Let Us Rise Up...

I am so grateful for hip hop music. I am grateful for the inspiration that it gives me to move my body freely, fluidly and without any restrictions. I'm grateful that it lead me to teaching "HIP HOP YOGA" classes, where everyone simply let's loose, has fun, and moves into their inner Golden Buddha. I am grateful for our amazing community, of which is scattered around the globe. This morning Kelly Croce drove down from Villanova, Michael and Maddie came up from Cape May, The Greens were in from Chicago, Paige was in from colorado, and Gene was in from Michigan. The crew was back together again, and it was amazing. I am particularly grateful for Jeff,one of my favorite yoga students, who celebrated his birthday this year with us, booty popping, gangsta-MUDRA-throwin' and singing to the top if his lungs. I am so happy, so thankful, and so full of love! Namaste...muthafuckas! 

 Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us be thankful. --The Buddha

Sent from my iPad

Thanksgiving

 

This was the second Thanksgiving without my Dad. Last year was tough...it had only been a few weeks since he'd passed. My mom and I had spent the evening at the house, just the two of us, for a quiet, loving dinner...neither of us feeling up to the social encounters that the holiday holds. It was perfect and I was grateful for the alone time as part of my healing. This year I feel so much stronger than I was the last, and I feel a gentle peace and surrender when I think of my Dad. We did thanksgiving at home again this year, just the two of us, with me cooking a delicious and healthy dinner. We didn't talk about him much, but that's because we don't have to. Do you talk about the air? No, not really- but that's because it's everywhere...you just know. And that's how I feel about dad. So despite the inevitable sadness each day without him holds, I woke up smiling because he exists within me. And for that realization I'm grateful. God Bless.

Black Friday Sale!

The Katie's Birthdays

Katie, Me, Katie, Annelise, Alex

Assisted backbends??

Dance party blurrrrr

Today was Katie Yoa and Katie Boz's birthdays! We celebrated with an epic (booze free) potluck at my houses after yin, which was filled with delicious food, wonderful company and an epic dance party playlist (follow me on Spotify!). Boom. Such a great night! Every photo taken was totally blurry and completely random, which summed up the evening perfectly!

Almond Bread

This candida friendly, paleo friendly, gluten free bread is to-fucking-die-for! It's nothing crazy exciting for those of you who can eat bread and pastries, but I am over the moon! One of my students made it for me last night and I have eaten the whole loaf...enjoying the slices with everything from almond butter, smashed strawberries, and ghee! It's amazing. And apparently quite easy to make!! I can't wait to bake my own...and perhaps enjoy a bit more slowly next time!

Brrrrrr!

GoodGodAlmightyImFreezingAndICantGetWarm!!!!

Trying to stay present, but seriously counting down the days until I'm in Mexico for my next retreat. There's two spots left for anyone else who is not feeling so in love with this cold weather!

Thanksgiving Yoga

I'm teaching my regular schedule this week plus the night before thanksgiving, Wednesday 7pm, and the morning of, Thursday 9:30am! I hope to see all of the wonderful yogis that I am so grateful for!

Truly Seeing.

The Buddha says that to close your eyes you can truly see. Last nights workshop was about just that. By cutting off the vision, you are forced to look within. Who am I? What fears are keeping me from moving from my authentic self? Am I existing in my truth? This workshop helps you to cut through the clutter and get amongst your Divine self. To find balance and stability you must cultivate a strong, intentional breath....and you must LISTEN to this breath as you move.

I'm so grateful for everyone who came out, and who trusted me to guide them through this sensory yoga flow!

Zoodles!!

This recipe is from a paleo cookbook called Well Fed. It's also candida friendly (yay!) and not to mention TOTALLY FREAKING AMAZING.

