Why not enhance your performance and prevent injury by adding yoga to your training plan now? A well-rounded yoga practice includes dynamic flexibility training, core stabilization, strengthening and balance work. By focusing on these vital elements, yoga can help you recover faster after workouts, open up the tight areas that hinder performance, improve range of motion, and develop mental focus and concentration. "I've definitely noticed benefits in my triathlon training from yoga," said Heidi Resiert, a triathlete from San Diego. "My recovery time is much quicker, my shoulders feel stronger in the pool, and my muscles don't feel as tight after long runs or bike rides. I'm glad I found yoga and added it to my weekly workout routine. Not only do I feel stronger, but I also feel more confident that I will continue to be injury free."
Many sports, such as cycling and running, have very repetitive movements usually in one direction and in one plane of motion. These sports can develop certain muscle groups while ignoring others. Over time, this process causes imbalances in the muscles and joints leading to overuse injuries. For instance, tight hamstrings and hip flexors will cause the body to recruit from other joints, joints not intended for bearing extra loads. Common overuse injuries among athletes include those involving the illiotibial band (ITB), knee, hamstrings, hip flexors and shoulders. Often, these injuries are directly linked to lack of flexibility, poor core strength and misalignment. Yoga helps alleviate this tightness, builds a stronger center, and aligns the spine. In order to minimize and/or prevent injury, athletes should concentrate their efforts on these areas used most in endurance sports. Even if athletes stretch pre- or post-workout, they are usually just stretching the muscles in the same direction and plane of motion in which they will be exercising. Yoga goes beyond simple stretching by working the muscles and joints through all ranges of motion--activating the little-used muscles that support the primary movers. The body must be worked through all three planes of motion in order to remain balanced and healthy. Yoga works not just in the sagittal plane but, in the frontal and transverse planes as well, ensuring well-rounded development. Many yoga poses, such as Revolved Crescent, feature twisting motions in the transverse plane, essential to opening up tight obliques and lower backs. Balancing postures like Tree or Eagle are some of the most effective ways to correct muscle imbalances and poor body mechanics.
Another essential element in yoga is breath work or pranayama. The attention to breath during yoga can be considered one of the most important benefits to athletes. Learning to stay focused and centered through uncomfortable poses by concentrating on even inhalations and exhalations sets up the athlete to stay focused during a race or challenging workout. The mind-body connection in yoga is essential to helping athletes develop mental acuity and concentration. In addition, yoga helps you to relax not just tight muscles, but also anxious and overstressed minds. Being more relaxed will also aid in athletic performance.
Yoga has been practiced for around 5,000 years and several schools of yoga have emerged over time. It can be overwhelming at first to find a style of yoga that resonates with you. If you are a competitive athlete, it is best to tailor your yoga practice to your training schedule. On a day where you are completing a long run for example, you'll want relaxing, mellow yoga. If you have an off-day, a vigorous, dynamic class will help you build strength and endurance. You can choose from dynamic styles like Ashtanga yoga and Power yoga that consist of a rigorous flowing series of poses synchronized with breath to produce internal heat and purifying sweat. Alternatively, Bikram yoga is a set series of 26 static poses performed in 105-degree room. Iyengar focuses primarily on anatomical precision and alignment in poses, with an emphasis on healing the body and mind using postures. Anusara is a tantric-based system that combines alignment with awareness of energy flow in the body. Finally, there are restorative styles such as gentle Hatha and Yin yoga which feature longer holds. Yoga helps the muscles, tendons, and ligaments move through a full range of motion, thus cultivating balance and core strength which is a huge benefit to athletes in their chosen sports. If you attend a few classes per week and/or a few 10-15 minute sessions at home, you will obtain fast results. A simple way to add in yoga is to perform your short sessions pre- or post-workout. Try it and see for yourself.
Claire Petretti-Marti has been practicing, studying, and teaching yoga since 1999. Like many fitness enthusiasts, she was initially drawn to yoga for its physical benefits of strength, balance, and flexibility. Once Claire realized that serenity, peace of mind, and a general sense of happiness were predominant results of the practice, she was hooked. A RYT-500 Yoga Alliance instructor, Claire teaches a dynamic vinyasa flow with the intention of creating a moving meditation. She encourages students to find the lightness and the joy in their own practice, both on and off the mat. She is a certified Pilates instructor, a Reiki Level 2 Practitioner and also holds a NASM-certification for personal training. She has significant experience with spinal injuries and frequently works with students recuperating from injuries. She leads international yoga retreats every year. Mind-body fitness is her passion.
Check out Claire's YogaDownload classes as well as our Yoga for Athletes classes!
That is because I own a mirror. My doctor tells me that the mirror is the devil’s handiwork after age 50. Personally, I am more alarmed by my lack of strength and stamina on certain days than what I look like from behind.
However, as a yoga teacher, I am becoming concerned that now that I’m nearing the delicate age of none-of-your-business, I may not have a successful career for much longer. What can older yogis do when they realize everyone on their mat is now in their twenties?
First of all, I suggest we throw out our mirrors and pray we don’t break a hip or something in handstand!
Okay, seriously, this is a real issue and sooner or later it will happen to all of us. It has affected me, and I’m a sprightly 52. Even though I had been asked to teach many times at the local Lululemon Athletica store, I was never made an ambassador. It turned out that I was too old in the store manager’s opinion.
What’s more, my book, “Finding More on the Mat,” was originally titled “Aging Gracefully on the Mat,” but an editor in New York asked me who was I kidding? She said that aging, gracefully or not, kind of sucked (but as Mark Twain noted, it’s better than the alternative).
While the concept of “aging gracefully” may sell magazines and moisturizers, in the yoga room it’s hard to preach how great it is when everything creaks and new knees and hips are not working like the old ones. Among my older students I do not even let them consider arthritis as a unique problem because almost everyone has it. Arthritis is a fact of life.
On an optimistic note, my teaching has never been better, and my yogi heart has never been stronger. In the words of Christina Sell, “Yoga is marketed to the young, but the real beauty of the practice belongs to the older yogi.”
That’s because the older yogi is so utterly grateful every morning we are still here and can touch our toes! Who cares about one-armed handstand? I am thrilled to be able to take Downward Facing Dog for one more day on this earth.
The only thing I miss from my twenties is my stamina and my younger butt (but I do feel a sense of entitlement to an afternoon nap). Everything else – intellect, resilience, desire and loving heart – is better, wiser and stronger.
At least for now I believe there is a market for what we have to offer. And surprisingly my rooms are filled with younger people who are hoping to get a hit of what we have: wisdom and experience. I also teach a Wisdom Warriors ™ class created by Desiree Rumbaugh for older yogis, which has been extremely popular. In fact, I’ve had to card students who don’t meet the age requirements! So I know the older yogi is out there and looking for community.
Believe in yourself. Believe in what you have to offer and believe in the hard-earned lessons you’ve learned, and your rooms will be full of eager yogis who want to follow in your barefoot path. And if it doesn’t work, please let me know because I am right there with you, in age and spirit.
By Michelle Marchildon
Michelle Berman Marchildon is a yogi, mother and writer trying to maintain a sense of humor in a hectic world. She’s a longtime, professional, award-winning journalist, author of The Yogi Muse Blog and the memoir, Finding More on the Mat: How I Grew Better, Wiser and Stronger through Yoga. Her book for yoga teachers, Theme Weaver: Connect the Power of Inspiration to Teaching Yoga, has become one of the fastest growing and widely accepted texts for yoga teachers throughout the world.
She’s a Featured Columnist for Elephant Journal and Origin Magazine, a Contributing Editor for Mantra Yoga and Health Magazine, and a contributor under contract to Sports Illustrated. She has also written for Yoga Journal, Teachasana, My Yoga Online and 90 Monkeys. Her wit and dry humor has earned her the title, ‘The Erma Bombeck of the Mat.’ She teaches yoga and raises her family in Denver, Colorado. Her classes are available on www.yogadownload.com and www.yogasteya.com.
The best feedback I receive at the end of my classes is when students tell me it feels like they got a massage but they’re awake and ready to tackle the rest of their day.
By breathing deeply from your belly in yoga poses, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps calm you down.
This is why you can be working really hard but still feel calm after you rise from your Savasana at the end of class. If you learn how to breathe correctly and activate your parasympathetic nervous system, you’ll be able to better control your emotions.
This is also why practicing standing poses is so great to help pick you up from an afternoon slump or wake you up when you’re feeling really tired in the middle of a busy day.
Craft your practice
A couple weeks ago I shared a short yoga practice that is great as a mid-day break. This week, I’m adding on to that mid-day break with three standing poses.
Warrior 2, Extended Side Angle and Revere Warrior are all standard yoga poses that you’ll find in most Vinyasa and Power Yoga classes. You can think of these as core poses that make up a standard yoga class.
These poses require you to have strong legs, a strong core, and open hips and upper body. These poses stretch the side of the body and help you take deeper, longer breaths. These poses are all-around power poses to help you wake up, feel your body, and breathe better.
