District Butter Co.

I think the one thing that allows me to stay authentic to who Clare really is, is the fact that I always have a new project. It is really difficult to be ok with just one or two things. It rarely works for me. I make career shifts annually, maybe more, and I have a burning desire to always learn more. I'm not very good at traditional school, but like most people, if it's something that I'm really interested in, then I can absorb the information and be inspired. Currently I am a full time yoga teacher and Thai Massage Therapist. It requires a lot of emotional energy and you need to stay balanced in order to have this job. I am not claiming that I am balanced all the time, because I am not. I have ups and downs regularly, something I am working on. But massaging and yoga, two things that require physical labor, are very exhausting. And if I know myself as well as I think I do, i'll get bored and burned out if I do it too long without adding something else.

SO.

My other passion is nutrition and eating well. At home I like to cook a lot and experiment with new recipes. Most of the time I am just making things up, so it's really hit or miss, and many times it's hard to do the recipe the same twice. My most recent business endeavor is one of my favorite things... Almond Butter! My company is called District Butter Co. It's delicious. I have three nut butter options. One of them, the one I am most excited about, is my collaboration with local chocolate company, Ritual Chocolate. It's just Ritual Chocolate, almonds and sea salt. Yum. My other options are classic almond butter, and walnut almond cinnamon. "like" it on Facebook :)

I think the biggest thing I am learning from nutrition school is to make the cleanest and smartest decisions about food. So although I may not become a health coach, I am learning how to connect people with clean eating. I am excited to give me something healthy to eat. But the thing I love most about making almond butter, is that I get the chance to create something.

If I have learned anything in my life, it's that you must always create. Get your hands in something and be unique. It uses a different part of your brain and allows you to engage in a way that you don't always get to. For me in builds confidence and allows me to proud of something that nobody else is doing.

So, create! Get started with something you love. Be inspired.

Gluten Free

I have been wanting to go gluten free for a while. I think it is an awesome thing to do, and let me just set the record straight.... it's not trendy, it's smart. Gluten intolerances have always been there, it's like everything else, it just takes awareness and education to make the shift. I have been thinking about being gluten free for over a year, and for some reason I have struggled with making the switchover. I think maybe I am afraid of not being able to eat scones and croissants? But when I dig deep and think about why I am doing it, I know that I will feel so much better, and that I can find my indulgences elsewhere.

Today is day 3 of being gluten free, and I feel great! It's really not a challenging thing to do, and considering the health benefits, I think I'll stick with it. The best part is that it gives me an opportunity to play with new recipes, try new things, and really get creative in the kitchen. This morning, for example, my dear friend, Nita, inspired me to make banana pancakes. They didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but they were pretty tasty, and packed full of protein and potassium. When you are making gluten free baked goods, you can pretty much fill it with every delicious nutritious ingredient you can find in the kitchen. Flax, chia, almond flour, proteins, maca, raw cacao, all sorts of superfoods, and the plus in that those ingredients are what make the recipe.

Just as a recap for those of you considering going gluten free, anything that is derived from wheat, barley, and rye contain gluten. Stay away from those items and you are set. Check the ingredients on all packaging to make sure they are truly wheat free, and cook at home more!

9/10 times I make a smoothie for breakfast, but today was banana pancakes:

2 bananas, mashed
2 eggs
pinch of baking powder (aluminum free)
pinch of sea salt
cook in coconut oil
drizzle with raw honey

yummmyyy.

My Favorite Snack: Golden Beets

Although I am in nutrition school, practice yoga daily, make attempts at meditation, and do my best to have positive things in my life, I admit, eating my vegetables every day is tough! Most things I eat are pretty easy to prepare, but vegetables take a bit more effort to prepare... if you like to cook them that is. So although cooking vegetables is a little annoying and tough to do throughout the day, one thing that makes eating them way easier is making sure they taste delicious :) My favorite snack, appetizer, and side is golden beets... yummmm. Cook them just right and you will be hooked! Here's how:

Find a few delicious golden beets.

Maybe take a cool picture :)

Make sure you have what you need.... coconut oil, a good paring knife, Himalayan sea salt.

Boil the beets in a large pot for 50 minutes- 1 hour. Peel with your awesome knife and slice thinly.

Sautee in coconut oil on medium-high until slightly browned.

Transfer each batch to a nice big plate.

Lightly sprinkle Himayalan sea salt evenly over beets.

Option to add crumbled feta on the side.... it is sooooo delicious :)
Enjoy!

Homemade Honey Roasted Sea Salt Almond Butter

Make sure you have all the ingredients you'll need to make the best almond butter.

You'll need 2 cups of almonds, honey, coconut oil, and sea salt.

 I like roasted almonds to make my almond butter, but it's optional. If you choose so, set oven to 400.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Grab your food processor. Blend until flakey. 

