Sensory Calming Techniques

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Bhanu Misra Marya

I recently came across this easy calming technique using only your 5 senses!

Sensory activities have proven benefits for children such as increased self esteem and improved emotional well being. So why wouldn’t this also work for adults (with a few tweaks of course!)

For me I usually do one activity that combines all at least 3 of the 5 senses (like going for an outdoor run or setting up and taking pretty photos). But the perspective of doing only 1 thing really speaks to the mindfulness and being present when doing a single calming activity.

So the next time you are looking for some calming activities or need to reduce anxiety after a stressful event consider these 5 techniques to awaken your senses and relax…

Smell: Light a scented candle

Sound: listen to songs that make you nostalgic

Taste: drink a mint or lavender tea

Touch: Hold hands or cuddle a pet

Sight: Look up at the sky

15 Mid-Week Mood Boosters

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Bhanu Misra Marya

Sharing a mid week list of mood boosters + some of my creative photography! I truly loved capturing the image of the flowers and the lines of shadowed light. I need to get better at prioritizing capturing creative photography everyday! Scroll down to see the image as well as a list of mood boosters. I hope that one or two works for you!

Read 5 pages or a chapter of a book
Put on a cute outfit and take some mirror selfies
Make a list or a do a brain dump
Write a letter to your future self about how proud you are of your accomplishments
Tidy up some space in your home
Setting up personal BHAGs and breaking them down into executable steps/milestones
Hug everyone in your family
Take a warm shower or a bath if you have enough time
Go for a walk or run (make sure a portion of it includes being in a forest)
Meditate
Use the pomodoro effect to focus on completing a piece of work
Make a vision board
Write down what you are grateful for
Drink an entire bottle of water
Do something creative

Exploring Glen Stewart Ravine

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Bhanu Misra Marya

The last few months of the shelter in place with the people in your own household was challenging and rewarding experience. On one hand, we were with each other all the time without the help of our village and on the other hand we got to spend all this time together that I always felt we were missing out.

When some of the restrictions lifted it was nice to enjoy the warm weather which worked really well as some of the first areas to open for public use were golf courses, open space parks and trails.

We have some great friends and family who made plans / did the research to figure out where to go and what to see (Nokiidaa Trail, Moccasin Trail and Wahoosh Falls) and then finally got out of my energy rut and found Glen Stewart Ravine and knew we had to check it out.

Glen Stewart Ravine is a lush, deep forest albeit short trail walk in the middle of the city is pure magic. There are number of streams, downed logs for seating and lots of shade.

There are a few different entrances (Beech St, Glen Manor Dr and Kingston Rd), we came in from Kingston and there were a few 100 stairs to make it down. We managed to see the cute stream (pictured below) and then found a cute shaded area to eat lunch (pictured above).

The middle of the trail is the entrance from Beech and it literally looked like we were in Hawaii!

The trail is not stroller friendly so keep babies in a carrier and leave the bikes/scooters at home. The air is fresh and the way the sun pours in through the trees is amazing – you’ll just wish the trail was much longer :)

A quote that gives me peace and strength

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Bhanu Misra Marya

What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
If it’s a workday: Turn off my alarm, grab my glasses, phone/journal/pen. After regular getting up activities, I put on my apple watch :)
If it’s a weekend: And I haven’t been woken up by an alarm or by my kids, I check to see what the kids are doing. After regular getting up activities, I put on my apple watch lol!

What gives you energy?
My creative hobbies, completing a priority task, hugging my kids/husband or a really good run, confidence in my experience.

What is your secret life hack?
Practicing gratitude using the DayOne App with the built in Five Minute Journal templates.

Name a book that changed your life?
I have two from the last 10 years: The Alchemist and Light is the New Black.

Tell us about your relationship with your phone? Does it sleep with you?
I charge my phone on airplane mode on my nightstand, so no it absolutely does not sleep with me. I’ve had a goal to get our phones out of room at night. First step is to buy 2 alarm clocks and convince my husband to charge his phone elsewhere in the house overnight.

