.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello!

Are you still staying sane with all this Christmas madness of shopping for gifts, planning, buying food, preparing things and inviting all your relatives? This is a crazy time of the year and it is important not to lose yourself along the way. Don’t you think that every holiday season is just this wonderful rollercoaster of emotions? My husband is coming home for the holidays already (well, home to my parent’s house in Germany!) which is great. Whenever he is coming home I have the same feelings like I have when it’s Christmas time. First I am really excited, counting the days. As the date approaches I am getting a little anxious. Then more anxious, energized, stressed, excited again, panic how it will all be, feel and work out and then back to excited. I think this is what makes it so special. Waiting for your husband to return or, let’s stick to the topic here – waiting of the crazy holiday season to approach.

It feels a bit like this, no?

This year I will take it easy. There won’t be stress buying gifts because we decided not to purchase any. Simple. Just something small for the kids. With this in mind, a ton of stress just fell off our shoulders. I also think it is important to take care of my body, especially throughout this season. We usually run from one Christmas dinner to the next; eat desserts, drink and party which is all okay. But, I won’t forget some valuable me-time, as well as to practice yoga and of course meditations. Taking care of my body, soul and mind is important.

We do plan the christmas lunch and dinner at my parent’s house of course. However, one does not have to go crazy. We usually have my mom’s favorite Chicken Soup for lunch (recipe will follow soon because I do have many requests!)  Later we have a traditional German dinner which is usually pretty simple. Smoked fish with a horseradish sauce, meat and sausages, cheese, bread and pretzels, salad and of course beer and wine. (and some Schnaps for digestion!) My grandparents will be there for dinner and it is usually pretty peaceful and quiet. If you have more people over you might want to tell them to bring dessert, salad or appetizer for the party to make it all easier for you.

If you prepare this dinner correctly, you can eat comfortably with everyone else without stress or running back and forth to the kitchen. It is more important to spend time with the ones you love than stressing about everything and anything else. If a dish goes wrong – don’t sweat it. Fix something else instead. Things happen, you know! I remember one of the best birthday parties I have ever attended. My husband’s sister’s party in Martinique. The appetizers were served but the meat for the main course was not ready (cooked for several hours over open fire but was not cooked all the way through!) Guess what she did? All the guest (25+) sat there and waited for the food. She turned up the music and started dancing. This energy she had and this power made everybody so comfortable and nobody even cared about the food anymore. It is all about love. The guests got up, danced, smiled and were happy. Enjoy yourself, this is the key! Positive thoughts are the way to go. 

Look at the big picture. Be grateful that you are with the ones you love and are able to spend time with them. Stop complaining constantly and enjoy the moment. Enjoy the gifts you have been given that are not materialistic and don’t be miserable and angry 🙂 Do remember the good, and stop drowning in misery. Yes, I did watch “Inside Out” several times by now. This movie is just so cute and spot-on! Definitely one of my favorite movies of 2015!

Wanna listen to a relaxing tune? Click the video below if you like. The legendary Ms. Patti Smith! Happy Holidays and love <3

Thank you for reading my blog. 

Hello!

I mentioned Nicole Reiter’s Natural Hair Studio many times already and shared the link. Many asked me what a Natural Hair Dresser does and why I chose to get my haircut done by Nicole. I had gone to regular, “normal” hairdressers for years and thought every single time that my hair looks awesome but that I will never be able to get this style done at home by myself. And what concerned me even more was the fact that all of them used so many chemicals on my hair. Starting from shampoo, conditioner, oils, masks, sprays, you name it. Even though most of the time the stylist used to tell me the their products are natural and even without paraben; however, they were still loaded with chemicals. I remember a time when I got a perm AND coloring done at the same day! Horrible and deadly for your hair! This is many years ago and I let the color and perm grow out. I took forever and I swore to never do this to my hair again. Ever since, I have researched natural products and found a bunch of shampoos and conditioners but nothing that made me happy and my hair nice. Conditioner was the worst making my hair shine and then it felt like straw. I even tried the “no-shampoo”-method for a while which worked really well. If you would like, read my hair routine here. 

I joined a lecture by Nicole in Coburg about get and maintain healthy hair, brushing you hair and her hair studio in Coburg.

It was very interesting to hear that your hair is basically a mirror of your physical and psychological condition. Nicole works with you on a holistic, nutritional basis to deal with the source of your problem not with your symptoms. It is also important what you put into your body – and she is willing to give you tips on nutrition to get shinier healthier hair and skin. Nicole Reiter is only there for you once you schedule the appointment. She takes her time to analyze your hair and talk to you almost in a type of interview. She wants to get to know you which is awesome I think. You feel special while at her studio and talking to her.

This is what Nicole offers her clients:

• haircuts and chemical free, natural hair dyes (plant-based!)
• introduction to holistic nutrition
• total relaxation and head massages
• how to get healthy skin and hair
• energy massages, aromatherapy oils
• tips on fasting based on Otto Buchinger
• lectures on healthy skin and hair
• gift certificates
• and many more topic regarding health, food and diet

What products does Nicole use?

