You Are Getting Very Sleepy >>

Hiya, guys! I'm very excited to be able to say that as of today, I am a contributing writer for DoYouYoga.com, a daily blog written by yogis for yogis. I'll be contributing bi-weekly articles there and participating as a part of their yoga expert community. Yay!

If you're a new reader who found your way here from DYY, welcome! Pour yourself a chai tea latte, kick off your shoes, and make yourself home!

The articles that I write there will probably be a little more yoga-practice oriented rather than the more yoga-lifestyle related content I write for this blog, but I'll summarize them here (and also add some stuff that maybe didn't fit with the original article) with a link to the posted article if you want to know more.

My first offering? 3 Yoga-Inspired Tricks to Help You Fall Asleep.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I have trouble sleeping. I personally don't have much trouble falling asleep, but more often I have trouble with waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep. Then, one bad night of sleep leads to another, because I put even more pressure on myself the next night to get a good night's sleep, which of course backfires on me. It sort of builds up into a vicious cycle of bad nights of sleep. The three tricks that I mention here are all things that have worked wonders for me in the past, and I regularly turn to in case I find myself staring at the ceiling at 4am. Check out the complete article on DYY to find out the details on how to do each technique.

1.> Be aware of your breath. Counted breathing can work wonders for slowing down both the body and the mind.

2.> Try Jin Shin Jyutsu finger holds. A friend from my yoga teacher training taught us this as a way to meditate, but I love using it to help me fall asleep. The reason I can't get back to sleep sometimes is usually because I start thinking about too many things, and I can't turn my mind off. This technique helps me sort my thoughts and organize my mind-clutter.

3.> Use visualization. This is another good one for helping you manage your mind. I go over a couple of visualizations that are good for relaxing and taking your mind off of whatever is keeping you up.

Pop over to DoYouYoga.com to learn more, and check out my article and the rest of their offerings! I hope these tricks help you if you have ever have trouble falling asleep.

Oh, and have a wonderfantastamazeballs weekend everyone! I'm off to pick up some friends from the airport, and then we're heading to Napa for some wine tasting. So excited!

shanti >> sondra

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Change Your >> Perspective

This afternoon I met up with a couple of my favorite yoginis for an afternoon yoga class. The three of us had recently been discouraged by some frustrating experiences in our personal lives, and we had made a committment to really engage in our yoga practice together. We picked this class off the schedule because it was a time we could all agree upon, but after we showed up, it happened to be the perfect class for where we were all at mentally and emotionally.

Funny how that happens, huh?

The theme of the class was "changing your perspective." The teacher talked about how oftentimes in life we can't change our circumstances, but what we can change is our perspective of any given situation. It means giving up always being right, and allowing your heart to open with love, understanding, and compassion for other people and where they're at on their own respective journey. It reminded me of what I had written about yoga and happiness the other day, and how a shift in my own perspective had truly opened me up to a new life filled with new opportunities.

We were able to demonstrate this in our class today by literally seeing the world upside down in a handstand. While it's lots of fun to play around with the pose itself, it truly does give you a new view of your world. Did you ever hang upside down as a kid and imagine what it would be like if the ceiling was the floor and the floor was the ceiling? I totally did! And when was the last time you tried it as an adult? C'mon, try it with me! You don't have to go full-on handstand to appreciate the lesson...just use your couch!

Isn't it amazing how different your own familiar space looks so different just by flipping upside down?

Try and go upside down for a few minutes...and see how your own perspective changes. While you're there, think about something in your life that you wish you could change right now, but can't. Maybe a new approach is in order...? (Plus, all that blood and fresh oxygen rushing to your head won't hurt things either.) :)

shanti >> sondra

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At the Beach >> In Instagrams

Yesterday, Andy proposed that we take a late afternoon trip out to Tomales Point. We had gone out there a few weeks ago and had a really nice hike along the coastline, so even though I had a ton of stuff to do, I packed up my stuff and we were off.

About two hours into the drive though, we both realized that it was further than we remembered. But we were past the point of no return...we decided not to go all the way out the end of the point as we had last time, but we settled for the first beach we found and explored there a bit instead.

I had never touched the ocean until I was 26. 26, people! That's crazy, even to me. I had seen it out plane and train windows in my European travels, but never actually touched it until then. Well, when you grow up in the Midwest, your chances to get oceanside are few and far between. I've made up for it in spades since then, though. I've been to a handful of Central American and Caribbean countries, lived on the San Francisco Bay for a year, went to Hawaii in March, drove along the coast of New Brunswick and Maine, and have been all up and down the California coastline since moving here two years ago.

I'm not quite an ocean person yet. It's the immensity of it that makes me uneasy. But I think it's growing on me. I think we still may become good friends yet! The sound of the waves crashing in and out; it reminds me of Lake Superior. I could sit on the beach and listen for hours. I'm glad I'll still get more opportunities to commune with the ocean with our move to Seattle. Plus, we'll have mountains, too! The best of both worlds. :)

The beach here is cold and windy, but it's refreshing when you come from the inland heat and stillness where we live. It's a place to slow down and experience the world through all of your senses. Do you have a place like that? It's always nice to get away on a Sunday afternoon.

