natalini 3/19/21 natalini 3/19/21

Weekend Design & Wellness Project

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS, TUNE IN & ASK YOURSELF WHAT YOU NEED AND WANT?

This is a great opportunity to write a letter to yourself. It can be addressed to the child you once were, to the older person you hope to become or to your current self. Include advice, praise or explain a situation or circumstance in terms that you at any age will understand. The purpose of this exercise is to connect to the you that doesn’t have the world depending upon you or the titles you carry in your social and family life. This is about your relationship with yourself, the most important relationship you will ever have. The creative part of this exercise is that you are to tune into your inner knowing (that little voice or feeling in your tummy that says “yes” or “no.”) Ask yourself what would bring you the most joy this weekend. It doesn’t have to cost anything or take up too much time, but if those things are available to you, then go for it. This is all about you feeding your soul with what lights you up so you can be an even better whatever you are to others. Love all up on yourself and know that you are beautiful/handsome, talented, strong, intelligent, lovable, creative and worth the time it takes to work on loving yourself. Did I say love yourself enough? Okay, so do it. You will feel amazing when you wake up Monday morning.

natalini 3/18/21 natalini 3/18/21

Savasana

Savasana (shah-VAH-sah-nah or shih-VAH-snah - The final resting pose at the end of every yoga class and the most favored of all poses. In savasana, a yogi lies in relaxed stillness while the nervous system, heart rate, blood pressure return to a normal rhythm. There may be a tingling or vibrating sensation throughout the body. This is the moment to feel accomplished that you showed up for yourself on your mat and made it through a challenging class. Savasana is the hard-earned reward for your mind and body after they have worked so hard to get along during the whole class. The mind tells the body to be still or keep going while the body refrains from telling the mind to “F” off when the body falls out of a position. Ahh, unity!

Savasana can also be had at home on the floor with a yoga mat or blanket. It helps to tighten all of your muscles, hold for a five seconds and then release. Position your body in a mid flight snow angel shape and let your feet flop to their respective sides. Keep the mind focused on the tingling sensation of the body for 3 to 10 minutes. When you’re ready to get back to life, slowly wiggle your toes and fingertips and gently start to roll to the right side and then up to a seated position. Moving too quickly can be dizzying so give yourself enough time to ease out of this relaxed state. Namaste!

Side note: When I lived in California I went to a few hot yoga studios where during savasana, the instructor would walk around the room and wave a lavender scented towel over everyone. I wish every hot yoga studio would do this. Hint, wink, nudge, yoga instructors of Philadelphia.

natalini 3/17/21 natalini 3/17/21

Self Portrait

3 STEPS TO DRAW A SELF PORTRAIT & A DEEP DARK SECRET

Decided if you’d like to use a photo of yourself as a reference or use a mirror. If you choose to use a mirror, you will need to sit very still just moving your eyes to capture your features and angles properly. It’s helpful to stare at your face in the mirror before you get started to get familiar with small details that you may have always overlooked. Step one is the most important step and it is also the deep dark secret. Shhh

STEP 1: The secret in truly capturing a person is finding their “high” eye. The eye line is what makes each person unique so if you use a flat straight line to set the eye upon, the face will not look like yourself or the person you’re drawing. To find the “high” eye, look in the mirror and see if you can find which of your eyes sits higher than the other. Everyone has one eye slightly higher than the other. Once you find this on yourself and on anyone else, you already have the essence of their unique face started. This angle is used in creating the horizontal line for the eyes. Get that angle just right and you’ll save yourself a bunch of frustration and erasing when you’re further along in the portrait.

STEP 2: Create the oval, the center line and the horizontal eye line that is unique to your face. Then, draw the triangle measurement from the center of the eyes to the base of the lips which should be the same length on all three sides. In the third image below, you’ll see a bunch of eyes all over the face. Another trick is that the measurements of the face are in “eye” width. For example, there are five eye widths from temple to temple. The nose is one eye wide and there is one eye’s width from eye to the edge of the nose and one eye’s width from the corner of the mouth to the jaw. Of course there will be some variations with each face so use this as a guide to see how this works for your face.

STEP 3: Study the basic lines and shapes of your features for now. Leave the shading and ultra fine details for another time. At first, these sketches may resemble some of Picasso’s or Matisse’s work (enlarged, flat and asymmetrical shapes). Practice the basic shapes of the eyes, nose, lips and maybe ears outside of the oval. This will help you feel more relaxed and fluid with your sketching experimentation. Some of my favorite sketches happened when I was practicing before the “real” drawing or painting was underway. Once you feel as though you have the shapes of your face captured, use those sketches as a reference and add them to your oval face shape. Be sure to use light strokes if you use the guides so they can be easily erased.

NOTE: As with all creative exercises, have fun and go easy on yourself. It takes a lot of consistent practice to make something look effortless. If you find this portrait activity enjoyable and want to take your drawing to the next level, check out some videos from talented artists on Skill Share or YouTube.

Enjoy my sloppy and creepy sketches to get started.

natalini 3/16/21 natalini 3/16/21

Archive of Achievements

Achievements large and small are deserving of acknowledgement. Today is for creating a timeline of events from as far back as you can remember consisting of new experiences, achievements, promotions, awards and tough lessons learned through major losses. The lessons through losses are probably the most ingrained memories since the ego and confidence took a hit before they were ever realized. You are granted permission to spend some time on self recognition for the events or moments you’re proud of surviving. If it helps, make a rough list of anything that comes to mind and put a year or age next to it to get started. Take a few days as it may take that long for memories to surface. Once you’re content with the list of achievements and experiences, put them in chronological order. Save the list and revisit it in those difficult moments so you can see how far you’ve come and then add this one to the list. Maybe this is the push or hard shove you needed to write that memoir you’ve been mentally writing for years. Cheers to you and all you’ve grown through in your life, keep going.

For a lighthearted read about life lessons, check out “Little Joni’s Life Lesson,” by Joni Myers, available on Amazon. Hint, if you’re from the east coast you can try and guess where Joni grew up from the various “clues” throughout the book. This is a great book to add to your summer reading list that will have you laughing on the beach.

Photo by: Sarah Derweilen @sarahdorweiler

NEED MORE…

Design & Wellness Coaching will reset your mind, body and home to create balance in your life. Schedule your appointment for Design & Wellness Coaching to receive your custom Roadmap Plan.

natalini 3/15/21 natalini 3/15/21

POMPEII

Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and left Pompeii buried under 13 to 20 feet of volcanic ash and pumice that would lead to the preservation of the foundation of the region, artifacts, mosaics, frescoes, pottery along with human and animal remains. Archaeologist are still uncovering treasures and remains of the once thriving region with a population of about 12,000. Just about 1,200 (and counting) human remains have been discovered. The most recent findings were of a ceremonial chariot made from bronze and tin, in March 2021.

I had the honor of visiting Pompeii in 2018 where I stood in complete awe over the lasting structures, fountains, pigments in the wall art and mosaic floor tiles. While walking the streets—where water once carried sewage—imagined what life was like back then just as everyone else does when touring Pompeii. As I imagined the furniture that filled the rooms and the accessories that adorned the tabletops of Pompeii, I had a profound analogy to humans having an inner “Pompeii,” making new discoveries every day, year or decade of life. It’s kind of cool to think of self discovery as a never-ending excavation and we get to be the archaeologists of our own lives.

Please enjoy these pictures of Pompeii that I took on my most memorable trip.