It’s all over the interweb.  This article from the New York Times, How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body, has got the yogis talking to say the least.   I thought the article was a little one-sided and harsh about the dangers of injuring yourself on the yoga mat, but I understand what it feels like to injur yourself and the frustration it brings.  I’ve dealt with hip pain after cardio kickboxing, knee pain after a running stint, neck pain from life and yoga, low back pain from being a desk jockey.  In many ways I think it’s just part of the human condition.  Our bodies are amazing feats of genetic engineering, but they are fragile, they age, and will one day will completely degenerate back to the earth.  Do we really think we won’t have issues with our bodies, that they aren’t fragile?  I feel strongly that people need to be nicer to themselves in yoga, that it’s not an athletic competition, that you can gain strength and mobility without torturing yourself.

I enjoyed this quote from the article which makes a good point about how different it is to practice yoga today in the west:  ”Indian practitioners of yoga typically squatted and sat cross-legged in daily life, and yoga poses, or asanas, were an outgrowth of these postures. Now urbanites who sit in chairs all day walk into a studio a couple of times a week and strain to twist themselves into ever-more-difficult postures despite their lack of flexibility and other physical problems. Many come to yoga as a gentle alternative to vigorous sports or for rehabilitation for injuries.”

And I really appreciate a response to the article from Sadie Nardini, another yoga teacher.  I love that she included some great questions to consider and also some resources for teachers and students to become better informed.  Some good quotes from Sadie:

“Yoga injuries? OK, so a lot of yoga injuries don’t bring people to the ER, but neither do many cycling injuries, which chalk up around 580,000 emergency room visits a year, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. I’m still waiting to see a “Can Cycling Wreck Your Body” story, one that would be more appropriate for more readers.”

“People can get hurt anytime they move, and sometimes even if they don’t. For example, other proven causes of injury, stroke, nerve damage, and death (involving many more cases than yoga, by the way) are: eating, having sex, running, walking, cycling, dancing, traveling, …”

And a quote that hits home and is nice reminder for me, a fairly green yoga teacher in all honesty:  ”From what I’ve seen, so many of our yoga instructors at every level could use a refresher course in the anatomy of yoga and movement, say, from a credible–and anatomically correct–expert. Not an expert in classical pose shapes, but in actual human anatomy and the anatomy of movement. In my opinion, there are way too many teachers out there with way too little anatomy experience.

I think Sadie sums it up nicely with this  ”I’d like to pose the question: Should you shy away from yoga because it could possibly, somehow tweak your body? My educated answer to you would be: Absolutely not.”

“But mellow exercise is just not enough.”

“Enough for what” is probably a pertinent follow up question. If you exercise for health reasons, weight loss, or fun you’re attitude probably differs. (It’s good to check in and remember why you do what you do once in a while) I’m talking about this attitude that it’s not worth it to exercise the body if you’re not a sweaty mess afterward or something along those lines. I can relate to the need to move and sweat. It’s good for us, mostly. But I think we get hung up on this “beat myself into submission” kind of exercise attitude. Bikram yoga, triathalons, bootcamp, crossfit, that sort of thing. Guess what? The bodies we have right now are different than the ones we had at 18. We only get one body and it’s constantly changing and it is constantly getting older and moving towards death! It cracks me up how much this thought really freaks people out. Doing 2 hours of running, cycling or hot yoga a day is fine when you’re in your 20′s, but will that really be nourishing and helpful in an older, more lived in body? I find it fun to challenge myself and see what I can do with this bag of bones of mine. To watch my body literally get stronger, fitter and more flexible as I age with yoga is pretty incredible. But after giving birth, being sick, injured, sidetracked, I’m not sure the hardest, sweatiest workout is what we often need although it’s often what people describe when they say they need to get back in the saddle.

Yet, where do we draw the line between healthy challenge and being too harsh on ourselves? I want to make sure I’m listening to my body accurately. I want to make sure I’m challenging myself in a healthy way. Sometimes it says, “I can’t move, I don’t feel good” when really it means “I don’t want to move, I want to be lazy.” Other times it says, “I want to become an endurance athlete, do 108 push ups, and only eat broccoli” and I wonder what it really means then. It feels good to control one of the few things we can control, ourselves, to burn the anxious, nervous energy many of us live with, but my inner yoga teacher wishes people would be a little nicer to themselves, without promoting laziness and avoidance. I love the post exercise endorphins, feeling strong, flexible, and comfortable in my own skin, but why do I cause myself injury? Why do I beat myself up mentally for letting life get the best of me sometimes? How do I deal with the inevitable injuries life will impose on me in a healthy way? How will I make sure to stay on my own health wagon and what will that look like in reality?

