What is a Mandala?

A mandala, which is Sanskrit for “circle,” is a geometric design that holds a great deal of symbolism in Hindu and Buddhist cultures mostly in China, Japan and Tibet. In their most basic form, mandalas are circles contained within a square and arranged into sections that are all organized around a single, central point. They’re typically produced on paper or cloth, drawn on a surface with threads, fashioned in bronze, or built in stone. Aside from the aesthetic beauty, Madalas provide symbolic guide for meditation and healing.

A mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol almost like a blue print. It can be understood in two different ways: visually as a visual representation of the universe and/or internally as a map for several practices including movement practices and meditation. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the belief is that by entering the mandala and moving towards its center, one is guided through the cosmic process of transforming one’s perception of the universe from one of suffering into one of joy and happiness.

As it relates to my work in yoga, mandalas represent ancient ideals; signifying a sacred space to shut away external influences, think a temple or church. Often, mandalas are positioned around a studio and sometimes even drawn during meditation periods. Similarly, mandala art is used in healing circles, a practice that derives from Native Americans. The circles are often associated with the restoration of the body, mind, and heart.

Caterpillar Soup or how a messy transition could be the path to a better you

“Through yoga, we’re not transforming into something we aspire to, we’re transforming into the very thing that we are innately: our best Self.”

— Rod Stryker

Did you know that when a caterpillar begins her transformation into a butterfly, she doesn’t just grow antennas and wings?  No, no, the caterpillar actually fully dissolves in some sort of cocoon-soup and it’s from this DNA-broth that the caterpillar’s cells will re-arrange into a butterfly.  

There is a clear message here, my friend, when things dissolve into a hot mess and it's hard to tell how things will re-arrange themselves, it's because a new, brighter, beginning is around the corner.

How many times have your life look like a hot butterfly soup?

I've had a few of those moments when everything around me had to liquefy to begin the metamorphosis of my better self.   One of those moments was when I moved to New York City.  I had to leave behind my very comfortable "young professional" lifestyle in the ever gorgeous Savannah, GA and listened to my soul call  towards a "soul-full hustler" lifestyle in NYC.  That was a rough lesson in what leisure is and  what disposable income means.  Through the few years of adjustment, when my mind was in agony and doubt, my surroundings and my heart opened in ways that I couldn't have imagined. How did I manage? Yoga helped, meditation helped, new friendships helped,  self-help books helped, it all helped!  

By the time my self-made lifestyle wings had emerged, I was a new man.  A more confident, kinder and more resourceful man emerged from that cocoon.

That's the thing with transformation, if we aren't practicing awareness, we'll miss the gorgeous colors of our new wings.  

I've learned to to recognize the signs and results of self evolution, to look with loving eyes those moments when things fall apart, and  to remember that when things fall apart is because they need a new foundation.  I’ve learned to LOVE these butterfly moments and, almost enjoy the effort it takes to unfold my new wings after each transformation. Yes, I'm saying almost because it feels like hell every time.

[ On a side note for those searching souls that want to quit it all and start anew:  Was my drastic lifestyle change useful in my Spiritual Evolution?  YES!  Was it necessary?  NO. There are less dramatic and less painful ways to grow new wings. If your caterpillar is feeling antsy, reach out for help.]  

*this content was inspired by a newsletter I sent in September 2015...a good example of how change is part of everything

Spring Clean Your Concept of Time or how to dismiss your time scarcity problems

Listen to this post instead - it's quick and more fun...

I don’t have five seconds to spare!

Is this what it’s come down to? I have to ask myself as I read a study suggesting that we, internet dwellers, tend to abandon downloading a file if it’s taking more than five seconds.  Five seconds! Quack, I remember having to walk 15 minutes to my aunt C’s home to consult her Encyclopedia Britannica just to finish my homework.  OK this makes me old, but it also tells me that if these days I don’t have five seconds to spare, there is something wrong with the way I’m living my life.

Why do we feel rushed? Why are we so busy? We got services and technologies to help us expedite almost anything from laundry to cooking.  Our technology is so advanced that we can almost instantly share documents, videos and pictures with anyone around the world.

So here is a truth, it isn’t about having less time, but how we perceive and use time.  

This quote from Albert Einstein illustrates the issue “an hour sitting with a pretty girl on a park bench passes like a minute, but a minute sitting on a hot stove seems like an hour.”

Perception is everything.

We’ve been taught that time is money, a fair equation considering that most of us get paid by the hour.  However in doing so we’ve also brought all our money issues and make them time issues.  How we use it, waste it, save it these are the thoughts that pollute our enjoyment of time.

