Ok, so now you are hopefully being compassionate to your busy/snappy/stressed out self. You’ve gotten sweaty and tried to clear you mind while shaking your booty. You’ve maybe bribed yourself with a moderate treat. Now, it’s time to acknowledge that you have to put some good things into your body in order to feel good enough to make it through this tough time.
Emergency Delectable Measures: Tip 2
Happy Wednesday everyone! Are you being nice to yourself yet? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, see Tip #1 from Sunday.
So now that you’re acknowledging you’re having a hard/stressful/busy time, and starting to be compassionate to yourself, it’s time to take some action. Specifically: GET MOVING. That’s right, I’m telling you to shake your booty.
Emergency Delectable Measures Tip 1
My friend and mentor extraordinaire Jeffrey Davis recently wrote a terrific piece about emergency momentum. The idea being that when something major and upsetting and inserts itself into your life you still have to tend to some of your creative work, but it takes extra planning and focus, and understanding that some things will have to be prioritized over others.
Well, I find that in times of emergency it’s not just work and creativity that are harder to tend to. All of life, and especially health and mental wellness often take a hit. READ MORE
Getting on the Mat in a Hurricane (or, The Power of Habit Part I)
Last week we had a hurricane. Anyone notice? Well, I think everyone heard about it, but it may not have been as dramatic for you if you weren’t somewhere in the Northeast of the USA. But wow, it was a lot more dramatic for us here than I think most of us expected. So often, the news stations hype it up before the fact, then whatever “it” is blows through and it’s much ado about nothing. Not. This. Time.
So, my husband and I were pretty lucky. Though we live in a basement right next to the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, we didn’t get flooded. Phew. But still, the damage to NY was extreme, and it disrupted pretty much everyone’s lives here, and will continue to do so. For the first week, there was just no way to travel into the city, to do normal work and leisure activities or see the normal people. In short, all the routines and rituals of our days, small and large, were completely disrupted.
Considering what others were experiencing, all of that was dealable. And yet, when things are topsy turvy, I think it’s pretty important to keep some sort of routine, to keep your nervous system from freaking out and adding to the general sense of distress. In other words, when things are crazy, I get on my mat.
The Fall Breakfast I’m Loving Now
Ok, this exciting breakfast didn’t photograph well. Sigh. I guess the light just isn’t so great at 5 am in the fall! But this is an exciting recipe nonetheless, so here it is, in all its photo-free glory.
And, that 5 am call time is just proof of how well this little guy travels. I ate around 10 after teaching and practicing, and it was just as delicious as if I’d eaten it straight from the fridge.
It’s sweet. It’s spicy. It’s filling. It’s packable. It doesn’t have to be very cold. It doesn’t have to be hot. And it doesn’t take a blender to make it. I think it’s turning me orange, slowly but surely. It’s my favorite breakfast right now and it’s called, ta-ta-da….SPICY PUMPKIN PIE OVERNIGHT OATS. Oh my gosh, it is so good. Go make it as soon as you finish reading this! READ MORE
Back to “Real” Life
Well, I’m a week and a half outside my OBX experience. And I’m glad to be home with more control over my day to day experience, climate, food, routines. But wow I miss the yoga!
While at the Outer Banks, my normal morning practice, before any of the “extras,” was taking about 3 hours. I don’t even quite know what I was doing for so long, but wow, it felt pretty great! Every day was one of those blissed out experiences I remember from the beginning of my ashtanga practice when everything was new and exciting, and change happened in big leaps. I think it’s common, as the practice goes on, for the change to happen in smaller steps, the day to day to feel a little less revelatory, but still, it’s nice to have those exciting moments.
When Life Hands You Lemons-My Lemonade Recipe
Hello delectable friends! Sorry for the long radio silence. I took the time for a yoga retreat recently, and it became a longer break than I anticipated! Life can be…unexpected.
I haven’t really taken a workshop break, turned off my internet access and settled in for a long, deep dive into the yoga in a long time, years really. Though I practice every day, that kind of time away was just inaccessible. And I didn’t feel like I had the time this month either, but it was planned for, paid for, agonized over and on the books, so off I went.
It was just as amazing as I’d hoped, and more on the yoga another time, but things got really interesting right at the end. Just as I settled in, it felt like it was time to leave. My thoughts turned to “re-entry” and what was next, with a bit of trepidation. And what happened? Wham! I got struck from behind, literally, out of nowhere. Was it fate, karma, Ganesh you ask? Nope, it was a car. But it could have been any of those things as well. The car accident brought me straight into the present moment and showed me more clearly than any sutra that I am not in control and that life is crazy and will throw you a curve, when you least expect it.
My Favorite Smoothie Of All Time
I know many of you are sad to see summer go. Even though it’s still hot many days, September just seems like fall. Back to school, back to full work weeks (are there half day Fridays in the summer anywhere else, or is it just NYC?), back to business as usual.
But although I often miss al fresco dining, the late evening glass of wine on the porch (while it’s still light out), the relaxed feeling that seems to abound, I don’t miss the hot weather. Humidity, bugs, super-hot days, they are not my favorites. No, I’m a fall girl. I love that crisp breeze that just begs for a soft sweater and cozy scarf. I feel energized by the coolish temperatures, and I seem to take more walks. And I still dine al fresco, by the way. Love to breathe that crisp air! Just give me one of those standing heater thingies…
I also happen to love the flavors and spices of fall. Although I’m not a stickler for eating according to the weather—I ate sautéed collards all August and drank cold smoothies throughout last winter, it’s just what I craved—I do like to include seasonal produce, and for fall anyway, I LOVE the flavors and race toward them. Pumpkin? Cinnamon? Ginger? Apples? Bring em on! And don’t stop when Thanksgiving is over. Keep it all coming until I turn into a pumpkin myself!
“Why do you always write about food?” -Student, to Me
A student of mine asked recently why the whole blog seems to be about food. I laughed a little, then groaned inwardly. I feel like I’m so focused on yoga. And yet, I’m always talking and thinking about food.
Well, in one way the answer is simple. I’m a foodie. I love good food. I love creating it and feeding guests, and eating out and matching it with wine. Ok, I’m attached.
But there is a deeper, more multi-layered answer. When I first began practicing yoga, my teacher said “there is nothing that can affect your practice more than the way you eat.” Ok, maybe that’s not a direct quote. It was something like that. That’s what I heard in my head. And I had a very specific idea in this same befuddled brain of what he meant by that. I immediately set out to be the “Perfect” eater.
Why the Wine-ing?
Anyone around here love a great glass of wine? Well, I certainly do! I think I’ve said it before, but if it’s not yet clear, I truly think a great glass of wine can be part of your healthy, delectable lifestyle.
There are, of course, a couple of great reasons to be a teetotaler, and if you abstain for those reasons, good for you. And don’t worry, some alcohol-free cocktails comin’ up soon!
On the other hand, there may be some of us out there who can handle a great glass of wine, but feel a little squeamish admitting it. In these green-juice soaked times, I think it can sometimes seem like the more hedonistic indulgences are verboten altogether. Well, let’s banish that idea right now! A great glass of wine doesn’t have to spoil your spirit(-ual pursuits) as long as you don’t overdo. I thought perhaps my personal story would help you find your own middle path.
