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Asana, Yoga

Root to Extend, Find Steadiness and Ease

May 25, 2015
Tree

It has been a beautiful weekend so far, and there is still another whole day to dive into. I am hoping to have a short yoga sequence ready to post up next week, with the help of my wonderful videographer/husband/tech guru. If you are interested in dabbling in some yoga (or if you already have an established practice, and want a review), here are some basics tips and tools for starting a physical asana practice.

  • Roots and extension: Try to approach any posture in a yoga sequence from the ground up, no matter the difficulty. Creating stability in the base of a pose will keep you safe and strong through the rest of the body. In a standing pose, root firmly and evenly through the corners of the feet. I typically teach the foot as having three corners: the center of the heel, behind the ball of the big toe, and behind the ball of the pinky toe. By pressing down through these three points evenly, you can learn to activate the three arches on the bottom of the foot. This will help to create a stable dome architecture at the bottom of the foot, and will start to activate the muscles of the lower legs. At the same time you are rooting down through the lower body, extend up through the upper body. This may mean extending the crown of the head or the hands towards the ceiling, depending on the pose. The opposition of rooting and extending will help to create more space in the body, including the spine, helping to reverse some of the compressive effects of sitting or standing unevenly during the day. The same idea can be applied to arm balances and seated postures. An added benefit of rooting and reaching is it will decrease the weight being poured into the wrists in poses like arm balances or planks, Rooting evenly through the three corners of the feet in standing poses will help you find proper alignment, avoiding pain in the knee and ankles.
  • Sthira/Sukha: In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (an important text on the practice of yoga originating about 2000 years ago), the practice of asana is only mentioned directly once, in line 46 of the second book. The sutra says “sthira, sukham, asanam”. Translated from sanskrit, this sutra speaks of finding both steadiness (sthira) and ease (sukha) in one’s posture. Patanjali is mostly speaking of finding this balance between relaxation and strength in a seated posture for meditation, but yoga has evolved to include many more postures, as we all know! T.K.V. Desikachar, author of The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice, explains this sutra by saying, “It is attention without tension, loosening up without slackness.” Finding a balance between these two opposing characteristics in an asana will keep the pose strong without creating needless stress.

Check in next week for some introductory videos! I hope you are having a fantastic Memorial Day weekend.

Life

Wine in the Woods

May 19, 2015

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind. In the 10 weeks prior to this one, only two of them have seen Alonzo and I together at home in Arlington. From work trips to short vacations in California and NYC, visiting our new niece in Houston and my family visiting us from out west, traveling to Maryland to start the next round of classes and subbing a lot of yoga classes, it’s been basically nonstop since mid-March. Even in the time we were together, we both had a lot of work to do. Outside of his already-too-much-work day job, Alonzo has also been working on updating the website for The Brew Gentlemen (Side note: Congrats on celebrating a successful first year in the taproom!!) as well as making preparations for our eminent move to California later this year (fingers crossed). I’ve been studying for school, always planning for yoga, and thinking of new ideas to share on my site. With all of that, we needed to take a weekend off to reconnect and try not to dwell on anything at all.

Relaxing weekends go by way too quickly!!! We traveled out to Columbia, Maryland, an easy 50 minute drive north. The city was having its annual “Wine in the Woods” Festival, so we decided to check it out. I was completely unprepared for the scope of the event. In my mind, Columbia is a fairly small town. I figured there would be a couple hundred people and a few tents offering wine from Maryland. Turns out there are A LOT more wineries in the state than I expected, and A LOT (read: thousands) of people interested in trying out their offerings.

I would like to lie to you and pretend the whole day was sparkles and heart bubbles, but my anxiety reared its beautiful head at the sight of such a mass of people. It started off with my failed attempt to find a parking lot the first drive by the event area. I pulled over to let Alonzo take over, but wasn’t able to immediately let go of the tension that ‘failing’ at parking had created in me. We eventually found an open lot and shuttled back over to the woods filled with wine. My poor husband got to spend this time trying to get me to relax and shake it off (at this point, we could have renamed the event “Whine in the Woods”). Having dealt with my border-irrationality too many times to count, I know it can be hard for him to stay patient, and I could see the stress creeping into his body. He just can’t catch a break. Thankfully, after not too long the initial shock wore off, and we wandered around the nicely wooded grounds sampling a variety of wines. After a while, my taste buds could not tell the difference between anything. We left just before the sky broke open into some heat-relieving thunderstorms, and checked into The Columbia Inn bed and breakfast. After a nice nap and a walk down memory lane with a visit to Pei Wei (a favorite cheap date night spot of ours back in high school days), we rounded out the night with a dessert from Wegman’s and another blast from the past, watching Rush Hour in the plush king size bed back at the inn. Made to order omelettes with home fries (plus some sides of meat for the husband) and a fantastic whirlpool bath rounded out our trip, and we drove back the following morning.

