People tend to think about Valentine’s Day only in terms of their romantic relationship. It you’re in a hot and steamy romantic love relationship, you’re a Valentine’s Day winner. If you’re single or otherwise living a less than Fifty Shades of Grey existence, well, you know.
To us, practicing Radical Self Love is taking time to slow down and honor what you really need. Whether it’s taking yourself out on a date to get a pedicure or a massage or going for a walk with a best friend – find a way to love and nourish YOU today.
Below is a recipe for a Carob Hazelnut Cheesecake, compliments of our partner restaurant Zeal. It’s hands-down, better than a hot date but just as good shared with the ones you love.
Enjoy this scrumptiously decadent dessert this week and celebrate all that you love.
Ingredients for the crust: ½ cup hazelnuts ½ cup pecans 1/2 cup dried dates (pitted and soaked for 20 min) 1/4 cup shredded coconut shredded Pinch of sea salt
Ingredients for the filling: 3 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours) 2/3 cup sweetener of choice (maple syrup or honey) 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon Juice 3/4 cup coconut oil (melted) 3/4 cup carob powder 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup water
Directions for the crust: In a food processor fitted with an S-blade, blend nuts until fine. Add in dates, coconut and salt until well combined. Transfer to a 9-inch cake pan and using your hands press down the mixture so it’s evenly spread. Put in the freezer for later use.
Directions for the filling: In a food processor fitted with an S-blade (or a high-speed blender) blend cashews, sweetener, lemon juice, coconut oil, carob and vanilla until well combined. Add the water slowly (you may not need to use all of it) until you reach your desired consistency. It should be nice creamy. Pour into the crust and place in the freezer over night. Serve cold.
By Julie Pelaez
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.
After you make this yummy recipe try a healing yoga class with Jo or Jules:
Conscious Cleanse Detox Flow - Jo Schaalman
Heart Opening Forrest Yoga Flow - Jo Schaalman
Traditional Hot Yoga - Julie Peláez
“To create” … “to bring forth”.
But manifesting can be so challenging can’t it? You want to know why it’s so challenging? Because we try too hard. We don’t allow for the seed to take root and then show up at it’s own pace. We hurry it along and wait impatiently sometimes for it to show up when we feel it is time.
You see, most often when we “want” to manifest something, we say things like, “I want this, or I want that.” But what happens when we use the words I want or I need …. It just creates more lack.
The Universe likes to mirror itself. It can’t wait to deliver to you what you desire. But you have to use the proper language. You must state it as if it is already present. You must feel it as if it is already yours. And then it will show up when it is time… and not a moment before.
Think of it as planting a seed within your deepest creative self. The idea comes from the soul and it must be planted and then tended to. But with just the right amount of love, attention, intention and ambition… and not an ounce more. Because the other part to manifesting is allowing. Allowing the seed to sprout when it wants, and grow at it’s own pace.
So we sit back and allow … and we trust … and we do our thing while manifestation happens behind the scenes.
You see, here’s the deal… we are creating in every moment. Every thought we have starts the manifestation process. If that thought makes it out of your mouth and is verbalized, it’s even more potent. And Goddess look out if you write it down … it’s here. In some dimension it’s here. You just have to believe that and wait for it to show up.
And from what I have experienced … when we truly let go, when we completely allow, we are gifted with a miracle. One that our little brains could have never imagined. Not in a million years. So what do we do then to manifest?
State it … believe it … feel it and then allow it. Easy. You got this.
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!
In January 2010, I truly felt that I was living my dream. I had exited corporate America the year prior and was happily balancing teaching yoga full-time with a blossoming writing career. I was in a relationship with the man of my dreams, living close to the ocean. To put it simply, I was happy. Out of the blue, I found a lump in my breast. I was shocked and devastated, especially because I had a clear mammogram three months earlier. I was healthy, fit and felt invincible.
Over the course of that year, I endured three surgeries, six rounds of aggressive chemotherapy and almost two months of daily radiation. I balanced out this assault on my body with a primarily plant-based diet filled with anti-oxidants, daily exercise, acupuncture and most importantly, yoga. My doctors often commented that I was their “superwoman patient” because I never got really nauseous through chemo and seemed to maintain a comparatively high level of energy during treatment. Don’t get me wrong: many days I was exhausted and despondent. Despite the fluctuations in my energy levels, I continued to teach most of my yoga classes and got certified to teach Yoga for Cancer Therapy while undergoing chemotherapy myself.
Cancer attacks your body, but it also attacks your mental well-being. Conventional medicine is aimed at destroying the physical symptoms of the cancer, but can fail to address the significant effects cancer has on the mind and spirit. Yoga addresses the entire person.
The specialized yoga for cancer recovery classes I offer are designed to both create strength and flexibility and encourage relaxation. Additionally, my intention is to empower my students to help themselves.
Practicing yoga during treatment and recovery will provide the following benefits:
• Learning to handle side-effects of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation • Experiencing healing techniques for the mind, body and spirit • Boosting energy, improving mood, learning relaxation and breathing techniques to combat fatigue, stress and pain • Restoring flexibility, strength, and range of motion, and enhancing lymphatic flow, digestion and circulation
I am passionate about sharing this gift with others going through any type of cancer. In addition to teaching Yoga for Cancer Recovery classes, I created two Yoga for Cancer Recovery videos to reach a broader audience and facilitate safe yoga practice at home, as well as recently publishing my memoir Come Ride with Me Along the Big C to help others on this journey by sharing my story.
It worked for me and can work for you.
By Claire Petretti Marti
Claire began teaching Yoga for Cancer Recovery in 2010, while she was undergoing treatment for Stage 2 breast cancer. Practicing and teaching yoga were vital components in her journey back to radiant health. Yoga provided Claire a sanctuary in which to heal and she is excited to be able to share this with others undergoing treatment or in recovery. Claire teaches Yoga for Cancer Recovery classes in Denver at Kindness Yoga, works with clients privately in their homes or in the hospital, and offers her DVD, Yoga for Cancer Recovery for those she cannot reach personally. Visit www.oceansoulyoga.com
Click here to download or stream one of Claire's YogaDownload classes!
You notice a tightness in your shoulder that evolves to a full on crick in your neck by the time you get the pants on. You just want to go back to bed now, but you have to get to your appointment. So off you go, rushing to make it on time.
At your destination, you are greeted and ushered into a large lecture hall with a waiting audience where you see the title of the lecture on the board, “The role of ketosis in metabolic syndrome for male recreational endurance athletes aged 40-45.” You freeze, not knowing what to do, feeling hundreds of pairs of eyes on you, expectantly waiting for your wise words to begin.
Could you feel the limitation between struggling to get into the pants and the crick in the neck? The limitation of being late? The lack of desire to fulfill your commitment by wanting to go back to bed? The limitation of lack of knowledge when standing in the lecture hall? The fear of what to do?
Congratulations! You managed to engage the core 5 limitations or kanchukas within the first two hours of your imaginary morning. Kanchukas are limitations that are experienced within the illusion or maya of your life.
Let me back up and explain the illusion. We lose our memory of our truest essence, the Divine infinite being we are, when we chose to dim or hide our light. This is often the moment as a child when we’re just being our bright, beautiful self and we run into the illusion of another person, causing us to perceive that if we don’t contract, we risk safety, acceptance, and love. For example when a child is being their innocent, pure, curious self and engages their parent to play only to be met with a terse, “Not now, can’t you see I’m busy?” There is a momentary confusion. The child internalizes this reaction and personalizes it. In order to get the love and acceptance he is used to, he makes a mental note to be careful and not interrupt.
This mental note becomes a marker on a map the mind uses to guide you. Consider it an internal GPS. Thoughts and beliefs begin to form from this marker. It will affect how that child shows up in the future.
In Shivate Tantra, Lord Shiva, choses to partake in the illusion as a form of Godly Play. How deeply can Shiva contract and can he find his way back out of the contract, back into his infinite being?
I suspect we do this play, too. We already know we are infinite, so what’s it like to be limited or finite? And further, what would it be like to contract so fully, that we allow ourself to forget our true being so much that it feels REAL?
The illusion is built upon 5 core limitations: limited ability or capacity limited knowledge limited time limited body or space scarcity They feel like this: Every time you get trapped in the , “Yeah, but how? Using an excuse for not being able to do what aligns with your true nature- from practicing unconditional love to a self-yoga practice to eating pure. All the ways you think you don’t know enough- I need to get another certification or learn more before I start teaching or working in my field. I have a client that is convinced she has to have a degree in order to be taken seriously. But does she take herself seriously without the degree? She certainly doesn’t trust her knowledge and gifts! The sense of scarcity. While this is actually translated desire, it’s probably more accurately around that sense of wanting/needing more to be happy, safe, accepted, and loved. Using time as an excuse- so either not having enough time or putting stuff off till later. Also, living in the past or the future is a time limitation. Bodily limitations- weight, pain, disease, judgement. Looking outside of yourself for safety, acceptance, and love. Comparison-itis. As you read those, you may have recognized how you have dances in the shadows under of your illusion or maya. As we become aware of all the ways we create limitations, we may be tempted to take on shame and guilt, perhaps shirk responsibility all together and blame others for our life challenges.