So, if you only have 10 minutes or less and you need a quick pick-me-up of energy without the negative side effects of caffeine or energy drinks, try these 3 poses
If you have about 20 minutes, try combining the more mellow Yoga Practice 2 I shared a couple weeks ago with the Yoga Practice 3 today for an extra shot of feel-goodness.
Keep this Energizing Yoga Poses video in your favorites and come back to it anytime you need that energy boost to get you through the rest of the day with a clear, calm, and confident mind and body.
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.
If athletes at the highest level of competition are killing it with yoga, so could athletes at every level. Whether you’re competing in sports, or if you’re a recreational runner, rock climber, cyclist, weightlifter or CrossFitter, perform at your best with yoga. Here’s how to do it:
[Read: 9 Qualities of Great Yoga Teachers.]
Injury Prevention Through Yoga
I will never forget the moments in my wrestling career when I was unable to compete because I was injured. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to sit out because you’re hurt. Athletes are especially prone to injury because they tend to be more strong than flexible, and so create more torque and strain on their joints. Some injuries are unavoidable. However, many can be prevented with a steady yoga routine. Yoga students develop flexibility and an acute attention to alignment, breath and pain sensation. The basic poses are powerful and therapeutic. If done intelligently, they strengthen and stretch the body in a way that promotes a keen awareness of pain and dangerous misalignment.
[Read: 10 Tips for Practicing Yoga at Home.]
Be Fierce Without Losing Your Composure
A strong yoga practice demands that you challenge yourself and work harder than you ever thought you possibly could without running for the door screaming. Much like working out or athletics, you have to contain that raw emotion and ferocity and use it as a tool to up your game. Yoga is a powerful technique of bumping against your physical and mental edges repeatedly and in that moment, be at your best. Zac MacMath, the goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Union, told me yoga helps him remain relaxed and centered when the game is on the line.
Yoga Complements Cardio
Yoga is great for cardiovascular workouts and sports. It trains you to breathe more efficiently, and you’re asked to be aware of your breath at all times. Breathing technique demands that you consciously deepen your breath, especially when you are struggling. So even when you feel like you are winded and ready to break down, you’re able to finish your run or bike race strongly. Most cardio is running intensive. For sports like soccer, where players are running for 90 minutes straight with bursts of explosive sprints, a yoga routine that stretches the hamstrings, quads, IT bands (the ilotibial band ligaments along the thigh) and hips is a great way to facilitate mobility in the lower body.
Yoga for Anaerobic, Technical Sports
For the technicians like weightlifters, baseball players and golfers, alignment and biomechanics are crucial. The day David Buchanan, pitcher for Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, came to my class, we talked for two hours about the mechanical skills he needs to deliver a killer fastball pitch. In his routine, we worked the hamstrings and hips in a way that helped him get more leverage in his delivery and explode off his planted foot. The poses are engineered to promote healthy alignment and target the areas that need to be opened and strengthened to perform optimally. In golf, it’s finding a deeper rotation in the torso without swaying the hips. Twists and lateral stretching in yoga are extremely helpful for this key action. Form in weight-training is paramount. No matter which muscle groups you're targeting, yoga can help with your precision and breathing technique. Yoga uses clear physical landmarks and safety cues while moving mindfully with your breath.
Yoga for Combative Competitions
Yes, yoga even helps those whose sports who are meant to inflict pain on their opponents. Mental toughness, physical leverage and balance are key in hand-to-hand combat sports, such as wrestling, football, mixed martial arts and boxing. Yoga technique allows you to move your body fluidly and powerfully position yourself and strike an opponent with deadly force. There are many balancing poses like tree, warrior III and dancer’s pose, where you’re asked to balance on one foot while stretching. This awareness helps you stay on your feet, and defend and recover from offensive attacks more skillfully. These sports can be brutal to your body. The yoga poses stretch your body therapeutically and help you recover from grueling bouts.
Mobility & Explosive Core Strength
With any workout, the more seamlessly you are able to move, the more you will get out of your session. Workouts like rock-climbing and cross-fit demand good alignment and mobility. Rock climbers can strengthen the lower body to help hoist and hold themselves up, while opening and stretching the legs, hips and shoulders with yoga. In CrossFit, to advance you need to learn alignment to get into handstand pushups and other technical positions. Both require a strong core – which yoga delivers. In athletics, there is a crucial moment where you’re invoking a fiery burst of movement. Whether you’re throwing shot-put, sprinting or tackling another player, this split-second movement is often the difference between winning or losing the battle. Yoga helps develop strength by engaging your muscles in every pose, and flexibility where you need it most, so your body works like a fine-tuned machine.
Balance and Symmetry
Workouts often require a repetitive motion, whether you're throwing a ball with one hand or planting with the same foot numerous times to jump or sprint. This makes your muscles develop asymmetrically. You can shift this imbalance with yoga. Yoga stretches the body evenly on either side. If you become so lopsided that it is problematic, you can structure your yoga routine to counter that asymmetry. When I teach Union soccer players, I take into account their specific position and have them hold some poses longer to balance their bodies. That way, both the right-side defender who is mostly healthy and the left-footed forward with the bad back each get exactly what they need from their practice.
[Read: 5 Yoga Poses You Can Do on an Airplane.]
Recovery Time
If you’re in pain before you start your workout, you won't fully go for it and get as much out of it. During the Union yoga sessions, the players are usually between games or fresh off of a workout. We normally focus on restoring their bodies and practice in a way that resolves their injuries, pain and soreness. However you choose to compete in your own life, let yoga help you perform at peak level.
[Read: Save Money on Yoga by Making Your Own Props.]
By Jake Panasevich
ERYT-200
Drawing from over seven intensive trainings, Jake Panasevich threads the most beneficial practices from different modalities into a unique yoga experience for inflexible, stressed, over-worked regular Americans. Jake is a yoga and wellness mentor and teacher to a large, committed group of beginners and advanced students alike. With a strong wrestling, coaching and writing background, Jake inspires students to get committed, get stronger and learn to love life and flourish in it.
Jake works with:
Guys who want to live healthy and pain-free Former athletes who are tight and injured Those who want to avoid surgery and expensive alternatives to yoga Those who love to be challenged in a way that supports them
Visit www.yogawithjake.com to get motivated, feel great and get committed!
Don’t like complicated dessert recipes or baking? I can relate. But I have a sweet tooth (always have). It might have to do with growing up eating a lot of Hostess products.
Now I eat healthy…like 80%-90% of the time because it’s all about balance. But one of my biggest struggles has been how to satisfy my sugar cravings because they are tied to comfort, not lack of eating right.
I don’t even keep table sugar in my house because I’ve been known to dip butter in sugar, so I mean it when I say I love sweets. ;)
Because I don’t like baking, it’s a problem because there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of healthy dessert recipes out there, but I just don’t want to do it. I’m so happy that I’ve found a few that really hit the spot for me and are practically effortless.
My criteria: Simple. Easy. Healthy. Nutritious.
Some great health benefits of this recipe:
Strawberry Chia Greek Yogurt
Ingredients: 1/4-1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup strawberries (I used frozen) 1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon raw honey
Directions: Mix everything together and enjoy. You don’t even have to thaw the frozen strawberries if you use the small ones in the bag. If you are dairy free, check out this Coconut Greek Style yogurt. You can even download coupons on the website.
By Jessica Wyman
Jessica Wyman is a Certified Nutrition Coach and Yoga Teacher at Jessica-Wyman.com. She has authored two books available on Amazon, Finding Your Foxy and Girlfriends Organic Kitchen.
She believes that women are created by everything they eat, drink, breathe and believe and that concept is the cornerstone of the Wildly Nourished programs she co-created. As a clean eating foodie and wellness maven, she teaches healthy living without the complicated rituals by focusing on simple ingredients to create your ideal life (and meals).
Join Jessica’s FREE 5-day lifestyle program at Jessica-Wyman.com
Connect with Jessica at: Instagram: Instagram.com/wymanjessica Twitter: twitter.com/wymanjessica Pinterest: pinterest.com/jessicafwyman
It begins with the breath
Yoga breath flows lightly in and out through the nose. Avoid manic huffing and sniffing and simply softly constrict the breath in your throat, like you would do if you were whispering to someone. When you breathe deeply you should feel and even see movement all the way down to your belly. If you find yourself exhaling when the teacher is asking you to inhale, don’t worry about it. It takes practice to breathe in steady rhythm and match that breath to movement in a group setting.
Bend those knees
Most people don’t walk into a yoga class with deliciously long hamstrings. When forward-folding or going into downward-facing dog, give yourself and your legs and your lower back a break and bend your knees to relieve tension. Once you find yourself in the pose, you can slowly re-straighten the legs and find the stretch. As a general rule, prioritise the actions of the spine over the legs. Meaning, let your spine release in a forward fold before you try to challenge it with straight legs. Let your spine lengthen in down-dog, before you challenge it with straight legs. For now, give your spine more love and as your practice deepens you can work more on the legs.
Hands Up!
When you raise your arms over your head, make sure your palms face towards each other and your arms are straightening as much as they can. If you find that your shoulders are crowding up towards your ears, widen your hands further away from each other and feel that your shoulder blades are spreading out rather than purely lifting up. It’s important to get stretch and reach across the back of the shoulders and side body – so go for it!
