5 Tips for Riding The Subway in New York even if you are a Tourist . . . . .

Believe it or not there is an art to riding the subway in New York. New Yorkers don't have the luxury of having cars and being able to drive from home to the store only a few miles away. Instead we rely on this thing we call the "iron horse". It has its moments but for the most part it works. There are always some unexpected challenges that can happen during your commute for example you just sat down and are comfortable when the train goes out of service, or there is a sick passenger while you are in the tunnel and now you have to just wait, or my favorite the train is not stopping at the stop you need to get off and no one tells you that until you get closer to the stop you need to get off! So here are a few rules to help you whether you use the subway every day or are just visiting! Feel free to share some of your tips!

1. Know Your Route and Have a Backup Plan- Know where you are going before you get on the train, look up directions online and print them out if you have to. Also ask the clerks in the booth for a map. There are some subway cars equipped with maps but they are right above a seat so in most cases you will be hovering over someone while you are trying to figure out where you're going. Instead ask the person in the Map Seat for directions, and if they are unsure trust me they will look at the map with you and help you figure it out. This is way better than hovering over someone who may or may not be in the most understanding of moods. Also make sure you have a backup route to get where you're going just in case one of the unexpected mishaps happens.
2. Be Conscious of your Size and Space- If you are a 6'3 guy in a big winter coat why are you going to try and squeeze in a seat that you can clearly see is too small? It just puts everyone on edge so don't do it. Be aware of your size and the space around you. Also I love reading on the subway just as much as the next person so I carry my kindle or a magazine. Don't open the Metro section of the New York Times on a crowded train, this does not make you look educated or smart it makes you a douche!
3. Hold On To Your Kids- The subway is not clean by any means in fact its downright disgusting! This is a vehicle that is in use 25 hours a day! People sleep on it, they have sex on it, the use it as their personal bathrooms in some regards. Don't let your children play all over the seats, touch the poles etc. Kids don't know any better and need their parents to guide them, I have seen children lick the poles, touch the seats and their hands go right to their mouth! Save yourself and your child a trip to the Emergency Room and some antibiotics have them sit on your lap, or carry a pillowcase for them to sit on, in the summer I grab one of the free papers and sit on that because I am so paranoid of bed bugs, lice etc. If you happen to sit in the first or last cars and kids want to look out into the tunnel let them but make sure you are in arms reach.
4. Let the Old People, Handicapped and Pregnant Women Sit-You would think this would go without saying, but if that were the case I would not need to mention it. I have seen elderly people who look like they could have barely make it our of bed, people with casts and crutches and pregnant women dripping placenta all standing on the SUBWAY! People refuse to get up, a lot of time women will get up and offer their seat, I wont say chivalry is dead but it must be on a coffee break during rush hour. If you see someone who looks like they need to sit down let them sit.
5. Follow the Triple A Rule- Alert, Aware at All Times! 

Whats the craziest thing you have seen or heard about the NYC Subway?

Be Safe,

The Diva

Yoga and Children

I have been reading several articles over the last few days regarding bringing yoga into schools to help with children who have behavior or anxiety issues. Can you believe there is controversy? as with everything else this is somehow taboo. Why I am not sure, there has been some chatter that it promotes Hinduism. Umm ok these days that may not be such a bad thing, but to each his own. All I can talk about is my experience, when I was a director for an after school program a few years back, I worked with children ages 5-17 who were living in a homeless shelter. Talk about a forgotten group, I made it my mission to make the 4 hours kids spent in my program every day the best it could be. I had about 6 kids all boys diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. Teachers were at their wits end because the kids were not focused, could not keep still, or were labeled as "unruly". All of these boys were under the age of 10 the youngest being 6. Having conversations with their parents they were all advised by the school that their child should be medicated. I am not anti medication, but when it comes to kids it should not be the first remedy. I told the parents they should talk with the school in depth about other measures before resulting to meds. I told them ask questions, like how much physical education does their child receive every day/week?, how long has the teacher been teaching?, how many kids are in their child's class?, was behavior therapy recommended? In other words advocate for your child, be the voice they need before pumping drugs into their system. The FDA just passed that children as young as 4 years old can now be medicated for these issues. I am so glad this practice was not as rampant when I was a kid because i probably would not be writing this post right now. In my program I used everything as a learning experience, and being that I was in the South Bronx a lot of children and adults for that matter have never stepped foot outside the Bronx. I decided to bring the world to them and open their eyes to new things, I remember going out to dinner with friends at one of my favorite Japanese restaurants and after eating I took about 50 pairs of chopsticks. The next day at my program everyone kids, and staff had to eat their snack and dinner with chopsticks. It was messy but fun. Kids are easy to please, if people take the time to do it. The sillier you are the better. The boys with the behavior issues, when they would come for program I made sure that after their snack instead of getting right into homework they had 15 minutes of mediation and then we all did Yoga together as a group. Again staff and kids, it was great. The boys loved that they did not have to jump into homework like everyone else, they were special, they got to sit on the brightly colored mats, take their shoes off, they took turns ringing the makeshift chimes I had to start our mediation period and end it. It helped them so much when it came time to do homework, it also helped how they played with their peers. Some of the kids that parents did choose to put on meds I would hate when they would come to program, they would do nothing they looked like little zombies. I stayed there for 3 years and eventually had to move on and a day doesn't go by that I don't think about those kids. Some of them I still see, and I check in with them to make sure they are OK. That's my biggest challenge I always want to know that people I care about are OK, but its not something I always have control over so I have to stop stressing myself out about it, and just believe they are OK. Working in education now, in public school in NYC all I can say is I don't know how people sleep at night with all that goes on especially with our boys of color. Everyday I am thinking of ways to raise awareness about the issues that plague or kids before they even leave the womb. As with everything else, I can't worry all I can do is my part and believe that one day it will all be OK.

Namaste,
The Diva