What Do You Think of Fat People?

As an openly gay man, I am blessed to live in a community of open-minded individuals who don’t view homosexuality as a problem that needs to be fixed.

As a country, we pride ourselves for the progress we’ve made against prejudices towards sexuality, race, gender and religion. And yet, we have transferred our prejudice to a new culture: the one we’ve named ‘fat people.’

Educated by the (extremely outdated) belief that weight loss is a simple matter of eating less and exercising more, we equate excess weight with a lack of willpower and laziness. We’ve turned weight into a moral issue. Our prejudice toward ‘fat people’ has us believe there is something not right with them and it needs fixing.

Weight has become an issue of ‘good vs. bad’ and those who carry it are unfortunately labeled as bad. Weight has become our symbol of weakness, immorality, or disconnect.

While the increasing percentage of obesity is definitely something that needs to be addressed, the shame and judgment we’ve attached to weight are only making matters worse.

An annual international obesity conference constantly reaches the same scientific conclusion: science is unable to conclude if excess weight is a contributor or factor of disease, a symptom, a non-factor to disease, a health benefit, a psychological matter, or a genetic problem.

Excess weight can be the result of many factors. Many Americans who try to follow a healthy diet unknowingly end up deficient in fat, protein, macronutrients, or calories.

Weight gain can also be the direct result of chronic low-level stress. Just the chemical reactions produced by our own internal self-deprecating dialog, are enough to impair fat burning and muscle building capabilities.

Culturally it has been become extremely difficult to love ourselves and truthfully accept others. As a culture that has little understanding of the wisdom of the heart and gut, we have long forgotten the language of the body.

Our individual weight and our cultural crisis can be a great blessing if we allow it to be. It mirrors our limited belief systems about self and others and nudges us in the direction of individual and communal maturity.

As a disembodied culture, we’ve engineered foods, advertising, and even medical procedures that promote nothing but intolerance. Hating our bodies into weight loss has produced far more emotional scarring than physical results. It is time to change our approach. If attacking weight had worked, we wouldn’t be grappling with the same symptoms for decades.

Attack can only result in more stress physiology, the same physiology that weakens metabolism. The path informs the destination. We must relax into a journey of self-acceptance. It is vital (and very possible) to love ourselves and others while still in a body we may not love as much.

Each time we allow the mind to settle in the narrow constraints of ‘good versus bad’, we eliminate any potential dialog that might actually lead to soulful growth.

Opening A New Yoga and Health Studio!!!

After more than 7 incredible years of teaching yoga and operating Max Sense of Self out of Inner Strength Studios, I am proud and excited to announce my transition into opening a new yoga studio in Jamaica Plain, JP Centre Yoga.

Embracing diversity and honoring that which connects us all, I am co-founding this studio with the intention of establishing a community model that will celebrate physical, emotional, and spiritual awareness for JP and beyond.

I am both a yoga and JP enthusiast. Just as with yoga, the JP community has always offered me a sanctuary of spirit in an urban environment.

JPCY (“gypsy”) offers both hot and moderately-heated yoga. Our classes are all-level and flow-based (Vinyasa,) influenced by the various styles and practices that yoga has to offer.

We are located at 670 Centre Street, just above City Feed.

We plan on opening our doors in the early fall of 2012 and will be announcing the official date via our newsletter and facebook. Please like us to stay updated regarding construction progress, photos, and promotions. We will be announcing our AMAZING staff of teachers soon!

We’ve got incredible pre-opening specials available on our (temporary) website! Purchase a 10 class card for only $49, or an entire year of unlimited yoga for $800. Visit our website to purchase now.

With regard to my nutrition, shiatsu, and private yoga services, I will keep to the same schedule in the new studio location once we open. Until then, all sessions will be held at Inner Strength.

Looking forward to seeing you there!!

Collard Green Spring Rolls

 

These rolls will hold together well so you can virtually stuff it with what ever you like. These are the things I chose to put in:

Spring rolls: (makes 12)

6 collards greens
1/2 red pepper, julienned
2 scallions, julienned
1 cucumber, peeled, julienned
1 avocado, sliced into strips
1/2 packet of tempeh (4oz)
2 Tbs minced fresh basil
2 Tbs fresh cilantro
Vermicelli rice noodles, boiled and cooled.

Boil a deep pot of water. Dip the collard leaves into the pot for 1 minute. Immediately rinse the collards with cold water to stop the cooking process.
Pat each leaf dry with a towel. Remove the stem by slicing the leaf into two equal sized "wrappers."
At this point you should have all your fillings of choice prepared.
Place the filling close to the end of a wrapper, leaving some space between the filling and the edge of the leaf. Fold the bottom corner over the filling and then begin to roll the wrap up (it's like rolling a burrito.)

Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup almond butter
1.5 Tbs Braggs Amino Acid (or Soy sauce)
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
3 Tbs water

Whisk all ingredients together.

Vegan Caesar Salad

Having picked up some Romaine lettuce at the Somerville Farmers Market, a caesar salad was destined to happen.

Dressing (dressing adapted from Living On Live Food/ Alisaa Cohen)

In a Blender combine:
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs Braggs Amino Acids or Soy/ Tamari Sauce
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 big garlic clove
dash of cumin
1/4 cup fresh parsley
Blend everything but the parsley. Add parsley to the blender and blend again.

Croutons

1 packet of tempeh (8oz,) sliced into strips, 1/8" thick
Sesame oil for frying

Fry the strips in a wide frying pan for 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
(the picture shows a few of the tempeh strips on the salad. Most of them were cubed into squares after frying and mixed in with the lettuce.)

Mix crouton and dressing with 2 heads of Romaine (you might have dressing left over.)


To learn more about tempeh: check out this article about soy products

Negative Body Image: On a Scale of 1-10... No Scale

Imagine a culture in which a society logged onto computers to measure how it felt. A time, in which people were so disassociated from their bodies they would need a machine to dictate their emotional state.

That time is here. Culturally we have reached a point of disembodiment. We step on the scale and let a number tell us how we feel about ourselves. We measure grams and calories as an assessment of how healthy we feel paying  scant attention to how the foods we eat (or don’t eat!) actually make us feel.

97 percent of women have at least one self-loathing "I hate my body" moment per day regardless of their shape or size.

We all have an intuitive understanding that love of the body and love of life are inseparable. Our bodies are the gateways to our spirits and when we retaliate against the body, we lose the path to our deeper sense of self and purpose.

While modern culture measures feminine value by appearance, the deeper feminine aspect (within men as well) is about being embodied, ever changing, sensuous, heart-felt, soul oriented, and nourished.

When we feel that our bodies don’t meet the cultural expectations, we abandon them and live from our intellect (which isn’t always the kinder of the two!) By abandoning the body, we abandon the true feminine self.

Hating  the body, we pull out of it emotionally, energetically, and metabolically.

Matters of weight, impaired digestion, fatigue, low immunity, mood swings, depression, or anxiety, often originate in disembodiment. The stress physiology stemming from our negative body image can cause the diminishment of calorie and fat burning capabilities.

We must learn to be in our bodies on their own terms. We can love our bodies and still want it to change them. But if we say to ourselves “I’ll only love you when you look a certain way,” it is like saying “I’ll only get in the car after it reaches its destination.” It’s an impossible journey if we’re not present for the ride.

Eliminate the practices that support the surface feminine. De-number yourself so that you’re not relying on something outside of you to tell you if you’re okay. When it comes to body image numbers numb us.  Looking to a machine to tell us how to feel is a form of insanity.

Eat for nourishment, not for appearance. Take away the scales and feel each day how your body feels. Move in ways that feel therapeutic (stop hating yourself into exercise and move in ways that you enjoy,) slow down during meals (yes the benefits far outweigh the discomfort,) and take a break from friends who self-loathe.

How many grams of love in a single serving?

Anna Lynne McCord: How Authentic Living Heals Body Image

I first heard of Anna Lynne McCord (an actress on the new 90210) a few weeks ago when she decided to tweet her face without makeup, writing: “I woke up this morning and decided I’m over Hollywood’s perfection requirement. To all my girls (and boys) who have ever been embarrassed by their skin! I salute you! I’m not perfect – and that’s okay with me!”

This got me thinking about the relationship between body image and authentic living.

Most of us hide our authenticity. We hide our blemishes, our curves, our insecurities, and our feelings.

When we are being inauthentic, we instantly shut down to divert away from the surfacing discomfort. Pretending to be anything rather than what we are numbs us out. Similarly when we hate our body, we abandon it. We divert into our intellectual selves where feelings can be concealed.

We have the same coping mechanisms for both negative body image and inauthentic living. We emotionally and energetically disembody.

Inauthenticity comes when we feel we can’t speak our minds with our superiors, when we pretend things are not hurtful even though they are, when we hide our vulnerability, when we smile and say “good” when people ask us how we’re doing.  

The numbing effect of inauthentic living conceals our connection to the greater source. Our path to purpose resides within the body and with no connection to it; the body transforms from being our greatest tool to being our greatest hindrance. Intuitively connecting purpose to body, we channel our dissatisfaction with not feeling purposeful into body hate. 

The more authentic we become, the more embodied we become. Embodiment is the number one method for healing negative body image.

