Letting go is the hardest asana. 

This post I am dedicating to yoga, but yoga of the mind. Why «but» and not just «and»? 

_________________

In all these years of growing and growing and even more growing popularity of Yoga, there is one
big misconception about this field, and I am not speaking just about this city/country or that, I am
speaking about general yoga community worldwide. People find it easier to do physical asanas and miss other parts of the deal. It is like this «all-over-internet» - My diet is vegetable juice for breakfast, salad for lunch, light dinner and box of Oreo's in the night. We tend to start from so far away without fully understanding the root of the teaching of yoga and missing the most important part, the root of all problems, which as far as I am concerned is our Mind. I was «yoging» my body for about 15 years and was jumping all around the core, flirting with truth and with myself. I can compare that to trying open the door using not the handle, but the door's hinges. Basically, you do can make it happen but how much more energy and time it will take. And yet that's in my opinion we all are doing on all sorts of physical yoga lessons and retreats. We are like boiling pots of all sorts of emotions. We are carrying it with us and trying to calm it down, spill it, burn ourselves and others and willingly and diligently keep doing it on and on again and again. After all these years of feeding my «yoga teacher» ego with the ability of complete the most complex and advanced asanas and show it off to the world, I have noticed that some blind spots all over my body were staying numb and unstretched no matter what. Plus my migraines increased their presence in my life to the level that I could not function properly anymore. All of that literally just had pushed me to the corner and did not leave me any chance but decide to devote 10 days of life to Meditation Retreat. And at that moment I could hardly imagine myself sitting in meditation without the ability to speak, to write, to draw. But I decided to give it a try. I have found Vipassana meditation centre near New York and full of doubts went there having it in my mind as last chance to figure out health issues. Here you can read about my first Vipassana 10-day course by Goenka experience.

_________________

On a year number «2» of my mornings and evenings Vipassana meditation experience, I am upgrading the previous article. I cannot say it was easy to maintain the practice, and I cannot say I became a perfect meditator, I cannot say meditation always brings you happiness and liberation, in fact, they are pretty rare guests of mine. I gained the moment where my migraines disappeared and my productivity got to the desired level and….. Well, I, Myself and My Big Ego decided that there is no necessity in meditation anymore. And wow-such-a-surprise, in less than a month migraines came back to reign. It was hard to get back on track and year later after my first Vipassana I went for the second round. The experience as I understand changes significantly with each time, as everything in our world has a tendency to change. And so my concept of the whole system got into some changes.

First, I now see myself as sort of instrument. Let's say Piano, as I was playing the piano back in childhood. Before making any sound, it has to get tuned. Otherwise, even if the player is good and play got learned properly, without tuning the sound will appear cranky and unpleasant for a listener and for the player himself. So for me, meditation now is a way to balance the sound of my soul and mind to hear it and produce it in a better and more understandable way.
Second, on the whole earth, only Human being from all animals is able to feel, think, have emotions and sensations, be in the epicentre of the living experience and at the same moment be a watcher, be an observer of that experience. That is the most valuable thing we have as species. And meditation helps to build strong foundation and core for stable observation skills, as from time to time we all have negative emotions, gross sensations and etc and it is definitely not easy to keep being an observer. For some people probably it can be very easy to do, not for me though. A long time ago I was reading and rereading all over again the book Transerfing of Reality by V.Zeland. The reason why I kept rereading is I simply could not get into handy one of the essential term, required for practising Zeland's theory of how to manifest your desires and create the reality you wish to live in. And it was how to be unattached to the desirable results and not to cling and crave for it. It is still kind of an oxymoron for me but feels like I am much closer to the point.
Third, meditation gives Unambiguous Sight. There is no need in magic or psychic abilities to see things and people truthfully. All you need is clear heart and mind, and calm emotional background. And the truth comes to the surface without any special efforts.

Therefore, meditation experience helps to get a better version of self. 

Physically, Emotionally and Mentally. 

I hope this review will be helpful and it will clear all impurities and misconceptions. 

May all beings be happy.

Much Love,
Aeri

XoXo

I have heard about Garcinia Cambogia for a while now and always wanted to try it. After my Food&Drink trip to Napa Valley, I gain some weight, and it was the right moment to try out this supplement.

The study says it contains hydroxy citric acid and blocks enzyme "citrate lyase." Our body uses this enzyme to make fat. It also raises levels of the serotonin in the brain, which can get you feel not so hungry. And so people take it on an empty stomach before exercises. Some extremals even take one more pill after exercise with the meal.

I made it one week every day after breakfast before my training, and I would like to share my experience.

First of all, I was sweating like crazy. Second, I was full of energy even after two- three hours of cardio. Which gave me that feeling that I can push my boundaries and do more.

After one week of a little amount food and lots of physical activities, I sprained my ankle. And not just one, but on both legs. Was it because of that supplement? Or I just did overwhelm myself?

I had a lot of time for thinking "why" during my recovering period and did some research; I have read a lot of articles about this supplement. And here what I highly recommend to those of you who goes "hardcore" like me.

1) Always hydrate yourself! You should ideally put back as much water as you spend sweating. Buy good water with electrolytes or make your own but this is an essential part. With your sweat, a lot of minerals go out from your body, and you have to replace it.

2) Do not over exercise. Even though your brain(with a high level of serotonin)  will tell you that your limits are unlimited, it is not. Always follow your exercise plan.

3) Do not take it you have the deficiency of iron, if you take any pain medicine if pregnant or nursing or if you have kidney or liver problems.

Be well,

Aeri

xoxo

Everyone knows, there is something magical in travelling. Preparing the luggage, discussing the route, picking up the hotels to stay and restaurants to enjoy the food. Though sometimes you want to «go with the flow » and pick places following your gut. Especially with such a tool as Yelp with many other people's reviews and photos of the places and meals.
And our trip was exactly like this.

