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Meditating with crossed fingers. Or, Meditation for Busy People

At 6:35 in the morning, the house is quiet. Well, at least, I would expect it to be quiet at that time. This is my ‘me’ time. I wake up at 5 o’clock on most mornings and proceed with my daily ritual. While oil pulling with coconut oil for 15 minutes, I feed our two ever-starving cats — seriously, those two cats have the biggest appetite — and get dressed. I brush my teeth and drink a tall glass of warm water with lemon juice. Then, it’s time for cardio, weights, pilates, or yoga, or a combination of the above. After an hour, I sit down to meditate.

My body and mind are fully awake, and I’m ready to sit quietly for some time before my day begins. I set my meditation timer app to 15 minutes, and assume my typical mudra of crossing the middle fingers on both my right and left hands over the index fingers. Oh, wait… I sense some hesitation on your, the reader’s part. You’re telling me you’re not familiar with that mudra? Why, that’s the universal ‘Keeping my fingers crossed’ sign, isn’t it? Moving on with my story… Don’t look so puzzled, please. I promise to answer your question shortly.

You see, dear reader, my meditation practice is different every day. Some days, my mind slips into a calm state with ease and satin-smooth elegance. On other days, my brain decides to talk to me. I ignore it, gently brushing it off with a polite smile — no, it’s actually a smirk that hints to my brain, politely, to ‘shut it.’ What does it say when it speaks to me? Let’s see, let’s see…

“Maybe I should have started this meditation first thing after waking up?”

Then I pinch myself and think,

“No way! I’m not awake enough at that point to commit to a meditation practice.”

And then a typical soliloquy begins:

“The kids will be up soon. I need to ensure I have enough time to cook steel-cut oats for our breakfast. And I still have to pack lunches. I should probably prepare the slow cooker for tonight’s dinner, as I will not have time to cook later this afternoon.” And so on…

Thankfully, I do have more calm meditation practices than those soliloquy-ridden ones. And I keep coming back to my cushion.

So, at 6:35 on this particular morning, as I sit on my cushion in my quiet practice room that also doubles in purpose as a ‘TV room’ (the only one in the house with a TV set in it), I am suddenly asked by my younger son to come out of my meditation. I hear his little bare footsteps as he’s walking down the stairs. I can picture him hugging his well-loved bunny with his right arm, sucking the thumb on his left hand. He stops behind me and says, “Can I watch TV… A little bit?” And so ends my ‘me’ time and begins the typical busy morning of a mom. As for the meditation timer? I look down at my iPod and see that I still have eight minutes to go until the lovely bells ring thrice to bring me out of that blissful meditative state. Obviously, that timer has got nothing on my child. Do I wish that the timer app would win from time to time? Heck yes! Hence my crossed fingers mudra! 😉

What’s the moral of this story? We’re busy. There, I said it, and I will not repeat it again because I don’t believe in giving that banal discussion any more time than it deserves. Many people try to start a meditation practice. Many more practice yoga, the kind of yoga that makes us move our bodies to still our minds. But as for traditional seated meditation? How many of us actually make that commitment?

I decided, recently, to treat my seated meditation practice with the respect it deserves. Some days, I will find five minutes to sit, and on other days when I feel like I’ve won the lottery, I hear those sweet little bells after 15 minutes and sigh happily. In any case, the important factor is that I made the time to sit on my cushion and dedicated time to this ever-evolving practice. It keeps me curious.

Here’s my offering to you: a free five-minute guided meditation practice.

The entire video is longer than five minutes, simply because I provide a few guidelines for those who have always been curious about meditation but haven’t had a chance to try it before. I hope the introduction will help to ease any tension you may feel about trying to meditate for the first time.

As always, feel free to leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading, watching and meditating!

Katia

Dharma Wanderlust

Multitasking crafters. Or, there’s no such thing as too many WIPs.

I was always the conscientious student throughout high school and university. I would manage all my assignments perfectly, planning for the entire semester after the first day of classes, to ensure that the rough copies of all my assignments would be completed well in advance of the dates on which they were due. That way, I had plenty of time to proofread them a few times and ensure that they were polished and as impeccable as they could be before handing them in. I stayed committed to one project at a time, working meticulously, and took pride in my work.

Several years later, as a crafty business owner, my true scatter-brained artist persona has emerged. I could blame it on my scattered lifestyle. After all, I do spend at least 12 hours a day taking care of two very busy and often rambunctious boys who keep me on my toes. But truth be told, I just decided to…

Source: bellasartes.blogspot.com

Many knitters will readily admit to having several work-in-process projects (WIPs) on the go at one time. I have been knitting regularly for the past 12 years and before now, managed to keep to one project at a time. Oh yes, I spent many hours knitting and purling while salivating over the next piece I was going to take on. But I abstained from pursuing it until the first one was complete. Perhaps it’s my INFP personality and Vata constitution that make me feel easily overwhelmed. But lately, I decided to set all Type-A organized behaviour aside and decided to let myself work on whatever I feel like pursuing at the moment.