Are you on instagram? You can find me at instasondra if you want to see more of my day to day pics.

shanti>> sondra

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Monday Muses >>

Well, ARGH, I was alllllmost ready to click publish on this post, which was all written out and lovely and everything, and I accidentally closed the wrong window. And it somehow is not saved AT ALL. Sigh.

This is one of those times I reach into my yoga bag of tricks...  and remember to take a deep breath...and remember that we can always begin again. Worse things have happened in this world.

So I will try it again.

Albeit in a much more abbreviated form. And with much more clicking of "save."

Here we go.

Things that have been sticking in my craw this week:

1> This letterpress print from inhauspress is all kinds of spectacular. I think it's really the frame that makes it. Any idea where I can find myself such an item?

2>These reversible leggings from Zella had my name on them. My favorite colors, on sale, and two pants for the price of one?! Booya.

3> I am starting to cultivate a wee obsession with geometric designs. When I saw these on the ISO50 blog, I immediately set one as my phone wallpaper, and it makes me happy every time I see it.

4> This is my current read. It's a fascinating story about how the cells from one woman changed the course of medical and science history. Oh, and they were stolen from her. And she was poor and black. And her surviving children can't even afford to go to the doctor, although their mother's cells have saved countless lives. Highly recommended.

Okay, off to bed with me. I get to teach again tomorrow (yay!).

Oh, and I have added Disqus here to manage my comments better. Do you like it? Hate it? Uhhhhh...leave me a comment and let me know? :/ (and my apologies; many previously left comments seem not to have made the switch over, so sorry if yours was one of them). I LOVE comments and interacting with everyone though...it's the whole reason I started this thing!

Now, yaaaawwwwwn. And happy Monday to you! (It is after midnight, after all.) :)

shanti > sondra

Happiness + Yoga >>

The other day, a friend asked a really good question on the abhaya facebook page (btw, are we fb friends yet, because omg we totally should be). >>


"In my experience, I have yet to meet a pissed-off person that regularly practices yoga - what's happening here? Is it that yoga creates happiness, or are only happy-type people attracted to yoga?"

I thought this was a spectacular question, and I've given it some thought. I think it's sort of complicated and of course it varies a lot because there are just so many reasons that people come to yoga, and so many different types of people. But in general, and definitely for me, yoga creates happiness.

I didn't used to be happy. Not like I am now, anyway. I used to feel much more like a pendulum, swinging way up one way some days, way back the other way on other days, and the rest of the time some variation of up or down or blah. And honestly, before yoga I don't think I really thought about how I felt most of the time, unless it was a very extreme emotion like anger or ecstasy. I had very little self-awareness, and did not proceed with anything particularly intentionally.

Eventually, I realized that something wasn't working in my life. I was stressed out and anxious, and a little (okay, a lot) directionless. Some of it had to do with personal life circumstances which is life, it's just what happens. But the rest of it - my perspective- was coming from the inside. I didn't consciously start devoting myself to my yoga practice to solve any problems. I originally just did it because it was something that I liked to do once in awhile, and it seemed like more would be a good thing. But eventually, yoga sorta worked its way from the inside out on me, and one day I realized that it felt like the storm in my head cleared. It was a very distinct realization, and the only thing I could think of was that it had to be the yoga. So I did more. And I read more. And I practiced more. And I started this blog. And now I've started teaching. And I can honestly say that although my life isn't perfect and I still have some ups and downs, I have never been more happy in my life than I am at this moment.

Yoga creates intention, it creates awareness, it creates compassion, it creates creativity (you heard me). Those are things that were missing in my life, and I found a way to make space for them. If those are things that are missing in your life, than maybe yoga is for you, too. I don't necessarily think yoga is the answer for everyone, but I do think that finding what makes you feel whole and putting your heart and soul into it is. For me, it's yoga. What is it for you?

shanti >> sondra

Blueberry + Mint >> Popsicles

Man, has this been a hot summer, or what? It seems like it's been much hotter than usual this year for most regions. My perception is probably also compounded by having spent the last two summers in Berkeley, where it is stupid and cold all summer long. This summer, we've been in sunshiny Davis, where it's been 90-100+ since about May. I used to think the heat was unbearable, but little by little I adapted. I thought I was all down with being hot, and then...I went home to Minnesota.

Oh, Minnesota, you dastardly weather-devil, you. You go from -30*F in the winter to over 100* in the summer. That's a crazy spread! And don't even get me started on wind chills and heat indexes...

Actually, it's a running joke in Minnesota that all we talk about is the weather. But when it can literally be anything any day, it's really something to consider. I thought learning about the weather was so interesting, I even took a meteorology course in college. Now, I barely glance at it, because it just does not change here. Sunny and hot, everyday until October. And then it might sprinkle once in awhile until May. Repeat.