Life is long if we know how to use it.  

If we’re constantly thinking about the scarcity of time, well, we’ll have a hard time finding time. So here is another truth, time isn’t money, it’s nothing more than the space between events.

This is my proposal for Spring cleaning, let’s invest time in those things that make us feel good.  Let’s dust off all those I-don’t-have-time excuses, we got time. Let’s pack away multitasking, we know that when we do one thing at a time, it gets done way faster and we have way more fun.  And let’s clean up our expectations of what we can get done in a day.

We’re going to look for abundance and we’re going to find her.  

As for the rest of the Spring Cleaning, we have a long life to get to it or as De Gracia wrote in 1965 “Lean back under a tree, put your arms behind your head,  smile and remember that the beginnings and ends of man’s every great enterprise are untidy.”

Using Lifestyle Engineering to Buy Healthier Food

Most people think that building better choices, creating healthy habits or changing your actions is all about willpower or motivation. But from all my years of helping folks organize their spaces and their bodies, AND all my years of studying yoga, human mind and anatomy, I believe that the number one driver of behavior change (or at least the easiest to access) is our physical world.

Our environment has an incredible ability to shape our actions and choices. Nowhere is this more true than with food. What we eat on a daily basis is often a result of what we see.  If you are anything like me, you will buy or eat whatever is closer to you, whether it’s wholesome food or not.  So to eat healthy food a good reverse-engineering is to surround yourself or hang out with healthy food.

When I go to my local grocery store (which I must say it’s a gigantic emporium of Portuguese & South American food), I walk around the outer periphery of the market.  This is true to every supermarket around the world I have ever been, the outer periphery is where the healthy food usually lives: fruits, vegetables, eggs, nuts, lean meats.  Basically all items that are usually not processed and healthier for you.  So shopping on the outer periphery is what I am “choosing” to eat, because it is what I see.    

Architecture determines where things go, since electric outlets for massive refrigeration are usually on a wall and so are the building´s drains.  That means that the middle aisles are where all of the caned,  boxed and adulterated stuff is placed -they, more likely don´t need refrigeration.  If you don’t want to eat or you want to cut back in processed-food consumption, don’t go down those middle aisles and you won’t buy those foods. If you don’t buy those foods, they won’t end up around for you to eat. Try this the next time you go to the store and do your best to not make exceptions.  When I do this not only I spend way less money in my groceries, but I find myself cooking and eating healthier = feeling great in my body and mind.

Sure, there will be the occasional time that you’ll need to go down an aisle to pick up your oils, spices or honey but that will be rare and not often. It could be weeks before I go into those middle aisles ( but when I do I always pick more than what I intended to buy, which confirms that knowing of something isn’t as effective as doing something- smile )

Get Siri to work! or Save Time in Setting Timers/Alarms

I don’t know about you, but once I open my iPhone to perform the simplest of tasks, I fall into a virtual world from where there is no escape.  A world where time stops and I can’t tell you how much time has elapsed from when I entered my passcode and when find myself looking at a picture of my favorite florist in Madrid on Instagram WHEN all I wanted to do was check on the weather. If you think that your phone or tablet is eating away your precious time, we are turning that around today.

Helping my client set up her “virtual home companion,” ALEXA; I was reading all the uses in the kitchen that such device could assist with (i.e., setting timers so you don’t burn your food)- which lead me to realize that my own iPhone has a “mobile assistant:” the legendary, Siri.  Well, Siri may have been resting on her laurels all these years, but no longer, no Ma’m.  I put her to work almost a year ago, and she is tireless and her help is invaluable to me these days.  One of the best uses I would like to share as a Lifestyle Engineer is how to use Siri to set alarms and timers which we know allow you to become more efficient and effective in your daily life. Siri ties right into the iOS Clock app on your iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad 4, iPad mini, and iPod touch 5 -and your desktop too, now that I think about it- which means if you want to go to bed at 10 pm or be woken up at 6 am, have a timer set for 10 minutes so the cookies don't burn, or find out what the hour is in Paris before you call, Siri can keep you alerted and on time. 

[If you don’t have an Apple product, you could use the same technology with your equivalent mobile assistant]

Here is the basic instructions:

How to set a timer with Siri

Whether you're waiting for your veggies to bake, meditating or your next set of circuit training to begin, Siri can make sure you always alerted at exactly the right time.

1. Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Tell Siri to set the timer, and for how long. For example: "Set a timer for 10 minutes".