That way, if I get bored of working on something and there’s pretty yarn in the corner that’s loudly calling my name, I can simply leave the original project aside and migrate to the new one.

A few of my current WIPs.

Sounds perfect, until I start to feel knitter’s remorse, for only a split second. I decided a couple of years ago to not allow myself to feel guilt over projects.

Besides, my straying never lasts very long. I just take short breaks to work on adorable projects, like these mukluk slippers that I knit for my older son. They only took about three hours to make, and he was excited to try them on. Here he is, modeling one of his ‘Harry Potter socks.’

And then, I get back to my ‘bigger’ projects with renewed enthusiasm. So, perhaps there might be a method to what feels to me like utter crafty madness.

Pawel also works on many woodworking WIPs at a time, and assures me that he definitely feels a bit overwhelmed with it all from time to time. So, at least we’re on the same page. 😉

We’d love to hear from you! If you’re a fellow crafter, let us know how many WIPs you work on at a time, and whether you also run into similar ‘dilemmas.’ Leave a comment and let us know!

P.S. I do not currently sell the items I knit. However, I am working on an exciting Dharma Wanderlust branch project that involves knitting and other passions of mine. We will inform you of it soon.

Katia

Dharma Wanderlust

Magical, nautical August

July and August are our favourite months of the summer season. Yet, there is that certain something about August, specifically. Perhaps it’s the reminder that the warm, lazy weeks of summer are numbered before the autumn breeze starts to make its appearance, with the turning leaves, inspiring us all to run out and buy new pencils, notebooks, and start new projects. Until then, we remind ourselves to cherish these fast-moving days and make special memories with the people we love.

We recently returned from a week-long getaway with the kids to Kincardine, Ontario. We spent our days visiting a few other small towns and the beaches along the shore of Lake Huron. And of course, we loved the countless hours of playing on the waves, some outdoor yoga, and evenings spent by the firepit.

Stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) has become one of our favourite summer activities. Although we are still working to keep a steady balance on the waves, we prefer calm waters for now. Thanks to Pawel’s parents, who stayed with us for the first couple of days and generously offered to watch the kids, we didn’t miss our chance to get on the boards to enjoy the spectacular sunset, as well as the sunrise the following morning.

Now that we are back (and missing the beach immensely), we have been stirred by views of the charming lighthouses and beautiful seashells to create nautical-themed jewellery pieces.

Here are the first few designs:

We will add these pieces to our website within the next few weeks. So, stay tuned for updates! We will publish our blog once a week, on Tuesdays. To ensure that you do not miss any updates, please take a moment to subscribe to our blog. Also, ‘like’ us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram for additional updates. In the meantime, we hope you also will have a chance to get outside and enjoy these precious days, regardless of the weather.

Belt buckles are here!

We have been receiving requests for unisex accessories. We listened and created belt buckles! Ta-da!

Rosewood Burl belt buckle

Some of our buckles, such as the Black Vein Cocobolo and the Rosewood Burl buckles, above, are made without inlay, to showcase the beauty of the wood itself.

 

Other buckles, such as this Pommele Bubinga ‘River’ buckle, are inlaid with blue crushed shell.

And we also have funky designs!

All the buckles are approximately 3″ X 2″. On the back of the piece is a metal hook that easily attaches to your favourite snap belt.

Here’s how it works!

Check out all the pieces in our online shop, and let us know what you think! Remember: we love custom orders. If there is a specific design that you would love to have on a belt buckle, send us a note: info@dharmawanderlust.com

Time to metamorphose!

As I mentioned in my previous post, Pawel and I had the pleasure to being a vendor at the Toronto Yoga Conference and Show last weekend. This was our first show since our official launch a year ago. Heading into the show, we kept our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts open to the different possibilities. Generally, we consider ourselves to be open-minded and open-hearted people who love to explore new ideas and can never find enough time in the day for everything about which we’re passionate.

It also follows that we embarked on a new journey of exploration not even after but during the course of the show. Every evening, while driving home, we discussed the day’s events and shared our ideas. And it just so happened that we each immediately agreed on every single point that the other person raised. How about that for a married couple! 😉

Now, to explain how we arrived at the current entrepreneurial point in the life of Dharma Wanderlust, allow me to backtrack. In 2008, Pawel first started playing with woodworking. He transformed our one-car garage into a workshop, purchased a few machines, and went to work! Pawel started with wood turning, and later started to play with a scroll saw, making puzzles. Our children love to play with the puzzles he made for them!

