A Book On Simple Living: Destination Simple by Brooke McAlary

Simple living isn't simple any more. Even for someone like me, who doesn't follow the standard pace (read: alway on the buzz) and trends of the world, simplifying takes some amount of thought and practice. 

Like a lot of you, I enjoy packing my to-do list with multiple tasks, can't help myself multi-tasking and feel a little lost when I have a spare moment to sit down and stare into space. As it turns out, living a slow simple life, does take some practice. Like meditation.

Brooke McAlary's second book "Destination Simple" is just the book to curl up with for those of us, who are craving a measure of slow and a cuppa of simple living tips. Many of us intuitively know what it is we need to do to simplify but still need a guide to hold our hands and lead us into a simple way of living. 

McAlary of Slow Your Home, who champions the slow lifestyle, packs quire a punch in this little book of simple living tips. She lays out the basics to creating morning and evening rituals, unplugging from screens, initiating a gratitude practice and looking at our priorities and lifestyles from a perspective of "tilting" rather than complete balance. 

There are a few more rituals and ideas on simplifying, and I found each one of these relevant and necessary.

As you read this short book, you realise that you probably know about many of the ideas, but even though these seem very basic, the art is in implementing them into your daily lives and creating a habit. 

Destination simple is a book that you may want to read once but revisit several times as you take baby steps towards creating simple and satisfying days.

When I was reading the book, I realised that even though I had dabbled in some of the ideas (like morning and evening routine, gratitude, tilting, brain dump), I had not been doing them consistently, which is why probably, I wasn't able to enjoy the measure of calm that I have been hoping to create. This book is a gentle reminder of all those little things that can enrich our lives considerably.

Get ready to wrap yourself in a blanket of peace and calm as you read Destination Simple by Brooke McAlary.

Call To Action: For more ways to create a joyful stay-at-home life, check out my new book "Queen Of The At-Home Lifestyle". You can download it here.

For more ideas on creating a simple and joyful stay-at-home life, which includes homeschooling and working-from-home as your own boss, check out my Youtube Channel.

5 Ways to Savour this Lockdown Summer - What’s your favourite way + My new book cover

Summer is not the easiest of seasons for me to bear. The days are thick with heat and humidity, as thick as molten cheese and  often it feels futile to move or cook or do all the things that bring me joy.

If I could have my way, I’d build a small castle in a turquoise pool and spend my days like a mermaid soaking in the cool water. But with the lockdown and Coronavirus whirling around the world, I (and all of you) have had to find smart ways to cool down, stay grateful and savour this scorching season. 

Cool Treats :)

With oodles of determination ;-), I’ve come up with simple and small ways to bring my mojo back. 

1. Start the day with a small pinch of slow and a dollop of gratitude. I try to wake up early, when the sun is still saffron and languidly rolling up the sky, still an inch away from its fiery sunniness. After I get ready, I sit down on a fat cushion for a few minutes of meditation and gratitude prayer. I play some meditation music and use this time to centre myself and start the day with a positive intention.
2. Load up some good books on my Kindle. Now that we’re corralled in a single room with the air conditioner and trees around cutting out the heat (where we live, the temperatures are touching 50 degrees Celsius!), I love having a stack of books on my Kindle. A simple comfort that I can fall back on (literally), when I want to catch my breath and sink into a story. (I’ve been indulging in tonnes of wholesome Amish fiction by Amy Clipston and Tricia Goyer.)
3. Create art with my son. As the summer started notching up its heat factor, we decided that sticking to the same old’ homeschooling routine was going to be tedious. So now we begin with a small bang - an art project to kindle joy and add colour to the otherwise fiery yellow day. (If you’d like to know more about these projects, do stay tuned for our arty homeschooling posts soon).

The Brigade that Builds Brands: Writer, Novelist & Army wife Puja Mukherjee Khattri on creating a career that sustains you through different phases of life

Hello friends! Meet Puja Mukherjee Khattri, a freelance content writer and self-published novelist, and Army wife, who forged on in life and work with courage and gumption after she lost her Army officer husband on active duty, a few years ago. Puja and I have known each other online for the past many years. I really wanted her to share her story at The Brigade that Builds Brands to inspire ladies, whose husbands are still in service or those who have lost their better halves in the line of duty, to build sustainable careers from wherever they are in life or in the country.

CB. Please tell us something about yourself – what do you do, where are you based and how long have you been a fauji/military wife.

