Compass Yoga will have a spot on the line-up from 10am – 6pm and we’ll be offering:
mini-private sessions to help you with any ache, pain, or health question that ails you
collecting your gently used yoga mats and props to stock our classrooms
the schedule of all of our weekly classes around the city
information on volunteer and partnership opportunities with Compass Yoga
and free delicious beverages provided by our generous and inspiring partner, Honeydrop Beverages
I’ll be there all day and joined by our incredibly talented teachers, board members, and volunteers. Come by, say hi, and learn more about the benefits of yoga. See you there!
We’re growing! More yoga to more people in more places.
I am so excited to share the news that Compass Yoga is adding 3 new classes to our weekly schedule, all free, open to all levels from beginning to advanced, and all in association with our growing relationship with the New York Public Library.
I’ve enjoyed the last two contests that I’ve run on this blog in recent weeks – the first was for a free 12-week subscription to the digital version of the New York Times (congrats, Trish!) and the second was for a copy of the book Lessons from the Monk I Married by Katherine Jenkins, one of my writerly friends. Those were so much fun that I’ve been hunting around for a third way to share the wealth!
The site Underground Eats has just launched to a small, invite-only audience and I have an invite to give away. I’d like to give it to you! Underground Eats is “the go-to site for exclusive Alternative Dining Experiences.” At the moment, they are only in New York City but they are hoping to expand to other cities shortly so I’m not going to limit this contest to New York City-area residents only. I just want to be clear that at the moment the only experiences available for purchase on the site are in New York City. The experiences are truly exclusive, unique, and can only be purchased through the site.
So what exactly does ‘Alternative Dining Experience’ mean? Here’s a little sampling of what’s on offer at this very moment:
The Truck Stops Here: 5-Course Food Truck + Beer Dinner – $40
No need to keep checking Twitter and chasing food trucks all over the city. For one night only – all your favorite food trucks, under one roof.
Edible presents The Drive-In Dinner at Brooklyn Brewery, hosting the Morris Truck, Bongo Brothers Cuban Food Truck, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Feed Your Hole and Coolhaus for a sit-down, five-course dinner with beer pairings.
Each course comes from a different food truck and is paired with the perfect Brooklyn Brewery beer – even dessert.
A Dinner of Titanic Proportions: 100 Years in the Making – $300
Bon vivants, all aboard.
Culinary provocateurs Jonny Cigar of The Noble Rot, Hell’s Kitchen’s Rob McCue and Adam Banks of Bravo’s Chef Roblé & Co., cordially welcome you to an evening of culinary history and decadence.
Heed the call, First Class and VIP passengers: no expense will be spared in this indulgent tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s last supper. You will dine amongst an intimate clique of black-tied guests, on a seven-course menu, based on the original, but updated and reinterpreted from carte du jour of April 14, 1912. The galley is keeping the menu top secret for now (but we’ll send you a sneak peak closer to the event).
Drinks will pour, hijinks and other under-wraps surprises are rumored to ensue…and the band will play on.
The Ultimate Foodie Fantasy Camp: The New York Culinary Experience – $1395
You buy their cookbooks, eat at their restaurants, watch their cooking shows.
Now, imagine a whole weekend cooking side-by-side with your favorite star chefs, such as David Bouley, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Dan Kluger? Pinch yourself, now.
Hosted by The International Culinary Center and New York magazine, The New York Culinary Experience is foodie fantasy camp. Learn how to make pasta sauces with A Voce’s Missy Robbins, Tuscan-style seafood with Cesare Casella, and chocolate desserts with celebrity pâtissier Jacques Torres. All classes are completely interactive, and you’ll get to enjoy every dish you prepare.
You’ll even have the chance to get up close and personal with the likes of Jacques Pépin and Bill Telepan at daily Q&A sessions.
The Michelin star count alone will drive your friends mad with envy.
So how do you enter to win an invite to the site? Like this post, leave a comment, or contact me through Twitter or Facebook. I’ll leave this contest open all weekend and then announce the winner Monday morning. Happy eating and good luck!
In less than a month, I’ll be taking flight to finally visit Incredible India, a destination that has been at the top of my dream travel list for many years. While there I will be completely immersed in the culture, sights, scents, and sounds around me. I imagine that there will be little time for internet access while I’m on the trip so in an uncharacteristic move my social media channels will take a well-needed rest during that time. I’m hoping that here and there I may be able to hop online in the business center of the hotels to at least give a snippet of an update but it will be vastly reduced from my usual chatting.
