Oh Hey There

Remember how I have a blog? Yeah me too!

So, this is not a real post, exactly - that will happen soon enough - but there are two things going on here:

1. As aforementioned, hello again and welcome back and all that! I exist, and this blog exists or exists again or has been resurrected or however you want to think about it.

2. I'm on Twitter! Find and follow me @yourdailybreath
I'm on there as of like fifteen seconds ago so it's very minimal content for now (depending on when you visit, it might be as minimal as zero), but that will change pretty quickly. That's going to be your best source for your actual daily content, but watch this space! There's some great stuff on the horizon over here as well and I can't wait to share it with you.

So welcome back! Or just welcome! This is going to be so much fun.

- Sarah

I'm Sorry

I hate to do this, but I'm going on hiatus again. Real life is interfering, and right now I don't feel I'm in any sort of position to be giving any kind of advice on anything. I do hope to be back soon, but I can't make any guarantees on when that might be. Again, I apologize.

Take care.
- Sarah

Feel-Good Friday!

Happy Friday! May I recommend some cleaning?

Seriously! Give your place a good deep-cleaning if you haven't done so lately. We've already established that it'll make you and your home happy and if the weather where you are has started in on the late-fall grossness then it might be rather nice to just stay in and make things shiny. Get yourself a nice hot beverage to sip while you work. Put some booze in it if that's your thing! Spend part of a day this weekend making everything look awesome and then spend the rest of your weekend enjoying the awesomeness. We can compare notes on Monday!

I'll see you then.
-Sarah

Keep Some Heat On It

It has gotten a bit cold where I live, which I love/hate. Love because I'm a big fan of sweaters and scarves and big stompy boots, hate because I'm really cold-sensitive and live in a drafty apartment (there are always tradeoffs in old buildings with big windows). But as anyone who has ever taken a yoga class can tell you, there's a really easy to retain a fair amount of heat!

Hold your hand up in front of your open mouth and exhale. Feel the warmth that comes with your breath? Every time you mouth-breathe, in addition to being rather aesthetically displeasing you're also releasing some body heat and all you have to do to keep it in is just close your mouth. In through your nose, out through your nose. You don't even have to get fancy with the oceanic yoga breathing, although of course you can if you want to (I'll never discourage anyone from getting fancy). If you're feeling a chill, just spend some time intentionally breathing just through your nose and see how you feel.

The one wrinkle is, this is also a time of year when many of us have trouble using our noses for much of anything beyond goo-production and unfortunately I don't have anything new to offer by way of helpful suggestions. But definitely try a humidifier, or anything with eucalyptus in it, or spending some time with your face over a bowl of steaming-hot water (which feels awesome in and of itself, really. Put a towel over your head to really trap the steam. Maybe throw some eucalyptus in there!). I know a few people who swear by their neti pots, but I've never used one myself so I feel unqualified to comment there. Based on what I know about them, though, they're probably not a bad bet as long as you make sure you keep them clean. And of course a good decongestant can be worth its weight in gold, although in my experience it can be a bit of a project finding one that works for you.

So go forth and breathe freely! And warmly! Tomorrow is Feel-Good Friday, which I kind of can't believe - it's been another crazy-fast week, no?

Have a wonderful day!
- Sarah

Meat! (or not!)

So let's talk protein again, shall we?

How we process protein is a pretty individual experience and there's a whole spectrum of options, from vegan to full-on bloody steak carnivore. Where you land on that spectrum is something I'd recommend trying to let your body determine for itself.

"What in the heck do you mean by that, Sarah?" Good question! First of all, where on the spectrum do you feel drawn? Does the phrase "full-on bloody steak carnivore" make you feel barfy or does it just sound like a normal Monday night? Your own personal inclinations toward food are important and shouldn't be discounted, as they're often our own bodies steering us in the necessary directions. Children will often develop seemingly random aversions to foods that they're later determined to be allergic or sensitive to, for instance. And if you're one of the lucky ones who feel called to vegetarianism or veganism and attribute a whole host of fabulous improvements in your health and well-being to that diet change then that's awesome and you should absolutely keep on going with that.