• KOST KAMM (brushes and combs)
• CULUMNATURA  (Natural beauty products)
• KHADI (Ayurvedic beauty products – all natural)

NEW: ZAPP (Energy-massages and wellness tees)

• No artificial hormones added
• contains no paraffin or paraffin derivates
• No foaming or expanding agents added
• fragrance free
• no petrochemicals added
• no micro plastic or acetates added
• no aluminum added
• not tested on animals

Nicole’s studio is a natural, warm place that makes you feel healthy and back-to-nature as soon as you enter. It smells very fresh, clean and citrusy. She offers coffee, tea or water while you get your hair done. I also want to mention that you do need to schedule your appointment in advance. Usually, there will be a 30-minute consultation first and then you have another appointment scheduled. Nicole really takes her craft seriously and does take her time to talk you through everything you need or want to know regarding hair and health. She normally offers no walk-ins! The place is kid and dog-friendly.

The video below talks about how important it is to brush your hair. Enjoy, if you would like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPQhkgnIgw8

Nicole Reiter

Wirtsgrund 33

96450 Coburg

Telefonische Terminvereinbarung: Montag-Freitag: 0151/40536867

reiternicole@outlook.de

www.naturfriseur-nicole-reiter.de

Parking available in front of her studio

Thank you for reading my blog. 

Hello!

Today I will share how I meditate, how I found out about it and a little overall information about Yoga. I have been practicing Yoga for about seven years; however, not consistently. I still signed up for  classes at Mang’Oh Yoga in New York when I was eight months pregnant – this is how amazing and good I felt. If you live around in Midtown Manhattan or a searching for a great Yoga studio, take a class at  Mang’Oh Yoga! At the studio I highly recommend “Vinyasa Flow” with Chintamani Kansas. I followed her schedule at Mang’Oh and took as many classes with her as possible, just because she is an awesome teacher! So awesome, that I got out of bed on a Sunday morning to join her 8.45am class of Power Yoga, followed by a Stretch/Meditation. This was the first time I got introduced to meditation. I read a lot about it but the thought of sitting still for a period of time made me uncomfortable. I was a bit worried to join my first class but I finally signed up and I have practiced mediation ever since. Sometimes more, sometimes less but I do make some time and room for it at least before I go to bed every night. Tonight I was able to enjoy the mediation at the SEHES Haus in Rödental/Germany. I used to practice guided meditation with Martina Meissner every Wednesday at 6pm. If you ever get the chance, try it. It is special every single time. <3

What is meditation? If I meditate anytime during the day, I sit on a yoga mat in a quiet, decluttered room by myself. If you feel more comfortable you can sit on a pillow. Any position is fine as long as you are comfortable. My legs are crossed in front of me, hands resting easily on my knees, closed eyes and focus on my breathing while relaxing my body. You should not control your breath. Instead just observe it! That is it! Sounds simple, right? Well, there is so much more to it.

Meditation has definitely nothing to do with fantasizing or daydreaming.  One of the main goal of mediation is to rest the mind and to achieve a state of consciousness that is different from being awake. Do you really know yourself? You can even find out who you are and learn self-control and so many other things. I love how clean, relaxed and focused my mind is after meditation. You are not sleeping; (well, sometimes it comes close to that stage with me ha!) you are fully alert and awake. When I first practiced, sitting still was the least of my problems. I sat down, closed my eyes and then all these thoughts popped up and did not stop. It was so weird and felt like I had a constant conversation with myself. You know this time at night when you cannot sleep and are turning and tossing in bed and so many thoughts and ideas bother you! We all do. Maybe, except men! 😉 The thoughts might stop or calm down if you meditate.

The key of mediation is to silence and still the mind so you are no longer distracted by anything. At this point you can deepen your mediation. It is amazing what the mind is capable of. Before I tried mediation I simply focused on everything external . Trying to get to know others was more important to me. But what we should really do is to look within us and see what we find and no longer remain strangers to ourselves. Meditation is a commitment you have with yourself. You do want to practice with the goal to get to know yourself but also to be calm and as happy and peaceful as possible.

Many thoughts will come and go when you start practicing. Let them! It gets better with a lot of practice. Many thoughts make you realize how restless the mind can be. It is important to have patience when you practice. I am not the most patient person but it has gotten better over time. I took my time and practiced whenever I thought it felt right. No rush, no stress and no pushing myself to anything. There were many others in my mediation classes who saw this and that and experienced great things and all I did was thinking about pretzels with butter for one hour. I focused on my goal of becoming better at this and it did work out over time. Society teaches us to go faster, bigger and better constantly. All this causes stress and it is very important to find a balance in life. It works for me with meditation and yoga.

I would love to hear your thoughts or any tips you want to share. Comment below.

On my bucket list is still the wish of going on a yoga/meditation retreat. Preferable Mexico or Italy. I also share a  book recommendation on Meditation. Find it here. 

Sometimes, I listen to this meditation music for one hour and I love it. But usually, I prefer complete silence to meditate.

Thank you for reading my blog.