by mcaines@gmail.com | May 27, 2018 | Healthy Living, Off the Mat, Travel
Greetings! 
I’ve just spent a week leading a delicious yoga retreat with a group of fantastic people on the coast of Portugal. So lovely! Now I’m heading to Croatia for a few days to unwind with a friend and fellow yoga teacher who assisted me on the retreat (girls trip – woohoo!) I LOVE to travel but it does come with its own set of challenges.
Here are 3 things that I swear by for making my adventures as smooth and joyful as possible.
1. Be open!
There may be delays, things might not go as planned, and you might not find the exact same tea that you drink at home. But you roll with it! We can become quite resistant and stuck in our ways and the wonderful thing about travel is that it forces us out of our comfort zone. The more we can approach the journey with an open mind, the better time we are going to have.
2. Pack light!
Seriously: what is worse than lost luggage? Maybe carrying a huge, heavy suitcase up and down stairs or on and off trains? I’ve been travelling with just a carry on suitcase for the past 4 years and I LOVE it, even for trips 21 days long in two very different climates (Costa Rican heat followed by February freeze in New York). Sure, you don’t have as much variety and choice for what to wear each day but who cares when you can step off a plane and roll into a magical new city without having to wait for your baggage in the airport or be worried about your gear not arriving!? If you’ve never done it I encourage you to try it – it is oh so liberating. I bet you’ll never go back to your old checked baggage ways!
3. Stay hydrated!
This may seem like a strange one but it’s super important. Air travel is so dehydrating and as we shift out of our daily routine and into travel mode (lounging, sightseeing, walking, etc) we can often forget to drink up. Not getting enough water can leave us feeling sluggish, dried out, head-achy, and cramp-y. Not fun! I always travel with a reusable water bottle and make sure I refill it multiple times a day.
What are you favorite travel tips or routines?? I’d love to hear from you!
And does all this travel have you craving an adventure? Visit www.melaniecaines.com/retreats for a full list of upcoming yoga adventures with me!
-mel-
xo
SaveSave
SaveSave
by mcaines@gmail.com | May 15, 2018 | Off the Mat, Healthy Living
And sometimes it REALLY happens and sewer water backs up out of your sink.
Whatta ya gonna do?
I had a plan for Monday, which was to GET STUFF DONE. Leaving the country in 48 hours meant that I had a To-Do list as long as my mat and there was not a second to spare.
My morning practice – check.
Emails – check.
Teach a Lunch Flow class at my studio – check.
I was killing this day.
But you know what wasn’t on that list? Bailing quickly-rising sewer water out of a clogged studio sink with one hand and using my phone to call for help with the other hand.
WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY????
My 1:15pm meeting was on-site with a new teacher on the Nova Yoga scene and once I had the sink situation stabilized for a moment I ran to the other room and told her we couldn’t chat because of a plumbing emergency.
“My husband owns a plumbing company – do you want me to call him.”
YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!
The next few hours were spent carrying buckets of water down the stairs and into the street while the plumbers tried to diagnose the problem. And while the sink water wasn’t flowing, my dreams of tackling all the tasks on my list promptly slid down the drain.
The potential for a tantrum and tears was high. What is the problem? Will it be fixed before I have to get on a plane? What are we going to do about classes this evening? What about the emails I was supposed to write and projects I was supposed to finish this afternoon?
Perhaps on another day this situation would have whipped me into a frenzy but, on this day, I kept my cool. For one, I caught the sink back-up happening instead of walking into a flooded space. Bonus! And I had an amazing colleague by my side whose husband owns a plumbing company. Are you kidding me?? How much better could this work out?
Seeing those blessings gave me some perspective on how much worse the situation could have been and I just rolled with it. We put a few “out of order” signs on bathroom doors, only had to cancel 1 out of 3 evening classes, and everyone was incredibly understanding. The worst-case scenario the plumbers relayed to me didn’t happen and everything was cleared up (and out) in the morning.
Life is awesome and messy and unpredictable and sh*t will happen, again and again. But how we react, respond, and deal 
with the sh*t is everything. Keeping a cool head, maintaining a sense of humour, and going with the flow was so crucial in handling this situation AND had a major impact on everyone involved. I was really proud of myself for not freaking out and it’s cool to see the tangible effects of my yoga practice in real life (regulated nervous system – check!)
