Happy Place

Hi there.

A few days back, the Huffington Post shared some sweet little tidbits on finding your own inner happiness and balance. Thought I'd share my faves. All good things to work on!

"Follow a plant-based diet - Plants are miracles, just like we are. The facts are pouring in each and every day. I think we can intelligently say a plant-based diet is better for our health and our environment. Try to have the majority of your diet be plant-based.

Exercise - I cannot begin to tell you the incredible impact cardio workouts have had on my outlook and general well-being. Whether it is yoga or running, rebounding or cycling, get out and get it done. Exercise releases chemicals in the brain that actually calm us!

Foster a spirituality that includes meditation - Whether you believe in God, Buddha, the universe, etc., at the end of the day, having faith that there is something bigger than us brings a certain peace of mind.

Spend time in nature - I am an acknowledged tree hugger. Again, plants are alive, and miracles just like us. Hug a tree and feel the energy. Take some deep breaths in a forest ... feel the peace pouring in. Even if you live in a big city, spend time in a park. [YES! Studies have shown that living near a park or greenery helps keep depression at bay. And sometimes, NOTHING beats a long hike on a crisp day. -NYAJ]

9- Simplify and release your attachment to material things - We are all overwhelmed with stuff. Living probably only requires 5% of the things we have. Stop for a moment and think about everything you own in this way: Does it serve a purpose? Will it help me achieve an ideal life? If not, toss it or, even better, donate it."

via Huffington Post

Wellness While You Work

Real Wellness goes beyond weekends

Fletcher, VT - October 2009 - photograph by Meredith Crowley

For me, the dire need for personal "real wellness" came to a head during fall semester of graduate school. I thought I needed to spend every waking second getting something done for school or work - reading, writing, workshops, etc. I figured I needed to prioritize school above exercise, and very rarely made time for my own well-being.

As a result, it was hard to gain perspective... mainly, about what I (really) wanted to get out of my time at Harvard. So as you know, this semester I joined the gym, I'm training for a 1/2 marathon, I practice yoga regularly, and I feel much more centered and focused. I am a big believer in "work smarter, not harder". Taking breaks out of my day to do these things leaves me feeling refreshed and ready to go!

So as you can imagine, I am loving the mindfulness exercise my Teaching Fellow guides our Leading & Managing Organizations class through each week. I think it's crucial to remember that leading and managing requires us to face frequent challenges, and leaders do no one any favors by pushing themselves beyond normal limits. There are so many SIMPLE things you can do throughout your work day to keep yourself refreshed and in perspective:

1. Take a hike! Even just 10 minutes away from your desk and OUT of your building does wonders. I've come up with some of my best ideas when not thinking about projects.

2. Be Left Aloooone. Unless you need to be at the beck & call of some hotshot via hotmail, turn that little envelope guy on the right corner of your 'puter screen OFF. Too distracting. I don't even need to explain why. Instead, carve out specific times to check and respond to emails throughout the day. This also ensures no emails are read on your blackberry and then promptly forgotten once you check your inbox online. You've all done it.

3. Eat. Please. Really. I'm one of those people that "forgets" to eat lunch, and by 3pm I'm a complete crank-face: ie, massive headache and a hankerin' for something with salt and grease. Gross. Make yourself leave your desk to eat your lunch at a normal pace. Better yet, pack healthy snacks (homemade pita chips, veggies, hummus) to avoid the vending machine temptations.

3a. DRINK WATER. Just do it.

4. Have a Life. In The practice of adaptive leadership:
Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world, Weick & Sutcliffe recommend surrounding yourself with communities of care beyond the work setting. Join a book club, make times for friends & family, start a hobby or set a personal goal (yay 1/2 marathons!). You'll feel well-rounded, and you'll be less likely to take professional setbacks personally.

-NYAJ
(Above excerpted/adapted from my post to the "Mindfulness - Meditation" Forum for Jerry Murphy's Leading & Managing Organizations class)

Gym & Omelets: CONQUERED

Not Your Average Jane has has Not Your Average Amount of SchoolWork to do, so please accept my most sincere apologies for lack of blogging lately. Y'all know I love to blog-it-out.

But let's get past our little silent treatment episode, because I have happy news to share with you on this Valentine's Weekend. After being a member of the Harvard gym for over month, I have considered it CONQUERED. Yes, that's right folks, I have defeated the annoying treadmill sign-up rules. Then, I did a little high-kick and surmounted the impervious, testosterone-soaked nature of the (gasp) weight room. And when I mean soaked with testosterone, I'm not kidding. Those dudes sweat a lot.

But, today, after wrapping up a fabulous run on the treadmill (which was 12 minutes over the time limit for treadmills, *high fives* for beating the system), I felt like a billion bucks (which is more than a million, FYI). So down I went, and sweat along with the best of them. Good feeling!