We spent in San Francisco couple of days with my friend who used to live there. And it was love at first sight. I will never forget this feeling when I saw for the first time in my life New York where I live now. It was like big fire in the chest, under the skin and in the heart. It is that feeling that you cannot describe, and they call it Love. With SF was the same. It is very complicated and multi-edging city, with scary and ugly areas and with amazing and majestic at the same moment. People mostly have the different experience about this city as I understand, and it makes San Francisco even more magical.
By the way, flight with Delta was very comfortable, seats in Boing 767-300 were superb and by the end of the flight, I did not feel any muscle aches. We took our small Pomeranian with us, and he went through six hours flight nicely and without any problems.

In short, here I will put the link for places to eat that we enjoyed our stay in SF.

If you are close to Marina area - Tacolicious and Mile's Drive-in.
If you are near Japan town, I would highly recommend State Bird Provisions.
If you like BBQ-

And so, after spending enough hard time biking up&down on the SF hills, we headed off to the south. I checked Yelp in the case of beautiful places for a breakfast on-the-way and have found Los Gatos. It was full of people( at 715 am on Saturday), and we had to wait for about a half an hour. The portions were huge( we took to go all leftovers and finished on the lunch) and everything was delicious. The atmosphere there is very retro. As an interior designer, I can say that all the furniture, lighting, and even wall's paint was like from another generation. But it gives to this place charm and uniqueness.
When we came to Monterey, first of all, we checked in Monterey Tides Hotel. I have read all reviews right before, and it was very controversial. Some people said that the experience was horrible, they felt like the hotel by itself and area around was under construction. But some people had the exquisite experience. So we decided to risk and stay there one night. The Hotel is located right on the waterfront. We got room 222( my favorite number and I always feel little happier when it comes to my life) and also we had the view right in the Pacific. We were not so lucky with the weather as it was cloudy and windy but the pool was open and water there was warm. It was a lot of people on the beach, so we did not feel like we are all alone. And the whole experience reminded me Normandy France, area near Le Mon San Michele.
Must-have to visit in Monterey is, of course, Aquarium. I have been in Aquarium in many different cities and countries, but this one is unbelievable. Go!
If you like wine tasting and meet this greyish weather a little depressing you should get the wine tasting passport in Carmel-on-the-sea for 65$( 90$ worth) and start your preparation for a dinner three-four hours ahead. Carmel is the beautiful, cozy town with a lot of galleries and excellent restaurants( from easy to very chic).
On the next morning, I was eager to find famous local sourdough bread and it was not so easy as it seems. But we finally did it. And stuff made splendid Sandwiches in Pavel's bakery( the oldest one in town). Again the portions were huge, so I could eat just half( which was very convenient for my husband who finished it later on during our hiking).
The next two attraction points of this area are for wild nature lovers and hikers.
First one is 17-Miles Drive(Pebble Beach). This area is well known for its luxurious Resorts and Golf fields. Yelpers are very controversial about it, but I think it is worth visiting. Yes, it is a lot of gorgeous houses and closed for public visiting spots. But they have most of the white sand beaches open to visitors and much more. Such as Shepherd's Knoll, vista points that give a grand view of Monterey Bay and The Santa Cruz mountains; Spanish Bay; Bird Rock; Cypress Point Lookout and The Lone Cypress; etc.

And the last thing I would like to mention here is Point Lobos, State Natural Reserve, «…the greatest meeting of land and water in the world» Francis McComas. I don't know about «the Greatest» but for sure one of the best. Thanks to Point Lobos Foundation for keeping this area as wild and untouchable as possible. I was the witness to a very funny situation: I was sitting near the trail and enjoying the view when the family passed by me. The kid asked parents: this bird is fake? And everybody starts to laugh. Because that bird was too beautiful and too natural, it was too peaceful and perfectly framed in this amazing mother nature. This situation is very reflective of what is happening in the whole world( by that I mean Earth of course) right now. We are in that period when there are less and less not touched places by human hand like this. And we should make the very strong effort to keep it as much and as long as we can. I highly recommend the movie on this topic, How to Let go of the World and Love all the things Climate can't change directed by HBO.

And so back to our post, the full trail in Point Lobos is about 3,5 – 4 hours. And if you have this time to spend on you should do. Must-have!

Thank you so much for reading, I hope it was interesting and helpful.
And next travelling post will be about Mono Hot Springs in Yosemite Park.
Stay tuned, subscribe and feel free to ask me any questions about our trip.

Xoxo,
Arie.

WWW.AERIANECOHEN.COM

The story behind Ketubah.

Ketubah - is the beautiful and mystique word, it is Jewel of Judaism tradition, and it hides so many exciting moments and insights.

«It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride.» Wikipedia.

Sounds good, no?

The first time I have heard about this was two months before my wedding. I am half Jewish( my mother and my grandmother was jewish) and my husband is also jewish by his mother. That's mean that there was no such a big tradition follow in our families. For example, I 've learned that I am jewish right after my one year intense interest in Judaism and Kabbalah so my grandmother had decided explain to me and to other family members why I have such a desire to learn more about it. And in center that I used to attend at that moment my friend asked me when I told her that we are getting married: «Are you going to buy Ketubah?» Well, my blood had burned right away and with round eyes I have asked her «What is that? Where I can find it? Why I have never heard about it?» And that is very typical for me, when I have such an interest in the beginning, that is going to be long love!

