Eat! #9 Buzz Juice

"If I'm trying to eat more consciously and want to add more of the good stuff into my daily bread, do I have to consume the entire produce aisle?"

Good question!

Just in time - after my own recipe in our last post for a green breakfast smoothie, I received an email  from my friends at MacroLife Naturals with more good ideas for simple pick me ups that pack a one-two punch and deliver the goods.  You can check their website for more info on the products.

Greetings Goddess Sister;

Love your blog- thank you greatly!

 

Here’s my newest  favorite….I call it buzz juice.  You can do with Greens or REDS but I like best with my macro greens.  

Buzz Juice

1 Scoop of Macro Greens® 

1000 mg Vitamin C powder             

1000 IU's liquid vitamin D-3           

(Capful of ACV - Apple Cider Vinegar)

Dash of stevia, or a little organic maple syrup

Fresh lemon juice

4-6 ounces of water or fresh juice

 

WHEN I’m in a rush I just add the Capful of ACV - Apple Cider Vinegar-  Very alkalizing.

 Reds Tea

Also on those days, when you just need something smoothing and comforting make up a hot cup of Miracle REDS®  Soothing Tea

8-oz Boiling Water add,

1-2 Cinnamon Stick cover and steep for 5 minutes. 

Once cooled to warm add 1 Scoop Miracle Reds®     

Enjoy the calm.  Sylvia Ortiz, founder

 Sage advise for the day

Whenever you create a new intention for greater health, and commit to acting on it in some way, you set a whole series of energetic responses in play.  Your choices need not be big ones as much as they need to be heartfelt ones, with clear intention for health, nourishment and enlivening.  In this way each small step activates the whole intention. You will be amazed at how far that intention will take you.

Bon appetit!

What's on your plate?
Gael

Eat! #8 Orange Smoothie

In a hurry? No breakfast again?? Feel a deli stop coming on??

How can you bring it home when life is in a hurry and you need to get out the door?

Many of us rely on oatmeal or natural cold cereals for breakfast - both good choices I believe from the standpoint of health, and definitely in alignment with knowing what's on your plate.  This is one of the missions of the Eat! series.  The further we are from the source of our food, the easier it is for fats, preservatives and foreign ingredients to make their way into that tasty treat you're eating without even seeing it coming.

My topic today is your first meal of the day (after latte of course - see previous post ;) and my own comes out of a blender most days.

Main Meal


Fruit Smoothie with Super Greens

You'll need a regular blender - nothing fancy or uber-powerful is required.

Mix:
one cup or so of orange juice
one banana - I like mine frozen :) 
one scoop of your favorite greens mix
scoop of flax seed
additional fruit of choice
ice

Blend till smooth and you like the texture.  Modulate with more or less of the fluid or ice.

Voila! Yummy healthy jump start to your day.

Add-ins

Fruits that go well with this banana - orange blend include berries (fresh or frozen) mango and pineapple.

Use a different juice altogether and invent what goes with it.

Some people add protein powder to shakes...others like to add yogurt.

Feel free to play with healthy alternatives, and with one press of the blender button you've got a great start to the day.

Sage tips:


Frozen bananas are great to have around.  You can eat them right out of the freezer - tastes like a frozen ice cream treat - and they are always ready to toss into your smoothie.

As for the greens, I like MacroLife Naturals Macro Greens.  In general, you don't need a blender to enjoy them, but I like the whole effect of my recipe. The greens taste delish all by themselves and I know the fantastic formulator Sylvia Ortiz.  I vouch for her integrity and awesome mission to help heal the American diet. Try them out - you won't be sorry!

Bon appetit!
What's on your plate?
Gael

Eat! #7 Boulder Latte

Even though I live on the East Coast, I love - really love - camping out west.  If I had my druthers, I think I might have moved to Boulder Colorado long ago.  (Some obvious clues that give me away include the tent, the hat, and the home-made latte I'm gripping in the midst of a camp-out. Tres chic!)

On the subject of chic, Boulder's own Elephant Journal online always offers me good reads, and I like to go for the funny stuff. I get enough of the serious yoga/buddha/mystic side of things on my own time, but Ele has it all...and the particular post I've linked you to below says plenty about our subject of food: Joe Yeoman discoursing about his change in eating habits.

Too funny!

And wise...  It's worth the read ... Enjoy!!

How Elephant Journal turned a leather jacket wearing Mustang driving corn-fed beef Iowa hick into another flower child of Boulder


Now onto the rest:

Main Meal

My hubby's recipe for livin' the good life: Soy-almond latte (and he serves me every morning in bed!! Yup...unless I'm in a tent of course...)

I am categorizing this as a main meal - first because it is my daily breakfast staple - and second, although it is liquid, the amount of soy and almond milk adds up to a hearty belly full.

You will need:

Cappuccino machine or milk steamer
vanilla soy
vanilla almond milk
honey
cinnamon
English Breakfast tea
Roobios tea

To top it off:
dark chocolate to sprinkle over the top
a little sugar in the raw if you want a sweeter variation


Here's a video clip of the entire operation












Add-ins (or tag alongs in this case)

fiber bar
granola
fresh fruit

Sage advise for the day

You know the part about getting served in bed? Sometimes I'm awash in challenge and responsibility, and that latte is the best part of my day.

Love the one you're with.  It really does mater.

What's on your plate??
Gael

Eat! #6 On the Road

I've been on the road this week and I'm focusing on just a few conscious eating tips.

The first is water, water, water.

After that, remember to eat regularly. Don't wait for the big restaurant date. Overeating and ordering due to hunger rather than nourishment will ruin your healthy intentions.

Buy nuts, fruit, hummus, yogurt, rice crackers and tea and keep it on hand for between meals.

Add more veggies to your meals...same intention as at home.

Keep active - get out and on your feet.

Best advise? Use the "lucky space" whenever and wherever you can! What's lucky? Park FAR from your destination and walk. It's just a shift in consciosness but it has lifetime benefits for a more fit mindset. You can also get off a train or bus one stop early, and always use the stairs.

Keep your trip on track for healthy eating and even more physical activity than usual and you will come home truly refreshed.

