full effort is full victory.

I love this quote to start off day twenty seven of the challenge! It's such a perfect description of myself and what I need to do more!

I can be very hard on myself in the studio, and sometimes maybe a little more than I should be. It's hard to stop those expressions of frustration or silent berating for falling out of a pose, or not being able to go as deep as I did the day before. I've gotten a lot better at not being so hard on myself, but this inspiration really helped me to accept the fact that I've improved so much over the course of this challenge, and giving myself grief over falling out of a few poses should not be overshadowing the pride I feel when I do them and do them well.

My day started off with the 9:30 class with Henri, who I hadn't taken a class with in quite a while! It was a wonderful class, with an 'ode to Melissa' during our ab work section - basically staying in a plank position from our forearms and holding it. And holding it. And holding ... you get the idea. Just another reminder of my weaknesses, but I quickly tried to shoo that thought from my mind as I remembered to try and focus on my potential. Class went well, although I've been finding lately that in some poses I can feel it more in the front of my hips than I used to. Maybe that just means I've reached an edge and now have to push through again, but it's almost as though I feel like I'm regressing. Pigeon is always one of my favourites, especially when I fold forward to rest my head on the mat. Lately I've been feeling like I need to support myself more on my forearms because I feel more pressure in my hip of my bent leg if I lean over farther. I find it an odd and interesting development, as I am usually pretty capable of laying there for a few minutes at a time. I guess my body is just changing, and maybe it's actually moving in a more open direction and I just feel tight because I've made so much progress in the past thirty days. I'll go with that, it sounds better!
I also managed a successful binding of my Lord of the Fishes pose by reaching my arms around my back and grasping on to each other, like you can see in this video I found on doyogawithme.com. With a little coaching from Henri on opening up my shoulders, I felt really fantastic! I really like the way he talks you through something and makes sure you're doing it correctly - and then asked to make sure I was okay once I came out of it! It was a really great class!

Tuesday was a gorgeously stunning sunny summer day so of course I wanted to be outside. For lunch I made garlic quinoa pancakes again, except this time I halved the recipe and made two slightly smaller, thinner pancakes. Topped it off with my homemade pico de gallo and mmmm was it delicious!! These pancakes are definitely the easiest thing to make and just delightful for the taste buds. I'm sure any flavour combination would be divine on these savoury cakes of goodness. Thanks Kirsten for an awesome recipe!

It was off to work for the afternoon, and by the time I came home I was famished and finished off the last of my vegan alfredo with spaghetti - I got four servings out of the recipe I made! I will most certainly be making that again. And again.

I had to make up my class from Sunday that I missed, and I wasn't putting too much faith in myself to get up for the 8 am class (I'm just being realistic) so I did a practice at home Tuesday night. I started off with this totally relaxing hip opener sequence from YogaJournal, and then wound down with the night time routine that I usually do from Morning, Noon & Night yoga. It was a really serene way to end my day and I just love getting into bed feeling like I am completely stretched out. That feeling is aided by the fact that Jamie was working late that night so I literally got to be completely stretched out in bed, at least for a little while!

Day twenty nine (!!) I had full intentions of doing the 8 am and 9:30 classes back to back. It's a damn good thing I did my evening sequence the night before - I have a horrible habit of turning off my alarm and going back to sleep, so I single-handedly managed to miss both morning classes, but was able to make it to Kyla's noon class! I just had a weird feeling that I'm getting Tuesday and Wednesday's classes mixed up ... so much for staying on top of things! Oh well, either way they were both fantastic! I did feel a little wobbly on my feet that day, it took me a little while to get grounded and really into my practice, but I made it. It certainly wasn't my best practice, but I tried to really take today's quote to heart and really make the effort to feel every part of my body adjusting through each moment of the postures. I definitely notice a major difference the slower I go into each pose, I tend to be one of those yogis who can often find myself reaching to my depth kind of quickly, and then that can make me fall out a little more readily as well. My new goal is definitely to go into poses much more slowly, and feel every moment as I bring my body into the pose, each muscle fiber and joint and ligament gradually joining the conversation of body love.

Wednesday afternoon I had to make another batch of pico de gallo, as I'd finished it off the night before with a few blue corn chips. I really cannot get enough of it!! Lunch was another simple kale and garlic saute topped with pico de gallo, such an easy and quick fix and a lot more filling than you would expect!

Wednesday evening was party time! The challenge party was at the Red Stag Tavern in the Keith's Brewery, and lots of people came out! I got to sit and enjoy my water and some veggies and fruit while everyone else chowed down on delicious looking bruschetta and cheeses and chips & salsa (tortilla chips, just my luck) and beer and wine and other delicious alcoholic beverages. It was so wonderful being able to chat with everyone that I've been seeing every day at the studio for the past month, and just spend some time comparing our experiences and chatting about yoga. An inevitable conversation about farting in class came up, which relieved me to no end knowing that I'm not the only one who struggles to keep it in. We all compared coverup strategies (mat squeaking along the floor, coughing, clearing the throat, etc) and just accepted the fact that we've probably all done it at least once ... or more. Brittanie and Kyla had some prizes for everyone who had done the challenge and the cleanse, so we spent some time drawing names (which took a little while since everyone's name was in, but you had to actually be there to claim your prize. I had just finished commenting about how I never win anything, and how badly I wanted a 30 day challenge 'sweaty stuff' bag, when Brittanie pulled my name for a bag! Soo excited! There was also some moksha yoga tshirts, class passes (including a free 3-month unlimited pass!!) and more bags. Then they moved on to the cleanse prizes, which included more of the same plus the big prize of a grocery shopping trip with Brittanie. I was really hoping to win that one, because I still find I struggle a bit at the grocery store, but was still content with my sweaty stuff bag. But go figure - she drew my name, again! Of course I wasn't going to take two prizes, so I gave up the bag in favour of the grocery shopping trip instead! I am soo excited to head out sometime with Brittanie, I have no doubt it will make a major difference in my shopping choices for the future as well! Annd just to rub it in a little more, my name was somehow drawn a third time, for another prize. How that was managed I have no idea, but I was very content with my prize, and let's face it, we've gotta share the love! I had a really wonderful time getting to know everyone a little better, and can't even express how proud I am of all of us who completed this incredible month! As well as the cleansers, we've all been through such a remarkable life-changing experience and it was really wonderful to share it with everyone, and get to know some really fabulous people! Thanks to Kyla and Brittanie for putting on an awesome party, and organizing such a successful challenge / cleanse combination. I can't wait to do it all over again in October!

Ready to sleep my way into day thirty ... I can't believe we've made it this far!
Wonderful job everyone, and happy day thirty!

Namaste.

a step outside the comfort zone.

"To be beautiful means to be yourself. You do not need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself."
-Thich Nhat Hanh

I just absolutely love this quote to start off day twenty six of the challenge. It's amazing what this thought can bring to your practice - especially as someone who tries not to glance around at how much better everyone else is. I have learned not to do that so much, to try and stop comparing myself to others. It's hard to focus on myself in the mirror, but usually it just makes me laugh so it helps to remind me to loosen the eff up! 