And so if you already my reader, you alreafy know that I am interior designer with huge and neverending love to art. The last couple of years I was concentrating more on creating art. And from the very beginning I felt in love in the idea that I can create Ketubah for my own wedding by myself. And even though me and my husband were thinking in the beginning to buy something ready( as we were running out of time), me personally did not like any design that I have found on the internet. And that is how the idea was born to create it by myself. And as a creative person, I got the idea very easily and quickly, I made my research about how-to make it, what kind of tools to use and in one week our Ketubah was ready.

I enjoyed the process so much that I decided to create another one and then another one. And so my husband suggested me to sell it. And that is how I built my shop on Etsy.com and from that moment I am taking one order in 1-2 months as I papercut it by hand. One of the most important thing for me is to create it with good vibrations and to put there as much Love as I can. Therefore I created my own ritual of creating it, with a particular prayer before and after my work and listening special music.

I know that Ketubah mostly is using for traditional Jewish weddings. But here I am, half Jew, having not traditional or even half traditional marriage. And yet I believe that is wonderful when Husband is giving to his Bride a beautiful document. Document where he promises whatever he wants to guarantee and give his word to take responsibility for his their future. And in my opinion this moment is so important, this moment makes their union much stronger, much more conscious and unique. So I think as soon as Hamsa( jewish symbol) became world famous sign to banish negativity, why not every brooms would make this present to their brides on the weddings as well?

Ok, so My Mission is to spread it to the world! That's what I am doing!

PS On the photo one of my Ketubah. Go to ETSY.COM and contact me in case of purchasing your future customizable Ketubah.

I am going to be doing this blog about a year now, and I have never tried such a type of the blog post as FAQ or Frequently Asked Question. I am challenging myself from now on for the next week or so to write more posts, and the first thing I membered who asked me lastly about me or my lifestyle was How I Stay in a Good shape and health. This is one of the most comfortable topics for me as now I am very sure about Do and Don't about food, and here I share my routine.

First of all and the most important thing is to follow the QQ-rule. 

Quantity and Quality. 

You can eat whatever you want( if you don't have the allergy to some products or something like this) if you will eat the exact amount that fills out your stomach and let it digest easy and fast. Yes, of course, you should avoid combining meat and bread, or another dangerous combination is potato with meat. I don't eat meat (or very rarely and occasionally like once a year or so) and I follow this concept that you can eat meat but only if you will be able to kill that animal( that is somewhat «new» paleo way of eating which is very controversial and has it's own followers and haters). If you are still on your way to perfect weight, I would suggest using waist trainer as it will tight your stomach and will not allow you to overeat. But then later on when you will stabilize your weight it will not be necessary. Link to the article about Waist trainer here.

So, first was quantity. Second Quality. Yes! You are what you eat, and I was always saying eat. If I know that the product is not okay, or meal contains harmful ingredients I will definitely not eat it. Even if I will be hungry as hell.

And as an additional kind of rule, the Timing! Yes, it is crucial to let your gut work with food and do not put anything else there at least next three or better four hours while it is completely digested. Otherwise, you just putting to much work for your stomach and food is digesting not properly. And this is one of the causes of excessive fat in the body.

And even when you are following all the rules properly, give yourself a break sometimes! Once a week or two make a Cheat day and eat whatever you want and how much you want. Celebrate your weekly effort because that will give you motivation for the next week.

Take care,

Aeri.

xoxo

Hey! Who likes to read nowadays? With all this overinformative era, social media, etc. I do like to read! Despite the lots of articles about less reading generation the statistic says that young people read even more than nineteen years ago. (https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/young-people-are-reading-more-than-you) Even though the most popular books are Lord of the Rings( which I enjoyed reading), Harry Potter, Twilight Zone and Chronicles of Narnia.

And you can easily see the sense in these words if you go to Barnes and Nobles or Public Library near Grand Central (New York). Very crowdy, lots of different kind of books and atmosphere where you want to jump right away into the reality of the new book.

Though I have never done the article like ''My 10 top of Something'', I do believe that What Person Read( or in this case favorites books) is the pure reflection of his/her personality. And what I am doing here, in my blog, is sharing with the world my life and my personality. And while writing this article I have decided to start new series of the blog posts «My Top 5 …». It could be interesting to know myself better.

Considering my huge bookshelf back in time in Moscow, in two years of living in New York, I have expanded my reading list. And yet my list of favorite books did not change significantly.  And what I mean by «Favorite Books» is that these books I can reread million times and still will adore it.

Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Yes, I love this book and will always do! It is simple and yet multi-faceted. The very first time I read it, I was sixteen years old, and it opened my eyes. It changed my point of view. From that moment I was rereading it three times and the last one was when I just moved to New York and felt very disconnected with my family, friends, my old circle of lovely people and so I saw this book once on the shelf with new beautiful cover and could not help myself to get it and spend time for rediscovering the essence of it once again.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

 I love thick books. I love books that you cannot stop reading. And these book is about both of previous sentences. Couple years ago all people around were just keep speaking about that book. But the size of it made me sick as I was working a lot and could not even consider myself finding time to read this novel. Also, I was ignoring any device readers (Iphone or Ipad) as feeling the real book on your hands and smell of the typography for me was one of the essential parts of the reading process. My friend sent me the gift, this book, and so I could just not download the Stanza for keeping his present. And that's how this story came to me. And once I went to one-week vacation to Thailand and forgot my current book that I was reading at that moment. After two days suffering on the beach without any mental activity, I membered about Shantaram in my Iphone and start to read it. And guess what, till the time my airplane landed back in Moscow, my home city at that moment, I was reading this novel by Gregory David Roberts non-stop. I cannot say anything but WOW about this story. It is exciting, philosophical, with breathtaking love story line and multi-faced characters. Can't wait to read the second part, and at the same moment afraid as I would just not be able to do anything else until the moment of reading the last page.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Another big piece in my collection. It has approximately the same size as Shantaram, but I was reading it very slowly. Probably I can compare this book with old cognac, that you drink slowly and Shantaram with Beaujolais wine, that gets you high very fast. If you check https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191145 you will find more than five thousand reviews, and I will not write lots about this novel. But what I will write is in the book «Daily Rituals: How artist work» https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Rituals-How-Artists-Work/dp/0307273601 author Mason Currey somehow figured out how most interesting and talented people were working. And believe me, it is worth reading!!! At least now I understand how on earth person can write so many books with so many storylines etc. It is not the superpower, but it is super ingredients.

