last night's kirtan

it was pretty darn cool. and special too. :)

magic moment

I just saw this over on Superhero blog and it took my breath away....had to share with you.

"Every day, God gives us, as well as the sun, a moment when it is possible to change anything that is causing us unhappiness. The magic moment is the moment when a "yes" or a "no" can change our whole existence. Every day, we try to pretend that we do not see the moment, that it does not exist, that today is the same as yesterday and that tomorrow will be the same too.

However, anyone who pays close attention to his day will discover the magic moment. It might be hidden in the instant that we put the key in the door in the morning, in the moment of silence after supper, in the thousand and one things that appear to us to be the same.

This moment exists, a moment in which all the strength of the stars flows through us and allows us to perform miracles." Paulo Coelho

Wow...happy Friday.

PS - Detox details coming later. :)

it's called a deotx for a reason....did you think it was gonna be fun?

So clearly by the title you can see that the emotions were not totally stable yesterday. It was a bit of a roller coaster for me. The day started off beautifully. I woke at 6:45 naturally, quite a bit earlier as times when my alarm goes off at 7:30 I could still use a few more zzzz'sss. Started the day with shower, then meditation, and my first green juice of the day made with spinach, kale, cucumber, apple, and lemons.

Made a strawberry banana smoothie to have a bit later and put it in the fridge. It was so pretty yesterday. I decided to stroll down the street to CVS and get a few things for my upcoming trip to Kripalu.

As I was walking I had one of those special moments when life just feels full, and good, and you feel awake and alive. Yet nothing BIG or special is happening. As I walk I observe the green of the grass, a beautiful tree filled with pink blooms and a carpet of pink on the sidewalk. I hear my footsteps. This is true contentment, santosha in Sanskrit. In the moment I wished I had memorized these words by e.e cummings, cause they felt so appropriate:

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes.

I was really able to appreciate the moment for what it was without wanting it to be different, without wanting to hold onto to it. I breathed the moment in knowing that later in the day I would likely encounter hunger, thus resulting in crankiness.

Guess what? I was right! I had my smoothie just before I taught my noon class. I didn't have another drink prepared for myself and I wouldn't be leaving the studio till 6:00 after I taught another class. My plan was to go to Whole Foods and get a green juice to hold me off.

Guess what? They don't have a juice machine any longer. Or a smoothie bar. It's been replaced by the wine bar. I would have been fine with this notion had I not been cleansing.....and hungry. So I back track past all the goodies that delight my eyes at Whole Foods and make my way further down the way to the Co-op.

I try orderng a wheatgrass shot + 16 ounces of their green energizer. Hey I needed all the energy I could get. No wheatgrass. So green juice it was. All green juice. No fruit at all. Even I had a hard time drinking this one down.

But it did the trick. I felt better. Thankfully for the yogis in my 4:30 class right?

I arrive home around 6:30 to a super cranky husband. The one that was nausea and only looking at the green juice I had on reserve for him made him more nausea. Thankfully he had sliced a tiny bit of cucumber and had this. Poor thing, he ate only a sliver of cucumber. And that was a "treat". This sorta makes me chuckle as I type.

I'm trying to be positive about how great this "cleanse" is for us. Blah blah blah. He wants no part of it. I try to excite/entice him with a "yummy smoothie". At this point he could care less. I think I made pineapple blueberry. Even I'm getting confused with which smoothies we've had at this point.

I suggest we take our smoothies and our dogs for a walk to get our minds off of food. Well lets just say that the walk this time around was the complete opposite of the one earlier in the day. At one point in which I state "It's called a detox for a reason. Have you heard of detoxing as a pleasurable experience? Did you think it was gonna be fun?"

Ouch. We've moved from a "cleanse" which sounds so pure and so sweet to "detox"...not so pure, not so sweet.

Come home and we're out of rice milk. We will need the rice milk for tomorrow's smoothies. I go to Kroger. Grocery store number 3 for the day. What's with this? I've never been to the grocery store three times in one day. And here I am....while I'm cleansing.....errr I mean detoxing.

I depart with more rice milk, fresh pineapple, and two magazines. Body + Soul for me and Men's Health for Andy. He was happy when I brought the mag home. I would soon be making make raw chocolate milk. The world seemed good again.