Knowing this is your own creation and there are divine qualities within it, are you willing to be okay with what shows up in the maya? I think this transcends forgiveness because it allows us to simply accept where we are in each and every moment, sans judgment. It allows us to simply be with what we have chosen to think, do, believe, and look honestly at our perceptions. This space provides and opportunity to springboard beyond the illusion into a sense of profound peace.
I think that we have so many layers built into the illusion we create that they come up for clearing in waves. It would be overwhelming to heal everything at once. Honestly, where’s the Godly play in that anyway? We will always have opportunities to achelmize our limitations back into light and love. It’s a matter of if we are ready to release from that layer of the illusion or not. It’s always a choice.
For me, recognizing the limitations I have created and exploring those shadows with light and love has afforded me a great deal of freedom from the burden of suffering. This perception also allows me to not take things quite as seriously because I recognize we all delight in this Godly form of play to some degree or another. My life has been enriched with more compassion and love than I could ever have imagined even five years ago. Perhaps this is Grace.
The next time that you catch yourself engaging in your own illusions, pause and ask yourself if what you are feeling is real. If you think it is, challenge it further. If it is not, then pivot. This is your power of expanding outward from your contracted illusion. You do have the power and you are worthy of transcending your illusion.You simply have to choose.
By Wendy Reese
Wendy Reese is a lifestyle strategist who specializes in whole being, author, and RYT-200 (currently pursuing her advanced training) with 13 years of teaching experience. You can find more and do the free 7 day lifestyle detox at www.wholebeinginc.com/detox Visit www.wholebeinginc.com/detox
I think it is important to have a base understanding of how the leg is put together. Like how you should know your car’s basic components, not so you can fix it, but so you have a better chance of maintaining it and realizing when something is wrong before it completely breaks down.
With that in mind, the quad consists of four muscles stationed at the front of the thigh. Their partners in crime are the hamstrings which are three muscles at the back of the upper leg. When the leg is bent, the hamstring contracts, conversely when the leg is straight the quad contracts.
Runners have highly developed quads and hamstrings, and are usually tight as piano wire. They also often have over-developed quads which wear out the hamstrings, causing exhaustion related issues like strains. “Pulling a hammie” is every athlete’s worst nightmare and to be clear, hamstring injuries are far easier to prevent than they are to heal.
The IT band (IT short for iliotibial) is a thick tendon which connects the muscle at the outer side of the hip to the outer side of the shinbone, just below the knee. When the IT band is tight, it increases the tension on the sides of the hip and knee, causing a weird pain on the outside of the knee.
The following three poses help establish and maintain flexibility in these important components of the leg.
FIRST POSE- Fixed Firm Pose
Anyone who has dealt with a child who does not want to be picked up (generally around naptime) is familiar with the phenomena of children going boneless. One minute your child is standing like a normal little human, then next thing you know, they are a puddle on the floor. This pose reminds me of that.
Fixed firm allows you to multi-task, it has all the elements of Hero’s pose for ankle extension, but adds a nice quad stretch, as well as a controlled bind for the knees and ankles. I explain the theory of binding to my clients like this. Think of a water hose, when you crimp the hose you close down the flow of water. When you release the crimp, the water rushes back flushing anything clogging up the hose.
Now think of your knee and ankle joints. If we close down the blood flow to the area for a brief period of time, when you release the bind, fresh blood will flow into the joints and hopefully, flush any congestion in the area, leaving you with freshly restored joints. That being said, this is not a pose you would use on surgically repaired knees.
To get into fixed firm, kneel down, sitting on your heels, on a block or other support. If you can, separate your heels and let your backside settle in, on, or close to the floor. Make sure your toes are aimed directly backward.
Start to lean back, you will feel the stretch intensify. If you are pain-free, go ahead and come back on your hands, and then your elbows. I don’t recommend going beyond the elbows because you hit a point of diminishing returns and it is really embarrassing to get stuck and to have to call for help.
Hold for about 30 seconds and then slowly reverse course coming out of the pose. Then, come up on hands and knees and start to extend and bend the knees, roll out the ankles and feel the blood rush back into those areas.
SECOND POSE- Runner’s Lunge Set
I know “Runner’s Lunge” is a little on the nose as a recommendation for runners, but this series of poses stretch the quads, hamstrings and IT band, so it really is aptly named. I never said I would be breaking news here.
For the first pose come into a forward fold, plant both hands on the ground and step back with your left foot. Drop the back knee down and pad the knee with a folded up towel or shirt, trust me, you will thank me later.
Make sure the knee is above or slightly behind the ankle. Bring both hands to the inside of the front foot, you can stay here, drop your forearms down on a block, or maybe, bring forearms to the floor. Drop your chin towards the chest to get a stretch in the upper back, and close your eyes and breath. Hold for 30-45 seconds before moving to the second pose.
Runner's lunge, second pose. This second pose will get further into the IT band. From Runner’s lunge first pose, plant your left hand firmly on the ground and rotate the torso towards the inside of the bent knee. Rest your hand on top your knee and settle in.
If that feels OK, extend your right hand towards to sky. If you want to move further into this pose, drop your hand behind your back with the back side of the hand pressed into the middle of the low back and look towards your back foot. Don’t hold your breath, hold the pose for 30 seconds.
Runner’s lunge set, third position. Now lets bring the quads into the equation. From the starting pose, plant the left hand firmly, rotate the torso into the knee and reach back to grasp the back foot and draw it towards the backside. If this seems impossible, try using a strap (necktie, belt, leash, etc.) wrap it around the back ankle and bring it as close as you can.
At this point, feel free to thank me for insisting you pad your knee. Hold until you feel yourself start to accept the pose without struggle, hopefully 30 seconds but possibly less. Release the foot, tuck the back toe and step up to forward fold and repeat the series on the other side.
THIRD POSE- Half Split set.
This pose is all about the hamstring. As you straighten the leg, the hamstring is forced to extend. Whenever I say “half split” in class, everybody panics, trust me, it’s not that bad. The second variation of this pose, prompts the IT band to extend.
From a lunge position start to straighten the front leg, pulling the hips into line, as if you have a roller coaster lap bar pushing them back. Allow the toes to aim at the sky and settle in. If you feel OK, start to hinge forward at the hips, reaching for the floor to steady yourself. Hold for about 30 seconds.
Return to an upright position, then allow the toes to fall to the outside, this will rotate the inner part of your knee upward and you should feel it in the outside of hip. That is your IT band talking to you.
Again, if you feel good, start to hinge forward to intensify the stretch. Keep a micro-bend in that front leg if you feel like you are hyper-extending those tendons at the back of the knee. Hold for about 30 seconds.
With these three sets of poses, you will establish and maintain flexibility in the quads, hamstrings and IT band. Adding flexibility to the strength of this area will give you more power and help you take your running the next level.
By Tara Kestner
Previously published on Next Level Yoga's Blog
Tara Kestner is a registered yoga instructor who specializes in working with athletes of all levels. She designs programs based on specific sport requirements and challenges. Utilizing the principle that strength plus flexibility equals power, her classes give athletes the tools they need to enhance their performance. Tara is the owner of Next Level Yoga, Ltd., in Toledo, Ohio.
Practice some of our YogaDownload running themed yoga classes:
Yoga for Runners 2 - Jennifer Lux
Runners - Keep Running! - Celest Pereira
I am learning that the more we think about chasing our dreams and what that actually entails, the more likely we will never listen to our hearts. There’s too many messages, or expectations, that we have been told over the years. It’s as if we are to get a good education and that will land us a great job and then we can put our feet up. Get married. Have children. Be happy. Sound familiar? It’s almost like a hamster wheel to me. We tell ourselves that when we get that job, or when we settle down, or when we are successful, or when we are making X amount of dollars, that’s when life begins.
Life is now. NOW. You are breathing it all in and breathing it all out. As humans, we create. We are never finished creating. So there will be no putting our feet up. Here’s the catch: we create from our present moment. So if you are de-valuing your now, by saying “when I get…. when I have…” then life will begin or then I will be happy. Guess what? You are creating your future from a place of devaluing your now. Good luck with that one.
I’m literally lost. Chasing my own dreams. Making the leap from a full time job, with benefits and a consistent paycheck, to the unknown. Now I am nose deep and now I know why more people don’t do this sort of thing. Yet have you ever stopped to think that we all have our own unique gift? And if we don’t stop to tune in to what we are passionate about and what are we offering to this world?
