Just around the bend...is that you, spring?

We Torontonians have been enjoying a brief reprieve from winter. As I (Joanna) write this, it’s a balmy 9 degrees outside. It’s enough to make me ditch my parka, and bust out in a wind-breaker. The warmth also signals my body to crave summer salads, instead of my go-to winter comfort foods (my mom’s mung bean and spinach, or thick butternut squash soup). But no. My palate wants something fresh, cool and light.

If you’re feelin’ the same...try this recipe, featuring one of my faves, the humble garbanzo.

Enjoy! (the weather...and the salad)

Couscous salad with chickpeas and tomatoes

Quick and easy to make, this salad keeps well and tastes best at room temperature--all of which make for an ideal weekday lunch. Pack it with cut-up fresh pineapple and biscotti.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons organic vegetable broth
• 6 tablespoons water
• 3/4 cup uncooked couscous
• 3/4 cup canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
• 6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives (optional)
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Dash of freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Bring vegetable broth and 6 tablespoons water to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Combine cooked couscous and remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

181 (31% from fat)

Fat: 6.2g (sat 1.7g,mono 3.5g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:5.5g

Carbohydrate: 25.8g

Fiber: 2.7g

Cholesterol: 6mg

Iron: 0.9mg

Sodium: 373mg

Calcium: 56mg

Recipe found on myrecipes.com (thanks!)

the ultimate yogi

do not try this at home...felines have a VERY flexible spine

I know, she may not look it, and she may not know it, but my cat Linxie...is a yogi.
Now, if you’re not a cat person, please don’t dismiss this post as a gushing declaration of feline-love. It’s no secret that I love the little fur-ball, but the kid has certainly taught me a lot this week.

It’s been a challenging week for me (Joanna). Among other things, I’m still mending a weak wrist, plus as I write this post, our site is still down. (If you're looking for the current class schedule, I've posted it here, until the site is up) And if you’re a small business owner, you know there is potential for lost business there...so, ya...NOT cool.

Back to Linxie. I sometimes fleetingly wish, on especially challenging days that I could switch places with her, for a few hours. Heck yes I’ll sleep 4 hours on a pile of newly washed laundry that hasn’t been put away yet! But mostly, I admire the yogic qualities of my four-legged friend. Here’s why:

She’s got the best downward facing dog (adho mukha svanasana) I’ve ever seen...paws planted, waist and hips draw up and back...so good...

She listens to her body. If you live with a cat, you know that they don’t mess around when they’re tired; they will cut you off, walk over you, pay you no mind and ignore you...and bee-line to their bed. (Same goes when they are hungry).

One pointed awareness. Ever see a cat prowl after something? When Linxie locks her gaze on a spider, she will stalk that thing until she gets it. You can call her name a million times, you might see her ears radar in your direction, but her eyes will never leave the 8-legged arachnid. There is no distractions or chitta vritti (chatter of the mind) here.

Because Linx is an indoor cat, she doesn’t get out much. But sometimes we treat her, and bring her to my parents’ who have a nice big yard where she can play outside. In warmer months, she loves to smell the grass and dirt, chase the things that fly and just generally slow down to marvel and appreciate nature. Dogs too, right?

Show love with honesty and openness...no inhibitions . My feline friend will act a fool for love. No doubt your companion has their own coming home ceremony just for you. Mine does this thing where she stands in your way, lets her legs buckle and rolls uncontrollably for about a minute until you say hello. If you don’t say hello, the purrs turns to a fever pitch, until she squeaks, as if to say, uhm...hellooo, can’t you see me??

So, you see, every day, I am reminded that living yoga is something that happens off the mat. And yoga teachers, come in all shapes, sizes and furriness.

namaste Linxie, namaste.

notice the cat bed underneath the human chair

Silver linings, injuries, bandages, backbends, and ahimsa

If you’ve been to any of my (Joanna) classes this past week, you may or may have not noticed that one of my wrists is swaddled and bandaged up.