3. The Timer widget will remain visible on your screen until the timer goes off, or you leave Siri. Tap the timer widget to launch the Clock app and access the manual controls.

Note: Siri can only run one timer at a time. If you try to set another, Siri will ask you if you want to keep the current one or change to the new one. (Amazon’s ALEXA doesn’t have this issue, you hear that, Siri?)

How to set an alarm with Siri

Siri can set alarms quickly and easily.

1. Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Tell Siri to set an alarm, along with the time. For example: "Set an alarm for 8pm", "Set an alarm for 5 minutes from now", "wake me up at 9am".

Siri will display the alarm widget on the screen. If you change your mind about the alarm, you can simply toggle it to "off". You can also tap the widget to be taken to the Clock app.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, go forth and YouTube away the infinite ways you can be assisted by your "mobile assistant."  Get pampered by technology, I encourage you!

Eliminate Surfaces and conquer clutter

As true as gravity will keep your ass from floating in space, so will empty flat surfaces accumulate clutter in your home or office.  That is because clear surfaces provide unstructured, hook-free, often-vertically-unlimited storage. If you don’t believe me, go ahead make a clear surface–table, desk, counter-top, or even inside a drawer–and see how long it takes for it to get cluttered up with all varieties of stuff: unopened mail, brochures, dog leashes, pencil sharpeners, etc.   Our brains seem to be telling us "don’t know where to put this crap, stack it on that table, sure you'll get to it soon."

Here is another truth that will help you deal with this issue, clear surfaces tend to be magnets for stuff we don’t need, use or even want. These clear surfaces are especially useful for holding stuff we don’t want to deal with. Why do you think that “to table” something means to postpone the issue?

If you are looking to de-clutter and simplify your home, try removing a surface or two–one less end table, even one less dresser.  If this is too much for your cluttered mind, create limits on the surfaces you have by adding a small tray or small basket to collect your precious I-don't-want-to-deal-with-this stuff (hint...smaller the tray, the smaller the clutter).  Without easy places to deposit and pile stuff, we often find ourselves compelled to deal with it (or toss it on the floor, I guess, but tripping on it will force you to deal with it).

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Less <3 More

“What if we could save money, radically reduce our environmental impact, and have a freer, less complicated life?”  Now that is an attention-grabbing-question, isnt’ it?  This exactly is the premised behind the interior-design project LifeEdited.  In the project, Graham Hill challenged interior designers to create a space using technology and common sense to transform his NYC 420 square foot apartment into a comfortable place to live.  I mean, comfortable: home office, space for 2 guests to stay over, a sit down dinner for 12, lounge space for 8 and even a workout/steam room!! I totally recommend you look at the designs submitted- the winning designs are outstanding, and you can also see all the submitted designs.  It is a feast of multi-function and organization.  However, you don’t have to move or remodel your home to achieve this Less = More status, you can start right now and I think that  we  can all use technology and common sense to make more out of our living spaces.  Here are some life-editing steps we can all implement immediately:

Multipurpose spaces:  allowing your real estate to be multifunctional doesn’t have to involved designer or custom-built contractions (though I have seen some amazing work at my friend Lalita’s renovated apartment).  If you want to transform, for instance your living room into your personal yoga space, add casters or furniture sliders to your coffee table and sofa and listo, you have created the necessary space for your yoga mat.  Another example could be packing your laptop computer and file folders in a canvas tote when you are not using them, this can clear a lot of space of your desk or kitchen table.

Store everything digitally: this may require some effort and time, but the amount of space you will gain will be lucrative and satisfying.  First sign up to receive your bills electronically-don't ask any question, just do it.  Additionally, little by little you can download your CD and DVD to your computer.  Donate the hard copies to your local Library.  Chances are you have a bulky printer that scans, faxes and make copies; it is time you put it to use and begin to scan to your computer all those snapshots from the 90’s that you have been carrying with you for decades.  You will be surprise the amount of embarrassments you will inflict on your facebook friends.  Worried about computer memory?  You can use countless sites to store your information.

Think Accessibility vs. Ownership:  Netflix, eBooks, SoundCloud…should I continue?  You get the idea, why have excess DVDs, Books, CDs collecting dust and taking space.  The only way to allow for the divine grace of new/fresh ideas to come into your living space is to have space for it (spiritually, mentally & YES, PHYSICALLY!)

