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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Unclog a Blocked Drain with Zip It Tool

Eventually the water in your shower, bathtub or sink begins to drain slowly, and you may even have a pool of standing water that does not drain at all.  What can you do?

Usually this is caused by a mat of hair in the bathroom sink or tub, made sticky with soap scum and toothpaste suds.  In the kitchen, it is caused by grease from dishwashing, congealed with food debris that has washed down the drain.  Three good ways to open your drain are using a Zip It tool, using baking soda and vinegar, and doing regular preventive flushing to stop clogs in the first place.

The Zip It tool is a long flexible plastic stick with barbs on both sides that goes down the drain easily and pulls up the hair that forms the clog.  It is cheap, easily available at Wal-mart or Canadian Tire for under ten dollars, and very effective.  Once the hair or food debris is broken up, pour about a quarter of a cup of baking soda followed by about the same amount of vinegar down the drain, and wait about fifteen minutes.  Then pour very hot water down the drain to flush the drain clear. 

For regular drain maintenance, use this tip from a plumber I had to call once to open the drain with a plumbing snake for a very persistent clog.  Homeowners can stop clogs from building by filling the sink to the brim once a month with very hot water, then letting it drain all at once.  The hot water will flush the drain and keep it open.


Remembering the law of life, "As above, so below," we can see a clogged drain in the house plumbing as a call to action on a deeper level, too. Blocked energy on subtler levels manifests on progressively denser and more obvious levels of vibration as we ignore, deny or simply don't notice the signs as they appear first more subtly.  If we are holding onto the past and to old patterns of thought, fear or feeling, they will hold us back from new growth.  Life has a way of amplifying the signals until they are too obvious to miss--they appear in things breaking down in our car, our home, our relationships, or our health until we are forced to stop, take stock, re-direct and make changes.  Hasn't this ever happened to you?  It happens to me all the time.  The first response may be irritation, even anger and rage, but once awareness awakens, we can laugh at ourselves, at the smallness of mind that tries to keep us in the familiar and comfortable, and avoid what we need most, which is our path of spiritual growth.  Growth is never easy.  It is painful and frightening, and is a form of death in that we can only grow by allowing the old to die.  We are afraid, so we resist, we deny, we avoid, we cling to the past.

You may have been on a beach honeymoon in a Caribbean paradise and come back home to face the nitty-gritty in the plumbing and the clogged drains in the sink.  But don’t worry--it’s a ten minute job to unclog your drain and get it running smoothly again.  Do the job with love and awareness, not anger, and welcome the opportunity to scrutinize where in your life you are blocking free movement of energy and preventing full expression of the spirit within you.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Saturday Women's Yoga Class in Kamloops

Saturday Women's Yoga is continuing for July at 1 pm -2:15 at Let's Move Studio.  It's at 925 McGill Place, behind the Sunmore Ginseng Building.  Click on the link for the directions, or look at the map in the margin.

July dates are: 
     July 2
     July 9
     NO CLASS JULY 16, since the studio has a prior booking for the Anusara Yoga Workshop
     July 25 is the LAST CLASS TIL FALL

We will take a break for July 30 and all of August, and start again on September 10.  Registration is open now.  Let me know if you are joining the class. Email janisg@look.ca to register.  I need 10 students registered to run the class. 



Price:  4 classes for $40.  Drop in is $12 per class.

Wear comfortable, stretchy clothing (no jeans!!) and don't wear perfume, fragrance or scented body products to class.  Some people are allergic, and while we are working with yogic breathing we need natural air.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Soaring Voices: Il Volo Takes Flight

Soaring Voices: Il Volo Takes Flight

Is it a waste of public money to fund arts and music programs in schools?  Go no farther before you listen to this version of O Sole Mio, a trio of teenage tenors’ first song together on Italian TV.
Read more...

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Saturday Afternoon Women's Yoga at the Kamloops Wellness Festival

June 17, 18 and 19 is the Kamloops Wellness Festival at Let's Move Studio!!  This is an opportunity to join workshops, take free yoga classes in many different styles with a variety of Kamloops' teachers, and explore a healing garden with trial treatments in various energy modalities for $1 a minute.

From 1-2:15 I am teaching a free all-levels Saturday Afternoon Women's Yoga class.  This is your chance to try yoga if you are a beginner, get back into it if you are rusty, or try it outdoors in the yoga tent if you are experienced.  Recharge your practice, and enjoy the atmosphere.

