covet garden...

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Today started out as a very cranky day. It's still cranky but one thing made it a little brighter: Covet Garden.

So many pretty things to look at. Check it out! :)

Off to contemplating some changes...
mxo

yoga pose of the week: camel

Ah, camel (otherwise known as ustrasana), how I love and hate you. When you're right, you're so right... but usually you're just strenuous and frustration. Hips up, stomach in, hands turned out, head relaxed... so much to bloody think about!

Camel is another concave posture which focuses on opening the chest, energizing the breathe, and improving circulation. It's also great for strengthening the shoulders, spine, abdominals, etc. What I love/ hate about camel is that it's awkward as hell, and I think that's part of the point. The pose contorts you so that you're looking behind you, upside down. Supposedly the pose parallels the camel it's named after, as camels have poor eyesight and have to rely on other senses to guide them. This pose makes me realize all of the things I take for granted every day.

mxo

october: MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Yes, yes, I know, it's not quite October yet, but Friday just doesn't seem like an appropriate day to start something new... and really, I'm far too impatient to wait until then!

I debated long and hard about what to set as the theme for this month - so many ideas! - but I finally decided to dedicate the third month of my happy, healthy year to what seems the most urgent to me right now: money. It's not a very pretty or inspiring topic, but it's a necessary one because when your finances are a mess, it's hard to focus on anything else.

Now, I have to preface all of this by saying that one) I'm not complaining about the position I am in and two) I am in fact very grateful for all that life has afforded me. I make a comfortable living, own a beautiful house, and have sufficient income to enjoy life. But, as with every prior challenge, I just feel like I can do better. Recently, as life has thrown me a few expensive (but fun!) endeavors, I feel as those I've lost some control over my spending and it's time to tighten the strap!

So here we go, a whole new month of challenges! In no particular order, here's what I'm adding:

• Write down everything I am spending... everything!... to get a better understanding of where my money is going.
• Talk to a financial planner.
• Only bagged lunches for one... whole... month... jeepers!
• Mondays = no money Mondays! Not one cent can be spent on anything unless it's a true emergency (how ever will I survive without my morning java?!)
• Read smart, financial books. I'm yawning already.
• Reuse, reduce, recycle.
• Give every single day... because I truly believe that in order to feel true abundance, you must be truly benevolent.

I have a feeling this month is going to be a bit of a struggle.... let's wait and see, shall we?!

Thanks for stopping by... hope you're having a great weekend! :)

mxo

so, how'd I do?

Ladies and gentlemen, it's official, fall is here! (See red tree below).

This makes me very, very happy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a summer baby and I love my hot, humid Toronto days (especially when they are spent on patios with cool, crisp bevvies), but there is something oh so magical about fall. The crisp air makes you feel fresh after so much heat. The sun is still shining. The leaves are all sorts of glorious colours.... and we have Thanksgiving, Hallowe'en and Christmas to look forward to all in the next three months! :)

Since the leaves are starting to turn, it means October must be right around the corner... and look, it is!... which means it's time to assess how the second month of my happy, healthy project went.

I am happy to say that September went far more smoothly than August! I stuck to most of my resolutions, and happily got rid of those that just weren't cutting it. So let's assess, shall we?

• Learn more about yoga.... A big CHECK! I practiced yoga every day, read many yoga books, and am now counting down the days until my certification starts!
• Learn to speak Spanish.... Umm, yeah. This just didn't happen AT ALL. But I've learned this - I am a terrible self-learner. I absolutely need a class to stay motivated. We'll try this again before the year's out.
• Learn about wine.... Comme se comme sa. I read a little bit, tasted a lot more, but really, I'll have to revisit this in the future, perhaps the same month that I revisit the Spanish (maybe that month's theme will be "Classes"!)
• Learn about potential grad programs (and possibly apply)... Yes! I've put the feelers out for a potential degree I may want to do (if it happens, I'll post more), but more importantly, I finally put to rest all of the things I don't want to do. It's so freeing. :)
• Learn to rest... Yes, yes, yes!
• Read smart books.... Yes! The media-free week surely helped as I had nothing else to do. ;)

And as for August's resolutions, how did those fare?

• Eat stop eat... The fasting has been hit and miss, and I think it might be time to put it to rest. My ridiculously active lifestyle isn't conducive to regular fasting and I don't love the energy drops that come with fasting. Maybe I'm making excuses - probably - but it's my project so I can do what I want.... so there! :)
• 100km cumulative walk/ run... Check! I stopped counting at 113km about a week ago.
• Early morning dates with Jillian... Yeah, no. This happened once. I far prefer early morning snuggles and hitting the snooze button.
• Act more energetic... This one is coming more and more naturally. The more I rest, the better I eat, the more I stretch and tone, the better and better I feel.

