Roxtar Yoga

Yin Versus Yang March 4, 2010

At this point in my life I am a high energy, yang kind of gal. I’m a fan of vinyasa yoga, riding my bike, burning energy, and being challenged. I’ve even taken up circuit training lately just to try something new and challenge my body in a new way. Yet, some days, I have to honor the yin energy, the more subtle, restful nourishment or so I was reminded this week. Yin is usually characterized as slow, soft, insubstantial, diffuse, cold, wet, and tranquil. It is generally associated with Femininity, birth and generation, and with the Night. Yang, by contrast, is characterized as fast, hard, solid, dry, focused, hot, and aggressive. It is associated with Masculinity and with the Daytime.

After riding my bike with friends to Avila Beach last weekend, about 23 miles round trip, I noticed my legs were a little tired during my next vinyasa yoga class. Then I had a moment of tweaky pain that scared the crap out of me. I have had what I think is tendinitis in my right hip for the last few years and a regular yoga practice usually keeps it feeling pretty good. Before Monday, I hadn’t even noticed it lately. On Monday though, I don’t even remember what I did but I was practicing yoga and it was one of those moments of pain that makes you freeze and tear up and run to childs pose like it’s your mamma holding a bandaid after you’ve fallen out of a tree.

My hip was there to remind me that rest is just as important as activity. Aadil Palkhivala, owner of Yoga Centers of Bellvue, once said in a class, when you’re young, vinyasa yoga is appropriate, but as you get older your asana practice changes with your body and mind. It makes sense that our bodies need different types of nourishment and activities as we venture into different phases of life. One of my favorite aspects of yoga is that it reminds us how to listen to our bodies and not our minds. My mind thinks I should weigh what I did in high school, that I need to be the strongest person in the room, the strongest version of myself, that I need to sweat for my yoga practice to count (this week anyways). Sometimes it seems as if we “yang types” don’t feel it if it’s not a little painful and that kind of makes me a bit sad. Do I really need to beat my body up to feel something? What is my real goal? I want to take decent care of this vessel that I’ve been blessed with given the tools available to me. I want to become a more conscious, giving, and loving person. I don’t need to overly work it, nor should I use my aches and pains as an excuse to be lazy. Because, lets face it, the older I get, the more I realize my aches and pains are just part of life, little reminders that I’m human. May we find the balance between yin and yang this week.

spirit of vegas February 15, 2010

I’m stationed at the San Francisco Airport eating stuffed mushrooms and pondering my most recent travels and health tribulations.

While in Las Vegas last week I noticed how much the city had been effected by the current “economy” when I went for a walk one morning. There were a lot of vacancies and empty buildings and it was kind of odd, yet normal within such an excessive landscape. As much as evidence of the economic climate depresses me, I also feel some of it’s effects are fair and not so bad. I feel like expansion and contraction are normal parts of life’s cycles and I wonder where we will be after the current contraction. My gut tells me it’s far from over and I wonder where it will take us, how many people will have to suffer, will we ever make real changes, and how many corporate crapholes will get much needed reality checks, if any. There is always a positive side to every negative and I’ve appreciated the reminder to simplify my life, stop spending money on crap I don’t need, and focus on the parts of my life that inspire me and build up those parts more. It’s all about living my passion and sharing it in whatever ways I can. I have not enjoyed worrying about myself or my loved ones and watching them suffer unnecessarily. There are no guarantees in life, that’s for sure.

My three-day adventure in Vegas was actually quite enjoyable despite my original misgivings. It’s always so excessive, smoke everywhere, too much partying, too much everything. It is possible to be healthy when life gets busy and challenging I am finding. The hotel had a gym at which I was able to move my legs a bit after getting my arse kicked at a personal training session with friends before I traveled. My legs were quite sore and out of desperation I attempted to do some strength training on a squat machine to ease the pain. It helped despite my yogic aversion to gyms these days. I prefer to get my movement on my yoga mat, bicycle, and two legs while enjoying the great outdoors if possible. I have to say though, it did feel good to challenge my body in a different way. The hotel even had a good food. My travel routine sustained me. I enjoyed KÀ (a Cirque du Soleil show), a heroic journey of love and conflict, set within a dynamic theatrical landscape, on an enormous stage with a captivating display of acrobatics which left the audience in awe. I admit I’m not a huge fan of live theatre, but the synchronized fights, water rescue, and acrobatics were amazing and I really enjoyed the show.

