Category Archives: Self-Care

Self-Care

The In Case You Missed It Edition! Volume 3

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I’ve recently discovered the wonderful world of blogs, Twitter and the idea of creating community online. I am aware I am late to the party, however it’s better to be late than never arrive.

Who knew the Internet was full of such wonderful, caring, compassionate people?

Occasionally, I’ll post my favorite posts from other people here.

The In Case You Missed It Edition!

The Book of You – on The Fluent Self. I think everyone should start writing theirs.

Jennifer Louden, author of  The Women’s Comfort Book and others, also writes a blog. Here’s a can’t miss post – Choose Your Life Mondays – the It Isn’t A Big Ding Dang Do Edition where she talks about minimum requirements for self-care (MRSC).

“MRSC’s are the basic things you need to stay in touch with yourself, to have a strong foundation to meet the rather constant challenges of life, and to ease the noise in your head.”

Michelle asks, “What One Thing?” – as in what is YOUR special talent?

Homemaking – Amanda explores what it means to be a SAHM. Really hit a chord with me.

If you have a favorite blog that you’d want everyone to read if you were in charge of the universe, please let me know about it here. Leave me a comment about your favorites and maybe I’ll start reading them too.

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Yoga+Music(notquite)365 (day104)

Today’s yoga brought to you by the kitchen home practice.

Today’s music is Elephant by The White Stripes.

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Yoga Teaching Update:

Free class for School Teachers in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week – May 1st. Yoga Nap+Milk and Cookies.

FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

I’m teaching with Donna – May 14th!

 

Yoga+Music(notquite)365 – Day 103 – Midnight at the Movies by Justin Townes Earle – The Recipe Edition!

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Each Tuesday I’ll share an easy, nutritious recipe so you can join me in the home-cooked self-care.

Blueberry Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Pancakes!

Serves one

2 eggs

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup cottage cheese

2 cups blueberries (I used thawed in the microwave frozen organic from Trader Joe’s)

Blend in blender (minus the blueberries)

Mix blueberries into the batter

Pour onto skillet; flip when it bubbles up.

Blueberry pancakes

Excellent with real maple syrup and peanut butter

Ready to eat

Courtesy of Kelly from @copylicious

MC is ready to eat!

Do you have any stealth ways to get yourself to eat more fruit and vegetables? Please share your favorite recipes and tips!

Yoga+Music(notquite)365 – Day 88 – Crazy Heart Movie Soundtrack- Resilience Edition!

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Lately I feel like I’ve been wearing my feelings on the outside of my body. That heightened sense of vulnerability has left me feeling uneasy.  

 During yoga yesterday, Michelle read an excerpt from poet David Whyte where he uses the image of walking down a country dirt road: A huge storm comes. You take shelter in the barn until the storm passes. Sometimes the warmth and protection of the barn feel so good, so easy and safe, you never leave. But you have to get back on the road. You have to keep going.

She spoke briefly about resilience and how it’s easy for some people to bounce back from events while others take more time. She used the barn analogy to illustrate how some have sought protection in the barn and maybe gotten stuck.

It’s funny because she wrote about getting stuck in the comforting place while I wondered where I find comfort.

In a way, yoga has become that comforting place.

So struck by this idea of resilience, I got up from my mat. I grabbed a pen and piece of paper to capture what came up for me during class.

I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say I was left with the feeling that I’ve somehow lost some of my former resilience, or the ability to “bounce back” from difficult experiences.

When I shared this with Michelle, she offered a different perspective.

She asked if maybe I hadn’t really lost my resilience, but rather shed some of the armour I’d built around my heart.

The tears that briefly came up in that moment were indicator that something is brewing in there.

What are your thoughts on resilience? How do you cope with the hard parts of life? Has it gotten easier or harder over the years?

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Teaching Update!

Saturday, May 1st from 3-4:30 I’m teaching a FREE class for school teachers to celebrate the beginning of National Teacher Appreciation Week.

Think of it as a yoga nap – plus milk and cookies!

If you or someone you know teaches school for a living, please save the date.

21st and X – Sacramento, CA

www.itsallyoga.com

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Fridays 4:30 are still FREE at @itsallyoga!

Yoga+Music(notquite)365 – Day 87 – Contra By Vampire Weekend – Holy Moly Homemade Foodstuffs Edition!