Just a 30 minute walk down the street, the annual “Taste of Arlington” was going on, so we took a leisurely stroll down to Ballston to check out some local food. I thankfully had the foresight to bring along some Tupperware, so we were able to carry some food home for dinner using our remaining tickets once we couldn’t eat any more. We made it home in time to collapse on the couch and catch the last quarter of the Rockets game. We both made it through the weekend without spending more than half an hour working, so Monday was an abrupt shock back to reality as we remembered the heavy load of busy-ness that grasped for our attention.

The two big take-aways from this weekend:

  • No matter how proficient I think I am becoming at calming down that seed inside of me that needlessly brings up anxiety, doubt, worry, and fear in social circumstances, I still have a ways to go. I have become much more aware of  how unnecessary the feelings are, but need to continue working to change my mind’s natural and abrupt reaction.
  • I have decided that we should look for a new hobby as a way of taking a step back from the ‘busy-ness’ that seems to overtake our minds during the week. I have found that TV is our go-to, as it is a way to completely disconnect from our world. I would like to instead have an avenue of staying connected to our passions, without the added stress that accompanies our work lives. A few ideas I have come up with so far:
    • Conduct physics experiments…this is as far as the idea has progressed. Alonzo loves physics and gets really fired up when we talk about it, so I think this would be a great way to unwind. We ran our first experiment yesterday while having coffee in the morning. Alonzo dropped a piece of biscotti into his cup and it floated. Buoyancy test!
    • Photography. We got a nice camera for Christmas and still haven’t really figured it all out.
    • Something physical. Maybe rock climbing or some type of martial arts. I know there are SO MANY different styles, and I haven’t done any research yet. If you have any recommendations, please let me know! I think that, like yoga, martial arts would be a great way of strengthening and connecting with the body, and using movement to release stress.

Whew, now back to the daily grind of the week. Happy Tuesday!!!

Food

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers

May 13, 2015

I am a big proponent of listening to the body when it comes to finding the right food for the current moment. Because of this, I eat a primarily vegetarian diet. I have found that eating meat on a regular basis does not sit well with  my digestive system, and I never have enough room to eat all of the vegetables and whole grains that my body loves and hungers for.

Most often when I cook at home I keep the vegetables in their original form, not wanting to mess around with what nature worked so hard to create! Every once in a while though, it’s fun to do something different. I have been wanting to play around with making some veggie ‘burgers’ for the past couple of weeks, so this weekend I decided to try it out. Since this was only the second time I was experimenting with the task, I followed a recipe I found from a food blog called Cookie and Kate. Here is a link to the original recipe: http://cookieandkate.com/2013/sweet-potato-black-bean-veggie-burgers/

I won’t rewrite the whole recipe here since it is not my own and the link is right up above, but basically you bake a couple of sweet potatoes then remove the peel, cook a small amount of grain (this recipe called for millet, but quinoa is similar option that can be substituted), and mash that all together with some spices, cilantro, red onion, and black beans. Finally, you sprinkle on some ground up oats (acts like a flour) and stir until everything sticks together. The patties FOR SURE are easier to work with if they have some time in the fridge to stick together. The final step is to pan-fry the patties for a couple of minutes per side, aiming for a light browning and crisping. I used coconut oil for this recipe and it didn’t seem to affect the flavor much.

The process is more time-consuming than meals I typically make, especially given all the steps that require cool-down time, but I was able to freeze half a dozen patties for future meals. Definitely worth it. As a huge fan of sweet potatoes, I thoroughly enjoyed the final product. In retrospect, I think I would have added some finely diced jalapeño to give the patties a fresh tasting kick. I did not use as much oil as recommended for the first couple of rounds of  pan-frying because I was worried they would turn out too greasy. After increasing the amount for the final batch, I can say it was probably worth it. The increased amount of oil gave the final product a nice crunch on the outside to balance out the incredibly smooth interior.