All of that being said, Sunday was a little belated spring cleaning in our apartment; new entertainment stand and speaker system, rearranging the entire main level and the most daunting task - cleaning out the fish tank. Luckily we powered through all day with snacks throughout the day (corn chips and guacamole ... muy bien!) and some more leftover vegan alfredo for a hearty post-cleanup dinner! Jamie finally got to set up his barbecue. I'm excited to try some grilled veggie-tofu skewers ... any good suggestions ?? Also just excited to be able to eat some MEAT!! I know there are tons of things we can barbecue other than meat - I am excited for corn, pizza, veggies, fruit ... this will be fun! I love this whole learning to cook thing. Anyway Sunday was a long and tiring day, I had full intentions of taking a break for the 4:00 class, but I completely lost track of time (how often does that happen cleaning??) and missed it. Then I had full intentions of doing my evening wind down practice. And then I collapsed on the couch and fell asleep, and I think Jamie did the same. It was worth it, the apartment looks fantastic! 

Day twenty seven I couldn't wait to get into the studio, and got there to learn that one of the instructors, Melissa gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday! What a wonderful thing to carry with us into practice today. 

I actually felt really strong in my warrior series today, which was a really great feeling as I often feel tired arms and legs. Sometimes I feel like I'm regressing in some poses, but I have to keep reminding myself of the overall progress I've made, and that every day is so different for my body. Prayer twist continues and probably will always be the bane of my practice. It's like ... I know I need to work on my leg strength and my arm strength. Probably my core strength too. And I think there must be other things I could be doing to build strength. But I don't do them. Then in yoga once again I feel weak if my arms drop in warrior II or if my garudasana (eagle pose) hasn't been nearly as strong as it used to be. I try to remind myself that doing this every day is definitely a huge step from where I was before, so that I am doing something to strengthen my practice. Kirsten taught a wonderful practice, as always! It had been slightly overcast when I walked to yoga just before nine am, but it was sunny and warm when I left closer to eleven! What a gorgeous feeling to walk out into that radiant sunlight ready to take on the day.

The challenge has been such a good incentive for me to go every day, or at least make up for classes so it's equivalent to every day. As incredible and motivating as that has been, I'm excited to just go every day for the sake of going. I feel like this has helped make yoga the integral part of my life I've been wanting it to be. The challenge has really been the kickstart I've needed to maintain a daily practice, and set aside that daily time for myself. The real challenge will be maintaining it - I figure this is a good way, because if I'm making myself discuss my daily habits in a public forum (because I'm so trendy like that) then it will be that little extra encouragement to maintain the things I'm doing. Maybe that little extra encouragement for others to do similar or completely different life-changing things. If that happens for one person I would be doing a good thing! If it happens for no one that's okay too - I'm still doing a good thing for me! The inspiration for the day just really stayed with me in my thoughts through the day, and so did Kyla's words that came along with it ...

When you do what you've always done, you get what you've always gotten. If you're scared or tentative to go somewhere new, go there anyway. It is then that you begin to realize the possibilities of your life. There are great opportunities waiting out there but you'll never experience them until you take that first step.

This challenge has been exactly that for me - the first step, the step outsize my comfort zone. It's changed a lot about the way I look at my life and the way I go about my days and I'm so grateful for that.

I was inspired by the beautiful warm sunshine today and have been dying to make a pico de gallo for what seems like ages now! I pretty much followed this one I found from Emeril Lagasse on foodnetwork.com. I also added diced cucumber to mine because I just love cucumber in everything!! For lunch I used it as a fresh topping a kale-garlic saute. Soo simple but soo delicious!! The earthiness of the kale was wonderful with the fresh, crisp taste of the pico de gallo - and it was so easy to make! I still suck majorly at cutting tomatoes, but what can I say. I'm getting there, slowly!

Tonight was also my first of five weeks of a free meditation course being offered at Dalhousie by the Sri Chinmoy Centre. I had seen a flyer around on my walks to yoga and figured I'd give it a shot! It wasn't quite what I expected (although I wasn't sure what I expected - candles? dimmed ambiance? tibetan chant background music? big fluffy cushions). There was a small altar with a photograph of Sri Chinmoy, some fresh flowers and two candles - oh I guess there was candles - and rows of chairs where a multitude of different people were gathering. We were talked through a bit of the history behind Sri Chinmoy and did two exercises - a deep breathing/relaxation meditation, and a 'concentration' where we all had to focus our gaze on one of two candle flames in the room. I will admit I got a little restless. I love the idea of a meditation workshop, but I'm not sure how I feel about this atmosphere. All knowledge is good knowledge though! Next week the discussion is mantras and chanting, which I am excited to delve into! It will probably be weird, but I'm looking forward to trying it. Who knows!

Oh yes, and as for the colour change - purple is pretty much my favourite on everything, an inspiration and my favourite colour since I was about four years old. I just felt like it better captured me and was nicer to look at. For me anyway. Just playing around with this blog thang. (Dork?)

I hope everyone had a beautiful Monday, and maybe this will help you wonder about taking a mosey outside your comfort zone and see how that tickles your fancy. You just might like it ...

Namaste.

developing the habit.

Habits. We all have them - good ones, bad ones, fun ones, lazy ones.
I absolutely love the quote from day twenty four ...

If the past twenty five days have taught me anything it's probably that breaking old habits to make way for new ones is one of the most challenging things in life. I might not be perfect, but this challenge has motivated me to make a habit of doing yoga. It has given me something to look forward to and get excited about that's just for me. It is so easy to sit with our regular habits - if it works why change it? The thirty day challenge has definitely gotten me in the habit of yoga, something I am so thankful for and plan to continue long after the challenge ends!

Day twenty four started off with my final physiology exam, yay! I can't wait to have more time to do reading on yoga stuff ...
I made it to the noon class with Brittanie, which was terrific as usual! I was paying a lot of attention to my virabhadrasana series this class; attending to my leg muscles, reaching from every fiber. I'm also getting a lot more stable in my dancer's pose, probably my most favourite of all (I feel like I say that so much!). I've been finding a teensy microbend in my knee a major help - I guess I'm trained to be uber straight from all of those years of ballet!

I'm starting to really enjoy supta virasana, reclining hero. I used to feel slight tension in my lower back and no stretch in my quads. The latest helpful instruction for such cases is to engage your glutes, so if I squeeze 'em really tight it's like a miracle - instant stretch in the quads and swift relief to my lower back. I feel quite relaxed in this pose.

Another memorable part of class was during balasana, child's pose, Brittanie came around and pushed my tailbone down deeper with my exhale, making me realize just how much further I wasn't letting myself go. I love reaching a new edge every class and then inching past it, making me feel like I'm on top of the world - until it starts to get hard again, or I have a bad day.

I was soo excited to try making this vegan creamy alfredo pasta sauce! Obviously from Oh She Glows, I am a convert! I was very excited to use the 100% corn flour fusilli I'd picked up, very bright orange-coloured spirals of deliciousness! I used rice milk instead of almond milk, and allspice instead of nutmeg. The corn noodles boiled to a beautiful bright yellow colour, and the sauce smelled to. die. for. Jamie even said it was delicious! Garnish with some black pepper and a sprinkling of paprika and some parsley for beautiful colours!

I had a massive bowl because I was so famished from walking around in the chilly evening on Friday, but oh it was worth every scrumptious bite. It was hands down better than most if not all creamy pasta sauces I've had. The paprika is delicious, the creaminess from the cashews ... just perfect. In case you can't tell, I'm a pasta nut! And so far every sauce I've tried - I've loved!

Jamie and I had a nice little date night - my bowl of divine vegan goodness and Jamie's heaping plate of tantalizing spaghetti. I think I can convert him yet ...