This effort left me completely ravenous, of course, so when I got home from the gym I set my mind on making a scrumptious, healthy egg white omelet. And... I. Did. It. For someone who is hardly able to deftly maneuver a spatula over medium-high heat, this is indeed a Big Deal. To boot, it was freakin' good, guys. Like eat-at-the-kitchen-counter-so-I-don't-have-to-wait-30-seconds-to-bring-it-to-the-table-good.

Post-Gym Egg White Omelet for Lovers (it's Valentine's Day, dudes)
1/2 cup egg whites (from about 3 large eggs)
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup green peppers, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
handful of shredded cheddar cheese (no orange nastiness, plz)
salsa
1/2 pitted & cubed avocado

heat 1 tsp of olive oil in 8" frying pan on medium-high heat (heat that sucker up good)
whisk eggs, s&p, water
pour into hot pan
let set: scrape sides of pan w/rubber spatula every so often, letting mixture spill under
after ~2 or 3 min, sprinkle cheddar, green pepper, & red onion on top
carefully fold in 1/2 and immediately transfer to plate
top with salsa & avocado

...eat it at the kitchen counter.

My Fave Recipe, Finally!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Whew, I have been such a busy little bee the past two weeks with school starting up again. Yet, my classes are GREAT, so I don't mind filling my days with thought-provoking readings and stimulating, practice-based discussion. And - drumroll please - I joined the Harvard gym. I just simply couldn't take stepping outside and expecting my body to run over 3 miles in 13 degree weather any longer (thanks bunches, groundy-hogger). More on my woes and wins at my impossibly small and awkward new gym in upcoming posts... like my frequent incredulous looks at those who read (and highlight) their textbooks on the elliptical. Thank goodness for yoga classes!

So, it's a wonder I haven't scurried to my Macbook earlier to provide you with one of my absolute most favoritest (I get to invent words, you'll learn to love it), simple, delicious, fulfilling, and WICKED good meals. Especially during the impossibly chilly evenings here in New England, this warm roasted vegetable and goat cheese salad consistently makes my belly happy. Bon Appetit!

Roasted Vegetable & Goat Cheese Salad

You'll Need:
1 head of Boston lettuce
Veggies for Roastin': I like sweet potatoes, carrots, zucchini, & red onions
Crumbled goat cheese
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Prepare:
1. Cut up veggies into bite-sized chunks (I like to quarter the red onion, leaving the layers intact)
2. Toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil, salt & pepper to taste (I like lots of pepper!), throw on baking sheet, and bake at 400 for about ~20 min (they should be a little brown and tender)
3. Whisk up 1 part olive oil, 1 part balsamic vinegar (about a tablespoon each should do it), add salt & pepper
4. Toss lettuce with dressing, add goat cheese.
5. Top with roasted veggies

Enjoy the YUMFEST. You're welcome!

-NYAJ

PS, I apologize for the zero food pics on this blog. I'm usually far too hungry to whip out the powershot while the foodz get cold... but I'll try some self-restraint for next time! =)

namaskaara (Good Morning!)

This morning I decided to look into the language of yoga - sanskrit - to learn more about the beautiful words that are used to describe some of my favorite poses, like Virabhadrasana (Warrior), Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose), and Vrksasana (Tree Pose). Anyway, sometimes just saying the words immediately calms me to that yogi-state.

Could you tell I took an ACTUAL yoga class this week? I finally took advantage of Harvard's super cheapie gym membership rates and met some ladies for a Friday afternoon power yoga session. Our instructor was quite wonderful and my previous public mat-posing fears were finally overcome. Friday afternoons will soon become my restorative, happy-place time, especially as skool starts up again and I find myself holed up in a dark corner of Gutman library, gettin' my Hackman on.

So this morning, as I faced the ginormous mess that is my dining room (thanx 2 a newly renovated back room, all of our doodads and trinkets are now dispersed ever so non-carefully around the dining room table), I took a deep breath, a sip of coffee, and listened to the chanting (kirtan) of Krishna Das. The combination of a little tiny bit of organizing your personal space (like making your bed? I SWEAR I will do that more this year), a good cup of coffee, and really, really good music is sometimes just the best way to start your day. My newest happy-place music happens to be chanting (it's not as goofy as you think, check out "Hara Hara Mahadev"), but yours could be whatever gets your blood flowing.

Tapping into the simple power of music is one of my absolute fave ways to be well, simply! What are YOUR favorite tunes to invigorate with, drive to, run to, or start/end your day with?

Be Well,

NYAJ

Supa Soup! (Snoop a Loop?)

Happy Tuesday!

I'm finally just starting to get back into the swing of things for the second semester, which means no more AM yoga at 11am, Today Show marathons (so long, Ann Curry), or borrowing my friend's treadmill for a 2pm run on a Wednesday. It feels nice to have more of an actual schedule, though - hopefully that means fitting in an actual training plan for this 1/2 marathon I'm supposedly running in April. Ohhh, goals. So easy to set, yet so hard to fulfill when you can watch EVERY SINGLE episode of LOST online.