I decided to look up the definition of Ka to see where the show got it’s name from. The Ka (k3) was the Egyptian concept of spiritual essence, that which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the ka left the body. This resembles the concept of spirit in other religions. Hmmm the concept of spirit is one shrouded in history and opinion and I’m not up for that discussion today.

toilet magic February 7, 2010

“Woody. I just wrote a top 40 song on your toilet.” said Michael Franti to his friend Woody Harrelson, whose house he was staying at.
“Michael, was it #1 or #2?” said Woody in return.

Last Friday I attended a yoga class with Sean Corn and Michael Franti with 400 yogis at the Yoga Journal SF Conference. The energy was incredible and the message they shared was profound. They reminded us to take action in whatever ways we can, right here, right now. No one else is going to be the change we want to see. We have to be that change. It reminded me how truly blessed I am. She started a challenge last year for anyone who could raise $20,000 in their communities (not just giving their own money) and if you met the goal you were able to join her in a 3rd world country to help build and create infrastructure to help those in need. She raised half a million dollars last year for Cambodia and is going to South Africa next year. Wow. They built a school, a birthing center, and more. It actually brought me to tears. They encouraged us to sit down and make a plan. I have a sort of plan, but I wonder what else I can do to to be the change I want to see. What really bothers you in this world, what do you want to change? Part of my plan is to take better care of myself so I can bring my best self to the world. One of Michael’s goals is to write a top 40 song this year and he told us a pretty funny story about it coming to him in the shower and the toilet. Isn’t that how it works, the best ideas come out of random places, and random times, as if magic, pixie, dust just appeared out of nowhere. Voila!

I returned from Yoga Journal SF a week ago and have been pedaling my hardest to keep up with this epic climb known as life. How did I maintain my yogi ways while away from home, you ask? I cooked kitcheree for breakfast the first day and it was awesome and I had leftovers the next morning. Even though it’s not considered “breakfast food”, it was really nice to have the mornings to myself, cook a nourishing breakfast, meditate, and do yoga, if only for a little bit. Sleep is imperative when traveling. I never sleep as well when I travel, so getting 8 hours is the only way to feel remotely normal. I usually am not a walker, but I really enjoyed walking every morning before my long days began. It was very meditative, relaxing, and the fresh air was like medicine for the body. I ended up sharing my hotel room with a friend unexpectedly. Although it disrupted my routine a bit, it was fun and good to help share yoga, even if it wasn’t directly through teaching. I didn’t eat all my snacks and food, but it was better to be over prepared. Kitcheree, trail mix, apples, tea, and vitamin c are the travel companions of champions.

I am on my way to Las Vegas and Seattle this week so I hope to bring my yoga and life practices with me for another week away from my nurturing routines. This is when it gets challenging, when the intensity and busy feeling stay for more than a week. I feel like this is it. If I can’t take care of myself under the stress of travel, how is a single mom going to do it, or a lonely grandma, or an executive, or student? We have to bring our yoga with us everywhere. And your yoga may be something very different than mine. I am thankful for and enjoy how much my yoga practice brings to me in day to day life, but I really want to find a way to bring it with me everywhere.

have mac, will travel January 26, 2010

I’m getting ready to head to San Francisco tomorrow afternoon for the 7th Annual SF  Yoga Journal Conference. I will be presenting Online Marketing at the Business of Yoga part of the conference on behalf of MINDBODY, taking a few yoga classes, and manning the MINDBODY tradeshow booth.  I updated my presentation with the lots of options for creating an online presence these days, from Facebook to Twitter to E-Mail Marketing to Online Advertising, the options are getting endless.  There are lots of options for the yogis of the world to get themselves out there, create community, and share the wonderful practice of yoga.  I crossed my t’s, dotted my i’s, and even figured out how to get my powerpoint presentation to work on my new, sexy macbook pro.  I’m so proud of my technical prowess.

