Action! Here's the Light Video IndieGoGo Fundraiser EKAYANI

Ekayani - Yoga on the Dance Floor Concert Reel

Instructions for Intentional Meditation October 19 & 23

Registration Now Open! Summer Slimdown Cardio Classes in July

Sell Tickets through Eventbrite

Register Now for your free  Summer Slimdown Sundays Cardio Classes

 It is Summer and it is time to lose those pounds! A good cardio vascular workout is an important part of shedding those pounds and to support you in your 30 Day Challenge I have teamed up again once again with Intensati dynamo Elina LeClaire.

Elina Claire your Intensati Instructor

OM ROOM inside Human@Ease

All participants in the Summer Slimdown 30 Day Challenge  are invited to this free class to get that blood pumping and heart rate up every Sunday in July from 1:30 to 2:30PM.

Rain or Shine We Don't Mind

In sunny weather we will be outside connecting with the trees, grass and open skies in McCarren Park. If it's rainy or too darn hot for comfort we will hold class inside in the lovely OM Room.  Plan to meet us by 1:15PM at 31 Nassau Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in front of Human @ Ease

 

How To Get There:

The nearest train is the G to Nassau or you can take the L to Bedford and head on over to Nassau. This is a FREE class but you just need to REGISTER NOW   I look forward to seeing you in class! 

McCarren Park a mecca of fitness in Greenpoint!

My RESET Story - How I Lost 10 Stubborn Pounds

Me on the Parisian catwalk for DeSenneville about 1990

 
Everyone has an ideal weight where they feel their body working at it's optimal levels. For me that weight harkens back to my days as a 27 year old living in Paris while working as a fashion model. (Mind you those were the pre anorexic look days). For many years I was able to keep that ideal weight and then when I hit my mid 40's things changed. Much to my chagrin a favorite pair of classic striped pants were now impossible for me to wear. I couldn't close them at the waist. Surely I must be hallucinating, I thought, as I began to go to through my closet trying on old outfits that I used to breeze in an out of only to find that they were now unwearbable. My YSL safari style pantsuit bequethed to me by a French friend I couldn't get past my thighs let alone zip up the fly. My sexy blue zip up hot pants by Vivienne Westwood and my catsuits all off limits. All in all it amounted to ten stubborn pounds that had accumulated around my waist and on my thighs. What happened? Or more to the point what was no longer happening?

 

RESET or How I Lost 10 pounds

 BEFORE & heavier pictured with my grandfather

Up to this point I had never been on a "diet" in my life. I had committed to a vegetarian lifestyle three decades before at 18, ate organic and had no big vices to speak of other than chocolate. I had eaten chocolate all my life and my ex - boyfriend used to joke when he got home that he had my "health food" which consisted of no less than 3 chocolate bars and usually a bag of corn chips. I'd consume that much a week and without realizing it, I had my own little mini carb and sugar roller coaster scenario going on. I equated that dietary roller coaster with gorging on bagels and donuts and since that was not the portrait of my life, I didn't get it at first. Although the chocolate I was eating was labeled organic, the story lay deeper than that. It was still in a classic bar form and much more processed than cacao should be. Raw cacao is good for you as it it not only high in antioxidants but rich in minerals such as Magnesium which is used in over 300 bodily functions. It was the magnesium in higher doses that my body was really craving and I was simply not getting enough. Magnesium's functions include providing fuel to the mitochondria in the cell. The mitochondria is like a mini factory where the cell does what it needs to do to keep the body healthy like turning the foods I eat into energy. My cells need to breathe, reproduce,  and this is key - to  excrete what it can't use. If the cell is low on fuel, the waste matter just doesn't make it out and manifests as low energy, poor digestion and as unwanted weight on my thighs, behind and tummy. I had been espousing RESET to customers and seeing some amazing results and now it was time to do it myself. For two days I consumed nothing but the Usana Nutrimeal shakes, made sure I doubled up on my Healthpaks taking them morning and night and drank plenty of water. I kept up with my regime of biking to where I needed to go and ate fruits during the day and a light salad at night along with my evening shake. People I was not hungry at all. I thought I might need to use the Usana Nutrition bars which I love because they actually have nutrition in them but in this case I didn't  require them. That surprised me but like I said everyone is different. At the end of just two days I dropped those ten pounds and the fat pants I was wearing were now baggy on me. My friend Josefa gasped when she saw me. "My God you've dropped so much weight! What did you do?"  RESET baby.  I hit my goal after two days which may not be typical but was amazing nonetheless. I stuck to the program using just water to make make shakes keeping them nutrient rich and calorie poor. My body was able to rejuvenate tapping into my old high metabolic rate and the pounds literally melted away. My striped pants and I were now back in action!

My Happy Ending

Me June 3, 2013 with my grandfather Bernando LaPallo

That was two years ago and I have not gained a single pound back. In fact I have continued to slim down and tone as I keep up with my regular biking routine and comply on a daily basis with my MyHealthpak supplementation. I get my optimal nutrition daily with Active (magnesium) Calcium that keeps my legs from cramping from all the biking I do while keeping my cells chugging along. I take my mega antioxidants, chelated minerals, AO Booster, Visionex to keep my eyes and skin healthy, Proflavanol C for easy breathing, strong teeth, gums and skin. I indulge myself in chocolate when I desire but it is no longer my main go to source of energy. My days of eating 3 to 5 bars a week are gone and now I consume that many per month. In mathematical terms I have gone from consuming 20 bars a month to 5. What I love most of all about my refound youth is that while I look the part I am much more grounded because of all the years I have under my belt. I get to be "young again" minus all the stupid mistakes I made the first time. At 50 it's a wonderful feeling! Would you like to feel this way?

