Archive for November, 2009

A Truly Thankful Thursday

There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy. — Ralph H. Blum

Being thankful is an amazing quality to add to your life. The simple act of gratitude and acknowledgment can generate an array of positive energy in your life and completely change your outlook. Really, just the simple act of being thankful. Every Thursday through our Twitter community we host #ThankfulThursday, where we simply ask our followers to let us know what they are thankful for and then we re-post their gratitude for everyone to see. It is a simple act, but the responses are always so fabulous to read. We tell them to let us know the little things they are thankful for, because sometimes its the little things that make the biggest difference. The responses range from God and spirituality, to friends and family, to mangos and avocados, and just the mere fact that the sun is shining. Let’s take this notion of being thankful to the next level.

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for. — Author Unknown

Being thankful opens us up to receiving a plethora of wonderful blessings. When we are in a state of gratefulness, we acknowledge our true selves and radiate this energy to others. You suddenly become a generator of positive energy, you have an aura about you. Perhaps it might be a good idea to keep a “Thankful Journal.” It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular and can simply be a notepad of paper. But each day, you should challenge yourself to write the 5 things you are thankful for. They can be big or small, there are no limitations. Doing this in the morning can allow you the opportunity to reflect upon it throughout the day. You could also write your gratitude list on a sticky note and then put it somewhere where you will see it and run into it. Let it serve as a constant reminder of the goodness that you’ve got going on in your life.

Perhaps the biggest gift that humankind has been given is the choice to decide the thoughts and attitudes we put in our minds. –from the book “Change Your Mind, Change Your Life”

You cannot welcome more abundance into your life until you have acknowledged that you are thankful for what you do have. You can also find yourself in a better mood and more optimistic when you shift your thoughts to ones of gratitude. Choosing to focus your thoughts on the good in your life rather than things you may not yet be satisfied with is sure to invite some positive energies in. Being grateful is the best way to attract additional blessings and means of abundance into your life.

Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out. — John Wooden

So let me ask you right now, what are you thankful for? This question will get easier to answer the more you do it, so don’t fret if you are having some trouble coming up with your list. Remember anything big or small, it doesn’t matter, is worth mentioning on your list. You can be thankful for ladybugs because they always make you smile. If you need some additional suggestions to help get you thinking, here’s where you can start:

• You can be thankful for friends, relatives, your lover/partner, or anyone that truly appreciates your company (including pets if you have them!).
• You can be thankful for possessions that you have, that you have worked hard for, or that mean something to you. It can be your home, your car, your comfortable bed.
• And what about your source of income? That’s something to be thankful for as it provides some of the fuel you need to build your life.
• Your health. By this we don’t mean for you to think about the problems you might have or the things you want to change about yourself/your body. We mean, look at you gorgeous! You are alive, you are breathing, and you are able to log on and read this article! That’s totally something to be thankful for!

We think this should be enough to get you going. Trust us on this, you can start inviting positive energy and altering your mood for the better with this simple shift in focus and thought. Just by the simple notion of gratitude, you can change your life.  And now we are more than curious to find out what you are most thankful for. Reply to this article to let us know!

Raw Thanksgiving Recipe Round Up

Stay on track with your raw food lifestyle through the holiday season! First stop, Thanksgiving (or as many of us veggie-friendly folk call it….Thanksliving). We’ve searched all over to bring you the best raw food Thanksgiving recipes. The key to surviving Thanksgiving is proper planning and preparation! You should decide now what will be on your menu. Even if your meal will not be completely raw (to accommodate your guests), you can always include a couple of raw side dishes (your guests don’t even know their raw, but they’ll certainly know how delicious they are)! Check out the recipes below and let us know what you think. Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble Gobble! It’s the Raw Veggie Turkey!
Oh my goodness we love this little turkey! What a great party tray to put out for guests! YAY! Check out this recipe and other great tips on The Happy Raw Kitchen blog.

Raw Thanksgiving Plate
We found this full course raw Thanksgiving meal on Angelic Monkey. Make the whole meal or pick and choice what you want to make. Either way you are sure to dazzle your guests. Totally try the raw cranberry sauce. It’s AMAZING!

Mock Turkey Loaf
We were in search of the ultimate main dish that wouldn’t require a dehydrator when we stumbled upon this recipe for a Raw Vegan Mock Turkey Loaf. View the full recipe with pictures here. Note that the cranberry topping calls for honey or a sweetener of your choice (agave, etc).

Fresh Cranberry Salsa
Maybe instead of serving cranberry sauce you want to try something different? How about cranberry salsa! Give this recipe a try. Perfect as an appetizer or a dish to put out while your guests are waiting for dinner. We found this recipe on Rah Cha Chow. Delicious!

Raw Cauliflower “Mashed Potatoes”
We found this recipe for raw vegan cauliflower “mashed potatoes” on Eat Raw Vegan. Swap out those traditional mashed potatoes for something more fun and different.

Raw Pumpkin Pie
Did you save room for dessert? We hope so! We found this amazing raw pumpkin pie recipe on Raw Republic and we think you’ll love it. Sooo delicious and very simple to make. Dig in!