Walk the Line
As you learn standing poses, like Warrior II, side angle or Triangle, align your front heel with your back heel as a default setting. As you develop your practice you may explore front heel to back arch alignment for a deeper opening, or if you find yourself restricted, in pain, or unstable you may explore a tiny gap between the heels. But as a general rule, stick with this alignment for now.
Keep your balance
Being able to balance in tree pose, or high lunges, or whatever else finds you wobbly is not just about strength. Find one un-moving spot in front of you and fix your gaze on it. Breathe slowly and deeply through the nose as you keep your eyes fixed on this spot. This should help you stay upright and increase your ability to concentrate!
Sitting ain’t easy
As Westerners, we’re not used to sitting on the ground. Due to tightness in the legs and hips we may get all sorts of downward pull that makes us slump and ache when we try to sit cross-legged or kneel. The best way to help yourself is to sit on a blanket or a block or two. Give your bum and spine a bit of a lift to balance out the muscular forces pulling it down. It may still be difficult and take some time to overcome, but try this simple adjustment for now.
It’s a practice
Remember that yoga is a practice that accrues cumulative results. Everyone will be on a different schedule and all you can do is pace yourself and get on your mat. It takes awhile to figure out how to make the shapes and flow, just as it takes a bit of time to move from piano scales to sonatas. As you get confused, ask your teacher for advice rather than getting frustrated. Most teachers have had all sorts of struggles with practice and found a way to work through it. Be kind to yourself, stick with it, and see what happens
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 adamhocke.com
You have to do the work and build the discipline on a daily basis. Sure, practice can sometimes feel really really good and worth it. Sometimes it only feels good afterwards. But the good news is that with time and consistency your body changes, your brain changes, your mind and your experience of life changes.
It started off like this:
God I love this word. I love it because it really does mean a lot to me. When I started looking at all the relationships I have in my life, the one thing that kept coming up for me was integrity. Integrity is so important. So I had to ask myself, why? Why is it so important? Why am I holding this word so dear to my heart?
When I looked it up online, it said: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
And this one said: the state of being whole and undivided.
Alright, well maybe I can get behind the state of being whole and undivided. But from what? From whom? And what does honest or strong moral principles mean anyway? Isn’t that a judgment call? Who says who has strong moral principles anyway? Who’s in charge?
I personally like my definition better: The state of being when your thoughts, words and deeds are in alignment with your soul’s highest purpose and potential.
That’s a huge statement I know, however I do believe it to be true. And it got me thinking… okay, if that’s true, how often are we really in integrity? I mean, really? How many times do we fall out of integrity with our deeds, our words or even our thoughts? Because you have to look at your thoughts too … it’s starts there.
I’ve been witness to many people just in this yoga community, out of integrity. So much it makes me laugh! I’ve been witness to some of my own thoughts and I’ve had to say, “Wow… really? How can I think that? So not in my realm of being!” It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.
And in that moment, when I fall our of integrity, instead of judging myself and saying, “Oh shit, I must not be a yogi, I just had a impure thought!”, I breathe and say, “Hm, where did that thought come from?”
Because that is the work. Noticing when you fall out of integrity and then finding your way back in, and quickly. We all fall out of integrity and let me tell you, if you think you don’t, think again. That one act, that one word, that one thought; that’s all it takes.
And then I had a moment where my own integrity was in question. And it wasn’t about anything I was outwardly doing that was in question. No, in fact, it was how I was compromising my own integrity and standards for my own self, for my soul. It was an issue with how I was allowing myself to be treated which was less than I felt I was worth.
You see, I have always had an issue with wanting to make everyone happy. Always wanting peace and connection to prevail. Wanting a community that sings together, plays together, and hangs out together. And I always found that in the yoga community regardless of any city I live in or travel to. The yoga community is hands down, the place to land no matter what; it’s my tribe for sure.
This move to California has proven time and again to be the right decision. However, I must admit finally, that I personally have been tested on my commitment to integrity to my own soul. I allowed things to happen in my own life, compromised my ideals, and neglected my personal boundaries for the sake of making it happen in my life. For the promise of feeding my kids, finding a suitable home, and getting ourselves in a place that was safe, secure and lovely to come “home” to.
Yes I did that and I know I am not the only one that has.
You do that when you’re a parent I think. You give up a part of yourself for the sake of what you think is important. And I did just that. I allowed myself to be treated in a way that was less than my soul deserved and I did it for a long time because the fulfillment I received from the yoga community more than made up for anything I was “giving away”. I always felt loved and connected to every single person who walked through the Yoga Tree Corte Madera and made connection with me.
But giving even a smidgen away of your self, your ideals, what you think you deserve will always come back to haunt you. And it has and I can no longer allow it or hold space for it.
Yoga Tree Corte Madera closing has made me so very sad. It’s what brought me here. It was my out, my wings, my chance and what I did with that honestly, is nothing short of f***ing amazing. Because I believe I did as much as I could on integrity.
Never once did I shoot someone in the foot, lie, cheat or steal to get what I wanted. Quite the contrary … I didn’t stand up for myself enough. And now I am.
As much as I would like to stay at Yoga Tree Corte Madera until August 30 when they close the doors, I must leave now, after this Sunday’s class. There are stories behind closed doors that do not need re-telling, only a blessing and goodbye. And an “I hope to see you on the mat somewhere else where I teach.”
I have loved every minute of my time in Marin and now I must move on. Here’s a bit more on integrity …
So then I started thinking about the fact that we are all doing this. All of us! And we’re not trying to be mean or vindictive, we are just being human. So if we are all doing it, wouldn’t it be nice if we all just kinda, held some space for each other to be human?
I mean, I enjoy living the perfectly imperfect life. It keeps me off the hook and I get to tend to my own “side of the street” instead of worrying about what everyone else is doing.
For whatever reason, we all fall out of integrity. We all think a nasty thought, say something that’s not so nice, and perhaps act in a way that is not in alignment with our soul. All of us!
So … and … now what? Take a breath, smirk or smile, try not to judge yourself but do explore the why behind that momentary shift in consciousness. Because it’s a trigger for you to go deeper, to discover the root of why you would fall out of integrity. There’s a deeper meaning so explore that. And then notice it the next time it happens, because it will, and just do your best to do it different next time. And then remember, everyone else is trying to play this game of Life, so hold some space would ya’?
My reason for falling out of integrity was fear. Of not being enough. Of not being able to make it on my own. Of not being accepted as I was … weird isn’t it? The games our minds play.
So I say this … I hold no judgment, no remorse, no regret, no guilt and no resentment…. Only deep, deep gratitude for:
The opportunity The community The connection The courage The energy Tim and Tara Dale My life The lessons My tribe
But mostly, I am grateful for the exploration into the why. Because what I learned is that I am enough, I am doing it on my own and I am acceptable to myself just as I am, in this moment. Just as I am.
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. Visit DanaDamara.com for more inspiration from Dana.
Click here to download or stream one of Dana's YogaDownload classes!
“My gratitude to him is as boundless as the Pacific Ocean.” - Yann Martel, Life of Pi2.
Write a gratitude letter to someone you love
Is there someone out there for whom you feel a boundless sense of gratitude? Write a letter to this person. Perhaps it’s your mother, a friend, or lover. Pour your heart out on paper until you feel all has been said. If you feel a strong need to re-connect with someone you love, take this letter and read it to them while meeting this person face-to-face. If you’re separated by the Pacific, drop it in the post. This practice has been shown to dramatically improve one’s happiness. Feeling down in the dumps? Take an hour and a cup of tea and craft a beautiful letter of gratitude. Watch your mood change with each brush of your pen. If this feels like too much, send a simple text message to your person, letting them know why you are grateful to have them in your life.
Keep a gratitude journal
This journal is dedicated solely to the art of gratitude. Make lists, draw pictures, write poetry - anything having to do with appreciation is fair game. Every morning after you meditate, you may wish to write in your journal 3-5 things you are grateful for. It’s fun to look back and see how they evolve, although, you may find the general theme stays the same.
“Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
Take a gratitude walk
Perhaps you are traveling to work, driving to the gym, or taking your dog for a morning walk. Throughout the journey, focus only on things you are grateful for. Whether you’re driving, taking a train, a bus, or walking, you’ll see so many things to be grateful for. When you reach your destination, you’ll feel much happier to move into the next part of your day.
“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” - Meister Eckhart
When in doubt, practice this simple gratitude mantra at any given moment. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
And thank YOU for taking the time out of your day to read about the art of gratitude.
By Aimee Hughes N.D.
Aimee Hughes, ND, is a holistic health writer who has been traveling and exploring the world of natural health and wellness, yoga, dance, and travel for the past two decades. She is the author of a self-published vegan cookbook, “The Sexy Vegan Kitchen: Culinary Adventures in Love & Sex,” available on Amazon. Aimee is the lead writer and health consultant for the Yandara Yoga Institute in Todos Santos, Mexico. [www.yandara.com]
Gazpacho isn’t just any soup, it’s a soup that is traditionally made of raw vegetables and served cold, making it absolutely perfect for summertime.
Gazpacho has roots in the southern Spain region of Andalusia and is usually made with a tomato base like my favorite 80:20 Spicy Gazpacho.
