Issue #3 - January/February 2014
TAKE CONTROL
of your body - a new fertility app puts the power in your hands
YOU CAN DO IT ALL!
In 168 HOURS a week, have a life, career & family
MAKE 2014 YOUR YEAR: build strength and resilience to weather the ups and downs of life PLUS: Makeover your breakfast and start the day right!
Welcome to the issue: W
elcome to 2014! I find the beginning of a New Year to be invigorating. In New York, January brings blustery days and long nights, so while the weather forces me inside I like to do a deep clean and inventory of our apartment. I purge the things I haven’t used over the past year, tackle smallscale home improvement projects that have been hanging over my head and reorganize our closets and drawers.
help of an amazing fitness professional in “Resilient Health,” and we suggest small changes like new gym clothes, a quick beauty routine and healthy breakfast recipes to keep you on the right track. We hope to be a trusted resource and gentle guide as you decide what kind of year you want 2014 to be. Don’t rush the process and don’t bite off more than you can chew. There’s 12 months ahead and you can use them to create the life you want.
January is a good time for inner reflection and reorganization, too. I’m actually not big on resolutions, but I tend to sneak one or two in every year. I try Happy Reading! to stick to things that feel achievable, like eating breakfast every morning, or taking 10 minutes to tidy up before bed every night. Those small changes can turn into big, life-altering changes if you let them. That’s the idea behind this issue. We decided that instead of telling you to work out daily and kick off the year with a cleanse we could instead offer suggestions and practices that will bring about change in a way that fits into your life and lasts for the long haul. Lynn Crimando leads us down a path towards more mindful eating in this month’s column and our featured book excerpt helps you make better use of the time you’ve been given (which is 168 hours a week, in case you were wondering). We dig deeper into the practice of making resolutions with the 2
Here I am taking notes at Hamlet Organic Garden on a blustery day!
Contributors: Issue #3 Amanda G. Brown
Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief Kevin Brown
Co-Founder, Business Director Lynn Crimando
Lynn’s Letters Laura D’Angelo
Makeup Matters Laura Vanderkam
“YES - You Can Have it All” January/February 2014
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Table ofFeatures Contents:
Page 32:
YES! You Can Do It All: A revolutionary guide to balancing work, life and family in 168 hours a week.
Page 44:
Winter at Hamlet Organic Garden: The work of running a small farm never stops. We pay a visit to our local CSA.
Page 50:
Resilient Health: Make 2014 your best year yet by creating a plan for health and wellness that will stand the test of time.
Page 60:
Your Body, Your Life: Learn how to manage your own fertility with a new app from the creator of Paypal and a former Google executive. 4
Table of Contents: Departments Page 6: Greener Goods
Kick off your healthy habits in new gear that’s made in the USA - page 6
The Define Bottle - page 9
Page 10: Better Beauty
Serums to save your skin - page 10 Makeup Matters - page 12
Page 14: Rewarding Reads
Books to savor and share
Page 16: Cooking Class
Jump-start your breakfast routine
Page 20: Lynn’s Letters Resolved to Diet Again This Year?
Try This First!
Page 24: The Practice
January/February 2014
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Greener Goods: Made in the USA So you’ve resolved to get healthy this year? Well, do it in style. We’ve rounded up some of the hottest brands that are producing their gear in the USA. It’s technically superior, the fit is great, the fashion and colors can’t be beat and you’ll support American workers. Sounds like a win-win to us!
NUX’s DASH: Union Cami $59.00 at www.nuxusa.com
All Splits59 gear is conceived of and created in the USA. Splits59 signifies the power of a single second and the driving will to beat the tick of a stopwatch to :60. We believe it’s the smallest of victories that lay the foundation for a winning spirit and fuels the will to grow stronger, run faster and push harder in any arena of life.
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The goal of NUX is to promote “Inspired Living.” Their brand’s philosophy resonates with us: -To be pro peace and anti nothing. -To lead with my heart and follow with my mind. -To honor humility and be humbled by honorable people. -To choose to dance through life with all of my imperfections. -To cultivate compassion for the world by having compassion for myself. The Nova Curve Capri Tight from Splits59 $98.00 at www.Splits59.com
Greener Goods: made in the USA
One out of every 4 pairs of shoes sold by New Balance in the USA is also made or assembled in the USA. With five factories between Massachusetts and Maine, the company maintains a workforce of over 1300 in the USA. They also source materials from many domestic suppliers that employ an additional 7000 local workers. Sneakers available at www.newbalance.com.
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Greener Goods: made in the USA The perfect piece for restorative yoga, this Restore Hoodie was created by Be Present in conjunction with yoga teacher Bo Forbes. It’s lightweight, stretchy design means it will move with you as you transition from pose to pose, but the long sleeves and hood offer extra warmth as you settle in to deep relaxation. All Be Present clothes are made in the USA. $50.00 at www.BePresent.com
The Dinah Twist Wrap from Pure Karma Yoga is an excellent choice to throw on after class. It’s warm, soft, and pretty (it even has thumbholes) and can take you straight to brunch with friends. Just throw a pair of boots on over your leggings. All Pure Karma products are made in the USA, and many use eco-friendly fabrics. $60.00 at www.purekarma.com.
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Greener Goods: Define Bottle The Define Bottle was thought up by Carter Kostler when he was 13 years old. He was tired of seeing his family drink healthy, fruit-infused water at home, yet grabbing a soda or a plastic water bottle when out running errands or at work or school. He wanted to create a way to make the tasty water he loved portable. The Define Bottle was launched at the 2013 Clinton Foundation Health Matters Conference to rave reviews and we understand why - it’s BPA-free, Phosphate-free, estrogenic-activity-free, androgenic-activity-free, dishwasher safe, and cute. A variety of models are available including a flip-top sports model and a mini that’s perfect for smaller hands. Prices start at $15. Try one for yourself at www.DefineBottle.com!
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BetterSerums Beauty:
We’re all looking for the fountain of youth. We want skin that is supple, glowing, radiant and linefree long after we’re entitled. But science keeps playing catch-up with our desires and new serums on the market promise all that, and more. We’ve selected some standouts that are safe, natural and effective. Enjoy!
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Better Beauty: serums Intelligent Nutrients Organic Anti-Aging Serum is full of pure, plant-derived ingredients to reduce inflammation, soften fine lines and wrinkles and protect your skin. The formula contains Acia, Argan and essential oils. $60 at www.spiritbeautylounge.com
Kahina Giving Beauty’s Serum is rich in fatty acids and beta-carotene so it can repair tissue damage, prevent moisture loss, calm irritation and reduce inflammation. $90 at www.spiritbeautylounge.com
This highly contentrated yet lightweight serum from Nature’s Gate contains Borage, Carob Seed Extract, Oat Beta Glucan, Cassava and other essential vitamins, fatty acids and antioxidants. It’s formulated to support skin elasticity and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. $18.99 at wwww.natures-gate.com
This all natural serum from Seventh Generation contains prickly pear and omega-3 fatty acids to defend skin from environmental damage. It’s free of parabens, pthalates and synthetic fragrances and USDA Certified Biobased. $14.99 at www.drugstore.com Often considered the holy grail of natural serums, Tata Harper’s Rejuvenating Serum contains 29 Active Natural Ingredients to slow down aging, increase firmness, elasticity and cell durability. It also moisturizes, protects and evens skin tone. $95 at www.tataharperskincare.com January/February 2014 11
Greener Goods: Makeup Matters
We know it’s your resolution to get to the gym more, because it is ours too! So after you get yourself some cute new Made in the USA gear, make your post-workout primping fast, effective and eco-friendly.
