home again
josh and i had a lovely time in miami. we connected with family, from our youngest niece:
beautiful 13-month-old maelie
. . . to josh’s grandparents, who turned 85-years-young (this was the reason behind the family gathering and our trip!).
always ready to party!
we also got in some great sun time, including a 5-mile run to tiny (and extremely swanky) la gorce island — rumor has it that we pass matt damon’s house on our usual route.
and, at at least according to wikimapia, the rumor is true!
no celeb sightings, though. he was probably in CA for the academy awards, anyway.
deep thoughts in the air
but i digress. because what i wanted to write about today is a little bit about the book i read on the plane on the way back to NC. as i mentioned before, i am planning on taking on baron baptiste’s 40 days to personal revolution, inspired by my newfound zest for yoga and miss heather.
i thought it would be useful to read the above book first, as it is more of an overview of baron baptiste’s beliefs and principles, and it gives a bit of background on his personal journey into power (and peace, and happiness).
the book begins with a number of stories describing students of baptiste — those who have attended his bootcamps, or trained in his studios — and many of the fabulous things that have happened to them since they began their own journeys into power. i initially felt like i was reading an infomercial and could have done without some of these testimonials. however, i have to admit i really did get into what followed.
5 sections:
the book is divided into 5 sections. the focus of each section is as follows:
to give a bit more detail:
✰ rewiring your mind. this first chapter is essentially a primer on mindfulness, with the main tenet being essentially: be here now. baptiste often uses stories from his yoga students to illustrate what he is talking about, but i could easily see how the concepts would translate off of the mat.
✰ daily power yoga practice. this section is a pose-by-pose description of baptiste’s recommended power vinyasa yoga practice. i actually think an accompanying CD or DVD would have been a better way to help readers get started, but it does serve as a nice reference and can be used to build a self-paced yoga practice at home (something i haven’t done very much of).
✰ the cleansing diet. while i was a bit turned off by the tales of his students who lost “inches” following his “detox” program, this chapter was on the whole very reasonable and moderate in its recommendations. i especially liked the section on mindful eating.
✰ meditation for truthful living. the fourth chapter discusses the benefits of meditation and provides a how-to guide. i like the idea of ‘cleaning the mind out’ in the morning, and tried it today. i do feel a bit more peaceful this morning, but that may be because i’m not rushing off to work [i have a dentist appointment in the AM, so i’m just hanging out for a bit and easing into the week!].
✰ journey into real life. i really liked the final section of this book — it is a brief but valuable (i think) guide on bringing mindfulness principles off of the yoga mat and into . . . the rest of life. as dave farmar loves to say during his podcasts:
how you do anything is how you do everything.
i agree and would like to work on bringing mindfulness into ‘the rest of my day’, too.
on with the day!
i am really looking forward to beginning my 40-day journey, and i have lots more to say about the concrete ways in which i plan to apply these principles to my own life.
upcoming posts:
✔ week 1 goals for the 40-day journey
✔ more thoughts on mindful eating [and conscious food choices]
✔ lists, organization, planning + mindfulness: how to consider the future but remain in the present
✔ bringing baptiste’s principles to work
i also plan on incorporating many of your thoughtful requests into upcoming posts as well — so please feel free to add anything else to the list!
——————————————————————-
2.27.11
workout: 5 miles in miami beach – superslow (it was very warm!). on saturday, i did end up going to a local yoga studio on the beach! i have to say the location was a bit odd, but the instructor was great and i really enjoyed the [challenging!] class.
sweet surprises
these pine nut cookies were a hit!
but beverly (josh’s mom) made this trompe l’oeil creation that truly takes the cake . . .
things are not always as they seem . . .
awesome.
No Comments