The next two books will be books that I have read once and after that once in a while I am coming back to read the just a couple of pages as a sort of reminder or if you want meditation when I have a spare moment for it.

Tibetan Book of the Dead( or Bardo Thodol).

It can be easily found for free download on the internet and once in life, I think it is a must of reading. It is not entertainment book. It is not classic or adventure book. It is the book as you can read from the title about Death. And the paradox is that when you finish read it, you start to know more about life. My memories about the period when I was reading this book are black and dark and sorrowful. My mother was dying from cancer, actually from metastases that went through all over her body. And it was quite a period. I was twenty-one or so, and I wanted to know what happens to the soul after death. And if there is a place for such a thing, how can I help my mother elevate quickly and move her soul closer to the light.

Nowadays I love sometimes to reread some pages randomly. I think it is must have book for those whose loved ones are very sick. Reading it is helpful, giving the understanding and wash away panic and suffer.

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

This piece is quite new in my everyday life. I found this book after yoga class in locker room and gave it to the reception. But the face from cover was imprinted in my mind and after a month every day is remebering this book I was just curious why my mind is al the time going back to it. And so I purchased it on Amazon.

That's it. I read one page or so every day, and it is the really beautiful masterpiece. Must- have table book.

So that's it, my beautiful friends. It was hard to choose only five my favorite book, and I am sure with the time this list will change. I am always expanding my read list, and if you will put down below in the comments your favorite books I would be so appreciated!

Worry less, read more!

Your Aeri.

Why do we love Mirror and Glance in the Interiors? 

When space is small, it gives the illusion of bigger place. And when space is big enough? We still love to use them to decorate. I love them! And somehow I forgot about their existence completely.

Hooker 1469$

Link HERE

Horchow 1399$

Link HERE

Pottery Barn 999$

Link HERE

I am currently working on design project of big six bedroom house. There are bunch of space and there is no need of trying to maximize the space. And yet the architect who made the project of the house has done considering such a big house very small entry room. Generally the style of interior that clients would like to see as the result I would call classic eclectic, which means classic modern style with a little modern touch-ups. And in the entry room they would like to have chest as the family is big enough to have a lot of things for storage. Especially near the entrance. So it should be dresser or sideboard with drawers. And while facing this issue I totally forgot about mirrored furniture and thanks God I bumped very accidentally into it on http://stephaniecohenhome.com/ . My problem was solved and I avoid putting into small room big piece of wood furniture. Alleluia!

The mirrored furniture could be quite expensive, though. And so I have found this DIY project on Youtube with step-to-step video tutorial how-to. Easy and very affordable. In case if I would love to make some furniture mirrored I would use this source.

Shop this look:

• LAMP 2250$
• DRESSER 999$
• MIRROR IN POWDER ROOM 660$
• WALL LIGHT 220$

• LAMP 2200$
• DRESSER 3499$
• MIRROR IN POWDER ROOM 500$
• WALL LIGHT 524$

Hey, please let me know which of the furniture selection you liked most!

XoXo

Be well

Be inspired

Your Aeri Cohen

Do you want to switch your profession and become an Interior Designer?

Do you have a dream of creating beautiful spaces and work with extraordinary people making super creative installations?

Well, think twice if you choose NYC as an area to accomplish your far-reaching goals.

I moved to NYC two years ago. And I was working with my projects back in Moscow as an Interior Designer for about six years or so. I have had my little studio, and I used to hire people to help me with draftings and 3d visualizations when had too many projects. And most of the time our small company was very busy. I felt very successful; I even built the country house for my father. Not large residence, though, but yet with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, with beautiful open kitchen and dining area with fireplace. And so when I was moving here I was ninety percent sure that will find my perfect place to work and keep doing what I got used to doing. And as they say, if you want to make laugh God, tell him about your plans. And I went through three different stages in last two years before I am finally here and now.

So first what I decided to do is go to Parsons school of design and take any course that has connection with the interior design while I was waiting for permission work card.  I have noticed so many people there who wanted to switch their professions and eventually they could not put it into life. On one hand, I was there; I have changed my life and my vocation as I was playing piano all my life and then turn into drawing and drafting. On the other hand, most of the times people are not ready for such a thing. This switching period is always hard and sometimes overwhelming and worth many sleepless nights and distorted nerves. But I did it. And what I want to say is people see this profession too idealistically. In realty, there are 90% hard work and 10 or even less % of the creative process that they are craving for.

And here I am, in NYC, in the heart of the most expensive and beautiful houses in the world, having a hard time with expressing myself as my native language is not English, trying to adapt to new life circumstances and find the same passion and ardor to climb these fancy decor stairs. I had had a choice where to work when finally got my permission card. First place was entirely orthodox Jewish construction company, and they were building synagogs most of the time. Which is exciting, I am half jew, and it would be great to do something like this. For the whole community in general. And yet my heart wanted something more fancy and more Soho-style or Manhattan Loft, etc. And I choose to go for an internship in the fancy interior design studio. Initially, everything had looked great, and I was excited. The projects were exactly what I was dreaming of, enormous lofts in Soho with old break walls, external engineering tubes and fantastic urbanistic views from almost all height wall windows.

