Category Archives: Yoga

Old Thing Back, New Thing Here, and A Sunshine Smoothie.

They say distance makes the heart grow fonder and it’s true: I’ve missed this precious space and I’ve missed you, my dear readers.

We’re back after almost two months of travel. As much as I travel, transitions never seem to get easier for me. All of it, my body, my emotions, my spirit, my sleep… they are out of whack and unbalanced. Buddhists say that the soul travels slower than the body. I agree, it takes at least a week to settle into a rhythm.

But if I’m going to be totally honest, It’s also hard for me to come back to Sweden. There, I said it out loud. I know, I know, how can one complain about living in such a remarkable country? A country that provides healthcare, education, progressive politics (Swedish Feminist Party in the European Parliament, what?!), extensive vacation and parental leave, and fika breaks. But as much as I’d like to fight my feelings, spending time in New York, Colorado, and the Dominican Republic reminded me of a pulse of life that I just can’t seem to find here. This pulse that I long for makes me glow. Just ask Mr. Wonderful and the little dove… they’ll tell you that mommy was jumping out of bed at 7am while in the DR. Sun? Beach? Fresh fruit? Salsa music? These things turn me into the energizer bunny on crack. But give me cold and dark and you have to pry me out of bed with a bulldozer, 2 cups of strong coffee, and bacon.

It’s no surprise that I found myself with the post-vacay blues upon returning. It was raining. It was gray. It was cold. Not my strong suit. This weather feels French and makes me want to sit on the windowsill with a crocheted blanket and a cigarette (settle down, you know I don’t smoke, but it’s a feeling so just go with it) and another cup of coffee. I’m listening to Joni Mitchell, The Velvet Underground, Van Morrison, and Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens)… so I guess that really says it all. Damn, it’s not even September yet.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why there is this dichotemy to life: vacation vs. reality. And the rhythm so many of us relatively privileged folks follow… work hard in jobs that don’t necessarily satisfy our soul and then take a few weeks ‘off’ a year to go somewhere warm and relax. Is it because we can’t live the lives we dream of, is it because it’s impossible, unrealistic, challenging, and ridiculous? Or is it because we have conditioned ourselves to believe this is the only way to live? What would happen if we chose to live differently?

I’m not talking about utopia here – although that has always sounded delicious to me. I’m talking about living our fullest potential. Coming home happy. Working in something we love. Giving back to a community we care about. Living life with true intention.

I read something yesterday about the the new moon this month and setting intentions for the next two years. I personally set a lot of intentions in my head, but they often don’t find their way to my life (you too, huh?). So, I was thinking, with us being knee deep in our 60 Days of Yoga (posted on Facebook, if you don’t live there BLESS YOUR HEARTS!, you can join us here for your 60 days now!), that maybe we should set some intentions. What if we believed our lives could be what we want them to be. I’m not trying to be all love and light, I’m genuinely trying to see what can happen if we set our minds on new tracks towards the lives we’ve always wanted. Do you think that kind of change is possible? I am beginning to. I’m not sure what it will look like, but I want to try, because the thought of getting old in the hamster wheel that most of us are on just doesn’t sound appealing.

Here’s an idea: Let’s write down our dreams, goals, hopes for the next two years. Don’t get too overwhelmed by the task, that’s not the point. Just speak from your heart. Be honest about what you really want in life. What would that look like if it manifested? Be realistic, but BELIEVE in your ability to manifest your true potential. Meaning don’t write ‘win a million dollars’ but instead write ‘create a solid financial situation through x,y,z.’ To give you an example I’ve started my list below (it’s not complete, but these are some of the things I’m thinking about):

Two Years Down the Road:

Live in a house with more land than house and create a big garden that supplies most of what we eat.
Learn how to raise chickens.
Go camping a lot and explore the natural world around us.
Have a photography show.
Have my own yoga studio or be teaching full time.
Go to India and Morocco.
Teach yoga to activists.

I’m setting these intentions and am committing to actively pursuing them. That doesn’t mean I sit back and just wait for the universe to drop it in my lap. This means I have to set smaller goals now and work on them.

I think it takes a lot of courage to pursue your fullest potential. I think it takes a lot of work and effort. I also think it is totally possible to live the life you’ve always wanted. I can’t count the number of people around me who complain about what is missing in their lives – I’m one of them. It’s exhausting. Instead, let’s shift our consciousness and literally jolt our life off course. Weigh what you have to gain or lose, be honest about the risks, have back up plans, but be BRAVE! Leave that old baggage at the door. You don’t need me to tell you that you are good enough and you deserve this.