Continue blending for a few more minutes until chunky and scrape from the sides. 

Blend until desired consistency.

Now add 1 tablespoon softened coconut oil, 2 pinches of sea salt, and 1 tablespoon of honey. 

Blend for a couple more minutes. Total blending time will be 10-15 minutes. 

Put it in a cute mason jar.

Keep it for yourself...

Or tie it up and gift it to a friend...

Enjoy!

Glorious Grains!

I've been really inspired lately by the nutrition school that I am in right now, and have been dying to write about the wonderful world of whole grains. I know I mentioned them in my last post, but I wanted to go a little deeper with that subject and talk in detail about why I am such an advocate for eating grains and ancient grains. I know that a lot of people struggle with a gluten intolerance, however, wheat is not the only grain in the world. Here are a list of non-gluten grains:

Buckwheat, aka Kasha
Quinoa
Brown rice/Wild rice
Amaranth
Millet
Teff
Sorghum
Corn

Andrea Beaman introduced me to the health benefits and importance of whole grains. Whole grains do a lot in the body. The bran and fiber content keep your colon moving, they increase your energy, balance blood sugar levels, and on top of it all, chewing grains more finely assimilates digestion... not to mention they fill you up. Grains include:

Enzymes
Iron
Dietary Fiber
Vitamin C
B-complex Vitamins

To take a look into history for a moment, it's important to recognize that grains have been central to every culture and region since the beginning of time. Brown rice contains the highest about of B Vitamins than any other grain... pretty cool. So something about grains that isn't very well known in the general community, and is new to me too, is phytic acid. There are so many articles written about phytic acid and how it is an anti-nutrient to your body. It has binding properties which extract minerals from your body. However, if you are relying solely on grains to get minerals and fiber, there is an issue... you should have high amounts of vegetables and leafy greens being absorbed into your body every day.

Here is the upside of phytic acid AND ways to reduce phytic acid.

Phytic acid is said to be a powerful antioxidant and is helpful in ridding the body of heavy metals and other toxins. One great way to reduce phytic acid AND is a good thing to do for easier digestion is to soak your nuts, grains, and seeds. Soaking these foods also reduces tannins and helps to decrease health disease and conditions. There are a lot of articles on phytic acid if you want to learn more, I know I am definitely still learning, so I recommend checking out this article that Andrea Beaman shared on her Facebook page:

http://wakeup-world.com/2012/03/04/the-benefits-of-soaking-nuts-and-seeds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-benefits-of-soaking-nuts-and-seeds

I hope this provides at least a small amount of insight on grains! I also understand that not everybody enjoys eating them, and that's fine too... but for those of you who are questioning the consumption of grains, I hope this was a tad educational.

Or Maybe Not...

I thought that the Whole30 was going to be this amazing life changing experience and I would prove to myself that I could do something like cut out 6 different variables from my diet and be a new woman. But honestly, that's not what I want. Here's the thing about me... I already know how to listen to my body. After one day of doing the Whole30, I quit. I know that's like no time at all, but cutting out things that I know I need to feel great didn't make sense to me. In school we are encouraged to live by bioindividuality. One person's food is another person's poison. The cleanse and what I am learning in school were contradicting themselves, and at this point in my life my biggest concern is developing my knowledge as best I can, and that includes trying on what I'm learning in class.

Whole grains for example. They are carbs. But they are also much more. How many people in your life do you know that stay away from carbs to save their life? It's completely ridiculous....but, I respect it if that's the way they want to eat. For me, I am a grain fan. I love how they make me feel, I love that they are full of nutrients and phytic acid. And more so, I love ancient grains. AND.... not all grains have gluten... so the gluten-intolerant card doesn't work all the time. Millet, buckwheat, sorgum, amaranth, kasha. So many yummy grains that are so so good for you. Don't be afraid to eat grains and the RIGHT carbs. Here is a new sandwich that I've crafted that I absolutely love:

Rudi's Ancient Grain bread- panfry in coconut oil or ghee
Sliced Turkey
Sliced Avocado
Thin-sliced Roasted Golden Beets
Vegannaise or Light Canola Oil Mayonnaise
Sea Salt

When I decided that I didn't want to do the Whole30 I definitely had a complex about it. But really what matters is always listening to your body, and alwasy reminding yourself that what works for one person will not work for the next. And that is why there are SO many different ways to eat.

So I am back to posting my favorite smoothies, the wonderful things I am learning and trying in nutrition school, and always motivating people to get out and do yoga and try new things!

You Can Do Anything For 30 Days: A Challenge

I am involved in a lot of things within health and wellness. I really enjoy being in the field, and I love studying health and nutrition, it excites me. I am always up to try new things and always willing to make a change, as hard as it may be. So for the month of September I have made a commitment. I will be participating in The Whole30. What is it? Well, it's not a diet, but more like a cleanse. It has similarities to the Paleo diet, but it has different rules. You can think of it more as a reset button for your body and your mind. Here is what I cannot eat for 30 days:

Sugar.
Caffeine.
Alcohol.
Grains.
Dairy.
Legumes.