Below is a glimpse of my itinerary for the adventure ahead courtesy of the amazing tour concierge at Sunshine Travel and what I’ll be riffing on once I return to the States:
India – A living Heritage
“For the avid traveler, India provides an authentic adventure – stimulating, absorbing, daunting, sometimes moving and shocking. Here is one of the world’s great dramas; an ancient, vast, and crowded land committed to the most formidably challenging exercise in mass democracy. It is a spectacle in which hope, pride, paradox and uncertainty mingle and struggle. It is conducted on the whole, and to India’s credit in the open. The lasting memories of the land are hospitality, kindness, good humor and generosity. Here is a society of over a 1000 million people, growing by a million a month, divided and united by language, caste, religion and regional loyalties. It has often been described as a functioning anarchy; and it is in many ways an amiable one, of marvelous fluidity and tolerance. Indeed, the true Indian motif is not the Taj Mahal, the elephant or the patient peasant behind the ox drawn plough. It is the crowd, the ocean of faces in the land of multitudes, endlessly stirring, pushing and moving. It is in this human circulation that one sees India’s color, variety, busyness, and senses also its power, vitality and grandeur. Bon voyage! ~ Sunshine Tours”
May 10th – 11th
In-flight via Dubai (which will be spectacular in and of itself!)
May 12th
Arrive Cochin. Traditional garlanding welcome upon arrival.
Breakfast at hotel. Morning free to get over jetlag. At approx.1330 hrs, guide & driver will meet you at hotel and depart for sightseeing tour of Cochin city. Evening witness Kathkali Dance Performance show at theater.
Cochin, originally built by the Portuguese, has a natural harbour with lagoons and canals and fishing hamlets. One of the three biggest ports on the West Coast, it is also an industrially developed area. The coir industry is of special importance. An excursion by boat through the backwaters is enchanting.
Cochin sightseeing include visit Jew Town, Chinese Fishing nets, St.Francis Church (Closed on Sundays-0830-1330 hrs), Fort Kochi, The Dutch cemetery, Santa Cruz Basilica, Matanchery Palace (The Dutch Palace) etc.
Kathakali dance performance show. Stories from epics are presented in this dance-drama. It is a male bastion with female characters also being performed by men. Costumes are colorful and regal with faces painted like masks using natural colors and make-up. A predominant feature of this dance is the intricate facial mime work and eye movements.
May 13th
Breakfast at hotel. Morning visit Jewish Synagogue (closed on Fridays & Saturdays). After the visit, drive to Munnar and upon arrival, check in at hotel.
Munnar, Known as Kashmir of South India, Munnar is situated in Kerala. Snuggled in the lap of such an alluring terrain, Munnar is one of the most beautiful hill stations in Kerala. Munnar – an idyllic destination is located at an altitude of 6000 feet above sea level. Munnar derives its name from the Tamil word ‘munnu’ meaning “three” and ‘aar’ means “River”- spelled as Munnar on combining. After check in, depart for sightseeing of city. The town by itself has little other than the tea plantations and a colonial era CSI Christ Church, built in 1910 AD with some fine stained glass windows. Munnar is the final adventure travel destination. You can trek up the hills and mountain ranges nearby; also visit Tata Tea Museu, Anamudi: highest peak of South India is close to Munnar.
May 14th
After breakfast depart to Alleppey and board Backwater Houseboat. Lunch on board. Cruise through Vembanad Lake enroute visit Church, Temple, paddy fields, narrow lanes etc.
Dinner & overnight on board.
May 15th
After breakfast on board, disembark at Alleppey. Meeting & transfer to Cochin Airport to board flight for Delhi. Meeting & assistance upon arrival and transfer to Hotel Royal Plaza. Rest of the day free for independent activities.
Delhi, the capital of India has a fascinating history and a stimulating present. Delhi has been the seat of a power of a number of dynasties – the Rajputs, the Muslims invaders from the North, the Afghan dynasties followed by Tughlaqs, Sayyads, the Ladies and the Mughals, who continued the Imperial line, until British days.
The old city, built by Shah Jehan in the 17th century, stands today as an epitome of the whole history of Indo-Islamic architecture. New Delhi, designed and constructed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker is a mixture of east and west. The public buildings in red sandstone are in the Mughal style.
New Delhi, has a circular Parliament House and an imposing Central Secretariat in two blocks, which stand at the approaches to Rashtrapati Bhavan, the residence of the President of India. Delhi is today the political, economic and cultural capital of the world’s largest democracy and has also become one of the greatest tourist centers of the world.
May 16th
Breakfast at hotel. Full day free for independent activities. Likely taking in the main sights of Delhi.
May 17th
Early morning at approx.0515 hrs, pick up from hotel and transfer to New Delhi Railway station to board train for Agra. (Breakfast is served in the train by railway authority as complimentary, however, you can also carry packed breakfast from hotel). Meeting & depart for sightseeing tour of Taj Mahal, Agra Fort. Afternoon excursion to Fatehpur Sikri. Evening return back to Agra Cantt Railway Station to board train for Delhi (Dinner is served in the train by railway authorities as complimentary). Meeting & transfer to hotel.