Here’s a 5-minute routine featuring tarte cosmetics
(they are free of parabens, pthalates, sodium laurel sulfate and synthetic fragrance and they are cruelty-free and vegan) that will leave your eyes bright and defined and your cheeks and lips fresh and healthy. We’ve used Amazonian clay cream eyeshadow in slate ($19), tarte glamazon lipstick in Inspired ($26) and skinny smolderEYES in moonstone brown ($19). For darker complexions try the Amazonian clay cream eyeshadow in shimmering bronze and the tarte glamazon lipstick in Enlightened. All products are available at www.tartecosmetics.com. 12
Greener Goods: makeup matters For Eyes: smooth shadow on eyelid from
lash line to crease, blending so that it fades into the brow bone. Line the top lash with pencil, then with the blending tip on the end of the pencil smudge line to soften. Remember to stay as close to the lash line as possible. Aim for soft definition, not perfection.
For Skin: Even out skin with tinted moisturizer and a dab of concealer under your eyes. Then smile and dot lipstick on the apples of your cheeks and high on your cheekbones. Blend with a circular motion back towards the hairline.
For Lips: Apply lipstick and
smush lips together to blend. Blot and reapply if necessary for more color.
Laura D’Angelo is a professional makeup artist with over 25 years in
the industry. She has worked for major cosmetics lines and also works independently for weddings and special events. January/February 2014
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Rewarding Reads: new and notable T
homas Moore was raised as a Catholic, spent 13 years as a monk while studying to become a priest, and then left religious life to pursue a PhD in Religious Studies. This book is his most personal to-date, because it explores how to have a highly spiritual and religious life without organized religion. Moore assures readers that you can leave the traditional path without leaving your God and delves into a third path - the one he, himself, has taken.
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January 9 Gotham
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osemary Mahoney, author of Down the Nile, takes readers on another adventure in her new book. Followng Sabriye Tenberken, the founder of Braille Without Borders, the first school for the blind in Tibet, Mahoney explores what it means to have sight, how the sightless are marginalized, and the great resilience that keeps Sabriye and her students pushing for equality. This is an illuminating read about a rarely discussed topic.
January 14 Little, Brown
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his riveting memoir takes readers back to 2002, when David MacLean “came to” on a crowded train platform in India with no knowledge of who he was, where he was, or where he was going. His amnesia had been caused by a common anti-malarial drug, but his experience and his long road to recovery were utterly uncommon. Along the way he would come face to face with who he was, and who he would become as he tried to make sense of his past.
January 14 HMH
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ancy Horan’s bestseller, Loving Frank, told the tale of Frank Lloyd Wright’s beloved mistress, Mamah Borthwick. Now she tells the surprising and romantic love story of Robert Louis Stevenson and his American wife, Fanny. Divorced, mother of three and ten years older than Stevenson, Fanny was not an obvious match for the young lawyer and aspiring writer. But he fell madly in love with her and their affair spanned decades and the globe.
January 21 Random House
Rewarding Reads: new and notable
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cclaimed scholar Sarah Churchwell takes readers on a journey back to 1922, the year F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby. The Fitzgeralds returned to New York after many years abroad, and their return coincided with a double-murder dubbed “The Crime of the Decade.” Churchwell connects the grittiness of the unsolved murder to the recklessness on display in Fitzgerald’s landmark work.
January 23 The Penguin Press
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n this new novel from #1 New York Times bestseller Anna Quindlen, a woman named Rebecca Winter is watching her career slip away and her bank balance dwindle. As a relatively famous photographer, she was a heroine to women, but those days seem to be long gone. Now, navigating her new life, she suddenly finds herself caught up in an unexpected romance and learning, for the first time, that there is life beyond the camera lens.
January 28 Random House
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sychologist Joyce Benenson has written a groundbreaking new book based on thirty years of research with children and primates. She challenges the assumptions that women are the more social sex and men the more competitive, instead positing that women are very competitive in order to gain an advantage when taking care of young and elders, and men are very social when forming groups that will work together to gain superiority.
February 5 Oxford U Press
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arah Carr tells the story of three schools and three people in post-Katrina New Orleans. She deftly reports on the struggles to educate children in a place overwhelmed by poverty and violence, and probes the ceaseless questions in the charter schoool versus traditional public school debate. What arises is an account of a city after a disaster, a country with an educational system that often fails its children and a book that is utterly necessary.
February 26 Bloomsbury
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Cooking Class: breakfast It’s so important to start the day off right. A healthy (and delicious) breakfast helps control blood-sugar, lowers cravings later in the day and gives you something to look forward to when the alarm goes off. Here are a few of our standbys: Heart Healthy Muesli Serves 4 - 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats - milk - 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped - 1/2 cup raisins - 1 large green apple, diced - 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice - 1/2 cup plain yogurt - 1 Tbsp honey - cinnamon to taste Put oats in a large bowl and pour in milk until it just covers the oats. Let sit in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning add all other ingredients except cinnamon. Portion into bowls and add cinnamon to taste.
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Cooking Class: breakfast
Irish Brown Bread -2 cups whole wheat flour -1 cup white flour -1/2 cup oat bran -1/2 cup oatmeal (quick) -1/2 cup wheat germ -1 tsp salt -1 tsp baking soda -2.5-3 cups (depending on how moist you want the bread) of buttermilk -1 egg Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Dough should be soft, not sticky. Place batter in a buttered loaf pan. Make a deep cross in the center of the dough (so it cooks thoroughly) and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 and bake for about 20 minutes more. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when you tap the bottom of the loaf pan. Spread with cream cheese and lox, peanut butter or jam and enjoy! January/February 2014 17
Cooking Class: breakfast
Healthy Morning Glory Muffins Serves 12 1 1/2 cup flour, sifted 1 cup bran 1/2 cup molasses 2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt 1 cup grated carrots 1 green apple, peeled and grated 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/4 cup coconut 3 egg whites 1 cup buttermilk Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter muffin tin, or use paper muffin liners. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the carrots, apple, pecans and coconut. Mix until dry ingredients are slightly moist. Then add in eggs, 18molasses and buttermilk. Stir lightly. Bake for 25 minutes.
Cooking Class: breakfast Blueberry Pecan Muffins Serves 12 1 cup flour 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup wheat germ 2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup maple syrup 3/4 cup 2% milk 1/4 cup applesauce 1 tsp vanilla 1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries 1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter muffin tin, or use paper muffin liners. Whisk together the flours, wheat germ, baking soda, salt and brown sugar. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the maple syrup, milk, applesacue and vanilla. Gently mix until just combined. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter among muffin cups and top with toasted pecans. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.
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Lynn’s Letters: by Lynn Crimando Resolved to Diet Again This Year? Try This First! Happy New Year! Twelve promising new calendar pages are ready to be filled and it’s a great time to consider all the possibilities for 2014. January also marks the start of “diet season,” the diet industry’s name for the period between January 1st and Memorial Day. Sales of pills, potions, services and ready-meals, all intended to help us shed those ugly pounds, are at their highest. The sales figures are impressive. According to Marketdata Enterprises, Inc., a leading independent market research firm, revenues for weight-loss related products and services exceeded $61 billion in 2012 with the final 2013 tally expected to top that figure. Approximately 108 million Americans will spend some or all of the 2014 diet season attempting to lose weight. Projections through 2016 show steadily rising revenue and number of dieters – and that’s the crazy thing. If dieting works, shouldn’t those numbers start to decline at some point? Have you resolved to be among those 108 million this season? Does it feel like déjà vu all over again? 20
If you’re wondering whether there’s a point to making yet another New Year’s diet-focused resolution, you may be on to something. Not only do most diets fail in the long-term, but repeatedly gaining and losing weight can diminish the body’s capacity to regulate weight through the perception of physiological hunger signals. Chronic dieting can also foster negative patterns such as weight cycling–first restricting food, then binge-eating and gaining back more than you lost. Diets are a losing proposition – and not the kind of losing one would hope for. Maintaining a healthy body and mind requires an equally healthy relationship with food. We should use it to nourish us rather than to fill an emotional void or dull unpleasant feelings. To do this we can practice Mindful Eating. Mindfulness encompasses being fully present to each moment, cultivating non-judgmental awareness of our physical, mental and emotional states. It’s a way to identify and modify unhelpful patterns. Mindful Eating is not about deprivation, calorie counting, or control. It’s a
way of tuning in to the tastes, textures and experience of food, as well as the energy, attitude and purpose with which it’s eaten. Unlike going on a diet for a time (or two or three), it’s a permanent lifestyle change.