Bon appetit!
What's on your plate?

Gael

Eat! #5 In Praise of the One-Pot

Soups and stews and one-pots oh my...

So here's a pic of the sriracha sauce I've been talking about, and it's just one of many sources of heat.  For me just a couple of drops can make all the difference.  There are lots of chili type sauces in bottles and jars - and sometimes I just use dried chilies and throw them into the pot to change the personality of what might have been somewhat banal before.

So why change it up?

My mission today is global!

I'd like to see a place for all those leftovers that get thrown into the garbage in hundreds of thousands of households across the world.  It seems so negligent and unthinking that we can't do better than that, at least in our own homes.

I don't know if bringing an enlightened attitude to the nasty habit of food waste will help feed "the starving children in China" (clean your plates kids) but it will surely make a difference in the wasted time, effort and expense that so many people complain about with the rising cost of food.

Besides - I think it actually will help the starving children of everywhere when we become more conscious of our relationship with the cycles of food delivery period. 

Here's what to do whenever you look in the back of the fridge and think "what am I gonna do with that??"

Think soup.

Every soup or one-pot meal has it's own charm, so I'm just going to give you a few of my own basics, and I'm only touching the surface!  Cooked leftovers go in at the end.

What's good and good for you:

• I can't sing the praises of the humble crock pot enough.
• start with water or use any broth of your choice.  I like the organic broth that comes in boxes in the supermarket as a starter.  One box gets stretched into many times it's size in this household...
• buy fresh herbs, cut them up and use liberally in any one-pot.
• you can use any and all veggies, snippets of meat or tofu, every grain imaginable, legumes, beans, spices, and all your pre-made ingredients are fair game.  
• the box of whatever you brought home from the restaurant last night that had that fabulous sauce on it is fair game.  Five bites of a favorite dish might not seem worth taking home, but once added to a soup concoction it can make all the difference.
• freedom to explore = good use for almost every type of leftover in addition to a marked reduction in those throwaways from the back of the fridge.
• put items that do not need more cooking in to the pot at the end or you will pulverize them especially pasta, rice, pre-cooked grains or dumplings...these all go in the pot at the end just to cook through.
• don't eliminate unusual additions such as cooked potato or yesterdays yam.
• feel free to add just one or two substantial ingredients from a previous dish skipping other items (like soggy bread etc. :)   
• most everything is fair game.

Main Meal

Simple Soup

Here's where I went today, this soup as simple as it gets:

During passover when the markets were jammed with all things kosher, I picked up some jars of matzo balls - a comfort food from my childhood since I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood and was given matzo ball soup by a number of kindly neighbor mom's who seemed to lovingly dote on their children with it.

Into my crock pot went a box of organic chicken broth (use veggie as desired), all my fresh herbs on hand (rosemary, parsley, bay leaf, thyme) chopped carrot, peas, kernels from corn on the cob, celery, a small potato, and a few hot drops.  Cook.

Shredded cooked chicken cutlet can be added. So can tofu. Keep the whole thing on crock pot simmer till ready to serve.

Add the matzo balls in toward the end. 

I also added pre-cooked egg noodles. (Use soba noodles, angel hair pasta, orzo as well, cooked separately and reserved.)


Voila!

Add-ins

I have found you can cook all beans and legumes "as is" after rinsing, no mater what the bag or recipe says about pre-soaking, but do get them going first.  Black beans, white beans, split peas, lentils - right into the broth or water! Cover and they will cook nicely.  Add herbs in the beginning - veggies according to hardness as you go - cooked foods near the end.

You have probably noticed I work with the philosophy that any and every meal can be enhanced by adding more of the stuff that is already nutritious on it's own.  If I can find space for a veggie in any meal for any reason at all, in it goes!  If you are not already a high-veggie type, this one conscious shift toward the creative use of veggies (whether typical in the dish or not) can be a dramatic benefit to your overall health.

Grated cheese over the top of soup is a time honored tradition. Most hard cheeses work. 

Crusty bread rounds out the meal.


Sage advise for the day

Mantra: repeat daily...

"What veggies do I have on hand...how can I add them to this meal..."

Bon appetit!
What's on your plate?

Gael

Eat! #4 Marney Soup

In time for Mothers Day.  May happiness be in the heart of Earth Mothers everywhere.  May we nourish and be nourished through our offerings.

This week my friend and colleague Chef Marney White offered one of her healthy (and awesomely easy) recipes for Mystic blog readers to enjoy, and I scooped it up!

This is Marney's lead in: 

"It’s got 5 ingredients, is high-fiber, high protein, and very low fat.  It’s also ready in about 45 minutes!  Freezes great, if you want to make a double batch and freeze ahead in 2-portion servings, as I have always done. Enjoy..."

The experience of sharing food is one of the most powerful communications we humans can indulge in.  How we create our meals is just one way of doing it. 

Thanks Marney! 

Main Meal

Pumpkin Red Lentil Soup

By Marney White, from her 1999 cookbook, “Healthy Body, Happy Life”

3 qts vegetable stock

1 lb. dried red lentils (which are actually orange in color)

1 16 oz can pumpkin puree

¼ c onion, chopped and pureed

¼ c celery, chopped and pureed

Salt & pepper to taste

2 Tbl olive oil

Warm a 6 qt stock pot, and add oil.  Add onion and celery and sauté. Add lentils, then vegetable stock.  Cook over medium heat until lentils have broken down and become soft.  If necessary, add up to a 4^th quart vegetable stock until soup is at your ideal consistency. (It’s better when thicker.)  In the last 10 minutes of cooking, now on low heat, stir in the can of pumpkin puree and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add ins

Soups are amazingly versatile.  Do you have a cooked grain on hand? Using the soup as a "sauce" can make a substantial meal for a hungry appetite.  Legumes and grains go well together! Use your imagination...

Sage advise for the day

  

Healthy home cooking can be easy - let all thoughts of kitchen drudgery dissolve. 

Hearty soups = less pots and pans = easier still.

Make one pot meals a kitchen mainstay and you'll save all sorts of time and effort, plus you'll have many more reasons to stay close to hearth and home where your own good nourishment lives.