PMK. Hi Chandana, I am an army daughter and wife. I am a writer and have been writing for the last twenty odd years. The kids and I live in Delhi with my parents. We moved to Delhi after my husband, Lt Col Abhishek Khattri, died on active duty.

CB. Fauji wives make their home in an assortment of obscure places across the country. Our lives are about living in the moment and doing what we can, when we can. Can you share how you stayed creative or found work that satisfied you while moving across the country?

PMK. I truly believe that I am blessed in my choice of profession, because I can work from almost anywhere, as long as I have a computer and an internet connection. I have sent in my articles from the most interesting of locations. I remember standing at the doorway to our temporary accommodation in Sikkim, while it was snowing outside and the bukhari was on inside, waiting for the internet speed to pick up enough to send my email. And that time I used to log onto the internet through my cellphone. When we were moving out or moving into a new accommodation I have worked in middle of stacks of boxes!

Maid Of the Matter: 5 tips to save time & energy and stay stress-free

Ever so often, I stumble across intense conversations about..maids (domestic help). During social visits, in parties, at welfare meets, in Whatsapp groups, I see the topic of maids sneaking into conversations. I get it – here in India, we do depend heavily on house help. 

It’s not just the colossal dust that needs to be cleaned and mopped and dusted from our floors and shelves that finds us utterly dependent on domestic help, but also a certain mindset that prevents us from picking up a broom or rinsing our own dishes or even cooking our own meals. And more often than not, when we pay someone else to cook and clean, we find them come up short - more so, in today’s world.

Sweeping and mopping that’s not up to the mark, dishes that retain stains of previous meals, food that isn’t cooked hygienically or tastefully, and unprofessional attitudes (i.e. asking for higher salaries than what’s fixed in a society, answering back, grumpiness etc.) lead ladies into fraught-with-anxiety discussions about maids and the daily annoyance they cause them.

But is there a way around this? Is there a way we can stop this profuse time drain? Can we find a way to discuss maids less (no one needs to stop ‘coz we need to talk sometimes to find a way out), so we can pack our days and conversations with more hearty and interesting things?

Over the years, having employed a variety of domestic help, most of whom entered my home with a bucket load of baggage and attitude issues, I can safely say that the help at the end of my arm is way more reliable. 

As my son crossed his toddler stage, I slowly delegated less and did more to reclaim my peace. We went intentionally maid-free when we moved to as big town (for a while we hired someone for the basics, but again, we noticed that that brought in more hassles, so we went back to our maid-free existence).

Note 1: I don’t spend the entire day cooking and cleaning – in case, you’re wondering if that’s all I do, so I can mange in maid-free mode. With an almost 5-year-old, a blog to write, workshops to teach and a new green start-up to grow & tonnes of books to read and hobbies to tend to, my day includes all of this and cooking & a dash of cleaning.

Note 2: I’m not suggesting firing the maid (like I did).

With these 5 methods anyone can reclaim control over their house chores + time and be less dependent on maids and maid-related issues:

1. Invest in a dishwasher: I bought a dishwasher a year back and can say that it’s one of the best things to have happened to our home. The dirty dishes, once stacked properly, are squeaky clean and germ-free after a wash cycle. Whether its summer and the basin water too hot to put my hands in, or winter with freezing cold tap water (yes, in Punjab, the water was just as temperamental as the climate), I don’t really have to worry about the temperature of the water anymore. Neither do I have to fret about semi-clean utensils or a wild jumble of washed dishes in the drying rack, waiting for a maid to arrange on the shelves. Yes, at Rs 36,000, the cost of a dishwasher might seem steep, but it’s worth every little penny in terms of the stress-free dishwashing experience that it offers.

2. Check if you need cleaning gadgets or tools: There are great cleaning tools available in the market that can make the mundane chore of cleaning and mopping a lot easier. I use a spin mop to wipe up the floors, but someday, I wouldn’t mind getting a Floor Cleaning Robot. Yes, you heard right – there are circular robots that’ll sweep and mop for you (google the offerings by Milagrow). Interspersed with manual cleaning, it’s a great house-cleaning solution. Also, stocking a cleaning caddy with everything you need (baking soda, surface cleaner, cloth wipes, duster, scrubbers and brushes) to dust and wash around the house, makes chores a tad easier. And of course, we all have washing machines, so that's one job less to worry about.