Guided by those words or ones that you write, you’re more likely to choose foods that both please your palate and nourish your body. Rather than numbers on the scale, you’ll measure satiety and the degree to which you feel nourished.
Before signing on for another round of weight cycling and frustration, pause to look deeply: Can you think of ways in which you use food to feed needs other than physical hunger? Have you ever over-consumed while stressed? Or gone searching for a candy bar an hour after eating because you don’t feel satisfied? A better relationship with food might help.
Food itself is neutral–it’s not “good” or “bad”. Nothing is off limits but you’ll want to choose those that fulfill your intention. You take responsibility about what, when and how you’ll eat. Savoring a delicious piece of chocolate at the end of a meal? Sounds dreamy.
Modifying longstanding habits takes patience, and will likely engender a bit of discomfort. You’ll want to be prepared. Some quiet contemplation before taking action may help determine what’s driving current eating patterns, how a healthier relationship to food might benefit your whole life, and ways to handle inevitable setbacks. When you are ready to act don’t make a resolution. That very word sounds harsh and unforgiving. Instead, set an intention. In Yoga we call this Sankalpa. A sankalpa is a lofty aspiration that can be clearly stated in a brief sentence. An intention as limited in scope as losing 10 lbs. doesn’t rise to that level. You’d aim much higher. Here’s an example: I will nurture and feed my body with love and compassion. You can learn more about Sankalpa, here.
On the other hand, mindful eating would not send you, at the end of a particularly stressful day, to inhale an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s so quickly that you barely notice yourself eating it. Instead, when you are present to feelings of anxiety, fear, anger, or loneliness, you can seek a more appropriate remedy, such as practicing yoga, calling a friend, or taking a relaxing bath. If you’d like to learn more about mindful eating, the bookstore and Internet are full of information. Here are a few simple rules to get you on the path: 1. Create a ritual that signals to your body and brain when it’s time to eat. Many spiritual traditions incorporate the practice of saying grace before a meal. It’s a lovely way to cue the body to slow down and focus the mind on the activity at hand. It can be as simple as, “I am grateful for this meal and the loving work that went into producing it.” A similar pause at the end of the meal such as, “My meal is finished. I am satisfied,” signifies January/February 2014
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that it’s time to stop eating. 2. Put your food on a plate. Sounds so simple, but who hasn’t eaten standing up at the counter or driving to work? 3. Eat on purpose and with purpose. If you don’t mean to eat it, don’t eat it. This applies to conference-room food, mindless TV munching and eating out of boredom. 4. Experience one bite at a time. Take a bite of food and then put the utensil down while you chew. Do not use the time you spend chewing to line up your next bite.
5. Chew every bite 30 times. Yes, 30. Digestion starts in the mouth when salivary enzymes begin to break the food down into smaller molecules. To support good digestion, chew till the food is almost liquefied. This step slows you down tremendously, helping you feel satisfied and recognize when you’ve had enough. Start by counting as you chew. Eventually, you won’t need to count because insufficient chewing will not feel right. 6. Notice when other activities interfere with the experience of your food. Classic mindful eating guides tell you to cease all other activities—reading, watching TV, etc. Many also advise silent meals. This is ideal. Whenever possible turn off
For bringing more balance to your life, it’s hard to beat the pranayama called Nadi Shodhana or Alternate Nostril Breathing. This purifying breath is said to balance the energy channels in the body. If stress and/or anxiety figure into your eating patterns, it’s a great way to calm the mind and release stress. Start seated with your right hand close to your face. Traditionally we use the thumb and ring finger of the right hand to block the nostrils. 1. Take a breath in through both nostrils. 2. Gently block the right nostril with your thumb and exhale left. 3. Continue to block the right nostril and inhale left. 4. Press your ring finger to your left nostril and exhale right. 5. Continue to block the left nostril and inhale right. Repeat for a few cycles, easily lengthening each breath as you go. If it seems appropriate, take a pause to enjoy the space between inhale and exhale. When you feel complete, let your breath return to normal and notice the effect of the pranayama practice.
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technology and put everything else aside to focus 100% on your food. Eating in silence and savoring every mouthful is an awesome practice. Try it! That said, life is complicated. Occasionally we have to work through lunch or grab food on the run, meaning rushed eating and less impact. Plus, many families use mealtimes as valuable opportunities to catch up and connect with each other. I’d rather you fit mindfulness in as you realistically can than discount it as unworkable. When you simply must combine eating with another activity, you can still put your food on a plate and chew it thoroughly. Pause at regular intervals and say to yourself, “I am aware that I am eating and reading. I can still taste my food.”
you are using food to fill a gap or soothe a nerve. Identifying and modifying the behaviors that work against nourishing ourselves in a loving and joyful way is an ongoing process. With mindfulness we experience without judgment, allowing feelings, such as anxiety, loneliness, anger, or fatigue to surface so that we can appropriately tend to them. We recognize without criticizing, assigning blame or indulging in behavior that doesn’t help and makes us feel worse. In other words, no more internal smack talk or body shame. (And by the way, once you’ve tamed your eating habits, you may be pleasantly surprised at the way your clothes are fitting.)
7. Eat solely to feed your body, rather than trying to zone out or escape from The practice that follows is intended to unpleasant feelings. Identify what’s driv- bring awareness to and wake up your diing non-physiological eating. Notice when gestive system.
Lynn Crimando, MA, E-RYT500, is a Professional Level Kripalu Teacher and Yoga Therapist in the Viniyoga tradition. She’s been teaching yoga for 12 years. Her therapy clients include people living with a variety of conditions, such as anxiety, arthritis, cancer, depression, Fibromyalgia, herniated discs, MS, Parkinson’s, trauma, and stroke recovery. Past and current clients include, Marriott Classic Residences, Tiffany & Company, The City of New York Department of the Aging, and Health Advocates for Older People. Lynn also lectures throughout New York City on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation. Prior to devoting herself fulltime to the healing aspects of Yoga, Lynn held top management positions at Sports Illustrated, Money Magazine, and ESPN. She’s also an executive coach. For more of Lynn’s writing, or to subscribe to her newsletter, go to www.YogaLynn.com To reach Lynn: Lynn@yogalynn.com
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The Practice: by Lynn Crimando 1. Belly and Breath Awarenes: Lie on your back with your hands on your belly. Focus your awareness on your breath. Progressively extend your exhale and feel the interaction of your belly and your breath. As you exhale, envision zipping a zipper and drawing the musculature of your lower abdomen inward and upward. Hold this image throughout the practice.
2. Apanasana: Start with hands on your knees, fingers pointing to your toes. On exhale, gently draw your belly toward the back of your spine and gently guide your knees toward your chest. On inhale, lengthen your arms and release your belly. After 3-4 times, repeat a few times on each side individually.
