Check out Wade Imre Morissette

Here's some great music to go with your yoga practice.

http://www.myspace.com/wadeimremorissette

Yes, that's Morissette as in Alanis. He's her twin brother. He's also a yoga teacher and therapist. I'm digging his kirtan music on MySpace.

No More Krav Maga

Well, it's official; I have quit Krav Maga. I haven't been able to go since my car accident and my contract was up so I didn't renew. I think it's honestly too much for my body at this point. I feel like it tears me down more than it builds me up. I'm not able to go often like I used to, so when I do go, it's an ass-kicking. The workout is above my level when I'm out of practice and all I achieve is a headache.

I'm honestly at a point where I want something more gentle and nurturing. So I've turned over a new leaf. I have been doing yoga every day since July 4. Even if all I can do is squeeze in 20-30 minutes of practice, I have stuck to this nearly every day and I feel great! My chiropractor has finally been able to adjust my neck as he's been trying to for three months and I joke that it must be the yoga. It's no joke though -- he agrees.

I'm also making a conscious effort to stop trying to eat so many sugary snacks. That is my weakness. It's how I break my vegan ranks. I can't resist the processed sugar stuff like candy bars, candies, Ghiradelli chocolate mochas...milk chocolate...it's so bad! I think it's stress eating. But since beginning my daily yoga practice, I am not as stressed so I want this stuff less. I've actually gravitated from wanting Twix bars and chocolate to wanting Starburst and Skittles. I don't know why I have always suffered from these sugar cravings my whole life, but I'm trying to let go and end this!

So wish me luck.

Instead of living the super-vigilant way I lived doing krav, I'm trying to slowly evolve into a healthier lifestyle. I want to do healthy things because --shock-- I actually WANT to do them. Because they feel natural.

So ideally I like to get in some cardio before a daily yoga practice. Thirty minutes of cardio plus an hour of yoga is my favorite. But in the least, I just do some yoga in my living room. I have been surviving off of YogaToday.

So right now the battle is instituting a daily yoga practice and cleaning up the food cravings.

Do good.

Looking to do something good today? Please help us find a bone marrow donor for Vinay. I feel I have to help for several reasons:

*Vinay suffers from AML, acute myeloid leukemia, the same cancer my best friend fought -- and beat -- in 2003-2004. This disease has touched my life in a way I'll never forget. It especially touched my best friend's life in a way that continues to reverberate even today as she still deals with after-effects of chemotherapy.

*Vinay is a friend of a friend, and we have to help each other!

*Vinay is from my hometown of Fremont, California.

*I didn't know until today how few South Asians are registered bone marrow donors willing to go through the donor process. The South Asian community badly needs more donors to help people like Vinay, who needs his bone marrow transplant IMMEDIATELY.

So please pass this message on, pass on his website, and keep Vinay in your prayers.

http://www.helpvinay.org/dp/index.php

Thank you!

This counts as your good deed for the day.

July 4 Cooking Demos For Vegans!

I know! This never happens. It's about time. Just got this in an e-mail from PETA:

On the Fourth of July from 12 noon to 3 p.m., Whole Foods Markets in Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico will host an Independence Day extravaganza. The festivities will include cooking demonstrations and showcase these Garden Protein International vegan delights: Gardein Veggie Chicken Skewers, Gardein Veggie Beef Skewers, Gardein Veggie Beef Burgers, and Gardein Veggie Chicken Breasts.

Garden Protein’s delicious new vegan beef skewers, vegan chicken skewers, vegan beef burgers, and vegan chicken breasts are unlike any other vegan products on the market today. They have all the flavor and texture of the “real” thing but with none of the cholesterol and saturated fat found in animal products. Garden Protein’s vegan products—which are sure to get rave reviews from vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike—can be found at Whole Foods’ deli counter. The Gardein Veggie Chicken Salad and Gardein Veggie Stuffed Turkey Roast are also available at the deli counter.

So celebrate the Fourth of July in style and visit the following participating store for the vegan barbecue extravaganza!