But I'm excited!! New running shoes coming in the mail soon, and warmer weather on its way *fingers crossed*. Until then, New England will probably be graced with pretty fat white snowflakes that quickly turn to slippery slush, that then require a "galoshes only" rule for outdoor adventures. What a great opportunity to cook up some hot, healthy, and hearty homemade soup! Today I had a few hours between class shopping to come home and cook Ross & I an early lunch. The soup I made was SO easy and really quite divine. And I have to admit, I've had soup on the brain ever since! If you think about it, the options are literally quite limitless: vegan, spicy, chock-full-of-vegetablesy, proteiny, you name it. And... you can bring it to work/school in a cute thermos the next day! Hooray!

So I will make it my end-of-winter quest to come up with some adventurous, delicious, and SIMPLE Supa Soup Snoop a Loop recipes to share. Get at me if you have a fave of your own. And bring your green hat!

Chicken Apple Sausage Soup
adapted from www.marthastewart.com

Ingredizzles

Pasta of your choice (preferably whole-wheat)
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
Veggies of your choice, frozen or fresh (try lima beans, carrots, peas, spinach...)
6 ounces of organic low-fat chicken-apple sausage (about 2 links), cut up
2 handfuls of chopped fresh basil
Freshly baked cornbread (optional)*

Drop It Like Its Hot (Soup)
Cook pasta al dente, according to package directions
Drain pasta and let sit in colander
In the same saucepan you used to cook the pasta, simmer the broth over medium heat
Add veggies - if frozen, cook for 5 minutes
Add sausage and pasta, cook until heated through
Remove from heat, stir in basil

Serve immediately or transfer to an adorable thermos for lunch that day! Try some grated Parmesan on top after you've re-heated.

*I love cornbread, so I baked up some muffins by totally cheating and using a mix. But finding a great from scratch recipe would be totally worth it! Like this healthy version.

Bon Appetit!

And please please PLEEZ share your fave soup du jour... à bientôt!

Rebound!

So now I have an irrational fear that I am allergic to any of the following: quinoa, spinach, feta cheese (see previous post). I think it might actually have a lot more to do with my failure to follow my brand-new, strict rule for 2010: Never allow bagged spinach to sit in your fridge for more than three days, and do not mix it into the medly of "Empty Fridge Dins" ever, ever again. When in doubt, throw it out! (And be sure your fridge stays below 40 degrees at all times. Another trick learned from my Today Show addiction). Needless to say, I was bed-bound for a bit there, but no fear - she's back!

And by "back", I mean slowly sipping tea in the back room, curled up in the one little splash of sunlight that's made it's way onto my futon, warming my vitamin-D deficient body. As an aside, I have finally bought into the fact that as Northerners, we need to supplement vitamin-D into our bods since our exposure to sunlight is so limited. Future post for sure!

Speaking of rebounds, boston.com came up with some interesting (and allegedly simple) tips to get yourself in gear for the new year. A few stood out as NYAJ's faves...

...Like shaking out the 2009 dust bunnies in da house:
"2. A CHANGE OF SCENERY: One of the easiest and most inexpensive projects for reinvigorating your surroundings is rearranging the furniture. David Bromstad of HGTV’s “Color Splash’’ says to take another crack at your living room or bedroom with a different setup. The rule of thumb is that the biggest pieces of furniture should sit along the largest walls. If your inner Todd Oldham needs expressing, try floating the sofa away from the wall.
TIME COMMITMENT: 45 MINUTES"

...Or find yourself giving complete strangers high-fives on the street. (Or a little smile. Can't hurt. And it gives warm fuzzies):
"5. INSTANT STRESS REDUCTION: G Spa tailors its services around busy people who only have a few minutes (and dollars) for a spot of quick indulgence. Its menu of massages are cheaper than a couple of cocktails at the W, and you can target your trouble spots of choice. Options include Head Rush (scalp/neck/shoulders) and the Shopaholic (feet/ankles/calves). The massage is $25. 35 Newbury St., 617-267-4772, www.gspa.com
TIME COMMITMENT: 15 MINUTES

13. GET AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT. If you want to make yourself a more valuable employee, start by being more positive. “Complainers and naysayers are tiring,’’ says Varelas, of Keystone Associates. Better yet, think about ways to improve your company, instead of pointing out flaws. “When you see a problem, present a solution - or a number of solutions.’’
TIME COMMITMENT: 15 MINUTES (A WEEK)"

...And then (if more than 12 minutes of fresh air brings risk of frostbite), get all endorphined-up while catching up on LOST!
"15. GYM-LESS WORKOUT: Instead of lounging in the TV room, local trainer and Beantown Bootcamp owner John Wayman suggests a few simple exercises to keep yourself active while watching “Beautician and the Beast.’’ He offers a series of eight exercises - four cardiovascular and four strength-building. Do each exercise for one minute, then proceed to the next. (See next four items.)
TIME COMMITMENT: 30 MINUTES (THE LENGTH OF ONE SITCOM)"

See all 20 tips here, thanks to www.boston.com