3. Elbow grease and gym workout: We often drive to the gym to work out and keep fit, or invest in a treadmill for a home-based workout. But interestingly, a full-body workout is available for free right at your home via house cleaning and chores. Whether you’re sweeping, mopping the floors (even with a Spin Mop), dusting, wiping gadgets around the house, washing bathrooms or even emptying your dishwasher, you’re engaging all kinds of muscles and keeping those joints supple.

4. A change in how we perceive housework, including daily cooking: A slight shift (okay, Major shift) in our attitude about doing our own work (at least a lot of it, if not all) instead of having to get it done by someone else, even if we’re not happy with their output or attitude, can make a Lot of difference in how we approach housework. Its food for our family and it’s the house we live in – when I keep that in perspective, a lot can get done through DIY.

5. Ask your family members to help: Whether it’s your spouse or kids, everyone can do something for the house – it’s their home too and chipping in just makes the load lighter. When kids are involved in keeping their home or room clean, they understand the value of work, won’t depend on others to clean up after them when they grow up and will learn life skills. My husband helps me keep our home clean, while our little one, does what he can (like grate the cheese, mop up the spills he makes, pick up crumbs, prune the houseplants & water them). I totally believe that just one person cannot do every single task to run a home, especially, if you’re also managing business/project/job.

Try these five tips and see if you can free up time. I get more done with less stress with this maid-free/minimum approach than when I had more help. Yes, when we’re not discussing maids most of the time or following them around to check if they are cleaning/mopping properly or showing them how to clean or cook our way or trying to figure out why they answered back when you were perfectly polite, we can reclaim back precious time (yup, even while doing a fair chunk of the housework with the help at the end of our arms). Time that we can spend reading books, learning a new skill, watching a movie at home or setting up a venture.

Do you do a lot of your own work + cooking? If you have any tips to get it done more efficiently, do leave a comment below.

And hey if you're on Twitter, follow us at @chandanawriter.

Would you like to detoxify your personal care products, greenify your home and introduce your kids to eco-friendly ways? Download my 17-min Online Workshop for Free at Gorgeous Girls Go Green.

#maid #housework #housechores #housecleaning #cooking #dishwasher #spinmop #time #stressfree 

My dream: To support women & girls through their wellness and green living sojourn

Exactly a year ago, I sent a wish out into the Universe. I wanted to get back to working with women as a Health Coach, like I did before my son was born (my wellness practice was called Luscious Health). But this time round, I wanted to do things differently. Support more women. Create varied offerings. Work towards making something better. However, I didn’t know what shape this dream would take at that time.

12 months on, it’s morphed into this melting pot of gentle wellness, green living and creativity called Gorgeous Girls Go Green – a resource center that works with women and children to empower them with gentle + eco-friendly lifestyle choices. 

A resource center? Well, a one-stop shop to tank up on green wellness through our digital magazine, a bouquet of wellness workshops and eco + skin-friendly bodycare products. GGGG is all about learning, sharing and implementing all that knowledge through small, practical steps.

It might be easy to call Gorgeous Girls Go Green an eco venture, a micro-business or a project. But what I wish for it to be is a warm and cozy blanket that’ll offer you comfort when you need it. That cup of coffee or tea that you reach out for at a busy time. That buddy you turn to for support or help or a few minutes of sparkles.

photo credit: www.unspalsh.com

Let Gorgeous Girls Go Green be your very own 4G Network. Let it be your go-to friends’ group when you need to slow down or take care of yourself, or do something to make this world a better place. Does any of it resonate with you? Join me on this sojourn on a new path. Like the Gorgeous Girls Go Green Page on Facebook to stay connected . See ya around J.

And ladies, how can I support you as you strive to stay well, go green and be creative? Drop in a comment below or contact me via our GGGG Facebook page.

#gorgeousgirlsgogreen #greenliving #womenswellness #ecowellness

From a post-partum mommy to yoga teacher - the journey and the learning

Yoga has been my daily go-to practice for over three years now and it's been a kind of meditation on the mat, nourishing me on an everyday basis. I wrote this little 'essay' about what yoga means to me while studying for my Yoga Teacher's Certification, and recently dusted it out from a dormant folder to share it with all of you. 

My son was born 3.5 years ago, and the birth and what happened right after, turned my bones into mush. Well, not really. But I did feel like my bones creaked, and I had aches and pains that I had never suffered from before. Suddenly, in those two weeks after my son’s birth (the post-birth period that’s considered so sacred and crucial in a new mother’s journey), my body seemed to go from being strong and balanced to achy and weak. I now understand the reasoning behind the ancient philosophy which recommends that mothers use this post-partum time to rest and rejuvenate.

