Philly 2013: New Beginnings and New Promises w/ the Mummers on 2 street!

What do you think of when you hear of Philly? Cheese steaks? Tough people and crime? Sports fans? Or perhaps you have no preconceptions about the area. As for me,  I never thought much of Philly. Only 3 hours away, I just never had a reason to go. I knew they were known for their cheese steaks and to be honest violence always came to mind when I thought of the area. But once I landed in the city to ring in 2013, what I experienced was completely unexpected and sensational.

New beginnings and new promises were set in Philly, and I see now why Philadelphia travel guide says. “Philadelphia is a vibrant place to live—a city with an impressive past and a fascinating future.”

The streets were filled with colored light, art memorials surrounded the city side walks and buildings, culture and style everywhere, varieties of beer at each yummy restaurant and music filled the air. The old part of the city was cobble stone and original 1700’s style architecture. You could almost feel Ben Franklin walking the streets with you. A completely different vibe than D.C, Baltimore or NYC. Philly is soulful, artistic, historic, cultural, gritty and all around inspiring. The place to feed the great minds of 2013.

I brought in the new year laughing and dancing with friends at a rock and roll chic bar, Johnny Brenda’s, on a corner block in South Philly surrounded by tram lines. New Years day was celebrated at a house party on the most colorfully decorated city street i’ve seen with local artists, fashion and jewelry designers and practicing yogis. The evening ended at the Mummers after party on 2 street.

The New Years day Mummers Parade — with over 10,000 performers this year dressed in costumes — is the oldest folk festival in North America. The streets filled with floats and music, and colorful costumes worn by tough Philly men whose Mummer role has been passed down by local families for generations. Apparently, they spend a year working on their costumes, and I must say, as someone who has witnessed parades and festivals around the world — including Carnival — these costumes were legit and impressive!

The after party on 2 street, where the Mummers gather with the rest of Philly to share the only day it’s legal to drink on the street, is where the city showed it’s best side. Strangers opened their doors to their 3 story art loft (which 30 years ago was a Butcher shop) to people on the street. At no cost, they offered kegs, bathrooms and even Stromboli! A girl held a picnic basket filled with homemade meatballs for people to taste, a “lounge” was on 3rd floor and a piano was being played. Truly an experience like no other!

The scene was a rare moment where humanity shined. Giving, sharing, laughing, good clean fun, respect, old family feel, and lots of dancing and Happy New Year wishes. The cops, dressed as though they came straight from the 50’s, were even part of the fun as they turned a blind eye to the pungent marijuana smell illuminating the air.

So if you’re thinking about heading to Philly for a little excursion, DO IT!  There’s plenty to discover — culture, art, lively music, yummy restaurants and interesting conversations. And if you’re around for New Years 2014, you might just see me dancing away the evening on 2 street. Cheers Philly, I will return.

 So what am I promising myself this year? To put it simply:

1. I promise to keep my heart and mind open to new ideas, new opportunities, new places, and  to let go of judgement both for myself and others

To find out my 2013 specific resolutions, including my new blog to inspire new Yogis and promote sustainable living, click here... 

Happy 2013!! Here’s to new beginnings and new promises, what are yours? Have you been to the Mummers Parade? Have an interesting story? Please share!

Dear Child

Dear Child,

It’s ok, you are not alone. Your dreams will get you through. 

I know who you are, and I know why you cry in the corner. You’re more sensitive than the rest, and therefore more perceptive. You’re 7 years old, and feel a great sense of abandonment and loneliness. You’re anxious and scared a lot of the time. You feel there is no one who truly understands you, you feel there will be no one to care for you and love you. Your mom is sick and sleeps a lot, your father tells you he has a hole in his heart, your cousins live far away, your best friend stops inviting you to sleepovers because you keep getting sick on Fridays (FYI you’re going to throw up while saying the pledge of allegiance this year) and your sister…she’s the one you yearn to be close with, but is the one who causes your tears to fall the hardest.

It’s ok, you are not alone. Your dreams will get you through.

You’re 11 this year, the past 4 years have been rough. 3 years ago numerous doctors studied you, and investigated why you were the way you were. Why were you getting sick? They labeled you with an “anxiety disorder” and put you on medication to fix your “problem”. This pill makes you gain weight and feel out of control. You get tortured at school and belittled at home and become angry. This anger brought on more doctors and more pills and gave you more side effects. Things will start to spiral as your environment becomes more and more unpredictable. You will suffer from depression and the medication you’re prescribed will cause you to develop Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), as a side effect to taking a daily dose. You will start to suffer in school.

It’s ok, you are not alone. Your dreams will get you through.

You’re 13 this year, you’re still in pain. A part of you wishes you could end it all, but all of you understands’ that you could never cause pain to your family. You believe in something greater, you believe you will get through. You know you love to make people happy, and smile, but you just can’t smile yourself. You try to fix your family, you want stability and security, but you have none. You try to repair what’s broken but you can’t.