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The Practice: 3. Jathara Parivrtti: Start on your back, knees to chest. On exhale, draw your belly to the back of your spine and bring your knees toward your right elbow, head turns left. On inhale return to center. On exhale, bring your knees to the left elbow, head turns right. Repeat on either side, then hold the position for 1-2 breaths on each side.
About our model: Jean loves her work in HR, but it can be hectic. She turned to yoga in 2012 at the encouragement of her friend. “Yoga has helped me to become more aware of my body and how to appreciate it. It is one of the few times during the week where my mind is truly focused on just one thing. Group classes with Lynn are one of the highlights of my week!�
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The Practice:
4. Urdhva Prasarita Padasana: Start on your back, arms at your side, knees to your chest. On inhale stretch our arms overhead and the soles of your feet to the ceiling. On exhale, return to starting position. After 3 repetitions, stay in the extension for 2 breaths, stretching on inhale, softening your elbows and knees on exhale.
5. Dvipada Pitham: Start on your back, knees bent, arms to your sides. On inhale, raise your pelvis and sweep your arms overhead. On exhale, start at the top of your spine and slowly lower one vertebra at a time. Repeat twice, then stay up for one breath cycle. Before coming down, exhale completely, focusing again on that zipper-like movement. Hold your breath out as you lower your body and bring your arms back down. When you reach the end of the movement, release all holding. 26
The Practice: 6. Bhujangasana: Start on your belly, forehead on the floor, hands at your side at about waist level. Take a few breaths to feel your belly moving with your breath, then: On inhale, draw your belly in and lift your torso only to the naval. Keep the length at the back of your neck. On exhale, slowly return to the starting position. Repeat 3 times, then stay up for one breath.
7. Cakravakasana-Adho Mukha Svanasana: Start in child position. On inhale come up to “table� position, on exhale drawing your belly gently inward and upward as you move into downward facing dog position. Inhale back to table and exhale back to child. Repeat sequence a few times, then hold the downward facing dog position for 1-2 breaths.
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The Practice:
8. Uttanasana-Padangusthasana (above): Start in mountain pose. On inhale ground your feet and raise your arms overhead. On exhale, draw your belly in and extend your spine forward till you are in a forward bend. Repeat 2-3 times, then grab your big toes or your shins and stay down. On inhale, come up to a flat back, on exhale, drape your body over your thighs. Repeat this 2-3 times, then stay in the forward bend for 1-2 breaths. Inhale back to your starting position.
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The Practice:
9. Parivrtta Prasarita Padottanasana (bottom left and above): Stand with legs wide, the outsides of the feet parallel to each other. Arms are held wide, just below the shoulders. On inhale, ground your feet and feel the full length of your spine. On exhale, draw your belly in and begin to bend forward, twisting your torso left bringing your shoulder-girdle and arms perpendicular to the floor on one breath (return), then halfway between your midline and your left foot (return), then to your left foot. Stay for a breath in the final position. Repeat on the other side.
10. Pascimatanasana: Start seated with legs extended. You may want to elevate your sacrum on a blanket and/or slightly bend your knees. On inhale extend your arms overhead and lengthen your spine. On exhale, draw your belly in and bend forward from the hips. Repeat 3 times, then stay over for 1-2 breaths. Inhale back up.
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FEATURES 30
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The Modern Woman has been asked the question countless times: can you have the big life, the big career, the big family, and your sanity? Conventional wisdom says that something’s gotta give. But maybe conventional wisdom is wrong. Maybe there is a way to look at life and all of its opportunities and embrace them - each and every one. In an excerpt from her revolutionary book, 168 HOURS: You Have More Time Than You Think, Laura Vanderkam argues that each of us are given more than enough time to dream big, and act on those dreams. We just need a little bit of guidance, and a change in perspective.
YES: 32
Illustrations by Jennifer McCormick
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L
ike many busy people, I live by my to-do list. I like nothing better than scratching off every entry. So, during one marathon late March day in 2009, when I saw a “to do” to follow up with a woman named Theresa Daytner, who I’d interviewed a year before, I dutifully sent her a note. But Daytner was not to be reached. I’m not sure what her to-do list said, but she was spending the day outside.
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he told me later she had gone for a hike along a “babbling brook” near her Maryland home about 45 minutes west of Baltimore. It was a desolate area, so she’d borrowed her brother’s dog to keep her company. The two of them spent hours tromping through the mud. An early spring rain had turned the landscape green, bringing out tiny shoots on
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the trees and making the wildflower buds sparkle against the gray sky. There was simply no way she was going to miss one of the first warm mornings that offered up the opportunity to, as she put it, enjoy the “peace and quiet” and “recharge.”
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s I talked to Daytner more, I soon realized that recharging was a normal feature of her life. This involved a reasonable amount of time in the dirt; she goes on trail rides on her hybrid bicycle in addition to her hikes. Until recently, she lifted weights with a trainer twice a week. She burrows into Jodi Picoult novels at night in addition to reading her book club’s fare; she confesses a slight addiction to watching 24. She gets massages. She gets her hair done. She recently planned an elaborate surprise party for
her husband’s fiftieth birthday, featuring guests she had arranged to fly in from all over the country.
dent when she learned that being honest and competent could actually make you stand out in this space. Now, despite the recent construction slump, DCG (which n other words, Daytner seems to have oversees $10–75 million projects) was, a lot of time. Relaxed time. Time she when we talked, reviewing résumés to can and does use in any way she pleases. bring on new project managers. She was That includes knocking off for some bliss- also on track to post year-over-year gains ful solitude on a weekday morning when and was negotiating to enter the genermore serious people are at work. al contracting space, a move that could expand her business by an order of magf course, this begs the question. How, nitude. exactly, does Daytner have so much time on her hands? Is she retired? Unemhe was certainly not immune to the ployed? A homemaker whose children pressures of meeting a payroll (which have grown? includes health benefits for her employees’ families); she confesses to putting he answer may surprise you. Daytner out fires at night, on weekends, and, if is certainly busier than I am. Barack the earth would crash into the sun othObama himself was floored when he met erwise, by Blackberry while she hikes. her. Not long before that muddy March She has not been immune from other morning hike, Daytner seized a chance entrepreneurial pressures, either. She opportunity to visit the White House with launched DCG when her twins were still a group of small business owners to talk toddlers, and since she wanted her husabout economic issues. She introduced band to work with her, she mortgaged herself to the president by her two main the house to pay for child care. As her identities. The first: Theresa Daytner, business has picked up, it’s become at owner of Daytner Construction Group, times quite “draining, mentally.” That’s a seven-figure-revenue company whose why she watches 24. twelve-person payroll she is personally responsible for meeting. The second: Theresa Daytner, mom of six, including eight-year-old twins.“When,” Obama asked her, “do you sleep?”
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aytner does all these things while sleeping at least 7 hours a night. She coaches soccer and spends weekends cheering at her children’s games. She is happily planning her twenty-one-yearold daughter’s wedding while growing her business. She became interested in construction years ago as a college stu-
“Like many busy people, I live by my todo list.” January/February 2014
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onetheless, when I spoke to her, she told me that her children had the next Thursday off from school and she planned to take the day off again. She was going to load as many of the kids in the car as would fit to go see Washington’s cherry blossoms and just chill on the National Mall.
charge of me. Everything that I do, every minute I spend is my choice.” Daytner chooses to spend those minutes on the three things she does best: nurturing her business, nurturing her family, and nurturing herself.