But after the very first seventy hours work week and three espressos per day and deadline always «yesterday» … Wow, I was hoping for the best. After a month of schedule like that my marriage almost had ruined, I forgot what is it to have the day without doing something on my laptop. I felt like somebody have found the plug on me and was taking all possible energy from me.

It is easy to predict that I could not handle this. Also I was newly married and did not want to lose my happy time with husband. I was totally squeezed up, my nerves were far from normal condition, I have started to have headaches on a daily basis. And it was evident time to go. But the thing is i did not just left the workplace. I left this part of me who was interior designer, who liked more then anything else to create and to draw and to combine and to thrill about all that. I left myself.

And that period actually could last forever till I met a girl. I was working as a model and she was my MUA, makeup artist. And I have found myself again. Because she was my total mirror reflection. She was an architect, and she quit her workplace because she was hospitalized and had to spend almost two months to recover. She started to search new fields for realization her creative talents. And became a makeup artist. As me as well) And these two hours having conversation with her helped me realize that i am not the only one who was abused and overwhelmed with this business wheel. That understanding actually helped me to come back in a rut.

I can surely understand the high competitiveness in NYC interior design, though. And yet I am sure there is another way to be an Interior Designer here, as my intention is not to create just beautiful expensive and sophisticated interiors. Besides, I am not just architect and drafter. I am a yoga teacher(back in Moscow), I am an artist, I am a Reiki healer and highly spiritual person. And if there is just beautiful and shiny wrapper without any filler inside. Well, it is not just disappointing. There is no place for me and no sense in creating a process at all. I don't want any longer be a foreigner in the work system. Instead, I intend to celebrate my differences and use them to my advantage, not turn it against myself with feelings of not belonging.

Meaningful work,

service,

enough spiritual sustenance,

contribution to make a difference,

intuitive and transformational faculties,

wounding,

bringing into life imagination,

high need to beautify and harmonize,

counseling

and healing is intimately bound together in my work destiny.

Paola Navone, one of my favorite woman Italian interior designer, have said, « The world does not need another chair model, what the world needs are new technology and new approach». She had been melding contemporary forms and artisanal techniques in a career that spans four decades. And as an example for me, she put her life into something that closes to her being and has an answer for her inner query.

I would also bring to the point ecological, environmental and humanitarian issues. Our world needs to change. We cannot live like humanity used to live last five hundred years. Creating something (interiors or landscapes or clothes or be a makeup artist) needs to be upgraded with new consciousness and participation in the world that will have an impact as much as on local community as the world.

Creator of healing spaces, using eco-friendly design objects and materials,  spaces where energy flow in a right way - that is how I see myself. To create work circumstances where I can use my feng shui knowledge and ability to feel the geometry and space put into practice to harmonize other people's life - that is mine intent.  And where I will put the thoughts into all parts of the picture and not just to pursuit the profit.

Does the positive way of thinking help to live brighter and banish negativity? Do the positive affirmations improving, in general, your life and life of your loved ones and your family members?

Considering my experience, I can answer «Yes» and «No».

Yes, because it is working. No, because it is not working if you are not following basic principles and just automatically repeating mantras and affirmations.

But in this article, I would like to think and rethink another part of all «positive thinking» theories. And it is Gratefulness.

Saying Sorry to all and everybody became a part of everyday behavior. And this is great, especially when it is said not on auto-pilot but with full meaning in the heart.

And how many times per day do we say Thank you? Yesterday I decided to count. On average, I said Thank you for five to ten times per hour. And how many of them I said honestly keeping meaning in view?

And what about being grateful to yourself? And to your life?

The first research about Gratitude Journal was made in 2003 by Emmons & McCullough and after that, it was the real boom in all bookstores. And now in 2016 you can not only buy the paper version, but there are several applications on the market for your device( phone or pad).

And why it became so popular?

I have started my gratitude journal a week ago. I decided to give it a try, taste it and then share my experience with the world.

So what can I say?

First, I created time and space for it, ten minutes of my life, right before to go to bed. I decided that to continue doing that I should, first of all, feel something special at these moments.And I am lighting the candle and tuning myself on the right wave.

Then, I open my special journal and write everything I am grateful for. “Special” is not because it was very fancy and expensive. I took my small old notebook and decorated it lightly by myself. “You don’t need to buy a fancy personal journal to record your entries in, or worry about spelling or grammar,” says Robert Emmons, the author of Gratitude Works!: A 21-Day Program for Creating Emotional Prosperity. “The important thing is to establish the habit of paying attention to gratitude-inspiring events.”

I can write down something simple like spending lovely time with my friends or summer rain and fresh air after. Or it can be something more meaningful.

What I have noticed right on the second day is the process of reviewing your day and then remembering not just good things that happen but also negative- this process can be very transformational. At least for me. As sometimes at the end of the day you can clearly see that some of the first adverse events were eventually helpful somehow or even positive. For example, you wanted to get some job, but they picked up another person. You were angry, disappointed, frustrated but right at the end of the day; you got another job offer, even more, exciting and perspective.

Being grateful is another state of mind and the more you are keeping focused on positive vibrations, the more the law of attraction is working for you. And keeping Gratitude Journal and feeling the blank space at the end of the day are helping to induce yourself being more on the major tonality.

Peace, Love and Good Vibes only!

Yoga, yo- gha-, inhale and exhale, the sun and the moon, active and passive, black and white, you and me.

