Going out to Rockaway Beach has been on my mind for a while now ever since I heard about Buddhist Insights' new retreat center. I meditate daily and I also happen to help people see their minds by teaching meditation. I met Co-Founders of Buddhist Insights Bhante Suddhāso and Giovanna Maselli, in upstate NY when I attended their first organized weekend retreat last fall. Their mission is to connect monastic teachings with lay-people and now have a home right here in Rockaway Beach, NYC. Usually one has to travel a couple of hours to go on a get-away meditation or yoga retreat, but not anymore. Last week they hosted their first week long meditation retreat Dec. 26 - Jan. 1, 2017. Not to worry if you missed it... they are plugging away at keeping programing flowing.
Life is full of transformations. Five years ago, Yogi Kim Stetz wrote about her transformation from Party Girl to Yogini. Today, at 48 she owns her own yoga studio, Savasana Station in the East Village. Time may have gone by, but the story remains the same. We, as human beings are truly undefined. How does one go from a party girl to a yoga teacher? The forward progression of being.
I am not alone in total confusion with the prospect of our President-elect moving into the White House. In waking up November 9th after a few hours sleep, I was grateful I wasn't alone in befuddlement when the time came to get out of bed. Alcohol made it easier the night before - in the morning not so much. A familiar feeling from many years ago consumed my body, my very achy head. At least I was feeling something.
This Christmas postcard from 2000 is the product for when your sister is seven months pregnant, and you are a muse for your photographer friend, Tony Stamolis. Tony booked a holiday show in NOHO at a beloved hole in the wall bar, Tom & Jerry's. Though he had a smorgasbord of photos for his exhibit, he needed some with holiday spirit. My sister and I, as models, offered all kinds of perks for his creative eye. She had the perfect gift in her belly and I came with bells and whistles. I wish I had that photo of my sister with the big red bow on her belly to add to this story. If you will, picture on a blood-red wall backdrop, a profile of a taught, perfectly shaped basketball sized stomach decorated by a red sticky tape bow. That photo made the cut for the exhibit, as did this photo of me taken 20 years ago. Tony liked it so much, he turned it into the invite mailer, and I used it as a Christmas card that year.
Kim Stetz has been practicing yoga for over 25 years; after a long and arduous journey, she opened her New York yoga studio Savasana Station in 2014. In a city that never sleeps, she explains why "yoga for tired people" is an essential part of the fabric of her life.
I’m a nostalgic person. This holiday season could use a gallon-sized portion of Uncle Jack’s egg-nog, if you know what I mean. Many families will be celebrating the holidays apart from one another, as well as grieving losses. Topped with a license to be your therapist, the nostalgic person in me thought she would share her holiday picks to inspire some warm memories and hopefully alleviate some anxiety around gift-giving. For some, the holiday season comes bearing the gift of stress. This year, the season is decorated with a nasty Rona bow thrown into an already wintery mix of unknowns. When giving a present, please, first and foremost, remember that it’s the thoughtfulness that counts (even if the gift is whack) in the art of giving. If we take a stroll way back to 1905 when O. Henry published "The Gift of the Magi," the story goes, husband and wife, Jim and Della, were pretty broke. She cut off her hair to buy him a chain for his watch, and he sold his watch to buy her combs for her gorgeous locks. So thoughtful, but really, that sucks!
I was once blind but now I see. Could it really be THAT simple? I talk about “a light going off” all of the time when I teach yoga. That ahhhh - now I get it feeling. And now I get it. I like rules and dating rules of engagement should be no exception. What I have refused to do, be, or become one of those women who play games. But that’s the secret if you want to get married according to All the Rules by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider. They don’t say to lie or be a bitch, you can be you, but you don’t have to give so much so fast. This makes sense. But this is not the epiphany moment for me. A man says he doesn’t like games or bitchy women and this can be perfectly true, but what he fails to tell you (of course he’s not going to make it easy on you, why would he?) is that he wants the chase, the challenge, to win YOU.
Yoga is personified by measured breathing, long-held stretches, and the practitioner's calm, peaceful expression. It's the antithesis of the fast-paced lifestyle so many of us have gotten used to. Outside of rush hour traffic and work desks, the idea of sitting in one place for so long can seem alien. The idea of doing so peacefully is nearly incomprehensible.