Bon appetit!

What's on your plate?

Gael

PS - visit Marney for more good things to eat - and check out the the desserts from this award winning chef. Awesome!  www.marneycakes.com  and  www.marneycakes.blogspot.com

Eat! #3 Tomatoes

This is the third in our Conscious Eating Series for the month of May, the time when Moms delight in the prerogatives of Mother's Day, and families get the nudge (or kick in the butt as the case may be!) to create opportunities to appreciate each other and home values. 

For me this includes more eating together - more picnics and outings - and more awareness of the relationship we have with the green Earth and new things growing. 

May reminds me of the blessing of all this.

All through my 20's I was fortunate enough to have a food mentor - Vincenza Scarcelli - who let me watch, and help, and simply absorb what she knew about food...and she knew plenty.  

Particularly memorable was the time we went out on the lawn (the LAWN mind you)  and picked dandelions, then went out back and scooped a net through the water of the Long Island Sound catching bunches of lowly minnows for what was to become a simple and delicious fried pattie of sorts made from stuff I thought I'd never even go near much less EAT! 

I was fortunate to have an authentic role model from the "old country" when the place I came from was Brooklyn.

I hope you've had a food mentor somewhere along the line - and if not, it's never too late to find one.  Food and love, once connected, can make a huge impression.  We all respond to that.

Use this blog to know you are loved through the connection to foods I offer you here.

For details on cooking exactly what's in this post, you may want to reference the first post in the series and review either the lentil stew or the chicken in simmer sauce, but if you don't need specifics and merely want a mind-bending recognition of gourmet simplicity from leftover goodness, then here it is raw and uncensored...

So imagine you're hungry for something fabulous.  Long, loping strands of pasta sounds good and you've got some tomatoes on hand, and bits of the dishes you cooked from the past couple of days.

ok, super. Here's what you do...we are going to make your leftovers (ingredients, remember??) look like a king's ransom in 10 minutes...

Main Meal

1. cook up a box of linguine
2. cut up two or three fresh tomatoes into chunks and put them into a saucepan.  Add 1 cup of lentil soup and 1/2 cup or more of the simmer sauce gravy from the chicken dish of the day before (shred and add some of the chicken too if you'd like).
3. cook and blend everything together for 5 minutes or so until the tomatoes soften ever so slightly.
4. pour over the linguine - and sprinkle liberally with some of that fine grated locatelli romano you bought the other day. Top with some pricey pignolis, or the more routine but still delightful toasted pumpkin seeds, and fresh basil if you have it.
5. salt and pepper to taste, or add a dash more hot sauce (like sriracha) for some bite.

Add-ins

Toss a small amount of the greens from your salad in with the tomatoes when you start the sauce until just wilted.

Add peas right from the bag - run through a strainer under hot water for a minute. No cooking required, and peas go with everything. My brother told me that.

Sage advise for the day

A word on tomatoes - always get the best of the season.  Good looks does not always = best.  Some of the sweetest tomatoes are plain ugly.  Be brave and taste the bounty.

Farmers Markets rock :) 


In a fancy restaurant, this dish would be on the special menu due to all the prep time for the lentils to cook...and the simmer sauce to absorb the flavors from the chicken and fruit...and the presence of awesome freshness like vine ripened tomato and the fine grated cheese.

You can do it all yourself by being open minded and creative in pulling things together from leftovers you've already prepared.

Bellisimo!

What's on your plate??

Eat! #2 Dumplings

Next up in our series on Conscious Eating - quick and easy Dumplings.  Good and good for you!  Is there anyone out there that doesn't love fat juicy dumplings stuffed with all sorts of goodies? My Japanese friend Felly used to make them - from scratch. That was awesome.

Me? I go to the supermarket and stock up from the frozen section for a fraction of the cost of my restaurant favorites.  Shrimp, chicken, pork or veggie filled are common varieties.

My intention with this series is to highlight healthy, diverse, make at home meals..staying with and keeping our connection with real food.

Here's the part that makes it all worthwhile: 15 minutes for the whole meal. No kidding. Here's the deal...

Main Meal

1. Use a large saucepan. Cut up a head of broccoli, place it in about 2 inches of salted water and cover till boiling.  Lower heat and add a can of water chestnuts and a bag of frozen dumplings right over the top.  Close the lid and steam about 5 more minutes tops. Drain and plate.
2. Meanwhile put up some jasmine or basmati rice cooked according to directions.
3. Make a dipping sauce: combine 2T soy sauce, 2T water, splash of rice vinegar, pinch of sugar and a few drops of seseme oil.  
4. Serve with fresh chopped green lettuce and tomato salad, fresh lemon and EVOO.

Add-ins

Top dumplings with sesame seeds, scallions and/or strips of toasted nori seaweed.  (I used all three.)  Add ground pecans, walnuts or almonds to the salad.

Bonus

Treat yourself to some ginger water - great for digestion and tastes delicious!  Just use a piece of fresh ginger root in a pitcher of cool water.  Either grate it and drink up - or strain if desired - or better yet freeze the ginger root in chunks.  When you take it out of the freezer it will defrost into a softer version of its former self and you can squeeze the juice right into your water.

Sage advise of the day

The investment you make in condiments that delight your tastebuds will repay itself many times over.  Sesame oil is one of those things. Use sparingly.

Bon appetit!

What's on your plate??


Namaste

Eat! #1 Vegi Face

One of the first books I remember reading on yogic lifestyle referred to food.  Right up my alley! Written by the controversial Da Free John it was called The Eating Gorilla Comes in Peace.

I've since come to my own philosophies and guidelines for living a spiritually driven life, but never moved one inch from the recognition that a relationship with food IS spiritual and the way we approach it, embrace it, embody it and appreciate it is a spiritual discipline meant to be enjoyed.