For those of us who have our hearts tugging at our lives, I want you to know this: You are limitless. We oftentimes put so many boundaries on ourselves. If we don’t fit into the square box of a well paying job and white picket fence, then something must be wrong.
If you decide to go after your dreams, you will get lost. And it will be hard. But your heart will be happier. You will be giving it the attention that it yearns for. After all, this world drowns out our inner voice. We are being whisked around on a daily basis from point A to point B, try to cross off items on our to-do list, to arrive home overwhelmed or exhausted, to lather, rinse and then repeat the next day.
So how do we find out true north? We know what we want to do. Yet we are so distracted by all of the choices, the expectations and our current predicaments.
1. Action. First thing is first. If you have something you are passionate about doing, you must take action. I recently had a student on one of my yoga retreats that was a life coach. She so kindly gave me a free session and I told her I wanted to leave my job within 5 years. She laughed and said I would never leave if I had such a lengthy timeline. We narrowed it down to 2 years. That was 8 months ago. I am scheduled to leave my current full time job within the next few months. My point? When you put things into action, shit gets done. You fuel the fire. You feed your heart. And you start to slowly realize that, you are capable.
2. Get lost. Feel lost. We need to experience the full spectrum of sentiments in order to appreciate their opposite. Not only that, but sometimes we need to figure out what we don’t want in order to get really clear with what we do want. Therefore, we need to get lost so that we have a clear understanding of where our true north lies.
3. Accept. Accept that this journey is not easy and in so many ways. People close to you will question you. People might not welcome your path. You are jumping and you are unsure of where you will fall. And when you fall, will you land on your feet, in a golden net, or with broken legs? You will get lost. You will feel lost. Yet it’s part of the process. We must accept the process because the more we push, the more resistance we create and resistance equates to stress. Accept that things will not be easy. Accept that you will grieve. The more you can accept that this will be a roller coaster, the more and more trust you put into your capabilities. Do you see the pattern here? More and more you will see how amazingly strong and capable you are, which is a necessity when chasing your dreams.
4. Stick to your guns. Your ego, your family and your current predicament will challenge you. You will wonder what he hell you are doing sometimes. Actually, you will wonder what the hell you are doing a lot of the time. But bring yourself back to the why. The passion. The reason for doing what you truly want to do. That is your foundation and it will always be there to lead you in the direction you are meant to be going. If you can back yourself up with a rhyme and a reason, most people will leave you alone.
5. Trust. Will you have enough? Always. Does the universe provide? Always. I know what you are thinking: “But what if I can’t pay my bills?”. It’s all about re-establishing your relationship with your life. Maybe it’s time to sell some things. Maybe it’s time to make a strict budget. Maybe it’s time to appreciate the simple things in life and know that you have everything you need. The more you trust, the more you will be accepting and willing to take action. All of these steps are intertwined.
6. Re-establish your relationship with the F word. It’s so easy to get caught up in the fear that will present itself on a daily basis. Fear wants you to get caught up because the more you get caught up, the more you won’t chase your dreams. Fear wants you to believe that you are not capable. Being fearless does not mean you experience no fear. It means you are shit scared but you move forward anyway. Trust that you are exactly where you need to be in life. Things are presented to you to challenge and shape who you are. If we could really put our feet up, life would be boring. If we could really put our feet up, on what caliber could you appreciate things?
What are you passionate about? Your heart is calling. Are you listening?
By Meredith Cameron
Learning that she and we are more capable than we give ourselves credit for, Meredith Cameron creates space for students to reach out, dig deeper, and not take themselves too seriously. An advocate for creating the life we live, Meredith is influenced by her teachers, Shannon Paige and Nancy Kate Rau, what the world throws on her lap, her travels, and her daily interactions with others. All of this, infuses freedom into her teachings, allowing students to feel their own sense of empowerment. Visit www.mcameronyoga.com/blog.
With the front foot firmly planted slightly in front, it’s as if the foot is planted into the vision of the future, like you’re taking a step forward. The back foot presses down, rooted in the wisdom and experiences of your past. Both feet root firmly down, connecting to the wisdom of the earth. The front knee is bent, providing a softness to the asana, it also builds strength in the leg. The back leg is extended, providing support and a gentle reminder to remain flexible with the food placement when the gastrocnemeus (or calf) is too tight to allow the heel to place down on the floor.
The hips face forward and all seven chakras align on top of one another to allow the flow of energy. They face forward, too, as if presenting the magnificence and brilliance that is you. As the spine lengthens and grows, the breath becomes fuller.
The arms reach up, a power pose according to associate Harvard professor and TED speaker, Amy Cuddy. Reaching up, energetically they are connecting to the energy of the cosmos, the vastness and infinite possibilities that exist.
This powerful asana can be partnered with what Swami Shankarananda calls “G- statements” in his book, Consciousness Is Everything: the yoga of Kasmir Shaivism:
I am Consciousness I have Divine power in me I am a Divine infinite being.
Notice the energy that flows through your body as you practice this powerful partnership. If there is any part of you who feels a sense of doubt while practicing, allow yourself to be with that doubt. Where is it rooted? If you were to search your deepest, wisest knowing, would you find the doubt to be true? Ask your highest Self to give you proof of your G-statement, rather than blindly following the doubt. This is where miracles can happen.
Try one of following YogaDownload Classes:
Foundations of Yoga - Jackie Casal Mahrou
Quicky Stretch & De-stress - Celest Pereira
If you are one of these diehards, you are probably no stranger to tendonitis, plantar fascitis, shin splints and sore calf muscles. A basic yoga program can help prevent injury, and should that fail, promote recovery from a variety of running related maladies so read on…. In this series, The Fast & the Flexible, I am going to address the specific needs of runners, one section of the body at a time. I will suggest a few poses which will help any runner improve their performance, prevent injury and promote recovery, and hopefully take their running to the next level. First up, feet, ankles and calves. The feet are probably the most under-rated appendage we have. Here are some fun facts: the feet contain 25% percent of all the bones in our body; each foot has 26 bones, 33 muscles, 31 joints and over 100 ligaments; and, finally, the feet have over 250,000 sweat glands (Gads! that explains a lot). These are very complex pieces of machinery, and need a little attention to keep them running smoothly (pun intended). HERO’S POSE In my previous post, What Every Soccer Coach Should Know about Yoga, I detail Hero’s Pose with toes tucked and un-tucked. This is a runner’s first line of defense against shin splints and plantar fascitis. Any serious runner should practice this pose several times a week, it is easy to do while watching TV, reading or if you are like my husband, while playing Call of Duty. Virtually anyone who runs knows the pain of a shin splint, it is an inflammation of the muscles, tendons, and bone tissue around your tibia. Shin splints can put you out of training for weeks until they heal, and if you simply go back to your program without adding some flexibility conditioning, the likelihood of re-injury is very high. Plantar Fascitis is inflammation of the tissue in the sole of the foot that causes pain when you put weight or pressure on the foot. Both fascitis and shin splints are generally caused by repetitive motion activities. The Hero’s pose series will help gain flexibility and increased blood flow to the ankles and feet which can help you avoid these issues. The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body. It connects your calf muscles to your heel bone and is used when you walk, run, and jump. Although the Achilles tendon can withstand great stresses from running, it is also prone to tendonitis, a condition associated with overuse and degeneration. Upright Frog, (which also goes by the name garland pose, or the less dignified, “squat”) is a great pose to condition the Achilles tendon, while stretching the calf and opening the feet, it is the trifecta for the lower leg. UPRIGHT FROG Stand at the top of your mat with your toes angled out so that the balls of your feet on the floor while your heels remain on the mat. With me so far? Bend your knees slightly and bring the palms of your hands together. Place your elbows on the insides of the knees and flatten out your back. This may be where you stop, but for those intrepid “soles” (ahh puns, the comic currency of the immature, I love them) ready to venture on, you will start to allow your hips to sink down. The key here is to keep your heels firmly on the mat, if they start to lift, back out a bit, take a few breaths and test it again. It may take several tries before you obtain the flexibility in your ankles to get all the way down. Under no circumstances should you force your way into this pose, you will hurt yourself and frankly that is simply counter-productive. And here you are, in the elegant and ever so dignified Upright Frog pose. Try to stay here for 30-45 seconds, taking deep breaths to ease the discomfort. CROSS LEG FORWARD FOLD The “calf muscle” is made up of three separate muscles which unite to form the Achilles tendon. The calf seems to be the one area most runners know to stretch, unfortunately they do it half-heartedly. We have all seen that guy pressing against a wall or tree with one foot back, he stands there for about 10 seconds and BAM he’s off. Good luck fella, I won’t be surprised when I run pass you later as you are standing next to the trail grabbing your lower leg. Calves need a good long, gentle stretch. Never leverage your heel down while standing on a step, the force on your Achilles is too much and you will probably strain something. Instead, give Cross Leg Forward Fold a try. Stand with your feet hip distance apart, then cross over one foot, lining up the knees. Hinge forward at the hips and bring your hands to your front knee and flatten your back. Stay here for a few breaths and then, on your exhales, start working your hands down the shin and maybe to the floor or to a block. When you get to your furthest extension, pause and check in with your hips. We tend to let the hips fall back in the pose, so make sure your keeping the hips up over the ankles to avoid putting too much pressure on the back of the knee. Hang out here and breathe for 60-90 seconds. If you can commit to 10 minutes a couple of times a week to do the Hero’s set, Upright Frog and Cross Leg Forward fold, I can almost guarantee you will decrease or completely eliminate lower leg injuries from your running experience. Now what I can’t do is teach you to wear a coat when you decide you must run in 30 degree weather, that one is on you.
