I’m back!

Helllooooooo!

Marcia and Me - teacher training is going to rock!

Marcia and Me - teacher training is going to rock!

It’s been a long time.

I’m sorry I’ve neglected you, Dear Blog.

I needed to take a break for awhile but I’m ready to roll again :)

Since I last wrote, quite a bit has happened!

1. As you know, last year a group of yoga teachers began speaking out against Virginia’s law that required yoga teacher training programs to pay fees to and submit to random audits by the state. I’m excited to say that thanks to our efforts, we changed the law! I am especially thankful to Susan Van Nuys of The Health Advantage Yoga Center – she was the first one to say “hey this isn’t right” and to organize the protest. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to work with her on this important issue and thrilled to have made a friend along the way! :)

2. I started my yoga therapy training with Gary Kraftsow of The American Viniyoga Institute. I’m SO THRILLED to be a part of this 13-month training. I’ve already learned so much and can’t wait to share it. Got a sore back? Tight neck? Achey shoulders? My next workshop on May 15 at Flow Yoga is called “Yoga for a Healthy Spine” and we’ll be focusing on upper back, neck, and shoulders. There will be a second part for lower back, sacrum, and hips on June 12. Get the details and sign up on Flow’s website. I’ll also be writing more about yoga therapy and Viniyoga in this blog as it’s been a truly transformational experience for me.

3. The teacher training program that I’ve been teaching at Flow Yoga in Leesburg is coming to and end and our students will graduate this weekend! I’m so excited for them! They’ve been a terrific group and they are amazing teachers. We’ll be holding free Community Classes on Sunday evenings at Flow starting May 23 so that everyone can get to know them. Please come by and take a class! Check out Flow’s website for the schedule – it’s not up yet but I’m sure it will be soon.

4. Our next teacher training is right around the corner! It begins in June and runs for 9 months. I’m really looking forward to teaching this program with Marcia Hoffheins, who is an amazing teacher. You can read more about the program on Flow’s website.

Ok that’s it for now. I’m really excited to be writing again!

xoxox
signature

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Meme Blog Award!

Thank you Kate for this blog award!

Here are the rules:
1. Share 7 tidbits about myself.
2. Share the award with 7 blog friends.

7 tidbits about myself:

  1. I’ve always been athletic – I can’t even remember a time in my life didn’t include some kind of sport or activity in it.
  2. I can touch my tongue to my nose.
  3. I’m TERRIBLE at Trivial Pursuit. You definitely don’t want me on your team!
  4. I am studying to be a Yoga Therapist through The Viniyoga Institute. I’m VERY excited about this training :)
  5. I teach yoga full time but I don’t consider it “work” at all.
  6. I cannot stand to have cold air blowing on me – it literally hurts my skin!
  7. I am making my way through the Vegetarian Food For Thought podcasts in iTunes. They are excellent – I like to listen to them while I am walking the dogs in the morning.

The 7 blog friends I would like to pass this award along to:

  1. Bountiful Living Wellness – Kate gives great nutrition advice and I love her Friday Stone!
  2. Little Speck on Big Planet - If you are looking for nutritious and delicious recipes, Kristen has tons for you to try.
  3. Myspace.om - Peggy is always “right on” with her life’s observations, and she does it with a great sense of humor.
  4. Forkbytes - Isabel is also a source of wonderful recipes – I look forward to her blogging more (hint hint!)
  5. The Self Love Project – beautifully written and inspirational.
  6. Oh She Glows – I love Angela’s blog. It’s been so fun to watch her grow her “Glo Bakery.” Her recipes are always good.
  7. Prana Flow Yoga – Cory’s yoga adventures are highly educational and fun to read. I especially loved her Venice blog entry!

signature

A Big Running Day

IT. IS. SO. HOT. OUT. SIDE.

When I drove to the gym at 1030am this morning my car said 91 degrees! The girls are lounging around the house as usual -  they were pretty beat after our walk this morning.
yoga

I got up at 6am this morning and practiced yoga for 1/2 hour. I’m still practicing in the viniyoga tradition – right now I am following a sequence that focuses on neck+shoulders that I found in Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow. It’s a great book but I didn’t really get it until I studied with Gary last month at part 1 of my Yoga Therapy training. Anyway, the practice might be working because I had a really tight neck all of last week and it’s finally starting to relax.  :)

Run

Man I got a lot of running and walking in today!

First I went for a walk / run with Kate. We went out for about 30 minutes. It wasn’t boiling hot out yet and it felt really good to be outside. It’s so much more fun running with a friend!

