This breath is on fire

What up! I felt compelled to share a post that I wrote for a class blog several months ago. It’s all about cultivating inner peace in an often chaotic world. Check it out:

Living a spiritual life in a material world means interpreting and experiencing stress, fear, and chaos in a new way. When we feel anxious about the turmoil in our lives, regardless of the level of intensity of that turmoil, we have the power to choose another way to live, to choose another way to view that turmoil. Instead of letting the turmoil drive us to engage in destructive behaviors (anesthetizing our emotions with food, booze, acting out, sex, etc), we can choose another way. Fortunately, we can turn to ancient spiritual technologies, such as Kundalini Yoga, to help us feel inner peace at all times, even in times of turmoil.

Kundalini Yoga is a “scientific technology for happiness.” When we practice the meditations and mantras of Kundalini, our brains change. Our neural pathways literally change so that we cultivate the capacity to “experience each day with increasing inspiration and joy.” While all of this Kundalini stuff sounds a little trippy, Kundalini is a very simple practice. For example, Breath of Fire, a foundational breath technique in Kundalini, is a pretty easy technology to use, but one that yields MANY benefits.

Breath of Fire is done by inhaling and exhaling rapidly through the nose while pumping the navel in (on the exhale) and out (on the inhale). This breath is done through the nose with the mouth closed. Regularly practicing Breath of Fire regulates the pituitary gland, which is associated with blood pressure, sex hormones, and metabolism. The rapidness of this breath generates so much heat in our bodies that we release toxins and deposits in the lungs, mucous linings, and blood vessels and cells. Mental benefits of Breath of Fire include feelings of regaining control, feelings of groundedness, clearer and calmer thoughts, and inner peace. A regular Breath of Fire practice can help us see that there is another way to live, to think, to act. We can lean into the idea that we can change our experience of the turmoil in our lives simply by breathing in a certain way.

To put this breath technique into practice, try a Kundalini meditation called Ego Eradicator. Gabrielle Bernstein, my meditation and spiritual guru (she’s freaking awesome), promotes Ego Eradicator as a way to unblock stress and let life flow. I’ve done a 40-day practice of doing Ego Eradicator every morning for 3-5 minutes and while I was often frustrated by having to breath rapidly every morning, I felt my sinuses clear and my mind get quiet. Practicing Breath of Fire with Ego Eradicator is SUCH an easy way to live the spiritual life in a material world.

More food on my face and just for this weekend, okay?

Currently writing this while a mixture of egg and raw honey dry on my face. According to bad-ass Alexis Wolfer (also the woman who I wish was my big sister), this DIY face mask can treat breakouts. Raw honey (the creamy, somewhat expensive stuff) contains antibacterial and hydrating properties that cleanse the skin without drying it out. Egg white tightens skin (I feel my skin tightening this very moment!). And the fat and cholesterol in the yolk reduce the appearance of acne scars. What the what? Check out the full recipe here!

My skin has taken a beating this semester (this entire year, actually). The massive amount of stress I felt manifested itself on my skin. This is new territory for me. I’ve never really had trouble with my skin and for the past several months, I’ve been breaking out almost every day. Alexis Wolfer’s brain children have helped me focus on not only treating my skin very gently with stuff I already put in my body, but also having fun with skin care. We can all use more fun in our lives, right?

The stress from the past two semesters has also manifested itself in my relationship to food (duh. i talk about that sh*t all the time here)…and subsequently, on my body. While the way I view food and my body has certainly improved, I still have many moments where I ashamed of and frustrated with my body. Consequently, I also have many moments where I obsess about food (am i hungry? should i eat that when i already ate that other thing earlier today? am i really hungry? WTF is wrong with you, sarah!?!?). Slow your roll, girly. In those moments, I dig deep and force gentler thoughts into my brain (the irony there is not lost on me). I stop my dark and reeling thoughts. I DO something-breathe, take a walk/run, call someone, drink water, have a 5-min dance party, so many things.

A very recent example: Today, when I freaked out about how I looked in my graduation outfit (um yeah i’m graduating. hollaaaa!) and then obsessed about whether I was hungry and should eat dinner, and why the f*ck I can’t just feel peaceful and normal about food and my body, I made a big decision. What if I just committed to being peaceful around food and my body for the next three days? The next three days are celebratory; full of being surrounded by family and friends, taking pictures, recognizing accomplishments, and of course, eating food. I don’t want to miss out on any moment of the next three days because I’m obsessing about how I look in my clothes or what I’m going to eat. I want to welcome my family, show them around the city, acknowledging the fact that I finished my freakin’ Master’s, take pictures with friends, and feel excited about everything. There will be no room for body hate or preoccupation with food.