We veer off course because we allow our mind to go onto auto-pilot or over-drive listening to everything that’s “out there”. We co-mingle the beating of our own heart with the beating of another. We bump into other souls on their journey and ride-along their path for awhile. Only to re-member our own journey is what feeds our soul, not the path of another.
We are subject to more information in one day that people just over 100 years ago, assimilated throughout their entire life. We can’t possibly keep up with the whisper of our heart.
Or can we?
Yes … yes we can.
We stop and listen and we listen often. We drop what we are doing and listen with our hearts, not our minds. We ask for a cue, a guide, a drop of nectar that fuels our movement forward and our ascension upward so we can be more of who we are in as many moments as possible.
So I ask you … with all that you have happening in your life in this moment, can you take a breath and drop into stillness. Can you sit for a moment and breathe and hear the whisper of your heart. What is it telling you? When you ask your heart, where can I expand, where can I grow, where can I open; what does it say?
Is there a situation in your life right now that requires your attention and care? Something that will offer you an opportunity to expand into a version of yourself that is more connected to Source and not just on auto-pilot-patterns. What is one word that you can cultivate to do that? To be more aware, more present, more alive, more aligned with who you are.
When I look at my life I see my heart … it’s right there on my sleeve all the time. I look at my day-to-day and I am astounded by how quickly I manifest and how lovely this life is. I am always awestruck… always. And when I manifest situations that from the outside, seem like a struggle, I re-member the call of my heart. My heart called that in because it’s just as beautiful as what I label as beautiful.
It too has the power to open up and expand in ways I can’t imagine for myself. Those three words guide us and we have the opportunity to see them, experience them and embody them in every single situation.
What are you words? I’ve decided that while I have words for the year, I also am observing mine on a “moon-cycle” time line now. So much happens in that time. I know one that is resonating so deep into my heart I feel like it will be here forever …beyond all time.
That’s trust. Trust that all is working out in divine time. Trust that relationships will flourish into what they are meant to and that they may not be around forever. Trust in that too. Trust that there is enough; trust that you are enough. Trust that Thy will is much more beautiful that your own will. Trust in the Universe.
That’s my big word.
Others … divine guidance, empowered grace, deep intimacy. I know, it’s more than three and there’s adjectives before them. So I’m a bit dramatic sometimes …so what.
Find your words, write them down, experience them, embody them and then observe them showing up almost every single day.
Because I’ve decided that’s what really matters. The fire in your belly; the thing you would die for; the insane amount of love that overflows from you when you allow yourself to be vulnerable and trust. It’s crazy really once you decide to live like this. A bit chaotic at first but grounding does wonders. You know this but I’ll remind you: Who you are is not the “likes” you get on your FB page, or how many Insty followers you have, or even what people say about you in your testimonials on your site or to your face. I want to know who you are in the face of transformation. Who are you when you think your life is heading down one road and all of a sudden it takes a sharp left turn? Who are you in the face of adversity? Do you fall into fear? Stand alone and become the victim? Who are you while you stand in prosperity and abundance? Do you honor your strengths and how you got there? Do you remember those individuals who lifted you up and held your hand? When you have more than enough, do you share? I stepped into this New Year as strong as hell … ready to take on the world. Excited … elated … refreshed and clear about my path. Radiant to be honest. Truth be told, my life is fantastic and I bow in gratitude every single morning before I ever leave my room. Because it wasn’t always like this and I know what a gift love is. After four years of reorganizing, crying, doubting and struggling to remain in my space of light and love, I can finally say that I am “there”. And it feels amazing! I have my faith, my friends, my daughters and the light of the Goddess to thank. Five days into the New Year I was knocked to my knees unexpectedly. Why? Because it was time for me to truly stand in my truth and really BE the pillar of strength that I am when I stand on my mat. You see, it’s easy to stand in strength when we are “doing what we do”. It’s easy to BE that when it’s an image to uphold or an idea to fulfill or even an example to set. But at the end of the day, when the lights go out, or someone pulls the “wool over our eyes” and we are attacked to our core, that is when we truly see who we are, what we stand for and what we are made of. Do we forget the amazing magic and fall into the darkness? No, we keep moving … and moving into the light nonetheless. We re-member our infinite light and love and we keep moving in THAT direction. EVERY SINGLE THING that happens TO us happens for us. And we are ALWAYS being called to stand in a deeper integrity and truth of who we are with MORE grace and compassion than we can imagine we hold. What do I stand for? Truth. Integrity. Follow through. Freedom. Justice. Love. Yes, all of that. And you know what? That hasn’t changed about me since as far back as I can remember. And you know what else? It’s flippin’ challenging to stand in that sometimes, especially when someone you have loved for so long takes that and challenges you to your core. How do I handle it? With love, grace and understanding? Sure. I’ll bow to it all with gratitude. And oh, by the way, I won’t forget my sword that cuts through the bullshit with fierce compassion and authentic new boundaries either. We are always changing... always evolving and hopefully elevating our Selves to a level that represents a higher vibration of who we are in the light. And remember, the dark MUST ALWAYS be illuminated in order for the light to reflect it’s deepest essence… always. Don’t be afraid … go right into it. It’s who you are … beyond it all, IN it all. It’s who you are.
It doesn’t mean you will make the “right” decision … it just means you will make one based on your heart perhaps and not the inner workings of your mind.
I believe courage happens in every moment. It happens when you leap forward into something that is unfamiliar. It happens when you relax in the familiar. It happens when you speak your mind and when you listen. It happens when you move forward and when you let go. It happens when you stand strong and when you open up to vulnerability.
Courage happens every moment of every day. Are you present to how courageous you are?
I was home with my oldest daughter this week, so I had a lot of time to think. I couldn’t focus on creating a whole lot while she had a fever so high that it made my own heart hurt. So I had a ton of time to think about courage.
And of course I was offered a multitude of opportunities to stand in courage. The thoughts started out as a pity party to be honest. “Oh my God it takes courage to be a mom!” You know, pretending that you’re not scared when you really are. “Keeping it all together” when really you’re scared shitless… literally. Then it went to, “I’m falling into fear here, I have to call in for back up”, meaning I called upon my lovely women friends who have the power to heal, help and love.
Reaching out takes courage you know. It’s actually one of the highest forms of courage because it’s about vulnerability.
The moment I reached out, I re-membered that it takes courage to be a parent, not just a mom. And then immediately, almost before that thought ended, I re-membered that it takes courage just to love. To love.
Courage to love.
What a concept. Yes … that is the courage of all courage.
To love what?
Another person. To trust them with your heart.
Your child. They will leave you, you know. They will go off and do their thing despite your dreams for them, they will do their own thing.
Yourself. Yes, it takes a huge amount of courage to stand in the mirror and love what you see. All of it, not just the good parts.
Your ex-partner. (or someone else who may trigger you) Gotta love them too. They taught you something AND you loved them… a lot at one point.
Courage to love … to love it all and move with a grace and ease that is palpable. To step out on a limb without knowing what is going to happen. To put your heart out there not knowing how or if it will be received.
Courage to be present …Yes .. to be present to it all. To SEE it all from the view of your heart. To WITNESS it all with breath and a knowledge that nothing is yours except your heart and your reaction to life and love.
Now, got get ‘em!
