Fall has swung around into view once again, with cooler snuggle-under-the-covers nights and Back to School dominating the landscape this month. Big congrats to those parents/families that have sent sons and daughters off to college this month! For some of you it’s the first child off to the greater world, for some not, but either way we didn’t want that event to go unnoticed. After all the SAT prep and AP classes and college visits, they’re off on their adventure. Give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done!
Also off to school this Fall is Rosi, who instructs here Thursday evenings and Saturdays. She’s working towards a degree in Physical Therapy, so we throw kudos her way, too.
In other business news, on October 1st we will be putting into effect our biennial price increase, which we’re never excited about but it’s necessary in order for us to keep up with our escalating costs. The increase is $5/hour for privates, and $2.50/hour for semi-private and trio sessions. We’re also bumping some of this along to Rosi and Janet, who will both be getting pay increases of $2.50 per session as a thank-you for all their good work.
Between now and October 10th, if any of you want to lock in the old price, you’re welcome to buy up to 2 10-packs of sessions at the current rate. If anyone has questions about any of this, just ask Tim or Ellen.
Here’s to a long, warm Fall – and may the Giants and Jets pick up their games a few notches!
All the best – Tim & Ellen
of the month
As some of you know, I recently read "Game Change" -- a behind-the-scenes look at the 2008 election. To the extent that we can trust the authors (a pair of seasoned journalists) -- and since I haven't heard of anyone suing them within an inch of their lives, I reckon we can -- the book presents a fascinating picture, and one that makes my head swim a bit. Were the folks running the McCain campaign really that cavalier about their organizing efforts? When exactly did the Obama people sleep and eat? And how is it that Hilary hasn't bashed Bill over the head with a 2-by-four by now? Quick read, good stuff -- really helped me understand that a Presidential campaign is a mud-wrestling match crossed with a hypermarathon inside an endless damage-control spin job wrapped in a beauty pageant. I'm exhausted just typing about it.
Tim sez
As I write this (Monday 9/27) it is chilly and misty/rainy outside. The leaves on some trees are starting to turn -- especially the maples, which give us that gorgeous deep orange/red color that practically screams AUTUMN.
As we head towards the conclusion of the year, I urge one and all to talk to your Conscious Body instructor[s] about your goals with us. You want to relieve the tension in your lower back? Let's work it! Need to get your arms toned up for that sleeveless dress you're wearing to a wedding next month? We're on it! Overall fitness with a side of weight loss? We can combine Pilates & resistance work with cardiovascular fitness in our CardioPilates sessions!
Let's explore and reaffirm what it is you want to accomplish and we'll head towards the end-of-year with your goals firmly in mind. I myself expect that by mid-October I'll have toned the living daylights out of my upper body as I hand-split the 2 cords of wood we'll be burning in the woodstove between now and Spring. Hmm...maybe there's a group class concept in there: Lumberjack Boot-Camp! Bring a splitting wedge and wear flannel!
Exercise
of the Month:
CHEST LIFT
This one is deceptively simple but when done properly will really work the deep abdominals. Do it at home or on the road the next time you miss a session!
1. Lie on your back on your mat. Splay your fingers and place them behind your head, neither touching each other nor your head.
2. Feel your belly button being pulled in, as if it could touch your spine. Tilt your head toward your chest, then raise slowly, pulling your spine up off the floor one vertebrae at a time.
3. When you've raised your shoulders off the floor as far as you can, inhale and exhale a few times while you feel yourself breathing in deeper and deeper. With each inhalation, try to deepen the activation of your abdominals. If you want a more challenging exercise, raise the legs into chair pose as part of step #1.
4. Slowly lower yourself and lie back down in the neutral position. Repeat 5-10x.
Ellen sez
Greetings and Welcome to Autumn.
The moon is full and it is officially, at the night of this writing, the Fall equinox. Along with the sheer beauty of the leaves turning colors, the bright blue backdrop of sky, crisp clear air, and sunshine comes a sense of things ending. Our warm weather activities and high energy of summer starts to quiet down beginning the transition to a more internal experience.
I have been thinking a lot lately about death. It seems that these days I am surrounded by illness, death and leave taking. Two of my closest friends have moved away (in the same week!), several couples in my world are splitting up, my mom's best friend died, my 2 uncles died in this past year, 5 people I know have breast cancer, and 2 others are dying of pancreatic cancer. One of the latter is my beloved acupuncturist and healer extraordinaire whose journey is affecting me the most deeply. She helped to heal me in a difficult time and has given so much of herself as well as being an example of someone who walked her talk.