Making this weekend commitment is keeping me calm. I don’t need to worry about feeling crazy around food/my body for the rest of my life. All I need to do is strive for peace in that area for the next three days. For the weekend, I will relax about this stuff. And I will be present with the people around me. Just for the next three days. I can worry about forever later. But this weekend, a very exciting and special weekend, I’m just going to act as if I feel normal and peaceful about my body and food.

DIY facials help. Mediating helps. Iggy Azalea and Madonna help. Yoga helps. So, so many things can help us regain our sanity and focus on the sh*t that we actually want to experience in our lives.

I’m starting to believe that American women’s obsession with thinness is a patriarchal rouse to distract us from doing real sh*t, from living our dreams so that we don’t become too powerful. Thoughts?

Remember this today, okay?

Hello beautiful college kids. Happy Friday. Just want to take a minute and tell you something comforting, something that is comforting me today, anyway.

This too shall pass.

You may be feeling distraught. Stressed. Overwhelmed. Anxious. Fearful. Exhausted. Hopeless. Ashamed. Guilty. Angry. Inadequate. In any area of your life.

We often get so mired in these feelings that we cannot fathom ever feeling peace again. But you will. Today will progress and tomorrow will come, as will the next day and the next. Things change. Time heals. We get better. Everything gets figured out. So just lean on this proverb today:

This too shall pass. Okay?

And do some yoga today. That will help, too. And this.

Unleash Yourself Challenge Day 3

Okay, yogis. I gotta post this and then do some schoolwork fo real. Why have I had such a problem getting myself to do work? Hmm another post for another day.

So yesterday I got unleashed again. It happened last night, actually. I ate a little too much food a little too quickly. Feelings that plagued me during my bingeing days weighed on me again last night. But I just decided not to give those feelings-guilt, shame, unsexiness, no power over me. Instead of sitting around and freaking out (and eating over) those feelings, I went upstairs and gave my hair a sexy blowout. I reveled in brushing my hair and getting warmed up under the heat of my blow dryer. Before I knew it, my body felt normal again. I digested the food quickly because my attention was focused on something so different than everything I ate and how fat I felt. Miraculous. Seriously.

So the next time you eat a little more than your body wants, just MOVE ON. Get out of the kitchen or off of the couch and go do something that makes you feel really relaxed and good. Do yo hair. Put lotion on slowly. Read a delicious book. Do some delicious stretches. Do a 5 minute yoga video. Take some deep breaths. These things may seem small and incidental, but I SWEAR if you shift from overeating or bingeing to consciously caring for yourself, those feelings of guilt and shame (which lead to more overeating and bingeing), will dissipate. And you’ll actually be able to unleash your sexy, peaceful, all-knowing self.

Also…I put food on my face again. Wine. Honey. Greek yogurt. On my face.

Go unleash yourself today!

My new fave beauty tip

Sooooo last night while I reveled in feeling unleashed and inspired, I took Alexis Wolfer’s advice and did this:

I smothered my face in full-fat Greek yogurt. Apparently, the fat and lactic acid in the yogurt loosens dead skin, prevents pimples, soothes redness, and hydrates the skin. I left this delicious stuff on for about 20-30 mins (while listening to another awesome podcast), then rinsed with warm water.

Wowza does my skin look good. It feels smooth and looks bright and healthy. For you college kids who want sexy skin without spending hundreds of dollars, Greek yogurt face masks are for you. My Cabot yogurt was like $4. Plus, DIY masks are crazy fun to do.

Seriously, buy some full-fat Greek yogurt today (Alexis says you can 2% or 4%, too) and stick your face in it.

You ready? Unleash Yourself Challenge

I need to get loud. Real loud. There’s this woman inside of me beating her chest to get out, to speak and scream and rile others. People could stand to be a little riled.

I’ve felt this way for quite some time-for most of my life, actually. But for the past couple of months, this energy, this desire to get unleashed has coursed through my veins with such intensity that I can no longer smother it. No longer can I stuff down this energy with food, mediocre TV marathons, fear, silence, and self-loathing. My inner wild woman will not have it. She’s ready to get loud. Now.