The raw chocolate milk tasted reallllyyy good. Soaked raw cashews for about an hour then blended them with water, raw cocao powder, coconut oil, agave nectar, vanilla, and a dash of sea salt.

Yummy goodness. Happy Andy. Happy Sharon. The chocolate milk will last 5 days in the fridge so I put more cashews in to soak. Then took myself to soak in our big, old, bath tub with my magazine.

I made more raw chocolate milk and made Andy two more smoothies for the following day (today). I counted in the evening alone and I made 8 drinks. I could make a full time job of this. :)

Check in with Andy about his numbers for the day and we're back down to all 2's. I ask him, you think you were a 2 for emotions? He says no, probably not. Lets go for a 1.

All sarcasm aside, I see such value in these cleanses. I'll get to that soon enough, I'm sure.

Happy Thursday.
Happy Earth Day. I'm feeling quite connected to you this week. One of the valuables of the cleanse.

day 2 of spring cleanse

Day 2 was another successful day of yummy good for you eating. At least I felt it was yummy. Andy was a little less impressed with today's meals. But nonetheless he pulled through like a champ and is still on board. So proud of him! This is all a BIG stretch for him. So I'm just happy to have a cleansing buddy alongside me.

Andy's breakfast smoothie was banana and almond butter, with water as the liquid. He did however love this smoothie. He has now decided that this one was even better than the previous days and has proclaimed that he would like this one to now be his every day go to breakfast smoothie. I had a strawberry and mango smoothie with rice milk. It was de-lish. Even better than I was expecting.

Lunch was a lentil salad I had made the previous evening. I used green lentils, onions, garlic, roasted red peppers, walnuts,and olive oil. I loved the lentil salad. Did the thing where you're scraping all around the corners of your bowl to eat it all. Andy however did not love as much. He ate some and put the rest away stating that, "I might want to eat it tomorrow. I'm sure I'll love it when all I'm doing is drinking liquid." We'll see if he actually does that today. I don't think he will.

Snack was a Lara Bar for each of us. I have my fave peanut putter cookie. Andy had some coconut cream thingie. I also took an apple to the studio since I wouldn't be getting till almost 8:00. Surprisingly I felt great and didn't need the apple. I did have some hot decaf tea from Starbucks while the teen yoga class was going on at the studio. Green herabl teas are encouraged on this cleanse.

I got home and Andy was upset with our dog Bella. He was trying to get her to take her flea medicine. Had the tablet all wrapped up in a neat lil' piece of cheese. I guess she decided that she would cleanse too cause she wanted no part of it. Remy however eats his straight pill form. He will eat anything you throw to him. Andy was definitely losing his cool. It seemed urgent that she eat it then. I'm pretty certain the cleanse was not helping. I convince him that I will do it later (lucky for Bella and Andy). I had more important things to do. Like fix some dinner.

Dinner was a kale and avocado salad. Again, I thought it was great. Andy was less than impressed. I massaged olive oil and sea salt into the chopped kale then added lots of tomato, sun dried tomato and an avocado. I normally don't like kale straight up, usually choosing to juice it instead. But this was good. We also had a toasted piece of ezekiel bread.

Andy couldn't stomach the salad, he I suggested that he get something else to eat. He chose two more pieces of ezekiel bread toasted with almond butter. Thank god for the almond butter. I'm certain it got him through the day. That and the Blackhawks game he was excited to see.

After dinner I begin to prepare for the first official day of the cleanse. I make his green juice for the next morning (today) with spinach, kale, apples, cucumber, and lemon. I make two more smoothies for him also. Both are blackberry peach, rice milk at the liquid. It's been working out fine to make the smoothie the night before. I'd prefer to make the green juice totally fresh and have him drink it right away. But I don't want to get up at 6:00 in the morning. So we're trying this to see how it works.

I checked in with him at the end of the evening to see how he felt physically, energy level, emotions, intellect/focus, and happiness factor. A solid 3 for him for feeling good physically and energy level. A 2 for the other three.

I felt good yesterday. No headaches, body was good, energy level felt higher, still don't quite have the focus I'm desiring, emotions seem a little off, but feeling content.

