Your Life is Happening Now. (So Taste Your Tea, Dammit!)

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I'm a big fan of tea. Any kind of tea, really, but mostly green teas with subtle natural flavors like jasmine or mint. I find a cup of tea to be a relaxing way of curbing my cream-and-sugar-laden coffee habit.

I have a small iron teapot in my office that I use nearly every day to brew a pot of something. White ayurvedic chai is my favorite, but then there's samuarai chai mate, and snow leopard, and lung ching dragonwell... Let's just say that the folks at Peet's Tea and Teavana have my photo on their respective walls of fame.

Yesterday, while looking for a healthy snack at the local Target, I found myself stopping to pick up a box of Green Ginger tea (yes, I do realize I have a problem, thank you...). As soon as I got back to the office, I grabbed my mug, popped in a new bag of tea, and added the hot water. Seated back at my desk, I took the first sip of the brew while I jumped right back into the endless stream of emails on my screen.

And some time a few minutes later, it hit me: That sip of new and inspiring tea I took a few minutes back? I didn't event taste it.

Yikes! I was so busy doing my work, running on auto pilot, that I didn't even notice the flavor of the new fancy tea I'd just bought. I was totally distracted and unconscious!

Embarrassed, I sat back from my monitor and picked my mug back up. I took a moment to appreciate the mug, and the heat and aroma from the tea it contained. Then I took three long breaths, focused my attention, and slowly sipped my tea, savoring it first in my mouth and then feeling the warmth as it went down my throat.

Geeen tea, yes, But also strong ginger spice, lemongrass, and maybe a bit of pear.

How the hell did I miss all of that?

Pay attention. Your life is happening now.

Join Emerald Necklace Martial Arts for A Night of Healthy Living and Healthy Eating

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOSTON (Allston), Mass., November 14, 2011

On Tuesday, November 22, Emerald Necklace Martial Arts will be sponsoring "A Night of Healthy Living and Healthy Eating" to celebrate the benefits of maintaining a regular fitness regimen while also raising awareness of the benefits of a plant based-diet.

The event will feature a yoga class at 6:30 PM, followed by a vegan potluck meal. At 8:00 PM, the dojo will be screening the movie, "Forks Over Knives,"  a documentary film that highlights the links between the foods we eat and the degenerative diseases that threaten us the most. The evening will conclude with an open discussion about the impact of our food choices and tips for establishing and maintaining healthy eating habits.

"November is a very timely month to be talking about food," says Linda Gregorio, a vegan and a black belt member of dojo who is helping to organize the event. "We're finishing off our Halloween candy. Thanksgiving is approaching. And next will come all those holiday parties at which many of us tend to mindlessly overeat. This is the perfect time to focus on how our eating habits and food choices can play a role in 'self-defense.'"

The event is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a canned food donation to be delivered to the Greater Boston Food Bank, and healthy vegetarian or vegan dish to share. Any cash donations the dojo receives will go toward offsetting the cost of the screening and any remaining funds will be donated. Please RSVP by contacting the dojo by phone (617-202-3856) or by email.

"This is an important event," says Sensei Jason Gould, Dojo Director and Chief Instructor. "We're trying to spread the word about how what we eat may contribute to diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease -- real killers that we need to protect ourselves from. And at the same time, we can use the event as an opportunity to help those in immediate need by collecting food donations for the hungry. I'm proud of my students for being so creative and ambitious with the projects we engage in to serve the community."

Gould has been conducting traditional karate classes and self-defense programs for adults since October of 2003. The students at Emerald Necklace Martial Arts regularly participate in community service activities as part of their Black Belt training. For more information about Emerald Necklace Martial Arts, please visit their website call 617-202-3856.

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Amazing India!

I've been here in India on a business trip for about a week. I've been busy, busy, busy with very little spare time, but still I've managed to do and see some interesting things.

I've been to Bangalore Palace, and I was also invited to spend some time at a local Hindu Temple devoted to Ganesha, my coworkers here have been very generous with their hospitality. I've been eating far too much, but doing some fairly intense training to balance things out!

Today I'm heading out early with two colleagues from the office on a day trip down to a place called Mysore, about 3 hours ride by car. We're planning to see Mysore Palace, the temple at Chamundi Hills, and maybe Jaganmohan Palace and St. Philomena's Church.

I leave Bangalore tomorrow to head up to Delhi and Agra where the Taj Mahal is. When I have some down time, I'll be sure to post a more detailed blog!