I have to say, the online registration MYH recently started has saved my early morning practice. If I register for something online, I have to get up and go, no turning off the alarm and going to a later class. I was oh so close to sleeping past time this morning; the weather was crisp and the air was damp, and there was no way I was getting out of bed. But remembering my commitment I did it! I'm so glad I did, because the quote for today really fits my reluctance to get out of bed:

The actual fact that I got up this morning and went to yoga is a huge testament to how far I've made it in the past year. Of course I always love going to yoga, but (as I was talking about earlier) it's so much easier to stay in the habit of not going. All you need to do is get over the step of nah, I can put it off until later and that is eighty per cent of the battle! It definitely felt good that I had made the choice to get up this morning, even if I couldn't stop yawning all through class. The 10:00 was taught by the very inspirational challenge leader Kyla, and was fabulous. I remembered what she had said in her email for day twenty five ...

There are bound to be days where we just don't feel like getting sweaty, but the important part is that we do so anyway, and we are grateful for the experience afterwards. No matter where we stand at the end of our challenge, we all have hopefully created improvements (and therefore success), to some aspect of our lives.

I think that's the most important part of maintaining good habits; even if sometimes it's the last thing we want to do, practice has groomed us to do it anyway, and the body's gratitude for simply showing up is enough of an incentive.

I was definitely having a weak legs day; my prayer twist was igniting my thighs, my eagle was more of a squatting duck and awkward pose had me trembling like a leaf stuck in a vent. As thoughts of I could still be sleeping ... drifted into my head, I kept reminding myself how great it was that I did get up and come today. I had some issues with the flow - maybe just lightheaded, maybe weakness in the arms. That always seems to be my issue. I definitely need to work on my upper body strength! But my proudest moment from today was that in all of my adho mukha svanasana I found my feet flat on the floor. The stretch in my hamstrings was unreal, and I felt so proud that I was finally able to do it - consistently! The backbends we did in the standing series took me deeper than I've ever gone before, which was a totally liberating feeling. It felt like such an accomplishment to feel rooted down strong enough in my feet to bend back and gaze at the rear wall. That made me feel strong when we did camel later on too. It was so cozy being in practice today, coming in from the cold and the wet outside. A perfect way to start a lazy day inside.

Lazy is not an understatement - lunch was blue corn chips and guacamole. I still felt full from our movie snack fest the night before (I had dried cranberries, chips and guacamole) and knew I'd be cooking up a delicious bowl of pasta with some of the leftover sauce from Friday. Still enough left for one more! Can't get over how delicious it is ...

I really feel like yoga is starting to take over my life. No, not starting, it totally has. Every book I'm interested in, website or conversation I have is about yoga. It's one of those situations where I feel like I might be driving people nuts because it's all I talk about. I really hope that's not the case! I guess I'm certainly working on developing the habit! I definitely feel like I've come into something that is doing majorly good things for my life, and my outlook on life.

Well after sleepy time yoga and choking down some psyllium it's time for bed - a big day ahead of home projects: cleaning out and hopefully ditching the fish tank, assembling Jamie's new barbecue and rearranging the living room. Phew! I'm tired just thinking about it. Four o'clock class tomorrow will be a well-deserved break I can imagine ...

Start thinking about a new habit that you'd like to get into; it's never too late to try something new.

Namaste.

a first rate version.

'Today as you move through your practice, let go of any judgements or comparisons and make room for acceptance. When you accept yourself for who you are, you will feel liberated in whatever you do. You are you for a reason!'

That's the email we woke up to today from Kyla. I love those motivating messages every day, it serves as a great inspiration especially on those lazy days where sometimes staying in bed is too good to give up.

I was clearly tired last night (seriously who falls asleep before class even starts??), but I had no idea how tired; I've been doing really well lately at getting up early, going to class, or at least to have my lemon-water-poop-accelerator (such a sure thing) and some breakfast! But today I slept in until 11:45!! That is majorly late for me lately, I felt so flustered! Luckily a long, deep night's sleep was clearly just what I needed. I do love waking up to my Tibetan bells alarm (I'm not sure Jamie feels the same however), but it does feel nice just to wake up from the sun shining high noon in the sky through the window.

I had a few errands to run right away, but by the time I got back I was famished and it was lunch time! I was really excited to try this Refreshing Cucumber Salad with Creamy Mint Dressing from Oh She Glows! I didn't use red onions because I hate onions. Well, I'm getting better ... but only cooked ones, not raw yet. Anyway, I also used dried dill instead of fresh because we didn't have any (Jamie found a ratio online of three tbsp of dry for eight of fresh; I also found one later on of one tsp of dry for one tbsp of fresh - so much easier to convert when I need 2-3 tsp of fresh ... anyway I managed. The salad was uber delicious!! Probably would be better as a side or a starter or something, but it was really yummy. I was burping mint for the rest of the day! Pleasantly refreshing ...

Anyway after a decently busy day, I walked through the dazzling sunshine - yay! - to the 5:30 class with Kirsten. I kept my eyes half open this time to make sure no repeats from yesterday. It wasn't a full class, so it was nice to be able to spread out. There were two girls whispering constantly for the fifteen minutes we lay in savasana as people made their way into the room. Seriously - the room is silent - everyone can hear you and it's effing annoying!! It took all of my yoga training of my breath not to (calmly) ask them to shut. up. I was talking myself into saying something when Kirsten came in the room and we got started. I love the ninety minute classes when we start off in vrksasana - tree pose. It's another point of comparison, when it's the first thing you do and then you repeat it again at the end of the balancing series right before mid-savasana. I'm always surprised at the difference in the openness of my hips between the two - it totally makes me appreciate what yoga does for my body. I'm finding if I go a day without doing it, I feel sore almost, it's weird. But good I guess - it's a reason to keep going back even once the challenge is finished! It's like my body is addicted to stretching all the time. Not kidding, ask Jamie - if we're just sitting around watching a movie or the food network, I am stretching my legs up one at a time to lengthen my hamstrings. I constantly circle my feet and flex and point my toes to feel the circulation and the muscles move. In other words I'm a major dork with restless legs syndrome who found my calling.

I found myself progressing pretty well through class today. Parsvokonasana (Prayer twist) is always a bitch on the legs. Kirsten once said something in class about a student's least favourite pose being a long prayer twist. I found my legs extra on fire today, and had to come out of it once or twice. I was able to sit really deeply though, which lessens the burn a little believe it or not. It's the same it utkatasana - today I got down the deepest I ever have, my thighs were actually parallel with the floor! I don't know if I looked like mister here, but I was down pretty low. Once you get down low enough you hit the sweet spot where it doesn't really burn any more. Either that or my legs were just too numb to feel the burn. Coming to dancer's pose I found it hard not to get distracted in the mirror by the girl behind me; she was about four inches taller than me with legs for days, and her dancer was elegant and elongated and I tried so hard to bring my leg up so I could see the whole flat of my foot above my head. Then I fell over. That's what happens when you look at other people in the mirror and lose focus! But I managed to get it back just in time for Kirsten to tell us to lower it down - clearly. The second set of tree was awesome, I felt so much more flexible. A new little spin on it today I haven't done before is we brought our hands to heart center, raised them up over our heads and brought one arm down to the knee as we stretched out of the ribs over the knee in a half-crescent moon shape. Wow that's not hard to keep your balance at all ... I often manage to ground myself just as we're coming out of the pose. Ah, someday!