I was recently asked to write a regular column for the holistic magazine Vitamin - the premier issue will be launched in August.  My column will offer tips, philosophy and examples of Conscious Eating and it got me thinking - how can I make the juice of this fabulous topic come alive in simple ways that can make an everyday difference to busy multitask-loaded people (like myself :)

I decided to take the next several posts here on Mystic blog and devote myself to the subject through a series called "Eat!"  I'll post some gorgeous pix of fresh fruits and vegis to get you in the mood - then go into tips about how it works for me in my household. I've literally devoted my kitchen life to thrifty, healthy, time saving ideas, and I definitely speak from experience. We've all been through hard times and some of mine are doozies.  My friend Heather reminisced with me the other day and made me laugh out loud.  She said "you can take a nickle, stretch it into a dime and make it look like a quarter."   I didn't realize it was so obvious!! I do have a passion for food though, especially whole grain, organically grown, feel good, great smelling, fabulously nourishing, awesome tasting food - and I can't remember a time when I wasn't devoted to it.

I have also been a busy multitasker since...forever...and some of the go-to qualities I take for granted in slinging food around the kitchen and having it turn out well might be a hard won victory for someone else, so I've decided to share some of what I do.

Comments are totally welcomed!!  I'm here to offer some thoughts and share with you what my own Spring menu is looking like as we go.  I've also got some travel on my calendar, so that will be an interesting perspective...

To get started, these are just some of my own ground rules:

• mixing prepared foods (canned or jars) with fresh food makes sense
• always read the labels; if you see preservatives in there, put it down.
• mixing cooked food with raw food (like salads and fruit) also makes sense
• mouth feel and texture do matter
• so does color - the more the merrier!
• buy a crock pot
• add veggies whenever and wherever to whatever you can (called "add-ins" - more on that as we go...)
• if you eat meat, make it the side instead of the main event
• keep it to fish and fowl for the most part, or consider going veggie for a while
• educate yourself about complete proteins 
• if you do go veg... I did for 16 years and I was happy, healthy and strong...check out the attached article from Saavy Vegetarian and others like it:  "Vegans and vegetarians can't help getting all the essential amino acids, through eating different combinations of grains, legumes, nuts & seeds, vegetables & fruit several times throughout the day. Read more...
• buy fresh - make plenty - freeze liberally
• forget the concept of "leftovers"... pre-cooked food = "ingredients for the next meal"
• think like a sous-chef and prepare lots of ingredients at one sitting
• there is always enough time, enough choice and enough in the budget to eat extraordinarily well
• if you can make it yourself, you can probably make it better :)

Once you give up the nasty habit of semi-nutritious eating, or plain old bad food eating (God forbid!) your body actually does know what it needs to nourish itself with.

Ok so here are my bon mots for today illustrating the "some prepared/some fresh concept"- as well as the add-ins which boosts interest, nutrition and variety.

Note - never turn on the oven for just one thing.  Scout around for what else you can prepare while the oven is on.

Main meal:
Chicken pieces marinated in a jar of Trader Joes Curry Simmer Sauce. (This sauce is particularly good - but you can find your own version most anywhere in the Thai section of your grocery - or your own cookbook.)

Add-ins - pineapple chunks, green peas and water chestnuts.  Cover and bake.

Brown jasmine rice. Make enough for more than one meal, divide and freeze.

Green salad with pumpkin seeds and raisins.  Oil and vinegar dressing.

Extra in the oven:
Frozen corn with a dab of butter, salt and pepper.  Bake until slightly browned. Unbelievably sweet.

Bonus meal:
Crock pot lentil soup - or stew - depending on how much water you add.

Rinse a bag of lentils, add twice as much water, can of tomatoes, any number of green fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, basil) chopped potato, garlic, salt and pepper, and a squeeze of sriracha hot sauce.  Pass the EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) over the top and go.  Add a splash of red wine vinegar when it's all done and stir around.  Serve with a good fresh grated locatelli romono.

Sage advise for the day:
Know what you can skimp on.  Don't make it the cheese :) 

Bon appetit!

What's on your plate??
Gael

Handling World Events

I love scanning the New York Times online in the morning and taking in whatever dose of world news is tolerable to me at any one sitting...

Today the article I am reading is Japan Nuclear Disaster Put on Par With Chernobyl.

No surprise really. It is one month and one day since the earthquake and tsunami that started it all. Risks are escalating. Conditions are worse than previously reported. The whole world is affected. Not looking good. I don't mean to add to your freak out quotient - but rather to ask a powerful question...

What can we do? What can YOU do?

I know we all feel the same challenge tolerating news of worsening conditions.  How much bad news - how many challenging events - and what new world catastrophe can be absorbed without going into overwhelm or deep sadness or anger or hopelessness or - something.

Why do we react - or push it all away in helplessness or apathy?

We react because we care.

We shut down because we care.

We are bewildered and upset - or vague and apathetic - because we care.

You might hear a world of difference in opinion making regarding what should be done, who should be doing it, how stupid - or smart - we are, who is the villian, who the hero, and whatever else looks a diversity of approach.  Yet I guarantee you from the deepest part of the soul of mankind, we do care, each and every one.

If you are active in relief efforts - sending donations, writing letters, finding a passionate outlet - you may have diffused your own personal agony.

For most of us who are not wearing the hat of President or Minister or Billionaire though, it might seem like our offering is too small...too insignificant to even matter, or try.
 
Yet I tell you it is necessary that you offer something anyway... and that there is something we all can do successfully. 

So what is that you ask?

Big windup with drumroll...

Activate your sixth chakra and get on board with a simple solution to your own stuckness - and perhaps save the world in the process.

Here's the cliff notes on how the human energy system reacts to stress when viewing life through the lens of energy anatomy - and btw you can practically apply this mini-lesson to any circumstance or issue:

1. As communal beings dependent from birth, we inherently reach for the idea that somebody will rescue us, and when our beliefs get crushed we feel betrayed. First chakra of the tribe is not the answer to what we can rely on with issues that are out of our control. 
2. We move to "apathy" when caring becomes overwhelming.  This is second chakra movement away from nourishment and relationship when the nourishment of doing something significant about caring isn't available - therefore we say we "can't care so much anymore." 
3. We look to ourselves for action and find we are individually powerless to make a difference. Third chakra of Self and the concept "I am able"  is distorted into "I am not able."
4. We activate fear as faith in our surroundings breaks down. Fourth chakra of the heart. 
5. We switch to active anger when boundaries are crushed and when we feel powerless with our will to have life be different than it is.  Fifth chakra territory activates, spins and spins and burns us out.
6. We go back again and again to one or more of the above. 

