Feel Good Trip to NYC
In the city that never sleeps, how can one possibly rest and relax?
It has been three months since I started this newsletter, and I wanted to say thank you again. Each time someone signs up, I thank them silently. However, when someone chooses to continue subscribing each month, I send a big, warm, energetic hug. Of course, not everyone stays. But to you all, who are here right now…so much gratitude! Thank you for checking this space out. I know many, many of you have yet to engage with me here, and that’s ok. Please know I am here when you want to say hello, if ever. This newsletter is made with love for you, but it is also oddly therapeutic for me. I feel I can offer more of myself in this way as opposed to small boxes on IG, and that feels good.
xx, Mia
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Holy hell, I miss NYC! There was a time when I could not freaking wait to leave this city that I had been in for nearly 20 years. I moved here in July of 1998 and moved out in September 2017. Age 21 to 40. I grew up here. I met more interesting people than I can even remember. I danced on many bar tops. Ate at the best restaurants and drank at the diviest of dive bars. I managed to get three bachelor's degrees here, along with becoming a yoga and meditation instructor, and studied the art of colon hydrotherapy briefly. Ha, yes, colonics. I partied with rockstars as well as studied a variety of healing modalities under a different category of rockstars. I often joke (kind of) about how I would teach yoga during the day on the Upper East Side, then drink tequila, and smoke Parliament Lights at night down in the village. My life in NYC was a full rinse and repeat of health, sabotage, health, sabotage. So when revisiting, I wanted to pay extra attention to how I can be here for 12 days and not run myself ragged. Well, the fact that I no longer drink is a great start to all this!
Our only plan for this visit was to walk, eat, and take in all the energy we miss dearly. And, of course, see as many of our loved ones’ faces as possible.
I am a person who can live with a baseline of guilt. Guilt if I am doing too much. Guilt if I am not doing enough. This goes with traveling as well. For the past few years, I have been working on this aspect of myself. I have slowly learned to set boundaries around my need to rest and my very essential need for alone time. My husband, who is acutely aware of my needs, still has to be reminded of them. If anyone knows anything about Human Design, I am a projector, and he is a manifesting generator. In short, I need a lot of time to rest and be alone (already well established), and he can go-go-go. He has always been able to power through where I burn out quickly and can become quite moody.
Case in point. It’s our last day in NYC, and I am in my bathrobe in bed writing. And he is on his way to his favorite fitness studio, and then he will go straight to his lunch meeting with an actress he is doing a film with next year. And then straight to watch another friend’s rehearsal. And here I am with zero intentions of leaving this room until my appetite demands me to get dressed and go downstairs.
Here’s the thing with traveling, you have to know yourself. Are you more like me, who needs a lot of rest? or more like Joseph, who seemingly has an endless supply of energy, and going big for 12 days straight doesn’t take a toll?
Since this newsletter is coming from me, you will only be getting this projector’s viewpoint. And I will demand relaxation for us all :)
HYDRATION
Yep, as always. Drink a ton of water. Bring your own water container, and avoid buying single-use plastic the whole trip. When we found we needed to buy our own water, we opted for the largest ones possible. Fill up at your friends homes or anytime you come across clean and filtered water. We did our best with this. NYC could stand to learn a few things from Paris by incorporating fresh and clean water fountains all around the city.
MOVEMENT
I had every intention of staying with my weight training program while here. That is until I actually got here and only wanted to be in Central Park. Plus, the hotel gym was two floors underground, with no windows and no air circulation. And the thought of spending $40+ each day for a fitness class, so I opted out of my weight training, and I did what I was craving. I walked. I walked the shit out of this town. Averaging 12-17 miles a day. We stayed near central park, so each morning, I would go over and do one of the loops. You can choose between 1.7 to 6-mile loops.
Some tried and true workouts in NYC. I didn’t do any of them this time around.
Tone House - this is my husband’s gym, it’s a little too much for me, but if you want the toughest workout in the city, it’s here.
Peloton (obviously)
Chelsea Piers. Also offers a sundeck overlooking the Hudson River. Worthy of a day pass. Work out and then relax under the sun with a smoothie from their smoothie bar.
WALK WALK WALK! Pack some comfy shoes and walk around. It’s the greatest way to see this city. You will witness the whole world walk by you. People from every corner of the earth. It’s amazing and lovely. Wander around all the different neighborhoods. Cross bridges. Don’t use a map. Look up, look down, look all around. There is nothing like this city.
FOOD