Yoga became an essential part of our daily lives and our culture. People all over the world doing yoga, inventing new styles and techniques, mixing with other activities and overall experimenting as much as they can imagine. It's popularity spreads as to calm and peaceful rural areas as to towns and busy cities.

And so. Living in a big multi-million city such as Big Apple is off the question exciting, fascinating, thrilling and like head&shoulders Three-in-one. You are in the heart of everything, like on the busy crossroad, and there are a million chances you will reach your dream life! In fact, you just need to meet as many new people as you can, attend to as many meetups as you physically able, and there is no time for less. Your daily To- Do list is longer then intro to the Star Wars movie and the last article that caught your glance was "Never Forget the name again" on Psychology Today. Attention and focus meanwhile are spreading on an enormous quantity of the things and in a year or two living life like this, you more often think about trying yoga or even visiting some retreat. And this is a good idea! But not every weekend you have a chance to go out of the city to reload your system. And luckily there are the bunch of events inside of the city where you can come to setup your state of mind and adjust your inner guidance. And you can find approval to this putting in search Yoga Events. And that is how I have learned about such an interesting thing as Yoga in Museum.

Once I already attend to Yoga class in Brooklyn museum, but it was too crowded, I was with friends and then after yoga class, we were in the rush as they took me to some roof party. So overall that experience was not so special and was a little bit smudged.

I decided to give it another try. This time, the event was in Rubin Museum, the peaceful place between Meatpacking District and Union Square. Once you are in, relaxed energy is surrounding you. There are three floors of art from Tibetan plateau, with examples from related surrounding regions including Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Afganistan, China, and Mongolia.

The first impression was very nice. The organization arranged very warm welcoming Indian Flute live meditational music right on the main floor near the entrance that immediately immersed other guests and me into the peaceful state of mind. I came there and hour or so earlier to have a chance go through the collections and temporary expositions. Museum's managers kindly suggested complimentary breef observance with a specialist in Buddhist Culture. I already have learned much about Buddhist culture and Hinduism before in my life but still, could learn something new. Also, it was right –in –time reminder about the essence of the meditation and the nature of Boddhisatvas as I just finished my first 10-day Silent meditation retreat Vipassana in tradition by Goenka. After that retreat, my reflection process changed dramatically, and I increased my meditation to twice a day. And the reminder was very straightforward as an essence of meditation as well: give the vow to dedicate your daily practice for the peace and love to the world. And this is an essential part of meditation. You are doing this not for yourself or your benefits. But you are doing this and maintaining your practice for the whole Earth and the entire humanity. And that configuration has changed all my personal practice.

And so I was inspired by this idea and decided to dedicate my upcoming yoga flow class with live music for bringing more peace and love to our world.

Going to an event like this I was apriori expecting something more then just regular yoga practice, I was expecting to get more insights and more meditation time. And what they say about expectations? Yes, right. We should not have them and be open minded and open armed to everything that comes with the flow. The practice has started, space was not huge, and it was about 30 people who felt very comfortable. The teacher Ali Cramer from one of the busiest yoga studios in New York has begun the flow, and the magical music started to play by musician Morley Kamen. But let me tell you something. What is the best recipe or algorithm for a successful concert? It is first, Prelude, second, culmination and, finally, third, the ending. The first part was very encouraging and third part was smooth and relaxing. Probably the yoga instructor and the singer did not have enough time for rehearsal, so the culmination part has been missed in my opinion. But I think they could squeeze a little bit more juice into the whole thing. I was listening later on other compositions by Morley and it is very deep and right music for yoga practice. And I have attended several times to Ali's yoga classes and it was always good experience.

Here to be honest it was not enough time or energy putted for preparation. It was like tasting, but not the whole dinner.

 If i would have chance to organize similar event, it will be at least half day workshop with qualify time preparing for the practice, with slow, deep and mindfull process of  the exact class and with the deep yoga nidra as a final accord to the yoga symphony.  

I don't realy like sound critical but in this case, I see much more potential in the idea of yoga in Museum and lack of preparation and thoughts putting inside of this exact project.

But hey! I was honestly dedicating my practice to the Mother Earth! And in this sense, it does not truly matter where you are, what kind of music you are listening and what you think about organization and space, etc. 

"All is within,"- my favorite 77 years old teacher Dharma Mittra used to say. 

Om, Namaste, Shanti Shanti Shanti.   

Waist trainer : how it became my life changer

If the new corsets are everywhere on Instagram and many people make money on them, do they really work or it is just another marketing trick to grab attention and money from girls and women who wants to be more beautiful ?

Check this article to get the honest customer opinion, me, about waist trainer that was ordered on Amazon by my own money. Reading this you will avoid common mistakes of wearing waist trainer. And it will help you to be more confident in how-to use it.

So what to expect after you finally get it and UPS kindly delivered it to your door?

Do not expect miracles – Leave the space for failure – Set your goals and follow them.

First of all, do not expect any miracles without putting any effort. If there is the place for it, maybe somewhere but not here. Hence, you will not have the perfect waist in one day.

Second, you will probably fail from one place. Just accept it and try one more time. Member, it is not important how many times you fall, but how many times you stand up again. My advice is to leave couple days in your weekly schedule for ''cheat'' days where you will take the Waist Trainer off  and go back to your ''normal'' diet and quantity of what you eat.

And finally, set up your goals  and ideal result. Make realistic time period when you will reach your goals. My advice here is not to be tough on yourself or on the contrary too enervated.  God created Earth in seven days. Choose golden mean and be consistent.

When I started to wear the Waist Trainer the first and the most important benefit I have noticed is that now finally I can control my appetite. The sad thing about our stomach is if it is already big you cannot make it smaller. And as a result, our appetite still there when we start a diet. Especially it trigs during first days and even weeks of dieting. Because our body already got used to eating a particular quantity of food.

