Just Because – Frantic Shanti

Coming to My Senses: Making Scents, Part 1

^{(Title image: Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash)}

So, this title deserves some correcting. The fact is, I did not make any good scents, but it was my first shot at playing with fragrances and, to be honest, I don’t have anything better to post today, so here goes:

Following up on last week’s fragrance post, I’ve decided to do some combining of my own.

Inspired by what I found surfing the web, my project last week was to turn what I considered to be an uninspired body spray from Trader Joe’s (Cypress and Bergamot Whole Body Deodorant Spray, $6) into something more complex and mysterious, with the help of Google’s AI (the free version of Gemini). The original spray was not pleasing to my nose (maybe just me?), so I experimented with essential oil in an effort to elevate an inexpensive spray to something more.

Now I’m beginning to wonder if there was just something wrong with my bottle, since it had been so hot the week before I bought the spray? It did not smell good to me.

After some back-and-forth with AI prompts, I settled on adding pure frankincense essential oil. Google promised me that,

adding pure frankincense to the cypress and bergamot spray will turn it into a deep, resinous, and traditional “church-like” incense scent. Instead of softening the fragrance, frankincense will significantly amplify its strength and make it smell much more complex and serious.

The Specific Effects of Frankincense:

Deepens the woodiness: Frankincense has natural pine and lemon undertones that lock onto the cypress, intensifying the forest-like qualities.
Adds a smoky sweetness: It introduces a rich, balsamic, and slightly spicy warmth that cuts through the sharp crispness of the original spray.
Enhances longevity: Frankincense acts as a natural fixative. It will slow down the evaporation of the citrusy bergamot, making the entire scent last much longer on your skin.
Shifts the vibe: It moves the fragrance away from a “sporty/fresh” body spray and into a meditative, mysterious, and high-end colognish territory.

Sounds good, huh? It did to me.

I peppered Gemini with questions because it was not clear that the other ingredients in this deodorant spray (not a perfume spray, unfortunately) were going to play nicely with frankincense. Incidentally, I cross-checked with Claude and ChatGPT to see whether all the artificial brains concurred. The answer is: mostly?

Regardless, this is what I went with: started with five drops of frankincense. Shook vigorously, let it sit for 24 hours. Then shook again before trying it.

The verdict? Not much change. So I added three more drops…but didn’t have the patience to wait another 24 hours so went ahead and added three more.

It needed to sit a little longer.

A day later, my husband said that he liked the “frankincensed” version a lot more, and while I agree it was an improvement, I wasn’t completely sold on it. The deodorant spray had a good deal of sage oil (NOT mentioned in the name, by the way) and the sage had a sharpness to it that, even with the help from the frankincense, I noticed in the back of my throat when I took a whiff. Almost like a little burn, like when you mistakenly get soap in your mouth. Unpleasant, but just a faint burn.

To be clear, I wasn’t drinking the stuff, just sniffing it.

So my first foray into trying to mess with scents left me wanting, which is why this post is “Part 1” with the intention of making “Part 2” more successful. When exactly that will take place is an unknown but pretty much anything I try has got to be better than my adulterated body spray.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yeah, I realize that this doesn’t have much to do with cancer, meditation or fitness, but after beating myself up with certifications over the past years, I’m determined to just enjoy myself with more fun pursuits this year.

Coming to My Senses: A Whiff of “Fragrantica”

(Title image: Photo by Andres Molina on Unsplash)

This is one of those “just because” posts…

One of my favorite meditations is sinking into the sensations around me, whether it’s a body scan, opening up to the sounds around me or getting lost in a beautiful scene.

But I am particularly intrigued by scents. Much like fine wine or dark chocolate, fragrances can be very complex and multi-layered, evoking a range of emotions. While my meditations generally don’t allow for experiencing many scents (unless I’m specifically in an environment conducive to it), I find that I’ve very affected by the ones that I encounter during my day, particularly when they strike a chord with me.

I know what I like when I smell it…but I’m not great at being able to pick apart exactly what it is that I’m enjoying so much and naming it. So I’m delving into this more deeply and paying closer attention.

I got a tip from a fragrance counter attendant to visit a website called Fragrantica to search for notes that I enjoy in the hopes of finding perfumes that speak to my senses.

I love this website! It has a free, massive library of fragrances and fragrance elements. Searching for a note (a single, individual smell)—using the citrus fruit bergamot as an example (see images below)—brings to you a page with a listing of known perfumes that contain it. When you select a perfume, you get a listing of the different accords (blends of different fragrance notes) of which it is comprised and can search for suggestions for other fragrances that contain similar scents, in addition to user reviews.