So, in spite of exercising all through my pregnancy and eating nourishing foods, the post-birth trauma left me with a physical form that felt it belonged to someone so much older. My moods went out of whack - a combination of post-birth hormones and lack of sleep. And I piled on the weight quickly because I used to be perpetually ravenous after feeding an equally ravenous baby round the clock.

I got back to going for long walks and doing a bit of post-partum yoga. But as the months rolled on, I wondered if I’d ever get back even half the stamina and strength that I had before my son was born. I understood that body shapes change and that the birth of a child changes you in more ways than one. But I also wasn’t ready to accept this much-chubbier version of myself and didn’t quite know how embrace the person I had become.

That’s when I turned to yoga. I searched for yoga classes in our area and found none. I bought yoga videos but craved for more new routines. I saw online classes, but couldn’t understand the safe foundations for the poses. I was desperate to work with a yoga teacher, but when I couldn’t fine one where we live, I decided to become one. I worked from ground up.

Why today is a gift + a wellness plan

On some level and at different degrees, I’ve embraced the fact that a healthy life is a gift. That even the most ordinary days are extraordinary if we wake up to acknowledge and live this piece of truth. 

But the light of this truth ebbs and flows, depending on what’s on my to-do list, who has said what about me, where am I on that particular day etc etc. Our daily routines, the tug of war that we fill up our schedules with, the minutiae of chores and voices, often tarnishes this fact – this fact that our days are priceless gifts waiting to be unwrapped.

11 ways to say "No" to gossip

Let’s get to the point. Gossip is woven into the fabric of our lives, whether we like it or not. We attract it, indulge in it, abhor it. It follows us around as we make our way around the office (if you have gossipers there); peeps out from across the wall, when we live in tightly-knit communities with glass houses and time spooling out in luxurious swirls. It can follow us around like a faithful puppy, hold us captive like a dress two sizes small, remind us how painful it can sometimes be, like a shoe that's too tight.

Source

We get chastised for indulging in gossip, or even for attracting it. And if you let it, it can tie you up in knots, making you flounder with self-doubt at every step. So what do you do, when the tentacles of gossip promise to hold you in its cold embrace? Whatever you do, don't spend too much of your precious time getting a headache or feeling desperately low. 

Here’s what I do when gossip comes calling:

1. “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild, precious life?” – Mary Oliver. Write this and put it up around the house. It’s true isn’t it, that the time we have on earth is precious and it makes absolutely no sense frittering it away, fretting about what others think of us or expect out of us.

2. Spread joy. Like anyone, I often get bothered when a scrap of gossip is thrown my way. But I do understand that the gossip-creators may get some sort of happiness from their flirtation with negativity. So if this spreads joy in someone’s life, if gossiping about me gives someone something to do, as worthless as it may be, then so be it. As long as they are happy and I am happy, that’s all that really matters.

3. Stay inspired. In my work as a journalist, I often meet people who are making a change in this society, by working towards a cause or helping others. It’s amazing what some people do with their time. We all have 24 hours, but while some spend it gossiping or worrying too much about what others say, there are those who are making a huge difference in this world. And I realize that I have a choice about what I can do with my time, and I graciously choose the latter.

4. Be grateful. I have so much of gratitude for what I have – my family, my talents and creativity, a certain sense of grounding and spirituality. I would be a fool to let any of this get tarnished because of what others expect or talk about me.

5. Acknowledge the suffering in the world. While I do not enjoy reading newspapers full of calamity reports, I am well aware of the suffering that is a daily part of this world and the lives of fellow humans. Just this acknowledgement can put things in perspective and I understand how self-created issues like gossip are.

6. You are the boss of you. I’m known to be a bit of a rebel, but really, I don’t believe that anything negative that anyone says about me, should make me change my ways (unless it’s harmful). Others’ opinions are just that – opinions and that’s where I like to keep them, at an arm’s distance.

7. What others think of you is none of your business. I mean really, if it’s their business, why should you really pay much heed to it anyway? We can’t control others' thoughts and words, and also, this is a free country, so just turn the other way and find other meaningful things to do.

8. Stay loose (i.e don't get uptight about it). Can tying yourself up in knots, worrying about what people will think stop others from thinking or talking? Since it can’t, lead life on your own terms. As long as you’re kind and not going out of your way to hurt anyone, everything should be okay.