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My friend Amanda recently posted about making eco-licious lotion, bread, yogurt and granola at home.

It all sounded delightful, so I asked if I could move in with her and her family.

I still haven’t heard back from her.

Oh well.

The good news is that I was inspired by her homemade goodness.

That, and I have NINE glorious work free days of Spring Break to fill with whatever I choose.

Day One’s goodies?

Homemade Tahini

1 cup of sesame seeds (only $0.62 from the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op!)

1/4 cup organic sesame oil

Homemade Granola (adapted from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone)

6 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Flaxseed Meal

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup sesame oil

1/2 cup maple syrup (B grade)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake oats for 10 minutes in a rimmed baking pan. Transfer oats to large bowl, and sugar, Bob’s, coconut, seeds and raisins. Stir to mix then add oil, syrup and vanilla. Mix until moistened.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Stir after 5 minutes (although I forgot and it was just fine).

Cool in the pans and transfer into an airtight container.

We’ve already eaten some with milk and over yogurt with fruit.

Delicious!

What are your favorite homemade goodies?

Yoga+Music(notquite)365 – Day 86 – Oracular Spectacular by MGMT – Lame Food Confession Edition!

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The changing of the season necessitates the changing of the wardrobe. Sweaters, long sleeve t-shirts and jeans out. Sleeveless tops, tanks, shorts and skirts in.

This annual changing of the wardrobe means that it is time to try on my spring and summer clothes. Every year I am surprised to find that my warm weather clothes don’t quite fit as well as I remembered them doing when I stored them at the end of the summer.

All this perfectly coinsides with my realization that despite thinking of myself as a healthy eater, I almost never eat the recommeded daily allowance of fruit and vegetables.  Depending on who you ask, some say 5-a-day while others (like Harvard’s School of Public Health) advocate between five and thirteen servings per day.

In any case, I’m woefully low by either standard most winter days.

How lame is that?

So before I go all gung-ho dieting nutty so I can fit comfortably in my clothes, I decided I am simply going to add more fruit and vegetables to what I already eat  every day.

Simple, but sometimes that’s all it takes.

How do you get in your fruits and vegetables in every day? Any secrets you care to share?

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Don’t forget FREE Fridays at It’s All Yoga – 21st and X Streets – Sacramento, CA 95818 – www.itsallyoga.com

Yoga+Music(notquite)365 – Day 75 – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood by Neko Case – The Recipe Edition!

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Each Tuesday I’ll share an easy, nutritious recipe so you can join me in the home-cooked self-care.

SNACKS!

Today I’d like you to meet and make friends with the date. (Click the link for the nutritional information on this amazing fruit).

Dates are high in dietary fiber, low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and contain more potassium than bananas!

Dates are sweet, healthy, filling little treats and when they are paired with a lightly salted cashew or almond – perfection!

I keep a little container of dates and nuts in my desk at work and snack on them in class. My students are always interested in what I’m eating, but not once has one of them taken me up on the offer to try one.

I can’t even get J. to try one. He thinks they are ugly.

What do you think?

Dates! Better than bananas

Better than bananas

Please let me know if you have ever tried dates and what you think.

 What are your favorite healthy snacks? I need some ideas how to keep hunger at bay.

Please share your favorite recipes!

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Today’s yoga brought to you by me! I am teaching my BTSA (Beginning Teacher Support & Assessment) classes to new teachers today and I’ve got to get myself ready.

Today’s music is  Fox Confessor Brings the Flood by Neko Case.  – This is my reentry back into listening to music. I’ve taken some time off – being sick made me crave silence. I guess I’m finally starting to feel like myself again.

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 Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

BTSA – Yoga Class Sequence #1

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Welcome New Teachers and anyone else looking for a relaxing easy to do at work yoga sequence!

Constructive rest – laying on your back, feet hip width, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, knees leaning toward each other.

Ideas for this class are from Office Yoga: Simple Stretches for Busy People 

Come up slowly and find your chair.

Sit up tall, feet flat on the floor, pelvis slightly tipped forward, spine tall – head floating up like a helium balloon.

Neck stretches:

Moving with the breath.

Ear to shoulder – both sides

Ear to shoulder – both sides – gentle press on shoulder – making space in the neck.

Nose pointing toward shoulder and gently looking down – both sides. Gently moving the head to find the tender spots to breathe into. Moving the jaw around to loosen the grip.

Breathing through all movement.