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ut within these three priorities, she has found a little secret: when you ll in all, her life sounded pretty sweet. focus on what you do best, on what And so, as I’ve been writing this, I’ve brings you the most satisfaction, there is taken to recounting Daytner’s biography plenty of space for everything. You can at cocktail parties. Like Obama, people build a big career. You can build a big always ask, “How does she do it?”— or, if family. And you can meander along a someone is feeling more peevish, “I don’t Maryland Creek on a weekday morning know this woman but I already hate her.” because the day is too wild and beautiful Our cultural narratives of overwork, sleep to stay inside. Indeed, you can fill your deprivation, and how hard it is to “have life with more abundance than most peoit all” suggest that a big career and big ple think is possible. family like Daytner’s should not be possible. Or if they are possible, we certainn order to study how successful peoly don’t expect daytime hikes and Jodi ple spend their time, I first had to figPicoult novels to wind up in there, too. ure out how Americans in general clock theirs. For several years, the federal Buwon’t claim it’s easy. But as Daytner reau of Labor Statistics has conducted a told me about her scheme to screen study called the American Time Use Surher e-mail (which takes “too much damn vey (ATUS). Various universities and orgatime”), and shift some of her employees’ nizations have done similar “time diary” responsibilities to keep her workday at studies over the past 40 years. roughly 8:30–5:00, it soon became clear that she views her hours and minutes o begin with, according to time-didifferently than most people. ary studies, Americans sleep about 8 hours a night, just as we did 40 years or starters, she considers them all ago. This average isn’t skewed by retirprecious. She even takes advantage ees and college students; even married of the ten minutes between when her moms and dads who work full-time and teens’ school opens (8:00) and her twins’ have kids under age six sleep 8.31 and nearby school opens (8:10) to read Har8.06 hours, respectively. Married, fulldy Boys books to her sons in the car and time working moms with school-aged nurture her relationship with them. kids still sleep 8.09 hours per night.
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nd second, “Here’s what I think is the difference,” she says. “I know I’m in
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ne of the reasons we have enough time to sleep is that we work a lot less
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than we think we do. Though the Harvard Business Review may have trumpeted the notion that 70-hour workweeks were becoming the new standard, in reality the average parent who works full-time logs 35–43 hours per week. Indeed, the smaller print in a press release from the Center for Work-Life Policy about the HBR 70-hour-workweek study noted that about 1.7 million Americans had “extreme” jobs characterized by self-reported 60-plus-hour workweeks and a few other things (like lots of responsibility or unpredictable workflow). That sounds like a high number, but 1.7 million people is just over 1 percent of the U.S. workforce. And since the 60-hour-plus workweek wasn’t based on time logs, it’s quite possible that 1 percent is too high an estimate (as we’ll see below).
That’s on top of the nearly 4 hours per day their wives spend on these activities (about 26 hours per week). Married moms who work fulltime manage to squeeze in a bit over 2 daily hours of mopping, chopping, and vacuum duty, or about 14.5 hours per week.
“But within these three priorities, she has found a little secret: when you focus on what you do best, on what brings you the most satisfaction, there is plenty of space for everything.”
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e keep our houses somewhat clean, but not as clean as we did in 1965, when stay-at-home moms spent, on average, 37.4 hours per week spiffing up their abodes (and married moms overall, including employed ones, spent 34.5 hours on such chores). But these days, even dads whose wives are not in the workforce spend more than an hour a day on household activities such as cleaning, food prep, and lawn work. 38
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he situation is a bit dustier when it comes to kids, though. Many moms who work full-time worry that they’re short-changing their children, and indeed, these women spend only about 11 minutes per day playing or doing hobbies with their kids (about 25 minutes if the kids are younger than age six). But moms who work part-time— cutting their workweek from 36 hours to 19 hours—only bump this up to 21 minutes per day. Moms who opt out of the workforce entirely barely top half an hour. Even if they’ve got preschool-aged kids, they play with them, on average, just 50 minutes per day, or about 6 hours per week, even though, by definition, such moms spend at least 35 fewer hours per week working for pay than the full-timers. Dads log only about 15–18 minutes per day playing with their children, which
is approximately one sixth of the time employed fathers spend traveling to and from various places (that is, running around in the car).
tion the TV only if they are paying attention to the programming.
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ut other questions are more consequential. For instance, why would mericans in general also watch a lot working moms claim to sleep only 6 of television—more than 30 hours hours per night when their diaries show per week, according to Nielsen, though they sleep 8? It is true that the 6-hour the time-diary studies put this number a number is for weekdays, but in order for lot lower (2.62 hours per day averaged the weekly average to hit 8, this would overall, or 3.3 for people who watched mean that the average working mom TV, coming out to 18–23 hours per week). sleeps 13 hours every weekend night That last stat, of course, begs the ques(the equivalent of waking up at noon if tion: Why are the time-diary numbers you go to bed at eleven p.m.). I wish my wildly different than the answers people family would let me do that! The more give in other surveys? With the TV numlikely explanation is that women are drasbers, the reason appears to be that for tically underestimating their sleep tallies. ratings, Nielsen wants to know whether But why? Why create a false impression the TV is on, whereas time diaries tend to for young women that working moms are record “primary activities.” People meninevitably frazzled and sleep deprived?
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ed in time diaries. We also feel pressure to work hard. In a world with lots of competition, many of us feel stressed about work, which makes our hours feel longer than they are. When our cell phones and Blackberries make us accessible most of the time, we may consider ourselves to be in work mode around the clock, even if we just popped in the DVD of Talladega Nights before quickly checking e-mail. And with little job security, we are keen to show that we are just as dedicated as our colleagues and competitors. Think about it. If publications such as Fortune Why would Americans in general claim to and Harvard Business Review are claiming that 60-hour workweeks are the new work more hours than they do, dismissing 60 hours as “part-time”? Sociologists “part-time,” what manager wouldn’t claim to be working 70? have studied these questions as well. It turns out that there is a fundamental flaw hile we overestimate work and in the data used to support the claim that housework, we do underestimate we suffer from time poverty and overone major life component besides sleep: work: we lie. leisure time. One widely repeated statement from The Overworked American e may not do so on purpose, but is that “Americans report that they have we have trouble remembering or calculating things exactly when a pollster only sixteen and a half hours of leisure wants a quick answer, and in the absence a week, after the obligations of job and household are taken care of.” Yet they of concrete memories, we are prone to report that they watch more than 16.5 over- or underestimate things based on socially desirable perceptions or current hours of TV weekly—an activity that is hard to classify as anything but leisure. emotions.
“While we overestimate work and housework, we do underestimate one major life component besides sleep: leisure time.”
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or instance, few of us love the routine aspects of housework or household administration. Emptying the dishwasher or paying bills doesn’t take much time, but we feel like we’re always doing these chores. So if someone asks us how much time we spend on such things, we overestimate—by something on the order of 100 percent for both men and women— compared to the actual numbers record-
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n other words, when it comes to daily life, the time-crunch narrative doesn’t tell the whole story. The problem is not that we’re all overworked or under rested, it’s that most of us have absolutely no idea how we spend our 168 hours.
