Whether on the Conscious Cleanse or living the 80:20, a healthy crockpot dish can be a real life saver.
Simply complete your prep work in the morning and you’ll have a delicious warm meal waiting for you and your family at the end of the day.
It doesn’t get much easier than that, friends!
With the cold weather prevailing in most parts of the country, we thought it might be fun to get whisked away to Morocco for a day with this Crockpot Lamb Tagine.
The main spice, Ras El Hanout is an awesome Moroccan spice blend featuring coriander, cumin, lavender, and fennel. It’s a super simple way to bump up the flavor in many types of soups, stews, and tagines, and can be found in the spice section of most gourmet grocers like Whole Foods.
This recipe gets a boost of flavor as well from fresh lemon (high in vitamin c) and green olives (the oils in olives are good for inflammation). They add a brightness that is often missing in a winter stew.
Serve this simple tagine over a bed of Cauliflower Rice or quinoa topped with cilantro leaves and pomegranate seeds for garnish. Steam up some kale or enjoy a fresh green salad on the side for bonus points!
Enjoy, stay warm, and be sure to leave us a comment below.
With love and warm tummies,
Crockpot Lamb Tagine
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
2 tsp. Ras El Hanout (a Moroccan spice mix, in the spice section of gourmet grocers) ¾ tsp. smoked paprika 1 tsp.ginger, freshly grated 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 TB. coconut oil 1 lb. boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1” pieces 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock 1 medium onion, diced finely 3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces ½ delicata squash peel on, seeds removed, cut into 1” pieces* ½ lemon, seeds removed, cut into a small dice 1 bunch cilantro stems (bottom portion of the bunch), finely chopped, plus leaves for garnish ½ cup pitted green olives, rinsed 1 pomegranate, seeded, optional garnish Himalayan sea salt, to taste Black pepper, to taste
Instructions: In a medium skillet over medium heat add Ras El Hanout and smoked paprika. Toast until fragrant. Add to crockpot along with fresh ginger and garlic.
In the same skillet heat coconut oil until melted and pan is hot. Season lamb pieces with sea salt and pepper. Add to skillet and brown on each side. Add to the crockpot.
Take a splash of the chicken stock and deglaze your pan with it. Pour that into the crockpot as well.
Finish by adding the onion, carrots, squash, lemon, cilantro stems, olives, and stock to the crockpot, giving one final stir. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until lamb is fork-tender and liquid has reduced. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
Serve over cauliflower rice or steamed kale. Top with cilantro leaves for garnish.
*To make this recipe cleanse-friendly, simply omit the delicata squash or substitute it with parsnips, turnips, or other hardy vegetables like Brussels sprouts.
Jo Schaalman and Julie Peláez are co-authors of the book The Conscious Cleanse: Lose Weight, Heal Your Body, and Transform Your Life in 14 Days, a best-selling, step-by-step guide to help you live your most vibrant life. Together they've lead thousands of people through their online supported cleanse through their accessible and light-hearted approach. They've been dubbed “the real deal” by founder and chief creative director Bobbi Brown, of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, beauty editor of the TODAY show.
To learn more about “Jo and Jules” and to download a free e-cookbook for a sampling of the delicious food served up on the Conscious Cleanse, please visit their website.
Conscious Cleanse Detox Flow - Jo Schaalman
Heart Opening Forrest Yoga Flow - Jo Schaalman
Traditional Hot Yoga - Julie Peláez
As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches we wanted to formulate a healthy option for those of us living the Conscious Cleanse 80:20 Lifestyle. We love making these sweet treats this time of year as a healthy alternative to all the processed candies and chocolates floating around.
Our chocolates combine organic coconut oil, cacao (a heart healthy superfood high in antioxidants), maple syrup, and some warming spices to light a fire in your belly and heart! Use a high quality Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao in this recipe. This ensures a tasty product all the while making sure the farms and farmers who grow it are well taken care of too! Good for the planet and our hearts.
Now, go light a candle, place a few chocolates on a pretty plate and invite your favorite partner in vibrant health to share a couple of these delicious and good for you treats!
Happy Valentine’s Day! XOXO,
Mexican Haute Chocolate Candy
Yield: 20 small candies
½ cup cacao powder ¾ cup organic virgin coconut oil ⅓ cup organic maple syrup 1 tsp. vanilla extract ⅛ to ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper ½ tsp. cinnamon Generous pinch of Himalayan sea salt
Instructions:
Using a double boiler melt coconut oil over medium heat until liquid and smooth. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Whisk until very smooth. Pour chocolate mixture into silicone candy molds or ice cube trays (if using ice cube trays, fill molds just half way). Place in freezer until solid (about 10-15 minutes). Dust with cacao powder and a sprinkle of Himalayan sea salt. Store in freezer.
It’s estimated that 15%-20% of Americans will experience low back pain every year and that up to 60% of Americans experience low back pain at some point over the course of his or her life. In addition, low back pain is the fifth most common reason for visits to a primary care doctor and the number one reason why people go to see orthopedists or neurosurgeons.
You can imagine that the cost of low back pain is high, not just because of direct medical costs, but also because of lost productivity from work. But you might not believe that the estimated national cost of treating low back pain in the United States ranges from $38-$50 BILLION a year!!! (That deserves more then 3 exclamation points, but I’m not going to get carried away. For more crazy low back pain stats, check out this research.)
Why yoga can help relieve low back pain
More and more doctors are recommending yoga as a great antidote to low back pain, and here’s why.
A good yoga routine moves the spine in 7 directions. This movement helps to lubricate the joints, which helps us feel looser. When we feel looser, we get more range of movement making everyday activities that require us to move our spine (there are a lot of them), easier and more free.
A good yoga instructor will also focus on alignment and make sure you have good posture. Paying attention to alignment in your own body will help you identify habitual movement patterns that could be contributing to your low back pain. If you’re able to fix your posture, you may be able to relieve some of the tension that is resulting in pain.
It’s hard to prescribe a general routine for low back pain because every person experiences low back pain for different reasons. The only way to truly get rid of YOUR low back pain is to fully understand what is causing that pain in the first place. And the answer isn’t as simple as getting a diagnosis from the doctor that you have a bulging/herniated/slipped disk, etc. Yes, those will probably cause pain and be uncomfortable but there’s another layer there. Why did you develop a bulging/herniated/slipped disk in the first place? Do you know? Maybe, maybe not, but it helps to think about your daily lifestyle habits to see if there is anything you can do to prevent further damage and pain.
With that said, my experience teaching yoga in general has taught me that getting the spine moving gently is a great way to start to combat some of that pain. If you’re familiar withYoga Tune Up®, there are some great therapy ball rolling exercises to help loosen the thoracolumbar fascia, which incidentally happens to be very highly innervated and may be another source of a large amount of our back pain (if you’re a research & anatomy nerd, you can read all about this new discovery here.)
A word on backbends
As you move through the postures that I teach in today’s video, you’ll come across a Cobra pose, which can be a controversial posture for people suffering from low back pain. Commonly, people who experience low back pain are afraid to bend backwards because that causes even more pain, or bending backwards may have been how you injured your back in the first place. (I realize these are all extreme generalizations, but I think it’s worth mentioning.)
Pay particular attention to the cueing I use for this version of (baby) Cobra. My goal is to help you strengthen your back muscles rather then stretch your spine. The most common mistake I see when people move into a backbend is they try to take it to the extreme – and extremes can quickly cause injury. A strong back will be less susceptible to sudden injury, and we must work to find a balance between strength and flexibility in our spine so we can remain supple rather then rigid.
My general rule of thumb is that you should never feel pain in a backbend. If you do experience pain, or an uncomfortable sensation that no longer qualifies as a stretch, then this is your body telling you you’ve gone too far and you’re past the point of receiving the benefits from the posture. Back off a little, find your breath, and see if you can recapture a feeling of ease.
There’s my spiel on backbends as a tool for helping you to strengthen and heal your spine.
Now, for the practice!
Namaste
By Ashley Josephine
I started practicing yoga to stay in shape and release stress. What I learned was how to love my life. How to have faith. How to find your community of people who support you and love you unconditionally. How to get back control. Today, it is my mission to help busy Type-A overachiever women like me gain back control of their lives, live pain-free, and love the life they want to live through yoga lifestyle practices. Visit www.ashleyjosephine.com to get free yoga lifestyle tips to help live healthier, happier, and pain-free.
Nothing is just random you know, it’s all Divine.
In this inquiry, I was reminded that transmute means: to change in form, appearance, structure or the nature of something. It can be an alchemical shift of who you are and how you show up in the world energetically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. And in that alchemical shift that begins on the inside, we eventually take on a different form on the outside.
