“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
Helen Keller
I’ve had this quote by Helen Keller — written on a sticky note and fixed to one of my four monitors — posted at my work desk since mid-January.
There’s a reason for it.
I’m not even sure how to start or where to begin, so here we go…
Hiii! I’ve had Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill” stuck in my head for like, four days now.
I’m back from a quick weekend trip to Washington, D.C.!
Earlier this year, The Freedom Forum announced that the Newseum — a D.C. museum based on news, the media and the First Amendment — would be closing its current location at the end of the year.
I’ve always wanted to visit the Newseum. I mean, cmon. I’m a full-time journalist. So, when the announcement was made at the beginning of the year, I knew it was a now-or-never situation.
I chose now.
So, a few weeks ago, I booked myself a cheap Spirit flight (you know me), packed my single backpack and headed to D.C. for a three-day weekend.
I hooopeee you guys are ready for today’s post, because it’s a topic I’m really excited about:
Couchsurfing!
Preparing for a trip is always one of the most stressful things on my to do list. Most of the trips I take are incredibly short (thanks to America’s shitty paid leave policies) so I never take additional time off of work before or after trips in order to prepare or recover.
No joke. Half the time I travel, I leave straight from work for the airport, and on more than one occasion, I’ve gone straight from O’Hare to my office in order to make it to my shift on time.
So, doing everything I can ahead of time in order to fully prepare not only for my trip, but also for my return, is absolutely crucial.
Hi, friends. If you didn’t know, I live in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.
If you’re not familiar with where that is, it’s on the North Side, about halfway between downtown and the northern-most point of the city, right along the lakeshore.
It’s something I tried to downplay for the longest time, because Uptown isn’t really “trendy” or “cute.” It’s got a little bit of a bad rap for being unsafe (there’s a bit of a gang problem here) and it’s not really as hip of a place to live as… like, Lakeview or Old Town or Lincoln Park or… whatever.
But, after more than four years living in my little Uptown apartment (where has the time gone?) I’ve really come to love this neighborhood. I have a 25-minute door-to-door commute to my newsroom, I live mere blocks from Lake Michigan, there’s amazing Vietnamese food practically right outside my door, my yoga studio is just down the street, I am three skips away from some of the best live music venues in the city. It’s not uncommon to go for a 20-minute walk and hear at least six different languages and see a smattering of new street art. Uptown is really great.
Oh hey, guys.
This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while. I had originally planned on writing it in December when I first finished my 200-hour Power Yoga Teacher Training (PYTT) program, but then I decided to hold off until after my 50-hour extensions (XP) program.
Then, the New York Times ran a piece that was super critical of CorePower Yoga and its teacher training program, so I decided to keep holding off so I could sit on my thoughts a little bit more.
However, at this point, it’s been almost half a year (!!!) since I received my 200-hour yoga teacher certification, so I figured I should just suck it up and get the words (and photos) out in a blog post.
One of the coolest things about becoming an actual, real yoga instructor is finding my teaching style. It’s been a few months since I stepped into this new role, and so far, I love it.
I’ve been experimenting with different styles when it comes to the various elements of teaching: Sequences, assists, vocal tones, cue wording, music selection — there’s honestly so much that goes in to teaching a yoga class that I never even noticed until I started doing it myself.
One of the biggest small things (if that makes sense) that we learned in yoga teacher training is the importance of cultivating a class atmosphere that conveys what you want it to convey. Like I said, there’s so much that goes into this! Everything from an instructor’s vocal tone to the studio’s lighting and music selection/volume — it all plays a role in creating a very specific atmosphere for your class. As the teacher, you have to do what you can do in order to craft and control that atmosphere. For contract teachers (like me!) sometimes, that’s a tall order. You’re often given what your studio has to work with, and depending on the type of environment you want to offer your students, that may not be enough. As a Type A control freak (I know, ironic), sometimes, that’s a little too unstable for my liking.
Enter: My yoga teacher “go bag.”
I love traveling alone. Love it. LOVE IT. Love it more than traveling with family, love it more than traveling with friends… it’s my favorite, hands down. I’ve been very vocal about this. It’s not a surprise.
Oh hi. I just wanted to take a quiiiick second to send your attention upward. Up there. At the top of my page. See it? Yeah? Riiiiight under where it says “Randi with an i,” there’s a new little button that says “Stuff I like.”
One of the questions I get asked the most as a yoga teacher — other than “can you teach me how to touch my toes?” — is:
“What yoga mat should I buy?”
Buying a yoga mat — especially if you’re relatively new to yoga — is actually pretty hard. It’s a super personal decision! Every yogi’s body needs something different, and while “yoga mat” sounds like a simple request… it’s definitely a little more complicated than that.
There’s a lot to take into consideration when buying a yoga mat.
