It’s hard to express how to feel when you hear news of Michael Jackson’s death. He was a world-renowned legend who contributed greatly to the music community and broke a lot of barriers for the African American community.

I grew up listening to his music and watching his videos. I remember when “Thriller” first came out on MTV - I was in awe watching it. I remember my mom telling me stories of how she saw the Jackson 5 performing on the streets of New York prior to their hitting stardom.

Radio stations are playing his music non-stop right now.

Stretch Your Body Not Your Budget
As previously mentioned, I’ve been doing a lot more yoga with my iPhone lately so I’ve decided to do a review of one of my favorite iPhone yoga apps.

“Yoga Trainer” by NexStudios has a great app that you can load onto your iPhone or iPod touch for only $0.99 – or you could try their ‘Lite’ version for free.

The only major difference between the two is that the Lite version has advertising. Aside from that, they both pack over 70+ poses and nine pre-defined yoga sequences, in addition to their quick introduction to yoga.

At a time when more mom-and-pop stores of all types are closing because people are spending less money, businesses that are staying afloat are finding ways to earn your business and help you save money. During this downturn in the economy, we are even seeing big business disappear. For those that are going strong and still operating, they are changing with the times. They are offering huge incentives and benefits to customers.

I recently had surgery done on my eyes. Based on personal experience, it is not something that I would want to do again. I’m sure you can imagine the amount of discomfort one would feel, having to lie awake while people are inserting foreign objects in and around your eyes.

The surgery I had was Epi-Lasik, which was done about two weeks ago. Yes, I know it is not an “intense” surgical procedure like ACL replacement, but it is still surgery nonetheless - AND on my eyes, for that matter. Epi-Lasik is a cross between Lasik and Lasek, where it requires the doctors to cut the outer layer of the cornea - the epithelium. They do this by inserting a tubular device into the eye to suction the layer prior to cutting it. I won’t go into gory details about the procedure, but natural human instinct shies away from having things done to the eye area. People don’t normally go sticking things into your eyes, and to have to force yourself to calm down while this procedure is taking place takes a lot of effort.

It’s been a long time since I posted my last blog, although it feels just like yesterday. I can’t seem to catch up with my daily life – it’s that fast how the days have been passing by.

Even though I have such a busy schedule, however, I sometimes play with Christina’s child. The other day he was in a “Yoga mood,” which started in the morning when he was teaching yoga to his baby-sitter. That evening, I decided to look for a yoga video on YouTube and started watching it with him.

The ten or 15 minutes of a guided meditation at the end of each yoga class is a contemplative thing for me. I think too much about the meditation itself, but I must admit that it’s time allotted for relaxation. So I take advantage of the fact that my time on a mat means a moment not to think about outside plans and tasks. However, I end up filling my mind with the words being spoken to me, telling me to imagine a light, or at other times think about “melting into the earth”.  I start wondering about the idea of a sparkling light traveling through different parts of my body and how that light is supposed to help a particular area.

What are you doing this weekend? Are you planning anything fun and exciting? Perhaps it’s one of those weekends to catch up with friends? Or maybe even better is finding time for yourself. That’s the kind of weekend I’m going to have.

My first priority is to start each morning on the mat, doing yoga of course. Then, my goal is to finish a painting I started months or perhaps even a year ago – I can’t remember. At any rate, I am determined to put the final touches on it. The painting is of a plant that my mother was very proud of. Whenever I visit her, I often find her tending the garden. This particular plant, whose name escapes me at the moment (it’s been that long), started coming into bloom. From the way she spoke of it, it’s almost a rarity that this happens. So we took a photo, capturing the shades of green of its leaves and the almost fluorescent appearance of its petals with the deep lavender tones and vibrant coloration.

Last week, I went to a yoga class in the middle of the week. Normally, I wouldn’t have time to do that right after work, but I was able to squeeze in a session before dinner.

Finally! I’m not sick anymore! And to celebrate, I went out and got a burger. Not one from a fast food joint, but a delicious juicy burger from a restaurant. I looked at the menu and the burger was just screaming at me, so I gave in and got one with a nice order of garlic fries. YUM!

I’m coughing a lot less now. I’m still coughing, but that’s primarily to get rid of the phlegm build-up in my throat. I feel so much better with my energy level.

In case anyone is wondering, I’m happy to report that I can now stand on one leg. I’ll have to get back to you on the walking on a wire part – just kidding. It actually is quite simple to do. Understanding what not to do is the best way to get off on the right foot (pun intended).