Summer Slimdown

 

If you'd like my guidance while participating in the 30 Day Summer Slimdown Challenge I am conducting in July using USANA RESET Transformation please write me at ekayani@usana.com I have Summer Specials but hurry as that ends July 25th!

RESET TRANSFORMATION Kit

Summer Slimdown Challenge Kicks Off July - Are You Ready?

Make the commitment to your health and join my 30 Day Challenge!

Summer is in full swing and already I have been out and about on two successive weekends enjoying the festivities that New York City and it's environs has to offer.  There are as many ways to celebrate the solstice as there are communities and boy do we have a lot of communities. You want to feel and look your best while enjoying the summer months sporting the latest fashions or better yet wearing a bikini. By now if you have been following along on my blog you understand the strain and stress that being overweight puts on your heart as well as the risks you face for diabetes. So before I share all the fun, I invite you and your friends to join in a 30 Day Summer Slim Down Challenge I am running using Usana's RESET Transformation kits now!  It's sure to be rewarding. When you start to regain your energy and zest for life your confidence will soar.  I want to emphasize that this is a sane weight management program free of gimmicks, hype and unsavory ingredients. A common sense approach with a daily exercise program while eating plenty of fresh fruit, veggies and water will contribute to your success. As part of your package you will receive a free and confidential True Health Assessment,  low glycemic recipes, weekly weight checks, and one on one phone consultations. I am  offering a gluten free version of this 30 Day Summer Slimdown program here.  The challenge begins in July.  RSVP by June 30th here to participate in this limited time offer.
So are you ready to look and feel your best while establishing healthy habits for a lifetime? Sure you are! So grab a friend and lets get started!

Summer Solstice Fun & Jazz Age Parties

The dance floor canopied by trees fab!

I hopped the ferry to Governor's Island Sunday,  June 16th to catch the Eighth Annual Great Lawn Party with Arenella's jazz age Dream Land Orchestra complete with a dance floor set up under a canopy of trees dancing till I could dance no more. The music played by his live orchestra hail from the 1920 and teens with everyone dressing the part. I brought a picnic lunch to share with friends though I did sample some of the treats on site. I got lots of complements on my socks as I tried my best to look like a gal of the period out to enjoy a day by the water.

Ekayani in striped chemise,ankle socks, polka dot heels

Michael Arenella sings into a megaphone 20's style

June 21 was the Summer Solstice and I went Swedish! I enjoyed my first ever MidSummer Festival held in Battery Park dancing around a maypole decorated in sunflowers to the strains of Swedish folk music while wearing a flower crown made for me by my friend the stylist Ulrika. It's been a while since I went to Stockholm but with the water from the bay lapping against the rocks and the steeple like roof of Pier 6 I believed I was there. The purpose of this festival is to celebrate and attract fertility and it's been going on a long time predating Christianity's foothold in Sweden. The whole village would come out for this with farmers as the foundation according to Ulrika.

Wearing a flower wreath

Dancing around and near the maypole on Pier 6

The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a picnic in the grass with a gaggle of friends and toddlers. After the dancing there was more eating and drinking. And then more eating and drinking. Ulrika instructed me to pick 7 different kinds of flowers to place under my pillow that night to help me "dream about my future husband". This is a Swedish tradition and this is what I picked. Sweet dreams!

All flowers I found in my neighborhood

Saturday 22 -  I went to the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island enjoying the sun, salt breeze and flamboyant costumes of men and woman dressed as mermaids. mermen,coral reefs,sailors, pirate ships and sea creatures. I am grateful that I have been taking care of my health all this time to dive into one festive occasion to another. What are the ways you celebrate summer? Leave your comments below. Remember to write what your Goal Weight is and your Current Weight when you sign up for the challenge by writing me ekayani@usana.com!

A barnacled lady! Looks like a coral reef to me Photo credit CBS News

Finally please learn about USANA's quality guarantee from the founder Dr. Myron Wentz.

Introduction to Meditation 3/24 @ Yoga Atelier with John Halpern Spring Lift

You are invited! Bring a friend to a special "Introduction to Meditation" FREE of charge  Sunday 24 led by my friend John Halpern. John teaches techniques from the Tibetan school of Buddhism. He is the film director of "Talks with the Dalai Lama" and "Refuge". He is also an Usana associate. It so happens that this program falls on Palm Sunday, the observation of the day Prince of Peace entered into Jerusalem. Most skilled at controlling his mind, thoughts, actions when I think of Jesus I think of a person who said such things as "Healer heal thyself. " and encouraged everyone to "Seek the Kingdom Within".

Vitamin D and Booster C 600 will be the unique Spring Boosters served to give you a Lift after this long hard winter we've had! Goodbye Sandy!

Date: Sunday March 24, 2013

Where: Carolyn Christie's Yoga Atelier

Address: Enter 22 East 17th Street. Take elevator to 11th floor. Suite 1103. This building is also known as 41 Union Square.

Call or Text Ekayani at (212) 475 - 6547 if you need help getting there

Trains: 4 /5/6/Q/ L to Union Square

Healthy Spring Booster Refreshments Served! Learn How Easy It Is To Have a Strong Immune System!

In this REFUGE film clip,  REFUGE Yogis & Film Makers by John Halpern Martin Scorsese, Director, KUNDUN, Oliver Stone, Director, HEAVEN AND EARTH, Dzongzar Khyentse, abbot, Director, THE CUP, Melissa Mathison, Writer, KUNDUN, Venerable Tenzin Palmo, lived 12 years in a cave, His Holiness Shenphen Dawa, Tibetan Lama, and
David Chadwick, Author, Zen priest, offer sound bites about Buddhism and it's impact in the West.