I see lots of bodies on the mat as I teach yoga each week. Some glow. Some shake and suffer. Some come back for more and some don’t. It all comes back to learning to listen to our bodies in a healthy way, to tuning in to the subtle, to remembering why we do what we do. I think it’s more important to create the habit of doing something that nourishes you on a regular basis, and then phase two can be stepping up the challenge. Many of us are inconsistent and then forceful and intense. We really like to avoid the “long way” in our culture or sticking with something we suck at. I realize doing something new kind of sucks for a while. So does falling of the wagon of fitness. But I’m sorry, I think doing mellow yoga or exercise is ok. It’s a great place to start if you’ve been inactive for a while. It’s a great way to balance stressful work days or workouts or phases in life. Life beats me up enough without me adding to the fire. Stop trying to skip the baby steps, perhaps? It doesn’t mean you’re a wimp. And don’t worry, I’ll still make you sweat and shake on the yoga mat. Right before I force you to be nice to yourself in savasana.

This is my list of new and improved list of “go-to” recipes that make eating healthier not feel like eating healthy, but feel like eating good food.

If you’re cooking for people who really love meat or cheese and they start to lose it and muttering something about “the evil baby corn”, stop, don’t make them hate veggies forever!   I advise adding cheese or avocado to save the day!  Baby steps my friends, baby steps.

1. Roxy’s Oatmeal Surprise – This is my default winter breakfast. It is a finely tuned recipe honed over at least 10 years after I realized instant oatmeal packets have something like 13 teaspoons of sugar or something absurd like that. It’s so unnecessary with a little sweetness from dried fruit and spices. It smells so good you’ll feel like you’re treating yourself to pie for breakfast, but it’s actually pretty good for you.
2. It’s a Soup Tie – I can’t get enough of either of these which don’t require canned tomatoes and take well to adjustments: Black Bean Soup – Like a little black dress, simple and tasty, goes with everything.  Chickpea Noodle Soup – Love the flavor of the simple herbs, miso and veggie broth. I use rice pasta instead of soba noodles.
3. For Parties - Skinny Spinach Artichoke Dip or Grandma’s Cheesy Potatoes.  While I love my healthy veggie food during the week, these are my standby’s for weekend parties.  Comfort food at it’s finest.
4. Desserts - Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes (Yes, I’m for real).  I use rum in the cookies instead of brandy.  It’s amazing.
5. Crock Pot Beans – It’s so easy and cheap to make your own beans. Plus it makes you feel like you just conquered something magical in the kitchen.  I use this recipe and immediately use some in a soup or salad, and freeze the rest in one cup servings to use in place of canned beans or as emergency bean burritos for lunch when I haven’t grocery shopped. Soak a bag (pound) of beans (black or pinto are my faves) in cold water in the fridge overnight. In the morning drain and rinse the beans. Add them to the crock pot, covered with about an inch or two of water. Add one onion peeled and quartered, two cloves garlic peeled and crushed, two bay leaves, lots of cumin (a few tablespoons). Cook on high all day (6-8 hrs). At the end of the day you come home to yumminess. Serve with rice and cilantro and whatever fits your fancy.
6. Butternut Squash Risotto – This is my favorite way to use a butternut squash, leftovers are even better. I suggest not omitting the white wine or butter, I often use two buck chuck or whatever I have, but if you omit the wine the final product suffers.
7. Esalen Kale Salad – This was the recipe that introduced me to kale. I will be forever grateful.  Lovely the way it is, but is also fine with substitutions.  I like to add beans or tofu to make it more of a meal.  Really good with the braggs aminos and avocado.
8. Lentil Stew – This stew is a favorite for winter, also freezes well. I found it in a magazine a long time ago, and have been making it for years. My first veggie meal before I even knew what a veggie was.
9. White Bean Kale Soup – I make a version of this often, anytime I cleanse as well. Good and simple and has lent itself well to my “whatever’s leftover from farmers” kind of cooking.
10. Khichadi – My favorite easy, healthy, lunch meal. Love it with peas, lemon pepper, feta. Also good with lentils and shows up in a many cookbooks and mulajara or something like that.
11. Minestrone – A great basic soup recipe, you could make it with whatever you wanted and I have used this as a template for many variations. I have added veggie sausage, omitted/added pasta, added different beans, veggies, parmesan, avocado chunks you name it. Everyone I’ve served it to loves it too. If you haven’t noticed, I love stews that are more of a meal, like they used to say in Chunky Soup commercials. Screw buying them canned though, homemade is so much better!
12. Black Bean Quinoa Salad – (This recipe and the following are from my favorite cookbook ever, the Veganomicon) I use this as a staple recipe. I use whatever beans I have on hand, whatever grain I have on hand (usually rice or quinoa). It’s really simple and tasty. Even better with avocado.
13. Mac Daddy – Vegan mac and cheese? Yes. It’s good. Try it.
14. Scrambled Tofu – This is actually better than scrambled eggs because it gets better leftover. A few slices of avocado, roasted potatoes, and you’ve got a pretty good breakfast burrito.
15. Vegetable Korma – This is a bonus recipe. It’s the best vegetable curry I’ve ever made. It’s not exactly “light” but it’s vegan. So good. Try it if you like Indian food or curry. I’d say it’s more of a weekend meal, it took me 1.5 hours to make it from start to finish, but the leftovers were even better. Great for potlucks.