A huge shout out to Dawe’s Plumbing and Heating in St. John’s for showing up on short notice and saving the day. And many thanks to Christa Steeves for helping me carry buckets of dirty water down the stairs and for reminding me to breathe =D
Do you have a story of a freak out moment when you were able to keep your cool and go with the flow? I’d love to hear from you!
-melanie-
xo
SaveSave
SaveSave
by mcaines@gmail.com | Apr 27, 2018 | Healthy Living, Off the Mat
I LOVE SLEEP.
So so so much.
It’s definitely in the Top 10 of things that I love. It’s so delicious, incredibly important for our mental and physical health, and I never take it for granted.
And, luckily (knock on wood) I’ve never experienced much trouble sleeping. Sure, there’s the occasional night or two when I have too much on my mind and I find myself tossing and turning until the wee hours of the morning but usually I go deep and dark for 7-8 hours a night.
In the last couple of years I have found that these 3 things have helped make my sleep experience even sweeter:
1. Sleep mask: I looooove my eye mask from Cottonique. It’s adjustable and made from 100% organic cotton. Blocking out the light makes for a deeper sleep for me and I find it so comforting to have something lightly resting on my forehead and the area around my eyes.
2. Meditation: for the past 2.5 yrs I’ve been meditating twice a day for 5 minutes, including at the end of my day, in bed, right before I go to sleep. If my mind feels particularly active I’ll use a breath focused meditation (inhale for 4 counts, exhale for 4 counts), otherwise I’ll choose a mantra or affirmation to silently repeat. This short but powerful practice is a great way to transition from the activity of my day to the stillness of rest.
3. Lavender essential oil: lavender is known for its calming and soothing properties. I like to place a few drops on my wrists, rub them together, and inhale the scent with a few deep breaths. I keep a bottle close by on my nightstand in case I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep. Usually I’m out like a light within a few minutes of breathing it in!
Do you have any favorite bedtime rituals? I’d love to hear from you!
Sweet dreamzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,
-mel-
xo
by mcaines@gmail.com | Apr 16, 2018 | Off the Mat, Travel
This is actually the size of my heart right now after leading my Nova Yoga Retreat in Cuba at Mhai Yoga last week.
I was such a mess the week before I left, dealing with the stress and demands of entrepreneur life. But within 24hrs of arriving in Cuba I experienced such joy and energy and positivity that I felt like I was vibrating, like I was lit up; I realized I was walking around a lot of the time with my hand on chest, as though I was trying to contain the swelling of my heart. I puffed on a cigar, swam in the ocean at night, danced up a storm, smiled til my face hurt, laughed til my belly hurt, & felt joy that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.
And it got me thinking about my joy quota (I saw a stand-up comedy special by Pete Holmes last year and in a life lesson moment he tells the audience to fill what he calls your joy quota: “That’s why you’re here, to cash happy cheques, to live your life”). It wasn’t until I experienced such joy in Cuba that I realized this kind of fun has been absent in my life as of late. It was also a beautiful reminder that this kind of excitement is still possible; I feel like as we get older we can harden and become jaded, perhaps the laughs don’t flow like they used to. But this magical week was a reminder that at 36 I can still find little-kid-xmas-morning-level-excitement while bobbing in the ocean waves or dancing to Latin American pop music in a parking lot.
Before I left to return home I made a vow to cash more happy cheques and to bring more joy into my life. And I’m trying to keep that intention at the top of my list as I return to routine and real life, but it’s challenging, for sure, not to just get swept up in the daily grind. I’m curious: how do you fill your joy quota?
THANK YOU Coco, Kika, Eduardo, Alpi, Micha, Alejandro, Ernesto, MariaCarla, Elie, Carly, & Harry for making our retreat week so blissful; and thank you Cuba, my new happy place.
-mel-
xo
by mcaines@gmail.com | Mar 26, 2018 | Healthy Living, Off the Mat
I know when I’m coming down with something: my head aches and I’m tired, not like “Oh I shouldn’t have stayed up so late to watch that last episode tired” but “what demon has stolen all my life juice and left me feeling like a sack of crap” tired. Luckily, colds and flus usually don’t linger for me because the second I begin to feel under the weather I start in on the list below – it usually just takes a day or two for me to start feeling like myself again.