In the spirit of keeping this cleanse-friendly, we’ve swapped out the tomato base for something equally as summery – watermelon!
Combine juicy, sweet watermelon with some cooling cucumber and mint, zesty ginger and spicy jalapeño and you’ve got one serious summertime celebration in your mouth.
Is your mouth watering yet?!
Not only is this soup delicious, it’s also super easy to make. We love keeping it simple in the kitchen because eating clean need not require hours in the kitchen. This recipe is a testament to that.
Are you ready to get blending?
Get your gazpacho on and for more delicious, mouth-watering recipes, be sure to look out for a big surprise coming soon!
Now it’s your turn! Leave me a comment below? What simple, healthy recipes have you been enjoying this summer?
With love and zest,
Zesty Watermelon Gazpacho
Yields: 6 bowls
Ingredients:
5 cups seedless watermelon, cubed 1 small cucumber, peeled and diced 3 celery stalks, chopped 1/2 small red onion, diced 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves 1 small jalapeño 1 clove garlic 3 TB. freshly squeezed lime juice 1 (1- or 2-in.) piece fresh ginger, peeled 1/2 tsp. sea salt
Directions: Set aside a handful of watermelon, cucumber, celery, red onion, mint leaves, and jalapeño, and dice finely to use as garnish.
In a high-speed blender, blend remaining watermelon, cucumber, celery, red onion, garlic, mint leaves, lime juice, ginger, jalapeño, and sea salt until creamy. If soup is too foamy, run through a sieve first.
Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve cold with a few tablespoons garnish in each bowl. Season with more fresh mint leaves and sea salt to taste.
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
For some people yoga poses are boring or not easily adaptable to injuries and illness. In those cases, meditation may be better suited to a particular lifestyle or circumstance.
In the West, we mistakenly assume that yoga=pretzel poses. This, however, is far from the truth. There are, in actuality, 4 kinds of yoga that encompass a broad spectrum of activities.
The Eight Components of Yoga
Classical Yoga, as outlined by the sage Patanjali some thousands of years ago is comprised of a path consisting of 8 steps.
Those steps are:
The chronology of the path is somewhat fluid, with the exception of the eighth step, which seems to be highly elusive to only the most devout practitioner, and sometimes, depending on your personal beliefs, it even takes lifetimes to achieve this feat of enlightenment.
Regardless, the highlight of this list is the fact that asana (poses) is third on the list, hardly the most important. Yet, asana is also one of the most highly accessible entry points onto the path, and thus, most of us start our yoga journey there.
The suitcases these yogic compartments fit within
With enlightenment being the ultimate goal, there are different overarching ways to attain this state, and, surprisingly or not surprisingly, poses don’t really come into play much.
In fact, the only reason the physical postures are a part of yoga at all is because ancient sages used exercises to open up their hips and warm up their body in preparation to sit for long hours at a time in meditation. The poses were a means to an end, the end being meditation rather then any sort of physical fitness. Over time, the modern, Western, business-minded man combined some of these stretching exercises with gymnastics to give you what we now know today as yoga.
The four different paths of yoga are known as:
Yoga poses technically fall underneath the path of Raja yoga, so we’ll start there.
Meditation: It’s kinda a big deal
Really, it’s almost like working backwards. As I mentioned above, the poses were originally intended to prepare the body for long periods of meditation (Raja Yoga). Thus, today’s physical practice performed in studios is a stepping stone in the general direction of enlightenment, but hardly the end-all-be-all.
If you’re familiar with Paramahansa Yogananda and the Self-Realization Fellowship or Transcendental Meditation, these all fall under the path of Raja Yoga. These yogis, in truth, rarely practice poses, as they are much more concerned with their sitting practice (although they would be happier with their sitting if they practiced the poses, thus the catch-22).
There’s a path for you too, seeker
Jnana Yoga is a path filled with knowledge. This can be both self-knowledge and worldly knowledge to help you better understand yourself and your place in the world amongst everyone and everything else (which is all one and the same anyway). This path is much more concerned with learning, self-study, reading, writing/journaling, contemplation, and education. I personally feel very drawn to this particular path as I am a student first and foremost always and my love for learning is overzealous.
Love is all there is
Bhakti Yoga is a path of devotion. You see this particular way of living in many other religions as well, such as the orthodox versions of Catholicism and Judaism. Devotion to a higher being in all actions is the Bhakti way of living. In the “yoga world” in particular, bhakti practices include call-and-response chanting, mala beads, bliss practices and a level of mindfulness in action that is geared toward love of all beings.
Even though I completely disagree that yoga is a religion (it really depends on how you define religion and how you define yoga at the end of the day), Bhakti yoga may be the closest yoga gets to a “religion” (but it’s not – just closer-ish).
The Karma Sutra (not the ice cream)
Finally, you’ve probably heard the word Karma before. What goes around, comes around right? Karma Yoga is the path of service. Karma yogis believe that all good deeds are worth doing, not because they’ll be repaid in kind, but because doing good is the way to be. This path of yoga is the ultimate in learning the skill of detachment to the outcome.
Which path is the right path?
All of them. While there is no one path better then the other, there are some paths more suited to others based on our own life situations and tendencies. Most likely, many of us will relate to two or more of the paths at the same time.
When you hear me offer up myriad ways of practicing yoga, I want you to know that you have many, many options. I’m not just making things up and being nice :)
Consider what yoga path speaks most to you.
Acknowledge the things you already do in your life that may be yogic acts and you didn’t even know it!
Decide how you want to practice your yoga, what ways you are able to practice, and then be open to the possibility of practicing without the poses some days.
If life gets busy and you do a good deed for your neighbor, without expectation for your neighbor to return the favor, that’s Karma Yoga.
If you smile and appreciate the beauty of a brilliant sunset over water, that’s Bhakti Yoga.
If you spend some time journaling, you’re practicing Jnana Yoga.
And if you take some time to meditate, you’re practicing Raja Yoga.
Choose what works for you on any given day, and go with it.
It’s that simple (and hard…).
Namaste!
The best advice we receive is you be you, and people will follow. As if. I am a somewhat cranky, older woman who speaks bluntly, and believe me, that hasn’t always been a popular path in yoga.
However, I will tell you what is popular, and that is the “advanced” poses.
In these days of abundant classes and a bit of a circus atmosphere on Instagram, a workshop that promises a handstand will fill the room. The same goes for having an “advanced” practice. If you post it, they will come.
I was recently offered to do a series called “Advanced Yoga” at a local studio. I turned it down. In my experience, the fastest way to get a room full of beginners is to call it “advanced.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with beginners! I LOVE beginners. I specialize in beginners. I just want a student to know that they are not too good to focus on certain poses.
My new thing is the “Plateau Buster.” And surprise, I take students back to the basics to learn where they are stuck. If you can’t achieve a Level Three pose, I guarantee you the problem will be present in the Level One poses.
I enjoy teaching (the shit) out of a posture. When I create my weekly class, I rarely announce in advance what we are doing. In my experience, saying that we will explore touching our toes is a buzz killer. Hey everyone, today I’m going to teach you how to bend over! On the other hand, I cannot tell you how many students suffer hamstring tears and really, truly, need to learn how to bend over.
The saying goes that those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach. But that’s not entirely true. Doing is a different skill from teaching. I take pride when my students achieve their goals or practice without pain. I think of them as ducklings who learn to fly.
The gold in them ‘thar hills is not hiding in the Series Three, Four or Five poses. The gold is hiding in the veins of the beginner poses. It’s not just “practice and all is coming.” It is practice touching your toes, or practice being impeccable, practice with skill and integrity and all is coming. Mine your beginnings, and you will find what you are looking for.
Truly, there is no “easy” pose. Yoga is not easy, especially with skillful breath. The person who cannot put his foot behind his head probably cannot do Half Pigeon. The person who has trouble balancing in Handstand may need to build strength in the wrists and forearms. Boring!
Believe me, what you can do will fade over time. But what you know can grow. Helping students progress on their path brings me pleasure, and I am too old and set in my ways to do anything that does not bring joy. See, I am cranky and blunt.
There’s a lot of pressure in yoga these days. Selling teacher trainings and posting on Instagram can drive a yogi mad. But let’s ease the pressure to do advanced poses. Let’s post more photos of the beautiful “simple” poses and direct our students inward. Having the patience to explore our beginnings is another beautiful — but not altogether glorious — path to “more.”
The digital yoga world has been all a flutter of late. I haven’t seen this kind of activity since the heyday of the yoga blogosphere some years ago. Of course, even though the original articles still live on someone’s blog, the comment threads are all happening on Facebook. Which is definitely a problem. Commenting on Facebook is kind of like driving in a car by yourself. People will say the most horrible things to other drivers, things that would never be OK to say in person (see Louise CK.)
Subtlety is often lost in a Facebook comment and becomes paralyzed in the face of unadulterated vitriol.
There are some legitimate and important discussions happening on a range of relevant topics. Is the marketing of yoga just another insidious suggestion that makes people feel ashamed of their bodies? Do yoga teachers require more trauma sensitivity training in order to be effective? Is corporate America bastardizing mindfulness practices? Does Hinduism have a rightful claim to yoga as it’s origin? And are people really being honest about what is happening in yoga practice as regards injuries? All of these are important questions. And that they are being played out in a public sphere is a positive.