Sweet Potato Casserole
And definitely save room for some sweet potatoes, raw style! This yummy recipe is sure to please your tastebuds. We found this recipe on a blog called In The Raw. Check out the site for a couple other good recipes too!

Do you have any recipes you want to share? Leave them in the comment area for all to see! Thank you!

Rawmazing Gazpacho Soup

If you have no idea what a raw food recipe would look like or just want something easy and yummy to try, here is one to get started. It’s traditional Spanish Gazpacho, which is a wonderful cold soup full of fresh Mediterranean vegetables. You can enjoy it room temperature or chilled.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of filtered water
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 avocado, diced (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of sea salt (True sea salt benefits)

Equipment:

All you need is a blender!

Preparation:

Blend together all ingredients except parsley and avocado until smooth (about 30 seconds). Gently stir in avocado, parsley and slice of lemon.
If possible, chill for at least two hours to let the flavors mingle. Serve chilled or room temperature.

Enjoy!

This recipe was provided by Marat, who resides in Leeds, UK. Marat is the raw enthusiast behind the website RawPublic, where he features daily raw food recipes and tips for a healthier lifestyle. Marat’s favorite thing about about raw foods is eating 100% raw; he says he is full of energy and passion for life!

Rawpple Sauce

This is a quick dish that is the perfect treat for the Fall. It’s so easy to make!

Ingredients:
4 apples
1 pear
sprinkle of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

Equipment:
Food Processor

Directions:
Puree all ingredients until blended in a food processor. And then….Enjoy! (yes, it is just that simple)

You can try many variations with this recipe, including using more or less pears, adding dates and other spices such as nutmeg and cardamom.

This recipe was provided by Marlie Centawer, who resides in Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. Marlie is a graduate student/teaching assistant and lover of raw foods. Her website is ‘barefoot and frolicking: a space for musing on living and raw foods’: http://barefootandfrolicking.blogspot.com. Her most most favorite thing about raw food is how it makes her feel (amazing!) and the endless possibilities offered with raw vegan/food recipes!

Diving into Yoga: Where to Start?

Piera Bonventre is a Homeopathic Practitioner, raw food connoisseur and a travelling yogi. She also tweets energy healing and daily yoga instructions- encouraging you to include yoga anytime of day. Piera will be our in-house yoga instructor, providing insight and direction into this unifying form of movement. Here’s what she has to say:

Recently I’ve been asked on numerous occasions “How do I start a yoga practice?”  I understand it can be daunting or intimidating just thinking about the possibility you might be lead into getting your leg stretched behind your head.  I’ve been there.  The feeling of walking into a class with 30 die hard yogis who proceed to pull out their Mandukas, lay their water bottles down, and start warming up in ways you only Gumby could manage can make anyone new to practice a little queasy.  But it doesn’t have to feel this way at all.

START where you are. That’s really the only option you have. Actually in Yoga I believe we never are “advanced,” we always come to the mat BEGINNING something new.  Our practice evolves every day. and each time you come to the mat, the pose bring you to another place.

AND get this, (I learned this quite quickly) just when you think you “got the pose,” you realize you can discover SOOOO much more- that its a beginning yet again.  We never get it “right,” and we never get it “done.”  What really is “right?”  This very moment ends, and how can it be compared to the next?  This is what I believe an “evolving” and dynamic practice means.  It fosters true self growth in the PROCESS of it all.

MY FIRST YOGA CLASS:

Yoga humbled me from the very first experience on the mat.  I will NEVER forget my first class.  At the time I was completing my university degree and working part time in a big chain health club as a personal trainer.  I worked out at least 5 times per week with weights, stability balls, pylometrics, and did spinning classes, ran 5 and 10Ks for cardio.  On top of this I trained clients for hours in the gym, and  many  wanted to get “lean and just  fit into their bikinis.” A very different world from the one I would soon discover in that yoga studio that day.

I initially turned to yoga because I wanted to get “flexible” .  All the weight training I was doing was tightening my body and limiting my range of motion which eventually contributed to a number of nagging injuries.  This would often leave me in so much pain I was incapable of enjoying my workouts and engaging in activities I enjoyed.

So this strong, “fit” personal trainer entered The Yoga Sanctuary Studio and would soon be brought down a couple of notches.  I walked up to the counter, placed my credit card down and stated “I want a month pass, and when do the advance level classes take place?” The hippie blonde behind the desk just smirked at me and proceeded to hand me a schedule.  “Have you practiced Yoga before”, she asked pretending to not personally offend me.

“Ummmm no,” I replied.   “Trust me, I’m very fit and I could easily squat your body weight, I scoffed.”  (yeah I know, BIG EGO was doing all the talking).  She tried to grin  but I knew she was holding back a few words she would have liked to have said.

She handed me my membership card and directed me to the advanced class.

I strutted right into the class  and ready to breeze right through it. However thats not quite how it panned out.

Twenty minutes in I was drenched in sweat, toppling over my feet and realized I had no clue what I had gotten myself into.  Let’s just say Ms Fit trainer, just got owned by yoga.  BUT the amazing thing was, I knew I wanted MORE.  I left feeling  moved, inspired and more human than I had ever felt in my life.  My lesson of compassion began that very day, at least on a very conscious level.

