Random Acts of Kindness: BOSTON STRONG

It's been a little over a month since the tragedy at the Boston Marathon and the sad stories of lives lost, dreams shattered and lives that were changed forever continue to be shared. My heart breaks every time I read a story about an accomplished runner who lost a leg and now has to rebuild the pieces of their lives.

But even in this heavy existence of pain, suffering and uncertainty, one truth remains: The good people of this world will always, always outnumber the evil.

If you can look beyond the pain, past the suffering and away from the evil, you will always find the altruistic, the pure-hearted. Those that are driven by love, compassion, a sense of service and community that transcends all evil. Here are a few reminders of the light that exists even in the darkest of places. These unsolicited, selfless acts of kindness restore our faith in the goodness that exists in humanity, and more importantly, in each of us.

1) The 2013 Boston Marathon had many examples of heroism. Military troops ran the marathon in full gear, with packs that weigh 60 pounds. Right when the explosion went off, troops were seen running to the barricades and pulling them down to treat the wounded. Reportedly, many runners, upon completion of the 26.2 miles, kept running right to the hospital to donate blood. And thousands of local Bostonians immediately opened their homes to runners, their supporters and anyone displaced by the bombings.

2) On a frigid November night, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Officer Lawrence DePrimo of the NYPD bought new boots for a freezing homeless man he encountered in Times Square. Source


3) The staff of Humke Elementary School is teaching their students compassion through acts of kindness as a way of honoring the young lives lost at Sandy Hook in December. “One way you can battle acts of evil is with acts of kindness,” Don Krempleski, the school’s psychologist said. “We can make our world better through acts of kindness.” If every person in Humke Elementary including staff did one kind act each day, that would equate to 450 acts per day, he said. Students in first through third grades have reflected on an act of kindness they’ve performed every day at the end of class, said Keith Johnson, principal at Humke Elementary. The students then write about the act of kindness and draw a picture of it, which will be collected, bound and sent to Sandy Hook Elementary when classes resume after break in memory of the lives lost. Source

Strong Spine, Open Heart

When I envision the type of woman I strive to become, this mantra comes to mind: “Strong Spine, Open Heart.”

Through all the years of heart-break, both personally and professionally, I stay committed to living life with a wide-open heart. But, that doesn't mean that I’m OK with being taken advantage of. That’s where the “strong spine” comes into play. Start first with a strong spine -- meaning a strong sense of knowing who you are, what you are worth and what you will tolerate. Once that is established, the heart can be as wide-open as you please. Let your love flow bountifully and unconditionally. Because now that you’ve established your strength, nothing can get in the way of your loving, open heart.

San Diego: America's Finest Yoga City

Every once in a while, yoga takes over San Diego. We're not just talking a cool event or two here and there, but a mega week jam-packed with all the yoga, chanting, connecting, inspiring, sharing and OM-ing that one's yoga-fied heart could desire. This week is one of those. My yoga social calendar is overflowing, so much so that I'm having trouble keeping track of all the great events. So, partially for my own sanity, and to help spread the love, here is a list of not-to-be-missed yoga events in and around San Diego....

Wednesday, May 15 - 7:15pm

Restore & Revive: Donation Yoga for Maire
help raise funds for a dear yogini friend battling Stage IV cancer
Prana Yoga Center.
info here

Friday, May 17 - Sunday May 19: Shakti Fest 2013 in Joshua Tree, CA
3 day musical festival celebrating the Divine Feminine in all. Two of my favorite teachers, Gerhard Gessner and Elka Haeckel will be teaching! more info here



Saturday, May 18: Yoga for Hope
8:30am - taught on the centerfield of Petco Park stadium in downtown San Diego!
Raising funds for City of Hope - a leading research and treatment center dedicated to the prevention, treatment and cure of cancer and other life threatening illnesses guided by a compassionate patient-centered philosophy. more info here



Sunday, May 19
CHEAT CODES workshop with Jeni Oh
understanding the basic alignment and
principles to arm balancing correctly and freely. Jeni's got some great tips that have helped evolve my practice immensely...check her out!

at Bird Rock Yoga - 2 pm. more info here



Sunday, May 19
Farm to Yoga with Sarah Clark

This is going to be a super fun yoga day on the farm! Includes a tour of Suzie's Farm, a delicious yoga class with Sarah, then nourish your body with an "ultra-ganic" meal grown in Suzie's field and prepared by the one and only San Diego Green Truck team.
more info here.
purchase tickets here

Variables

Feeling stuck? Take 4 minutes of your life to watch this piece called "Variables" - it's a visual array of inspiration, courage, beauty, love and connection to nature.

