Time for a Spring Clean!

Jeff and I started a cleanse this week.  We are combining a couple of different cleanse ideas and kind-of creating our own thing (and doing our best not to cheat too much!)  As it is Spring after all, which is a great season to do a little proverbial housecleaning both internally and externally!

We are using the guidelines from the 21-Day Clean Program, which involves having a smoothie for breakfast, your main meal at lunch, and then something liquid, a fresh juice, smoothie, or soup for dinner.  We are also following the diet restrictions (with a few exceptions) and taking the supplements from the Wild Rose Herbal D-tox.  Of course we actually are pretty terrible at not "cheating" on these kinds of things... but we are doing our best to stick to it, and also, we're not getting too down on ourselves or throwing the whole plan out the window if we do slip a little from time to time.

The first couple of days I felt super hungry and pretty tired, but I'm starting to feel a little more energized and am beginning to find my rhythm again.  The most important thing to set yourself up for success on a cleanse like this, is to be very clear about the parameters at the beginning, and then be sure to stock your fridge and cupboards in advance with quick and healthy snacks and food for those times when you're super hungry and need a fix.

We filled our fridge with fresh berries at the start of the week, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries... delicious! We also have ready to eat carrots, celery, cucumber, rice cakes and hummus.
Everything is washed and ready to go!  No excuses to snack on something illegitimate.
We're also stocked up with lemons, baby spinach, ready to eat salad mix, kale, hemp, chia seeds, and tons of frozen berries for smoothies.
As well, don't forget the vegan protein / probiotic / all-in-one smoothie mix.  Personally, we like Progressive Nutritional: VegEssential All In One.   However, there are many great products out there that are comparable, and some may even be superior, but this is the one we're enjoying right now, and it is easy to find, which makes it a good choice for us.  
At the end of the day, when I'm feeling hungry or weak willed, and all I really want to do is just relax and fill my belly with chips and salsa, Jeff repeats what our friend Rachel told us helped her make it through... "drink some water and know that I love you."

So, if you were wondering what's going on with us, and why I haven't exactly been feeling a tidal wave of creative energy this week, this is the reason.  I've been lost in a bit of a detox fog... but the clouds are clearing now, and it looks like we're moving into a sunshiny summer!
Hang On... there's only 10 days left in May! 

The Meatrix

Just in case you couldn't stomach Earthlings... here is a cartoon called the Meatrix.  

I know that many of you have already seen this but it is worth another look.
It is quite a funny parody about a subject that is sadly not funny at all.

Yes... something more about what we consider to be food and where it comes from...
I just want us all to become more conscious consumers!
This is a topic that is close to my heart and I feel very passionate about it.

I hope you enjoy these little goodies!


 

Gratitude For Guruji

It was five years ago, May 18, 2009, that Sri K Pattabhi Jois (Guruji) passed away.  We were fortunate to spend time some quality time with him a month earlier in his home, just the three of us together with Joseph Dunham.  On our final visit with him, we said our goodbyes, touched his feet, and he started chanting in sanskrit, which we interpreted as his way of giving us his blessing before we had to leave, we both knew it would be that last time we would see him alive.  He seemed to know that too. 

Every day when I practice I always remember him, and my heart is filled with gratitude.

Guruji’s tradition of Ashtanga Yoga has given me my life as it is today.  Outside of my parents and their continuous love and support, this lineage of yoga has been the most influential factor in my personal growth and development.

This practice came to me at a time in my life when I was really struggling.  It saved me.  You could say that almost everything good in my life has come as a result of this turning point. 

Prior to learning this practice I battled with addictions, eating disorders, and in general a huge lack of self-esteem, which resulted in my many self-destructive behaviours and choices.  Upon finding this practice I started feeling better about myself, and I began living inside my own skin for the first time in as long as I could remember. 

Through this practice of Ashtanga Yoga I developed more compassion and love towards myself, which was an entirely new experience.  This allowed me to feel my connection to others more deeply, which aroused more positive choices that stemmed from forgiving myself, and releasing the past. 

It was because of this practice that I met my now husband, and love of my life, Jeff Lichty.  

We traveled the world together, taught together, started a Yoga School together, and have a son together, who lights up our whole universe, and has taught me the meaning of selfless service and unconditional love.  

Therefore, it is with the deepest gratitude that I continue to dedicate my daily practice to Guruji and his lineage.  I always hear him when I chant the invocation, and feel his force supporting me as I teach.  His commitment and devotion is an endless inspiration for me.

