TMI and Other Stuff

Listen, this might be a bit of TMI for you. But it’s life, what can I tell you. And truly, it is a part of life:

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Yes, that teeny tiny dot is called something. And there are probably thousands of us gals experiencing it this week. Fortunately, this go round is pretty easy on me, I’m thinking because there’s no full moon coinciding with it. Or perhaps spring time is in the air and has me in a good mood. Ah, who knows. But I will say, you are supposed to be ‘resting’ during days 15-28 of your female cycle, or so I have been told. The same person has said we ladies are most focused and active days 1-10 of our cycle, as in the day after flow leaves town- so that’s the time to get to some spring cleaning done.

Today I wanted to share a ‘resting’ pose in yoga (it’s actually a forward bend) that can relieve the symptoms of your lady time. It is also the most common yoga pose and probably the one that is most recognizable- Downward Facing Dog. After that, I’ll share some tips on spring cleaning from shine.com so you can truly get going the day after Ms. Punctuation bids adieu.

Adho Muka Svanasana: Downward Facing Dog

1. Begin on all fours. Slide knees back a few inches.

2. With wrists under shoulders, spread the fingers wide apart. As wide as you can get em.

3. Exhale, lift hips up and back.

4. Press hands into mat, and firm triceps.

5. Keep shoulders lifted up and away from the ears.

6. Press triceps up and externally rotate them, while internally rotating your forearms.

7. Press inner thighs back and apart.

Alright, once you’ve ‘rested’, let’s get started on your spring cleaning. Day 1 of the new cycle.

This checklist comes from shine.com- you can read the full article here. I agree with much of it, and recommend you ‘deep clean’ your house at least once a year. It just feels good. I realize many of you in LA have maids to do this for you, but you don’t necessarily want them trifling through your bedside table and tossing stuff out, do you? (Or maybe they already are! heh heh).

Day 1 & 2: De-clutter

Before you can actually clean, you need to de-clutter. Sort your unneeded items into three piles: recycle, trash, and donate.

Day 3: Actually Get Rid of the Junk

Now that you’ve chosen the items you can part with and divided them into separate piles, it’s time to actually get rid of them.  Instead, put the trash bag in the trash bin, put your recyclables in the recycling bin, and get in the car and drop off your donations at the nearest Goodwill.

Day 4: Take on the Kitchen

It’s usually best to clean room-by-room, as opposed to taking on various scrubbing projects all at once. Dust, mop the floor, and wipe down the refrigerator, cabinets, countertops, stove, microwave, and oven. You should have already tossed any expired food in the first two days, so you don’t have to worry about pulling everything out of the fridge-just give it a good scrub-down.

Day 5: Scrub the Bathroom

Take an hour to really scour the shower, tub, toilet, sink, wall tiles, and floor. If you have a shower curtain, look at the washing directions and proceed accordingly. Same goes for your bath mats. A quick wipe of any mirrors and countertops and voila: clean bathroom.

Day 6: Clean Up Living Space

Since the clutter is already gone, you can probably combine your bedroom and living room cleaning on the sixth day. Clean the floors, paying particular attention to the spaces under the bed and couch. Wipe down the surfaces of your furniture and clean all linens-couch cushions, chairs, blankets, pillows, whatever. If your space is carpeted, be sure to get the vacuum (and don’t cut corners).

Day 7: Finish the Job

Clean up any other floors and surfaces, like hallways and entryways. Toss out any garbage you’ve accumulated over the week. Wipe down the windows. For a finishing touch, put out some fresh flowers around the house.