Taj Mahal – the world’s greatest love tribute: the Taj Mahal built by Emperor Shah Jehan for his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal in 1565 on the bank of the Yamuna River. The exterior is decorated with arabesques and texts of the Koran inlaid with precious stones. The Tomb itself, while pure white marble, consists of an octagonal building with a terrace square, surmounted by a dome 26 meters high, Agra Fort Or Red Fort, the most beautiful 17th century Mughal architecture. In 1565, Akbar began to build the Red Fort with its high red sandstone walls: inside, south, is the Jahangiri Mahal or Palace of Jahangir, built by Akbar to the north, the Pearl Mosque, built by Shah Jahan. The “Khas Mahal” which forms three pavilions, one discovers a beautiful view of the Yamuna and the Taj Mahal
Fatehpur Sikri – the ancient capital built by Mughal Emperor Akbar and whose palace is a fine example of Mughal architecture of the sixteenth century.
These magnificent red sandstone ruins of the middle of the plain are the remains of one of the capitals Akbar. He founded in 1569 by expressing his gratitude for the birth of his son, Selim. The building principal is the great mosque, probably the best in India. The Palace of Jodha Bai, the wife Akbar’s Rajput, includes a courtyard surrounded by a gallery surmounted by buildings and covered with a glazed blue roof. Akbar’s private apartments and exquisite palace Sultan Turkey found in another court, then the Panch Mahal, or palace has five floors, which includes room hearings. Visit the palace and called Bulund Darwaza the largest gateway in the world.
May 18thand May 19th
Breakfast at hotel. Full day free for independent activities. Again, likely taking in more of the main sights of Delhi.
May 20th Returning home at an ungodly early hour that will get us back to the U.S. on the afternoon of the 20th, again via Dubai. These time differences are going to be a little rough, but worth it!
Somewhere in there, I’ll be visiting with friends who live in Delhi who have been the driving encouragement behind me finally taking the plunge and making plans to get to Incredible India. I’m hoping for a yoga class or too and some Ayurvedic treatments. Maybe an elephant ride thrown in for good measure, too!
Whatever India holds for me, I promise I’ll be sharing it all here upon my return. I’m also thinking about crafting a way to bundle up my experiences in a more cohesive way, complete with photos and perhaps some video, too. Maybe it’s time for a second e-book…
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” ~Virginia Woolf, British writer
You’ve got a lot of living to do – social life, work life, personal life, family life, time to explore new interests, time to keep up with long-time interests, and then just down time to rest, relax, and rejuvenate. How do all the puzzle pieces come together without any of them getting cheated?
I thought about this question a lot last night as I made my way home after a yoga class and another evening meeting immediately after my class. On the subway ride home I continued reading An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. In it she gives advice on cooking, eating, and living simply, elegantly, and gracefully. I have to admit that I’m mildly addicted to trying out her ideas in my own very tiny kitchen. She’s also incredibly budget-conscious, which I’ve also been thinking about a lot as I narrow in on my Leap Day.
Pondering the question of time management, I turned to my kitchen – my tiny refuge. When I don’t know what to do or think or feel, I cook. Somehow the act of preparing food shuts down my mind for a bit, and when I re-emerge into the world I still may not have answers but at least I have something tasty to fuel my thinking. Last night it was a simple meal of buttered toast topped with whipped cottage cheese, tomatoes, and parsley along with a fennel and orange salad. Simple, elegant, graceful. Stomach full. Thinking cap replaced.
Time management at its very core comes down to priorities. I get things done that I care about. Everything else I leave to someone else. I’ve made habits out of things I enjoy, that inspire me, that raise me up no matter how low I feel. I don’t stress over things of little to no consequence, and I’m thoughtful about things of great consequence. Over time, I’ve learned to let go of everything that doesn’t serve me well. Sometimes that letting go is painful and sometimes it’s joyful, but it’s all worthwhile and I always learn something in the process.
Above all, I eat well, sleep well, and I only do things that I can do with my whole heart. That’s the only way I can be assured that my days are worthwhile.
Now that I’m on the other side of my decision to leap, I’m recognizing what my former boss and mentor, Bob G., coined as the “commitment effect.” He is a big Goethe fan and if there’s one lesson that he taught me in the time I worked for him it’s this: “the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.” In other words, commit and the way forward opens up. And once you’re committed to change, it becomes impossible to stay on the same track.
Commitment breeds magic. It can’t be intellectualized. It isn’t logical. It’s not even explainable. It just happens. We are the catalyst of our own process of change. Until we commit, we can’t expect the Universe to do a damn thing for us. We have to be the driver; the Universe has to know we mean business and that we’re serious about change before it will put its energy into us.
