Swell Coming

Next week we are supposed to receive a significant pulse from the West. If the forecast is correct we should be dropping into double over head waves by late Thursday. Come to the surf yoga class Thursday night after your session to limber up those paddle worn arms and shoulders, and twist out your cutback and lipper battered body, so you'll be ready to shred some more on Friday.

Yoga Battle

For better or worse we live in a competitive society, and it is understandable that it may be difficult to completely shed ones competitive machinations when practicing yoga. I remember when I first learned how to hold a hand stand, I looked forward to showing off my new move in the next yoga class. I think this is fine and dandy but I have found that I derive more benefit when I come to yoga with a more holistic approach: concentrating on mind, body, spirit with maybe a dash of ego. As we evolve as yogis and people we can allow space for that part of us that is proud and has a desire to show others our ability to go deeper into an asanas, especially those asanas that have been eluding us for some time. What I believe is more detrimental is prescribing any kind of right/wrong judgment on any practice, since we all have our own paths, and we are all reflection of the infinite. But as this short film comically demonstrates it might not be wrong but possibly detrimental to completely let competitiveness consume our practice.

Public Art

Taking a photograph today is a simple as clicking a button and aiming in the general direction of your intended victim. We click away the world around us compounding years worth of memories into 1 gig of space on a hardrive. Bedtime stories have been replaced by photo albums, or the ever elusive photo slideshow. Technology makes the world smaller everyday, archiving the past, predicting the future and tucking the present away in our 30 gigs of space on our iPhone.

For years now, I have been obsessed with a certain picture which had significant importance in my artistic representation of the world around me. The memories and meanings behind this single image changed the way I looked at photography, sculpture and art.

So, one day I was biking up Highway 1 documenting everything as I went by....wait...why am I explaining this...here I'll show you (see picture above). Anyways, I found this tag on a wall of an abandoned house, and slyly laughed at the irony of the tag being 'public art'. Having studied 'public art' as a major at a university, having been to so many 'public art' galleries, having made business cards with 'public artist' as my title, I was astounded by the irony that nothing I had learned meant anything to the 'public.' As Marcel Duchamp so elegantly put it, place the world on a pedestal and you have made art. This one day entirely blurred the line between art and life, turning every urinal on its side and making it a fountain, turning every gallery upside down into storage space for culture. Just as musicians must realize the hard truth about the 'it's who you know' music world, so must artists address this issue in the art scene. Beyond this epiphany, all of my current and future art was put into question and my ego was deflated. I assumed the role of being nothing more than human, for after all artist is a title one must selfishly designate to themself.

As you can see this one day, this one image, this one tag sums up a lesson that I will take with me for a lifetime to come. On the flipside, who knows what that tag, that image, and that day meant to the artist that put it up? A picture really is worth a thousand memories.

Back To School

Minus one decade, each year of my life has revved up in September and slowed down markedly by the end of June. Yes, I have been either a student or a teacher for the majority of my life. Packing 12 months of energy into 10 months each year ended for me when I finished grad school and became a dietitian. But now that I've finally settled into a 12 month rhythm, I'm starting school all over again. No, I'm not getting another master's or pursuing a Ph.D. Dalia just started kindergarten. Every time I see her proudly carrying her brand new Hello Kitty lunchbox, put on her new shoes, and run to the playground to go across the monkey bars, it takes me back to when I was a student. It was always so exciting to delve into the newness of it all each September. Now I'm getting ready for the first show and tell, reliving the first field trip, and meeting the first class pet all over again. As a self-proclaimed nerd, I'm almost as excited as Dalia to be back in school. I'm just counting myself lucky that my P.E. is yoga now instead of dodgeball.

Sausage-less Sausage

I am not a vegetarian. My partner is though... which basically makes me a vegetarian.

However, my partner is not one of those vegetarians that does not like meat. She's an ethical vegetarian; which means while she doesn't agree with how the food reaches the plate, she sure likes the taste of some of it. Which is how why we came to discover the taste sensation that is Trader Joe's Sausageless Sausage!