To add in some more veggies, I prepared a simple side salad. I had some beets to finish up, so I decided on a beet, green apple, goat cheese combination. After scrubbing and trimming the roots and stems off of the beets, I brought them to a boil, just covered with water. The beets simmered for about 25 minutes until a fork pierced the skin easily, then I drained off the water and set the beets aside to cool down. After they were cool enough to handle, the skin peeled off easily and I diced them into easy-to-eat pieces. I cut a quarter of a green apple into matchstick slices, added some diced beets and goat cheese, and topped it with homemade raspberry vinaigrette. The dressing mixed with the beets turned the whole salad a beautiful pink (one of my favorite parts of having beets in a recipe!!). I made just enough raspberry vinaigrette for about 5 servings of salad, because I don’t like for it to go to waste. For a small portion, just mix 1/8 cup raspberry wine vinegar, 1/8 cup olive oil, 1/2 tsp mustard, and sweetener to taste (I used agave nectar, but maple syrup or plain sugar can be used as well) in a small jar. Cover the jar with a lid and shake! Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a few days. The mustard acts as an emulsifier, breaking up the oil droplets and helping the oil and vinegar combine more easily.

Sending out a special thanks to my husband for forming the patties and taking most of the pictures, and to our cats; Penny for being a trouble maker and Jillyboo for staying out of the way and being crazy cute. Let me know if you try out the recipe too, or have had any experiences making veggie burgers at home! I will keep experimenting on my own now to see what kind of combinations I can come up with. I am thinking a curry-chickpea burger sounds like a good next step…stay tuned.

Food

First CSA half-share!

April 29, 2015

We signed up for a weekly half-share from a company called Relay Foods for the Spring and Summer, and I picked up the first week’s groceries yesterday. There is a pick up station conveniently located a 15-minute walk away. This week our half share consists of a big bunch of curly green kale, two bunches each of bibb and green lettuce, some fresh green pea shoots, three sweet potatoes, beautiful green onions, a small carton of radishes, and an assortment of oyster and shiitake mushrooms. The produce comes from a variety of local farms and will change week to week as new veggies come into season. I had to do a little research to see the best way to store and use the radishes and green pea shoots, but both were very easy to work with!

Not wanting anything to go to waste, I cooked up a bunch of the veggies last night. I did a quick stir fry of some thinly sliced radish, green onion, and pea shoots, separately stir fried some mushroom (chopped small so the husband wouldn’t notice!!), and mixed it all together with some nice wild black rice. For taste I added some toasted sesame oil, tahini, and a dash of soy sauce. We had a side salad to go along with it, since we have lettuce for days!!!

I’m already looking forward to what the future weeks will bring, and I can’t wait to eat up these sweet potatoes.

Yoga

Eight Limbs of Yoga

April 28, 2015
imag0506

I first started practicing yoga with my mom in 2007. We would pop in a Wai Lana DVD and move through the class together. It has turned into a wonderful source of bonding now that we live 1,600 miles apart. We discuss classes we have taken recently and attend yoga festivals together every year. Yoga has become a huge part of my life since I first started practicing. It helps to reduce my anxiety and helps me find peace in an often stressful world. I think a great way to get introduced to all that yoga encompasses is to take a look at the Eight Limbs of Yoga mentioned by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras.  This text is considered to be one of the earliest cornerstones discussing the practice of Yoga, and was first put down in writing almost 2000 years ago. The path lists eight steps to personal improvement along the way towards ultimate union of the Self with the Universe.