Whoa, that can be intense. Yes, yes it can because it involves fire, air, courage, willingness, depth, and compassion all wrapped up in an instant. It’s not for the faint of heart that is for sure. It’s not for those unwilling to observe without judging.
It is however, for those open to shifting once and for all.
I feel a collective movement to transmutation and this, this makes me excited. To witness so many of us choosing to drop the idea of separation and recognize unity is no easy task, but it’s happening. To notice people stepping into their deepest fears, acknowledging their core wounds, and not prophetically healing them, but instead getting messy while Divine chaos takes over.
To be completely vulnerable (that IS my word for the year) – I was going to re-post my blog from the last time I wrote about this topic. However, the lovely Universe, in all her Majesty, would not allow me to do this.
No – this is in real time.
These last two weeks have brought me to my knees, literally, in deep vulnerability. Amazing how you call out a word and the Universe not only drops it right into your lap but sort of slings it at you with a vengeance that says, "Oh yeah? I dare you!"
I watched myself vacillate between separation and deep opening.
In that moment in time, the tears were uncontrollable. I could feel my heart vibrating into my arms as if there was lifetimes of work happening underneath my skin. I was expending a ton of energy and not sleeping, but oddly, I wasn’t tired at all. My thoughts were incessant. My body was in a constant state of tingling. In the past given this opportunity to shut down or open up, I would have surely chosen to shut down, create a wall, distract myself, and maybe even blame someone else for this position I was in. It had to be the “other” person, a past perpetrator, a thought that wasn’t mine. I mean really, could this un-rest and discomfort really be within – me? Could I really own it?
And I sat … and sat … and sat and cried and cried and cried until there were no more tears. Literally. I allowed myself to feel into deep anguish without knowing what it was. I allowed myself to be held and witnessed beyond my ego need to “save face”. I didn’t walk away, although I admittedly tried.
I realized in sincere witnessing, that I was experiencing my deepest wound in full force. And everything in my being was not vibrating with it any longer. My body was trying to do the same things it had always done in response to this same situation, and my soul was finally speaking so much louder that I had to pay attention. I physically could not fall into my old patterns, it wasn’t an option this time. This time had to be different if I was going to move forward into intimacy with this life.
I was so adamant about setting boundaries to protect my heart, like I had done for so many years, and in so many situations, that my soul had had enough. It was done protecting, done being the victim, done with being a martyr, and certainly had enough of being alone.
And I did something so different, so out of my box. I took all my own teachings, that obviously the Divine has been sharing through me, and I listened intently to everything. I dropped down into silence and listened to all the angels around me. I lay on Mother Gaia and let her nourish me. I cried in the car, in the shower, in front of my kids, and in yoga class with my students. I cried in the face of friends and to the one who brought this to light. I didn’t give in to fear. I said how I felt from the deepest place and knew that if I didn’t do this, I would be in my old way of being. I realized the constriction of boundaries and separation was too much to bear ever again.
I rewired my brain, chose to dive off the deep-end, and aligned my actions with my heart with no attachment. And in doing so, I was offered up something so different than I had ever experienced before.
Peaceful presence. Being instead of doing. Acceptance. Unconditional love. Blissful trust.
This … this is transmuting.
It’s hard, I’ll just say it. We must sit in the fire as long as we need in order for this transmutation to take hold fully. But mostly what we do is run …
…it’s too hot! It’s too painful! It’s just like before! It's too intense! Get me the hell out of here!
Sure it is and that is the pattern. But when you sit long enough, you burn away the toxicity, the impurities of heart, the hurt, the wounding, and you dissolve into what’s real and what’s raw, which is love.
The only way to transmute anything is through the power of the heart. The only thing that can transmute anything IS the heart. The only salve for deep connection is the breath of the heart.
Self-love, unconditional love, tough love … you name it, it all dissolves into love.
It happened just like the books say, in a time-lapse, slow-motion crazy sort of way that is different every time you look back at the unfolding of it all. Because that’s how it works, it isn’t up to you. The only thing that is up to you is the willingness to shift and expand.
For real.
It’s a willingness to see magic, believe in your path, and trust in the unknown. It’s a vulnerability to love and a readiness to create a grandiose life outside of your own imagination!
By Dana Damara
“My passion on the mat is proper alignment, powerful breath and effortless flow so you feel that off your mat. Your practice becomes sacred space where you arrive to find more meaning, depth, authenticity and integrity in your life." - Dana Damara: mother, author, yoga instructor, speaker and yogini.
For more inspiration and to purchase Dana's new book, Oms From the Heart, visit www.danadamara.com
Initially, changes manifest from our physical asana practice. We feel stronger, more flexible, and more open. This in turn effects how we relate to others and they relate to us. As we move beyond our physical yoga practice, these changes become more profound. To go further into personal transformation, try following the first two limbs of the Eight-limbed Path of Yoga, the Yamas and Niyamas.
The Yamas are five personal observances: ahimsa or non-violence, satya or truthfulness, asteya or non-stealing, brahmacarya or moderation, and aparigraha or non-grasping. So, for instance if you practice Ahimsa or non-harming in the way you treat others, it has a positive effect on you. Behaving this way is good for you. You will feel changed. People in your life will experience you differently and your relationships may begin to shift.
The Niyamas are five personal disciplines more focused on how you treat yourself: sauca or cleanliness, santosha or contentment, tapas or discipline, svadhyaya or self-study and isvarapranidhana or connection to the divine. So, for instance by cultivating Santosha or contentment, you’ll reap positive benefits for you. If you can shed the layers weighing you down, you’re closer to becoming your best self. When you live your life in a more authentic, happy way, you affect those around you with your positive energy.
Delving into the darkness of the past and finding forgiveness frees us when we release old anger, pain and hurt. Often these feelings sit in our physical body, holding us back. If we can release them, we become free. Instead of expecting somebody else to give us happiness, peace, or fulfillment, we realize we can obtain it ourselves. Then, we are in the place to offer it to others, whether that is romantic, friendship, family or professional.
If you are the best version of yourself and release past hurts and emotions weighing you down, you’ll be ready for the relationships that will lift you up.
Leaping forward for us humans means trusting your instincts, joy, abundance and virtue. It means living from your heart and not your mind. It means trusting your gut and not over analyzing every detail that you most likely don’t have control over, anyway. It means saying yes before you know every single, potential consequence of your choice.
Let me ask you… how often do you do that? REALLY trust your instincts? REALLY live from your heart? Say yes without examining what might happen?
Too often, we let our own mind holds us back; we get in our own way. We stay in unpleasant situations far too long because we are afraid of any myriad of things: being judged, getting hurt, making the wrong decision, failing. So we stay stagnant … only to find that the same opportunity to leap shows up again in a different form.
Leaving the familiar behind isn’t always easy. Especially if it involves a jump of some kind. But, if we truly take on a practice of trust in EVERYTHING: our own power, divine guidance, universal influence and love, taking a leap becomes natural. Just like a grasshopper.
I have never regretted any leap I have taken - not ever. Leaps give us perspective, strength and grace.
While you are leaping you are learning. When and if you fall, you are learning. What you witness along the journey, you are integrating. And the other side of the leap offers perspective, wisdom, insight and most often, compassion.
So take the leap; what’s the worst that can happen? Really?
Before I leap, I always ask myself which is worse: staying stagnant, not saying how I really feel, being caught up in complacency; or falling on my face in the name of vulnerability and truth? I have fallen on my face many times but every single time it has been so worth it!
This week's blog is an excerpt from my new book Oms From the Heart. If this resonated with you, the book is now for sale. It's an offering, from my own personal experiences, straight to you. Buy it here.
Click here to download or stream one of Dana's YogaDownload classes!
In recent months, I’ve had to admit to changing realities in my neighborhood. I first started noticing that a lot of the original regulars who helped build the yoga center with me haven’t been around as much as they used to. Then, they’ll show up with a refrain that goes something like: “The old man who owned my building passed away; they sold it, and I had to move.” There are still lots of new people coming in every month. But they are not of the same ilk as when I opened. Don’t get me wrong, still great people. It’s just that the artists and counter-culturalists that made the place what it is don’t live here anymore.
The capitalization of culture through real estate is nothing new. First, I lived in Greenwich Village. Then it was the East Village. Then the lower East Side. Then Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But in all of those times there always seemed to be a clear next move. Whereas now there is no obvious place that the outskirts have migrated to. Bushwick? Croton on Hudson? Maplewood, NJ? Detroit? It’s just not clear. One thing is for sure, when that property you bought back in the seventies becomes worth 3-5 million dollars, it’s just downright stupid not to cash in. We’d all like to think that a sense of community is worth more than millions of dollars but that doesn’t hold up when you have medical bills or a family to look after.