So I often worry when we first start the floor series whether we're going to do wind-relieving pose that I'm going to let out a huge fart. Those of you who know me well enough know that this is not an unusual occurrence - at all. But today I was feeling extra gassy (damn detox tea and genetic tendency towards flatulence) and was worried I was going to let one (or two, or three) slip; no big deal if it's silent - I'd probably be fine because I find since starting the cleanse my farts are more frequent than stinky (Jamie would tell differently, but that just goes to show how many more there are that don't smell at all). However no one wants to be that person who audibly farts in a silent yoga class. Anyway I survived unscathed (only to let them all go as I walked up Dresden Row after class ...)
Lifting each leg in the air one at a time as we were doing setu bandha sarvangasana was a little tough, but I managed! I was also wobbly on our transition down into pigeon (I think??) from adho mukha svanasana as we raised one leg at a time and then bent our leg until the hips were stacked on top of each other, leg at a more or less ninety degree angle. My arms and leg were like dancing spaghetti noodles the way they wobbled. Some days it's just not all there. Yet I still managed to feel completely fantastic walking out of there! I guess I'm trying to teach myself that no matter how hard I want to be on myself for falling out of a pose, or having more supremely wobbly arms than the wacky waving inflatable tube man, it's always just an empowering

feeling being in there. I love who I am when I do yoga, and I love the way it makes me feel and the way it makes me love myself when I haven't for quite a while.

I was majorly excited to get home - it was finally sweet & sour tofuball time! I fried the tofuballs again for a few minutes just to crisp them up again, they had really absorbed a lot of the marinade. I removed them and added the sauce, heating it up and adding the cornstarch-nutritional yeast mixture. I added about half a tbsp because I was only making enough sauce for myself, but I think that was probably a bit too much once I got it onto the plate. Needless to say, it was still delicious!! Next time I might try eating it all freshly made, without marinating the tofu overnight, just to get a little more of the flavours I put into the tofuballs. But I will definitely be making this again! And putting tofuballs on pasta (I'm thinking they will be delicious with the creamy tomato basil pasta I made the other night)! But I still have some left so will gladly work my way through them. Mmmm....

After a thrilling evening of studying, and the nighttime routine from the Morning, Noon & Night video I have from YogaJournal, here I am! Downed my psyllium husk (discovered it's easier to mix when I put the psyllium in before the orange juice, duh) and am ready to meditate my way through the night to my exam in the morning ...

Always remember Judy Garland's brilliant words - sometimes it's easy to forget if we are trying to be something we are not. Spend some time getting to know yourself, and that's how you'll find that first rate version of you.

Namaste.

yoga siesta.

I am on a major roll, two posts in one day!

Day twenty two I found myself once again at the 5:30 Jivamukti with Kirsten. A beautiful sunny walk took me to the studio, where I quickly assumed my spot in the front corner. I could feel my entire body sigh with relief as I settled down into starting Savasana. I don't think I realized just how exhausted I was from the past few days. I had about fifteen minutes until class started, so I completely surrendered myself to the feeling of my muscles relaxing and softening into the floor. I started to feel so completely out of my body, like I was floating above myself in some way ...

... then I opened my eyes to see everyone around me upright in utkatasana (chair pose) and it hit me that I had fallen asleep. That explains the out of body experience ... but seriously!! Who falls asleep before yoga even starts?? Having no idea how long I'd been out, I hastily but casually got up and resumed my spot, like nothing had even happened. Luckily it had only been a few minutes, but needless to say I was a little wobbly for the first bit! I felt like such a moron. Just a small yoga siesta!

I really enjoy the standing series in Jivamukti; it's quick and smooth as we transition from virabhadrasana (warrior I) into various standing poses. The points of class that stand out to me are when we did handstand practice with a partner. Meghan and I took turns being each other's support as we transitioned from adho mukha svanasana (downward dog) into a full adho mukha vrksasana (handstand) holding on to each other's legs. It felt pretty spectacular to be upside down like that! My arms are still wayyyy to weak to even think about doing it on my own, but it definitely gave me the itch and I'll probably start practicing up against a wall at home. We also worked on our salamba sirsasana (headstands) from dolphin pose, but I didn't get too far in that one! There was a large backbend series, doing salambhasana (locust), dhanurasana (bow pose) and moving onto our backs to do setu bandha sarvangasana (bridge), urdhva  dhanurasana (upward bow or wheel - which I did successfully full on for the first time

tonight!!) and four sets of ustrasana (camel pose), which got the blood rushing to my head like nothing else! The end of that series culminated in a welcome hugging of my knees into my chest. That is a lot of backbends! Winding down we worked on our salamba sarvangasana (shoulderstand), which I am really coming to love - although I've loved it most of the time. I'd read an article online the other day that talked about the importance of making sure your shoulders are rolled under so they are supporting the weight, rather than your neck. I tried to put that into practice today because I have a tendency to settle a little onto my upper back, and I definitely felt a difference! I'm getting better at holding it for longer that's for sure. All in all, despite my minor setback at the beginning, it was a really outstanding class! I always feel fabulous walking out of there.

I had been planning all day to make this sweet and sour sauce recipe I got from John and Tanya at Christmas, but with tofu instead of meatballs. The recipe (which I'll post below) contains ketchup, so I had to ask Brittanie at practice if ketchup is cleanse-friendly, and she suggested using tomato paste and honey instead! She also suggested I look up a recipe for tofu 'meatballs' online, as I could make them with the same or similar seasonings as my normal meatballs. I was excited to have this awesome meal tonight, but she suggested I marinate the tofu overnight so the sauce flavour really seeps in. So for dinner tonight I had some rice cooked in a mixture of veggie broth and water, and then I just fried it in a little sesame oil and Bragg's soy sauce and had it with some fiddleheads I sauteed in garlic and olive oil. Quick and simple but verrry yummy! I was so famished I forgot to take a photo, but I still have more fiddleheads I need to eat up soon!

After dinner I found a great gluten-free tofuballs recipe online, so I got to work! Here's what I made:

TofuBalls
Lightly adapted from Food.com - Makes about 24

1 lb firm tofu, drained, blotted, and mashed - I used extra firm and it worked just fine!
1/2 cup oats, uncooked - I used large flake oats and ground them in my Bullet like breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Braggs soy sauce or regular soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/4 cup fresh chopped oregano
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons sesame oil (or any oil for frying)


Directions:

1. Combine first eight ingredients in medium mixing bowl and use your hands to mix well. Shape into 1 1/2" balls, and roll in mixture of corn starch and nutritional yeast - this creates a nice crispy exterior when you fry them! A little tip Jamie taught me that he learned from Michael Smith on Chef at Home - keep your fresh ginger in the freezer! That way when you grate it it comes out in better shavings rather than mushy!

My completed tofu-balls, pre-frying.

2. Saute tofu-balls in oil until golden brown. Add to any pasta dish, rice dish,
whatever you like!

Or try them with ...


