Yoga class podcasts and Raw cheesecake!

Isn't this a gorgeous photo? This is Nikki and Edward again from Tripsichore. If they ever travel near you, I highly recommend checking out their performance, which is a blend of graceful Yoga flow, theater and humor!

Aaaah...it is late evening and I just finished practicing Yoga and then listening to Holosync for a meditation...Yum!! Many days at home I have been listening to podcasts to practice. I didn't even realize it existed before the Yoga teacher training, but our teacher was recording himself for a podcast, so I decided to check it out upon my return home. I am able to hear a teacher leading a class and for some reason, I find this so much easier to challenge and focus myself compared to doing it on my own. It is such a helpful stepping stone to developing my own personal practice and it's fun! It's also a good way to learn about teaching since I can indirectly experience so many different teachers and styles! Yoga and meditation are so monumental in my life right now...helping me remember balance and release that peace and joy that is present in every moment!
The podcast I took tonight talked about self-worth and how often times we feel better about our selves when we are good at a posture or can do a certain Yoga asana well. It focused on remembering how completely worthy we are, simply by BEING ourselves. From that place of self worth and Love, we can have fun with asana to play and explore! Click here if you want to check out this Level 2 Anusara class with Betsey Downing :)
On the raw food tip, a friend of mine brought a raw cheesecake to a potluck baby shower party that was epic!! wow! I wish I had a recipe to share and try out for myself, but I know it came from one of Ani Phyo's books. I might try to make one soon from some of the recipes I've found on the internet, so I'll keep you informed and post the recipe if it is good to go! Until then, our sweet treat is the latest version of spirulina balls. Sweeet dreams!!! XO, Kelly O

As Local as it gets!

Hallelujah for fresh garden greens! I am so happy it is summer time and I can walk out to the garden to pick a salad for lunch! We are going to really pursue a greenhouse set-up that we can grow in year round...the freshness is leaps and bounds different than anything we can buy at the store, even organic. We are able to grow everything organically here too! From the garden, we have been enjoying all kinds of salad greens, chives, mint, cilantro and asparagus. The strawberries are starting to move from flower to small, yellow berries. I am grateful our spring was chilly and I didn't miss strawberry season while I was in Bali. We also have wild strawberries on the property and I have been picking young dandelion weeds to add to my salads and raw dressings. Not from the property, I have also been enjoying dehydrated raw portobello mushroom burgers and raw corn chips...Yum!!
May your day be fresh and vibrant!! XO, Kelly O

Are you still out there? I apologize for being much less consistent with my postings as of late...my focus was deeply embedded in the Yoga Teacher Training :) The tremendously slow internet connection combined with very little free time gifted me with very little computer time. Here is a great picture from a Bali beach...an Acro Yoga Daniel sandwich...what a fun way to play with Yoga!
I am back from Bali now and am happy to say that I experienced no jet lag in either direction. Someone suggested that my diet and lifestyle probably helps a lot with that. Whatever it is, I like it!! I feel so grateful that the training was 100% raw food-it is such a huge bonus and a big reason why I chose that particular training. A friend of mine recently went to a week long Yoga workshop where the food was not so healthy. It seems so silly to be diving so deeply into health of the mind, body and spirit without recognizing diet. I love being 100% raw and am going to stay very mostly raw and I am also open to some cooked foods. I feel like it is so important to eat as local as possible right now and always. We have a short growing season here, since we have long winters, but I am able to grow a lot of our own food. I feel very happy eating applesauce that I canned at home from our apple tree last fall rather than an organic Fuji apple shipped from Chile. We have amazing salad greens growing right now (thanks to ma-in-law!) and I am happy to have a side of steamed squash frozen from our fall harvest. Hopefully that will balance those yummy Goji Berries I love to eat from China!

Speaking of goji berries, do you eat them? They are so yummy and nutritious-I eat them almost everyday...oops, there goes my local plan. It's all about balance, si? Here is some info on the amazing goji berry...
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Goji berries, sometimes called Wolfberries, are perhaps the most nutritionally-rich fruit on the planet. Goji berries contain 18 kinds of amino acids (six times higher than bee pollen) and contain all 8 essential amino acids (such as isoleucine and tryptophan).

Goji berries contain up to 21 trace minerals (the main ones being zinc, iron, copper, calcium, germanium, selenium, and phosphorus).

Goji berries are the richest source of carotenoids, including beta-carotene (more beta carotene than carrots), of all known foods or plants on earth! They contain 500 times the amount of vitamin C, by weight, than oranges making them second only to camu camu berries as the richest vitamin C source on earth. Goji berries also contain vitamins B1, B2, B6, and vitamin E.

Mature fruits contain about 11 mg of iron per 100 grams, beta-sisterol (an anti-inflammatory agent), linoleic acid (a fatty acid), sesquiterpenoids (cyperone, solavetivone), tetraterpenoids (zeaxanthin, physalin), and betaine (0.1%).

Goji berries contain polysaccharides which fortify the immune system. A polysaccharide found in this fruit has been found to be a powerful secretagogue (a substance that stimulates the secretion of rejuvenative human growth hormone by the pituitary gland).

Goji berries have been traditionally regarded as a longevity, strength-building, and sexual potency food of the highest order. In several study groups with elderly people the berry was given once a day for 3 weeks, many beneficial results were experienced and 67% of the patients T cell transformation functions tripled and the activity of the patients white cell interleukin-2 doubled. In addition, the results showed that all the patients spirit and optimism increased significantly, appetite improved in 95% of the patients, 95% of the patients slept better, and 35% of the patients partially recovered their sexual function.

The famed Li Qing Yuen, who apparently lived to the age of 252 years (1678-1930), consumed Goji berries daily. The life of Li Qing Yuen is the most well-documented case of extreme longevity known.

These Goji berries grow in protected valleys in million year old soil in wild and cultivated areas. The plants grow like bushes with vines that reach over 15 feet. The berries are never touched by hand as they will oxidize and turn black if touched while fresh. They are shaken onto mats, then dried in the shade.

The Goji berry is a deep-red, dried fruit about the same size as a raisin. The Goji berry tastes somewhat like a cross between a cranberry and a cherry.

A good daily intake of Goji berries is 10-30 grams (a small handful). Goji berries may be used as snacks or mixed with recipes or smoothies like other dried fruits.

May your day be filled with Peace and Joy!! xo, Kelly O