However, while these questions may be on point, the comment threads that follow often fail to do them justice. I sometimes marvel at the knee-jerk stone throwing and wonder what folks are hoping to accomplish. Every once in a while, there will be an earnest exchange. Where points are conceded on both sides and it feels like a real conversation and some learning has happened. But other times, it all just feels icky and hurtful.
I have a strict policy when it comes to Facebook comments: always write a draft in a separate text window first before you copy/paste and hit “post.” Especially with that shift-return to end a paragraph thing on FB. It behooves us to consider carefully before we click off our rants into the ether for all to read. Even when you delete it shortly thereafter, someone already got the notification and will still call you out on it.
Whatever yoga means to you, rest assure someone else feels differently. That yoga encompasses opposing views is what makes it so confounding.
Recently, some perturbed Indians have been leveling fair criticism of what they see as the co-opting and appropriation of their heritage. Even to the extent of taking issue with yoga terminology. For instance, “Modern Yoga” vs “Yoga in the Modern World.” The former implies that yoga was somehow incomplete and modernity has made it relevant. The latter is a more accurate description. Whether or not you feel this is a valid criticism, it cannot be denied that anything westerners know about yoga has come to them by way of an Indian man. And western culture also has a terrible tendency to claim things as its own without due respect for the sources drawn upon.
If you think of Hinduism as a matter of faith or religion then it’s easy to separate it from yoga. But if you consider Hinduism to be part of a larger set of Dharma teachings and heritage then they are inextricably linked. Either way, it can’t hurt for us to be more sensitive towards the culture that is responsible for yoga teachings. As many yoga teachers are beginning to question the language they use when they are instructing people about yoga poses, we ought to also examine the words we use when we market our yoga-based services to the world.
When we are talking about yoga, accuracy begets the nuance that advertising scoffs.
Last month, I taught at a yoga festival. My program, “Gentle is the New Advanced”, was billed alongside several other conventional vinyasa styles. The majority of people who came to my workshop reported that the reason they did so was because the word “gentle” appeared in the title. When we got into practice, something became clear: folks had very little sense of there being any middle ground. Either you’re lying around on bolsters with no “work” involved or doing high impact aerobic asana and sweating yourself into a frenzy. The suggestion that any pose can be done in a slower and simpler way seemed foreign to the familiar models. I couldn’t help but feel that these extremes in practice sensibility, as well as the comments on Facebook, are reflecting a need for lost nuance.
I can appreciate people having strong opinions and expressing them to provoke conversation and inquiry. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I can be quite assertive myself. And I believe that most people who are passionate about yoga and active on social media are well intentioned. That both easterners and westerners have the ability to interact on Facebook is pretty cool actually. But perhaps we can all benefit from easing up on the sharp elbows. Where one extreme ends the other begins. Somewhere in the middle is where we are not at odds, even when we disagree.
p.s. In the spirit of this post and an effort to create more in-depth content, I am excited to announce the launch of J. Brown Yoga Talks Podcast. I will continue to post my blog as usual. But I will also now be putting out an hour long audio conversation each month as well. The first one is dropping in two weeks. Stay tuned.
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
Unless you’re part of our 80:20 Lifestyle Plan, it’s easy to feel the effects of too much summer fun catching up. You know what I mean – too much wine, less than stellar quick dinners, one too many ice cream treats. Eventually it starts to weigh you down, your energy plummets and the ol’ jean shorts start to feel a bit too tight.
Can you relate?
The Conscious Cleanse team has been enjoying our 80:20 to its fullest. We’ve very much been in vacation mode. And even though we love vacations, it’s easy to come back from a week or two away needing to hit the reset button.
Are you ready to bounce back from your summer vacation? Be sure to check out my Top 5 Tips for Rebounding from Vacation below.
Now is the perfect time to slough off those french fries (insert your favorite vacation indulgence here) and get back to your healthy habits.
And of course, our next live cleanse starts September 9 and there is no better way to start fresh than with a total 14-day Fall reboot. Get all the details here.
In the meantime, try these tips and let me know how you’re feeling in the comment section below.
Are you ready for a reboot?
How do you bounce back after vacation?
Be sure to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you.
With love and happy rebounds,
Top 5 Tips for Rebounding from Vacation
Hydrate: Ditch those sugary drinks and enjoy some plain ol’ h2o. Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces every day (ex: If you weigh 140 lbs drink at least 70 oz per day) and your body will thank you. Want extra credit? Jump start your day with a quart of warm lemon water!
Load Up on Veggies: Hit up your local farmer’s market for the abundance of in-season veggies that are bursting out of the ground right now. It’s harvest season, and eating those fresh veggies is a great way to help kick out the toxins that may have built up after a few weeks of fried popcorn shrimp and all you can eat buffets.
Guzzle Green Smoothies: Hop back on the green smoothie love boat today if that healthy habit has fallen by the wayside this summer. Use some of the fresh farmer’s market greens and get blending! Green smoothies give your digestive system a much needed break AND will help you tame your cravings fast!
Get Some Extra Zzzs: A busy social summer calendar can often rob us of enough good quality sleep. A couple times a week, go to bed one hour earlier than normal. The extra rest will add up over time and help you feel rested and energized for the rest of summer.
Let it Go: This is important – don’t beat yourself up for enjoying indulgences over your summer vacation. That is what vacation and the 80:20 are for! Let is go and move on! Pick yourself up with love and remember that your body hears everything your mind thinks, so be kind!
I pull my mat out from its cabinet and lay it out between my sofa and dining room table. Usually there are delaying tactics of coffee-making, water-drinking, do-I-or-do-I-not-need-to-pee-before-I-start waffling. Most likely I am styled in my finest pyjamas and bed-head and further lacking a shave and a shower.
It’s not all good or joyful. Some days it’s absolutely clunky and boring and I just want to get it over with. Other days I flow and feel incredibly vibrant and alive. I always feel better afterwards.
There are no sunsets or crashing waves. Usually, there aren’t that many complicated postures. I begin with figuring out what my body needs to feel its best and the type of energy I need to generate to ground my mind and claw my way out of my neuroses. Postures, speed, intensity all flow from these fundamental questions.
Sometimes I quit half way through because I’m hungry or realise that the curry from the night before didn’t agree with me. Sometimes I work in silence. Sometimes I chat freely with my partner or jam to lite-FM on the radio.
There are glimpses of open space, of deep feeling. There are risings of energy beyond easy explanation. But fundamentally it is a necessary 30-90 minutes a day that prevents me from being an irritable, overly-emotional and irrational, annoying fuckhead.
As the days of my practice become months and years the extraordinary develops. But that’s another conversation.
This Venus in Retrograde coupled with the Full Moon in Aquarius has been a doozy. And if you aren’t feeling it, good for you. But here’s the deal, we ALL are experiencing relationship stuff; whether or not we are awake to it is a whole other story.
Because the reality is this Full Moon and Venus Dance, are asking us to drop it all and be the best we can be. It’s asking us to rejuvenate and bring to light all of our shadows because in the shadow the pearl lives, and is waiting to be discovered. It’s asking us to love it all and be free from what drags us down once and for all.
Beyond that, the truth is that we are all ascending to a higher vibration of love and we can’t carry anything heavy or dense. We just can’t! So we can either keep trying to carry it, shove it under the rug, point the finger out at someone else, or we can own it and deal with it and look it square in the eye because the time is now to love it and move on.
Because here is the deal:
Relationships are can be defined as:
To others
Name it … how you “relate” in the world to ANYTHING, is a relationship.
Let me ask you, how did you relate to the whole dentist who killed Cecil? Yeah, I thought so. Or what about the banning of the word Goddess on Instagram? Or how animals are treated? Just a few zingers to remind you that we ALL experience relationship shit every single day.
Originally, I wanted to use prophetic sentences for this blog like:
Just over a week ago, I got word from my children that their father had moved in with his girlfriend and to not be surprised when they came to visit. Now, while this is not a blog about my life or my story, I want to tell you something … it brought up some very old shit. Some deeply rooted, relationship shit.
I found myself trying to figure out how I was going to hold space for them while they emotionally vomited on me (that’s part of your job description as a parent by the way) when I got home. You see, they called to give me this news while I was driving home from work and thankfully, I needed to stop at Trader Joe’s which gave me space.
But what happened next surprised the heck out of this strong, warrior mom. I was bagging my groceries and I started to weep. The weeping escalated, and soon, I was crying uncontrollably at the check out line. Poor Trader Joe’s dude, he didn’t see this one coming and neither did I.
The little sniffles turned into uncontrollable sobs once I exited the store. Which turned into wails and rants on the car ride home. I had to pull it together before I got home, but how was I going to pull it together when I had no idea why I was falling apart.
Best advice came from a dear friend. He said, “stop what you are doing, park your car and look in the mirror. Look and tell me what you see.”
And then I saw a really vibrant, kick ass Queen who has surrounded herself with amazingness, power and grace. Someone who has walked a really crazy line of truth, freedom, and love to find herself. I saw a woman who has always been in love with life even when she didn’t know what the hell she was doing.