9. Find things to do that involve your passions. Art, social work, writing, craft, yoga – invest your time in positive things, and you’ll see the difference it makes.

10. Stop the curiosity cycle. Do we need to know what others are saying about us behind our backs? Does that enrich our lives in anyway? If it doesn’t, the next time a whiff of gossip comes riding on the north wind, just turn away and find something else to talk about.

11. And lastly, what you don’t know, can’t hurt you.

Tell us how you dismiss gossip, at our Facebook Page.

#gossip #toxic #staypositive #happiness #beyourself

A chat about business and books with Megha Mehta

I’d like you to meet my buddy from my Institute of Integrative Nutrition days. Megha Mehta is a mother, health coach, writer and business woman, and she juggles all these roles with her balance mantra. Here we chat about what she does and how we as mothers can find time to fit in our dreams.

(Psst…Megha also has a offer for 20 of our blog readers. So stay tuned!)

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a holistic health coach and energy medicine practitioner and a work from home mother of a 4yr old.

I started coaching 3 years ago and my work has been evolving ever since. I most actively work with women - working and stay at home mothers.

Megha, you’d published a book earlier, right? What was it about? 

My first book was called Find Your Rhythm - feel your way to perfect wellness. It was all about letting go of the stress around being healthy and eating well. It was about understanding the huge role that our bodies' play in guiding us towards eating and living well.

What is your current book about? Have both your books been self-published?

This book is an updated second version and is called Find Your Rhythm - Your Guide To Eating and Living Optimally For Your Body's Specific Needs.

Both my books have been self published.

Will you please share with the process of self-publication?

It's a hugely creative process that gives you full freedom to create your work the way you like it. You can decide the level, scale, and intensity of work and time and money investment that you would like to put in.

I enjoyed the process very much but it was also very draining in parts. I have learned a lot through the process however!

You also run a essential oils biz. Please tell us about the blends you create and the idea behind this biz.

Essential Oils are the most purest and potent part of the plants and I have been fascinated by them for a long time. In fact, I got so hooked to them that I gradually collected a drawer full of essential oils from different countries. I use them for every day mood upliftment, refreshing, relaxing, soothing, and also specific purposes like adrenal support.

When I moved back to India I realised that the range of essential oils here was very limited and also there were barely any blends available. That's when I decided to create some of the most useful blends under my brand name - The Balance Mantra.

The first three in this range are Perk Up - for relaxation, calming and uplifting, DeBuzz for mosquitoes and bugs and De Congest for Sinus congestion, colds and flus.

We are soon launching blends for sleep, meditation and prayers too. They're all available online on Amazon.

How do you think moms like us can take an idea and create it into a tangible product/business ?

I think it's important to start with the message that you want to share with the world. What is the thing that you want to shout from roof tops about - and want the world to take notice and adopt?

Then find ways to get your message out there. Blog, youtube channel or even just your Facebook account are great ways to refine your message and clarify your communication about the idea you're passionate about. As you start interacting with people about the idea, you'd have gotten your market research and will find the confidence to launch!

Will you please tell us more about the offer that you have for our readers?

For the blog readers I'd like to offer 20 spots to get the online training program 'Body Feedback System' for free when they order my book Find Your Rhythm' this 29th of March' 2016 on Amazon.in.

1.Go to Amazon.in - search for Find Your Rhythm.
2. Order for the print or Kindle version online
3. Forward me the email receipt at megha@thebalancemantra.com to get your free access.

The spots are only 20 so make sure to be the first few to order.

#motherhood #wellness

I'm back for good

Hello, you guys! You must have thought I had shut shop and disappeared into the wispy blue skies of cyber space. I don’t blame you for thinking so. I have been away for the longest of time. And I owe you a reason.

image credit: david ragusa

The back story: I had signed up for my very first Yoga Teacher’s Training with Aura Wellness Center, a yoga school that gives online and onsite teacher training. At that time, my son was a little over a year old. So a lot of my yoga practice and study sessions would involve him climbing over me and scuttling under me as I pretzeled myself into the Downward Dog, the Bridge Pose or some of my other favorite poses. I’d try to sneak in a few pages of study while he napped, very often with him napping on me.

My progress was slow and before I could realize, I had come upon the finish line of the course. That’s when I grabbed whatever leisure time I had and spun it into my study time. And so, blogging was set aside for a while, a long while actually.