While Anna Lynne McCord may have spoken up about body image, the embodiment didn’t come from revealing her looks, it came from speaking her truth. By speaking her truth, she took a step forward into self-acceptance, inspiring others to do the same.

I guess 90210 still has something to offer long after the days of Brandon and Brenda Walsh.

Quick Bread

When it comes to the health of our intestinal tract, when choosing a bread, the slow and natural leavening of a sourdough bread is the way to go.

However, lunch time is soon and some bread would be nice...

Having no bread in the house and left over packets of flour sitting in the pantry, why not whip up a quick and easy loaf?

The flours I used where the ones I happen to have around, but most types will work.

To make 2 loafs: 
2 cups sprouted wheat flour
2 cups whole spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbs honey
2 Tbs ghee  (or other oil)
Pinch of salt
1.5- 2 cup almond milk (or other)

Preheat oven to 450.
Whisk together honey, milk, and oil.
Mix together flours, salt and baking powder.
Gradually add the liquid mixture to the flour until a dough is formed.
Split and shape into two loaves (they will be rather small in size.)
Bake for 20 minutes.

Consciously Moving Through the Game of Life

Yoga speaks of the universe as composed of two basic realities: The realm of Pure Spirit Consciousness (Parusha) and the realm of Material Phenomenon, which observes and experiences life (Prakriti.)

Many classical teachings tell us that union with the divine is reached by freeing ourselves of our material body and reabsorbing back into Pure Consciousness.

Some interpretations suggest that life’s purpose is just to get the hell out of this reality.

But what if the embodied life is a sacred gift rather than something we need to escape from? While we are all innately interconnected as a whole, did the universe not willingly choose to manifest diversity?

The tantric tradition teaches that the universe purposefully concealed itself within us for no reason other than its own delight of rediscovering itself. Like a game of hide and seek; consciousness hides for the fun of being found. This is the beauty of duality. It is only through the limited that the unlimited can be known. We are the reflection of divinity. The body is not inferior to spirit; it is the gateway to it.

It is not by disengaging from our surroundings that we learn the most, but from observing our relationship to them. We learn so much about ourselves through our relationships with others; our partners, families, supervisors, food, bodies, and the planet.

We embrace diversity to find a greater unity.

‘You are the point the universe is trying to make.’ (Douglas Brooks)
The universe manifested itself as you. Ah, you are sacred.

Everything is pure just as it is. Even when we feel separated from all that is divine, it is that feeling of separation that fuels the desire to connect. What we can feel, we can heal. The obstructions are part of the sacred 'hide and seek' design.

There is nothing from which to free our selves. We are already free. But what are are we attaching our freedom to? After all, we are equally free to attach to our fears as we are to our divinity.

Home Made Almond Milk

1/2 cup Almonds
1/4- 1/2 cup Pitted dates (or equal amounts of maple syrup)
1 Tbs vanilla bean
5 cups of water

Put everything in the blender and blend till smooth. Run through a cheese cloth or a fine strainer and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

The dates produce a creamier date which is great if you have the milk on your own. If you use the milk for cereals, you can use a lot less sugar as the sugar in the cereal will be enough to sweeten the meal.
This tastes great in teas too!

The Benefits of Juicing

Fresh Juice! I love juicing. I feel like every cell in my body says thanks when I take the first sip.

Juice is  yet another controversial topic in the world of nutrition. Nutrition brings controversy because nature encourages diversity. Amen to that!

Juicing can be extremely healing; especially for those of us who forget that when eating, chewing precedes swallowing (hey there fast eaters!). The juicing process makes the nutrients of the vegetables and fruits readily available for absorption. Juicing (and blending) saves the body digestive energy, allowing more energy to be put towards healing and detoxification.

Especially with juicing greens, the separation of chlorophyll from its fibers will allow for easy assimilation of this green sunlight energy. Chlorophyll is the Fast Track to our main sources of life: oxygen and liquid sunlight.

Most store bought juices (unless otherwise noted) have been pasteurized and no longer contain the nutritional benefits of fresh juice. Almost all contain more sugar than nutrients.

We have to be careful with juicing to not have too much sugar. When juicing fruits and vegetables, all the fiber is removed. Nature is perfect; she packages the perfect ratio of fiber to sugar in our fruits and vegetables to keep our blood sugar levels somewhat stable. However removing the fiber (which is there to keep us full) can easily flood our system with too much sugar.  Beware breakfast orange juice drinker… You could be setting yourself up for a crash with sugar or caffeine cravings later in the day.

While we will benefit from juice’s high levels of readily available nutrients, eating solid foods is what will keep the digestive system strong as these nutrients  move more slowly through the digestive track. Eating fibrous vegetables gives the body time to break down and absorb the nutrients it might miss in the quick assimilation of juice.

