Playin’ The Edge

Now that you’ve de-cluttered, here’s how to get rid of the stuff:

1. Give items to a friend or family member. You’ll feel good about giving them something they’ll use and enjoy and that has so much more value than watching it collect dust at your place. Hand it over and immediately feel good.

2. Sell it. If you want money for stuff, organize a yard or garage sale. Keep prices low, that way your customer feels good they got a bargain and you feel good that you don’t have to carry it back into your place - everyone wins. Also, post on Craiglist, For Sale news groups and anything else that’s available. If it feels like alot, just focus for one week, you can get rid of so much stuff and then you will have a few bucks to do something fun with.

3. Give to charity. Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Diabetes Association pick stuff up with their truck here, you probably have charities around that do the same. Make use of it. Your stuff goes to a good cause and you get clear fresh space.

4. Drop boxes. You have those drop boxes for clothing etc. at the gas station or store? Make a regular habit of tossing stuff in a bag and when it’s full drop it off to a box that’s on your driving route.

5. Give it to the garbage man. If all else fails, just toss it. Yes, it’s great and you got it for your birthday but let’s say it again together - if you don’t LOVE it and don’t USE IT it has no value to you - so toss it.

When you find the methods that work for you, regular clearing becomes routine so your space doesn’t get cluttered again. We yogis put a priority on clearing our bodies of stuck energy - now your house gets to enjoy the same results. Here’s to feeling calm, happy and stress-free in our own homes surrounded by things we love, that reflect who we really are. Happy clearing.

So let’s talk about clearing clutter. Here’s how to do it. Turn on some good tunes, roll up your sleeves and tackle one room. Identify everything you don’t love or use regularly. Everything else you need to get rid of. If you don’t love it, it’s a downer to have around. If you don’t use it, it has no value to you so it’s a downer. If it makes you think you “should” do something you have no intention to do, that’s a downer too. Be who you are and surround yourself with only the stuff you use and value. You do yoga to treat your body as a temple right? You need to treat the real estate in your place as a temple too.

When you look at your mantle or a tabletop it should contain a *few* things, each of which you love and that make you smile. It should not be crowded with inappropriate gifts that don’t speak to you but you’re too guilty to ditch. Ditch it. The person who gave you the gift will not notice, or they’ll love you anyways. Not convinced? Then offer them the gift back and they can value it. If you’re really not sure about something, put it in a box and create a reminder to check in a month if you missed it or not - then ditch it. Ditch stuff that spoke to who you were five years ago. Move on. Ditch books that you know you won’t open again, we know you’re smart and well-read, now move on.

This is also a good time to think about storage - the things you love and value should be stored in furniture that makes them accessible and keeps them clean and organized. It’s great to have 200 CDs if you love music, but they shouldn’t be in stacks all over your living room gathering dust. Organize them so you can find them and enjoy them.

This doesn’t mean you don’t have a junk drawer, but it’s a contained spot and it gets a go-through regularly too. I’m a pretty sentimental person so I love my tchotchkes and used to believe that I needed to be surrounded by them all the time. Then I purged a bunch and kept only the ones I love in a box in the basement. I take out only a couple at a time and cycle through them based on my mood and the season. This way my living space isn’t jammed and I appreciate them more.

When you’ve got a room de-cluttered give it a good cleaning. Then notice how it feels. Sit in it and look around. Notice the stuff and how it makes you feel. Now you’ll feel motivated to move to the next room to achieve the same results.

When you’ve done a room-by-room clutter clearing it gets easier. Your space feels so great that you’ll want to maintain it. You may gather up new stuff less. You may start to look at your stuff with a more discerning eye regularly. And that’s good because ideally clutter-clearing should become a habit.

Here’s a good one - when you pull out your winter clothes go through them. Anything that doesn’t excite you, turf it, before it even gets into your closet. As you’re putting the summer stuff away turf anything you *didn’t* wear. This a great way to guarantee that you don’t stand in front of the closet and say “I’ve got nothing to wear!”. There may be less stuff in it, but everything that’s there works for you.