Anxiety is the hallmark of a reality that favors trappings over human dignity.
Living in the “real world” usually means having to deal with really annoying stuff that you wish you didn’t have to deal with but you have to because that is how it is in the “real world.” Consequently, our conception of what is real is not pleasant. It’s a chore. It sucks. Reality sucks. And when this version of what is real is predominant, the result is pervasive fear and discontent. Nothing is ever right. We’ll never be able to get on top of it. Even if we made millions. There’s always an existential angst that is bubbling unconscious underneath, and bursts out in uncontrollable and detrimental ways. Other times the weight of it all is too much, function becomes impeded and we are forced to face ourselves, to varying degrees of success.
This idea of reality begs for escape. Yoga offers a rich canon of viewpoints and teachings that offer alternative concepts. Eastern spiritual paradigms generally consider the “real world” of western civilization to be “unreal.” The superficial trappings that undermine our sense of humanity are to be distrusted, even renounced, so that we may know a reality free from fear and anxiety. To westerners who have been born and bred in the reality of anxiety, the notion that this world of suffering is not real is quite appealing. Thus, the spiritual aspirant’s determination to do whatever is necessary to accomplish some transcendental consciousness. Some way to get beyond this crap reality.
Reality acknowledged as the miracle of life needs no transcendence and is not the least bit contingent on time, money or politics.
When I start to get overwhelmed by what I see happening in my neighborhood, my country, and the world, I have to remind myself of the entirety of what I know to be true. Yes, these issues I am pointing to are real and important. But they are only a small part of the experience that life is providing me. The real estate market in my neighborhood is absurd. It’s hard to imagine that rents could forever go up and never hit a peak or come down. (Maybe if the L train actually goes out of service for a year or more then that might do something to slow the real estate locomotive.) Regardless, my life encompasses more.
I am a thinking, feeling, human being who is having a life. I started out as a single cell that was created by my mother and father having sex. I have breath coming in and out of me. My heart is beating. I exist in this body, on a planet, and there is a sun and moon and stars. If I were able to somehow project myself past the force-field that holds me pinned to this planet without imploding than I would be released into infinite space. That is crazy. And that is reality. Just as much as time or money or politics. Maybe, in some ways, more.
This reality we are experiencing is so utterly amazing that we can’t fully comprehend it. So profoundly mind-blowing and all encompassing is the glory of a life that we often can’t even recognize it as such. In the unraveling of this great mystery, between what we identify as important and the inherent magic of its context, is where the riddle becomes undone.
By J. Brown
J. Brown is a yoga teacher, writer and founder of Abhyasa Yoga Center in Brooklyn, NY. His writing has been featured in Yoga Therapy Today, the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, and across the yoga blogosphere. Visit his website at jbrownyoga.com
We’re in an 80:20 kinda mood after just finishing up the New Year’s Conscious Cleanse, so we decided to make cookies! Yes, nutty, soft and oh so sweet cookies.
Our go-to flour of choice these days is typically almond or coconut flour when baking, so we decided to expand our horizons and try something new.
Quinoa flour is packed with a protein punch, and fantastic for gluten-free baking.
If you’ve never used quinoa flour, you can usually buy it at your health food store or online from Bob’s Red Mill.
So go grab yourself a glass of cold homemade almond milk and get ready to start dunking!
With 80:20 sweet treat love,
Nutty Quinoa Cookies
Yield: 10-12 cookies
1 cup quinoa flour ½ tsp baking powder ⅛ tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon 2 flax eggs* or 2 whole eggs 4 TB coconut oil, melted 3 TB maple syrup or Lakanto no sugar sweetener 2 TB water 1 tsp vanilla extract ⅓ cup raisins ⅓ cup walnuts (optional)
*1 flax egg equals 1TB flaxseed to 3 TB water. Whisk and let stand for 10 minutes.
Instructions: Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl add quinoa flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon to a bowl. Stir well.
In a small bowl, whisk flax egg or eggs, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, water and vanilla extract. Stir in wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well until dough is formed. Fold in the raisins and walnuts.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Form dough into bite-sized balls. Place dough on the baking sheet. Wet a fork and press gently into each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes.
Aspects to this new moon offer fantastic flashes of insight that aid you in knowing your purpose and bringing your truth to bear. Your work at this time is to listen to these flashes and heed them. During the new moon, we are meant to cultivate what we want to flourish, and who doesn’t want dreams to become reality? It takes work, and the work may prove challenging with a square from Mars, but the diligence and fortitude will prove worth it. As you work toward cultivating your individual path to freedom, beware of burnout and tunnel vision that keeps you from bringing love-filled intentions with you.
One of the most interesting elements of the night sky during this new moon is the conjunction of Venus and Pluto, giving us the energy to penetrate deeply into the heart of our intimate relationships either to reveal new levels of commitment, or to allow the relationship to fall away. The Aquarian influence here wants you to communicate your needs, but don’t fall pray to the tendency for shock-factor or callousness, rather, speak with high intentions and love in your heart, so that the message you share is heard, respected and cherished. How we deepen relationships, or how we end them, determines the karmic bond we either release ourselves from, or bind ourselves to. Above all things, Aquarian energy demand freedom, and so we earn it by maintaining an open heart.
Use this new moon energy to move toward an open-hearted expression of your own truth, fueled by insights from without and love from within. Don’t be afraid to explore the unconscious at this time, for what you discover may be the kernel of life that resurrects your passion and purpose. The ritual below is designed to bring you into accord with opposing elements—like the old alchemical precept, “As above, so below”—so that like the great magician of the tarot deck, you can create seemingly out of nothing, a life that manifests your personal destiny.
Alchemical Ritual for Aquarian New Moon:
As an air sign, Aquarius often has lofty ideas and difficulty keeping its feet on the ground. This ritual allows you to capture the insights that come to you, while giving you the strength to manifest them in the real world, which is real magic.
If it is possible to do this ritual outside where both earth and air are present, this will super-charge your efforts. Gather an element of air (feathers are a good choice, a cotton-ball stand in for a cloud also works!), and an element of earth (dark colored crystals work well such as onyx, muldovite or kyanite). Build your ritual space by placing your elements at the center of a designated circle—perhaps outlined with chalk, salt, or a ring of candles. Use sage, sweet grass or palo santo to cleanse yourself and the space by casting the smoke over yourself and encircling your own body three times. Bring into the circle a pen and paper, and as you sit quietly inside the circle, write at the top of the page the date, and the statement: “This new moon allows me to manifest my deepest truth in the following ways…” Take some time to freely write about how you call your intentions into being. End the writing with the karma-free clause, “…if it is in the highest good of all."
Spend some time in quiet contemplation, feeling the earth beneath you. As you do, allow yourself to become a conduit for flashes of insight to arise about how you will manifest your new reality. When you are done with your silent contemplation, say aloud the following invocation:
Allow Venus to fill my heart with love, Pluto to guide my journey inward, and the strength of Saturn to manifest my deepest truth.
Meditate for a short time so that the power of this invocation takes hold. When complete, chant Om three times, and snuff the candles. Place your writing somewhere you can see it and be reminded of it daily as you do the work required to make your life’s purpose your reality.
By Alanna Kaivalya
Alanna believes Yoga is for everyone and each student can develop the self-empowerment needed to embark on a personal journey to meaningful transformation. On this principle she founded The Kaivalya Yoga Method, a fresh take on yoga emphasizing the individual path while honoring tradition. Teaching students since 2001, teachers since 2003, Alanna has written and developed teacher trainings worldwide for top studios and independently. In January she debuted a comprehensive 200hr-online teacher training with YogaDownload. She holds a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, has authored numerous articles and two books: Myths of the Asanas, an accessible practitioner’s guide to stories behind beloved poses; Sacred Sound, a yoga “hymnal,” illustrating the role of chant and mantra in modern practice. Look for her third book, Yoga Beyond the Mat, in Autumn 2016.She lives in New York City with Roxy the Wonderdog.
Click Here to learn more about Alanna's 200hr Online Teacher Training with YogaDownload.com
1. Diffuse some summer scents like Ocean Breeze, Tangerine, Coconut, or Pineapple to transport you to the beaches of sunny Mexico or Hawaii.
Try essential oils or burning candles throughout your home anytime you need a boost.