And most of all, I saw someone who has always known who she is and what she is capable of, regardless of the stories that have colored her life.
Every relationship is a story to guide is. Every story has shaped the path, the relationships we find ourselves in are here to elevate us and that’s not prophetic, it’s the truth.
And here’s the deal…
As relationships come in and out of our lives, we get to dictate just how embedded we are in them and their stories. We get to say if they resonate with us. We have the right to say just how much we are defined by them. And then we can dictate just how much we are willing to put up with, vibrate alongside, or let go of.
And then, most importantly … and I remembered this as I watched the snot drip from my nose, my eyes bulging from my head, and my heart hurting while my gut wrenched from crying in the mirror ….
You are light. You are light. You are Divine light colored by relationships reminding you to BE that. There is only one relationship that can be cultivated, examined and elevated and that is the one you have with yourself.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Basically … do you. Period.
Byron Katie said, “I could find only three kinds of business in this world: Yours, mine, and God’s. Who’s business are you in? Be in no-one else’s but your own.”
That is where the truth in relationship lies. That’s all I got.
Today I’ve got a simple twist on our beloved green smoothie, and one that you’re gonna want to savour and slow down for.
Move over mason jar, we’re busting out the good ole bowl and spoon for this one.
Green smoothie bowls are delicious and the possibilities for tasty variations are endless. They pack a ton of nutrients into one quick and easy meal or snack taking less than 5 minutes to make.
This green smoothie bowl features fresh local Colorado peaches. They’re sweet, succulent and scream summertime.
I’m also newly obsessed with chlorella! Chlorella is a nutrient-dense superfood, a micro-algae similar to spirulina that super charges this green smoothie bowl to superstar status. Probably best known for helping the body detoxify, chlorella can help rid the body of harmful toxins. Chlorella is also rich in chlorophyll and is a powerful supplement known to help strengthen the immune system.
Check out the Super Green Smoothie Bowl recipe below and be sure to leave me a comment. What green smoothie bowl variations do you love? Let’s share ideas.
With super green bowl love,
Super Green Smoothie Bowl
Yield: 1 serving
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk 2 TB. chia seeds ½ small avocado 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled 2 cups fresh or frozen peaches 1 ripe banana 1 cup spinach 1 tsp. chlorella
Optional garnish: Unsweetened coconut flakes, cinnamon, cacao nibs*, banana slices, raspberries, blueberries, hemp seeds.
Instructions: In a high-speed blender, blend coconut milk, chia seeds, avocado, peaches, spinach and chlorella until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with your topping of choice.
*If cleansing omit cacao nibs and top only with fruit for good easy in easy out food combining.
After you sip this delicious smoothie, try a healing yoga class with Jo or Jules:
What is Peace of Mind?
Peace of mind is best described as a mental state of being. When a person can truly accomplish peace of mind they have a sense of calmness emotionally. There are minimal, if any feelings of stress, fears, or anxieties.
So how does someone find true peace of mind?
To be quite honest there are several ways in which a person can find true peace of mind. It is simple finding something that eases the daily stresses of the mind and helps you be at peace with whatever your realities are right now. Below are just a few suggestions on how you can begin to find true peace of mind.
Remove Negative Influences - The very first step to finding peace of mind is removing from your life the negative influences that might be interfering with your outlook on life. This might mean watching less news to prevent being stressed out about negative things you can do nothing about. It could also mean removing toxic relationships from your life so that you can move forward. Or it could mean taking a long hard look in the mirror. Are you currently displaying negative behaviors that could be causing you to stress out mentally and emotionally? This could be holding grudges, unforgiving, controlling, or even comparing your life to other’s? Whatever your negatives are, removing them is the only way to move forward.
Try Meditation - Sometimes the mind just needs to be quiet. It's simply running full speed all day long trying to figure out one thing to the next. The only time it takes a break is while you’re asleep (unless you subconsciously think about things in your sleep as well). As such, meditation can be a great way to refocus the mind and simply being at peace. If you’ve never tried meditation before, there are plenty of online meditation videos to assist you in learning more about the art behind it.
Exercise - exercise can also be a great way to de-stress and find peace of mind. In fact, there are medical reports that support there is a connection between exercising to relieve stress. Exercising helps to increase endorphins which are neurotransmitters in the brain that stimulate good feelings. Exercising is also a great distraction as you’re focused on forming technique you’re not as focused on what’s going on in your life. Lastly, exercise can improve your overall mood making you feel better about yourself and life in general. Exercise doesn’t have to mean going to the nearest gym and lifting weights or running on a treadmill. Exercising can be things that include yoga, sports, or even walking around your neighborhood.
Speak to a Therapist - There are instances in which there is simply so much going on in your life that you can’t figure out how to cope with it yourself. If this is the case, there is certainly nothing wrong with going to see a therapist. Therapists are trained professionals that can help you sort through your problems and learn how to assess things in a more constructive manner. There are therapists that specialize in just about every area of your life so whether it’s an issue in a relationship, household, or a past encounter you can get the help you need. Sometimes you can find peace of mind by simply letting it all out, and a therapist is just the person to do this with.
Get a Massage - This one will probably make you at peace just thinking about it… getting a massage is a great way to relieve stress and simply feel good. According to a blog post from Massage Table Outlet, an online vendor for portable massage tables, If your stressed due to your job, getting massages can actually make you a better employee.
Do Something Fun - Lastly, sometimes you just need to get away from the stresses of life and simply smile. To do this, you’ll want to plan something that you really enjoy doing. Whether it’s going on vacation with your family, planning a mini getaway for yourself, or treating yourself to your favorite restaurant, it is important to do something from time to time that does not involve too much thinking.
Life is certainly topsy turvy and can have your brain on overdrive. The best thing you can do for yourself is find something that will take your mind off of things. Reset the brain and find peace of mind. Whether you decide to meditate, exercise, get a massage, speak to a therapist, or be spontaneous and do something fun, you need to find some form of balance to prevent your health from deteriorating. Hopefully this has given you some ideas on how to bring a little bit of peace into your life.
By Sarah Stringer
Sara is a freelance writer who most often writes about business and health. Originally from Missouri, she now resides on the west coast. In her spare time, she enjoys maintaining a healthy lifestyle through swimming and practicing yoga
If you enjoy partaking in alcoholic beverages, Conscious Cocktails can be a great addition to your 80:20 lifestyle so you can let loose and also (hopefully) avoid the hangover.
If you haven’t yet seen our new 80:20 Lifestyle Plan, you’ll want to come check it out for more recipes just like these!! We have loads more cocktails and other delicious foods you won’t find on the cleanse.
We love the 80:20 Lifestyle Plan because you can sign up anytime to get support for living a vibrant lifestyle all year long.
In case you haven’t joined us for Conscious Cocktail hour before and are wondering what the heck that means, let us fill you in!
A Conscious Cocktail is one that upgrades your usual alcoholic beverage to one that is allergen-free, spiked with a healthy dose of non-artificial and low-sugar ingredients.
This weekend we’re featuring a Jalapeño Strawberry Margarita. Its not too sweet and just a little spicy. Can you say yum!?
This cocktail would be a perfect pairing to our Zesty Lime Fish Tacos with Cucumber Radish Salsa. It combines all the goodness of Mexican-inspired cuisine without all of the food allergens like corn and nightshades!
Some of the cleanest brands of tequila that we like are Patron and Don Julio. If you’re curious about what other alcohols we recommend, be sure to check out our Conscious Cleanse Approved 80:20 Alcohol Guide so you can start upgrading your other favorite cocktails, too!
Do you have a favorite cocktail you’d like to see us makeover for you? Leave me a comment in the sections below!
We hope you have a great weekend that is sweet and a little spicy, too.
Cheers,
Jalapeño Strawberry Margarita
Yield: 2 cocktails
12 strawberries 3-4 rings jalapeño pepper, 1/2 inch thick 2 medium limes, juiced 1 TB agave nectar* 4 oz silver tequila *use stevia or Lakanto sweetener to make it sugar free
Instructions:
In a high-speed blender, combine strawberries, jalapeño peppers, lime juice, agave and tequila. Pour the contents of blender in a shaker. Shake for 30-60 seconds to chill margarita. Strain the juice out. Serve over ice and garnish with your favorite herb.
After you sip this tasty cocktail, try a healing yoga class with Jo or Jules:
I thought it might be time for something completely different for the yoga world.
Not that there’s anything wrong with glossy pictures of beautiful people finding enlightenment on the shores of an empty beach, mostly because, I want to be one of those people. Instead of om’ing away in Bali, I had to find enlightenment at my children’s soccer fields. Then I made dinner.
Although I am a yogi, I am firmly rooted in reality. In my case that means most nights in the kitchen.
This is what has bothered me lately about yoga: many don’t seem to have the same grip on the actual, physical, genuine, material world that involves putting a roof over our heads. Or, if they do know it exists, they pretend it does not. Or, they know it exists but they still want to sell us a dream in Hawaii.
It wasn’t always this way. Ram Dass said the secret to enlightenment was to “feed everybody.” He also taught at Harvard, so he should know.