Shoulder rolls: up to ears, back and bring the blades down to rest in the back pockets. 3 times.

Easy seated twists: come sit toward the front of the chair. Left hand, right knee – right hand tucked into seatback. Inhale – sit up tall and gentle twist – like your spine is a barber pole — breathing. Full breath cycle 2 or 3 times. Release on exhale and slowly return to neutral.

Breathe.

Right hand, left knee – left hand tucked into seatback. Inhale – sit up tall and gentle twist. Full breath cycle 2 or 3 times. Release on exhale and slowly return to neutral.

Breathe.

Come to all 4s on the floor, blanket under the knees – Cat/Cow.

Sit in Easy seat, Hero or stand.

 

Raise arms straight above head in preparation for Cow Face Pose arms with a strap. Both sides. Creating space in the neck and shoulders.

Come to stand in Mountain pose. Close your eyes and breathe.

Big bear hug in preparation for Eagle arms. Spread arms wide, right arm on top, big bear hug, trying to reach fingers around to touch. Breathing. Release on exhale and do other side.

Big bear hug and wrapping arms into Eagle. Release on exhale. Other side.

Shake it out.

Come down to the floor by the wall for Legs Up the Wall Pose.

Release  by bending the knees, rolling to one side and pausing on your side using your arm as a pillow.

Final relaxation!

Corpse/Savasana

WWTD?

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What would Tami do?

The “old” Tami would scrap the whole Yoga+Music365 project completely because it’s been a couple weeks since she’s posted anything and because she’s having a really hard time keeping up with the overly ambitious music schedule.

Good thing the “old” Tami has been quietly noticing her patterns and has come up with a new “plan”.

The daily music was INSANE. However, I’ve enjoyed finding new music. I’m still going to post about music, just not every day or every week. I’ll do it when the mood strikes me.

The “old” Tami would cry in her beer because she failed to keep up with even a one-pose-a-day yoga home practice when she was sick knowing legs up the wall can pretty much cure anything.

The daily yoga really does feel good. It also keeps me thinking about self-care on a daily basis. I’m going to get back to it.

The “old” Tami would wish that she would have never gone public with her blog and would have felt like a failure because she didn’t realize her goals.

As it turns out, a daily blog project is pretty ambitious. Probably too ambitious for someone with a full-time teaching job and bonus yoga teaching job etc.

The “old” Tami would feel bad about herself because she got sick despite taking really good care of herself.

What can I say? I don’t mess around when I get sick. I don’t know why I seem to get sicker and stay sick longer than others, but I do. I’m going to try to stop freaking out about getting sick and maybe I won’t so often. Who knows? I’m exhausted by it all.

The “old” Tami would be embarrassed that she isn’t going to do the half-marathon after all.

Getting sick made me reevaluate my purpose for the half-marathon training: to do cardio exercise on a regular basis. Check! Plus I met some truly wonderful women in the process that have expressed an interest in continuing to walk together. Bonus.

The “old” Tami would have brushed off the epic hormonal meltdown last month and not called her doctor – AGAIN.

My hormones make me feel like an angry teenager sometimes. Did I mention the ANGER? Yeah, so I called my doctor and I’m going to try some pills to make my hormones behave more civilly.

The “old” Tami would have not reached out to friends, but turned inward until she felt better.

I have really, really amazing friends. Thanks for all the support and love.

Yoga+Music365 (day61) – R&B Transmogrification by Quasi – The Recipe Edition – Cough Care Parts 1+2!

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Each Tuesday I’ll share an easy, nutritious recipe so you can join me in the home-cooked self-care.

Cough Care Part 1

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp honey (local + organic = best)

Sacramento Beekeeping Supplies = best kept secret in Sacto!

Sacramento Beekeeping Supplies = best kept secret in Sacto!

Mix to paste.

Gag down.

Follow with warm water.

 

 

Cough Care Part 2

Heat (but not boil water) in saucepan, remove from heat.

Carefully place bottle of organic sesame oil in pan or float a small bowl of oil in water.

When heated to body temperature, remove oil from water and rub warmed oil on chest and throat.

Cover with warm shirt and hop in bed.

Sleep without coughing.

Wake up rested and feeling so much better.

Last time I did this two-part couch remedy my cough was gone in 2 days.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

Please let me know if you made the recipe and what you think.

Please share your favorite recipes or cold/flu remedies!

