Squeeky clean

Spring is a time for rebirth, blooming, new life and if you are me, cleaning! I have been on a mission lately to find safe & truly natural cleaning solutions that actually work for my big spring cleanse for the house.

What does this have to do with yoga you may be asking yourself? Well in it's simplest form, it does touch on the first Yama, (which are a rules or code of conduct for living), Ahimsa: Nonviolence. Abstinence from injury; harmlessness, the not causing of pain to any living creature in thought, word, or deed at any time. It is said, if you can truly follow the first yama, all of the others fall into place. This can translate to your yoga practice by being kind to yourself rather than judgemental or perhaps pushing yourself too hard because your neighbor is doing a pose which is beyond your current physical ability. 

Back to the topic at hand, spring cleaning; I found a few home runs with some simple items from the pantry.

My personal favorite, is using a grapefruit & kosher salt to clean the bathroom.  To do:  sprinkle a liberal amount of kosher salt (approx 1/4 cup) into 1/2 of a grapefruit and scrub away.  Keep the kosher salt in one hand and your grapefruit in the other so you can sprinkle on more salt to scrub away any stubborn gunk.  Then rinse any leftover salt and grapefruit residue off with water.  Dry with a clean soft cloth.  It removed stubborn water spots and the bathroom smelled fantastic when I was done.  All of the faucets were sparkling.

For more stubborn grime, such as a tile shower floor and hard water stains in the toilet.  Add white vinegar to a spray bottle, spray area liberally then shake baking soda over stained area.  This makes a really cool bubbling reaction which excite chemistry nerds like myself.  Then scrub with a brush.  This left the grout nice and white.  Voila, all done in the bathroom.

For the windows, 1 cup or water, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 1/8 teaspoon Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap (Note: you can also use Dawn to cut the grease and I do admit this works better but this is a petroleum product, or you can just leave the soap out, however I find the little bit of soap is what gives this mix the wow factor).

Gone are the days when I used to have to hold my breath from the bleach wipes and run out of the room coughing and usually getting a subsequent headache.  Not to mention the insane costs of cleaning products.

These are just a few simple finds I've added to my spring cleaning arsenal.  I would love to hear of any "must try" safe and natural cleaning solutions you have found.  Post a comment here or email me at: info@yogabyjulie.com

See ya on the mat!  Much love,
 ~ Julie

Off track

During my morning ski, the once nicely groomed trails my neighbor so graciously provided, were getting a little sloppy.  We had a big un-thaw and then a quick freeze which caused the ski tracks to be slightly uneven.  The entire ski, I battled with keeping my ski's and subsequently my feet and mind "on track".  I'm constantly spraining my ankle, it's so bad I have actually sprained my ankle twice getting into Easy Seated Pose (Sukhasana); so I was anxious about a sprain the entire ski.  I feel like I wasted this amazing opportunity to take in nature's splendor, seize my alone time and enjoy, instead I was mentally wrestling with being "off track". 

One of the amazing gift's yoga has given me, is that life has many metaphors, and moment's like this are an opportunity to look internally.  So I decided to examine what is "off track" in my life.  Well let's see, it's been 8 months now and I still have 36 of those baby pounds to lose.  This seems to consume all of my mental and physical free time and energy.  While I do love skiing, I have to admit to myself I've become a bit obsessed.  I drug the whole family out for a night ski last week after dinner.  I advertised it as a moon & star viewing opportunity to my husband & son who are both avid star gazers.  Unfortunately, neither of the kiddos appreciated this, and it ended up with my husband sprint skiing across the lake in the dark via headlamp to get both screaming kids back to the house. 

My eating & wine consumption has also been off track, however I did download a new app for my iPhone called, myFitnessPal and this has done wonder's for getting my calorie consumption back "on track".  I'm happy to report I've lost 10.5 lbs since starting this about a month ago, oh yeah and it's free.

Our lack of immunity at the Frank household has also been throwing the entire family "off track".  Each of us has been sick with something, I swear since school started last fall.  It tempts me to lock everyone up & not let them make contact with other germ infested life forms, but that reminds me too much of the Seinfeld episode of the boy in the bubble.  So I carry on our daily lives of play dates with runny nosed kids & try not to visibly cringe; at least not so their mom's can see me.  My homeopath tells me fear brings sickness into the body, well I'm sorry but I say it's snot!

Whatever your situation, yoga invites you to explore an internal scan, "What's going well?", "What's not?"  "Am I 'off track'"?, and "What can I choose to do about it, or not?".

