Happy Thursday! Today’s issue is coming in hot with a Watch, a Listen and a Read.
Let’s get started…
Watch - Succession
My TV time for the week has been dedicated to catching up with the Roy family in the latest (and last) season of HBO’s popular drama, Succession.
Now in its fourth season, Succession tells the story of media mogul Logan Roy and his four grown children, who are all vying for their piece of his multi billion dollar pie. The show also features a host of other characters with their own self serving agendas. Logan’s sycophant son-in-law Tom Wombsgans and the delightfully doofy “Cousin Greg”, are two audience favorites.
I wrestled with whether or not to share my love of this show. It’s dark. There are no redemptive arcs or feel good life lessons here. The characters aren’t likable and none of the situations they find themselves in are relatable.
Everyone spends all of their time scrambling to cash in on Logan’s attention, screw him out of some meager portion of his vast wealth, or in hopes of scooping up some of the crumbs he drops after making a meal of his enemies.
Bad behavior abounds.
And yet….there is something about Succession that keeps me coming back and fully engaged with the storyline. Maybe it’s the true escapism of watching people live lives so far removed from my own. Whatever it is, it’s deliciously enthralling.
I can’t relate to flying around in a private jet or hobnobbing with presidents, but I can connect with one inescapably relatable aspect of the Roy family: their humanity. They fall in love/lust/infatuation, they get divorced, they hunger after their father’s approval, they have addictions, they get sick and they die.
They are unfailingly human.
I guess that’s what makes the show so appealing to so many people. Even in the most exotic locals, drinking the most expensive champagne and schmoozing the wealthiest people, they’re all still miserable. Their problems find them on their yachts, at their country estates, and in their expensive Manhattan penthouses.
They can buy their way out of trouble, but they can’t buy into happiness. At the end of the day, they still have to do the hard work of being human. It’s quite satisfying.
My husband found Succession to be irredeemably boring. He said “nothing ever happens”. So, if quiet subterfuge isn’t your thing, skip this one.
On the other hand, If you dig subtlety and shakespearean level drama, there are four seasons to sink your teeth into. Pop yourself some popcorn and get ready to gasp and giggle, because this show has a killer sense of humor. Humor that develops with the characters and takes while to take root, but once it does, it hits with expert aim.
I’m halfway through the epic final season and I will be sad to see it end for sure.
Listen - Non Sleep Deep Rest (NDSR)
The links i’ll be sharing with you in this section are technically videos, but I’ve categorized them as this week’s “Listen” because that’s how you consume them. Kick back, close your eyes and listen to the sweet sweet sound of Yoga Nidra.
Have you ever heard of Yoga Nidra?
Yoga Nidra is the practice of “Yogic Sleep”. It’s a deeply restorative meditation designed to reset the nervous system and help the practitioner achieve a state of deep rest without actually falling asleep.
I first learned about Yoga Nidra in my second round of Yoga teacher training, when I was working toward my 500-hour certification.
The most important tool in every yoga teacher’s toolbox is personal experience. Anything taught should come directly from personal practice. My teacher drilled that into us, especially when it came to Yoga Nidra. One of our assignments was to complete “30 Days of Yoga Nidra”.
Yoga Nidra has been studied widely and many, if not all, of the benefits have been scientifically confirmed. After doing it for thirty days straight, and continuing to practice regularly afterwards, I can personally attest to the power of the practice.
The main benefits that I notice in my own life include improved sleep, uplifted mood, more energy during the day and a lot less anxiety.
And you can do it in your bed! Most days, I like to lay on my yoga mat, propped up with pillows, covered up with a cozy blanket and an eye mask. However you choose to show up, comfort is the ultimate goal.
Many people like to practice in the evening before bed, but that doesn’t work for me personally. I prefer to do Yoga Nidra in the morning. Practicing early sets a positive tone for my day. When I feel well rested, I’m more capable of handling whatever comes my way.