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Today’s yoga brought to you by me! I am teaching my BTSA (Beginning Teacher Support & Assessment) classes to new teachers today and I’ve got to get myself ready.

Today’s music is R&B Transmogrification by Quasi. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Quasi? They were the musical obsession prior to the current. LOVE! Better than coffee any day!

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Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

I’m teaching 3/5/10 – so mark your calendar. That’s THIS Friday! I heard rumors of a RESTORATIVE section – hello heavy use of props! I’m sharing the class with Amanda, so come on by.

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Thank you to all of you who came to my February Recess 5:45 classes. Such an honor to practice with you! Namaste.

NEEDED: Monthly Metaphor

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What can I say?

I feel like I’m losing my marbles.

(And I’ve got a bonus flu/cold right now, so I’m pretty much a complete mess. Although admittedly after a few days being sick, on the mend).

Seriously though.

I’m crazy.

Not all the time, just a few days a month.

Cranky, irritable, prone to nitpicking, overly critical (as opposed to just regular critical), weepy, mad.

Mad?

Yes, mad.

Both angry and completely loony.

A few days a month, it’s like I suddenly find myself in a DUNGEON.

In the dark.

Alone.

In pain.

Sad.

Mrs. Mean Jeans complaining about the lack of light, the snugness of her trousers, and anything that comes out of anyone else’s mouth.

And the Judges…. the poor Judges… in the DUNGEON taking note about how NOT PERFECT anything or anyone is at the moment….

 When I’m not spending the dark days in the DUNGEON,

I feel great:

Healthy

Happy

Balanced

All that wacky self-care really pays off.

Except when it doesn’t.

During a particularly helpful (yet almost hysterical) phone call with a dear friend this morning, she suggested creating a metaphor for this time of the month.

EYE ROLL…

Not for the metaphor part, but for the words- “time of the month”…. ugh.

Hence THE DUNGEON.

Here’s what I want:

A new metaphor.

I’m in search of a kind, friendly, loving metaphor.

Must make me feel loved, not alone, cared for, supported and not crazy.

The new metaphor may invoke a feeling of:

  • Lightheartedness
  • Non-judgmental witnessing
  • Compassion
  • Kindness
  • Tenderness
  • Understanding
  • Love
  • Restfulness + Renewal
  • Renaissance
  • Beauty in the cycles of the world

The new metaphor must NOT make me cringe by being cliché or patronizing –

 Aunt Flow?

The Curse?

 The Monthly Bill Due?

You may just find yourself in the DUNGEON.

Yoga+Music365 (day54) – Mud Is My Ally by Harvester – The Recipe Edition!

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Each Tuesday I’ll share an easy, nutritious recipe so you can join me in the home-cooked self-care.

I am a hot breakfast kind of gal. For me, a hot breakfast says comfort and love. It also says my stomach won’t be growling before first recess.

Today’s post is dedicated to quinoa (keen-wah) for breakfast.  Click here for more information on this delicious grain.

Quinoa

1 cup quinoa

2 cups filtered water

Into rice cooker. Wait until it stops cooking.

Done.

Serve with warm milk, brown sugar, raisins, and sliced almonds. And don’t forget the Udo’s.

Or use the quinoa as a base for the Spiced Apples with ricotta cheese.

Please let me know if you made the recipe and what you think. Please share your favorite recipes!

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Today’s yoga brought to you by Madeleine’s Gentle Yoga at It’s All Yoga.

Today’s music is Mud Is My Ally by Harvester. Yes, Jed’s Harvester. They rock.

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Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

I’m teaching 3/5/10 – so mark your calendar.

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Thank you to all of you who came to my February Recess 5:45 classes. Such an honor to practice with you! Namaste.

Yoga+Music365 (day51) – Closer to the Bone by Kris Kristofferson – Mrs. Pricklepants Edition

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February seems like a good idea on paper. It’s got at least two school holidays, daylight is getting longer, and there are only three and a half more months of school.

And yet, I’ve been kind of grumpy all month. Go figure.

Instead of leaving a trail of complaints why February sucks, the following is a short list of things about February that don’t.