Guruji had many gifts.  He had a way of seeing things in a person.  He would know you could do something even when you didn't believe it yourself.  He was a philosopher at heart, and always enjoyed a good laugh.  He welcomed questions, and loved to hear any gossip or news about his students.  Whenever we would call he would always ask, "when are you coming?" even if we had just arrived back home.  He loved to teach - it was truly his dharma, and there was almost nothing that could keep him away from it.

  

You couldn't be in Guruji's presence and not feel your heart overflowing with affection.  He was humble and yet fierce.  Everyone that had the privilege of being his student was deeply touched and transformed by his presence, and we all felt a unique and special connection with him.

He would be so happy to see the growing number of students who have been healed and touch by the Ashtanga Yoga practice.  I think he would be proud that his legacy is continuing on through the teachers he blessed.  I consider myself very fortunate to be amongst this group of inspired practitioners who reside under his guiding light, and continue to keep his memory alive and teach what we have received from him, and from this practice that he loved. 

Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah

For the Children of the Earth and Sky

As I sit here listening to my sweet boy play with the other kids in this kid-play-zone, I hear him say things like "I'm on my way to Mexico because I have an important appointment" and "it's lunchtime now so I am going to go catch some fish" and "I'll be Eagle Boy and you can be the princes."

His imagination is magnificent. His world is constantly filled with games and joy and make-believe adventures. I am reminded of a time long ago when I also lived almost entirely in the world of imagination, and my thoughts turn to reflect upon the question 'at what stage in our development does life get so serious?'

There is so much felicity and lightness in the world of imagination, and I have a feeling that if more of us were able to hold onto this gift for a little longer, the world would be a much more interesting and magical place, where all the endless possibilities would be easily seen, and no one would feel stuck, or powerless, or easily defeated. 

I feel blessed to have this special time where I can laugh and play in Jediah's sacred imaginary land, and I'm encouraged by this idea that there is a way we can retrieve the freedom found in the power of imagination and the creative force that accompanies it.   I look to those who walk amongst us that are intensely connected to this realm: the artists, actors, dancers, storytellers, writers, inventors, physicists, philosophers, and dreamers.  I think we can find further inspiration from them.


I'm sure we will discover that there is a lot to learn from connecting to our creativity in whatever form it shows up in, and I believe there is a strong possibility that our future survival will depend on these discoveries.

I hope that collectively we will continue to encourage and nurture this gift of imagination in our children, as well as in each other, for we are all children of the earth and sky, and we belong to one another.


Imagination is more important than knowledge. 
For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand,
Imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.
~ Albert Einstein ~ 

Guru Tattva

Sometime I hear this idea that a Guru or a Teacher is not really necessary on the path of Yoga.   Be your own Guru.  Find the Teacher within.  These are common sentiments that are out there in the Yoga Community at large.  

The true teachings of Yoga however, have always been passed down through the relationship of Teacher to Student in a line of transmission called parampara.  The Guru is absolutely necessary.  He or She is there to shine a light on your blind spots.  

The Teacher is your road map on the spiritual path.  God works through your Guru to help guide you in your practice and eliminate any inner obstacles that can come up along the way.  In India they have a saying that "just as you need the flame of an already burning candle to light the wick of another candle; likewise, only an illumined soul can light the inner lamp of another person."  Consequently, we need the direct contact of a True Teacher to help enlighten us, to wake us up inside, and get the spark going.  

I would say that it is difficult, if not entirely impossible, to see ourselves clearly.  As a result, we need the help of a Guru to hold up the mirror and give us clarity so that we can overcome our lower nature and negative qualities.  The Guru represents the one's ideal of perfection, and is the pattern from which one wishes to mould oneself after.  It is a challenge for the human mind to conceive of an Infinite Formless God, so in the physical form of the Guru, the mind attaches itself more easily and begins to see God within this physical embodiment.  Through our reverence, obedience, and willingness to surrender to a True Teacher we are able to connect to the Ultimate Reality that exists everywhere beyond form and time.

On a practical level, the Teacher is able to lift our spirits and helps to keep us motivated in our practice during difficult times along the path.  Even the mere presence of one's Teacher can help elevate one’s mood and enhance one's consciousness.  

However, the work, the sadhana, the spiritual practice must be done by the student.  A Guru cannot bestow a miraculous awakening onto anyone, but He or She is there to show us the door, but as a student, we must do the work, and have the courage and determination to walk through it.

Om Tat Sat