With that, I leave you happy, on the road to healthy, and peaceful!

The light in my honors the light in you.  ~ Namaste

Julie

www.YogaByJulie.com

Julie’s post-ski yoga stretches:

After you’ve taken you ski’s off, (note: this routine begins with ski boots on) and while your heart rate is still elevated, take caution and only do what feels right, take breaks as needed, you know your body better than anyone.  These postures are merely my suggestions based on my personal yoga practice and may be too advanced for a beginning practitioner.  If you do not know some of the postures listed, attend a yoga class with a certified teacher, research the web, or feel free to ask me.  Enjoy!

• Wall supported Dancer (Natarajasana)
• High lunge (chair or stair supported as you untie your boots)
• Hamstring stretch, foot flexed, while removing your boots
• Crescent lunge (Anjaneyasana)
• Side angle (Parsvakonasana), rotate chest open & lift upper arm, look up
• Repeat on other side
• Empty coat sleeves, gently continue until your heart rate has dropped enough to move your head below your heart, at any time if you feel dizzy, come up and rest, discontinue practice or continue when you feel ready.
• Wide legged forward fold (Prasarita Padottanasana ) with hands clasped behind back in yoga mudra
• Mountain (Tadasana) with shoulder circles
• Half Moon (Ardha Chandrasana)
• Standing Backbend, support low back with hands..if you have a mat or somewhere comfortable to lie down move forward, if not end here
• Standing forward fold (Uttanasana)
• Wind relieving pose (Pavanamuktasana)
• Reclining Pigeon (Supta Kapotasana)
• Happy Baby (Ananda Balasana)
• Corpse pose (Savasana) rest for at least 5 minutes!

May you be happy, may your be healthy, may you know peace! (oh yeah, and may we get more snow!) 

Shanti!  (That’s peace in Sanskrit!  )

Hope you’ve enjoyed.  I teach locally in Bemidji 2^nd & 4^th Saturday’s at the United Methodist church, 9^th & Beltrami Ave. @ 9:30 AM if you would like to check out one of my classes.  Be well.

~Julie

about me:  I have been practicing yoga since 1995, 2012 marks my 17th year! I am a 200-hour Registered Hatha Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance. I have 200+ hours of Yoga Teacher Training in: Asana, Pranayama, Anatomy & Physiology, Philosophy and Meditation.

My yoga styles of study include Ashtanga, Hot Yoga, Jivamukti, Kripalu, Kundalini, Vinyasa, Prenatal and Restorative. While each of these have their own dedicated methods, I have found inspiration from each and they have meshed themselves into my own unique style. For more information visit my website at www.YogaByJulie.com

Moments of bliss

How long can I get away with this?  I just returned from teaching my yoga class this morning, highly uplifted and joyful.  Nine peaceful, beautiful souls graced my presence while I led them through Ananda Balasana (Happy Baby), Virabhadrasana I (Warrior 1), and Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand), which I affectionately call “checking out my pedicure pose”, to name a few.  I met an angel this morning, her name was Mary and for some reason, most likely because we are in the Christmas season, I just felt angelic super power near her mat.  Afterward she gave me her business card and she does have a cross behind her name; so, yes I am convinced she’s an angel!  (No pressure there Mary) ;-)  She said she wanted to bottle me and take me home, what a lovely compliment.  I ran into several others I now call my friends.  We greet and say goodbye to each other with hugs and joy and love and kindness and I think to myself, “Wow if only everyone had this in their lives”.  Think what a powerful impact this could have on our families, our communities; our world if everyone did some yoga. 

I’m nestled down in my favorite, cozy chair in front of the fire with some hot chocolate topped with snowman marshmallows (shhh, don’t tell!) while my angelic baby girl rests in the room next door and the rest of my family is out ice fishing where I can watch them from afar.  I’m experiencing a moment of bliss as we say in the yoga world.  We all experience them, but yoga has this profound ability to help us to pause and notice them, take them into account, give thanks for these blessings; these moments of bliss. 

In the spirit of the season of giving and wishing to add more goodness and kindness to one another’s lives.  Mention you read this blog post, bring a new friend into our ever growing yoga community to one of my classes and their class is free.  Spread the love and wealth this healing practice has to offer with someone you cherish.  I teach 2^nd & 4^th Saturday’s but check Facebook just to make sure there are no changes in the schedule.  Just to clarify, this would only be good for new Yoga Bemidji students with another paid student and for a class with Julie.  No need to print anything out, save our forests, just mention this.

With love…. the divine in me honors the divine in you.  Namaste!