It is exhausting.

We are playing energy anatomy pinball with the chakras. 

It is exhausting.

Are you exhausted??

Something new must be activated so that you yourself will have some grace and freedom to continue to create and breathe and smile.

Time to send in the special ops - onward to the Sixth Chakra!

On The Monkey Blog, a forum I created for discussing higher consciousness, quantum physics and other fabulous topics, I wrote about the work of Dr. Masuru Emoto and his dynamic water crystal research in the post Healing The Waters of Japan.  Even if you read it, follow me on this one...

You will find exquisite Sixth Chakra work in action.

Read the post and connected links to get more of the back story if you want some interesting mind food, but for now do tuck the exercise below into your Daily Bread Basket...

Dr. Emoto suggests that each of us engages in one achingly simple exercise. 

It is a prayer that  opens the door to the sixth chakra of insight and connectedness.  It affords individual and communal movement in the direction of healing.  It may seem too simple.  You may not recognize the power of something so mystical as a simple prayer - or you may say yes with all your heart!..yet skip the regularity of the action.

My post today is a reminder that this requires action in addition to awareness.

Continuous heartfelt action.

Routine action. 

Bigtime action.

I know, I know - if you're a regular reader you have seen me post this prayer on The Monkey, facebook, twitter, my Newsletter, my emails, and now here again on The Mystic - yet this is the venue that explains why the action itself is so important - and freeing.

Will you do it?

"To all people on the earth, we are water.

Let’s become one by offering love and gratitude to Water...

Water is what connects everything.

(Say to yourself)
I’m sorry,
Please forgive me,
I thank you,
And I love you." 

The brilliance of this simple action is stunning if you recognize the energy anatomy conversation and directional flow that marks it's foundation.  Not only does it activate the Sixth Chakra of insight and focused mind, effectively eliminating the pinball game I described above, but it leads us squarely to the seat of the Seventh Chakra where LOVE is all there is - not just in theory but in practice.

Get onboard kids!

Samadhi here we come!

For whatever support I can give you on the framework of the Chakras and a deeper explanation of the emotional territory, see Fundamentals of Emotional Freedom.  For a greater insight into the energy body pinball game I described, check out Anatomy of a Trauma. Commission a unique Personalized Audio Program scripted and produced for your own individual care and co-creation as the journey unfolds.

Whatever you do, we are all at the point where we must do what we can.


Love and blessings to each of you!  May you feel the relief of movement and energy expressed.

Give a comment and let us know how it works out.

Namaste,
Gael

Photo credit: Bob Alba

Nourishing Ourselves

Another installment on the blessings of a meditative mindset...

Last week I led a retreat on Long Island on the beautiful grounds of Planting Fields Arboretum.  The picture above is just a tiny slice of life from their main greenhouse.  Before we gathered in the room I'd set up for our yokibics movement and meditation program, we opened our day in the greenhouse, quietly moving through the different rooms, observing the blooming orchids, the shedding dahlias, the thorny and majestic cactus...feeling the humidity and breathing in the smells that surrounded us.  We participated with conscious awareness in the knowledge that our retreat had begun in the simplest of ways, and it could be nothing special without our full participation and awareness.

It was grand!

Lately I've been noticing more and more of what isn't so grand - weird expressions of "guilt" about being able to stop and smell the roses, as if we are stealing time from more important endeavors - as if we need to do it in secret.  This seems to be combining with an increased amount of pressure from the outside world to get going lickety split! 

I wonder when the pendulum swung so definitively in this direction that it feels normal to be stressed?

I especially love to watch the folks who play the "green light game" as if their lives depended on it.  You know the ones.  You're in your car stopped at a light and your attention wanders out the window for just a moment as you take a breath and look around.  The light turns green and as you bring your gaze back and begin the action to accelerate ... BEEEEEEEPPPPPP!!

Not quick enough apparently.  

Perhaps we need more coffee.  And 5-hour energy drinks. And don't forget the Pepsid...

For those of us at Planting Fields, each one described a feeling of deep satisfaction through the simple act of receiving fully what was already there. 

Once out in daily life, we continue to have the opportunity to nourish ourselves every day through what we see, hear, touch, taste and smell - for nourishment truly is the issue at hand.

One of my favorite topics for illustrating this is to consider the experience of conscious eating.  

In order to get a feel for conscious eating, try the following exercise as you imagine yourself sitting down to a delicious meal...

Relax your body. Unclench and unwind your legs, arms, belly, jaw, neck, back and face.

Deepen your breath… 

When you slow your breath you slow down time.  The meal in front of you is here for you to savor and enjoy.  

Notice if you feel rushed, “starved”, or ready to get going.  Focus instead on your readiness to nourish your body, mind and spirit.  Only your mind says “hurry now and eat…”

You need not have a lot of time; merely the sensation that you have all the time you need.  Slow your inhale, and enjoy this pause in your day. 

Exhale, and let go of all the thoughts and stresses you brought into this moment. …  If there is some aggravation you need to release, do it now before your meal. 

Focus your attention on the ease, family, and friendship surrounding this meal.  It doesn’t matter if you are alone or with others.  You are the favored guest! 

Center on what pleases you. Treat yourself well.  Allow yourself to generate a feeling of appreciation…relax even more deeply.

Lastly, feel your connection to the food you are going to eat, and acknowledge the nutritive value of your meal.

Take another deep breath, and smile.

Approach the nourishing moments in front of you with this frame of reference and you will be well on your way to a happier, more loving, more self-fulfilled you.

How can you find more roses in your day??

Meditate Schmeditate!

That's what I often hear when people who are so, so busy start to talk about their priorities.

Meditate?? Are you kidding? Who has time for that?!

I have a different take.  I think meditation is the biggest, grandest, most effective and efficient time saver in the Universe.

No joke.