But here I am. Back for good. And with a special announcement: I am a Certified Yoga Teacher now. Yayyy!!!! And I passed my written as well as practical exams with High Honors! Yummy…these little milestones and achievements are sweet!

Now, I’m hoping to teach yoga classes in my community, and maybe, also take a few classes in the gyms out in town.

Along with that, I’m hoping to make this a very creative year. As 2015 handed over its torch to 2016, as firecrackers lit up the sky at the strike of 12, as time offered us another gift of fresh beginnings, this little word came floating by. CREATIVE.

I’ve never woven a year around a word, but this one seemed just right. After over 2.5 years of not painting much or creating much, this word with its abundance of possibilities makes me want to explore the various ways I can be creative. The idea is to create instead of planning a project and then getting daunted by the time involved.

Here are some of the things I want to do to honor this word:

Knit (I am an amateur knitter and scarves are the only thing I seem to knit. But I enjoy the process of sitting back and looping yarn around a pair of needles.)

Crochet (This is on my want-to-learn list.)

Embroider (Am planning to embroider a set of silk cushion covers.)

Sew (This one is a lofty goal, but am planning to use several online resources to crack this code.)

Create collages (With canvas and paper, my own drawings and coloring book cutouts.)

Fill up more coloring books.

Draw a series of posters featuring Jojo, my curly-haired girls.

Be more spontaneous in trying new creative adventures.

What is your word for 2016?

I’m on my way to becoming a yoga teacher and this couldn't have come at a better time

I think I may have mentioned it here and there in some of my posts. But here’s the full ‘announcement’. I’m studying to be a Certified Yoga Teacher! And it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Here’s why.

When I signed up for the year-long course from the well-known Aura Wellness Centre two months ago, I wasn’t sure if this was the time to take on something so intensive. Or, if an online course was the thing to do. Or, if I’d really be able to cope with the studies and the daily practice, what with a turbo toddler to chase after through the day. I was excited when I got my box of study material, but overwhelmed too. How would I master so many yoga poses? How could I read all those books and look at so many videos, and practice regularly?

I wrote to my teacher at the yoga school, and he told me to take each day as it comes, to practice my asanas to the best of my abilities, to enjoy the moment. A piece of advice that works so well for our daily lives if we let go of the desire to control each outcome and go with the flow. That’s when I let go of that coiled-up breath that I was holding onto, and just enjoyed my practice.

I still worry. I still try to visualize the outcome. But not as much. And guess what? I’m enjoying my yoga practice more and more with every passing day. I’m realizing that this course, this practice couldn’t have come at a better time.

With my attention & energy being bisected by 101 things and a roller coaster of toddler moods to skate through, this one thing, this hour of yoga time helps me stay grounded and centered. It makes those muscles work, opens up those knots in my body and brain, and steadies my soul.

It’s helping me let go of some of that post-birth chubbiness, filling me up with a booster shot of energy (which I desperately need in this season of life), and letting me stay calm when a storm whirls around my head. Yoga – just four little letters that help me focus on the now and works like a balm on frazzled nerves.

Ah…so I didn’t mean to write a jingle for a Yoga advert. But honestly, this is what yoga has been like for me. And interestingly, my son loves this mat-time too. He climbs over yoga blocks, thinks I’m a tunnel that he can chug under when I’m in Downward Dog yoga pose, snuggles up to me when I’m right in the middle of a Surya Namaskar, and plays ‘horse horse’ when I’m in Cobra pose. He often shares my yoga mat with me, dragging his current favorite toy or trinket onto it and playing there while I twist myself into yet another pose.

In a year, I’d like to teach other women this amazing art + exercise, create classes where yoga is equal parts fun and practice, and craft a community where people can be their true selves on the mat and in the world. I’d also like to learn Restorative yoga and Children’s yoga - two areas of yoga that fascinate me. But for now, I’ll return to my mat.

What do you like about yoga? Drop in a line here or join us at my Facebook page to continue the conversation.

#yoga #yogateacher

What we're eating to boost our immunity this winters...

How I miss the sunshine...