It’s interesting how much this process brings up our issues. Do we horde stuff because we believe we may not get any more - ever? Do we buy stuff that we hope will say certain things about us? Do we hope that the stuff we have in our place will reflect parts of ourselves that we want to be on display? It’s interesting process in letting go and being who we really are.

The fact is, there is no need to horde stuff because, new stuff *always* comes around, in abundance. This is all about trusting the Universe — you’ll be OK without this clutter because you are enough. You can trust you’ll always get what you need. And you don’t need *stuff* to tell people who you are. Right?

The next post is about getting rid of the clutter.

Taking care of our space is an ideal task for Fall. We talk about spring cleaning, but fall is just as good a time to get rid of stuff. In some ways it’s better because you know you’ll be inside your place more. It’s a good time to rethink the stuff that’s sharing your space. I’m really sold on de-cluttering. I used to be the tchotchke queen and now you wouldn’t know it, and I like my living space so much better. Don’t think that it’s all cold blank minimalist, but it is clear and comfortable (or at least that’s my standard). So I’m going to devote more than one post to this topic. First some background:

Decluttering is very much a part of feng shui. There’s a good book called Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui . It is a good down-to-earth useful resource and the best value is that she talks you out of your stuff. She gives you all the reasons why your reasons for holding onto junk are as useless as the junk itself. That helps you start to mentally do inventory while you’re reading to get you in the mood. She does get a little uber-gleeful in parts, but you can’t doubt her commitment to the subject.

So the Feng Shui thing boiled down, is about energy. You know how you can’t wait to get to your yoga mat when you feel tight and stiff and pockets of energy have holed up in your body? Your house feels the same way. The piles of magazines, useless tchotchkes and depressing items your ex gave you do the same thing. Stuck energy glues to the things in your house making your space feel heavy, sodden and tired. When you get rid of the clutter then the energy moves more freely - your place feels brighter, lighter and more spacious. You make room for good things to come into your life.

Another component of Feng Shui is the baguas. I didn’t really trust Feng Shui initially because I thought they were just too simple - like I put a plant and a mirror in my “love” corner and ohmygod now there’s a hot man in my life?? Come ON. But my Feng Shui guru Grace MacKnight told me that it’s all about intention. And thanks to yoga I get that. If I want to make a change in my life, reflecting my committment to that intention in my space will continually remind me. Even when it’s an unconscious reminder, it’s really powerful.

And I think that’s the value Grace and her Feng Shui skills brings to table. She works consciously on the elements that affect us unconsciously - and her touch results in a really *comfortable* space that works harmoniously. Even if you’re not sure why. I went to her house once to walk her labyrinth. She lives in a straw bale house in the forest on a lake. I walked into her place and felt like I could have dropped into a seat and immediately fallen asleep. How often do you feel like that at someone else’s house? Heck, how often do you feel like that in your own house? Her place was comfortable and spacious and yet cozy. If had the solid feeling of a cave with natural light. And I know she planned it that way. It made me realize how powerful intention can be in a living space.

But let’s get back to the beginning and talk more about clearing clutter in the next post.

Let me add to my last post - I don’t mean to make it sound like I’m going to use all my ‘buckle down’ Back-To-School Fall energy for eating squash. The other cool thing about this time of year is that you can get some fun projects on the go. Think of all the free time you’ll have now that you won’t be spending hours doing yoga on the beach, or lolling around reading trashy novels.

I started knitting a scarf three years ago at this time. It’s beautiful burnt orange wool from Norway that feels so good in my hands. I made the scarf way too wide so if I ever finish it (yeah right!) it’ll be more like a shawl than a scarf and good thing cause it’d be way too itchy to wear around my neck. But it can’t be a shawl either because it’s got too many holes in it. I decided I wasn’t going to rip out rows, that was just too depressing, I was just going to knit for the sheer meditative joy of it. And boy it must get me into the zone, it looks like I have a mouse in the house.