Yogi T.K.V. Desikachar translated Patañjali’s definition of yoga as “the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distractions.” Yoga can take many different forms such as jñāna yoga (yoga of knowledge), karma yoga (the yoga of action) or hatha yoga (physical yoga). Stretching, toning and strengthening the body is vital for all systems of yoga. To do an asana practice rather than simply calisthenics one must consciously work to unify breath, body and mind. In yoga class, no matter the style of asana the student takes, ultimately the practice is to remain focused and comfortable so when off the mat, we are alert and comfortable in whatever circumstance comes our way. When we come onto our mat, we move into our asana practice, we practice how to be in our bodies in any given moment. On the mat, we practice focus, we practice discipline, we hear our thoughts, we learn our behaviors of escapism, comparison, competition and ego. On our mats, we contort our bodies into shapes and practice breathing and steadying our gaze. We practice how to look at movement as meditation and accept ourselves at our current place and not hold judgment that we are not where we think we “should” be. On our mat we practice how to breathe, how to react, to notice where we shut down and where we open up. We learn how we talk to ourselves and how we relate to others. We learn how to be conscious of our thoughts, reactions and behaviors so off the mat we can consciously and mindfully act and react to the situations that are life. On the mat we practice because off the mat is where we apply all the action, devotion, mantra and knowledge that are other systems of yoga. When we step off our mats and into our lives we apply all the wisdom, knowledge and self-awareness that arose on our mats. In our Western world, where many of us we eat too much, or deliberately eat too little, and have addictions to various forms of over-consumption, to engage in hatha yoga is a gift and a doorway into consciously unifying our mind, body and spirit. Instead of criticizing the physical practice and creating a larger chasm between our body, mind and spirit, let us embrace this form of yoga that resonates with the Western world. Our culture has created a disconnect between mind and body and the very thing we need to do is connect with our body in a way that treats it with respect, listen to it, and from there, in our body, in our asana, in our yoga, learn to breathe again.
By Kimi Marin
Kimi has a master’s degree in literature and loves to combine the power of stories with yoga. Her Yogic Lore workshops are a fun combination of stories, asana, meditation, and mantra. Kimi was featured in Origin Magazine’s Inspire Series and was the featured ambassador for Ahnu Footwear June 2013. Visit www.kimimarinyoga.com
Begin your inward journey with the following YogaDownload Classes:
Gentle Hatha 6: Relax and Renew - Jackie Casal Mahrou Yoga to Unwind - Kylie Larson
It’s warming, earthy, and packs a gamut of immune defense – exactly what we need this time of year.
Between the lemon, ginger and the turmeric, this smoothie is good for digestion and is very cleansing for the liver. It’s also chock full of antioxidants. To boot, it delivers a high dose of kale, which is a great way to fill up on vitamins, minerals and other immune boosting, anti-inflammatory phytonutrients.
Read more about the healing benefits of turmeric here and in the mean time, let’s get blending.
Yield: 1 quart Ingredients:
2 cups coconut milk 1 banana ½ cup mango ¼ avocado 1 small lemon, peeled 1 in. fresh ginger 2 cups kale 1 tsp. turmeric
Directions:
In a high-speed blender, blend coconut milk, banana, mango, avocado, lemon, ginger, kale and turmeric until creamy.
Now here's five pretty damn good reasons to go ahead and do it.
5. You can tell the teacher to “f*ck off” at any time.
Online, you're running the show here, not some teacher. There's no one in your living room but you. That's real discipline – what happens when no one's watching.
Plus, 45 seconds or so into a high plank hold, you don't have to hold back from telling the teacher to “f*ck off”.
4. You can fart with impunity.
You don't want to overdo it for your own sake – and you might refrain from bringing this particular practice into your local studio with you – but there's no one there who cares if you stink up the place a bit with your warrior II or with your own special brand of funk.
3. Take child's pose without reservation.
I take child's pose whenever possible...“Meet us in down dog”...I fix my ponytail...“join us standing”...nah...I like to take child's pose early and often.
Few of us are immune to the subtleties of yogic peer pressure... Positively employed it can push you to a new threshold or past a prescribed limit, but sometimes the force of the mob is not a desired part of the practice.
At home, no one judges you for child's pose...at least no one but you.
2. It's Better, Cheaper, and MORE Convenient.
Let's be practical here – with worldwide competition, any yoga site worth a salt has to strive to stay competitive in terms of content, pricing, and variety of offerings. Big-box yoga chains are immune (or ignorant) to outside pressures, and local studios just don't have the same sort of reach to able to compete.
In my hometown of Denver drop-ins regularly go for $20...you can get a whole year from Yogadownload.com for $90 bucks. And it's available to me 24/7...
And my favorite reason I can think of to practice yoga online –
1. You're in charge!
When you practice online your practice and personal growth – along with your consumer dollar – are in the hands of one person, and one person alone...you.
Svadhyaya a sanskrit word sometimes translated as self-study, can be one of the most challenging of the niyamas and is a critical step towards reclaiming of the unique responsibility for the creation of your life, the sole authorship of your story.
Bold choice if you ask me.
Either way, no one gives a shit what you wear, or gives you shit for being late, leaving early, or even walking out of class altogether – a few pretty great reasons to practice your yoga online right there...
By Justin Kaliszewski
Justin Kaliszewski is a reformed meat-head and former amateur cage fighter. He brings a lifetime of travel and world's worth of experience in battling the ego to the mat. An avid student, artist, and treasure hunter, he infuses a creativity and perseverance into his teachings, along with a distinct blend of humor and wisdom that redefines what it means to be an Outlaw and a yogi...He teaches Outlaw Yoga across the country and is happy to call Denver home for now. Author of Outlaw Protocol: how to live as an outlaw without becoming a criminal, you can find him at www.outlawyoga.com.
Outlaw Yoga is coming to YogaDownload in January 2015!
The yoga mats were rolled by the chimney with care, In hopes there would be 20 minutes to spare.
The children were bustling – not going to bed, While visions of Wanderlust danced in my head.
With mama in her yoga pants and I in mine too, We were deeply in need of our inner guru.
When up on the roof there arose such a blast, You’d think Ana Forrest was giving a free class.
Away to the window I flew and proceeded To realize more stress was the last thing I needed.
And what to my wondering third eye should I see, But Santa himself, breathing in ujjayi.
Dressed all in lycra from his heels to his belly, His bandhas were locked and I felt kinda jelly.
Breaking from cookies and milky libations, Santa was in my living room for sun salutations.
"Come join me," he said, "dear, you've been so busy. Your practice will help you get out of this tizzy."
We rolled out our Mandukas and fanned our soul flame, And he whistled and shouted each yoga pose name.
“Now up dog, now down dog, chaturanga! On cobra, on cat/cow, on parsva bakasana.”
The prana was flowing, my worries had fled, I practiced acceptance, had nothing to dread.
And I said to Santa, that jolly old elfie, "Do you mind if we take a quick yoga selfie?"
He chuckled and shook his head in abstention, "No thank you, my dear, that's not my intention."
Santa, it seemed, was a wonderful mentor, The yoga was helping me come back to center.
“Your practice need never be out of your sight, YogaDownload is with you, all day or all night.”
And I heard him exclaim as he drove off in his sleigh, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all Namaste!”
As far as vacations go, I couldn't think of a better way to spend mine than at a yoga festival.
Ok, that or maybe Amsterdam...
But I've done yoga at Burning Man (with my 73 year old grandpa, but that's another story), and I've done burned it down at Wanderlust with my cousins, brother and father (yet another series of stories), and when it comes to how I choose to spend my time – and my presence – I pick out two or three consciousness expanding parties in different locals to attend per year.
Why do I do this?
They're kind of weird, but then again...so am I. And when I'm at a festival I get to do so many wonderfully weird things, but one of them is to just let go and know that I am among people who think – at least to some extent – like me.
They eat like me and party like me (with some significant variation depending on the venue and the name on the marquis).
To me this sense of community is priceless.
When large numbers of yogis gather in one place the whole world wins...but especially “we” does.
When we take a moment to step outside the familiar and sometimes stifling story of “me”, we have a rare and unique chance to step into the ongoing story of “we”. Yoga festivals are excellent social events for connecting to other members of the conscious community.
And let me tell you, parties filled with “we” are far more fun than those filled with “me”!
(There's also significantly less cigarette smoke.)
Connection is priceless, but as a bang for your buck experiences go, yoga festivals offer a great and cost effective way to experience a variety of different ways in one place.
I don't know about you, but as a yoga-consumer my growth matters to me and where I spend my money and on whom is an important decision when it comes to my ongoing education.
Shiva Rea in LA or Baron Baptiste in The Middle East? Both have their merits...so many in fact that I can't ever really lose when I spend my money on attending a yoga festival. No matter who's there or where, when awesome teachers from all over the country come together, you kind of can't help but grow as a student. And on top of it, you can actually save money by joining them when they all happen to be in one place and see some new scenery while you're at it.
I've taken a lot of trips around the world and will never get back those three weeks in Puerto Rico, but I've never thought or said the words, “Man, wish'd I hadn't've gone to that yoga festival.”
I am so grateful to present OUTLAW Yoga at a few festivals each year.
My ol' man and little brother come along and play music and sing songs...my assistant Megan will be there smiling and adjusting and handing out temporary tattoos...and Jackie 'O will have two huge pots of green chili going (one veg, one meat) – and enough of each to feed the whole freakin' festival.
We try to go somewhere close...somewhere on the coast...and somewhere in the middle.