"Finding my place is knowing that my place can change at any given second."
- Kimi  Werner, Patagonia Ambassador

Kimi lives in Hawaii and gets most of her meals through spear fishing. She lives off the land in the truest way possible. "It gives me great appreciation to know where my food comes from. And to know it lived a wild and free life."

She is also a super-talented artist. Learn more about Kimi here on her website.

Homemade Banana Blueberry Gelato

This new discovery makes me so excited! Did you know that you can create your very own homemade, dairy-free, artificial sugar-free, natural, healthy ice cream...or better yet, Gelato with just TWO ingredients?!

Yep, you heard me, right. Just two ingredients: Bananas and Blueberries. Simple, healthy, natural. Perfect nightcap after a festive dinner party or a sweet ending to a mellow night at home. 

This recipe is also so wonderful because it solves an age-old problem in my house: what to do with all those brown bananas? At any given time, we usually have between 6 and 10 bananas on the counter and inevitably, unfortunately, some always go to waste. So, take two or three of those browning bananas, whip yourself up some homemade gelato and all is right in the world again.

Step 1: Make your gelato on the day it is to be enjoyed. Start by slicing two bananas into 1/2 inch chunks. Place in tupperware in the freezer for no more than 3 hours.

Step 2: Place frozen banana chunks in Nutribullet, Vitamix or any other high powered blender. 

Step 3: Pulse until they become an ice-cream or gelato like texture. You may have to scoop bits off the side, put back near the blades and re-pulse a few times to get it right. If you froze the bananas too long, you can add a splash of almond milk and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes to soften,

Step 4: Add frozen blueberries and pulse all together. No specific measurements for the berries, but know that the bananas have the more powerful flavor of the two. So, if you want it to taste less banana-y, like I do, add more berries. More banana-y, add only a handful of berries. 

Depending on the texture at this point, you may have to put in the freezer with a lid to solidify a bit. Otherwise, if you are happy with the texture, serve immediately and enjoy!

With this recipe, you have a solid foundation for homemade gelato. Banana should always be the base, as it is the most sticky and gooey fruit. Think of it as the glue. But from here, you can add other fun ingredients like peanut butter or strawberries. A simple mint garnish is the perfect topper for this classy hand-made dessert!

mermaid

“I'm always happy when I'm surrounded by water, I think I'm a Mermaid or I was a mermaid. The ocean makes me feel really small and it makes me put my whole life into perspective… it humbles you and makes you feel almost like you’ve been baptized. I feel born again when I get out of the ocean.” - Beyonce Knowles

Here are some of my favorite photos from a shoot I did with talented photographer, Shadow Van Houten for San Diego, California-based SUP Yoga company, Paddle Into Fitness. 

It was a beautiful mid-winter day at La Jolla Shores! The puffy white clouds danced around in the sky as I kicked my feet up in the air. I felt like I was dancing in the clouds as my paddleboard rocked underneath me. To me, this is bliss.....

 Mermaid pose, my favorite.

 What is yoga? Yoga, to me, is maintaining composure and focus as you ride the waves of life. Sometimes, that means literally!!!

 The divine in me bows to the divine in you.
Namaste, mama ocean.

 Thank you to Shadow Van Houten and Paddle Into Fitness for this opportunity. If you would like to use any of these photos for distribution, please give proper credit where it is due.

Surfing for a Cause

Have you heard of SurfAid International? They are my new favorite non-profit! Read on to learn more about their incredible work.....

WHO WE ARE   SurfAid is a non-profit humanitarian organization whose aim is to improve the health, wellbeing and self-reliance of people living in isolated regions connected to us through surfing.

WHAT WE DO  SurfAid, in partnership with communities and government, works to prevent disease, suffering and death through educational programs and health promotion that aim to change poor health behaviors and reduce the risk from natural disasters. 