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ne of the benefits of claiming to be overworked or starved for time is that it lets you off the hook for dealing with the burden of choice. From inter-
viewing people who love their lives, I’ve found that these people focus, as much as possible, in the work and personal spheres, on what I call their core competencies. These are the things they do best, and that others cannot do nearly as well or can’t do at all. For Daytner, these core competencies are the things she spends most of her time doing: nurturing her business, nurturing her family, and nurturing herself. Effective people outsource, ignore, or minimize everything else. While 168 hours is a lot of time, time is still, in the broader sense, a nonrenewable resource. These hours still have to be carefully budgeted in order to turn the life you have into the life you want. The best way to start on this project is to do the equivalent of the American Time Use Survey on your own life. Be as mindful as you can. What time did you get out of bed? How long did it take you to get ready? Did you spend time hunting for your cell phone and your daughter’s math notebook? What do you do when you get to work? Be honest. How much time do you spend on e-mail? How many minutes do you clock on the phone or in meetings? What percentage of this time is actually relevant to your job description or life goals? How long does it take you to get home? What do you do on the way there? Are there errands or family activities? How much time do you spend playing with your kids or reading with them, or calling other family members and friends? When does the TV go on and when does it go off?
changes. We could go back to school. We could write a novel each year. Seriously. It takes about 1,000 hours to write a book, and if you stop watching 20 hours of TV per week, you’ll free up the time right there. Again, the point of this arithmetic is not to make anyone feel bad. The fact that we can make such choices makes us incredibly blessed. This is not true in parts of the world where people spend 6 hours a day fetching water. But unless you’re reading this in a refugee camp, chances are you live in an abundant, educated, free society. The truth is, in such a society, there is already plenty of time for raising six kids while running a business, for working, teaching, and training for a triathlon, or whatever brings joy and meaning to your life.
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ecognizing this requires changing the narrative. As Daytner explained to me, she doesn’t tell herself I don’t have time to do X, Y, or Z. She tells her-
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rankly, in the time many of us waste watching TV we don’t really like or frittering away hours on meaningless conference calls, we could make big
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self that she won’t do X, Y, or Z because “it’s not a priority.” I could tell you that I’m not going to sew my toddler’s Halloween costume because I don’t have time, but that’s not true. I have time. If someone offered to pay me $100,000 to hand-sew a Halloween costume, you can bet I’d find the time to do it. Since that’s not going to happen, I can acknowledge that I don’t think sewing is as good a use of my 168 hours as writing, or playing with my children, or sleeping.
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ut sewing Halloween costumes is one thing. Let’s raise the stakes. It requires more courage to say “I don’t read to my children because it’s not a priority.” If it’s true that it’s not a priority, then it’s true—even if that’s not politically correct to say. Be honest. Own that truth. Maybe you don’t enjoy reading with children. Maybe they don’t enjoy reading with you. Maybe you’d prefer to check your BlackBerry, or maybe you’d prefer to watch America’s Next Top Model. Maybe your spouse is already doing a bang-up job in this department. Maybe you honestly do think that the income you provide, the service you do for society, or the joy you gain by working during the entirety of your children’s waking hours is a bigger priority than interacting with them. There could be many good reasons for this. There are probably some bad ones, too. Nonetheless, it is a choice, and not a matter of lacking time. When you say “I don’t have time,” this puts the responsibility on someone else: a boss, a client, your family. Or else it puts the responsibility on some nebulous force: capitalism, society, the monster under the bed. Regardless, the power slips out of your hands. “It’s not a priority” turns those 168
hours back into a blank slate, to be filled as you choose.
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approach this not as a productivity guru, but as a journalist who is interested in how successful, happy people build their lives. I am particularly interested in how people who are not household names achieve the lives they want, and what we can learn from their best practices. There are plenty of books out there on Fortune 500 CEOs’ or celebrities’ tips for success. I’m more interested in the woman down the street who—without benefit of fame, outsized fortune, or a slew of personal assistants—is running a successful small business, marathons, and a large and happy household.
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etting the most out of your 168 hours takes discipline in a distracted world. Reading fiction as you commute to a job you don’t like will make you feel somewhat more fulfilled; being in the right job will make you feel incredible. Going for a 10-minute walk will lift your spirits; committing to run for 4 of every 168 hours for the next year will transform your health.
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ooking at life in 168-hour blocks is a useful paradigm shift, because—unlike the occasionally crunched weekday— well-planned blocks of 168 hours are big enough to accommodate fulltime work, intense involvement with your family, rejuvenating leisure time, adequate sleep, and everything else that actually matters. Reprinted from 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam by arrangement with Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, Copyright © 2010 by Laura Vanderkam.
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Winter at
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excited to bring you Part 2 of our series on Hamlet Organic Garden (HOG). A Community Supported Agriculture Farm is busy year-round, even if vegetables aren’t in the ground and people aren’t picking up their shares. Here’s a look at winter at the farm:
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ill Garrick and her husband, Sean Pilger, have been running Hamlet Organic Garden since 2006. They’ve come to look forward to the brief respite that winter at the farm brings. The last pickup occurs around the first week of December, and Jill says that, “until then we have people on the payroll cleaning up the fields, packing away equipment, etc.” Once cleanup is over, planning for the next year begins. “We have a massive spreadsheet that lays out the fields line by line, and every year we change it. You get bored if you grow the same things in the same places, and it’s not good for the soil.” The spreadsheet not only tracks what will be planted, where, but also when. It’s a meticulous process – some crops, like lettuce, will be planted multiple times over the course of the season to keep share boxes full.
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he spreadsheet plans for 10 – 12 crops that will be ready for harvest each week of the CSA season. Jill and Sean like to make sure that there are at least 8 different veggies in each week’s pickup, so by planning for 10 – 12 they cover themselves in case something doesn’t grow as well as planned. Some years, this leads to a bumper crop. This year it was onions, a few years ago it was eggplant. Sometimes they can get a local restaurant to buy
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the extra, and other times they offer bulk sales to members. Inevitably, some overflow ends up as compost. Growing vegetables is a fluid business and one has to think flexibly and be willing to adjust the plan as the season’s vicissitudes reveal themselves.
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OG’s original spreadsheet came from a CSA in Massachusetts called Brookfield Farm. Jill and Sean apprenticed at Brookfield years ago, after they graduated from college, before coming to Long Island to take over HOG. The CSA community is close-knit, and wisdom, advice and spreadsheets are often handed down from farmer to apprentice.
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fter the spreadsheet has been tackled, the seed orders start. According to Jill, “We buy most of our seeds from companies that cater to smaller farmers such as Johnny’s Selected Seeds and High-Mowing, both based in Maine.” Jill and Sean receive the seed companies’ catalogs, and while they buy some basics such as onions, carrots and arugula every year, they also pick up some more unique items – heirloom tomatoes, celeriac, shishito peppers – the list goes on.
Above: The driveway that runs along the fields. Below: Heirloom popcorn for the final pickup.
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ill studied nutrition in college and she’s perpetually mining her knowledge to keep farm members engaged in the contents of their boxes. She explains the nutritional advantages of some of the less well-known vegetables and writes up recipes to help members make use of them. Some of this is done on the fly in summer months, but much is done during the winter months when there are fewer immediate demands on her time.
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We grow extra of everything.” They plan for 10% more seeds than they think they’ll actually need, and then once the seeds have been planted in the greenhouse, they transplant 10% more plants than they will actually need. Planting starts in February with crops like onions and parsley. Onions need lots of time for top growth. “Until the solstice all the growth is happening
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above ground, but after the solstice the energy goes to the root. So you need to plant them early to give them plenty of time to grow to get a larger bulb.”
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anuary is the quietest time of year at the farm. “We average about 25 hours a week in January, and almost 70 a week by June. It probably equates to 45 hours a week year-round.” It’s a time for thoughtful planning, and a break from the intense labor of the summer and fall. But in the blink of an eye spring will arrive, along with planting, harvesting and the return of HOG members. Working on a small farm means being intimately acquainted with the change of the seasons and the progression of each year. At HOG, nature is in charge, and Jill and Sean must embrace the opportunity to rest while they can.