All my life I've made use of the opportunity to create and teach what most inspires me - and at this point the inspiration list is pretty long!  Sometimes a great teacher can trigger a need in me to simply explore new territory and exchange results.  Sometimes a world event - like the recent oil spill - informs my choice of a workshop topic or audio program as I relate to the deep societal call to find our power amidst disempowering events.  Then there are other times when the simplicity of a fabulous piece of music inspires an entire block of new Yokibics moves and ways to co-create with the bodymind energy we have all been graced with.

Always and ever though, does one single concept come round and round as the motherlode of all teachings for me, as the quality of life gained from the experience is literally beyond explanation. Meditate.

It's one of those "you've gotta experience this one for yourself" kinds of things.

Part of the Eight-limbed tree of Yoga, meditation and it's pre-cursor concentration are called  Dharana and Dhyana, with epic volumes devoted to their care and practice.

I remembering hearing Marianne Williamson speak on the subject and she smilingly ticked off all sorts of examples where "meditate" was the prescribed balm.  The seeker goes to the top of the mountain to hear the word of God.  God says "meditate." The student goes to the guru to ask the meaning of life. The guru says "meditate." The anguish of a mother who, while mourning the loss of her child goes to her spiritual guide to ask why life contains such sorrow, and the guide after consoling her says "meditate."

My own exerience informs me every single day why the answer "meditate" is so very powerful. Primarily meditation is a PROCESS rather than a fixed answer that can change and vanish as life evolves - and life is a process of ever moving and unfolding moments in a wave we can ride successfully or get trounced by.

Last week a student asked me how I came by the name "Yokibics" and after owning it for almost 30 years, I had the vision of it as clear as the day it came - a double seater airplane crossing the screen of my mind while in meditation, followed by a banner proclaiming the name.  I didn't "think it up" but rather I received it while waiting for it to arrive.

Ahhhh - waiting for it to arrive.

There is ease in that...

and a sort of patience demanded.

A couple of years ago I had a nasty keritosis on my back - the kind of "pre-cancerous" itchy thing that can worry the life out of a person and usually get cut off, which I have already had happen to others spots just like it.  Sinking into my deepest self I literally "knew" that a blend of essential oils would be benificial to me.  I heard the list inside my mind like directions.

This time it was not a vision, but rather a voice.

My body received the mixture of oils like the perfect antidote - and 5 weeks later no more spot.  Others have asked me for my recipe - many others at this point - and with some tweaking and a fair amount of research on how to create a base creme for delivery, it has become a Yokibics Monkey Creme Personal Care Product - "use it to get those monkeys off your back!"

What a gift!

I have had many more like these two pivotal experiences in meditation... many more. 

Sometimes the gifts are dramatic. Sometimes they are so subtle as to be almost missed.  A quiet moment of insight can shift everything...a reflective moment of caring can open the floodgate of tears withheld, and bring the refreshment of new beginnings. 

The certitude of a path that feels like a slippery slope when the worry mind is at work can apprears as an oasis of calm in meditation.

These are the gifts of meditation that cannot be bought or demanded.

There are plenty of places where you can get information about techniques and styles and support for the journey.  I will write about more of them here on this blog in my upcoming posts. 

For today it is my simple intention to share some of the gifts of the journey.  Once embraced, the "how-tos" will simply fall into place.

I invite you to close your eyes for a moment when you finish this post, and stay for a minute - or five - before you move into your next activity or thought.  Stay a while and feel the quiet place of your own receptivity.

This is a powerful place, and it already exists inside of you.

Befriend it now and you can rely on it forever.

blessings and grace to you,
Gael
Author and Spoken Word Artist

Photo credit: Bob Alba

Come join me!

Are you eager to participate in a live Yokibics workshop?  I am grateful to offer the opportunity and happy to begin my "year of the road trip" as I embrace opportunities to flow and travel.  The offerings here and now are just the beginning - I'll keep you posted as we broaden our range!

Our website at Yokibics 

offers information and easy registration in the

EVENTS Sign Up link (left sidebar)

Florida, Pennsylvania and New York are on my schedule now.  California and the West Coast in the fall. Costa Rica after that with information coming soon.  Is there a special location you would like to see me create a training or an event? Come play...

Meanwhile, contemplate this from the wise one Rumi, who believed of the mystical path:

"In this journey, the seeker symbolically turns towards the truth, grows through love, abandons the ego, finds the truth, and arrives at the Perfect. The seeker then returns from this spiritual journey, with greater maturity, to love and to be of service to the whole of creation without discrimination with regard to beliefs, races, classes, and nations."

May this be so for all of us as we grow in wisdom and knowledge.  I greet you on the path.

Namaste

Gael

Forgiveness

Recently a student asked me if yoga can help a person forgive toxic people - harmful events - the inadequacies of others - and ourselves.

I started teaching yoga in 1977, and if you simply count the years - and imagine, then you must know I have had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate through a lifetime of experience if yoga is even remotely helpful to such a heartfelt - or heart-breaking topic, and if, after all these years, I can say that the answer is yes. 

I do.

To me, since yoga embodies the essence of "yoking the powers of body, mind and spirit" it is a philosophy, a practice and a way of being.  I remember the intention "to yoke" each time I engage in any one of the practices, whether an asana, a breath, a yama or whatever. 

Here's a really good payoff - a wonderful result - and I'm relating it to forgiveness.  My body may not like the idea of forgiving one single bit.  After all, it naturally responds to stimuli ("What?? I'm gonna just walk away from this one? Where's that eye for my eye - that tooth for my tooth?") and so my body may be reactive, sick, queasy, humiliated, shamed... just awful. 

Now my mind may not be that much help on the forgiveness front either ("What??  {same initial reaction you will notice} - I'm gonna give in? Let go? Ease up? That's not fair! Not right! Not... not."

So what will save me from myself?

Ahhhh...my spirit of course, that sits like a bird on the limb of the tree - the observer watching the observed, and says "look at you all wound up.  Remember who you are.  This cannot hurt you.  Remember who you are. Bliss of the blissful is your way of being.  Bliss of the blissful is what you strive to experience - and in yoking your powers, do you not want this for the "other" as well?" 