It is also recommended to “chew” your juice when drinking in order to create some saliva, an important component to digestion.

The most important thing to be aware of when juicing is that you do not juice too much fruit or sweet root vegetables. I recommend fruit or sweet roots (like carrots) be no more than a third of your juice. This can be difficult because, admittedly, carrot juice is really delicious! Eventually you will use even less than a third, as you get more adventurous (you can juice most anything.) The sweet juices are great as a treat, but minimizing the sugar content will prove to be the healthiest way in the long run.
The greens are miracle workers but can sometimes be bitter. Lemons are great to add to every juice; the citric will neutralize the bitterness (not to mention the vitamin C!).

There are many juicers our there for purchase. If you are new to  juicing, cheaper juicers work quite well. Keep in mind that most basic juicers require you to drink your juice right after juicing. Not to worry- juicing and clean up takes me a total of 5(ish) minutes.

Or you could try juicing the old fashioned way… chimpanzees often chew fibrous foods to remove the juice before discarding the fiber, and gorillas juice by filling their mouths with leaves and fruit, using the mass of leaves to press the juice out of the fruit, then discarding the fiber. Personally, I’ll keep using the juicer.

Juice Bars Around Boston

Boston is not yet abundant in health food restaurants but there are unpasteurized juices in various locations:

JOOS: delivers juice to a depot near your home after you order it online. The product is organic and of very high quality, juiced fresh before delivery.

Prana Cafe: in Newton/ Watertown

Red Lentil: Watertown

Life Alive: Cambridge

Blue Shirt Cafe: Somerville

570 Market: South End

Trident Bookstore and Cafe: Boston

(Please share with the community if you know any other juice bars around Boston by commenting on this post.)

Juice Recipes From The Film 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead'

Apple-Pear
1 Apple
2 Pears
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

Carrot-Kale Combo
1 Green Apple
3 Handfuls spinach
6-8 Kale Leaves
4 Large Carrots
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

Green Lemonade
1 Green Apple
3 Handfuls Spinach
6-8 Kale Leaves
½ Cucumber
4 Celery Stalks
½ Lemon

All Green
Use as much greens as needed
Romaine Hearts
Kale or Collards
Spinach
2 Handfuls Parsley
2-3 Celery Stalks
½ Lemon
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

Apple-Beet-Carrot
1 Apple
2 Beets
3 Large Carrots
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)
Spinach / Kale – (optional)

Spinach-Fennel-Cucumber
1 Fennel Bulb
1 Cucumber
2-3 Celery Stalks
Loads of Spinach

Mean Green
1 Bulk of kale
4 Stalks of celery
1 Cucumber
2 granny smith apples
½ lemon
Ginger root (thumb sized)

Drink Your Greens

1 banana

2 dates

2 cups kale 

2 Tbl almond butter

3/4 cup water

Blend.

No kitty, it's my smoothie!

Almond Biscuits

open faced and closed faced biscuit

Grain/Gluten-Free and Sugar-Free. And due to the season- Kosher for Passover!

2&3/4 cups almond meal*

3 Tbs flax meal

1/2 cup warm water

1 Tbs ghee (you could use butter, coconut oil or any other unrefined oil... I almost never choose a refined vegetable oil over a non-refined one) 

1 Tbs honey

1/2 tsp baking soda  

Preheat oven to 375.

Stir the flax meal in with the boiling water and set aside for 5 minutes. 

Mix all ingredients together.

Roll dough into a tube that is 7-8 inches long. Cut 8 wedges and place on a baking sheet (if you find this instruction confusing check out this posting on how to make scones.)

Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. 

* You can find almond meal at Trader Joe's.

The Excitement of Being Toxic

Excitotoxins have an exciting effect on brain cells (sounds exciting!) … while causing a pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged and killed (not so fun.)

In today’s food industry, harmful amounts of excitotoxins are found in up to 80% of all processed food. MSG (one of many glutamates found in foods,) hydrolyzed proteins, and other similar substances are all too common ingredients.

When scientists want to make mice fat ASAP (for the purpose studying obesity,) they feed them MSG. Regardless, the food industry has engineered chemically created flavors such as this one that keep us coming back for more. Are we addicted? Just as tobacco companies knowingly added more nicotine to cigarettes to make them addictive, we’re now in an invisible food trap that has also imprisoned us.

With a chemical formula that makes us feel instantly fulfilled, we are actually  providing ourselves with little to no nutrients. Most of us, who may have been encouraged by our doctors to lose weight, are in truth starving to death on a cellular level.

We struggle with hunger and blame our bodies and ourselves for being weak. Meanwhile our body is doing its best to keep us healthy! It calls in search of the nutrients it needs to function correctly.
Advertisements tell us that if we eat these chemically altered foods; we will be slim and happy. However most of these foods cause weight gain and disease. Many of these chemicals both inhibit our metabolism as well as increase the production of fat (as part of the defense mechanism to isolate the chemicals).