I spent a fair amount of the last few days plotting my travels. How much of our yoga practice can we bring with us while traveling, especially when it’s for work or not for leisure exactly. This trip is not a long nor far one, but I’ll be working long days and I have learned lately that a little planning helps make me a little healthier and more sane when outside of my routine. There are many things I love about traveling for work: exploring new cities, great food, reading, bonding with travel friends, a break from the routine, new yoga teachers. Yet, I am becoming more and more of a home body these days and stepping outside of my home base often leaves me exhausted and sick. Things that suck about traveling for work: too little sleep, not enough down time, less than ideal food and not-so-regular meal times, exhausting amounts of work, travel lonliness. I have made an effort to be prepared for this trip and have packed quite the epic bag of snacks and supplies. I know for a fact that I won’t eat it all, but I’d rather be over prepared rather than under prepared. The last time I was in New York City I remember multiple moments of “oh my god if I don’t eat right now I might kill someone” so here I am. It is my goal to practice yoga and meditate daily, if only for 5-10 minutes each, and eat one meal on my own each day. It would also be nice if I could get 7 hours of sleep per night and limit alcohol intake, it’s oh so difficult when having fun with friends in a new place. You’d think yoga conferences would be pretty chill, but it’s not always the case. I got some of my plotting and planning ideas from Good to Go, an article from Yoga Journal on eating well when on the road. I now bring a hot plate so I can even cook some kitcheree for at least one meal. I’ve also packed trail mix, larabars, fruit, kitcheree ingredients, tea, and vitamin c. I have a lot of travel supplies I travel with in fact, I suggest bringing any and all of the following: pain killers, ear plugs, eye mask, ipod player, laptop, camera, technology plugs/cords, business cards, good book, plenty of good food supplies, a good toiletry bag, netty pot, journal.

I will report on the conference and my healthy travel mission here.  I am looking forward to taking classes and getting a little yoga infusion from my favorite teachers. I am still battling my man friend for weight loss as a percentage of body weight in the new year.  I’m still not sure how much weight loss will be practical or achievable for me, I haven’t checked my body weight in a few weeks, but I’m making an effort still and feeling pretty good, so we shall see. Last weekend I rebelled quite a bit and it felt freaking good! Sometimes a little down time is just what the doctor ordered. When it comes to health, I sure as hell don’t believe in absolutes and I’ve been giving myself one free day a week while trying to moderate every other day. Easy enough so far. Lets see how things go in SF.

two weeks = healthy on the inside January 17, 2010

Two weeks into 2010, my life has settled down a bit and it’s feeling quite good. Work is back to normal, well as normal as things get working at MINDBODY. Which is kind of like the controlled skidding, er driving that happens immediately following a snow storm in Michigan, woohooooooo! I have to say, I feel freaking amazing after dedicating a little energy and focus to taking better care of myself. I have made a point of (1) not overindulging in my decadent food/beverage choices throughout the week, (2) exercising daily, be that riding my bike, a long vinyasa practice, hiking, or whatever, (3) and tracking how well I’m nourishing myself. I have come to the understanding that I may not lose weight on this challenge I am having with my man-friend (which is: who can lose the largest percentage of body weight, my goal 5 lbs). Weight is one way to measure overall health, but I’m not so sure it’s the best. I realized over the last two weeks that I am more fit than I have ever been, eat pretty well, and maybe my body just isn’t going to weigh what I think it should. I will continue to make an effort for the next few weeks and see how it plays out. If I feel as good as I feel now and don’t lose weight, then so be it. Overall health is so much more than weight. It is how I feel, my energy levels, my relationships, and my mental health, amongst other things. I think it’s good to remember that once in a while, when we’re overwhelmed by media images of women who look starved and men who look tan and shiney.

