I made it through my first cleanse day today! The first couple days are always the worst when it comes to detox symptoms, but luckily it wasn’t that bad today. Day 1 consisted of 2 protein and vitamin packed meal replacement shakes, a couple light snacks, a healthy meal (salad with oil and vinegar, wheat-free bread with sunbutter and a couple slices of green apple) and a ton of water. I had a little bit of a headache in the middle of the day but it quickly went away, and later at night I got a little shaky from not having a lot of calories but I managed to ignore it and power through an awesome practice with my dance partner. Tomorrow is going to be a very similar day prepping my body for 2 days of deep cleansing using a vitamin and mineral infused juice. I’ll let you all know how it goes!

Spring is coming, although it doesn’t really feel like it with the ridiculous amounts of snow and cold temperatures New Jersey has been having this winter. And with the change of season comes the need to shed our stored winter weight along with any toxins we’ve been holding onto. I love cleanses. Now, don’t get me wrong ,there are definitely some crazy ones out there. Only consuming pineapple juice for a week is hardly healthy. A massage therapist friend of mine introduced me to my favorite type of cleanse, a nutritional cleanse, where you still get all the calories and nutrients your body needs with all the benefits of cleansing. Isagenix is amazing! I use the 9 day cleanse and I always feel energized and light when I’m done. Not cheating can be difficult, but the discipline is well worth it. My system should be coming in the mail in the next few days. I’ll definitely share the results once I’m through 🙂

I was looking through a Yoga Journal magazine and found an ad for the Wanderlustfestival this year. I got really excited and started searching online for details. It turns out that the Vermont festival (the closest one to me) is during the week I had already requested off from work for vacation! Perfect timing… let’s talk about destiny and purpose 🙂 Wanderlust sounds like every serious yogis dream – yoga all day taught by world famous instructors, live concerts, awesome vendors of all kinds of yoga related and natural goods, fresh local and organic foods, and a totally amazing location in the mountains of Stratton, VT. Now to decide which classes and concerts I want to go to…

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All I can say is YUM!!! And its vegan too!

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Fritters with Avocado-Lime Sauce

So I went to Atlantic City this weekend with my friend Jessica, just a little girls retreat to celebrate our birthdays (both in February!). We were both really excited because neither of us have had a vacation in a while and this was much needed. While we had fun and laughed about everything, the trip was a bit of a letdown because of the service we received. We had made plans to do this trip on a budget and found a few deals to make it feasible for both of us to go. Originally, another friend, Courtney, was going to come with us, but ended up not coming because of illness. Courtney has a Tropicana rewards card and we used it to book the trip. Jessica and I took the long drive down to Atlantic City, found a decent place to park, and went to check in. We found a desk in the resort, but weren’t really sure if it was the right place because it was a secondary desk and wasn’t labeled as to what it was really for. We finally make our through the line and start speaking to the girl working. We gave her our names and Jessica went to show her the credit card number the room was paid with and the girl said we weren’t there. What do you mean we aren’t there? After 5 minutes of questions back and forth, mostly coming from Jessica because the girl wasn’t very friendly or helpful, we finally figure out the room is booked under Courtney because of her rewards card. Ok, we get checked in and go to our room which we had to find ourselves because the girl didn’t give us directions around the resort at all. The room was alright, though probably not worth what we paid for it. Slightly older furnishings, stains on the rug, chipped paint, and a blue pineapple lamp. The room didn’t have a book on the resort and it took us forever to figure out where the thermostat was. We had hopes of relaxing in the pool, but never actually found it. We had dinner and drinks at a tapas restaurant in the resort and went back to the room to change. After much laughter, a bottle and a half of wine, and a ton of makeup to hide our increasingly prevalent wrinkles (because 32 is super old, obviously), we were ready to hit the club. We had gotten on the VIP list so we didn’t have to wait in line, which was awesome, but once inside we quickly decided it wasn’t the scene for us. We were by far the youngest, most attractive and most well put together people in there. A little bit more alcohol let us laugh about the middle aged women shaking everything they had on the platforms around the room. The dance floor was crowded with men in cheap suits grinding with these drunk women. Not exactly what we were looking for and not exactly what was advertised. Are there actually any hustle dance clubs/discos around anymore? As dancers, we would love to know! We find another dance club with some Latin music and stay there for a bit. While we were dancing we got hit on by a guy celebrating his 21st birthday and 2 others who deemed us lesbians because we didn’t give them the time of day, rather humorous if I do say so myself. Too much rum lead us to walking the boardwalk in search of food at 3am. Everything on the boardwalk itself was closed, but we managed to find a decent pizza place 2 blocks away. Getting up the next day was a challenge, but not nearly as challenging as finding brunch. Brunch was supposed to be in our room package, along with 2 passes to the first nightclub we went to, neither of which the front desk girl bothered to mention when we checked in. So we went on a  hunt to find our brunch passes and where brunch was actually being held, since we had no information on the resort. After walking the whole resort up and down we found the main lobby and the front desk where the first attendant of the day at least gave us a piece of paper with circled options for where we could get food, but not much more information beyond that. In fact, after we were called up to her because it was our turn, she said hello and then walked away from us! We wandered a bunch more looking for brunch but couldn’t find it. The most helpful person of the whole weekend ended up being the girl working in the little snack shop by the lobby. Thank goodness for the girl because we never would have found it! So we get in line for brunch, find out the deal is buy one get one free, and find out its loaded on Courtney’s rewards card, which we can’t use because she’s not with us and we don’t have her ID. Back to the front desk we go! We get someone else working the desk who is a bit more helpful and gets Jessica her own rewards card with the brunch deal loaded. We finally got to eat, ending our adventure in AC. After everything that happened, all we could think was about whether or not the hassle of the weekend was worth the price. You would think that people spending good money would get a little more attention and service, but what do I know, I’m just a dancer…