Zucchini
Almond meal
Shrimp (optional)
Ghee (make your own! See acorn squash post...)
Salt

Run lots of zucchinis over a julienne-ing tool (be careful not to cut your finger like I did!). After prepping the zucchini you want to suck the moisture out of it, so put it on a towel and sprinkle with salt. Let sit 20minute. Pat, rinse, pat, let dry. In a skillet cook shrimp in some ghee or maybe some coconut oil. Season with garlic, salt and pep. Toss in your "Zoodles" and season to taste (make sure you don't get too salt heavy!!).

As a "Parmesan" toast almond meal in a skillet and hit with a touch of salt. Sprinkle on top your "shrimp scampi".

Celery Root Purée

Boom.
So good.
Kelly and I made this last week when I was visiting.

2 celery roots, peeled and diced
Tossed into a pot and covered with vegtable broth
Boil until soft
Strain and reserve liquid
Purée in a food processor or vitamix with salt, pepper and 1/2 cup organic sour cream (so this is candida friendly). Add in reserved broth as needed for desired consistency.

So. Good. So. Easy.

Friendsgiving

Samantha, Me, Kaitlin and Bridget

What started out as a glorified kegger turned into a most glorious gathering...

My great friends John and Bridget own the Whitebriar in Avalon. They needed to empty out the kegs now that the season is over so they decided to invite a few friends over. Then the idea came up to do a Friendsgiving Feast, which was brilliant! John provided the turkey and the rest of us (all 25!) pitched in by bringing something as well. You all know that I love a good potluck, and this takes the cake as one of the biggest and best I've been to. Bridget set the table at the Whitebriar as if we were sitting down for a real thanksgiving dinner. The fireplace was going, everyone was dressed up, and you could feel the love. I felt a bit emotional at one point in the evening (gah, what's new there!?) because my friends love me so so much, and I, them. Despite going away for months at a time every year, we always pick up exactly where we left off...we love each other just as much if not more when we reunite...and despite the changes (Samantha and joe get married next week, Brian and Kaitlin got married last month, and john and Bridget had a baby two months ago) we are all growing together. So for this, I am THANKFUL. What better way to celebrate a holiday rooted in gratitude than with your beautiful friends?!

Acorn Squash and Pepitas

This recipe is my interpretation of a recipe I saw in a magazine. I love squash, but the Acorn variety is one that hasn't wow'ed me yet...so I decided to give it another go. Last night was our "Friendsgiving" (thanksgiving with friends), and my contribution was this and the pumpkin pies. My recipe goes....

-2 Acorn squash
-One cup toasted, salted pepitas
-Ghee
-Smoked paprika, cayenne, salt

Preheat oven to 415.

Slice the acorn squash in half, and then slice half moons using the squashes natural lines as a guide. Lay in baking dish and season generously with smoked paprika, cayenne (just a bit), and salt (being mindful that the pepitas are salted).

Ghee: you can but it, or you can make it. Yesterday, I made it from scratch for the first time. Ghee is simply butter with the moisture and fat milk solids removed. I did one stick of butter in a skillet over medium/medium low heat (you want to cook the butter down but not burn it). It takes about 10minutes for the "crackling" sound to stop and that means that you can take it off the heat. Let it sit and cool a bit for about 10/15minutes. Then pour through a very fine strainer or cheesecloth...which leaves you with clarified butter, or ghee. It's delicious, healthier and has so much flavor!! Also, it's candida friendly! Drizzle this over the squash.

Roast at 415 for 45minutes covered with tin foil. Then uncover and put under broiler for 10minutes to brown it off. Sprinkle pepitas over top and salt to taste.

This got RAVE reviews at dinner. Also, you can eat the skin of the squash because it's so tender, but you can also scrape the squash out and leave the skin be. Diners choice.

The Best Pumpkin Pie Ever.

Okay, maybe not the best in the world, but it's pretty freaking amazing...and WAY healthier than any pumpkin pie you all are eating. This is candida friendly, paleo friendly, and gluten free. I made up the recipe and am happy to stamp my name on it :) I was going for a crunchy, creamy - salty, sweet pie...and I got it.

