happy, grand, conscious monday

Ahhh Monday I do love you. The start of the week. And the beginnings of a fall kapha cleanse for me. First off some of y'all know of my love affair with Monday. It's my designated no driving anywhere day and my designated day to do whatever I please.

The days usually starts about 6:30, when Andy is leaving for school (which is his work since he's a teacher :). I wake, make a cuppa hot tea,and cozy up in bed with all things ayurveda around me....books, laptop (for homework/quizzes), notecards, notebook, binder, pens, etc. It looks like the photo above.

I study for at least an hour and a half. Then go for a run, sometimes with ipod, sometimes without. This morning I took along and listened to yogi/kirtan extraordinaire David Newman. It was such a crazy beautiful morning. I was running along, listening/singing along to some of my new found fave chants all with a big smile plastered on my face. Don't get me wrong, there isn't always a smile plastered there. And get this...people responded to my happiness. There was an abundance of waves, smiles, good mornings, and hellos sprinkled throughout my run.

I got back to my house and went upstairs to another happy place, my yoga room. I open the door, step in, and immediately feel relaxed. The smell of sattvic incense lingers. My plant is green, long, flowing and happy. I scan around the small room filled only with things that makes me feel happy, healthy, and hope-full.

My purple yoga mat sits in the center of the room, a few feet from the window in front of me and the wall behind me. I spend another 30 minutes practicing sun salutations and mantra meditation. I leave this space feeling even better then when I came in. I even wonder now how that was possible.

I shower then make breakfast, my first meal for the day. I chose foods that (I thought) would make feel happy and feel healthy... strawberries and a pear. I have to say that this is the cleanse that I'm probably least prepared for. Yesterday morning I pulled out my fabulous ayurveda cookbook (that has so much more than recipes). I went through it and got an idea of what I'd eat for the week, mostly fruits, veggies, and light(er) grains. I'm choosing to eliminate dairy, sugar, and bread this week. And of course pay careful attention to how I'm feeling.

Now I find myself at Main and Maple sitting in a sweet spot next to a window. I ordered a coffee (chose not to eliminate caffeine this week). I usually get it with some soymilk. They are out of soymilk. Mindlessly I turn to the counter behind me to get a splash of cream before realizing that I'm not having dairy. Oh yeah....

So that's what I'm doing this week for my cleanse. In the past I've done juice fasts, the master cleanse, fruits and veggies. This fall for my cleanse I'm going to eat foods recommended for my dosha and make more conscious decisions about what I eat.

Happy Monday my friends. May it be a grand one. And a conscious one too. :)