2. Plan a vacation—you might be stuck inside now, but planning a trip will shift your mindset and give you something to look forward to in a few months
3. Buy some fresh flowers and place a few cheerful bouquets around your home to bring the garden inside.
4. Eat more citrus fruits—grapefruits, oranges and lemons give you a burst of sun and provide vital Vitamin C.
5. Break a sweat with an invigorating yoga flow or your favorite workout. Warm yourself up from the inside out and know soon enough you may be wishing for the weather to cool off!
Experiment with these techniques and before you know it, the sunny days of summer will be back.
Remembering Why
Post-savasana, I check in and remember why I’m practicing and ask you the same. Everyone has their own reasons, and I make sure I don’t steal a unique experience from someone by saying it has to be about one thing or another. But, whatever brought you to the mat, and whatever happened while you were there, I ask you to honour it and breathe into it. And when we bring attention back to our intention and confront the reality of what’s going on, sometimes we can get disappointed in ourselves or lose sight of what’s important. In that light, I ask you to give yourself whatever kindness or gentle reminders and assurances you need to stay committed to you practice when the going gets tough. You give friends and children kind support when they need it; so give it to yourself as well.
The Supportive Breath and Letting Go
We’ve practiced for an hour or so together as a group, so one last time, we support each other in staying committed to our practice by breathing together. Inhaling we feel the power and support of the room, as we exhale we feel the ability to let go of whatever isn’t serving us. The support of the group can be a huge influence in the ability of your practice to proceed. The letting go of breath out of the mouth also signals an end to all rhythms, movements, and fires we have sent through the body in the flow of the practice, and lets us know that we have finished, we are here, and we are now ready to move on with our day.
Commitment and Surrender
We bow down and commit to staying disciplined in our practice and the prioritising of our self-care. We surrender to where the practice may take us. Sometimes it’s lovely, sometimes it’s scary, sometimes it demands tough short-term choices to live a better life in the long-term. But we honour the wisdom we accrue and work with it and not stubbornly against it.
Namaste in deed
I don’t say namaste, but I look around the room as we close and bow to each student and try to enact its true meaning of honouring another. I look at each individual and acknowledge them and do my best to never give up on anyone. I hope that throughout each class and period of committed practice, I can find ways to spark the deepening of their self-practice and inquiry. As students, we can do the same by acknowledging the community, fellowship, and support of everyone else in the room. In acknowledging each other and the journeys we go through, we also keep our challenges and setbacks in perspective. We’re all in this together. No one is alone.We breathe together, we practice together, and we support each other in our journeys of awakening.
By Adam Hocke
Adam has been practicing vinyasa flow yoga since 1999 and has trained extensively with Jason Crandell. He offers precise, strong, and accessible classes to physically awaken the body and develop mindfulness both on and off the mat. His teaching is down-to-earth and direct, exploring traditional practices from a modern perspective. A native of South Florida, Adam spent ten years in New York City before becoming a Londoner. He teaches studio classes, workshops and courses throughout London, and retreats across the globe. As a writer, Adam contributes regularly to magazines and web publications on yoga. Visit Adam at www.adamhocke.com
I love coffee, probably just as much as the next person, but I’ve realized over the years that drinking coffee everyday does not love me back.
As part of my 80:20 I’ve found a new love – one that tastes delicious as it delivers many promising health benefits.
Matcha is a fine stone-ground green tea powder that has its own unique flavor unlike any other tea, plus it has a texture like that of a frothy espresso drink.
Jo and I both love matcha for its incredible nutritional value and antioxidant content – plus it makes a delicious latte with your favorite nut milk of choice.
I personally prefer this Matcha Green Tea Latte with Homemade Almond Milk (recipe in our book) but in a pinch the store-bought stuff works too.
Known for fighting against viruses and bacteria, lowering cholesterol and boosting metabolism, this superfood is one worth trying!
Ready to give it a whirl? Our favorite Organic Matcha can be purchased from The Tea Spot here.
Try it for yourself and leave me a comment below.
With love and matcha green grins,
Matcha Green Tea Latte
Yield: 1 serving
1 tsp matcha powder ¼ cup boiling water ¾ cup plain unsweetened almond milk Stevia or honey to taste
Instructions: In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil then whisk in matcha powder. Once powder is dissolved into water, mix in the milk and heat on low. Sweeten to taste with stevia or honey.
It’s still a very new program, but so far, have you seen evidence that this training has reached its target?
Totally. In fact, even more than expected. We have some really heartwarming stories from people who always wanted to take a teacher training but were never able to do so, and now it’s possible for them. Some who are professionals working with the underprivileged or severely ill, who want to learn in their time off and bring that practice to those individuals. It’s been great to hear it. And geographically, just in our initial email announcement we had people from pretty much every continent apply (not too much yoga in antarctica, that I know of), but some examples are Zimbabwe, Hungary, Norway, and the remote island chains of Alaska. It was really so rewarding to see such a wide span of replies. And a lot of them don’t even ever want to teach, they just want to learn more than what’s available where they live, others are teachers already and they want a refresher or to learn things they might not have come across in another training.
Right, which leads to the next question, do people need to have a lot of experience to sign up?
No. It’s designed so that novices can learn along-side those who are more advanced. If you missed something, you can back it up and play it again. Also the fact that we have individual mentors allows for really focussed attention, and they take the student’s skill level into account.
Can you explain how the training proceeds, and how the students interact with the mentors?
Sure. We utilized the best software programs, like the ones universities use for their distance learning curricula, and I reconfigured my full 200 hour program into an online format which includes nearly 100 hours of video lecture along with written content that complements and enhances those lectures. Students progress through various courses within the program, learning about topics including anatomy, adjustments, sequencing, chakras and subtle body, teaching techniques, concise cueing, philosophy, mythology, and more. There are 7 courses within the 200 hour program that students complete at their own pace, and as they do, they are tested on their knowledge via video uploads and individualized feedback from our team of mentors. When a student uploads an assignment, one of the mentors carefully watches the assignment and provides skillful feedback that helps the student further develop their teaching skills and understanding of the core concepts.
So basically, students might actually get closer attention in this method of training, even though it could be maybe thousands of miles away?
Yes. It’s personal attention, one-on-one, with a highly qualified teacher. Every single one of our mentors has more than 500 hours of training, and each has their own extraordinary passions and specialties that bring even more richness to the training. In an in-studio training, it is rare that a lead instructor has the opportunity to watch, critique, and support every single step of the learning path. In this case, the online learning model excels because we are there every step of the way to evaluate progress at every single level.
How did you choose the mentors?
They’re very experienced, dedicated, talented individuals whom I’ve taught and who have been teaching others for years and have been successful in their own contributions to yoga. I find them inspiring in their own rights, and I know they’ll inspire others to join them as excellent teachers.
Tell us about the content of the program, how similar is it to what students would get in an in-person training? Did you have to modify it a lot?
This program is the 200 hour teacher training that I’ve offered in the past, plus other content that I was able to include because of the online format. In an in-studio training, you’re really limited in the content you can offer because of timing constraints. But, with this online format, I am able to offer all the content necessary for a new teacher because they can review it as much as they’d like to, and because they can take their time to really absorb it. It’s very exciting.
That said, the courses within the program--there are seven in total--present the content and training necessary for someone to become a qualified, certified teacher of yoga.
Students start with Anatomy and Alignment through a distinctly yogic lens. They learn the ins and outs of how to teach Vinyasa and Sequence safely but cleverly, as well as the dynamics of the energetic body including chakras, koshas and prana. There is a course on the Art of Adjustments where students learn to think outside the box on how to assist asanas and connect with students, and every step of the way, they are asked to upload video of themselves adjusting someone so we can check for accuracy and give feedback. Students also learn various key teaching techniques like concise, effective Cueing, how to build a class from the ground up and strategies for Developing their Business and starting to teach in their communities. Courses five and six focus on Philosophy and Theming and Myth and Meditation, respectively; those are the things that make the classes deeper and more fulfilling for both the student and teacher. Lastly, after completing all the other modules successfully, the student will develop his or her own 60 minute sequence, submit that to be evaluated and, if all goes well, will then be a certified Kaivalya Yoga Method Instructor with YogaDownload.com.
What do you say to those who think teacher trainings require in-person contact?
This online program is person-to-person contact, it’s simply not in-studio. And today, so many things are done remotely: college educations, graduate degrees, even robotic surgery, where the physician is across the globe from the patient. We live in a society and a day and age where technology allows us to be far less bound by time and space. So many other areas of our lives have utilized these capabilities, we’re simply bringing that to yoga teacher training, as YogaDownload has with taking classes.