Diet soda alone is suspected of  being a major contributor to the impairment of brain function, neurological function, vision, and increased chances of seizures (especially when regularly consumed instead of a meal.) While it advertises freedom, most independent studies show that it hooks us on even stronger sugar cravings (due to our taste buds’ reaction to the extreme sweetness.)

The FDA does not carry out independent studies to test a food before it is marketed. Instead it relies on studies funded by the same company producing the product. The heart association puts its stamp of approval on foods loaded with trans fats because the product meets the sodium requirements. Classy.

In our industrialized version of better living, we have created over 75,000 synthetic chemicals since 1940. These days over 200 chemicals can been found in some newborn’s umbilical cords. Most are either food-born, environmental, or beauty product derived (“your makeup looks killer!”)

It is time to relearn better living that is in harmony with the organic compounds of our bodies and our planet.  We need to recover. It’s no joke when our neurological system has been affected.

Spring is an excellent time for a reboot as the body is naturally designed to excel in its detoxification process. Eat dark leafy greens every day (kale, parsley and cilantro are highly recommended!) as well as gelatinous fibers (chia seeds rock!) Water and vegetables are your BFFs (consume more vegetables than fruits.)

In general, think more about what healthy stuff you can  add  to your diet rather than freaking out about what you need to eliminate. The more nutrients your body receives and assimilates, the more you’ll naturally begin to eliminate what no longer serves you.  Exercising and a clean diet need each other. Tomorrow is never better than today to do something proactive.

Chia Seed Pudding

The gelatinous quality of chia seeds aids in drawing toxins out of your system. Chia seeds are also a good source of protein and omega 3. Amongst the many vitamins and minerals they contain, they have large amounts of potassium, iron, and calcium.

Ingredients
1/3 cup chia seeds 

1 cups unsweetened almond milk (or any other non-dairy milk)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 Tbs maple syrup

Optional Variation: for chocolate pudding, add 1 Tbs cocoa powder

Optional topping:  golden raisins, figs, apricots, dates, unsweetened coconut flakes, goji berries, chopped nuts, or fresh fruit.

Method
Mix chia seeds, almond milk and vanilla. Stir well. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to eat, garnish with preferred toppings.

Click here for your Home Made Almond Milk Recipe

The Calcium Paradox

The calcium paradox is that the US rates as one of the highest in both calcium intake and osteoporosis.

Clearly the problem is not that we are not getting enough calcium, but that it is not getting absorbed.

Science has named these factors as the main causes of calcium excretion:

• Smoking
• Air pollution (city living)
• Excess alcohol (one glass of wine can raise the amount of calcium excreted in the urine from the average 5mg up to 25mg)
• Excess sugar and refined carbohydrates
• Excess protein in the diet (mostly from excess meat)
• Excess caffeine (mostly in the form of coffee, soft drinks and caffeine pills. One cup of coffee can raise the excretion of calcium up to 75mg through urine)
• Phosphoric acid (comes mostly from soda) will cause the bones to leach out calcium.
• Stress will cause calcium excretion. In a relaxed state we generally release 5-10mg of calcium in our urine. A momentary stressful moment can cause for up to 75mg to be released.

What does this mean?

This is NOT about never having a glass of wine or never experiencing stress. However if we tend to have a couple of glasses of wine, a couple of coffees, a sugary snack, and we’re a little high-strung, these things add up on a daily basis.

Dairy Products:

For over 35 years research has shown that calcium from dairy products is more poorly absorbed than calcium from leafy greens, nuts, and seeds. While dairy might have other benefits, it is not optimal for calcium absorption. Unfortunately due to the dairy lobbyists, this is not what the general public is taught.

(To read more about calcium and dairy, read the article Truth or Dairy.)

Calcium Supplements:

Most calcium supplements are made form calcium carbonate. This is the calcium found in limestone, chalk, and rocks. It is the same calcium that is mixed in the plaster on our walls. The body can only absorb up to 10% of it.

The Relaxation Response:

Bone density has been proven to increase with mental relaxation.  Most of us function on a low level of stress throughout our entire day.  This low-grade stress is the most commonly linked source of dis-ease.

Healing always begins with relaxing.

Related Article:
Food For Healing Broken Bones

Halva (Sesame Sweet Treats)

Halva is made from Tahini, Sesame paste, a high source of calcium.

2 1/4 cups almond meal* 

3/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup honey

1 Tbs vanilla essence

1 Tbs cocoa powder

Mix everything together except cocoa powder. Divide into 2 equal parts and mix one half with cocoa powder. shape the plain half into a square and press the cocoa half as a second layer over the plain base. Together, the mold should be about 3/4 inch thick. 