This coming February we will kick off our 2015 festival tour schedule by presenting at The Sedona Yoga Festival for a few pretty cool reasons -
One, they host a pre-conference training on Trauma-Sensitive and Resiliency Training to Benefit First Responders led by a wonderful team of teachers including Rob Schware and Olivia Kvitne.
Two, its priced at $397 for an all-access pass ($333 group). If you make it to 6 classes that's like fifty or sixty bucks each – about the same as a series of weekend workshops at your local studio, except that you'd also be in Sedona, Arizona for godssakes!
And three, the SYF gives 10% of ticket sales back to Outlaw Yoga's partner in service – The Giveback Yoga Foundation, which means your serving just by going, celebrating, growing, and connecting...
Pretty f*ckin cool way to serve if you ask me.
Hope we see you there, OUTLAWS!
Plus, according to Runner’s World, “Studies have shown that yoga squashes stress, aids weight loss, eases pain, helps people stick to an exercise routine, and even improves running times.”
Buy top rated treadmills at www.proform.com
This time of year it seems that everything is either covered in a stick of butter or doused with an unhealthy dose of sugar! Don’t get me wrong…I love butter and chocolate but there’s a time and a place for those sweet indulgences.
This festive salad boosts a raw base of enzyme-rich leafy green kale, topped with some detox-promoting roasted veggies and a tangy cranberry vinaigrette.
The contrast between the bright green kale and red dried cranberries make it a perfect feast for they eyes and the tummy.
Yield: 8-10 small salads
Ingredients for the salad:
1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (about 6 large handfuls) 1 medium or large cauliflower, cut into small florets 2 TB. coconut or olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 ½ cups beans (Cannellini beans, chickpeas, or any beautiful heirloom bean, drained and rinsed or, if dried, soaked and cooked) 1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
Ingredients for the dressing:
2 TB. apple cider vinegar 1 TB. Dijon mustard ¼ cup fresh cranberries 2 TB. capers, chopped 1-2 tsp. honey ½ ripe pear, chopped (optional, adds sweetness and creaminess) 1-2 cloves garlic 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450 F.
In a large bowl, toss the brussels sprouts and cauliflower with oil. Spread vegetables across a large baking sheet or roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Roast until the sprouts and cauliflower are tender and beginning to brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and return vegetables to large bowl. Add the beans, toss, and then set aside to cool. When vegetables are mostly cooled, add kale.
To make the dressing, add apple cider vinegar, mustard, cranberries, capers, honey, pear (if using), and garlic to a high-speed blender. Pulse to blend, occasionally scraping down the sides to mix. Slowly add olive oil until dressing is fully emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, transfer brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale to a serving bowl (or use the same bowl). Add the beans and about half of the dressing. Toss gently and add more dressing, if needed, to cover the salad lightly.
Store any leftover dressing in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve salad immediately or chill and serve within 2 hours.
Check it out and be sure to let me know what you think in the comment section below. Until next time, have a healthy and happy holiday season!
That is the physics definition. I love that.
To be resonant with another vibrating field around you. What’s interesting to me with this is that, we ARE a vibrating field. The field starts at our heart, that’s the pulse, the spanda that starts it all, and then we vibrate outward from there. AND everyone else you encounter is also a vibrating field. AND not only that but every living thing has it’s own vibrating field. AND if that’s not enough, Mother Earth has Her own vibrating field that starts at her core as well.
So here we are all, vibrating around each other. And the amazing thing is, we get to decide what we want to vibrate with and who we want to become resonant with. Now I know that’s hard to visualize because there is so much happening in one moment isn’t there? I mean really, we take in more information in a minute that we will ever use. And more information in a day comes to us that people experienced in their entire lives only 100 years ago.
Welcome to the age of efficient, technical connection.
We multitask and get caught up in other people’s stuff so easily and realize we aren’t resonant at all with what’s happening in that moment. The static of our mind gets so loud that it becomes hard to hear what the vibration of the heart is actually saying … which by the way … is your truth.
We must stop multitasking, stop splitting our attention and drop into empty presence with one thing.
Yes, one thing. And it’s not our thought, judgment or emotion around that instant … it’s just that instant we drop into with breath.
When you stop doing multiple things at one time, what happens is you become present to one thing and every thing else drops away. This, according to physics, actually allows more things with that same vibration to come to you and other things to drop away. Everything comes into support of that one thing you are focusing on. It’s profound.
And we can train our mind to be in one moment at a time by breathing into empty presence with what is and focusing on one thing at a time. In doing so, all the support, love, connection and resonance you will ever need, falls to you without a struggle.
We want to be that still-point, walk in stillness, connect with oneness as often as possible so we can hear the heart over everything else. When we hear the heart, the noise, the chaos, the distractions, the static all drops away.
Train yourself to be in your higher field of awareness by focusing on one thing at a time. Multitasking brings us into the chaos, confused the mind and skews our internal compass. Do one thing at a time and you will feel resonance with what Is Truth.
The last yoga class I taught was themed “Even Yoga Teachers Get The Blues.” Although I absolutely love my work of massage and yoga, it still involves the grueling elements of marketing, scheduling, bookkeeping and, most recently in my face, dreaded taxes. I can feel that I haven’t taken a break for a few months now.
Just like many of you, I fall into the trap of the glorification of busyness. Subconsciously I believe that I’m not doing a good enough job if I’m not running from one thing to the next, crossing things off my list, working late into the night and then rising in the wee hours of the morning to work again. As much as it benefits others, my career is not immune to stressful deadlines and schedules.
Today a friend innocently asked me “So, how are you?” When I paused long enough to bypass the automatic answer of “Fine,” I realized that I didn't know how I truly AM doing. I haven’t made time to CHECK IN and LISTEN. And I’ve been hypocritical, too, because this slowing down is exactly what I preach to my students in Yin yoga classes. I guess it’s time to start listening to my own words!
Yin and Restorative yoga focus on this pausing, reflecting and relating to the reality of the present moment. In class we take the time to feel and check in with our own hearts. Yin yoga helps lower stress hormones that compromise the immune system, while also conditioning the lungs and respiratory tract, stimulating the lymphatic system to oust toxins from the body, and bringing oxygenated blood to the various organs to ensure their optimal function. What good medicine!
I know from my own experience that exhaustion is the number one cause of getting sick. My body’s healing capabilities are miraculous, but I must live in a restful way for it to do the work needed to keep me healthy and able to bounch back. We all need the time and space to process, digest, and move through things. Otherwise our experiences get stuck. We get sick, or in a funk. We get emotionally, mentally and physically constipated.
Of course appropriate stress hormones are important and valuable. But when we run a level of underlying and chronic stress, worry and anxiety, the body acts in the same way it would when faced with a real, big stress factor and therefore never lets go of those crazy stress hormones. This means that we stay in the sympathetic nervous system, avoiding the parasympathetic nervous system which promotes healing. Luckily we yogis can consciously shift into parasympathetic with appropriate asanas and breath patterns.
Too often we forget to listen deeply to what our body needs, which is often rest, and keep pushing ourselves, even in our asana practice. Yoga allows us to revitalize with true healing. But sometimes we get lost in the gymnastics of yoga asana, when we really need to to take a break and slow down. Let’s instead turn to the nurturing and meditative practices of Yin and Restorative yoga. Let’s slow down, allow some things on the list to remain undone, take a deep breath and notice. This pause, on and off the yoga mat, ultimately equals freedom and renewal. Give it a try and see what you think!
By Elise Fabricant
Elise has been practicing yoga since 1993 and sharing her love of it by teaching since 2002. Her friendly, down-to-earth approach to teaching has helped make it accessible to hundreds of people of all ages and abilities. It is her aim as a yoga teacher to encourage her students to become body-aware, to establish a relationship with their breath, and to develop a compassionate and joyful attitude towards themselves and the world around them. Elise teaches many styles of yoga, but is especially drawn to teaching Yin for its sweet, nurturing qualities. Elise believes that Yin Yoga can help balance her students in physical, emotional and mental ways that no other yoga practice can. Elise takes the Yin principles into her massage practice, too, and joyfully offers bodywork out of Half Moon Studios.
Start slowing down and chilling out with one of Elise's Yin Yoga Classes on YogaDownload today!
Among the list of top remedies, turmeric is widely accepted as a powerful anti-inflammatory, a liver detoxifier, a digestive aid and a natural pain reliever.
Curcumin, the compound in turmeric responsible for that bright yellow hue that stains everything in its path, is full of antioxidants. It’s also known to help curb joint pain and relieve stomach discomfort such as gas and bloating. Now can you see why I’m so obsessed? Oh and I forgot to mention that it’s warming, slightly spicy and earthy in flavor, making it a delicious choice this time of year.
