This year for my spring cleaning, I've decided to clean my body, in addition to my apartment. I was turned onto Organic Avenue by some friends who routinely use their products.  The purpose of a cleanse is to rid one's body of toxins, clear out your digestive system and feel more energetic. The Live Organic Vegan Experience, or L.O.V.E., cleanse that I decided to try is called LOVEeasy, This is the basic cleanse meant for someone who is not currently a vegetarian and ease the body into digesting nutrient dense foods.

Day 1 - I picked up my cleansing case at the beautiful new store on the L.E.S. and this is my menu for the day:

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh Pressed Pear Juice
• Cucumber, spinach, celery Juice
• Burrito Crudo
• Edamame Salad
• Vanilla Chia
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon)

Drinking liquid of any kind has never been my strong suit. It fills me up quickly and I always have to pee, so I knew drinking all these juices as well as the recommended daily amount of water was going to be my biggest challenge. Luckily, an email I received the night before I was to start simply stated: You do not have to finish every item. The above items were to be consumed in order about ever 2 hours. Immediately I decided that waking up to a shot of Chlorophyll is not the way I want to start my day, but hey, it's only for 5 days. There is light at the end of that tunnel. Throughout the day I ate or drank on schedule and by 7pm the thought anything crossing my lips turned my stomach. I decided to power through and even if I didn't finish the Vanilla Chia or Green Mylk if I could consume 1/2 of the servings, I would hopefully benefit from the nutrients offered. The one things that did surprise me about today: no caffeine headache. I cut down on coffee to 1/2 a cup a day in the week leading up to the cleanse, maybe that was the trick.

Day's winner: Burrito Crudo    Day's looser: Chlorophyll Elixir

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Day 2 - I woke up feeling great. I had a wonderful night sleep and the sun was shining into my bedroom. I checked my email and found today's menu:

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh pressed Grapefruit Juice
• Cucumber, spinach, celery Juice
• Sunflower Falafel
• Sunflower Sprout Salad
• Chocolate Mousse (really? YAY!)
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon)

I decided to alter my plan of attack and took the shot of Chlorophyll on the bus on my way home from picking up my daily cleanse. Being surrounded by people, I figured this would ensure that I wouldn't throw up. What do you know, the shot wasn't too painful this time around. Next to down: the Grapefruit juice, not a fruit I'd choose to eat, was actually pleasant. The tangy sourness didn't bother me as expected it would. I was looking forward to my lunch of sunflower falafel and it did not disappoint. Honestly, it tasted just like regular falafel, but healthier because there wasn't oil dripping from it. Sprout Salad lacked total taste and the thing I was looking forward to most: the chocolate mousse tasted more like coconut with a hint of chocolate, but was delicious non the less. Again it was too much food for me to consume in total and I only drank 1/2 the green mylk. Best of all, my husband thanked me today for not being cranky. Haha, it seems if you set your expectations low, everyone's a winner in the end.

Day's winner: Sunflower Falafel  Day's looser: Sunflower Sprout Salad   Weight Loss: 1.8lbs

With the weather starting to get warmer and the days getting longer, I have decided that I'm ready for my spring cleaning. In year's past, my spring cleaning was limited to my closets but, this year, I've decided to clean my body and mind and I hope to discover something new about myself in the process. Start a spring cleaning for yourself in these 3 easy steps.

1) Do something for yourself every day It might be as little as 10 minutes a day, but you deserve it! If you spend time in the car, clear your mind with a walk around the block. If you wake up feeling stiff, start the day with some stretching. If you have trouble sleeping at night, try meditation or breathing exercises to find stillness. What ever you do, you'll force yourself to slow down and relax.

2) Expand your mind Learn something new and exercise your brain. If you have time, take a cooking class, learn a new language, or volunteer in your community. If your time is limited, watch a documentary and get perspective on the food industry or learn the history of a foreign culture.

3) Do a cleanse Cleanses don't have to be intimidating, just pick one area of your diet to focus on. Eat dessert only twice a week instead of everyday. Move away from processed food and start to focus on clean whole foods. Make the switch from white flour to wheat. Whatever you choose, you'll notice a difference in your energy levels and your waistline.

