The discussions that my last two posts sparked is one of the reasons why I write this here blog. Besides sharing recipes and stories, I love hearing all of your opinions and thoughts and I’m inspired by how many of you took the time to comment, email, and contact me about cell phone use in the studio and the Yamas, or moral commandments in yoga. I’m living proof that yoga happens on the mat and off of it too, and if we all work together and raise awareness for poor yoga etiquette, our studios will be better because of it!

One of the greatest lessons that yoga has taught me is non-attachment, and if you’re like me and you fight change, you need this principle in your life too! As we discussed this week, non-attachment or Aparigraha, the fifth Yama, is concerned with hoarding or collecting and the learning to let go of of many attachments, aversions, fears, and false identities that are clouding the true self.  “Just as one should not take things one does not really need, one should not hoard or collect things one does not require immediately. Neither should one take anything without working for it or as a favor from another for this indicates poverty of spirit,” says BKS Iyengar. Non-attachment for me also means letting go of those circumstances in which I cannot change. Like that time in Germany when I lost an expensive camera and I spent hours feeling guilty and crying over it. Now I look at that situation and think, ” it was just a camera, a thing, nothing that I should feel attached to.”

Non-attachment hit me smack in the face when I lost my precious dog Irie three years ago. I don’t consider my dog “a thing” because she had feelings and she had this way of making me feel better when I was at my worse. I remember times when I would start to cry about something (probably stupid) and she would curl up  in my lap and lick my tears until I laughed and told her to stop! I never realized how attached I was to her, my constant companion, until she got sick and the reality that I may have to put her down hit me. She was apart of my daily routine, we would walk together, go to the dog beach, she would ride in my car, always by my side, she literally stooped someone from mugging me in Chicago when she figured out what he was trying to do before I had even noticed him. She was a Chow-German Shepard mix, and she was ferocious!

That’s Irie on the left in our save-the-date postcard back in 2011!

So imagine my surprise when I learned that The Edge Fitness, another part of my daily routine was closing for good on Christmas Eve. Talk about attachment, I absolutely LOVE this place. For  almost two years now, I’ve been taking a TRX class there on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and it IS my favorite part of the week. Maybe it’s because I dig the chicks I work out with or that our fearless instructor Carol’s teaching style reminds me of my own. She (like me, as you know) has a loud voice and she instructs with clarity, she’s compassionate and she always has a good story to tell. I keep asking myself “what am I going to do?”

Then I realized I’ll do the same thing as when I moved from Chicago, and away from my morning Mysore practice with 10 plus people, to California where my yoga practice consists of me, myself and I, in my kitchen, with the occasional interruption from Corduroy and Sugar. “I’ll just buy my own set of TRX straps,” I thought, “And I’ll keep on keeping on.” It’s just another lesson in non-acttachment really, and I will practice letting go of this circumstance that I cannot change. This is what I mean by yoga being practiced on and off the mat… and into the WORLD!!!!! Check out The Edge while you still can…!

Okay, let’s get to food, shall we? I just finished the yummiest and simplest breakfast and I want to share it with you! I’m up very early in the morning and I usually can’t have a big breakfast because I’m too busy moving and shaking around town, teaching yoga classes and walking dogs. I have my go-to snacks that I always keep handy: a banana, a hard-boiled egg and a package of almonds, but I tire of those and am always looking for quick and easy breakfast ideas. So here’s a quick pancake recipe that you make in muffin tins and then you freeze until you’re ready to eat! I like making my own pancakes with mashed bananas but my students Jeff and Veronica insisted I try some of their gluten-free, hi-protein pancake mix from their company Wholesome Chow. This stuff is SO good, and I was amazed by the amount of energy I felt later on! You can use anything you want with them but I chose raspberries and sunflower seeds since that’s what I had around.

Pancake Muffin Bites- makes 6 tins 

Ingredients:

-1 scoop Wholesome Chow pancake powder

-1/2 cup almond milk

-1 T applesauce

-rasberries

-sunflower seeds

-muffin tin

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Grease the muffin tins.

3. Add the pancake mix and bake for 15 minutes.

4. Insert a toothpick to ensure they are done. Add some maple syrup or honey and enjoy!

Easy peesy!

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Oh! And speaking of dogs! Happy Holidays to you all!

Naughty or Nice? Depends on the day!