This weekend while I was tired of grocery shopping, cooking, and leftovers, I looked in the fridge and realized that I had an entire head of cauliflower still waiting for me. Hence the Roasted Curried Cauliflower recipe featuring my beloved turmeric.
This is a cinch to whip together and pairs nicely with any green salad and/or abroiled salmon.
Yield: 3-4 servings Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower, cut into uniform florets ¼ cup coconut oil, melted 2 tsp. curry powder 2 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. turmeric Juice of ½ lemon Pinch of Himalayan sea salt
Directions: Preheat oven to 400° F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, curry powder, garlic powder and turmeric. Toss cauliflower in the oil and spice mixture until evenly coated.
Spread the cauliflower across a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 25-35 minutes. The cauliflower should be tender and starting to brown on the edges.
Squeeze the lemon juice on the cauliflower and sprinkle with sea salt. Serve warm.
Enjoy and please be sure to leave me a comment below. How are you incorporating this wonderful superfood into your diet this winter?
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." ~ Krishnamurti I spent the last fifteen years reading every self-help, spirituality-made-simple, Happiness-for-dummies, mindfulness, yoga, DIY-psychotherapy book known to god and man. To reduce thousands of years of religion, psychology, and philosophy to a 1,000 word blog would be unwise if not vulgar. And yet, once you parse the semantic differences between the sundry religions, psychologies, and philosophies and the plethora of derivative "transformational workshops" (like the ones I teach) and therapeutic modalities (like the ones I use with patients) it is easy to see how many of the problems we encounter are culturally contingent and how many of the proposed solutions are tantamount to serving old wine in new bottles. Here is what I have learned, what I teach, and what I live: 10. Pursuing happiness actually causes misery. The irony is that if you want to be happy you need to release your desire to be happy - for desire is the root of all suffering, according to the Buddha, and happiness - when it occurs - is actually a by-product and not a direct result of particular actions. The best way to engender and maximize the by-product of happiness is to embrace a lifestyle and incorporate tools that are scientifically proven to keep you at the high end of your happiness spectrum, such as meditation, yoga, exercise, ample sleep, community, self-discipline, secure attachments, intimacy, authentic communications, delayed gratification, and eating to fuel your body instead of eating for self-destructive psychological/emotional reasons. If you live in America then you have been raised to believe that the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right, which was grand and appetizing for the oppressed pilgrims who settled these fine shores many moons ago; however, we now know that pursuing happiness causes misery because your mind is akin to an hedonic treadmill: as soon as a desire is sated it is replaced by another desire. If you think you will be happy when you get a new car, house, partner, or job, scientific studies inform us that those shiny new objects lose their allure in 12-18 months. 9. Release expectations. The future is a void. One of the primary features of our minds is to imagine potential future scenarios in an attempt to stave off possible traumatic surprises. This defense mechanism, which was so essential to helping you survive your highly competitive and often disappointing childhood, is now hindering you from showing up authentically in the relationships that are integral to your healing journey. Thus, learn how to observe your mind's incessant leaping into possible future scenarios and gently correct it by teaching it to BE HERE NOW. 8. Your mind was trained to want more, better, and different. If you want to be happy you need to untrain it and replace those "woulda-coulda-shouldas" with GRATITUDE and ACCEPTANCE. 7. Your mind is plagued by the irrational thought, "Something is wrong... I'm different from other people... I don't feel safe." Everyone has experienced traumas and our minds have clung to those past events and kept them alive as if they were still happening. FORGIVENESS and ACCEPTANCE are tools that we must continuously employ in order to release or at least reframe past traumas. 6. Your mind is plagued by the irrational thought "Something must be wrong WITH ME." Children assimilate negative energy around them by having the voices in their heads say, "There must be something wrong with me... if I had been different then... (mommy and daddy wouldn't have gotten divorced, my brother wouldn't have died, my best friend wouldn't have moved away... fill-in-the-blank happened"). It is just as easy for the narrative to be "My life is perfect. It's not my fault that... (my parents got divorced, my brother died, my best friend moved away...fill-in-the-blank happened"). Reframe your narrative in order to eliminate the resentments (resentment = "This should not have happened") that your mind creates. 5. You have an internal barometer that was shaped before you could speak that either informs you that the world is an inherently scary place with finite resources, or a loving place of abundance. Your "way-of-being" in the world, your core-issues, and your disposition are not as dynamic as you have been informed to believe. The current wave of "neuroplasticity" sweeping self-help books is belied by false syllogisms such as:
Brain cells are malleable. Meditation relaxes people, thus, meditation changes brain cells.
This is inaccurate and misleading. Tools such as meditation were not and CANNOT be designed to change particular brain cells. Specifically, meditation was designed to alleviate suffering by learning to transcend or tame the restless mind. Why is the mind restless? Because your society has trained you to think (8, above) more, better, different will make you happier, that (7, above) you are not safe and must keep your guard up and adrenaline pumping or you will get hurt, and (6, above) there must be something wrong with you. However, it is equally possible to train your mind to believe that you are not presently in danger, there is nothing wrong with you, and your life is unfolding exactly as it should be unfolding. So don't worry about your prefrontal cortex or synapses or neurons or limbic system or anything that you cannot directly experience through your five senses; worry about showing up and being present for your life. 4. Self-discipline = self-worth. We have an epidemic of people in our culture who suffer from low self-worth, low self-esteem and "negative self-talk" that manifest as alcoholism, infidelity, gambling addictions, shopping addictions, eating disorders and a host of other afflictions. Whenever patients think that their accomplishments are "not good enough," I ask, "Whose voice is that?" Usually it is a teacher's or parent's or sibling's voice. No bonobo ever thought, "Yes, I'm enjoying this delicious fruit right now but I'll only be truly happy when I have an entire plantation!" If you suffer from low self-worth and want to correct this, then cultivate personal discipline: make commitments such as eliminating high-fructose corn syrup and sugar from your diet, meditating every day for a month, going someplace you've never been once a week, etc. and stick to those commitments. I've noticed in my psychother apy practice that people with low self-worth have problems with self-discipline and and vice versa; one way to raise self-worth is to be sufficiently disciplined to have daily practices that you can be proud of accomplishing. 3. Realize that most of the things you learned through popular culture - acquiring money, power, sex, materials possessions, "bling" - do not correlate strongly with happiness. We all know alot of people who have more money than god and are still miserable. Ironically, it turns out that givers are happier than takers in the long run. Being generous and helping others is infinitely more satisfying than looking at your bank account statements; only an idiot wants "Richest Guy in This Cemetery" on his tombstone. The only thing that correlates strongly with authentic happiness is trustworthy, positive, loving relationships; being giving and generous helps build those relationships. 2. Authenticity. You created a false self, a facade, a persona to survive your childhood and the defense mechanisms you developed became your "way of being," your personality. There is a good chance that your facade/personality is quite functional and even seductive; however, you know that underneath it lies an authentic self that is rather messy and unseemly. Relationships based on facades crumble so you must be brave enough to be vulnerable, show your authentic self, and express yourself authentically and compassionately in order to cultivate vibrant, positive, loving relationships. 1. This moment is everything that you will ever have. If you say, "Yeah, yeah yeah... I'll do these things (meditate, exercise, eat healthily, speak authentically, explore new places) tomorrow," studies show that you will never do them. Happiness is a choice and it is up to you to embrace a lifestyle and incorporate tools that will keep you at the top of your happiness range TODAY.
This article has also been posted at The Huffington Post
By Ira Israel
Psychotherapist Ira Israel is the author and star of “Mindfulness for Urban Depression,” Mindfulness Meditations for Anxiety,” and “Yoga for Depression and Anxiety.” Ira is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, a Certified Yoga Therapist, and an E-RYT500.
Click here for a complete listing of Ira's classes and meditations.
Then the other day someone asked me what it “means to be an outlaw” and I didn't have an answer for them.
(I don't pretend to be the sharpest tool in the shed.)
What does it mean to be an outlaw?
F*ck, I don't know...
It's sort of like obscenity or integrity – you know it when you see it. I don't know what being an outlaw means for you, but I think for most it starts with responsibility...reclaiming the unique responsibility for your thoughts, words, and deeds.
For me it starts with discipline and ends in integrity, and lies in the crafting of a unique path that suits me and me alone.
Then walking it.
An outlaw is part nomad and part renegade...they're part romantic too because they believe that no matter how deep is their sleep, man will wake up, rise up and overcome whatever hurdle that's placed in their path, that when belief and work are present what could be has a chance to become what is.
The outlaw is a workhorse.
They know that nothing happens without work and that laws make us lazy – obedience is all that's required to do what's lawful. An outlaw knows that it takes real discipline to do what's right, and that it starts within.
The outlaw has a voice.
There's an inherent rejection inside of the mind of any outlaw, a voice that shouts against that of the small self and everyone else's small self combined – the collective voice of preprogrammed doubt and internally generated shame.
