by mcaines@gmail.com | Apr 27, 2018 | Healthy Living, Off the Mat
I LOVE SLEEP.
So so so much.
It’s definitely in the Top 10 of things that I love. It’s so delicious, incredibly important for our mental and physical health, and I never take it for granted.
And, luckily (knock on wood) I’ve never experienced much trouble sleeping. Sure, there’s the occasional night or two when I have too much on my mind and I find myself tossing and turning until the wee hours of the morning but usually I go deep and dark for 7-8 hours a night.
In the last couple of years I have found that these 3 things have helped make my sleep experience even sweeter:
1. Sleep mask: I looooove my eye mask from Cottonique. It’s adjustable and made from 100% organic cotton. Blocking out the light makes for a deeper sleep for me and I find it so comforting to have something lightly resting on my forehead and the area around my eyes.
2. Meditation: for the past 2.5 yrs I’ve been meditating twice a day for 5 minutes, including at the end of my day, in bed, right before I go to sleep. If my mind feels particularly active I’ll use a breath focused meditation (inhale for 4 counts, exhale for 4 counts), otherwise I’ll choose a mantra or affirmation to silently repeat. This short but powerful practice is a great way to transition from the activity of my day to the stillness of rest.
3. Lavender essential oil: lavender is known for its calming and soothing properties. I like to place a few drops on my wrists, rub them together, and inhale the scent with a few deep breaths. I keep a bottle close by on my nightstand in case I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep. Usually I’m out like a light within a few minutes of breathing it in!
Do you have any favorite bedtime rituals? I’d love to hear from you!
Sweet dreamzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,
-mel-
xo
by mcaines@gmail.com | Apr 16, 2018 | Off the Mat, Travel
This is actually the size of my heart right now after leading my Nova Yoga Retreat in Cuba at Mhai Yoga last week.
I was such a mess the week before I left, dealing with the stress and demands of entrepreneur life. But within 24hrs of arriving in Cuba I experienced such joy and energy and positivity that I felt like I was vibrating, like I was lit up; I realized I was walking around a lot of the time with my hand on chest, as though I was trying to contain the swelling of my heart. I puffed on a cigar, swam in the ocean at night, danced up a storm, smiled til my face hurt, laughed til my belly hurt, & felt joy that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.
And it got me thinking about my joy quota (I saw a stand-up comedy special by Pete Holmes last year and in a life lesson moment he tells the audience to fill what he calls your joy quota: “That’s why you’re here, to cash happy cheques, to live your life”). It wasn’t until I experienced such joy in Cuba that I realized this kind of fun has been absent in my life as of late. It was also a beautiful reminder that this kind of excitement is still possible; I feel like as we get older we can harden and become jaded, perhaps the laughs don’t flow like they used to. But this magical week was a reminder that at 36 I can still find little-kid-xmas-morning-level-excitement while bobbing in the ocean waves or dancing to Latin American pop music in a parking lot.
Before I left to return home I made a vow to cash more happy cheques and to bring more joy into my life. And I’m trying to keep that intention at the top of my list as I return to routine and real life, but it’s challenging, for sure, not to just get swept up in the daily grind. I’m curious: how do you fill your joy quota?
THANK YOU Coco, Kika, Eduardo, Alpi, Micha, Alejandro, Ernesto, MariaCarla, Elie, Carly, & Harry for making our retreat week so blissful; and thank you Cuba, my new happy place.
-mel-
xo