How do you deal with email?
Work email on a typical workday: I check my email too often. Both due to the nature of my work (I am a manager in the innovation & strategy space) and because it’s been a habit of my career. I would say several (5-10) times an hour.
Personal email on a typical day: Not as often because I only check it on my phone, maybe 3-5 times a day.

You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do?
Pull out my e reader and hope that its charged so I can read!

When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
Over the Winter Break! It was the first time I had taken 2 weeks off since 2012. We hosted several dinners, I cleaned the house 4 times, had to take care of the kids full time for a few days and had to make the Christmas magic (mom’s you know what I mean). It was fun and exhausting. Definitely glad to be back to our regular routine after a full and lively break.

When was the last time you felt you failed and who did you overcome it?
Motherhood is the most humbling journey and I fail every day (i.e.: maybe I lost my patience, I yelled, looked at my phone too much in front of my kids or didn’t play with them when they asked). I don’t put myself down for every “failure” – I am human and a millennial mother in a digital age (we are the first generation of mothers/parents in this type of society) I overcome it by talking about what happened (with my kids or husband) and lots of hugs.

Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace?
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself // Leo Tolstoy

Feel free to answer these questions in the comments below or on your own blogs or social medium of your choice!

(Where did you find these questions?)

More like this? Check out my year in review from 2018.

Lunch at Restoration Hardware

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Bhanu Misra Marya

You know you are a parent of young children when you feel the best way to describe a delicious child free meal is by quoting Julia, Child. 😂😂

We don’t often do this. Fancy restaurants are just not in the docket with spilt milk and sticky fingers. But we are finding that as the girls are growing we have more opportunities to make time for just the 2 of us.

With that said, we finally checked out Restoration Hardware Cafe. I’ve heard soooo many good things about this restaurant. About how beautiful it is, about the chandeliers, the trees and the furnishings.

At the cafe, we started with their fries and garlic aioli. Ya I know basic, but so delicious. The fries weren’t too thick and were the perfect combination of crispy and fluffy. I enjoyed the fries with a refreshing glass of Pinot Grigio. As I was choosing my main, the Simple Prep Fish (which was a marinate of EVOO, dill and lemon), the server suggested I go with the Gem Salad as pair. All of my favourite ingredients put together in a meal – yes I will!

The filet of fish was thin and so the flavors were evenly distributed. I asked for my salad dressing on the side and thankfully so because it was the perfect accent to the fish. The mister got the RH burger which was a double pattie – which he said was also good.

We did stroll around the store before and after lunch. In my humble opinion, the pieces are more suited for a mansion than a small suburban home. Thankfully the cafe doesn’t give off that vibe at all]. And for me the food was way more delightful.

(Tip from a local: if you are going to the restaurant, get there early. They do not take reservations and the wait time can be anywhere from 10-60 min)

Day in the Life Photography Session – Reviews + Photos!

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Bhanu Misra Marya

All photos by Ashley Eve Photography.

This post is way over due! To put some context behind the statement. We had this session in July, I booked the session in January and I actually started following Ashley in November of the previous year 😃

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Ashley is the photographer behind Ashley Eve Photography. One of the most easiest going photographers I’ve ever worked with. She’s passionate about her photography style which is about capturing families in their natural state: brushing teeth, kids in time outs, bubble play in the backyard, eating lunch. She calls it “Day in the Life” photography and I call it brilliant!

What I really liked about Ashley is that she’s doing something different. Her photography is showing a very personal side of a family. It’s raw and authentic. At the same time it’s beautiful, intricate and dynamic.

Disrupting an industry isn’t only about Technology, Automation and AI. It’s about having an improved customer-centric approach to old business standards.

Ashley is very responsive by email, her business organization is impeccable, and the fact that she does everything (client brochures, contracts, pricing packages) via an E-commerce CRM tool excited the software engineer and BA side of me!

And to top it all off, she is very flexible and accommodating. She offers a pre-session video call (through all available mobile systems) and will come to photograph wherever you and are family are most comfortable.