YogaGlamGirl's Weblog

Health and Wellness on Glam.com

A few weeks back I alluded to some pending changes for me around work and career.
I am elated to announce that I will be helping to bring health and wellness to Glam.com, the largest women's website in the U.S., as it's new Wellness Editor. Look for wellness content (After Aug 7th) in the Lifestyle section of the site.

I will also be the author of a new blog called GlamSpirit. GlamSpirit is a blog dedicated to nourishing mind, body and spirit.
Please come visit me there. I look forward to hearing from you and continuing our conversations.

Update on 7/31: I will be focusing on GlamSpirit and will stop posting here for now. If you're interested in updating the link it's: http://blogs.glam.com/glamspirit/

Tagged..by I Still See a Spark in You

I’m it. Regina from I Still See a Spark In You tagged me. Here goes…

“INSTRUCTIONS: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.”

J’s Thoughts and Musings
TeaTime Ramblings
SusieJ
I Still See A Spark In You
Yogaglamgirl

Next select five people to tag:

GlamNest
Mom’s Buzz
Just Breathe
Om Bites
Creative Everyday

Now for the hard part — the questions:

“What were you doing 10 years ago?”

Let’s see, 10 years ago I was finishing up college, drinking legally, and ready to embark in the world of business.

“What were you doing 1 year ago?”

A year ago I started my practice as a Zentherapy® bodyworker. I was teaching yoga and going on yoga and wellness retreats. I was doing Biz Dev for a fast-growing media company. In my free time I was watching tomatoes grow like crazy in the garden of my new home and giving giant zucchinis away b/c they grew faster than I could harvest them. I was also discovering that I’m mildly allergic to tomatoes…they make my tongue itchy and stingy.

Five snacks you enjoy:
Edamame
Banana Smoothies with Chocolate Chips
Green tea served with mochi/adzuki Japanese tea treats
Mashed Potatos
Whole Radishes with a pinch of salt

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics
Closer to Fine (Indigo Girls)
Daybreaker (Beth Orton)
There’s a Hole in the Bucket (dear Liza, dear Liza…)
Duh duh duh-da duh duh duh-da, duh da duh-da duh-da duh-da
Happy Birthday to you

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
Buy a cottage in the woods or on the beach
Give my brother the bedset that he’s itching to own but can’t afford
Send my other brother to Hawaii for a long, well deserved retreat
Build a healing center
Spend a year studying at a Zen Temple
(funny, I don’t really need to be a millionaire to do most of these things, do I…)

Five bad habits:
To do lists
Perfectionism
Procrastination
Lead foot
Short temper (you’ll have to forgive me, I’m an Aries!)

Five things you like doing:
Nature hikes
Making Jewelry for my friends
Playing with puppies
Wine and cheese while watching the sunset
Bodysurfing

Five things you would never wear again:
Parachute pants
I think that’s about it.

Five (or 3) favorite toys:
Anything that plays music
Hot water maker
Rice cooker

Changes and the Power of Intention

Back in February I wrote a post on Pursuit of Passion: Creating Fulfilling Careers. I wanted to tell you, my friends, that an opening and a change in my career may be coming to fruition for me very soon. Will keep you posted....
Kris wrote a bit about Laws of Attraction and thinking positive. What she's talking about really reasonates with me right now.

It occurred to me that I might be PMSing when…

I started to make a banana, soy milk, and chocolate chip smoothie for breakfast. Well, it was actually my breakfast’s dessert. The actual breakfast was heated rice noodles with a teency bit of butter and some vegenaise. The funny thing is, I would eat rice noodles and vegenase normally. It was just the chocolate chips that tipped me off…

Bits About Lil Ol' Me...

Here's a little bit about me since I was tagged by Nicole.

4 jobs I have held:
1. Founder of a Non-Profit Mentoring Program
2. Yoga Teacher
3. Kickboxing Instructor
4. Product Manager w/ multiple high-tech silicon valley companies
5. Bodyworker (I wanted to include the present jobbie job too)

4 movies I can watch over and over:
1. Dhoom2 (b/c I'm obsessed w/ the soundrack right now)
2. When Harry Met Sally (the story of my honey and me)
3. hmmmm, memory fails me at the moment so I'll stop after 2...

4 places I have lived:
1. Singapore
2. Pennsylvania
3. North Carolina
4. Washington DC

4 Categories of TV programming I enjoy:
(Since I don't watch TV, here are movie categories I love)
1. Hindi/Bollywood movies
2. Japanese Animae
3. Inspirational, get-me-off-my-butt-and-do-good/ feel-good movies
4. Comedy

4 Places I have been on Holiday:
1. Japan
2. India (& the Himalayas before terrorism hit there hard)
3. Bali (Indonesia)
4. Italy

4 of my Favorite Dishes:
1. Japanese "Curry Rice" w/ Tofu
2. Kobe Beef (if you're gonna eat meat, why not eat the best)
3. Mochi (squishy baked rice treat)
4. Cheese. Especially from France or eaten while in France, for that matter. My belly doesn't usually like dairy (especially American dairy), but sometimes I try to get away w/ French cheese anyway.

4 websites I visit daily:
1. email (I have 5 or 6 diff email accts that I use almost daily)
others I visit sporadically
2. my blog friends
these days I'm actually trying to get offline more often....

4 places I would rather be right now:
1. Watching a sunset on the beach
2. A "sacred place" in the woods
3. More here, right now

Here are 4 other blog friends that I'd like read about from this meme:
1. Everything Yoga (Diane)
2. Creative Everyday (Leah)
3. My Marrakesh (Maryam)
4. Total - Health - Yoga (Kris)

Yogaglamgirl has a bit of News...

