Tag: yoga

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A Writer, With a Blog

I’ve taken a step back to observe how two years of blogging has resulted in me finding my voice as a writer while simultaneously distracting me from writing. Listicles, branding, image, oh my!

At age 14 I wrote articles about progressive topics for my local newspaper, loving the fact that my voice was being heard. Even if it pissed people off. In high school I studied broadcast journalism, loving the prep work and screen time of being on the morning announcements. In my early twenties I “interned” (hung out unpaid) for a radio station, loving the platform to talk about music and current events with interesting people. I’m currently the music editor for NY Yoga & Life Magazine. I love chatting with musicians about their yoga practice, yogis about their playlists, and any other way the two worlds can intersect. I took a similar approach to sobriety: journalistic and explorative.

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Relapse Happens

Let’s take a minute to talk about relapse and its role in recovery. It happens. A lot. Recovery is fucking hard. It’s nonlinear. Recovery (in relation to substance abuse) doesn’t necessarily mean sobriety or complete abstinence. At the end of the day, we are just humans who have been through some shit. We are looking for love, validation, encouragement, opportunity, and myriad other things.

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Sober, Silent, and Sequestered in Bali

I recently spent a month in Bali with my dear friend, Cam. We explored Ubud for a week, reconnecting over delicious/cheap AF Indonesian cuisine, countless rounds of kill/bang/marry, and hours of intellectually stimulating conversation. The next 3 weeks were spent sequestered with 30+ people from all over the world (Australia, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, The UK, Lithuania, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Holland, and Norway) at Zuna Yoga‘s 200 hour yoga teacher training. In addition to learning how to teach yoga, I also learned about these beautiful humans and their cultures.

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Living with Agitated Depression

The last two and a half years have been an emotional roller coaster. I moved to New York City, got sober, lost both of my grandmothers, and my mother was sick. I spent much of that time in denial about my depression. I subconsciously chose to stay busy in order to avoid processing the emotions that came along with those big life changes. I lived in “go mode”. Often prioritizing others’ needs. The more time I spent helping others, the less time I had to deal with my own emotions. While there’s nothing wrong with helping people, there’s something wrong with why I was so eager to help.

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Stay Inside Your Comfort Zone

Comfort zones…the enemy of most people in the self-help world. The way some people talk about comfort zones, you’d think they were akin to the plague. I’m going to do something bold here. I’m going to talk about the beautiful importance of staying inside your comfort zone. Yes, you read that correctly.

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New York City Personal Development

Sober in the City: Yoga is Not a “Cure-All,” But It Helps

This past Friday night, I attended a Yoginis Only (aka Women Only) yoga class at SWEAT Yoga in TriBeCa. This vigorous, heated flow was taught by the lovely Sarrah Singer. She guided a diverse group of students through an hour-long practice while we rocked out to an all-female playlist: 4 Non Blondes, Madonna, Meredith Brooks, Lady Gaga, and of course, Beyonce.

Back in my party girl days, my Friday nights consisted of pre-gaming (drinking in preparation for more drinking), getting dressed up to impress potential hook ups, hopping from bar to bar, then driving home drunk at 2:30am. My Saturday mornings, predictably, were full of headaches and regret.

Click here to read the full article on WorkItHealth.com

 

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Booze Free Activities in Jersey City

(This blog post originally appeared on Growing in Jersey City)

I used to drink a lot. Like…a lot. I’d spend so much money on alcohol and have nothing to show for it other than a hangover, random bruises, cringe-worthy Facebook photos, and way too many transactions being posted in my bank account. Since I’ve stopped drinking a little over a year ago, I’ve found a few ways to have fun here in Jersey City without booze:

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New York City Personal Development Sex & Dating SobrieTea

Orgasmic Meditation

I had no idea what I was getting into. OK that’s a lie…I had an idea. I knew that we —myself and the guy I was dating at the time — were going to something called a “Turn On” event led by One Taste. I also knew this event was an intro to an Orgasmic Meditation (OM) practice. The event was held inside a sketchy building in China Town and, in classic New York City fashion, the building also housed a Chipotle and a Pilates studio. I was expecting a room of weirdos and fetishists.

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New York City Personal Development Sex & Dating SobrieTea Spirituality

Fully Exposed

 

For the past two years, naked yoga has been on the top of my bucket list. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, I finally crossed it off my list in a class with 8 other students. I’ve always enjoyed finding new ways to see what I can learn about myself. This desire for fresh invigoration has amplified since I cut alcohol out of my lifestyle.

The 8 of us sat in the waiting room, filled out our waivers, and talked about how nervous/excited we were. One guy mentioned that he’d been a few times. “This class gets me out of my comfort zone. I still get butterflies in my stomach before class - and I like that,” he told me. A few minutes before class started, we finally began removing our clothes. We walked, totally nude, into a well-lit yoga room with yoga mats, candles, and Rihanna bumping in the speakers. Our instructor, Joschi, was a German man who exuded confidence from his fit, naked body. He asked how we were feeling, told us jokes to calm us down, and began to guide us through our practice.

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