Refrigerate for a few hours before serving. 

Note: Instead of using almond meal, grind 1.5 cups of almonds in the food processor.

* Almond meal is available at a lowest cost at Trader Joe's.

Related Recipes:
Tahini Recipes
Tahini Sauce

Food Focus: Tahini, a calcium rich food

Tahini, tahine, tehina, or sesame paste is a paste of ground sesame seeds.

When used in Middle Eastern cooking, tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds.

Tahini paste is used in a variety of dishes. It is a popular condiment for meat and vegetables in Middle Eastern cuisine. It is also a main ingredient in soups, sauces, and as a spread. Most commonly we know Tahini as a key ingredient in Hummus dips and spreads.

Hummus

1 15oz can of chick peas
3 tbls. Tahini paste

2-3 tbls. lemon juice
1 garlic clove (optional)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. cumin (optional)

Water as needed- use the water from the chick pea can (little less than 1/3 of a cup)
Blend all ingredients and serve.

Can be served garnished with olive oil and paprika and chopped parsley.


Tahini Dip, Sauce or Salad Dressing

With kale- another calcium rich food

This recipe can be thinned down to a salad dressing by adding more water or left thick as a spread or a dip:

¾ cup sesame tahini
5 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
3/4 – 1½ cups of water (depending on desired thickness)
½ - 1 tsp. salt (will vary with amount of water used)
A handful of finely minced parsley

Place tahini, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor with a steel blade, or in a blender. (This recipe can also be made in a bowl, stirring the ingredients in with a spoon).
While the motor is running, slowly drizzle in the water, checking every now and then for the desired consistency. Stir in salt.
Transfer to a small bowl a top with fresh Parsley.

Optional: If using a food processor you can add in half to a whole bunch of parsley, blending it into a yummy extra calcium tahini!

Store in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. Keeps for up to 5 days.

Honey-Tahini Sweet Potatoes

Cut sweet potatoes, toss in a drizzle of olive oil and bake at 400 for 45 minutes.
To prepare the sauce- mix tahini (ground sesame seeds) and honey (preferably raw honey), using about half the amount of honey than the amount of tahini. Mix in water a bit at a time until you reach a consistency you like. Poor over the baked sweet potatoes.

Sweet!

Spreading a layer of the raw paste (right out of the jar) on some bread and top it with honey.
Another favorite is drizzling some of the raw paste over some sliced banana and chopped dates.

There Is No Path To Peace. Peace Is The Path

(Mahatma Gandhi)

January 2012 marked my 10-year yoga anniversary.

Through the practice I have discovered Life. While my body is always present, my mind is often elsewhere, caught in projects, worries and analysis. Yoga and meditation have given me the tools necessary to keep my mind in the Now. Life is only available in the present moment. The past is already gone; the future has not yet arrived.

When we establish ourselves in the present moment we are able to get in touch with the healing and nourishing elements that are always within us and around us.

One month into a new year, as we progress on a renewed path, we often have ideals we think we should be living up to. We put expectations on ourselves to improve in some way.

Difficulty is inevitable in human life, but what causes misery is not the difficulty but our assumption that we are meant to have everlasting happiness. When life becomes difficult or painful, we feel that something has gone wrong.

We pressure ourselves with the idea that if we could only do the right thing we would have everlasting happiness. All this brings is stress and anguish against a self-perceived imperfection.

Science explains how the stress hormones produced by our mental state can affect our weight as much as the amount of calories we consume. I am willing to bet that we all know someone who has either gained weight or not lost weight while restricting calories on a diet.

We are souls with a body, though often we treat ourselves as a body with a soul.

Yoga has taught me that a pose can’t heal me as much as the degree of love I feel while in it. If I can’t feel free with who I am right now, I will be nothing more but a skilled practitioner of breath and alignment. I may learn to reduce my stress but overly focusing on the body will never satisfy the soul.

The path informs the destination. We will never be satisfied with achieving our goals if we don’t learn to be satisfied right now.

A disease is no longer dis-ease if we find ease with it.

Each yoga practice ends with the pose Savasana, in which we are asked to let go completely and allow everything to be as it is.

Can we find a hint of savasana in every pose no matter how challenging? Can we do the same when we are no longer on the yoga mat?

Coconut Maple Scones

Whole-Grain and Naturally Sweetened

Sex: A Symptom Reliever For The Common Cold

Put down the nasal spray and listen up! Here’s what your parents never told you about the birds and the bees:
Sex is helpful in clearing nasal and sinus congestion!