Are you trying to take people away from in-studio trainings?
No. There are a lot of great teachers out there and I’ve met so many over the years. This is simply another option for those who find online learning more preferable, for whatever reason.
What is a student qualified to do, upon completion?
Upon successful completion of this course, the teacher will be qualified to safely and successfully teach yoga to others. All new teachers will be listed in our online teacher registration and there will be no additional registration or yearly fees. We are committed to changing the way that people learn to teach yoga, as well as the standard for what a yoga teacher learns. This training provides substantial accountability with extensive testing and feedback and everyone involved has their heart set on making sure all of our graduates exceed common standards of training. Further, the students we have taking the course are taking their learning very seriously and are studying so hard and demonstrating their knowledge with extraordinary video uploads of themselves teaching and doing yoga. We want to honor that by showcasing them in our registry and offering future students a place to find our teachers so that they can learn from them.
While other people are putting together Netflix playlists, we’re putting together our favorite blizzard-bound yoga classes. Bookmark these for when the snow falls:
Yoga For Being Snowed In
Heat Building Stay warm enough to melt mashmallows. Brand new to YogaDownload, Power Yoga with Dave Farmar 3 is a challenging advanced class with plenty of inversions, arm balances and intensifications to build heat in your inner fire.
Heart Opening When the cold has you all closed in behind scarves, hoods and earmuffs, your heart will still be wide open. Channing Grivas’ Breaking the Heart Wide Open is a slow-paced class to bring balance to the body and let in the winter love.
Snow Shoveling You clear 10 feet of walkway and your body screams for 2 days. Nothing beats Kylie Larson’s Upper Back & Shoulder Opening Flow for releasing tight muscles and getting those snow shoveling muscles warm and bendy.
Cabin Fever If you are feeling stressed, anxious, depressed or STUCK, April Laliberte’s Joy Infusion Meditation will help you break free. Even when you’re stuck in the house, your mind can wander and fulfill your creativity.
I find that it’s really easy to “drop in” when there isn’t anything happening out of the ordinary, you know, like life!
But you know, the reality is, life is always happening and it’s really easy to get tossed off your game of connection if you’re not paying attention!
There’s all these various ways to tap into your intuition and each of us has a sense of what works. Here’s a few:
Visionary experience - you may use your third eye and literally vision things. Audio experience – you may hear things, almost like whispers from the Divine. You can hear it in nature, in waves, wind and the birds. Feeling with entire body – the truth is that we feel other people’s energy all the time; the trick is to notice how you feel. Gut reaction – you just know it in your gut or in our heart. Download from the crown chakra – you experience guidance in a complete statement or sentence. Dream time – sometimes your intuition speaks in your dreams mostly through symbolism. Personally, I use them all on various occasions and when I find them hard to locate, meaning I am scattered, confused or in my head, I get on my mat and plug in. Literally, I plug into the energy that vibrates with my every step. Tap into the energy that swirls around my head with messages of Divine love and guidance. Connect to the internal guidance system that can’t wait to assist me in following my heart.
Intuition is something we feel, it’s not something we do. It’s a nudge, a push, an energy that, when cultivated, can guide us along our most divine path of Being. It’s the synchronicity of events that link together to create a bigger picture of what is.
The problem is we aren’t in our feeling body all that often. And we miss events that actually mean something. In fact,we spend more time in our head trying to figure things out. The ironic thing is, if we let go of the grip and allow the breadcrumbs to lead us along the path, all would flow in an intuitive way.
Here’s a mantra for you: I amplify in stillness. Does that mean you have to sit still to amplify your awareness? Well, no, not really. Messages come in clearer if you do, for sure! But the intention is to find that connection in movement, in chaos, in discomfort … so you can move from a place that is guided and not reactionary.
It’s a practice ... a life long practice. Don’t rush but please, start listening today. The time is now to get on your path and I’m thinking that if you don’t, something is going to push you onto it, whether you like it or not.
This week's blog is taken from my new book, Oms From the Heart. If you like what you read, I encourage you to purchase the book at danadamara.com/shop.
A few short years after school, a good friend of mine started teaching a weekly yoga class at a local community center. I started to go to his classes because I knew yoga would help me stretch my body and maintain the mobility of my youth. Over time, I started noticing an added benefit – my level of concentration improved. I started loving yoga because I felt the difference in my life so I went on to become a yoga teacher. Because I had such a problem being still, I was initially attracted to a moving style of yoga. The kind where you turn the temperature of the room up, and sweat as much as you can. Back then, I told my students that meditation was not crucial to experiencing yoga and that it’s not about being still. (Oh how I wish I could take all that back.) Around that time, I read an article by Sharon and David (Jivamukti) that said that people often mistake their physical highs for spiritual highs, but that the highs or “connection” they are feeling are just physical, not really spiritual. At the time I was irate thinking “How dare they!?” Then, I discovered the truth for myself. In 2001, I met my teacher, Rod Stryker, at his “Tantra Yoga” retreat. It was there with Rod that I learned to meditate and experienced the benefits of finding stillness. The change was not immediate, but over a long stretch of time I came to realize that unlike the hot flowing classes where results were immediate, meditation took patience and commitment. Weeks would go by and I would not feel that connection I was longing for. I remember the first time I truly experienced what I had heard others talk about. I was living on Staten Island and the world had just fallen apart after 9/11. One morning, I was practicing listening to sound and I remember this moment of pure oneness washed over me. In that moment I felt still, serene, perfect, and aware. I tuned out the immediate sounds, and became aware of all the subtle background noise, without being disturbed. As my yoga practice has deepened and I have meditated more, my level of concentration has not only improved greatly, but I am able to accomplish so much more in life. Leading me to feel more fulfilled than I’ve ever felt before. I’ve gone from an unfocused child to being able to find the focus and calm even amongst chaos – which happens a lot when you’re the founder of a yoga retreat center in Costa Rica. I remember a few years ago, I led a yoga retreat and in a seven day period we filmed a documentary and shot four yoga videos, all while I led a yoga teacher training. I truly believe that it was the 20 minutes of deep relaxation, 20 minutes of pranayama, and 20 minutes of meditation that helped me find the focus I needed to get through the week. It was Rumi that said, “As you live deeper in the heart, the mirror gets cleaner and clearer.” For me, meditation is a way to clean the window in which I look through life. It allows me to live deeper in the heart. It is there that I am able to see clearly and find that focus I have spent my life searching for. Finding that place of oneness in mediation is not always an easy journey, but for me (and many others out there) it is worth it. Meditation clears my mind so that it is no longer preoccupied by all the dirty streaks that prevent me from living the life I want. And that’s how meditation improved my A.D.D. How has meditation helped you overcome challenges in your life?
By Yogi Aaron
Yogi Aaron, author of “Autobiography of a Naked Yogi”,brings passion and adventure to his teaching. Inspired, he guides students to secret and far-flung locales, empowers them to realize their own limitless potential, and makes yoga relevant and accessible for the modern world. Since 2002 he has been traveling and leading retreats worldwide and currently serves as the yoga director at Blue Osa Yoga Retreat + Spa in Costa Rica. Follow Yogi Aaron on Facebook.
If you’re cleansing along with us, you know that this weekend brings the opportunity to uplevel your detox process by taking on what we call Purification.
Purification is all about slowing down and tuning in. Take a brisk walk to soak up the elusive sunshine with your favorite pup, go to the yin yoga class you’ve been thinking about all week, or spend some quality downtime with friends and family.
Weekends can be challenging when cleansing and for that reason we have come up with a bright, tasty, and creative soup. It’s full of phytonutrients, minerals, and fiber. All of these contribute to overall nervous system health while being comforting and a little classy too! The gremolata puts to use the zest of the lemon and reminds us that spring is just around the corner. Use your creativity to swirl and twirl the Coconut Crema on top of the soup. Like a mini art class!
Enjoy! And Happy Purification!
Love,
Green Goddess Soup
Yield: 6 cups
1 TB. coconut oil 3 cloves garlic, minced and divided 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets 2 large or 4 small zucchinis, chopped 1 large leek, thoroughly washed and sliced 2 stalks celery, chopped ½ bunch Swiss chard, chopped Juice of 1 lemon ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg 1 tsp. pink Himalayan sea salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 4 to 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth ½ cup parsley, chopped Zest of 1 lemon ¼ cup olive oil Pinch of sea salt Pinch of freshly ground black pepper Coconut Crema, optional
Instructions: In a medium pot over medium-high heat, warm the coconut oil. After a minute, add the 2 cloves of garlic, celery, and sliced leeks, and cook for 5 minutes or until wilted.