Comments? Suggestions? What are your favorite recipes, veggie or not?

I just finished teaching my first yoga class to the inmates at the women’s jail in SLO county. Are they really called inmates, I wonder? I feel so humbled and blessed! How did I even find this life changing practice called yoga? I don’t know what they did to bring them to the jail, but I do feel that yoga can help everyone in some way, shape, or form. I’m thankful they were willing to practice with me. I asked, what are you hoping to get out of this class, and their answers were simple, mostly to de-stress and stretch. I wondered if they were only attending because it’s something different in their days, they shrugged and it didn’t seem like it. This photo isn’t from me today, but pretty inspiring!

I thought we should start class seated and connecting to the breath, but hell, I needed to move a little to get my teaching grove on. Sitting cross-legged on the floor was pretty uncomfortable for most of them. One women showed me her knee and I can’t say I’ve seen a knee scar with bones sticking out like that before. I noticed another crying a little after Let it Be played by the Beatles. I wondered if they’d be resistant to me assisting or touching them, and they weren’t. As I touched them it was pretty amazing to notice the deepening of breath and of the stretches themselves. I noticed another with her face crinkled throughout the entire class. It seemed like she was having some intense feelings and it showed on her face. I think she was crying a bit too at the end. I was surprised by the young, intelligent faces, and the older, painful ones as well. I ended up teaching a lot less poses than I thought I would, and holding them a bit longer. I walked around and barely held any poses myself. I had to remind them to close their eyes and breathe constantly, but it definitely seemed to help shift their energy. Their was a big difference before and after class. Before class I couldn’t hear their breath, they kept looking around at each other. After class, they were breathing deeply on their own and savasana seemed extra sweet.

Their was a sense of lightness in the class. They cracked jokes and laughed when they couldn’t do something which was fine by me. I had to physically help them get into postures quite a bit. They asked if I was a flexible pretzel and I said not really, but I am much more flexible than I once was. I pointed out that there is always someone more flexible, strong, prettier,…than all of us, that we have to be ok with ourselves where we are today, and try to not take that personally. They were so grateful afterwards. I am going to print what I taught and bring it to the next class in hopes that they’ll be able to do a little on their own.

What an experience. It left me feeling so blessed, honored, and respectful of these women. I’m so blessed that life dealt me the hand it’s dealt me, and that when it has been challenging, I’ve found a way to turn those lemons into lemonade. Much of life is our choices, but much of it seems to be luck of the draw. And what about that secret beast, Karma? It seems to me the only way to create change is to become aware of karma, and try to put the positive energy out there, somehow, even when life seems to be feeding us the negative.

I’ll probably write this up more formally, but the following is what we did today. Next time I might teach the “max” ladies. That means maximum security. We agreed they would like to move more, and I’m ready to bring some sweaty vinyasa next time!

A Simple Class for the Ladies
Cross-legged forward fold, forward, and to the side
Cat-cow
Ragdoll
Mountain
Standing forward fold
Hands & knees to Cobra
Childs pose
Bridge x2
Seated single legged forward fold
Both legs forward
Legs wide
Butterfly
Savasana

PS. Image is from http://www.amanuddinfoundation.org/yoga-jail-bamyan.html.