I would like to be able to say that I’m completely yogi about my health and weight, but it’s just not always the case. I would say 80% of the time I listen to my body and very roughly follow a vegetable, wholesome, Ayurvedic based diet. Yet, 20% of the time I enjoy a little freedom, enjoying some of the bountiful, yumminess available to me in SLO, CA. When I’m stressed and super busy, the scales tip further in the wrong direction and I like to reset once in a while, hence, my current focus on health.

On another note, last year I made a resolution to get to the ground in the splits (or hanumanasana) by the end of the year. I achieved the goal, but then unachieved it by not practicing it towards the end of the year! So, I have been teaching it this week and it’s feeling good again. I have been doing a lot of yin poses to open my groin lately too and it’s made a great difference in my hips, and in my right hip where I’ve been experiencing some type of tendonitis for a long time indeed. Love yoga, much love.

It started raining today and it’s supposed to continue all week so I won’t be able to get my daily breath of fresh air on my bike. So sad. It’s kind of nice to be forced into hibernation a bit though. I made some delicious minestrone today. Yesterday my friends and I rode our bikes from San Luis Obispo to Avila Beach to enjoy some fun outside before the week of rain. It was such a great day!

PS. I’m using www.livestrong.com, specifically the daily plate part of the website, to track my nutrition and exercise which also has a nifty iphone app. It’s a nice app for those anal, mathy types like myself who dig databases and software and tracking infinite amounts of data.  It’s really helped me to check on how I’m nourishing myself.

green love juice recovery tonic September 16, 2009

I barely survived a week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with 30 of my nearest and dearest friends and coworkers from MINDBODY. It was too much fun! I truly work with an incredible group of people. One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to witness a huge sea turtle dig a hole for her eggs on the beach, bury them, and make her way back to the sea. It was really cool to witness, and it seemed like an exhausting mission for her. I also enjoyed making new friends, exploring Bucerias, and watching the snarky shows the hotel put on in the evenings in the purple room, in particular the Michael Jackson tribute and the Titanic mock show where they threw ice on the drowned victims.

All the vacation fun was too exhausting. Most of the people who were on the trip were sick by the time we returned to reality. I always have a hard time finding a balance between enjoying myself and taking care of myself when outside of my normal routine. I get overly excited and don’t notice that I’m wearing myself out until I’m sick. On one hand, I’m getting better at giving myself the rest I need. I took two days away from drinking any of those evil, free cocktails and hid from our group so I could get some quiet, alone time. I practiced yoga facing the ocean 3 out of 6 days. On the other hand, their were many moments of spontaneous fun that couldn’t and shouldn’t have been denied. I just seem to be getting sick easier lately, and any behavior that wears down my immune system worries me. Maybe it’s just that I’m tracking how often I get sick now in a calendar so I’m surprised to see that I am sick almost every other month, almost always a sinus flare up. That just seems to be too often to me. What about those centurions living in the mountains in Russia who have never been sick? How am I going to be teaching and practicing yoga at 100 if I get a little sick every other month? While I don’t want to be too restrictive, I want to live an enjoyable life and I want to do what I can to take good care of myself, within reason. I don’t want to get cancer just because I eat what some corporation told me to eat in some subliminal marketing campaign.

On that note, I have been drinking some Liquid Love Green Juice this week along with eating wholesome, vegan meals. Liquid Love is this amazing vegetable juice made by a local raw, vegan cook with kale, cilantro, celery, cucumber, garlic, and lots of other green goodness. It’s kind of like drinking wheat grass all day long, but it tastes better. I feel great after drinking it for the last 2 days. It’s amazing how much better I feel after a little Roxy love the last few days eating well, doing yoga, and getting plenty of rest. I’m heading to Michigan this weekend to visit family, then to Estes Park, Colorado for the Yoga Journal Conference. It is my favorite yoga conference and I’m sad that I don’t get to take classes this time. I am teaching E-Marketing at the Business of Yoga Workshop though, which is always fun. One day my friends, I will be teaching yoga and business at Yoga Journal…you just wait!