I did get my 30 minute meditation in the morning and an hour long yoga practice. With all the cooking and juice/smoothie prep in the evening I didn't have time for the evening meditation. Completely ok with this. I'm finding that the prep work is like a whole baby itself. Preparing for two people is much more work than one I'm finding. Making some notes to make things a little easier next time.

Alrighty friend have a gllllorious day! Looks like it's gonna be a beautiful one here in central KY!

PS - pic was the fruit salad from day 1. Sadly my camera is broken now so I'm using my cell phone as needed. :)

recap of day 1 spring cleanse

Happy to say that Andy and I both made it through day of our pre-cleanse. No caffeine, no processed junk... both of which Andy and I had gotten into the habit of daily. Especially after all the road trips and traveling we've been doing this month.

On Sunday evening I prepared Andy's smoothie and our lunch for Monday. His smoothie was mango and spinach, I had banana and almond butter smoothie. For the liquid today I used 1 1/2 cups of water.

Andy and I had our morning chat around 8:00 in the morning just before he started to teach. While he did say that the smoothie was really good and even said, "maybe you can make me one of these for breakfast every morning", he was already thinking about the caffeine that he wouldn't be having.

Lunch was a Mediterranean salad with spinach, arugula, tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, sun dried tomatoes, and artichokes. Dressing was a simple oil and vinegar. Was happy to hear that again Andy was really enjoying the food. For a snack we each had a raw Lara Bar. These are my fave bars as of now. Love how simple yet how delicious they are.

Dinner was veggie tacos with sprouted tortillas. I cooked some onions, garlic, and bell peppers with olive oil. We also had black beans, guacamole, and salsa with them. I had laid the cheese out as an option to top the tacos with. Andy picks it up and says, "I thought we weren't supposed to have this." I replied, "Well we're still in the pre-cleasne phase so if you want some then have it." I was quite proud when he laid it down and chose not to have any. So of course I didn't either.

These were delicious and filling which both of us needed. Both of us had a little headache throughout the day and the energy level was certainly low. We couldn't put off mowing the lawn another day (unfortunately). Andy mowed and I helped rake and sweep us the grass clippings.

We did some yoga together up in my tiny sweet yoga room. Mostly me doing some thai yoga with Andy and then the two of us did legs up the wall together. We listened to Wah. It felt good. Andy departs and I stay for my second meditation of the day.

We even had dessert. I made a tasty tasty fruit salad and topped it with a macadamia cream that I made. I used strawberries, blueberries, and banana. The sauce was made with macadamia nuts, juice of an orange, vanilla, and agave nectar. Oh my, this was a yummy fruit salad. I made it all special by serving them in wine glasses.
A great way to close out the first day of cleansing.

We did go to bed at 9:30, about an hour earlier than usual. I asked Andy on a scale of 1 to 5 how we felt physically, energy level, emotions, intellect, and happiness factor. He reported a 2 on each level. I was just a tiny bit higher.

Maybe we'll get to a 2.5 or 3 today? We shall see......

spring cleanse + kitchen tour

being knowing loving

Being, knowing, loving is a program that explains the three characteristics of life as described in the ancient Indian scriptures known as the Vedas.

Sat, or the potency to be, is the energy that defines who we are, what is our individuality and is the very energy that causes us to exist.

Chit, or the potency of knowledge is our ability to know. To know who we are, what is the divine and what is our relationship with the divine.

Ananda is the pleasure potency. This is the happiness, bliss and the satisfaction we feel when connected in pure love.

At the early age of eleven, BV Vishnu Swami moved into a monastery in India to live the spiritual science of Bhakti Yoga and study the philosophy of the Vedas. Though still young, he is a senior monk andtravels the world sharing the secrets of unadulterated Love.He is a close and dedicated disciple of Tridandi Swami BV Narayana,the foremost teacher of Vaisnava philosophy in the world today.

Friday April 23 at 7:30
FREE, donations will be welcomed

Enjoy lecture by BV Vishnu Swami, Kirtana and Chanting of Mantra and Free Vegan food!
Do hope you can make it to this!!

bending over backwards

Holy moly, you've got to see this video. These cutie gals (sister act called the Ross Sisters) from the 40's sing for about 60 seconds then the feats they perform is nothing short of mind boggling!