It’s ok, you are not alone. Your dreams will get you through.

You’re 15 this year, this will be the year your life changes, your perception of reality rocked. You will witness the end of your parents’ marriage. You will scream and beg your sister to take you with her before she runs out the door and drives away without you. She will leave you. You’re alone and forced to watch your mother tell your father she has proof of his 15-year affair. You watch your father sob for the first time ever and you make a promise to yourself that day, a promise you hold onto for 10 years.

It’s ok, you are not alone. Your dreams will get you through.

You’re 20 years old, and you’ve found your groove. Four years ago you left home to start fresh. You left for a new environment. In the past 5 years you’ve become strong and independent, discovered and fell in love with Mexico, traveled Europe, saw a play in Shakespeare’s theatre, stood on a wall seen from the Moon, became a true athlete, learned the value of healthy food, made solid friendships, became a mentor and a leader and took yourself off all medications. You are finally able to say and believe that you love yourself and you are truly confident in your beauty, strength, heart and mind. A year later, you will be confident enough to stand in front of a college psychology class and read a paper you wrote which shares your biggest fear (or so you think)– an inability to trust and feel safe with a man, a fear you’ll never open enough to receive love. You read this allowed to 30 strangers, and as you read the words you’re not sure how the past will affect your future, but you’re fearful.

It’s ok, you are not alone. Your dreams will get you through.

You’re 24 years old, you live in Sydney, Australia with your college roommate, have a spectacular job you couldn’t have dreamed of a possibility having before moving, and a supportive family network who knows your heart. You are in grad school and join the Global Leadership Program. You attend a seminar. You walk in and sit next to a man who will facilitate a true and needed change within you. It will take two more years for this change to come to fruition, but it will come and you will be better for it. You will travel to Turkey, and start to feel for another, and open up. He’s the first you meet of your kind. His heart is big and mind strong. You will enter into your first real relationship.

January 2011 will bring in the New Year with heartache. Your relationship with this man will end and you will feel horrible. You will feel it is your fault. You didn’t know how to believe in love. You weren’t ready. You didn’t understand what it was like to be cared for, you pushed feelings away. You got scared, you felt trapped, you felt abandoned, you crumbled, you spiraled and you became someone you’re not to push someone you cared about away. You didn’t believe. And most of all, you held onto a promise you made almost 10 years before…

 It’s ok, you are not alone. Your dreams will get you through.

Conclusion is on its way…

Just a Little Yoga in NYC’s East Village the Day Before Hurricane Sandy

I booked it out of NYC right before hurricane Sandy barreled into Manhattan. I actually didn’t know Sandy was on her way until my friends informed me about the possibility of bus cancelations..haha. So In the wake of the storm we went to the dog park and after watching some dogs romp, I did this…

The Calm Before the Storm

While people were hustling and bustling around NYC to prepare for the storm…I pulled out my yoga mat. Now that I can do a headstand (as of August 2012) my goal is to do this everywhere I go. The only hard part, I’m a pretty forget full person at times, and I leave things everywhere. In this case, on the bus up to NYC I almost left my yoga mat, EVEN THOUGH 1 minute before we pulled in to Manhattan I told myself NOT to forget, I still did. Of course. Thank goodness a nice man tapped on the window to tell me. I would have been pretty sad, I’m pretty attached to my recycled rubber mat. Crisis averted.

So instead of trying to recap my NYC excursion, I thought I’d publish the top 10 reasons why I love NYC:

NYC Knows What’s Up! Like I said, Art Everywhere 🙂

1. You can get anything ordered to your door, and I do mean ANYTHING.

2. Weird, eccentric and staring are normal and welcomed 

3. A brunch can turn into (and most often does) a 4 hour drinking session at a 3 story restaurant, which at 5pm turns into a club w/ a kick ass DJ, while the bottom floor (w/ bathrooms) still remains an upscale dining area with people eating dinner

4. Cabs are abundant and very reasonable (especially compared to Sydney)

5. There is always something interesting and entertaining happening and people watching is outstanding and encouraged 

6. No other city in the world, that I’ve been to, has that amount of energy and exciting vibe

7. I have spectacular friends that live in the best areas of the city and don’t mind me crashing on their couch. And a cousin who lives in Queens and promotes rock bands for Sony Music — there is never a dull moment around him

8. It’s normal to go out everyday of the week, which makes visiting any day of the week ideal

9. Central Park is huge, art is everywhere around the city, and spectacular restaurants everywhere

10. There’s something different to discover every day 

If you’re deciding on a visit to NYC, you will never be disappointed no matter what you’re looking for. NYC has it all, obviously. But they were struck pretty hard with hurricane Sandy. Some people are still without power and there were massive floods that left people homeless and out of work. So if you’d like to join the effort to help NYC and the surrounding area, especially New Jersey, donate to the Red Cross today. Nothing is too small. Anybody see the Bon Jovi benefit concert? He’s on top of it.