It may not be sunny, but while I sip my delicious sunshine smoothie I plan to work on this two year plan and I hope you’ll join me. If you feel like it share it here! Saying it out loud is sometimes the best motivation there is.

So go make this smoothie now and start writing your goals. Let’s see where you can create light in your life.

Sunshine Smoothie:

With magic Peruvian Maca root powder and turmeric, this bright and refreshing smoothie is packed with hormone balancing power and cancer fighting goodness. This is my wake up and go do yoga smoothie. Careful, it’s kind of life changing (oh, but wait, that’s the whole point).

Ingredients:

3/4 cup frozen or fresh mango
1 banana peeled and cut into pieces
1-2 clementines peeled
1 small chunk of fresh ginger (about a teaspoon) cut into pieces
1 Tbs of organic Maca powder
1 Tsp of turmeric
1 – 2 cups coconut milk

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in blender. Blend on high for a minute or until everything is incorporated. Enjoy!

p.s. Here is a video to keep you motivated during our 60 Days of Yoga:

30 Days of Yoga. The Journey of Coming Home.

It’s Sunday, May 11th, 2014. It’s the 30th day of our 30 Days of Yoga together. It’s coincidentally Mother’s Day (that wasn’t planned, I swear). It’s rainy, gray, and cold out. I’m eating leftover pizza. No, really, I’m not the vegan shaman you were looking for.

At least I’m eating my pizza in deep reflection.

When I decided to do the 30 Days of Yoga, I really had no idea what it would mean. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive. I hadn’t practiced yoga regularly in a long time and I felt ill-equipped and out of shape. I spent a lot of time doubting that I could create or have a serious & transformative home practice. There was a lot of internal struggle. I also had to decide if I wanted to make the 30 Days public and if so, did I want to show people my yoga? What if it looked terrible? What if they saw the little belly that sags because I gave birth to the little dove? What if it’s just annoying fodder on the blogosphere or facebook? So much self doubt washed over me. What would it mean to change my life in this way and to share this journey in the hopes of helping others change theirs?

I decided my inhibitions were part of my ‘stuckness’ and I had to move forward with this work, to go public, to invite others to join me, and to record it all.

After all, part of this practice was intended to prepare me to teach yoga. But I still doubted…

The beginning was hard. My muscles ached. I felt wobbly and uncoordinated. I watched the videos and felt self conscious. But I stuck to it. Every time I posted a new video, a bunch of people would comment that they were inspired by them. Every day that I practiced I grew stronger. My feelings began to shift. My goal became clearer. My confidence grew. My practice expanded.

And you all jumped in. You were there with me even though we are miles apart. I could feel each and every one of you. I knew on the days I had struggles – maybe I was tired, sore, grumpy, short on time – I knew you had them too, but we were all persevering. Together. I could feel the energy this practice was creating. So many people were being inspired. People wanted more. People who have never done yoga wanted instruction. There was something about sharing my journey that made others want to start their own. I began to ask myself what I wanted to offer… what would the next step be?

My entire life has been a feminist initiative and my yoga is no different. I grew up in a Buddhist ‘community’ that was led by a male ‘guru’ who, while brilliant, also had sex with many of his his female students. The vibe in the community was patriarchal. I saw a lot of men in positions of power. I saw men making decisions. All in all it was merely a reflection of the outside world where people in general have very few examples of women gurus, teachers, and leaders. Then I grew up and I saw it all over again the yoga community. I studied Bikram yoga until I found out that he had been accused by many female students of sexual assault. Then we heard the news about John Friend – more sex with female students. The list goes on.

These are spiritual and religious teachers. These are leaders. These are people in positions of power. And they all abuse it. I’ve become so frustrated with the spiritual community and frankly the yoga community is so guilty of this shit too. Even beyond the teachers, look at Lululemon – a top selling yoga clothing company that degrades women’s bodies and blamed women’s thighs ‘rubbing together’ for the reasons their cheap fabric was see through and crap. The scariest part? Women still buy their clothes! Women still love the teachers I’ve mentioned above. Or, look at Elephant Journal, an online yoga and spiritual magazine whose 2nd most popular post of all time is a nude yoga video ‘shot by the husband’ & the all time most popular post involved ‘adult’ material because it’s about Playboy yoga! Elephant Journal talks about it as the ‘the ultimate challenge’ to traditionalist yogis (like I’m a stiff if I’m offended by Playboy yoga) & the idea that “as the Buddhists say, it’s our obstacles or enemies that are our best friends, provoking self-examination, questioning and growing pains” in reference to how folks might react to their posting of that video. Yes, you read that right. Let’s just kick back and allow the objectification of women in yoga because it provides good self examination. Gah! We live in a ‘man’s world’ STILL TO THIS DAY. Jesus. I’m tired. I’ve got a daughter to raise and it kills me that there are so few women leading politics and spirituality. And yoga goddamnit.