Thanks for passing along Anne Dean! Perfect timing after working on back bends this past weekend at yoga teacher training...

west wind

Have you ever tried to enter the long black branches of other lives --
tried to imagine what the crisp fringes, full of honey, hanging
from the branches of the young locust trees, in early morning, feel like?

Do you think this world was only an entertainment for you?

Never to enter the sea and notice how the water divides
with perfect courtesy, to let you in!
Never to lie down on the grass, as though you were the grass!
Never to leap to the air as you open your wings over the dark acorn of your heart!

No wonder we hear, in your mournful voice, the complaint
that something is missing from your life!

Who can open the door who does not reach for the latch?
Who can travel the miles who does not put one foot
in front of the other, all attentive to what presents itself
continually?
Who will behold the inner chamber who has not observed
with admiration, even with rapture, the outer stone?

Well, there is time left --
fields everywhere invite you into them.

And who will care, who will chide you if you wander away
from wherever you are, to look for your soul?

Quickly, then, get up, put on your coat, leave your desk!

To put one's foot into the door of the grass, which is
the mystery, which is death as well as life, and
not be afraid!

To set one's foot in the door of death, and be overcome
with amazement!

To sit down in front of the weeds, and imagine
god the ten-fingered, sailing out of his house of straw,
nodding this way and that way, to the flowers of the
present hour,
to the song falling out of the mockingbird's pink mouth,
to the tippets of the honeysuckle, that have opened

in the night

To sit down, like a weed among weeds, and rustle in the wind!

Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?

While the soul, after all, is only a window,

and the opening of the window no more difficult
than the wakening from a little sleep.

Only last week I went out among the thorns and said
to the wild roses:
deny me not,
but suffer my devotion.
Then, all afternoon, I sat among them. Maybe

I even heard a curl or tow of music, damp and rouge red,
hurrying from their stubby buds, from their delicate watery bodies.

For how long will you continue to listen to those dark shouters,
caution and prudence?
Fall in! Fall in!

A woman standing in the weeds.
A small boat flounders in the deep waves, and what's coming next
is coming with its own heave and grace.

Meanwhile, once in a while, I have chanced, among the quick things,
upon the immutable.
What more could one ask?

And I would touch the faces of the daises,
and I would bow down
to think about it.

That was then, which hasn't ended yet.

Now the sun begins to swing down. Under the peach-light,
I cross the fields and the dunes, I follow the ocean's edge.

I climb, I backtrack.
I float.
I ramble my way home.

~Mary Oliver

spring cleanse

Andy and I will be embarking on a cleanse next week! Yay, love spring!
Renewal
Rebirthing
Aliveness
Vibrancy
Succulence
Freshness

All those things plus more come to mind. Plus it's mine and Andy's wedding month, so it holds a special place in my **heart**.

Andy and I are both feeling the need to do some cleansing. Our recent trip to Indy for sports fun sorta pushed us over the edge. We've both decided that we need to make some changes. Me being a friend of the cleanses suggested that we do one together.

I was actually surprised when he agreed. The last time he tried a cleanse with me was probably seven years ago. It was a fruit and veggie cleanse. He didn't last one day. And truth be told I actually encouraged him (ok threw my hands up in frustration) when he came home from work and was super cranky pants after not having "food" or caffeine.

So I'm trying to plan this one to accomodate more of his needs than mine. I don't want it to be total torture for him. Or I'd like to miniminze the amount of torture.

This is what I have planned for next week:

PRE-CLEANSE

Day 1
• Breakfast - Fruit or Green Smoothie
• Lunch - Mediterranean Salad
• Snack - Lara Bar
• Dinner - Stuffed Bell Peppers & Kale and Avocado Salad

Day 2
• Breakfast - Fruit or Green Smoothie
• Lunch - Lentil Salad
• Snack - Fruit
• Dinner - Veggie Tacos

3 DAY CLEANSE – 3 fruit juices, 2 green juices, 1 nut milk

Day 1
1. Greens with Apple
2. Blackberry Peach
3. Blackberry Peach
4. Spinach Carrot Pineapple Cilantro
5. Blueberry Pineapple
6. Raw Chocolate Milk

Day 2
1. Greens with Apple
2. Strawberry Banana
3. Strawberry Banana
4. Spinach Blueberry Apple Lemon
5. Mixed Berry Kale
6. Cashew Milk

Day 3
1. Greens with Apple
2. Pineapple Mint
3. Pineapple Mint
4. Spinach Carrot Pineapple Cilantro
5. Mango Strawberry
6. Raw Chocolate Milk

POST CLEANSE

• Breakfast - Pineapple
• Lunch - Grapefruit and Avocado Salad
• Snack - Fruit
• Dinner - Salad

The cleanse will mesh right into my road trip the following week to Kripalu with my brother. We're doing a five day Ayurveda Spring Detox.