Put the cauliflower, zucchini, and Swiss chard in the pot, add the cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Pour in 4 cups of broth and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the cauliflower is fully cooked, 5–8 minutes. Add additional broth to reach desired consistency.
Carefully transfer the soup to a blender and blend on high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and black pepper if needed. The soup should be thick but still light. If it is too thick, thin it with a little more broth or water. Before serving top soup with Coconut Crema drizzle and Lemon Parsley Gremolata.
To make the Lemon Parsley Gremolata, in a small bowl combine the parsley and add lemon zest, olive oil, remaining 1 clove of garlic, sea salt and pepper to taste. A mortar and pestle works great for this too.
And I’m kind of obsessed with this salad right now. Mostly because it was insanely easy to make.
Multiple times my husband said how amazing this salad is (and he even had a second helping – which is pretty miraculous from a guy who grew up on meat and potatoes). One would think he married me because of my cooking abilities, but when we got married I could barely warm up a can of chili.
Don’t get me wrong, these days he’s a healthy eater and loves to make green food choices, but you have to give me props for getting a guy to transition from Idaho dinners to loving clean eating – not to mention that I now know my way around the kitchen.
So, I have a little secret about this magic salad. It’s pretty much all from leftovers. Sure, I chopped up some romaine lettuce and then used some spinach, but the rest, it was just hanging out in the fridge fearful of being tossed aside in the waste can.
For many people, they are working on their New Years resolutions to eat healthier or workout more, or in my case, be more patient. But what I am truly focusing on this year is watching my consumption and waste.
I spent time this week prepping food…and we ate it. In fact, we were eating it everyday. But in the end I over prepped a little and we had lots of little bits of foods left.
With that I was provided the opportunity for the creation of this magical salad. I really should have named it “Healthy Food Saved From The Trash Can”. Somehow Superfood Probiotic Vegetarian Protein Salad seemed to be more appropriate and one you might actually want to eat.
So here are instructions from the ingredient list.
Prep lots of healthy goodness at some point during the week. I chose to make Sprouted Bean Trio, Roasted Root Veggies, Quinoa, Pickled Beets and Pickled Radishes. Keep other healthy goodness on hand. For me that was a couple options for greens (romaine and spinach) + avocados and hummus. Grab a big platter and dish it all up. I didn’t even need dressing because of the hummus and pickled beets – but if I’m being honest I did drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over my entire salad. Enjoy this amazing superfood probiotic vegetarian protein salad.
So, I’ve mentioned the protein a few times (or a dozen). That’s because I have three different proteins in this salad. 1. Hummus – I love the roasted garlic! 2. Sprouted bean trio blend 3. Quinoa – it’s a complete protein and has all 8 essential amino acids. Did you read that – all 8!
If you are looking to eat clean and need loads of new recipes, check out my new eBook, Eat Like A Queen.
It’s less than the cost of a venti mocha big sugary drink at your nearest drive thru.
Plus you can’t be 40 Clean Eating recipes from some of the top health coaches! Just click here. Even dudes are loving these recipes.
If you haven’t read them already, start with Yoga and Your Hips, Part I and Part II . The model of the “5 Muscular Compartments of Your Hips” in Parts I & II is the same approach that I take when I teach anatomy live and online. (And If you want to learn even more about yoga anatomy and yoga sequencing, you can join one of my ongoing e-courses.)
The sequence here contains my three of favorite postures for each compartment of your hip. I practice this sequence several times a week and I still love the feeling of space and mobility it gives me. I hope it helps you feel good in your body!
Hip Compartment #1: Hip Flexors
Pose 1: Anjaneyasana Keep your back thigh vertical here. Why? Because keeping your back thigh vertical and stacking your pelvis and spine directly over your thigh helps stretch your quadriceps and hip flexors.
Pose 2: Anjaneyasana Lower your hips forward and down to isolate and stretch your hip flexors, especially your rectus femoris.
Pose 3: Anjaneyasana Leaning into the side bend from Anjaneyasana helps stretch your obliques and quadratus lumborum along with your hip flexors.
Hip Compartment #2: Adductors
Pose 1: Malasana Malasana provides a thorough, inner leg stretch while also flexing the knees and hips deeply.
Pose 2: Prasarita Padottanasana with bent knee Bending one knee and pressing your forearm against your thigh allows you to create a deep, sustained stretch on the entire adductor group.
Pose 3: Bound Side Angle The action of binding in this posture provides you with a shoulder opener in addition to the adductor stretch.
Hip Compartment #3: Hamstrings
Pose 1: Parsvottanasana This foundational standing pose allows you to focus on stretching one set of hamstrings at a time. This may be more effective for students with tight hamstrings than stretching both sets of hamstrings at time like you do in Uttanasana.
Pose 2: Prasarita Padottanasana In addition to stretching your hamstrings, this pose also stretches your adductors.
Pose 3: Standing Split / Warrior III Hybrid While similar to Parsvottanasana, this one-legged standing posture provides a deep, isolated hamstring stretch.
Hip Compartment #4: External Rotators
Pose 1: Pigeon Pose This bittersweet posture uses the weight of your entire body to stretch your external rotators.
Pose 2: Ankle-to-Knee Placing one ankle on the opposite inner knee externally rotates your thighs even more deeply than Pigeon Pose.
Pose 3: Reclined Pigeon Clasping your leg and reclining in Pigeon Pose stretches your glutes, external rotators, and abductors.
Hip Compartment #5: Abductors
Pose 1: Reclined Gomukhasana Reclining in Gomukhasana allows your entire body to relax and settle, while providing you with a deep abductor stretch.
Pose 2: Gomukhasana This classic seated posture provides efficient leverage for opening your abductors.
Pose 3: Gomukhasana with sidebend Including a sidebend in this posture gives you a deep abductor stretch while also releasing tension in your obliques and quadratus lumborum.
Are these self-aggrandizing opportunities to satisfy our ego, or do we yearn for the limelight to serve the higher good of others? This is a key question in this matter, as reflecting the higher-side expression of Leo and honoring the highest in all through your gifts is the best way for us to shine. As we tune up our leadership roles, it’s important to make sure we are not burning ourselves out, as the candle that burns to hot and too fast quickly leaves us in darkness.
In order to find the balance here, I think of the Hermit from the Tarot, who stands cloaked as the wise elder, shining star in hand, ready to guide those that need a light to escape from the dark. The Hermit is similar to the figure of Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings, whose mission is to serve the highest good, even while serving the individuals in the fellowship. However, the role as a leader also requires us to rest and recharge, and few things are better to aid us in this than the light of the full moon. The ritual below helps you utilize the Leonine Moon’s energy to fuel your own inner light.
Along with this lunation, we have a tight relationship with Chiron, the wounded healer, who further amplifies this moon’s encouragement for us to step forward into our leadership gifts. Now is the time both to shine and create balance so that you may shine more brightly and more consistently. This aspect may stir things up within you that prevent you from stepping easefully into you power. That’s okay! Chiron calls us to look at our challenges in order to learn from them. Because we cannot teach others what we have not yet already learned for ourselves.
Another aspect here with Mars, Juno & Venus suggests a shakeup in love relationships…but only if the shake up is meant to occur. If it seems like a surprise that things are going awry, draw back and gain some perspective. You might see that this has been brewing for sometime, and it just took an energetic nudge to burst loose. Do your best to soften around the issue (Mars often hardens us, which doesn’t help in these situations), and see how it resolves in a way that ultimately is for the best.
Ritual to recharge & reignite:
As a fire sign, Leo burns hot and bright. In order to fuel this fire while avoiding burnout, the key is to stoke a quiet flame with consistency and the right fuel. This ritual brings this energy to life, allowing you to show up as a leader or mentor, own your power, and remain in alignment with the highest good.
Gather crystals (topaz, citrine, yellow jasper and clear quartz are good choices), sage, sweet grass or palo santo for burning, and find a symbol that represents your role as a mentor. This full moon is showering us with Leonine limelight, and as such, make sure you have a candle (or several) on hand to burn during the ritual. Set your items in an organized way within your space (perhaps in a circle, with you in the middle) and light your candle. As you sit quietly amongst the fire light, allow it to recharge you. It also charges up your symbol at the same time. Consider your leadership role and say the following invocation out loud:
Chiron & the Moon, light my inner fire so that the flame may burn off the impurities that block my power, allowing me to step fully into my role as mentor, shining light on others.