The winter up here, in the plains of Punjab where we live are chilly at the best, and gloomy, bone-bitingly cold, teeth-chatteringly miserable at the worst. And where we live, central heating is the thing that you dream of while toasting your hands around a room heater, dreading that moment when you have to walk out of the room into the chillier parts of the house. You get the picture, right? ;-)

So as days slide between thick foggy mornings, cold misty evenings and pale yellow afternoons with a poached-egg of a sun, it’s getting even more important, and more challenging to stay healthy and flu-free. With bugs thick in the air and sniffles and fever knocking on every door, I’ve been trying different ways to boost our immunity and keep us an arm’s distance away from winter infections. I’m not sure how much of a victory I can claim, but I’m going to try every little trick in my book of holistic living.

Eating healthy and fresh is one of the essential ways we’ve been trying to stay fit in this difficult season. We’re tanking up on things that fill us up with nutrients and keep our immunity at its hilt (at least that's the aim). Here are a few simple things we’re eating.

Setting myself up for a mini creative challenge

Missing the ho-hum of family time...

I’ve been looking forward to Mondays ever since my husband’s been off on another tour of duty. Emotionally and psychologically, it sets the week rolling on a merry pace bringing his homecoming date a bit closer, with just the long weekends to break the pace. It’s the weekends that feel like blocks of concrete. Chunky. Static. Boring. It’s the day when your friends are with their families, when people around are out on weekend trips, when everyone has something else to do. It’s the day that reminds me of what we’re missing out on. Cozy family time and movies in our leisure room, long chats and lots of home cooking, unwinding and slowing down.

So the weekend that just hobbled by was slow and gray and dull. The skies were overcast with a steady drizzle notching up the chill factor of the winters here. We sat cooped up inside, huddled in front of the heater, entertaining Neel and getting him to expend some of that coiled up energy that he so thrives on.

Thoroughly numbed by the deadpan of the days, I decided that I needed to do something to ramp up the creativity, to shake up things in a good way, to add fireflies to the grayness of the days. 

What could I do bring a sway and a stir to my long single parenting days? So, I came up with my own creativity challenge. A set of new creative mini adventures to add sparkle to my otherwise long mommy days. The activities should be such that I’m able to fit them in during Neel’s naptimes or do them in small snippets of time when he is up and about (this means he should be happy to play alongside while I do that particular activity and if you’re a mom, you know how implausible that can be with toddlers). The activities should be fun for me, should teach me something, should get me to flex different creative muscles.

Rescuing Ourselves With This...

With winter striding in stealth mode, towing along a bag-full of germs and viruses, it’s time to rev up our immunity and get ready to battle the cold. This past week, we’ve had someone or the other sick at home, down with a scratchy throat, a running nose, a fever or body ache (I have a scratchy throat right this moment). And even though 13+ months of breastfeeding my son did arm him with good germ-fighting abilities, the viruses swirling around in the air are beginning to take a toll on him.

The winter’s only going to get colder, more severe, more sun-less. And the air is only going to get thicker with germs and viruses. So, to prepare for the five months of long, chilly, flu-full winters, I’m dipping into my box of essential oils to prevent illnesses.

Why Staying Happy Needs Practice (and the 7 ways I try to keep my handle on happiness)

photography by chandana banerjee

There’s so much being written about happiness. From books to projects to blogs, the subject of happiness is buzzing around in sunshine yellow circles. With enough being said and researched about what happiness is and how to stay happy, I’m not going to try to analyze it further. I’m sure each of you has her own definition of happy.

But, being an inherently happy person (my mother still calls me her “sunshine girl”) as well as someone who gets bitten by the anxiety bug very quickly (we’re all a bundle of contradictions!), I’ve realized that staying happy (and this is different from ‘being happy’) needs a lot of work. It needs more than just the will to be happy. It’s more than getting wrapped in a haze of excitement and then tumbling town the scales just as quickly. It’s more than 7-hours of chatting and laughing (the parties in the services are for approx 7 hours). It’s more than a few hours of giddy joy or a shopping spree or a bushel of praise (though all of these contribute a little bit towards creating this mosaic of happiness).

Happiness, the one made with solid gold, the one made of sterner stuff, takes practice. It takes effort. It takes a lot of deep breaths and a lot of letting go. It takes self-nourishment and wisdom, heartbreak and love. It takes more than a few dinner parties and social media joy, more than a big bonus and a spectacular car/house/dress/gadget. It can take years and days before you start getting the hang of it.

When mining the gold in our days is a simple step away...(friends, stories & positive stuff)

Photo credit: Tina A. Mathur & Sandeep Banerjee

Life’s what we make of it. And so is our internet time. Whether we fritter away those moments online (or offline), posting negative comments, angry words or wisps of judgment, or leave a bread crumb trail of positivity -  what we do with our time, our life, our days, is often up to us.