Phoenix (Paradise Valley)
10810 N. Tatum Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85028
602-569-7600

Recipe: 3-GasX Vegan Chili

Here's my recipe for what I like to call "3-GasX Vegan Chili" because after you eat it, it will take three Gas-X pills for you to go out in public and around people again. I made it special for my Better Half, as the way to his heart is through his stomach. The quickest way there is with the largest quantity of fresh garlic one can muster.

Ingredients:

Vegan chili mix from Sprouts
(Follow directions that come with the mix. The mix is in the store’s bulk containers).
Kidney beans (I use 30 oz but you can follow the Sprouts directions if you wish)
Diced Tomatoes (I use 30 oz but you can follow the Sprouts directions if you wish)
Tomato Sauce (Whichever size can was handy at the time)
Tomato Paste (one little can)
2 bulbs of fresh garlic
1 onion
1 container of pre-sliced mushrooms
1 package of what we call “fmeat” or fake ground meat (there seems to already be TVP in the Sprouts mix)
1 big squirt of Braggs to season
*GasX pills for later!

Make sure your cat is watching because if your cat is like ours, he won’t want to miss out on a cooking presentation.

Now throw it all together and simmer on low for an hour. Yup. It’s that easy. If anything were complicated around here, it would never get done.

The chili is orgasmic because it’s thick, hearty, and full of garlic. I serve it with the “easy biscuits” from Sarah Kramer’s “How It All Vegan.” I also serve the Better Half some corn to really make it “super colon blow” as he calls it. So you really get a free colon cleanse with this meal too.

Now that is what I call "Om with a kick!"

Happy Summer Solstice!

Ok, it was yesterday, but Happy Solstice anyway. I managed to fit in a few sun salutations at the end of the day and then slept quite well. But for me the longest day of the year was hell. My upstairs neighbor decided to party all night and I probably got 4 hours of sleep for the whole day because of it. I struggled to get done with work I had to turn in on deadline. It's amazing how important sleep is! It's also amazing how the cops will never show up when you need them.

Xflowsion -- A Yoga, Martial Arts, and Dance Hybrid

I am not sure I'd want to buy the DVD. This looks fun enough that I'd rather take a class like this live and in person. This yoga instructor, Eric Paskel, has created something that combines a live band with yoga, martial arts, and dance into a workout. He calls it Xflowsion.

Yoga is evolving, that's for sure. Remember when Tori Spelling was getting people into "Yoga Booty Ballet?" Actually, it looks like the Yoga Booty Ballet chicks are still around.

Hey, whatever gets people into yoga, right? Or are we ruining it? Watering it down? Getting away from the point? The point for me has always been to relax, find that deep happy place, create my intentions, be grateful, say my prayers, challenge myself, tone my muscles, open up, breathe...I could go on and on.

I'm actually getting to a point where yoga is becoming the top priority. It is the one survivor after all these years. I've done martial arts, worked out at a gym, and done Krav Maga. But my neck injury right now has sidelined me from Krav Maga and I may not renew my membership when it's up. I've been doing it six years and it's time for a change. It's harsh on my body -- many times injured from my ankle, to my back to my hip, now to my neck -- and I think I need a break. Something always keeps me away too so I think it's not meant to be. I went back recently only to have the accident happen so I could spend all my time at the chiropractor instead of Krav Maga.

I still love self-defense, boxing, kick boxing, ground fighting, weapons training, MMA, and muy thai. It's just that if I kept it up right now I'd do more harm to my body than good.

I'd like to try some new fitness stuff. If there were something like this Xflowsion DVD in a class around here (Phoenix/Scottsdale) I'd be all over it. I think I'd like to try some other stuff too. Pilates originated as something for the injured to rehab with during World War II and it seems like just the thing I need right now along with my yoga. I think my boyfriend would appreciate belly dancing and some stripper pole dance classes which sound like fun. Maybe I'll hit the water aerobics class my apartment complex offers. I also need to use the complex gym a little more for cardio!