Right.  I forgot... :)

Then yes, for-give. Give to the other the ability to handle their own life consequences as you handle yours.  Give to yourself - and to the other -  the freedom from recurring karma.  Let us return to the desire at hand - to live the life of peaceful intention where holding out on forgiveness just doesn't work.

Well then!  Now I must go to my practice, which yokes my powers of BodyMindSpirit and Spirit informs Body and Mind through the routine.  Each asana demonstrates "you ACT as one with this intention." Each breath embraces "you LIVE as one with this intention." Each conscious thought says "release all that is not this intention."

And so it goes...

Now some of the practices I have found most valuable here might seem contrary to the state of peaceful zen I just described...but it is true that the kind of hurt that demands forgiveness is usually married to anger at the unforgiven, therefore addressing anger is numero uno on the list. 

The energy of it sits at the throat chakra and demands boundaries and proper alignment of will.  So then - go get upset - get in touch with it - safely and in a way that will not harm. Write it out, yell, pound that pillow, wail, scream, yell, throw yourself on the ground and pound if you need to!  Again and again RELEASE the energy into the field of all possibility!!

...then... breath... in...

Fill yourself with the blessing of new breath - new openness - new possibility - new freedom - sparkling energy - radiant prana - freedom from the demands of the anger itself.  This is the essence of non-attachment, not some round about saintly oblivion, but rather a straight beeline into and through the anger itself until we can get up and dust ourselves off on the other side.

Now get up and go to your mat and let BodyMindSpirit take care of the rest :)

A final reflection for this short post - there is a difference between simple and easy.  Simple means uncomplicated.  Easy means "it's a snap."  This may not be a snap.  The challenge of arriving at the place where you can actually BE the forgiveness you intend can be a long and arduous journey of self-discovery and self-care.  Yet knowing the territory and the pay-off is like having a light shine bright at the end of the tunnel.  You can.  You must. You will...succeed.

The simple part is don't get off the train.  Your practice will inform you again and again.

If you want to explore the eight limbs of yoga in a practical way, click the label "Simple Steps" on this blog. There are 40 of them in previous posts reaching out to you like little jewels for the taking.

If you would prefer the steps consolidated you can go to 40 Simple Steps on our website and you'll find the eBook version ready to download and able to print.

Blessings to you in your journey,
namaste

Does anyone know the meaning of yoga?

Have any of you been following the huge new (ish) movement to redefine yoga these days?  I'm seeing all sorts of folks changing it up at will and fighting for the privelige - and others hanging on to traditional systems like their lives depended on it.  Leave it to us Westerners to take something sacred and ancient and make it our own.  This is the one thing that perhaps we can all agree on if you start looking at all of the dissention about what "it" actually is.  Innovators innovate, that's for sure!

In my role as Yoga Therapist and founder of Yokibics Mindbody Fitness, I am currently being interviewed for an article on some of the new yoga fusion programs.  The writer wants my expert opinion on what's what. Oh boy. She has been re-contacing me to tweak this comment and that - and to tell you the truth I find I am actually delighted to enter the fray on such a broad and timely subject since I've been taken with reading much of the hubbub and controversy that arrives in my daily news feed.

Here's what I commented to the question "what is the meaning of yoga in a yoga-fusion class - and who qualifies and who doesn't?"

(cue up the theme from Jeopardy...)

OK -  my take on it is this - the good news is simply that the topic itself "the meaning of yoga" is so controversial it is sure to get a rise from readers - which brings attention to the subject of yoga at all.

If you haven't tuned into elephant journal (out of Boulder CO - birthplace of all things new age and hippie :) that's one place where you too can subscribe and see what their bloggers are constantly arguing about - some tongue in cheek, some just cheeky - in addressing who is right and who is wrong and who is full of the most hot air...and what a modern definition of yoga might be.  The conclusions are allllll over the place from hot-body-sexy-chick-never-say-ohm types, to Bikram and his tribe, to traditionalists who are surely moaning as I write.

Given that - for me - and I am certain of what "for me" is - the meaning of yoga would signify the essence of "to yoke the powers of body, mind and spirit."

If one or another of the parts to that three legged stool goes MIA in anyone's class, then perhaps it's time to find another definition.  "Asana" is one of the eight aspects of yoga and signifies the purely physical part of practice for example and nobody has to imagine it to be anything more or less - but the essence of yoga itself includes and addresses body-mind and spirit as part of the equation.

Another question was "how is meditation related to yoga?"

According to the ancient texts of Patanjali there are eight limbs (aspects) to the practice of yoga.  Like a tree, yoga embodies each of the eight limbs equally. Meditation ("Dhyana") is the aspect of yoga that invites the practitioner to witness the difference between their ego self and their essential self - and to be in contact with the essential self through observing and stilling the wandering mind. Wiki says " In Dhyana, the meditator is not conscious of the act of meditation (i.e. is not aware that s/he is meditating) but is only aware that s/he exists (consciousness of being), and aware of the object of meditation."

A practical example exists in my classes as we continually breathe through the presence of meaning in every action we create. We allow meditative moments to flow throughout our physical practice. Being brought to conscious awareness in this way allows the mind the actual experience of observing - and releasing - negative self-talk, comparative thinking, one-upmanship, imperfect body "stinkin' thnkin'" and all manner of upsetting mind filling junk. 

Just like a good teacher needs to correct someone who is butchering an exercise movement - hopefully so they don't kill someone, especially themselves! - so too will a good "yoga" teacher bring attention to the thought processes that don't belong through the discipline of a meditative mind.

Well, my interviewer is off to write what she writes - and I'm sure she's having a heck of a time putting it all together with what everyone else is coming up with besides. 

For more of My Take check out my new e-book 40 Simple Steps to The Eight Limbs of Yoga online.

Now I want to know - what do you think?

Cheerio!

Emotional Freedom for Everyone

My friend and fellow mystic writer Edie Weinstein just published an article in Wisdom magazine that features an interview with Dr. Judith Orloff on the topic "Emotional Freedom" and I realize more clearly every day how very significant this information has become - and will continue to become - for all of us as we evolve into the people we are growing up to be. 