Her journey is inspiring to behold. She knows that she will die soon and she is doing the work to heal difficult relationships and deeply understand who she is in the world and how very loved she is. She is ready to go There is so much grace in this...letting go into what must happen, knowing you have done your best and made a difference and that you were loved.
Everything changes. This is an absolute truth. We all die. Friends move away. Leaves turn red then brown then they die and Spring brings new green growth.
I guess how I am thinking about all this is: How do I want to live this life I have? Am I being fully who I am meant to be? Am I living boldly? Am I living my own personal truth no matter what our culture, society or families think about my choices? Can I, at the end of the day, say I am satisfied? Not because everything went wonderfully perfect but because I was MYSELF and liked it and because I stayed 100% present for all situations that arose and dealt with them consciously and with heart -- whatever the outcome.
Knowing that everything changes, can we let ourselves off the hook for what we are not and live fully in what we are? Can we live without fear of death knowing it's part of the journey of being human? HMMM...I don't really know -- but I am trying!
xo
Ellen
Ellen's
in the
Kitchen
This recipe is sinfully easy and delicious, especially for the late Summer/early Fall just before we want soups and warmer food.
Chick Pea and Feta Salad
1 can or 1-1/2 Cups of chick peas
Approx. 4 oz. of feta cheese (more or less for taste and consistency)
2-3 stalks of celery chopped
1/2 large red pepper chopped
1/2 green pepper chopped
Approx. 1 cup of fresh cilantro OR parsley
Juice of 1/2 lemon (more or less to suit your taste)
Sprinkle of salt
1/4 Cup of yogurt
Touch of agave nectar or honey
1 tsp of sumac powder (use the link, or buy it at a store that sells Middle Eastern foods or a store that sells fine herbs and spices -- this herb has a sort of lemony sour flavor so if you can't find it use a bit more lemon)
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let sit for a bit so flavors marry. You can refrigerate for several days and it gets better with time!
Enjoy as a light nutritious meal with a whole grain bread or side of grain of your choice and a green salad.
Special
Our Summer Special was popular with folks, so we’ve decided to keep it going. The deal is this: add an extra session in any week (above and beyond your usual commitment) and that session is ½ price! You do not have to make any ongoing commitment to an extra session or anything like that – if you have a week with a little time to spare and you have a hankerin’ for some quality time here at CB, just schedule the extra appointment and it’s ½ off!
Dear Seamus: What do you think the Tea Party's chances are in the November elections? (DMP, Bedford Hills)
Dear DMP: Although their success in the primaries has made some green tea with envy, others see only earl grey skies ahead. Chai as they might, they still have to appeal to a wider range of voters and all that jasmine, as the Repubs so successfully did in the campaigns of George Dubya Redbush. But I Assam they will eat a hearty English Breakfast and campaign their brains out, spend a Mint, and hope it all suits potential voters...to a tea.
Dear Seamus: What are Ellen & Tim really like at home? (EP, Memphis)
Dear EP: Tim & Ellen are the warmest, kindest, most generousest and hilarious human beings ever to walk the face of Earth. Seriously. You oughta hear Tim when he gets started with his "Knock-Knock" jokes...
Dear Seamus: What will it take for Lindsay Lohan to finally turn her life around? (BS, Ossining)
Dear BS: First off, somebody ought to 'splain to LL that Oxycodone, Chivas Regal and Cocaine are not a food group. Secondly, I'll bet my last rawhide chew that if you marooned her with an Amish community somewhere in deepest Western Pennsylvania, she'd soon discover that she not only was good at chairmaking (and liked the smell of woodshavings a lot more than 3 packs of Marlboro Lights a day) or some other craft-y trade -- but that she could totally rock that Black Bonnet look. But in my humble opinion, what she really needs is somebody to care about besides herself -- i.e., she oughta get a dog. And not one of those heinous total-B.S. Hollywood purse-ridin' dogs, but a real dog, a serious dog. You know: an Akita, a Newfie, or a Bull Mastiff (swabbing up the slobber on those last two alone would render LL too busy to scheme how to score more drugs...), some breed like that. That'll send Narcissus packin'...