Yoga Nidra came into popular awareness recently when renowned neuroscientist Andrew Huberman — a long time practitioner of yogic sleep — began talking about it on his podcast, Huberman Lab, referring to it as “Non Sleep Deep Rest”
The goal of NSDR is to achieve an extremely deep, recuperative level of rest—and not necessarily through sleep. (Although it can sometimes lead to sleep as a natural side effect.) Andrew D. Huberman, MD, was reportedly the first to coin the term NSDR in a bid to attract people who were not familiar with the practices of meditation or mindfulness, and who might have felt alienated by these wellness concepts. Dr. Huberman leads the Stanford University School of Medicine’s Huberman Lab, which investigates how the brain works and how to repair neural circuits damaged by injury or disease.
Dr. Huberman is a long-term practitioner of NSDR. “I personally have been using NSDR daily for ~10 years and find [it] to be among the more powerful tools out there for recovering lost sleep, focus (after) & neuroplasticity,” he wrote on Twitter. Neuroplasticity, he explains, is the brain’s ability to change in response to experience.
What to Know About "Non Sleep Deep Rest", the Technique Google CEO Sundar Pichal Uses To Mediate (Self)
Quite the endorsement!!
If you are curious about Yoga Nidra, there are plenty of free videos on YouTube. I’ve been sampling classes from Ally Boothroyd lately and I really like them. Her delivery is incredibly soothing. I don’t usually fall asleep during Yoga Nidra, but I’ve been close in a few of her sessions!
She offers a wide variety of time frames so you can practice whether you have five minutes or forty. Here are a couple of my favorites…
Kristen Leal
Kristen Leal is one of the most knowledgable yoga teachers I’ve had the pleasure to learn from. Anatomy is her specialty. She shares her vast and impressive knowledge of the human body in teacher trainings and her excellent book "MetaAnatomy".
Kristen’s Yoga Nidra classes are among my favorite of all time. Her playful approach to teaching and decades of experience make her classes really special. Here are a couple for you to try…
Waves of Prana Yoga Nidra - This class focuses on a phase of Yoga Nidra usually included in a longer practice. It’s a really nice class for stress reduction and relaxation. The time is spent sending the attention in waves from the soles of the feet to the head and back down again.
Gratitude Nidra - A Lovely little gratitude practice.
Read - You say Tomato….
Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato. So, why is it also synonymous with productivity? Well, because Italian college student, Francesco Cirillo, used a tomato shaped timer to experiment with work/study intervals and created a highly effective time management technique. That’s why.
Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro Technique? It’s shockingly simple.
Readers Digest Version: Choose a project you need to focus on. Set a timer for 25 minutes and work nonstop until it dings. Take a five minute break. Repeat three more times with a longer break at the end.
It really is that straightforward and it’s been used by a whole lot of people to get shizz done. Myself included. Honestly, I wouldn't have a newsletter if it weren’t for the Pomodoro Technique. I am prone to distraction. I’m always most productive when I’m trying to avoid a specific task. For example, I get a lot of housework done when I’m supposed to be writing. Ironically, if housework is the priority, suddenly I’m in the mood to write.
I’m an expert procrastinator.
That’s where the Pomodoro Technique comes in.
Setting my timer, for a finite amount of time, with a break to look forward to, helps me focus.
I’m using the technique at this moment actually. I’ve got four minutes left on my timer. When it dings, I’ll get up for my five minute break and grab a quick cup of coffee before getting back down to business for twenty five more minutes.
It’s such an effective method for managing time. You don’t need anything special to get started. You don’t need a lot of training or information.
I first heard of The Pomodoro Technique when an author I like claimed that she wouldn’t have been able to write books without it, and I believe her! The technique has changed the way I work for the better.
There is a lot of information out there about the Pomodoro Technique. Francesco Cirillo even wrote a whole book about it! How he managed to fill an entire book with such a simple subject is beyond me, but more power to him. Ride that horse all the way to the finish line and cash in on your brilliant idea Francesco!
I can’t in good conscience recommend and entire book about a technique that will take you two minutes to learn, but I will direct you to some good articles to get you started….
The Pomodoro Technique - Why it Works and How to Do it - Todoist
What is Pomodoro Technique time management? - TechTarget
The Pomodoro Technique 101 - Lifehacker
That’s all for now. Enjoy the rest of your week!
See you Sunday.
Will definitely try the Pomodoro technique. Love that Cirillo had a tomato shaped timer.