And that's not all because it is more detailed than that. Like honey... NO HONEY!

For some reason we have decided that we cannot doing something this "crazy" for 30 days. I am not sure what the big deal is, our culture of confusion I suppose... too many things to choose from and not enough structure and discipline. But I am going to do this, and there will be struggles, but one day at a time and September will be over sooner than I know it. I hope.

The upside to all of this is that I am not the only one doing it. A good friend of mine has put all of this together and there are now over 30 other people participating in The Whole30. Knowing I am not alone makes it so much better.

So why am I doing it?

First: I believe everybody can always be healthier, including myself. I am always looking for ways to improve my eating habits, and by cutting out a lot of variables I will be able to resolve what works and doesn't work in my body.
Second: I am doing it because I have a future career in health coaching. I think it's really important to speak about something when you've had a first hand experience. Often, people voice their opinions without having a personal relationship with it. It's easy to talk, but challenging to lead by example.
Third: I have never fully committed myself to this sort of discipline. I've claimed it in the past, but I have never actually succeeded. My friend, Bri, can tell you that I definitely ate Froyo the whole time we were on the wellness cleanse. So I want to show myself I can do this, and clients.

So tomorrow, Sunday September 1st is the day. I will keep everybody posted on my progess including weaknesses and successes. You'll know everything.

Wish me luck!

The Most Amazing Vegan Cookie You Will Ever Eat: Created By Me.

This is the vegan cookie you have always wanted to eat but never could because it didn't exist until now. Please enjoy this fabulous-ness. And you can eat the whole batch, permission granted.

2 Bananas

1 cup raw oats

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/2 cup blended almonds and raw pepitas*

1/3 cup raw cacao 

1/2  teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup coconut oil (softened)

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tablespoon almond butter

Put all this stuff in a bowl and mix it.

Use coconut oil as a pan shortening.

Preheat oven to 375.

Bake 12-15 minutes.

Makes 6-8 cookies. 

Eat.

*blend 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup raw pepitas in chopper/grinder until fine. 

ENJOY!

Juicing: It's Trendy For A Reason

The health and wellness industry is a really funny world to work in. We put billions of dollars, literally, into helping people get healthy, and giving everybody the tools they need to reach their goals. One of the best ways to get healthy is to understand that it is not complicated. Eating well can be SO simple. Joshua Rosenthal, the owner and founder of Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I am attending school, says that it doesn't matter where you go, everybody on this planet knows that they should eat healthier. You hear this alot, "I know I should eat more vegetables." But are you eating more vegetables and fruit? That's where the line is.... everybody knows, but few are doing it. Finding the reason why you are not listening to what you know, is key. My diet is so simple. I make smoothies every morning, I juice mid-day, I eat good nutritious sources of protein, I enjoy food, and above all, I hydrate constantly. Most people on this planet are either sleep deprived or dehydrated. And there are SO many things you can do to fix that, and one of those things is juicing. 

Like many nutrition fads, juicing has spread to all corners of the world. And for a good reason. And let me set the record straight.... I do not think juicing is better than making smoothies. I get asked this ALL the time. I think they are equally important. It's very true, juicing takes most of the fiber out of the drink, but as long as you are conscious of getting fiber in other foods and meals, juicing will still hold its value. There are so many health benefits to juicing, and they vary from the ingredients you put in the machine. I highly recommend looking into the benefits of each ingredient you use for your drinks, because then you can determine what you really need. For example, making a beet-blend juice will give you nutrients that you wouldn't get from any other vegetable.... read the following, and you will eat beets every day. 

Beets are high in vitamins and minerals (potassium, magnesium, phosphorous), they serve as a blood purifier, and they have high amounts of sugar (healthy sugar) that are released slowly into the body give you lots of energy. I have also read that beets help with depression because of the betaine content.... not too bad. 

Invest in a juicer, I just bought one recently, and although it was costly, it has been amazing. And it's REALLY simple and takes only a few minutes. One of the best benefits of juicing is that it cuts cravings. When I juice in the morning my desire for coffee and caffiene decreases almost completely. Juicing diminishes your desire for carbs, breads, and sugary crap. I'm sure the side effects are different for everybody, but the common understanding is that you can more easily give up your guilty pleasures. Speaking of which, another result is that I feel more productive. It's just true.... when you are treating yourself with high care and putting your well-being at the top of the list, you get more things accomplished. Taking care of your health does not need to be time consuming and stressful; find easy and simple ways to get your vitamins and nutrients and you will see changes so quickly. 

