恭喜发财!!! Huddled warm and cozy in our winter coats, we ventured up Forsyth Street passing the bustle of busy shops and enjoying the intoxication of baked bread and sugary pastries. We made our way to Sara Roosevelt Park which swelled with a boisterous colorful crowd of squealing children, excited parents and costumed merrymakers dressed up…
Pick Your Poison Wisely
Caffeine is the most commonly ingested drug in the world. It is so frequently and ubiquitously used that the World Health Organization even recognised caffeine dependence as a disorder. In my profession, caffeine is most consumed in the form of coffee. But here’s a shocker: I am not a coffee drinker. I never really was…
Needing Yoga
I can be that annoying person who *needs* a consistent and regular daily yoga practice to function optimally in my life. That statement irks some people. The fact that I can utter such a claim comes partly from a place of privilege: most people do not have access to yoga, do not have time for yoga nor…
Wandering Thoughts of an Anxious Yogi
My body is still buzzing from the electric vibrations of the harmonium. The piercing hum of our collective OHM still tingling in the air – rippling, ripping and rising and touching our bodies with waves of fire. Shins to chins and hearts to the sky, we rise and fall like the sun and moon pirouetting…
Juicing vs. Smoothies
What does science say about the juicing versus smoothies? That’s a big question so let’s break it down. Which is healthier – juicing versus smoothies? Let’s define healthy as the ability to maintain a steady blood glucose level without inducing or promoting hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is dangerous because our body needs glucose in our blood at…
Lunar New Year
Jin Chan, known as the money frog in the West, sits on a low wooden shelf next to our front door. His three legs perch on a puddle of gold coins while another coin nestles in his crater-like mouth and looks like a tongue. His red eyes pierce the dimly lit living room that looks into the…
Do Not Disturb Meditating Mind
I woke up this morning with the glorious ache of muscles well-used, limbs well-stretched and a mind well-meditated. Last night’s yoga class was militant, to say the least. The teacher rattled on in Sanskrit as our pores glistened in the small candle-lit studio. We catapulted into a quick succession of asanas: adho mukha svanasana (downward…
Habits are the Molecules That Make Up Our Day
Tough days in clinic often stem from the challenges of counseling patients on how to adopt healthier lifestyle habits. Habits are the molecules that make up our everyday lives. It’s the little things that count, and yes, even the tiniest things can count so much. Something as seemingly trivial as posture can have dramatic effects…
Yoga Every Darn Day
My first yoga class was many years ago as a college student. I was so self-conscious that I got into downward dog thinking that my body just looked funny: my bony knees and small calves tapered into miniscule ankles, my arms felt simultaneously scrawny and flabby, and my wrists hurt. I grimaced my way into…
Eat your greens (and reds)
I pinched my nose, held my breath and closed my eyes so tight I could feel my eyelashes bend the first time I tried a raw green kale smoothie. That’s the truth. Health tastes…odd, and yes that’s a euphemism…especially if you’ve been conditioned to enjoy the gustatory delights of fast food and dairy-rich products like…
Yoga Grouch
I can be a total grouch when I don’t do yoga. Just ask my mom: on mornings that are particularly rough especially after a restless night of limited sleep, I can get snarky and on evenings after long trying days, I can be passive-aggressively curt. Yet a yoga session either at home or in the…
What motivates you?
What motivates you to get out of the bed in the morning, to take on the world, to be present? The answers to these questions are vast and diverse. Our motivations are highly personal and stem from a complex interplay of our unique experiences, singular beliefs and values. I think about motivation a lot. This…
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