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.