Try out this beet juice recipe and you will fall in love, I promise...

1 whole beet

4 large carrots

1 whole cucumber

1 whole apple

Fresh ginger (cator to your taste buds, I don't like it too heavy on the ginger)

Eating Healthy: A Commitment to Better Living

I came from an incredibly active and healthy family. My parents were both athletes and they directly translated their love for the outdoors into raising my sister and I. Growing up we had a fire engine red, diesel Suburban...super intense. But having nature-dork parents and a huge car just meant that you could pack more camping gear and food for days in the back of the car. As much as I was exposed to the outdoors and parents who cooked dinner every single night, I still struggled with eating nutritious foods up until college, and if we are being honest, after college. I get it, really I do, veggies, proteins, less sugar, it’s all good for you. But all I wanted was candy and carbs :) Literally, fajita night at my house was amazing, and somehow my plate ended up being a tortilla with butter and cheese...because why would you ever need to put anything else in it? I was blessed with a high metabolism that allowed me to eat a lot of sugar, but it doesn’t matter what your size, it is ALWAYS better to eat clean. 

I used to go to yoga with my mom here and there in high school, and then every so often in college, but it wasn’t until I graduated and moved back home to Baltimore that I really got into a daily practice at a Baptiste inspired studio. I got hooked right away to the hot yoga, and made a commitment to go regularly. Conveniently, next door was a a smoothie bar that used healthy ingredients in their drinks, and my friend, Erica, and I, would stop in their together after sweating out all the yuck, and feed our bodies with nutritious goodness. I played tennis, rowed crew competitively, rock climbed, and so many other sports...but yoga is the one form of exercise that got me to want a healthy lifestyle...to want change, internally and externally, and to feel good all the time. I am now entering my first week at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a certified Health Coach. Nutrition, yoga, thai massage, and well-being, are my calling, so here starts the journey to spreading the word of healthy living to everybody. Teaching yoga allows me to share all my knowledge and all my gifts, just as everybody should, because as Amy Ippoliti says, “If you are not sharing your gifts, you are doing a disservice to everybody around you.” All of my contributions are gifts to you...and each post and each recipe are tools for you to use and share. The following is one of my favorite recipes for starting the morning...get into the habit of drinking smoothies for breakfast and see what it can do for your energy, your mind, and your body. 

Kale Smoothie:1 Banana1/2 Apple (I use Gala)3 large leaves of KaleHandful of Almonds1/4 cup Chia Seeds2 cups Almond MilkBlend until fine

Getting Prepared

So as many of you know I am readily preparing for Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I am so excited, it's beyond words. I have been reading and cooking and playing with new recipes and finding out so much about myself! So I have to give a lot of credit to my new best friend, Gwyneth Paltrow... yes, I said it, Gwyneth. She has helped me on my new health extravaganza in so many ways due to her new cookbook It's All Good. I was told by others that this book did not get great reviews, that apparently Oprah didn't like it.... whatever. I love it! It's all clean eating, teaching you basic kitchen skills, ingredients I have never used before, and it has pretty pictures. I have avoided dairy for the most part for a year and a half. I am alwasy playing with food and finding the best alternative to fit my lifestyle and most of all, my digestive system. It's not just about eating in moderation, but more about creating an awareness around what foods make you feel a certain way. Anyway, the following is what I ate today :) Maybe it will provide a little inspiration for you as well!

Breakfast: Creamy Avocado and Cacao Smoothie (credit to Gwyneth)
1 whole Avocado
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tablespoon raw cacao
1 cup coconut water
1 cup almond milk
blend and drink!

Lunch: Veggie Dumplings (from yesterday, also credit to Gwyneth)
Refer to It's All Good or email me at clareandrsn@gmail.com for this recipe, however I HIGHLY recommend buying the cookbook :)

Dinner: Garden Salad with Tofu
Leafy greens- kale, green, and a third of your choice
Chopped basil
Sliced yellow pear tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
3 thinly sliced pieces of tofu- fry in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until golden brown
Thinly sliced red onion- sautee in extra virgin olive oil until crispy
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to top

Yummy after-dinner smoothie:
1 tablespoon almond butter
1/2 banana
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 tablespoon raw cacao
1.5 cups almond milk
blend and drink!

It's All Good.

I signed into my blog the other day and saw that March was the last time I had written. I stopped to think about why I hadn't written anything, and why I had made this commitment to write if it wasn't going to happen. I have a tendency to hold onto guilt when I have broken a commitment. I think that's pretty common, but it's a tough one to let go of. I am actually dealing with that at this very moment pertaining to an entirely different situation. Isn't yoga supposed to teach you to "let go"? Well, it isn't working. Turns out there is a fair amount of conscious work put into letting go and creating change.

