EDITOR’S NOTE
Felicia TomaskoPam Young-Wolff, Felicia Tomasko, and Bree montanarello.
Bike by Peloton
Photo by David Young-WolffK
eep your drawers 80% full and 20% empty. I love
this piece of advice from our interview with Everyday
Chic author Molly Sims in which she discusses enter-
taining for the holidays and designing and maintain-
ing organization in the home. It’s a tip that resonated with her
when she heard it. I, too, find this idea of leaving just a bit of space
to be relevant in so many aspects of our lives..
As we enter into the holiday season, we may feel the increased
amount of pressure to see all of our friends and loved ones, to seat
everyone at the table, and to do everything perfectly. It’s impor-
tant to remember to give ourselves some space as well, some per-
mission to press pause. While planning your activities, try leaving
some empty space in your day—and in your mind. You might just
find that it affords you the opportunity to connect more, to play
more, to reflect more, and to take care of yourself more.
After all, in addition to this being the holiday season, it’s also
the cold and flu season. With the natural fluctuations of what is
identified in Ayurveda as the vata season (cold and dry in both
weather and the effect on our bodies), we may be more susceptible
to catching whatever is going around. Jeff Perlman offers us some
suggestions for building our resilience and supporting the activi-
ties of the immune system throughout these months. For preven-
tion and for self-care, I’m especially looking forward to trying the
ginger bath and the hot turmeric elixir.
When it comes to self-care, ice baths may be a radical idea
for some. For Iceman Wim Hof, they are one part of a system of
breath exercises, meditation and gradual use of cold exposure that
has been scientifically demonstrated to heighten our ability to con-
sciously control our autonomic nervous system. Shiva Baum in-
terviews the man also known as the Dutch Daredevil, who shares
his passion for yoga and his story of how grief propelled his com-
mitment to discovering the secrets of health and vitality and then
sharing them with the world.
One of the secrets of health and vitality that I keep coming
back to is the importance of our support systems and the value of
our teams in all areas of our lives. This candid photo captures a
silly moment during preparations for our September issue’s cross-
training and fashion photo shoots. We had just finished carrying
photographer David Young-Wolff’s Peloton bike down a flight of
stairs. I love having this memento that celebrates the exhilaration
from teamwork and play in the everyday. My friends, family and I
have been talking about upping the joy quotient in our lives—and
we can often experience that joy in ordinary moments. Thanks
Pam Young-Wolff and Bree Berri for upping the joy quotient in
this and so many other moments!
Wishing you all joyful days of sharing gratitude,