Month: February 2016

A new cycle

Which way do you run to
Are you coming out or in
When one cycle goes around
Another one begin, begin, begin

This song by Trevor Hall is my “ear worm” right now, because it speaks of change and its cyclical nature. As surely as the seasons, we will pass this way again. A little over two weeks ago we observed the cross–quarter day between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox (Imbolc). We’re more than halfway to astronomical spring. The moon, after having been full on Presidents’ Day, is waxing to fullness.

The most external reason for that has to do starting a new regular class at what is for me a new studio. While I have been subbing since my second shoulder surgery in March 2015, this will be the first time I’ll be on a studio schedule. I’m pleased to report that beginning tonight (Thursdays), at 5:30 PM, I’ll be teaching a class at Discover the Wonders Yoga in Dracut, MA. Dracut is an old–school town full of farmland and hard–working people, right next to the historically industrial town of Lowell. A beautiful community has grown up in that studio. Right down the street there is a conscious café expanding its offerings of fresh, local, organic products. Beyond there is much fertile farmland, some of it being leased to small nonprofits. The people of Dracut are not only hardworking, but politically savvy and well–connected. It’s a very interesting place to find so close to a major city in the northeast corner of a northeastern state.

And I start with a trifecta! As it is school vacation week, I also get to sub at the same time tomorrow night, and at the primo slot on Saturday at 9:30.

It’s a wonderful new beginning that evokes an openness to experience I am already feeling in the rest of my life.

Like my Facebook page in the right sidebar to mark your calendar for events, and be sure to sign up for my e-mail list as well. I’m very happy to be on this journey with you!

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Sweet potato and black bean chili

I do agree with the potency of chili on these cold winter nights in the Northeast the US. I especially like that one can forego grains and get substance from the sweet potatoes (which are actually less “sweet” than regular potatoes). When I was preparing for one of my shoulder surgeries, I eliminated grains to reduce inflammation. However, on balance, some wishing to reduce inflammation might reduce the nightshades—in this case, the tomatoes. One could make this even healthier by using dried beans and fresh tomatoes, to the extent these could be obtained in Northeastern winters.

foodbycamilla

In my opinion,  Chili is an essential recipe during the winter.This hearty vegetarian chili includes sweet potato and black beans along with flavourful seasoning such as cumin, cinnamon and chili powder.  This chili is bursting with flavour and is my favorite chili recipe at the moment. This chili is the perfect healthy weeknight meal. You can even make it and take it with you for lunch,  I am sure you will make everyone jealous! I’ve also added a few optional topping ideas such as avocado and coriander.Eat the chili as it is, or serve it with brown rice or quinoa.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Ingredients ( serves 4 people). 

1 large sweet potato

1 can black beans approximately 450 gram  (15 oz).

1 can chopped tomatoes approximately  400 gram  ( 14 oz).

1/2 onion

2 gloves garlic

2 tsp chilli

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

oil for cooking

salt and pepper

3 tsp…

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Meet Our 16 Yoga Journal Cover Semifinalists | Yogis You Should Know

One of my yoga friends could be on the cover of Yoga Journal and is profiled on their website. I met Julie at a workshop given by Amy Ippoliti. After that, I connected her with a dear friend who lived near where she did, and they practiced together for some time.

I recently committed myself to taking the steps to teach yoga full time. To be on the cover of Yoga Journal would throw that plan into full throttle. It would mean a whole new level of responsibility to my students, my practice, my dream. It would mean truly putting myself out there. And it’s scary. But isn’t that a huge part of our yoga? To push up against our edges so that we can expand, and thrive, and shine.

Community is one of the hidden rewards of yoga. It’s a way to form firm fast bonds with diverse people who choose interesting paths. I’m so glad to count Julie among my friends, even if she now lives far away.

Source: Meet Our 16 Yoga Journal Cover Semifinalists | Yogis You Should Know

Good News

In our culture, this is a difficult practice, but as Patthabi Jois said, "Practice, and all is coming."

A photo posted by Richard Hudak (@wholeheartedyoga) on

I have some good news to share on what is a snowy and reflective day for me. I am fortunate not to have University classes to teach on Fridays, and I decided to forego traveling to my “goto” Friday morning public class because of the weather. Home practices are in order.

One of the most delightful practices I engaged this morning is to prepare a yoga class for a studio to which I am applying to teach on a regular basis. I haven’t been on the schedule at a studio for a year. When I haven’t been recovering from a second shoulder surgery, and rebuilding my own practice from it, I’ve been mainly subbing for Roberta Dell’Anno and Linda Moran.

I get to prepare this class for a group in teacher training; for colleagues, then. I get to do so when this month, I mark seven years since I immersed myself in Anusara Yoga. The decision to do so took my practice and my life in directions which have not yet seen their full fruition. It has given me the gift of vital and decisive friendships I’m committed to treasure without consideration of cost or effort. The maintenance of these relationships has become a practice in itself.

It is one of these improbable friends who introduced me to the studio to which I am applying. The opportunity to teach is something which had “come together” more than which I had to overeffort to seek. So the aphorism on the Yogi Tea bag is appropriate. I welcome it.

A teacher of mine suggested we don’t fully appreciate the wisdom of the assertion of Jois, “Practice, and all is coming.” We think it means practice improves our lives. That’s the half of it. Practice, and all is coming: joy, sorrow, ease, challenge, love, and conflict. In some sense, the greater capacity we presumably develop to live and to savor life means our spirits grow. Larger spirits seem to attract bigger challenges precisely because of this greater capacity to grow from them.

It is with this in mind that I embrace the sacred duty to theme and sequence this practice. I treat it as a challenge, rather than take it lightly. Should I be extended the opportunity to teach at this studio, I will post that outcome here, with great relish, I must add. For I teach to share. The sharing makes the practices sweeter.