Then after a week or so I start to close trainer not on the first zipper but on the second. And here again,  first couple days I felt not comfortable and then on the third day my stomach became smaller and uncomfortable feelings disappear.

And so on I finished on a third and last zipper. I felt myself a winner and decided to celebrate and take it off on two days. Before that, I used to take it off just during the night. So I did not have any ''cheat'' days. And it was my biggest mistake. As I already mentioned ,please, leave some days for cheating otherwise you will make my mistake.

After I took the Waist trainer of I started to eat like a crazy and could not stop myself. It is like when you decide not to eat anything during the day and overnight you end up in the fridge. Please do not make the same.

And therefore, be patient and not try to fasten the process. Remember your gut needs time to get smaller. Do not force yourself. Truly love yourself and you will definitely reach good results.

Vipassana…

This word sounds well known for those who practice yoga, know any spiritual friend/s and take part in any shamanic meetings. Personally, I have heard this mystic word for more than five years in my life. It was always some person who finished 10-day Course and was telling to everyone around how beautiful it is or on the contrary how he/she just wasted their time on it. Deeply inside I was sure that someday this word will stop being just a word but become my real experience. And there was no necessity in trying to find a course or struggling to be on a long wait list. Everything was perfect and even though I used to have my migraines and headaches weekly, in general, i was ok, I could handle my day-to-day stress, and yoga twice a week was just enough to keep my balance on the right level.

And there are some moments in our lives when stress is tightened up to rough around your neck and as headaches becoming migraine as so fear to become a real big problem and transforming to chronical depression. And it could be bunch different types of triggers; everyone has their cause of it. And in this article in will not observe my cause of stress. Otherwise, it would be too long and with too many descriptions.

But I move directly to the topic as I would like to share my experience from the course. Though I will give a little introduction to it.

So around six months ago ( and it was Christmas season) I was caught by one of the migraines and decided that I have to do something with it. I somehow membered this word Vipassana and typed it in the search. It was a lot of a different kind of Vipassana, and I decided to find something basic, something that more traditional and without any «special» additions. So I have found www.dhamma.org  and got lost for a few hours on their website. I live in NYC area, and the closest center in Shelbourne was booked till summer. I went through all different types of emotion about this fact and decided to put my name in wait list just randomly, wherever will be the free spot. And even with opened schedule, they put me on the waitlist. Pfff… I was thinking how it is possible that so many people want to go for ten days to live by this strict schedule? Wake-up bell at 4 am. Almost 10 hours of meditations per day. I thought I am only one who can even agree on it. Plus the donation story. You pay as you want at the end of the course. And not even for yourself, but for the future participant, who will come there as you knowing nothing. Have you ever see something like this before?!

So first, where to find in busy schedule 10 Days, plus you cannot use your phone to reply to work emails, etc.

Second, it is 5 hours by train and another half an hour by taxi to get there.

Third, you have no idea it going to work and what is it? Sect? Religion??

With all these thoughts I received the confirmation letter for the waiting list and «we will get in touch with you if there will be any free spot».

And as you can guess I totally forgot about this in my life.

In the middle of May i went to Chicago for a weekend with my husband. It was cold, windy. Once we decided to run in the morning and i step very badly on my foot and hurt my ankle. As i figured out later in NY after Scan it was little fracture so i could not walk, it was painful and very unpleasant. I was in bed with lifted foot watching tv shows for about 10 days. The weather outside was incredible beautiful and i stuck to the bed. My husband had to go to Italy for business and i was left all alone by myself. And this is very dangerous in my case as i can go to dark areas of my mind very quickly without any yoga, any positive vibes, any running or adrenaline. So dark cloud hung around me. Plus i got fever and high temperature, i was coughing like a crazy. Hahaha, all at once! At a time when my husband came back i was total mess! As outside, as inside. We went outside and sit on waterfront. Everything around was beautiful and colorful but not for me. I felt guilty and dirty that my husband saw me in this condition but really could not help already myself at this point.

And it was 17:17 when I got a call from unknown number. I called back when we got home. That was fun lady telling me that there is free spot on Vipassana, and the course starts in one day. HAHAHA. Yes! Yes! I want, sure! Sitting in meditation with my fractured ankle was the perfect situation for me to recover. Plus I love to meditate. Plus it will be vegetarian food and mother nature far away from the urbanistic crazy city. YES! I felt relief, excitement, happiness, glories, all at once. It was precisely the most right moment in my life to discover this word Vipassana and make it real.

And so I invited my lovely husband to the pizzeria to let him know such exciting news for me and probably not so for him as he just got back from Italy and wanted to spend some time with me.

We checked the website and the schedule of the day again. He made round eyes and told me I am crazy if will go there. Well, probably I am, and I can not categorize myself as an average person. Yay, what news.

You can check of course the timetable of the Vipassana on their website www.dhamma.org, and I will put it down here just in case.

4:00 a.m.

Morning wake-up bell

4:30-6:30

Meditate in the hall or in your room

6:30-8:00

Breakfast break

8:00-9:00

Group meditation in the hall

9:00-11:00

Meditate in the hall or in your room

11:00-12:00

Lunch break

12:00-1:00

Rest and interview with the teacher

1:00-2:30

Meditate in the hall or in your room

2:30-3:30

Group meditation in the hall

3:30-5:00

Meditate in the hall or in your room

5:00-6:00

Tea break

6:00-7:00

Group meditation in the hall

7:00-8:15

Teacher's discourse in the hall

8:15-9:00

Group meditation in the hall

9:00-9:30

Question time in the hall

9:30

Retire to your room, Lights out

I must say that all sort of schedule always makes me feel exciting. Like when you just got your weekly schedule in your school in the first week after summer vacations.