Sweet & Sour Sauce
Adapted from John & Tanya


1 cup pineapple juice - I didn't have any so i used OJ mixed with a little water!
1/3 cup ketchup - as per Brittanie's cleanse-friendly suggestion I used tomato paste and honey instead
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp corn starch - I used the leftover corn starch/nutritional yeast mixture from the tofu balls! this may mean you might have to add a little more, depending on the consistency you like!
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp grated ginger


Directions:

Whisk together pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, maple syrup & cornstarch (I skipped the cornstarch, as I didn't want the marinade to get gelatinous in the fridge overnight! if you were using the sauce immediately, use the corn starch!) In a saucepan, head oil over medium heat; fry onion, garlic & ginger, stirring often for about 4 minutes. Add the liquid mixture, reduce heat and simmer until thickened (about 5 minutes - or just heat it sufficiently if you're planning on marinating tofu balls like I did!).
If you're eating fresh: add tofu balls/meatballs, cover and bake about 25 minutes (this is from the recipe for meatballs, tofu may not have to bake this long if they've been marinating overnight!).
If you're marinating tofu balls overnight: pour the cornstarch-free marinating liquid over the meatballs in a bag or large container, cover and put in the fridge overnight to allow it to soak up all the delicious flavours!

My kitchen smelled sooo divine after making all of these morsels - I really enjoy the smell of the sesame oil for frying things in! I think it will go well with the sweet & sour sauce ... I can't wait for dinner tomorrow!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Wednesday!
Much love.

Namaste.

rising every time you fall.

Ugh I really hate it when I go a few days without posting. It just means more for everyone to read, hopefully that's okay!

You know it's funny, I can't remember what the weather was like on Saturday. Probably crappy, as per usual. I got up for the 10:00 class with Kirsten. It's always such a wonderful way to start the day. I love Kirsten's energy and the vibe she brings to class. I actually felt pretty strong on Saturday. My practice wasn't perfect, but I felt like I pushed myself a little and it was a really empowering feeling. On my walk to the studio they had Cogswell St. shut off for Hockey Night in Canada's Play On! Tournament - Canada's largest street hockey tournament. I have to say, over the course of the weekend walking by all those little kids playing hockey, people of all ages and everywhere was just packed. It was awesome to see and a great bit of inspiration as I went to and from the studio all weekend!
 Class was really great, but I was so excited to get home to make gluten-free tabbouleh from the Whole Food app I mentioned earlier! Probably one of my most favourite dishes ever - I made it with quinoa this time (gluten-free, unlike couscous!) as per the recipe. We didn't have any green onion so I just used extra cucumber and tomato, my two most favourite veggies and added a few chopped mint leaves in with the parsley. The recipe says red pepper flakes, but I added salt and pepper and a sprinkle of allspice to the dressing and ohh my yum ...

Okay maybe the photo isn't the best but when I said tabbouleh was maybe my favourite thing that was made so much more true with quinoa. And mint. I am so obsessed with this I made a massive bowl of it and have been eating bites of it randomly out of the fridge. And bringing it for lunch to my first day of work (about time...). It is so easy and anyone who is into any of these flavours or trying something new and delicious, make this! It took me no time and for me that's a large statement. And I'm still eating it two days later and it's just as delicious!! And the second best part? Jamie doesn't like it so I have it all to myself. Needless to say, Saturday was a good day. I even didn't mind reading physiology about the systems of the body and how they interact. I like being able to apply what I'm trying to learn, even if it's major overload and I don't care about the resting membrane potential; I care about how they move and how they feel when they stretch.
I did get to take a little walk to get i.d. photos taken for my new job (!!) as an enumerator for the 2011 Census. I am a government employee for the summer I suppose! Anyway, that went as well as a passport-style photo could go I guess! But I was excited to come home and make my Saturday night dinner - Kirsten's recipe for Garlic-Quinoa Pancakes from the cleanse (thank you!!)

Garlic Pancakes

Mix in a bowl:

1 cup quinoa flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbs psyllium husk
1 cup water
1 clove chopped garlic
1 dash of pepper
1 shredded leaf of basil

Fry up pancakes on medium heat in a little olive oil or oil of choice,
flip when crispy. The quinoa flour made a much thicker, more dense batter than I was expecting. I probably could will make them a little thinner next time, smaller scoops!
May want to top it off with some spinach leaves, sliced tomato or
fresh veggies of your choice. A couple of the girls suggested salsa?? Definitely on the list next time! Here's how they turned out ...

 ... of course with some more tabbouleh on the side! I topped mine off with spinach and tomato - nice and simple, and soo delicious! I even sat at the table and didn't even read or watch anything. I just ate - and I never do that. I always have to be doing something else. It was so delicious just to look at what I had made and eat it all up - well, almost! Next time for myself I would probably halve that, and do two smaller, thinner and more crispy pancakes (or at least try) and maybe some homemade pico de gallo I am dying to make ... I need to finish all of the food in the fridge first!
Saturday night I went to bed at 10:30. It felt so fantastic! And I actually fell asleep almost right away. I couldn't say when the last time that happened was. And I slept straight through in time for day nineteen ...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all of the dads out there, but most importantly my wonderful father! Thank you for always being there for me and supporting me so much through my entire life and on this journey as I work on finding and creating myself. The unwavering love and support I have from you and Mum is overwhelming, and I don't know where I would be without it! Love you xo.

Me, Conor and Dad at the Public Gardens Easter Weekend

Day nineteen was dreary, but not quite rainy which was nice. I finally tried my soy yogurt for breakfast - pretty delicious! A much different texture than regular dairy yogurt, almost thicker, with more of a tang to it - although that may have been the raspberry. I can't eat as much of it at a time, which is okay, because I do really enjoy it! I also finally tried the rice milk! It was on sale two for $4 so I had gotten regular and vanilla - I tried the regular first and it was ... different. I like it, it just may take me a while to get used to the rice-y aftertaste. Which I like, but I don't expect from my milk just yet. I'm anxious to try vanilla, but I also sometimes hate vanilla, so we shall see.

Then it was off to the 10:00 class with Susan (I hope I'm not getting Saturday and Sunday mixed up ... they were both wonderful!). The air was moist but I've come to expect that of our wonderful city these days! Again with the hockey tournament and tents set up, trucks up on the grass. Class was surprisingly and pleasantly about fifteen people. As much as I always love the energy of a wall-to-wall energizing class, it's always encouraging to feel the open space around me, being able to stretch out as far as I want (who doesn't love that??) The class was wonderful and energizing; I've noticed the favourite ab exercises of teachers lately seem to be a reclining Eagle Pose where we essentially do crunches by lengthening and contracting with our arms and legs twisted up in Eagle. Needless to say it is always a relief to unwind from this set!

The sun was shining as I left class, but everywhere was completely soaked thanks to a brief but intense rainstorm - I always love the smell of post-rain pavement and wet grass, especially in the sunshine! I felt pretty invigorated as I headed home for some lunch before going back to the studio for the cleanse meeting! Also had a little FaceTime call with my family, as they passed me around the table during Father's Day brunch and showed me all of the scrumptious bacon and sausage and deliciousness that Mum had prepared (she graciously hid her glass from my view as she took sips of milk, unlike my father and brother who made sure I could see everything they were eating). Oh I miss my family!
Lunch was some more leftover tabbouleh - yummm! I made a huge container full so I could just eat it whenever I want!

Sunday afternoon was time for the 'reintroducing foods' cleanse meeting - which of course I'm not ready for yet, but I went anyway. It was great seeing everyone, especially sensing the excitement of nearing the end of the cleanse! It was a complete tease hearing about all of the things my fellow cleansers can start eating again, but I reminded myself that I got to eat those things while they were all in my position! I wish everyone luck and love as they return (or not return!) to regular eating habits!