WATCH   Click here to watch how SurfAid is saving lives through initiatives like their Clean Water Program: http://vimeo.com/17910315  

INSPIRED, YET?  HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP!   If you are in the San Diego area, join us on the evening of Thursday, April 11 at CARVED where we will raise much-needed funds for SurfAid. I'm helping to organize this awesome event, which will feature handmade surf-inspired art, wine tasting and a raffle/silent auction of donations from generous local businesses like Pura Vida Bracelets, Karl Strauss Brewery, DogZenergy and many more. Hope to see you there!

Zen Girl Raw Energy Balls

 

These are my new favorite treat! I take them on-the-go when I need a healthy mid-day snack or eat them fresh and cold straight out of the fridge at home. Delicious, easy to make, 100% RAW and so so so good for you.....enjoy!

 

 

Benefits:

DATES = cholesterol-free, low-fat, high in protein, fiber, iron; great for digestion and natural energy

CASHEWS = rich in magnesium for bone health; contain high levels of proanthocyanidins
which starve tumors and stop cancer cells from dividing

FLAX = contains cancer-preventing lignans; prevents inflammation and constipation

CHIA = high in omega-3s, fiber, minerals, antioxidants; reduces inflammation; natural energy boost

 

           The story behind Zen Girl Raw Balls:

Last Sunday, I was woken up by the best text message ever: "Making green juice - come over!" This text from my best friend Kristy started our Sunday off to a very healthy start, which led to a full day of healthy, fun adventures. Post-green juice, we decided to visit the La Jolla Farmer's Market and stock up on something yummy for lunch. Dates are in abundance here in San Diego and Kristy was lured to a market stand selling giant, locally grown Medjool dates. She purchased a large bag of them and we started to brainstorm what we could do with them. "Raw Balls!" I exclaimed in the middle of the crowed market. We got a few strange glances and skipped home to experiment. Most recipes for Raw Balls (including this one I picked up on my honeymoon in Thailand) call for cocoa powder, but since we didn't have access to any, we decided to improv with what we did have on hand. Most recipes also called for a food processor, which we also did not have access to, but I was confident my new baby, the NutriBullet could do the trick!

Here are the basic ingredients:

20 medjool dates

handful of cashews

chia powder

flax meal

shredded unsweetened coconut

splash of almond milk

*optional add-ins:

dried cranberries

rolled oats

almond butter

*Note: You can swap cashews for any
other nut: pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc.

Directions:

Mix all the dry ingredients except coconut in NutriBullet (dates, cashews, chia and flax). Add in almond milk - just a splash to start. Check moisture level. Should have a somewhat solid consistency, not gooey or soft. Scoop out and shape into a circular ball. Roll around in coconut. Place in refrigerator to eat later or in freezer for 15 minutes then consume.

*Note: We made one batch rolled in coconut (100% gluten free) and another batch adding in cranberries and rolling them in oats (not gluten-free). Both were delcious and passed the taste tests from our boys! :) The chia can be alot for your stomach to handle if it's not already a part of your diet, so enjoy just a few balls, then pack them into some tupperware and enjoy throughout the rest of the week.

 

 

 

 

A Yogi's Guide to Passover

As someone raised in a non-religious home who married a Jewish man, it is always a special treat for me to attend services on high holidays. Even as I delve deeper into my yogic journey (which is a very personal, spiritual, non-institutional one), I have always held a special interest and admiration for organized religious practices. In general, these practices, in and of themselves, are special and warm my heart probably most because of the organized nature of them. On these certain dates, every year - year after year - people who believe stop everything else they are doing in life and gather to practice, ritualize, reflect and set intentions for the future. Sounds a lot like yoga, now doesn't it?! :)

 

For tonight's Passover Seder, we went with a group of friends who are much more involved in the Jewish community than we are, to their temple's community feast. Seder is a long, ritualized dinner that Jews around the world participate in simultaneously, marking the beginning of the Passover holiday.

 

photo source

 

The Rabbi initiated the feast with a reading from the ancient text called the Haggadah that loosely translates as....

Tonight we observe a colorful and joyous festival which our people has celebrated for two thousand years. The history of our people reaches back nearly 4000 years. We began as slaves in the land of Egypt. Today we are free people.

Long ago, our ancestors set out on an important journey. On a night such as this, they went forth out of Egypt, leaving behind slavery and degradation. On a night such as this they rejoiced in their newly found freedom and dignity.

Tonight we celebrate their freedom and ours. But we also remember all those of our generation who are not yet free. May this seder kindle in us the zeal to work for the freedom of all. May this seder inspire us to light the torch of freedom for all the world.