post shiva stress syndrome February 18, 2009

After spending a week with Shiva Rea at yoga teacher training it is hard to come back to reality. In many ways I am renewed, revitalized, energized, and inspired to share myself and what I’ve learned. In my head I am ready to bring the yoga training spirit back to my reality. After all, it is in day to day life that real yoga happens. It is how I respond to work that piled up in my absence, the undesired expectations placed on me, the difficult life situations, messy house, and exhaustion. All of this is what people live every day and I believe yoga can help make it all better. And it has for me over and over again. Yet, in true human contradictory form, I kind of want to ball up into a corner, be lazy, and forget about it all and submit to the naysayers. Don’t worry, I won’t, but I feel the pull to do so. It’s funny how energy works, how being around so many like-minded people can make you feel so high on life, and how coming back to familiar reality makes you feel a little less somehow. I refuse to let this feeling settle though and am hitting the mat tonight to practice my art and bring my best self to meet these silly mental challenges head on. The inspired feeling will win this battle I assure you.

Today is the first day I’ve eaten cheese in 4 weeks! Oh sweet dairy goodness, thank you for your loving flavor on my bean burritos, how did I live without? I actually feel really well. I am still working with a nutritionist trying to find an optimal way of eating to take care of myself and prevent the sickness and fatigue that have plagued me lately. I have tested myself for wheat, gluten, and milk sensitivity and have found little to no reactions with those foods. It felt good not eating so much of those foods though and I will try to keep my intake of these foods down for the time being. I am testing myself for cheese sensitivity today and tomorrow. If I’m sensitive to cheese I might have to cry. No, I will cry.

no cheese part ii February 3, 2009

I have successfully lasted 2 full weeks without wheat, gluten, dairy, or alcohol! Well, ok, I had maybe 2 glasses of wine total during the 2 weeks. The 2nd week was even easier than the first, believe it or not. As long as I planned and had snacks & food around that I liked, the dietary restriction wasn’t a problem, really. I’m still amazed. There are a lot of good foods without those ingredients, and I didn’t even know it before this. Last night I made tuna noodle casserole, some of my favorite comfort food, with rice pasta, mayo (I can have eggs), tuna, peas, and pesto and it was yum yum.

I am excited to have found my answer to healthy detoxing, cutting some things out, not everything, no extremes, is actually sustainable and feels good.

I am eating gluten today in the form of oatmeal and have to pay attention for any adverse reactions to it. I actually forgot how to cook it for some reason and ended up with this epic bowl of it. Then on to wheat for a day, oh bread how I miss thee sweet and soft aroma. I can’t wait to eat a sandwich. Then to dairy, oh my goodness I’m going to have to be careful not to eat a whole brick of it in one sitting.

no cheese for me January 26, 2009

Yes, that’s right.  Me, myself, and I, the biggest cheese lover I know, hasn’t tasted my favorite food product in seven days.  Why would one go through such torture you ask?  I’m active and don’t eat terribly, but I was sick twice in the last year and had to go on antibiotics 3 times.  The last cold turned into a dreadful sinus infection that lasted 3 weeks.  So, I figured now is a good time to refocus on my health and try to bring myself back into balance.  I don’t want to be forever oscillating between such extreme health and unhealthy states. I made an appointment with a somewhat holistic nutritionist and for the last 7 days have been following her recommendations to stay away from wheat, dairy, & corn.  I will stay away from those foods for 2 weeks total, 1 more week, and will do some food sensitivity testing after the two weeks are over.  This is the longest I’ve lasted doing any sort of detoxing, usually I’m done in 3 days.  This is not surprising as I usually do a juice fast and almost lose my mind after day 3.  The fact that I can’t eat dairy is painful.  I miss cheesy goodness.  I love cheese.  I do not discriminate, I love yellow or white, soft or  hard, easy cheese and fancy cheeses too.  Ok, enough dreaming of cheese, I should write about the good things that I’m experiencing.

I am surprised at how much better I feel just removing these foods, and alcohol too (well, a glass of white wine once or twice).  I don’t know yet if I’m losing weight, but I feel a lot less bloated.  If you had asked me before this if I felt bloated, I would say sure, maybe a little, but now I feel so much lighter that I feel like I must have been much more bloated than I noticed.  It’s not as hard to eat this way as I thought it would be either.  My nutritionist gave me all kinds of rice replacements for my staple foods, rice tortillas, pasta, cakes.  I bought a great cookbook which has helped with giving me really tasty recipes that make me (hardly) miss my beloved cheese, veganomicon.  It’s pretty much awesome and has all my comfort foods, vegan style.  I also cannot overeat while eating this way.  I just don’t desire to, and I feel full on less food.