He may have just been experimenting, but everyone to whom he showed his work was thoroughly impressed with Pawel’s precision and craftsmanship. I encouraged him to continue working on this new hobby. And of course, he made a few beautiful items for me. 😉 Among my favourites are a gorgeous pen he turned for me, as well as this beautiful vase with three Purpleheart flowers inside:

This piece travelled with us to the yoga show and many clients asked whether it was available for sale!

And because I’m absolutely obsessed with faeries, this is another gift Pawel made for me:

To continue my story… About two years ago, Pawel wanted to take his passion for woodworking a step further and created an online shop called Creations from G. This shop allowed him to showcase his creativity. He was already making yoga-inspired jewellery at the time, but he also turned impeccable wine bottle stoppers, and they were highly popular!

Somewhere along the line, we decided to create Dharma Wanderlust and felt that our clients would be interested in seeing only yoga- and nature-inspired jewellery, as opposed to an entire range of items. So, we put aside our other interests and moved toward jewellery.

Allow me to be frank and vulnerable here. I have always been a girl of many interests. Even in high school, I spent my free time taking voice and dance lessons, practising yoga and meditation, sketched and painted, designed and sewed clothes (including prom dresses for a few friends), knit, and wrote (I started to do freelance writing when I was still in high school). When it came time to choosing a university major, I was torn between which passion to pursue: fashion design or journalism. I was accepted to both schools, which didn’t make the decision any easier for me. 🙂 I did end up majoring in journalism, but all the while, I continued to knit, dance whenever I could, and spent more and more time focusing on fitness and yoga. Throughout that time, I received a lot of criticism from people who told me that it’s time to choose just one serious occupation, as opposed to ‘dabbling’ in this and that. Those comments affected me more than I realized, became a source of uncertainty and took away from my self-confidence.

So, naturally, when Pawel and I chose to start Dharma Wanderlust, I felt we would not be taken seriously if we were to offer a variety of products.

How wrong I was!!!

Since launching Dharma Wanderlust, we have enjoyed great success and our jewellery is now featured on the retail shelves of local yoga studios. We are proud of our work. In the background, I have continued my personal exploration and have learned to accept my myriad interests. I now know that it’s perfectly okay to continue to pursue various interests at the same time. I wouldn’t want to hold myself and my partner back by restricting our self-expression.

Phew!

At the show last weekend, we came to the realization that our main focus has always been on HANDCRAFTED work, as opposed to jewellery. We are not a jewellery company. We are an artisan business. That is the future of Dharma Wanderlust: handcrafted, unique items made with love.

As a couple and business partners, we are always growing! We don’t believe in staying in one place for too long, settling for what has been tried and tested. We believe in choosing adventure over stagnation. We love to travel, and even when we don’t have a chance to pack our bags and go someplace new, we make our own adventure in other ways. Our personalities are multifaceted. We enjoy a variety of books, activities, and our friends would say that we have more hobbies than we can manage. And we’re okay with that. Most of those activities involve crafting, working with our hands, and always creating, creating, creating. That is who we are.

We put all our love and passion into creating beautiful items for you to enjoy. We have been listening to your suggestions and have combined them with our own interests. The result will be Dharma Wanderlust travelling in a few new directions. We will continue with our yoga line, of course, but will also introduce new items for a wide audience, based on our other interests and our true passion.

We are currently working to re-design our website and will add MANY additional categories to the existing jewellery line. We are excited about these changes and are looking forward to sharing them with you as soon as they are ready.

Watch this space for updates!

We met a fellow creative wanderluster!

Pawel and I had a booth at the Toronto Yoga Conference and Show last weekend and had a great experience. I will write more about that in an upcoming post.

We had the pleasure of meeting many interesting clients, as well as our booth neighbours, and it was a pleasure to chat with them about their products. Since we love to support local artists, designers, and enterpreneurs, in general, I must tell you about one of our booth neighbours. Kristi is the ingenius designer and chief fashionpreneur of Encircled, an eco-friendly, Canadian-designed and -made line of travel-inspired versatile clothing pieces that can be worn many different ways.

I was immediately impressed by her collection and am thrilled to now be the owner of a gorgeous Chrysalis Cardi in Raspberry.

There are so many fabulous ideas for how to wear this piece — as a one-shoulder dress, a Grecian dress, an infinity scarf (three possibilities), a cape, or a cardigan in a few variations. I love good-quality pieces that can be transformed from one look to a completely different one in just under a minute.