Quietly reflect on this invocation as you continue to feel the light shining upon you. Use your hands to “take in” the candle flame, by brushing your hands (at a safe distance) over the flame and drawing it’s energy toward you. Allow it to wash over you and take as much as you need during this process. Finally, hold your symbol in your hands, and bring your hands to prayer as you give thanks for this super-charged symbol that reflects your goals as a leader. Close the ritual by cleansing yourself with the sage, sweetgrass or palo santo (encircling your body three times with the smoke). Chant Om three times and offer a moment of gratitude. Snuff the candle.
Garlic Caesar Salad
Yield: 2 salads
Ingredients for Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped 1 cup celery, chopped 1/2 cup fennel, chopped 1/4 cup Garlic Caesar Dressing
Ingredients for Dressing:
1 cup cashews, soaked for in water at least 20 minutes and then drained 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 tsp. sea salt 2 TB. freshly squeezed lemon juice 3 soft dates, pitted 3/4 cups water 2 large stalks celery, chopped Freshly ground black pepper
Directions: For the salad, combine romaine lettuce, celery, and fennel in a large bowl. For the dressing, combine cashews, garlic, sea salt, lemon juice, dates, water, celery, and black pepper in a high-speed blender and blend until creamy. Toss salad with desired amount of dressing and serve. Leftover dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days and makes a great dip for veggies.
Variation: Top with a sliced grilled portobello mushroom for a hearty option.
As I step back and look at the challenges my hips presented, I finally realize that the issue wasn’t just hockey and skateboarding. Part of the problem was that I didn’t understand the joints or muscles that I was working with. I didn’t have a “map” of the region to make sure that I was stretching and strengthening all the muscles involved in the hip joint. I was overly focused on my outer hips and hamstrings, while ignoring my hip flexors and adductors. I didn’t understand the nature of the hip socket and that truly “opening” the hips requires a more intelligent, comprehensive approach.
I’m creating this guide because I know it would have helped me practice and teach more effectively years ago. This is the approach that I stick to when I’m working with my students and trainees—and, when I teach anatomy live and online. I’m hopeful that it will give you a simple framework for understanding your hip muscles. Make sure to check out my Illustrated Guide to Yoga and Your Hips, Part 1. It describes the structure and ligaments of the joint and will help you understand the hip joint more clearly.
And, remember, understanding the joint structure and muscles of your hip will make you a better sequencer! When you’re aware of all the muscles that comprise your hip, you can make sure that your sequences target all of the muscular compartments instead of focusing too heavily on the outer-hips and hamstrings like I did for so many years!
The Five Muscular Compartments of Your Hip
Quick caveat: I’m going to describe the muscular compartments of your hip as though they are each separate and solitary. I’m doing this because it provides us with a simple, foundational “map” of the hip muscles and their functions. In reality, there’s a lot of crossover between the muscular compartments. The compartments often help each other out and work together. For example, the adductors–especially the adductor magnus–assists the hip-flexors. Similarly, your external rotators often work with your abductors to adduct your hip. So, as you learn these compartments, keep your understanding basic and simple. But, remember that these muscle groups are often helping each other out.
Hip Flexors: Your hip flexors in include the psoas, illiacus, and rectus femoris. These muscles connect the front of your pelvis to the front of your thigh (the psoas also connects to your spine). In simple terms, these muscles rotate the front of your pelvis and the front of your thighs toward each other. They are actively contracted in forward bends and core-focused work. The hip-flexors are often the most limiting factor in backbends. If your hip-flexors or tight, they will inhibit your pelvis from rotating backward over the femurs. This often requires the lower back to extend too much and become overly compressed.
Adductors: Your five adductors run from your pelvis (pubic rami) down the inside of your leg. Only one of them, your gracilis, crosses your knee. In yoga, these muscles limit postures that require your thighs to separate widely such as Baddha Konasana and Upavistha Konasana. All of the wide-legged standing postures like Warrior II, Triangle Pose, and Side Angle Pose do a good job of creating range of motion in this group. The adductors are strengthened in core-focused work.
Hamstrings: Yes, your hamstrings are hip muscles! Your hamstrings attach to the back of your pelvis (ischial tuberosity) and run down the back of your leg. Their job is to extend your hip and flex your knee. It’s obvious that hamstring restriction limits forward bends because it keeps your pelvis from rotating forward in these postures. What’s less obvious is the role that these muscles play in backbends. Contracting your hamstrings in backbends helps rotate your pelvis backward over your thighs. This allows your spine to move more deeply—and more comfortably—into backbends.
External Rotators: Beneath your gluteus maximus, your six external rotators run from your pelvis to your thigh bone. The most familiar name in this group is the piriformis. As the name implies, these muscles primarily rotate the thigh bone laterally. The external rotators are the main muscles that most students feel when they do Pigeon Pose, Cross-Legged Forward Bend, and Ankle-to-Knee Pose. Restriction in your external rotators makes it difficult to sit cross-legged and can reduce your ability to do forward bends and seated twists. Strengthening this muscle group can help keep your sacroilliac region stable and maintain optimal alignment in this joint.
Abductors: Your abductors include your entire gluteal family (maximus, medius, & minimus), tensor fasciae latae and sartorius. These muscles run from the outside of your pelvis to the outside of your thighbone. When they contract, they either stabilize your pelvis, or pull your thighbone out to the side. Although they derive their name, “abductors,” from the latter (to take away), they’re usually working to keep your pelvis stable while you stand and walk. Outer hip openers like Pigeon and Gomukhasana stretch this muscle group. Standing postures—especially the top leg in Ardha Chandrasana—strengthen this group.
Hip Flexors: Psoas, and Iliacus This drawing illustrates the pathway of your psoas. Ignore the fact that “major” and “minor” are both listed. These muscles contract strongly in postures like navasana and bakasana. They stretch in all of your backbends and lunges.
Hip Flexors: Your Rectus Femoris The rectus femoris is a “double-duty” muscle. It works with the other quadriceps (technically, it is considered one of the four quads) to straighten the knee. And, it works with the other hip flexors to flex the hip. Like the psoas and iliacus, the rectus femoris strongly contracts in most core strengthening postures and lengthens in all backbends.
Your Adductors I included this illustration in my Illustrated Guide to Yoga and Your Core due to the adductors relationship to the core. Check it out here if you haven’t read it. This 3-D cutaway shows the adductors running between your hamstrings on the back and your quads in the front. You contract your adductors in core-strengthening work and you stretch them in all the postures where you separate your thighbones such as Bound Angle Pose, Malasana, and most standing postures.
Your Hamstrings Your hamstrings include the semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris. You strengthen your hamstrings in backbends, especially prone backbends like Locust and Bow. You stretch your hamstrings in countless postures, including all standing forward bends and all straight-leg seated forward bends.
Your External Rotators and Gluteus Maximus This is my favorite illustration in this series. The left side shows the gluteus maximus. On the right side, the gluteus maximus is removed from the illustration revealing the external rotators that live underneath the gluteus maximus. You can see how layered and dense this region is. You strengthen your external rotators by engaging them ion standing postures and backbends. You also strengthen them in some of the transitions between postures in vinaysa yoga. You stretch these muscle groups in all Pigeon Pose variations and cross-legged forward bend variations.
Your Abductors You can see your glutes, tensor fasciae latae, and sartorius in this illustration. In yoga, we have to make a concerted effort to strengthen these muscles since they don’t automatically engage in most postures except for standing balances. In Part III of this series, I’ll provide you with some cues that will help you work these muscles. You stretch these muscles in all outer-hip openers, like Gomukhasana and Pigeon.
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By Jason Crandell
Jason Crandell and Andrea Ferretti are a husband and wife team who have been teaching, writing about, and living their yoga for nearly two decades. Andrea is the former executive editor of Yoga Journal and is now creative director for Jason Crandell Yoga Method. Jason is an internationally recognized teacher known for his precise, empowering, down-to-earth approach to vinyasa yoga. They live together in San Francisco with their full-time boss, Sofia-Rose Crandell, age 3. To read their blog or to learn more about Jason's upcoming teacher trainings, please visit their web site www.jasonyoga.com
Additionally, If you want to practice arm balances, it is essential you have a strong chaturanga. It’s a heat builder of course and I like that. I like cranking it up and getting the body warm enough to dive into some of the more flexibility oriented shapes later on. And, yes, it’s a hard pose that demands strength in the upper body and core and is hard to do repeatedly with integrity. For me, the fact that it forces you to pay attention, slow down, and move with clarity and meaning is part of its charm and necessity. Because if you do it a bit too fast, too many times, with too much machismo, it might eventually fuck you over. And that’s life, isn’t it?
