Cool as a...

Cool Cucumber Salad
1 cucumber, sliced
1/2 an onion, sliced
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar.
Mix together.  Cover & let sit in the fridge for a couple hours.
Light, cool, refreshment!

Forage & Feasting!

As expected, Forage & Feast was awesome!  Seventeen people gathered at Linda Bolt's Hatterdale Farm to hear Marc Williams talk about plants.  We wandered in fields & woods, learning about different types of plants that are safe to eat & use as medicine.  Then, we brought our harvest inside & made it into a delicious meal!  This was my 4th walk in the woods with Marc, and each time, I learn so much.  His knowledge about the plants is amazing.  Learning about edible plants has recently become an "obsession" for me, and these walks just make me want to learn more.

We've had so many positive comments about Forage & Feast.  Most of our group wants to do it again.  Hopefully we can have Marc back soon.

In the meantime, I promised to post the recipes from the feast.

Happy Foraging!

Wild Hummus

3 cans of beans

1/4 c. tahini

1/4 c. lemon juice

dandelion

1 1/2 c. chickweed

1 T cumin

1/3 c. olive oil

salt & garlic to taste

Yogurt Fennel Dressing

1 c. yogurt

1/4 c. fennel

1/4 c. honey

1/2 t salt

Honey Mustard Dressing

1 c. mustard

1/2 c. mustard leaves

1/4 c. honey

1/2 c. oil

Quinoa Tabouleh

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. lemon juice

1 c. mint

1/4 c. wild carrot

1 tomato

2 t salt

Bliss Bites

1 c. pumpkin seeds

1 c. sunflower seeds

1 c. raisins

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. tahini

1 T spice bush fruit

roll in coconut or rose petals

10 Ways to Go Green this Spring

1-Plant a Garden-even if you just have a sunny windowsill, you can have a garden. I
recently learned that lettuces do well in pots, so get out there & get your hands dirty! The Washington County Extension office in Jonesborough offers a ton of resources & they have knowledgeable staff to answer your questions.


2-Raise Chickens-Yes! Johnson City recently decided to allow hens within the city limits, so now's the time to try your hand at bird-raising. I recommend talking with an experienced chicken-owner, but there are lots of books out there at our local libraries.


3-Start a compost pile-Even if you don't garden, a compost pile is a great way to "go green". So much of our landfill waste is kitchen waste, yard waste (like grass clippings) and compostable paper. Reduce your footprint on this earth by turning this back into soil, right in your own back yard! Again, the Extension office & the Library have great resources about composting!


4-Buy a travel mug.  According to Renee Loux, in her book "Easy Green Living", Americans threw away 14.4 billion paper coffee cups in 2005.  This is a significant source of waste!

5-Learn to cook at home.  This decreases your carbon footprint, because you aren't using a vehicle to get to the restaraunt, it saves money for other good things, and you can buy organic, and you KNOW what's in your food!

6-Shop at local farmers' markets.  We are fortunate in this area to have several great markets.  Johnson City, and Jonesborough markets have been going strong for years.  One just opened at ETSU, and there's a new one beginning in Blountville.  There are also wonderful treasures to be found at roadside stands.

7-Buy directly from the farmer, when you can.  It's important to know where our food comes from.  The Cows are Out Dairy delivers here at the studio on Mondays.  She brings raw milk and grass-fed beef.  To learn more, visit them on facebook.

8-Re-use-look for little things that mght have another use.  You never know until you change your thinking.  I recently saved a mixed-nut container from the trash, and it's now used for nuts & washers in the basement!  Our grandparents knew the value of "Waste not, Want not!"

9-Buy from the bulk bins.  Even if you just need a small amount, less packaging means less waste.

10-Learn to preserve foods.  This is quickly becoming one of my favorites.  Freezing food is the easiest method, but pickling, canning, freezing & even cellaring are great fun.  My favorite resource is the Ball Blue Book of Canning & Preserving, which you can usually find cheaply this time of year.