Yoga, to me, is not escapism. It’s a way to go deeper inside to gain more clarity and focus. I am able to move, breathe, channel my mind and shut out the noise to delve more deeply into the inner life. Then, and here’s the kicker, I can be more content in the real world.
I am not working “out.” I am working “in.” However, many paths will take you home.
Years ago I applied to make a video for a large yoga company. I was politely told no. I found out later I was rejected because as a soccer mom I do not look like “real yoga,” and I do not teach “real yoga,” because my suburban yoga studio was part of a chain that catered to other housewives. I guess we need to be on a beach in order to sell yoga.
Here is the point: there is no such thing as “real yoga.” In my opinion, a tattooed yogi is not better than a soccer mom yogi. An organically-clad yogi is not more spiritual than a yogi wearing expensive and possibly see-through pants. We are all following the path to self-awareness.
I am over the ‘Yoga Olympics,’ where yogis prove that their way is the right way. Why is gentle yoga better than power yoga? Why Yin and not Yang? Why do we have to conform to some view of what is right? The reality is, “real yoga” looks like many things, even making dinner for one’s children. Feed everybody, right?
Can we accept each person, clothed, naked, tattooed, large, small, round, thin, bearded, shaved, dark, light, vegan or flexitarian? Or are we going to dissolve into some kind of spiritual variation of a church, where every other kind of practice is not going to get you to the gates of enlightenment?
Yoga is not a maze on the back of the children’s’ menu, where only one route leads to the center. Yoga is a labyrinth where every path leads you to the prize within. The only thing you can do to fail, is quit. Go inside yogis, reality is waiting for you and it doesn’t require airfare to arrive.
We didn’t talk that much after that but I could tell the wheels were turning.
It got me thinking about the word foundation and how daunting it can be. I mean, if the Earth is spinning and the sky is infinite, are we really standing on any type of foundation?
Yes, most certainly we are. Ourselves.
I contemplated foundation for awhile before I wrote this. And I remembered a few times in my life when I had no physical foundation. Once when I was 26 and traveled to the South Pacfic for an entire year. One bag, no cell phone, no Internet. Once when I was working on yachts when I was about 30 something. Every day was an adventure; waking up in a different port, different time zone and sometimes, different country. And then this last time, when I moved to California with no foundation except a job that paid pennies when I first started.
These all definitely go down in history as the best times of my life. Totally out of my comfort zone … totally unfamiliar … totally amazing!
Foundation … security … stability, it’s all an illusion if you look outside yourself for it. Foundation is an inside job and it’s found only when you feel into the power that lives within you. It’s found when you tap into your intuition and make decisions from there. It’s recognized in tight situations when the going gets rough. It’s exemplified when you re-member your foundation is your connection to Source, to God, to your internal compass.
And sometimes, that’s all you have … but that’s all you need. Ever.
From an outside, human perspective, it’s easy to see how we can get swayed by things, or people, or jobs, or even homes to determine our foundation. But I’m telling you … the only foundation you ever need is the one you have with yourself and with God; however you define God. And to be quite honest, God has been defined many different ways throughout my life.
My foundation had been ripped out from underneath me several times in this life and I believe it was an initiation to up-level my connection to Spirit and to my own intuitive knowing. We must be reminded in the life that we need nothing but ourselves … nothing but our truth … nothing but our heart.
I get it, it’s challenging. I have two kids and I try to “create a foundation for them to feel safe and comfortable in”. And yes, I use those exact words. At the same time, they know it could change in a moments notice and not to get too attached. Perceived foundation is a dangerous game. I’d rather connect deep into my physical body, my boundless heart and my God-guided intuition. That will never go away.
And when you realize this, that you carry your own foundation with you wherever you go, you will soar higher than you can ever imagine because you re-member you have everything you need.
My husband and I are total suckers for all things summer – including grilling out. We’ve also recently been obsessed with chicken wings.
While chicken wings usually conjure up an image of the epitome of greasy unhealthy fried bar food, I’m here to prove otherwise!
Today I’ve got chicken wings seasoned with a dry rub! They are spicy, smokey, and oh so delicious. Combine these at a cookout with our Conscious Creamy “Potato” Salad and your next BBQ will be a hit for sure.
Check out the recipe below and please leave me a comment. Love chicken wings? Love to grill? Put the two together and let me know what you think.
Enjoy!
Grilled Dry Rub Chicken Wings
Yield: 4 servings
2 lbs. organic chicken wings 2 TB. olive oil 3 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 1 tsp. oregano 1 tsp. rosemary 1 tsp. hot chili powder 1 tsp. sea salt
Preheat grill to medium heat. In a plastic bag place wings, olive oil, garlic, and spices. Shake to combine. Marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Grease grill and place wings on. Cook for 8 minutes on each side. Enjoy hot!
After you make this yummy recipe try a healing yoga class with Jo or Jules:
Vedic astrology, along with yoga, meditation and Ayurveda, originates from the Vedas. The Vedas, meaning knowledge or wisdom, are a large body of texts intuited by the ancient sages of India to help humanity in achieving happiness, peace and fulfillment and to relieve suffering that arises along the way.
Vedic astrology has a strongly predictive focus. For thousands of years people have been going to Vedic astrologers asking when they would get married, have children and meet with professional success. All of this information can be seen from the Vedic birth chart, which is derived using the birth date, time and place of the individual. However, Vedic astrology is much more than a way to see into the future, it is a great vidya, or means to gain clarity, that is an integral part of an ancient and profound belief system.
How Does Vedic Astrology Work? The philosophy behind Vedic astrology is that we are spirit beings that incarnate into a physical body as a way of evolving ourselves toward enlightenment. The Vedic birth chart is a a map or blueprint of the karma or actions that we are likely to take in this lifetime as well as situations that will arise, both positive and negative, based on the culmination of karma or actions from past lives.
Your Vedic Birth Chart The Vedic birth chart shows us how our karma will unfold through time. It shows every aspect of ourselves: our unconscious motivations or psychology, what we love and are passionate about, what makes us feel safe and secure, what our fears are and what we desire. The chart indicates what our birth was like, what are parents are like, whether we are an adventurer or prefer being at home with a book and a cup of tea. The chart tells us if we are a teacher, an advisor, an artist, a leader, a hard worker or prefer to indulge in the pleasure of life. It is all there in the chart from top to bottom.
Unfolding Time There are several methods that Vedic astrologers employ to see what karma is coming to fruition in a person’s life, and how it is likely to manifest. One technique that is unique to Vedic astrology is dasha systems or ways of looking at planetary cycles. There are several dasha systems, however the most widely used is the Vimshottari Dasha System. Vimshottari takes the enormous amount of karma that you have created over lifetimes and breaks it down into nine planetary periods that span 120 years. The planetary period that you begin with is determined by the nakshatra (star) placement of your Moon (mind) when you were born.
While each of us goes through these cycles, each of us will experience them differently due to the house and sign placement of the planet and well as a host of other reasons such as planetary strength, and the influence of other planetary energies on the planet that we “running “ at that time. For example if you are “running” a Venus major period which is 20 years in length, relationships will be a central theme during that part of your life due to Venus’ archetypal nature. The quality and longevity of the relationships you experience during this time, will be determined by other factors. It is important to note, that a a Venus planetary period will activate other areas of life as well as relationships depending on the rest of the chart.
Another technique that is utilized by astrologers both in the Vedic and Western traditions is Gochrara or transits of the planets as they move through the constellations in relation to your individual birth chart. For example, generally speaking, if Saturn is transiting Venus in your chart, this will be a time when the relationships in your life will be tested.
If you would like to know more, please come to the Understanding the Past and Gazing into the Future through Vedic Astrology workshop on July 12th from 1:30-3:30pm. You will receive a copy of your personal Vedic birth chart and find out what planetary period you are”running” and what karma is unfolding in your life.
By Tracy Atkinson
Tracy Atkinson is a professional Vedic astrologer and coach based in New York City. She has been studying and practicing both Western and Vedic Astrology since 1991. In addition to her knowledge and skill as an astrologer, Tracy received her B.A. from Smith College and 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training at ISHTA Yoga. Her website is www.tracyatkinsonconsulting.com.
Some of the yoga cues you hear teachers give to students to get into popular poses have also become commonplace. While common cueing makes it easier for students to remember how to get into a particular pose, confusing common cues can quickly lead to chronic misalignment and a general misunderstanding of what goes where.
The Golden Rule of alignment
In general, the golden rule of alignment in yoga is to stack your joints on top of one another. What does that mean?
Stacking your joints means that your knee will almost always be right on top of your ankle, and your shoulders will almost always stack on top of your hips in the same plane (twists are sometimes exceptions to the rule).
I most commonly see knees lunging in front of ankles, which can contribute to serious knee stress and injury.
Major joints aside, the spine is the final piece of the puzzle. Except when you’re folding forward or bending backward, you want to keep your spine as upright as possible moving in the same direction as the rest of your body. If you’re hinging forward from your hips, bring your straight spine with you!