~Julie

Raising Happy Kids

“Abundance can be had simply by consciously receiving what has already been given.” —Sufi Saying

On the day before Thanksgiving, we are all thinking “Today, I grateful for… (fill in the blank)”.  Our Thanksgiving tradition is spending the day making a grand meal with love for our loved ones.  We join hands, bow our heads, and take turns saying what we are grateful for.  A cherished tradition, we typically only remember to carry out one day a year. 

In my quest of raising happy kids through some scientifically backed research, I have found that happy kids usually come from happy adults.  So what makes all of us happy?  It comes from within, nothing monetary or physical can bring us long term happiness.  It comes from being content with exactly what we have been given.  Being thankful and appreciative for all that we have rather than focusing on disappointment which can lead to entitlement.

So how can we implement this more than just once a year I ask?  With my 3 year old Ethan, every night after a good book and some snuggle time, our bedtime routine now includes the nightly question “Tell me what was good about your day?”  We both reflect on what we liked.  Sometimes his 3 year old imagination will run wild, and he’ll say something inventive like “I liked flying to the moon” or “slaying a dragon”.  But I figure, even if he is being thankful for something in his imagination, this gives me something to be grateful.  Raising a happy, healthy kid with a great big imagination, what could be more satisfying than that?

With that, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you know peace!

Namaste,

Julie

The new smoking

While my parents made the proverbial “bacon”, my brother and I fixed ourselves hot dogs and pizza rolls in the microwave, followed up by Little Debbie’s and diet soda to wash it down.  This type of eating, along with the emotional aspects of weight gain/loss and the impact of genetics led to my being overweight at a very early age.  I remember being put on my first diet in the 1st grade.  I have gained and lost 50+ pounds more times in my life than I care to remember.  While I’ve come a long way, these ingrained behaviors along with the emotional roller coaster that gaining and losing weight has taken a toll on my life and quite possibly my health.  I still have not kicked this monkey off my back.  They say obesity is the new smoking; well I proudly quit smoking 8 years ago.  The difference, however, is I never have to smoke again in my life, never have to learn how to ration myself while not over-indulging, eating is a different story. I have to eat to live everyday, but many days what happens is, I live to eat.  I do my best to embrace conscious eating, follow the yogic path and a bit to my credit, I did just have a baby 5 months ago.  However, I’ve been teetering between 85 and 90 pounds over my goal weight for the past 5 months.  No weight loss since 2 weeks post-natal.  Yes, I should give myself time; yes, I should be patient, but I do not feel comfortable in this body and I desperately want to get back to my goal weight, which is 90 pounds lighter.  It’s about more than just looking in the mirror.  I want to walk up and down the stairs without being winded, I want to be able to fit through the tunnel in the kids play land, in the event my son gets stuck, scared and needs me.  I want my butt to comfortably fit in a chair without squishing and squeezing into it. I don’t want to see people eyeing me up and down when I tell them I’m a yoga teacher with this look on their face like, “you’ve got to be kidding me right?”. 
I hope as this column progresses, people can relate to my story and as I make my way through this life long journey, I may inspire, comfort, support and offer encouragement to others. 

May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you know peace.

Jai Bhagwan!
Julie

An open mind = an open heart

In my former life in software engineering, everything was about zeroes and ones, true or false, black or white, there was no grey.  As a result, there are times in my life when I experience things that I cannot describe as "logical" where I have a hard time keeping an open mind.  Whether it be the latest news headline, or differing opinion, I will be the first to admit, it can easy to be quick to judge.  Perhaps call it passion for my beliefs, but nonetheless it is judgement. 

I have sometimes passed this off as speaking my truth (Satya).  However, in re-reading Patanjali's Yoga Sutras recently, the first Yama really struck a chord.  The particular version I was reading stated, when in question, always refer to the first Yama, Ahimsa or Non-violence: inflicting no injury or harm to others or even to one's own self, it goes as far as non-violence in thought, word and deed.

Many times I end my classes with 3 OM's to represent a week of peaceful thoughts, words and deeds.  But for some reason the book I was reading is what resonated some of my attitudes and beliefs are in need of some work.

My new intention going forward is to first listen, then remember to breathe and attempt to think from another perspective.  My heart opens and the space I feel tension in my temples clears even thinking this way.  I can't say I will be perfect, but that's why they call it a "yoga practice" not a "yoga perfect" and right here I set the intention to put my open mindedness first and set my judgements aside.

Here's to taking your yoga off the mat and into your life.  Much love, peace and prosperity to you and your family!

~Julie