So here we are after two months and I could not be happier that I embarked on this journey. Sure, it hasn't been perfect, but that's not the point. The point is to feel happier and healthier than when I first began and if that can happen after only 60 days of minor life tweaks, I think it's safe to say, it was well worth it.

I'm looking forward to October. I hope you stayed tuned! :)

mxo

yoga pose of the week: wheel

Happy Tuesday all!

Today is the first of many similar posts to come. Every week or so, I will be posting my yoga pose of the week. It'll be a yoga pose I'm either really enjoying or really struggling with. Today I'm going to start light, with one of my favourite poses: wheel!

Wheel, or urdhva dhanurasana, is a back bend which strengthens the arms, wrists, abdomen, legs, butt, and spine. It also opens the chest and lungs, stimulating the pituitary and thyroid, leading to feelings of vitality and energy... and it's just plain fun! This pose reminds me of being a kid and doing gymnastics in my bathing suit in my grandpa's backyard. Joy! :)

mxo

moderation...

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack (and I'm starving as I'm fasting today!) So I'll admit, the media-free week wasn't entirely media-free. On Wednesday night, sore and cranky, I watched the season finale of True Blood. I had to! Eric Northman was dying (he didn't of course, but I had to know for sure). And it's possible there was a viewing of Mama Mia with some lovely friends of mine. But that's pretty much it for slip ups.

Here's what was so surprising about the week: I loved it! No part of me felt deprived, not one bit, not of anything. The experience was relaxing and yet extremely productive. Here's all that I managed to accomplish whilst (I like this word) not watching TV:

• Read a magazine cover to cove.
• Read this book: Short History of Progress (Wright)
• And this book: Living Yoga (Turlington)
• And this book: Hot Yoga (Barnett)
• Took out my belly button ring, for good. It's nice to see my belly button again. I wonder how long I'll have two.
• Exfoliated.
• Flossed.
• Slept more.
• Slept better.
• Went to many, many yoga and pilates classes.
• Cuddled with Charlie.
• Took a nice, long, hot bubble bath to relax the aching yoga muscles.
• Dusted and wiped every baseboard.
• Got so bored, I meditated.
• Went to the public library, which might as well be heaven on earth.
• And then there was this:

AND it made those couple hours of TV so much more enjoyable than if I had just routinely plopped myself in front of the 'tube yet again.

So what I did I learn about all of this almost media-free week? Simply, that the old adage, however cliche it may be, is true: everything in moderation. Moderation, at least when it comes to media it seems, equals a happy, healthy Maya.

Thanks for popping by!

mxo

media blackout...

I watch too much TV.

I won't settle for just anything, I have my stories and I absolutely hate channel surfing, but even with my discerning taste, I still manage to fry myself for hours each week. A new show is like a drug for me. I live and breathe it until every last episode has been devoured (case in point: I just finished watching three seasons of True Blood in just shy of three weeks, and don't even ask how long it took me to watch all seven seasons of Buffy.... hmm, it seems I also have a thing for vampires).

What's worse, thanks to the laptop I love so much, I have also developed media ADHD. Gone are the days when I could just lie on the couch watching whatever as a motionless blob. TV "watching" now involves restless web surfing, blog reading, facebooking, etc. Too much media, too little attention. Meaningless oversaturation.

None of this would be a problem really, except that it is. My media consumption isn't necessarily interfering with my life, but I can't help but think that there are better ways to spend at least some of these hours. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe this is a productive use of a few hours in an otherwise extremely busy schedule, but I haven't really given myself much of a chance to decide either way. If you smell another challenge coming, you're right! :)

The challenge: one media-free week.... jeeeeeeepers!

The rules: no TV and no Internet from September 13th @ midnight to September 20th @ midnight. That includes the iPhone!

The exception: the web is allowed whilst I'm at work. I have to spend 8 hours in front of a computer everyday - that's just a little too much time to fend off temptation - and I don't want to be THAT detached from reality.

The aid: it will really, really help that I'll be off the grid, at a cottage all weekend. Tee hee.

So folks, have yourselves a lovely, lovely week. I'll be "out of the office" for a little while!

mxo

reasons to smile...

1. It's Friday. Oh my!
2. The weather. What an absolutely perfect fall day!
3. Body feeling pretty kickass after so much hot yoga.
4. Poignant words from lovely friends. Please read The Benefits of Setbacks
5. Pajamas.