When I got home the girls were giving me Big Eyes and so I took them out for a walk. We walked our normal 2 miles + change.

THEN I went to the gym! I ran on the treadmill 6.5 miles at average of 8:13 mph. After two jaunts outside it felt SO GOOD to be in air conditioning!

I really love my Monday mornings – lots of “me” time.  :)

Eats

Breakfast was…guess…c’mon just guess…a SMOOTHIE! Today was:

  • 2 bananas
  • 12 oz lite vanilla soy milk
  • 2 scoops Spirutein Vanilla Protein powder
  • 2 tablespoons Smooth Operator peanut butter
  • 2 huge handfuls of baby spinach
  • cinnamon
  • salt

This made two smoothies.

That was before I went out with Kate. Then after my run at the gym I had a slice of Honey Kissed Peanut Butter Bread with cherry preserves spread on top. YUM! That really filled me up so I wasn’t hungry for lunch until mid-afternoon.

Then, using my Reston Farmers Market loot I made this:

DSC_0005

  • 1 onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 of a huge yellow squash
  • 1 huge fresh tomato
  • 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes with Italian herbs
  • some fresh basil
  • 1 tablespoon of dried Italian herbs
  • salt
  • pepper

I sauteed the onion + garlic in 2 tablespoons of water until the onions were soft. Then I added in the rest of the ingredients and let them simmer until the squash was soft. I scooped about 1/3 of what I made into a bowl, and after I took the picture I decided to put some mozzarella Veggie Shreds on top. Delish.

While I had that all going on I whipped up a batch of spelt Blueberry Muffins from the Babycakes cookbook.

DSC_0003

I ate one of them while I was waiting for the squash to be ready and then I ate another one after I ate the squash! They were really good. I’ve noticed that when I ate wheat today – in the Honey Kissed Peanut Butter Bread – I felt a little bloated afterwards. I didn’t feel that way after I ate the spelt muffins. Hmmmm…interesting.

Right now Stella The Cat is trying to go up the stairs but Marty The Big Black Lab is blocking her way and just daring her to try it. LOL – I love watching them.

signature

Home Yoga Practice + Raw Banana Ice Cream

yoga

Julia14Starting a new routine is hard! Since I’ve gotten back from Foundations of Yoga Therapy Training with Gary Kraftsow, I’m determined to (finally) make my home yoga practice a regular part of my day.

This has not been easy.

It kind of reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom wanted me to wash my face every night. I used to tell her I had done it when I really hadn’t. She always knew I was lying – I found out later that she would feel the faucet to see if it was warm and when it wasn’t she knew I hadn’t washed my face.

Today I can’t imaging NOT washing my face before I go to sleep!

And so it is with my home practice. Every morning I am getting up at 6am and dragging my butt to my yoga mat where I practice asana in the Viniyoga tradition for 30 minutes or so. I love the practice, I always feel good afterwards, and I know it’s helping me to become a Yoga Therapist. So WHY then is it so hard to do??? I’ve been averaging 5 practices per week which I guess is pretty good. I just thought it would be easier, something that I couldn’t imagine NOT doing. They say it takes 21 times before something becomes a habit. It hasn’t happened for me yet!

Eats

I was flipping through a raw “cook” book a few days ago and was reminded of an amazingly simple and delicious treat – Banana “Ice Cream!”

DSC_0002

Here’s what you do:

  1. Cut up two bananas into 1 inch chunks and toss into a plastic bag. Store the bananas in your freezer for at least three hours
  2. Put the frozen bananas into your food processor and whirl away for about 4-5 minutes.
  3. TA DA! Now you have a creamy, low cal, low fat, raw, vegan, delicious treat for two! I added a few blueberries and a drizzle of Bees n Blossoms honey. You could also mix together agave + cocoa powder for a chocolatey topping, or my favorite -  pb2!

signature

Veggie Cobbler + A (Possibily) Surprising Yoga Practice

Eats

I made a delicous Summer Veggie Cobbler recipe tonight that I found on Oh She Glows. Here’s what I liked about it:

  • Lots of veggies
  • Gave me something to do with the gorgeous eggplant that I got at the farmer’s market last weekend!
  • I already had all of the ingredients on hand
  • Easy to put together
  • Yummy
  • D. liked it :)

I prepared it pretty close to the recipe – a few changes:

  • I used eggplant, summer squash, and cherry tomatoes for the veggie filling
  • I added dried sage instead of fresh
  • I cooked it at 375 for 35 minutes – didn’t need to use the broiler to brown the top as it was already brown
  • I used dairy mozzarella instead of soy cheddar
  • I love lots of crust so I used the entire crust recipe – you could probably halve the crust recipe if you don’t want as much as Angela recommends
  • I used soy milk instead of almond