 

The Rabbi emphasized the most important take-away as: We began as slaves. Today we are free. He then guided us through a moment of reflection as we thought in what ways we are currently enslaved in our lives and how we can start to move more towards freedom. Whether it's feeling enslaved at work, in a relationship, financially or even geographically - what can we do in this "new year" to lead ourselves towards freedom? This moment really resonated with me as we all have felt enslaved at some point in our lives and if we really observe astutely enough, we can start to identify the ways in which we currently feel some level of enslavement.

 

This Jewish principle of reflection and self-improvement struck me as quite Yogic and my mind began to wander as I thought, quite comically, of the Buddha, Jesus and Patanjali walking into a cave to discuss. They share a cuppa Kombucha, say a prayer for world peace, attempt a triple down-dog,  and.....A loud Cheers! of wine glasses startled me back into the present moment and I continued to embrace the idea of releasing the everyday "shackles" that bind us. Large or small, we can always find something to let go of.

And again, the parallels with yoga come to mind. As if finding myself in an incredibly constricting, twisting, gut-wrenching yoga posture like Marichyasana C and then suddenly releasing and taking a big, giant exhale as my body returned back to it's normal shape. Liberation. Freedom. Surrender.

photo source

 

The Rabbi concluded his opening piece by asking us to think of how we can release not only ourselves from enslavement but also: How we can be especially careful to not contribute to the slavery of others?  Whether we like it or not, enslavement in some form is inevitable. In life, he said, sometimes we are the Slave and sometimes we are the Pharaoh. With this knowledge, what can we start to do in our lives to move away from the things that hold us down and, at the same time, how can we make sure we are not holding someone else down in the process?

 

Whether this reflection takes place at the Seder table or on your yoga mat, the practices of self-reflection and self-improvement are ancient, sacred and needed now more than ever.

Yoga Retreat - Tulum - November 2013

Hi friends! It's been quite a while since I've been able to write, mainly because life has become so very busy. In Feburary, I wrapped up my 300hour advanced Teacher Training with YogaWorks, and since then, have been working hard on designing some beautiful retreat experiences for all my yogis out there!

As you may know, I spent the latter part of 2012 in the beautiful Riviera Maya where I fell absolutely in love with a town called Tulum. Over the past five years, this Caribbean coast has blossomed into a magical yoga destination where people from all over the world flock to unplug from the world, reconnect with nature and deepen their practice. Tulum is now the home of a few wonderful yoga retreat centers, raw food restaurants and road-side green juice stands....and their full moon fiestas are not to be missed! While I was down there, I visited the gorgeous Amansala Eco Chic Resort and told Devin, "One day, I will bring a yoga retreat group here."

Well, that "one day" has come sooner rather than later! As soon as I got home in January, my friend Alex, owner of Prana Yoga Center in La Jolla, saw some of my photos from Tulum and asked me to put together a retreat down there. So, there you have it, friends. Be careful what you put out in the Universe, because it is ALWAYS listening :)

Here are the details on our retreat this fall to Tulum, 
I would LOVE for you to join us and discover this magical place..... 

Caribbean Yoga Retreat

with Gerhard Gessner

November 19-24

Tulum, Mexico

 

Featured in Conde Nast Traveller, Bazaar, Yoga Journal, and InStyle Magazine, Amansala Eco-Chic Resort & Spa offers relaxed beachfront accommodations like no other boutique hotel in Tulum. It's the perfect place to truly get away from it all!

Our Retreat Package includes:

• 5 nights in beachfront accommodations at Amansala
• 3 healthy meals each day
• 2 Yoga classes each day (Vinyasa Flow & Restorative classes)
  with Gerhard Gessner, assisted by Mandy Burstein, RTY-500
• Special Partner Yoga workshop and other opportunities to deepen your practice
• Massage and sacred Mayan Clay Treatment
• Tribal Drumming experience
• Ground transfers to and from Cancun airport

Package prices:

• Beachfront Single $1699
• Semi Sea View Double $1499
• Triple Occupancy $1249

*Sign up before June 1 for a $100 discount!

All prices are per person basis. Includes all Yoga activities and all meals, plus extras!  * Not included: Flights

$500 non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your space. 

Contact us at retreats@prana-yoga.com to reserve your spot today! Space is limited.