I’m okay! Thanks for asking. I wont bore you with the details of how it happened. I will say though, that sustaining an injury (especially when you guide yoga practice for a living) is one of most humbling experiences, ever.

What I found most interesting/troubling is how much I take my body for granted. Simple movement such as pushing open a door, carrying my cat’s 13lbs carrier (yeah, she’s kinda tubby), and yes, many many many yoga poses become the proverbial Mt. Everest for someone who is injured.

I come across a lot of folk who come to yoga with previous injuries, ailments which are much, much more serious and painful than what I have...I’m talking scoliosis, herniated discs, arthritis, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia...etc. Of course, here at the studio we help them modify and certain classes are better for them than others, but I can understand how frustrating it is being in a room with other people who are injury free, and being the only one in a modified version of a pose the entire time, feeling a tad rare, and on display.

For instance, I was in a ashtanga - vinyasa practice last week, and for those of you who’ve practiced this style before, your know it’s peppered with poses which rely on weight bearing on the arms...which wasn’t good for my wrists. So there I was, in shoulder-busting dolphin, while everyone was in their delicious, stretchy and gooey downward dogs. It was hard not to feel resentful at myself...how I could let this injury happen??!! I’m a yoga teacher for goodness sakes!

The mere action of being on hands and knees caused a searing pain. So I knew that I couldn’t handle another group vinyasa practice. I then got pro-active and designed a practice for myself which would involve absolutely no weight bearing on the wrists.

Therefore, all of the poses in this practice were either on my back, my stomach or on my feet.

For those of you who have a consistent home practice, you know that it’s easy to default to the poses that are your favorites (and by proxy, probably poses that come easy to you). You also probably avoid poses that you hate (poses that are difficult for you).

For me, I tend to shy away from prone backbends like shalabhasana, danurasana etc because, well...I find them not all that pleasant to be in. It’s like taking oregano oil when you feel a tickle in your throat...you know you’ve gotta do it, but you’re gonna hate every second of it!

Viparita Shalabhasana (Locust Pose)

Dhanurasana(Bow Pose)

So, reluctantly, I navigated through the above poses, which I regularly don’t spend much time in otherwise. And I’m happy to report, that since last Wednesday I’ve been consistently working through these back-bends every-single day! And yes...some soreness. And yes...I felt my breath getting slightly cut off at the apex of my edge. And yes...these poses are dang hard to maintain for more than 10 breaths! But every day, I feel by back getting stronger and my heart opening to the possibility that I may, in time, actually LOVE these 2 poses.

So, to make a long story short I try to look at this minor injury as a cloud with a silver lining.

First, I was humbly reminded of Ahimsa, one of the most important and relevant teachings of yoga - the teaching of non-harm...something that I thoroughly remind students of during class. Second, living yoga is about navigating through the rough patches or injuries in life with ease, grace and flexibility. Knowing that when old poses, or habits are no longer serving you...it may be time to give them up, if only for a little while, so that you can move on, and open to other possibilities.

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Gluten Free)

What is it about the winter that makes me want to curl up by a big fire with a piping mug of tea and mouthwatering savoury scones?

Below is a great recipe for Gluten Free Cheese Bread by one of our students here at the studio. If you came out for our one year anniversary celebrations, you may have been lucky enough to snag one of her awesome vegan/gluten free mini cupcakes.

I've been hearing from a lot of our students that either they, or someone they know have developed an intolerance for gluten...so try this recipe...tell us what you think!

P.S. Thanks April!!

UPDATE: http://www.liveglutenfreely.com/ shared by our very own April. It's a blog about living gluten free.

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Gluten Free)

Ingredients

2 cups of whole milk ( sub. lactose free)

8 tablespoons of butter, melted

½ vegetable oil ( I used 4 tablespoons)

4 1/4 cups tapioca flour ( I used the whole pack of Bob’s red mill tapioca flour)

4 eggs

2 cups grated farmers cheese

¼ cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Salt to taste.

