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.