Riding the wave of change the last few weeks I have felt on the verge of crying and cheering all at the same time. Yes, I’m still riding that wave. Buying a yoga studio was getting in the way of me practicing yoga. Typical dichotomy of life, right? When you’ve got money, you don’t have time. When you’ve got time, you don’t have energy. Like many of my yogi friends, I had to prioritize the infinite tasks of living life and finding time, energy, and the mental strength to make it to the mat just wasn’t happening. And I knew it. And I thought, “This is just for now, sometimes we need to sacrifice more”. Finally, one night this week I went to bed at granny/kid time (8pm) and woke up for an early yoga class before a long work day. By the end of the class, I wondered, what was it that was really keeping me from this? I really couldn’t find the time? What are my real priorities? My to-do list melted away (albeit temporarily) and I felt so much more ready to tackle the many challenges that lie ahead. It was the right amount of physical challenge to get my energy flowing. It cleared my mind of the incessant “I’ve got too much shit to do” chatter. It put a smile on my face. My to-do list seemed cute rather than heavy.

I learned this week to be careful before I give up that which keeps me the most sane, energized, and happy in my life. I am so thankful to have found something that can give me those feelings/gifts. Many people never feel that way. I love that yoga welcomes me back time and time again with open arms, and always feels good no matter how long I’ve been away. I felt sore, but not so sore I hated my instructor. I felt challenged, but not so much so that I was exhausted for three days after. So, get out there, hit the mat, ride your wave, ride your bike, read a book, find your zen, and all else will follow, I promise. Just do it!

1. I am doing a spontaneous roxy-style cleanse this week.  It entails of no alcohol, wheat, dairy, processed foods, sugar, caffeine, cheese, parmesan, cheddar, oh, I said cheese already.  I am inspired by this cleanse by yoga journal, although at this point I have made up my own little routine.  I also like this cleanse by Dr. Doulliard.  It’s important to do what you can, do what aligns with your values, lifestyle, and tastes, and don’t take it too seriously.  If you have a time of year you always get sick, cleanse a month prior to prevent it.
2. I take one day off a week. Period.
3. I have sacrificed my yoga a bit, but not my meditation practice.
4. I have sacrificed sleep. I get up as early as needed to feel good about what I can get done in a day.
5. I sing karaoke.  It’s surprisingly inspiring.

PS. Doing 108 Sun Salutations was amazing!  It took 2.5 hours, my ham strings were worked afterwords, and I’m going to do it every year and I’m going to try to do it on the solstices/equinoxes.  Whose with me?

My birthday is coming up soon and I’m going to try to do 108 sun salutationsto celebrate another year of life and blessings; cleanse the body, mind, and soul a bit. I’m predicting it will take 2-3 hours, it usually takes me 1-2 minutes per sun salutation.  The number 108 has significance in many cultures and for many reasons.  The fact that it is connected to a bunch of nerdy math facts as well as yoga, well, I just can’t resist.  I’m excited to give this a try.  If you’re interested in joining me for part of this celebration, hit me up!

• Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads (plus one for the “guru bead,” around which the other 108 beads turn like the planets around the sun). A mala is used for counting as you repeat a mantra—much like the Catholic rosary.
• Renowned mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence.
• This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance.
• According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body which are said to converge at the heart center (chakra).
• 108 is a Harshad number, which is an integer divisible by the sum of its digits (Harshad is from Sanskrit and means “great joy”).
• 108 is twice the number “54″, which is the number of sounds in Sanskrit.
• Some say that 1 stands for God or higher Truth, 0 stands for wholeness in spiritual practice, and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.
• 108 has numerological significance in that 1^1 x 2^2 x 3^3 = 1 x 4 x 27 = 108.
• The angle formed by two adjacent lines in a pentagon equals 108 degrees.
• The diameter of the sun is approximately 108 times the diameter of the earth.
• The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun.
• The distance of the Moon from the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Moon.
• “One feels great. 108 is a journey.” -Shiva Rae
• “One represents union, zero represents the void and eight is infinity ” -Ben Thomas

sources: Yoga Journal,
Yoga For Peace Santa Cruz

How do you enjoy the summertime? For me it’s often signing up for too much to do, tank tops, blown out flip flops, trying to avoid sunburn while at the same time enjoying that bright orb, BBQ, friends, vacation, the Elks Lodge pool (it’s so awesome), sleeping with the windows open, and fruit smoothies for breakfast. I hope you’re enjoying some of the bounty of this season of fire and change. One of my favorite summertime songs is below for inspiration, hurry click play!