Learning from animals-the "Guardians of Being"

Every year, about this time, I get a serious case of Spring Fever.  Who wants to be inside when it's warm & sunshine-y and things are blooming?  Even though I've spent today, knocking items off the to-do list, my heart just really wants to sit outside and breathe in the warm air.  I want to roll out my mat and practice yoga in the grass.
What's kind of fun is that our dog seems to have Spring Fever, too!  (Yep-that's her in the picture...with mud on her nose from burying a bone)  Saturday morning, when we were trying to sleep in, she was WIDE AWAKE.  She bounded into the bedroom, walked over to the bed and licked my nose!  That got me up, to let her out at 6:30 am.  But then she barked, so I let her back in.  But then she bothered me, so I put her back out.  Then she barked.  This went on for hours.  She was so excited, and it must've just been Spring in the air.
A few months ago, one of my sweet yoga students, Sharon, gave me a book by Eckhart Tolle and Patrick McDonald, entitled, Guardians of Being:  Spiritual teachings from our dogs and cats.  That book makes me smile each time I look at it, so I wanted to share an excerpt with you:
"It's wonderful to watch an animal, because an animal has no opinion of itself.  It is.  That's why the dog is so joyful and why the cat purrs.  When you pet a dog or listen to a cat purring, thinking may subside for a moment and a space of stillness arises within you, a doorway into Being.  The vital function that pets fulfill in this world hasn't been fully recognized.  They keep millions of people sane."
If you have an animal that's driving you crazy with Spring Fever, don't get angry.  Breathe.  And enjoy them.  You've been blessed with a true friend, who can show you how to live in the moment.

Raw food...is it for you?

Raw foodians will tell you that raw is the only way to go for health.  Others say that raw is not healthy.  From an ayurvedic standpoint, raw is only good for some people, as it is so cooling.  The famous raw foodian, Dr. Cousens says we should limit calories and pretty much anything but raw veggies.  But isn't yogurt good for you?  What about whole grains?  What about traditional meals, like dahl, miso soup, etc?  So many questions!  What's a yogi to do?

Many questions, only one answer-food is individual!  Just like our yoga practice, we have to look at what our individual bodies need and find a way to fulfill those needs.

I am entering the third week of my most recent food experiment.  I am eating 2 raw (or living food) meals a day.  And I feel awesome!  I'm not going totally raw.  As a Vata Dosha (ayurvedic constitution), I am often cold, and a totally raw diet may have unintended consequences.  Also, I'm what we call a "householder", which means I also need to take into account the dietary needs and tastes of my husband.  Plus, I know I need probiotics, so I'm including delicious yogurt and other living foods during the day.  In the evening, when I'm eating cooked foods, we are also consuming many more vegetables, as that's what I've stocked up on.

After 2 weeks of this eating practice, I feel great.  I have more energy, my belly is happy, and I feel good about my food choices.  Another reason I'm not too strict about my diet is that I need freedom & self-compassion in all things.  Eating is a yoga practice all to itself.  Non-attachment, non-harming, purity...

Some great books I've found include, but are not limited to:

The Yoga of Eating-Charles Eisenstein

Raw food for 1 or 2 people-Jennifer Cornbleet

Rainbow Green Live-food Cuisine-Dr. Cousens

Nourishing Traditions-Sally Fallon

There are many great books out there about concious and mindful eating.  Start today to consider your food part of your yoga practice!

Yellow Dock-a great balancer

In just a couple weeks, Brooke Sullivan, from Vital Essence Herbs in Asheville, NC will teach a workshop on finding our balance this winter.  Brooke is a talented herbalist, and writes on her blog about all nature offers.  Here's an excerpt from her latest about Yellow Dock:
Yellow Dock is a strong weed, seen through the seasons in various stages of growth. Right now in winter, the stream of red in the leaf’s center (a brilliant color for nature) calls to the passerby, hinting at the fact that the name ‘weed’ has placed a mask over its powerful virtues.