Sunday evening I have been looking forward to for days; MYH was offering a trial yogassage class to get a sense of whether it should be something they offer on a regular basis. Yogassage is exactly what it sounds like - an hour of restorative postures guided by the lovely Venessa, while a massage therapist, the talented Kelly came around and massaged each of us as we sank into different postures. All I can say is ... WOW. What an incredibly relaxing experience. Poses were held longer, and were all very gentle and restorative. I felt like a Jell-O jiggler when it was finished. Soo relaxing and just a perfect way to start to wind down my day! I really hope MYH offers more of this soon!

Chatting with Emma at the yogassage about her favourite cleanse recipes and snacks inspired me to try this Tomato Basil Cream Pasta from Oh She Glows. I've been wanting to try it and Emma's rave review made me even more excited. I was worried about trying another pasta sauce in my Magic Bullet, until I remembered (thanks to my darling mother, as always) that our KitchenAid immersion blender comes with a food processor-type attachment. So I loaded up my sauce ingredients and started the blender. Now let me preface this by saying that the blade portion of the mixer had what appeared to be a plastic sheath covering it, which I assumed was just to add to the food-processing appeal of the blender. So I'm blending my sauce, and I start to notice white chunks emerging in my red sauce. Removing the chamber I notice that the plastic sheath has been completely shredded and incorporated into my sauce. Delicious! After a few futile attempts to pick it out, I had to start all over with my sauce. I am dreadful in the kitchen!! While I may be improving my knife skills with all of this chopping, my common sense skills seem to be dwindling a little. Needless to say, sauce attempt number two was much more successful, and I produced an absolutely mouthwatering pasta dish!

The creaminess that the cashews create in the sauce is amazing, and in my opinion tomato basil is one of the best flavour combinations there is! I was very pleased with myself, needless to say, even despite the blender fiasco!

Day twenty / seven dawned brilliantly sunny in Halifax, a welcome change from the weather as of late! It was also my first day at my new job with Statistics Canada! I packed my bag full of lunch (more tabbouleh! with fruit as a snack) and yoga necessities since I'd have to go straight to Yin from work. It was a great first day, and I'm really looking forward to getting going! After training I walked from training on the Dartmouth side of the MacDonald bridge up to Moksha, which was really nice. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of our fair city as I walked over the bridge and looked out over the harbour, the Bedford Basin and George's Island.

"The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait to empty your suffering before allowing yourself to be happy"
-Thich Nhat Hahn

I have been looking forward to the 5:30 Yin class for a while, I haven't been able to get to one in a few weeks and my body was just crying out for the relaxation of that 90 minutes. I was pleased upon arriving at the studio to learn that Dina T was teaching (my first experience with the MYH co-owner as a teacher!). Entering the hot room that evening was a wonderful calm ambiance created by the dozens of tiny tealight candles lining the edges of the room. The class was absolutely spectacular; we did everything from Frog pose (an incredible hip-opener that I love to just sink down into), Lizard pose - which always stretches out my tight upper-inner thighs in a way that often makes me feel like I am going to snap in two. We did Happy Baby, one of my favourites of the yin series most definitely, an extra long hold of Pigeon, seated wide-legged forward bend and Cow-Face Pose, which is sort of the bane of my yoga practice right now. My legs just don't seem to want to bend that way. I manage to get my bottom leg in the right position, with my top leg crossed over but slightly elevated and off to the side. It definitely provides an intense stretch through the outer hips and thighs, but it was also a huge relief to come out of. I love how the poses are held for so long in Yin, but today felt extra intense coming out of most of the poses. My legs felt like I needed someone there to hold on to each foot and straighten me out. It was intense, but oh so good! By the end of class I felt so relaxed there is a definite possibility I dozed off during final Savasana. It was sublime, and I went into the rest of the evening feeling like I was floating on a cloud. Dina is amazing, and I can't wait until she's back at the studio on a regular basis!

Dinner was a quick and easy one tonight - I had a little bit of cranberry-almond quinoa left so I finished that off and had some rice chips with hummus. I used to not be a leftover person at all, but making large quantities of delicious food seems to be my modus operandi lately. It was quick and delicious! I had lots of work-homework and school-homework to do so it was a busy evening (and hence the recent non-existence of blog posts!

 "Ability is what we are capable of doing.
Motivation determines what we do.
Attitude determines how well we do it."
-Lou Holtz

Happy First Day of Summer! Day twenty-one / eight was another sunny day, off to day two of training! I had the last of my tabbouleh for lunch, and had full intentions of attending the 5:30 Level II class but training went longer than they expected so I wasn't able to get to it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get to any class Tuesday, but I plan on doubling up Friday or Saturday to make up for it. Jamie and I had gone out to do some errands so dinner was a bit on the fly of french fries (oh so delicious!!) followed by a bowl of edamame and some soy nuts and cherries once I got home. Not really a good sit down dinner, but delicious nonetheless!

Day twenty two / nine dawned another sunny morning as I attempted to tackle some more studying! For lunch I had a refried quinoa garlic pancake with hummus (delicious combination!) and a side spinach salad. I am anxiously awaiting my weekly Jivamukti fix at 5:30 to get me out of my studying stupor. Which is clearly what I'm doing right now ...

I promise not to slack this much with my posts again! It really just creates more work for me and I struggle remembering details of my day ... sad, I know. But I will definitely be more diligent with posting every day!

I hope everyone had a spectacular first day of summer yesterday, and are enjoying life, wherever you may be today!



Namaste.
  

starting the conversation.

I think I could get used to this eating healthy thing.

Day sixteen / three was a fabulous day! I have really been enjoying doing the morning classes lately, but I actually slept in and barely missed the 9:30! I was able to make Brittanie's noon class however, which was really fantastic! I just love the energy that she brings to the class and I have to say I felt pretty powerful today. I tried to really focus on my legs today, because I tend to give myself a break when I feel challenged to hold my legs that little bit longer. I suppose all my years of ballet had to fade away eventually ... but it was really incredible, especially during the Warrior series. Maybe because I was reading an article in Yoga Journal about Warrior I that spoke a lot about grounding down through all four corners of your feet, activating your legs and staying strong and stable with your bottom half. What a wonderful difference! I am always trying to make sure I never stop adjusting my muscles, even if it's slight. But this just seemed to really make me realize the places I can take my body. Very satisfying!

Sleeping in did allow me to have breakfast before class, which consisted of some leftover almond-cranberry-maple-syrup-oats. I realize I haven't branched out too far yet, but I'm getting there! Portion control is not a strong suit of mine, so I've had many leftovers so far! Post-yoga lunch was a delicious spinach salad with pear, craisins and sunflower seeds with a citrus-basil vinaigrette that Jamie had made for the scallops on Monday. Yummm! What a delicious thing to have leftovers of! It was a simple salad, but oh-so-scrumptious. Dinner was an exciting one for me, I had been waiting a little while now to try this Lovely & Light Cranberry, Apple and Almond Quinoa from Oh She Glows (clearly my new favourite website)! It felt really good to actually put some effort into what I was eating - it doesn't even take very long and it's so satisfying to sit there with something that I made myself! I've been so anxious to try the quinoa and it did not disappoint! I am a huge, huge fan and it will definitely become a food staple of mine. Here's how mine turned out:

It definitely doesn't look as pretty as the one on the website, but I think that may be due in part to the fact that the vegetable broth I used was more soup-ey and less broth-ey, if you follow me. Next time I think I would try a thinner broth perhaps, but it did NOT disappoint! Wow I was so pleased! Even sitting next to Jamie and his tantalizing plate of spaghetti bolognese with a heavy sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese and two soft-as-clouds dinner rolls smothered with butter (I am so drooling as I type this ...) The one thing is that I didn't have any vanilla but I just substituted extra maple syrup instead and it worked wonderfully! The cinnamon was perfect, the crunch of the toasted almonds, golden crispness of the apple ... yum yum yum! Even Jamie said it was pretty delicous! Although I definitely think next time I may use it as a side for something, a protein probably. I find that being my main issue so far I think making sure I get enough protein (I really don't know if I am yet, but it's a learning process)!