So that’s gotta change.

But there is also the feminist politics of what yoga has become and what it costs. Who is yoga for and who has access to it? Fortunately, a lot of folks are addressing this. There are many incredible female teachers who are not only challenging the idea of the yoga guru, but are taking the practice off the mat and into the world by doing community type work. There are great male teachers as well – even ones who get this sexist stuff and work with it on and off the mat.

I know, you are wondering what any of this has to do with our 30 Days of Yoga. Well, for me this journey was about expanding my view of what I wanted to contribute in this life. How is my yoga going to support social change? I’ve thought long and hard about creating a healing center for women’s human rights defenders, and that day may come, but until then I want to share this practice with everyone and I want to find ways to do it that are uplifting and supportive to everyone – no matter your gender, your sexual identity, your race, your income, your body shape, your past. I believe this practice has the power to transform the world. And if we all commit to a discipline like the 30 Days, I know in my heart we will see results that blow our minds. The power we hold to not only change our lives personally, but to change this world is magnificent and utterly unwielded. Yoga is a practice of coming home to who we really are. We must get up. We must start. We must take responsibility for ourselves. And then, only then, can we shake up a system that’s been in place for far too long. Maybe today it’s the system you’ve boxed yourself in with, maybe tomorrow it’s the system that’s controlled entire populations.

So, to this end, I’m starting with two things:

1. I’m inviting ALL OF YOU OUT THERE to join me in another 30 Days of Yoga beginning tomorrow, Monday, May 12th. We will do yoga for 30 minutes everyday for 30 days. I know you have 30 spare minutes because I’ve seen most of you on Facebook. I believe in your ability to do this. You might jump in for the first time ever using yoga videos at home or starting classes at a studio, or you might be joining from the past 30 Days. Awesome. Let’s do this. Let’s see who we can invite and see how many people can benefit from this. I’m also hoping to highlight certain asanas (poses) every few days as well to help folks understand the benefits. Feel free to ask me questions!

2. I have thought a lot about this and because there is so much interest from folks in my home town who would like some instruction, I would like to offer a donation based yoga class while I am in Boulder, CO this summer. I am on the hunt for a space that has a sound system. So if you know of anything let me know. Gah, it’s scary just to type this, but if I’m challenging you all to rise up and be the most authentic you possible, I best follow my own advice. Can I get a witness?

I am so proud of you all! And as Dr. Seuss once wrote: “But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a fighting creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.”

So on you will go. Love. Love. Love. and Yoga.

P.S. Here are my 30. I dedicate them to you.

Cacao, Peanut Butter, and Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie & Breakdancing.

When I was around 7 years old, my brother was a incredible breakdancer. He was featured on national television with his crew and frequently did festivals and street performance. My family made ‘break boards’ – cardboard board that folded up with a handle so you could carry your dance floor wherever you went. A few times my brother’s crew took me downtown to break with them. They would put out a hat for donations and set up the boom box and the break board. Then I would take stage and bust out the six step. Yeah, that happened. My brother took me to my first breakdance movies, Breakin’ and Beat Street and I was hooked.

When I do yoga, I’m often thinking about how similar it is to breakdancing. I look at yoga asana and see this slick dance. For years I have wanted to take hip hop or breakdancing. As you know from my other posts, I grew up with music and dance. I danced through my teens and 20’s. You could literally ‘find me in da club with a bottle full of bub’ for like 15 years straight. I killed it on the dance floor. I danced my way though the rave scene of the 90’s, I salsa, bachatta, and cumbia’ed my way through Central and South America. I busted out salsa during hip hop songs and I got low, got low, got low, got low. The later years were all about hip hop. My entire week would be a build up to a weekend of dancing. And it went on like that for a long time.

Dancing and drinking went hand in hand – a little too much, sometimes a lot too much. At some point I woke up with my last hangover, body sore form the dance floor, and a busted bike that I had ridden home drunk. The clubbing sort of stopped then. I realized in a very blunt way that I was dancing and drinking away the darkness of the world. I was experiencing secondary trauma from working on women’s human rights issues and the drinking was soothing the thousands of human rights horror stories that ran though my mind every night. I had to stop everything for a while.