I have also been captivated by the vocabulary of perfumery. Words like sillage, drydown and heart notes to describe elements of a perfume, and unusual notes like petrichor (the aroma of the earth when it rains) and dew drop (which I imagine smelling like an early morning garden) and black diamond (maybe “minerally”? Your guess is as good as mine). These terms describe unique qualities and raw materials, and I love that there’s a language for it.

Some fragrances connect me with emotional states. There’s nothing like getting hit with a scent from the past and being transported back to a different time.

Additionally, some perfume bottles are works of art on their own, intricate and beautiful…and, yes, perhaps exorbitantly priced. Arguably, a museum-worthy piece if not out of reach for most of us.

An example of an exclusive perfume in an ultra-luxurious bottle, Arcanum by AMAFFI, $5,500.
(https://amaffi.com/us/products/arcanum-for-women)

Fragrantica is such a unique website. If you enjoy scents, take a look at it. It has already set me on a scent-discovery journey, it might do the same for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As a reminder, these are simply things that I enjoy. No affiliate links or paid advertisements. After swearing off jumping into another stressful certification this year, I’m taking time to explore the pleasures in my life.

Sometimes I Hate Yoga

^{(Photo by Avrielle Ali on Unsplash)}

So, I’m gonna bitch a bit. If you didn’t come here for that, I’ll see you in next week’s post.

If you’ve decided to stay and slog through my complaints, please know that I’m writing this as someone who is not only a certified yoga teacher (RYT-200) but also a certified teacher of yoga for cancer survivors (y4c), so I have to exert conscious effort to make sure that I’m not part of the problem.

My gripes mainly have to do with beginner-level classes in the US. And I have a list.

Most classes provide insufficient warmup for the majority of students. Important: Stretches are not warmups. Warmups warm up the body, get blood flowing and improve mobility. Stretching cold muscles is a shortcut to an injury. Other fitness modalities have figured this out but many yoga classes start out with static stretches.

In the same vein, some introductory poses are held too long. Look, I get it. I’ve done this too. But getting into twists soon after starting and then holding and trying to deepen them…let’s just say that I’ve spent enough time in Physical Therapy to know that this is not a good idea.

What’s up with the Eagle Arms obsession?
(Photo by Erik Brolin on Unsplash)

Similarly, I’ve been to multiple classes that seem to be in love with Eagle Arms (Garudasana Hasta). Why? And especially not without proper warmup for the pose. I tweaked my shoulder muscles in one class that put us in three sets of Eagle Arms throughout the session including close to the start. Wha???

Particularly in beginner classes, care needs to be taken because as a teacher you are making assumptions about people’s abilities that (a) might make certain asanas inappropriate for them, and even worse (b) might make them feel uncomfortable about backing off from them during a live class, even when they risk injury. Peer pressure is real. Heck, I don’t even want to back off during a recorded class!

Along those same lines, for Pete’s sake, don’t automatically assume that everyone is going to love it when you burn sage or palo santo or whatever it is you’re planning to light on fire in the studio. On the other hand, it’s worth mentioning that I’ve had very astute teachers use aromatherapy in a way that was limited to individual spaces, where students had a chance to indicate whether they did or did not want a waft of essential oil in their direction, and that was perfect! But burning something in a class where you have no idea whether a student has an allergy or even a serious condition like cystic fibrosis means that you may inadvertently send someone to the hospital. Smoke is still smoke, no matter what its role is in traditional beliefs.

Let’s talk about necks. Just because you can turn your neck in a certain way does not mean you should. This is includes even beginner-friendly asanas like Cat-Cow (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana). There is no need to crane your neck to look at the ceiling during Cow. No, no, no. There’s nothing up there worth looking at. And if you’re a teacher, don’t demonstrate potentially injurious extremes.

“Look at meeeeee, all you beginner people!”
(Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash)

When I was studying for my personal trainer certification, I spent a lot of time learning anatomy and kinesiology. When I went through yoga teacher training, not so much. Yoga is complex because of its roots and I agree that proper attention should be paid to them during teacher training with ample opportunities to deepen study later. There are few forms of movement that have such a rich and culturally important tradition. However, in the US, most beginner students are there for the movements and not the philosophy. A teacher being knowledgeable about ayurvedic medicine is not going to prevent one of their students from slipping a disk.

And along those lines, just because an asana exists does not mean that it’s biomechanically safe. I know that yoga imbues certain movements with a sense that they will heal your mind. But if they wreck someone’s body in the meantime…no bueno. So this is a caution for both teachers and students to teach and/or practice material appropriate for the class level.

Finally, for a beginner class, the teacher shouldn’t say something like, “and now, I’d like to give you a chance to do an asana that calls out to you, that we didn’t do in class.” If it’s truly a beginner class, no one will have such an asana. However, if you are giving the more advanced people a chance to, let’s face it, show off in front of everyone else, well, that’s kind of an asshole move.