Which brings me to the Unleash Yourself Challenge. Does that name sound cheesy or silly or un-provocative? I don’t give a shit. Because unleashing myself from self-imposed boundaries is way more important than quibbling over a name.

My guess is that many of you feel a deep, longing desire to express yourself in some way. But you feel like you have no right to do so. Maybe you think you need to be thinner, smarter, sexier, richer, more accomplished, or whatever limitations you have imposed upon yourself. Let me tell you something: those limitations, those boundaries are complete bullshit. They’re not real. We make them up.

And even if we DO achieve our ideal weight, make more money, get into grad school, land a dream job, if we have some internal belief that we’re not enough, we’ll STILL feel shitty about ourselves. The way we shift this internal belief about ourselves that we are in some way inadequate, is to finally, finally, finally just decide that WE ARE ENOUGH. Exactly as we are. Ballsy, right?

If we continue to be ashamed of ourselves, or view ourselves as unworthy of expressing ourselves, then we will never find lasting peace, happiness, and confidence.. We will never release patterns of self-destructive behavior that hinder us from speaking our truth, cultivating our true desires, and living our purpose.

The idea for this challenge originated from the philosophies of Alison Leipzig, Sarah Jenks, and Jamie Mendell (check out these genius women now). The idea for this challenge also originated after I slipped on ice last week. I promptly posted the following status on Facebook, and then tweeted it later:

Sisters, do not hate on your booty/thigh jiggle. It cushions your fall when you slip on ice. I know this. Grateful for my jiggle.

Right? When I fell I realized that I constantly hate on my body, when really, my body serves me in such beautiful, practical ways. Plus, my jiggle is sexy. When I obsess about what I dislike about my body, I stifle that wild woman inside of me who wants to express herself and show me how to live a crazy awesome life.

So here’s the deal: every day for two weeks, I’m going to do something that makes me feel turned on and unleashed. Think little, simple things, with a hint of risk. One thing every day for 14 days. That’s how we make shit happen: concrete, consistent action.

And I want you to do this with me. Do what I do or do something that makes you feel a little energized, turned on, unleashed. And tell me or show me what you do. Comment on the blog, email me at collegekidyoga@gmail.com, or tweet me at collegekidyoga.

I’ll document everything I do. I’m showing mine. Show me yours, please?

Imma get unleashed, peeps. Join me.

Put it in the books, ladies!

The title of this blog post served as my response to a chain of emails in which two friends and I FINALLY agreed on a time and place for a dinner date next week.

But the title of this post also reflects my current mood. I’m feeling…bold. Inspired. Ready to take a leap of some kind and finally plan something I’ve been waiting to do. Stay tuned, yogis.

I think this boldness originated from the Kundalini exercise I did this morning while watching The Devil Wears Prada. No one gets me more inspired than a Miranda Priestly smackdown. Um or anything that this woman ever says or does.

And now, I’m taking my bold self to class.

New Year’s Resolution Check-in

I recently wrote a post for my school’s health center blog and feel compelled to share it here. Since we’re a few weeks into 2014, I think a post about New Year’s Resolutions is quite apropos, no?

This year, the thought of setting intentions and goals has exhausted and overwhelmed me. I only have a vague idea of what I want to feel and do in 2014, and consequently feel frustrated by the influx of New Year’s Resolution-themed posts circulating in the blogosphere.

But here are a few tips that I gleaned from a few of my mentors about setting New Year’s Resolutions, tips that don’t make me feel guilty for not totally knowing how I want this new year to progress. Check it:

1. Refocus. Revise.

Think about all of the resolutions that you set for yourself at the start of 2014. How important is each one to you? If you could rate each one on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the most important, where would each of your resolutions fall? Now that we’re a few weeks into January, some of your resolutions might not feel as pressing or important to you; that’s okay. Focus on the ones that get you really excited and motivated.

Maybe you need to revise your resolutions so that you feel more confident about accomplishing them. Try setting small, specific goals with a measurable outcome of success. Ex. Instead of improving your grades this semester, can you set the goal of making an A in two of your classes?

2. Focus on the feeling.

How do you want to feel after accomplishing your New Years resolution(s)?

Maybe getting an A in two of your classes will make you feel proud and smart. Great. Start feeling proud and smart NOW. We often make the mistake of thinking that we can’t feel the way we want to feel until we accomplish our goal. But what we don’t realize is that embodying those feelings in the present helps us accomplish our goal quickly. Think about it. If you want to feel smarter prouder, and you go to class every day feeling stupid, inferior, and intimidated, then you won’t be motivated to study or ask for help. Before you know it, the semester will end and you might not end up with your desired grades.