  • We started the Money unit at school and students LOVE earning money for their hard work. They are decidedly less enthusiastic about paying for not working, however motivation is at an all time high right now.
  • I love teaching yoga! Who knew that something that scared me so much so recently could turn out to be so fulfilling?
  • My amazing sweetheart surprised me with a very sweet valentine – a little certificate for lunch and a foot massage – by hiding it in the cat food bag while he was away and I actually found it on Valentine’s Day.
  • Acro-yoga was super fun, even when working with a complete stranger. We met during the middle of the class and managed to laugh all afternoon. She’s the one I’m helping into handstand in the photo.
  • One of my best friends is moving into a house with a SWIMMING POOL!  Fishes like me, love them some swimming pools!
  • Three Feet High and Rising.
  • One of my other friends took me to her very fancy gym this week for a spa day. Steam, sauna, and soak – with towel service.  
  • The movie Crazy Heart.
  • Massage!
  • Seeing Rhett Miller play and being in the front row.
  • Reading the Fluent Self and other excellent blogs make me happy.
  • Yoga
  • Possibility of summer road trips with friends for more yoga and general all around fun times.
  • Anticipating seeing my amazingly wonderful friends from junior high over Zachary’s Pizza and a cocktail or two.

What about YOUR February isn’t sucking? Remind me why this month doesn’t totally blow. (That’s your clue to leave me a comment, so I don’t feel like I’m talking to myself.)

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Today’s yoga brought to you by the home practice! It’s a half-marathon training day.

Today’s music is Closer to the Bone by Kris Kristofferson.

Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

I’m teaching 3/5/10 – so mark your calendar.

For the month of February, I’m teaching a Level 1/2 on Mondays at 5:45. Come join me.

Yoga+Music365 (day41) – The Con by Tegan and Sara – Refinements Edition

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This week I’ve thought a lot about this Yoga+Music365 project.

I’ve reached the 40 day milestone, people in real life have talked to me about it (which is such an amazing feeling) and I simply feel different from when I started.

I feel lighter, more clear-headed, more fun.

Maybe it’s the daily yoga.

The biggest indicator that things are shifting in my life came to me yesterday. At school we give HUGE assessments every six weeks and a week or two later get together to discuss the results. We’re looking at data to see how well our instruction is reaching each student and then make a plan how to refine said instruction before the next set of exams.

In the past, testing week was hell. I was very crabby and only worried about results. My stress and results driven ego would essentially ruin everyone’s week.

This time I decided to change my perspective. I would face the assessment results with a sense of curiosity.

Did this last round of instructional refinements make a difference in outcome? Can everyone survive testing week intact?

While testing week isn’t over yet, I am happy to report I have felt a definite lightness in myself. I’ve also seen that lightness translate into encouragement for students working hard and seeing them relax more.

The biggest growth I’ve seen in my students are from my two that struggle the most. I’ve been watching them take their tests this week. Instead of giving up and guessing, each of them is spending time trying to sound out each word and giving their all.

It’s been one big proud teacher moment all week with these two.

So has the refinement in instruction worked?

I would say so.

Has the daily yoga helped me be a better teacher?

Definitely.

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Today’s yoga brought to you by Kim at It’s All Yoga in Sacramento.

Today’s music is The Con by Tegan and Sara.

Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

I’m teaching 3/5/10 – so mark your calendar.

For the month of February, I’m teaching a Level 1/2 on Mondays at 5:45. Come join me.

Yoga+Music365 (day36) – The Stand Ins by Okkervil River – Massage Edition!

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Every Friday I take the day off from blogging.

But what about the yoga and the music? Not to worry friends, it’s still happening, I’m just not writing about it today.

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Let’s be honest, the real self-care comes from knowing your limits, boundaries and taking the time you need to renew.

What will I be doing instead of yoga, music and writing about yoga and music?

In honor of listening to my need for self-care, I’m having my twice monthly massage today.  Yep, I get a 90 minute massage every other Friday from Tess Bradley at the Body Mind Center in Midtown Sacramento.

Make an appointment with her – she’s AMAZING! Tell her you read about her here!

Twice a month massage?!?!?

It must be nice. I’ve been hearing for years about this practice.

Why yes, it is.

I look at massage as a financial commitment to my health and well-being. Massage, like yoga, helps me be a nicer person. It feels good and it helps keep me healthy. It also helps me be a better teacher, wife and friend. I started having massage regularly so I could deal with the grief of my stepdad dying and felt all the benefits of regular body work.

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This is what I said the last time I told you about taking time off on Fridays. Not much has changed… I’m having a massage, wishing I could also go to the 4:30 class at It’s All Yoga to support my classmates and to luxuriate in their sweetness.