I'm engaged! It happened the Sunday after my bday on the coast of Big Sur (where we met). I have been riding waves of joy since then.
And crashing hard this weekend after the last few weeks of non-stop travel. Pics coming soon....

In a word...Patience

I felt like screaming yesterday.
Felt like everywhere I turned I was smacking up against a wall.
Wanting to run full speed ahead.
Frustrated when other people, events, situations
That aren't keeping up with my pace.
AAAAAAHHHHHH.

By evening, I finally talked about my frustations with my beloved.
He said that he was noticing that this seemed to be a recurring pattern for me right now.

Funny.
I am good about creating situations in my life
that teach me lessons
give me an opportunity to grow

(I hate them usually at first)

My lesson for this week is patience.
Letting go
of things I cannot control.

so here I sit
Taking a deep breath
and letting the art of patience
gently seep in.

Yogaglamgirl on Pursuit of Passion: Creating Fulfilling Careers

One of Cupcakes and Yoga's posts inspired me to talk a little about career and the passion behind the work that we do.
I think that ever since I graduated from college I've been frustrated with my job and choice of career. I never felt that it fulfilled me or fit my "higher purpose" in life (whatever that may be...more on that in a minute...). I've been constantly seeking, constantly hoping that my next job would be more fulfilling, I would feel more passionate about it.
I've been chided by many of my peers (most of them Gen"X") for being "too GenY" in my thinking...GenX's and my parents (boomers) generation never considered life purpose in their career choices. My mother always told me: "When I grew up, I could be a nurse, a secretary or a teacher. I never considered there were any other options. So I became a teacher."
Sometimes there is a lot of relief that comes with not having a choice. I think that this perspective is similar to how I felt about wearing a school uniform or having strict rules to follow as a child. I didn't have to freak out daily over what to wear in 1st grade. I could wear my navy culottes or pants, but that was it. I didn't waste time on it..I just put them on.
Even though my Mom became an incredible teacher, many other women in my mom's generation swam upstream and fought hard to open doors so that I (a borderline GenX, GenY'er) have full freedom to choose what I want to do to earn a living in my lifetime. They also literally worked their *&#sses off so that women of my generation could have a choice. Many of them did (and still do) work two full time jobs--their "day job" and their 6pm-9am job of raising a family. Many of them gave up having family altogether because their dreams and passion and drive filled their entire world.
So what's the problem?
Well, there isn't a problem really. For me, it's just a matter of being concious of the fact that I have a choice. My choice is a responsibility. I feel like I have to do something of purpose.
The good news, is that I've been developing my vision around this choice. My own growth and healing over the past 5 years has given me time to learn about yoga, bodywork, zen (and zazen), nature as teacher, fellow women as healers and just a deeper awareness about myself. I have begun to tune in to the fact that "my job" is to be a tool of the universe and to serve others on their respective paths of healing.
There is a fear for me of diving in to this unknown. But I must start diving in. The past few days I've been plugged in to Eminem's rhythm and rhyme .."you better lose yourself in the music...you only get one shot...do not miss your chance....this opportunity comes once in a lifetime..." and then I say Screw it. I'm ready.
Here we go....

Yogaglamgirl's Love Hate Relationship with the Big Apple

It's fashion week again, a time that Glam gears up for all the shows in NYC.
I'm here too, though I hardly belong, especially anywhere near the tents. I'm like Anne Hathaway in Devil Wears Prada..a girl who has scoffed at fashion and what it stands for. I immediately think: shallow, fluff, appearance rather than substance, egomaniacs, eating disorders, warped beauty...I want to see and appreciate the art, the design, the creativity but somehow I'm too jaded or too insecure or too agitated to get there. So as soon as I get to New York, my guard is up. I go into judgment mode.
But the truth of the matter is...who cares. I'm the one playing some kind of movie in my mind.

I managed to escape my mind for a few hours by finding my way to the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Chelsea. I took a wonderful class and got back to my body, back to my heart. Stilled my head.
I walked out of the studio seeing everything with beginners eyes. I put my little ipod on, allowing myself a cushion of music surrounding me...moving my body down the sidewalk...I am taller. I see people as people, just like me. Beings with hearts, and hurts just like me...and I feel like dancing. I am full. I am whole. Everything is just as it should be.

Yogaglamgirl's Tribute to Women's Circles & Authenticity, Friendship and Love

Today I want to talk about a special group of women.

About a year and 1/2 ago I was in a lonely place...I was living in a new town, feeling isolated, and down. My critic was so loud in my head that I rarely felt whole and definitely did not love myself. Even if I was constantly active, doing or acheiving it didn't help. I could feel familiar clouds of doubt, fear, grief hovering...I had a strong desire to connect with women and create bonds out of spirit, creativity and love. I knew that being around other women would help me get through this scary time.

So I put a post up on craigslist inviting other women to join me in a supportive, spiritual and creative environment. We would come together as a circle once or twice a month to light a candle, share our life experiences, create together, share dreams, be mirrors for one another, encourage each other, and in many ways just be there.

As the months passed, we all have come together. It hasn't always been easy. But it has been real. I have grown and learned that it is possible to love myself. It is possible to have compassion and a renewed excitement about life. I have made it through really big challenges at work and in my relationships. I have discovered that I have wings.

Last night, I bade farewell to the group of women who have helped me grow stronger. They understood that I needed more time to spread my wings..to finally build my Zentherapy practice, to explore a future jewelry business, fuel my time in technology...and still have room to nurture my spirit on my own.

Each woman in the circle blessed me in their own way and gave me permission to follow my heart.
I cried because not only do I love myself, but they love me too...enough to let me go.

To Anne, Barbara, Leena, Lia and Nyla. I cherish your authentic selves. I wish you lives full of love, spirit and happiness.
Thank you for being part of mine.