I have been enjoying experimenting with the many possibilities, and here is one of them:

 

I put on the cardi on my way to teach a class, and of course, I had to get Pawel to take a picture before heading out the door. The feel of the fabric is fantastic! I love the luxurious softness! I’m also looking forward to wearing the dress in the summer months on the patio.

Drape it differently, flip, twist, and I ended up with a couple of snaps at the front, which allowed me to close the cardigan in the front:

Keep an eye out for Encircled! I have a feeling you will be seeing and hearing more about it in the near future.

More adventures in the kitchen: Red Lentil and Quinoa Soup

This time, here’s an original recipe that I invented intuitively in the kitchen. Toronto had another big snowfall just a couple of days ago, so although the spring season is almost on our doorsteps, winter feels that its visit is not over just yet. So, I continue to cook body-and-soul-warming soups and this one was perfect for the weather.

Red Lentil and Quinoa Soup by Dharma Wanderlust

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa (cooked according to package instructions)

1 tsp ghee

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cumin seed

1/2 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp coriander, ground

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp chili powder

2 bell peppers (I used yellow and red peppers)

1 cup of red lentils, rinsed well

3 cups of vegetable stock or water

2 tsp salt

1/2 lime, juiced

chopped cilantro and tahini (optional), for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat the ghee in a soup pot, then reduce the heat to medium, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for about a minute.

2. Add the cumin, fennel, coriander, turmeric, paprika, and chili powder and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute.

3. Add the chopped peppers to the pot and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the lentils, stock or water and the salt, and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and allow to cook for about 20 minutes.

5. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup well. Then, stir in the lime juice.

6. To serve, spoon 2-3 tbsp quinoa into a bowl and pour the soup over top. Stir in a tbsp of tahini into the soup and garnish with cilantro (optional).

Enjoy!

We’d love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Katia (Dharma Wanderlust)

Dharma Wanderlust Q&A

Dharma Wanderlust Q&A.

Dharma Wanderlust Q&A

We invited you to send in your questions to us about anything related to our work. So, allow us to answer…

Question: “I saw that you are now making malas. They are stunning! When can I buy one?”

We have been planning for a while now to start making malas, and we are thrilled to introduce them soon. We are currently working on full-length malas, as well as stacks. Each item will feature one of our unique pendants.

We will officially introduce the malas at the Toronto Yoga Conference and Show, to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from March 28th to the 30th. We are very excited about joining the show this year and look forward to meeting you there!

Question: “Where do you get the great ideas for the shapes of the wood pendants?”

Our yoga-and-meditation-inspired pieces are in the shape of a lotus blossom. We love the image of the lotus and its symbolism of purity and clear focus. Other collections were inspired by nature: water, landscapes, sand, canyons, and of course, the bees! Many of our designs are created from the natural shapes and grooves within the pieces of wood we choose to use. We enjoy working with natural ‘imperfections’ of the wood, inlaying the grooves with turquoise or crushed shell. Some pieces of wood we use already look intriguing, so we do not do much to change the original shape of the piece. For example:

The above piece, Surrender to Dance, was simply sanded and polished. And it happens to be available on our site right now!

All these factors contribute to the unique nature of our work. We enjoy one-of-a-kind pieces, and even the ones we reproduce will always be unique in some way, as there are always going to be colour variations in the wood and inlay we use.

Question: “What is it like to be working together as a married couple?”

Great question! 🙂 To avoid stepping on each other’s toes, we allow each other plenty of space to work separately and then meet to exchange ideas. Because our schedules do not always match, with Pawel working out of the house during the day and with me teaching yoga classes in the evenings, we email each other throughout the day to stay in the loop. While some couples spend their Saturday nights out at dinner-and-movie dates, we wait until the kids are in bed and then sit in the living room, stringing malas! Pawel and I have very different personalities, but we complement each other perfectly, which allows us to work well together.

Question: “What do you eat for breakfast?”

Chocolate, of course! No, just kidding, though, we have experimented with chocolate making in the past. Hence the photo above. We love to make things with our hands, in case you were wondering. 🙂 Back to the question… Pawel is a cereal-and-milk guy who loves organic cereal by Nature’s Path. I usually have quinoa or steel-cut oats with dried fruit, flaxseed, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or sesame seeds, as well as coconut oil, lots of cinnamon, and hemp seeds or cacao nibs. As a Vata girl, I need my wholesome, heavier breakfast. In the summer, I enjoy smoothies for breakfast. We love our lattes and I alternate coffee with Earl Grey tea with steamed milk and honey.

That’s it for now. Thank you to everyone who sent in their questions! We hope you have enjoyed getting to know us better.

Love,

Katia (Dharma Wanderlust)