Being a firey red head (pitta in the ayurvedic world), in summer I enter my yearly battle with the sun, summer, and heat. I love summer, almost to my own detriment. I have found myself sick twice in one summer, with numerous cold sores, a completely lost/hoarse voice, highly anxious and exhausted most of the time over committing to life and not taking care of myself well enough. In yogi nutrition it is thought that like increases like. So if you feel overheated and are noticing inflammation, spicy, hot foods will just increase those issues. You have to keep cool in this warm season and what you eat is part of that. Each year I get a little better. This year I am in love with my epic sun hats and long sleeve shirts, sleeping enough, eating tons of berries and greens, and taking it a day at a time. It’s so easy to let the seasons turn into years and to forget to enjoy the present moment. A good life doesn’t necessarily mean doing every single thing you are invited to, or that you have an inclination to do. I have also learned that it’s important for me to participate with a different energy level. I don’t need to be on fire, the life of the party, every single time I’m out and about. It’s OK to be in the background sipping water and the first to go to bed or yoga. I’m off to cycle the Netherlands by bike in a couple weeks too and I don’t want to be pooped on my adventure

Dr. Doulliard, an ayurvedic physician I dig says that eating dark, leafy vegetables every day, eating decadent amounts of berries, and copious amounts of plain water are three major ways to survive the season without burning yourself out. It has really helped me feel better and the berries are amazing in California right now.

May you keep yourself cool, and sunburn free this season. There are tons of summertime songs out there, even New Kids on the Block did a song in their day!

While in NYC a couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to try lots of different yoga classes, food, and fun, as one would expect in one of the world’s largest cities. I had an asian style tofu hot dog at an outdoor food market. I enjoyed a picnic dinner in my hotel room of sushi and pizza slices. I was lucky enough to get my ass handed to me at a Core Fusion class at Exhale Spa which got me wondering about my yogic-cycling ways. It’s a class that combines pilates and dance bar strength moves, with a little yoga and weights. I got up at 6am before my last day of work in the city, which is very difficult in that city. I started looking at the clock within 10 minutes of the class starting. It was one of those classes where you notice your limbs shaking uncontrollably and you watch in awe, wonder, and exhaustion. What muscle is that? How is it vibrating so profusely? The class was taught by one of those New York beauties that exist everywhere in the city, probably a dancer-actress-model whose ass did not look real. She kept adjusting me like crazy and I was just praying she’d leave me alone because I wasn’t doing it poorly because I couldn’t hear her, I just couldn’t make myself shake any further or my muscles would give out!

In the end I really enjoyed the class. It challenged me efficiently, quickly and in a different way than what I’m used to. I am thinking I need to take more of these different make-my-legs shake classes. Don’t worry though, yoga is still my main squeeze. Maybe we’ll add some moves to shake up my next yoga classes?

On another note, I had an easier time focusing on my yoga practice while traveling than I am having now that I’m home. It’s been one of those weeks where I can’t seem to get up early enough and keep forgetting that I need to get my practice in, that I want to get it in, and that it’ll make everything better. And wine tastes entirely too good this week! Cheers to another new day…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture replaced their old school pyramid with the new MyPlate graphic.  The interweb is all abuzz like a kid in a candy store. Is this really that big of a deal? I wonder how much do people really turn to the government for this type of advice and how much this graphic will change the trend of increasing obesity and unhealthiness in general.  Is this possibly another band aid for a bigger problem?  Maybe we can consider what drives us and our kids to overeat in the first place?  The 2000-3000 marketing messages the average person sees/hears each day?  The stress of the “economy” or not being able to support oneself or ones family?  Big business agriculture and their constant agenda to keep turning profit?  The fact that ketchup is considered a vegetable in school lunches? Don’t get me wrong, I like the plate.  And I like ketchup. And cheese. Wait, I’m losing my train of thought here… the plate is actually how I try to eat in general, and it’s a pie graph, who doesn’t love a good pie?

Some organizations mention that MyPlate is at odds with agriculture subsidies that promote high-fat, high-calorie food products. It’s also at odds with the fact that fast foods, unhealthy foods, freaking taste good and we are human after all.

Interesting thoughts to say the least. I appreciate what Mrs. Obama is trying to accomplish in her fight against obesity and hope that this is a step in the right direction. Let’s hit farmers market this weekend, shall we? Eat some carrots and strawberries with your breakfast.