That’s not what yoga, even in the US, should be like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disclaimer:
I know. I know about the Eight Limbs of Yoga. This is not about that. This is about a garden-variety basic beginner yoga class that you might encounter in the wild. I get that you have the choice of whether or not to do an asana. But as I mentioned, I know better and I still do stupid stuff. What if someone doesn’t know better? Yes, a lot depends on the teacher. Some teachers will try to encourage their students to challenge themselves, which might backfire in a beginner class. Actually, that’s another gripe in itself, but I have more than enough listed up there already.

Choo-Choo Therapy for the Soul

^{(Title image: Photo by JK on Unsplash)}

Note: I am not affiliated with Abao Vision (https://www.youtube.com/@abaovision) not have I received compensation for this post. I just greatly enjoy his channel.

The last weeks have been a mix of seasonal illnesses and seeing my daughter off for an out-of-state internship.

In a word, it’s been frantic. I’m tired.

All those things I’d been planning to write about have flown out the window. So instead, I’m going to take you on a train ride, where you can languidly gaze out onto the landscape and watch the changing scenery.

There are two options, and each comes with an ambient-only version if you don’t fancy the gentle piano music (see the link in the description, or pinned as the first comment). I get that. Sometimes you just want to allow the clak-clak-clak of the train to lull you into a dreamy state.

And if you prefer a frostier environment, there’s a white winter version of the train too (again, the ambient-only link is in the description and pinned comment).

When the world gets too crazy and high-pressured, this train ride is a lovely escape. Relax and stare out the window.

I hope you enjoy it.

When Life is a Bed of Roses

As I dig my way out from under a nasty virus (yes, still!), I’m forgoing the usual post and instead presenting photos from the flowers that are currently blooming around my home.

They make me so happy. I know that parts of the United States are just beginning to shake off the cruel cold that has overstayed its welcome, and I am so grateful that, where I now live, I no longer have to deal with harsh winters. For everyone else, I hope the snow melts soon.

So, as a lead up to warmer days, here is a smattering of the beauty that I see every time I leave our apartment. Happy Spring, everyone!

Favorite Calm Things: Between Two (Furry) Ears

^{(Title image: still photo captured from “Between2Ears” Twitch stream)}

I like finding some calming things to focus on when my brain is in overdrive. In my “Favorite Calm Things” series I’ve been mainly posting about streams on YouTube and Twitch.

Leyla, the star of Between2Ears.
(Photo from Twitch page)

So here’s another one that I adore! It’s called “Between2Ears” and chronicles walks in nature from the perspective of a dog named Leyla from Germany. The scenery is lovely, both the environment and Leyla’s soft and furry head. It’s one of those puppy heads that you’d love to sit and scratch.

These are not live streams, but they do run almost non-stop on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/between2ears) so there’s always something to watch…and it’s always daytime.

For those who aren’t interested in setting up a free Twitch account, there are also a number of videos of Leyla available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@between2ears-virtualdogwal771/videos) featuring walks during different seasons of the year and in a variety of locations.

Leyla has a good camera set-up with an excellent gimbal that helps steady the image. There is a slight bounce to her step and while I don’t have any issues with it, check it out for yourself to see whether the movement is too much.

Watching the world between Leyla’s ears.
(Still photo captured from stream)

The stream and posted videos do a great job of recreating the experience of taking a curious puppy for a walk. Because the feed is recorded and slightly edited, you get the get good parts without mishaps or camera issues.

For me, as someone who adores dogs (and animals in general) but whose living situation currently prohibits me from having a pet of my own, this is such a sweet, calm way of experiencing the joy of a walk in nature with an inquisitive puppers. Until I’m in a place where I can again have a pet of my own, I can at least have this.

Hope you enjoy it too!

Favorite Calm Things: Orchid Show

^{(Title image: Photo by White.Rainforest ™︎ ∙ 易雨白林. on Unsplash)}

This post doesn’t need a lot of words, the pictures will be enough.

The quick description is that I had the chance to stop by the San Diego Country Orchid Show this past weekend, and the display was as glorious as I expected it to be. Lots of stunningly gorgeous flowers in a brilliant array of colors. It’s the kind of thing that takes my breath away and ushers in a rush of endorphins.

I was happily clicking photos on my phone and I was not the only one. Here is a smattering of the beauty I observed:

(Gallery photos by FranticShanti)

The last image is, of course, not an orchid but rather a very friendly talking parrot who made sure to say “Hi!” to everyone who walked by.

An Inspirational, Motivational Snail

^{(Title image: Photo by Frederick Yang on Unsplash)}

There are good weeks and there are bad weeks…and then there are weeks that you’re kind of managing and getting by, but know that your stressors will still be there for a while.