Here is a recipe that'll make two pies...

Preheat oven to 350.

Crust:
-One cup almond meal
-Two cups raw walnuts
(Soak them and wash them a half dozen times...nuts are filthy. Then rub them with a towel. If you skip these steps you'll have bitter tasting walnuts, instead of sweet and delicious. Don't skip! Put the walnuts in a pan and toast for a few minutes on a medium low heat, seasoning with a touch of cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Let cool)
-Pulse walnuts in food processor until they are a bit chunkier than the almond meal
-In a bowl mix almond meal and pulverized walnuts, add a tablespoon of good chunky sea salt or kosher salt, drizzle with a tablespoon of coconut oil and mix together.
-Press this mixture down into a pie dish...there's no crust up the sides of this pie, just the bottom, so just keep packing it down.
-Bake in the oven on 350 for ten minutes

Filling:
-Two cans pumpkin purée
-One can (unsweetened) coconut cream
-1/2 can (unsweetened) coconut milk
-1 cup Xylitol
-4 eggs
-Lots of cinnamon and "pumpkin" spice, some nutmeg and a pinch of ground ginger
Mix, mix, mix and then pour overtop of your crusts, filling to the brim.
Bake in oven on 350 for 50minutes

Remove from oven and ALLOW THE PIE TO SIT FOR 3 HOURS before you slice it. It needs to set.

This pie is freaking delicious.
Boom.

Paddling and Adventuring...

...with Paraiso Adventures.

Photos keep popping up on Facebook from all the girls cameras. I love it! It keeps reminding me about how much fun was had.

Todos

I can't wait to get back to Mexico!! I'm super excited for this upcoming retreat to todos santos because there is waves AND yoga! Surfy surfy time!

Full Power Every Hour.

It has been a FULL POWER weekend. I have worked a ton, had multiple obligations, full power social events in the evenings and in addition to all of that I have taken 3 3hr master class workshops! So when Bryna and Erik invited ME over for dinner (yes, someone COOKED for ME!) I jumped for joy. It was so nice to end these past few busy days with a night not only spent in the company with good friends...but one where I sat down and was catered to. Don't get me wrong, I love entertaining- but it is so nice to have someone prepare, cook, and clean for you, with love. Erik is a doctor, and Bryna is a full-time mom to their two very rambunctious children...so I really appreciated the time that went in to the nights dinner (the cleanse that I'm on isn't so easy to cater to, and Erik spent several hours researching things online as per what I could have and couldn't).

The conversation was great, as always, ranging from Die Antwoord, travel, children and forgotten tampons (don't ask...). Erik gave me his doctorly, healing advice about my stomach ulcer and also informed me that my ribs are out of place, hence the excruciating pain that I have been in these past two days. There are several things that could have put my ribs out of alignment, but he thinks that it was from all of the intense pranayama that I was practicing in the master classes this past weekend! Go figure!

Another full weekend, another bounty of abundance. I am so grateful for all of the friends that I got to see and meals that I was able to share. I'm grateful for all of my amazing students and community, both in the studio and the badass teacher trainees. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a student three days in a row at YogaNine with Jim Bennett and I am grateful that I am going to sleep now I'm my amazingly comfortable bed, completely content.

bad bitches.

Bad Bitch Birthday

My friend Adena is one bad ass bitch. I love her, and despite NOT wanting to go out AT ALL, I rallied to make it for her 30th birthday thrown down. The party was "thrift store" themed, with everyone's outfits from the thrift shop, costing no more than $20 (for $1, $25, 10cents, etc). There was even a runway show and an awards ceremony for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd as well as "smelliest costume", "most inappropriate use of children's clothing" and things of this nature. It was a hoot. As with all of adenas parties, it was all about the food and dancing. An epic spread of delectable deliciousness and a perfect, booty-popping playlist. After a long night it was nice to have a fun, carefree, fun filled, dance-yourself-clean-and-stop-crying time with awesome people. Boom.