As I sit with yellow dock on an unusually warm winter day in my garden in Asheville, NC, I am impressed by its humble beauty and strength. The plant is as common as the need for it, and proves this by growing in lawns, on streetcorners and parks in every neighborhood and in every season. If only people knew about the healing benefits of Yellow Dock! There would be a drastic decline in Tums and laxatives, and even in iron pills!

Yellow Dock, or Rumex crispus, is also known by the name curly dock due to the curling actions of the leaves. These leaves are a cousin of sorrel, and edible as well, with a sour and astringent taste. The root is similar in taste, althought also bitter, and pushes down into the earth as a yellow-shaped man. These particular tastes and the downward moving action signify the effects yellow dock has on moving things down and out of the digestive system. The root as a tincture or tea can help move bile, decongesting the gallbladder and liver. It also detoxifies the blood (especially in combination with burdock root) and stimulates the peristaltic action of the colon (reducing constipation.) Certain sources and my own experience with clients is that the intelligence of the plant creates an amphoteric action for the colon, helping to bring balance no matter what the affliction. So for example, whether one is suffering from an irritable, crampy bowel, or a sluggish, immobile digestive system–yellow dock ameliorates.

In the energetic and spiritual realm, Yellow Dock is known as ‘the Herb of Understanding.’ According to Matthew Wood, one of my mentors and author of “The Book of Herbal Wisdom,” certain Native American tribes used Yellow Dock before a sweat lodge to deepen the wisdom and discernment of the material versus the spiritual realms. In my own experience, it assists in illuminating our higher mind through the avenue of strengthening the solar plexus–the seat of our will, power and assimilation of all life’s experiences. It helps us to flush out old emotionsthat have become stagnant and even materialized in the form of hard matter or congestion in the colon. Its downward flowing action correlates to Yoga and Ayurveda’s concept of Apana Vayu, the energy that governs all forms of elimination such as urination, menstruation, defecation and childbirth. As a tonic in this regards it is used by women for loss of iron and digestive issues during menstruation & childbirth. It makes a wonderful iron syrup tonic with molasses!!

This assistance to the downward flowing motion of energy is probably one of the most important gifts of yellow dock. When it is hard to let go of the past (stories, anger, guilt, pain), old emotions or trauma lingering in the conscious or subconcsious mind, yellow dock is a powerful ally. Physically it ‘cleanses our blood’ but mentally it helps cleanse our mind.

Yellow Dock is a tonic, meaning it is nourishing like food. I suggest whoever is reading this to get to know this plant! Make a tea from the roots (found in the bulk section of most health food stores) or as a tincture, or just sit by it on a sunny day to slow down, rest a bit and take the time to let go of whatever you no longer need. When we allow ourselves the time and space…and support to LET GO, we naturally make room for something else to move into our lives…and with intention, this something can be whatever we need–the perfect medicine to any situation.

To read more from Brooke, check out her blog here.
To attend the workshop, contact Mountain Yoga at 423-262-9551, or online at http://www.mountainyogatn.com/

The Marine Corps meets the Yogini

This morning, I had the great opportunity to teach a yoga class to some active-duty Marines at our local Reserve Center.  I was so nervous!  My husband was a Marine, so I have a tiny understanding of their history & culture.  Also, they really thought it was neat that I'm married to a former Marine.
So, today, it was 13 big, strong guys and one little 'ole me.  But I put 'em through the paces.  We did several sun salutations, a warrior series, a backbend, and even some inversions.
Through it all, they grunted, moaned and laughed.  Their great attitude made it fun, and pretty soon, I wasn't so nervous anymore.  One guy was there, taking pictures, which I hope to recieve copies of soon.
My favorite part was sivasana.  They weren't sure I was serious when I told them to lie down & cover up with the blanket.  But once down, the strong warriors relaxed and focused on their breath.
Thanks, guys.  It was an honor.