Preparation

Pre heat oven 350.

Mix milk salt, vegetable oil and butter in a pot and bring to a boil.

As soon as it boils, remove from heat.

Stir tapioca flour into the milk and butter mixture.

Stir in eggs and the cheese and mix well.

Let the mixture cool for 15- 30 minutes so that it will be easier to handle.

With floured(tapioca flour)hands, shape the dough into golf size balls and place them on a baking sheet

Bake rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are puffed up and are golden. They will rise slowly and puff up most in the last 5 minutes.

Serve warm

To truly live

Pura Vida...ahh the two words my boyfriend and I (Mia) kept hearing on our recent trip to Costa Rica. Meaning pure life, these two words are used by Costa Ricans in every single conversation. Given the privilege to spend some time there getting to know the country and its people, I quickly realized that this is not just a phrase that's blurted out every so often, but its really a chosen way of life for the locals.

I recently watched phenomenal video which spoke about the 'happiness index' see here. As it turns out Costa Ricans are some of the happiest people in the world. Their secret? They use little, don't take more then they need, and spend time and energy cultivating meaningful relationships instead of cultivating material wealth. It really is no surprise that so many people go there looking for a relaxing vacation and end up calling it their new home. During our trip we met numerous people from North America and Europe that have permanently moved there. And I can't help but conclude that the reason many make the decision to jump ship, other than the tropical climate, is that Costa Ricans live their life with the kind of awareness and engagement in every day life that is nothing but inspirational.

Throughout my trip I saw many things that took my breath away and beauty that literally brought me to tears, but one place that was the highlight of the trip is a little eco lodge called La Cusinga, see here. I promise they didn't pay me to blog about them, instead its the kind of place I'm proud to share with all you fine people. Not only did I fall in love with the place itself, but also with each person I came in contact with. It didn't take long before I stopped feeling like a visitor and right at home.

The reason this place is so special to me is because its a prime example of how a business can be responsible with everything it comes in contact with, live in harmony with its surroundings and thrive all at the same time. Im not going to get into how they do all that, you'll just have to go there and see for yourself. But what I will say is that all of us can learn from their success that comes from nothing but unwavering commitment to who they are and what they stand for. I guess being a business owner myself I get very inspired when I come in contact with individuals who don't measure success by their bottom line but by the level of authenticity and full self expression that goes into every part of what they do. I'd like to express my full gratitude to everyone at La Cusinga for being such a great example for me and many others of what it means to truly live in harmony.

P.S. Did I mention that they have a Yoga studio overlooking the rainforest and the Pacific Ocean. I'm thinking we might have possibly found our next Yoga retreat spot.

We found this in our room at La Cusinga...couldn't have said it better myself.

Nothing like the Pacific sunset.

Hey, get that gravy boat out of your nose!

Being a business owner, sometimes you may feel that you aren't allowed to get sick or take time off work if you've got the sniffles. False. First off, no one wants to be around you while you hack up a lung. Second, resting and taking time to get well, when you feel run-down is a smart business move since being out of commission while that nagging cough turns into full-blown pnumonia will only cost you more dough in the long term.

So for all you self-employed bosses out there, get plenty of rest, eat right and meet my secret weapon...the neti pot. Yogis of yore have been irrigating their nasal passages for a long time. Here's why it works:

• removes bacteria filled musus from your nasal passages, including the dirt and grime that accumulates from environmental toxins
• lubricates the sinus cavities which can become dry and raw from dry indoor air. This can leave us vulnerable to infections
• helps to eliminate or alleviate allergy symptoms (the neti pot helps to drain the sinus cavities)
• helps to flush the tear ducts – clarity of vision = clarity of mind

Mia describes it best when she shares her experience with the neti pot: She likens it to going swimming in a crisp salt-water ocean...coming out and feeling absolutely refreshed.

Here's an instructional video I found.

Go forth neti-potters!

BTW...ceramic Neti Pots are now back in stock at GL!