Over the past few months I have quit a job to be a full time yoga instructor and massage therapist, realized I didn't JUST want to do those two things, started a relationship, picked up a new boutique job, and enrolled in nutrition school. Wow. I have known for a long time that my life is alwasy shifting and that I am always making new decisions. And it gets pretty tiresome at times.... like I don't know what I want, or I can't commit to something. But really that isn't it. I realized that yoga has given me one thing that I overlooked. Presence. I make decisions and do things that I feel are right in the present moment... and later is when I find out if it worked. Alot of times it does, and many it doesn't. The question I try to ask myself is, "is this a healthy decision for me?" And if the answer is yes then I do it. The kicker is that you don't know if it's healthy until later...

So why is letting go so difficult? I wonder how many articles and conversations people have had about this very topic. It's not like you say, "I want to be done with this," and then you are done. There are steps.

1. Ask yourself why you want to let go of this thing.
2. Ask yourself what unhealthy component it is bringing into your life.
3. Explore what this thing does to you.
4. Why do you feel the way you feel when you are holding onto this thing.
5. Is the feeling you have a habit... aka does this happen often.
6. Recongize the cycle.
7. Make the decision to break the cycle and free yourself from the feeling.

This is usually what I do when I am having a hard time releasing stress, pain, anxiety, sadness, fear, etc. What I have realized is that when I am not letting go of something it's because I do not have a clear mind and I am not focusing enough energy on my own needs.

I take on a lot of projects every day. I decide new things quickly, and I am over old things quickly. Since this is my nature, I tend to get overwhelmed and at that point must stop and create balance once again. When you are balanced is when life makes sense and you can speak your truth.

As I am writing this post I am also reading Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook It's All Good, and at the end of her introduction she says this (even though it's food related I'm taking it to mean something more. "Falling off your plan is part of it, not a reason to beat yourself up. It takes time to make these changes. It's all good." Thanks Gwyneth. But isn't true? It is always all good, and if it's not, it will be.

This is exactly why I am going to nutrition school to become a Health Coach. Because the emotional habits we have in our lives affect everything. And the way we eat affects everything. Eliminate, cleanse, your mind, your body, and find what works, and what doesn't work. Because that's all you can do if you are looking to make a healthy shift.

Kale//Smoothies//Yum

After having quite the indulgant weekend, I decided to listen to my advice from last week and focus on nutrition. If you are like me and you are hungry ALL the time but also have issues with blood sugar, this will be good for you. I LOVE oats and oatmeal and granola and cereal and all that good stuff. With breakfast being the most important meal of the day, for many reasons, I usually try and eat some form of oats every morning. There is a downfall however, of eating that food group on its own. They say oatmeal is good because it has a low glycemic index, but ironically it spikes my blood sugar like none other and sends me into a quick hypoglycemic episode within twenty minutes. I have tried adding forms of protein, taking away added sugar, and even lowering my portion of oatmeal and piling it with chopped nuts. Still though it doesn't do the trick. I only have bad blood sugar issues in the morning so I decided it was time to play with options and still get my oats :) So that's where kale and a blender become your best friend. The following are my list of recipes for the week. They have completely changed the way I feel and think during the day....it's pretty awesome. Not only does my blood sugar remain balanced, but I also stay full longer and don't have cravings for pastries!!

Monday:

1 Banana, half an apple, half cup oats, 3 leaves of kale, part almond milk, part water.

Tuesday:

Half an avocado, 3 leaves of kale, 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup almond meal, 1 Tbsp raw honey, almond milk.

Wednesday:

Half an avocado, 3 leaves of kale, 1/4 quinoa, 1Tbsp raw honey, 1/2 cup blueberries, almond milk.

Thurdsay:

Ran out of Kale and made this guy. Half an avocado, raw cacao, handful of walnuts, 1/4 pepitas, 1 Tbsp raw honey, 1/4 coconut flakes, almond milk.

Friday:

1/2 cup raw oats, 1/4 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds), 1/4 coconut flakes, 1/2 an apple, 1/2 an avocado, dash of cinnamon, almond milk.

Many people have asked how I blend it, and I just use a Kitchen Aid blender that has a "liquify" button on it. Super yummy! Please post comments if you have any questions! You can also email me at lionheartwholeliving@gmail.com.

Clare's Top 5 Components of Leading a Healthy Life

Lately I have been working on myself a lot to move towards what I think is a healthy life. Obviously "health" is relative, but there are definitely some constants to that are applicable to all. The end goal of what is healthy is also quite unclear, but I suppose the journey to getting there is all about figuring out what works and does not work for you. I've found that there some components of leading a more fulfilling life are superficial and not so challenging, and then the some that are so hard it makes you want to say "fuck it." The following list are things that work, naturally, weeding out those that don't. The most challenging one I'll leave for the end...


