Excited to start a new series today! Say Yes has always focused on sharing practical, meaningful, beautiful ideas and we’re happy to be continuing that in 2021. In this new series, I’ll be asking some of my favorite women to find out what they can’t live without right now.
Today we’re starting with my friend, Giti….
Gitanjali is a mother of two and small business owner who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. When she isn’t teaching classes at The Dance Floor or helping her children out with distance learning, she is working with her clients at Extracurricular, a management and diversity consulting practice.
As we’re putting 2020 behind us and starting a new chapter in 2021, I asked Giti to share what she can’t live without these days. Here’s what she said…
Establishing new rules with our cell phones.
After completely redesigning what the day looks like and learning how to create boundaries while working from home, my husband and I realized we needed to do better at carving out time to really be home together. For us, this translated into deciding to actively put our phones away from 6-8 pm (fully out of reach), then leaving them in the kitchen every night at 9:30 pm. Coincidentally, we received a Secret Santa gift in the mail that was a wooden phone docking station, so now it’s functional and nice to look at! It has shifted a lot for us as a family, and I’ve noticed it helps me to protect my mental health in the early morning and late at night. It’s only been a couple of months, and I now love waking up without having my phone in reach. I don’t think I’ll ever go back.
Creating a home sanctuary with a little refresh.
Home is my favorite place to be, despite the fact that it feels like I’m constantly cleaning up and vacuuming dog hair! I am definitely a minimalist, so I edit regularly, but I’ve also learned how to just let things be messy, out of place, and lived in. I think both are equally important forms of self care. With the extra time at home over winter break, we painted a few accent walls and are doing a wall treatment with wood from our local lumbar store. It is a wonderful way to refresh the day-to-day monotony of staying at home.
Finding creative ways to stay connected.
When we first went into shelter-in-place, I couldn’t stop thinking of ways to stay connected to my dance community. I’ve taught dance classes for over a decade, and pre-pandemic I led a packed room full of 40 women through a one-hour dance class. We are still going strong on Zoom and outdoors, but it’s different! I worked with a local screen printer to make these soft, cozy hoodies and tank tops to mail out to the clients. We made it into a fundraiser for The Loveland Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making it possible for Black women and girls to receive access to healing and therapy support.
Getting fancy for that Zoom call.
I find myself putting on this beautiful necklace every day. It says Shanti in Sanskrit. It means peace and is a reminder to me to breathe deep and stay connected to a peaceful mind. As a first generation Indian American, I’ve always struggled with representation. In the past, the jewelry I found that incorporated South Asian cultural elements was, interestingly, always owned by a white woman. I was so happy to discover this small, brown-owned business started by a pharmacist turned jewelry designer. I ended up purchasing the Nazar hoop necklace as a gift to my sister, who just had a baby.
Spending a lot of time outdoors.
We recently discovered BeamO. It’s our favorite new toy, and we’re currently taking it on a tour of all east bay parks. It’s a giant frisbee that we purchased from our local toy store. It checks a lot of boxes for us – time outside, exercise, and time to connect as a family. It’s something I genuinely look forward to doing on the weekend.
Thank so much, Giti! You can sign up for one of her virtual dance classes here, and check out her consulting business here. Stay tuned for more in this series!
(1st and 6th images by Alison Yin, 2nd image by Bellalu Photography)
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What a great write up on one of my favorite people. I love taking classes with Giti and encourage others to try it.