“We average about 25 hours a week in January, and almost 70 a week by June.�
Above: The greenhouses await the first plantings that will take place in February. Right: a clean sign of the season that directs deliveries when the weather makes the driveway impassable.
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Let’s make 2014 The Year of
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This year, we resolve not to make extreme resolutions, and instead, to dig deep, look inside, and find our own path towards a healthy, sustainable life.
RESILIENT HEALTH January/February 2014
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We could tell you how to get “fit” this year. We could recommend a diet. We could suggest that you wake up every morning, hop out of bed, and do 50 crunches and 50 pushups. In fact, we’re willing to bet you’ll see such advice on the TV, newsstand and in your email over the next few weeks. But we know better. That advice may work for a month, or even three. But in reality, according to FranklinCovey, a leading time management firm, four out of five people who make New Year’s resolutions will eventually break them, and a third won’t even make it to the end of January. 52
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t sounds depressing, but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to be a statistic this year. You can integrate health and wellness into your life in a way that is inherently fun, flexible and adaptable – and you won’t give up because it will fit into your life and bring you joy. Let’s make 2014 the year of Resilient Health.
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hat is Resilient Health? According to Merriam-Webster, ‘resilience’ is the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens. So Resilient Health means setting the stage for health and wellness throughout your life, and being able to recover from setbacks. It means pledging to take care of yourself in a way that fits with your schedule, meets your needs, and brings you joy and
stability. Doesn’t that sound nice? ecause the truth is, eventually, something bad happens to all of us. Sometimes that bad thing is simply letting your New Year’s resolution slide, and sometimes that bad thing is much, much bigger. Either way – when we cultivate Resilient Health we set the groundwork for surviving the turmoil and getting back on our feet.
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o what makes a health plan resilient? How can you create a plan that works for your life now and will adapt to your life in the future? We reached out to Courtney Crews, a fitness professional in New York City, to talk about how she helps her clients achieve lasting health and wellness. January/February 2014
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ourtney says that we all need to “look at our own health from a 100% holistic point of view.” It takes time, effort, and deep personal engagement, but the rewards are great. She suggests thinking through the following questions: 1. What makes you feel good/When do you feel the best? 2. What kind of work do you do? How much time do you have to devote to a plan for well-being? 3. What did you do as a kid for fun? Run? Play sports? 4. What don’t you like to do or what do you resist? 5. What are your goals?
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ere’s the revolutionary thing about Resilient Health – it’s not found in the extremes. It’s found in the day-today practices and small tweaks that you can stick with over the long haul.
“Here’s the revolutionary thing about Resilient Health – it’s not found in the extremes. It’s found in the day-to-day practices and small tweaks that you can stick with over the long haul.”
his should be a true brainstorm – throw all the rules of grammar out the window along with any preconceived notions about what the right answer may be. And most of all, be honest with yourself. If you hate to run, don’t commit to running 5 miles a day, try swimming or biking instead. If your favorite food is a burger, don’t decide that you are going to become a vegetarian but do commit to eating a serving of fruit and vegetables at every meal.
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our plan should address 1) fitness, 2) nutrition and 3) your spiritual and mental health. When it comes to fitness, Courtney says “your plan should incorporate cardio, strength, flexibility and restoration/relaxation.” Make sure your answers to the questions above are guiding your choices. If you are a busy working mom your time may be limited, and it might be most important that you find some space to be alone. So maybe morning workouts before your partner leaves for work are the best option. You could combine intervals of strength and cardio for efficiency and then add in one longer yoga or Pilates class on the weekend for flexibility and relaxation. Or maybe you’re a student, and time is on your side. Exercise could be just the break you need from studying. You could join a soccer team to meet people and release tension, then add in a few January/February 2014
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“Eating right is an integral part of Resilient Health.”
are, how much free time you have and what elements you want to include.
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hatever you decide to do, be it running or spinning or CrossFit, don’t forget restoration and relaxation. Allowing yourself the time to rest and repair is essential to cultivating Resilient Health. According to Courtney, “Every moment of tension leaves a mark on basic bodyweight moves at home along our bodies. By practicing real rest and with some stretching twice a week. The plan should meet your needs on multiple relaxation we teach ourselves how not to come from a place of reactivity, and we levels – it should only take as much time heal the body’s tension.” What counts as as you can spare, it should offer opporrestoration and relaxation? Some yoga tunities for socialization or silence and and Pilates classes, meditation, a leisurely it should move you towards the goal of walk in a beautiful outdoor setting. Listen better health. If you need help with a to yourself and what your body needs. plan, seek out a personal trainer in your area. Just be clear about what your goals
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ating right is an integral part of Resilient Health. Good nutrition keeps your digestion and immune systems working properly, maintains stable energy levels and even contributes to better sleep. There are various ways to approach nutrition, but again, the most important thing is to aim for changes that you can maintain. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, avoid processed foods, lower your intake of sugar. Michael Pollan said it best in his 2008 bestseller, In Defense of Food: “Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Not too much.” We’re not offering you a comprehensive overview of nutritional tactics (we’d need an entire book to do that), we’re offering you a way forward. Don’t give up the things you love. But if you love bacon, try to eat less of it, and go for a brand that is free of preservatives. Maybe even crumble it over a salad now and then.
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inally, Resilient Health requires that you address your emotional and spiritual needs. You may find that exercising more regularly lowers your stress, and that yoga class offers you a chance for introspection and meditation. If so, great! You’ve covered two important aspects of Resilient Health with one move. You also need to spend some time cultivating close relationships with family and friends, learning to express yourself, and addressing any personal issues that stand in the way of your goals. Again, these are simply guidelines to help you on your journey. Remember, this is a personal path, and as Courtney says, “there are a thousand and one ways to be healthy and fit.” You have to find the way forward that is best for you.
“Every moment of tension leaves a mark on our bodies. By practicing real rest and relaxation we teach ourselves how not to come from a place of reactivity, and we heal the body’s tension.”
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he most resilient people have a positive outlook on life, are flexible, and see negative events as opportunities for growth and change. Working towards Resilient Health should allow you to develop or enhance these aspects of your personality. Your plan should bring an element of fun and play to your life and it shouldn’t be rigid. If you miss a day of exercise because of a conflict don’t feel guilty, and don’t indulge in negative self-talk. If you suffer from an injury, think about ways that you can nourish yourself outside of your routine and maintain some of the health you have gained. If you overindulge in January/February 2014
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dessert, enjoy every bite, but take a pass the next day. The more you practice your plan, the easier it will become. And when you do suffer from a setback, you’ll be better able to get back on your feet. That is the essence of Resilient Health.
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ll humans inherently want to move towards health and wellness – it’s in our DNA. But don’t wake up one day in January and decide you are going to hit the gym 5 days a week and only drink green juice for breakfast and lunch. You’ll just end up back where you started, sedentary, with another failed attempt at “getting healthy” staring you in the face. Resilient Health plans require thoughtful consideration and careful planning. At some point in your health journey you may find that what worked for the past two years doesn’t work any more. You’ve grown bored.
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Things seem stagnant. Go back to the brainstorm exercise. What has changed? Your time? Your age? Have you moved cities or gotten married? Life is not stagnant, so don’t expect this plan to be. Maybe you need a new goal to energize you, or maybe you need to back off a bit. Be kind to yourself. Courtney says that, “We are meant to experience pleasure, and to enjoy our life.” Don’t get so caught up in the plan that joy is the one element that is missing.
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ut your plan into action and make 2014 The Year of Resilient Health. You may just find that this time next year, getting healthy is no longer a resolution, it’s an integral part of your everyday life.