1. Nutrition. Eating healthy is always the best way to go. Over the past year and a half nutrition has become a huge part of my life. I cut out dairy for various reasons aside from "it's for babies," and moreso because it makes me feel disgusting. I have decreased the amount of sugar that I eat, and most recently, try to stick to nonprocessed sugars such as raw honey, raw almond butter, coconut oil, and dark chocolate. It's easier than I thought, but I still have froyo cravings :) I eat meat almost daily, because for my as a climber and yogi I need the animal proteins, but I try and stay to leaner meats and fish. And most of all, KALE SMOOTHIES and tons of fruits and veggies. A must, trust me. (Also, ps, pepitas are my new favorite ingredient so chop them up in a chopper/grinder and you can throw them in anything! Salads, protein pancakes, oatmeal, etc).

2. Exercise. So the one thing that I have noticed, is that when I am single I exercise WAY MORE than I usually do. Regardless of my relationship status I work out daily, but now I stack different methods of exercising to twice a day sometimes and then have a pampering rest day. I am a Thai Massage therapist, a very useful tool for trade ;) So I sat down yesterday and realized that I have SIX active memberships. Here it goes... The Dailey Method, The Denver Bouldering Club, Root Yoga, The Yoga Mat, Kindness Yoga, and Core Power Yoga... who needs that?! Certainly nobody, but when you are in a funk and trying to work through deeply rooted things in your life, it is really nice to have options. My suggestion is always going to be choose something that you like to do. If you don't like doing it you won't do it... that's what I learned from being a personal trainer. So my week now consists of climbing 4x a week, Dailey Method 2x, Yoga 3x, and if I'm feeling up for it then maybe a little cardio.... maybe. But it's cold outside... So if anybody wants to try rock climbing hit me up because most exercise is a total snooze fest and this is actually fun and kicks your ass.

3. Cleanliness. This might seem like a weird one, but it is so important. When I say cleanliness, yes I am definitely talking about hygiene, but I am also talking about your freaking apartment! When you keep things clean and tidy, even down to your floors and bathroom, your mental sanity becomes even. I think we can all agree that cleaning is a great distraction from being a productive human being, but that's not the point. You want to be able to maintain everything in your life, so making sure your apartment is clean and the clothes are folded means you will get things done on your to-do list!

4. Surround Yourself with Goodness. Weeding out people that are "no longer serving you" (as the yogis say), is so so important, but it is not just people that one needs to eliminate in times of personal reflection and growth, but also environments. Humans these days have a tendency to get into the same routine on a daily or weekly basis to the point where it almost becomes numb. I understand that this is a huge generalization, but to some degree we all do it. When the numbess of our jobs, friends, relationships starts to hit, that means reevaluating is in order. Numbess to me is a negative thing, an uninspiring place to be in your life. This year I had to get rid of a lot of relationships that were having a negative cause and effect syndrome. They started out interesting and quickly went stale. The stale factor is the worse because it makes you feel stuck. So get rid of it. I find that if you are in a position to be single than you should absorb every ounce of it because it's the best time to discover who you are and what you like and don't like. I think that in the midst of a relationship is when discovering your fullest potential is the most challenging, so as a single gal I'm soaking it up. Part of surrounding yourself with goodness is finding the ability to say "no." No to friendships, no to dating, no to extra shifts at your job, no to the same old shit. Start saying no and see how it can create a really honest way of speaking. My life has started to shift just because of the fact that I choose carefully very inspiring relationships. If you are not bringing anything to the table, I'm not interested. #sorrynotsorry (just for you Griff).

5. Break Patterns. I think this has been the most challenging component of leading a healthy life for me. Singledome has allowed me to be really aware of my habits that haven't really served me well in the past. Breaking patterns is hard because it makes for a really vulnerable state in your life where everything just seems generally heavier and harder. The past few months have felt really hard for me but I have recently gotten out of my "fuck you" funk and feeling much lighter. You know when you are seeing the effects of breaking a cycle when you move past the dark phase and things because light. At a young age you are cultured to be a certain way and then as you get older it's almost like you are reversing a lot of habits that were instilled so long ago. Choosing to operate at a different caliber requires being present at every moment. Being present to your actions and behaviors creates awareness. That is when change starts to occur. The biggest thing I have noticed about the particular changes I have made and patterns I have broken is that it has brought me a lot of happiness. I had a friend tell me recently that your life becomes complete and truthful when you think inside the realm of, "is this decision going to bring my happiness?" If the answer is yes, then that's your path. Coming into a new way of thinking that will bring you happiness will directly enhance the desire to break patterns... at least that's what I think :) #speakyourtruth

The Forrest Experience: Two

Saturday February 2nd: Forrest Yoga 10-12 @ Root Yoga. The follow-up to experience number one.