Last week was one of those for me. On the bright side, such days are a perfect time to practice stress management techniques. Notice the ups and downs. Ride them like waves, understanding that they will peak and ebb in a cyclical manner and eventually wash up on shore. All of this can lead to personal growth, even though we might not have wanted such a lesson in the first place.

At the same time, you might be thinking, “Thanks, but I’d like to pass on the personal growth for now.” In that case, maybe what you need is a short video of a snail doing something that seems impossible.

Here’s a little clip a friend brought to my attention that provides “don’t give up” inspiration for those times when you are waaay out of your comfort zone and will be having to pull yourself along for some time to come.

Hope you get as much inspiration out of this little guy as I did. Enjoy!

When ya gotta keep going, streeeeeeeetch…and then stretch some more.

Favorite Calm Things: Chipmunks and Squirrels

^{(Title image: Photo by Raymond Eichelberger on Unsplash)}

Sometimes I need to shift my attention from the worries of the day and look at little fuzzy critters. One of my favorite outlets for this has become the Twitch stream @Chipmunks_and_Squirrels, on YouTube as @Chipmunksandsquirrels.

As the name suggests, this is a video stream of small woodland animals set in a lovely little backyard sanctuary built on the edge of a Connecticut forest. The audio is recorded at the same time as the video so you get a true sense of being in the woods, watching the little critters eat all the snackies put out for them.

It’s also touted as the perfect stream to leave on for your cats or dogs to keep them occupied. Sadly, I don’t have a pet to test this with, but it certainly serves as a soothing balm for me during a hectic work day! I often leave the stream on in the background as I’m working. It’s the perfect mix of nature sounds to be calming while not too distracting. And it provides a nice break to look at something other than spreadsheets.

Video of the activity from a live stream — “Chipmunks and Squirrels” streams live everyday on YouTube and Twitch.

The most frequent visitors tend to be gray and red squirrels and the high-definition camera focuses quickly to give beautiful closeups of them. But I’ve also seen an array of birds, including colorful bluejays and cardinals, and in the evening, curious raccoons. That’s just within the last couple of months.

Some of the squirrels I’ve seen often enough that I’ve been able to recognize them, including ones I’ve dubbed “Notch” (who has a notch in one ear) and “Slice” (who is missing the top of an ear). But there are quite a few others who come by.

And this is all in the cold of winter. I’m looking forward to warmer weather, longer days and the variety of creatures that spring and summer will bring. Should be lovely!

The YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@Chipmunksandsquirrels) also offers a lot of video clips and shorts for those of us without a lot of time or attention span. Check it out and let me know what you think. 😀

A Vote for Respecting Each Other

^{(Title image: Photo by alpay tonga on Unsplash)}

Some people may experience resistance to this concept.

But as the United States heads into a contentious election, there are a lot of electrified emotions. People are on edge, tempers short and those who think differently from us are viewed with suspicion, disdain or hostility.

It’s very easy to get sucked into that kind of thinking because “us vs. them”messaging abounds and there’s always someone who seeks to profit from continual polarization.

Perhaps someone supports the “other” candidate and we imagine that they are a certain type of person with numeous negative characteristics.

But I offer a different way of looking at them.

We open ourselves to heartbreak when we close the door to understanding.
(Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash)

Consider someone that you’ve met or read about and formed a negative opinion of based on very little information. All you know is that they disagree with you on topics that you feel strongly about.

Then think about what their motivations are. And instead of allowing yourself to follow down the path of immediate condemnation, consider that they might have motivations very similar to yours. If they seem angry, consider that the anger and hatred you perceive is stoked by fear and concern.

They may fear for what happens to their family. Perhaps they feel that their children are at risk. It’s possible that they believe their livelihood is threatened or that they themselves are in grave danger. They may feel very deeply about the same things that you feel deeply about, but their perspective is different.

What if you try to soften your views of them? That doesn’t mean you have to agree with them. But try not to vilify them for how passionately they care about the issues that they do.

Take a deep breath, it’s okay.
(Photo by freestocks on Unsplash)

Do you find yourself resisting this practice? Perhaps it seems like you don’t want to “give them an inch” because of a plethora of perceived injuries. Or that extending them some grace is somehow morally reprehensible.

But does living with that kind of anger in your heart serve you better? What are the emotions that keep you from wishing someone well: fear, suspicion, anger, pain, obstinance…all these are negative drivers. They will never bring you a sense of peace.

There is a point at which we realize that maintaining polarization takes far more energy than acknowledging that someone thinks differently because they care deeply, even though their solution is different from yours.

Showing respect to people is not the same as agreeing with them. You do not have to vote for their candidate. You don’t have to believe that their way is the only way.

But try to release animosity. Because if there is one right that we should all grant ourselves, it is to live together in an environment where we understand each other, even if we don’t agree.