Please excuse my sporadic updating–changes are in the air! Aside from fiery leaves, cool breezes and finally being able to wear boots again (yeah!), I’ve been giving serious thought into what I’m doing for a living.
If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know that working for money ended in March when I got laid off from my corporate job. After completing my yoga instructor certification and spending 5 weeks abroad, it became clear that my heart’s desire to cobble together a creative, thriving lifestyle incorporating my love of yoga, writing, and food/wellness/nutrition. In the meantime, I needed to find a part time gig that allowed for some spending cash and time for me to work on wellness and teaching stuff.
So here I am, officially in the service industry as a server at a beer bar in Wicker Park. I love the serving and beer part: work is fun and we carry more than 150 craft beers…heaven! What I don’t love? The sports bar-esque vibe and working 80 hours a week. Things have calmed down a bit and I let them know I’d like to work 4 shifts a week, maximum. I need to keep my wellness/yoga vision in focus and going strong!
Today feels like my first real day of productivity outside of work. I made a nice little list for myself last night and have been diligently crossing things off today. I got my bike wheel fixed, did laundry, went grocery shopping, renewed my library card, and completed a fistful of other riveting errands.
But seriously, check out this library haul:

Now some of these are renewals: I’ve been reading Omnivore’s Dilemma and it brings out a rage in me so wrathful that I frighten myself. I want to personally dismantle the industrial food systems brick by brick with my bare hands. And Big Phrama, too. All the food and medical docs on Netflix have been riling me up, can you tell?
Speaking of documentaries getting me riled up, Hungry for Change has a book coming out! Aaand it’s on its way to me! It’s by the Food Matters folk, and in celebration of the book launch, they’re showing the doc streaming free online here! I highly, highly recommend it. The interviews are fascinating and have spawned many a recent internet crush on food and wellness gurus Kris Carr, Dr. Christiane Northrop, Jon Gabriel, Daniel Vitalis, David Wolfe, et. all. It’s not possible to have more deliciousness to devour in my blog roll these days.
I’ve also taken my sweet time reading Rod Stryker’s The Four Desires. Essentially, it makes your dreams come true in a very real way. Discovering your dharma–why you’re here, your purpose–and how to apply that to your life to make it as fulfilling as possible. A little self-helpy? Absolutely. Totally engaging and inspiring? You betcha. Now I haven’t given the book a full go–there are meditations and writing exercises he recommends, but I want to read through the whole thing before delving into the activities. But I’m also the kinda person that isn’t bothered by knowing how books and movies end.
But I do know this about my dharma: I want to wildly create and help people heal themselves. I love to write: fiction, articles, you name it. And I truly believe that life is exponentially enhanced through reestablishing a connection with the mind and body, eating good food and keeping the body strong and flexible. I want to equip people, especially kids, with tools that enable them to live sustainably in many ways, including environmentally. Getting food from the source, becoming aware of the food industry in this country and how to be healthy in spite of it. This includes gardening, beekeeping, cooking with whole, real ingredients and nourishing the spirit. Because really, when the land, your body, and your mind are joyful, you are spiritually fulfilled.
Lofty? Perhaps. I’ll do it anyway.
So now that  I have an inkling at what my dharma is, how is that going to change what you read here? I have learned SO much in the past couple weeks, and in true Virgo-style, continue to seek knowledge, and I’m so excited to disseminate all the juicy wellness info to the masses.You’ll continue to find healthful (for the most part) recipes as I document my kitchen adventures, but I’ll make it a point to explain what the ingredients do for your body. Also, more yoga! I’ve been messing around with a couple sequences that would be fun to share, and I have a whole series of Yoga for Servers in the works.
I’m also applying for grad school! I’ve wanted to go back to school since the moment I finished my undergrad, and now I finally know in what: nutrition (shock!) and clinical psychology. I’ve found an amazing program at a school outside Seattle, so I will most likely be relocating within the next 18 months.
Alright, enough meandering for now. I’m so excited to get this new chapter underway.
Here we go.