I Shall Go On Living

"my feet will want to walk to where you are sleeping
but
I shall go on living."
― Pablo Neruda

Dreamt of my Dad when I slept last night, and thought of him throughout these early hours of dawn. It's cold, rainy and gray outside...but I'm feeling hopeful today. I sat in meditation (Deepak Challenge) and then came across this photo, and it made me feel that a gray doesn't mean that there won't be some beauty amongst it....

Sent from my iPad

Kelly, Club Soda and Realizations!

I'm a bit crazy. In the past I had high highs, and low lows....which, looking back, I now realize is a total lack of balance...balance being something that I've always struggled with. I'm realizing now that you can be passionate while being balanced....passionately balanced. Boom. I give myself a large amount of time now for silence and solitude, which has contributed to a bit of settling within. With that said, I started to fall into a funk. Perhaps it was the weather, maybe it was work, or maybe too much solitude....whatever it was, I chose to remedy it with a trip to visit my amazing friend Kelly up in Villanova. As my Dad would say, "Damn! It's just like the good ol' days". Though we haven't gotten to see each other much since summer ended, we picked up right where we left off. We snacked on our usual afternoon candida-friendly spread (Kelly took an oath of solidarity this summer and ate and (didn't) drink the same candida diet with me in support!)....almond butter, brown rice cakes, hard boiled eggs, tuna fish, avocados, hot tea and CLUB SODA! We got to spend quality time with her three ammmmmazing children Oscar, Charlie and Pascale as well as getting some solo, girly best friend time. We went shopping at Trader Joes (and shouted in excitement as we found all sorts of candida friendly goodies!!), took TWO kickass yoga classes (thanks Sarra Kaufman and Erika Blazenik), and strolled the aisles of TJMaxx home goods. We picked oracle cards, talked endlessly over endless cups of tea, and co-created some epic, healthy meals in the kitchen. It might not sound like much to most, or anything overly exciting....but it was what we "do", and it was use what the doctor ordered! I cherished every moment, without holding onto it too tight. Which brings me to Erika Blazenik's class. She said something that I've said a hundred times in my classes....but she phrased it in a different way, and the new perspective gave me a whole new depth of understanding into it. As much as I love teaching, I LOVE being a student, and I'm so grateful for the wonderful teachers that I have been blessed with over the years. Erika said, "Life is only...moments. Arrival is an illusion." Boom. Wow. Sit with that statement for five minutes and digest it before you read on.

......

Did that grab you by the shoulders and shake you? Did you have that "AHA!" moment? *******ARRIVAL IS AN ILLUSION.**********
Life is just moments. Some seem good, some seem bad...but each and every one of these moments brought you to the moment that you're existing in RIGHT NOW. Amazing right? And you are never going to get THIS moment back EVER again, so stop. STOP. Breathe, Enjoy, Be Present. There is no destination. Arrival is an illusion.

......

Okay. Deep breath. It's all good, because this moment is a miracle. And every moment that we are blessed with after this one is yet another miracle.....hooray!

Blindfolded Yoga

As per request, Blindfolded Yoga is back!!! Friday November 22nd from 6-8pm at the OC zen den! This will revolutionize your practice.

Butternut Squash Salad

This salad is ammmmmazing. I had roasted butternut squash the day prior for a Moroccan recipe that I was making, and then, at Santoris Produce, they had organic arugula...so, voila! Butternut squash salad! This is super easy, super delicious and super healthy (plus it's vegan, gluten free, paleo and candida friendly!). This time of year i tend to have some roasted vegetables available so it encourages healthy meals even when I'm exhausted. So go ahead and roast some beets, squash or potatoes to have them in the fridge, ready to go!

