Activities New York: Flavor the Course

Change is never easy, even temporary change, but sometimes it's enough to develop a new perspective, flavor or approach to the same old routine. Beauty is flavor, and sometimes we need to change the flavor of our current course. According to WebMD health news, a new study shows maintaining daily routines reduces insomnia and improves sleep quality in people living in retirement communities. But I'm not yet retired and, let's face it, my "survival of the fittest" New York City community is not the calmest. Brainfitness.com, says when you engage your brain in activities that are not routine, you increase your brain activity, giving a natural energy boost -- aka flavor -- to your current routine.

I interviewed an exotic dancer, let's call her Danielle, at Rick's Cabaret NYC who feels that as an exotic dancer she can change the flavor in her life whenever she feels. How so? In her six years as an adult entertainer she has had time to travel to exotic locales like Turkey, Dublin and Budapest and go on Safari in Africa for three months. She also had time and money to pursue such interests as event planning and sound engineering, and attend college for graphic arts. While it's not likely that I'll be taking my clothes off any time soon, it's true that flavor is an important part of Danielle's life.

It's also an important part of Jade's life, who enjoyed being grounded with a regular income, to test the flavored waters of a more creative industry. When Jade was laid off she began to pursue her career as a makeup artist part time, and secured a government training grant of $3800 from Workforce 1 , which she used to add flavor to her administrative skills to make her more marketable. By utilizing a great website www.lynda.com she is also learning the adobe creative suite (photoshop, illustrator and indesign)

As for me, I need to give a bit flavor to this stiff orange. I signed up for the NYC Yoga Passbook which contains over 350 valuable passes for free admission to over 125 of the best Yoga, Dance, and Pilates Studios in New York. I will also be doing a lot more laughing yoga.

Here are a few great ideas to add flavor to your life, in a way that suits you,

• Meetup.com has thousands of meetings on every imaginable topic and hobby in your area. Orange County has a OC Bellydance Connection of 342 members. The NYC Business Network group has 5,893 members. And how about learning a new language for flavor? NJ has 109 members in its Italian Language Lovers of NJ group. Or how about my favorite meetup group, NYC Laughing Yoga? This one really helps me on the train as an alternative to punching rude people! Most meet-ups are free or a low fee and have no long term commitment.

• World volunteer includes hundreds of humanitarian trips (building a school in Bangladesh, rescuing cats in Italy, Aids awareness in Africa). Most trips involve staying within a community and working four hours a day for room and board. It might not be 4-star accommodations, but the experience is priceless and flavorful.

• WorkForce 1 connects you to the training you need for the job you want. Workforce1 can help you pay for training that will help you get job in occupations where employers need you most.

• The New York Yoga Passbook (also available in Chicago, Huston and LA) You'll receive hundreds of FREE passes, good for free admission to many of the best health clubs, studios and spas, to go where you want, when you want, at your convenience, all throughout the year. This program is sponsored by the American Health and Fitness Alliance, valued at over $3,500.

 

Follow Karim Orange on Twitter: www.twitter.com/karimorange