Happy weekend!

mxo

be maya...

Today was the first truly cold, windy day in Toronto after a long, hot, perfect summer. The air was crisp. The skies were dark and mysterious. It was the kind of day that makes the imminent change in season very, very real. It was my favourite kind of day.

Every time the seasons change, I can't help but be reminded of just how quickly time is passing and how much I "haven't" accomplished. Fall is almost upon us which means five seasons have passed since I graduated from my bachelors. I have a well crafted answer prepared for when people inevitably ask me what I plan to do next - the same type of craftiness necessary to answer why you're not yet married, why you don't have kids, or some other question that really isn't anyone's business. "I want to take some time to get truly bored and allow wisdom to come from that boredom," I would say, and in part, I meant it. I have spent the majority of my life in school, with the last six years frantically working and studying full-time. I was tired and I needed a break. But in part, I was really trying to avoid all of those expectations of what the next step should be.

In high school, I was valedictorian. I graduated with an almost perfect average and I sat on so many committees, my wee teenage bum hurt. University wasn't as smooth but despite everything, I still managed to graduate with distinction without much effort. School was my thing; I always did it well. Unfortunately for me, with success in academics came the unwanted burden of everyone's super high expectations. "You'll be a great lawyer some day!" "You'd make a fine doctor!" "You'll be Prime Minister! Just wait and see!" Don't get me wrong, it was all very flattering... until all of those voices got mighty muddled with what I actually wanted, what I actually thought I was good at. It has taken me many painful years to finally come to this conclusion: I don't want to be a lawyer, doctor, or even Prime Minister! That statement is still ridden with guilt, and sometimes I still feel like a failure for not pursuing those lofty goals, but what I've finally come to realize is this:

1. This life is my own.

2. No one really gives a shit anyways.

Those two things make me smile wide.

So as the summer gives way to fall, as 2010 will inevitably give way to 2011, I am giving way to a new attitude. From here on in, I commit to being me, unapologetically, even and especially if that means me exactly as I am.

Blah, blah, blah... happy Thursday! :)

mxo

food for thought

"if you begin to understand what you are, without trying to change it,

then what you are undergoes a transformation"

- Krishnamurti

fasting

With the wind outside howling, it's clear that fall is on it's way. The end of summer also means that Ramadan is upon us. To simplify something I know very little about, Ramadan is the Islamic month of abstaining from eating, drinking, and sexual relations. This time of fasting is meant to be a focus on purification, humility, patience and spirituality. From sunrise to sunset, which in the summer months is often longer than 12 hours, self-restraint is paramount.

About a month ago, I wrote about the health benefits of fasting - there are many - but as Ramadan reminds us, fasting can also be a very spiritual exercise. There is something very purifying for the soul in abstinence. When you let yourself move past the initial hunger pains, you move into a new state where the senses are almost heightened. You can smell a pizza box from across the subway car. You feel alert, not heavy or sluggish. You're left with a lot more time to ponder all sorts of new things as you desperately try to avoid thinking about food. And if nothing else, it makes the first meal after a fast, whatever it may be, absolutely amazing.

I have wavered with my fasting commitment over the past month - it just wasn't a pleasant experience that I was keen to repeat - but I've recently stumbled upon a pattern that works well for me. While I like Brad Pilon's suggestion of a 24-hour fast once a week in theory. it's just not conducive to the lifestyle I lead (hot yoga + fasting = fainting... not a good combo!) But after a few missed fasts, I remembered a story from Dan Buenttner's Blue Zones about an older gentleman from the Seventh Day Adventists Buettner studied in Loma Linda, California. He was about 104, a practicing cardiologist who would rather build his own fence than pay someone to do it, a vegan, and a regular faster. However, he practiced caloric restriction not through abstaining from food for long stretches of time, but by having two meals every day - day in and day out, just two. The first, larger meal was around 10am - a brunch of sorts - and the other around 4pm. The two meals provided sufficient calories to give him ample energy for his busy day, and yet kept his total caloric intake for the day at a level that afforded him all of the physical and spiritual benefits of fasting.

Since remembering this story, I have tried this fasting method twice and the experience has been entirely more pleasurable than the 24-hour fasts which left me cranky, weak, and most of all, unbelievably hungry. But two meals in a day, a couple of times a week... well, that's just magic. :)

Hope you're enjoying this last long weekend of the summer!

mxo

smart readings

First choice:

I'll let you know if it's good. :)

mxo