But if you start doing things today that help you cultivate feelings of pride and intelligence, then you’re much more likely to study, participate in class, talk to your professor, and get A’s.

Make a list of 3 things that will help you feel proud and smart TODAY, not just after you get two A’s. Maybe you can get up at the same time every morning. Maybe you can make a To Do list for school tasks every day.

3. Check your perspective.

Remember that January 1^st is not the only time we’re allowed to set goals. We put so much pressure on ourselves to decide exactly what we want to change in our lives starting January 1^st. What if we made monthly or weekly resolutions instead? Try viewing the end of the month or week as an opportunity to set resolutions.

4. Take action. Now.

List three tangible actions that you can take this week to move towards accomplishing your goals. Here are some links to inspire you to take action. Now:

14 Ways to Make 14 Miraculous

How to Set (and Actually Achieve) New Year’s Resolutions

How to survive finals

It’s that time of the semester, college kid yogis. Seminar papers loom. Reading assignments feel arduous and unfair. We cram as many To Do list entries into our schedules. Fear and anxiety whisper to us every moment.

Fear not, fellow college students. I have a solution, a way to mitigate the emotional and physical effects of this semester overwhelm. Check it:

The College Kid Yoga End-of-Semester Overwhelm Remedy:

1. Change mindset:

By changing our mindset, I refer not to positive self-talk, a technique that often feels exhausting and results in only fleeting moments of peace. Rather, I espouse an entire reformation of the way we think about schoolwork. Since returning to school, I’ve been hyper-aware of how students, myself included, discuss classes, assignments, and other academic obligations as things to “get through,” to complete before we can take a break and actually live life. Our constant complaining and the negative thoughts we attach schoolwork actually creates our reality of sleepless nights, un-intuitive eating, lowered immune system, and general sucky-ness when finals hit.

What if we had fun with our schoolwork instead? What if we found a way to make studying enjoyable, to feel peaceful throughout the day while putting a serious dent in our To Do list? When I felt myself buying into the traditional paradigm of school as something to endure, I thought to myself, “there has GOT to be a way to complete these assignments without feeling anxious, sleep-deprived, and tempted to numb out with food (or whatever your drug of choice is). I chose this; I might as well enjoy it.”

As I enter the last full month of the fall semester, I’ve decided to have as much fun as I can with studying, paper-writing, research, and reading. For example, I create a realistic list of the assignments to tackle or paper topics to research, and allot a certain amount of time for each. After I work on one item on my list, I take a short break (10-15 mins), dance to a heart-thumping song, read a cool blog, call a friend/my family, etc. I try to move my body as much as possible during this time.

To have fun and feel calm WHILE I work, I draw inspiration from Nisha Moodley. Nisha recommends using a Feminine (or masculine) Focus Object during intense work periods. Choose something that you love to look at, that brings you comfort or joy. Place it on your desk, and look at it whenever you pause in your work. This helps us avoid getting distracted by the web, our phones, etc. My Feminine Focus Object is my pretty, cute pot of lip gloss. I place it on my laptop and glance at it while I work, which helps me avoid wasting time by checking Facebook or staring off into space.

My lip gloss be poppin.’

2. Yoga. Duh, of course my remedy includes yoga. I’ve said it before and I say it again: yoga gets us out of our heads and into our bodies. When we shift our focus from our whirring, anxiety-laden thoughts onto a visceral, physical experience, we begin to distinguish what’s real (how our bodies feel) and what’s an illusion (stress, fear, overwhelm). When we identify those negative thoughts as illusions, as not real, we detach from them and can proceed with studying, reading, writing, etc in a calm state of mind.

So do the yoga. For 10 mins. Every morning. And before you go to bed (ha!).

Tara Stiles can help! Check it:

We’ve got this, college kids.

Coffee? Psh.

Writing this post quickly, as I have my “History of Rhetoric” class in 13 mins. Guess what helps this grad student pay attention in class and vocalize awesome, useful insights on the expositions of St. Augustine?

That would be a concoction of frozen banana, spinach, and almond milk blended to perfection. While coffee depletes our cells of energy and nutrients, this baby energizes our bodies and makes us say HELLO.

Drink this instead of the coffee, college kids. Or drink this instead of coffee one morning. You can still luxuriate in the comfy chairs in Starbucks without a caffeinated drink in your hand.