Let’s face it, we all love to eat. Being vegetarian, sometimes its hard finding foods that I love and can eat that my friends and family members will also love and eat. Creativity and simple ingredients is key. These spinach balls are real winners and taste great hot or cold! You can probably make these super healthy by using only the part of the egg you choose to eat (whites, yolks, whole), using a healthy butter option and making sure the breadcrumbs are whole wheat or gluten free. Play around and see which combinations are best for your body.

Baked Spinach Balls

Ok, not an original post from me, but I found this floating around the web and had to share. It happened to be that I was looking for some inspiration to share with my Friday morning yoga class and this turned out to be exactly what we all needed that day. We are in February, not just the beginning of February but heading deep into the heart of the coldest, grayest, snowiest February in years, and we need motivation to even get out of bed some days. This seriously hit home as I thought about my goals for the year and the habits of the people around me at the gym. Before I got super busy teaching, I used to be a regular gym goer. I loathed January. There was never any parking, and I’m not the one to complain about not getting the spot right by the door. There were never any open treadmills, ellipticals or bikes. There was a line for the weight machines. Group classes were crowded. People with no idea of what they were doing were taking up my precious time because I had to wait for them. Yes, these thoughts were selfish. I wanted to go to the gym, do my workout, and get on with my day. I never stopped to think about my first experiences going to the gym, how I took my time not because I had time, but because I stopped and watched other people so I could learn what was right. To all of you who set the best intentions for yourself and maybe weren’t able to follow through, get back to it. Believe in yourself and try. You can make changes and you will see results, but it will take time, so let yourself have time and enjoy your journey to a better you.

Dear New Girl at the Gym

I LOVE being able to use food for more than just filling up my belly. The power of the nutrients in some foods is way better than traditional western medicine sometimes. Here are two simple examples of using food for a healthy, happy lifestyle:

Feel-Good Foods

Defeat Illness!

What’s best about these articles is that the foods are normal! If you have a decent grocery store near you, you can get everything there! Of course, local and organic is best, so if you have the opportunity to shop at a local farmers’ market or can afford to shop at WholeFoods or Trader Joe’s definitely do so. The phrase “you are what you eat” holds true, so eat healthfully and enjoy!

So I met Gavin online. We’ve been together for a few months now and we’re both incredibly happy together. We challenge each other, care for each other, and celebrate our time together. He’s a pretty special guy and I’m really lucky to have him in my life. But the best part about Gavin is that he pays attention, and not just because he has to, but because he wants to. We met each other on OkCupid. Its a pretty typical online dating site where potential mates post pics and little tidbits about themselves in hopes of attracting the right one. If you have some time and the desire to meet new people, its kinda fun. Here’s my issue: Even with such little information to get through when reading a simple profile, people don’t actually take the time to read it. My list of requests is pretty specific, nothing ridiculous, but at 32 I pretty much know what I want. Yet I still get messages from guys who are so far from being right its not even funny. Have we come to the point where we don’t even take the time to get to know someone before we decide if we like them and want to be with them? I understand that people are busy and life gets crazy, especially in northern NJ and the suburbs of NYC, but not all of life should be like a Six Second Review. As a yogi, mindfulness is a normal part of life for me. I just wish more people would stop and smell the roses, or at least take the time to read a little about me before sending distasteful propositions. 

Today is my birthday. While 32 isn’t usually considered a milestone, this is a big year for me. This is the year I am finally going to live happily ever after. No, I’m not getting married, far from it. But I am loving. I am loving my job, my home, my relationships, my life, my body, my decisions, my journey and most of all my awesome boyfriend Gavin who set this site up for me. Best birthday present ever. I am here to share a little bit of my life, my challenges and my happiness with you in hopes of making a small dent in the world.

Namaste!