Friday, July 31, 2015

Ali Singer Yoga +The Yoga Hub Donation Based Yoga on Boston Common

I happened upon Ali Singer when she instructed a yoga class at The Street back in June. She did an amazing job with a class of beginners but still challenged us so when we approached her about doing a donation based class for our Boston Bloggers Jimmy Fund Walk team, I was crossing my fingers big time. Fast forward to a few weeks later and not only has she agreed to instruct a class but she is WAY on board for an outdoor event with lots of amazing bonuses! I am hoping that if you are in the Boston area at the end of August, you'll want to attend what will surely be a great class with amazing energy! Check out the Eventbrite link here and check out all the details! Plus, anyone who donates via the Eventbrite enters for a chance to win an amazing yoga prize pack worth over $125 from YogaOutlet.com and we have special discounts from Temple Flower! We hope to see you there!


Monday, July 27, 2015

My First Reiki Sesh

I had my first Reiki session this past weekend. I won't lie to you. I had seen a Groupon for an Energy Healer the next town over and I thought, "what do I have to lose?" I really didn't know what reiki was except that I have heard people in various yoga classes talk about how much they love it; like it's meditation that you don't have to work at. I mean, it was going to be an hour out of the house without baby/husband/dog/cat/chores/etc so I was game.
What is Reiki?

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
So that makes sense, right? I guess even though I had done a little research previous to my visit, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  It seemed a little far fetched to me that a person, no matter how soothing/calm/charismatic they were, could "heal" any ailments I had with a touch but it's about more than healing ailments.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Reason that I Like to Spend Time at The Street

Recently, I have the awesome opportunity to spend a lot of time at The Street. I'm sure you've seen some of my Insta snaps of people, places and things, all from The Street in Chestnut Hill. I'll be honest, I don't live super convenient to Chestnut Hill and normally, I would scoff at the idea of driving on Route 9 but The Street? Well, The Street is worth the trip. I have headed out there for all manner of their Summertime at The Street events and each one was a success on it's own. There is something for everyone and I have really, honestly and truly, developed a super crush on this shopping center. Weird? Yes. But true? Yes.



Monday, July 20, 2015

WomInspire: Emily Cunningham of True Moringa


In the Boston community, True Moringa is one of those success stories that we all love to talk about. It's how I first discovered the brand, actually. Another blogger mentioned that Emily and her business partner, Kwami Williams, had built a beauty brand that fit into so many of my "desirable" categories. I love to see a line of products that is not only natural (and works!) but to see that they produce things in an earth friendly, responsible way is something that you can't find in your average beauty brand. I had a quick chat with Emily Cunningham and just have to say that this is the type of women who takes the phrase "You can't change the world" and leaves it in her dust.

Is it true that you guys started True Moringa while in college? #1 How ambitious + awesome and #2 Where did the inspiration come from?

First, College is the best time to start something! The resources we were able to access through our university networks, the mentorship, the energy of the social enterprise ecosystem of Boston - not to mention the benefits of being young and naive and not taking "no" for an answer :) 

The inspiration and idea behind our brand and mission came from the farmers. My co-founder Kwami Williams and I were lucky enough to travel to Ghana through MIT's D-Lab to work on affordable technologies for developing countries. While there, we were struck by a paradox: there are 1.5 billion acres of fertile, uncultivated land in Africa and 120 million smallholder farmers living on that land earning less than $2 per day. 

Think about exactly what that means- here we are, in the midst of the tropics where some of the most beautiful and valuable botanicals grow - and farmers are struggling to get by on subsistence crops. We knew there was huge untapped potential for high-value agriculture. The farmers came to us with the idea to commercialize one crop in particular called moringa, known locally as 'the miracle tree' for its medicinal properties. We went back to Cambridge to do some market research and study the benefits and were absolutely floored. 

The seeds of the tree produce nature's best anti-aging moisturizing oil for hair and skin care. The leaves of the same tree are rich in nutrients, boasting more vitamin A than carrots, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, and more protein than eggs per serving. The waste product of oil processing is an ideal organic fertilizer, poultry feed, and flocculant to purify water. The tree thrives in arid climates and produces leaves within two months and seeds within 8 months, mitigating risk for small farmers. Miracle tree indeed. 

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

I Like Talking About Kids... and Other Things

I don't know what has caused this recent inner dialogue with myself, an inner dialogue that has me debating my virility as an independent adult woman, an individual in her own right. I've been going back and forth on whether I can go out and interact with other women without gushing about the baby, life with a baby, issues with a baby, being tired from living with a lot of babies... you get the picture. When I am out in public with other adult women, I field questions about my child somewhat flippantly, almost like I could "take or leave" him because I don't want to bore people with my slow moving parenting existence rather than thinking that they might actually be interested. Why I have this new "complex" about being mundane rather than amazing, is somewhat confusing. Yes, my life can be a little boring (+ frustrating) at times but mostly it's an awesome adventure that I am venturing on, that not everyone has had the opportunity to experience or wants to for that matter (which it fine by me!). Despite how I act sometimes, I actually like talking about my kid to other people. For instance, next time you see me, ask me about our first trip to the ER this past Saturday. I'll gladly fill you in on my sub par parenting with a wiggly/slippery child during an impromptu bath.  Important detail: Kid flirted with elderly women in ER waiting room like it was his job.
What I am getting at is that I like to talk about my child and when asked, I am not just going to fluff people off to "spare" them the boring details but I am going to give appropriate answers, showing love and affection, with a touch of humor because that's how we roll in the Propah household. I like talking about kids; yours, mine, the Royals... you get it. But besides kids, I like talking about other adult things like music, art, the new Star Wars movie, The Bachelorette (Kaitlyn is the worst), organic beauty, politics, shopping, eating, sleeping in... see? I have a lot of different interests. Just because I have a child, and hope to have more, and like talking about said child doesn't mean that I have become a lifeless blob of a woman who has no interests outside of the home + motherhood. Damn if I don't have a ton of interests, a lot of which I will gladly adult conversate about with you anytime you want.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Tasty Tidbits


This weekend we were really did a good job of balancing productivity around the house and also some fun family time. We celebrated both my husband and America's birthday by just sticking around the homestead. We got frozen yogurt, grilled up some steaks, drank grapefruit shandy's and spent time together. We let the baby run around at the park and he let us have some down time by taking a few 2+ hour naps (hallelujah!)

I can't wait until my kid/s is old enough to do yoga with me in a meaningful way. Right now, he doesn't really follow directions and is currently going through a phase of willful disobedience... I know, so soon, right? In any event, the opportunities to have fun with kids and yoga are growing and growing. Maybe next year we can use Baby, You're a Firework, to have a little fun with 4th of July yoga. (via Yoga Dork)

News broke this past week that Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are getting divorced. I can't put into words exactly what it is that bothers me so much, about a couple that I don't even know... Refinery 29 does a pretty good job of explaining how I feel. I guess I have just watched too much Alias and Voyage of the Mimi to be able to look at their relationship in a matter of fact manner... but let's just say that I'm sad. (via Refinery 29)

If you haven't visited The Mighty, please do yourself a favor and spend a little time ready any of the posts. This site is dedicated to the human spirit, really. They feature a lot of eye opening pieces about disabilities as well as interesting perspectives on conditions that may have stereotypes in society. When you read their tagline "We believe in the power of stories, the strength of communities and the beauty of the human spirit.", you'll be sold. 

Please tell me that this picture of the royal children doesn't melt your heart? If it doesn't, then you don't have a heart. (via Us Weekly)