16 years ago ...

... today i arrived in New York City (NYC).
wow, how time flies.

i remember the day so clearly. i came with 2 suitcases, $700 in American Express Traveller's checks (that's what you did those days)! a lot of belief in myself and my dream(s).

since then i have not stopped believing in myself or my dreams. it surely hasn't been easy, but i have been lucky and i have busted my ass and put in 100% of effort (for the most part) on a daily basis toward my goals and dream(s). i have met amazing people and gotten constant work and am where i am today because of all of this. nothing was handed to me.

so every year on January 10th i pause and reflect back at the day i arrived here. i am proud of myself and i am grateful to every person along the journey who has contributed to my growth and success.

on this day i feel so blessed.

a privilege

it's not a privilege to know others.
know yourself.
that's a privilege.
- yogi tea bag

that is the message i got on my chamomile yogi tea bag today. so this is inspiring my blog post today. how brilliant. only a yogi (yogi bhajan) could be so blunt and direct.
it cuts straight to the source and when you think about it, there is no arguing with this message.

too often we pride ourselves in 'being associated with so and so, ' or 'knowing so and so.' often people like us for who we know, as well as for what label(s) we wear and what we do for a living, not always for who we are. but the ones who know us and like us for WHO WE really ARE, are true friends, to me anyway.

if i have one good friend for this reason, i consider myself a blessed person. and i am.

in my first teacher training with Beryl Bender Birch in 1998 i learned this powerful quote:

-> i choose to associate with people who enhance my magnificence <-

it has stuck with me during all these years, probably because it was something i had to work on, and it takes a lot of practice to surrender to this. we all know that misery loves company.

so to end where i began; it all has to do with knowing who you are, respecting yourself for who you are, change the things you can and accept the things you can't, and not selling yourself short because you need to be liked by everyone.

i always think that if you are liked by everyone, then you are too much of a people pleaser, and that's never a good thing.

so go out there, piss some people off, let them get annoyed by your magnificence.

- a few thought from the newly 40 year old.
it's a privilege to know me, myself and i!
LOL.

international peace day

smack in the middle of union square park there is a statue of Gandhi. it is so amazing i think that someone put him there. every time i walk by this statue i pause. i take a moment, a deep breath and i feel the peace within me. one day i took my camera with me just to take a picture of this statue. the city offers so many spots where we can find peace, but really, as Gandhi and yogis believe: peace is within us.

Gandhi practiced what he preached. he believed that we need to: BE THE CHANGE THAT YOU WANT TO SEE!

it's as simple (and as challenging) as this.

take a moment whereever you are. pause. breathe. notice what's around you. the people you surround youself with. are you allowing yourself to be the change you want to see in this world?

today, and every day,
peace,
a :-)

what is wrong with this?

{i'll get to this picture in a minute ...}

so the media is at it again. first it was wrong that our First Lady wore sleeveless dresses. how could she show off her arms? and they are too toned! she should be covering them up!

now it's all about her legs. this week on vacation in the sweltering heat, she wore short-shorts. oh, no, how could she show off her legs like this? she should be covering up those legs. she can't show off toned legs like this!

the chatter goes on ....
she is the First Lady of the United States! shouldn't she be covering up her body??? this is not appropriate, none of the other First Ladies has ever dressed like this, showing off their arms AND their legs.

my goodness, for Heavens Sake. what is wrong with the media? how puritanical can we get?
i am not against the media at all, but SERIOUSLY, no wonder we got body issues.
the reason i am "blaming" the media is, i have not heard anyone in my circle of friends or students or clients feeling that our First Lady should be covering up. on the blogs i have visited, all comments are positive. go for it, leave her along, she is gorgeous, she's got a gorgeous body she should show it off, the list goes on and it's a long list of positives.

I AGREE. our First Lady is gorgeous and she should show off what's she's got. she is such a breath of fresh air.
i think the media just wants to create a stir, it gives them something to do. it's a yoga moment in there for us to "catch it" and chose for ourselves what we believe. it's a wonderful moment to create a strong center within ourselves.

so to the picture above. all over New York City i see the new Calvin Klein underwear ads. to me, these ads are AMAZING. the models Eva Mendes and Jamie Dornan are gorgeous. looking at their bodies makes me want to go to the gym every single day (which i happen to be doing these days!! part of my Goa challenge). it doesn't make me feel bad about myself, or make me feel like i want to be them, it just inspires me to work on the body i have and make it stronger and in better shape.

but it seems like there are issues out there with this ad campaign too, just google it. again, it's hard to know if it's just media stirring things up, or if actual people have been complaining.
the TV ad featuring Eva Mendes for Calvin Klein's perfume 'Obsession' got banned from TV (and YOUTUBE) for being too sensual!! google that too and you will see.

let's loosen up a bit and create self-esteem and a love for our bodies, so when we see advertisement around us, we don't automatically have to feel bad about ourselves, but try to look at it for what it is. (and remind ourselves that in any picture you see, allot of retouching is involved :-) it doesn't make me feel better or worse, it's just the reality).

but again, i don't know how much it is the public that is so against this, just like with the whole hoopla about the First Lady, or if it is the media that makes it into a big thing.

in my opinion i don't understand what the whole fuss is about ... just a few of my thoughts in the sweltering heat :-)

Create S P A C E

my son, Lars was born 19 months ago. a new anita was born too. i was aware this would happen while i was pregnant and meditated a lot on accepting the changes.

it wasn't so easy.

for the last year and a half i've wrestled with the changes. not so much that i wasn't willing to change or that i wasn't grateful for Lars entering my/our world. it was more about that i wanted my TIME back. i wanted to be able to sit infront of the computer and surf and write for as long as i wanted! work whenever i wanted, take all the workshops i wanted. workout as long and whenever i wanted.

i wanted to be able to waste time like i did pre-Lars. my mind was rebelling. it was freaking me out that i felt like i didn't have enough time.

bla, bla, bla, so the mind says.

i put myself back on my meditation pillow and as i sat there i had an epiphany: it's all about CREATING S P A C E and MAKING TIME.

we have all the time we need, we just need to prioritize.

starting this blog has been on my mind for a long time, and it was annoying me that i couldn't get it going. when i had the epiphany i wrote down the things that needed to be the priorities in my life, and the blog is one of them. my intention is not to post every single day, but the blog will be a place where i can communicate what i need to share with my community.

it feels so good to have started! it actually takes less energy to get started. it was robbing me for energy thinking about it so much.

i'm so GRATEFUL to Lars and my meditation practice for being my Guru's (teachers). they teach me something about myself and my priorities every single day!

anything you've been thinking of starting? just thinking about it is robbing you for energy. GET GOING and it will give you energy. S P A C E is there to be created.