Arugula
Roasted butternut squash (I roasted ahead of time, on 350' in a dish with about an inch of vegetable broth then covered with tinfoil.)
Coconut aminos (this is candida friendly. You can also use Braggs liquid aminos or soy sauce if you aren't on the cleanse...)
Tahini
Lemon
Evoo
Salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne, cinnamon

Put the peeled slices of roasted butternut squash in a dish, spray with coconut oil and season with salt, pepper, a little bit of garlic, a generous amount of cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Put under the broiler for about 10/15min, until warmed and slightly touched with a golden crisp on the edges. In the meanwhile, toss the peppery arugula with evoo, coconut aminos, lemon juice and tahini. Place the squash over the bed of greens and finish off with a little drizzle of tahini.

So. Flipping. Good.
Bah.
Eat. Enjoy.

Deepak Meditation Challenge

I am doing Deepak and Oprahs 21 Day Meditation Challenge. Technically it started yesterday (the 11th) but the meditations are up for 5 days so you have today and the next few days to begin.....so get on it! I love the format....the guided meditation, and an online journal...so the process is easy and convenient. To do this free 21 day meditation challenge you go to www.chopracentermeditation.com

I loved Day 1's dharma talk....Deepak says how most say to move away from desire, but he encourages us that desire is what we follow and which takes us into our true nature. I couldn't agree more, and this one notion is what has kept me from fully embracing and moving into a Buddhism...I simply disagree that desire is a bad thing.

Anywho, check it out! It's awesome!! Who doesn't want to be the best version of themselves?

The Seven Needs

One of the books that I'm reading at the moment is Deepak Chopras "The Soul of Leadership". I was a bit hesitant to read it at first because the word "leader" is confusing to me, but I'm working on that association. Anywho, the book is brilliant. It has helped me to pinpoint exactly what my souls purpose is, and how to move into that. Also, it talks about the needs of a group, which I find can apply to any relationship be it business, spiritual, or romantic.

The Needs of the a Group:
1. Safety, security
2. Achievement, success
3. Cooperation
4. Nurturing, belonging
5. Creativity, progress
6. Moral values
7. Spiritual fulfillment

These seven were set up in this hierarchy by a psychologist, Abraham Maslow, whom determined that the most basic need (safety/security) must be met before a person can move on to higher needs. I was reading this chapter of the book on the first day of the retreat that I was leading in Mexico, and it couldn't have come at a better time. It's relatively easy to find spiritual fulfillment and move into spiritual fulfillment with my community in the studio (back in New Jersey) but it takes a while to find that with a group on a retreat...and now Chopra (and Maslow) have helped put that challenge into perspective for me. The reason that the journey into spiritual fulfillment is easier with my students is because we have already established the most basic needs. So, how to cultivate this on a retreat? First things first, create a safe and sacred environment. Retreats can be overwhelming, especially if you've gone alone and don't know anyone. It's a week to dedicate to yourself, to growing, to breaking free and to opening up....but you can't do this until you feel that you are safe.

All in all...this was so super insightful to apply not only to the retreat, but to all of my relationships as well. So go ahead, give it a go...reflect, and notice which of these needs are being met, and which aren't. 

Oooo Mexico!

We had a late night, and then a very early morning. The early mornings are per usual for me, but I'm not accustomed to staying up too late! I was up and at it by 5:30am and within the hour we were on the beach for yoga . I lead the group through Surya Namaskar as the sun was rising, and then we sat in meditation and closed with the Gayatri mantra. After our practice we drank smoothies, had some breakfast and then we hit the trails! We hiked for three hours until we hit the pools. It was a long, challenging hike- but it was SO much fun and the swim at the top was way worth it. I can't quite describe the natural outdoor waterpark,and I was having too much fun to take pictures, so you'll just have to trust me. After our swim we ate the healthy and delicious lunch we'd packed and then made the three hour hike home. We relaxed by the pool, which is on the beach, overlooking the mountains...chatting and reminiscing about the past week. Unanimous decision: life-changing yoga retreat. So grateful to Nina for bringing me on board and allowing me to live my Sva Dharma by being a part of HER Sva Dharma. Life is good.