Jamie and I decided to have a little movie-date night of Star Trek, which we own and I hadn't seen yet! So it was off to Superstore for snacks. Here's what we got:

Jamie says he isn't doing this on purpose, but I'm sure part of him loves that he gets all of the snacks to himself ... in a loving way of course! Sour Jujubes are one of my favourite things, so it was definitely difficult to sit next to that sweet sweet smell for two hours. Good thing I don't like dill pickle! However in my junkfood-less lifestyle even the smell of dill pickle teasingly danced into my nostrils. It was not easy, but I did it!

I couldn't not get a movie snack, so I picked up some organic hot air popcorn to try with my nutritional yeast, and this bag of yummy-looking rice chips! Very exciting to try these gluten-free wheat-free vegan chips, they are very tasty! I feel like a whole new world of delicious food is opened up to me now. I decided I didn't need chips and popcorn in one night, so I snacked on some more cherries. I just love summer fruit season! Watermelons, cherries, fresh berries ... it's still early, but I can't wait to hit the market soon for fresh Nova Scotia berries! Anyway the snacking went well, not nearly as much as I would normally snack on so I felt good about that. I thought it was going to be hard because I'm so used to eating until I am so full that I have major Buddha belly!! But I have been doing quite well at eating smaller meals and less snacks. I've also been drinking water whenever I get a snack craving, or chopping up some veggies to have with the to die for hummus I whipped up the other night! I got the recipe from my beautiful friend Carolyn, and it's so simple I'd love to share it with everyone (hopefully she won't mind!!)

Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt

Drain the beans but reserve the nasty liquid.
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Use the leftover liquid to bring it to your desired consistency. I ended up adding a bit of extra garlic and lemon juice when i made mine, because i love it extra garlicky, but whatever your taste likes best.
I let it sit in the fridge for several hours to let all the flavors come together - 24 hours is best - sprinkle it with paprika before serving. I love fresh veggies with it, especially cucumber and carrot. I am on a mission to find some sort of brown rice or corn tortilla so I can make a cucumber-hummus wrap ... yumm.

It is absolutely delicious on it's own, but I love a little bit of heat so some really great options could be jalapeno, roasted red peppers, habanero, chile powder, sundried tomato ... I could go on. Once again, my mouth is watering! 

(Small snack of rice chips with hummus right now = brilliant manoeuver).

Day seventeen dawned brilliantly sunny in Halifax, finally! It was a divine walk to the 9:30 class with Brittanie, and just put me in such a great frame of mind for the day! There was only about 15-20 people there, so it was very open and energetic. After having focused a lot more on my legs yesterday, I tried to put the focus a little more in my arms. Energizing myself without becoming tense, raising my arms to the sky when I would usually have them at my heart or by my sides; I love how free it makes me feel to float my gaze up to my fingers reaching for the sky and bending back in the most satisfying way. It's funny how focusing on one area of my body, like my arms or legs, automatically brings in the other parts of the body to 'join the conversation,' as the author eloquently states in the virabhadrasana I (Warrior I) article in the August 2011 Yoga Journal. I just love that analogy, and I think that's what's been encouraging me the last couple of days. Each body part joins the conversation at a different pace maybe, but they all end up chatting in the end! It seems an appropriate metaphor for me (I remember all of my elementary school report cards coming home saying I was a social butterfly or a chatty Cathy). Ah well, at least now I can put it to good use on the inside! I felt really on my game today! My Dancer's Pose with my left leg up felt pretty fantastic, that is definitely my favourite posture! The sun was shining, it was a warm, beautiful day - how could you not be in a spectacular mood today! 

Breakfast was a quick banana - I love that sugar-potassium boost in the morning! For lunch I tried some leftover cranberry quinoa, and it was just as delicious straight from the fridge! I think I slightly prefer it warm, but it was great both ways. For dinner I finally got to have my 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta! Jamie of course came to the rescue and unscrewed the blasted Magic Bullet. I did add a little water to it, which helped. It would definitely be better if I'd waited until the avocado was more ripe, but it was tasty nonetheless! I feel like that will be another go-to. (Has anyone noticed I've probably said that about everything I've tried so far?? Good Lord). I was so ravenous I forgot to take a photo ... but I'm sure it won't be too long before I try it again! I have a tendency to get fixated on things for a period of time.

So far I'm still feeling pretty normal. I did feel a little bit of nausea this afternoon, and some mild headaches but nothing major whatsoever. Peeing like a maniac and pooping on the regular, I definitely feel like my body is cleaning out. I am hoping it's going to start to make me a little more regular in my sleeping routines once I settle into this detox. 

Speaking of sleep, my bed is calling my name.

Wishing everyone a joyful and sunny weekend!

Namaste.

do or do not - there is no try.

Well, it's finally time for the exciting food stuff!

Today is officially day two of my cleanse, and so far - not bad!

Day one probably could have been better, but I think I did okay with what I had since I couldn't get my cleanse groceries until today!
First up: a cup of warm water with half of a squeezed lemon first thing when you wake up. Now, I wasn't at the meeting this past Sunday, but Brittanie sent out the general content, which most importantly included poop ('Pooping is your friend now, love it!'). Also interestingly, it is highly likely after this warm lemon water in the morning that said poop will occur. And (I'm sorry if anyone uncomfortable with this kind of talk, but let's face it - I'm not, and I'm eliminating waste and toxins from my body - I encourage this kind of talk!) let me just say, I've only done two days and she was so right. Probably more effective than - according to my darling boyfriend - a coffee and a Bullseye.
A quick breakfast of my official cleanse tea followed by an apple (I know I know! Hey, it's better than the no breakfast that I usually have!) on the road as I drove Lexi to the airport.
Lunch was maybe more of a breakfast meal - I had a bowl of oats with almonds, dried cranberries and maple syrup! Yum! Delicious and sweet, nice and light, and oh so simple! I will most definitely be incorporating this as a staple in my breakfast/lunch routine.

