The Great Yoga Smackdown

The late, great Sri Pattabhi Jois once said “Yoga is an internal practice. Everything else is just a circus.” I read those words a long time ago and understood them with my brain, but not at all with my heart. To me, in those early days of asana, yoga was a circus. I was learning how to do some crazy stuff with my body, and even crazier, it actually responded to those things with a little work and a lot of persistence. In my fledgling years as a yoga practitioner, I was like a sponge. I soaked up every style and every teacher and I was ceaselessly amazed by a) the rigor that yoga demanded of my body and 2) that my body could live up to and exceed that rigorous practice with ease.

This is the circus part.

There were minor injuries along the way, of course. An over-stretched hamstring here, a tweaked knee there…but nothing that would slow me down for long, and certainly nothing that ever kept me away from class or that made me question the practice. It was the relationship of a lifetime. I was in LOVE, and I was in love BAD.

Girls Night Zoodles with Peanut Sauce (Vegan and Gluten free)

Our girls nights are epic!  We meet up for some hardcore bootcamp (that may or may not involve pants peeing) before reconvening to unwind with wine, a feast and an offensive amount of peanut butter cups.   Last night, we stuffed our faces with these crack-tastic creamy and comforting zoodles.

I’m daydreaming about the leftovers that I will attack after I teach tonight.

In a word, peanut sauce is everything.  It’s like an edible hug; the kind that smothers you delicately and all at once, warming you up from the inside out.  It’s the epitomy of comfort food, harmonizing sweet and salty and topped off with a zing of spice. Oh, peanut sauce… je ‘taime.

Like all of the recipes I post, you can adapt and modifty this recipe to serve your needs and tastes.  But, I gotta be honest and warn you that this variation just might rock your world.

On Learning to Chill the Eff Out

I suck at vacations. For all the travel that I do, I am actually really, really bad at vacationing. There is a big difference between the two: travel elicits that rush of adrenaline, of rushing to catch your flight, the thrill of stepping out of the airport into a new city, completely unsure of the language, whether you’ll be able to get transport to your hotel, if you even HAVE a hotel booked. I love that. I love the idea of embarking on a new and wild adventure, of stepping out into the Unknown and embracing all the insanity of the moment. Absolutely nothing makes me feel more alive.

Ultra-Rich Body Butter to Beat the Winter Blues

It’s cold.  And I am miserable.  And if you have been in any of my classes in the last three weeks, you know it.  I start every class talking about it, about letting go of frustration and taking the time on your mat as a mini-break from the world.  Really, setting that tone at the beginning of class is more for me than it is for you guys…sorry, y’all.  #itsallaboutme 🙂

I know I’m not alone in my winter blues.  NPR had a whole segment the other day talking about how statistics show couples fight more in the winter, parents yell more at their kids, EVERYONE is less gracious to everyone else because we are all slogging through our own personal hell of snow, sleet, cold, slush…you get the idea…with our heads up our asses and our bodies wrapped in layer upon layer of wool and fleece in an attempt to stave off the -25 degree windchills trying to creep up our pants.  So at least I can take solace in the fact that misery does indeed love company.

Healthy Super Bowl Spicy Carrot Ginger Miso Dip

A few years back my cousin gave me the cookbook Clean Start by Terry Walters for Christmas.  It’s full of beautiful and delicious seasonal recipes that are all vegan, gluten free and whole-food-based.  The recipes are simple and easy to prepare and– for the recipe misfits like me who never EVER follow the rules–easily adaptable.

I’ve recreated her Carrot Miso Dip on dozens of occasions; I’ve changed the seasoning and spices, added ingredients and even stuck to her recipe time and time again.  This dip is always a hit at parties.  It’s also wonderful cold, hot or room temperature, so if you plan on sharing it with others, consider making an extra batch.    One taste is not enough, like when you bake Betty Crocker brownies, you will be licking the spoon and the bowl clean.

Get Out of Your Head Funky Vashistasana B Flow

Cleansing, as I mentioned before, can take on a lot of shapes and can happen in a lot of different ways.  One of those ways is just good, old-fashioned moving and sweating.  Sweat is a super awesome, easy to access detox process that our bodies perform all the damn time – I would argue that almost nothing feels better than getting in a good sweat, getting your heart pumping and feeling freaking alive.  (Yes, I am dramatic in all facets of my life, including how I talk about sweat.)  So when I am cleansing, I like to move.  Which makes me sweat.  And the added benefit to linking movement with the breath (aka, the essence of vinyasa yoga) is that when your practice becomes a moving meditation, you drop out of your head, get out of your story and become completely absorbed in your body and breath.  Everything else melts away, which lets your brain get a little detox from the constant chatter going on in there, too.  When that moving meditation involves a challenging pose (which in my world is the dreaded Vashistasana B)…well, bonus points!!

Rice and Sprouts and Greens, Oh My!

Welcome to Detox Day 1!!

For all of you who joined us at the Sunday Funday to kick this detox week off, you know Kath and I are not your typical detox kind of gals. I admitted to the love affair I am currently having with all things bread and cheese. We both really love red wine and chocolate (especially when that chocolate is surrounding a delicious peanut butter center). Don’t even think about talking to either of us before we’ve had half a pot of coffee in the morning. (Okay, that might be more me than Kath, but still.)