But I digress.

So I thought I had this heat thing down, until I went home for two weeks, and it was not just hot, but humid. I grew up in the humidity, but I guess the semi-desert has dried my tolerance for it right out of me. The combination was stifling, and I was a hot mess most of the time. And while I slowly melted into a puddle, I often found myself dreaming of popsicles.

At the beginning of summer, I had this idyllic idea of making homemade popsicles all the time, with all the amazing farmer's market produce that we'd surely be carting home each week. I even bought the popsicle molds way back in May in anticipation of all the sweet treats sure to come. But here it is, almost August, and I found myself still without my frozen mistress. So I got off my lazy butt and made it happen. And you know what? It took me less than 5 minutes to make these things. I'm sure I've spent more time staring at the freezer section trying to decide on a flavor than it took to make these.

Here's what I used >>

1 big handful of mint
1 pint of blueberries
Sweetner to taste (agave, stevia extract, or sugar)

Here's what I did >>

Pour about 1 cup of boiling water over the mint leaves, and let them steep for about 8-10 minutes. Pour the whole concoction (some might even call it "tea," haha. You could also use a couple of mint tea bags here instead of fresh mint) over the blueberries in your blender, and blend away. Add a bit of your sweetner of choice, and taste. It should be  a little on the syrupy sweet side to taste good frozen, so add until you are satisified. Fill the molds, pop in the freezer, and a few hours later, ta daaaa! Amazingly tasty and amazingly easy pops! Oh, don't have any molds? No worries, fill up an ice cube tray and pop one in your mouth anytime for a mini-treat. Or drop them in sparkling water for a tasty drink!

Has it been blah hot where you live? How are you beating the heat?

In other news, I taught my first real yoga class today, and it was SO amazing! Everything went well, and I had so much fun doing it. A few students came up to me after class and said that if I hadn't said I was a new teacher, they'd never have known. They said it sounded like I'd been doing it for years! What a great compliment. :) I have never done anything (as a job) in my life that I felt was truly my choice and my passion, and it felt great. I can't wait to do it again!!!

shanti >> sondra

What to Wear >> In the Garden

I'm back with my second installment in the What to Wear series. And this time, our threesome has expanded to a fivesome! Links to their pages are below, so go show some lovin'.

And now on with the show.

I thought about this topic, and I realized I could go two ways with this. The first would be to show you what I might actually wear to do gardening in, which I can assure you, is not particularly glamorous. It's probably a pair of cut offs and a ratty tank top. Besides, I have a a few flowers and a few pots of veggies and herbs, but it barely qualifies as gardening (especially when everything is on a timed watering system...it's basically "set it and forget it" around here). The second - and more fun - thing to do I realized, would be to show what I would wear to a garden. Jackpot. I actually really love to wear florals, so there was plenty of closet inspiration to choose from. Also, wearing a floral turned out to be good, because when we got to the arboretum on campus here, there was barely a flower to be seen. I hadn't walked through there since May or so, when it was bursting with blooms. I forgot that California turns into a barren wasteland from June to October. I did manage to find a few hardy blooms hanging by the creek though.

I love these mustard colored linen shorts because not only are they one of my favorite colors, but they hide hot dog stains. Just kidding, I don't eat hot dogs. Just veggie dogs. ;) The one bummer about these shorts is that they wrinkle when you look at them. The necklace I'm wearing is a actually a locket. The best part was that when I opened it, there was totally a sweet love note in it that I had forgotten was in there! 

If you look closely in the last picture above, you might be able to see my new nose piercing! No, it's not a silver pimple, it's just really small. I don't even have my ears pierced (I let them close up when I was about 10), so this was a big leap for me. So far I love it - it's subtle, and just what I wanted. Plus, I got my left nostril done because I read that in Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine), it's believed that the left nostril is connected to women's fertility and reproduction, which is why Indian brides often have elaborate nose jewelry. Now, I'm not planning on growing babies anytime in the immediate future, but a little love for your lady bits can't hurt, right?

In other news, holy moly did today fly by! I feel like I I just woke up and now it's time for bed again. Part of it might be the jet lag from returning to the West Coast on Monday night; I think I'm still screwed up. 

Tomorrow's a big yoga day for me, as I prepare to teach my first class at Fusion Yoga on Friday! I'm so excited! I also applied for my first jobs in Seattle today...we'll see how that goes! (fingers crossed)

Be sure to check out all the other ladies' blogs to see how each of us interpreted this look into our own styles. Did we all go the floral route? I can't wait to find out!

Sequins + Stripes - http://mooseinchartreuse.wordpress.com/

Jill - http://jillybeanstalk.blogspot.com

Nicole - http://nicolescoffeeshop.blogspot.com

Adriana - http://horsesofares.blogspot.ca/

shanti >> sondra