Now, without wanting to sound like a commercial, this product is seriously great. Coming from England, I have high standards when it comes to bangers. Previous to our discovery we had tried various other brands of veggie sausage; most of which, at least to me, tasted like rubbish. However, with the sausageless sausage, they have nailed the texture and flavours.

It does not taste exactly like it's pork cousin, as fake meat never does, but the ingredients they use give it a warm and herby feeling; not unlike the stuffing you eat at Christmas time. What's more, the reduced cooking time and firmer consistency make it super versatile. We eat it for breakfast and in pasta, stir-frys, salds and sandwiches.

In terms of it's nutritional value, it's not bad either. It has a fairly high sodium content (which no doubt explans why it tastes so good) and contains some saturated fats, but being made from soy it is full of protein and even has some fiber.

So if you're a vegetarian, vegan or even a meat eater looking for a healthier option, I would reccomend you give these little links of love a try... and thank me later!

What do you value?

Last week one of our dedicated yoga students sent and email regarding the NOURISH Core Values that are listed on our website. Here is the text of that email:

"Dear Nourish Staff,

Thank you for the confirmation for my appointment with Jocelyn. Today I had the pleasure of having time to read all of Nourish's information. It is great.

I would like to add a Core Value that I believe is missing, having been devoted to the Om/Nourish family now for years. That is the value of LISTENING. I would like to see the core value "WE LISTEN to and embrace suggestions, questions, concerns and joys of our clients, members, students, and customers." As I read the list, I missed that important element [of the Dubin family(well, Dalia is still in training)(smile)].

Though I have not had many classes with Kate and Roxanne, I have found them, as well, always willing to listen to any question, or happy to share some tidbit of life experience I or anyone after class had to share with them. They listen. I also find both of those ladies so open and willing to share their lives with us, supporting and giving a foundation for a family of professionals who truly care about nourishing the health of anyone who is willing to give even the smallest amount of their time toward bettering their lives and walking through the doors of NOURISH. Thus, both Kate and Roxanne seem to me to be in concert with Victor and Jocelyn in the Core Value of Listening.

In our cultural climate, in our political atmosphere, in a world where the importance of individualism sometimes erodes, or shades the importance of social values, compassion and the development of camaraderie, listening is a skill often missed, yet yearned for. Victor and Jocelyn Dubin have always listened well to me, my friends and family. I have over the years, observed them continually take an interest in participants' needs through active listening, a quality that is essential to NOURISH anyone's mind, body and spirit.

Thank you, Namaste, and Aloha,

Kulani Kamaha'o

Devoted to Nourish"

Thanks Kulani. We are listening and you can expect the addition to our core values page soon.

Massage: preventive medicine vs. indulgence

Greetings

Let me introduce myself -- With a lifetime of experience (I started massaging around 2nd grade, giving my teacher neck and shoulder massages on rainy day recess), over 1000 hours of formal education, and nearly 8 years with a professional background; I can no longer call myself just a massage therapist. Trained in over 16 modalities, I am known to utilize massage, energy and breath work, and guided meditation in any of my sessions. I specialize in pain relief, injury recovery, stress reduction, emotional transformation, and relaxation. My interest is finding the deep seeded root of any issue within the body, the intention I bring is to HELP create sustainable results in every one of my clients. Here at NOURISH I consider myself a "Healing Facilitator," I choose the term facilitator because I merely assist in the process of healing. It is up to each individual client to bring one's self to the state of well-being.

More often than not, the common reason I hear people use to NOT have a massage is because they don't have the time, money, or need to "pamper themselves" or "indulge in frivolous things". I'm hear to tell EVERYONE...yes that means you too, please listen up...

Massage is much more than a simple luxury to be had when you have the time or enough extra cash laying around. It is an ideal way to keep your body/mind vehicle rejuvenated and nourished, which is helps with your overall well-being and maintaining a body free of dis-ease. The physical and emotional health benefits list is long and very detailed, but because it feels SOOOOOOO good, too many people don't realize or even discredit the actual effects it has on the individual - body, mind, and spirit.

So I have decided to dedicate a blog series to the holistic health advantages of massage therapy...stay tuned to learn more!!!

Many blessings of health and vitality,
Yarah