This isn’t easy. I know it takes a great deal of faith and guts to believe this and live it. The lead up is terrifying. When we back up and stare into that moment just before we take our running start toward the cliff, our heart is beating, our blood is pumping, and doubt still has the chance to creep in. We can still turn back, and many times we do. We step out of the starting blocks and take a long hard look at the insane journey we’re about to take.
Our anticipation of the leap is much scarier than the leap itself. Our minds have this wonderful ability to invent horrific scenarios. Turn the mind off and crank up the wisdom that’s planted deep inside. That’s where the truth lies.
You know what you need to do; take your mark, get set, and go. Your commitment will carry you.
“To the timid and hesitating everything is impossible because it seems so.” ~ Sir Walter Scott, Writer
Why do we hesitate? Why do we look away at the very moment when our focus is most needed to find what we’ve been looking for? For me, that moment of hesitation arises from fear, fear that what I’m about to do is the wrong thing or fear that I’m not up to the challenge. I imagine everything going wrong 6 ways to Sunday, and my imagination is vivid. So I step back, hoping to get the courage to try again.
And here’s what I’ve learned in a very real way over these last few months as I’ve prepared to take a very large leap of faith to reconcile my career and the greatest dreams of my life: hesitation only delays the inevitable. Anaïs Nin said so beautifully, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
That day is coming, for you, for me, for everyone who does something worthwhile with their days. Eventually, we won’t be able to stop ourselves from living the life we imagine. And it will never be less risky. We will never be less afraid. Jumping in and of itself is a scary proposition. Always.
Do yourself a favor. Do the world a favor. Make today the day when you blossom, or set a deadline and say something like, “On June 15th, I will start to live my life on my terms.” Circle it in red on your calendar and mark it with an “L” for Leap Day.
Scared? Me, too. And it’s okay. It should be scary because it’s worth doing. Let’s leap together and trust that we will find a net or grow wings.
When I was little, Easter was my favorite holiday. When I think of the happiest days of my childhood, they all revolve around that Easter dinner table at my grandmother’s house. I wish I had told my grandmother how much those days meant to me then and now I wish I had the chance to tell her that they mean even more to me now.
Easter was a special time in that home. The Sharon Rose bush outside would be in full bloom in the front yard. As we pulled into the driveway, my grandmother would be at the door waiting for us to arrive. We were the very best part of her life and she made sure we knew it every second that she was around us.
The kitchen was the first room we entered in her home and there was always a glorious, welcoming scent coming from the oven. On Easter, it was lamb – a dish I never had anywhere else and not at any time of year.It would be accompanied by potatoes, glazed carrots, and buttered peas. Everyone got their own individual salad in their own individual bowl which I always got such a kick out of. And then there would be the black olive game. My grandfather and I would put the black olives in our finger tips – the olives too big for my fingers and too small for his – and then we would wave at each other.
Once the dishes had been cleared and washed, my favorite part of the meal would start. My grandmother would make her way over to the fridge and use the step stool to grab a large, round Tupperware container. Inside would be her special cake that I always thought she made just for me. It was incredibly simple – a yellow cake made from a Duncan Hines mix topped with sliced cinnamon apples. It’s still my very favorite food in the world and I’ve never been able to re-create exactly as she made it. There was something special about that cake; I think it was all the love she put into it.
The coffee would start brewing, the walnuts and the nut cracker would come out, and then the stories would start spilling from everyone. Most of them were about people whom I’d never met, relatives who had passed on long before I was born, but through all of those stories I came to know them and love them as much as I loved all of the people around that table. I’d grab another slice of cake and hope that somehow that dinner could go on forever.
But of course, it couldn’t. It was only a snapshot in time; a day that would come and go like every other day. Long after the sun went down, we’d pile back into the car with leftovers in tow, and make the long drive back to our house. My grandmother would be at the door, waving good-bye and staring out into the darkness long after our car was out of view.
Though today I’m spending Easter in a much different way than I did all those years ago, my mind is traveling back in time to that table surrounded by those people. I’m so grateful that for a little while we all had the chance to be together.
"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden." —Ruth Stout. From Pinterest member http://pinterest.com/tds_beth/
Often when we’re racing toward a goal, we have our vision focused straight-ahead. Holidays give us time to pause and look back. Even if we don’t celebrate them, much of the world around us goes still, looks inward, and finds rejuvenation in the process. And we can join them in that effort.
Though I’m at the studio for most of this weekend for yoga teacher training, I’ll be taking some time to remember Easters past and all of the wonderful people who made them possible, grateful for the ones who are still here among us and for the ones who have left us for the next plane. This is such a special time of year when the world around us wiggles itself back to life. We should follow suit.
Wishing you a very happy weekend whatever you’re celebrating whether it’s Easter, Passover, Spring, or just the gift of another day.
Christa Avampato 