How about you? Any plans for a spring cleanse of any sort?

sports extravaganza

Wowsers, Andy and I had one fun, sports filled trip over the past few days! Here is a quick recap of my trip to Indy for yoga and sports fun:

Thursday: work/teach till 7:00, meet Sarah and we journey to Louisville to have dinner with best yoga bud Shelli. Decide to spend the night at Shelli's house and make an early start to Indianapolis for a daylong workshop with my yoga crush, Seane Corn.

Friday: Wake at 5:30 and make it just in time at 8:30 for the workshop to begin. Wasn't exactly sure what the workshop entailed. Knowing it was taught my Seane was so enough for me. It was titled The Three Realms of Consciousness and was held over the course of two days (we however only attended Friday). Bonus was that it was geared to teachers. Seane was great as I've come to expect, and to know. She just floors me every single time I'm around her. I'm not into guru's and bowing to the pretty feet of teachers. But I might think about it with her. ;) She totally inspires me and rocks my yoga world. And rocked my hammies she did. I hadn't had an active practice in almost two weeks (due to the icks) and boy....my body FELT it the next day.

Andy meets me at City Yoga at 5:30 and whisked me off to a most delicious Italian restaurant where we dines on appetizer, salad, bread, entree, and split dessert. I figured I deserved it after working so hard for Seane.

We arrive at our hotel on the north side of Indy (all downtown hotels were sold out even in Dec. when we made reservations due to Final Four). Unpack, chill, then I decide it would do my body good to sit in the hot tub. Felt oh so good to my very tired body.

Saturday: Wake and go have the best breakfast I've had in a while and definitely the most delicious coffee I've had a while too. Yumminess yogurt, granola, and fruit. Was fun seeing the fans of the college teams out and about. The crowd here was predominantly West Virginia. That made me happy, as that's the team I was cheering on for the tourney.

After a leisure breakfast we go next door to the bookstore. Yay for books! It was Borders and they had so many great books that I'd been wanting to order/buy. Cozied up in a chair with seven books to browse. Andy looks at me as if "oh great, she's gonna want to spend the day here." Sadly I could only get about an hour out of him. Purchased two new books and wrote the titles of the other five to order later. After hearing and reading about The Blueprint Cleanse, I got The 3 Day Cleanse to read during our trip. Cause you know, the books I'd brought wouldn't do. ;)

Make our way downtown and parking was surprisingly easy. We went to The Slippery Noodle, Indiana's oldest bar Andy informs me. He had been here before and really enjoys. It's a great big bar, with lots of rooms, nooks, and crannies. I rather enjoyed that. We found a place to sit next to a window....and far away from any Dukies. Enjoyed drinks, people watching, fan chanting, and such for a few hours until the first game.

You probably know the story from here. Butler and Duke win. Happy about the Butler win. Less than happy (ok terribly unhappy) about the Duke win. But oh well....there is always a new sporting event tomorrow. Andy is happy to "cheer for one of his teams." Arrive back at hotel at 12:30.

Sunday: Wake and leave by 8:30 for Chicago to watch a Blackhawks hockey game....you know, one of Andy's teams. Go to Lincoln Park to lunch on yummy deliciousness deep dish pizza. We pass Lululemon on our way in....my heart goes pitter patter. Said restaurant was closed for Easter. We pass a cute little place and decide to eat here. I have a black bean burger, fries, and a peanut butter shake as a bonus.

Little known fact about Andy is that he likes to get everywhere ridiculously early. And when it's a sporting event I can count on him wanting to arrive even earlier. And when it's HIS team....well yes, he wants to go even earlier.