In our bodies we have erectile tissue, a spongy tissue that expands and becomes hard when filled with blood. Needed for the proper function of sexual stimulation, it is only present in the genitals, the breasts, and the nose.

The nose?!

The swelling and shrinking of this tissue within the nose is always fluctuating. When one nostril subtly expands, the other one shrinks. For this reason the passage of air becomes stronger on a certain side at different times.

If there is no interference with the rhythm, the breath will alternate dominant nostrils every hour and a half to two hours. The switch is a gradual transition.  Irregular schedules of activities, meals, or sleep can interfere with this rhythm. Pollutants and congestion are also a factor. While we still experience the shift from one dominant nostril to the other, the rhythm has been skewed. According to Ancient Indian Medicine this lack of rhythm can bring the onset of disease.

Each nostril governs different functions in our body. The right nostril is associated with the more active and extraverted aspects of the personality. It also has to do with the more heated functions within the body such as digestion.
The left side governs the quieter more passive psychological state, and is associated with the more restorative functions within the body.

Ayurveda recommends resting on the left side after meals. By laying on the left, one compresses the left lung, enhancing the flow of air through the right nostril, which stimulates the digestive tract. When going to bed it is recommended to lie on the left side for 10 minutes to increase body heat for cleansing (we cleanse the blood when we sleep,) and then roll onto the right for a more restful slumber.

However the title of this post suggests using our bedroom for more than just sleeping.
So here it is friends: an insight into my own bedroom adventures:

Last night, with the onset of a cold, I was feeling congested and lousy and was ready for an early night. Engaging in my nightly ritual, I brushed my teeth and filled my neti pot for a nasal rinse. I spent a good few minutes trying to run the water through my nose but it was completely blocked. No use, I headed to bed.

Fast forward to the end of the sex (Sorry, That’s all the details you get,) I noticed my nose is completely open!

Excited by this revelation, I tried the neti pot again and voila! The water ran right through.

Erectile tissue. Who knew?!

Making Your Own Sourdough Breads

Sourdough vs. Yeast Based Breads

The Egyptians first leavened bread around 2300 BC. Mixing flour and water, they left it to ferment uncovered for several days. This mixture was then added to additional flour and water and baked into bread. This kind of natural leavening remained the basis of Western bread baking until the 20th century. In the 1950s commercial yeast was introduced, enabling bread to be made in less than 3 hours. These days some commercial bread can be made in less than an hour.

The importance of unleavened sourdough breads is that the proofing (the slow rising process) is needed in order to break down the complex carbohydrates and proteins and make them compatible for human digestion. The fermentation process serves as a digestive aid to all complex carbohydrate foods including other grains, beans, and vegetables.

The slow rising of a sourdough allows the bran in the flour to break down, releasing minerals that we are unable to digest in yeasted breads. It is when wheat gluten is properly fermented that it is the healthiest for human consumption.

Some theories state that yeasted breads are the main contributor to what has made wheat and gluten one of the highest allergenic foods we eat. It is not uncommon for people to have sensitivity to commercially yeasted breads but not experience the same sensitivities to naturally leavened whole grain sourdough bread.

It is similar to the controversy with soy which also can only be considered a health food if it is fermented long enough. Correctly fermented wheat provides us with 18 amino acids (proteins), complex carbohydrates (a super efficient source of energy), B vitamins, iron, zinc, selenium and magnesium, and maltase.

Sourdough bread rates a 68 on the glycemic index as opposed to the rating of 100 by other breads. Foods that have low ratings on the glycemic index are prominent in societies that tend to have lower rates of diseases such as diabetes.

How To Make a Sourdough Starter

There are various ways for making a sourdough starter; many include adding ingredients like grapes or potatoes, which provide extra sugar for the yeast to feed on and grow. I prefer the method of using only flour and water. There are a variety of yeasts and we want to be sure to be cultivating a kind that thrives best on flour. Besides, this method cuts out more of the sugars.

1 cup of warm (not hot!) water
1 cup of organic white whole wheat flour (you can use regular whole wheat too. The white wheat berry is lighter, producing a bread that is not as dense as bread made from regular whole wheat flour, which is made from the red wheat berry.)

Mix the flour and water with a wooden spoon in a jar. Cover with cheesecloth, and keep in a warm place (aim for about 80 degrees, but no warmer than 85.) The natural yeast from the air will be drawn to the flour and settle into the mixture. Keep the yeast covered with the cheesecloth for three days, mixing it once or twice a day with a wooden spoon. As soon as it's foamy and full of bubbles, your starter is ready to use!

While your first sourdough starter will take a couple of days to progress, after this first 2-3 day period it will be ready for immediate use at all times, provided you continue to feed it.

