices for Working From Home

I’ve now been working (almost) full time from home for three full months. And it’s taken just as long to get into a groove. Yes, work is work is work. It takes focus and discipline and passion plus some skill and maybe even some talent and you’ve got yourself a fine job. But working from an office and working from home are two different beasts entirely.

It took me a couple months to find the right space in the house to work from. I’ve used two “desks” and three different desk spaces. I’ve worked varying hours, trying to find the new rhythm that suits my needs and my company’s needs best.

Recently, I had an illuminating conversation with a team member about this topic. She’s been a work-from-home professional for more than 20 years. In our conversation, I shared with her how surprisingly difficult it was to find a satisfying routine in my new work life and that I’d only recently discovered some best practices. Her reply was encouraging and reassuring as many of the insights I’d gleaned over the recent months matched her tips. And I thought perhaps others of you out there working from home might find the same tips likewise useful.

1. Designate a workspace. This is tip number one for a reason. If you don’t have a proper working space, the job will be that much harder. Not only do you need the right tools around you for convenience, you also need the right set-up for your physical well-being. I had to stop  using the desk in our living room because it was too tall for me I was beginning to experience back pain. Now that I’m working on the dining room table instead, the back pain has disappeared.

If you can, try to designate a location in the house as the workspace. Just like you have a dining room for eating and a bedroom for sleeping find a location that is reserved for work. When you enter that space your mind will become accustomed to focusing on work tasks. And on the flip side, when you leave that work center, your mind can leave work behind as well.

2. Don’t sit all day! I can’t emphasize this enough. Sitting for 7+ hours is not only plain unpleasant, it can also be harmful to your wellbeing over the longterm. I do my best to plan breaks throughout the day where I make tea or go for a walk or simply stretch. Not only does this feel good for my muscles, it also helps my clear my mind. When I take a quick break from staring at my computer screen filled with spreadsheets and emails it’s as if I’ve hit reset on my brain and creativity can flow.

3. Be done when you’re done. I set strict hours with myself and do my best to keep them. If I didn’t it would be too easy to “just finish this one last email” and “clear the inbox.” But in a business like the one I’m in, the inbox is never clear for long. By the time I’d finish that last crop another few would come in. Suddenly, a couple minutes could turn into hours! Be mindful of your time and this goes for taking breaks too.

A friend who also works from home relayed to me that last year she had gotten into a bad habit of working straight through her lunch hour. It gave her more time at the end of the day but she wound up starving and grouchy from low blood sugar. Breaks are important not just for you personally, but they also affect your productivity and performance. Work when you work and break when you break. For this reason I try to take my breaks outside. And with the weather warming up it’s all the more enticing to do so! I walk around my neighborhood,or get a snack from the bakery up the street or a coffee at a local cafe.

4. Find ways to be social. It’s easy when working from home to suddenly find yourself living the hermit life. Often I don’t have to leave the house for days at a time. Usually, I enjoy a bit of solitude, but not being social for long periods can be downright lonely! I make an effort to first just get in the company of other people – going for walks or to the coffee shop. Planning to meet a friend for lunch is good too, though I don’t have too many friends to have lunch with out here, so I try to plan dates for the weekend when I have time to make it to the Berkshires or they can come here. This past weekend a few friends came out for a late brunch and to window shop. If your time allows it, joining social or networking clubs can be great for you and your business. I’m an active member of a Toastmasters club and I’ve come to enjoy our bi-monthly meetings for the social aspect as much as for the personal growth.

5. Reflect on the good stuff. Life can get busy and overwhelming for all of us no matter where we work or what we do for a living. The best tip I can offer is to frequently make lists of what you love about working from home or what feeds you about working from home. Consider what inspires you… Anything that brings good feelings is worth writing down. Reminding ourselves about the benefits of where we are right now will help us appreciate the blessings of our situation. Gratitude expands the good. Always.

Starting in the Middle

“FUTURE” – Outside our Toastmasters meeting space. 

This week I gave my 6th speech at a Toastmasters meeting. It was by far my best speech yet and I am still flush with the feeling of pure joy I almost always experience speaking in front of a group. Toastmasters has become such an important part of my life as of late. It’s the discovery of words, of transformation, of inspiration and patience. It’s the sharing of stories, of voicing desires, of supporting friends.

Many people join Toastmasters because their job requires them to give presentations and they are nervous about performing their duty. Others have desires to move into leadership and want to grow their skills. Me? I just love to speak. I love the energy created between myself and the audience. There’s a transmission of my voiced experience and energy and the silent power in their listening. It creates something of a vortex. And I fall in, every time, relishing the flight.

I didn’t film this speech unfortunately, but I would like to share a bit of what I said. The speech was called “Starting in the Middle.” And to wit, it was about not having the right words at the right time. About writer’s block and feeling stuck. And how the only way out of such frustrating times is to start in the middle – to start where you are. There’s no where else in the world to begin but with who and what and where you are.

And so, in my vulnerability, and in my fear, in my hope and earnest desire, I begin a new chapter for myself now. The one where I am freed of needing my path to look any different than it is. Sometimes I know what I’m here for, and other times I forget. When I remember my purpose I come back to that pleasing feeling of supreme delight. The joy of being alive.

And if I have to speak to get that feeling, well, then I will.

Green Juice

I came to green juices by way of green smoothies about 5 years ago. I first started making green smoothies (way back when) while researching the raw food diet. Eating only raw didn’t work for me, but the green smoothies certainly did.  Blended greens gave me the energy to move mountains and made my cells come alive in ways I’d never felt before. The high was unlike a caffeine jolt or an alcohol buzz; it felt so much better.

Flash forward to 2012 and after working a regular job with a regular paycheck for a few months I had finally socked away enough to splurge on a Breville juicer. Best. Decision. Ever.

Since then, green juices have become a regular thing – morning, noon or night. And I can say with certainty that whenever I drink my greens, I become a better version of me. Happier, braver… more aware, more patient… less lethargic, less grouchy… I could go on.

Green juice has become quit the trendy food these days too – and I think the world is better for it! If you haven’t caught the green bug yet or aren’t ready to jump for a juicer of your own – fret not, friends. There are so many wonderful companies cropping up to take care of your juicing needs. With wonderful flavors full of fresh deliciousness, you won’t go thirsty.

So, what’s an average juice for me? I tend to stick to the green stuff though magical elixirs can be made with nearly any mix of fruit and veggies. Usually, my recipe comes from whatever is in my crisper and on the counter and I play off a few favorite must-haves. Here’s what I drank for today’s afternoon pick-me-up.

The Garden Green Juice

Spinach, 1 large handful

Dark leafy greens, 3-4 leaves, these happen to be mustard greens

Carrot, 1 large

Celery, 2 stalks

Apple, 1 small-medium

Lemon, 1 wedge (without the peel)

Ginger, 1/2 inch

In it goes!

And out comes… well, it’s an interesting green color because of the carrot but the carrot also adds an extra layer of sweetness. The spice of the ginger and the mustard greens adds some flair and the lemon gives it a citrus kick. SO YUM.

This recipes makes about 10 oz. I sometimes put the pulp back through with a little water and come out with 2 extra oz.  Perfect for a snack or early breakfast. Cheers to our health.