The Yoga Challenge

I just signed up for a 3 month membership at a Hot Yoga Studio near my house.

I am still trying to make an honest go of the GLENJAV daily routine. Remember GLENJAV from my last entry? Goal Setting, Learning, EXERCISE, Nutrition, Journaling, Affirming, Visualizing.

So, at an attempt to have Exercise show up more frequently, I took this on to help get myself in gear.

One of the great things about Yoga, much like most forms of exercise, but particularly in Yoga, is that it serves as triple duty.  Not just as physical exercise but as mental and spiritual exercise as well. I’m by no means expecting to attain nirvana with any of these classes. I am a realist. But I’ve only been to a couple of classes so far and already I’m scanning the weekly schedule and trying to see how soon I can go back. And, this studio offers a variety of classes, which makes it easier to try out different types of yoga to see which fits best. There’s Hatha Yoga and Yoga Pilates. There’s Ashtanga and Vinyassa. No clue what all these different classes are but u can rest assured that I will try them all out and report back!

It’s 1 to 1.5 hours of physically pushing yourself, being very conscious about your breathing and being in a very quiet and peaceful environment without saying a word. I’m finding it very therapeutic. Very unlike my gym sessions with music blaring, 5 tv stations on 10 suspended tv’s, and fitness instructors with fat jugs of vegetable juice touting the benefits of spirulina and kale.

So join me as I embark on yet another journey. My journey into the world of breathing through your nose, heated rooms, downward dogs and a new vocabulary of words that remind of the my grandmother in Calcutta re-telling the stories of the Bhagvad Gita, Mahabaharatha and  The Ramayan.

Selling 'Cool'.

Apples, Blackberries and Cups, Oh my!

 

 

I stumbled across something new this week. I was talking with my husband about how Quizno’s has filed for Bankruptcy protection, right after we drove across a Second Cup at a plaza. Raj mentioned that Second Cup was supposedly going through this big re-structure to change their image and try to become somewhat profitable. This conversation made me come to the conclusion after time and time of seeing examples surface that it’s more important to have a simple idea that can be executed with perfection rather than a fantastic idea with poor execution… If you want to be successful.

Look at Apple vs. Blackberry. Not the fruit (ha ha). If you really dissect Blackberry, the company’s ideas in and of themselves are very sophisticated and really put together by smart minds. A lot of their intel and technological advancements are top of the line. I’m not a tech person and I won’t pretend to be one but I’ve spoken to quite a few of them who all agree that Blackberry is far superior to any of its competitors. The problem is their execution. They weren’t able to translate their greatness to the masses and they were cocky about having to do this.

The brilliance of Apple however is that it took similar technology which is not as good as Blackberry’s (I’m sure all the tech giants will argue that they came up with all the ideas first…it’s irrelevant for this purpose) and it just dumbed it down so the masses could enjoy it. The execution of their products (even though the machines are supposedly not as ‘intelligent’ as others) made it so intuitive that anybody including my 15 month old son can use it!

Even I was loyal to my Blackberry for many years. I even got the Playbook and bought stocks in RIM. I tethered my phone to my Playbook and thought I was set. Then the silly Playbook would act up and not respond properly to the touch screen among other problems. I just got annoyed with it and gave it away. Then I got the IPad 4 Christmases ago. It was simple and easy to carry around. It hasn’t broken down even once. It does what you want it to do. We have taken it to over 5 countries in 3 different continents and it is still rock solid.

At the end of the day, Starbucks and Apple are cool. Second Cup and Blackberry are not. Making your idea or product cool is all about execution.

So let’s take this little tidbit of info and apply it to ourselves. Let’s not worry about coming up with the next big grandiose idea/fad/diet/trend.

Let’s focus on simple ideas and execute them flawlessly.

4 out of 7 ain't bad.

A Slice of Life from Robin Sharma

 

 

It’s 11:17 p.m. and I lose an hour tonight as we ‘spring forward’ for daylight savings. I really should be sleeping but instead I’m trying to stay up and ‘digest’ my dinner which I ate too late and feel guilty about sleeping so soon after eating. Also, I haven’t written on this blog since December and even though I’m the only regular on this blog I feel like I must do this as often as possible because I always feel better after having written something. Anything.