BRAINSTORM TO CREATE YOUR OWN, UNIQUE, RESILIENT HEALTH PLAN: 1. What makes you feel good/When do you feel the best? 2. What kind of work do you do? How much time do you have to devote to a plan for well-being?
3. What did you do as a kid for fun? Run? Play sports?
4. What don’t you like to do or what do you resist? 5. What are your goals? (Write down whatever comes to mind. No limits! Do you feel great now? Or are you longing for your 20s? Did you hang from the monkey bars? Play freeze-tag? Do you hate exercise and prefer reading a book? Is your goal to lose 5 pounds or 100? Or just to feel better when you wake up in the morning? This is for your eyes only, so be honest!)
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Drea min g f o
In the summer of 2013, Max Levchin, the co-founder of PayPal and Mike Huang, a former Google executive, launched Glow, an app that would bring big data to the big problem of infertility. In its first four months, the app helped over 1000 women conceive and it has been growing by leaps and bounds. Glow also launched Glow First, a non-profit program that helps make infertility treatments more affordable by “pooling” the risk. Each couple pays $50 a month for 10 months, and those that haven’t conceived at the end of 10 months share the money to pay for infertility treatments.
BABY In October, Glow announced a partnership with MyFitnessPal so that information about what women eat, when and how much they exercise and their body mass index could all be used to help further analyze and hone in on the chances of conception. Max Levchin and Mike Huang have taken all of the resources and advantages of technology and put them to work in service of families. We’re thrilled to share the following interview with Mike, Glow’s CEO:
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1. Where did the initial idea for Glow come from? I read on your blog that one of the founders struggled to conceive for about a year, and realized that in order to conceive quickly and easily, knowledge is power. Was it solely his idea? Who else was involved from the very beginning? Prior to founding Glow my wife and I tried to conceive for over a year before seeking out help in having our daughter, so this is a subject that I am very passionate about. Our team overall really has wide-ranging inspirations for Glow. At the heart of it, we all have a deep passion for data and we believe that most of the problems in the world - if you apply data to them - can be solved. And we wanted to be able to solve a problem that affects so many people. A treatment like IVF should never be considered elective, yet it is. If you ask any couple, having a child isn’t elective. 2. There are other fertility apps in the marketplace such as Fertility Friend Mobile, e.p.t. Ovulation Calculator and What to Expect Fertility Tracker. What does Glow offer that sets it apart from 62
other similar Apps and solutions? Simply put our app is data-driven. We take the data you input and combine it with the anonymized crowd’s data to give you personalized insights, which is unique to Glow. Many users also gravitate toward our design - it’s a warm place without being pink and purple and stereotypical. We also have a partnership with MyFitnessPal, which lets users pull their nutritional insights into Glow, which factors into our machine learning and analytics, and will help us further personalize the insights and data we share with our users. A good example is that skim milk is actually harmful to drink while trying to conceive. If we saw that a user was drinking skim milk with her coffee, we could suggest that she swap out skim for whole milk. Our data-driven personalization and approach sets us apart from any other app available. 3. The app was founded by men. Have there been female advisors on the project? From our origins our team has included
women who we’ve worked closely with to help create the app. Gunce Arkan, who struggled with fertility herself, has helped to shape the app and continues to drive most of our content. We also take feedback from our users very seriously and have used their input to enhance and improve our product releases since launch.
motivational, to have both partners participating in the process. 6. The Insights offered in the app are interesting. Where are they coming from? Are they strictly coming from Glow’s data?
Glow Insights are a unique part of the 4. Glow is free – will it always be free? app. The app learns from the data that Are you planning a freemium version at users enter into the app, and with every a later stage? log and completed task, users will see new daily fertility-related facts personYes, Glow is completely free and always alized to them. The facts come right will be. Glow is just the first step in our from some of the top medical journals greater goal of redesigning health care and publications. We work with our own and becoming the world’s first beloved medical advisory board to stay up to date health company. We’ve introduced and organized Glow First - a non-profit program that helps alleviate the high costs of fertility treatments. There is nothing more exciting than starting a family – we want to bring that experience to as many couples as possible. 5. I signed up as a female to check the app out – and then was asked to invite my partner. I love that feature. Whose idea was that? How different are the two versions? Do both partners enter information? Or does the “support” partner just view what is entered? A woman should be able to choose whether she’d like to take this journey by herself or have the support of a partner or a loved one - we wanted to give our users the option. Both partners can access a joint account to help record data, moods, and share updates. Again, it’s totally up to you if you want to include your partner – but we’ve found it’s helpful, and more January/February 2014
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on the latest research and findings in order to give our users the most accurate and relevant insights possible. 7. Can you tell me a bit about the Medical Advisors behind Glow? How important were they to the process? How were they selected? From the start, finding the best partners in the medical community was paramount for us. We work with some of the best fertility doctors and centers in the nation to help us develop Glow in a way that is beneficial to users and the medical community as a whole. Glow has a feature where users can pull their data from the app into a PDF and share it directly with their doctor. It was very important that this data be legible and useable by a physician. We also have hopes to share our anonymized data with the medical community to potentially find new key learnings about fertility. Does orgasm during sex impact fertility? Sexual position? Diet? Any new specific kinds of foods? These are all questions that the medical field has theories about, but not necessarily facts and concrete data. We want to help. 64
8. Glow First is an interesting concept – pay $50 into a pool, and if after 10 months you haven’t conceived, you’ll receive money from the pool towards infertility treatments? What was the rationale for this added service? Have app users been receptive to it? How many people need to pay in to Glow First to make it work? First and foremost we don’t think that fertility treatment should be categorized as “elective”. There is only one state (Massachusetts) where treatments are covered by insurance, but other than that women are financially on their own. IVF can cost at an average $20,000 - 50% of the average American’s disposable income, and that cost can be crippling. Glow First is an optional program that helps make fertility treatment affordable by allowing couples to “crowdfund” with other users looking to conceive. The program is completely non-profit – every dollar contributed is redistributed back to Glow First participants. We’re really excited by Glow First adoption. We’re not sharing any numbers at this time, but we believe that fertility treatments should not be categorized as elective and are proud to be the first program of its kind to make treatment accessible.
9. There’s a lot of personal information entered into the system – how can you guarantee Glow’s security?
to get pregnant, and then when they’re ready to start a family, the information is often limited. Often connecting with other women looking to conceive can Privacy is paramount to us and we take be informative and supportive. We just user data and privacy very seriously. We launched a feature called Glow Commuwill never sell our data and will never adnity, which is a mobile forum where Glow vertise. We anonymize user data and use users can share their personal experiencSSL to further encrypt it. es. The community consists of umbrella topics that foster conversations around 10. You must have learned a lot about topics such as success stories, Glow First, fertility in the process of creating Glow. knowledge base, general discussions, and Besides using Glow, what else should technical questions. The community is a women do to increase the likelihood welcoming destination where users can that they will become pregnant? join an ongoing discussion or start a new topic. Education around fertility and reproductive health is extremely important. Wom- Glow is available for iOS in the app store. en spend much of their lives trying not
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“And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been” - Rainer Maria Rilke
Eve r bor y man n s day again hould b with of Janu on the e -He a fresh ar y. Sta fir st nr y War page. r t dB eec her
“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering ‘it will be happier’...” - Alfred Tennyson
the t a d hte g i l e d r y, t n e h e s b e fr ys a a , w y l a a it d I have t of a new perhaps a b d n i ec h t h p i e s w b o , r t p here star w e e r o m one m c waiting so gi of ma ning. r o m e h t stly e i r P . -J. B 66
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other - Abraham Lincoln
The Honest to Goodness Truth
We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, otherwise we harden. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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