During my brief recess today I think I’ll concentrate on planning my next class and spending some quality time with the J-man and going bed early so I can be ready for my seven (7!!!!) mile training walk tomorrow morning.

What practices do you regularly do to take care of yourself? Please leave a comment and if your self-care thing interests me, maybe I’ll start doing your thing too.

PS- Think of Fridays as blog-reading catch-up day. If you’ve been a little behind on all the good stuff, here’s my gift to you.

PPS- Sunday is Music Round Up!

 Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

I’m teaching 3/5/10 – so mark your calendar.

For the month of February, I’m teaching a Level 1/2 on Mondays at 5:45. Come join me.

Yoga+Music365 (day24) – Self-Titled by Killed By Bears

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Self-care Tested

My self-care challenge was truly put to the test this week.  Bad adoption news kicked my butt.

In order to best care for myself, I took some time off work and tried really hard not to feel guilty about it. I know it was the best thing for me and I got a lot of support from everyone to do it, but I still felt a bit weird about it.

I wasn’t sick, but I definitely felt incapable of functioning. Fuzzy brain, spontaneous crying, and overall body fatigue and aches/pains.

Grief.

No bueno.

I turned to a trusted source for self-care: The Woman’s Comfort Book – A Self-Nurturing Guide for Restoring Balance in Your Life by Jennifer Louden.

Chapters are written like self-care recipes.  You find out what the assignment is, what it isn’t, what you need and when to do it leaving you no excuse not to take care of yourself.

Some of my favorites:

A Day Off – It sounds a lot like Pajama Day with excellent ideas like: making a picnic, a bliss list, being a tourist for the day, reconnecting with someone special, just being day, and silent day. I highly recommend this.

Hiding Under the Covers – Doesn’t really need any further explanation, does it? This is exactly what Mary Paffard advocated for us to do – REST.

When I Think of Comfort I Think of Food – permission to eat what you want without feeling guilty about it. I’d argue most American women could stand to read this chapter.

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It wasn’t until Saturday morning during my half-marathon training that I really felt the physical effects of our bad news. During my warmup I felt like I was trudging through oatmeal. My legs were heavy and slow and my brain was foggy.

Although about halfway through my walk/run the cobwebs finally lifted and I felt my mood lift and I felt like I’ll eventually feel good again.

I’m so glad for this new found awareness of how a little self-care goes a long way.

Yoga+Music365

Today’s yoga brought to you by Deborah at It’s All Yoga in Sacramento.

Today’s music is Killed by Bears – Self Titled.

Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

NEW!!!! Mondays at 5:45 in February I’ll be teaching a Level 1/2 at It’s All Yoga – come join me.

Massage – self-care or self-punishment?

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 I have the best friends in the world. 

Ever since our adoption debacle on Wednesday, we’ve received much of what we asked for and more. 

Dear friends – old and new – THANK YOU for your generosity and kindness. We are touched.

 Today my dear friend, Paloma – real estate agent extraordinaire – took me to get a $20 foot massage.

Yep, you read that right.

$20.

Let me be the first to tell you, this is so much more than a foot massage.

For me, it felt like a trip back to Thailand.

To further explain what I mean, read the following excerpt from our travel journal from our month-long trip in 2005.  

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Last week before we got to the overnight train to Chiang Mai, we stopped at Wat Pho in Bangkok to see the HUGE reclining Buddha and have a Thai massage at the school of all practitioners.

First things first, the other Thai massages I’d had up til that point were, apparently, fake.

Second, the women doing my massage should have to register her thumbs, knees and feet as concealed weapons because my girl was packing heat.

Third, I honestly wondered what I had done wrong in this or a past life for a “massage” to hurt so much.

Needless to say, I had an hour to ponder all this and more while I tried to distract myself from the pain.

I did feel very refreshed or just relieved when it was over?

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A little known fact about me?

I tend to laugh when things are really uncomfortable. It’s unfortunate, but it’s also kinda funny.

Needless to say, I giggled like a crazy person during my massage today. Especially when she slapped my feet and pulled my toes. 

Paloma and I grinned all the way out the door. She if I liked it. 

I said yes!

But I have a hard time recommending this kind of massage to people.

We laughed all the way home.

Self-care or self punishment?

I guess it depends who you ask.