I just finished reading a book. The latest Robin Sharma book. It was a good read and a lot of good tips, some of which I’ve read in his previous books and many tips I’ve held onto. In this particular one, towards the end he describes 7 fundamentals for personal leadership. I can’t possibly do all 7 every day. I’d go nuts. But I figure if I do at least 3-4 each day then I’m heading in the right direction. Strive for a 4/7. Not as easy as you’d think. Let me explain.

The 7 Fundamentals I’ve made into a nonsensical acronym: GLENJAV so I can remind myself daily of what to do when I have a bit of time to myself and don’t want to waste it. Say it with me, GLENJAV. Some are self-explanatory and others need little explanation.

Goal Setting: offers you a North Star in times of adversity

Learning: Read biographies/stories that inspire and teach. Listen to books in the car/train

Exercise:

Nutrition:

Journaling: Good to keep a record of your life. Gratitude. Diary.

Affirmation: Use words of affirmation and encouragement on yourself. Reset your mind.

Visualization: Picture realising your goals and playing at your best.

The first step is to remind yourself every day what GLENJAV stands for. Then think about which ones you can fit in. You must fit in 3-4. The catch however is that if you do something negative towards one of the fundamentals, that’s a -1. For example, today I exercised (1), did some visualization (1),and did some reading (1). But then I ate really poorly (-1). So if do some writing/journaling (this blog for example), I’m back to 3 points and although not the ideal 4/7, it’s better than a 2.

The beauty is that these fundamentals fit perfectly with my values from the last entry and in fact if I do 4/7 of these each day I’m acting in tandem with my values and that makes me even happier.

We all deserve happier.

Try an exercise with me for 2014

Looking ahead to 2014…let's do it together!

And just like that, Christmas is over and we wait for New Year’s Eve and what we all hope to be an excellent year next year.(fingers and toes crossed)

I could try to re-cap 2013, the ups and downs and in between’s, but I’d rather just look ahead. 

One way that works for me is to re-think about my top 5 values. A few books I've read (Smart Couples Finish Rich/ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) discuss this and I think it is the perfect way to start every year, because I find if we make our decisions that are in-sync with our values, we will never be unhappy or empty or have that terrible feeling in the pit of your stomach when something doesn't feel right.

Figuring out your top 5 values is not easy, but imperative. And you don’t have to have 5. Could be 3, could be 4. This task is not easy to do and sometimes they change year over year. I do and re-vamp my value circle every year. They don’t change too much but certain things start melding together, and other things become more or less of a priority as your family composition changes and different things take up more of your attention. So I gave this part a lot of thought and have come up with my five most important values:

Health

Family/Marriage

Freedom/Career

Happiness

Personal Growth

I force Raj to do the same as well because it’s important that one partner knows what the other deems important. It helps when you want support for something and also tells you where you can offer support to your partner when they need it.

I urge you to do this yourself. You will be surprised how much stronger your conviction will be in making certain decisions once you have hammered out your 4-5 values. Saying ‘no’ to the extra slice of cheesecake (health) to reading the same princess story for the fifth time to your toddler (family) won’t be difficult because your values is what makes you and if you want to be focused on you, doing certain things will become quite automatic....most of the times...well more often than if you didn't explicitly state to yourself what they are.

Now, if you’re struggling with what is a value…then I can suggest another exercise. This one comes directly from the 7 Habits book. Picture yourself at your own funeral. You can see and hear everything going on but clearly no one can see/hear you. Now picture your loved ones going to the front and saying a few words about you. What would you want them to say? Distill the stories/lessons into one or two words and this is what your values are. Odds are they aren't words like ‘money’ or ‘rich’ or ‘a hot body’ but more along the lines of, ‘self-made person’, ‘sent flowers every mother’s day’, ‘drove me to every 6 a.m. Saturday practice’, ‘could make anyone laugh’. These things can then be translated into values. Security. Family. Marriage. Freedom. Creativity. Personal Growth. Fun. Adventure.

The list is exhaustive and then picking 5 becomes even tougher. So let’s get to it. Then we can figure out how we get our action plan together to make sure we work towards our values each and every day.

An afternoon at the Allergist’s office

An afternoon at the Allergist’s office

 

 

15 minutes with the Allergist changed our lives. 20 little drops on her forearms. 20 little cuts to let the drops into her skin. One flare up on her left forearm told us all we needed to know. She was allergic to something. Us patients waited patiently for the Doctor to come back to the room and tell us what was the culprit. Much to our surprise, not seafood or shellfish but peanuts!