After a pretty fiery class sometimes I have temporary regrets about all the chaturangas and go back and count how many we’ve actually done. On a particularly big day in my class it may be somewhere between 20-30. I may be being bit of a bully but I think most people can survive 20-30 triceps presses, which is essentially what it is, especially if given ample opportunity to do them slowly or with knees down, or when strength fails, to find other comparable transitional movements to get to the next bit of flow. So, for now it’s staying in and we’ll have to pony up and meet its demands.
Quick Tips
Fundamentally, remember that it’s a pose, not just a transition. Don’t rush and actually take the time to make the shape! Most of my in-class adjustments involve stopping people mid route, slowing them down, and reminding them to actually do the pose. To that end here are some quick tips to improve your chaturanga.
Remember the Shape
Chaturanga Dandasana translates to four-limbed staff pose. Visualise the long stable staff supported by four points, not just some crazy roller-coaster ride into upward-facing dog. To that end, forget knees-chest-chin as a preparatory movement. It patterns a downwardly sloped action into the shoulder joint that may put too much pressure into the front of the rotator cuff group of muscles and ligaments that line the front of the joint.
Knees-Chest-Chin patterns a downward force into the front of the shoulder joint that is potentially injurious.
Think Forward
When moving down from plank come forward on to your toes and think more of moving forward rather then down. You can visualise a plane landing slowly and steadily. Similarly, hopping back into chaturanga is more efficiently achieved by thinking of bringing the chest forward. Both are so because it helps bring the arms into 90-degree angles with a bend at the elbow joints, providing a strong muscular support between the front and the back of the arms, the arms in external rotation within the shoulder joints, and the shoulder joints supported and stable.
If you think and practice moving straight down instead of forward you may decrease the angle between forearm and upper arm, lose your strength and crash down into the front of the shoulder joint, which may be potentially injurious over time.
Elbows in, shoulders back
With the elbow moving back and holding tightly in to the ribs, you keep the arms in a plane of movement that most efficiently uses the arm muscles to sustain your downward trajectory, and helps the arms stay in slight external rotation with shoulder blades down and head of the arm bone placed without risk of pressing against the front of the joint. This is ideal for stability and perfectly set up to bring you in to backbend in the following pose. With the shoulders drawn down (try pressing firm into the mat like you’re trying to slide it back) and together, you bring in the support of the back-body to help stabilise the arms and the shape, rather than a sloppy crash forward. To keep this support in place, don’t go too low. Stop around elbow height.
Me working to bring it all together in a strong chaturanga
It’s not just upper body
Some students mid sections can start looking like sad over-worked pack horses in a lazy chaturanga with a belly crashing to the mat and a lower back in a dire dip. Remember that the core has to stay slightly lifted and engaged to maintain the support from belly to thighs to maintain the staff shape through your descent. Additionally thighs stay engaged and although I’ve asked for weight to be shifted forward in the shape, even to the point of being on your toes, there is energy also moving back through the heels – a sort of dual current of energy moving in both ways. If you forget the core and power of the legs, the pose will get top heavy and you’ll continue to crash downward.
Keep it real
Chaturanga is hard for nearly everybody so be kind to yourself. If it just ain’t working out, scale back and do less of them, or do it on your knees, or skip it and just find another way to transition with movement and breath or build strength in your body and in your practice. Most likely doing a combination of alternative poses like locust pose or cobra pose or knees down chaturanga will in time yield the same positive results as a well aligned, aware, and embodied ‘full’ pose.
See more Practice Tips
Videos to help strengthen your chaturangas
Discernment is defined as the ability to judge well. What does that mean anyway? To judge well? I’m not sure I agree with that definition. In my humble opinion discernment can be best described as:
a moment in time where we are offered an opportunity to know what is right for us. A moment in time when we choose what resonates deep within our heart. A moment in time when we make a choice that best suits the evolution of our soul.
I like to think of it as the space between breath and reaction. The quiet stillness between the conflict of the ego and the soul. An internal knowing of what is elevating us and what is contracting us. It’s the emotional time out we take before reacting from a patterned, triggered place.
The issues with discernment, as I see it are instant gratification and old triggers.
We have this appendage we call our phone, and it can get us the information we need right when we need it. The question is, do we really need it? And do we really need it in that moment? If we can find what we think we need, in a moment when we think we need it, are we offering up space to evaluate if we really even need it or not?
Maybe not. Then we’re left with information taking up brain space that we really didn’t need.
Old triggers … yeah, you know what I’m talking about. Something happens that is not really in alignment with your “chi” and you fly off the handle. You say something that feels “old”, react in a way that is less than love and then you’re left standing there wondering “who the hell was that person?”
How to remedy this? You take a breath. FYI, it’s free. And it feels good.
In that one breath, space is infinite, presence is palpable, love is emanating, and the soul is ignited. In that moment, that one moment in breath, we are offered a second to discern what is really happening. And we are better able to act from a place more in alignment with our soul.
Discerning what is real, not judging what is right. This one simple act can change the world.
This week's blog is a excerpt from my new book, Oms From the Heart. It and its sister book are now on sale. If you love what you read, I encourage you to purchase your copy today.
We all become creatures of habit since familiar actions and experiences can provide us with a certain amount of comfort and security.
Many of these habits can be positive and serve us well; however, we often develop negative patterns that may be hard for us to even notice unless we create space in our life to cultivate more self-awareness. The more we repeat the pattern the deeper groove we create and the more challenging it can be to alter the habit.
We need to polish our gems in order for our true brilliance to shine forth.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. -Aristotle
The good news is that it is completely possible to reshape the groove into a healthier habit. Yoga, including meditation and breathing exercises, can provide us a safe space to slow down, turn our attention inward and observe ourselves as we truly are with less judgement.
In our physical yoga practice our samskaras may play out as a tendency to push too far in the poses or maybe even give up on poses too soon. Maybe we have a tendency to ignore our bodies and act in a way that society has made us feel we ‘should’. For example, I ‘should’ be able to chatturanga (yoga push up) with my knees off the mat.
The ‘should’ trap is often an unhealthy mental samskara and with regular mindful yoga practice we can develop greater wisdom and trust in ourselves so we begin to listen to the ‘true’ self and not the ‘ego’ self that may tell us we aren’t good enough or if we just work a little harder we’ll be happy, etc. Let’s just let ourselves be happy now!
So, how exactly do we cultivate new healthier habits?
Some samskaras may hide deep in our subconscious and our entire life may be an ongoing process of polishing them so our inner light can shine through. For others we may be able to purify them within a few weeks or months of practice.
Let’s say for example you have a habit of overeating when you feel stressed (like I do). Here are some steps you can take to begin breaking that cycle. Please remember, though, the beauty of the yogic path is that it involves our own personal investigation. Use yoga as your own personal laboratory to experiment with what works for you.
Here is a good starting point:
1. Cultivate Vidya (Awareness)
Carve out time each day for a practice of being present and looking inward. It could be yoga, meditation, breathing, walking, journaling, being in nature…anything that connects mind, body, and spirit. Listen to the thoughts and the tone of the thoughts that arise in the mind; create a healthy distance between you and your thoughts so you are less likely to judge or critique what shows up. Self-deprecating thoughts, blame and guilt are very counterproductive to establishing healthier habits.
2. Create a Sankalpa (Intention)
Create a potent ‘I AM’ intention by first considering exactly what it is that is hindering you from achieving your goal and purifying the samskara. For example, if I tend to overeat when stressed, I must have forgotten that I am already full and complete. I don’t need anything external to soothe me. I have simply lost touch with my inner state of satisfaction and wholeness. My sankalpa could be ‘I AM WHOLE’ or ‘I AM COMPLETE’.
3. Set Micro Goals
The Zeigarnik Effect, shows that we have the tendency to want to accomplish and complete things we have set out to do. If we don’t finish them we are left dissatisfied and unmotivated to continue. Set small accomplishable goals that build naturally to larger goals. For example, if I’m not able to completely avoid eating when stressed, perhaps I begin by allowing my self just 2 bites and I commit to eating them mindfully and joyfully. Eventually I move on to one bite and so on. If I can accomplish these small goals and win small victories, I’m more likely to continue on my path and not give up.
Give it a try and let me know what you discover!
By Jennifer Meek
Jennifer Meek is a Certified Yoga Teacher (RYT 500) specializing in Yoga Therapy for common conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and back pain. Utilizing her 25 years of movement experience as a dancer in combination with the tools of yoga and mindfulness she teaches people how to tap into their innate potential for health and happiness. Read More from Jennifer at jennifermeek.com