Healthy Spicy Life July/August 2012

Healthy Spicy Life

July/August 2012

Kim Stetz

Colin Huggins in his office

"If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him."
~ John F. Kennedy

How serendipitous to find Colin Huggins on a perfect Sunday afternoon while on my way to see friends at Lupa in the village. Yes, this man busks with a baby grand piano. He has more than one and stores them throughout the city. You can find him in his office, Washington Square Park, most weekends 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. A piano tuner comes by for each outing and Colin plays from his heart Chopin, Brahms, Puccini, Mozart and contemporary composers like Philip Glass. He'll play for about 30 minutes, take a 10 minute break and play again. He steps away for lunch as well. Always with a sense of humor he reminds people this is how he makes a living and to please give him all your money. He has business cards set up on the piano, please take one, and he'll text you back if you ask if he's playing. He sells his CDs for $10, but I bought 3 for $40. It's a bargain! You can also download his music from his website and pay what you like. This is the artist's way. Sacred Economics. He just gets it. Chaos and beauty. Heartbreaking and joyful.

Some of you may have seen me naked and painted. No, this is not a new hobby or my next "thing". Creative play is to blame. I've been painted twice by Andy Golub. The article above explains how that came to be and the second time was for Andy at Figment Art Show.

Figment Art Show

Yoga asana and body art just go together. I actually have forgotten how to take a normal picture just standing. I'm always ready to strike a pose even if it's mountain pose.

I did get a chance to do corpse pose, naked, for a Spencer Tunick shoot. If you don't know who he is, I suggest you check out his link. I know a lot of info packed in this newsletter, but imagine not just taking the time to read and investigate all of this, the time it takes to do all these things and then compose a newsletter about it for the love of experiencing life and sharing.

Spencer Tunick setting up

The Tunick shoot was a fund raiser in support of family doctors and in particular Dr. Daryl Isaacs of Mercer Street Medical Center. Paul H-O started filming the documentary Everything Is Going To Be OK after Dr. Isaacs called him and asked for help. The photo shoot took place in the Dr.'s office on July 1, a very steamy Sunday afternoon. There were about 25 naked bodies of all shapes, sizes, color, ages and both sexes equally represented. I loved the challenge of meeting people's eyes, noticing nakedness everywhere without judging. I tend to look people in the eye anyway, but I really wanted to keep to this practice while surrounded by naked people whom all seemed very comfortable with themselves. When on chairs and tables we did use paper lining. Of course, this is a Dr.'s office. Hygiene! Tunick's photos will be available for purchase in support of this mission some time late summer. I will send a link most likely in HSL Septmember issue.

I continue to clack away at my memoir - working title,"Stardust: Spiritual Words From a Rock-N-Roll Addict" and just about finished my business proposal to open Savasana Station, an urban retreat center. If you would like to know more about either, please contact me.

I thank students, clients, and mentors who continue to learn the teachings of yoga and Buddhism through our experiences together and apart. There's so much more to health than food and exercise. Healthy beings learn to love themselves and let go that which doesn't serve.

Remain human, Kim

Writing

Dating With Options

"For women over 40, we have a different game and

reality than the younger single women out there. I am happy to be right where I am. The choices I make now are very different than when I was in my 20s and 30s. I do my best to be clear with intentions and remember to be open to experiences. This is how change happens and you might just find yourself in a relationship that feels right."

Yoga

Downward Facing Dog

JM in Downward Facing Dog

Down Dog is one of my favorite poses. This pose gives the student an opportunity to stretch their entire back body from the souls of the feet to the cervical spine. This pose is an inversion - the head is below the heart. Inversions not only literally turn your world upside down, but there are many benefits as well and with down dog balancing is not so much of an issue like many other inversions. I am going to focus on the hands and wrists for this write up. DD strengthens wrists, so you may need to start out holding this pose for 5 seconds to start with if you have wrist issues. I have found that finger placement is very important. If your fingers are spread too wide, this could add more strain to the small joints in the writs which you don't want to be doing if you are trying to strengthen them. You want either your index fingers or your middle fingers parallel to each other while placed on your mat shoulder width apart. The fingers are evenly spaced - not too wide or close. Especially the thumb! For some, there hands may slightly turn out depending on the openness of the shoulders. These hand positioning tips have healed some sore wrists and carpel tunnel issues. Also, you want to draw energy up from the heel of the hand rather than pressing into the heel of the hand. Think of your finger tips leaving an impression in the mat, press into the index knuckles and then draw energy up to the shoulders. DD is a lot of work. It may feel like a resting pose during sun salutes, but on the contrary it is not. Your body may be not moving around save the breath, but there are a lot of subtle movements in DD to pay attention to and then before you know it, it's jump or walk to the front of the mat. One more thing, don't worry about your heels touching the ground. Energize the heels towards the ground and they may touch or not. It doesn't matter. Please have a look at the link to DD for more tips, alignment, benefits and contraindications.

Author Bio

Kim Stetz is an Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher (ERYT), meditation teacher and a Certified Health Coach (AADP). Her dedication to health and wellness comes from her passion for yoga and nutritious food. From the very first time she stepped on a yoga mat in 1992, she knew her life was about to take the path less traveled. Kim has yoga certifications from OM Yoga NYC, Yoga For Two The Barnes Method, Relax and Renew Judith Hansen Lasater, and Anatomy Studies For Yoga Teachers with Jason R. Brown. Kim is also a graduate of The Interdependence Project's Meditation Teacher Training and Buddhist Studies programs and a registered Holistic Health Coach granted by The Institute of Integrative Nutrition. For services please visit my website.

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