Of course starting the cleanse - finally - had me itching to go to yoga! Day fourteen! I absolutely love the quote for the day - Yoda in his infinite wisdom motivates not only Jedis but yogis and cleansers and anyone who has ever done something difficult. Regardless of how high my hip rises in Toppling Tree, how many times I fall out of Dancer, have to drop to my knee during Runner's Lunge, or surrender to the painful screams from my legs to straighten them during Prayer Twist, today's theme helps me remember that as long as I am here, I am doing it. Even if I feel I have a shaky practice, or I'm hard on myself - the fact that I make the effort to go and do it is the most important part!
Tonight I tried out the 5:30 Level II class for the first time, and it was really wonderful!  It followed a similar sequence as a regular Moksha class, with slightly modified postures. I don't remember the names of many of them, but do remember a few in particular. We did Lizard pose, and variations of it - I had to spread my front foot a little wider and tilt it on a slight angle to comfortably (and I use this word with only slight hesitation) rest on my forearms. It is certainly a hip opener! I could feel it all day today, and it makes me realize just how malleable our bodies actually are. From one day to the next I feel so different in my capabilities and my limits. It's always great to find a pose that leaves you cursing it the next day! The other pose that really stayed with me even today was Square pose - oddly enough, another pretty deep hip opener! My top knee was sticking way up in the air, and I managed to curl down enough to feel a stretch through my hips and lower back so that was good enough for me in that moment! I will definitely be coming back to Level II, the energy in the room was different, but inspiring none the less.
I expected a little more lightheadedness, or weakness from the cleanse during class, but it was still pretty comparable to normal. I suppose being day one still it's a little too soon to tell. I did notice some minor headaches through the day (which no, I can't take ibuprofen for!) but I often get headaches so that's nothing new.

Post-yoga dinner I had to make use of my current ingredients, so I whipped up another peanut butter tofu! Just as delicious, and perfectly filling! That is most definitely a new favourite of mine! Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you choose to look at it!) I had a rather large post-dinner nap and couldn't get out to buy my psyllium husk, so day one failed on that account, but otherwise felt pretty okay!

I spent some time searching some recipes and different ideas for meals for the next three weeks and beyond, and have fallen in love with ohsheglows.com! Fellow cleanser Meredith introduced it to everyone, and I am obsessed! There are so many fantastic recipes that I can't wait to try! I also discovered a really fantastic  iPhone app (there is an app for that!!) done by Whole Foods Market. Oh, and did I mention it's FREE?? What an awesome discovery! I haven't checked out their website yet for any similar features, but you can search any ingredient, list combinations of ingredients you have, narrow down for specialty diets (thank goodness for my dairy- and gluten- and animal-product- etc-etc-free self!) or browse categories from breakfast to snacks to sides and desserts. And then you can add a recipe to your shopping list where it will tell you how much to buy! I am very excited. Highly recommend it to anyone with an iPhone, whether on a restricted diet or not!

Day fifteen/two dawned dreary and chilly in Halifax, so I headed off for some warming up for the 9:30 class. I slept in a little (oops!) but still had time for my warm lemon-water-poop-accelerator, as I've just decided to call it after only two days. I needed an energy boost so I grabbed a banana with a dollop of peanut butter. Yummm. Class was surprisingly not full, maybe only about twenty people. It was a different kind of calm energy, perfect for a rainy morning! I felt a little stiff this morning, a usual feeling for an early class I suppose. I always relish the feeling in my hips and inner thighs in my first Child's Pose of the day - they feels so stiff, like they're begging me not to push down any further. I take that with me through the practice and into subsequent settling into Child's Pose, where I slowly melt down deeper, that tightness thirty minutes earlier gone from my mind. I just love feeling how my muscles warm up and stretch. I guess that feeling is especially prominent in morning classes! It was a fantastic class, and I barely noticed the rain as I walked out of there!

Lunch on day two and oddly enough I was craving the oats-cranberry-almond-maple syrup mixture from the day before; I made a slightly larger portion, didn't finish it all, and now have breakfast for tomorrow! It's a pretty perfect system if I say so myself.

Finally I could get out grocery shopping today! Armed with a list of necessities and general healthy and organic items, I headed to Superstore, excited at my prospects. Needless to say, I was there forever. I just wanted to try everything all at once! I had to talk myself out of buying every kind of fresh ingredient, that they would still be there when I run out of current ones! I had a great time navigating the tiny four-aisle organic section at the front of Quinpool Superstore, discovering new things and trying to figure out whether to try quinoa flour or rice flour (quinoa), almond milk or rice milk (rice), corn or rice pasta (both!) and on and on ... I did get my psyllium husks, local Nova Scotia-harvested quinoa (which I cannot wait to try! It is definitely on the menu for tomorrow!), nutritional yeast, coconut oil, avocado, fresh basil, mint and ginger, blue corn chips (for the hummus I made this afternoon and guacamole coming soon!) ... I could go on and on. Of course shopping organic is a little (maybe more than a little) expensive, but I feel like it will be so worth it. It is already motivating me and exciting me to cook (which, ask my parents or Jamie) I do not do unless it comes from a box! I love knowing that all of the food I'm going to be eating is completely natural and good for me. Not that it was easy to pass by the candy aisle ... or the bakery ... or the junk food aisle ... or the dairy aisle ... oh how I miss my milk! I forgot to put the rice milk in the fridge until just now, so I'll have to try it tomorrow!

I excitedly got home and unloaded, creating a 'cleanse food' shelf in the cupboard so it's all together. I was so anxious to drink my pre-dinner tea so I could try and make this 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta from Oh She Glows. It sounds absolutely perfectly delicious! So I have my brown rice spaghetti on the stove and the ingredients in my Magic Bullet (I think we need to invest in a food processor - you'll see why shortly!). I do think my avocado was not quite ripe enough to get the creamy texture, so I decided to add some water - only I couldn't get the effing thing open!! I am not kidding you - my spaghetti sat in the colander for probably 24 minutes while I tried various manoeuvers to get it open. I felt like it was pressing through my palms it hurt so badly - I even went to Canadian Tire to buy $2 rubber gloves to decrease slippage!! It didn't work. Rubber gloves have a much more satiny-soft finish now than they used to. So I tried for another inappropriately long period of time to unscrew the damn lid to the point where I was literally screaming at it. Why did Jamie have to be working tonight?? So, instead of taking my completely immovable Magic Bullet door to door down the hallway (which I seriously considered, and slightly regret not doing) I threw it into the fridge for Jamie to open later, and improvised. By this point my noodles were cold so I needed a way to heat them up; I chopped some garlic and sauteed it in some olive oil, tossed in diced plum tomato for about 20 seconds and then added the spaghetti. I probably could have done more, but I was just so starving I needed a quick fix. I chopped up some fresh basil and sprinkled it on top, and voila! Day two dinner:

It is definitely pretty plain, but was actually quite delicious! The basil was so fresh and flavorful, perfectly paired with the simple tomato and garlic. Once I'm off my cleanse I'd love to try it with some fresh bocconcini cheese and balsamic vinegar for my own version of a caprese pasta. Yummm! Fingers crossed this cleanse doesn't reveal a hidden intolerance for dairy! I shudder to think ... Anyway, the dish was very simple, but still pretty delicious! I am a big fan of the rice pasta, it tastes delicious and has a texture that is somewhat between regular semolina pasta and the slightly grainier whole wheat pasta. Perhaps tomorrow I'll hopefully be able to use the creamy avocado sauce that my Bullet (and not my nonexistent arm strength) is cruelly keeping me from!! Once Jamie flexes his muscles and saves the day I will hopefully still be able to use the sauce for something tomorrow! What a ridiculous thing to happen ...
I had some delicious fresh cherries for dessert, which was the perfect way to finish off my day!

So, I would say that so far on day two of my cleanse I feel successful! I am about to head to bed so I guess it's psyllium fibre time ...  one whole tablespoon in half a cup of orange juice or water. I learned from other cleansers that in OJ it just tastes like massive amounts of pulp, so I opted for that one ... It definitely sticks in your teeth. It's not the most pleasant think to drink, but it's not the worst either. I think I can handle it!

So it's off to sleep-meditate my way into day sixteen slash three ... I can hardly wait!

Namaste.