A voice that says, “I know best...at least for me”.
There's power in walking this outlaw path, a path that, because it comes from within, can't help but produce an authenticity born of integrity and belief, a belief before all else, in oneself.
This outlaw voice is alive in each and every man and woman ever born on this planet but it gets dulled over time by environmental factors beyond our control (public school, pollutants, etc.). It's drugged through the years by chance and by choice until, in time – and in most – it becomes faint, quiet or silent.
But in the outlaw, this voice is present and loud and it rages creating conflict and confusion within. At least until its power can be recognized, prioritized, and multiplied.
Anyone can be powerful, but an outlaw empowers.
Being an outlaw doesn't have anything to do with being a criminal. You're not an outlaw because you break the law, especially if the law you break hurts someone else – even causes them undue stress or shits on their day (incidentally the only good reason not to run red lights or rob banks, if you ask me).
Real justice must be more than personal, it must be transferable and include an aspect of empathy even and especially for the inlaw – the person on the other side of the gun. The oppressor suffers as much or more as those they oppress, even if they feel less pain.
Outlaws are accepting.
I don't know what being an outlaw looks like to you, but I know what it looks like for me. And that's good enough for me...
And maybe that's what it could mean to you – being alright with whatever the hell being an outlaw means to you?
In your story it might mean being a great stepmom who trusts her instincts instead of wanting to be temporarily popular to a teenage kid? Or being a graffiti artist who paints beautiful, consciousness-raising, protest-themed murals? Or maybe it means not paying your income taxes, or being a yoga teacher, or being bisexual?
F*ck, I don't know.
But I do know that silencing the inner outlaw, the voice that shouts “Stand up” for too long will kill you from the inside, out. Whatever your inner outlaw is saying, listen to it. Encourage it. Help it get louder and prouder and do whatever you can to empower it to sing from whatever platform it requires.
Sing, Outlaws.
But don't let me or anyone else tell you what words to say. Everyone's got their own story going in which we're all just supporting characters. And what kind of main character would you be if you let a supporting character tell you how to play your unique role?
At the end of the day, maybe being an outlaw can be as simple as not have anything to prove to anyone but yourself?
F*ck it, I don't know...
You tell me.
Outlaw Yoga is coming to YogaDownload this January!
.or is it?! Unless you’re one of the few, the proud. . . a member of the Elite Early Holiday Shoppers Club, this time of year can actually be quite stressful! December is already well under way, and chances are you still have a few people on your holiday shopping list to check off. Don’t panic, dear yogis! We've got your back again this year with some seriously sweet last-minute gift ideas - and you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home. So chillax, put on your favorite comfy yoga pants, and get the perfect gift for all the yogis on your list…
All-Access Memberships, Yoga Packages and Programs, Cash for Downloads Each of the below “take yoga anywhere” gifts pair nicely with YogaDownload Packages & Programs, or YogaDownload Gift Certificates, which you can use to gift a cash amount, a program, or a subscription!
Anti Slip Yoga Pant by Electric Yoga No yoga mat? No problem! These one of a kind yoga pants are made with anti-slip foot coverings, making them perfect for the jetsetting yogini in your life who’s always practicing on the go.
Men’s Sutra Pant by prAna These sexy pants made from hemp, Lycra, and recycled materials tread lightly and comfortably from indoor studio to outdoor playground and lounging around the house in between.
Barefoot Yoga Co. This place is seriously a one-stop shop for ALL of your yoga accessory needs. Clothing, mats, bags, props. . .Barefoot has it all. Bonus: They are currently offering 20% off and free shipping! Go Free Yoga Backback by Manduka This innovative, fresh hybrid of backpack and mat carrier is perfect for guys and gals. The convenient quick release buckle straps can secure virtually any yoga mat. Give that special yogi or yogini in your life the freedom to take yoga anywhere, and feel great doing it!
Nutribullet Unlike everyday juicers and blenders, the NutriBullet completely breaks down ingredients in to their most nutritious, most absorptive state. The best part is, there’s virtually no mess to clean up!
Dosha Pops – Go on a health lick with these handmade lollipops made from ingredients that support a healthier lifestyle. Dosha Pops are created on the belief that candy shouldn't have to be a guilty pleasure but more a celebration of a balanced lifestyle with healthier indulgences. These sweet, delectable treats not only awaken taste buds with uniquely amazing flavors, but support an individual’s specific dosha. Great stocking stuffer!
Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook Written by nutritionist Tom Malterre and Chef Alissa Segersten, this cookbook provides information on the importance of living a whole foods lifestyle, and how to transition into one. With over 300 delicious, nourishing recipes, readers will discover amazing, new ways to cook whole grains, fish, poultry, meat and veggies. This book is a must-have for health-conscious, mindful eaters!
Daily Routine Kit by Banyan Botanicals This kit will provide the self-care lovin’ person in your life with the basic supplies to kickstart an Ayurvedic daily routine: Daily massage oil, Triphala tablets, a Tongue Cleaner (seriously, one of the best inventions EVER!), and Nasya Oil. Another great stocking stuffer!
Aqua Zinger by Zing Anything We all know the importance of drinking enough h20 each day, but let’s face it: water can get a little boring. Enter: the Aqua Zinger! Aqua Zinger works by infusing your water with flavors. From cucumber to lemon and lime, to blackberries, kiwi, strawberry, raspberry, peach, ginger, even mint and basil, the Aqua Zinger can infuse them all! Acupressure Mats by Spoonk: Spoonk mats have 6210 acupressure stimulation points that, once pressed against troubled areas of the body, will increase circulation and will relax stiff muscles and decrease pain. In the process, the body can release endorphins (pleasurable hormones) which induces a feeling of wellness and a positive attitude. Regular use will create the desired level of relaxation in your body that prevents the accumulation of stress and tension.
Faux Fur Scarves by Eden Hero These deliciously luxe faux fur scarves are perfect for on the mountain, around town, après-yoga and at the barre. Handmade in Denver and inspired by an active, aware and playful lifestyle. Wear inside out or outside in! Custom design options available.
Hand-Carved Yoga Frog The perfect alternative to a Buddha or Ganesh statue! Sitting in full lotus and holding Anjali mudra, this whimsical frog is bound to bring blessings of abundant smiles to all who may cross its path. Bonus warm fuzzies: It's signed by the Balinese artist who was paid fair trade!
Mala Necklaces & Bracelets by the Mala Collective With many options for guys and gals, the Mala Collective offers an unparalleled selection of gorgeous malas that are handmade, fair-trade style, on the lush and magical island of Bali. The Mala Collective aims to help people live a more conscious lifestyle, manifest their dreams, and meditate deeply.
The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte For the lover of all things personal development in your life, The Desire Map is a holistic life planning system that picks up where most others leave off. Most life-planning tools focus on external attainment and results. Which is valuable. Getting results is what moves life forward. Except that most goal-setting systems fail to harness the most powerful driver behind any aspiration: the way we want to feel.
I’ve been DOing a lot these past few years; admittedly some choices have come out of fear and/or survival mode. With that chapter, now completely over, I am supported, confident, and crystal clear about how I feel in just about every moment I am engaged in. Not only that, but my intuition is my best friend …pointing me in every direction I need to go.
I asked students today to use the words “crystal clarity” as their focus for the week. Why not just clarity? Why crystal clarity? Because now is the time for complete focus in what it is that you are passionate about so you can DO THAT instead of distracting yourself with anything else.
Crystal clarity means tapping into what “feels” good and recognizing what does not. It means trusting that the Universe has your back and that everything happening to you is actually happening for you. It means letting go of all victimization and standing in your stories, ready to witness the revelation. It means falling into tempo with the Universe and allowing everything to rearrange without a ton of effort or struggle.
Dial in the aperture on the lens of your life. You can no longer live out of focus. The world needs people ready and willing to use this life and LOVE this life. Ground into your feet and ask to be clear. When you are in a moment, feel into that space between the belly and the heart.
Feel into that space in any exchange, any decision, any relationship you are experiencing. It’s your beacon of truth and it will tell you: expand or contract.
Then ground into that truth and open your eyes wide to the clarity of it all. Trust in the truth. It may be totally different than what you are experiencing right now or it might be spot on. Just know it and begin to embody it… all the way. Not just half-assed.
Here’s my clarity:
Over the next few months I am participating in a training to lead girls and their mothers on an amazing journey of self-discovery and expansion. I am also learning about astrology and yoga and how the two combined bring us closer to the rhythms of the planets. Not only that, but I will finish my Reiki certification as well as go back to using essential oils in my classes and my work.
All of this in preparation for 2015, when I launch my 200 and 300 hour yoga teacher training and the revolutionary Girls Elevate. The lens of my life has come into clear focus and seemingly everything else is falling away.
Now I ask you …What are you clear about? What’s your passion? Sit … breathe … ask.