I’m thinking about starting another knitting project just so I can get intimate with some new wool. I’m hoping to go to a Pacafiesta event this weekend where, as far as I can tell, everyone brings their Alpacas, angora rabbits and other furry creatures to Exhibition Park and then knits, weaves or crochets their body covering into attractive garments. Holey orange shawls, if they’re lucky.

Knitting not your thing? There are plenty of projects you can start. And don’t give me this “I’m not creative” thing. Ever held a crayon in your hand? Then you’re creative. It was just beaten out of you by your algebra teacher and it’s high time you resurrect it.

It’s not about being *good* at it (no judgement!). It’s not about the *commercial value* of whatever you create. Don’t be such a capitalist oinker, you’re going to give your creations to the people that love you unconditionally. No expectations right? We do it because it’s fun. We do it because being boring responsible adults all day gets old. And finally, if you’re female and think that knitting and other crafty projects are too cute and girly and grandmother-in-an-apron, then read this.

K, are you over it? Great, here are a few resources to get the creative juices flowing:

Craftzine - good knitting illustrations and dead-easy Coco Lip Balm

Instructables - feel like there’s still so much to learn? Sure there is, learn how to make a boat, a chair, or a chocolate latte.

Get Crafty - you don’t need Pacafiesta! You can get your cat involved in the comfort of your own home. Here are tips on converting Snowball’s fur into felt.

There are some fun how-to’s here too - don’t miss hostess snack cake sushi and marble magnets. Impress your friends at cocktail parties with your mad skills!

Also, check out ReadyMade Magazine, WikiHow and PingMag from Japan.

Don’t just sit there - make something!

Even though I haven’t attended school in a zillion years, the breathless expectations that come with back-to-school time are welded into my bones. I didn’t put on a tartan skirt, with hair in pigtails, grab my barbie lunchkit and skip off to school this week. But it’s there. School’s starting. Time to buckle down.

It’s time I looked at my white pants with disgust. It’s about time to stop using shocking orange paint on my toenails. It’s time that I gleefully toss the last tablespoon of the husband’s hamburger relish and recycle the bottle (seriously, who over the age of 10 even *eats* relish?). And it’s high time I pulled up my socks.

We call this time “Fall” even though the season doesn’t technically change until the 21st, but really, this is it. Major change. I’m more likely to do resolutions this time of year than January. Try to do some things better. But of course the challenge is keeping it reasonable so I’m likely to stay on the wagon. Here are the tips I’m hoping to follow to keep it somewhat sane.

Work on 25% at a time. I heard a cool thing on the Ayurveda 201 podcast on Hip Tranquil Chick . She said for any change you want to make, work on changing just 1/4 at a time. Now I’d have some hope with that. Instead of quitting something lock stock and barrel, I’m going to try just easing back 25% at a time. I can handle that.

Pick one or two important things to focus on. Don’t bother trying to boil the ocean, if it’s worth doing it’s going to need focus. However I find it’s easier to *add* stuff to my life than to try to *stop* doing something. So if one of my goals is to eat more squash, then bring it on, I can do that and something else too. If my goal is to stop doing something I love? Then I’m gonna focus and not spread myself too thin.

Stay grounded. Ayurvedically-speaking, this time of year can be a very Vata time. Out bodies want to slow down with the seasons and instead we crank it up. So we end up feeling scattered and nutty. So in my yoga practice I’m going to make sure I do my calming forward bends. I’m going to eat warm food, keep some inward focus, take breaks and *breath*.

Wear layers. I’m too all-or-nothing to do the in-between seasons really well. I also often think I know in the a.m. exactly what I’m going to need for the day but in reality the weather is as fickle as, well, the weather. So I’m going to wear layers and be prepared. And put the white pants in storage.

These are a few of my intentions for the Fall, hopefully they’re useful for someone else too. Just remember to find out where the bathrooms are, offer to share your lunch and whatever happens - play nice! Happy back-to-school.