I think you'll love Edie's interview (read it here) and the clear awareness that Judith Orloff has on the subject can only benefit your own deepening instincts about who you are and how you are becoming. 

I believe that emotional freedom - the sister topic of emotional genius - is the new frontier in human consciousness.  Daily we are gifted with new ways of knowing the body - and our investigation into the realm of the mind has fascinated us for eons whether through investigations of the unconscious, conscious or super conscious mind, the study of psychology and the intellect, or the delving fascination we have with psychic and intuitive abilities. But recognizing the source and purpose of emotions? In my experience we have misunderstood their role more completely than all of our misconceptions about body and mind put together.

Emotions are the gateway into how our energy circuits are running - a soul connector - and there isn't a bad one among them.  There is plenty of inappropriate or misguided response though (response-ability) that gives the emotion itself a bad name.

Here are a couple of examples from my work in the territory of the emotional genius...

Feeling angry?  That's a popular one to misunderstand. One might be coached to "get over it" or sided with by friends who are on your team with "yeah you're right! The rest of the world is against you/me/us!!"  But here is where anger is your guide and teacher. Where are your boundaries about the subject? Really.

Are you doing all you can to create clear words and a strong will in the area? Are you willing to make the changes you are being called to make in order to co-create a different outcome? So much easier to be "angry at the boss" than to get up and out and create a different life.  Yes, the answer to the presence of anger might be that drastic. 

No wonder we don't "understand."

Anger serves to tell us change is required.  Listen to it well.  Be honest with yourself.  Be honest with others.  Be willing to be the change you wish to see. 

The emotion of anger will always involve your will and your word.

What about grief? There is indeed great reason for the expression of it in the world - more than enough to go around.  Death itself has been built into the program of life. There  is no escaping the powerful appearance of grief in your life at one time or another. Yet like all emotions, grief is meant to ebb and flow. Deep sadness when caged is like sinking into the bottom of a well. It serves to bring us deeper and deeper into awareness of what we really value - and it holds the potential of letting go. A more authentic version of our former self becomes the gift.   

How many survivors of even the worlds worst atrocities have come out on the other side helping mankind in a way that only they could when fully embodied and fully charged?

Grief stimulates the 3rd chakra and is the harbinger of a more genuine you.

Fear? A natural request to place your faith wisely.
Pain? What insights are you being given?
Apathy? What get up and go is necessary for you to care about something greater than yourself?

How about the emotion of joy?? Ahhhh....

Joy is inherent in the system just like all the other emotions. It is not reserved only for the special few, yet joy too is meant to ebb and flow - to rise and fall - to sing it's song in your life - in every life! It doesn't do well if you try to hang onto it.  It was never meant to sit static like a crown jewel.  Joy arrives unbidden as a result of transforming the entirety of your emotional body into a functioning alive system - not despite it.

What practical key then can I leave with you? What wish for your success?

• allow yourself to change outdated beliefs about how miserable things are.
• stop brushing off your feelings as if they don't matter.  They do.
• be willing to learn to identify what feelings you have
• become able to develop good discernment about what choices are available to help you transform your emotions rather than stuffing them away.
• become able to pause when a feeling arises and recognize it without judgement
• validate validate validate yourself
• be willing to let go
• recognize the the joy you seek is already there
• know that becoming an emotional genius is an inside job unrelated to circumstances outside your control.
• be willing to be new. 

If you are a conscious journeyman into the subject, read Edie Weinsteins' interview, buy Judith Orloffs book Emotional Freedom or download one of my audio programs Fundamentals of Emotional Freedom or Meditations for Emotional Freedom to help guide you.  You can achieve more clarity, greater ease and a deeper connection to your own interior through the process of honoring your emotions than you might ever have imagined. 

We are all destined to become masters in this life. Whether or not we can achieve that destiny depends upon the clarity of our objective.  May you be blessed in yours.

Namaste,
Gael
 .
Photo credit: Bob Alba
Exiting Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
 

Retreat Yourself

Busy days...

30 years of taking and teaching yoga. Memories of retreats in scores of places, both attended and facilitated. Some of my personal favorites? My home venue - solo.  I worked it out no matter how - kids at grandmas - hubby on a trip with friends - whether 1/2 day or more, give whatever you can (I've been fortunate and routinely give myself seasonal multi-day silent yoga staycations.)

Some high points to share for an awesome experience: 

* clean your home and have all  fresh linens * turn off the computer and phone and feel your home like a peaceful breath. * fetch your all-time favorite music out of hiding and play it day and night. * go to the library and fill up on sacred books that are calling your name and have them ready to peruse. * scrub your tub or shower and have all your self-care stuff set out and available. * plate fresh fruit and have pitchers of fresh ginger water just waiting for you to enter the room. * roll out your mat and keep it out * candles * journal * quiet evening walks * views to ponder * letters to friends * meditations...

* create a collage of your highest vision as you re-member who you are in the simplicity of where you stand...

hoooooommme.

There's no place like it.

love, blessings and namaste :)
gael

Solstice Quotes

I've spent a lifetime collecting quotes...I think they are like gems of understanding that bypass the long winded explanations and be-causes we usually rely on.  Quotes are like friends who can whisper in your ear and set you straight - or remind you of what you already know - only they say it better :)

As we enter this holiday-holyday time of year end, here are just a few thoughts for you as we go into the darkness and seek what is true. 

Wisdom Across Ages

“Never be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."
-John D. Rockefeller

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit."
-Napolean Hill

"If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self."
-Napolean Hill

"It is always your next move."
-Napoleon Hill

"Adversity is preparation for greatness"
-Andy Andrews

"The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the buts you use today."
-Les Brown 

 

"Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their minds."
- Albert Einstein

"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end." 
- Abraham Lincoln

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill 

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."  
- Maryanne Williamson  
 
"Do not be afraid to give”

- Albert Einstein

"Think on these things" as the Mystic Krishnamurti said. 

May the words of the wise lead you through rich territory as you dive deep this season.  May you surface with more light than you ever imagined.

Blessings to you!

Namaste,

Gael

photo credit: Bob Alba