Here are my tricks:
1. Get the garlic into ya! Peel it and pop it. Into your mouth. RAWWWW. It’ll burn like a MOFO but chase it with some water and you’ll be fine.
2. Plug in your blender or juicer! Make yourself an immune boosting concoction of beets, greens, carrots, ginger, and anything else in your fridge that’s crunchy and colorful.
3. Rest! Skip the Vinyasa and chill. Try on a few Restorative Postures or enjoy the healing affects of Yoga Nidra. I’ve learned that “sucking it up” and just pushing through will only lead to a prolonged period of feeling like garbage. Don’t be a hero: give yourself a couple of days to rest and recover and it’ll make all the difference.
4. Break out the essential oils! Try YogaTherapy NL’s Immune Booster (a delicious blend of oils like Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, and Peppermint) to ward off the ickies. Inhale the scent with some soothing deep breaths or massage a few drops into the soles of your feet before bed.
5. Brew a turmeric latte! Turmeric can help with inflammation so I try and add it in wherever I can. To make yourself a 
Golden Drink combine a mug full of water or milk (or half and half), a teaspoon of coconut oil, a teaspoon of turmeric, half teaspoon of cinnamon, and some black pepper (turmeric is more easily absorbed by the body when combined with pepper). Heat in a saucepan over the stove until it’s good and hot – add in a little honey or maple syrup to taste. I like to transfer the potion to a blender to get a nice smooth mixture but you can always pour into a mug right away (just be sure to stir constantly with a spoon as you sip so all of the magical powders don’t settle to the bottom).
Here’s to staying healthy and well!
-melanie-
xo
by mcaines@gmail.com | Mar 8, 2018 | Healthy Living, Off the Mat, Travel
I was supposed to wrote a blog post but I took a nap instead.
It was delicious. It was glorious. It was exactly what I needed . . . but it didn’t come easily.
I’ve just returned from a brilliant trip that involved taking a vacay and leading a yoga retreat in Costa Rica. I had a great time and felt so nourished and relaxed and fulfilled during the trip. But now I’m back and I am tired (like, “do I have a tropical disease or am I just really tired?” tired). And my supportive inner cheerleader is saying “Your trip was great! You’re completely refreshed! You shouldn’t be feel this way! You’ve got this!”)
But let’s be real: the act of travel is f*cking exhausting (I may have tried to squeeze in too much on the journey home with 3 cities, 4 flights, and a day-long yoga teacher training course. Lesson learned).
So I hopped off the plane and into the yoga studio to teach a room full of students I was delighted to see, followed by unpacking, and laundry, and bills, and emails, and real life. A few days later and I’m still feeling worn out. I was chatting with a couple of my fellow Nova Yoga teachers about it, saying how I just wanted to LIE DOWN between classes. It kinda went like this:
“Have a nap.”
“I can’t . . . I have a blog post to write.”
“The post can wait – if you’re tired, rest.”
“Ok.”
And off to Napland I went. But why couldn’t I get there on my own? Why did I have to wait for someone else to grant me permission to take care of myself?
I’m really good at treating myself in certain ways: eat that cake, buy those boots, take that trip. Done, done, and done. Take me out of my home base and I’m ready to chill, hard. But when I’m home and faced with the responsibility of owning and running a business I really struggle with resting and taking time off without feeling guilty about it. I know I take on a lot: it’s my workaholic nature but I also love what I do and have so many ideas I want to act on and projects I want to start (cue inner cheerleader: YOU CAN DO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!)
So here’s my work: I know that I’m really good at getting shit done and I wouldn’t trade that for anything – my determination and work ethic has served me well and has allowed me to create a rockin’ business and life that I love. But I DO need to get better at giving myself permission to chill, do nothing for an hour, or take an afternoon to rest if I need (even though the to-do list might be 108 pages long) SANS GUILT. We all know that self-care makes us better humans, right? Everyone benefits when we take time to take care.
So here’s to giving ourselves permission to be human: eat the cake, book the massage, take the nap, and don’t think twice about it.
-melanie-
xo
