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

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

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.

I moved to New York in August 2014, and it was the most life-changing experience ever. And with all this beautiful and amazing stuff that came to my life, Acne appears, and it was the most discouraging things ever happen to me. ( I have never have had any pimples or even scars and ANY problems with my skin).

I start experimenting with all kind of Diets,(mostly I was experimenting with Dairy free products), then with skincare products that promised life-changing results. There was connection the with Dairy products in my diet, but not just that. My cycle, or stress, or too much good things or too many bads. Everything was a trigger, and this Acne( or horrible huge pimples) were just coming again and again. I did not cure old ones, and newborn kept coming. In the end, I just lost any hope. But I kept putting in search Google or Youtube still trying to find something that I did not know yet.

And this day had come! I bumped on lots of teenagers- youtube-bloggers who were screaming about benefits of Dermaroller. Though I was very skeptical, I spent hours watching them and trying to figure out does it work or not!

I have checked the price( it was around 15 bucks or so!). And the thing is you can easily spend hundreds of dollars on some skincare products, which can be trusted just by their ads, but then struggling to spend fifteen dollars on the product with thousand good reviews.

Finally, I purchased it on Amazon, and here I am, holding it and staring in the mirror telling myself with no hope that this product will help, will for sure!

First, you have to know that there is no word as a miracle here. To see the results you should be constant and persistent.

Second, it is imperative what kind of product you put on your face after. You see, while using Dermaroller, you are creating little holes in your skin so that the better product will be there the better!

Third, you should make this procedure overnight right before you go to bed. No sun should be on the skin after Dermaroller.

I start to see the difference in couple weeks of constant usage. But benefits are not just for acne scars. It is also smoothing your skin, making pores smaller, lifting some areas, making the whole tone much healthier. In other words, I highly recommend it and do not see any «why» you should not try!

Make this part of your routine and your skin will thank you.

YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE

How many times we decided to start a new life from that mythic Monday? We carefully prepared the plan, schedule our daily calories, weekly exercises and …? Couple weeks later at midnight we found ourselves trying to find an answer and excuses in front of the fridge.

Well, we all have been there.

The University's Journal of Clinical Psychology reports that mostly all Americans will fail in keeping their promises about new healthy way of eating and providing their bodies with highly nutritious and full of vitamins meals. So how bad is it? Just ten percent will succeed, and ones who will win this hard game with Diet will not read this article.  But the good thing there is always Next Year? Huh.

Recently I went through the very rough day. Woke up at six, lots of stress and moments where you have to make the right and only decision. I also went to kind of interview with fancy-fancy Interior Designer, worldwide famous with printed projects in such influential magazines as Architectural Digest, etc. Long story short, they pushed me down to the floor and show me my «real» place. Well, that is what they do. And instead of coming back home at the end of the day and recovering myself as usual in front of Mr.Fridge I transformed this energy into something else… I went to the gym and was running an hour and here what I got while my reimbursing.

First, I think I always fail in my perfect diet because my ego does not let me reach the goal. Yes, exactly like this. I had analyzed the each and every moment when I failed in my diet and can surely tell that I make the same mistake every time. Right, when I almost win I give up. There is excellent Chinese phrase « The darkest moment of the night is right before the dusk».

Second, how about stress situations and remembering to transform this evil energy during the day. Simply we cannot sometimes face some adverse conditions likewise jealousy, envy, anger, etc. And instead of turning it into something productive we are filling ourselves with all this junk food, alcohol, and candies in front of TV.

Third, once a week deep relaxation. I have faced this Rule of Thumb in many traditions. Likewise, Jewish people used to turn off themselves from an actual world on every Saturday. In Indian culture, people choose one day per week for fasting considering what they want to improve in their life. For example, Monday is Moon day and therefore everybody who intends to jump into another level in family life giving up with the food and any activities exactly on Monday.

So it is 4th May and I will try to follow these new instructions and will get back to this topic a month later to see the results!

Ouh yeah, and of course I will keep wearing my waist trainer that will not allow me to overeat and keep my back straight.

Why do I meditate?

Do you ever watch clouds in the sky? Or the water in the river or the ocean? Have you ever being a kid in bath put your head under the water and listen to this calming noise?

If yes, now you know what you were doing – it was meditation.

{Meditation is a practice where an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or for the mind to just acknowledge its content without becoming identified with that content,[1] or as an end in itself.[2]}

I distinctly member myself little girl who was traveling as a piano player. It was exciting but mostly overwhelming for such a fragile child's psyche. Hands before the concerts were always wet and shaky. And it was the problem because it has had the significant impact on how I was playing.  And what my grandmother once suggested to my mother is to sit quietly in some dark place with the straight back, close eyes and just following the breath and watch self from a distance. Well, I am pretty sure my grandma did not have any idea that it was a real meditation. And that is how I start doing that without even knowing anything about it.