However! It's also important to be mindful of how your body reacts to certain proteins, as well as how it acts in their absence. Personal example: I love the idea of being pescetarian. If it were up to just my taste buds and my brain I could happily spend the rest of my life getting all my protein from fish and quinoa and legumes and eggs. But even when I'm taking hardcore iron supplements I still pretty much require a good solid portion of red meat every two weeks or so - without it I get crabby and fatigued and I've gotten to the point where I can tell that that's what's going on, it's such a specific kind of fatigue and crabbiness.

Now, it's kind of my job to know myself and my body really really well, but I think you're totally up to this kind of self-study too! It just takes a little paying attention: does even free-range organic chicken make you feel a little weird and you've never been able to explain why? Do you go vegetarian every few months and spend the entire time inexplicably hungry even though you're eating everything in sight? Just a little careful attention paid to how you react to what's on your plate can open up a whole new world of information for you, so clue in, focus a little, and see what you can figure out!

I have absolutely no idea what's on tap for tomorrow. But maybe that's what makes it exciting? Anyway, I'll see you then. :)

- Sarah

Eyes On Your Own Work

I have a private client who is constantly comparing herself to other people. Often it's me, celebrities, or herself 30 years ago, but the main thing she says - and she says this at least once every session - is "do you think other people go through this?" By which she means a dizzy spell, or a moment of forgetfulness, or her latest health concern.

Now, this woman has a lot of physical issues (and, well, other issues too) and on the face of it I think that question is an attempt to find some inclusiveness and affirmation - she's trying to feel less alone, basically, in a body she feels continually lets her down. I absolutely understand that. It's an entirely natural impulse and should certainly not be condemned. But when combined with comparing oneself to others ... here's the thing: you have no idea what's going on inside someone. Many health problems do not manifest outwardly, and certainly mental or emotional problems tend to be invisible as well. You never know what kind of pain an outwardly "perfect" person might be hiding, and you also never know what they might be envying about you. My client can afford multiple personal training sessions every week and I don't think she's ever had a day job - I know a lot of people who would give up pretty much every enviable thing about themselves in exchange for that kind of security.

So rather than feeling bad about yourself because [insert your reason here], why not celebrate yourself for what is good? Whether it's your multiple college degrees, your children, or your absurdly delicious banana bread just find the good in yourself. Be proud of it, nurture it, and it will expand and grow and create more good things. Focus on your own good, and other people's good will stop feeling like a punch in the face.

The problem with comparisons is that they are almost never neutral - to compare yourself to someone is to initiate a competition in which no one ever wins, because either you decide that the other person is better than you and then you feel bad or you decide that you yourself are better and then what? What have you really achieved from that?

Some people derive their motivation from comparing themselves to others, and to those people I say: go on ahead with yourselves. Just be careful. Keep it healthy. Let yourself aspire but don't beat yourself up if you don't quite get there, and know when you've taken yourself as far as you realistically need to go.

And to those of you who find yourselves lacking next to seemingly everyone else: you are good. You are enough. You have beauty, and you have something to offer. I promise.

Tomorrow is Foodie Wednesday! I will see you then.

- Sarah

Welp.

So, I was in a pretty intense yoga teacher training all weekend and consequently I'm experiencing what can only be described as technical difficulties inside my own head. Therefore, this is another cop-out post, but I promise I'll be back with some real content tomorrow. In the meantime, here's some food for thought:

"You will lose everything. Your money, your power, your fame, your success, perhaps even your memories. Your looks will go. Loved ones will die. Your body will fall apart. Everything that seems permanent is impermanent and will be smashed. Experience will gradually, or not so gradually, strip away everything that it can strip away. Waking up means facing this reality with open eyes and no longer turning away. But right now, we stand on sacred and holy ground, for that which will be lost has not yet been lost, and realising this is the key to unspeakable joy. Whoever or whatever is in your life right now has not yet been taken away from you. This may sound trivial, obvious, like nothing, but really it is the key to everything, the why and how and wherefore of existence. Impermanence has already rendered everything and everyone around you so deeply holy and significant and worthy of your heartbreaking gratitude. Loss has already transfigured your life into an altar." - Jeff Foster

I will see you tomorrow. Have a lovely day today.
- Sarah