What I’m Listening To…

Posted in music! by

c03087447b22285d446a87781840c16aThese past few weeks I’ve been listening to the The Great Gatsby soundtrack on repeat. I’m particularly fond of the Gotye song, the Lana del Rey (duh!) and “No Church in the Wild” by Jay-Z and Kanye. The rest is decent, a few songs are about a minute too long given their repetitive nature, in my opinion. And Florence kind of lost her charm I think. I will always be partial to her debut album. Her new stuff is too drama drama.

When I’m not in the mood for technicolor Jazz Age shazam, I’m loving getting lost in these gorgeous devotional songs from the recent film “The Reluctant Fundamentalist.” They are in Arabic and so full of emotion. That movie was by far one of the most interesting and thought-provoking things I’ve seen in a while. Highly recommended!

Today in my Kundalini class, I played some beautiful shabd recorded at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. I think these hypnotic chants to Guru Ram Das will be circling through my head all weekend. Listening to this kind of music makes me feel like a cobra dancing to the snake-charmer’s melodies.

Angel Eyes. This old torch song (I’ve been listening to an Ella Fitzgerald recording) has been present in my consciousness for over a month now. When I used to sing in a jazz band, my voice coach taught me this song and I’ve loved it ever since. It’s my all-time favorite song to sing all sultry-like in my bathtub. Nothing like a small tiled room to make your voice go boom!

What are you listening to these days?

Love Frances

 

PS – I just got locked out of my back courtyard and had to jump a very high fence in a skirt and flip flops. I’m feeling very ninja right now.

 

image

The Big Beautiful Moon

Posted in beauty, photography, reflections by

95a8b1e8bd27bf9c8511960f39fe86c2

Happy Moon Day! I hope all you pretty little Ashtangis slept in and are enjoying your day of rest.

I love to be lazy on a moon day. I get up slowly, take a cold shower, maybe stretch or do some gentle pranayama or simply sit and breathe. On non-practice days, like today, I like to take a long walk before breakfast to get the blood moving, breathe the fresh air and spend some time with my husband and pup.

221e6047240b626b6e94905b8169d9d6

Sometimes I have a bit of trouble sleeping around the full moon. I often feel a little wild, crazy and full of life. Other times I feel tired, overwhelmed and emotional.

How does the moon effect you? Do you notice effects on your body, energy levels, creativity, productivity or mood? Does it influence your dreams or your meditations? Or does it pass you by without notice?

075cf1cad3ccacfa0cd68d68d9bf48ce

I’m personally quite connected to the phases of the moon (a beautiful thing about Ashtanga) but a lot of times I talk to people who have absolutely NO idea where we are in the phase of the moon. Perhaps this is because of urban life, or that for many women, their cycles are not in sync with the moon.

6a3a76a04521d1a13953333ed4e9e2fe

I think the moon is magical, mystical and numinous. It can be hauntingly creepy some nights and beautifully serene on others. Like so many magnificent and awe-inspiring things in our world, I think we’ve become somewhat numb to its beauty.

6a266af6d393c00e5640e340b9ef9c4c

So tonight, I hope it’s clear out there, so you can take a few moments to look up and gaze in awe at our moon.

fef93369d68c5a2dff3633574eef0d2e

Love and Blessings,

Frances

image 1, image2,  image3,   image4,  image5,  image6

When NOT to DIY

Posted in beauty, essential oils, health, reflections by

curly_final_diy_banner

I truly and unironically adore the DIY craze, so much so that I have a Pinterest board dedicated to it.

Making your own stuff is fun and creative. I personally find it really satisfying and empowering to do projects around my home. In a world of “buy, buy, buy!”, it feels good to actually make instead. I think the rise in urban gardening is a great example of this. I love that I can live in an apartment in the city but easily grow my own greens and herbs for abundant salads and smoothies.

There are a number of good reasons to DIY. It can be more cost efficient and more environmentally-friendly sometimes. It’s also a nice way to personalize something in your home/life.

Here are a few of my most successful and favorite recent DIY projects:

Continue reading →

Patience Pays…Wait.

