Dec 3

Yoga Is Not Just a Workout, -It’s About Working on Yourself

“You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”

Yoga for me is very much a love-hate relationship. I love how I feel afterwards, and I love how my body changes and the strength I feel when I practice regularly. However, I hate when I take a few months off and I suddenly cannot do the poses the way I want to. Or, when I feel exhausted just halfway through a class. And I hate how much I struggle to remain “present” and calm, and compassionate with myself throughout each class. Doing a physical activity that is calm, and requires mindfulness can be difficult. I’m a runner; I want to put my headphones, listen to upbeat music, and run a few miles. Yoga is just the opposite of that. So for me, yoga is a challenge. Read more

Aug 8

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Just to Be Alive is a Grand Thing

Remember that there are ups and downs in life; that there are moments of great despair, because it is these moments that remind us of what’s most important. Without the bad, how would be know how good life can really be? Read more

Jul 17

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Where’s the Gratitude These Days??

Okay, so a couple of months back, I embarked on a new “blogging regimen” if you will. Every Monday, I would write about what I was grateful for in the previous week. I started this exercise right as I was beginning my second-to-last quarter of graduate school and my last 600 hours of practicum/residency. I was expecting it to me a crazy, hectic, stressful experience at the time, -and it was/has been!

Here is an excerpt from my first Weekly Gratitude explaining my deeper thoughts and purpose for sharing my gratitude:

In the mist of my panic over the major changes beginning in my life today, I’ve realized Read more

Jul 12

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Thank you for the Beautiful Blogger Award and The Very Inspiring Blogger Award

The Beautiful Blogger Award

Almost three months back, I received The Beautiful Blogger Award from MeaningfulWesternLife,and The Very Inspiring Blog Award from Make Believe Boutique. Despite my major delay in giving thanks, and passing this special award onto other great bloggers, I was, and still am thrilled to have received it. Better late than never right? Read more

Apr 23

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Weekly Gratitude: Tiny Pleasures from Nature and Friendship

This past week busy, busy, busy! I hardly had a moment to rest. But it was a very productive week nonetheless.

As a part of my commitment to self-care I tried very hard to make a conscious effort to give myself some time to just chill and do things for my own enjoyment. Making time for myself made a world of difference in my mood and ability to cope. I certainly hope to make a commitment to this new habit that almost always go to the back burner. Read more

Apr 16

Weekly Gratitude: The Harder I Tried to Be Grateful, The Less I Was!

Last week I started writing this “Weekly Gratitude”, post to keep my spirits up as my life quickly got crazy, to keep my mind focused on what matters most, and hopefully (both fingers crossed!) help myself let go a little and relax! But all week I ended up struggling to figure out what I have to be grateful for, or at least that were worthy enough to write about. The harder I tried, the less I felt grateful. Writing this post became more of a chore that needed to be done perfectly, rather than a tool to help me reflect and relax a little. As I whined about this post to a friend, he said, “Nina, just be thankful that you’re even able to juggle your schedule right now”. Isn’t that the truth…

Weekly Gratitude: The More You Recognize the Beautiful Things in Life, the Less You’ll Worry About the Ugly.

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”

– Thornton Wilder

In the mist of my panic over the major changes beginning in my life today, I’ve realized that I’m spending a lot more time panicking, looking at my crazy schedule, complaining, and feeling overwhelmed, than I am being thankful that I am even able to actively participate in these changes. Read more