So there you have it. A peanut allergy and ‘stay away from nuts’ life is what we have for the next year, until her next test to see if she grows out of it. Poor Girl. I feel terrible but I guess all parents do when they first find out. At least there are a lot more parents at my work who are in the same boat who gave me websites and stuff to check. And the re-assurance of my brother to tell me I’m not as doomed as I think I am.

So begins a new life for us. Label-reading, code words for ‘peanuts and nuts’, medic-alert members and epi-pens. Could be worse. I know. I’m not looking for sympathy.

I’ll take this over not knowing and risking seeing her blow up the way she did a couple of months ago.

Any suggestions on nut-friendly restaurants, grocery items or products, do let me know!

My Biggest Fear

 

The plan was to spend Sunday afternoon enjoying dim-sum with some of my girlfriends with whom I haven’t met up with in ages. My daughter, Ellil, who is four years old now, loves to come out with me so she came along for a girls afternoon out. The one thing she liked on the table was the fried octopus, which I thought was squid. She asked for it. I gave her a piece. She really enjoyed it and asked for more. She ate 4 pieces. About half an hour into the lunch, Ellil starts to tug on my sleeve. I look over and she is trying to tell me that she doesn’t feel good. Her voice is scratchy and I can tell she’s gagging. "I don't feel good." She somehow managed to get out. I shuttled her to the washroom and we made it just in time before she threw up a whole lot of mucous, water and fried octopus. By the time I cleaned her up and walked back to the table her face had started to swell up including her lips and her tongue.

My heart fell into my stomach. The only reason I didn’t have a panic attack is because Ellil would’ve freaked out if she saw me freak out. So, we left the restaurant and we walked to the nearest pharmacy, about a block north. I spoke with the pharmacist and I gave her some Benadryl. My husband and son were hanging out with my younger brother so after I gave her the medicine we jumped in a cab and headed towards my brother’s place. In the cab, as I was talking to my older brother about what to do regarding her reaction, and whether or not I should take her to the hospital, she threw up again. A lot more mucous and watery liquid and the rest of the bloody tentacles!

The wonderful cab driver gave me Kleenex and a bottle of water to clean up. After the second round of vomiting she started to look much better. The swelling came down and she was feeling better. So much so that once we got into my brother’s place and I changed her she wanted to eat a happy meal! It was nice to have her back.

Needless to say that was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. To outlive a parent is painful, but natural. My husband lived through this less than a month ago when my father-in-law passed away, so I am unfortunately familiar with this experience, somewhat. But, staring your child in the face while she is swelling up and having trouble breathing, and having to possibly contemplate the fatality of the situation...well, that’s an entirely new and too scary a predicament to want to get familiar with.

Call it 'luck being a lady'. Call it 'amazing grace'. Call it God. I am blessed that she is ok and things didn’t spiral downwards.

I AM OFF dim-sum for the next little while. Maybe forever.

 

 

 

Birthdays - A time to think, smile and drive on.

I recently celebrated my birthday and of course, I tried to recap my life in the previous 365 days to see what I had accomplished and whether or not that met up with my expectations.

 What I have learned over the years is that your life now is a sum total of all your past decisions. If you don’t like your life, you have to make new decisions.

 Let’s be honest. We are humans. No one is perfect. Certain things I’m proud of and others are still a work-in-progress. But it helps to introspect…in fact, it’s imperative that we all introspect periodically about our past and use it to better ourselves now so that our future can be so bright that when it finally does becomes the past, we can look back and be proud. (Hope that wasn’t too confusing!)

 My list that I evaluate is composed of my 5 values in no particular order.

Family (my own/my parents/my siblings/my nephews/my in-laws)

Health (physical/emotional/spiritual/financial)

Career

Personal Growth

Marriage

Rather than give myself a grade or points I think about them all and how I’ve done in the past year. Keep in mind that many times one value is prioritized over another at different points in your life. So for example, this past year I get full points for Family (because I delivered my son!) but my career did have to go on ‘hold’ if you will as I was on maternity leave for most of the past year. That’s life. At different times in our lives, different values will trump each other depending on circumstances, environment, people…different stimuli really.

 You can’t do it all at once, so don’t.  Enjoy what you are doing, focus on it and do it willingly.  When the tides change (and they will) you get to focus on your other values as well.