Once you've made a starter, take good care of it: sourdough starters impart more and more flavor the longer they live. Store your starter in a jar in the fridge, and be sure to feed it weekly, whether or not you're baking with it. Sourdough is a living culture, if you don’t feed it, it will die. Add equal amounts of flour and water.

Fresh Milled Bread (basic recipe)

2 cups white whole wheat flour (or other)
1 cup rolled oats, ground into a powder (a coffee grinder works great for this!)
4 Tbs of any of the following seeds ground (in coffee grinder:) sesame seeds, flax seed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed. (I use 1 Tbs of each)
¼ cup sourdough
1¼ cup water

If you have a food processor with a plastic dough blade, add all ingredients except the water into the processor. While the machine is on, add the water gradually until the dough is all rolled into a ball. This should happen within seconds.

If you do not have a food processor, mix all ingredients in a bowl, adding the water last, until the dough is formed.

The dough should be on the damper side.

Shape into a ball or loaf and let it rise on a non-aluminum tray for 2 hours.

Knead the dough again, pressing out any air. Reshape into loaf. Let is rise on a non-aluminum tray for another 4-6 hours.

Fill an ovenproof dish with water and place it on the bottom rack of a cold oven. Place the loaf on the middle rack. With the bread in the oven, heat to 425 °F (in most ovens, this takes 10-15 minutes) and bake at that temperature for an additional 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350°F and bake for an additional 45 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a rack.


Walnut Cranberry Bread


The lighter bread in the picture is the recipe above. The darker bread contains walnuts and cranberries, butternut squash for moisture and a drop of maple syrup.


2.5 cups white whole wheat flour
1.5 cups rolled oats, ground into a powder (a coffee grinder works great for this!)
4 Tbs flax
¼ cup starter
1 Tbs maple syrup
½ cup butternut squash puree or sweet potato puree (can use canned)
1.5 cups of water
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped

If you have a food processor with a plastic dough blade, add all ingredients except the water, walnuts and cranberries will go into the processor. While the machine is on, add one cup of water. Turn the machine off and add the cranberries and walnuts. Turning the processor back on, proceed to gradually add the remaining half cup of water. The dough will unify into a ball as it spins around in the processor. 

If you do not have a food processor, mix all ingredients in a bowl, adding the water last, until the dough is formed.

The dough should be on the damper side.

Shape into a ball or loaf and let it rise on a non-aluminum tray for 2 hours.

Knead the dough again, pressing out any air. Reshape into loaf. Let is rise on a non-aluminum tray for another 4-6 hours.

Fill an ovenproof dish with water and place it on the bottom rack of a cold oven. Place the loaf on the middle rack. With the bread in the oven, heat to 425 °F (in most ovens, this takes 10-15 minutes) and bake at that temperature for an additional 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350°F and bake for an additional 45 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a rack.

Living Our Dharma in 2012

Here we are. 2012. Great. What’s for dessert?

We all live our days wanting something delightful. We might choose healthier or less healthy pleasures, but the desire is the same: to fill the need for delight.

We’re always thinking about the next best thing; hence the tradition of New Year resolutions.

What were this year’s resolutions? Changing the shape of our body, or improving our health or lifestyle?

If that’s the goal, we’re in trouble! Statistics tell us that we stand very little chance of fulfilling our resolutions.

It seems there is never going to be a number on our scales or in our bank account that will meet our desires. We tell ourselves that we know this, but do we really? “If I can just achieve this goal, THEN I can be happy.” How misleading.

No external goal will resolve the deepest question nagging us all; “Who am I meant to be?”

Each of us is unique with a role to contribute in this lifetime. The extent to which we fulfill our purpose is the extent of our happiness.

Regardless of money, or body weight, if we have not found and begun to live for and commit to the desire of our personal purpose, nothing will satisfy us.

For those of us who practice yoga (or engage in other mindfulness practices,) we have to take care not to lay the same expectations on our practice. No arm balance or backbend will meet such expectations. While yoga will aid in calming the restlessness, it is a tool, not the answer.

Some of us are dealing with professions or obligations that discourage us. We wish we could pour our energy into something we truly love and believe in. This sense of dissatisfaction is our Dharma calling: a desire for our purpose.

Purpose is not about profession. Purpose shines through all aspects of life. It shines through relationships to self and others as well as to each living moment.

When we seek the means to fulfill our purpose and have a healthy relationship to this purpose, we have a natural urge to be healthy in order to reach our fullest potential. Our resolutions can serve as tools but they are not the destination.

Let us seek pleasure, intimacy, kindness, and warmth. The soul longs for expression.

If you are focused on becoming healthier, ask yourself why you are doing this. We all have desires, but some are more helpful than others. Be clear on your purpose. What is your body here to serve you in doing this lifetime? Reflect: look inward and ask questions.