I was never really a choco-holic but lately I’ve discovered the joys of a good dark chocolate. Cadbury’s Premium Dark is my current fave but I still test drive other brands. My guy and I have discovered the the killer combo of eating chocolate between sips of red wine while we watch a movie.

I figure with all the antioxidants or whatever the good stuff is in dark chocolate and red wine, that you really can’t find a more virtuous snack. I mean as far as *real* snacks go. Not like a fruit snack which is ideal for 10:00 a.m. but ain’t gonna cut it at 10:00 pm. Chocolate and a good Cab are nutritious *and* delicious.

So if you eat the whole bar and consume the bottle, then you’ve just helped yourself to more healthy goodness right? In fact you’ve probably added whole years to your life right? Right?

Here’s a good article on the importance of getting enough sleep. It’s hard to imagine that something as useless as TV or web surfing could seem more important than sleeping, but I guess for some it makes sense. The benefits she mentions that stuck out for me - plain ol’ improved coping and thinking abilities. Also our bodies need time to mend during sleep - important after a tough yoga session. Happy Snoozing.

One thing yoga does well is make you really conscious about your feet. Not only do you get to parade them around naked for the class, but you get to look at them with every Sun Salutation. Taking care of your feet is a good thing. You don’t want to scare your classmates and you don’t want them to look like gnarly yellow claws when you’re older. The thing I’ve discovered is that feet *can* be improved after ignoring them for a long time and that doesn’t mean $40 pedicures or a lot of time.

Here’s a 10 minute fix for an evening at home:

1. Remove any nail polish
2. Fill a sink with warm water, jump up onto the counter and dunk your feet. Mmmmmm.
3. Lather up some mild soap, rub it on your foot and give the rough bits a good scrub with a pumice stone or one of those pedicure paddle thingies. If you’re low on equipment grab a handful of salt and rub that in. Repeat on the other side.
4. Push down your cuticles so you can see your toenails.
5. Blot your feet damp dry, sit down and rub in something uber-moisturizing. Body lotion is not enough here. Expensive spa-stuff is nice but for inexpensive options try Palmer’s Cocoa Butter . It smells like chocolate - just rub it between your hands to get it soft first. Other good options you’re likely to have around are Vaseline or oil. Really rub your heels and any calloused spots so that the skin gets warm and can absorb more. Don’t forget your nails and toes.
6. Put on some soft cotton socks so the good stuff really sinks in and you don’t leave footprints. Leave the socks on overnight if you can.

In the a.m. your feet will be attention-ready for every Sun Salutation.

I’m on the Wild Rose D-Tox program again. I used to do it regularly but it’s my first time in 3 years so it kinda feels like the first time. It comes with a pretty restrictive food menu. You stop eating all the bad or potentially bad stuff for the 12 days you’re on it. But I like it, it’s a good detox because of the food program. It makes me feel like a million bucks so I can only imagine what it’s doing to my insides. It makes me aware of all the eating and drinking habits I have that I really should consider ditching or at least keeping in check. But it’s tough because I can’t just easily do hippie food you know? I’m too much of a foodie to think that brown rice and tofu for almost 2 weeks is any fun.

It seems like at some point at the beginning of the program when I’m still feeling sluggish and surly I have the epiphany that I CAN’T EAT ANYING ON THIS STUPID PROGRAM and I’m convinced the 12 days are going to feel like 12 months. But the sluggish feeling passes and once my head clears in 2-3 days of it I can get creative about the food thing. To save you some of the same angst, here are a few things that have worked for me:

- Plan and Commiserate - If you can find a friend to do the program with, the support is amazing. Others in your life may not want to hear about your bowel movements, but someone else who’s on the program will actually find this interesting because they’re dying to discuss their own too. Also plan what you’re going to eat and face facts - you’re going to need to do some cooking. Having options on hand will keep the donuts from calling to you by name.
- Breakfast - I like hot cereal but when oatmeal resembels Lepages glue more than something edible it’s tough. Large flake oats help. Also Bob’s Red Mill has a non-wheat multigrain cereal that’s a great alternative. I throw in some chopped up dried plums (I don’t call them prunes, that’s gross) or chopped fresh fruit and a sprinkle of cinammon. Fill over the level of the mixture with hot water, nuke for a minute. Stir and add more water so it’s a little more watery than what you’ll want and nuke again for 30-60 seconds. Let it sit for a bit to cool and then dig in.
- Plan snacks - if you spend your workday away from your own fridge you need snacks. Rice cakes and almond butter seem to the faves. I also found some Scottish oat cakes that are made from just oats and a little oil, they’re yummy with nut butter. Rice crackers also work as a nut butter delivery system. I also found apple butter that is made from just apples, I dunno if this is technically too sugary because it’s so reduced, but I’ve had a swipe when i’ve really wanted something sweet. A bag of almonds, fresh fruit, containers of natural apple sauce with cinnamon sprinkles are all handy when your healthy lunch didn’t stick to your ribs the way MacDonalds does. My favourite evening snack if I’m still hungry is a bag of natural microwave popcorn, drizzled with butter that’s been melted with a squeezed garlic clove and a pinch of celtic sea salt in it.
- Check the health food section - I found that organic or healthy brand soups and broths often don’t have all the yeast, sugar etc. of regular stuff and so they fit into the food program. It’s nice to be able to tuck into some veggie chili when you’re hungry and need something quick. It’s also handy to have some broth to add to your brown rice or stirfry for extra flavour. Lentil soup can be a good one here too - consider add-ons like veggies, extra cumin or curry.
- Oven Timer - If you work all day and have an oven that will come on at a pre-set time make use of it! Make bake potatoes that you can top with butter and green onions or roast a bunch of veggies like sweet potatoes, carrots and beets with salt, pepper and a coating of oil. It makes them really sweet - make lots for leftovers the next day.
- Pasta Jones? - if you really miss noodley things, consider rice noodles, like the Rice Stick packages in the Asian section of the grocery store. They’re made from white rice so it’s a 20% category food, but with lotsa veggies in a stirfry they’re a good change from brown rice monotony. Consider making a stirfry ’sauce’ with almond butter, broth and lemon juice. It’s not a gooey peanut sauce, but it ain’t naked either.
- Spark up the Barby - as my Aussie sis-in-law would say. OK you’ll need to forgo the bbq sauce, but fish slow simmered in foil with butter and chives? Sweet potatoes in foil with butter? (Notice a pattern on the butter thing? Yeah, I’m happy that’s on the menu). Also, fresh beets? New baby carrots? Those little purple potatoes? Who says detoxing is hell, I’m in food heaven!
- Herbal Teas - if you don’t drink these normally stock up on good quality teas in fun flavours. There aren’t alot of drink options on this diet, so you’ll be happy to have something warm to sip on a cool a.m. or long evening.
- Consider buying the Wild Rose cookbook - it’s not expensive ($13 CDN) and it has additional info about the detox itself. Going through the recipes made me go - oh yeah, i guess I can eat that. For example, classic Cesear salad dressing with anchovies and all? Wouldn’t have occured to me.

Hope this helps you get through your 12 days of fun. While eating monotonous hippie food for 2 weeks may be an option, tastier options will be more likely to get folded into your regular eating when you finish the program. Then you can eat healthier long-term and your next detox will be even easier. Happy Cleansing!

Researchers have been finding proof of the validity of gut feelings. They call it the “Belly Brain” - a complex network of nerves that has it’s own intelligence. In yoga it’s generally referred to as our intuitive third chakra, but you say potato….

It does my heart good to see scientists studying and finding proof of the mind/body connection. So often it seems in science if they can’t poke at it, it doesn’t exist. While anyone who has done 30 minutes of yoga has experienced the connection first-hand.

Anyways, rant over, here are a couple of articles:

1. “There is a lot more to gut feelings than was previously believed”

2. “We are seeing that the gut is a very sensitive organ, so even if you are in another room, my gut can sense when you see a particularly evocative image and respond emotionally. Therefore, your state can actually influence my state.”