I moved to Sweden and I stopped dancing.

That sentence kills me. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I love to dance. Sure, I dance with the little dove in our living room at 11 a.m. and I love it. But, it’s not the same as a night dancing away to beats that move every part of your body and soul. In the dark with lights flashing, moving, moving, moving. Sure I knew that clubbing wasn’t really what I needed all the time, but then where does one dance? I kept telling myself over and over that I would take a dance class, but I never did. The confidence I had as a dancer faded and my intimidation grew.

But today, after drinking this power smoothie that I’ll tell you about below, I looked up ‘basic breakdancing’ on the internet. And just like that I was doing the six step again. Yeah, it was in my living room and during my yoga practice. Yeah it was slow and clumsy. But damn, it felt good. You see, sometimes it takes a long time to climb out of whatever well we’ve fallen into. My well was a deep hole where my career as a women’s human rights activist used to be, it was a hole where all my family and friends in the States were, it was a hole of everything I had known myself to be. Wells are damn hard to climb. The sides are curved, wet, slippery, and high. It takes everything we have to inch our way up. I think I slid down a million times in the last four years. Slowly I would build the strength to start climbing again. Then, one day you poke your head out and look around and you see the world with fresh eyes. You see that you can dance again. So you do.

Holy biscuits and gravy! This smoothie is like a dirty little secret that you think you can’t share. For shame! It is so good it must be bad. But guess what? It’s not! It’s packed with goodness: raw oats, dates, cacao, chia seeds, peanut butter, almond milk and banana. It’s like desert for breakfast, but it’s healthy and gives you energy. Say what? Make this now and then go do the six step out of that well! Then come back and tell me about it. Love!

Cacao, Peanut Butter, and Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie:

Ingredients:

3-4 Ice cubes
1 organic banana
1/2 cup raw oats
2 Tbs Chia seeds
2 Tbs Peanut Butter
2 Tbs Cacao
1 to 1 1/2 cups almond milk or other non-dairy milk
5 soft dates

Directions:

1. Put everything in a blender and blend on high until smooth. I like the pour the almond milk in as the last ingredient as it helps prevent the cacao powder from poofing all over. Enjoy!

P.S. Here is a yoga video for inspiration. Day 27. You are brilliant.

Persian Inspired Cardamom, Rosewater, & Pistachio ‘Love Cake’ with Honey Rose Cream.

For the past two and a half years I’ve been a full time mamma. It’s easily been the hardest and most fulfilling job of my life. But the underbelly of me becoming a mother was a complete personal disregard for my own self care. I spent a good part of the first year with postpartum depression, although I didn’t really know it at the time. It was so very tough. I was completely embarrassed and confused by what I was feeling and felt very isolated and unsure of myself. I had gained a lot of weight during a pregnancy that was not at all what I had hoped and dreamed of. I also had to recover from six days at the hospital after four days of labor and a post labor operation that filled me with all the drugs I had managed to refuse during my hellishly long and difficult labor. The first few months were a strange time of falling deeply in love with this new being we had invited into the world and falling out of love with myself. I longed for my past – I felt like a stranger in this new body and role. Although I was constantly praised and loved by Mr. Wonderful, I wondered if I would ever feel strong and beautiful in my body again.

For a long time I was just waiting, waiting, waiting for some change to happen within me or outside of me. I walked everyday and the weight came off slowly over time, but I was still stuck in a conscious immobility that was born at the same time as the little dove. I made a thousand excuses for not being happy with who I was. The more I moved my body the better I felt, but the long, dark, winters, weren’t necessarily helping. I felt like I needed all these seemingly unattainable things to be who I wanted to be: six months at a yoga ashram in India with a legendary guru (preferably a woman guru – what?), another yoga teacher training, affordable yoga studios with welcoming communities, more experience, more this, more that, etc. It was a list that prevented me form movement. It was the: If I only had ____, I would finally be ____.

When I look around – especially at the yoga community (but not just), I see a lot of longing. There are so many folks who are searching for answers, gurus, the perfect pair of leggings (no, seriously). We become obsessed with the idea that if we only had the one thing, be it a teacher, the perfect handstand, or over-priced yoga clothes. Or maybe for some it’s finding the perfect partner, having a family, getting the great career, the perfect house, saving the world, etc. This longing somehow prevents us from being here now. It holds us back from this very moment. I spent ages wishing, dreaming, and longing for the perfect solution to my self doubt. All the while I had the power within me to make a change.