Only Keep Essential Necessities:  Constantly, ask yourself how is this item serving my vision, my values and everyday harmony?  That is a tough requirement to fulfill, but aren’t you and your home worth it?  Think about it, how could you take space from your everyday existence for something that isn’t allowing you to live a better life?  Edit, edit harshly.

Porn for Nerds?

I haven't had cable TV in fifteen years (or a TV in two for that matter).  Despite this, somehow I managed - without wanting - to learn about all kind of TV events:  Kardashians, Snooky,  and yes, Glee.  And just when I am about to write off TV as a-last-century-bore, the delicious Isabella Rossellini almost single-handed rescues the media right before my eyes.   You may already know about her TV show, so shame on you for not telling me sooner (thanks you, Jane for always bringing civility into my life).  Seduce Me, the spawn of Green Porn, is a Sundance Channel program co-created with Rossellini's desires to teach biology to the world.  She said that when she proposed a biology show, no one listened, but when she mentioned sex all kind of producers came to her door...so she compromised.   This is a perfect example of navigating society to get your point across.  Her sexy and funny approach to nature's facts is a refreshing approach to science, and the production of the short videos is outstanding.  You can visit the Seduce Me site and watch two seasons of funny nerdy facts about animals' mating habits. Que viva Rossellini!

Bound me up, bound me down

I'm fascinated by words that follow.    Last week I encountered the word boundary in many forms: while teaching,  while designing, during my yoga practice, while talking to my friends and ultimately listening to my teacher.  My yoga practice (Anusara) deeply involves the concept of freedom and its love relationship with boundaries.  Sometimes I feel the 1990's  film ¡Átame! is about yoga.  We are constantly asked to recognize the freedom in which we dwell, AND the best way to show that recognition is by creating boundaries that work for us.   So here is one of those examples of boundaries that I saw this week, probably not the most prevalent, but it is the easiest one for me to explain.   I decided to stop carrying every artifact I thought could help my day go smoother (it isn't very smooth when eight pounds of stuff follows you around, unless you are pregnant).   I started using the GRID-IT from COCOON.  This is a very open version of a zippered pouch.  In limiting the items that I can bring with me, I have expanded time and space, cultivating a fresh way to move with the belonging that make my day better (and knowing that I can choose what comes with me everyday, allows me to recognize my freedom everyday).  Bound away!

Create your bolster substitute

I heard that there used to be a tradition, not sure where, in which a wife would construct a long cushy pillow out of bamboo and offer it to her husband  before he'd go on a trip.  They idea, was that he wouldn't feel so lonely at night.  This, I heard, is the story behind the name "Dutch Pillow," a cousin of the bolster.   I don't know if a bolster can truly replace a spouse, but it can sure make you feel supported when it matter the most: while relaxing in a restorative yoga pose. Chances are that if you practice any type of restorative yoga, your practice will be enhanced with a bolster, which is a great investment.  I really recommend having one at home.   However, if you don't have the space for one or if you don't have the inclination of adding a bolster to your collection of "let me try this," here is my way of faking one at home - I mean, if a wife can fake a bed companion for her husband, it is only fair...

I tried various versions of this bolsters substitute, this is the version that resembles the supported feeling of the bolsters you may encounter at a yoga studio.

Things you will need

2 bath towels

2 blocks or equal size hardcover books, such as Harry Potter (if traveling, hotels usually have handy books available)

1  heavy blanket - I used a Mexican style blanket

Here is what you do

Fold each towel in thirds lengthwise, then fold it into a rectangle over a block/book.  Fold the blanket into a quarter of its size, make sure that if the blanket has fringes, they stay to the same side.   Place one of the (block/book + towel) rolls lengthwise close to one of the short ends of the blanket, then place the second roll next to it.  Fold the blanket over the rolls as many times needed till there is no more blanket left to fold.

Listo, you got yourself a spouse substitute or a pet for your existing bolster!  Take it for a spin...there are many restorative yoga poses you can try now.

Boot Tray 2.0

A boot tray in your mudroom or entrance space can be a blessing when you are dragging the not so nice snow in your home.  I loved the idea of the boot trays, but I was always irritated after a puddle of water was left marinating my snow boots.  Martha Stewart to the rescue; she suggests adding river stones to the tray to allow the melting water to move below the stones, allowing the shoes to dry faster and to stay dry.  It works so well, I can’t even tell you how exciting I get to see this simple design at work.  You can find a rubber tray at The Container Store (TCS) , Bed, Bath and Beyond (BB&B) or simply recycle an old lid from a discarded plastic box.  If hunting for river stones is not your thing, Michaels sells the stones.