Of course with time I forgot this helpful trick. And I bumped into this new movement: Yoga, Meditation, etc. It was beautiful, little far away and look like some fairytale. It was a lot of pictures, magnetizing and very spiritual. And it seemed very hard as well. At least other people like teachers or similar wanted me to see.

I went through a lot in different kind of Meditations. Most of them were with music. And after that, i felt very relaxed but also rather drunk and not in right state of mind, not conscious. It starts to feel little wrong and weird. Then was a period of Kundalini Yoga with singing and repeating mantras. It was also wonderful but still did not give to mind clarify picture and focus.

I decided to simplify my daily meditation. With no music, no scents, no any other additional special effects. The first week I was sitting ten to fifteen minutes quite and just watching the breath.

Then I start to put my attention to different parts of the body and blend this feeling with breath.

And approximately after two or three months my meditation practice naturally extended to thirty to forty minutes meditation and I became a Spiritual Guide to myself.

The benefits of doing meditation are countless.

First, grounding and calming. Not just mind but the whole system as well.

Second, feeling your body helps you to prevent any disease. In my case, it helps me with my migraines and severe headaches. If I am not stating my daily morning routine with meditation at least ten minutes it is almost a hundred percent I will get a headache that will grow in a migraine.

Third, it is scientifically proved that deep meditation is like a several hours of sleep. So your body and mind are recovering , as well as all nervous system.

As you see it is so many benefits and everyone is finding their own ones. 

I hope this article will encourage you to try it and please do not hesitate ask me any questions!

Be well, be inspired!

My love-story with headache starts when I was very young, around 7-8 years old. And I was too young to try figure out what can be the cause of this. I just member how I was begging my parents for advil-kind-of pill to get a relief. Once when I was adolescent I decided to go to the doctor and ask a professional opinion. So I ended up with prescribed pills that made me sleepy all the time and special collar that will hold my neck when I will be at home. And I clearly member how the doctor said " So let's try this, if it will not help, we will try something else". Hence he was not sure why I have a headache, he did not make any analysis and at that moment I clearly realize that there is only one person who can help me: and it is myself. 
That' s how I start doing yoga and somehow it actually had helped me. But still I have had occasionally migraines and at that moment all I wanted is to die.
So let's try to see closer and understand what is it, migraine.
A migraine, however, may be a terribly severe headache that's preceded by different symptoms. Many of us suffer from headaches and once they have one, they will be in agony for hours or maybe even days. The reason for headache is not acknowledged and there's no acknowledged cure, however medications square measure accessible to treat or a minimum of mitigating the symptoms of a headache. Usually a headache begins with auras that square measure primarily warning symptoms that square measure sensory abnormalities like lightweight or hot flashes, blind spots, nausea, or forcing out. In most cases, once an individual suffers from a headache headache, the pain may be therefore torturesome that every one that a person can wish to try to use a dark area that's quiet wherever he will lie. Migraines can be therefore severe that it can hinder the daily functions of life like work, meeting with friends, etc. Risk factors for headache headaches are: 1. case history. Your case history may also verify whether or not you may have migraines or not. If you have got shutblood relatives tormented by migraines, you're doubtless to possess them too. 2. If you're underneath forty years getting on. Most migraines begin in between the ages of 20-39 years getting on. 3. girls are at high risk for migraines. Men will have them too, however girls will endure extreme secretion changes which will trigger migraines. 4. secretion changes may also be a giant risk issue. once the girls are in their flow cycle, hormones will go wild. this will build the conditions right to trigger a headache. Some girls may also suffer from migraines throughout their trimester of their physiological state and at the onslaught of biological time. So as you see there are lots and lots of causes. However i was trying and trying so many different things to cure and most important prevent headaches. Here you can find my basic morning physical complex( as normally my headache starts right in the morning) and therefore I have found my own "magic wound" against this. I would be so happy if it will help someone besides me. Please feel free to share your experience down below in the comments.

All sequence should take 20-30 minutes. Try to find relax in each pose and let muscles get use to new position. I personally stay in each pose 2-3 minutes or till i feel that there is no tension any more.

My others videos:

Apartment Tour New York
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZkcd...

How-to grow long hairs and nails
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyQfb...

Valentine Day Make-up and Chit Chat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MUWc...

Naked Pallete How-to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzaVY...

Enjoy

Thumb up and Subscribe if you want to see more videos by me!)

SOCIAL
Instagram @aericohen
Twitter @aerianecohen
Facebook Irene Cohen