As I said in post one about meditation and spirituality, it's all still pretty new to me. In class yesterday Cheryl wanted to start with a few minutes of meditation. I wasn't scared or threatened by this, but I also didn't know what it really meant. "As you sit tall in your sit and close your eyes, I just want you to be with whatever thoughts come into your mind. Try and avoid labeling those thoughts with 'good,' 'bad,' or anything like that, just start to notice what appears." Cool, I can do that.

As I sat there on my block listening to my thoughts, the first thing I started to do was judge them. I got frustrated for a brief moment, and then realized what I was doing, stopped, and just let them be what they were, whether I was labeling them negative or postitive. I just said, "that's ok." After a few minutes of silence, Cheryl begins speaking. "Yoga is sacred movement." It was those words that made me know class was going to be awesome.

"Yoga is sacred movement."

The theme around sacred movement: Befriending Your Body.

Cheryl has a way of speaking that has an incredibly calming affect, and to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what her theme meant until the end of class and we were in head to ankle pose. But I'll get to that later. My first thought when listening to what we were going to do to befriend our bodies was that it brought me back to the very beginning of Ana Forrest's Book Fierce Medicine, which I have written about before. In that first section she advices you feel what's happening in your body instead of feeling wrong about it, like we are cultured to feel. So in class, whatever came up for me through my asana practice I decided none of it was wrong. All the bullshit that we deal with in our every day lives with friends, lovers, school, work, whatever, starts to store in our bodies and makes it a hell of a lot harder to deal with later if we allow it to build. So I made the conscious decision to start clearing out all the stuff that was weighing me down. First step, along with being open, was to not feel wrong for my emotions.

Yoga does a lot for our bodies. It clears the mind of emotional junk, opens up space for something new, and physically rids the body of pain and suffering. Cheryl made a clear distinction in class that for me, helped me understand how to connect mind body and spirit. She said, "Yoga is different from exercise in the way that it connects with the mind, which is very different from the brain." That distinction is what cleared up the link between mind and body for me.

So back to yoga as sacred movement and befriending the body. Two very grounding concepts. As class was themed in the beginning, I wasn't sure how this was going to be accomplished, because I wasn't sure how I was going to do it. Cheryl cued the breath a lot throughout class as a way to befriend the body, but it wasn't until head to ankle pose that it made sense. Obviously I know how to breathe and get deep into poses, but it was more than that. It took a challenging and frustrating pose for me to realize that there was a lot of stuff I was holding on to. That pose was a direct reflection of what was going on in my personal life with my break up. I had been dumped and left in great confusion and heart ache. I've spent a lot of time being angry and frustrated with the situation, and even MORE time trying to figure out why. That is head to ankle pose for me. So I'm in this pose, and Cheryl says, "let your breathe facilitate communication with your body." Communication... that word was so strong. Communicate between your thoughts and your asana. I stopped struggling through the pose and I softened my mind, strengthened my breathe, and not only did the pose stop being frustrating, but I released a lot of anger that I had brought in off the mat. Essentially, I surrendered.

So I have decided that that will be my theme from here on out...

Surrender.

The moment you can surrender to what is happening in your mind, your practice, and in your life, you can start the let go and create space for something not only new, but serving.

At this point I have decided to be free of my last relationship, made a conscious decision to heal, and move forward with all the good things I have set out to do in my life.

Yoga helps me stay connected with what is present and true in my life, and Forrest Yoga gives me the tools to do that. I have a good friend, Brit, who is recently into Kriya Yoga and meditation and so it's something I am going to incorporate into my life... for the first time ever.

The Forrest Experience: One

Saturdays have started to look really similar week after week, not in the boring routine kind of way, but in the most interactive way a Saturday could be. I wake up, make my coffee, eat my protein pancakes (yum), and prepare for Forrest Yoga with Cheryl Deer from 10-12. They call it Yogi Playground. Sometimes if I am feeling ambitious I will take Lucinda's 8am at Core Power Yoga beforehand... on a good day. This past Saturday was an especially good yoga day. I'm trying to think back to my mood before I went into class and I cannot for the life of me remember how I was feeling. Your mindset always effects the quality of your practice. That is the very reason why I enjoy Forrest Yoga so much. The healing qualities of Forrest allow for an easy change to your mindset. To be completely honest about what is currently happening in my life, I recently lost somebody that I really cared about. You guessed it, a break up. When two people break up, a lot of negative emotions typically arise. Self-doubt, fear, sadness, shame, what have you. In this particular situation however, it has given me a lot of  strength to see my own true nature, and the true nature of other people. What I will put up with, what I won't, and the complete understanding that healing is a choice.