So what gives? Why are we always searching outward? What does it take to make us do the work ourselves, in the body we have, with the clothes on our back, and the money (or lack of) in our pockets, in our actual reality? It would mean being totally present in what might not be our dream world. The upside would be that we become unstuck and then who knows where we can go? The possibilities are limitless. It took me a long time to let go of the ashram dream and accept that for at least right now, my living room floor is where it is at. We live in a 400 square foot apartment with a 2 1/2 year old. It’s not much space, but surely enough for a yoga mat.

Self love seems to be the hardest lesson we have. I saw it over and over as a women’s rights activist – so much care given to others. We will risk our lives for others, but we will risk very little to move into the uncomfortable space of the now and make changes in our own lives. It is easy to care for others, to value their lives like pitchers of golden sunlight pouring life or prana into the dark cracks of the world. I think Milan Kundera put it best when he wrote: “On Monday, he was hit by a weight the likes of which he had never known. The tons of steel of the Russian tanks were nothing compared to it. For there is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one’s own pain weights so heavy as the pain one feels with someone, for someone, a pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echoes.”

So it’s understandable that it can be hard to find compassion for oneself. To lift oneself up. To fill our pitcher and pour ourselves forth to fill our own cracks. What would that take? Would it take a big risk? Would it take recognizing the guru or teacher within yourself? Would it take loving yourself as much as you love the rest of the world? For me it took starting this blog and within it staring our 30 Days of Yoga journey together.

I can barely believe the change that has occurred. At first I thought that the videos and the blog posts were just for me, no one is really out there listening right? But you were. And you joined me in this opportunity to make deep changes. And what a blessing! For the first time since the little dove was born I feel strong in my body again. I feel proud in my skin. I feel whole and centered. It’s beyond what I imagined and it happened without an ashram or a guru. Now, that’s not to say that gurus are unnecessary, just that you don’t have to wait to find one outside of yourself to make change happen in your life. We just passed 20 days, and all I really know is that I want to do this practice everydamnday. I look forward to it, I long for it. I can do things I never believed I could do. I even held handstand for at least two seconds today. Wow. The healing. The strengthening. The calm. The kindness. The self love. The quiet. The compassion.

I heard a great song recently that says: “Well you’re the guru now, so visualizing healing, yeah you’re the guru now so visualizing leading.” Here’s to the the guru in each of you, the next 8 days, and all that comes after. Get off the couch, shut your phone, move your body, make your own damn cake, and eat it too, repeat. LOVE.

Cardamum, Rosewater, & Pistachio ‘Love Cake’ with Honey Rose Frosting:

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cup unsalted butter
1 ½ cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon fresh ground cardamom
3 eggs, room temperature
1 Tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
¼ cup cream
1 Tbs rosewater

Frosting:

2/3 cup butter at room temperature
3 Tbs honey (I like Blue Gum honey)
4 Tbs boiling water
1 1/2 Tbs rosewater

Decoration:

Fruit or dried roses.
Heaping 1/2 cup of chopped, shelled, and roasted unsalted pistachios.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and flour your bundt pan. Set aside.

2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Slowly add sugar and vanilla and beat 2 minutes.

4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, and then beat for 2 minutes.

5. Add rosewater to milk and stir.

6. Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, add them in three parts alternating with milk and cream in two parts. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.

7. Bake about 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Wait 5 minutes and inverto onto wire rack. Cool completely.

Directions for Honey Rose Cream:

1. Cream butter until light and airy and then add the honey in two batches, beating well after each addition. Add the water one tablespoon at a time and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add in rosewater and beat just until incorporated.

2. Trim Bundt base to level if necessary, ice cake with an offset spatula and then decorate with shelled and chopped pistachios and fruit or dried rosebuds (optional). Enjoy!!

P.S. Here are a couple yoga videos for inspiration!

Quinoa Pesto Salad with Seared Chicken and Tomatoes & One Week Down.

This post is coming to you a little late. We’ve been out in the ‘country’ at Mr. Wonderful’s parent’s house – we are actually still here as I type this. What a treat to get out of the city! The quiet is tangible, the birdsong operatic. Sometimes you just have to get out of the concrete jungle and breath. The front door is flung open. The sun is pouring in the living room window and I can hear the family in the kitchen preparing dinner while Ella Fitzgerald sings ‘I’m beginning to see the light…’ in the background. It’s definitely spring in Sweden and I am over the moon.

