The Magical Thinking of March

I often slip into this specific kind of magical thinking where I forget that, no matter what my intentions might be, life has its own plans that are beyond my control. February and March were a reminder of that.

Although, I can say that I believe I have done a good job of keeping things much simpler this year (pats self on back), that hasn’t always involved what I imagined that it would—logistical things like water, supplements, and moving my body in more gentle and intuitive ways. I do think those things have helped make me feel better in my body, but what has really been required is a sense of flow and acceptance.

lifeNikki Van NoyMarch 31, 2024loss, slow, gentle, massage

Simple Things I Did for Myself in January

January got off to a slow start, which is exactly what I intended.

And then, about a week in, I found myself starting to panic at the slow-ness of it all [insert forehead-slapping emoji].

lifeNikki Van NoyFebruary 6, 2024water, news, supplements, simple

Revisiting the Past

his week, I decided to fly my daughter to NYC to see some Broadway shows and generally traipse around the city for our summer vacation. It made sense to stay on the Upper West Side due to its proximity to Broadway and Central Park and the fact that it’s calmer than most other parts of the city. Plus, I lived there when I worked at Random House, so I have a better handle on it than other parts of Manhattan.

The only issue is that there aren’t a ton of hotels on the UWS. And of the few that are in that area of town, there is one that I was studiously avoiding. In the end, though, I realized it was the hotel that made the most sense and so I booked it, gearing up for a very different experience than I’d had the last time I stayed there.

lifeNikki Van NoyJune 24, 2023Comment

Retreat

I spent the past week on a yoga retreat at a stunning resort in Sayulita, Mexico, in a little enclave snuggled into a jungle and overlooking vast and rough seas. It was the first time I’d been on any sort of significant trip that doesn’t involve Disney princesses since I went to Bali in 2016.

lifeNikki Van NoyMarch 24, 2023retreat, relaxation, yogaComment

Starting with Ease ... or Something Like That

After two weeks of alternately running around and doing all of the holiday activities and then chilling hard in a succession of post-holiday Pajama Days, the first day back to school for my daughter and the first day back at work for me felt jarring. This year, I decided to take the holiday break very seriously and even went so far as to turn off all of the notifications on my phone and shut down my email boxes for two full weeks. It was glorious and much-needed—a couple weeks untethered, letting my family’s little world get very small, quiet, and stress-free.

lifeNikki Van NoyJanuary 4, 2023Comment