Common confusion about Chatarunga Dandasana
One of the most common misconceptions that I see in my yoga classes is about Chatarunga Dandasana, or the transition between high plank (high push-up) to low plank (Chatarunga). In some schools of thought, the yoga cue given is to lower all the way down to your belly while sticking your elbows directly on top of your wrists.
When I see students attempt this transition, I see so many potential problems.
First of all, I firmly believe that you should not, under any circumstance, bring your belly all the way to the ground. If your belly touches the ground in Chatarunga, I can 99% guarantee you that you’re losing control of your body enroute. I will also probably find a somewhat disengaged core and collapsing shoulder blades. This is a recipe for shoulder injuries. Also, Chatarunga as a pose is where your body hovers off the ground with only your hands and your toes touching the ground. At no point will your belly ever touch the ground in a true Chatarunga.
Instead of trying to touch your belly to the ground, only lower half-way down or less. In my Chatarunga Dandasana pose, I come down about 50% to my true half-way point. There is no way that I have the strength to support my body down to a 90 degree bend in my elbows without collapsing my low back and shoulder blades. I’ve been practicing yoga for a good six or seven years and I still can’t get to a true half-way – it’s okay if you can’t go half-way either.
As you lower half-way down, think about pulling your shoulder blades away from each other to either side of the room as you pull your elbows in toward each other. This will make lowering down next to impossible because your elbows will be moving in one direction (toward the midline) and your shoulders will be moving in the opposite direction (away from the midline). If you have the muscle strength (hello core and upper back), you’ll be able to lower down with control, but if not, you’ll feel like you’re going nowhere — AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHERE YOU NEED TO BE.
Over time as you continue to feel like you’re going nowhere, you’ll develop the strength you need to go somewhere. Yoga will help you build strength so that you can continue to practice until you’re 105 years old, but only if you honor and understand your body’s true limitations.
I’ll teach all about Chatarunga some more in a future post, but until then, let’s move on to another common confusing cue.
The misconception about Bridge Pose
For the longest time I was taught to reach my fingertips to the back of my heels in Bridge Pose to find proper alignment of my feet. The truth is, this is only true for some people and it totally depends on the length of your arms relative to your torso.
A better yoga cue is to stack your ankles directly under your knees. When your ankles are directly under your knees you may or may not be able to touch the back of your heels depending on the length of your arms. Don’t worry about it. If your arms are super short and you try to touch the back of your heels, you’ll end up pulling your heels closer to your body and your knees will shoot forward of your ankles. The strain on your knees will undermine the potential benefit of the pose itself.
Avoid hyperextension at all cost
Finally, another more advanced cue you might hear is to melt your torso toward your thighs in Downward Facing Dog. This cue is intended to help a student bring more weight back into his or her legs so that the spine can straighten out and the neck can release. However, the shoulder girdle is at risk here if you’re a hyperextender. As tempting as it may be to tap your head to the ground because you can, DON’T DO IT.
Yes, melt your chest toward your thighs and your femur bones toward the back of the room in Downward Facing Dog. But never lose the integrity of your shoulder joints when your shoulders are supporting so much of your body weight.
The correct alignment in your shoulders for Downward Facing Dog involves a massive amount of external rotation in your shoulders. If your shoulders are extremely externally rotated, there is no way you would be able to get your head close to the ground (without manipulating and deranging your spine), no matter how flexible you are.
A better cue from your teacher (hey, that’s you!) would be to externally rotate your shoulder blades (sometimes referred to as “hollow out your armpits”) AND THEN melt your chest toward your thighs. Now you’ll experience a deeper stretch with proper and safe alignment.
Take the seat of the teacher
As a student of yoga, it is your responsibility to inquire into the state of your body and mind each and every day. It is also your responsibility to ask questions when something feels wrong or is confusing and unclear. Hold your instructors accountable, including me!, and make us explain the why behind what we have you do. This is your practice and YOU are your body’s own best teacher.
Why should you even do Downward Facing Dog and Chatarunga? To strengthen and stretch your shoulders. But if you’re working with a shoulder injury or you don’t want to stretch and strengthen your shoulders, then you don’t have to do either of those poses.
There is a good reason for everything in a (good) yoga class. But the benefit may escape you if you’re misaligned and confused.
Listen to what your teacher has to say but more importantly learn to listen to what your body has to say.
Have a question? Send me an email!
P.S. – Right as I finished up this blog post, I thought of another major offender and controversial yoga cue – “tuck your tailbone.” We’ll explore this one in greater detail next week. It deserves a post all to itself.
But what do we do instead? We try to plan it all out. We look ahead in our life, not considering how valuable it would be if we looked within instead. We are asked to “map out” the next 10 years of our life when we’re just children. We’re asked to commit to a job, relationship, home mortgage, and some other tangible thing, when we don’t know if that is really what we want… or will want in 10 years time.
We have no idea who we are, where we came from, what makes us tick, what we love or what our passions are, yet we are asked to commit to a “goal.”
We spend years and heaps of money going to college, while taking no time at all exploring the depths of our soul. We compare ourselves to other things people have done, what other people have accomplished, and try and “get to” a point in our life that is … “something like that”.
We are programmed from a very early age that we “need to know” what’s next. We “need to know” what we want, how to get it, and when it will come. And God forbid it doesn’t come the way we want, how we planned, or wrapped up in a pretty little package. Then all hell breaks loose, or worse yet, we label ourselves as a failure.
This is ludicrous.
I’ve been playing a lot with the idea of letting go of the need to know over the last couple of years. And I’ve been talking to a lot of people who are having issues with this need to know illness.
I’ve witnessed miracles in letting go, experienced joy in just BEing, and felt a sense of calm when I allowed the nothingness to take over. I’m a self-admitted Recovering Type-A, which means I may never “get over” my need to know, I just catch myself much quicker now and relax into the not knowing without fighting it.
I took a huge leap into the unknown a few years ago. Everything turned out just fine; actually, better than I could have imagined. What I want to share is: if you actually adapt “not knowing” into your daily life, you may only need to make 2-5 degree turns in direction in order to stay on “course” instead of 180 degrees leaps into an abyss.
The truth is, we have no idea what is next.
The truth is, our brain is so friggin’ small in comparison to the Universe. How on Earth can we think that we can even THINK we know what’s next? And HOW to get there? And that we have control?
Are you flippin’ kidding me?
So I say, we stop with the whole need to know and just be for a hot little minute. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t plan, or think, or intend, or manifest. What I am saying though, is that we should allow for the magic of the unknown to take hold and send us somewhere totally unplanned. That we should allow for our paths to be altered and shifted according to the Universal plan instead of our pea-sized brain.
Here’s the deal: The brain works in patterns; the Universe works in magical spirals that there are no formulas for. Magic spirals sound way more fun, dont’cha think?
Check out our Summer Salad Round Up and vote for your favorite in the comment section below.
Grilled Asparagus with Cashew Feta Summer Coleslaw Farmers Market Salad Consciously Creamy Potato Salad Cucumber Radish Salad
I also have a new recipe to share with you today and one that I hope you’ll add to your summertime salad rotation.
Check out my Mediterranean Summer Salad with Goat Cheese Feta recipe!
Love tomatoes? Love goat cheese? Put the two together and you’re going to LOVE this salad.
This tasty salad falls into our 80:20 category for two simple – and easy-to-modify to make cleanse-friendly – reasons.
First, are the tomatoes, which are nightshades and can contribute to inflammation, aches and pains in the joints. While we keep nightshades off of our pates during the Conscious Cleanse, if you don’t suffer with any of the above, tomatoes are super delicious this time of year!
Tomatoes are best when local, fresh and organic and here’s a fun fact for you:
Did you know that tomatoes have been proven to have UV protective properties?
Tomatoes are high in the antioxidant lycopene, which has UV protecting properties helping shield us from the sun. A study at Newcastle University looked at the skin of 20 women, half of whom were given 55g of tomato paste (five tablespoons) with 10g of olive oil every day for 12 weeks. The results showed that the women who consumed tomatoes were better protected against UV radiation.
Now you can protect your body from sunburn from the inside out! (Psst, and don’t forget the sunscreen too).
The second reason this is an 80:20 salad is because of the feta cheese – and what mediterranean cuisine would be complete without feta cheese?! We’re all about ditching dairy, but sometimes you need a little creamy treat. This recipe calls for goat cheese feta, which is always my pick over regular feta and usually a bit easier for most people to digest.
Do you have a favorite summertime salad? Tell me about it in the comments below and don’t forget to vote!
With summer salad love,
Mediterranean Summer Salad with Goat Cheese Feta
Yield: 2 servings
2 pre-grilled chicken breasts, diced* 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped 1 cucumber, diced 1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped 1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into thin ribbons 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted 2 TB. Ume plum vinegar 1 TB. apple cider vinegar 1 TB olive oil 1 tsp. honey Zest of 2 lemons Juice of half a lemon ½ cup goat feta cheese** Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions: In a large salad bowl, add chicken*, romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, basil, onion and olives. Toss and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together vinegars, olive oil, honey, zest and lemon juice.
Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Top with goat cheese feta**.
*Variation: Plant lovers can skip the grilled chicken in place of 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed.
**Not a goat cheese fan? Try our Cashew “Feta” Cheese