It’s not just spring that has me swooning. Just like Ella, I too feel like I’m ‘beginning to see the light.’ And I am feeling some deep gratitude right now. It’s so deep, this gratitude of mine, that I almost want to ‘namaste’ you from my computer, but that would be, well, a little too much like this, so I’ll spare you and just get down to it. So grab your chia hemp smoothie, your overpriced mala, and your stinky yoga mat and sit down (in lotus preferably – wink wink) because I want to talk to you about the last 7 days.

It’s pretty amazing what can happen after just one week of a behavioral change. I’m so thankful for this 30 Days of Yoga and all of you out there that are doing it with me. I really feel you and it has made a tremendous difference in my motivation and practice, so thank you! As the first week came to a close I found myself wondering why I hadn’t been doing yoga every. damn. day. for the last few months. What changed? Why did I need the 30 Days of Yoga to remind me? I mean, let’s be honest, I know why I haven’t been doing yoga every. damn. day., but facing it and turning the corner are quite different than just ‘knowing’ why. We are creatures of habit and tend to get stuck in our habitual patterns and if our patterns go downtempo and lazy then we get into the custom of not doing our practice. Once we get in the cycle of not practicing, it’s quite hard to get back to it. And, sadly, that place of what we’ll call ‘unpractice’ is a pretty shitty place to be, right? You may not feel it fully when you are in it because the unpractice becomes a cocoon of layers and soft fluff – maybe it’s junk food, maybe it’s facebook, maybe it’s TV, but they all suck your time and energy and leave no room for what you need. That cocoon can smother you, but it’s a slow smother and you might not even feel your breath getting shorter until it’s too late.

But that’s not for us! No! And this is why we sometimes need to shake things up. Well, let me tell you that jumping back into yoga every. damn. day. definitely shook me up. Even within the first day I could feel the change in my body and my mind. There is a sense of pride and joy that comes from discipline, not to mention the endorphins you get from moving your body. I stand taller, I feel happier and stronger, I feel like my whole self. My daily practice invigorates me and makes me feel connected to something larger than my little reality – it helps me get out of my cocoon. I realize now that this is something that has to happen daily. The past seven days have brought me back to my discipline, devotion, and self care, things I had forgotten and neglected. This week showed me something else as well… it showed me how weak my body had become from my unpractice (and that was freaking scary!), but equally amazed me by showing me how fast my strength came back.

I know that many of you have been doing your daily practice as well and you’ve shared with me personally that you feel the transformation. I am so proud of you. I know that it’s not always easy to carve out 30 minutes just for you, but you are doing it and this is huge. I can’t wait to hear more about the changes you are experiencing. Please share your stories in the comments section to inspire and support everyone else who is doing this or considering it. Sometimes it takes a village.

I know this is going to sound cliché, but my clothes fit better and to be honest, my hunger cravings have diminished significantly. Now let’s not go overboard, I still LOVE food – that will never change. And this is why I have found it really rewarding to write about yoga and food during the 30 Days. I think when you commit to your practice your focus shifts and instead of wanting to hoag that bag of chips or shovel ben and jerry’s into your mouth, you may find yourself craving healthier food. This is the food that fuels our bodies instead of depleting them. This dish I’m sharing is a great example of a healthy, protein packed meal with the tanginess of walnut kale pesto and the sweetness of cherry tomatoes. A perfect way to celebrate your 30 Days.

Let’s march into week two together, hand in hand, or foot in hand depending on the yoga pose, and see where this 30 Days takes us. I have a feeling we’ve only just begun to see the light.

Quinoa Pesto Salad with Seared Chicken and Tomatoes:

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked quinoa
2-4 cooked chicken breasts
A big handful of ripe cherry tomatoes
1/2 – 3/4 cup kale walnut pesto (recipe here)

Directions:

1. For the chicken: Rinse and dry your chicken breasts. Salt and pepper both sides. You can of course add other spices that will go with pesto if you like. I chose to keep this pretty simple and let the pesto take the lead. I fried these on medium heat in a little oil and pressed the lid onto them to create the crispness you see. You should cook these for about 4-5 minutes on each side depending on the size of the chicken breast or until the juices run clear. Once the chicken is cooled down a bit slice into 1/4 inch slices.

2. Place the cooked quinoa (that has cooled) into a large bowl. Add the pesto, sliced chicken, and tomatoes and toss until the pesto is combined. Add more pesto depending on how dry the quinoa is. Enjoy!

P.S. Here I am on Day 7. I hope these little videos inspire.