Books can change our lives.  Last week, Scott Jurek's Eat and Run had me considering veganism. I ditched my beloved eggs and full-fat, plain Greek yogurt with a touch of honey for two days. Ultimately, I decided I would be happier as a one-day-a-month vegan. 
     This week, Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, has me considering locatarianism, eating only local foods. Kingsolver and her family vow to be locavores -- to eat only what they produce on their farm or can buy from neighboring farms and farmer's markets for one year.        
     This is a hefty feat, and I admire it, but I do not plan to make such a huge commitment myself. However, Kingsolver's book has inspired me to undertake the planting of a garden.                
     The big-thinking, possibilities-are-endless, Sagittarius spirit within me envisions cherry trees, berry bushes, asparagus and potato patches, herbs galore, root vegetables popping through the earth, lettuces, winter squashes, and watermelons. If I let my imagination run really wild, I picture high hedgerows creating Secret Garden-esque labyrinths, towering sunflowers, colorful wildflowers, and flitting butterflies and humming birds. Then Eric reminds me that we cannot plant everything under the Appalachian sun on one acre. I come back to earth, but just a bit. 
     My heart has always longed for a garden, but my transient and unpredictable lifestyle has not been conducive to caring for plant life. Until now! Now, I have a baby (his name is Avie, pronounced like the "a" in avalanche, an easy pronunciation tip thanks to my cousin Laura). Next month, Avie, Eric, and I are moving into our very own house, a permanent place, with a backyard. Subsequently, this seems the perfect time for establishing some roots, literally. 

     In the past, to fulfill my pining for gazing at flowers and eating fresh produce, I sought botanical gardens and farmer's markets. Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservatory, my first love at age 15, began this plant-seeking quest. When I visited The Japanese Botanical Gardens in Van Nuys, Calif., in 2008, by myself, this quest transformed into something deeper. I enjoyed the peace and quiet elicited from strolling though a garden. In the spring of 2011, after my Anusara yoga classes at a studio in Encinitas, Calif., I often visited the meditation gardens at the Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi. These gardens sat on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Sitting solo at a beautiful site founded upon the ideals of a meditation guru became the perfect way to spend time in a post-yoga bliss. I decided that one day, I, too would have a meditation garden. 

     As for farmer's markets, my foray began in Pittsburgh during graduate school. I road my bike to the Farmer's Market Cooperative of East Liberty at 5 a.m. most Saturday mornings and returned home with a backpack full of produce. Several years later, when Eric and I traveled through New Zealand, local foods and farmer's markets were everywhere. Most families had beautiful vegetable gardens, grass-fed sheep and composts. We filled up on samples of local fare at the markets before purchasing broad beans, wine, and beetroot. Being a locavore was a breeze!        
     Thus, motivation for growing a garden is two-fold: to cultivate organic food and to create a beautifully appealing outdoor meditation area. What's more, gardening presents a wonderful opportunity for playing in the dirt with Avie and for instilling in him the values of hard work, self-sufficiecy, mindful eating, and a love for Mother Nature.  
     For now, as we wait out the winter, I am immersing myself in Organic Gardening and Mother Earth News magazines. I am perusing web sites like www.eatwild.com and asking health food stores and family members where to buy grass-fed meats and dairy as well as chemical-free grains directly from farms. I'm pondering where I can obtain a Shiva statue for our meditation space. With that in mind, I appreciate any local eating information, garden savvy, or Hindu deities that you may wish to share!

     With each new year, I delight in making resolutions, which allow me to dig deep into my soul and create pathways to dream manifestation. They help me see life as big, wonderful, boundless.   
     Resolution writing began when I was 13, at which time I aspired to someday join the Peace Corps, become an environmental photojournalist for National Geographic, play for the WNBA, and ban all fast food restaurants from the world. McDonald's still thrives, unfortunately, and I am not a famous point guard. Yet, I did fulfill the other two dreams, though not in such a specific way. Instead of the Peace Corps, while I was studying for my master's degree, I led a group of undergraduates on a volunteer trip to the Dominican Republic, and I participated in a service-learning program in Honduras. Instead of working for the National Geographic, I have worked as a white water rafting photographer since 2008. This lets me enjoy the outdoors, kayaking, biking, and taking photos.  As you can see, setting goals manifests dreams, though not always in the way at first anticipated!  
     This year, my resolution is this: To meditate. 
     Now, if you know me, I am an avid yogi, loving strong, ashtanga-based, hot, power vinyasa flows with plenty of inversions, core work, and arm balances. Moving meditation I can do. But meditating without movement? My yoga practice can be so focused that I have managed to kick three of my fellow yogis in the head. (I still question whether this is because of my intense focus or my intense lack of awareness of my surroundings.) Regardless, this year, I shall try to meditate... to connect mind to body to soul while sitting still, in silence. 
     So far, these are the things I have done to begin my meditation journey. Each day, I attempt a new meditation video on my yogaglo.com account. At the end of a yoga session, during svasana, I try to relax my body and visualize physical healing at the suggestion of my Russian alternative medicine man who is healing the tendonitis in my heels, a running-while-pregnant-induced injury, with cold laser therapy. Further, I am reading Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek, who talks of the mind/body connection of running long distances. The mention of this book leads me to another aspiration: to heal my heels and run a trail marathon. 
   With all that said, while I eagerly await my next run, I am training for it in a new way: by meditating! Thus, these aspirations go hand-in-hand. I am loving this new endeavor and excited to see what other aspects of life will benefit from meditating. I am sure the benefits are limitless! Until next time, happy meditating, and keep dreaming!