Regular Saturday Morning Women's Yoga is happening 11am-12:15 at Kamloops Sport and Orthopedic clinic, at 1201 Summit.  Look for the maps in the previous post, or email janisg@look.ca for information.

Om Shanti Om

 

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Tutoring and Academic Course Support

I am available a few hours a week for private or small group tutoring.
Services I offer include:

  • conversation on current events and cultural topics
  • IELTS and TOEFL preparation
  • Academic course support
  • driver training support
When:  Friday at 1pm, 2pm or 3pm
            Sunday at 1 pm, 2pm or 3 pm

Where:  274 Whiteshield Crescent, Kamloops

Investment:
  • private: $100/hour
  • group of 2: $80 each student/hour
  • group of 3: $60 each student/hour
  • group of 4: $50 each student/hour 
To book an appointment, email janisg@look.ca

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Saturday Women's Yoga Classes in Kamloops

I am teaching a Women's Yoga classes in Kamloops on Saturdays at 1pm.  Bring your friends, your mothers, your sisters, your daughters, and practice classical hatha yoga with us.  The 11 am class is no longer running due to low enrollment.




The class is at 1-2:15 pm at Let's Move Studio, 925 McGill Place behind the Sunmore Ginseng building.

Click on the link to see the map.  Each class includes yogic breathing, postures, chanting mantras, relaxation and meditation.  Wear comfortable stretchy clothes and bring a yoga mat.  Since breathing is such an important part of the yoga practice, please don't wear scented body products to yoga class.

Dates: July 2
            July 9
            NO CLASS JULY 16 since the studio is previously booked for a workshop.
            July 23
            NO CLASS JULY 30 since I will be away for a reunion in Vancouver

Classes will break for August and start again in September.


Investment:  4 classes /$40; $12 to drop in.

Opening Mantra
  This is a peace mantra from the Upanishads, one of the sources of the teachings of yoga.

ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Om Saha Naavavatu |
Saha Nau Bhunaktu |
Saha Viiryam Karavaavahai |
Tejasvi Naavadhiitamastu Maa Vidvissaavahai |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Meaning:
May God protect us both (the teacher and the student),
May God nourish us both,
May we work together with energy and vigour,
May our study be enlightening, not giving rise to hostility,
Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.

Listen to it here.













Wednesday, June 1, 2011

2 Bedroom Apartment in Simon Fraser Hills, Burnaby available April1 or 15, 2016















This quiet, unfurnished, ground-floor garden apartment is available April 1 or 15, 2016.  In a park-like setting adjacent to the green space of Burnaby Mountain, it is close to Lougheed Mall, Production Way-University Station, Cameron Library, SFU, and PMC Sierra.  It has in-suite washer and drier, dishwasher, laminate floors, a patio for barbecues, and a line of sight from the kitchen sink that looks out to park.  The complex has a fitness centre and outdoor pool.  Near the intersection of Production Way and Beaverbrook, it is on Centaurus Circle , a 40-minute Skytrain ride to downtown Vancouver. 
A cat or well-behaved dog is allowed.  An assigned underground parking stall goes with the unit.
This is a family-oriented complex with quiet hours between 10 pm and 10 am.  Dogs must be leashed on common property, and owners are required to clean up after their pets.  Wildlife is common in the neighbourhood and it is advisable to keep pets indoors at night to be safe from coyotes and raccoons.  
     
Rent is $1350.  One-year lease. Damage deposit.  No smoking.

Queries email me at janisg@look.ca

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Help Me Sleep

Sleep deprivation can be used as a form of torture, and it is one many people put themselves through these days.  We all pay for it, in costs of increased road accidents, lost economic productivity, stress-induced illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and more.  The Mayo Clinic reports that as many as 1/3 of adults may suffer from insomnia and restless sleep at some point in their lives.

Although occasionally extended periods of insomnia and inadequate sleep may be symptoms of an underlying sleep disorder, usually there are ways people can help themselves improve their quality of sleep.  These include:

  • establishing a regular bedtime and routine, 
  • removing office equipment and electronic devices from the bedroom, 
  • reducing caffeine intake, and 
  • learning relaxation techniques like gentle yoga, guided relaxation, and yoga nidra.


For 15 tips on how to sleep better tonight, read the full article here.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Join SheToldMe.com with Janis Goad as your referrer!

Promote your blog or website by publishing a short summary with a referral link at SheToldMe.com.  Be sure to use the "share" tool to send it to Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, LinkedIn and others to increase traffic to your site.  It's free!! It works!!