Finding a Yoga Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

June 27, 2019Leave a comment

After spending the last few months in Lisbon, working on my at home practice, I was very excited to touchdown in New York and get back in the studio.

When I started researching it was clear that I would have options, as there is certainly no shortage of yoga studios here, even in the vicinity of where I’m living. I was also pleasantly surprised by the introductory prices that several of the studios offered, providing the opportunity to get acquainted with the space and teachers before making a bigger commitment.

I consolidated my search down, based on location (Williamsburg) and type of introductory offers available, to the following three studios –

YO BK – $59 Introductory 1 Month Unlimited includes Williamsburg and Greenpoint studios (Hot yoga)
Loom Yoga – $40 Introductory 1 Month Unlimited (Vinyasa flow)
Lighthouse Yoga School – $59 Introductory 1 Month Unlimited (Variety of styles, see below)

All great prices to get started, I ending up signing up with Lighthouse Yoga School for a few reasons:

The Space: the studio itself is beautiful, as soon as I walked in I was warmly greeted and could feel the energy from the space, it gave me the sense that it was what I was looking for. It’s a small studio, in my first class there were 7 of us so I felt that teacher had the ability to connect with each student and offer adjustments.

The Style: the type of classes offered had me very interested as it blends many styles of yoga that I practice, for example the signature class, called JM Vinyasa, combines Ashtanga, Bikram, Iyengar, Forrest and Dharma yoga. The classes also give you a chance to work on inversions, built into the Vinyasa sequence, in addition to offering separate classes that focus on arm balances and backbending.

The Schedule: in addition to the variety of styles, there is plenty on offer on the schedule from 60 min to 2 hour classes, and a full schedule each day to keep things interesting.

So far I’m very happy with my choice and absolutely loving being back in a studio.

Finding inspiration now that I’m finding time

March 24, 2019Leave a comment

They say a change is as good as a rest, I am lucky enough to have both at the moment. Since leaving my job I have time back on my side, giving me the opportunity to evaluate different aspects of life with a fresh perspective. More than anything it has reminded me that time really is our most precious resource.

I’ve been spending my time doing more of the things that I used to say “I wish I had time to _____”. I’m sure you can fill in the blank quite easily, for me it was things like to travel more, meditate, take up a new hobby, but overall it’s being able to put my time and energy into things that matter to me.

Back in 2016 I launched AND TRAVEL WELL as an Instagram account followed by a website. Even though it was something I was so passionate about, I found it difficult to give it the time it deserved. Now, while time is somewhat more on my side I’ve been delighted to have the chance to re-focus and re-evaluate.

My first step was reviewing the visual side of the site, the layout, logo, and photography. I love taking photos, I always have, so it was important to me that this was at the forefront of the site. The logo came next, I was in a fortunate position to work with my favorite designer, and I couldn’t be happier with it.

The content has been the most challenging and rewarding part. There were posts and experiences I still wanted to share on the updated version of the site, however acknowledging that time has past I decided to rewrite the content and put the fresh perspective I have now into it (not being funny but going from your 20’s to your 30’s definitely changes the way you think about things).

It feels great to have the site live, and I am really enjoying having the time to focus on it again. I hope you enjoy!

“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.” – Eddie Cantor

How I got myself into the kitchen and cooking more

March 1, 2019Leave a comment

Some people are naturals in the kitchen, it’s a relaxing place for them, even therapeutic. I’m not one of those people. However, over the years and with practice I have actually started to enjoy cooking. I found the best way to learn was to experiment. The barrier I had, especially in college, was a lack of understanding of flavor combinations and use of seasoning, leading me to cooking very bland food.

I wouldn’t say I’m the most confident person in the kitchen, as in I wouldn’t jump at the chance to cook for a dinner party, however I love eating my own food now and do so regularly.

If you’ve had trouble getting started or looking for a bit of guidance, here are some tips that helped me when I decided to commit to cooking more.

Find inspiration – I love cookbooks, I have more than I know what to do with, but I found it essential to have a few of them on hand to inspire me and provide much needed guidance at the beginning. Some of the ones on my bookshelf are Jamie Oliver: 5 Ingredients, Green Kitchen Travels, & The Yoga Kitchen. Blogs and websites are also a great resource for this, as well as YouTube, but I’m more of a book girl. Some recipes I followed exactly, others I used as a base for flavor and adapted with ingredients that I had in the fridge or preferred over what was suggested. Most people would say follow the recipe exactly until you become more confident, but I learned in the process.

Basic equipment – You don’t need much to get started, a good knife, a non-stick pan, a chopping board and you’re in business. However, I highly recommend focusing on quality (doesn’t mean expensive), as it’s actually quite frustrating and dangerous to chop with a bad knife. Over time and as you progress, you may want to add to your kitchen tools, some of the ones I use most are my NutriBullet, spiralizer, and hand blender.

Plan ahead – With the busy lives we lead it’s so easy to put in an order with UberEats and not have to worry about cooking, so I found a bit of planning to go a long way. At the weekend I would look at recipes that would suit my schedule during the week, quick and easy with little prep and cook time after a long day. Making the process as easy as possible for yourself (the less thinking the better after work), means you won’t have to sacrifice on nutrition and cooking your own meals. For recipes that require more time, ingredients, and attention I usually skip during the week and maybe tackle when I have time at the weekend (that’s a big maybe, the meals I make still tend to be delicious yet quick and easy to cook).

Adapt to your taste – Although I absolutely recommend trying new ingredients, keep in mind you can adapt recipes to your taste. If you only cook with ingredients that are ‘healthy’, but you hate the taste then your time in the kitchen will be short lived. My approach was to introduce new vegetables or spices into my cooking slowly, and overtime my preferences have actually changed. Now I love cooking with chilies for example, a few years ago I would never have expected that.

Set the fear aside – Like many things in life it’s usually our own fear that keeps us from doing. Remember that it’s fine if the meal doesn’t turn out exactly as you expected. I can’t tell you how many dishes I cooked that didn’t look like the picture in the cookbook, but in most cases it still tasted great it just wasn’t going to win any awards for artistic merit. Have fun with it and if you’re really worried that the dish can’t be saved, then that’s what the backup pizza in the freezer is for.