My point is that I’m not really in the habit of denying myself much. So when I cleanse, I don’t want to walk around feeling like my brain is going to explode from lack of caffeine or like I am so hangry I could contemplate eating the rubber off the wheel of my shopping cart in Target or like I am going to pass out when I’m demo-ing inversions while I am teaching. The idea of this detox – we won’t even call it a cleanse – is to reboot you back into really fabulous food. Every recipe we post this week will be real, whole, solid, warm, DELICIOUS food. And all things that are easy to find around here. (I do pretty much all my shopping at the Lexington Co-Op.) We’re here to make this as easy as possible, and to fit your reboot into a super busy life full of chasing kids, meeting deadlines and going to yoga classes. Consider yourself UN-deprived 🙂

Love in Motion Holiday Gift Guide

Last-minute shopping got you in a frenzy??  Never fear!!  The queens of procrastination ourselves, we’ve put together a gift guide that’s (mostly) local, super fabulous and ridiculously easy to put together.  So now everyone on your list can have a very Merry Christmas.

Kath’s Picks:

Lisa B. Socks:  I admit I have an obsession with cozy, chunky socks. Functionally, the keep my feet warm (duh).  But they also add some detail to my outfit.  Yoga pants, chunky socks, Frye boots create the perfect effortless and ridiculously comfort look.  Lisa B. socks, knit from a delicious blend of cashmere and wool, come in solids, prints, over the knee and mid-calf (trouser) heights.   If you live to layer like me, some of the socks are a tighter knit than others, so it’s easy to wear more than one pair for extra comfort.   I’ve stocked up on pairs for friends, family and of course for myself.  If you are local to Buffalo you can find Lisa B. cashmere  at Modern Nostalgia and Blue Collar on Hertel Avenue.  If you are from out of the area, check out Lisa B.’s website.

Photo by Erin Habes for Modern Nostalgia

 

Sumbody Skincare Products:  My love affair with Sumbody began with their coconut oil-based, all natural, aromatherapeutic soaps.  My mom bought me a few bars while I was pregnant with Hannah and I fell in LOVE.   Once I began using all natural, chemical free soaps, I find the synthetic scents to be, well, very synthetic (redundant, I know).   Sumbody makes all kinds of skincare products that ranges from the more indulgant sugar and salt scrubs to all natural face cleansers and anti-aging product.  Today, I popped into a local bath and body shop on Elmwood Ave. called Renew to purchase Sumbody soaps and goodies for Christmas Presents.  I learned, via their sales associate, that Sumbody’s owner and creator, Deborah, formulates all of the product herself from scratch and she also speaks directly with stores and vendors selling her product.  Amazing soap, therepeautic scents and kick-ass female creator and owner… Sumbody has got it going on!

 

 

Amika: Nourishing Mask:  One might assume that I shower regularly and often since almost all of my favorite things this holiday season are indeed used in the shower.  Assumptions, as we know, make an ass of you and me.   I try to shower as often as possible, and I relish in the idea of showers, but I usually skip a few days before even my top know looks disgusting and I’m left with but no other choice than to shower.   Eww, I know, TMI.  Back to this product…  My hair is thin and straight but it easily becomes wicked tangled.  It took two girls to brush my hair–after they shampooed and conditioned me– last time I got a trim.  This conditioning mask can be used as often as you like.    It leaves your hair so soft, less tangly and full of body.  Locally, the amazingly talented ladies at The Refinery Salon on Saranac and Hertel Avenues sell Amika products.

 

Kate’s Picks:

Mahina Jewelry: Jocelyn, the creator of this gorgeous, island-inspired line, is quite possibly the most generous, lovely human I have ever met.  She designs her pieces with so much love and care, and if she doesn’t have quite what you’re looking for, don’t worry – she’ll make it for you on the spot if you are lucky enough to catch her at a trunk show.  She sells at several area boutiques, but I picked up my pieces at Modern Nostalgia on Hertel Avenue.  (Pssst…she just dropped a TON of new product there last night, so get in and get it while it’s hot!!)

Photo by Erin Habes for Modern Nostalgia.

 

 

I.Love.Lettuce.: Anyone who knows Kath and I knows that we have a ridiculous obsession with the leafy green stuff.  We eat it with hot sauce, with peanut butter, practically straight out of the ground.  So when I found this fresh face mask with the moniker “Love Lettuce” at Lush Cosmetics, I knew I was about to enter a pretty fantastic love affair.  It’s got a cool, creamy texture and a deliciously light lavender smell that’s perfectly relaxing after a long crazy day.  It’s a great gift for someone who burns the candle at both ends, and it’s just the right amount of indulgence.  Find it in the fridge at our local Lush! (Yes, you have to go to the mall, but I PROMISE this super ethical, crazy cool company is worth the trip.)

 

Linwood Candle Co.: A recent new discovery of mine, I am already obsessed with the delicious smells this place has concocted.  Fresh Grapefruit, Mission Fig and Pumpkin Pie are just a few, and they are all hand-poured right here in the Queen City.  Small-batch, soy-based means that they burn clean and don’t have any of the extra gross stuff you find in mass produced candles.  They make great stocking stuffers or work-buddy gifts.  Who doesn’t like a yummy smelling house around the holidays?  Grab a bunch at Anna Grace on Elmwood Avenue.  They have extended hours, right up until Christmas Eve for all you procrastinators out there 🙂

 

Happy shopping, y’all!  And if anyone has any gorgeous, inspirational gifts of their own, let us know!!  We’re always looking for great new finds you can’t live without. ( Also, Kate is pretty stumped this year and could use a little help in her procrastinating gift shopping :))