Mental & Material Clutter

WHOA! Nothing is more humbling and insightful than lugging all of your belongings up four flights of stairs. That's right, we are finally moved. I am currently sitting in a pile of boxes and stuff in what will one day (hopefully, soon) be our office. I can't believe how much crap I have! Who knew that this silly yogi, who sometimes brags that "there is no sentiment in objects besides the sentiments we attach to them," would have so many silly possessions. I'm actually a little embarrassed, particularly because of all the petty arguments I had with my partner Craig about my wanting to keep this, that, and the other thing for whatever reason. Clutter is so personal...

We did get rid of a lot of stuff before the move, but clearly we have a lot more to do. My friend Tracey Mackenzie, who is a wonderful feng shui specialist, interior designer, and professional organizer offered me some help, which has been useful. I thought I'd share some of her clutter reducing tips, in case anyone else out there is suffering from the pack-rat syndrome.

1- Don't attempt clutter control alone. Seriously, we all need an outside person (not spouse) to point out how ridiculous your arguments are for keeping five old cellphones "just in case".

2- Create sections or bins for "Keep", "Giveaway", "Recycle", or in the rare case, "Toss", if the other sections really don't apply.

3- Here's the kicker: You get five seconds to decide which bin each of your items go in. (Any hesitation is a sign of weakness and will likely result in a forced giveaway.)

4- If there are items that serve no real purpose other than to evoke memories, Tracey's advice is to take a picture of object of sentiment value and send it on its merry way to the next clutter-bug or hoarder.  I had to do this with a several home made crafts given to me by my younger students over the years. Taking a photo of each gift made the parting less bitter.

5- Get rid of whatever you are not keeping for sure right away or you may change your mind and keep that old Easter bunny basket, which is currently staring me down across the room.

6- Tracey's last words of wisdom: "If you get rid of the old, you make room for the new."

Good luck, my friends. Please post any other clutter management or organizational suggestions you might have. Goodness knows, I need it!




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Urban Goddess Retreat

Les déesses urbaines!

I had the greatest time at our Urban Goddess Retreat last weekend. We (myself and organizing partner Jasmine Goyer) couldn't have asked for better participants or a better location. There was fantastic group chemistry, lots of deep belly laughing, and great conversations. Perhaps I underestimated how amazing a gathering of extraordinary women can be. Our female attendees spanned four decades and came from a variety of professional backgrounds, from contemporary artist to YMCA kids camp coordinator.

The setting was ideal: a beautiful spa in the country, just an hour or so from Montreal, with comfortable rooms, great treatments and delicious food. It was a serious luxury for me to teach in this retreat environment, where no one had to drive or go anywhere else after our meditations and long asana practices. The hospitality and integrity at Spa Eastman was really optimal.

Coupled with our yoga and meditation sessions, Jasmine and I invited Vered Haiun to teach Dancerotek (sensual erotic-clothing-stays-on movement) and Masala Bhangra (Bollywood style dance). Let me tell you that Vered is one of my heroines. A dance instructor for over 20 years, she oozes "VaVaVoom" from every pore of her body.  Moving around all sexy-diva-like to super loud music was the FUNNEST!

We also brought in Tracey Mackenzie, the no-nonsense-tell-you-like-it-is feng shui guru, to share some design strategies to help us improve the flow of energy in our home environment. Tracey is also incredible and she inspires me so much. In fact, when I go home on Sunday night after the retreat, I immediately reorganized my living room, threw out an old chair, took the desk I never use out of my bedroom, and scanned the rest of apartment for clutter. (Still a work in progress...)

Anyway, I think the greatest gift I received over the weekend was the freedom to indulge my sensual, feminine, joie-de-vivre side that often gets forgotten when I get stuck playing boss or teacher. I was inspired by the other women on the retreat and I look forward to growing this project. We'd like to offer a monthly Urban Goddess soirée with different speakers and a retreat like this one every season.

Do you have any ideas? I'd love your involvement, even if you live far away and can't physically join us.  (We are also envisioning an online community to share tips, videos, projects, discussions, etc.)

Welcome gift basket with goodies from Vega, Manitoba Harvest, Pukka Tea,
Energy Baths, Green & Black, and RSVP Magazine!

Practicing tree pose overlooking the beautiful forest.

The Urban Goddesses take Goddess Pose

Jasmine Goyer and yours truly.

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