Next class, which was 5 days later (I could barely walk the rest of the week lol) I hung up my Ego and left it in the locker room. After that I took the Prep class for over a year.  I got very hooked.  It was the beginning of a very new experience of moving feeling, and breathing my way through life.

My injuries subsided, mental clarity tremendously improved and life felt NEW again.

HOW TO START A YOGA PRACTICE:

• CHOOSE A STUDIO OR CLASS- that is appropriate to your needs.  Every studio has its own culture, vision and style of practice.  Try out as many places as it takes to find the one that you feel most comfortable and meets your desires.  You may want to try Kundalini, Ashtanga, Hatha, Hot Yoga or Iyengar style.  Try different ones, and you will know which one you resonate best with.

• BUY A BEGINNER LEVEL DVD- This is one way you can practice on your own time, and this can also accommodate your particular schedule.  I strongly believe having a good teacher in a reputable yoga studio cannot be replaced , at least in the beginning stages.  So supplement the yoga studio classes with a few DVD at home practice times.  Variety also brings freshness to your practice and growth.

• LESS IS MORE – I can’t stress this enough. I still find myself having to PULL BACK from overdoing the pose. You end up compromising alignment, and the whole benefit of the pose.  As Yoda said to the young Jedi in Empire Strikes Back  “You must unlearn what you have learned”. UNLEARN!! Listen to your body. BREATH! The breath is much more important than twisting your head 180 degrees.  Step back, and FEEL what is happening throughout the whole pose.  Forget about the finish line.

• Talk to your Teachers- You will be surprised how willing yoga instructors are to spend time with you after class to discuss a particular aspect of your practice.  You will find that you will begin to cultivate wonderful relationships with them.  If you become a regular to their class its almost inevitable that a distinct type of connection develops between you both.  You then become THEIR teacher in return!

We would love to hear your stories!!  Please leave comments, questions or replies!!

~Travelling Yogi

Namaste

Fall into the Season of Change

Upon gazing out into any landscape, whether you are strolling down the a winding path in the park or taking a drive through a road bordered with trees, take note of your surroundings. The leaves are changing colors, being lifted up by the wind and carried swiftly to the earth where they will break down and prepare for something new. The palette of colors dances across the scene, a treat for your eyes as bright oranges, reds, yellows and browns come alive. Isn’t nature beautiful? How magnificent is it that the  process of renewal can be displayed so vividly and in perfect harmony?

Here we are at the brink of a new season, the leaves are becoming one with the ground, and yet this is not a process that brings sadness, it is one that brings about a burst of energy, of excitement, and great anticipation of what is yet to come. Winter wonderlands, cool breezes, scarves and mittens are on the horizon. We welcome change as it comes with nature, we embrace it, we love it. If only we could think of change in the same light when it comes to our lives.

Change is necessary, change is constant, and change can be held in such a positive light. Why is then that when we think about making changes in our own lives, we are often met with feelings of fear and apprehension? Fear of the unknown, fear of leaping and not growing that set of wings on the way down, fear of falling, fear of failing, fear of being hurt. These types of negative emotions can hinder our growth and our development, and can halt our steps forward down various different avenues in our lives. Maybe it is love, maybe it is your job, your living arrangements, or your financial situation.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in our day to day routine, in the early rising, in the must be in the office by this time, must take lunch break here, that we forget to live. We forget to LIVE. We forget that our purpose in life is so much more than the day to day nuances that we effortlessly go through each day. So much so that we don’t even think about the what ifs anymore or contemplate what our next steps will be. And yet, these leaves, which were once green and so full of life, change to even more vibrant colors. Then, almost without warning, they let go of the branches and limbs that they once held onto for support and life, and they let the wind carry them carelessly to their next destination.

Some of these leaves land in streams and get taken with the current to reside elsewhere. Others end up in someone’s yard where no doubt the children will pile many together and dive right in (when was the last time you did that?). Then there are those that will be picked up by admirers who simply want to gaze further at their beauty. And some will be seemingly forgotten, but not really because they all return to the earth, breakdown and then become something new. Such is the cycle of life.

So as you watch the changes happening all around you in nature, and as you take note of their beauty, think about the changes that you want to make in your life. Perhaps it is something big (like you want a new job or a new apartment) and then perhaps it is something small (like you would love to take a long weekend getaway and simply explore a new destination). Then take that change that looks so big and scary, and break it down into smaller tasks that you can easily handle. For example, if you are looking for a new apartment, one goal might be “this week, I will spend one of my lunch breaks doing an online search for apartments in the new area I want to live,” and then your next goal would be “2 weeks from now, I will make an appointment to visit an apartment that I found online and get the grand tour.”

Suddenly, even if you are unaware of it at the time, you are leaving the comfort of the tree, you are gliding and becoming one with the wind, adrift and gracefully floating towards your new destination. You’ve let go and you didn’t even realize it. You are willing yourself to another level, to something different, to something more. And look at those beautiful colors radiating from your being! Simply magnificent!

Leaves change. Seasons change. And people change too. What kinds of things can change inside you?