And so I have left just one day to get ready, to pack things and to prepare morally for such an adventure. I have asked my friend who used to go to Vipassana twice per year what to bring and she replied:

Scarf, Favorite Pillow, food without you die

And I took chocolate and honey.  Not much but just in case, I will start doing.

And on the train, I had plenty of time to read reviews and to watch videos on Youtube.

This review by Aurianna Joy by the way I have found very helpful and she also decided to make the birthday present to herself, so I feel even more sympathy for her. You should check out her channel; she has very inspirational personality.

https://youtu.be/VeoRUgrRGl0

And the farther the train went from New York, the clearest picture becoming for me. I made a right move.

On the train station, I met the big group of people going to the same meditation retreat. And some of them were not the first time. AND they looked healthy, not like a zombie or so. Hah)

The taxi driver took us to the center and here we are, giving all our phones, gadgets and books and drawing notepads to the smiling lady; and hoping for the best.

I was given the room number 8. Which for me vital number. For example, I was born on 8th Lunar day, The day of the Phoenix.

Outside in window was the blossoming beautiful and gorgeous cherry tree, and I exhaled with peace and relief. Everything is just right, and even though it is ten days of hard inner work, I am fully prepared with chocolate, honey and smelly flowers outside of the window.

All descriptive moments are finishes at this line. Now after this evening, I will live in noble silence and with no eye contact.

I was thrilled.

And my excitement ended very soon.

Right, when the real work began.

First, three days were hell for me. I was in pain, in agony and like corns on a hot pot. The first layer of pain was entirely physical. And as a chronical migraine person, I did not have one even once for the whole period. But it was another pain, much harder to go through. All my neck, upper back, all back. It was all like on fire.

The second-day physical pain was completely the same, but my body starts to get used to it and here where all emotional pain starts to come out. All childhood memories, all bad experience from the past that I obviously did not let go yet, everything came to my inner eyes. In the end of the second day on the teacher's discourse Goenka in his lecture told that we are going through the operation. But unlike a surgical procedure with anesthesia here was a procedure in the mind without any anesthesia. And it was true. But it looked like I had body process as well.

And here was the moment where I found very good use to my chocolates and honey and even chewing vitamins that I took from home. Even though the food was very good on our breakfast and lunch, vegetarian but delicious with good spices and every day different, made with love, even though all this I badly needed something sweet before going to sleep when the kitchen was closed, and I was in pain struggling. And all these first three days after each meditation in the hall I was coming back to my room and was watching the blossoming cherry tree. I was looking at how blossoms felt down, one-by-one and it somehow helped me go through my pain. I kept saying to myself that it will pass, it will pass.

On the fourth day, I woke up surprisingly calmed down. And on the morning meditation, we started finally new technique.

On the fifth day, I was playing along with this new technique and my physical pain had begun to go by the wayside and all emotional level started to clean itself with crying. I was crying all the time. Not me actually, but my eyes. And the most interesting thing about all these stages was that at the end of the day on the Teacher's Discourse Goenka knew what I was going through all previous day. So it was very helpful to not feeling weird or so with all your emotional garbage coming out.

On the seventh day after the evening lecture about four elements and food( Goenka explained that for example too much of earth element feels in body like heaviness, or excess of fire element can be shown as a severe pain) I membered my pain, then i members that i cannot live without spicy food. And before jumping into any conclusion i decided to check first with element Earth. I used to eat there on breakfast oatmeal or brown rice which i normally do not. But here it was delicious and i was in pain and stress all the time so decided to treat myself. And so during the meditations i hardly could feel my stomach. The sensations were very cloudy and foggy. So next day I skipped all grains and rice and start to feel little bit more my abdominal. And here i could reasonably make a statement that  my severe pain can be fired up even more with my love to spicy food. And without any doubts i went through fasting next couple days. And it was extremely helpful in my case though the rules of the course was against any sort of fasting. But i did it and felt much and much better. Also during the meditations i started to see the right proportions of the body and that for the better living without suffering in pain it is suppose to be isosceles triangle between center of the head and both shoulders. Which i did not have. And this not correct position could because of migraines and headaches as well.

So  I have had a lot of a different kind of insight and not just about my physical condition of course. And it was good and satisfying, so I could see the real results of the almost 10 hours per day of meditating. Though nothing is forever and the 8th day was as day 2nd very crucial and critical. But it was too personal, and I would like to keep it to myself.

By the end of the course I surely came back to myself on the very deep level, and I must say meditation was my very good friend all the life. But to be honest, I was always wandering around, doing wine testing, without drinking all bottle at once. And now I can say that I can meditate properly. I can compare learning meditate it with learning how to drive. First, it is hard, then you want to throw out this idea, and then step-by-step you are getting used to it and it becoming the part of your nature.

I am writing this review after a week as I am back home.

And now with clear mind trying, to sum up, I can say that Vipassana meditation technique even though very basic can effect different people in a very different ways.

In my case, it was mostly physical, but I think it is always considering the personality.

This technique surely put everything in balance. And each time in each case very differently. Plus the location and facility play the significant role. You are in the heart of mother nature and in our crazy century when we live in multimillion cities it is very important at least once a year goes to full silence and relaxation just to be able to recover the ability to hear your real inner voice, your true inner self. Overall I did not meet even one person by the end of the course which was not smiling with a happy smile and was not satisfied with their results.

And I keep practicing sitting in the morning and the evening and when I have a chance once or two per week I am also doing one hour in the lunch time. Because I see it as a driving bicycle, once you stop pedal you stop moving, and all benefits that you have worked out before are stopping appearing as well.