I pout a teeny tiny but and convince him to take me back to Lululemon (cause you know the trip was all about him;). So very sad that it wasn't open yet. BooHoo. We pass a Starbucks just before the stadium and Andy thinks an iced mocha is just the thing to cheer me up. He's right. Thank you caffeine goodness.

The game is fun.
We cheer and high five.
Blackhawks win.
Thank you god. Andy is happy. :)

We journey back to Indianapolis. Arriving just after nine. Order Papa Johns pizza. It's not Chicago deep dish, but it will do.

Monday: Wake and check out of hotel by 9:00. There is a Trader Joes just down from our hotel and we go. Cause it's Trader Joes and I love it. Restock on car snacks and some things to bring home. Go about an hour south to Brown County, Indiana. Oh my, what a cute town. We eat lunch at Muddy Boots and I feel at immediately at home with Bluegrass music, mis-matched tables and chairs, and faux moonshine in the bathroom. :) Dined on soup and spinach salad.

Walked around and into shops. Bought a print by Kelly Rae Roberts. Just lover her stuff. Made our way back to Edinburgh to do a little outlet shopping. Discovered that Champion had one of my fave yoga tops. Went to purchase two, learned that I could save 40% off if I bought one more item. Decided to get another top to equal three. Now I have 4 of the same tops. A bit overkill? Perhaps, but I got my fave colors.

Check into new hotel. Rest for about an hour then go thirty miles north again for the game. Dined at a burrito place at the mall. It was so crowded. I was happy when Andy and I walked back to the convention center to find a much more quiet area. Thank god for introverted husbands, much like their introverted wives. I'm beginning to have my fill of crowds. And people in general.

One more game to go. And over 70,000 more people.

The Butler/Duke was so very exciting to watch. I have to admit that my fave part was cheering/booing Coach K. I know, terrible. What can I say? It's Duke.

We all know the outcome. Duke wins. Andy loves watching "One Shining Moment". We both decided the moment wasn't gonna be so shiny with a Duke win and bailed as soon as the game was over.

Arrive back at hotel after 1:00.

Wake at 8:00, eat breakfast, and dash hOMe.

Oh, home sweet home
how I've missed you.
And have you always been this quiet?
Thank you.

another world

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
~Arundhati Roy

self care and the monsters

I've been a little sick over the past week. I'll spare you the whiny details of this and choose to chat about something I find much more interesting than the actual sickness. Which is how one chooses to care for oneself while feeling icky.

My sickness came about at a rather unfortunate time, just days before a weekend meeting for yoga teacher training. I've professed numerous time how much I love leading and being a part of this amazing process. It really means A LOT to me.

As Friday drew closer, I cancelled a private yoga session, laid in bed feeling like I didn't have the energy to do anything, and debating the best decision I could make for myself and the teacher trainees.

Choose to teach and give less than my best self (and risk making others sick) or choose to teach the portions I could and hand the rest of the weekend over to the other talented and knowledgeable yoga teachers that also teach.

After much debate in my mind and with my husband I decided on the latter. But it was so hard for me. The monsters (you know the ones) reared their heads and made not so nice statements...

"You're a yogi, you're not supposed to get sick. What kind of example are you setting?"
"So what if you're a little sick Suck it up and push through."

Ultimately the part of me that knows that taking care of myself must come first if I am to give and share the very best of myself and yogic teachings with others.

However, I didn't do this with such grace and ease. I was amazed over the amount of guilt I was feeling for being sick, for not being present. It left me feeling less than worthy.

This is clearly a work in progress for me. I certainly haven't figured it out, but I'll definitely work with processing it some more. Move with it, meditate with it, and write about it.

The art of self care minus the guilt. To love oneself fully and unconditionally with no strings attached is a beautiful thought.

Receiving a sweet note from a yoga teacher trainee helped me to feel much better about my decision...

"Sharon---thanks for modeling some great self-care and taking some time to rest. I really admire your willingness to say, even though it's a training weekend, my health is still the important thing and trusting your other teachers to handle it even without you. You were missed but know that you taught us even in your ...absence just by using wisdom. Blessings and hope you are back to full strength soon. Namaste!"

Happy April dear yoga friends! May the sun kiss your shoulders and warm your soul.