Just the other day, Priyanka - a friend, fellow writer and Air Force wife, passed on a gratitude challenge to me. We had to list out and post all those things we are grateful for; the abundance and the love, our family and our friends, the food on our table and the clothes on our back. The small and the big, the old and the new, the tangible and the intangible. Gratitude in all its forms, in all its glory, in all its simplicity.

My Attitude to Gratitude: This is what it looks like for me…

From my window, gratitude looks like a piece of bright blue sky, a day full of golden sunshine and a picnic lunch, a plate of buttered toast with real fruit preserve. An hour’s worth of exercise with blood rushing through my veins and oxygen through my lungs, a good book savored sans interruptions, half-a-cup of delicious coffee – strong with just a hint of sugar. My husband coming home after a day of flying.

Gratitude for me is about a day full of peace and joy. A holiday spent with my husband and son, a walk with my dog, a bowl of soup relished in a pool of lamp light. Gratitude is cooking a nourishing meal for my family, watching a movie at home, a snuggle and a cuddle, kind words and laughter.

How I'm letting go of assumptions

How much time does it take to slap on an assumption about what someone said or did? A minute or less, right?

I’ve done it sometimes, and I bet, you must have too. At least, at some point in your life, on a bad day or good, while at work or at a party, while listening to someone speak or while people watching at the airport, while talking to other mothers or munching popcorn with a bunch of pals.

Good Morning Monday + The Slow Yourself Challenge

Hello! How have you been?

I’m in Pune, visiting my parents and enjoying some downtime. Slowing down in every sense of the word. Letting go of to-do lists. Cutting back on writing & reading, chores & tasks, home management & cooking.

I’m in a good-kind of lull. Resting before I head back to set up my home in the north of India. Dust and decorate, clean and cherish a sprawling bungalow that’s been without its dwellers (us!) for almost two years. There’s a lot of work waiting for us next week – new routines and to-do lists to me made, meal plans to be created and a sense of warmth to be infused into that shell of a house.

16 promises to myself

Yesterday, I was scrolling through a messaging service, when I suddenly came upon a known face. A young mother and Air Force wife, whom I’d known from my time at another air base. Our stay at that base had overlapped by a few months. We’d often bump into each other during our evening walks. She with her new baby and me with my music. We’d exchange words and smiles. Talking about work, hobbies and life.

 Soon after we met, they moved to another base and we lost touch. What remained were memories of our chats.

So, when I stumbled upon her picture yesterday and read the RIPs below, I was shocked to discover that this vibrant young woman’s life had been cut short by cancer.

My head reeling and my heart heavy from this news, I stayed awake for a long time, thinking about her and the fickle nature of life. I thought about her little girl, her husband, her parents. I thought about what her dreams for her life had been.

I thought about the twists and turns of life, the dead-ends that can be slammed upon us at any moment, the shifting nature of our journey on Earth.

I also wondered about how often I took my time here for granted. Something that most of us do, as we let the days trickle away, confident that we’ve got at least another 30, if not more, years to fill with our dreams.

So, I made some promises to myself.

This is what I choose to remember and choose to do, every day that I wake up to a new morning:

·          Each day is a gift.

·         Each day deserves to be relished, like a glorious-but-melting ice-cream on a summer day.

·         Make learning a priority. Learn a new craft, a new hobby, a new skill.

·         Let go of mental clutter. Or at least, try to on a regular basis.

·         Stay away from drama – it just eats away precious time; time that could be used for better things.

·         Fill my day with what matters – family, laughter, knowledge, play, creativity, love, writing.

·         Write down my stories, my words, my journeys.

·         Avoid frittering away time on things that don’t matter.

·         Keep gossip & gossipy people, negativity & fluff at an arm's distance

·         Pick my battles wisely.

·         Spend time in nature, every single day.

·         Be grateful for what I have today.

·         Revel in this journey called motherhood – a journey filled with peaks and troughs, clouds and rainbows, smiles and tears, joys and challenges.

·         Surround myself with my haven – my son, husband and parents.

·         Nurture the person that’s me with exercise and nourishing food, alone-time and the arts, writing and work that talks to my soul.

·         Be less of a worrier (very challenging to practice, but I’m trying my best here!).

What will you promise yourself?

photo credit: sandeep banerjee