For me, spring cleaning will consist of a few minutes of meditation a day, watching Food Inc at our Heal Your Body retreat in April and starting Monday, I'm embarking on a L.O.V.E. cleanse from Organic Avenues. Check back to our blog as I will be writing about my experience daily. I'm ready to do my mind and body good, how about you?

photo courtsey of Maggie Smith

I spent last Friday waiting out the big NY snowstorm at The New York Times Travel Show. My morning was spent taking notes and networking with other travel professionals at the educational seminars. The 34 available seminars ranged on topics from How social media can help to South African Tourism: World Cup Presentation. Regardless of where the attendees came to NY from; everyone was there to learn about going somewhere else.

After lunch, I headed into the trade show section where booths were organized by areas of the world. I made a beeline for the Central America section, since Pravassa has upcoming trips there. Panama was the first country I visited and imagine my delight when I discovered a newly opened eco-hostel. The Lost and Found Lodge is located in the Fortuna there. , high in the mountains. I can't wait to visit and experience the jungle animals, go on a treasure hunt and learn how coffee is harvested. I couldn't stay in Central America for ever, so I continued my journey around the world lingering in places such as Grenada, Croatia and Fiji; basically anywhere that has a beach!

The Travel Show is open to the public and if you couldn't make it this year for the great discounts, give-a-ways and talks lead by travel gurus such as Arthur Frommer, the show will return next year. If that's too long for you to wait, you're in luck as Pravassa will take you away sooner!

photo courtsey of Morgan's Rock

I was lucky enough to open my yoga week in sunny Ojai, California with Kira Ryder, owner of Lulu Bandha's. Ojai has long held a reputation as a place to heal the mind, body and spirit and Kira's studio is no exception. Having just returned from a weekend guest teaching at Kirpalu, the room of 25 students was eager to have their teacher and her wisdom back at home. This morning we students ranged in age from early twenties to late sixties and everyone modified to suit their needs as we moved along. Class ended with partner-assisted drop-backs, which created an atmosphere of trust and openness. After learning a bit more about the Ojai Yoga Crib that takes place in October, I got in the car and headed south.

What a difference 84 miles makes! I ended the day in Venice Beach at Exhale for Shiva Rae's Monday evening class. My 70 fellow students were abuzz with excitement as the live musicians who accompanied class set up at the front of the room. We did a lot of "moving with the flow" crescent lunges into standing splits while Shiva encouraged us to chat and use the breath to express our inner emotions. The last 1/2 hour was reserved for kirtan, or chanting, where the entire room was lead by the beautiful voice of Cecy. The African drums and guitar moved some people to dance around the room while others let the vibration from the room run though them while they sat and soaked in the energy. No matter how you decided to participate, you couldn't help but be moved by a room of beautiful people giving it up for Krishna.

photo courtesy of Nikolay

YAMUNA® Body Rolling was born from the basic concepts of yoga; how to use your body to free yourself. Founder and namesake, Yamuna Zake, created this therapy over 30 years ago when looking for a way to repair her torn hip after giving birth to her daughter. Using color-coded balls to target specific muscle groups, these Yamuna exercises begin where the bone and muscles connect. Then you use your own body weight to elongate your muscles and release built up tension.

Almost every day I engage in some form of exercise. Whether it's yoga, pilates or my cardio on the elliptical, I often feel like I need a massage to relax and repair my body. I took my first YAMUNA® Body Rolling class last year and have been singing its praises ever since! The goals of a body rolling class are to get you to stand up straighter, breather deeper and prevent injury. My favorite part of the class was when we took a Yamuna® ball and used it to roll deep into our digestive tracts. Imagine, stimulating all your internal organs and literally watching the physical effects on your external body. How do more people not know about this therapy?

According to Yamuna herself, as she told the Downtown Express, "When you have the tools to keep your body pain-free and flexible throughout life, you don’t experience the stiffness and restrictions associated with aging." You can try out this transformative technique alongside Pravassa in April, as Yamuna's first assistant, Vicki Lorayne, leads our body healing retreat in Vermont. Or, if you can't make it to the East Coast, Canyon Ranch in Tucson offers some of the hands-on therapies.