Posted in bhakti, kundalini kriyas, reflections, yoga by

81d01dfa17d2997ccce666c59d5ee93b

Yogi Bhajan, the great master of Kundalini Yoga, was a man of many wise aphorisms. You know them if you drink Yogi Tea undoubtedly.

One of my favorite lessons from Yogi Bhajan comes in his words about patience. This affirmation, or prayer, is sometimes used in Kundalini meditations and kriyas. It is mesmerizing and soothing to me. It is a comforting reminder, an order even, to trust in Grace, to embody myself fully, connect in with my best self and be receptive to the blessings. This requires surrender and pure faith.

Recently I’ve not been feeling so embodied, patient or happy with my day-to-day life. The process of looking for work has been challenging. Dealing with all the rejection from different shops and companies has been frustrating, to say the least. I really want to work, to be a part of a creative group environment, but it’s taking time to get there.

Continue reading →

My Ashtanga Excuses.

Posted in reflections, yoga by

63175_294496450667850_1341205390_n

I adore Ashtanga. It’s awesome. There is no other yoga style that I would prefer to start my day with.

That said, Ashtanga is freakin’ hard sometimes! It can take years to get a pose. It’s a practice of balancing your frustration with patience and acceptance.

Like most people, I have some poses that really challenge me. Often I laugh and just move on, other days I brood over them, and sometimes I deplore the practice and come up with an excuse about why I can’t “do” that pose.

Continue reading →

Polish Your Spirit

Posted in beauty, photography, reflections, yoga by

sarahd

This quote by the great master of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, is a perfect, succinct and exact description of why we engage in practice. Practice, whether this be martial arts training, qi gong, tai chi, yoga asana, or some other discipline, is all about coming to center. Aligned in the central axis, we practice to elevate and sharpen our awareness so we can then discern and act with precise compassionate consciousness.

Continue reading →

Dwi Pada Sirsasana Is My Ego Eradicator

Posted in reflections, yoga by

deerdwipada

In Kundalini Yoga, there is this exercise called “ego eradicator.” It basically consists of sitting upright with the arms extended in a wide V overhead, finger tucked into the palms, thumbs stretched out as if they could draw an arc over the head, eyes closed and rolled up at the brow point while you do 3 minutes of vigorous Breath of Fire. It’s a great way to open the lungs for pranayama and to clear the sinuses. It takes a little bit of effort to maintain the arm position properly for 3 minutes, but like most things, it’s really mind over matter!

I’ve never quite understood the name though. I’ve been doing this little practice for a few years and my ego is fully in tact. But, thank heavens, I’ve found something else that seems to be doing the trick in terms of ego annihilation and it is that pesky Intermediate Series pose, dwi pada sirsasana.

Continue reading →

I Heart Hazelnuts

Posted in health, nourishment, recipes by

cd600376ca02ca59aa1a8a32738728a7

I used to be a full-on almond girl. Almond milk, almond butter, almond flour, almonds in my granola/trail mix/salads/wherever. I still think almonds are awesome…but recently I’ve fallen in love, like madly and deeply, with hazelnuts.

Hazelnuts are sweet, rich and a bit unexpected. They add a certain depth to a salad. Try some roasted hazelnuts with goat cheese, arugula and maybe some thinly sliced pears or rasberries – heaven!

Continue reading →

On (Not) Losing Weight For My Wedding

Posted in beauty, health, photography, reflections, wedding, yoga by

francesandthadwedding0284

When I excitedly began planning my own wedding at the end of 2011, I had a dirty little secret: I was thrilled that I finally had the perfect excuse to get really skinny again.

I don’t think I’m alone here; many women work very hard to lose weight for their wedding, it’s almost expected that you do nowadays. Why?

Continue reading →

Glimpses of our Nest

Posted in beauty, photography, reflections by

After a very fun winter of bopping around Colorado and the jaunt to India, we are now really getting settled in Denver. It feels so nice to nest, to decorate and to make this place feel like “home.”  Thad has started acupuncture school and I’m networking up the wazoo with florists and other wedding industry folks, getting ready to start working on some pretty pretty events this summer! Our puppy Artemis is still painfully cute and her nippy teeth are even more painful, but she’s potty trained and walking well on the leash, so let’s celebrate the small victories!

Continue reading →