    1. Yamas: Ethical restraints, or actions to limit in your life.
      • Ahimsa: Non-violence. This can also be translated as compassion for all things, including yourself. This means working to eliminate the detrimental thoughts, judgements, and actions we make against ourselves and others. Ahimsa is considered to be the most important goal to strive for.
      • Satya: Truthfulness. Yogis are encouraged to be honest and truthful in all things. If being totally honest will end up causing deep suffering, sometimes ahimsa will trump the importance of satya.
      • Asteya: Non-stealing. This includes the stealing of material items from another, but more importantly encompasses the stealing of nonmaterial things. If someone does something impressive, we should not try to steal their joy or feel jealous of their success.
      • Brahmacharya: Virtue. Find moderation in all parts of your life, trying not to over-indulge in any arena.
      • Aparigraha: Non-possessiveness. Embrace simplicity in life and do not grasp for physical possessions. Notice what is driving you to possess more and more.
    2. Niyamas: Qualities to encourage and nurture in life.
      • Saucha: Cleanliness or purity. Keep both body and mind clean. This includes personal hygiene, eating foods that keep the body clean, and practicing mindfulness to keep the mind clean. Asana and pranayama (discussed below) can help to cleanse the body internally as well.
      • Santosha: Contentment. Accept life as it comes and try to find happiness within yourself.
      • Tapas: Heat or discipline. It is important to have goals and to work hard to achieve them (without grasping or becoming attached to exact outcomes). Tapas means to have the self-discipline or internal fire to keep striving for the bettering of one’s own life and that of others.
      • Svadhyaya: Self Study. Study to learn more about yourself and the world around you.
      • Isvara Pranidhana: Surrender to God. Yoga does not tell you what religion to follow, or even that you need to follow any religion at all. It encourages developing a form of spirituality in order to find a sense of purpose, serenity, and understanding of your role in the world. By appreciating something outside of yourself, you can avoid the pitfalls of excessive pride and find compassion for others.
    3. Asana: This is the physical practice of yoga, the postures we think of when we hear someone say they do yoga. The main goal of an asana practice is to encourage flexibility and strength in the body, in order to create flexibility and strength in the mind. By moving the body through various positions, muscles, bones, connective tissues, internal organs, and lymph tissues will be massaged and invigorated. Developing stronger body-awareness over time can be a powerful method of increasing mind-awareness as well.
    4. Pranayama: Breath Control. Prana is defined as breath, energy or life. The breath is the only vital function of the body that we can consciously control. Controlling the breath can lead to the slowing down of the thoughts and the release of tension in the body. There are countless different methods of pranayama, designed to bring about different results in the body and mind.
    5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses. This can be as simple as closing the eyes or wearing earplugs. By eliminating one of the senses, the others can become enhanced. The body can more deeply feel sensations, the mind can more fully focus.
    6. Dharana: Concentration. Once the body is calmed with asana, the breath deepened with pranayama, and the senses withdrawn via pratyahara, the mind can come to a focus on a single point, thought, or idea.
    7. Dhyana: Meditation. Dhyana goes a step deeper than simple concentration. It arises when one concentrates fully and “body, breath, senses, mind, reason, and ego are all integrated in the object of [one’s] contemplation”1.
    8. Samadhi: Ecstasy. This is the ultimate goal, the holy grail, of a yoga practice. It is a state beyond consciousness, where body and senses are at rest while the mind remains awake. This results in a deep connection with the universe and an awareness of one’s role within it. This leads to a liberation from fear and eliminates the duality of self and non-self.

If we can even embrace the very first aspect of the eight-fold path – nonviolence – imagine how much improvement could come to our world! If you first come to yoga simply as a form of exercise, you might be surprised by changes you see in other parts of your life.

1. B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (New York, Schocken Books, 1979). pp. 51.

 

Life, Yoga

Who turned out the light?

February 17, 2015
Colorado

I’ve spent much of my life living in fear; fear of judgement, of failing, and even deeper down a fear of even trying. I can attest to the fact that it is so easy to allow fear to hold you back, to use it as an excuse to hide from yourself and from life.

I was painfully shy for much of high school and college (and, to be honest, even now). Social situations would find me standing in a corner trying to blend into the wall. When I went off to college and left the comfort of the friends I had made as a child, I completely fell apart. My freshman year, I exclusively spent my time with two friends I had from high school. If they were busy, I stayed alone. My friends and family would say I just needed to “get out there”, say hello to whoever I met. I would get so upset, thinking they didn’t understand, that it simply wasn’t possible.

It’s a spiraling path that is hard to escape. The more you avoid life, the harder it is to get back out there. Starting this blog, the hardest part by far is putting my life out there, sharing myself and opening up to the ‘judgement’ I so fear from my peers. A fear of being measured and found to be inadequate.

I absolutely love this quote as a source of inspiration. It helps drive me to power through the fear when it starts to overwhelm.:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.  -Marianne Williamson

Even during my weakest moments, I have always felt that I have this inner light. I have just struggled with the shade that hovers on top of it. Struggled with why I worry so much about the parts of life I can not control (like the thoughts of other people, the events of day to day life). This is a big reason why I am so enamored with the notion of the Atman.

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About Me

About Me

Hi, I'm Chelsea! How we treat our body has a huge effect on our experience of the world, and is often a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. From my experience, starting to move and be present in the body through physical activity and meditation can lead to a deeper mind-body connection. Over time, this connection can start to heal the wounds that build up over the years, and unleash the light and joy hidden inside the core of our being.

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