♥️Find Your Little Friday ♥️
Balanced living might just be one of the ultimate Rubik’s Cube puzzles to solve in life. Impossible to maintain, let alone achieve. How do I find balance? Yoga, meditation, reading or even walking have been activities that keep me feeling good outside of my career in food and beauty. I also find that people are a little intimidated by the idea of bringing new things into their lives, especially things that have been deemed a little out of the ordinary.
My featured individual this week is someone whose whole approach to their life has transformed over the past several years. Talk about a journey, there are snippets to take with you from this conversation to encourage your own balance or awareness. Enjoy this read and be warned, you may experience extreme pleasure if it’s accompanied with sipping hot peppermint tea of a glass of vino tinto!
My long time friend Alexis has been on her own course of spiritual awakening and maintaining. Meditation is something she has been practicing for quite some time and she recently upped her yoga game. She received a teacher certification at the Kripalu School of Yoga this past summer in the Berkshires of Massachusetts and it has transformed her entire practice and way of life. Her compassionate heart is her driving force and she is that go-to person for what some would say is radical thinking. I find it refreshingly full of sincere honesty and I hope you find some ease in her encouragement of subtle changes.
Coming off of an epic post-holiday that includes travel can leave you feeling a little out of sorts, and in this conversation is Alexis speaking from recent experience. She trekked across most of Spain, starting at the Christmas holiday and well into the new year. One of the first things out of her mouth when we spoke was, “I am really excited to get back to vegan food and into my routine. It’s wonderful to be away and fully immerse yourself in your travels and the culture of wherever you’re visiting. That being said, it’s nice to be back in the comfort of your own home. I’m most excited about my walk to work that I get to take everyday. It’s along the UES of Central Park and I get to watch the foliage change day to day.”
First things first, what do you enjoy about being vegan or why did you choose to become vegan?
“I really care about the environment and leaving less of a carbon foot print. Having a vegan lifestyle is the optimal way for me to live. I do enjoy consuming things that came from animals from time to time. My rule is that it has to be something special though, not just a burger from a place where they’re cranked out.”
Meditation is something you have been practicing for a long time, how would you describe it or your own specific practice?
“Meditation is a playground for my mind. A place where—or more like a gas station where I go to refuel. I gain energy and perspective by taking a break from the constant chatter. A lot of people think of mediation as a place where you try to steady and not let things in, but for me it is about letting stuff happen. When I let things happen or allow my thoughts to really come in, I begin to release stress. I started off by saying it is like a playground setting because I want my thoughts to run around like a high energy kid. I want the thoughts racing until they’ve exhausted themselves, then the deep breath comes in for me. This might seem a little too forward but I’ve said it before-meditation it a lot like sex, it’s different every time.”
What would you tell someone who was struggling with their meditation practice or nervous to start one?
“20 seconds. Start small and grow your practice. Everybody deserves to take a little time for themselves. Allow yourself to enjoy the quiet, it calms your life for a more fulfilled life.”
Do you feel like yoga and meditation inform each other?
“Absolutely. Yoga is a moving meditation from where I have learned to live a better life, it’s about surrendering and acceptance. It’s not about getting a tight butt, but that can be a great by-product of your practice. When you truly surrender, you find growth and expansion. So much of my practice is about going to the beginning of my edge. Sitting in my discomfort and discovering what opens up for and with me-finding acceptance.”
What is the one bit of advice or guidance you would like share to help encourage others?
“Try and find a moment each day to take one really deep and good breath, that’s sometimes all you really need.”
Finding the time to reconnect with yourself doesn’t have to be such an intimidating process. 20 seconds or one deep breath is such a great and attainable place to start. Enjoy finding the time for reconnection to yourself and finding your own little moments of delight #FindYourLittleFriday ♥️