It has been hard to eat out, many restaurants only have one or two choices for me, and they aren’t exactly fulfilling.  It has also been challenging to keep up with eating 16 grams of protein per meal (another of her recommendations) without cheese or meat.  Yet, even these challenges aren’t so terrible I can’t handle them. Being able to ask my nutritionist questions has made me feel very supported.  My friends have been so supportive, cooking meals that I can eat.

It’s funny to me that wheat, corn, and dairy are such staples in american diets when they clearly aren’t good for many people.  I realize these are foods that are easily produced en mass here in the US.  I miss cheese, but I don’t really miss wheat, well flour tortillas maybe, but i think wheat has just always been there in my world of eating.  Not necessary really.

My nutritionist has made many recommendations based on the book Eat Right for Your Type by Peter D’Adamo.  I will continue to document my progress here too.

ayurveda and khichdi November 25, 2008

I recently participated in an Ayurveda workshop in which I found my favorite new food, khichadi (or pronounced kitcheree). It’s an ancient India dish that is so filling, yummy, and healthy and it can be made with ingredients you have on hand in the pantry. It has healing & balancing qualities for anyone who eats it.

Ayurveda, which translates as “knowledge of life,” dates back 5,000 years to the ancient Sanskrit texts, the Vedas. It’s a system of healing that examines physical constitution, emotional nature, and spiritual outlook in the context of the universe. According to the philosophy, universal life force manifests as three different energies, or doshas, known as vata, pitta, and kapha.

We’re all made up of a unique combination of these three forces. Though everyone has some of each, most people tend to have an abundance of one or two of the doshas. This unique combination is determined at the moment of conception, and is your own personal blueprint, or prakriti (nature). I happen to be made of up the pitta dosha, which is represented by the element fire (which is not a surprise to those who know me).

As you move through life, the proportion of each of the three doshas constantly fluctuates according to your environment, your diet, the seasons, the climate, your age, and many other factors. As they move into and out of balance, the doshas can affect your health, energy level, and general mood.

Whether or not you even know what Ayurveda is, I urge you to try this wonderful, cheap, easy to make meal! It’s one of the few healthy foods I eat after a period of being unhealthy that immediately makes me feel better. It truly behaves like medicine in that way.

If you want to learn more about Ayurveda, Yoga Journal is a great resource, I also recommend any book by Maya Tiwari.

Khichdi Recipe
Yummy, heatlhy, ancient Indian comfort food. This dish is popular amongst many who follow an ayurvedic diet practices or nature cure.

Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Ready In: 25 min
Yields: 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup white basmati rice
1/2 cup split mung beans (lentils are good too)
4 cups H2O or veggie stock (give or take liquid amount depending on your stove/pan/lid, I typically use H2O and a veggie bouillon cube)
1 tsp to 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger root (latter amount if high pitta)
1 tsp ground coriander or 1/2-1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp dried oregano leaves (Italian seasoning is fine)
1/2 tsp ground cumin or 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1 clove garlic (omit if high pitta)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring to boil, reduce head to medium-low and cover and simmer. As rice and beans are cooking, chop and add veggies such as carrots, zuchini, broccoli.
2. Cook for approximately 25 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed but the consistency is smooth, not mushy and sticky.
3. When done, take the pot of of heat and add ghee (clarified butter), salt, braggs liquid amino acids to taste.
4. If using whole mung beans adjust time to 45 minutes.

FOOTNOTES:
Depending on the veggies I’m adding, I like to precook them separately and add them at the end, especially broccoli and cauliflower. Adding 1 cup of frozen peas right at the end of cooking is really good. I like to top it with a bit of feta and eat it with pita and hummus. I have also seen it made with fresh cilantro. Yum.