Here’s the recipe with my modifications:

Ingredients:

Filling:

  • 2 T Butter or Earth Balance
  • 3 T all purpose flour
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 T dried sage
  • 4-5 cups summer veggies – eggplant, squash, cherry tomatoes (or whatever you have on hand)
  • 1 t fine grain sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Crust (on top):

  • 1.5 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2.5 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/4 t cayenne spice
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
  • 4 T Butter or Earth Balance, melted
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella
  • 1 cup plain low fat soy milk + 1/4 t vinegar

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375F and lightly grease a 3-3.5 quart casserole dish.
  2. FILLING: Chop all veggies into small pieces. In a large saucepan, combine the butter and flour and stir until it thickens. Next add the veggie broth and keep stirring. After about 5 minutes add all the chopped veggies. Mix well and then pour the veggie mixture into the casserole dish. Sprinkle with half of the cheese.
  3. CRUST: Mix the dry ingredients, then the butter and cheese, and finally stir in the soy milk / vinegar mixture. Mix well.
  4. Spoon the crust over the veggies and cheese. Top with the remaining cheese.
  5. Bake for about 35 minutes. If the cheese hasn’t browned on top, you can turn on the broiler for a few minutes at the end of the cooking time.

YUM! I love the idea of a “veggie cobbler.” It was similar to a veggie pot pie. I can’t wait to try it again with some new ideas I have for it. How are you preparing your summer veggies?

Run

I ran to the gym today!

  • 11.5 minutes running outside – not sure of the distance
  • 27 minutes on the treadmill, averaging 8.20 mph
  • 11.5 minutes running back home

It was REALLY hot outside this morning. I don’t know how people run outside in this. After 11.5 minutes I was so happy to be at the gym where I could get some water and A/C!

yoga

You might be surprised to hear this, since I am a vinyasa yoga teacher, but here is what I did for my 630am home practice today. It was a balanced practice (no peak pose) and all asanas were in the viniyoga style (not vinyasa!):

  • Started lying on my back, focusing on my breath
  • Apanasana (knee squeeze)
  • Dwi Pada Pitham (bridge)
  • Balasana (child’s pose)
  • Cat / Cow
  • Tadasana (mountain pose)
  • Vira 1 (warrior 1)
  • Uttanasana (standing forward bend)
  • Trikonasana (triangle)
  • Balasana (child’s pose)
  • Janu Sirsasana (head to knee pose)
  • Apanasana (supine knee squeeze)
  • Jathara Parivartanasana (supine twist)
  • Apanasana (supine knee squeeze)
  • Savasana

This practice took about 30 minutes. I had a breath pattern that I used for the standing poses where I went in and out of the pose three times and then stayed for 5 breaths. I really love practicing this way – I feel rejuvinated after the practice and I notice things that I don’t notice during a vinyasa practice, for example today I noticed tightness on the right side of my upper back.

Ok – early to bed tonight :)

signature

Yoga Therapy Training Part 2

I’m really diggin’ my Foundations of Yoga Therapy training with Gary Kraftsow. It’s just what I was looking for and I’m so happy that I made the choice to take THIS training over the other ones I was looking at. Here are a few reasons why I like this training:

  1. Gary Kraftsow is incredibly knowledgable AND has a great ability to explain his thinking. I’m just in awe of what he has to offer.
  2. I’m learning a whole new way of looking at asana from a therapeutic perspective. I’m learning to see how asanas primarily affect the SPINE and secondarily affect other parts of the body. The focus is on the spine since that’s really the most important part (i.e., you can live without your hamstrings!).
  3. The breath is #1. And I’m learning that it’s not just about coordinating your movement to breath; it’s about focusing your attention to your breath to bring awareness to the movement. I’m learning a whole new way to use breath in asana and it’s SUPER COOL.
  4. Asana practice is not about the asanas. It’s about the practitioner and how the asana can potentially bring a functional benefit to that person. There’s other benefits too but we haven’t gotten to them yet! But for now we are decreasing emphasis on the form and instead focusing on the PERSON. How cool is that?
  5. I’m meeting some really amazing people. It’s a great group and I don’t feel like there is any kind of exclusivity even though many of them have been working with Gary for awhile. Gary doesn’t appear to play favorites and everyone is very warm and welcoming, including the assistants :)
  6. Mount Madonna, our location, rocks!

I’m already really excited to come back here in December!