If you are somebody working on personal growth, or making the conscious decision to heal, the first step is to be open. Cheryl's class taught me so much about myself that I didn't know was possible. I have always rejected meditation as a way to connect with the mind, because I always just said, "it's not for me." Well, that actually doesn't make any sense. Meditation is available to everybody, if you want it. We started the practice last saturday with pranayama, breathing. It was a style of pranayama I had never done before. It's called bhramari breathing, or the humming yoga breath. The physical purpose of bhramari breathing is to reduce stress or fight/flight response. In the spiritual sense it clears the chakras in order to return to a balanced state. The word Bhramari comes from the sanskrit word bhramar or Humming Black Bee. Starting at the crown chakra, close your eyes, sip in air to the top, and then hum as you exhale. As you breathe in this exercise, focus your breathe to each chakra all the way down to your root chakra. It's a really calming pranayama and set the mood perfectly for class.

Last week Cheryl themed about connecting with spirit. As we breathe through our asana practice, and clear our energy, the more we can visualize our spirit and create wholeness. Let me just start by saying that spirituality is new to me. I say that because it is always something that has been there, but never really resonated with me... I am now understanding that it's because I haven't found something to resonate with. I grew up Episcopalian and went to church every week, and although it's something that my parents have chosen for themselves, it's not something that I have ever truly connected with. There is no bad or good in that, it's just personal. I have taken many Forrest classes with Cheryl, but this first introduction to connecting with spirit is what jumpstarted my own transformation to personal growth. I left that two hour class with this sense of deeper understanding for myself...almost like I really knew who I was and what I wanted/needed in life. I by no means think I am enlightened, but by allowing myself to be open to this new method, I can now work towards feeling whole and grounded. I can't take this blog post home yet and have it make sense to how I'm dealing with this break up until I write post number 2 of The Forrest Experience...being written....now.

It's Always At Starbucks...

I get it. Going to local coffee shops is awesome and sitting at the hipster joint with your espresso is the cool thing to do.... I know because I was that way for a long time too. I didn't touch a Starbucks for 3 years. I was the anti-Starbucks snob. Liberal arts colleges can do that to you. But if you want to get real with it, Starbucks not only has great coffee, but it also attracts every type of human being you have ever seen walk this earth. Moms, hipsters, jocks, the elderly, kids, punks, and bums. It's cuz it's good, k? All those people you are bound to run into somebody interesting. The point of this is not to rant about my love for Starbies, but to be a segue into my awesome day.

This weekend I was in Keystone enjoying the mountain air and getting over a cold. It's beautiful there. I started nutrition school two weeks ago at Nutrition Therapy Insitute and haven't really done much to be honest. I got sick during my second week, but thank the lord all the notes and homework is online and I know what to do. So I tripped it up to the mountains and hit up a Starbucks to catch up on homework and reading (one of my assignments is to read Biology of Belief by next week, like what? the whole book? yeah). So I walk into the coffee shop, and of course its crowded and every table is full, so I turned on my social skills and asked a really nice looking lady who had a table for two if I could share with her. She said yes. We made some room, I got my coffee, and I laid out all my books preparing to get work done. I had just bought notebook paper, a Hello Kitty binder (shut up, it's awesome), and new Pilot pens and was ready to take notes for chapter 2. Then some guy behind me asked me, "Oh wow, 'Quantum Healing' huh? Is it good, because I have been wanting to read that!" Of course I haven't started that book yet but his snooping at my table started a great conversation. Not between the man and I, but the nice lady with whom I was sharing the table. She has read all of the books I had out, except the Tao of Physics, because nobody has read that book. Her name was Kimmy, but I didn't find this out until later. She said she was an integrative nutritionist, among other things. We got to talking and I asked her what other thing she did. Wow. Let's see, Reiki, massage, energy healing, intuitive reading, chakra work, and more. So obviously we had a lot to talk about.

I told her that I was a Thai Massage Therapist and Yoga instructor and was going to school for holistic nutrition but I wasn't quite sure what I would do with it yet. I explained to her that I have a big interest in chakras but don't know where to start. I took down some names and after that the conversation just flowed so effortlessly. After about ten minutes of chit chatting about what we did and how we got into it and where we were from, she closed her laptop, I closed my book, and time got lost.

For two hours we talked about our beliefs around food, our childhood, her oldest child who has recently developed some unknown health issues, what I thought of that situation, my relationship with my sister, her new husband, and hopes and dreams for both of our small businesses. Somebody I have never met before, a complete stranger, and she tells me "you are so comfortable to talk to, I feel safe with you, you are compassionate, and that is why people will come to you." Some seriously kind words. Going to get some homework done in a public environment turned out to be one of the most authentic experiences I have ever had. Talk about taking your yoga off the mat. This woman didn't just give me an authentic connection though, she relit my desire to want to learn about nutrition on a deeper level and what my purpose around it is. I gained so much from that conversation, a rare day that will never happen again.

We exchanged information and decided to keep in touch. It's interactions like these that make me remember why I have made all the decisions in my life and that where I am is exactly the right place.