i love yoga and stuff

OK, here are some recent thoughts:

1. I can’t wait to get back to going to Parma Dive Bars with Alex once we’re in Cleveland at the same time again.

2. I say it a lot and it sounds trite: Yoga is the best thing you can do. A friend of mine is interested in trying yoga but he’s nervous. Going to a group yoga class for the first time can certainly be a nerve-wracking task. Not knowing what to expect and feeling anxiety over strange new terms about dogs and snakes you’ve heard of only in passing. While I was in a class with Krysia, the woman next to me was new to yoga and struggling with balance poses. Balance poses are generally a strong suit of mine, depending on how my body feels. Later, we did half-splits and full-splits. She, probably the oldest person in the room, was able to go into the position with ease and extreme flexibility,  better than anyone else in the class. Certainly better than me. One reason why yoga is so good for the soul is feeling a sense of pride in what you are good at and admiration in what others’ can do. It’s not jealousy, it’s having knowledge that one day you might be there in that same pose with the same ease. It’s easy to see yourself progress in both flexibility and strength. Yoga is an extremely gratifying practice in so many ways. I practice yoga because it helps me with my pain management, soothes my busy mind, and keeps me fit.

3. In other news, I LOVE traveling for work! I’ve been eating out at some delicious restaurants in DC. And I’m in a hotel!!!!!! I LOVE HOTELS!

Sunday dinner: Founding Farmers. It’s a farm-to-table style restaurant in Foggy Bottom that I’ve made a mission to visit every time I’m in DC. It’s mindblowingly delicious. Here’s a #foodpic of the dessert my coworker and I had. Be careful not to drool too much on your keyboard.

Monday dinner: Rasika, a popular Indian restaurant in the West End neighborhood. Hilary Clinton is known to dine there. I have no good photos, but I do have this one of myself falling asleep into my cardamom rice pudding.

4. Back in Cleveland news:  I’m so excited to be serving on the host committee for the Vanguard! I can’t say it enough. Here’s some info.

NextCity.org presents 2013 Vanguard Conference
June 10-12 in Cleveland, Ohio Deadline to Apply: April 26, 2013

Vanguard, an annual three-day conference hosted by Next City, gathers the country’s best and brightest urban advocates for an inspiring series of presentations, workshops, tours, and other activities.

Each year, Next City selects forty high-level, creative and ambitious individuals under 40 who have demonstrated their ability to have an impact on their city or on the national dialogue about urban issues through their work for local non-profit organizations, in city government, as social entrepreneurs, artists, urban planners or other related fields.

This year’s Vanguard will be held from June 10 – 12 in Cleveland, Ohio, home to four Vanguard alumni. Next City is now accepting applications. Would you like to participate? Do you know someone who should? Join other selected applicants from across the country, former Vanguards members, local partners and Next City staff to share the great work you’re doing, learn about the inspiring work of peers, and broaden your network.

What happens at Vanguard? Last year, Vanguards descended upon St. Louis and solved hypothetical traffic problems, geeked out over housing policy, and took in the skyline from both a private rooftop bee farm and a hotel rooftop bar on the Delmar Loop. An interactive conference, Vanguards toured everything from new developments in the gutted Old North neighborhood to the urban forest where the Pruitt-Igoe housing projects used to stand, through the posh Central West End and the expansive Forest Park. For a slideshow recap of last year’s Vanguard conference in St. Louis, click here.

APPLY! And let me know if you have any questions.

5. April 3rd is the Cleveland International Film Fest Opening Night Gala! And because I can’t actually afford to attend, I’ll be there to volunteer. Attending the CIFF is one of the my favorite parts of living in Cleveland.

xo,

k